Income Declaration Scheme deadline: counters to remain open until midnight to permit declarations filed on last day.
The memorandum directs Principal Chief Commissioners of Income Tax to keep counters receiving declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme (I.D.S.), 2016 open until midnight of the Scheme's final day to facilitate filing beyond normal office hours.

Eligibility under Income Declaration Scheme clarified: completed proceedings allow declarations except for income already assessed.
Declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme are permitted for assessment years when notices were served on or before the cut-off if the proceedings have been completed and the declaration period remains open, but the declarant cannot declare income that was the subject of the assessment order; cases where search, seizure or survey have left the period for issuance of notices unexpired remain ineligible.

Due date for audit compliance extended and applies to the tax audit requirement, permitting later audit and filing compliance.
The CBDT order extended the due date for furnishing income-tax returns for taxpayers whose accounts are subject to audit, and that extended due date also applies to the obligation to obtain and furnish audited accounts because the statutory "specified date" for audit is defined by reference to the due date for filing returns.

Reason to believe standard must govern reopenings; increased digital-era turnover alone cannot justify reopening assessments.
Reopening past income-tax assessments is permissible only where the Assessing Officer has reason to believe that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment, not on mere suspicion. A rise in current-year turnover, including due to digital payment adoption, cannot alone justify reopening earlier years; Assessing Officers are advised not to reopen cases merely for that reason.

Declaration eligibility under the dispute resolution scheme determines payment obligations and treatment of related penalty appeals.
Clarifications specify that a valid declaration under the Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 is available only where the appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) remained pending at the time of filing; appellate authorities must keep matters pending where intention to opt in is expressed. The Scheme requires payment of disputed tax and interest and, in specified cases, a portion of minimum penalty, treats linked penalty appeals as deemed withdrawn and waived to the extent provided, fixes the total income for computation as per the last appellate order on or before filing, and prescribes timelines for payment intimation and issuance of certificates and orders.

Due date for income-tax returns extended to facilitate compliance under Section 119 authority following declaration scheme timing.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, exercising powers under Section 119, extends the due-date for furnishing income-tax returns by taxpayers whose accounts are audited, to a later date in October 2016, so as to remove inconvenience and facilitate compliance where the last date for declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme 2016 coincided with the original filing due date for Assessment Year 2016-17.

Standing Counsels engagement revised: new eligibility, panel sizing, duties, performance review and fee schedule effective 07.09.2016.
Guidelines revise empanelment, eligibility, allocation, duties, performance review and payment for Standing Counsels representing the Income tax Department. Reappointment must begin six months before expiry, panels include a 25% non paid buffer, and selection follows advertised calls, Screening Committee evaluation using prescribed pro formas and minimum benchmarks. Senior and Junior eligibility requires advocacy enrolment and specified direct tax experience or prior departmental/tribunal service subject to disciplinary clearance. CCIT manages allocation (approx. 450-500 appeals per Senior), quarterly and annual performance reporting is mandated, duties and private practice restrictions are set, and Annexure II prescribes a fee/retainer schedule effective 07.09.2016 with billing, deduction and dispute resolution procedures.

Special Public Prosecutor engagement: standardized eligibility, selection, duties and a revised fee and payment regime for tax prosecutions.
Instruction prescribes engagement, qualifications, selection, term, renewal and duties of Special Public Prosecutors for representing the Income Tax Department in criminal trials, with applications in Proforma P1, evaluation by a five member Screening Committee, initial 18 month engagement renewable after annual performance appraisal (Proforma P2) and normally thereafter for three years (Proforma P3). It mandates CCIT administration of case allocation and centralized records, duties including trial representation, drafting, witness assistance and prompt certified copy procurement, termination and handover procedures, and a revised fee, allowance and payment regime with billing in Proforma P4 and specified rules for connected cases, out of pocket expenses and travel.

Income Declaration Scheme protection prevents enquiries into sources of declared income when declaration proof is found during search or survey.
If, during a search or survey, any document is found proving that a declaration under the Income Declaration Scheme was validly filed, including the Department's acknowledgement, no enquiry shall be made by the Department into the sources of undisclosed income or investments in movable or immovable property declared in that valid declaration.

Official contact details requirement: income-tax authorities must include email, telephone, fax to facilitate electronic interface in all taxpayer communications.
Income-tax authorities are directed to invariably mention their official e-mail Ids along with official telephone numbers/fax number in all notices, letters and communications issued to taxpayers to facilitate electronic interface and statutory compliance; supervisory officers must monitor compliance by random verification and furnish missing contact details immediately in time barred scrutiny cases and statutory notices issued during the current financial year.

Jurisdiction of tax authority: CPC Bengaluru to exercise concurrent powers over electronically filed declarations under the Finance Act.
The Commissioner of Income-tax, Centralized Processing Centre, Bengaluru is designated to exercise concurrent powers and functions over declarations under section 183 of the Finance Act furnished electronically under digital signature and is deemed to be the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner for purposes of section 186 of the Finance Act in respect of such declarations, centralizing jurisdiction and processing at CPC Bengaluru.

Due date extension for income-tax returns under statutory administrative power grants temporal filing relief for affected assessees.
An administrative order, issued under the statutory power in the Income-tax Act, extends the due date for filing income-tax returns and related tax audit reports for assessees who were required to file by the original deadline, moving that due date to a later single prescribed date; the extension is limited to temporal relief for affected assessees and does not change substantive filing obligations.

Annual NOC for foreign shipping: jurisdictional NOC and CA certificate streamline PCC, voyage returns, and assessments.
Section 172 requires voyage returns and that port clearance follow payment or satisfactory tax arrangements. For FSCs entitled to full DTAA relief, the jurisdictional AO may issue an annual NOC listing owned, chartered and pooled vessels; that annual NOC shall, in single-carrier voyages, substitute for voyage NOC and be accepted by Customs for PCC. Where multiple DTAA-eligible FSCs supply cargo, a CA certificate plus copies of annual NOCs shall be filed instead of voyage NOCs. Otherwise a voyage NOC from the Port AO remains necessary. Port AOs must honor annual NOCs in voyage assessments or forward details to the AO issuing the annual NOC when annual assessment is elected.

Income Declaration Scheme valuation and disclosure rules clarified; holding period, indexation and treatment of fictitious liabilities specified.
Fictitious liabilities in audited accounts can be declared under the Income Declaration Scheme either as standalone liabilities when not linked to specific assets or as the fair market value of the linked asset when directly connected. Declarations do not affect finality of completed assessments but may be used in later assessments where a nexus exists. Valuation reports by registered valuers are accepted; misrepresentation by valuers invites legal action. Holding period for declared assets is the actual acquisition date, with indexation on declared amounts available only from the revaluation date. Mixed evidence immovable property must be valued part by part as per deed evidence and valuation rules.

Deduction under section 35AC limited to payments up to previous year ending 31.03.2017; late applications barred.
Deduction for payments to associations or institutions approved by the National Committee for eligible projects is available only for payments in previous years ending on or before 31.03.2017; requests received after 31.12.2016 for grant, modification or extension of approval to cover up to 31.03.2017 will not be considered by the National Committee.

Acknowledgment in Form-2: issuance period extended to 30 days for July declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes extended the issuance period for the acknowledgment in Form-2 under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 from 15 days to 30 days for declarations filed in July 2016, exercising powers under the Finance Act, 2016 read with section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, in view of an earlier notification adjusting the time schedule for payment while amendments to Form-2 are being made.

Extension of tax return due date under section 119 for Jammu and Kashmir assessees; filing deadline deferred for affected taxpayers.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, invoking its authority under section 119, has administratively extended the due date for income-tax returns for assessees in the State of Jammu and Kashmir who were required to file under section 139(1), in response to reported dislocation of normal life; the order defers the original July filing deadline to a later date in August for affected assessees, providing temporary relief to facilitate compliance.

Due-date extension for filing income-tax returns granted to mitigate bank strike effects, enabling delayed payment and filing.
The Board, exercising powers under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, hereby extends the "due-date" for filing returns of income required under section 139(1) from the original due date to a later specified date, in view of a bank strike and a bank holiday, to avoid inconvenience to taxpayers throughout India who are liable to file by the original due date.

Age attainment rule: persons born on April first deemed to reach their age on March thirty-first for tax eligibility.
The Board clarifies that a person born on 1st April is considered to have attained a particular age on 31st March, the day preceding the anniversary of the birthday; field authorities must apply this criterion in determining senior/very senior citizen eligibility for resident individual taxpayers, relying on the Supreme Court rule that the day of birth is counted as a whole and age is attained on the day before the birthday anniversary, under the Board's powers under section 119.

Linking non-PAN AIR transactions to PAN: non-response may lead to initiation of proceedings under Income Tax Act.
The corrigendum mandates use of a revised template for communicating with parties in AIR cases reported without a valid PAN, instructing taxpayers to confirm and link reported transactions to a valid PAN via the e filing portal using the Non-PAN Transaction link and the Transaction Sequence Number (TSN); electronic submission will be treated as the response, can be revised online, and failure to respond within fifteen days may lead to initiation of proceedings under the Income Tax Act.