Fund manager connected person status clarified; fixed-charge remuneration excluded from fund profits if conditions and writing are satisfied.
The amendment clarifies that a fund manager is not a connected person of the fund merely for undertaking fund management activity, and that remuneration which is a fixed charge and not dependent on the fund's income from the manager's activity will be excluded from profits under clause (d) of sub-section (4) of section 9A where clause (m) of sub-section (3) conditions are satisfied and the fixed charge was agreed in writing at the commencement of the activity.

Intangible asset accounting: Ind AS required; if not applicable, comply with Companies Accounting Standards from April 2016.
For intangible assets, the relevant Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) shall apply; where a company is not required to comply with Ind AS, it shall comply with the relevant Accounting Standards under the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2006. This amendment to Schedule II is effected by Central Government notification and is applicable to accounting periods commencing on or after 1 April 2016.

Special Court designation enables speedy trial for serious Companies Act offences in Meghalaya following central government concurrence.
The Central Government, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya, designates the Court of District and Sessions Judge, Shillong as a Special Court under section 435(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 to provide speedy trial of offences under the Act punishable with imprisonment of two years or more, exercising jurisdiction as Special Court for the State of Meghalaya.

Exchange rate determination fixes rupee conversion rates for specified foreign currencies, replacing the prior customs notification.
Determination of rate of exchange for conversion of specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for customs valuation, effective from 18th November, 2016, superseding the prior notification and fixing separate rupee-equivalent rates for imported and exported goods as set out in Schedule I (unit rates) and Schedule II (rates per one hundred units), with preservation of prior actions done or omitted before supersession and an appended amendment note affecting a Schedule entry.

Prescribed authority under section 143(2) clarified: authorised income-tax officers of minimum rank may issue scrutiny notices.
Prescribes the prescribed authority for issuance of scrutiny notices as an income-tax authority not below the rank of Income-tax Officer who has been authorised by the Central Board to act for purposes of subsection (2) of section 143, and provides that this rule takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Commencement of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code provisions: specified sections brought into force on 15 November 2016.
Central Government appoints 15th November 2016 as the commencement date for specified provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 by notification under section 1(3), listing consecutive blocks of sections, certain clauses and subsections, and several individually enumerated sections to be brought into force on that date, thereby effecting initial implementation of the Code through a ministerial commencement instrument.

Tariff value fixation updates import valuation for specified agricultural and metal goods, affecting customs assessment and notification eligibility.
Amendment under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 replaces Tables in the principal notification to fix tariff values as US dollar benchmarks for specified imports, including edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nut, and specified gold and silver categories, to be used for customs assessment and import clearance.

Cash deposit reporting tightened; banks and post offices must report specified short term high-value cash deposits with a filing deadline.
The amendment revises rule 114B to treat cash deposits into banks and Post Office accounts exceeding fifty thousand rupees in a day or aggregating over two lakh fifty thousand rupees during 09 November 2016 to 30 December 2016 as reportable, and inserts in rule 114E a reporting obligation for deposits in that period aggregating to twelve lakh fifty thousand rupees or more in current accounts or two lakh fifty thousand rupees or more in other accounts, to be reported by banks, qualifying co-operative banks and the Post Master General by 31 January 2017.

Notification corrigendum updates item numbering, replacing specified references to 5 and 5A with 6 and 6A in the service tax text.
Correction to Notification No. 38/2016 Service Tax replaces numeral 5 with 6, changes 5A to 6A in column 1 of the TABLE, and updates the reference "5A of the TABLE" to "6A of the TABLE" to correct the published Gazette entry.

Anti-dumping duty on DASDA imports from China maintained at modified rates, distinguishing specific producer-exporter combinations.
The designated authority recommended continuation of anti-dumping duty at modified rates on imports of DASDA from the People's Republic of China; the Central Government, exercising powers under section 9A and relevant rules, imposed specified anti-dumping duty rates per metric tonne in US dollars in a Table distinguishing a named producer-exporter combination from other combinations and covering alternate country-of-origin and export permutations.

Service tax compliance liability shifted to non-taxable territory service providers for online information and database access services to non-assesse recipients.
Reallocates service tax payment and procedural compliance for online information and database access or retrieval services so that where the recipient is a non-assesse online recipient, the recipient is excluded from the territorial reference and the compliance obligation is placed on the service provider located in the non-taxable territory; inserts an Explanation adopting the term as defined in the Service Tax Rules, 1994.

Tax liability for non-resident digital service providers: overseas suppliers must register and pay tax for services received in India.
Imposes service tax on persons located in non taxable territory supplying online information and database access or retrieval services received in India, defines non assesse online recipient, prescribes indicia to deem a recipient located in taxable territory, sets intermediary exclusion conditions, permits appointment of an Indian representative to discharge tax, and creates registration (Form ST 1A, ST 2A) and return (Form ST 3C) procedures including invoice and reporting requirements.

Online information and database access services excluded from exemption when supplied to government or local authorities for non business purposes.
The notification amends a prior service tax exemption so that the exemption does not apply to online information and database access or retrieval services received by the Government, local authority, governmental authority or an individual for non-business purposes, and it inserts a definition referencing clause (ccd) of sub-rule 1 of rule 2 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994.

Place of provision rules amended to redefine online information and database access services and clarify their tax treatment.
Amendment revises the Place of Provision of Services Rules, 2012 to substitute a new definition for online information and database access or retrieval services by aligning it with the Service Tax Rules, 1994, to exclude those services from the proviso in rule 3 that applies to other services, and to omit clause (b) of rule 9, thereby clarifying the scope and treatment of such online services for service tax purposes.

Special Economic Zone at Nanakramguda notified for IT/ITES; Approval Committee constituted and area deemed an Inland Container Depot.
Central Government notifies a 2.56 hectare area at Nanakramguda Village as a Special Economic Zone for IT/ITES after approval under the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, listing constituent survey numbers. The Government constitutes an Approval Committee for the zone with specified ex officio members and a developer representative as special invitee, and designates the SEZ area as a deemed Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act, 1962.

Special Economic Zone designation: Kokapet area notified as SEZ and approval committee constituted; zone deemed inland container depot.
Central Government notifies a 2.22 hectare area at Kokapet Village, Telangana, as a Special Economic Zone for IT/ITES proposed by M/s. GAR Corporation Private Limited, invoking section 4 of the SEZ Act and rule 8 of the SEZ Rules after grant of approval for development, operation and maintenance.

Director Identification Number fees adjusted; AOC 4 certification required from practising Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, or Cost Accountant.
The amendment mandates that AOC 4 certification must be furnished by a practising Chartered Accountant, practising Company Secretary, or practising Cost Accountant in whole time practice, and updates the Annexure fee schedule to prescribe fees for allotment and surrender of Director Identification Numbers, with the same treatment for one person companies and small companies.

Depreciation restriction: domestic companies opting for concessional tax regime face capped allowance on certain asset blocks under new rules.
The amendment restricts depreciation allowance for domestic companies opting for the concessional corporate tax regime by capping the allowance in respect of any block of assets to a fixed capped percentage of the written down value of that block, and substitutes specified higher figures in the Rules' Appendix with the capped figure effective from the stated implementation date.

Foreign investment in pension funds permitted under automatic route, subject to PFRDA registration and resident ownership and control.
Foreign investment in Indian pension funds is permitted up to 49% under the automatic route, contingent on investors obtaining PFRDA registration and complying with PFRDA Act requirements for participation in pension fund management; Indian pension funds must ensure ownership and control remain with resident Indian entities as defined in Regulation 14 of the principal FEMA regulations.

Exchange rate determination sets conversion rates for customs valuation, fixing import and export rupee equivalents effective November.
Determination of exchange rates for customs conversion fixes rupee equivalents of specified foreign currencies effective 4 November 2016, superseding the prior notification except as to past actions, and prescribes separate conversion rates for imported goods and for export goods in two annexed schedules to be used for customs valuation and related computations.