Long-term government bond issuance with extended maturity proposed to meet insurers' and provident funds' long term liability hedging demand.
Proposal to introduce a 40-year maturity bond to lengthen the government debt portfolio and limit rollover risk, responding to demand from insurance companies and provident funds for instruments to hedge long-term liabilities; initial issuance will be small to gauge market appetite and may be adjusted based on experience.

Tax deduction for dependants with disability increased to strengthen relief and cover rising medical and care expenses.
Section 80DD grants residents-individuals and Hindu undivided families-a deduction where they incur medical, training or rehabilitation expenditure for a dependant with disability or pay premiums for an insurer maintenance scheme; it distinguishes between disability and severe disability and defines "dependant" by familial relation and financial dependence. The Finance Bill, 2015 proposes to raise the statutory deduction ceilings for both disability categories to address increased care and medical costs, while preserving the alternative of insurer-paid maintenance schemes as qualifying for deduction.

Basic customs duty on imported steel can be raised under WTO bound rates to address dumping concerns.
Imposition of higher basic customs duty on imported steel was sought to counter alleged dumping; WTO bound rates set the permissible ceiling for duties on iron and steel. The Government noted that the bound rate for the tariff chapter covering iron and steel comprises specified ceiling figures, and that a recent Budget increased the scheduled basic customs duty rate for iron and steel items while leaving the effective applied rates unchanged. This position was stated by the Ministry of Finance in response to a parliamentary question.

Investor protection framework: draft rules for fund authority and reporting regulator published, notification expected while tribunal-dependent sections await resolution.
The provisions establishing the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority and the National Financial Reporting Authority remain unnotified; draft rules have been published for comment and consultations undertaken on accounting and refund procedures, with notification expected. Other investor-protection measures such as independent directors, board committees, small-shareholder representation, and related-party transaction rules have been notified, while sections contingent on the National Company Law Tribunal remain unnotified pending litigation.

Tax free infrastructure bonds permitted for NHAI, providing income tax exemption under the applicable income tax provision for investors.
Authorization permits the issuer to issue Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds and Capital Gain Tax Exemption Bonds in the financial year, with in principle approval from the Ministry of Finance for the tax free infrastructure bonds and tax treatment identified under the relevant income tax provision.

Easy tax compliance through integrated e governance streamlines electronic filing, processing and refund delivery for taxpayers.
The Income Tax Department implemented an integrated e governance architecture-including the Tax Information Network, e filing portal, centralized processing for TDS and returns, and a refund banker-to deliver end to end electronic services that simplify compliance and promote uniform interpretation, accessibility, good governance and taxpayer empowerment under the USAGE principles.

Non-performing assets review convened to coordinate banks and ministries on retrieving stressed infrastructure projects and seek RBI support.
The Ministry of Finance will convene CMDs of Public Sector Banks for a case-by-case review of major road, power, steel and shipping projects to identify problems faced by promoters and banks in retrieval and to frame remedial measures; the meeting aims to crystallise actions required of banks, the Ministry and concerned Central Ministries and to determine support expected from RBI.

Legal tender status granted to commemorative coins marking Gandhi centenary; coins will enter general circulation.
Government-minted commemorative 10 denomination coins for the Gandhi centenary will be circulated by the Reserve Bank; design details are published in the Gazette of India and the coins are declared legal tender under the Coinage Act 2011, with existing coins of the same denomination remaining legal tender.

Stakeholder engagement on tax laws: industry invited to submit views and meet High Level Committee for tax-law consultation.
A government-appointed High Level Committee has been constituted to engage with trade and industry on tax laws and to receive representations, suggestions and oral submissions from entities, associations, federations and other stakeholders; requests for interaction are to be sent to the Chairman's Sr. Private Secretary by the specified email or postal address, and the Committee operates from the stated office during published working hours.

Tariff value revision for specified imported commodities under Customs Act sets new declared rates for listed oils, metals, and seeds.
An amendment under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) to fix declared tariff values. The substituted tables specify US dollar tariff values per metric tonne for crude palm oil, RBD palm oil, palmolein variants, crude soyabean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nuts, and unit tariff values for gold and silver where notification benefits are availed, establishing the schedule for customs valuation of those imported goods.

Government securities auction using multiple price method with electronic bidding, non-competitive allocation and when-issued trading eligibility.
Re-issue auctions of multiple Central Government stocks will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India using a multiple price method with electronic bid submission via E-Kuber; non-competitive bids and competitive bids have distinct submission windows, up to 5% of notified amounts are reserved for eligible individuals and institutions under the non-competitive scheme, auction results and payment dates are scheduled after the auction, and the stocks will be eligible for When Issued trading under RBI guidelines.

Repayment of Government Stock requires bank account details or physical surrender for electronic credit to receive maturity proceeds.
Payment of maturity proceeds to registered holders of Government Securities held in Subsidiary General Ledger, Constituent Subsidiary General Ledger or Stock Certificate form must be made by pay order with bank account particulars or by credit through electronic means; holders must submit bank particulars well in advance or, absent those particulars, tender duly discharged securities at designated paying offices twenty days before the due date to facilitate repayment.

Provision recognition criteria for tax purposes clarified; contingent liabilities not recognised while contingent assets recognised when inflow is reasonably certain.
ICDS X sets tax accounting rules for provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets. Provisions require a present obligation from past events, reasonable certainty of outflow, and a reliable estimate; contingent liabilities are not recognised; contingent assets are recognised only when inflow of economic benefit is reasonably certain. Measurement must reflect the best estimate and not be discounted; reimbursements are recognised when reasonably certain and limited to the provision's value. Year end reviews mandate adjustments or reversals as necessary, use of provisions is restricted to original purposes, and specific disclosures are required for each class of provision and recognised assets and related income.

Auditor reporting obligations require disclosure of asset verification, inventory, related-party loans, internal controls, statutory compliance and fraud.
Annexure to the auditor's report under CARO 2015 requires auditors to report on whether fixed assets and inventory are properly recorded and physically verified, note material discrepancies and their accounting treatment, disclose loans to parties in the register under section 189 including receipt and recovery of principal and interest, assess adequacy of internal controls for purchases, sales and assets, report compliance with deposit and statutory provisions, maintenance of cost records, defaults to financial creditors, guarantees prejudicial to company interests, proper application of term loans, accumulated losses and cash losses, and any fraud noticed with its nature and amount.

Borrowing costs capitalisation required for qualifying assets; formula provided for general borrowings; disclosure mandated under ICDS IX for tax computation
Borrowing costs directly attributable to acquisition, construction or production of qualifying assets must be capitalised; specifically associated borrowings capitalise actual costs, while general borrowings are capitalised using the formula A*B/C (A: general borrowing cost for the year; B: average cost of qualifying assets at period start and end; C: average cost of total assets at those dates). Commencement of capitalisation varies by whether borrowings are specific or general and by asset type. Disclose accounting policy and amount capitalised.

Valuation of securities under ICDS: stock-in-trade measured at actual cost or net realizable value with FIFO method.
ICDS VIII requires securities held as stock in trade to be recognised and initially measured at actual cost (purchase price plus acquisition costs); exchanges use fair value as cost and accrued pre-acquisition interest is deducted. At year end securities are measured at the lower of actual cost and net realizable value by specified categories, cost calculated using FIFO; unlisted or irregularly quoted listed securities are valued at actual cost and opening balances mirror prior year closing.

Government grants recognition and treatment: rules for allocation, timing, refunds and disclosure under accounting standards.
ICDS VII governs tax accounting for government grants for mercantile assessees: recognition requires reasonable assurance of compliance and receipt and must not occur after realisation. Grants tied to depreciable assets are deducted from asset cost or asset block; grants for non depreciable assets or obligations are recognised as income over the period matching related costs; proportionate grants not tied to a specific asset are allocated to reference assets; grants compensating past losses are recognised when receivable; non monetary grants are recognised at acquisition cost. Refunds offset unamortised deferred credits or charge profit and loss, while refunds for depreciable assets increase asset cost/WDV prospectively. Disclosures must state the nature, extent and treatment of grants and reasons.

Foreign exchange rate effects: rules for recognition, translation and treatment of exchange differences and forward contracts.
ICDS VI prescribes that foreign currency transactions be initially recorded at the transaction rate (or an appropriate average rate); monetary items be translated at the closing rate and non monetary items at transaction date rates; exchange differences on monetary items be recognised in profit and loss while those on non monetary items are not; foreign operations are classified as integral or non integral with differing translation methods; and forward contract premiums or discounts at inception be amortised with exchange differences and profits or losses on cancellation recognised in the period of occurrence.

Tangible Fixed Assets accounting clarifies cost components, capitalisation rules, treatment of spares and disclosure obligations.
The standard for Tangible Fixed Assets prescribes recognition, measurement and measurement components: Actual Cost includes purchase price, import duties and directly attributable expenditures net of trade discounts and recoverable taxes; standby and servicing equipment must be capitalised; routine spares expensed on consumption except irregular use spares; non asset specific overheads excluded; startup and pre commercial expenses capitalised while post commercial expenses charged to revenue; self constructed assets follow same principles with elimination of internal profits; assets acquired in exchange measured at fair value.

Revenue recognition under ICDS requires transfer of risks and rewards for goods and percentage completion for services.
ICDS IV prescribes revenue recognition for ordinary activities including sale of goods, services, interest, royalties and dividends. Sales revenue is recognised when goods and significant risks and rewards transfer and collection is reasonably certain; price escalations and export incentives are recognised only on reasonable certainty of collection. Services revenue is recognised by the percentage completion method with construction-contract principles applied mutatis mutandis. Interest is recognised on a time basis, discount or premium on debt securities is amortised over maturity, royalties accrue as per agreement terms, and dividends follow tax law. Detailed disclosures are required.