Day count convention for debt securities clarified: Actual/Actual leap-year denominator and holiday payment scheduling maintained.
If a coupon payment date falls on a holiday, payment may be made on the next working day while the original coupon schedule remains unchanged; postponed payments do not alter subsequent scheduled coupon dates or accrual periods. For leap years where February 29 falls within the tenor, a 366-day denominator under the Actual/Actual day count convention applies for the whole one-year period regardless of coupon frequency. Interest and redemption payments must be made only on days when the money market is functioning in Mumbai.

Inclusion of new regional DGFT office in Vijayawada establishes jurisdiction over eight districts and reallocates regional boundaries.
Inclusion of a new Regional Office at Vijayawada, located at Door No.55-17-2, 4th Floor, C-Block, Industrial Estate, Autonagar, Vijayawada, is assigned jurisdiction over Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Anantapur and Kurnool. Consequently, the territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Authority at Vishakhapatnam is reallocated to cover the whole of Andhra Pradesh excluding the districts under the Vijayawada office.

Pre-paid instruments permitted for foreign tourists in exchange for foreign exchange, with passport accepted as identity verification.
Authorised Persons may issue Pre-paid instruments to foreign tourists in exchange for foreign exchange tendered, with passport accepted as valid identification, to facilitate exchange transactions following withdrawal of certain banknotes; instructions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and do not override other statutory permissions.

Central KYC Records Registry obligation: intermediaries must upload existing clients' KYC, exchanges must monitor compliance.
Registered intermediaries must upload existing individual clients' KYC to the Central KYC Records Registry using the CKYCR template and follow prescribed phased timelines; exchanges and depositories must notify participants, amend rules as needed, monitor compliance through half yearly audits and inspections, and report implementation status, with boards of asset managers, trustees and directors responsible for internal compliance.

Classification of garment sets clarifies "suit" criteria and limits drawback claims in exports.
Guidance states Salwar-Kameez, dupatta sets and Choli-Ghagra/lehenga-choli do not qualify as suits unless Chapter Note 3 criteria-identical shell fabric in construction, colour/shade and composition and the upper being a jacket and lower a trouser/short/skirt-are satisfied; otherwise garments must be classified individually (kameez/kurta as dress, salwar/pyjama as trouser) and analogous treatment applies to knitted headings, with existing export clearance procedures unchanged.

Transferability of imported goods under SFIS: sale/transfer allowed after three years, with consumables excluded.
Goods imported or procured under SFIS scrips issued in terms of FTP 2009-14 may be sold or transferred after three years from the date of clearance, per Department of Commerce Notification No. 30. Goods under FTP 2004-09 will be considered on merits under permissive FTP provisions with regard to three year transferability; however, consumables (including food and alcoholic beverages) remain non transferable even after three years. Exports or sales any time after import may be permitted on merits only without any claim to export incentives, and any re import will be treated as a fresh import.

Import of metal scrap: shredded allowed widely; un-shredded clearance subject to guidelines and risk-based port checks.
Clearance distinguishes shredded scrap, permitted through all ports without pre-shipment certificate, from un-shredded compressed or loose metallic scrap, which must be cleared only at EDI-enabled ports with Risk Management Module selection for documentary or physical checks; scanning is required based on available facilities and risk assessment until radiation portal monitors and container scanners are operational; re-warehousing to importer premises may be permitted under conditions and at importer's risk and cost.

Exchange of information on tax matters expanded, with authorised law enforcement sharing and mutual assistance in tax collection strengthened.
Protocol entered into force and establishes standards for exchange of information, including bank information and information without domestic tax interest, permitting authorised sharing with law enforcement; it exempts source taxation of interest on government insured debt-claims and inserts mutual assistance in collection of taxes obligations.

Rebate of State Levies revised for garment exports; updated ROSL rates apply once revised drawback rates take effect.
Rebate of State Levies under the ROSL Scheme has revised Schedule I and Schedule II rates which become applicable to exports with Let Export Order dates from the date the revised drawback/average input rates replace the earlier notification; EDI implementation of the revised ROSL rates will be undertaken by the Systems Directorate.

Online transmission of SEIS scrips enables automatic Customs EDI integration, replacing manual registration while requiring port verification.
SEIS scrips will be transmitted from the issuing authority to Customs and automatically integrated into the ICES database, removing the need for manual entry at the port; a one-time physical verification at the port is required before use. Manual debits effected prior to integration or verification are permitted but must be recorded in the EDI ledger and on the hard copy of the scrip, and supporting documents should be presented to the departmental officer for entry within ten days of the notice.

Taxation of cross-border OIDAR services: non-resident suppliers or liable intermediaries must collect and remit service tax.
Cross-border OIDAR services supplied from non-taxable territory to non-assesse online recipients in India are taxable from 1 December 2016: PoPSR amendments make the place of provision the recipient's location for OIDAR, redefining OIDAR and removing prior exceptions. Non-resident suppliers (or appointed Indian agents) must register, collect and remit service tax on supplies to non-assesse recipients under forward charge; cross-border B2B OIDAR supplies remain subject to reverse charge. Intermediary/deeming rules and indicia to determine recipient location are provided, with LTU Bengaluru as administrative authority.

Withdrawal of legal tender status for specified high-denomination banknotes, with limited airport and tourist exchange exceptions.
Withdrawal of legal tender status for existing and older series high-denomination banknotes is effective from midnight of November 8, 2016, with limited transitional exceptions permitting exchange at international airports and by foreign tourists for small-value holdings until November 11, 2016; Authorised Persons must implement and notify constituents, and the directions are issued under FEMA provisions without prejudice to other legal permissions.

Legal tender exemption for specified bank notes allows limited transactions and mandatory record-keeping during transitional period.
The Central Government provided a temporary legal tender exemption for the specified bank notes, permitting their use for narrowly defined transactions-payments at Government hospitals and pharmacies with prescription, ticket purchases at railway, government bus and airline counters, authorised consumer cooperative stores and milk booths, fuel stations of public sector oil companies, crematoria and burial grounds, and limited exchanges by international passengers and foreign tourists-and required all such establishments to maintain complete accounts and records of stock and sales of transactions effected with the specified bank notes during the transitional period.

Actual user condition imposed on boric acid imports, rendering them ineligible for Duty Free Import Authorisation.
Import of boric acid is made subject to the Actual User condition through amendments to multiple SION entries and renumbering of existing notes; as a result, boric acid is ineligible for import under the Duty Free Import Authorisation scheme.

Annual return requirement suspended for combined central excise and service tax filings pending GST implementation.
In view of the impending implementation of GST, the Board has decided that the Combined Annual Return for the year 2015-16 need not be filed; after GST implementation an annual return may be required only for non-GST goods and a final decision will follow consultation with trade, with trade asked to report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Transferability of SFIS-imported goods permitted after prescribed retention period; DGFT to consider legacy scheme transfer requests with exceptions.
Goods imported or procured by debiting duty in SFIS scrips under FTP 2009-14 may be sold or transferred after a three year retention period from date of clearance; requests under FTP 2004-09 will be considered by DGFT on merits in line with the High Court's reasoning. Consumables, including food and alcoholic beverages, remain non transferable even after the retention period. DGFT may permit export sale of imported/procured goods any time post import provided no export incentives or refunds are claimed and any return to India will be treated as fresh import.

Random verification of EPCG export obligations ensures selective customs scrutiny; EODCs are generally accepted with specified exceptions.
Customs will normally accept Export Obligation Discharge Certificates issued under EPCG in terms of FTP/HBP without repeating DGFT's block-wise verification, subject to random detailed checks of a limited number of cases, verification prompted by specific intelligence, endorsement by Regional Authorities, and mandatory genuineness checks of non-EDI shipping bills. Selection for detailed checks will be made by the Joint/Additional Commissioner, with the exporter informed on the date of selection via official email.

ECB hedging requirement: borrowers must fully hedge principal and coupon from liability creation, with at least one-year tenor and rollover.
ECB borrowers must cover principal and coupon through financial hedges where mandated, with hedges starting when the liability is created and maintained to ensure continuous coverage. A minimum one-year tenor for hedges is required with periodic rollovers to avoid any unhedged exposure. Natural hedge is acceptable only to the extent of matching projected inflows in the same currency within the same accounting year, net of outflows; revenue-indexing arrangements do not qualify. Designated authorised dealer banks must verify compliance and update Master Direction procedures.

Electronic Delivery Orders required; carriers must offer multiple e-payment options with real-time 24x7 acknowledgement.
Shipping lines, freight forwarders and NVOCCs are Customs Cargo Services Providers required to register under the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009; to provide required infrastructure and manpower; to adopt Electronic Delivery Orders and electronic invoicing; to offer multiple e-payment options with real-time 24x7 acknowledgement; to restrict manual DOs to prescribed exceptions; and to publish and display transparent schedules of charges, with non-compliance liable for action under the Regulations.

Discontinuation of manual debits on physical Advance Authorisations-customs to rely on and verify EDI debits instead.
The practice of endorsing physical Advance Authorisations with manual usage debits is discontinued for future authorisations electronically registered at EDI ports; examining officers must confirm proper debit in the EDI system. For ARO/invalidation or domestic sourcing, holders must obtain an Advice Letter from the Group DC/AC updating records, emailed to the Regional Authority and retained in office files. Manual clearance during EDI breakdowns is permitted only with safeguards ensuring subsequent EDI debit entry; TRA facility use at non-EDI ports is unaffected.