Special Deposit Scheme interest rate revised, deposits under non-government provident, superannuation and gratuity funds now bear the notified rate.
Revision of interest rate under the Special Deposit Scheme (SDS), 1975 requires that deposits by non government provident, superannuation and gratuity funds shall bear the newly notified rate; the Ministry of Finance notification directs deposit offices to implement the change and acknowledge receipt.

Extension of office hours to facilitate manual filing of Report of Audit and taxpayer compliance with filing instructions.
All Income Tax Offices were ordered to remain open until 8:00 p.m. on 30 September 2013 to enable taxpayers to manually file the Report of Audit for assessment year 2013-2014, as a facilitative administrative directive implementing the CBDT's earlier instruction.

Due date extension for income tax returns in Gujarat under Section 119 after floods, allowing affected assessees additional time to comply.
Order under Section 119 extends the due date for filing returns of income for assessees in the State of Gujarat affected by heavy rains and floods; the extension applies to those liable to file by the original due date and departmental publicity and circulation to tax offices and professional bodies are directed to facilitate compliance under the adjusted timeline.

Relaxation of electronic audit report filing permits manual submission to assessing officer, subject to later mandatory electronic upload.
CBDT temporarily relaxes the electronic submission mandate for the Report of Audit: taxpayers unable to upload may furnish the audit reports manually to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer within the prescribed due date, provided the same report is uploaded electronically by the final cutoff date.

Non-filers Monitoring System compliance: officers must issue notices and may initiate assessment proceedings if returns remain unfurnished.
Assessing Officers must issue letters to assessees within fifteen days of NMS assignment and record delivery in the NMS module; use alternate addresses from the Online Monitoring System where necessary. E-filed returns are automatically pushed to NMS; paper returns or late notifications must be entered in AST within fifteen days. Mark "No return is required" or "Assessee not traceable" in NMS with Range head confirmation as applicable. If an identified assessee fails to file within thirty days of the time allowed, consider initiation of assessment proceedings in AST. Weekly system processing will close NMS records when return details, issued notices, or confirmed no-return markings exist.

Exemption claim scrutiny: cases lacking charitable registration or denied institutional approval flagged for manual review.
Manual scrutiny must compulsorily include cases where taxpayers claim tax exemption despite refusal or cancellation of registration for charitable status, except where such refusal or cancellation has been reversed or set aside on appeal, and cases where approval for specified exempt institutions has been denied or withdrawn by the competent authority; the amendment requires communication to all officers for implementation.

Tax refunds under administrative directive must be issued promptly and progress reported to senior officials for compliance.
Authorities are directed to expedite issuance of pending tax refunds for the specified assessment year, ensure refunds are processed within the established set-off and refund framework, and require Assessing Officers to clear outstanding refunds without further delay. Senior officials must personally monitor progress and submit a report explaining any reasons for non-issuance as part of the central action plan to restore compliance and accountability.

Decentralisation of investigation cases: administrative instruction replaces permissive wording and directs immediate case transfer and lists.
Decentralisation of pending investigation cases from Central Charges is mandated by administrative instruction: the word "May" in paragraph 4.1 of the earlier Board guidelines is to be read as "August", effecting a textual substitution in the guideline. Chief Commissioners and Directors General must prepare lists of eligible pending cases for immediate decentralisation and communicate the directive to all regional Income Tax authorities for compliance.

Quality of assessments: mandatory capacity-building workshops by appellate commissioners to improve drafting and circulate common-mistakes guidance.
Direct DGsIT (Inv.) and CCsIT(C) to have CIT(A) conduct capacity-building workshops for all assessing officers and range heads in Central Charges, presenting charge-specific examples of investigative and drafting shortcomings. Circulate a brief bullet-point record of common mistakes and precautions to concerned officers and send a copy to the Board. Schedule initial and follow-up workshops and confirm compliance in routine monthly communications to the Member (Inv.).

Compliance of section 245 required before adjusting refunds; Assessing Officer must respond within prescribed time.
Strict compliance with section 245 is mandated before adjusting any refund: CPC Bengaluru must issue prior intimation, the assessee must be given an opportunity to respond, the Assessing Officer must examine and communicate findings to CPC, and CPC will process refunds and adjust demands only after receiving the Assessing Officer's communication; officers must ensure adherence to this procedure.

Premature encashment of savings bonds allowed for senior investors subject to age based lock in and an interest penalty.
Premature encashment of 8% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2003 is allowed for individual investors aged sixty and above subject to tiered minimum lock in periods, documentary proof of age, and surrender of entire applications only. Payments occur on scheduled half year interest payment dates or subsequent processing dates; cumulative and non cumulative bonds have prescribed notional or actual payment timings. If interest warrants have been dispatched but not tendered, a portion of the last six months' interest is recoverable as penalty. Requests require a request letter and Form 1A discharge certificate.

Unmatched challans: deductors must verify and correct TDS entries in Form 26AS per directive issued.
Instruction No. 11/2013 mandates that CPC (TDS) and Assessing Officers (TDS) issue letters to deductors with unmatched challans reflected as unverified TDS in Form 26AS, require verification and correction of those challans, and, where necessary, request filing of correction statements under the prescribed procedure, with follow-up and completion by the respective TDS processing authorities.

Dispute Resolution Panel constitution allocating members and reserve members with added duties pending issuance of directions.
Constitution of Dispute Resolution Panel under Section 144C is effected, specifying for each jurisdiction a three member panel and a reserve member, with members to perform DRP duties in addition to regular responsibilities until directions are issued; the order modifies the earlier order and takes effect on the stated effective date.

Monetary threshold increase narrows prosecution triggers, tightening imprisonment and fine eligibility under specified income tax offences.
Finance Act, 2012 raised the monetary threshold for initiating prosecution under Chapter XXII of the Income tax Act for offences including wilful tax evasion, failure to furnish returns, false verification statements, and abetment of false returns; where the enhanced threshold is exceeded the offences attract rigorous imprisonment (minimum six months, up to seven years) and fine. The amendment is effective from 01.07.2012 and the Prosecution Manual, 2009 should be updated to reflect this and related legislative changes.

Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement published; provisions will take effect in India from the specified fiscal year.
The Agreement between India and Uruguay for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion was published in the Gazette and a copy of the notification is circulated; all provisions of the Agreement relating to taxes on income and on capital shall be given effect to in the Union of India from the beginning of the specified fiscal year, with directions for departmental circulation and website upload of the notification and enclosed Agreement text.

Dispute Resolution Panel composition set for transfer pricing cases; substitution rule applies when supervising officer is involved.
The Board constitutes three-member Dispute Resolution Panels for each listed territorial area under Section 144C(15)(a) read with the Dispute Resolution Panel Rules, naming primary Members and specified alternative Members where a primary Member was the supervising officer of the relevant Transfer Pricing Officer or Assessing Officer. If a taxpayer files no objection, the primary Members will hear the case. Panel Members shall discharge these duties in addition to regular duties until issuance of the direction; the Order supersedes prior orders and is effective from the stated effective date.

Action on Settlement Commission orders: departments must report acceptability and proposed remedial measures following commission orders.
Direction to compile and submit a retrospective report on action taken on Income Tax Settlement Commission orders received from 1.04.2012 onwards, in the prescribed format, including CsIT(DR) comments on order acceptability, whether departmental written and oral submissions were considered, suggested further action and any remedial measures (including possible filing of writ petitions), and to transmit a soft copy to the designated email by the stated deadline.

Reporting requirement for Settlement Commission cases: copies must also go to the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner.
The Board reiterates the monthly reporting obligation on cases before the Settlement Commission and work of the Commissioner of Income Tax (DR), directing that the monthly report referenced in its letter of 23.07.2013 be sent to all Commissioners of Income Tax (DR), ITSC and that a copy also be forwarded to the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner of Income Tax to extend oversight and monitoring.

Compulsory tax scrutiny: manual selection prioritises high-value transfer pricing, recurring substantial additions, search/seizure and survey-linked assessments.
Compulsory manual selection requires scrutiny of returns with significant transfer pricing exposure, confirmed or pending appellate additions on transfer pricing or recurring substantive issues, survey-linked cases with impounded records or fresh disclosures, assessments arising from search and seizure, responses to reassessment notices, claims of exemption impacted by the trusts definition, entities receiving substantial foreign donations under foreign contribution regulation, and cases flagged by other government authorities; supervisory approval and mandated use of assessment software apply, with monitoring by CCIT/DGIT and reporting to higher authorities.

Bid Submission Deadline extended for MSP procurement, with tender documents purchasable and NDA and pre-qualification formats available online.
Extension of the bid submission deadline is announced for the RFP to select a Managed Service Provider for WAN, LAN, FMS and Video Conferencing. Prospective bidders may purchase the bid document from the designated official by payment of a non-refundable crossed Demand Draft payable to the specified accounts office; bid documents will be available on working days until the extended deadline. Formats for the Non-Disclosure Agreement, Pre-Qualification Criteria and Executive Summary are available for free download on the department website.