Gold monetisation scheme expands deposit and lending options, allowing banks to accept gold and remunerate deposits in cash or gold.
The Gold Monetisation Scheme links a Revamped Gold Deposit Scheme and Revamped Gold Metal Loan Scheme, permitting designated banks to open Gold Deposit Accounts in grams, accept bullion or jewellery after KYC and purity testing, and engage certified testing centres and licensed refiners. Deposits are available for distinct tenures with tenure-specific redemption and interest rules-short-term interest in gold grams set by banks; medium and long-term interest and bank fees set by the government and paid in rupees. Mobilised gold may be auctioned, credited to central bank reserves, used for coin minting, or lent to jewellers; prior tax exemptions apply and a Gold Reserve Fund captures the interest-borrowing spread.

Export certification requirement: IOPEPC-issued COE and Salmonella testing now govern sesame seed exports to the EU.
Exports of sesame seeds to EU are permitted only if IOPEPC, designated as competent authority, issues a Certificate of Export based on a NABL-accredited laboratory test certifying absence of Salmonella conducted per EN/ISO 6579 and sampling rules under EC 2073/2005 and CAC/GL50-2004. FBOs must register with IOPEPC, comply with FSSAI and EC 852/2004 hygiene and GMP requirements, affix traceable labels, facilitate supervised stuffing and shifting, and follow IOPEPC procedures for RASFF handling, corrective measures and record-keeping; COE is issued within 48 hours and is valid for thirty days from the lab report.

Export of excisable goods without payment of duty extended to include Kholongchhu hydro-electric project under bonded export rules.
Amendment adds Kholongchhu Hydro Electric Project in Bhutan to the projects eligible for export of excisable goods without payment of Central Excise duty under bond by substituting the marginal heading and revising the project list in paragraph 1(5) of Notification No. 45/2001-Central Excise (N.T.), pursuant to rule 19 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002.

Electronic service of tax notices via designated government email with signed PDF attachments and central audit-trail tracking.
Notification prescribes procedures and technical standards for secured electronic transmission of communications under rule 127 delegated to the Principal DGIT(Systems). It defines electronic communication and prescribes the order of assessee email addresses and the AO's designation email for service, requires scanned signed PDF attachments of notices and orders, mandates PDF submission of supporting documents (with size-splitting and footer/page-number linkage), and requires marking copies to a central inbox to maintain an audit trail and database storage; provisions address email failures and pilot scope.

Rebate of Swachh Bharat Cess extended to services used in providing exported services under rule 6A, enabling rebate eligibility.
Amendment adds Swachh Bharat Cess to Explanation 1 of Notification No. 39/2012-Service Tax, making the cess eligible for rebate when paid on services used in providing services exported under rule 6A of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, thereby aligning the cess with the rebate mechanism of the principal notification.

Swachh Bharat Cess refund: SEZ units and developers may claim cess repayments and calculated apportioned refunds.
SEZ Units and Developers are entitled to refund of the Swachh Bharat Cess paid on specified services where ab initio exemption was admissible but not claimed, and to a refund determined by multiplying total service tax distributed under clause (a) by the effective rate of the Swachh Bharat Cess and dividing the product by the rate of service tax specified in section 66B of the Finance Act, 1994.

Cenvat credit restrictions bar using specified duty credits for Swachh Bharat Cess and allow credit for commission sales services.
The CENVAT Credit (Second Amendment) Rules, 2016 amend the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 by adding an Explanation in rule 2 to include services by way of sale of dutiable goods on commission basis as sales promotion, and by inserting a proviso in rule 3(4) that the CENVAT credit of any duty specified in sub-rule (1) shall not be utilised for payment of the Swachh Bharat Cess.

Service tax refund expanded to cover services used beyond production premises for exported excisable goods, with increased refund rates.
Amendment broadens the refund of service tax for exported excisable goods by substituting a clause to cover taxable services used beyond the factory or place of production for export, omits clause (B) from the Explanation, and increases specified numeric rate entries in the Schedule of rates by substituting higher figures in column (4) to adjust refund amounts.

Special Economic Zone appointment amendments replace listed SEZ representatives in prior notification, altering authorized designees.
Amendment substitutes the entries at serial numbers 5 and 6 in the prior SEZ notification to replace the named representatives for MEPZ SEZ with two newly specified individuals and their corporate affiliations, thereby altering the roster of authorized SEZ designees under that notification.

Appointment of Chairperson under Competition Act: office begins with a fixed tenure and rule governed service conditions.
The Central Government appoints the Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India under section 8(1) read with section 10(1) of the Competition Act, 2002, effective from the specified afternoon of January eleventh, two thousand sixteen for a tenure of five years, subject to earlier cessation on reaching the prescribed age limit or until further orders; terms and conditions are governed by the Competition Commission of India (Salary, Allowances and other Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and other Members) Rules, 2003.

Regulatory amendment: omission of serial 129 from customs exemption table withdraws a specified import exemption.
The Central Government, under sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 and in the public interest, amends Notification No. 12/2012-Customs by omitting serial number 129 and its related entries from the Table, thereby withdrawing the specific exemption or concession previously granted under that serial entry.

Import compliance requirement for motorcycles: EC Type Approval and Euro IV emission conformity required for authorized imports going forward.
Imports of new motorcycles of 800 cc or more are exempt from Sl. No. (2)(II)(c) provided an EC Type Approval/Certificate of Conformity from an accredited EU agency, with notarized English translation, is furnished at Customs; the Type Approval must confirm compliance with EU Directive 168/2013/EU and EURO IV emission norms with testing under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No.134/2014. EURO III compliant motorcycles remain exempt until 31 March 2017 subject to similar EC Type Approval requirements under directives listed in EU Directive 2002/24/EC.

Online submission requirement for Form DP-1 by all registered dealers, with a mandatory statutory deadline for compliance.
Notification mandates online submission of Form DP-1 by all dealers under the Delhi VAT framework, specifying that the Commissioner has directed electronic filing by the prescribed deadline and that the remainder of the prior notification remains in force.

Exchange rate amendment revises conversion rates for a specified foreign currency affecting import and export valuation procedures.
Amendment to customs exchange-rate schedule substituting the entry at serial No. 12 in Schedule I to revise the prescribed rupee equivalents for a specified foreign currency, setting separate conversion rates for imported goods and export goods to be used for customs valuation and related assessments.

Cenvat credit entitlement restored: ship breaking units may claim full CVD credit following rule proviso removal.
The proviso to rule 3(1)(vii) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 is omitted by the CENVAT Credit (First Amendment) Rules, 2016, effective from 1 March 2015, thereby allowing ship breaking units to claim the full credit of countervailing duty paid on inputs and input services where the proviso had previously limited the availment of credit.

Basic Excise Duty increase on petrol and diesel announced, substituting higher tariff entries effective 31 January 2016.
Amendment increases the Basic Excise Duty on petrol and diesel by substituting higher per litre rates for the entries in serial numbers 70 and 71 of the tariff table in Notification No.12/2012 Central Excise, with the change taking effect from 31 January 2016.

Anti-dumping duty adjustment: revised duty rate substituted for specified entry, effective from provisional imposition to termination.
The amendment replaces the entry in column (9) against serial number 4 of Notification No. 133/2008-Customs with a substituted anti-dumping duty rate. It is promulgated under sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 read with rules 18 and 20 of the Customs Tariff Rules, 1995. The substituted rate applies from the date of imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty and continues up to and including the stated terminal date.

EPCG Scheme restriction bars import of capital goods for power generation or transmission, including captive power supply.
Amendment to Para 5.01(g) of FTP 2015-2020 provides that authorization under the EPCG Scheme shall not be issued for import of any capital goods for generation or transmission of power, including captive plants and power generator sets; it further clarifies that this prohibition includes supply of power (energy) in their own unit.

Importer-Exporter Code documentation streamlined: only photo, PAN and bank proof; online filing via digital signature required.
Amendment to the Importer-Exporter Code requires only three uploads with immediate effect: digital photograph of signatory, copy of the business entity's PAN (or proprietor's PAN), and a cancelled cheque bearing the entity's pre-printed name or bank certificate in ANF-2A(I). Additionally, only online IEC applications and modifications will be accepted using Class-II or Class-III digital signatures from the specified commencement date.

Tariff value fixation clarifies import valuation for edible oils, metals and agricultural commodities under customs notification.
Exercising the power under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Board of Excise & Customs substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 in the principal notification to prescribe tariff values for specified goods including edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and gold and silver (where certain concessional entries are availed), with values expressed in US dollars per metric tonne or per unit weight to govern import valuation.