Tariff values updated for specified agricultural and metal imports, altering customs valuation benchmarks under customs notification.
An administrative notification substitutes TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 of Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.) with updated tariff values, prescribing US dollar per metric tonne valuations for specified oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nuts, and unit valuations for gold and silver including specified inclusions and exclusions and references to benefits under entries of Notification No. 50/2017 Customs.

Partial credit guarantee enables banks to buy high-rated NBFC asset pools, providing liquidity support and first-loss cover.
The Scheme provides a one-time Partial Credit Guarantee enabling Public Sector Banks to purchase high-rated pooled assets from eligible NBFCs/HFCs at fair value to alleviate temporary asset-liability mismatches. The guarantee is limited in time and overall purchase ceiling, acts as first loss cover for the purchasing bank subject to invocation on defined delinquency, requires RBI/NHB accreditation and specified asset and issuer eligibility, mandates reporting and quick Government settlement of claims, charges a fee routed through the purchasing bank, and imposes ALM and capital maintenance obligations on originators.

TDS compliance prompted notices seeking contractors' TDS details and outreach to educate puja committees on withholding obligations.
The Department issued information notices under section 133(6) to about thirty puja committees to obtain details and TDS statements for payments to contractors and event managers after receiving information that some contractors were not paying due taxes; many committees complied by producing evidence of tax deducted at source and deposits, and an outreach session was held to explain TDS provisions to committees at their request.

Tax evasion detection leads to discovery of large undisclosed income after searches in liquor industry.
Income tax authorities executed intelligence led search and seizure operations at multiple premises of major liquor producers, uncovering a scheme of over invoicing of raw materials and bottles where suppliers received inflated payments by bank transfer and returned excess cash to company employees. Documentary and electronic evidence and interception of employees with concealed cash established supplier collusion and cash circulation, enabling recovery of unaccounted cash and detection of substantial suppression of taxable income for enforcement and assessment.

Benami property enforcement exposes petrol retail tax evasion using tribal exemptions, prompting targeted searches and asset seizure.
Enforcement action targeted alleged benami petrol retail operations in Meghalaya, conducted after prolonged surveillance and covert enquiries; searches uncovered incriminating documents and significant unaccounted cash concealed on premises, and exposed misuse of the tribal exemption as a front to suppress sales and avoid local tax deposits, highlighting coordinated search-and-seizure methods and evidence seizure to address collusive benami schemes.

Income-tax return reporting requirements clarified to guide disclosure of foreign directorships, overseas shares, unlisted shares and stock-in-trade.
Clarifications address reporting of directorships in foreign companies, equity shares listed outside India, unlisted shares previously listed, unlisted shares received by gift, will or amalgamation, and assets treated as stock-in-trade, and instruct taxpayers on the correct disclosure fields and characterisation for completion of the income-tax return forms; an administrative circular consolidates these instructions and is published on the official income-tax website for reference.

Monetary thresholds for government tax appeals increased, narrowing disputes eligible for appeal and focusing resources.
Revision of monetary limits for departmental filing of tax appeals increases thresholds for initiating appellate proceedings at successive tiers, narrowing the class of cases eligible for appeal and concentrating litigation resources on higher-value or legally complex matters as an eligibility criterion for departmental appeals.

Tariff value revisions update customs import values for specified oils, metals and agricultural goods under Customs Act authority.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs amends the principal import valuation notification by substituting TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 to prescribe tariff values for specified goods, including vegetable oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit values for gold and silver in specified forms, with definitions and exclusions for precious metal entries preserved and the stated values indicated as unchanged.

Credit growth: banks commit to expand affordable digital and co-originated lending to support MSME, NBFC and auto sectors.
The Ministry reviewed measures to boost credit growth by expanding contactless digital lending to MSMEs and retail borrowers, leveraging bank-NBFC co-origination to combine banks' funding with NBFC reach, using government partial credit guarantees and pooled-asset purchases to address NBFC/HFC liquidity, and committing banks to increase sectoral credit support, expedite MSME restructuring, and improve interest-rate transmission and digital payment accessibility.

Tax evasion through 'on money' and bogus accommodation loans exposed; investigation into hawala entries and concealed income continues.
Search and seizure uncovered systemic tax evasion by a major real estate group through corroborated receipts of 'on money', accounting manipulations concealing income, bogus unsecured accommodation loans, and artificial long term capital gains entries routed via entry providers/hawala operators; significant unaccounted jewellery was also detected and verification and investigation continue.

Time Release Study to streamline cross border cargo release, diagnose procedural bottlenecks and harmonize port procedures for traders.
India is instituting an annual national Time Release Study to measure and reduce cargo clearance time from arrival to physical release using a uniform, multi dimensional methodology that identifies rule based and procedural bottlenecks across regulatory and logistics components. Conducted simultaneously at representative sea, air, land and dry ports to establish baseline performance and standardized operations, the TRS will enable agencies to diagnose barriers to trade flow and implement policy and operational measures to reduce release time while preserving trade control, benefiting export oriented industries and MSMEs under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs leadership.

Controller General of Accounts appointment emphasizes leadership in public financial management and PFMS implementation across government payments.
Appointment of Controller General of Accounts: Mr. Girraj Prasad Gupta, a 1983-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service officer, was appointed as Controller General of Accounts effective August 1, 2019. The appointment assigns him responsibility for centralised government accounting and financial reporting. His prior roles in tax administration, finance ministry postings, leadership at the National Institute of Financial Management, and key contribution to developing and implementing the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and Direct Benefit Transfer infrastructure are noted as directly relevant to the CGA's operational remit.

New direct tax legislation drafting extended to allow additional member inputs, enabling completion of the Task Force's review.
A Task Force formed to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 and draft a new direct tax legislation, originally due to report by 31 July 2019, was granted an extension by the Government to 16 August 2019 to allow new members additional time to provide inputs for the drafting and consultative work.

Tariff valuation update: revised customs tariff values set for oils, metals, scrap and agricultural imports to guide import valuation.
The Central Board substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) with revised tariff values in US dollars, establishing updated valuation benchmarks for specified imports including various palm and soybean oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit values for gold and silver with classification-based explanatory notes.

Over-invoicing uncovering led to detection of undisclosed foreign accounts and seizure of assets in a tax probe.
Search of a Hyderabad seismic-data group uncovered documentary and electronic evidence of over-invoicing of imports through a Dubai-based operator, admissions by concerned persons, surplus funds parked in Dubai accounts, detection of multiple undisclosed foreign bank accounts and tax-haven companies, and seizure of unexplained cash and jewellery pending verification.

Benami property attachment leads to provisional seizure of allegedly benami convertible shares linked to concealed investment through shell companies.
A provisional attachment order under the Benami Property Transactions Act targets non cumulative compulsory convertible preference shares alleged to be held benami. The department alleges these shares were received via shell companies and recorded as FDI into Optima Infrastructure, with the underlying funds generated through over invoicing by an affiliated company. The named individual is identified as the beneficial owner and charged under the benami provisions following raids and document seizure.

Undisclosed foreign assets detection may trigger prosecution under the Black Money Act and Income Tax Act provisions.
Search operations uncovered long concealed undisclosed income and foreign asset holdings of a politically connected group, revealing cash dealings in immovable property and construction and extensive use of overseas trusts and companies to stash proceeds. The factual findings identify substantial undisclosed foreign assets and domestic tax evasion and frame potential legal consequences under the Black Money Act and the Income Tax Act, with likely multi agency investigative and enforcement coordination to address detection and attribution of concealed cross border assets.

Non-intrusive tax compliance urged; officers to redress taxpayer grievances and share information to curb evasion.
The Finance Minister urged Income Tax officers to prioritize taxpayer grievance redressal and expand the tax base through non-intrusive compliance, while coordinating enforcement wings to share assessee information to detect evasion; officials highlighted near-universal e-filing, faceless assessment, data mining and outreach measures to encourage voluntary compliance.

Taxpayer assistance programme expands outreach to promote e filing, grievance redressal and civic tax compliance nationwide.
Field offices observed Aaykar Diwas with grievance redressal drives, free legal aid, digital kiosks, recognition of senior taxpayers and staff, and launched a Kardaata e Sahyog Abhiyaan to assist taxpayers with e filing and compliance.

Due date extension for income tax returns grants specified taxpayers extra time to file returns for assessment year.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes announced an administrative due date extension for filing Income Tax Returns for Assessment Year 2019-20, moving the due date for certain categories of taxpayers from 31st July, 2019 to 31st August, 2019 as a procedural measure to provide additional time for compliance.