FEMA contravention notices and PMLA referrals prompt enforcement and RBI compounding for procedural breaches excluding core violations.
Directorate of Enforcement issued Show Cause Notices for alleged contraventions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 with related prima facie money laundering registrations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. RBI entertains compounding applications for admitted procedural FEMA contraventions except those under Section 3(a), and the government reported numbers of such applications for the cited periods. Penalties prescribed by law are not indexed to price rise.

Asset Liability Management framework: insurers must adopt board approved ALM policies addressing asset-liability relationships, risk tolerance and solvency.
A uniform reporting framework requires every insurer to maintain an Asset Liability Management (ALM) policy approved by the insurer's Board, addressing asset-liability relationships, risk tolerance, risk-return objectives, solvency position and liquidity requirements, and incorporating mechanisms for monitoring and managing asset-liability mismatches.

Preferential trade agreement expansion pursued, aiming toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and negotiation of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
Expansion of the existing Preferential Trade Agreement is advanced and its finalisation is imminent pending domestic approvals; both sides agreed to pursue a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and to expedite statutory approvals. The Ministers also sought signature of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and urged liberalisation of business visa procedures, including consideration of long term multi entry visas to facilitate increased trade and investment.

Auction for Sale of Government Stocks: uniform price auctions with competitive and non competitive electronic bidding, RBI to conduct settlement.
A re-issue auction of specified Government stocks will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India using the uniform price method; a limited portion of each notified amount is reserved under the Non-Competitive Bidding Facility. Competitive and non-competitive bids must be submitted electronically on the Negotiated Dealing System within prescribed time windows. Auction results and payment will follow the announced timetable, and the Stocks are eligible for When Issued trading under RBI guidelines.

Maturity repayment procedures for government securities require bank account mandates for electronic credit; alternative tendering at paying offices permitted.
Maturity repayment of government securities stops interest from the specified due dates and must be effected on those dates, with repayment advanced to the previous working day if a state-declared holiday intervenes. Payment to registered holders in book-entry or certificate form is by pay order incorporating bank particulars or by electronic credit to a bank account capable of receiving funds; holders must submit such bank particulars or mandates in advance. Absent those particulars, holders may tender duly discharged securities at designated paying offices a stated number of days before maturity to obtain repayment.

Fiscal consolidation to restore investor confidence while aligning policy to moderate inflation and accelerate investment growth.
The government will pursue a coordinated fiscal consolidation path shared equitably across stakeholders while protecting the poor, align fiscal and monetary policy to achieve price stability, remove supply side constraints to moderate food inflation, and take calibrated steps to ease high interest rates to stimulate investment. It will promote investment by improving policy communication, expediting foreign investment proposals, encouraging corporate investment, reforming tax laws and dispute resolution, reviewing retrospective tax provisions, and accelerating infrastructure project implementation to remove bottlenecks.

Electronic filing exemption for agents of non residents and private discretionary trusts to address software incompatibilities.
The tax administration exempted representative assessees acting for non residents and private discretionary trusts from the requirement to electronically furnish the return of income for the specified assessment year, as the existing e filing software cannot accommodate multiple agents for a non resident or accept private discretionary trusts filing in the status of an individual.

Double taxation avoidance: revised agreement grants source-state rights on share capital gains and narrows source tax rates.
The revised treaty allocates source-state taxation for capital gains on alienation of company shares, rationalises withholding tax treatment on dividends, royalties and fees for technical services at a capped rate, enhances exchange of information including banking data and sharing without domestic tax interest, provides for mutual assistance in tax collection, and incorporates Limitation of Benefits and anti-abuse provisions to ensure benefits are limited to genuine residents.

E filing exemption: agents of non-residents and private discretionary trusts relieved from compulsory electronic returns for a specified assessment year.
CBDT relaxed compulsory electronic filing for the specified assessment year in two situations: agents of non-residents facing difficulties due to multiple-agent or multi-principal arrangements incompatible with the one-assessee-one-PAN-one-return e filing software, and private discretionary trusts required to file in the status of an individual where the e filing system does not accept such returns.

Due date extension for mandatory e-filing granted under Section 119 following power disruption to facilitate timely tax compliance.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, invoking Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, extends the due date for filing returns for Assessment Year 2012-13 to accommodate assessees and HUFs required to e-file who were affected by a failure of power, applying to those otherwise liable to file by the original statutory date under section 139.

Safe harbour provisions to be finalised, providing tax certainty through sector-by-sector rules and stakeholder consultations for IT taxation.
A Committee has been constituted to review the taxation of Development Centres and to finalise Safe Harbour provisions for the IT sector through stakeholder and inter-departmental consultations; it will recommend approaches, draft circulars and clarifications on taxation of captive development centres and onsite services, and submit staggered sector-by-sector Safe Harbour drafts while receiving administrative support from the Department of Revenue.

Taxation of portfolio investments under amended law seeks clarification on liability for non-resident transfers and FII treatment.
Taxation of portfolio investments under the amended transfer provisions raises a question concerning the tax liability of non-resident portfolio investors, including Foreign Institutional Investors, for investments made through a registered stock exchange under SEBI guidelines and held purely as portfolio investments; clarification must be harmonised with GAAR guidelines and address residual concerns outside GAAR.

Government securities auction using uniform price method permits competitive and non competitive electronic bids and when issued trading.
Announcement prescribes a uniform price auction for re issuance of central government stocks, permitting competitive and non competitive electronic bids on the Negotiated Dealing System within specified time windows, allocating up to a capped share to eligible individuals and institutions under the Non Competitive Bidding Facility, and confirming eligibility of the stocks for When Issued trading subject to RBI guidelines, with results and payment scheduled per the auction timetable.

Quarterly public debt report summarises issuance, cash management, outstanding debt composition and secondary market activity.
The quarterly report details the Government's April-June 2012 debt management: macroeconomic drivers; primary market operations including issuance, auctions, weighted average maturity and yields; cash management tools (treasury bills, cash management bills, WMA) and Reserve Bank liquidity operations; composition and maturity profile of outstanding public debt and holding patterns; and secondary market activity including yield curve movements, trading volumes, turnover ratios and top traded securities.

Disclosure of tax avoidance schemes: proposals to expand reporting, tighten promoter obligations, and improve public warnings.
The consultation proposes strengthening the DOTAS regime and public information on tax avoidance by extending disclosure obligations and hallmarks, requiring more detailed information about scheme structure and parties, enhancing client list and intermediary reporting to identify end users, raising the threshold for a promoter's reasonable excuse for non-disclosure, imposing additional reporting obligations where penalties arise, and potentially creating a personal obligation on an individual alongside a firm to ensure DOTAS compliance.

Tax Return Preparer scheme adds online help and home visit assistance for individual and HUF taxpayers to ease compliance.
The Income Tax Department expanded the Tax Return Preparer Scheme with two assistance mechanisms: Online Tax Help, where individual and HUF taxpayers submit queries to certified TRPs and receive responses by e mail or phone within 24 hours; and Register for Home Visit, where taxpayers request on site assistance, the help desk assigns a nearby TRP and fixes appointments. TRPs are trained, authorised preparers permitted to charge a nominal fee up to a prescribed cap and to receive departmental incentives for returns they prepare.

Verification certificate confirming identity and recommending PAN issuance upon attested photograph, issuer declaration, and contact details.
Verification certificate under rule 114(4) certifies an applicant's identity and residence and recommends PAN issuance; the issuer must affix and attest the same photograph as on the PAN application, sign and stamp so the stamp and signature overlap the photograph and certificate, and provide issuer particulars-name, designation, organisation, office address, identity card number (with photocopy), contact number-together with applicant details including name, parentage, date of birth, addresses and previous name if any.

Customs Act 1962 milestone: commemorative postage stamp and coffee table book released to mark the Act's fiftieth year.
A commemorative postage stamp and coffee table book have been released as part of Golden Jubilee celebrations marking the Customs Act, 1962, recognizing five decades of the statute's role in regulating customs, documenting its origins from earlier sea and land customs statutes, and highlighting the department's role in protecting the nation's economic frontiers.

Foreign direct investment approvals: 14 proposals cleared while others were deferred, rejected, or found not to require approval.
The Central Government, on FIPB recommendations dated 29 June 2012, approved 14 FDI proposals aggregating approximately Rs.1584.11 crore, covering inductions and increases of foreign equity, LLP formations with foreign participation, rights issues, ex post facto regularisations, and activity expansions across defence, telecom/ISP gateways, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure engineering; 15 proposals were deferred, 7 rejected, 3 held not to require FIPB approval, and 3 withdrawn.

Taxpayer assistance scheme expands with online help and scheduled home visits to simplify return preparation and reduce compliance costs.
The Income Tax Department introduced two assistance channels-Online Tax Help for resolving taxpayer queries within 24 hours, and Register for Home Visit to connect taxpayers with trained Tax Return Preparers for in person assistance; TRPs are department trained, authorised to prepare returns and quarterly TDS statements, may charge a nominal preparer fee subject to a maximum, and receive departmental incentives, with home visits initially available in selected cities and call centre support for bookings.