IT infrastructure requirements for ITBA rollout require immediate assessment and consolidated reporting to central systems for implementation.
Field formations must assess and report consolidated infrastructural needs for the Income Tax Business Application, including network nodes, RSA tokens, bandwidth augmentation, desktops and printers per prescribed configurations, prioritising CIT (Appeal) module requirements and using the specified format. Data must be captured via the dedicated ITD application screen (accessible to CsIT(CO) with safeguards against duplicity). Pr. CCITs must nominate nodal officers for each building and designate CIT(CO)/Addl.CIT (Hqrs.) for overall coordination, and submit the consolidated proposal to the Directorate of Systems for implementation.

Paperless PAN and TAN application: digital signature and Aadhaar e-sign enable rapid allotment and reduced duplicate PANs.
Paperless PAN and TAN application processes introduce a DSC-based online application route for company applicants and an Aadhaar e-Signature based process for individual PAN applicants, enabling paperless applications, rapid allotment upon valid online submission, and seeding of Aadhaar with PAN to reduce duplicate PAN issuance.

Excise duty on jewellery: new simplified valuation, collection, exemptions and compliance framework introduced for manufacturers and principal manufacturers
Imposition and procedural framework for central excise on articles of jewellery established a dual duty structure and implementing measures: classification criteria for jewellery and parts, partial exemptions for reconversion and customer provided mounting, an optional collection scheme, valuation rules using first sale value or the sum of additional materials, labour charges and customer provided metal, increased SSI exemption and eligibility thresholds, modified ER 8 return formats, simplified registration, inclusion of principal manufacturers in CENVAT Credit Rules, and circulars guiding audit, export, enforcement and stock treatment.

Insubordination in the civil service flagged as breach of discipline, with officers subject to Conduct Rules and oversight.
A resolution by Indian Revenue Service officers criticising the Department of Revenue is described as insubordination, and participating officers are warned they may be subject to disciplinary action under applicable Conduct Rules. The release emphasises that no department has absolute autonomy and that supervisory powers exist to prevent misuse of power and ensure service accountability.

Mandatory NPS adoption urged to secure employee retirement benefits and guide CABs on registration and operational transition.
PFRDA urged Central Autonomous Bodies that formerly offered contributory Provident Fund to comply with the mandate to migrate to the National Pension System, outlining necessary administrative steps, government notifications, and operational arrangements. Speakers emphasized NPS's architecture, investment pattern, and potential for higher compounded returns versus lump sum superannuation, and called on non participating CABs to register and implement NPS promptly so employees may receive pension benefits.

Approval of UN audit reports confirmed; reports set for presentation to UN General Assembly and governing bodies.
Comptroller and Auditor General participation resulted in approval and signing of eleven United Nations audit reports during the Board of Auditors session in New York; the signed reports-including audits of UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, UN Women, UNOPS and UN Headquarters-are designated for formal transmission and presentation to the General Assembly and other governing bodies.

Bilateral Investment Treaty fosters protection and admission of foreign investments, encouraging increased bilateral investment flows.
The Bilateral Investment Treaty establishes a framework to promote and protect cross border investments by creating mutually favourable conditions for investors, obliging each party to encourage and admit investments in accordance with its domestic laws, and aligning the agreement with the Indian Model BIT to facilitate increased bilateral investment flows.

Foreign investment limit in stock exchanges increased, allowing greater foreign shareholding and initial allotments by portfolio investors.
Approval raised the foreign shareholding ceiling for stock exchanges, depositories, banking companies, insurance companies and commodity derivative exchanges from 5% to 15% and permits foreign portfolio investors to acquire shares via initial allotment as well as the secondary market, aligning foreign shareholding limits with those for domestic institutions and implementing a Budget announcement on FDI policy reforms for market entities.

Pay Revision: Gazette notification implements seventh Pay Commission recommendations and issues Revised Pay Rules to effect pay structure.
The Ministry of Finance issued a Gazette notification implementing the seventh Pay Commission recommendations, referencing the Cabinet resolution and publishing the Revised Pay Rules, 2016 as the regulatory text to effect changes to pay structures and associated administrative application.

Tax on buyback of unlisted shares: draft rules set deduction of original issue proceeds from buyback consideration.
Section 115QA levies additional tax on distributed income from buyback of unlisted shares; the amended definition of distributed income requires reducing buyback consideration by the amount originally received by the company on issue of those shares, to be determined in the prescribed manner. Draft rules prescribing methods for this determination have been published for public and stakeholder comments.

Designated courts for NSEL cases secure exclusive handling and expedite asset recovery and prosecutions processes
Designated judicial allocation and expedited criminal and recovery processes were prioritised to address investor losses arising from the NSEL payment crisis, including nomination of judges and efforts to establish an independent exclusive court; ED filed a PMLA prosecution and investigators were directed to accelerate procedures for conviction and recovery. State measures under the MPID Act were emphasised to expedite asset realisation and refunds, with Maharashtra directed to strengthen EOW, augment designated courts, deploy competent authorities, and pursue auction and refund of attached assets.

Income declaration scheme offers a one time regularisation route requiring tax, surcharge and penalty to declare undisclosed income.
Government strategy to address undisclosed domestic and foreign wealth combines legislative reform, stepped up enforcement and enhanced information exchange. Key actions include enactment of a Black Money law, amendments to money laundering and benami statutes, constitution of investigative bodies (SIT, MAG), IT enabled intelligence (Project Insight), treaty renegotiation and participation in automatic exchange frameworks. Enforcement through searches, surveys and prosecutions has substantially increased detections, while the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 offers a time limited window for taxpayers to declare and regularise undisclosed income by paying tax, surcharge and penalty.

PAN linkage for high-value transactions: recipients can electronically link or deny transactions via unique transaction reference.
Income-tax authorities will issue letters to parties in identified high-risk high-value non-PAN transactions reported under Annual Information Returns, requesting them to furnish or link their PAN. Recipients receive a Unique Transaction Sequence Number and may use a new e-filing function to own up a transaction and link it with their PAN or deny it; online responses will be examined and further action taken where replies are not received.

Sustainable infrastructure finance urged as New Development Bank to prioritise energy, transport and urban projects and accelerate operations.
The First Annual Meeting of the New Development Bank affirmed operational policies, project approvals and a Green Bonds issuance, designated India as Board Chair with the next Annual Meeting in India, and urged the Bank to prioritise financing demonstrable sustainable infrastructure projects-notably energy, transport and urban sectors-using innovative instruments and rapid, flexible responses. The statement links the Bank's catalytic role to supporting resilient, inclusive growth amid global economic headwinds and highlights India's complementary structural reforms, including a National Infrastructure Investment Fund and an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Startup tax exemption under Finance Act provides temporary income-tax relief for eligible newly incorporated startups meeting recognition criteria.
Recognition and eligibility for Startup India benefits are administered by DIPP through the Startup India portal and an Inter Ministerial Board issuing Certificates of Recognition and Certificates of Eligibility; the Startup India Hub provides handholding and facilitation, incubators and recognized bodies assist assessment, and a government-managed Fund of Funds and Finance Act, 2016 tax provisions (Section 80-IAC) deliver investment and time-limited income-tax relief for eligible newly incorporated startups, alongside IPR facilitation and regulatory relaxations.

Black money legislation prompts automatic information exchange and strengthened sanctions to target undisclosed foreign assets.
India relies on bilateral and multilateral tax treaty networks, the Common Reporting Standard and the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for automatic exchange of financial information, while the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 establishes specific offences, enhanced penalties and treats willful evasion in relation to foreign assets as a Scheduled Offence under the Prevention of Money laundering Act, thereby enabling attachment and confiscation alongside complementary treaty renegotiation, FATCA cooperation and domestic enforcement measures.

Undisclosed foreign assets as a scheduled offence under PMLA enables attachment and confiscation to strengthen asset recovery.
The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 establishes enhanced tax, penalty and prosecution measures for undisclosed foreign income and assets and classifies willful attempts to evade tax on such assets as a Scheduled Offence under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, enabling attachment and confiscation of proceeds of that conduct. The Act commenced on 01.07.2015 and included a one-time compliance window for disclosure, during which taxpayers regularised offshore assets by paying tax and penalty.

Black money abroad: strengthened law, enforcement and international information exchange to identify undisclosed foreign assets.
Measures to address undisclosed foreign assets combine a specialised statute, strengthened enforcement and asset confiscation powers, and enhanced international information exchange. Institutional steps include multi agency investigation teams, capacity building and IT based data mining, renegotiation and expansion of DTAAs/TIEAs to international standards, participation in the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for Automatic Exchange of Information and FATCA arrangements to obtain foreign financial account information for enforcement and recovery.

Data-driven tax compliance platform expands automated information exchange and reporting oversight under FATCA and CRS frameworks.
The Income Tax Department contracted L & T Infotech Ltd to implement Project Insight, a multi phase IT platform to centralize taxpayer databases for data mining and targeted analytics to widen the tax base and detect non compliance. The platform will support automated third party reporting oversight, quality controls, and a streamlined data exchange with government and international partners to implement FATCA IGA and CRS reporting. A Compliance Management Centralized Processing Centre (CMCPC) will handle preliminary verification, campaign management, bulk letters/notices and follow up, and enable online resolution of simple compliance issues.

Advance Pricing Agreements provide transfer pricing certainty as unilateral APAs with rollback provisions were concluded to reduce disputes.
Seven Advance Pricing Agreements, largely unilateral and some with Rollback provisions, were concluded under the APA Scheme (introduced 2012; rollback rules 2014) to pre determine transfer pricing methods and prices for specified international transactions. The agreements cover sectors including banking, IT and automotives and transaction types such as software development, ITeS (BPO), engineering design and administrative and business support services. The CBDT reports a cumulative total of 77 APAs (74 unilateral, 3 bilateral) and continued uptake of the mechanism to support a non adversarial tax regime.