Excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel aim to stabilise fuel prices and ease consumer burden.
Excise duty on petrol and diesel has been reduced to moderate domestic fuel prices and shield consumers from the impact of rising global crude oil prices. The special additional excise duty on petrol has been cut from Rs 13 per litre to Rs 3 per litre, while the corresponding duty on diesel has been reduced from Rs 10 per litre to nil. Duties have also been reintroduced on the export of diesel and aviation turbine fuel to support oil marketing companies and mitigate external market volatility.

Excise duty reduction on petrol and diesel eases fuel price pressure while export duties curb domestic supply diversion.
Excise duty on petrol and diesel was reduced to offset the impact of sharply rising global crude prices and to prevent an immediate increase in retail fuel prices. The reduction lowered the special additional excise duty on petrol and removed the corresponding levy on diesel, while the overall incidence of excise on both fuels was recalibrated through the existing duty structure. The measure was presented as a fiscal intervention to ease under-recoveries of oil marketing companies and to protect consumers from supply-driven price pressure.

Minimum alternate tax relief through Form 53 applies to APA and secondary adjustment cases with recomputation of book profits.
Form 53 is the prescribed application for taxpayers affected by secondary adjustments or APA-related adjustments for past years to seek recomputation of book profits and minimum alternate tax liability. It is mandatory where book profit increases in a financial year because income of past year(s) is included pursuant to an Advance Pricing Agreement or a secondary adjustment. The form must be filed by the due date for the return, can be filed once a year, requires no specific supporting documents, cannot be edited after acknowledgment, and cannot be submitted without a valid PAN.

Advance Pricing Agreement compliance reporting requires annual filing of Form 52 with adjustments, critical assumptions, and supporting documentation.
Form 52 is an Annual Compliance Report for taxpayers covered by a unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral Advance Pricing Agreement. It requires annual confirmation that the APA methodology, critical assumptions, and agreed terms and conditions have been complied with, together with tabular computation of any adjustment where actual results differ from the APA. The form also requires disclosure of deviations, supporting documentation, and filing within the prescribed time under Rule 113 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

Advance Pricing Agreement compliance reporting under Form 52 requires annual online filing with supporting transfer pricing documentation.
Form 52 is the annual compliance report for Advance Pricing Agreements under the Income-tax Act, 2025. It is mandatory for taxpayers with unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral APAs, and must be filed once a year for each year covered by the agreement. The report is filed online through the Income Tax e-Filing portal, cannot be edited after submission, and must be supported by APA documents explaining transfer pricing methodology, arm's length price computation, and compliance with critical assumptions.

Advance Pricing Agreement application form streamlines transfer pricing disclosures, rollback requests, and electronic filing requirements
Form 51 is the application form for an Advance Pricing Agreement under the Income-tax framework and is used for both forward-looking APA requests and rollback requests where permitted. It consolidates the earlier separate application formats and is filed electronically under the prescribed rules to the competent tax authority. The form requires extensive disclosure on the applicant, associated enterprise, covered transactions, business structure, financials, transfer pricing background, relevant agreements, and transfer pricing methodology.

Advance Pricing Agreement filing form streamlines transfer pricing applications, rollback requests, and online compliance requirements.
Form 51 is the prescribed application for an Advance Pricing Agreement under the Income-tax Act, 2025, covering international transactions and specified domestic transactions for a specified period. It may be filed by a person who has entered into, or is contemplating entering into, international transactions with an associated enterprise, including eligible rollback applicants. The form must be filed online, with a valid PAN and proof of payment, and cannot be edited after submission and acknowledgment, except through the prescribed defect or amendment procedure. Supporting documents include financial statements and relevant inter-company agreements.

Advance Pricing Agreement pre-filing consultation form streamlines transfer pricing discussions, electronic filing, and anonymous representation options.
Form FN050 is the income-tax application for a pre-filing consultation in relation to an Advance Pricing Agreement, allowing an eligible person to discuss the proposed transfer pricing methodology for international transactions before formal APA filing. The form requires details of the applicant, the type of APA proposed, the transactions to be covered, and the relevant tax years, with annexures covering group structure, business model, functional profile, transfer pricing audit history, and other international transactions. It is filed electronically, assigned to an APA team, and taken up for consultation, with the Indian competent authority associated in bilateral or multilateral cases.

Advance Pricing Agreement pre-filing meeting form guides optional online application for transfer pricing discussions.
Form 50 is the prescribed income-tax application for requesting a pre-filing meeting in connection with an Advance Pricing Agreement under the transfer pricing framework. It is optional and available to a taxpayer intending to enter into an APA, enabling the taxpayer to place its proposed transfer pricing methodology before the tax authority before making a formal APA application. The form may be filed before undertaking the international transaction, only once in a year, and online only through the Income Tax e-Filing portal.

RERA enforcement and insolvency accountability need overhaul to protect homebuyers from stalled projects and blocked ownership.
Stricter enforcement of RERA and insolvency law is sought to address homebuyers left without possession or legal title despite paying builders in full. The proposed reform emphasis includes attachment of a builder's personal assets on declaration of insolvency and the imposition of strict punishment after proper investigation. Concern is also expressed that delays within RERA allow default disputes to continue indefinitely, defeating the purpose of the regulatory regime.

Excise duty relief and export levies aim to shield fuel consumers and secure domestic supply amid global oil-price volatility.
Excise duty on petrol and diesel has been reduced to cushion domestic consumers against the rise in global crude oil prices and the resulting pressure on fuel costs. The special additional excise duty on petrol has been cut and the corresponding levy on diesel has been removed, while export duties have been reintroduced on diesel and aviation turbine fuel to preserve domestic availability of these products. The measure applies to diesel and aviation turbine fuel, but no windfall tax has been imposed on domestic crude oil producers.

Safe harbour filing requirements under Form 49 cover eligible transactions, due dates, disclosures, and accountant certification.
Safe harbour option under Form No. 49 is to be exercised by an eligible assessee by furnishing the merged and simplified form on or before the due date. The form replaces the erstwhile Forms 3CEFA, 3CEFB and 3CEFC and is used to furnish particulars relating to eligible international transactions, eligible specified domestic transactions and eligible business for the relevant tax year. Different filing timelines apply depending on the nature of the transaction, including a special filing window for provision of information technology services and a due-date-linked filing requirement for other cases.

Safe Harbour compliance through Form No. 49 now consolidates transaction disclosures, eligibility conditions, and online filing requirements.
Form No. 49 is the electronic application for opting for Safe Harbour under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026. It merges the earlier Forms 3CEFA, 3CEFB and 3CEFC into a single smart e-form for eligible international transactions, eligible specified domestic transactions and eligible business. The FAQs state that filing is mandatory only for assessees intending to opt for Safe Harbour, it must be filed online through the e-filing portal, and it requires disclosure of associated enterprises, transaction-specific details, supporting documents, accountant reports, and prescribed e-verification.

Transfer pricing reporting requires structured transaction-wise disclosure, arm's length price details, and accountant certification under Form 48.
Form No. 48 requires an accountant's report to be furnished under the Income-tax Act, 2025 for international transactions and specified domestic transactions with associated enterprises. The form is filed annually by the prescribed due date and uses a structured, transaction-wise format covering the assessee's particulars, associated enterprises or persons, transaction details, advance pricing agreement information, arm's length price determination, and any adjustment. Part F contains the accountant's certification of maintenance of the required information and documents.

Form No. 48 reporting rules for international and specified domestic transactions, online filing, PAN requirement, and arm's length pricing.
Form No. 48 is the mandatory accountant's report for international transactions and specified domestic transactions under section 172 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. It must be filed annually, only online through the Income Tax e-Filing portal, and requires a valid PAN. The form contains six parts covering assessee details, transaction aggregates, international and specified domestic transaction particulars, arm's length price computation, and threshold-based reporting. The FAQs also explain transaction identifiers, relationship coding, aggregation treatment, arm's length price auto-population, and the computation rules for transfer pricing methods.

Excise duty cut on petrol and diesel eases fuel cost pressure amid rising global crude prices.
Excise duty on petrol has been reduced and diesel has been exempted from the levy with immediate effect to cushion consumers and fuel retailers from the impact of rising global crude prices. The notification lowers the duty on petrol and brings the diesel duty to nil, reflecting a policy response to volatility in international oil markets and the strain created by unchanged retail pump prices. The duty reduction is intended to provide headroom to fuel retailers by easing input-cost pressure and supporting price stability in the domestic market.

Energy security and import dependence drive debate as fuel supply assurances counter claims of shortages and misinformation
Rising dependence on crude oil, LPG and natural gas imports is presented as an energy-security concern, alongside criticism that the promised push toward self-reliance has not been realised. The discussion also refers to earlier claims about a major gas discovery in the Krishna-Godavari basin and allegations that later audit reports treated the episode as a large-scale irregularity. Government and oil marketing companies, however, state that petrol, diesel and LPG supplies remain stable and adequately stocked.

Excise duty cut on petrol and diesel aims to ease pressure on fuel retailers amid rising global crude prices.
Excise duty on petrol has been reduced to Rs 3 a litre from Rs 13 a litre, while excise duty on diesel has been reduced to nil from Rs 10 a litre, with immediate effect. The duty cuts are intended to ease pressure on oil marketing companies facing elevated global crude prices and frozen retail fuel prices amid geopolitical disruption in oil markets.

WTO dispute settlement and e-commerce duty moratorium face renewed calls for reform and careful reconsideration.
A dysfunctional WTO dispute settlement system is described as having deprived members of effective redressal, and restoration of an automatic and binding dispute settlement mechanism is called for. Careful reconsideration of the continued extension of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions is urged because its scope remains unsettled and may have significant revenue implications. WTO reform is presented as needing to be transparent, inclusive and member-driven, anchored in development, non-discrimination, consensus-based decision-making, equity and effective special and differential treatment.

Transatlantic trade safeguards shape EU approval of the US deal, allowing suspension if the agreement is undermined.
European lawmakers approved the transatlantic trade agreement with safeguard amendments that permit suspension if the United States undermines the deal, discriminates against EU economic operators, threatens territorial integrity or foreign and defence policies, or engages in economic coercion. The agreement retains a 15 per cent tariff on most goods and proceeds to further negotiation between EU and US trade representatives, with the added language intended to preserve European interests and provide greater certainty for businesses.