Investigation of high profile cases: pursue targeted search and seizure to secure stronger revenue outcomes and enforcement impact.
Directs the Investigation Wing to proactively pursue high profile search and seizure enquiries without reluctance, noting that taking up select cases involving property can yield a strong beneficial revenue effect; transmits this administrative instruction to all Director Generals of Income tax (Investigation) for information and necessary action.

Search notification requirement: report search actions to supervising tax officers within thirty days after warrant execution.
The addl. DIT (Inv.)/JDIT (Inv.) who processes a search must, within 30 days of the first execution of the warrant in a case or group of cases, in writing inform the concerned CIT, Addl. CIT/JCIT and the assessing AO about the search action that has taken place.

Definition of port as infrastructural facility now includes storage and handling structures if certified by port authority and transfer agreement.
Structures at ports for storage, loading and unloading qualify as part of the port for tax purposes if the port authority certifies they form part of the port; for assessment years up to 2001-02 an additional condition requires construction under BOT/BOLT with an agreement to transfer to the authority, while from 2002-03 onward only the port authority certificate is required.

Tax deduction from salaries: employers must compute and deduct TDS on estimated salary income and comply with reporting requirements.
Employers must estimate each employee's salary income (including taxable perquisites) for 2005-2006, compute tax at prescribed rates according to age and gender, and deduct tax on average at each payment under Section 192; employers may elect to pay tax on non monetary perquisites using the average tax rate. Mandatory disclosures, verification and forms (including Form 12BA, Form 16/Form 16AA and Form 10E where applicable), PAN/TAN quoting, electronic filing of quarterly statements and annual TDS returns, prescribed valuation rules for perquisites, and prescribed deductions under Section 16 and Chapter VI A govern the calculation, deposit and reporting of TDS, with specified penalties for noncompliance.

Export profit deduction under section 80HHC: abeyance of assessments and recoveries extended, administrative instruction issued.
The Board directs an extension of the administrative moratorium on assessments, recovery proceedings and related enforcement in respect of claims under the export-profit deduction provision in section 80HHC, maintaining suspension of action for an additional specified period and instructs Chief Commissioners/Directors General to notify all officers in their regions to implement the extension.

Extension of due date for tax audit reports under section 44AB and income tax returns for Jammu and Kashmir assessees.
An administrative order under section 119 extends the due date for obtaining the tax audit report required by section 44AB and for filing income tax returns that were due on 31 October 2005, moving both obligations to 31 March 2006 for assessees in Jammu and Kashmir due to earthquake devastation.

Acceptance of income-tax returns on weekend days under an administrative direction to ease filing before the statutory deadline.
Income-tax authorities were directed to accept returns of income on the weekend days immediately preceding the statutory due date to facilitate taxpayer compliance, by making arrangements to accept returns on those weekend dates for administrative convenience under the Board's power to give administrative directions.

Monetary limits for departmental appeals restrict filing to cases above revised thresholds; exceptions exist for substantial legal questions.
Appeals will be filed only where the tax effect exceeds revised monetary limits for appeals to the Appellate Tribunal, appeals under section 260A, and appeals to the Supreme Court; cases raising a substantial question of law or recurring legal questions are excepted and to be considered on merits. Subject to these provisions, prior Instructions (as clarified) continue to govern departmental filing decisions. The Instruction is effective from the stated implementation date as a litigation-reduction measure.

Non-levy of penalty for delayed Annual Information Return filings where returns for the specified year are furnished by cutoff.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes directed that no penalty under section 271FA shall be levied where the Annual Information Return under section 285BA for specified financial transactions recorded during financial year 2004-2005 is furnished on or before 30 November 2005, and that this instruction be brought to the notice of all officers in the region.

Fringe Benefit Tax introduced; employers liable on specified benefits with presumptive valuation and quarterly advance payments.
Fringe Benefit Tax is an employer levy on the aggregate value of fringe benefits provided or deemed provided to employees, determined by actual amounts for superannuation and ticket costs and by specified percentages of enumerated expense heads under a presumptive valuation method; taxable employers include companies, firms, AOPs, local authorities and other juridical persons, with procedural obligations for quarterly advance payments, filing of a return, assessment, reassessment and application of general tax procedures.

Extension of filing deadline for quarterly returns of interest payments to residents without TDS, permitting a later filing date.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, under section 119(2)(a) of the Income-tax Act, extends the due date for filing the quarterly return required by section 206A(1) for payment of interest to residents without deduction of tax at source, applying to the quarter ending 30th June 2005 and substituting a later filing date.

Extension of filing deadline under Section 119: income tax returns in affected districts deferred to 31 October.
Order exercising statutory administrative relief to extend the filing date for income tax returns from 31 July 2005 to 31 October 2005 for taxpayers in specified flood affected districts. The extension responds to heavy rains and floods and applies to Thane, Raigad, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli in Maharashtra and Belgaum in Karnataka.

Annual information return reporting clarifies filer identification, aggregation rules and PAN verification requirements for transactions.
Section 285BA requires specified persons to file an Annual Information Return in Form 61A for prescribed transactions under Rule 114E. Filers must quote a unique folio (TAN) as identifier, aggregate reportable receipts/payments as single transactions dated to the financial year end, and report joint party details for high value immovable property transactions. Filers must verify PANs, furnish Part A in paper and Part B on compliant computer media conforming to the prescribed data structure, reconcile control totals, and correct and resubmit corrupted or non conforming AIRs.

Search warrant procedure clarified: issuance now governed by prior Board instructions to align issuance standards.
The Board partially modifies Instruction No. 7/2003 and directs that issuance of a search warrant shall follow the content of paragraph (i) of the Board's earlier instructions issued under F.No.289/10/2001-IT (Inv. II) dated 7 March 2001, aligning the procedural basis for issuing search warrants with that prior guidance.

Fringe Benefit Tax reporting requires system patch and operational changes to reflect collections across all centres.
Introduction of Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) and Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) requires use of challan ITNS-283 and enhancements to RCC reports (Major Head wise Account Report; CTU Collection; AO Collection; Addl.CIT, CIT and CCIT Collection Reports). Computer centres must take two full backups, download and execute the OLTS1R15 patch (OLTS1R15_8i.fmx for Oracle 8i or OLTS1R15_7.fmx for Oracle 7.3.4) with no users logged in, copy files to the file server renaming/backing up duplicates, ensure prior instruction compliance, and report implementation.

Banking Cash Transaction Tax exempted for interbank cash withdrawals and term-deposit encashments; scheduled banks must not collect.
The Finance Act, 2005 levies a Banking Cash Transaction Tax on specified cash withdrawals and on cash received on encashment of term deposits when statutory single-day thresholds are exceeded. The Government has clarified that interbank cash withdrawals and receipt of cash on encashment of term deposits in the name of scheduled or non-scheduled banks (including co-operative banks) are excluded from BCTT, and scheduled banks are instructed not to collect BCTT on such transactions.

Non-levy of interest on delayed first instalment of advance fringe benefit tax; penalty not leviable, administrative communication issued.
Non-levy of interest is directed for delayed payment of the first instalment of Advance Fringe Benefit Tax if received by 15th August, 2005; the order further clarifies that penalty is not leviable for delayed payment of Advance Fringe Benefit Tax in any case, and instructs communication of this concession to all regional officers.

Securities Transaction Tax and tonnage tax scheme introduced, plus tightened TDS/TCS reporting and expanded taxable receipts.
The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004 enacts comprehensive direct-tax changes: specifies income tax/TDS/advance tax rates with surcharges and education cess; expands taxable income to include gratuitous receipts above a threshold (with exclusions); implements the New Pension Scheme deduction and treats government matching contributions as salary; tightens TDS/TCS reporting and identification through a common deduction/collection number and dematerialised statement-based credit; introduces Securities Transaction Tax with related capital-gains treatment; and establishes an elective tonnage-tax regime for qualifying shipping companies with detailed computation, compliance, reserve and anti abuse rules.

Challan revisions for fringe benefit tax and banking cash transaction tax enable distinct payment codes and OLTAS updates.
Finance Act, 2005 added fringe benefit tax and banking cash transaction tax, requiring OLTAS and challan revisions. ITNS 280 remains for Major Heads 0020 and 0021 and must accept payments for non consecutive or block assessment periods. ITNS 281 continues for TDS/TCS with new three digit sub minor head codes under Section 206C for specified collection categories. ITNS 282 now includes Securities Transaction Tax as Major Head 0034 and Wealth Tax as Major Head 0032. A new ITNS 283 is created for Banking Cash Transaction Tax (Major Head 0036) and Fringe Benefit Tax (Major Head 0026) with minor heads for Advance, Self Assessment and Regular Assessment taxes. Banks must update OLTAS and notify branches.

Extension of TDS annual return filing deadline for government deductors; other deductors' deadline remains unchanged.
The Board exercised statutory power to extend the electronic filing due date of the annual TDS return for offices of Government under the proviso to the TDS provisions, while maintaining the original filing deadline for other assessees/deductors; the extension applies solely to Government deductors as an administrative directive.