Closure of financial accounts under FATCA alternative procedure: temporary non-closure permitted while financial institutions complete due diligence.
Financial institutions must obtain self-certification and complete prescribed due diligence for accounts opened between 1 July 2014 and 31 August 2015 by 31 August 2016 or close and report any reportable account; owing to stakeholder difficulties, bilateral discussions seek an alternative allowing a short extension, and in the interim institutions need not close accounts by 31 August 2016 while they continue to complete due diligence and obtain self-certifications, with revised timelines to be notified.

Advance Pricing Agreements secure transfer pricing certainty as CBDT signs additional unilateral APAs with rollback options.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes executed multiple Advance Pricing Agreements using the Income tax Act framework to fix transfer pricing methods and determine the arm's length price for prospective years; several agreements include a rollback option to apply agreed pricing to preceding years, and the scheme spans numerous sectors and transaction types to promote a non adversarial tax regime.

Sovereign Gold Bond issuance offers resident investors tradability, fixed semi annual interest, collateral use and SLR eligibility.
The fifth tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds is a government issued, gram denominated security sold to resident Indian entities via banks, SHCIL, designated post offices and recognised stock exchanges. Issue and redemption prices are set in rupees by reference to the IBJA weekly average for 999 purity gold; payment modes include cash (subject to a cap), draft, cheque or electronic banking. The eight year bond carries a fifth year exit option, fixed semi annual interest on initial investment, SLR eligibility, tradability on exchanges after RBI notification, collateral use with RBI mandated LTV, a per person subscription ceiling enforced by self declaration, and specified tax treatment for interest and capital gains.

Source-based taxation of capital gains introduced, transitional reduced treaty benefit limited and Limitation of Benefits restricts access.
The Protocol shifts capital gains on shares of Indian resident companies to source-based taxation for acquisitions after 1 April 2017 while grandfathering prior investments; it phases in full domestic taxation after a transition period during which a reduced treaty rate applies subject to a Limitation of Benefits test that includes main purpose and bonafide business requirements and a shell/conduit expenditure threshold. It also imposes withholding on interest to Mauritian banks for post-cutoff debt claims, updates exchange-of-information standards and provides assistance in collection and other measures to prevent treaty abuse and improve tax transparency.

Courier shipping documentation amended to introduce CSB V for specified exports and require related declarations and MEIS option.
The regulations insert Courier Shipping Bill CSB V into regulation 6 (sub regulations (1) and (3)) and substitute the proviso to require that goods in Appendix 3C of the Foreign Trade Policy (2015 20) be entered in Form CSB V. The draft CSB V lists exporter and courier identification, shipment particulars, invoice and HS details, and declarations including authorization to act as agent, intent to claim MEIS e commerce rewards, and a signed accuracy declaration by the authorized courier.

Source-based taxation of capital gains enables the source jurisdiction to tax gains, with grandfathering and expanded PE rules.
The revised treaty shifts taxation of capital gains on share transfers to source-based taxation, with a Protocol grandfathering clause excluding shares acquired before a specified cutoff; it also subjects gains from shares of companies whose principal assets are immovable property in a Contracting State to source taxation.

International arbitration in BRICS to evaluate dispute resolution mechanisms and enforcement of treaty awards and foster cooperative frameworks
International arbitration among BRICS nations focuses on assessing national arbitration regimes, challenges in dispute settlement and enforcement of arbitral and treaty awards, and on developing an international arbitration mechanism to strengthen dispute resolution, institutional capacity, procedural harmonization, and enforcement practices to support cross border commerce and investment.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code implementation urged in a time bound manner, with institutions and rules to be notified promptly.
The Finance Minister directed immediate, time bound implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, prioritising establishment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board, notification of rules for Insolvency Professionals and Insolvency Professional Agencies, and issuance of Corporate Insolvency rules. Officials were instructed to notify NCLT benches for corporate insolvency and to complete registration processes for professionals and agencies, with coordinated action among relevant ministries and regulators to follow a roadmap for operationalisation.

Government e-procurement modernisation: GeM training promotes transparent, accountable, and efficient online procurement by government buyers.
The release announces training for procurement officers on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), presenting GeM as an online, end-to-end integrated e-procurement portal to deliver transparent, accountable and efficient procurement; it stresses portal security and integrity, mandatory vendor payment within ten days of receipt with encouragement to reduce this period, and plans for broader pan-India training and system improvements based on user feedback.

Deduction under Section 35AC restricted; approvals for eligible projects beyond the statutory cut-off will not be considered.
Section 35AC allowed a business-income deduction for payments to a public sector company, local authority, or association/institution approved by the National Committee for eligible projects. The Finance Act, 2016 removed the deduction for assessment years commencing on or after 1 April 2018. Accordingly, the deduction is available only for payments to associations or institutions already approved for periods up to the previous year ending 31 March 2017, and requests received after 31 December 2016 for approvals or extensions beyond 31 March 2017 will not be considered.

Property valuation option allows declarants to use indexed stamp duty value as fair market value under the declaration scheme.
The Rules under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 now allow a declarant whose immovable property acquisition is evidenced by a registered deed to elect to declare the fair market value by applying the cost inflation index to the stamp duty value. The fifth set of FAQs clarifies that fictitious liabilities may be declared without linking to a specific asset, earlier-year declarations may explain related later transactions where a nexus exists, no adverse action will be taken solely for cash deposits made consequent to declarations, and holding period is based on actual acquisition date.

Black money legislation strengthens enforcement and information exchange, increasing detection and coordinated investigations.
The Government adopted a multi-pronged approach to combat black money held abroad, anchored by the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, its classification as a scheduled offence under the prevention of money laundering regime, enabling domestic attachment/confiscation of equivalent property, amendments to the Benami law to permit confiscation and prosecution, and strengthened information exchange and coordinated enforcement mechanisms.

Tenure expiry of standing counsels prompts annulment of appointments and initiation of a fresh counsel panel.
Annulment of appointments of 111 Senior and Junior Standing Counsels was effected because the prescribed tenure had expired; the Board removed counsels who had completed their tenure from the panel for representing the Board and its field formations before High Courts and other fora and has initiated constitution of a fresh panel.

Tariff value revision for specified imports updates customs valuation benchmarks for edible oils, metals and agricultural commodities.
Amendment under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 substitutes revised TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 in Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.), establishing updated tariff values in US dollars for specified imported goods including edible oils, palmolein variants, crude soybean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit values for gold and silver to serve as customs valuation benchmarks.

Premature closure of PPF accounts allowed for serious medical treatment and higher education, subject to a reduced interest penalty.
Allows premature closure of Public Provident Fund accounts after five financial years for treatment of serious or life threatening illnesses of the accountholder, spouse, dependent children or parents, and for higher education of the account holder or a minor; such closure attracts an interest deduction equivalent to one percent less than the applicable interest rate, and the Government may relax rules in exceptional circumstances.

Benami prohibition: strengthened confiscation and adjudicatory regime for benami properties with special authorities and penalties.
The Amendment Act redefines key terms and prohibits benami transactions, establishes specialized authorities including Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal with specified composition and powers, provides for provisional attachment and confiscation of benami property vesting in the Central Government, prescribes procedures for inquiry, notice, appeal and representation, creates Special Courts for offences, and prescribes penalties and exemptions along with rulemaking and transitional provisions.

Plan Non-Plan neutral appraisal introduced to delegate appraisal authority and mandate outcome evaluation for public expenditure.
Revision of appraisal and approval procedures establishes a Plan Non-Plan neutral appraisal framework with standardized institutional arrangements and formats, distinguishes programme-based schemes from capital projects, prescribes time-bound appraisal to expedite decisions, and delegates appraisal authority to implementing ministries' Standing Finance Committees and Delegated Investment Boards while integrating outcome evaluation into expenditure management.

Combined Annual Return for Central Excise and Service Tax consolidates reporting and reconciliation with financial statements under Form AR.
A common annual return (Form AR) is proposed for Central Excise and Service Tax comprising Part A (general information), Part B (business information) and Part C (detailed reconciliation Annexures 1-7) to reconcile statutory return data with financial statements. The form prescribes valuation, tariff classification, duty/tax particulars, CENVAT credit schedules and supplier lists; filing is required where duty/tax paid exceeds Rs. 2 crores, with certification by an authorized signatory or a Chartered/Cost Accountant depending on higher thresholds.

Demerger scope expanded to include reconstructions after government share transfers, enabling tax neutrality and tariff adjustments.
The Bill enlarges the definition of demerger to include reconstructions or splitting up of companies that ceased to be public sector companies when undertaken to give effect to conditions attached to transfer of government shares and notified conditions; it reduces the qualifying employment-duration requirement under section 80JJAA for apparel manufacturing for additional employee cost deduction, and it raises specified customs tariff rates in Chapters 25 and 68 to the WTO-bound level to permit greater tariff flexibility on certain stone imports.

Unjust enrichment principle: refunds require proof duty incidence was not passed on and strict accounting and documentary evidence.
The circular applies the unjust enrichment test to refunds of excise, service tax and customs duty, presuming incidence is passed on except for exports, export inputs and unspent PLA; claimants must evidence non passing by recording refundable amounts as "Duty Receivable" in Current Assets across relevant financial years, avoid capitalising duty into cost or depreciation, and produce specified documentary and certificate evidence (including supplier and recipient certifications and CENVAT credit reversals). Pre deposits are excluded from this test.