Sovereign Gold Bonds create government backed gold denominated securities shifting price risk to a Gold Reserve Fund.
The Sovereign Gold Bonds scheme establishes government issued, gold denominated securities for resident investors with sovereign guarantee, tradability, and eligibility as loan collateral. Issuance and redemption use an RBI reference rupee rate based on a reference gold price; interest is calculated on the gold value at subscription and may be fixed or floating. Distribution will be through banks, NBFCs, post offices and agents; purchases are capped per person and subject to gold equivalent KYC. Price and currency risk allocation is managed by a Gold Reserve Fund funded from borrowing cost savings, with tax parity for individual investors to mirror physical gold.

Filing deadline for audited assessees: no extension granted, taxpayers must file returns and audit reports on time.
No extension is being granted for filing income-tax returns and tax audit reports due by 30th September 2015 for companies, firms and proprietary assessees whose accounts require audit; audit reports must be filed by that date while assessees with international or specified domestic transactions file by 30th November 2015.

Budget coordination emphasized: Finance Secretary orders regular inter-departmental review meetings to accelerate pending policy work.
The Finance Secretary held a coordination and review meeting with departmental Secretaries and the Chief Economic Adviser to assess work in progress and pending policy issues, directed expeditious action, and instituted regular inter-departmental review meetings-initially weekly-to strengthen coordination during the ongoing budgetary exercise.

Auction of government stocks under price-based multiple-price method; non-competitive facility for eligible investors enabled.
Re-issue of four government stocks via price-based auction using the multiple price method, with specified notified amounts. Up to 5% 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 on E-Kuber within prescribed time windows on the auction day. Auction results and payment/settlement are scheduled on specified dates. The stocks are eligible for When Issued trading per central bank guidelines.

Tax compliance provision clarified: CBDT circular answers public queries on undisclosed foreign income and assets regime.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes issued a circular clarifying procedural and interpretive aspects of the tax compliance provision under Chapter VI of the Black Money Act, explaining how taxpayers should identify, disclose and account for undisclosed foreign income and assets within the statutory framework and Rules, and supplementing prior guidance with additional query resolutions.

Minimum Alternate Tax applicability clarified: MAT not applicable to FIIs/FPIs without Indian permanent establishment, assessments stayed.
The Government will amend the income-tax law to clarify that Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) under Section 115JB does not apply to Foreign Institutional Investors/Foreign Portfolio Investors (FIIs/FPIs) that do not have a place of business or permanent establishment in India for the period prior to 01.04.2015; field authorities are instructed to keep related assessments in abeyance and not to pursue recovery of outstanding demands in such cases.

Minimum Alternate Tax applicability to foreign portfolio investors challenged; committee finds MAT inapplicable without Indian place of business.
The Report concludes that MAT under Section 115JB is an integrated code tied to Companies Act accounting obligations and therefore does not apply to FIIs/FPIs that have no established place of business or PE in India. Section 115AD constitutes a self contained concessional tax regime for FIIs/FPIs on securities income; applying MAT would render that regime otiose. The Committee views the 2015 prospective amendment as clarificatory and recommends legislative or administrative clarification to exclude FIIs/FPIs from MAT.

E-filing due-date extension for taxpayers after portal slowdown, providing a brief filing relief window to affected filers.
The government administratively extended the due-date for E-filing returns after representations about portal slowdown, providing affected taxpayers an additional short window to complete electronic submissions; the extension applies to all taxpayers originally required to e-file by the prior cutoff and constitutes a temporary procedural accommodation rather than a change to substantive filing obligations.

Inapplicability of MAT to FIIs/FPIs without Indian permanent establishment clarified for the prior period, pending legislative amendment.
The Government accepted the recommendation to clarify the inapplicability of MAT to foreign institutional and portfolio investors without a place of business or permanent establishment in India for the period prior to 01.04.2015, proposing an amendment to section 115JB of the Income tax Act and directing CBDT to inform field formations pending the amendment.

Appointment of Secretary Department of Financial Services: Anjuly Chib Duggal assumes charge, succeeding predecessor with corporate affairs experience.
Appointment of Secretary, Department of Financial Services: Ms Anjuly Chib Duggal assumed charge as Secretary, succeeding the incumbent who moved to the Revenue Secretary role; she previously served as Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and in senior posts in the Department of Expenditure.

Digitization of payments expands financial inclusion by delivering government benefits and retail financial services directly into bank accounts.
The Government of India has joined an international alliance to accelerate the digitization of payments, extending the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana's focus on universal basic banking, financial literacy, and delivery of credit, insurance, pension and remittance services directly into accounts. The partnership aims to share technical and policy lessons, scale digital payment infrastructure, lower costs, increase account usage among excluded populations, and improve direct benefit transfers through coordinated stakeholder efforts.

Appointment: Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs assumes charge and initiates an immediate departmental review after transfer from Revenue portfolio.
Shri Shaktikanta Das assumed charge as Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, having formerly served as Secretary, Department of Revenue and previously as Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary (Budget) in the Department of Economic Affairs; on taking charge he met senior officers to review ongoing departmental matters and the status of issues under the Department's remit.

Tariff value amendment updates import valuation for specified palm and soybean oils, edible seeds, areca nuts, gold and silver.
Amendment substitutes TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 in the existing customs notification to set specific tariff values in US dollars for listed tariff items. The tables establish reference import valuation for edible oils (various palm oil categories and crude soybean oil), brass scrap (all grades), poppy seeds, areca nuts, and valuation rates for gold and silver when specified notification benefits are availed, with values expressed per metric tonne or per prescribed unit for customs valuation purposes.

Government securities auction using multiple price method with electronic bidding and reserved non competitive allocation.
Sale by re-issue of multiple Government stocks will be conducted through price based auctions using the multiple price method on a specified date; bids must be submitted electronically via the central bank's E Kuber system with separate timed windows for non competitive and competitive bids. Up to 5% of each notified amount is reserved for eligible non competitive bidders under the Scheme for Non Competitive Bidding Facility. Auction results, payment/settlement dates, and eligibility for when issued trading under existing central bank guidelines are specified.

Co-operative federalism: reversal of unauthorised debit from a State's consolidated fund required and constitutional process must be followed.
The Ministry of Finance directed the Reserve Bank of India to reverse a deduction from the principal account of the State of Telangana as inconsistent with co-operative federalism, emphasising that funds in a State's principal account form part of the Consolidated Fund and may be debited only after the constitutionally and legally required appropriation process; reversal was ordered without prejudice to Income Tax rights and RBI was warned to ensure future transfers comply with constitutional and legal requirements.

FATCA/CRS reporting obligations require financial institutions to complete due diligence and file Form 61B online under new rules.
Implementation of FATCA/CRS reporting requires financial institutions to follow newly inserted Income Tax Rules 114F-114H, register as Reporting Financial Institutions on the e filing portal, and submit annual electronic reports or Nil statements using the Designated Director's digital signature via Form 61B. The Rules prescribe distinct due diligence procedures and timelines for pre existing and new accounts, specify value search dates and aggregation procedures, set threshold triggers for value searches, mandate IT system upgrades to record due diligence, and require internal governance arrangements to monitor compliance; non compliance may attract penalties.

External debt monitoring shows long-term borrowings driving an increase while overall debt remains within manageable limits.
External debt stock increased to US$ 475.8 billion at end March 2015, driven mainly by long term obligations-particularly commercial borrowings and NRI deposits-while short term external debt declined due to lower portfolio investment in government treasury bills; key indicators such as the external debt-GDP ratio and reserve coverage indicate the debt position remained within manageable limits.

Exchange of tax information continued between India and Germany, with steps to implement automatic financial-account exchange and treaty revision.
India and Germany will continue spontaneous exchange of tax-related information under existing agreements, explore enhanced information-sharing mechanisms, negotiate a memorandum of understanding to implement automatic exchange of financial account information under the Multilateral Competent Authority framework, and resume partial revision of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement to align exchange-of-information provisions with international standards.

GST reform to broaden tax base and boost revenue as indirect tax collections rise, prompting administrative preparedness nationwide
Buoyancy in indirect tax collections in the first four months of 2015-16 (headline growth above 37%, over 14% after adjustments) signals stronger manufacturing and services activity and supports achievement of revenue targets. The statement underscores preparedness for GST-expected to broaden the tax base and augment revenues-and calls for administrative readiness through new CBEC directorates, IT preparedness, officer training, capacity building, enhanced taxpayer services, and strengthened enforcement.

Goods and Services Tax rollout preparations emphasize operational readiness and taxpayer services ahead of implementation.
A two-day administrative conference of senior customs, central excise and service tax officials will focus on revenue strategies and operational initiatives prioritising Taxpayer Services, Ease of Doing Business, IT-driven process re-engineering and capacity building. The second day is devoted to preparations for the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax and the GSTN, with Chief Commissioners presenting implementation visions and operational issues for coordination between central leadership and field heads.