Performance incentive awards recognise innovation in tax administration and reinforce tech-driven faceless assessment and grievance focus.
The Finance Minister's Award scheme operates as a performance incentive recognising officers for innovative contributions to direct tax administration after a multi-layered selection process assessing quality and service standards. The Department emphasises technology-including a faceless system and artificial intelligence-to achieve non-discretionary tax collection, improve voluntary compliance and enhance taxpayer services. Operational priorities directed by the Finance Minister include expedited returns processing, faster refunds issuance and strengthened grievance redressal, reinforced by capacity building and a dedicated grievance-disposal week to accelerate resolutions.

Illicit cannabis eradication led by intelligence-driven enforcement and community mobilisation, resulting in large-scale destruction of plantations
CBN executed an intelligence led destruction operation that verified illicit cannabis cultivation through field surveys, used GPS tagging and drone surveillance, and mobilised multiple CBN teams with DRI and local agency support to physically destroy 1,032 hectares of illicit cannabis in difficult high altitude terrain, while combining enforcement with village sensitisation and legal awareness to secure local cooperation.

Compounding of offences under the Income-tax Act: expanded eligibility, simplified procedure, fee caps and reduced penal interest.
Revised guidelines broaden eligibility and simplify procedures for compounding of offences under the Income-tax Act by designating additional offences as compoundable, relaxing exclusions for prior short-term imprisonment, restricting authority discretion, extending the filing window for compounding applications, prescribing specific upper limits on compounding fees, and reducing penal interest-based compounding charges.

Direct tax collection growth signals fiscal recovery with higher refunds issued and accelerated return processing.
Gross and net direct tax receipts rose significantly year on year, with gross collections up thirty percent and net collections up twenty three percent, driven by Corporation Tax and Personal Income Tax and by increases in Advance Tax, TDS, self assessment and regular assessment receipts. Cumulative Advance Tax for the first two quarters grew relative to the prior period.

Compounding of tax offences: discretionary framework, eligibility requirements, exclusions, procedure, and detailed fee formulas.
Guidelines create a discretionary administrative framework for compounding offences under Chapter XXII of the Income-tax Act by specified senior authorities, classify offences into Category A (technical omissions) and Category B (non-technical commissions), set eligibility conditions including payment of outstanding tax, interest and penalty and withdrawal of related appeals, list exclusions (e.g., IPC prosecutions, foreign assets, benami, repeat offenders), and prescribe detailed procedural steps and compounding charges computed by offence-specific formulas, with provisions for jurisdictional competence, timelines, interest on delayed payments, co-accused treatment, and limited relaxation mechanisms.

Public Private Partnership reforms to attract private investment after stakeholder workshop and government commitment to support implementation.
Strengthening the PPP ecosystem to mobilise private investment and expertise in public infrastructure by soliciting stakeholder inputs on barriers to PPP project structuring and execution across Health, Education and Sports, Water Supply and Municipal Solid Waste Management, Urban Transport, Roads and Airports. Private participants and Project Sponsoring Authorities presented constraints and successful PPP examples, while senior ministry officials committed government support to overcome implementation challenges, aiming to improve bankability, risk allocation, and procurement in PPP projects.

Financial stability monitoring emphasised continuous surveillance and coordinated measures to mitigate systemic risks.
Financial stability monitoring and preparedness were central, emphasising continuous surveillance of early warning indicators, financial sector risks and market developments to enable timely regulatory and governmental action to mitigate vulnerabilities; discussions also covered enhancements to Financial/Credit Information Systems, governance in systemically important institutions and market infrastructures, cyber security strengthening, Common KYC, Account Aggregator progress, power sector financing, and the strategic role and inter-regulatory issues of the GIFT IFSC.

Direct tax collections show strong year on year growth, with higher refunds and differing corporate versus personal tax trends.
Direct Tax collections for FY 2022-23 up to 8 September 2022 are provisionally reported as substantially higher year on year, with gross and net receipts both growing and refunds issued during April-September materially exceeding prior year levels; net collections represent a specified share of the Budget Estimates. Corporate Income Tax and Personal Income Tax (including securities transaction tax) show distinct growth rates in gross receipts and different net growth profiles after refund adjustments.

Illegal loan apps crackdown: regulators will whitelist legal apps, bar unregistered aggregators and monitor mule accounts.
To counter illegal loan apps, the RBI will prepare a whitelist of legitimate apps and monitor mule/rented accounts and dormant NBFCs; MeitY will restrict app store hosting to the whitelist; payment aggregator registration will be completed within a timeframe and unregistered aggregators prohibited; corporate authorities will identify and de register shell companies; cyber awareness will be increased for stakeholders; and all ministries/agencies will act, with the Ministry of Finance monitoring compliance.

Search and seizure operations uncover alleged tax-evasion schemes, bogus loans and undisclosed receipts, prompting ongoing investigations.
Search and seizure operations across two business groups uncovered documentary and digital evidence of systematic tax-evasion mechanisms, including unaccounted cash sales recorded as unsecured loans, admissions by lenders and promoters, records of capital gains by a non-filer corporate, undisclosed cash receipts in healthcare and education operations, and evidence of bogus expenses and contractual payments; investigations and enforcement actions under tax laws are ongoing.

Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant distributed via sixth monthly instalment under Fifteenth Finance Commission recommendations, advancing state revenue support.
The Department of Expenditure released the sixth monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to 14 States per the Fifteenth Finance Commission recommendations; grants under Article 275 are paid in 12 equal instalments to address assessed gaps between State revenue and expenditure after accounting for devolution, with cumulative disbursements for the financial year now at roughly half the recommended annual allocation.

Professional Ambassadorship: Chartered Accountants urged to promote Brand India globally and develop international firms as partners.
Chartered Accountants are urged to act as ambassadors of Brand India by promoting Indian goods and presenting investment opportunities to international clients, while ICAI and its members are encouraged to develop global partnerships, open international offices, and leverage professional integrity to support national economic objectives.

External debt composition shows dollar dominance and rising commercial borrowings, affecting debt sustainability indicators in latest report.
The Status Report details India's external debt level, currency and instrument composition, and recent shifts in sources: US dollar dominance, long term debt predominance, and significant roles for commercial borrowings, NRI deposits, short term trade credit and multilateral loans. Sovereign debt rose due to increased Special Drawing Rights allocations, while non sovereign debt growth was led by commercial borrowings and trade credit. Debt sustainability metrics improved: external debt to GDP eased, reserve coverage remained high, and the debt service ratio fell with projected declines in future debt service obligations.

Search and seizure uncovers large-scale use of accommodation entries and unaccounted income in manufacturing group.
Search and seizure across 28 premises uncovered booking of bogus expenditure, undisclosed cash sales, use of unaccounted cash for immovable property and loans, and extensive accommodation entries routed through shell companies that returned funds as share capital and unsecured loans; preliminary findings show detection of substantial unaccounted income and further investigation is ongoing.