Loan agreement enabling transmission infrastructure and renewable integration to strengthen power supply for industrial development.
ADB and the Government of India executed a loan agreement to finance an extra-high-voltage transmission link in the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor to transfer generation, including renewables, to northern industrial hubs. The project includes institutional strengthening of TANTRANSCO via a financial restructuring plan, workforce and facility improvements, and enhanced social and environmental monitoring, supported by a complementary technical assistance grant.

Customs duty exemption on open cell imports supports domestic TV panel manufacturing and input exemptions to boost local production.
Removal of Basic Customs Duty on open cell imports and exemption on key inputs (chip on film, PCBA, cell substrates) were introduced to promote domestic manufacture of LCD and LED TV panels, complemented by fiscal relief on capital goods, relaxed import rules for used machinery, corporate tax concessions for new manufacturers, mandatory product testing and registration, and support for R&D and incubators to strengthen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem under Make in India.

Double taxation avoidance treaty incorporating BEPS standards to allocate taxing rights and curb cross-border tax abuse.
Approval for a bilateral tax treaty framework between India and Chile establishes a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and Protocol to allocate taxing rights, fix source-State tax rates on interest, royalties and fees for technical services, and provides for implementation formalities and monitoring; the instruments incorporate BEPS minimum standards including a Principal Purpose Test, a general anti-abuse provision and a Simplified Limitation of Benefits clause to curb tax planning and prevent fiscal evasion.

Corporate governance reforms tighten credit rating agency and listed entity oversight while easing small company compliance burdens.
Ministry measures ease compliance for small private companies and OPCs by amending the Companies Act framework and excluding certain private schools and hospitals from CARO, 2016 reporting. NFRA board composition includes ICAI representation while executive functions under section 132 are delegated to NFRA's executive body to avoid conflict of interest. SEBI has mandated strengthened governance for CRAs and listed entities, including segregation of non rating activities, dedicated Chief Ratings Officer reporting, specified board and committee structures, enhanced disclosure and audit obligations, and tighter related party and promoter requirements.

Automatic Exchange of Information portal consolidates CRS guidance and notifications to aid financial institutions' reporting compliance.
Creation of an Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) portal consolidates the domestic implementing framework and Guidance Note for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), collecting CBDT policy and technical circulars, regulator notifications, and links to international materials to assist financial institutions and tax authorities in meeting CRS reporting obligations.

Automatic Exchange of Information portal consolidates CRS reporting guidance and compliance resources for financial institutions.
A consolidated web portal centralizes material related to the Automatic Exchange of Information under the Common Reporting Standard, serving as a repository of policy, technical circulars, guidance and notifications to facilitate compliance by financial institutions, assist tax officers and inform foreign authorities. India committed to CRS-based automatic exchange from 2017, supported by a 2015 domestic legal framework and Guidance Note setting out reporting obligations, with sectoral regulators issuing complementary measures and CBDT conducting stakeholder consultations to promote compliance.

Industrial policy measures aim to stimulate manufacturing and core sector investment, production and infrastructure through tax, credit and reform.
The Government links industrial and manufacturing sector performance to demand, investment and prices and has implemented a coordinated policy package to boost investment, production and demand. Key measures include corporate tax reductions for domestic and new manufacturing firms, expedited GST refunds for MSMEs, capital injections and liquidity support to banks to expand credit, interest rate reductions, an Alternate Investment Fund for housing completion, and administrative reforms on self-certification, labour laws and environmental clearances. Sector-specific reforms target steel trade remedies and procurement preference, coal auction liberalisation with full FDI on automatic route, power sector operational schemes and renewable capacity expansion, and multiple hydrocarbon exploration and production policy initiatives.

Concessional tax regime lets domestic companies choose lower tax if they forgo incentives, with special manufacturing relief.
A statutory amendment establishes a concessional tax regime under which an existing domestic company may elect a lower corporate tax rate if it forgoes specified incentives and deductions and will not be subject to MAT; a separate concessional rate is available to qualifying new domestic manufacturing companies that forgo incentives and commence manufacturing within prescribed conditions and are likewise not subject to MAT.

Startup incentives and tax reliefs enable simplified compliance and funding support for recognised start ups under the national initiative.
The Startup India Initiative provides regulatory simplification, funding support, and industry-academia incubation to nurture start ups, including self certification under specified labour and environmental laws, procurement relaxations, expedited insolvency exit, patent fee rebates and expedited examination, income tax relief under Section 80 IAC, exemption for certain investor contributions, and capital from a Fund of Funds; DPIIT recognition is based on self reported data and state/industry annexures list recognised start ups, while three year survival and product level data are not compiled.

Fraud detection framework strengthens bank scrutiny and reporting of large non-performing accounts and wilful defaults.
A regulatory package requires banks to apply a structured fraud detection and reporting framework for large NPAs, initiate wilful default proceedings upon detection, obtain inter-agency borrower intelligence, and strengthen due diligence by collecting certified identity documents and publishing wilful defaulter information under board-approved policies; administrative controls such as rotational transfers and Look Out Circular requests are mandated. Complementary measures include an independent audit regulator to enforce audit standards, and a statutory regime enabling attachment and disentitlement of fugitive economic offenders, together with freezing of inoperative company accounts to enhance systemic transparency.

Search and seizure under section 132 reveals bogus invoicing with cash back scheme and large undisclosed income deployed into assets.
A search under section 132 uncovered a systematic scheme of inflating expenditure using bogus invoices, with payments made by cheque or electronic transfer and cash returned to promoters, producing suppressed taxable income that was deployed into immovable property, share capital, fixed deposits, cash and other valuables; searches resulted in seizure of substantial cash and gold and enquiries are ongoing.

Integrated Water Resource Management strengthens basin institutions and modernizes irrigation to improve water-use efficiency and agricultural productivity.
The second project loan advances integrated water resource management by strengthening state and basin institutions, upgrading Vijayanagara Channel headworks and canals, supporting river basin management planning and water governance, and establishing water user cooperative societies to improve irrigation efficiency and generate water savings for expanded irrigated area and higher farm incomes.

Tax evasion investigation uncovers bogus companies and accommodation entries leading to probes of bank fraud and inflated expenses.
Searches and surveys on contractors and entry providers uncovered use of bogus companies to create accommodation entries as loans or expense bills, inflated expenses to suppress income, and a systematic modus operandi including bank fraud, forgery and siphoning of bank loans into property and share investments; investigations continue to identify beneficiaries and quantify the extent of accommodation entries and tax evasion.

Aadhaar KYC eased: self-declaration of current address accepted for bank account opening, not for updating Aadhaar address.
Amendment to the PML Rules permits Aadhaar KYC for bank account opening where the address on Aadhaar differs from the current address by accepting a self-declaration of the local/current address as sufficient address proof. The change was effected via amendment to the PML Rules and does not permit or effect change of address in the Aadhaar database under the Aadhaar Act or its regulations.

Aadhaar KYC self-declaration permitted for bank account opening, without effecting change of address in Aadhaar.
Amendment to the PML Rules allows banks to accept a self declaration of a local or current address as sufficient address proof for Aadhaar KYC when an individual's residence differs from the address in Aadhaar, solely to facilitate opening bank accounts or branch changes; it does not permit or affect changing the address on the Aadhaar record since the Aadhaar Act and its regulations were not amended.

Bogus billing and hawala transactions exposed leading corporate-linked diversion of infrastructure project funds; enforcement uncovered intermediary networks.
A coordinated enforcement operation uncovered a large-scale scheme of bogus billing and hawala transactions in the infrastructure sector, where fraudulent invoices and intermediary networks of entry operators, lobbyists and hawala dealers were used to divert funds intended for public infrastructure and EWS projects; searches and seizures documented the chain of delivery, cash disbursements, unexplained assets, and the mechanism of siphoning funds through artificial contracts.

Search action on educational trusts uncovers alleged diversion of trust funds and suppression of fee income, investigation ongoing.
Searches under the Income-tax Act on a group of educational trusts uncovered suppression of fee receipts, unrecorded cash transactions, loans in cash, non-disclosure of property sale receipts, and an alleged scheme where actual fees were recorded as advance liabilities and routed to sister concerns against inflated expenses, resulting in diversion of trust funds; searches produced significant cash and jewellery seizures and a preliminary estimate of substantial undisclosed income, with investigations continuing.

Budget 2020-21 suggestions: industry urged to submit tax proposals with data, justification, formats, and 21 November deadline.
Solicitation of pre-budget proposals for Budget 2020-21 from trade and industry associations to suggest changes in direct and indirect taxes with economic justification and supporting statistics; requests must quantify revenue implications, production, prices and value addition for inverted duty correction. Direct tax proposals should account for recent corporate tax rate rationalisation and the policy shift away from exemptions toward lower rates. Procedural requirements include prescribed synopsis and Customs/Central Excise formats, Annexure-A data, email submission addresses for indirect and direct taxes, hard copy addressees, exclusion of GST requests, and a submission deadline of 21 November 2019.

Search and seizure under the Income Tax Act uncovers undisclosed income from bogus losses and purchases, probe continues.
Search and seizure action under the Income Tax Act using statutory powers at multiple premises uncovered evidence of alleged bogus losses, bogus purchases and fabricated subcontract expenses; a brought forward loss claimed pursuant to a demerger is indicated as not compliant with the Act, unaccounted cash and restrained lockers were found, and provisional detection of substantial undisclosed income from assessment years beginning 2016 17 has been reported while verification continues.

Cash seizure uncovers unaccounted funds after search and survey under section 133A, prompting ongoing tax investigation.
Search and seizure operation executed at a businessman's residence and a concurrent survey under section 133A at his business premises following intelligence of large cash holdings; the individual, engaged in construction subcontracting and real estate activities, was found to possess unaccounted cash which was seized, and investigations are ongoing.