Presumptive taxation under Section 44AD reduced deemed profit for digital receipts, incentivising digital payments by small traders.
Amendment reduces the deemed profit rate under Section 44AD from eight percent to six percent for the portion of turnover received through banking channels or digital means for the specified fiscal year, applying to eligible small business assessees and creating a tax incentive to promote digital payments and a less cash economy.

Deemed profit rate for digital receipts lowered to incentivise electronic payments under section 44AD through legislative amendment.
The government reduced the deemed profit rate under section 44AD for the portion of total turnover or gross receipts received through banking channels or digital means for the specified financial year, while the existing deemed rate continues to apply to receipts received in cash; the change is to be effected by amendment in the Finance Bill.

Deposit restriction on old currency limits repeat high-value deposits to a single transaction before deadline and requires bank due diligence.
Deposits of demonetised Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes above five thousand rupees may be deposited only once before 30 December 2016, subject to bank due diligence; deposits at or below five thousand rupees continue as before, while cumulative deposits exceeding five thousand rupees in the interval must follow RBI procedures. Payment of taxes, penalties, cess/surcharge and deposits under the PMGKY 2016 using old notes is permitted up to 30 December 2016. DCCBs may deposit notes collected 10-14 November 2016 with currency chests and NABARD will audit KYC records as notified by RBI.

Resumption of industrial registration under regional policy restores targeted investment and structured subsidy mechanisms for eligible units.
Registration under NEIIPP has been resumed for eligible new and substantially expanded units within the reopened window. Capital Investment Subsidy is subject to specified per-unit caps, an automatic approval threshold, and Empowered Committee review for higher claims. Interest Subsidy is restricted to term loans for capital expenditure within defined maturities and loan limits, subsidizing borrowing costs above the Prime Lending Rate up to a capped rate, with annual subsidy accruals adjusted against outstanding loans. Subsidy disbursement will occur through Direct Benefit Transfer via a central e-payment portal.

Voluntary disclosure scheme offers specified tax, surcharge and penalty structure and mandatory locked deposit conditions for undisclosed income.
The Act introduced a voluntary disclosure scheme permitting declarations of undisclosed cash or deposits against a prescribed composite charge of tax, surcharge and penalty plus a mandatory interest free locked deposit; declared income is excluded from total income for assessment, declarations are inadmissible as evidence in civil statutes, and specified criminal immunity is not provided. Non declaration attracts higher tax, surcharge and cess, additional penalties and possible prosecution, and search and seizure penalty slabs have been rationalised with a reduced penalty where income is admitted and taxes paid.

Exemption for political parties does not preclude income-tax scrutiny; statutory recordkeeping and audit obligations enable assessment.
Exemption for registered political parties under Section 13A is conditional: parties must maintain books and documents enabling the Assessing Officer to deduce income, have accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant, maintain donor records for voluntary contributions above the statutory disclosure threshold including name and address, and submit prescribed donation reports to the Election Commission; parties remain subject to other Income-tax Act provisions including filing returns and statutory scrutiny.

Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information to enable reciprocal data sharing once multilateral instruments and safeguards are in place.
Automatic exchange of financial account information between India and Switzerland will operate reciprocally under a Joint Declaration, subject to Mutual Administrative Assistance being in force, both parties joining the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement implementing the Common Reporting Standard, mutual notifications under the MCAA, and adequate confidentiality and data safeguards; India has already notified intended exchange partners under the MCAA.

Income tax searches after demonetisation leading to admissions of undisclosed income and strengthened tax enforcement through data analytics.
Income tax searches, surveys and open enquiries initiated after the de monetisation announcement identified prioritized high risk persons/groups using data analytics; searches in 291 cases, survey action in 295 cases and enquiries in over 3,000 matters led to seizures of cash and jewellery and admissions of undisclosed income aggregating approximately Rs. 2,600 crore.

Amalgamation in public interest used to consolidate defaulting exchange with promoter, prompting statutory inspections and SFIO investigation.
The Ministry ordered inspection under section 209A of the Companies Act, 1956, effected amalgamation of the exchange with its promoter under section 396 of the Companies Act, 1956, filed company-law applications seeking removal of directors under multiple Companies Act provisions, and ordered an investigation under Section 210(1) read with Section 212(1)(c) of the Companies Act, 2013 into the exchange, promoter, subsidiaries, associates and defaulting entities, assigning the probe to the SFIO.

Extension of annual filing deadlines for corporate financial statements and returns to accommodate tax schedule and reporting taxonomy changes.
Ministry issued an extension of deadlines for corporate annual compliance for financial statements and annual returns to accommodate stakeholder requests arising from shifts in tax filing schedules and revisions to the XBRL taxonomy, enabling incorporation of CSR reporting amendments and changes to auditor-reporting requirements within the electronic reporting framework.

Voluntary disclosure regime offers specified tax, surcharge and deposit obligations; non-declaration attracts heavier tax and penalties.
The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016 introduced a voluntary disclosure regime permitting persons to declare undisclosed cash or deposits; declarations require payment of tax, a surcharge on that tax, a penalty on the undisclosed amount and a mandatory interest free deposit in a linked deposit scheme with a lock in. Declared income is excluded from total income and declarations are inadmissible as evidence under other civil statutes, while non declaration attracts higher taxation, additional penalties and potential prosecution. Search and seizure penalty provisions have been rationalised.

Tax regime for undisclosed income mandates tax, surcharge, penalty and a locked deposit requirement under the disclosure scheme.
The Scheme permits declaration of undisclosed income chargeable to tax for assessment years commencing on or before the 1st day of April, 2017, subject to payment of tax at 30% of undisclosed income, surcharge at 33% of tax and penalty at 10% of undisclosed income, and a deposit of not less than 25% of undisclosed income into the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016, which carries no interest and has a four-year lock-in; the Scheme does not confer immunity for specified criminal and statutory offences.

Import duty reductions on essential commodities to stabilise prices following targeted customs tariff adjustments.
Central Government reduced import duty on wheat, potatoes and edible palm oil via Customs notifications to stabilise domestic prices. Wheat duty was lowered in stages culminating in a nil duty under a subsequent notification; potatoes received a temporary reduction to ten percent; crude and refined edible palm oil duties were reduced by specified tariff points. The adjustments were announced by the Minister of State for Finance in a parliamentary written reply and implemented through formal notifications under the Customs framework.

Concessional refinance for cooperative banks mobilises NABARD funding to support crop credit through state and district cooperative channels.
The government established the Short Term Cooperative Rural Credit (Refinance) Fund in NABARD to provide concessional short term refinance to cooperative banks using resources from shortfalls in priority sector lending, and NABARD is authorised to disburse funds to State Cooperative Banks on behalf of District Central Cooperative Banks to meet farmers' crop loan requirements.

Fund of Funds for start-ups channels private risk capital through SEBI-registered AIFs to boost innovation and listing access.
A government-managed Fund of Funds, administered by SIDBI, invests in SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds which then deploy equity, quasi-equity, soft loans and other risk capital into start-ups to attract private capital; start-ups remain subject to Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014 for issuance, disclosure and investor protection, and a SEBI Institutional Trading Platform provides an alternative simplified listing route with restricted retail participation, while a multi-departmental Monitoring Committee oversees implementation.

Priority sector lending targets require scheduled commercial banks to meet specified ANBC proportions; banks set MCLRs using marginal cost of funds.
Reserve Bank directives require Domestic Scheduled Commercial Banks to meet priority sector lending targets measured against Adjusted Net Bank Credit or off balance sheet equivalents, with dedicated sub targets for agriculture, micro enterprises (phased) and advances to weaker sections. Banks must compute base lending rates using the marginal cost of funds, and individual banks set their Marginal Cost Lending Rates under RBI guidelines, producing variation in lending rates.

Withdrawal limits eased for specified account holders to facilitate cash circulation while safeguarding KYC and reporting safeguards.
Demonetisation led to temporary relaxation of cash withdrawal and deposit rules: specified categories (interbank transfers, Post Office, airport money changers, white label ATMs) were exempt from individual cash limits; government departments, farmers, current account/overdraft/cash credit customers and registered APMC traders could obtain higher weekly cash subject to account operational history and KYC compliance; limited cash for marriage expenses was permitted. Deposits of old notes into most accounts were allowed with CTR/STR reporting, and only Urban and State Cooperative Banks were authorised to accept deposits/repayments in old notes. Directed liquidity support and outreach measures were implemented to ensure rural cash availability, alongside bank disciplinary procedures for staff irregularities.

Liquidity management measures: RBI used CRR, MSS and repo operations to absorb excess bank liquidity, influencing lending dynamics.
RBI used an incremental Cash Reserve Ratio (later withdrawn), raised the Market Stabilisation Scheme limit to enable additional securities issuance, and employs fixed and variable repo/reverse repo operations to absorb excess liquidity. Liquidity is only one factor affecting lending rates; banks must compute base rates using the Marginal Cost of Funds and set their own Marginal Cost Lending Rate under RBI guidelines, with no direct government or RBI fixation of loan interest rates.

Guarantee Scheme for deposited banknotes allows direct deposit with central bank and provisional credit pending verification.
Revival of a Guarantee Scheme allows banks to deposit Specified Bank Notes directly with RBI Issue Offices; deposited notes remain in RBI vaults under the depositing bank's lock until examination. RBI will credit the bank's current account on deposit, with subsequent recovery from the bank for any shortages, counterfeits or mutilations found. Participation requires an agreement with the Regional Office; parallel Chest Guarantee Schemes extend the facility to designated currency chests and banks with adequate additional storage.

Capital treatment of reserves: selective inclusion of revaluation and translation reserves into CET1 with restricted recognition.
Banks may, at their discretion and subject to specified conditions, recognise revaluation reserves and foreign currency translation reserves as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital after applying prescribed discounts instead of treating them as lower-tier capital. Deferred Tax Assets related to accumulated losses must be fully deducted from CET1, whereas DTAs from timing differences may be recognised in CET1 up to a capped proportion, with any non-deducted portion subject to a high supervisory risk weight comparable to that on significant investments in common shares.