Valuation Cell jurisdiction limited by amended taxation laws, with guidance on concluding ongoing referrals and handling new valuation cases.
Valuation Cell jurisdiction is delineated: completed or near-complete valuations may be finalised and treated as advisory; unstarted references that fall within statutory referral provisions should be returned to assessing officers for consideration of formal referral after the amendments take effect; reports already submitted but undecided may be formally re-referred for fresh reports under the statutory procedure. Non statutory matters and Estate Duty cases remain with the Valuation Cell, and Executive Engineers appointed as arbitrators retain their position.

Benami partnership prohibition requires amended registration forms; firms may file revised applications and be heard.
An Explanation to section 185(1) treats firms as not genuine where a partner acted as a benamidar of another partner; registration forms were amended to require a declaration on this point. Where firms submitted applications in pre amendment forms, the Income tax Officer must notify them and allow an opportunity to file the revised registration forms; if a fresh amended form is furnished within the prescribed period, the application shall be disposed of on merits. The instruction permitting this opportunity was extended to cover the following assessment year to avoid hardship where new forms were unavailable.

Arithmetical accuracy required: officers must record totals in words and figures and errors may constitute gross negligence.
Inspecting officers must verify arithmetic accuracy of total income before signing assessment orders and, where amounts exceed prescribed thresholds, record totals in words and figures; later-detected arithmetic errors will be treated as gross negligence by assessing officers. Clerks must use the correct total income determined by the officer and Head Clerks/Supervisors must ensure the total used for tax computation matches the assessment order; transcription errors are the responsibility of clerks and their supervisors. The same rules apply mutatis mutandis to wealth-tax, gift-tax and estate duty cases.

Wealth-tax deduction disallowance bars claiming such tax against business or other income, subject to limited prior-judgment savings.
The amendments disallow wealth tax as a deduction in computing income under the heads Profits and gains of business or profession and Income from other sources, with wealth tax defined to include domestic wealth tax, similar foreign taxes, and foreign taxes measured by asset value or capital employed. Taxes levied on particular business assets remain deductible. A saving preserves deductibility for assessment years where the highest appellate court had, before promulgation, held wealth tax deductible for that specific year.

Access to committee recommendations: make zonal and local committee materials available to Revenue Audit upon request during local audits.
Zonal and local committee recommendations must be made available to Revenue Audit upon request during the course of a local audit, creating an administrative disclosure obligation to furnish committee materials to auditing officers for review and verification.

Single demand notice principle: advance-tax arrears may be shown separately but certificate proceedings can be withdrawn after assessment.
The demand for a year must be a single notice showing total tax payable, with advance-tax arrears shown separately if necessary; certificate proceedings under section 222 already taken for advance-tax arrears may be withdrawn after regular assessment, but the taxpayer's liability for penalty or interest for non-payment of advance tax prior to the assessment demand remains enforceable. The Board's earlier instruction requiring continuation of certificate proceedings is cancelled.

Standard deduction for conveyance: employees may claim maintenance allowance during repairs and without proving travel.
Standard deduction for maintenance and wear and tear of employee-owned conveyances is allowable during temporary non-use for repairs if the vehicle is continuously used for employment and the certificate covers repair periods. Employees without motorised conveyances or with bicycles qualify for the prescribed monthly deduction without proving travel expenditure, and the deduction must be considered for tax deducted at source. Ownership requires registration in the employee's name; declarations of ownership and use may suffice for TDS purposes, while detailed verification and apportionment of running costs occur at assessment.

Deduction for technical know how fees disallowed where payer does not manufacture priority industry articles in that year.
Technical know how fees qualify for deduction under Section 80E/80I only if they constitute income attributable to the priority industry; if the payer does not actually manufacture the priority listed articles in the relevant year (e.g., only pre priority work is done), such fees are not attributable to the priority industry and are not eligible for the deduction, and assessing officers must apply this interpretation.

Internal audit reorganisation mandates exclusive ITO responsibility, priority auditing, strict objection registers and swift remedial follow-up.
The Board mandates reorganisation of internal audit: appointing a DI(IT) with a Deputy DI for audit oversight; Charge Commissioners must staff and prioritise internal audit; IACs (Audit) and newly vested ITOs (Internal Audit) will exclusively manage internal audit, supervise IAPs, ensure priority and immediate audits are completed within prescribed time-limits, maintain objection registers and records, reconcile registers with prior audit reports, and ensure timely remedial action and disciplinary or corrective follow-up where lapses occur.

Audit strengthening: internal and revenue audit responsibilities reassigned with enhanced reporting, registers, and coordinated brief preparation.
Strengthening of the Departmental audit organisation reallocates responsibilities and staff to improve handling of internal audit and revenue audit. Charge Commissioners bear top responsibility, a Deputy Director for audit coordination and Chief Auditors in every charge are provided, and internal audit functions move to ITOs (Internal Audit). Detailed procedures require maintenance and annual tallying of audit objection registers with Accountant General statements, prompt compilation and submission of full information and prescribed reports for draft audit paras, and Directorate preparation of comprehensive Brief cum paper books for parliamentary scrutiny.

Summary assessments may be subject to revenue audit when they conform to legal requirements and Board instructions.
Summary assessments completed under the amended assessment provision must conform to legal requirements and Board instructions; if they do, they should not ordinarily attract criticism from Revenue Audit, but Revenue Audit retains the statutory right to examine such cases, with the Comptroller and Auditor General to determine the extent and depth of audit, and records must be made available when audit scrutiny is sought.

Inspections of appellate commissioners delegated to local Commissioners with central oversight and prescribed standards, and periodic test-checks ensured.
Inspection responsibility for Assistant Appellate Commissioners is delegated to the Commissioners of Income Tax and Additional Commissioners of Income Tax supervising judicial work, subject to overall supervision by the Director of Inspection (I.T.&A). The Director will prescribe proforma, standards and inspection patterns, carry out test-checks of inspections performed by Commissioners/Addl.CsIT, and conduct inspections personally when necessary to ensure standards are maintained. The Board will consider important points arising and recipients must acknowledge receipt.

Acquisition for undervalued transfers: authority to seize property when declared price understates market value to circumvent tax obligations.
Chapter XXA authorises designated Assistant Commissioners to acquire immovable property where the apparent consideration in a registered instrument is materially less than the property's fair market value and there is reason to believe the understatement facilitates tax evasion; initiation requires recorded reasons, Gazette notice, service on interested parties, prescribed limitation periods and a hearing, prior Commissioner approval for acquisition, compensation based on declared consideration plus a solatium subject to adjustments, and appeals to the Appellate Tribunal (facts) and High Court (questions of law).

Existing tax liability can bar property registration unless provision for estimated tax is secured by the vendor.
Section 230A's notion of existing liability includes tax liabilities that have accrued under a chargeable provision though not yet quantified by assessment. Assessing officers may estimate such liabilities (for example pending wealth tax proceedings) and refuse or condition issuance of the certificate required for registration of immovable property unless the vendor makes satisfactory provision for payment, particularly where no other assets remain to meet the liability.

Appointment and transfer of Tax Recovery Officers governed by administrative proposals, allocation orders and consultation procedures.
Proposals to appoint an I.T. Officer as a Tax Recovery Officer must be made by the Commissioner of Income-tax in charge of administration after consulting the Tax Recovery Commissioner(s) and sent to the Board in advance. TROs remain under the administrative jurisdiction of the Tax Recovery Commissioner; transfers and reversion to I.T. Officer status are decided by the Commissioner in charge of administration in consultation with Tax Recovery Commissioner(s). Allocation of work is the responsibility of the Tax Recovery Commissioner(s), who should issue an "order for allocation of work for administrative convenience among the TRO" and avoid using the word 'jurisdiction'.

Advance tax deduction reduces the tax base for computing interest on late return filings; authorities must apply this to pending cases.
Advance tax paid by registered firms is to be deducted in computing the tax amount on which interest for delayed return filing is charged; the Board accepts the High Court view and directs its application to pending proceedings, permitting relief in completed proceedings where lawful.

Completion deadline for Super Profits Tax assessments ordered; surtax assessments lack a prescribed time limit now.
Board requires expedited completion of all pending assessments under the Super Profits Tax Act, 1963 by 31st March, 1973, observes the Surtax Act, 1964 prescribes no time limit for assessments, and directs issuance of instructions to Income Tax officers to ensure disposal in accordance with these timelines.

Tax deduction at source: contractors must obtain deduction certificates, deposit withheld tax promptly and file quarterly returns.
Contractors may apply for certificates authorising lower or nil deduction using Form 13C. Deductors must deposit withheld tax to government: government deductions by same day book adjustment; business/profession payers within two months after the accounting cut off month; others within one week from the month end in which deduction occurred. Deductors must issue deduction certificates in Form 19C and, except for government deductions, submit quarterly returns of deduction in Form 26C on prescribed quarterly dates.

Certificate for lower TDS rates for lottery winnings enables payees to seek reduced withholding and altered deduction procedure.
Individuals receiving winnings from lotteries or crossword puzzles may apply in Form No. 13B for a certificate authorising deduction of tax at lower rates or no deduction; deductors must remit withheld tax promptly to the Central Government, issue Form No. 19B certificates to payees, and file quarterly returns in Form No. 26B for deductions made, subject to an exception where tax is deducted by or on behalf of the Government.

Interest charge procedure allocates pre- and post-recovery responsibilities, mandates amended certificates and separate tax and interest reporting.
Interest must be charged by the I.T. Officer under section 220(2) up to the recovery certificate date and by the Tax Recovery Officer thereafter; amended recovery certificates under section 225(4) must be sent to the TRO where post-certificate revisions change demand, and the I.T. Officer must notify the TRO of tax payments under section 225(2). If further demand arises on appeal, revision or rectification, the I.T. Officer must seek recovery and issue further recovery certificates as necessary, with the same charging and reporting rules applying; the TRO must report collections separating tax and interest and distinguishing charges made by each officer.