Tax deduction at source determination streamlined: proposed Form 15E to standardise applications and processing for non-resident payments.
The Finance (No.2) Act 2019 amended section 195 to permit the Board to prescribe the form and manner for applications to determine the proportion of payments to non-residents chargeable to tax. To implement this, a new rule and a standardised Form 15E are proposed in the Income-tax Rules, 1962, to collect payer/payee details, transaction particulars, taxability under domestic law and DTAA, documentary evidence, and calculations, with a declarant's verification; stakeholder comments on the proposed form are invited to streamline processing and reduce human interface.

Faceless e-Assessment helpline provides designated email and phone for taxpayers receiving NeAC notices, with specified submission requirements.
Help line for taxpayers served with notices under the Faceless E-Assessment framework designates a specific email and a general e-filing phone number as the exclusive channels for queries. Queries must be sent only to these channels and must include PAN, a soft copy of the notice received, and details of the assistance required; other email addresses, telephones, or messaging platforms will not be entertained.

Mandatory electronic payment acceptance requires specified businesses to enable prescribed modes; penalties apply if not operational and charges prohibited.
Section 269SU requires specified persons to provide facilities for accepting payments through prescribed electronic modes and section 10A prohibits banks or system providers from levying charges on payers or beneficiaries for such electronic payments. Section 271DB imposes a daily penalty for non-compliance, but the penalty will not be levied if the specified person installs and operationalises the prescribed electronic payment facilities by the stated grace deadline; otherwise the daily penalty applies thereafter.

Extension of time for responses to section 142(1) notices under the e-assessment scheme, aligning deadlines with notice timelines.
The order extends the deadline for furnishing responses to notices under section 142(1) issued up to 24.12.2019 by the National e-Assessment Centre, allowing submission until 10.01.2020 or the date specified in the individual notice, whichever is later, to facilitate compliance with the E-assessment Scheme.

Due date extension for income-tax returns in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh extends filing deadline and deems late filings timely.
CBDT, exercising its executive order powers and modifying prior orders, extends the due date for filing income-tax returns and tax audit reports for all categories of assessees in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to 31st January, 2020. It also deems returns and audit reports filed after 30th November, 2019 until issuance of the order to have been filed within the original due date, relief granted in view of reported internet service disturbances in affected areas.

TDS deadline extension extends payment and Form 26QD filing deadlines, with certificate issuance deadline also deferred.
Order under section 119(2) extends due dates for payment of tax deducted at source under section 194M and for furnishing the challan-cum-statement in Form 26QD to 31.12.2019 for the specified prior months, citing deployment of the electronic payment utility on 17.12.2019; the due date for furnishing the certificate of deduction in Form 16D for those deductions is extended to 15.01.2020.

Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b) extended to Assessment Year 2017-18 for filing Forms 9A and 10.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has partially modified Circular No. 7 of 2018 to extend its applicability to condonation of delay in filing Form No. 9A and Form No. 10 for Assessment Year 2017-18, thereby making the earlier administrative relief available for those filings without changing the underlying condonation criteria.

Extension of advance tax payment deadline granted for assessees in North Eastern States due to widespread internet disruption.
Extension of payment deadline for the December instalment of advance tax under the administrative powers conferred by section 119(2)(a) was exercised to address large-scale disruption of internet services in the North Eastern States, extending the last date for payment for all assessees, both corporate and non-corporate, in the affected States to relieve them from default consequences tied to the original due date.

Due date extension for income tax returns in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh provides additional filing time under statutory order.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes extended the due date for filing Income tax Returns and Tax Audit Reports to 30th November, 2019 for all categories of assessees in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh, partially modifying earlier CBDT orders. It further clarifies that returns filed after the earlier August due date but before this order's issuance shall be deemed filed within the statutory due date when read with prior CBDT directions.

Employer-paid medical treatment exclusion: payments for qualifying hospital treatment not treated as perquisite and no TDS.
Approval is granted to M/s Palika Vinayak Hospital Pvt. Ltd. under sub-clause (b) of clause (ii) of the proviso to clause (viii) of sub section (2) of section 17 read with Rule 3A(1) & 3A(2), so that sums paid by an employer for medical treatment at the hospital for diseases listed in Rule 3A(2) shall not be treated as a perquisite and the employer need not deduct tax at source under section 192. The approval is effective from the date of issue for three years, is non transferable, and is subject to inspection, renewal, and withdrawal if conditions are not met.

Mandatory electronic payment modes under Section 269SU: providers invited to apply for prescription as eligible payment systems.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes invites applications from banks and authorised payment system providers operating under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act to have their payment systems prescribed as eligible electronic payment modes for the purposes of Section 269SU of the Income tax Act. Applicants must submit a signed application with name, address, PAN, license/registration details and a description of the payment system in the prescribed format, and send expressions of intent to the designated contact point within the notified timeframe; contact details for queries are provided.

Perquisite exclusion: employer-paid medical treatment at approved hospital not treated as perquisite and no TDS deduction.
Approval is granted to M/s Divyadrishti Eye Centre Pvt. Ltd. under the proviso and Rules 3A(1) & 3A(2) so that any sum paid by an employer for medical treatment of an employee or family member at the approved hospital for diseases specified in Rule 3A(2)(e) shall not be treated as a perquisite; accordingly the employer shall not be liable to deduct tax at source in respect of such sums. The approval is effective from 01.01.2018 to 31.12.2020 and is subject to withdrawal for misrepresentation or non compliance with Rule 3A(1).

Employer-paid medical treatment non-perquisite for specified diseases at approved hospital; employer need not deduct tax at source.
Approval is granted to M/s Dr. Bimal Hospital & Research Centre Pvt. Ltd., Patna under sub-clause (b) of clause (ii) of the proviso to clause (viii) of sub-section (2) of section 17 read with Rules 3A(1) and 3A(2), so that employer-paid medical treatment at the approved hospital for specified diseases shall not be treated as a perquisite for sections 15, 16 and 17. The employer is not required to deduct tax at source in respect of such sums. The approval is time-limited, conditional on Rule 3A(1) compliance, and subject to withdrawal for misrepresentation or non-compliance.

Option under section 115BAA disallows set off of additional depreciation losses and eliminates post option MAT credit availability.
Election to the 115BAA concessional regime requires computing total income without claiming additional depreciation and bars set off of brought forward losses attributable to additional depreciation for the year of election and subsequent years. The MAT regime will not apply post-election, and MAT tax credit will not be available after the option is exercised; however, because there is no deadline to elect, companies may choose to utilise accumulated additional depreciation losses or exhaust MAT credit under the prior regime before opting into 115BAA.

Hospital approval under section 17: employer-paid treatment costs at approved hospital not treated as a perquisite for specified diseases.
Approval granted to M/s Divyajyoti Eye & Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. as an approved hospital under the proviso to section 17 read with Rule 3A(1) & 3A(2). Employer payments for employee or family medical treatment at the hospital for diseases listed in Rule 3A(2)(e) shall not be treated as a perquisite for sections 15-17, and the employer need not deduct tax at source under section 192. Approval is effective from issuance, valid for three years, and subject to compliance, modification, or withdrawal for misrepresentation or noncompliance.

Extension of due date for filing income-tax returns and audit reports, while interest for delayed filings continues to apply.
The administrative order extends the due-date for filing income-tax returns and required audit reports for the specified category of assessees, shifting the filing deadline to a later date in response to representations about practical difficulties; the extension is limited to the filing deadline and does not affect the continuing operation of statutory interest liabilities for defaults in furnishing returns.

Extension for delayed filing of Form No.10B allows acceptance of late submissions under a revised administrative deadline.
The Board, by administrative order, supersedes Circular No.10 dated 22.05.2019 and directs that the date in sub paragraph (ii) of paragraph 4 be read as the later deadline in place of the earlier deadline, thereby amending the applicable filing deadline for delayed submissions of Form No.10B for the specified assessment years.

E Proceeding requirement for electronic assessment proceedings, with limited exceptions and recorded administrative relaxations permitted.
Assessment proceedings for the financial year are to be conducted electronically via the E-Proceeding facility, with assessees required to respond through their E-filing accounts; specified exceptions include reassessment and summary provisions, set-aside matters, non-PAN and paper-filed returns without E-filing accounts, and stations with limited bandwidth. The principal tax officer may grant recorded relaxations in extraordinary cases. Notices and communications must comply with Document Identification Number guidance. Personal hearings remain available in limited circumstances such as examination of books, statutory inquiry invocation, witness examination, or where an adverse show-cause notice prompts an assessee request.

Income tax return forms: clarifications on schedules SH, AL, PAN placeholders, form selection and exemption entries.
Clarifies procedural requirements for ITR 5, ITR 6 and ITR 7 filing for AY 2019 20: how to record transferred shareholdings in Schedule SH I/SH 2 (use transfer date as "Date of allotment" and original allottee values), use of default PAN placeholders where PAN is unavailable, exemption from Schedule SH I for section 8/25 companies via utility dropdown, preliminary dropdown in Schedule AL I/AL 2 to avoid filling asset tables, ITR 5 taxing at MMR when AOP/BOI member details are missing, correct form selection for private trusts, direct entry of exempt income for investment funds/business trusts in Part B TI, and treatment of corpus donations and other exemption claims in ITR 7 via specified Part A/Part B entries.

Startup grievance redressal: mandatory expedited reporting and local startup cells ensure swift departmental accountability within prescribed short timeframes.
Grievances of Startups must be handled sensitively and with expedited reporting: submit a preliminary Action Taken Report by the next working day after the central office calls for a report and a final Action Taken Report within three working days; local Principal Commissioners may constitute Startup Cells and the concerned Commissioner remains accountable for grievances in their charge.