Authorised representative: Chief Commissioners may delegate zone officers to appear before the appellate tribunal when local officers are unavailable.
Chief Commissioners may nominate a jurisdictional officer to plead departmental cases before the appellate tribunal as an authorised representative; if no officer is available, the Chief Commissioner may, based on merits, authorise any other officer from the zone to appear before the Bench.

Electronic contact requirement: notices must include officer email and phone to facilitate taxpayer interface information.
All notices, letters and communications issued by officers of the Department of Revenue, including CBDT, its directorates and field formations, must include the officer's e-mail address and office telephone numbers to facilitate electronic interface with taxpayers and the public. The requirement applies to every officer signing communications and supersedes the earlier letter dated 02.12.2015; offices are directed to strictly comply with this administrative instruction.

Extension of advance tax due date for certain assessees in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to a later December deadline.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes extends the last date for payment of the December instalment of advance tax for the relevant financial year for all corporate and non-corporate assessees in the State of Tamil Nadu and the Union territory of Puducherry, exercising powers under Section 119(2)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, thereby moving the mid-December deadline to a later date in December for those jurisdictions.

Reconciliation return filing extended; Form 9 required for dealers making interstate sales against statutory forms and claiming deductions.
Extension of the deadline for filing the reconciliation return in Form 9 for 2014-15: the Commissioner has extended the last date for online submission to allow dealers additional time and partially modified an earlier circular. Filing in Form 9 is required only for dealers who made interstate sales against statutory Forms C, F or H or claimed deductions from taxable turnover using specified deduction forms (E-I/E-II, I/J); dealers without such transactions need not file.

Job work vs manpower supply: classification determines whether services to apparel exporters attract service tax.
Classification between manpower supply and job work depends on contractual terms and factual scope: manpower supply places personnel under recipient control with charges tied to deployed labour, while job work assigns a specific fabrication task with provider accountability and per-piece valuation. Service tax exemption under the negative list applies only where the job work involves a process subject to excise duties. Determination of tax liability requires case-by-case examination of control, payment basis, accountability, place of work, and related contractual terms.

Swachh Bharat Cess: accounting codes allocated for tax collection, interest, penalties and refund deductions to ensure compliance.
Swachh Bharat Cess is an additional levy on taxable services (excluding fully exempt or otherwise not liable services) and the Controller General of Accounts has allotted Minor Head 506 Swachh Bharat Cess with sub heads for tax collection, interest receipts, penalties and deduction of refunds to enable correct accounting and compliance; trade associations are asked to notify their members.

Focus Product Scheme eligibility limited to bicycle parts; non bicycle items are ineligible and scrips may be recovered.
Clarification: the Focus Product Scheme incentive for the tariff entry at Sl. No. 269 of Appendix 37 D (ITC HS 8481) was intended only for parts used on bicycles; other items appearing in the same description, including industrial valves not serving as bicycle parts, are not eligible. The scheme has ended, and cases where scrips were issued for non bicycle items should be reviewed and corrective action taken to recover erroneously granted claims.

Drawback disbursal procedure: manual cheques issued after NEFT/RTGS failure upon DBK-1 application and verification within three months.
Manual cheque disbursal is authorised for drawback claims where NEFT/RTGS credit failures returned funds to the exchequer. Exporters must apply on form DBK-1 with the relevant Shipping Bill and BRC; after scrutiny by the Drawback Cell a Pay Order will be issued, which must be presented to the CAO, CC(P), W.B., Kolkata within three months to collect the cheque.

Classification of biodiesel as oleochemical prompts public notices and departmental instructions, requesting reporting of implementation difficulties.
B100 biodiesel is classified as an oleochemical derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, establishing its regulatory character for customs and tariff purposes. A Public Notice or Standing Order is to be issued to inform stakeholders and departmental officers, and any difficulties in implementation should be reported to the Board for resolution.

Basic Services Demat Account conversion made default for eligible demat holders unless they opt to retain regular accounts.
The circular requires Depository Participants to convert eligible individual demat accounts into Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA) by assessing eligibility at the end of the billing cycle, unless the Beneficial Owner explicitly opts to retain a regular demat account; depositories must amend rules and report DP compliance monthly.

Software testing requirements for trading and risk management mandate exchanges to enforce testing, approval, and reporting obligations.
SEBI requires National Commodity Derivatives Exchanges to implement mandatory software testing and related controls for trading and risk management systems used by members, including testing procedures, approval of member software, member undertakings, sharing of API specifications, and penalties for software malfunction; Exchanges must amend bye laws/rules and report implementation status to SEBI.

Pre-filling of TDS data enables easier online rectification, reducing errors and easing taxpayer compliance on the e filing portal.
A new facility enables pre-filling of TDS schedule on the Income-tax Department's e filing portal to support online rectification of incorrect TDS details, supplying existing TDS data into the rectification interface so taxpayers can correct or update particulars without retyping entire schedules and thereby reduce errors and processing delays.

Defective return notices to FIIs/FPIs clarified: not defective if SEBI registration, no PE in India, required information provided.
Clarification provides that returns of FIIs/FPIs will not be treated as defective under section 139(9) where the FII/FPI is registered with SEBI, has no Permanent Establishment/place of business in India, and has furnished the basic information required under section 139(9)(f) if there is business income; processing for returns with SEBI registration numbers is being undertaken at CPC Bengaluru, and FIIs/FPIs for earlier years may supply such details via the Income-tax Department e-filing portal in response to prior notices.

Voluntary payment of customs duty allows self-ascertainment and payment with interest before formal amendment of entries.
Importers may self-ascertain and voluntarily pay differential duty along with interest where duty was not or was short levied for reasons other than willful mis-statement; Customs may accept such payment with the approval of the proper officer before issuing a formal amendment to the Bill of Entry, with the amendment decision to be taken subsequently.

Collegium review of appeals enables withdrawal of prosecutable-deficient High Court tax appeals to curb frivolous litigation.
Extension of the collegium mechanism requires regional collegia, including the jurisdictional CCIT and nominated senior officers, to review all appeals pending before High Courts and identify those that are not prosecutable for withdrawal or to be marked as not pressed. Pr. CCITs must prepare an accurate list of pending appeals in consultation with High Court registries and standing counsels, present cases for review, and submit an action-taken report and monthly statements in the prescribed annexed format detailing appeals reviewed and appeals withdrawn or not pressed.

Extension of return filing deadlines: Tamil Nadu assessees may file specified Central Excise ER forms by end of December.
Extension of filing deadlines for specified Central Excise return forms is granted for assessees in Tamil Nadu affected by severe rains and flooding. The due date for Form ER-1, ER-2 and ER-6 for November clearances and for Form ER-4 (Annual Financial Information Statement) is extended to the end of December under powers conferred by the Central Excise Rules, providing temporal relief tied to the natural calamity.

Cross currency derivatives: exchanges permitted to list EUR USD, GBP USD and USD JPY futures and options, expanding hedging options.
Recognised stock exchanges may offer cross currency futures and options in EUR USD, GBP USD and USD JPY and expand INR based options to EUR INR, GBP INR and JPY INR. Contract types, sizes, quotation and settlement currencies, premium quotation/payments, and INR settlement computation for cross currency contracts using the USD INR Reference Rate and corresponding published exchange rates are prescribed. Market participants, including residents and FPIs, may take positions without establishing underlying exposure subject to existing aggregate position limits and exchange specified limits; AD Category I banks must observe Net Open Position Limits and ensure synthetic USD INR exposures comply with USD INR position limits.

Line of Credit requires majority of contract value sourced from India, EDF/SDF reporting and restricted commission remittances.
A Government of India supported Line of Credit to the Republic of Congo for a cement plant requires at least 75% of contract value for goods and services to be supplied from India, permits up to 25% non consultancy goods procurement from abroad, mandates EDF/SDF shipment declarations, prescribes differing deadlines for L/C opening and disbursement for project versus supply contracts, prohibits agency commission under the LOC while allowing exporter funded commission remittances subject to realization and compliance, and directs AD Category I banks to notify exporters; issued under FEMA directions.

Government supported Line of Credit conditions require minimum Indian supply content and EDF/SDF declaration for export financing.
A Government of India supported Line of Credit from Exim Bank to Tanzania finances eligible exports under India's Foreign Trade Policy for a specified pipeline extension project; at least 75% of contract value for goods and services (excluding consultancy) must originate in India while up to 25% may be sourced abroad. Shipments must be declared on EDF/SDF forms; no agency commission is payable under the LOC though exporters may remit commission from their own resources or EEFC balances after receipt of contract payment, subject to prevailing rules.

Monetary limits for departmental appeals revised; appeals now only when tax effect exceeds prescribed thresholds, with defined exceptions.
Appeals in income-tax matters should be filed only when the tax effect of disputed issues exceeds prescribed monetary thresholds; tax effect means the difference between tax on assessed total income and tax that would have been chargeable had disputed income been excluded, excluding interest except where interest is in dispute. Assessing Officers must compute tax effect separately for each assessment year; appeals may be lodged only for years where the tax effect exceeds limits, with composite-order and multiple-assessee rules requiring consolidated treatment. Commissioners must record non-filing due solely to monetary limits, and specified categories of adverse decisions must be contested irrespective of tax effect. The instruction applies retrospectively to pending appeals before High Courts and Tribunals.