Transfer of company proceedings to Tribunal excludes matters reserved for orders and certain winding-up petitions.
Clause (c) of section 434 of the Companies Act, 2013 is brought into force from 15 December 2016 to transfer pending proceedings under the Companies Act, 1956 to the Tribunal, except that (a) proceedings other than winding-up reserved for orders shall not be transferred, and (b) winding-up petitions pending in High Courts shall be transferred only where petitions have not been served under rule 26 of the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959; remaining winding-up and reserved matters shall continue to be governed by the Companies Act, 1956 and the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959.

Transfer of pending corporate proceedings to tribunal streamlines jurisdiction; specified exceptions and procedural conditions apply.
These Rules provide for the transfer of pending company law proceedings from High Courts to the National Company Law Tribunal, except matters reserved for orders. Voluntary winding up petitions remain with High Courts. Winding up petitions for inability to pay debts that are unserved must be transferred and treated as insolvency applications under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, with petitioners required to submit admission information including proposed insolvency professional within a stipulated period or face abatement. Relevant records must be transferred and no fee is payable for transferred proceedings.

Foreign investment caps and entry routes updated; sectoral conditions and disclosure rules govern automatic and government approvals.
The amendment revises Annex B to Schedule 1, specifying sectoral foreign investment caps, entry routes (automatic or government approval) and associated conditions. It permits foreign investment in defined agricultural activities under controlled conditions, allows manufacturing under the automatic route with sales via wholesale/retail/e commerce, sets tiered entry and security/licensing conditions for defence, prescribes entry and compliance requirements for broadcasting, airports, SBRT and pharmaceuticals, and mandates disclosures and certifications for brownfield pharmaceutical investments.

Tax exemption for regulatory board: specified grants, fees and interest exempt subject to non-commercial operation and filing conditions.
Central Government notifies Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board under clause (46) of section 10 of the Income-tax Act in respect of specified income comprising Central Government grants, other grants, fees and penalty charges, sums approved under sections 38 and 39 of the PNGRB Act, 2006, and interest on deposits. The notification applies for the stated assessment years and is subject to conditions that the Board shall not engage in commercial activity, its activities and the nature of specified income remain unchanged during the financial year, and it files its return of income as required by clause (g) of sub section (4C) of section 139.

Monetary cap removal: amendment deletes the specified monetary limit from rule 3(2) of the PMLA appeal rules upon publication.
The Central Government amends the Prevention of Money laundering (Appeal) Rules, 2005 by deleting the phrase constituting the monetary cap from the Table in rule 3(2) against the specified serial entry; the amendment, titled Prevention of Money laundering (Appeal) Amendment Rules, 2016, takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette and is made under the rule making powers conferred by the Act.

Minimum Import Price continuation for specified iron and steel HS codes, extending CIF based MIP import conditions for those items.
The notification extends the applicability of a CIF-based Minimum Import Price (MIP) to nineteen specified HS codes of iron and steel under Chapter 72 of the ITC (HS), 2012, listed in the Annex, preserving their "Free" import policy status subject to the stated per metric tonne MIP values and requiring import compliance with those MIP valuation conditions under Schedule I (Import Policy).

Form 26A procedure: electronic certification and reprocessing mechanism for removing TDS short deduction and non-deduction defaults.
Procedure prescribes electronic and paper modes for furnishing Form 26A to remove defaults for short deduction or non-deduction of TDS. Deductors obtain transaction details on TRACES, generate unique DINs/alpha-numeric strings, authorize a registered accountant on the e-filing portal who completes and digitally signs Annexure A, and finally digitally sign and submit Form 26A. TRACES and CPC-TDS reprocess statements to modify short deductions, recalculate late deduction interest, and the deductor must pay the revised interest before filing; validations require the deductee's return filed under section 139 with no outstanding demand.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointment centralizes adjudication of specified customs show cause notices under section 152 framework.
The Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence appoints a Common Adjudicating Authority under clause (a) of section 152 of the Customs Act to exercise the powers and discharge duties previously vested in the officers named in the listed show cause notices, thereby transferring adjudicatory competence for the specified noticees to the designated Commissioner of Customs for adjudication of the referenced show cause notice.

Withdrawal of CVD exemption on high purity gold coins and gold findings alters customs duty treatment for those imports.
Substitution of serial number 323 in Notification No. 12/2012-Customs withdraws concessional treatment by specifying three covered items: gold bars (other than tola bars) with manufacturer/refiner engraved serial number and metric weight; gold coins with gold content not below 99.5%; and gold findings (small jewellery components). Imports of such gold coins and gold findings through post, courier or baggage are excluded from the entry.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointment centralises adjudication powers for designated customs show cause notices under the Customs Act.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, under clause (a) of section 152 of the Customs Act, appoints officers listed in column (5) of the Table to act as Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the officers listed in column (4) in respect of the noticees in column (2) for adjudication of the show cause notices set out in column (3); the Table specifies each noticee, corresponding show cause notice, original adjudicating authority and the appointed CAA, with a recorded substitution for one designated office.

Branded coin exemption expanded to include high-purity gold and silver coins bearing brand names when duties are paid.
Amendment substitutes the Table entry at serial number 200 to exempt branded precious metal wares and branded high-purity gold and silver coins manufactured from metal on which appropriate customs or excise duty has been paid. The exemption covers articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares bearing a brand name and branded coins of high purity produced from duty-paid metal. The explanation defines "brand name" broadly to include registered or unregistered trade names, marks, symbols and invented words, and excludes jeweller or job worker identities known as "house mark" from the definition.

Exchange rate determination: notified conversion rates set for specified foreign currencies for import and export goods.
Determination of exchange rates for conversion between specified foreign currencies and Indian rupees is made under the Customs Act, superseding the prior notification, and prescribing distinct rates for imported and export goods effective from 2nd December, 2016. The notification implements two schedules: Schedule I sets rates per one unit of currency with separate import and export columns; Schedule II sets rates per one hundred units where applicable, thereby fixing the conversion rates used for customs valuation and related import-export procedures.

Tax exemption under Section 10(46) for BIS specified incomes, subject to non commercial operation and statutory filing conditions.
Central Government notifies BIS for tax exemption under clause (46) of section 10 in respect of certification fees, sale of standards (where no profit is involved), and interest income. The notification applies for assessment years 2017-18 through 2021-22 and is subject to conditions: BIS must not engage in commercial activity; the activities and nature of the specified income must remain unchanged during the financial year; and BIS must file its return of income as required by clause (g) of sub-section (4C) of section 139.

Tax exemption for regulatory commission: specified incomes exempted subject to non-commercial operation and statutory filing.
Notification under section 10(46) designates the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission for exemption of specified incomes-including annual licence fees, interest on deposits, application/petition fees, State Government grants, document fees, penalties for delayed licence fees, RTI fees, and sale of scrap-subject to conditions that the Commission not engage in commercial activity, that its activities and the nature of the specified income remain unchanged, and that it files returns of income as required under the specified filing provision.

Tax exemption for welfare board: specified cess and interest incomes exempt subject to non commercial, unchanged activity and filing conditions.
Central Government notifies that the Chandigarh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board's specified income - proceeds of the cess under the Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act and interest income from investment - is exempt under clause (46) of section 10 of the Income tax Act for financial years 2015-16 to 2019-20, subject to conditions that the board not engage in commercial activity, that activities and the nature of specified income remain unchanged during the year, and that the board files its return of income as required.

Adjudicating Authority designation: NCLT Benches empowered to exercise insolvency jurisdiction under the Code from notified commencement.
The notification designates Benches of the National Company Law Tribunal to exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority of the Adjudicating Authority under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code for matters falling under Part II of the Code, and states that the designation shall come into force from the notified commencement date.

Commencement of Insolvency Code provisions appointed, specified sections brought into force enabling the insolvency framework to operate.
A ministerial notification under section 1(3) appoints 1 December 2016 as the commencement date for specified provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The notification brings clause (a)-(d) of section 2 (except as to voluntary liquidation or bankruptcy), sections 4-32, sections 60-77, section 198, section 231, sections 236-238, and clause (a)-(f) of sub section (2) of section 239 into force on that date.

Withdrawal of Section 35AC approval removes tax-exempt consideration for specified trust projects and certificates cease to be taken into account.
The Central Government withdraws approval under Section 35AC for Navjeevan Charitable Trust and the specified projects Shree Navjeevan, A Caring Hand, and Sankalap, rescinding the earlier notifications for those projects following the National Committee's recommendation after an Income-tax Department enquiry. Certificates furnished under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 35AC for these projects shall not be taken into consideration while computing income-tax.

Inclusion of online information and database access services alters place-of-provision classification under service tax rules.
The Place of Provision of Services (Second Amendment) Rules, 2016 insert the words "and online information and database access or retrieval" after "include broadcasting" in clause (q) of rule 2 of the Place of Provision of Services Rules, 2012, thereby expanding the definitional scope of that provision; the amendment is notified under the Finance Act and comes into force on 1 December 2016.

Fixation of Tariff Values: government sets customs valuation rates for edible oils, metals, seeds and areca nut.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, exercising powers under the Customs Act, substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of the principal notification and fixes tariff values for listed imports. The amendment prescribes tariff values for specified edible oils (including palm and soybean oils and palmolein), brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit tariff values for gold and silver where specified notification benefits are availed, making these values the applicable schedule for customs valuation at import.