Special leave petition availability: can be filed without certificate; limitation excludes time to obtain certified judgment.
An aggrieved party may file a petition for special leave to appeal directly without obtaining a High Court certificate; the limitation period for filing runs from the date of the order refusing leave or, if ascertainable only from the judgement, from the judgement date. Time taken to obtain the certified copy of the impugned judgement is excluded from computation of limitation, including where a certified copy is applied for again after refusal of leave, and these provisions apply to Income tax references.

Wealth-tax exemption increase enables refunds for taxpayers who self-assessed between the former and new exemption limits.
Increase in the wealth-tax exemption limit by the Finance (No.2) Act, 1980 applies to the current assessment year, so taxpayers whose net wealth falls between the former and raised thresholds may be entitled to refunds of tax paid on self-assessment. The tax administration is directed to process requests promptly: assessments in such cases should be taken up without delay and refunds issued if due, and this guidance must be notified to all responsible officers.

Reference procedure applicability: instruction extends income tax reference and appeal procedure to wealth, gift and estate duty matters.
The Instruction directs that the procedural steps and safeguards prescribed by Instruction No. 1378/CBDT for reference applications under the Income tax framework are to be followed mutatis mutandis by Commissioners/controllers when submitting and processing reference applications and appeals under the Wealth Tax, Gift Tax and Estate Duty Acts.

Speaking orders require reasoned findings for quasi judicial penalty and wealth tax determinations under the statute.
Orders under the penalty provisions of the Income-tax Act and corresponding Wealth-tax provisions are quasi-judicial and must be speaking orders supported by reasons tied to the facts of each case; Commissioners are instructed to record factual findings and explain the legal basis for invoking those provisions.

Taxability of excise duty refunds under section 41 requires verification that refunded amounts are brought to income.
The Board directs income tax officers to verify whether excise duty refunds have been brought to account as income under the applicable provision for each assessee, submit a compliance report by the deadline, and to collect suo motu particulars of refunds exceeding the specified threshold without waiting for excise authorities' reports.

Discontinuation of quarterly arrears statement: annual remission and abandonment report now covers adhoc and regular write-offs.
The Board discontinues the quarterly statement of arrears written off under the adhoc procedure because the Annual statement of Remission and Abandonment of claims to revenue already captures amounts written off under both adhoc and regular procedures; the quarterly reporting requirement is withdrawn and the change is to be notified to all concerned.

Credit for tax paid procedures revised to relax proof requirements and expand officer authority to grant credit.
The instruction relaxes documentary requirements for granting credit where challan foils are missing by permitting credit on a certified true copy of the assessee's challan or, if unavailable, a certified provisional cheque receipt plus departmental evidence such as DCR entries or cheque encashment records, while maintaining required verification register entries and prescribing delegated authority limits for granting credit.

Zonal committee meetings to review and expedite write off and scaling down of cases, with monthly convenings and reporting.
Each Commissioner's charge shall have its own Zonal Committee, presided over by the senior-most Commissioner and convened by the Commissioner of the charge; temporary participation by other local Commissioners is allowed if vacancies reduce membership. The committee will meet monthly to review and monitor cases for write-off and scaling down; monthly brief records of discussion must reach the Board by the twentieth, and formal minutes with complete assessment records for approved write-offs/scalings down must be sent by the CIT.