Fixation of tariff value: revised customs tariff values set for edible oils, metals and select agricultural imports under notification amendment.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, substitutes revised TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 into Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.), fixing tariff values in US dollars for specified imports including edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nut, and defined forms of gold and silver, and delineating certain exclusions by form and import mode.

Public debt management: quarterly issuance, maturity and liquidity operations shaped government debt profile and market yields.
Quarterly review for July-September 2020 reports central government dated securities issuances during Q2 FY21, a slight softening in the weighted average yield of primary issuances, and a modest change in the weighted average maturity of new issuances. No Cash Management Bills were raised. The Reserve Bank conducted five special OMOs and there was net average liquidity absorption under LAF including Marginal Standing and Special Liquidity Facilities. Provisional data show an increase in total liabilities with public debt accounting for the majority, a material share of securities with residual maturity below five years, and concentrated ownership in banks and insurance companies.

Ease of Doing Business reform enables additional state borrowing after completing prescribed business environment reforms.
Odisha qualified for additional open market borrowing after completing the Ease of Doing Business reform, joining six other States that met the Department of Expenditure's conditionality. The reform package requires completion of a District Level Business Reform Action Plan assessment, elimination of renewal requirements for business registrations and approvals, and adoption of a computerized central random inspection system with centrally allocated inspectors, prior notice, rotation of inspectors, and inspection reports uploaded within 48 hours. These measures are part of a May 2020 fiscal dispensation linking half of enhanced State borrowing headroom to citizen centric reforms.

Extension of income tax return deadlines provides staggered filing and audit-report postponements and adjusted compliance windows.
Extensions of filing and compliance deadlines for AY 2020 21 moved Income Tax Return due dates and associated audit and reporting obligations through staged notifications: audited taxpayers and companies and those reporting international/specified domestic transactions were given mid February 2021 filing deadlines; other taxpayers received a January 2021 deadline; audit-report deadlines and Vivad Se Vishwas declaration and order timelines were likewise postponed; self assessment tax payment relief for smaller liabilities and an extension of the GST annual return due date were also provided.

Trade restrictions and technical regulations tightened to favour domestic industry; digital trade facilitation and export support expanded.
Trade policy measures promoted domestic industry and secured supply chains via import restrictions where domestic capacity exists, mandated compliance with national standards, and advanced Technical Regulations and Quality Control Orders for priority product lines; concurrently, electronic trade facilitation, digitalised trade remedy procedures, expanded procurement via GeM, and enhanced export credit and insurance support were implemented to expedite exports and strengthen exporter resilience.

Search and seizure of hawala network exposes shell companies, bogus invoices and layering of unaccounted funds; probe continues.
Search and seizure operation uncovered hawala operators using short lived shell entities to generate bogus purchase and sale bills, route and layer unaccounted funds through multiple bank accounts, and suppress sales through fabricated purchases; the action led to seizure of unaccounted cash and bullion and investigations continue to trace beneficiaries and transactional links.

Accommodation entries used to conceal business receipts uncovered; searches reveal bogus shell transactions and ongoing probe.
Coordinated search and survey operations targeted three contracting groups for alleged accommodation entries via non genuine unsecured loans and inflated securities premium from paper shell companies, with entry operators admitting bogus transactions. Searches uncovered cash trails, seizures of cash and jewellery, substantial detected undisclosed income, and ongoing investigation to determine sources, asset holdings, and the quantum of tax evasion.

Ease of Doing Business reforms enable Rajasthan to access additional Open Market borrowing permissions under the linked central borrowing framework.
Rajasthan has completed the prescribed Ease of Doing Business reforms and qualified to mobilise additional resources through Open Market Borrowings; the reforms required are completion of the first assessment of the District Level Business Reform Action Plan, elimination of renewal requirements for business registrations/approvals/licences, and implementation of a computerized central random inspection system with specified procedural safeguards and report upload timelines.

Reform-linked additional borrowing: States gain market borrowing permission after completing urban local body financial reforms.
Reform-linked additional borrowing permission was granted to two States upon completion of Urban Local Body reforms requiring notification of floor rates for property tax aligned with prevailing circle rates and floor user charges for water, drainage and sewerage reflecting current costs and past inflation, together with a system for periodic increases in those rates in line with price increases.

Green infrastructure for highways integrates climate resilience and road safety with institutional capacity building and gender inclusion.
The instrument finances construction and upgrading of highway corridors while integrating green infrastructure and road safety technologies, mandating GHG reduction measures, and supporting institutional capacity building for mainstreaming climate resilience, disaster risk assessment, freight analytics and gender responsive employment initiatives for implementation across multiple states.

Reform-linked borrowing permissions incentivise states to adopt Ease of Doing Business and citizen-centric reforms to access additional borrowing.
The Government conditioned half of the May 2020 enhancement to States' borrowing limits on completing citizen centric reforms, including reform linked borrowing permissions for Ease of Doing Business. EoDB requirements include district level reform assessments, removal of renewal requirements for specified registrations/approvals/licenses, and a computerized central random inspection system with inspector rotation, prior notice and prompt uploading of inspection reports. Five States have completed these EoDB reforms and been granted additional open market borrowing permission; States completing three reform categories may also access capital assistance under a dedicated scheme.

Power distribution upgrade financing supports feeder separation and conductor conversion to improve rural electricity reliability and bill collection.
A loan under a multi-tranche financing facility will finance rural distribution network upgrades in Uttar Pradesh, including conversion of low-voltage bare conductors to aerial bundle conductors and establishment of separate feeders for agricultural and residential supply to improve reliability, reduce technical and commercial losses, and enable solar use for agriculture, alongside measures to strengthen the distribution utility's financial management and pilot community bill collection through women's self-help groups.

Project readiness financing to prepare climate resilient urban and tourism infrastructure in Tripura, enabling feasibility studies and capacity building.
A Project Readiness Financing facility between the Asian Development Bank and the Government of India will fund feasibility studies, detailed engineering designs, and capacity building to prepare climate resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban and tourism infrastructure projects in Tripura, addressing institutional capacity gaps of urban local bodies.

Unaccounted income exposure after tax searches results in substantial cash seizures and ongoing criminal and tax investigations.
Searches across multiple premises of a civil contracting group disclosed a scheme of inflating purchases and contract expenses with excess payments returned in cash, producing approximately Rs. 700 crore of unaccounted income, of which the assessee admitted about Rs. 150 crore; a cash seizure of about Rs. 21 crore was effected and further investigations are ongoing.

Benami property linked to listed pharmaceutical company reveals conduit purchases and undeclared cash transactions and seizure activity.
Authorities conducted searches targeting an alleged benami purchase of 117 acres through a conduit company lacking real business activity; statements from nominal directors and buyers and a hawala operator implicate the listed company's Managing Director in funding and negotiating the sale, with an agreement to sell and cash receipt recovered. Investigations also allege a wrongful interest deduction by mischaracterising self-occupied property, and probe benami shareholdings and bogus purchases; cash, jewellery and several lockers have been seized or restrained.

Development bank loan supports rural recovery via natural resource management and employment generation under MGNREGS.
An international loan agreement finances rural recovery through MGNREGS by supporting natural resource management works to create durable rural infrastructure and by generating employment to preserve rural incomes and stimulate demand, with particular emphasis on supporting rural poor and returned migrant workers affected by COVID 19; the financing is provided by a multilateral development bank on long term terms with an initial grace period and is enabled by the bank's emergency response policy.

Reform-linked borrowing extended: deadline moved to allow states to claim additional borrowing and capital assistance upon reform completion.
Extension of the deadline permits States more time to implement four specified citizen-centric reforms and secure linked fiscal incentives: eligibility for Reform-Linked Borrowing-additional borrowing capacity tied to each completed reform-and access to capped Capital Expenditure Assistance for States completing at least three reforms, with specified aggregate funding envelopes and reported interim uptake and borrowings.

Search and seizure of suspected tax evasion: unaccounted income and accommodation entries uncovered, further probe ongoing.
Income tax authorities conducted search and survey operations in the Panvel-Vashi region targeting real estate developers and entry operators, uncovering routing of on money into the books as accommodation entries through shell companies, fabricated subcontract and other out of books expenses, undisclosed interest concealed as advances against land, and seizure of unexplained cash; digital and documentary data analysis and further investigations are ongoing.

Implementation review of economic relief package highlights credit, liquidity and sectoral support measures to revive activity and safeguard jobs.
The review of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Packages details multi sectoral fiscal and regulatory measures providing credit and liquidity support-notably emergency and partial credit guarantee schemes, concessional agricultural credit, state capital expenditure loans, equity and subordinate debt for MSMEs, and infrastructure debt financing-alongside targeted programs for agriculture, housing and coal sector reforms. Implementation progress is tracked by sanctions, disbursements, guideline issuances, operationalisation of funds and MoUs with banks, with timeline extensions and expanded eligibility to accelerate recovery and safeguard jobs.

Special assistance for state capital expenditure provides targeted allocations and reform-linked funds; first instalments released to participating states.
The Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure comprises three parts: a fixed allocation for north-eastern States (with higher allocation for Assam), a proportional allocation to other States based on interim 15th Finance Commission tax shares, and a reform-linked tranche available only to States implementing at least three of four specified citizen-centric reforms. The scheme aims to boost state capital spending across sectors including health, water, irrigation, power and transport; 27 States' projects totalling Rs. 9,879.61 crore have been approved and the first instalment totalling Rs. 4,939.81 crore released.