Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement push to shore up investment confidence and deepen bilateral economic cooperation.
The Commission urged establishment of the International North South Transport Corridor to improve connectivity and recommended early finalisation of a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement and a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement to provide legal certainty for investment. A Protocol identified priority cooperation in pharmaceuticals, energy, transport, agriculture and information technology and recommended implementing agreements and practical measures to remove barriers. The parties also sought closer institutional linkages between investment promotion agencies to promote two way investment and discussed energy cooperation, infrastructure participation and business mobility issues such as visas.

Tariff value revision sets updated customs import valuation for brass scrap, poppy seeds, gold and silver.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs amended the notification schedule to set revised tariff values for specific imported goods: Brass Scrap (all grades) and Poppy Seeds receive updated per metric tonne valuations while certain palm and soyabean oils remain unchanged; separate unit tariff values for Gold and Silver in eligible forms are also specified to govern customs assessable value.

Corporate Social Responsibility enables SPMCIL-Bharti Foundation partnership to fund and operate rural primary schools, expanding education access.
SPMCIL executed a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative through an MoU with Bharti Foundation whereby SPMCIL provided capital funding, school construction, furniture and equipment and Bharti Foundation managed land acquisition, construction oversight and operation of primary schools in Murshidabad, with plans for a feeder senior secondary school and reported increases in rural enrollment and female participation.

Government securities auction: uniform-price re-issues offered with competitive and non-competitive bidding and reserved allotment.
Re-issues of central government stocks will be sold by price-based auctions using the uniform price method conducted by the Reserve Bank of India; up to five percent of each issue is reserved for eligible individuals and institutions under the non-competitive bidding facility. Competitive and non-competitive bids must be submitted electronically via the Negotiated Dealing System within prescribed time windows, auction results will be announced on the auction date, payment by successful bidders is due on the stated settlement date, and the stocks will be eligible for when-issued trading under RBI guidelines.

International financial cooperation driving talks on BRICS bank, transfer pricing, financial regulation and IMF resource strengthening.
The four day official visit centers on multilateral and bilateral finance sector coordination: participation in World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, G 20 and BRICS finance meetings addressing a Working cum Experts Group for a BRICS Bank, transfer pricing and tax avoidance, financial regulation and inclusion, energy and climate issues, and strengthening the international financial architecture including augmentation of IMF resources; bilateral meetings and public addresses supplement multilateral engagements.

International development credit expands dairy sector investments to boost animal productivity and rural market access for milk producers.
Agreement for an International Development Association credit to fund the National Dairy Support Project, operationalizing the first phase of the National Dairy Plan by financing investments to improve animal productivity through genetic improvement and optimized feed and fodder use, and to expand market access via village level milk collection and bulking infrastructure, doorstep artificial insemination and farmer training covering 40,000 villages across 14 states to benefit rural milk producers.

Additional IDA credit expands agricultural competitiveness project to improve irrigation, market access and rural road connectivity in Assam.
An additional IDA credit will scale up the Assam Agricultural Competitiveness Project by consolidating existing activities, strengthening Agricultural Technology Management Agencies, instituting groundwater quality monitoring, expanding irrigation, drainage, mechanization, extension services, crop diversification and rural haats, and financing targeted rural road construction to improve market linkages; the credit is provided on concessional IDA terms with extended maturity and a grace period.

International development finance enables agricultural water-efficiency project to boost market-oriented production for smallholder farmers.
The Project provides concessional IDA financing to increase agricultural productivity and farmer incomes by improving water capture, delivery and distribution, on-farm water use efficiency, soil moisture and fertility, crop management and agricultural technology across irrigated, groundwater and rainfed systems, covering about 200,000 hectares in selected areas and benefiting some 155,000 mainly smallholder farmers through strengthened farmer organisations and market linkages.

Undisclosed income detection prompts mandatory foreign asset disclosure and exposes non-filers to prosecution under income tax law.
Searches based on credible intelligence and verification uncovered undisclosed income and unaccounted assets, with execution and seizure statistics recorded. Mandatory reporting of foreign assets in income tax returns has been introduced; nondisclosure, if detected, will lead to prosecution under income tax law. Authorities employ information technology systems to process and verify information prior to searches, and judicial commentary supports bona fide intrusive measures in the public interest to prevent circulation of black money.

Public procurement regulation to enforce transparency, competition and accountability across central procuring entities with statutory grievance mechanism.
The Public Procurement Bill, 2012 creates a statutory framework regulating procurement by central Ministries, Departments, CPSEs and other central entities to ensure transparency, accountability and probity, mandate fundamental procurement principles and time frames, maximise competition, provide flexibility for diverse procurement needs and establish a public procurement portal with an independent grievance redressal mechanism chaired by a retired High Court Judge.

Extension of pension co-contribution support expands subsidy period and relaxes exit norms for unorganised sector subscribers.
Extension of central funding support for the Swavalamban co-contributory pension scheme under the New Pension System expands the period of government subsidy for subscribers enrolled in the specified enrollment window and increases budgetary provision for the Government's annual co-contribution to eligible NPS accounts and for promotional and developmental activities targeted at workers in the unorganised sector.

Special Floating Rate Bond issuance limits statutory government bond eligibility while permitting insurance classified investments and repo tradability.
The Government issued the Postal Life Insurance Special Floating Rate Security 2022 to the Department of Post at par to convert frozen POLIF and RPOLIF corpus. Banks and insurance companies' investments will not count as eligible government bond investments for statutory requirements, though insurance holdings may be treated as "other Approved Bonds" under insurance investment regulations. Provident, gratuity and superannuation fund investments will be eligible under the Ministry of Finance administrative order. The Special Floating Rate Bonds are transferable and eligible for market ready forward transactions, including repo.

Service tax evasion exposed, enforcement recovered dues and launched an ongoing probe into corporate group operations.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs detected aggregate Central Excise and Service Tax evasion during 2011-12 up to February 2012 and realized portions of the dues; DGCEI made separate detections and recoveries. DGCEI searches of the Skylark Group uncovered an estimated service tax evasion, incriminating documents, and unaccounted cash; the scheme involved multiple companies collecting tax but remitting only a small portion. The group's education business is being examined for Commercial Coaching and Training Service liability and investigations are ongoing.

Direct credit to bank accounts mandated for specified government payments, using an e-payment gateway to enhance transparency.
The Government requires direct credit of specified disbursements to beneficiaries' bank accounts: payments above the prescribed threshold to suppliers, contractors, grantees and loanee institutions must be electronically credited; government servants may opt for salary by cash or cheque but non-salary payments above the threshold and all retirement/terminal benefit settlements must be credited directly. Implementation is to occur via a CGA-established e-payment gateway used by Pay & Accounts Officers and progressively by defence accounts.

Service tax refund rate review: committee to propose a revised schedule and consult stakeholders for export-of-goods refunds.
A committee chaired by the Director General of Service Tax will review the electronic refund scheme for service tax on services used in export of goods, develop a scientific method to fix the schedule of rates, and propose a revised schedule of rates in light of recent rate changes and the shift toward a negative list; the committee may call for data and stakeholder input and must submit a report to the Chairman, CBEC by the stipulated deadline.

Insurance regulatory oversight to strengthen policyholder protection and promote prudent underwriting, digital channels, and wider rural reach.
The speech urges the regulator to strengthen policyholder protection, enforce punitive measures against mis selling, and address structural profitability by promoting prudent underwriting and curbing destructive price competition. It recommends industry focus on granular business and distribution mixes, customer lifecycle retention, technical and claims excellence, expense management, and incentivizing digital channels and e policies. It further proposes consideration of a use and file product approval regime, differentiated agent tiers for mass market products to expand rural reach, and a dedicated pool for insurance literacy to increase penetration.

Excise duty on unbranded jewellery prompts meeting to address compliance, industry concerns and representation requests.
A 1% excise duty on unbranded jewellery of precious metals (other than silver) in the Union Budget 2012-13 has generated representations from manufacturers, artisans and goldsmiths seeking reconsideration due to the industry's unorganised and fragmented nature and anticipated compliance difficulties; strikes were reported and the Union Finance Minister has convened a meeting on 6 April 2012, asking associations to nominate two representatives each.

Financial regulatory reform drives coordinated implementation, IMF resourcing, and tax information exchange to support stable cross-border finance
Both governments commit to coordinated financial regulatory reform and fiscal consolidation, to strengthen IMF resources and implement quota and governance reforms, and to share technical expertise-including assistance to India's Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission. They prioritise mobilising institutional and foreign capital for infrastructure financing, developing Indian capital markets, resolving tax and subsidiarisation issues for foreign banks, endorsing the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and lawful automatic exchange to combat tax evasion, and advancing open trade and SME finance through continued cooperation.

Treasury bill auction calendar issued; scheduled dates and issuance amounts set for the quarter, subject to modification.
The Government, with the Reserve Bank of India, notified a quarterly issuance calendar for Treasury Bills specifying auction dates and amounts for 91 day, 182 day and 364 day bills with aggregate quarterly totals. The calendar is subject to modification in amount or timing due to government cash requirements, market conditions or intervening holidays, with any changes communicated via press release. Auctions will be conducted under the terms and conditions of the standing General Notification governing Treasury Bill auctions, as amended.

Tariff value revision sets customs valuation for gold, silver, brass scrap and poppy seeds under Customs Act powers.
Using the powers under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Board amended Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) by substituting TABLE-1 and TABLE-2 to prescribe revised tariff values: TABLE-1 fixes per-metric-tonne values for specified oils, Brass Scrap (all grades) and Poppy Seeds; TABLE-2 fixes unit tariff values for Gold and Silver where certain notification benefits are availed.