Regulatory empowerment of forward markets intermediaries: draft rules open for public comment to strengthen oversight.
The draft Forward Contracts (Regulation) (Intermediaries) Rules, 2014 propose to empower the Forward Markets Commission with explicit supervisory authority over intermediaries in commodity derivative markets, and the Central Government has published the draft on the Ministry of Finance website inviting public comments to a designated departmental official within a specified response period.

Tariff value adjustment for specified agricultural and metal imports notified, altering customs valuation for import duty purposes.
Amendment substitutes revised tariff value tables in Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.), fixing US dollar reference values per unit for listed commodities - including crude palm oil products, crude soyabean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit values for gold and silver where notification benefits are availed - to be applied for customs valuation and duty assessment.

Expenditure management commission constituted to review public spending, with specified membership and a staged reporting timetable.
The government has constituted an Expenditure Management Commission chaired by a senior economist with named expert members, an ex officio Department of Expenditure representative, and a senior officer as Member Secretary; detailed Terms of Reference will be notified separately and the Commission must submit an interim report before the next budget and a final report before the following budget.

Exemption from MAT and DDT for SEZ developers and units proposed to be restored following government recommendation.
Exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) for SEZ developers and units originally existed; later amendments removed MAT and DDT exemptions for those taxpayers, and the Department of Commerce has recommended restoring the original exemptions for SEZ developers and units.

Jurisdiction over unregistered MLM firms limited to state governments; central agencies coordinate on companies engaged in direct selling.
Jurisdiction concerning unregistered multi level marketing firms rests with State Governments, as the Ministry of Corporate Affairs governs only registered companies; an inter ministerial group formed by the Ministry of Finance brings together central financial and market regulators to coordinate policy and responses for companies engaged in direct selling.

Illegal collective investment schemes prompt inter-agency probes and investor protection measures including disclosure and auditor safeguards.
Proliferation of illegal collective investment schemes and unauthorised public deposit-taking by companies engaged in NBFC-like activities led to regulatory fact-finding and inter-agency coordination. The Ministry identified companies with enabling memorandum clauses for referral to the banking regulator, and investigations into chit-fund operators exposed use of multiple legal frameworks to circumvent oversight. As investor protection measures, the Ministry expanded awareness programmes and implemented enhanced disclosure norms and strengthened auditor accountability under corporate law reforms.

Currency security upgrades: government and central bank reviewing new banknote features to deter counterfeiting and raise public awareness.
A High Level Committee chaired by the Directorate of Currency and including representatives of relevant departments and the central bank examines security features and associated technologies for future banknote series, while public awareness is advanced through a dedicated website, posters at bank branches, regional outreach programmes, and distribution of informational leaflets to help the public identify genuine notes.

Compounding of corporate offences: ROC instructed to accept applications or initiate prosecution; auditor referral made for professional action.
Inspection under section 209A found multiple breaches of accounting, disclosure and governance provisions and auditor reporting obligations; the Ministry instructed the Registrar of Companies to permit filing of compounding applications and to proceed with prosecution if applications are not filed within the prescribed time, referred auditor matters to the professional institute for disciplinary action, and forwarded findings to the tax authority and nominee directors for further action.

Exchange rate determination for customs import and export goods notified, fixing separate conversion rates under the Customs Act.
Determination under the Customs Act prescribes specific conversion rates for foreign currencies for customs purposes, with separate rates for imported goods and for export goods, superseding the earlier notification and applying from the notified date. Two annexed schedules list unit and per-hundred-unit rupee equivalents for the listed currencies to be used by customs officials in valuation and related procedures.

Anti-dumping duty on imported solar modules to offset below value imports, with collected duties proposed for developer subsidies.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty is recommended where imported solar cells, modules and thin-film panels were found to be sold below normal value with a positive dumping margin causing material injury to the domestic manufacturing industry; the Designated Authority forwarded duty recommendations to the Government, and collected duties or National Clean Energy Fund resources have been proposed as potential means to subsidise affected solar developers.

SLR reduction increases banks' lending capacity while policy rates held steady, tied to moderating inflation and growth prospects.
Reduction of the Statutory Liquidity Ratio by fifty basis points increases banks' leeway to lend by lowering mandatory holdings of safe government assets while the policy rate was left unchanged; the Ministry links the move to moderating inflation, a need to revive credit as demand grows, and advises that future policy rate decisions should balance liquidity, inflation, and growth considerations.

Tariff value update sets new import valuation rates for specified edible oils, metals, seeds, and areca nuts.
CBEC, invoking sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) with revised tariff values fixing import valuation benchmarks for specified goods - including listed edible oils and fractions, crude soyabean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and valuation units for gold and silver when certain concessional entries are availed.

Financial inclusion mission to extend savings, credit, remittance, insurance and pension access to every household and village.
The Government will launch a Financial Inclusion Mission to provide households with savings, credit, remittances, insurance and pension, shifting focus from account opening to service access. The two phase programme concentrates most activities in Phase I and adds insurance and pension in Phase II. Delivery will rely on branchless banking via Business Correspondents, supported by direct transfer of subsidies to bank accounts, state and district monitoring committees, awareness generation to stimulate demand, and eased KYC through e KYC.

Acquisition of immovable property by foreign nationals requires verified residency and visa-based intention under FEMA rules.
Acquisition of immovable property by foreign nationals under FEMA depends on residential status and visa purpose: a foreign national residing in India for more than 182 days in the preceding financial year with visa and supporting documentation evidencing an intention to stay for an uncertain period may be treated as a person resident in India and acquire immovable property (excluding agricultural land, plantations, and farmhouses); foreign companies with established branches may acquire property necessary or incidental to their business, and State authorities must verify eligibility and documentation before registering transactions.

Infrastructure status for hotel projects expands access to long-term funding and reduces borrowing costs for eligible hotels.
Grant of infrastructure status covers two hotel categories: hotels of specified star category located outside large urban centres, and hotel projects meeting a specified project-cost threshold irrespective of location. The status applies prospectively from the notification date and is available to eligible projects for a limited period. Eligible project costs exclude land and lease charges but include interest during construction, guiding agencies that support infrastructure to extend long-term funding and lower interest rates to covered hotel projects.

Government securities auction re-issue: price-based multiple-price sale with competitive and non-competitive bidding through electronic submission and scheduled settlement.
Re-issue sale of Central Government stocks will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India by price-based multiple price auction; both competitive and non-competitive bids must be submitted electronically on the E-Kuber system within specified time windows, with up to five per cent of each notified amount allocated to eligible individuals and institutions under the non-competitive bidding facility, results announced on the auction date and payment on the scheduled settlement date; stocks eligible for "When Issued" trading per RBI guidelines.

Special filing arrangements: tax offices open weekend to accept returns and additional counters to facilitate timely filing.
The tax authority directed offices to remain open on the weekend of 26th-27th July 2014 to accept returns of income under Section 119, and arranged additional receipt counters on specified late-July dates to facilitate filing; the filing due date under Explanation 2(c) to Section 139(1) is 31st July 2014.

Non-intrusive tax investigation: push for digital evidence analysis and targeted capacity building to counter tax evasion.
The Finance Minister directed the Income Tax Department to maximise use of non-intrusive and innovative investigative techniques, upgrade technological and digital evidence analysis skills, and undertake targeted capacity building and training-especially for middle level officers-to detect evolving tax evasion methods; he also called for improved quality of court representation and mechanisms to attract specialized taxation talent, while the Department reported expanded data analysis projects identifying additional taxable income and increased prosecution activity.

Tax structure simplification to promote voluntary compliance and reduce tax litigation and strengthen grievance redressal mechanisms.
Tax structure should be simplified to make compliance easier and encourage lawful compliance rather than evasion; this reform objective is tied to reducing tax litigation and strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms. A Handbook on Effective Handling of Cases before the Settlement Commission was released to improve case management and settlement outcomes, and conference deliberations were directed at equipping revenue officers to apply these administrative measures transparently in day to day tax administration.

Contribution to political parties governed by Section 182, capped by profit based limits; electoral trusts permitted with statutory disclosure.
Contributions by non government companies to political parties are governed by Section 182 of the Companies Act, 2013: eligible companies may contribute up to a statutory cap tied to average net profits over prior years, and may route contributions to Electoral Trust Companies subject to the same limits and mandatory disclosure by the trusts; prior provisions from the Donations to National Funds Act, 1951 have been incorporated and repeal steps have been initiated.