Expeditious issue of refunds prioritised, accelerating processing and electronic communication to benefit small taxpayers.
The Centralised Processing Centre prioritises the expeditious issue of refunds, having processed over 4.19 crore returns and issued over 1.62 crore refunds to 10 February 2017; 92% of returns processed within 60 days and 92% of refunds are below a specified threshold, with remaining low-value refunds largely pending due to recent filings or awaited taxpayer responses. The Department reports increased electronic filing and urges taxpayers to update contact details to receive electronic communications as part of expanded e-governance and taxpayer-service measures.

Periodical review under FR 56(j) and Rule 48: submit officer details and APARs/IPRs by prescribed deadlines for retention assessment.
Cadre Controlling Authorities must submit revised proforma entries and complete supporting documents (APARs/IPRs and any vigilance/integrity inputs) for officers attaining 50/55 years or meeting qualifying service thresholds under FR 56(j) and Rule 48(1)(b) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, noting exemptions for those already reviewed in junior cadre and following prescribed Annexures and deadlines to enable Internal Committee review for the quarter April-June 2017.

Action against shell companies to freeze accounts and invoke benami provisions to curb money laundering.
Harsh enforcement measures for companies used in money laundering include freezing bank accounts, striking off dormant companies and invoking Benami Transactions (Prohibition) provisions. A multi-agency Task Force, co-chaired by revenue and corporate affairs leadership, will coordinate actions, use red flag indicators, build an integrated database of suspect companies and directors (including Aadhaar capture), and ensure disciplinary proceedings against professionals who abet such operations.

Tax revenue growth continues; indirect and direct collections both show sustained year on year increases and higher refunds issued.
Net Indirect Tax collections in January 2017 grew year on year with Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax all rising and aggregate indirect revenues up to January exceeding the prior year and constituting a large share of Revised Estimates; Net Direct Tax receipts up to January 2017 similarly increased year on year, though corporate tax net growth is reduced after refunds while personal income tax net growth remains strong, and refunds issued year to date rose materially.

Banking cash transaction tax remains undecided as government will review panel recommendation before any imposition.
No decision has been taken to impose a Banking Cash Transaction Tax; the government will review a Chief Ministers' committee report recommending caps on cash for large transactions and a levy on high-value cash deals, and will decide appropriately after examination. Reduction of corporate tax rates will be phased due to fiscal constraints and competing spending priorities.

Startup tax exemptions and regulatory relaxations enable streamlined compliance, funding support, and eased procurement for eligible startups.
The Action Plan creates a self-certification compliance regime across environmental, labour and apprenticeship rules for eligible startups, supported by a Startup India portal and Hub for recognition, mentoring and legal facilitation. It relaxes public procurement conditions for small enterprises, advances fast-track exit through insolvency and liquidation measures, and provides financial support via a Fund of Funds, credit guarantee mechanisms, eased external borrowing and investor access. Tax measures include capital gains exemptions and time-limited income-tax relief for eligible startups, while mission programs expand tinkering labs, incubators and innovation funding.

Taxpayer recognition: certificates issued for fully paid, timely filed and verified returns to encourage compliance and accurate contact details.
Certificates of Appreciation are issued electronically in tiered categories for taxpayers who have fully paid taxes, have no outstanding liabilities, and have e-filed and verified their returns by Digital Signature, EVC, or submission of signed ITR-V; taxpayers must update primary email and mobile details on the e-filing portal to receive the certificate.

Free ATM transaction limits for on bank and out of bank use define customers' entitlement to fee free ATM access.
A regulatory notification limits the number of free ATM transactions by distinguishing on us and off us transactions, with lower allowances for off us use in metro areas; the ATM network is described as 100% interoperable and Reserve Bank statistics provide bank wise on site, off site and total ATM deployment figures for Public Sector Banks, culminating in an aggregate total.

Conversion of Kisan Credit Cards to RuPay debit cards expands ATM withdrawal access and supports periodic, need based farmer credit use.
Conversion of Kisan Credit Cards into RuPay ATM cum Debit Kisan Credit Cards is being implemented to introduce ATM/debit withdrawals as a delivery channel, with Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks required to convert operative KCCs in a mission mode to increase digital transaction access, enable periodic small withdrawals aligned to farmers' needs, and help reduce their interest burden.

Demonetisation of high denomination notes alters legal tender status to curb black money and counterfeit currency circulation.
Cancellation of the legal tender status of specified high denomination banknotes was effected to disrupt cash based concealment of unaccounted wealth and to stem circulation of counterfeit currency; the Central Government, on the Reserve Bank's recommendation, exercised powers under sub section (2) of section 26 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 to withdraw the legal tender character of the Specified Bank Notes, and returned notes were routed to RBI currency chests with banks reporting deposits.

Gross Capital Formation: policy measures and reforms aimed at reviving investment through infrastructure, incentives, and competitiveness.
Gross Capital Formation in India has shown inconsistent growth due to global excess capacity and trade uncertainty and domestic constraints such as corporate deleveraging, delayed impact of structural reforms, land acquisition difficulty, and insufficient public crowding in. The Government has responded with fiscal incentives, FDI liberalisation, ease of doing business measures, entrepreneurship and financing initiatives, and a National Policy on Capital Goods aimed at improving competitiveness to strengthen domestic investment.

Undisclosed foreign assets reporting strengthened by legislative, enforcement and international information exchange measures to detect and recover taxes.
Disclosure activity under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 increased during the one-time compliance window resulting in multiple disclosures and tax and penalty recoveries. The Government's response combines investigative bodies, international information-exchange arrangements including Automatic Exchange of Information and FATCA, targeted domestic legislation, amendments enabling attachment and confiscation of equivalent domestic property, and prioritisation of investigation and prosecution.

Tax evasion notices trigger Customs Act procedures and Settlement Commission routes leading to adjudication and recovery.
Tax-evasion enforcement by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence involved issuance of show-cause notices with published yearly figures for notices issued, duty amounts involved and amounts recovered, and follow-up actions including conclusion under Customs Act procedures, settlement by the Settlement Commission, adjudication and recovery.

Cash deposit verification after demonetisation prompts data-driven enforcement and referrals under Operation Clean Money.
Following demonetisation, the Income Tax Department collected and analysed cash-deposit information to identify mismatches with taxpayer profiles, issued verification notices for deposits including those in dormant and Jan Dhan accounts, and conducted search, seizure and survey operations. These measures, under Operation Clean Money, use information collection and data analytics to prioritise high-risk cases and enable searches, assessments, enforcement referrals, levy of taxes and penalties, and prosecution filings where applicable.

Disclosure obligations under listing rules ensure accurate, timely financial reporting and permit regulatory enforcement for violations.
Listed companies are required to comply with prescribed disclosure obligations: submit financial results in standard formats, certify that results are not false or misleading, prepare accounts under generally accepted accounting principles, and furnish auditor reports including explicit statements on the impact of any audit qualifications. Regulatory authorities and stock exchanges maintain ongoing market surveillance and may impose disciplinary measures, such as fines and freezing of promoter holdings, for violations to ensure timely, adequate and accurate disclosure to investors.

Priority sector lending and credit guarantee measures aim to expand MSME access to credit and improve recovery mechanisms.
Regulatory and policy measures to expand and facilitate MSME credit include Priority Sector Lending prescriptions for micro enterprise lending, simplified working capital assessment for small units, promotion of specialized MSE bank branches, prohibitions on collateral for small loans, mandatory acknowledgement and serialisation of loan applications, encouragement of centralised registration, promotion of Credit Guarantee cover with differential interest treatment for guaranteed exposures, and development of the Trade Receivables Discounting System to finance receivables, together with use of insolvency, securitisation and debt recovery frameworks to improve resolution of stressed assets.

Swachh Bharat Cess funds sanitation programmes, financing rural and urban missions; levy remains in force until repealed.
Swachh Bharat Cess revenues were deposited into the Rashtriya Swachhata Kosh and allocated to rural and urban Swachh Bharat Mission programmes for individual household latrines, community sanitary complexes, community toilets, solid and liquid waste management, IEC and administrative expenses; the levy remains in effect until repealed.

Money laundering investigations under PMLA prompt suspensions, transfers and criminal complaints against bank officials following demonetisation irregularities.
Enforcement agencies have recorded bank employee involvement in money laundering and irregular exchange transactions during the post-demonetisation phase, and investigations have been initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which provides for attachment of property and prosecution. Public Sector Banks have suspended, transferred staff and filed criminal cases with police/CBI; private banks have suspended employees, opened internal investigations and filed complaints with law enforcement. Banks apply extant disciplinary rules to impose punishment based on the seriousness of misconduct.

Merchant discount rate caps reinforce consumer protection in card payments alongside mandated security measures and proposed payments regulator.
The document sets caps on the Merchant Discount Rate for debit-card acceptance, including temporary lower ceilings for low-value transactions to foster wider card acceptance, and outlines RBI security and risk mitigation measures covering card-present and card-not-present transactions, internet-banking and interbank electronic transfers, and mandatory online transaction alerts; it also notes a policy proposal to establish a Payments Regulatory Board through legislative amendment.

Advance Pricing Agreements expand transfer pricing certainty as CBDT adds more unilateral APAs to its program.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes expanded its Advance Pricing Agreement programme by entering additional unilateral APAs covering contract manufacturing, IT enabled services and software development services; the APA framework (introduced in 2012 with "Rollback" provisions in 2014) establishes agreed transfer pricing methods and pricing in advance to provide taxpayer certainty and address complex transfer pricing issues in a non adversarial, transparent manner.