Advance tax deadline extended; taxpayers may remit payments by the revised deadline without incurring deferment interest.
Taxpayers liable to pay the December instalment of Advance tax may remit that instalment on the next banking business day when designated bank branches are closed on the scheduled due date; payments may be made at designated branches of authorised banks or electronically, and the administratively extended time limit is granted without attracting consequential interest for deferment.

Prospective implementation of quasi judicial orders requires prospective effect despite appeals where no stay on the order's operation.
Quasi judicial orders on Classification, Valuation and Cenvat Credit with recurring implications must be implemented prospectively if issued after due process and absent a stay on the order's operation; distinctions must be drawn between stays on recovery and stays on operation, and Commissioners may decide important recurring issues irrespective of monetary limits. Payment of duty under protest requires written notice to the Superintendent/Inspector, marking of documents, continuation while appeals subsist, and retention of amounts in receivables accounts to preserve refund claims.

Monetary limits for filing appeals: non filing for low amounts does not create precedent, Department must plead non acquiescence.
The Board reiterates that prescribed monetary thresholds justify non filing of appeals and that non filing for low amount does not amount to acquiescence; such decisions lack precedential effect. Departmental Counsels and Representatives must plead the statutory non acquiescence principle and frame grounds of appeal or defence accordingly. Field formations should note the Board's power to regulate appeals and, where applicable, transfer matters to the Call Book pending higher forum decisions to preserve the Department's right to contest the issue on merits.

Monetary-limit non-appeal rule: Department must assert that low-value unappealed decisions are non-precedential and may be relitigated later.
Instruction prescribes a monetary threshold below which the Department will not file appeals and emphasizes that decisions accepted for low monetary reasons are non-precedential. Departmental counsels and field officers must plead that non-filing does not equal acquiescence, may continue to contest the issue on merits later, and should use procedural measures such as transferring matters to the Call Book when higher forum decisions are pending.

Letter of Undertaking permits status holder manufacturer exporters to replace bank guarantees for export warehousing subject to time-limited conditions.
Warehousing is allowed initially up to six months, extendable by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner in six month increments, with a maximum tenure of three years; goods remaining beyond allowed warehousing are deemed cleared for home consumption and attract duty and interest at the prescribed rate. Status Holder manufacturer exporters with a clean track record may submit a Letter of Undertaking instead of a Bank Guarantee for an initial warehousing period up to six months, extendable once, but further extensions require furnishing the bond security previously prescribed.

Wildlife clearance procedure now requires sealed representative samples with authenticated test memos; spot inspections limited to specific cargo types.
Certification by the designated Wildlife Control Bureau will be based on sealed representative samples submitted with a test memo containing specific queries, both duly authenticated by Customs officials; sealed samples and the authenticated test memo must be presented to the Bureau for certification. Spot inspections will be reserved for bulk consignments, perishable cargo requiring immediate examination, and live organisms, and will occur only on written request from Customs.

Extension of filing deadline for VAT returns requires online submission of R.10 block and hard-copy acknowledgement within revised period.
Extension of the last date for online filing of the 2nd quarter return for 2013-14, including Block R.10 of CST Return in Form 1 for 2009-10 through 2012-13, is granted under rule 49A; the print/hard copy of the acknowledgement in Form DVAT 56 must also be submitted by the later specified cutoff. Dealers who filed the 2nd quarter return in the old format must file in the amended format by these revised dates; other contents of the earlier circulars remain unchanged.

Customs Container Freight Station procedures govern custody, sealing, permitted movement and reporting obligations for containerized cargo.
Procedures require CPCFS to act as custodian within the Customs area, segregate FCL/LCL and special cargo, maintain bonds and detailed registers, and obtain serially numbered triplicate/transshipment permits with space availability certificates for movement from notified Customs areas; gate officers must verify container and seal numbers, inspect seals on arrival, record and report tamper, seal containers with customs bottle seals during interim custody, and follow prescribed transit times with explanations and condonation procedures for delays, with weekly and monthly reconciliation and reporting obligations to Customs.

Voluntary Compliance Scheme: declaration and payment rules clarified, allowing installment payments and limiting inquiry powers.
The VCES requires submission of tax-due declarations in Form VCES-I, which contains an undertaking that information is correct; no extra undertakings may be demanded. The Scheme allows payment of the minimum first-tranche amount in installments, permits the remaining payment by the later deadline without interest, and applies interest only to amounts unpaid after that deadline. The Designated Authority may perform arithmetic checks but not investigatory verification; a Commissioner may issue a show-cause notice only if he records reasons to believe a declaration is substantially false.

Refund claim adjudication: require officers and first appellate authorities to decide all objections to prevent remands and prolonged litigation.
The Bombay High Court directed that the Board should issue administrative guidance to ensure that assessing officers and first appellate authorities decide all objections to refund claims, warning that partial adjudication leads to repeated remands, prolonged litigation, and undermines certainty.

Regularization of export obligation defaults allows payment of customs duty with interest capped at duty to close cases.
Regularization permits authorization holders to close pending export obligation defaults by paying the applicable customs duty for the shortfall plus interest on that duty, with interest capped at the amount of duty. The option excludes cases where the export obligation period remains unexpired and ordinarily yields no refund; procedural steps and any corrections for calculation errors are to be issued separately.

Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme: offices open weekends to accept and process declarations before the scheme deadline.
The notice instructs that the Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES-2013) is in effect and that the deadline for submitting declarations is imminent; to facilitate participation the office will remain open on all Saturdays of December to accept and process VCES filings, and trade associations are requested to publicise the notice among their members.

Risk Management System enables electronic clearance of compliant self assessed imports while reserving targeted assessments and audits.
RMS at Adani Hazira Port enables electronic processing of Bills of Entry through ICES/ICEGATE so that compliant self assessed B/Es may be cleared to out of charge after duty payment without officer assessment or examination, while selected B/Es-by risk parameters, intelligence or random selection-are routed for assessment/examination. ACP importers receive enhanced facilitation subject to Compulsory Compliance Requirements and continued random checks. Concurrent audit is replaced by Post Clearance Audit; bond debits are system driven; and rigorous data quality and document submission obligations are imposed to secure facilitation.

Work distribution reallocates Director responsibilities for DTAA, APA, MAP and exchange of information with immediate effect.
Revision reallocates functions among Director (FT&TR-I), Director (FT&TR-III) and Director (APA) under the CBDT: Director (FT&TR-I) handles DTAAs and exchange assistance with North American and European jurisdictions, specified domestic provisions, MAP except transfer pricing, OECD Working Party 1 coordination, BEPS and digital economy work, and policy inputs; Director (FT&TR-III) handles Exchange of Information, specified domestic provisions, FATCA and AEOI, OECD Working Parties 10 and 11 BEPS coordination, G-20 taxation matters, Central Direct Tax Advisory Committee and residual foreign-tax work; Director (APA) handles bilateral and unilateral APAs, MAP for transfer pricing, OECD Working Party 6 coordination and related policy matters. Order effective immediately.

Electoral trust approval process standardized: applicants must file Form A with checklist and mandated compliance documents.
Applicants seeking approval as an Electoral Trust must file Form A in duplicate with a duly filled and signed checklist and supporting documents to the jurisdictional CIT/DIT and send a copy of the checklist to Member(IT), CBDT by the prescribed date. The checklist requires organizational details, PAN verification, confirmation of registration as a Section 25 company with the words 'electoral trust' in its name, an affidavit that the sole object is distribution to eligible political parties, and submission of registration certificate, memorandum and articles, member details, source of initial capital, accounts for relevant years, and undertakings to comply with sub-rules (2) to (15) of Rule 17CA including record-keeping, audit, receipt issuance, contribution restrictions, distribution rules, and intimation of shareholder changes within thirty days.

Disclosure of political contributions: companies must report transfers to electoral trusts or make statutory disclosures for direct donations.
Companies that remit amounts to an Electoral Trust Company need only disclose in their accounts the amount released to the Electoral Trust Company and are not required to make the disclosures under section 182(3). Companies contributing directly to political parties must make disclosures as specified in section 192(3) of the Companies Act, 2013. Electoral Trust Companies must disclose amounts received from other companies/sources and the amounts they contribute to political parties as required by section 182(3).

Risk Management System enables self-assessed import clearances with selection for targeted assessment and post-clearance audit.
Activation of the Risk Management System at Adani Hazira Port implements an ICES/ICEGATE driven process where electronically filed Bills of Entry are risk evaluated: compliant self assessed B/Es may be cleared Out of Charge after duty payment without officer assessment or examination, while selected B/Es are routed for assessment and/or examination on risk criteria, random sampling or specific intelligence. The system replaces concurrent audit with targeted assessment and a Post Clearance Audit function; ACP importers receive facilitation but remain subject to CCRs, random checks and PCA selection.

Temporary entry passes for shipping line and CFS staff require documented application, countersignature, renewal and surrender obligations enforced.
Issuance of temporary entry passes requires application to the Deputy Commissioner (Preventive General) with employer ID copy, three photographs, and a countersignature from MANSA leadership for shipping agents or an Authorized Signatory for CFSs; CFS applicants must also provide residential address proof. Passes are issued by the CHS Section for a limited term, renewable before expiry upon submission of the prior pass. Employer associations and CFS management must inform Customs and ensure surrender of passes upon employee expulsion or termination, and applications per employer are limited.

Confidentiality in anti dumping investigations: dual submissions and good cause justification, with agency discretion on disclosure and hearings.
Parties in anti dumping investigations must submit confidential information in two versions: a Confidential set and a Non Confidential Version (NCV) replicating the confidential filing with confidential portions indexed, blanked or summarized. Claims of confidentiality require a good cause statement demonstrating disadvantage from disclosure consistent with the Anti Dumping Agreement criteria. The authority will assess claims case by case, may reject unwarranted confidentiality and disregard un authorized information, and requires advance NCV submission for public hearings; annual accounts are generally non confidential absent detailed justification.

Special audit fees under Section 58A set by turnover slabs; conveyance capped and TA/DA not payable, billing procedure mandated.
Fees for CA/CA firms conducting special audits under Section 58A of the DVAT Act are set by turnover slabs, with service tax additionally payable. Local conveyance is reimbursed when the auditor's Delhi office is more than eight kilometres from the auditee, capped at ten percent of the audit fee. TA/DA is not payable for visits outside Delhi. Auditors must submit bills to the Zonal Additional/Joint Commissioner for verification and onward submission to the Additional Commissioner, Special Audit.