Simplification of income tax return forms for non-business individuals reduces main form length and shifts detailed computation to schedules.
ITR forms for individuals and HUFs without business or professional income have been simplified by shortening ITR Form Nos. 2 and 2A and moving computation-relevant details into schedules to be filled only if applicable; PAN allotment is effected through manual and online applications via designated service providers while the Department pursues ongoing technological improvements.

Interoperable cash deposit approved in principle subject to conditions, with a pilot to follow after final clearance.
In-principle approval has been granted for an Interoperable Cash Deposit facility within the National Finance Switch, subject to regulatory conditions; participating banks would accept deposits for other banks via Cash Deposit Machines with a per-transaction cap, and a pilot rollout is planned after final clearance.

Corporate agent regulation: revised exposure draft declines to impose sales limits on banks distributing insurance products.
The Authority treated corporate agents as insurance intermediaries after the statutory amendment and issued an initial exposure draft followed by a revised second exposure draft responding to stakeholder comments. The revised second exposure draft clarifies that the Authority does not mandate percentage limits on banks selling insurance products, signalling a regulatory approach that refrains from imposing numerical caps on bank distribution while framing rules for corporate agents.

CPI-Combined inflation measure set as monetary policy target, while wholesale prices remain in decline.
Wholesale price inflation became negative from November 2014 due to declines across major commodity groups. India measures inflation by WPI and multiple CPIs; under the Government-RBI Monetary Policy Framework the CPI-Combined is the sole inflation measure for monetary policy and defines the price stability objective.

Semi-closed prepaid payment instruments for mass transit enable operator-issued reloadable cards with restricted merchant use and no cash-out.
A new category of semi-closed Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) allows authorized mass transit system operators to issue reloadable PPIs that include Automated Fare Collection, are usable only within the transit system and allied on-premises merchants, require issuer-led merchant onboarding under standard due-diligence, carry minimum six months' validity, permit issuer-determined KYC, prohibit cash-out or refunds, exclude Domestic Money Transfer applicability, cap stored value at Rs. 2000, and remain subject to existing escrow, grievance redressal, reporting and MIS requirements.

Financial Redress Agency design to centralize consumer grievance redress and set institutional, funding and accountability frameworks.
A Task Force has been constituted to operationalise a Financial Redress Agency by reviewing international and Indian practices of consumer grievance redress in the financial sector and by supporting the Ministry of Finance in procuring and supervising consultants to design the FRA's business model, funding, financial controls, risk management, administration, process manuals, IT systems, and accountability and reporting mechanisms, with completion of its work within one year.

Gold Deposit Scheme enables bank-held gold deposits with repayment in gold or rupee equivalent and tax-exempt interest.
The Gold Deposit Scheme permits designated banks, under RBI guidelines, to accept gold in scrap form from resident Indians and issue a passbook or certificate; deposits earn bank-fixed interest, have defined maturities, and allow repayment in gold or a rupee equivalent at maturity or premature encashment after an initial lock-in period. Mobilised gold is used as loans to the jewellery industry, and interest is exempt from Income Tax, Wealth Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

Customs duty exemption for bunker fuels in Indian-flag vessels fosters Indian tonnage growth, with noted revenue impact.
A targeted Customs and Excise Duty exemption applies to IFO 180 CST and IFO 380 CST used in Indian-flag vessels transporting EXIM and empty containers between Indian ports, effected by Notifications No. 31/2014 (Customs) and No. 21/2014 (Central Excise), with an estimated annual revenue implication noted; separately, no proposal exists to change customs duty rules for gold brought by arriving air passengers.

Senior Citizens Welfare Fund Act creates a dedicated fund for elderly welfare with rules currently under preparation.
Public Sector General Insurance Companies offer senior specific policies such as Varishtha Bima Yojana, HOPE and Senior Citizens Mediclaim Policy for entry ages 60-80 with renewals available for life; the Senior Citizens Welfare Fund Act was enacted alongside the Finance Act and scheme rules are under preparation to operationalise a dedicated welfare fund from certain unclaimed amounts.

Beneficial ownership transparency: require individual KYC for offshore instruments to prevent laundering through market and corporate channels.
The note identifies market and non-market mechanisms laundering unaccounted wealth-artificially inflated scrips to convert sale proceeds into tax-exempt capital gains, opaque Offshore Derivative Instruments/Participatory Notes lacking final beneficial owner KYC, and shell companies providing accommodation entries-and recommends enhanced surveillance, mandatory individual beneficial ownership disclosure to regulators, data-mining of corporate filings for red flags, inter-agency information sharing, and referrals to fraud and money-laundering authorities where predicate offences are established.

Tariff value of gold notified; customs notification substitutes tariff tables and fixes valuation for precious metal imports.
The customs authority amends an earlier notification by substituting TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 to set commodity-specific tariff values; most values are unchanged, and the amendment explicitly fixes tariff values for gold and silver for import consignments to which specified notification benefits apply.

Indian Financial Code reform opens public consultation; stakeholders invited to comment on revised draft and regulatory changes.
The Revised Draft Indian Financial Code is hosted on the Ministry of Finance website for public consultation. It incorporates modifications responding to stakeholder comments and subsequent enactments, notably strengthening regulatory accountability, removing FSAT review powers over regulations and specified operational matters, adjusting the Monetary Policy Committee framework, and addressing regulation of systemically important payment systems. Stakeholders are requested to submit comments by the specified deadline via the dedicated email or by hard copy to the FSLRC Division, Department of Economic Affairs.

eBiz service integration expands single window access to central government corporate registrations and tax and employer enrolments.
Integration of central government services into the eBiz portal creates a single window electronic mechanism for business registrations and regulatory filings, bringing specified services-such as name reservation, incorporation, director identification, tax identifier issuance, employer registrations, import/export licensing and safety permits-online and providing a Composite Application Form with one time payment for simultaneous company incorporation, tax identifiers and employer registrations.

Electronic verification of income-tax returns enabled - Internet banking, Aadhaar authentication, EVC and digital signatures permitted for e-filed returns.
Electronic verification of income-tax returns for A.Y. 2015-16 permits verification by Internet banking or Aadhaar-based authentication; eligible small taxpayers without refund claims may obtain an Electronic Verification Code on the e-filing portal sent to their registered email and mobile, avoiding submission of the signed paper ITR-V; Digital Signature Certificates, including electronic signatures, may also be used to verify e-filed returns.

Central Sales Tax compensation: government released funds for prior year and will release outstanding claims in upcoming fiscal years.
Provision for Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation: the Central Government allocated funds in the 2014-15 budget and released Rs. 10724.08 crore to States/UTs towards the balance for 2010-11; outstanding State claims for 2011-12 and 2012-13 are likely to be released in financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively.

Tariff value revision for specified edible oils, metals and agricultural commodities updates customs valuation and import assessment rules.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, invoking section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, has amended Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.) by substituting TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 to set specified tariff values in US dollars for listed imported commodities, including palm oils, palmolein variants, crude soyabean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and valuation units for gold and silver where concession entries are availed.

Electronic verification of income tax returns permitted via internet banking, Aadhaar or EVC, avoiding the need to mail a signed ITR V.
Electronic verification of income tax returns is enabled through internet banking or Aadhaar authentication, and an Electronic Verification Code (EVC) generated via the e filing portal may be used to verify returns without submitting a signed ITR V; taxpayers unable to e verify may instead send a signed ITR V to CPC Bengaluru within the prescribed 120 day period, with procedural details set out in the department notification.

Universal social security expanded through new insurance and pension schemes, increasing coverage and consolidation under one roof.
The Government is advancing universal social security by promoting three flagship schemes-PMSBY, PMJJBY and APY-to extend accidental, life and pension protections through banking channels and micro financial products, with significant early enrolments, operational metrics (card issuance, claim settlements, PRAN issuance and corpus accumulation) reported and plans to consolidate schemes across departments to improve coordination and broaden coverage.

FATCA implementation enables automatic cross border reporting of foreign financial accounts to deter offshore tax evasion.
An Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and the United States implements the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) by requiring Indian financial institutions to identify and report U.S. account holders to the Indian government for transmission to the U.S. tax authority, with reciprocal reporting on Indian account holders in the United States; the mechanism complements U.S. withholding on non cooperative foreign financial institutions and aims to enable automatic exchange of offshore account information.

Liberalised Remittance Scheme allows resident individuals annual outward remittances for permitted current and capital transactions subject to compliance.
The Liberalised Remittance Scheme permits resident individuals to remit funds abroad for permissible current and specified capital account transactions within an annual ceiling, covering travel, education, medical treatment, gifts, maintenance, emigration expenses and select overseas investments. Prohibited remittances and transfers to high risk jurisdictions remain barred. Remitters must submit prescribed declarations and Form A2; Authorised Dealers must perform due diligence, verify genuineness, obtain supporting documentation for capital transactions, comply with KYC/AML norms, and report remittances in prescribed returns.