Tax benefit clarifications for software exports require field authorities to follow guidance and refrain from further appeals.
Field authorities must follow the CBDT Circular clarifying tax treatment of computer software export benefits; Assessing Officers taking divergent views are to conform to the Circular in letter and spirit, and no further appeals should be filed on issues already clarified by the Circular even if assessments predate it.

Dispute Resolution Panel procedure requires forwarding draft assessment to eligible taxpayers for variations occurring on or after the effective date.
Section 144C was inserted with effect from 1 April 2009. The Assessing Officer is required to forward a draft assessment order to an eligible assessee if he proposes, on or after 1 October 2009, any variation in income or loss returned which is prejudicial to that assessee. That requirement applies to any order proposing such a variation on or after 1 October 2009 irrespective of the assessment year to which the order pertains; consequential amendments referred to earlier shall also apply from 1 October 2009.

Dispute Resolution Panel jurisdiction allocations assign eligible assessees to specific DRPs based on headquarters, state and name initials.
The order designates specific Dispute Resolution Panels at Delhi and Mumbai to exercise powers and perform functions under the dispute resolution provisions for eligible assessees, allocating cases by headquarters, state and the initial letters of assessee names to distribute workload and improve DRP functioning, with CBDT chairperson approval.

Deemed defective return under section 139(9): unpaid self-assessment tax on e-filing requires notice and corrected upload.
Unpaid self-assessment tax at e-filing renders the return a deemed defective return under section 139(9); CPC will identify such returns, issue notices requiring payment and upload of corrected returns via the e-filing "response to notice" facility (with CPC reference/password where applicable), suppressing acknowledgment generation until corrected returns with payment details are received. CPC will forward monthly lists of unrectified cases to jurisdictional AOs for follow-up, and Directorate of Systems will refresh case lists periodically after removals for rectified returns.

Notified jurisdictional area designation prompts bilateral consultations to clarify information exchange and review treaty obligations.
Designation of Cyprus as a notified jurisdictional area followed from a decision by the other State citing perceived inadequacy of information provided under the existing double tax treaty; the treaty has not been terminated. Cyprus commits to resolve discrepancies through direct consultations between the competent authorities and to pursue negotiations to finalise a review of the double tax treaty and clarify information-exchange concerns affecting businesses.

Timely issuance of TDS certificates required - banks must deliver Form 16A promptly to enable timely tax filing.
Banks must provide depositors whose tax has been deducted at source with TDS certificates in Form 16A within the time-frame prescribed under the Income Tax Rules; banks should implement systems to ensure timely issuance and avoid last-minute delays. The advisory, aimed at protecting depositor interests and improving customer service, is issued under Section 36(1)(a) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

Dispute Resolution Panel reconstitution appoints three commissioners as members and a reserve for specified tax jurisdictions.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes reconstitutes Dispute Resolution Panels under Section 144C, appointing three Commissioners as members and one Commissioner as Reserve Member for each specified jurisdiction (Delhi-III and Mumbai-III), who shall perform DRP duties in addition to regular duties until directions on the draft order are issued; the reconstitution is effective from the order date and issued with the Chairperson's approval.

Dispute Resolution Panel assignments under Section 144C allocate Delhi and Mumbai DRPs by taxpayer name initials and state jurisdiction.
Designation under Section 144C reallocates eligible assessments to specified DRPs at Delhi and Mumbai, superseding the prior order, by assigning cases according to geographic jurisdiction and taxpayer name initials to ensure workload balance and efficient DRP functioning.

Notified jurisdictional area designation triggers transfer pricing treatment and strict documentation, withholding, and disclosure obligations.
Notification as a notified jurisdictional area due to lack of effective information exchange causes transactions with persons in that area to be treated as between associated enterprises and as international transactions, invoking transfer-pricing regulations and documentation obligations. Deductions for payments to financial institutions are disallowed without an authorization permitting information access; other deductions require prescribed documentation. Receipts from such persons must be explained as to source and beneficial ownership or be deemed income, and payments to persons in the jurisdiction are subject to a statutory withholding tax.

Definition of Major audit objection revised, affecting classification and reporting and strengthening supervisory reporting timelines.
Revision strengthens supervisory oversight and reporting for settlement of Revenue Audit objections: CCIT/DGIT must review monthly performance, submit annexed proforma reports, reconcile CAP II and quarterly statistics, and monitor remedial actions and action against erring officers. CsIT/DsIT must ensure Internal Audit precedes Revenue Audit, provide LARs to CIT (Audit), avoid bunching of replies, keep correspondence approving remedial action in files, observe timelines for initiation and completion of remedial orders, hold monthly review meetings and coordinate quarterly with the external audit office.

Adjournment restrictions: Commissioners must avoid seeking adjournments before the settlement forum; exceptions only in rare cases.
Commissioners are instructed not to seek adjournments in settlement proceedings except in the rarest of rare situations, and any proposed adjournment must be reported in advance through the appropriate CC/DG channel.

Due date extension for tax audit reports: electronic filings by the extended deadline deemed timely under income tax law.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes directs that where the prescribed due date for furnishing tax audit reports and corresponding income tax returns fell on the original deadline and those reports and returns are furnished electronically on or before the extended deadline, such filings shall be deemed furnished within the due date prescribed under section 139.

Deemed defective returns: unpaid self-assessment tax on e-return filing triggers notices and follow-up by assessing officers.
E-returns in which self-assessment tax remained unpaid on the date of filing are deemed defective returns; the CPC has issued notices to such assessees, PAN-wise data has been placed on the internal portal, and Assessing Officers are directed to issue notices and follow up to secure deposit of the outstanding self-assessment tax.

Refund adjustment procedures under income-tax law: CPC to process refunds after AO verification and demand communication.
Allows CPC, Bengaluru to issue refunds without adjustment where either the outstanding demand or the refund claim falls below the small-value threshold; CCIT-wise lists of cases with refunds or demands exceeding that threshold and with notices issued are available on i-Taxnet. Assessing Officers must perform statutory verification and correction under the demand-confirmation procedure, determine adjustable demand, and communicate those findings to CPC, Bengaluru, which will then process refunds and adjust demands.

Tax administration reform establishes an advisory commission to review tax governance and recommend administrative reforms.
The Tax Administration Reform Commission is an expert advisory body constituted to review and recommend reforms to tax policy application, organisational structure, workforce deployment, business processes including ICT, dispute resolution, taxpayer services, database and inter agency information sharing, forecasting and revenue monitoring, capacity building for customs, research inputs, and predictive analysis to detect economic offences; it will be supported by a Secretariat with access to tax and customs data for statistical analysis.

Committee constitution to revise the Tax Recovery Officer manual; chairperson designated to lead the review.
Constitution of a Committee established to revisit and update the extant manual for Tax Recovery Officers published in 2007, with the corrigendum designating a senior official as Chairperson of the Committee responsible for steering the review and revision process.

Internal audit reform strengthens supervisory reviews and reporting to accelerate settlement of audit objections and reduce recurring errors.
The instruction strengthens supervisory roles and reporting to improve settlement and quality of internal audits by mandating monthly and quarterly reviews, reconciliation of pendency, and standardized reporting via Annexure I. CCIT (CCA), jurisdictional CCITs/DGITs and CsIT (Audit) have prescribed duties including monitoring conformity to the Central Action Plan, vetting significant objections before raising them, compiling lists where internal audit failed to detect errors, and taking action against erring auditors. The classification of Major audit objection for income and corporation tax is revised to align with external audit monetary limits and applied to pending objections.

Revision of TRO Manual: committee to submit draft within two months; chair allowed to co opt additional officers.
Constitution of a committee to revisit and revise the Manual for Tax Recovery Officers to reflect emphasis on tax recovery, modern recovery methods, improved tax administration and computerisation; the Order appoints a chairperson, members and a Member Secretary, permits the Chairperson to co opt additional officers, and requires submission of a draft TRO Manual within two months from the date of the Order.

Designation of Central Public Information Officers as first appellate authorities in HRD Directorate, superseding prior order.
Designation of Central Public Information Officers and first appellate authority for divisions in the Human Resource Development wing is ordered, superseding the earlier notification; one pairing is assigned to the Cadre Management Division and another pairing to the Performance Management Division, the Training and Capacity Building Division and administrative functions including circulars, trade notices, public notices, instructions and office orders, effective immediately and until further orders.

Income tax deduction from salaries requires employers to compute withholding on estimated salary including perquisites and remit TDS.
Employers must deduct income tax at source under Section 192 on estimated salary income for FY 2013-14 by including taxable perquisites valued under Rule 3, allowing deductions under section 16 and Chapter VI A within statutory limits, computing tax at Finance Act, 2013 rates (age based slabs), adding surcharge and education cesses, and remitting tax monthly with provision for intra year adjustment. Employers must obtain and quote TAN and employees' PAN, issue Form 16 (Part A via TRACES; Part B manually), file quarterly Form 24Q, and comply with Form 24G procedures when tax is deposited by book entry; failure to deduct, deposit or report invokes interest, penalty and prosecution provisions.