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.

Direct tax collections show significant year-on-year growth and increased refunds issued, altering net revenue composition.
Direct Tax Collections to July 2016 record net revenue of 1.59 lakh crore, a 24.01% year on year increase and equating to 18.82% of FY 2016-17 Budget Estimates; refunds of 64,181 crore were issued during April-July 2016, 10.43% higher than the prior year.

Electronic tax filing adoption rises sharply, boosting e-verification uptake and accelerating automated refund processing for taxpayers.
Surging adoption of Electronic filing for FY 2016-17 recorded markedly higher e-returns versus the prior year, with substantial uptake of e-verification methods including Aadhaar-based verification and digital signatures enabling full electronic completion of return submission. The Department encourages use of e-verification in lieu of postal verification forms and reports accelerated refund processing by the Centralised Processing Centre as part of service improvements and efforts to promote voluntary compliance.

Counterfeit currency prevention strengthened via interagency coordination, enhanced banknote security features and revised numbering pattern.
A government-supported study estimated the face value of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in circulation at about Rs. 400 crores and NCRB data provided annual counts of seized and recovered notes by denomination. The Government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, decides banknote design and security features and has created a Director General post in the Directorate of Currency. To combat counterfeiting, central ministries, RBI and security agencies coordinate via an FICN Coordination Group for intelligence sharing; the RBI has implemented public-awareness, training, reporting measures and a revised numbering pattern across denominations.

Financial inclusion expands formal savings channels and government schemes aim to shift household saving from physical to financial assets.
A major survey found many working age Indians have not started or face difficulty saving for retirement, while National Accounts show household saving is weighted toward physical assets like bullion and ornaments due to limited access to formal financial channels and inflation. To increase financial savings and inclusion, the government has expanded formal access through a large financial inclusion account drive, relaunched targeted savings schemes, provided tax deductions and pension incentives, and relied on postal and other delivery channels alongside employment boosting initiatives to encourage saving in financial assets.

Computation of book profit: phased inclusion of retained earnings transition adjustments to mitigate one time impact for Ind AS adopters.
Framework sets principles for computing book profit for MAT on first-time Ind AS adoption: retained earnings adjustments arising on transition for PPE and intangibles are to be ignored for book profit and related depreciation and disposal gains/losses; retained earnings adjustments from lease transition and from fair-value-through-profit-or-loss financial instruments are to be included in book profit spread over a three-year period starting from the year of adoption.

Advance Pricing Agreement provides transfer pricing certainty as CBDT signs bilateral APA with rollback provision.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes executed a Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement with an Indian subsidiary of a Japanese trading company-the Board's fourth bilateral APA and the first with a Rollback provision for a Japanese enterprise-intended to provide transfer pricing certainty and assist dispute resolution by specifying pricing methods and fixing prices prospectively under the APA Scheme introduced in 2012 with Rollback added in 2014.

Benami property prohibition: statutory attachment, adjudication and confiscation regime with criminal sanctions and appellate review.
The Act expands the prohibition of benami transactions with an inclusive statutory definition and creates a specialised enforcement framework: Initiating Officers, Approving Authorities, Adjudicating Authorities, an Appellate Tribunal and Administrators. Authorities have civil-court-like discovery and compulsion powers, may provisionally attach property, refer cases to Adjudicating Authorities for adjudication and, upon confirmation, effect confiscation vesting absolute title in the Central Government. The statute prescribes procedures for notice, attachment, appeal, management and disposal of confiscated property, penalties for benami dealings and false information, and establishes Special Courts and appellate review.

Tax incentives for industry and commerce reported with revenue impact figures while no sector wise beneficiary data or outcome assessment exists.
Tax incentives under the Income-tax Act and customs/excise law provide exemptions, deductions and special rates to promote exports, regional development, infrastructure, employment, charity, research and the cooperative sector. The Press Release reports cumulative revenue-impact figures for corporate and personal income tax and for customs and excise duty over five financial years, states no sector-wise beneficiary data is maintained while section-wise impacts are presented in the Statement of Revenue Impact of Tax Incentives, and notes no quantitative outcome assessment of these reliefs has been performed.

Infrastructure investment measures expand financing instruments and regulatory relaxations to attract long term capital into projects.
To deepen long term financing, policy tools and market vehicles promoted include Infrastructure Debt Funds, REITs/InVITs, the National Infrastructure Investment Fund, framed municipal bond issuance, tax favoured bond mechanisms, tax pass through for securitisation trusts, extended long tenors and take out finance, flexible refinancing, higher credit exposure limits, and amended investment norms for institutional investors to broaden eligible capital sources.

Extension of income tax return due date for Jammu & Kashmir assessees under Section 139(1) via Section 119.
Extension of the due date for filing income-tax returns is granted under Section 119 to provide administrative relief to assessees in Jammu & Kashmir obligated to file returns under Section 139(1), postponing the original filing deadline by one month owing to reported dislocation of general life in certain areas.

Return filing deadline extension provides administrative relief to taxpayers facing bank service disruptions and coincident bank holidays.
An extension of due date for filing income tax returns for assessment year 2016 2017 postpones the statutory deadline from the original late July date to a later early August date to accommodate taxpayers unable to make payments or file on time due to reported banking service disruptions and coincident bank holidays, providing administrative relief to facilitate compliance with filing and payment obligations.

Tariff value update: customs tariff values for edible oils, metals and agricultural commodities revised, affecting import valuation.
Central Board of Excise & Customs amends Notification No. 36/2001-Customs by substituting TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 to prescribe revised tariff values for specified imports, including crude palm oil and other edible oils, crude soybean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and per-unit tariff values for gold and silver where notification benefits are availed.