Remittance of assets: RBI permission required for cross-border transfers of Indian-held assets, with annual caps and compliance conditions.
Regulations prohibit outward remittance of assets held in India except as permitted; they define remittance of asset broadly and establish permissive pathways with documentary, auditor and authorised dealer conditions for foreign citizens, NRIs/PIOs, companies under liquidation and branch/office closures, impose an annual ceiling (US$1,000,000) for specified remittances, require RBI prior approval where ceilings or hardship grounds apply, and make remittances subject to applicable Indian tax laws.

Special Economic Zone modification: addition and de-notification adjust SEZ area at Genome Valley under SEZ Act following approvals and state no-objection
The Central Government, under the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and rule 8 of the SEZ Rules, 2006, approved inclusion of a 2.136 hectare parcel and de-notified parcels totalling 12.35 hectares from the sector specific biotechnology SEZ at Genome Valley, yielding a revised SEZ area of 10.2263 hectares; approvals were based on the developer's proposal, a Central letter of approval, State no-objection, and the Development Commissioner's recommendation.

Special Economic Zone designation for IT/ITES at Ranga Reddy establishes approval committee and deems zone an Inland Container Depot.
Notification designates a Special Economic Zone for IT and ITES at Raidurg Panmaktha, Ranga Reddy (1.85 hectares, survey no. 83/1), confirms prior letter of approval for development, operation and maintenance, constituting an Approval Committee with specified ex officio members and a developer representative, and deems the SEZ to be an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act effective 31 March 2016.

Establishment of foreign offices in India requires RBI approval and compliance with eligibility, activity and reporting rules.
The Regulations require prior Reserve Bank approval for establishment in India of branch, liaison, project or other business offices by non residents, subject to statutory exceptions. They set financial eligibility criteria or allow a parent Letter of Comfort, prescribe permitted activities by office type, require application via Form FNC through an Authorised Dealer Category I bank, impose reporting and audit obligations including an Annual Activity Certificate, govern remittance of profits and winding up proceeds, and mandate Reserve Bank clearance or additional registration for specified nationalities, sectors and regions.

Tariff value fixation updated for specified imported commodities, setting reference values for customs assessment and import processing.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 of Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.) with new tables prescribing tariff values in US dollars for specified imported goods, including edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nut, and gold and silver, to serve as reference values for customs assessment and administration.

Baggage allowance revised: distinct duty-free limits and residency conditions for arriving passengers, with updated stay-based concessions.
Amendments revise duty free baggage entitlements: passengers (excluding infants) arriving from countries other than Nepal, Bhutan or Myanmar may clear used personal effects, travel souvenirs and other articles not in Annexure I up to prescribed monetary limits; tourists of foreign origin have a lower limit. For arrivals from Nepal, Bhutan or Myanmar similar entitlements apply with specific limits and land arrivals and infants limited to used personal effects. The Appendix to rule 6 replaces stay based concessions with aggregate value caps, eligibility conditions and limited condonation provisions; Annexure II is amended to include larger domestic refrigerators.

Tariff concessions under IJCEPA: revised preferential import rates for listed goods, effective from the notification's commencement date.
Notification substitutes the Table in Notification No.69/2011 Customs to provide revised preferential tariff rates for specified goods under the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Exercising powers under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Government lists HS code ranges and tariff items with their applicable percentage rates (including nil or reduced rates) to be applied for customs assessment and exemption claims under the IJCEPA preferential regime, and fixes the commencement date stated in the notification.

Duty exemptions for specified personal goods imported by returning residents or transfers of residence, with unit and aggregate value limits.
Notification provides duty exemption for goods under Heading 9803 imported as bona fide baggage by persons returning after at least 365 days abroad or by persons transferring residence; Table I goods are fully exempt, Table II exempt up to 15% ad valorem with duty on excess. Conditions include passport and residence-duration requirements, one unit per item limits, aggregate value caps (Rs. 200,000 for returning residents; Rs. 500,000 for transferees), non-duplication within three years, compliance with Baggage Rules time limits, family declaration for transfers, and condonation rules for short visits.

Baggage import duty capped at 35% ad valorem on excess value beyond allowance, with specified exceptions.
Articles under Heading 9803 imported as baggage are exempt from that portion of customs duty exceeding a rate of 35% ad valorem; duty is calculated on the value exceeding the passenger's duty free allowance or, for unaccompanied baggage, on the full value, and where one article exceeds the allowance duty applies only to the excess value not utilised for other baggage. Specified exclusions include firearms, cartridges over fifty, excess tobacco, and goods via courier.

Special Economic Zone designation for a footwear sector zone, with approval committee constituted and deemed inland container depot status.
Notification designates a 59.398-hectare parcel at SIPCOT Bargur as a Special Economic Zone for footwear following grant of letter of approval under the Special Economic Zones Act, identifies constituent survey numbers and areas, constitutes an Approval Committee listing specified ex officio members and the developer's representative for SEZ administration, and declares the zone to be deemed an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act with an effective date specified.

Corrigendum updating central excise tariff table entries for specified retail price slabs, replacing several duty values.
Corrigendum to notification 16/2016 Central Excise substitutes numerical entries in Table 1 for the slabs "Exceeding Re. 6.00 but not exceeding Rs. 7.00", "Exceeding Re. 7.00 but not exceeding Rs. 8.00" and "Exceeding Re. 8.00 but not exceeding Rs. 9.00", replacing the prior series beginning with 153.75, 144.60, 219.64, 206.57, 466.74, 438.96 with a new series beginning with 244.05, 228.80, 348.64, 326.85, 740.86, 694.56.

Accounting Standards: revised recognition, measurement and disclosure rules for inventories, provisions, PPE and consolidation.
Amendments revise multiple Accounting Standards: AS 2 mandates inventories be measured at the lower of cost and net realisable value with defined cost components, permitted cost formulas and disclosure requirements; AS 4/AS 29 distinguish contingencies and post balance sheet events, require provisions only where present obligation, probable outflow and reliable estimate exist and set measurement and disclosure rules; AS 10 prescribes recognition, measurement (cost or revaluation model), depreciation, derecognition and disclosure for property, plant and equipment; AS 13, AS 14 and AS 21 restate rules for investments, amalgamations (including goodwill treatment) and consolidated financial statements, with transitional provisions and cross references to other Standards.

Forensic Audit recruitment rules set qualifications, age limits, promotion and deputation conditions for key investigative posts.
These recruitment rules regulate staffing for Assistant Director, Senior Assistant Director and Deputy Director (Forensic Audit) posts in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, specifying pay bands, age limits, probation, essential educational qualifications and minimum audit or forensic audit experience for direct recruits; setting promotion and deputation eligibility and tenures; mandating Departmental Promotion/Confirmation Committees and consultation with the Union Public Service Commission; and preserving powers to relax provisions and apply reservation and other concessions.

Tobacco product limits revised: reduced permitted quantities for cigarettes, cigars and loose tobacco on import.
A corrigendum to Notification No. 31/2016-Customs(N.T.) replaces the expression "Cigarettes:200 numbers or Cigar upto 50 or Tobacco 250 grams" in column (3) of the TABLE with "Cigarettes up to100 sticks or Cigars upto 25 or Tobacco up to125 grams", thereby revising the permissible personal import quantities for those tobacco products.

Foreign investment cap in insurance retained with automatic route access, subject to IRDAI verification and regulatory conditions.
Amendment revises the Schedule to permit foreign investment in specified insurance entities up to a 49% foreign equity cap on the automatic route. Covered entities include Insurance Companies, Brokers, Third Party Administrators, Surveyors and Loss Assessors, and other IRDAI-appointed intermediaries. The investment is subject to IRDAI approval/verification, compliance with the Insurance Act, licence requirements, Indian ownership and control criteria, FEMA and SEBI portfolio investment provisions, RBI pricing guidelines for any increase, and applicability of certain banking-sector provisions to bank-promoted insurance companies.

Customs duty exemption added for a certified diamond testing institute, allowing import of cut and polished diamonds for testing.
The Central Government amended Notification No. 40/2015 Customs to insert HRD Diamond Institute Private Limited, Mumbai in the Table of entities eligible for customs duty exemption, thereby permitting that institute to import cut and polished diamonds for the purpose of testing and certification under the existing exemption framework.

Income tax (9th Amendment) Rules, 2016 amend Rule 12 and update the official list of ITR forms for filing.
The Income tax (9th Amendment) Rules, 2016 amend Rule 12 of the Income tax Rules, 1962 to insert an additional sub section cross reference, update year references, and extend a clause to include a firm (other than an LLP) alongside Hindu undivided families; Appendix II is revised to substitute the list of prescribed ITR forms. The rules are titled the Income tax (9th Amendment) Rules, 2016 and commence from the first day of the next financial year.

Point of taxation: invoice date governs tax point when recipient liability changes but payment remains unpaid.
Where there is change in the liability or extent of liability of a person required to pay tax as recipient of service notified under sub section (2) of section 68, in case service has been provided and the invoice issued before the date of such change, but payment has not been made as on such date, the point of taxation shall be the date of issuance of the invoice.

Ind AS applicability expands to NBFCs: phased implementation, transition and consolidation requirements imposed by government rules.
The amendment expands Ind AS applicability by defining NBFCs and imposing a phased adoption timetable for NBFCs and their group entities based on net worth and listing status, prescribes net worth calculation from specified audited stand alone statements, and provides consolidation guidance where group entities apply different accounting frameworks. It requires banking and insurance groups to follow regulator notified Ind AS variants and inserts comprehensive transitional, measurement and disclosure amendments across multiple Ind ASs including Ind AS 101, 109, 110, 11 and 18.

Exemption under Section 35AC extended for educational upliftment project for further term; CSR-sourced funds excluded from benefit.
The notification designates the "Upliftment of ST students through quality education" project by Chil Chil Asian Mission Society as an eligible project for income-tax exemption and extends that designation for a further three years without changing the approved project cost, commencing with the financial year 2014-15; no certificate will be issued for the already lapsed first year. The extension follows the National Committee's recommendation that the project is properly executed, and the exemption expressly excludes funds received under Schedule VII of the Companies Act and the Companies (CSR) Rules.