Legacy dispute resolution: concessional settlement with waiver, immunity and specified reliefs for eligible indirect tax dues.
Eligible persons may file an electronic declaration for specified legacy indirect tax matters quantified or pending as of 30 June 2019; declarations (except voluntary disclosures) are verified by a Designated Committee which issues a payable statement, requiring electronic payment within thirty days. Benefits include waiver of interest, penalty and fines, immunity from prosecution, and specified percentage duty reliefs depending on case type; pre-deposits are deducted and excess deposits are not refunded. A discharge certificate is issued after payment and proof of withdrawal and is conclusive for the declared matter and period but does not preclude SCNs for later periods or different matters; false voluntary disclosures discovered within one year are treated as if never made.

Export subsidy for sugar exports to relieve surplus stocks while prioritising direct payment of cane dues to farmers.
The Government approved a temporary export subsidy for the 2019-20 sugar season to cover marketing, handling, processing and transport costs for an allocated export quantity, paid as a lump sum to mills but credited first to farmers' accounts against cane price dues, with remaining balance to mills; the scheme is presented as WTO-compatible and aimed at evacuating surplus stocks, stabilising domestic prices and addressing cane arrears.

Incentivising States for tourism and culture through performance based grants and modernised heritage governance frameworks.
The Ministries asked the Finance Commission to design sector specific grants and performance based incentives for States that provide land, develop destinations, and build hospitality capacity, proposing state performance metrics such as tourism expenditure, tourist visits, classified hotel rooms, marketing effectiveness, ease of doing business and tourist feedback. The Tourism Ministry outlined priority interventions and major schemes (Swadesh Darshan, PRASHAD, DPPH, MDA, CBSP) and projected five year expenditure. The Culture Ministry urged community linked heritage conservation, strengthening ASI, coordinated conservation planning, local grants, new cultural centres, and institutional partnerships for capacity building.

Multilateral dispute resolution needed to manage trade tensions and preserve globalisation while safeguarding forex market stability.
Trade tensions and unilateral measures risk negative-sum outcomes; disputes are best managed within a multilateral framework. Exchange rates should equilibrate imbalances where market determination is allowed, while the Reserve Bank intervenes to maintain orderly forex market conditions without targeting specific rates. India focuses on hedging instruments, deeper onshore markets, and a CCIL-hosted anonymous trading platform to ensure transparent pricing for retail users and MSMEs, and urges voluntary adoption of the Global Forex Code to strengthen market integrity.

Appointed date flexibility permitted; event-linked appointed date treated as the acquisition date under IndAS 103 for accounting alignment.
Companies may specify the appointed date of a merger by reference to the occurrence of a relevant future event, allowing parties to remain independent until that event occurs. The circular deems the statutory appointed date to be the acquisition date for purposes of IndAS 103, aligning the legal effective date of a scheme with accounting recognition of control in business combinations.

Trade deficit narrows as imports fall and a services surplus partially offsets the merchandise shortfall.
Overall trade position for April-July 2019-20 shows a narrower deficit than the prior year, with an estimated overall trade deficit of USD 32.90 billion. Merchandise exports rose modestly in July while cumulative merchandise exports were slightly lower in dollar terms. Imports contracted-notably oil and non oil categories-reducing the merchandise deficit. A services surplus, based on provisional June data and July estimates, partially offsets the merchandise shortfall; services estimates are subject to revision.

Exchange Rate Determination sets official currency conversion rates for imports and exports effective mid August.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, under the Customs Act authority, notifies official conversion rates effective 15 August 2019, specifying separate rupee equivalents for each listed foreign currency for imported goods and for exported goods in Schedule I, and per 100 unit equivalents in Schedule II, superseding the prior notification except as to past actions.

Exchange rate amendment updates Swiss Franc import and export conversion rates under customs notification, effective immediately.
Amendment under section 14 revises Notification No.55/2019-CUSTOMS by substituting serial No.17 in Schedule-I to set distinct rupee equivalents for one Swiss Franc for imported goods and for exported goods, effective as stated in the press release; the change updates the exchange-rate table used for customs valuation and related procedural calculations.

International trade cooperation expanded via MoUs and state-level partnerships to deepen economic and technical ties with the Russian Far East.
A ministerial delegation concluded multiple memoranda of understanding to strengthen trade, investment, scientific and technical cooperation between Indian states, Indian companies and Russian Far East regions. Institutional arrangements agreed include university partnerships, representative offices, cultural and skill development centres, and state-level invitations to investors. Priority collaboration sectors comprise minerals, energy, forestry, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure, with coordinated B2B meetings and plenary sessions designed to generate concrete project proposals and deepen regional commercial links.

Role of specialised institutes in economic growth emphasized; IIFT's research, training and policy centres highlighted as national resource.
The convocation recognized the institute's role in developing human capital for foreign trade through degree conferrals across multiple programmes and highlighted its strong placements, research-based consultancy, corporate training and policy centres that support trade policy and national economic objectives.

Monetary policy: repo rate cut to 5.40% and accommodative stance to support growth while keeping inflation near target.
The Monetary Policy Committee cut the policy repo rate by 35 basis points to 5.40% and maintained an accommodative stance to achieve the medium term CPI inflation target of 4% 2% while supporting growth. The decision reflects weak domestic and global demand, benign headline inflation with upside food and crude risks, surplus system liquidity, modest transmission to lending rates, and a slight downward revision to the year's GDP growth projection; voting recorded divergence on the magnitude of the cut.

Exchange rate notification fixes foreign-currency conversion rates for customs valuation of imports and exports effective early August.
Determines rates of exchange for specified foreign currencies for customs valuation of imported and exported goods, effective 2nd August, 2019, superseding the prior notification except as to past actions; Schedule I lists per-unit import and export conversion rates and Schedule II lists conversion rates per 100 units for designated currencies to be applied for customs assessment and related regulatory purposes.

Market access and non-tariff barriers: government seeks data and offers support for Indian IT firms' global expansion.
The Commerce Minister urged Indian IT services firms to diversify into new international markets and requested NASSCOM and company managers to supply specific data on market access impediments and non-tariff barriers in China and other East Asian markets, while signalling Government readiness to engage with those countries to facilitate industry expansion.