Tax exemption extension for SUUTI prolongs income-tax immunity for specified undertaking pending liquidation tasks retroactively.
Extension of income-tax exemption for the Special Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) is effected by amending the statutory exemption to prolong the tax shelter on income, profits, gains and receipts of the specified undertaking for an additional five-year period to permit completion of its liquidation mandate; the amendment is made retrospective to the start of the current fiscal period.

Corporate social responsibility deduction barred under income tax; CSR spending not treated as business expense, limited to statutory exceptions.
CSR expenditures required by the Companies Act are treated as applications of income and not as expenditures incurred wholly and exclusively for carrying on business; therefore they are proposed to be excluded from allowance as deductions under the income-tax rule on business expenditure, while CSR spending that otherwise meets statutory deductible categories remains allowable subject to applicable conditions, with the clarification to operate prospectively from the stated implementation date.

Tax on anonymous donations requires a separate special-rate levy plus normal tax on income reduced by excess donations.
Amendment requires a two-part tax computation: tax at the special rate on anonymous donations exceeding the threshold, and the tax the assessee would be chargeable to if total income were reduced by those excess anonymous donations; this replaces the prior aggregation approach and applies from the stated assessment year onwards.

Substantial Government Financing defined by prescribed percentage of receipts, determining exemption eligibility for certain educational and healthcare institutions.
An Explanation will be inserted in section 10(23C) providing that where government grants in the relevant previous year exceed a prescribed percentage of an educational institution's or hospital's total receipts, including voluntary contributions, that institution shall be treated as substantially financed by the Government for that year, with the amendment effective from 1 April 2015 and applying to subsequent assessment years.

Taxability of advance for transfer-forfeited advances taxed as income from other sources and not deductible from acquisition cost.
Sums received as advances during negotiations for transfer of a capital asset, when forfeited and the negotiations do not result in transfer, are to be charged under the head Income From Other Sources, and included in the definition of income. Correspondingly, where such an advance has been included in total income, that amount shall not be deducted from the cost of acquisition, written down value or fair market value of the asset in computing cost.

Alternate Minimum Tax inclusion of investment linked deductions increases the AMT taxable base after reducing depreciation.
The amendment requires that investment linked deductions claimed under section 35AD be added back to total income for the purpose of computing adjusted total income under the alternate minimum tax regime, while reducing allowable depreciation under section 32 in that computation, thereby altering the taxable base for AMT and applying to assessment years from 2015 16 onwards.

Extension of section 80-IA sunset date: power sector deadline extended, tax incentives available for later commencements.
The amendment extends the terminal date for eligibility for deductions under section 80-IA for power-sector undertakings-covering power generation and distribution, laying new transmission or distribution networks, and substantial renovation/modernization of such networks-until 31 March 2017. The change takes effect from 1 April 2015 and applies to assessment year 2015-16 and subsequent assessment years.

Grossing up of dividend tax: distributed amounts must be increased so tax on the grossed amount nets to the paid dividend.
Amendments require grossing-up of dividends and mutual fund distributed income so that the tax is computed on a pre-tax amount which, after reduction by the statutory distribution tax rate, equals the net amount actually paid; Section 115-O is revised for company dividends and Section 115R for mutual fund distributions, with both changes effective from 1 October 2014.

Surcharge on income-tax with marginal relief for high-income cases, plus continued education cess on computed tax.
The Bill sets income-tax rates for assessment year 2014-2015, retaining prior-year slab rates for individuals and specified rates for other taxpayer classes, and carries forward rates for TDS and advance tax. Surcharges apply at differentiated rates where total income or payments exceed high-income thresholds, with marginal relief to limit additional burden to the excess income. Education Cess and Secondary and Higher Education Cess continue to be levied on tax inclusive of surcharge, with no marginal relief for the cesses; corresponding surcharge and cess rules also apply to tax deducted at source for non-residents and companies.

SEZ incentives: tax and duty exemptions for units supporting export promotion and investment attraction and employment growth.
Special Economic Zones receive a uniform set of statutory incentives under the SEZ Act and rules to promote exports and investment: duty free import and domestic procurement for SEZ development and operations; staged income tax exemptions on export income including tax relief for reinvested export profits; exemptions from central sales tax and service tax; and state sales tax and other state levy exemptions as extended by states. The government periodically reviews policy and has amended SEZ Rules to address implementation challenges and improve flexibility.

Non-filing and prospectus misstatement enforcement pursued, paired with early warning systems and forensic upgrades to deter corporate fraud.
A cohort of companies that raised capital through public issues has been classified as vanishing companies where a subset remains untraceable and non-compliant with statutory filing obligations. Regulatory action includes lodging of criminal complaints and prosecutions against companies and their promoters/directors for non-filing of annual returns and balance sheets and for misleading disclosures in offer documents. The Ministry is developing an early warning system, establishing a forensic laboratory in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and conducting investor education programmes to detect, investigate and deter such corporate malfeasance.

Foreign company registration: annual registrations, fees collected and closure counts reported; closures attributed to company management.
Annual reporting discloses the number of foreign companies registered in India and total registration fees collected for 2011-12 through 2014-15 (up to 30 June 2014), and provides counts of foreign companies that closed business in India for the same periods. The statement specifies that the decision on closure is taken by the management of the company concerned and was furnished in a written parliamentary reply.

Consultative rulemaking ensured extensive stakeholder input shaped the Companies Cost Records and Audit Rules.
Formulation of the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2013 proceeded through a structured consultative rulemaking process: a draft was published online, stakeholder comments were solicited, a substantial volume of feedback was received, and those comments were considered in finalizing the Rules.

Director Identification Number duplication: verification and compounding directed for pre-validation era multiple DIN holders action
Multiple individuals hold more than one Director Identification Number, with 7135 instances traced to the period before PAN-based validation became mandatory; authorities have directed verification of all such cases and noted some applications for compounding of defaults, with no new instances identified after PAN validation was introduced.

XBRL filing requirement expands to listed firms and specified companies, enforcing standardized digital financial reporting compliance.
The Companies Act 2013 and its rules incorporate corporate governance elements recommended by the Committee on Corporate Governance and require adoption of those governance features, while SEBI's listing agreement prescribes stricter governance norms for listed entities. The Government has mandated that listed companies and their subsidiaries, and companies meeting prescribed paid up capital or turnover thresholds, file financial statements in Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), with tens of thousands of companies covered and many having filed XBRL statements for 2012-13.

Personal tax exemption increase raises basic thresholds while surcharge rates stay unchanged and investment incentives introduced.
Basic personal income-tax exemption thresholds and certain deduction limits were raised while surcharge rates remained unchanged; education cess continues. A temporary 15 percent investment allowance was introduced for manufacturing companies investing in new plant and machinery alongside an existing higher-threshold allowance. Income of foreign portfolio investors from securities will be treated as capital gains and a concessional dividend tax rate for foreign investors retained. The concessional tax regime for foreign borrowings was extended and broadened to all bond types, and an APA roll back provision was proposed to apply APAs to certain prior-year transactions.

Fiscal consolidation as primary objective, paired with tax reforms to boost investment and streamline administration.
The Budget prioritises fiscal consolidation and growth revival through expenditure discipline, revenue mobilisation and structural reforms, proposing an Expenditure Management Commission and subsidy overhaul. Tax reforms aim to broaden the base, reduce litigation and incentivise investment via administrative strengthening of Advance Rulings, Transfer Pricing changes, support for REITs/InvITs and investment allowances for manufacturing. Indirect tax adjustments target inverted duties and domestic manufacturing while preparatory work for GST and trade facilitation measures like a Customs Single Window are advanced. Programmatic allocations support infrastructure, agriculture, social welfare and financial sector reforms.

Advance rulings expanded for resident taxpayers to provide pre certainty on income tax liability; Settlement Commission scope broadened.
Resident taxpayers can obtain an advance ruling on income tax liability above a defined threshold, additional benches will be constituted to strengthen the advance ruling authority, and the scope of the Income Tax Settlement Commission will be enlarged to allow taxpayers to approach it for settlement of disputes; a high level committee will consult with trade and industry and changes to transfer pricing regulations are proposed.

Fiscal consolidation and subsidy targeting paired with a GST commitment to streamline taxation and spur investment.
The budget prioritises fiscal consolidation via a declining fiscal deficit path and an Expenditure Management Commission, while overhauling the subsidy regime to target protection for marginalized groups. It commits to implementing a Goods and Services Tax, widens tax bases with compliance measures and reliefs for individuals, and provides sectoral tax incentives. Parallel reforms include selective FDI liberalisation with domestic management safeguards, facilitation for foreign portfolio investors, financial inclusion initiatives, and extensive allocations to social and infrastructure programmes coupled with tax and administrative facilitation to reduce litigation and promote investment.

Pension reform under New Pension System shifts to individual defined contribution accounts establishing a sustainable retirement framework.
Passage of the PFRDA Act, transfer of commodity futures regulation to the Ministry of Finance, and publication of the FSLRC recommendations marked major regulatory shifts aimed at consolidating oversight, improving transparency in rule making through mandatory public consultations and cost benefit analysis, and strengthening governance and reporting by financial regulators to enhance consumer protection and regulator-regulated entity interfaces.