Defective assessment drafting undermines appeals; orders must state reasons, examine evidence, and avoid mechanical penalties.
Defective drafting of assessment and penalty orders-failure to record facts, give fact based reasons for rejecting accounts or estimating profit, cite comparable cases, issue summons when burden warrants, examine affidavit deponents, allow adequate time for explanations, and provide itemised reasons for disallowances-leads to appellate losses. Commissioners must correct these shortcomings through instruction, inspection, adverse comment on defaulting officers, and by using AACs' confidential assistance to promote balanced, well reasoned assessments and non mechanical penalty orders.

Advance tax compliance: stricter vigilance and prompt penalisation to prevent audit objections and ensure proper notices and credits.
The directive requires strict administrative vigilance to prevent audit objections relating to advance tax by ensuring adherence to Chapter XIV(a) of the Office Manual and Board circulars: ensure issuance of statutory notices, levy penal interest or penalty where justified (with notes when waived), invoke statutory provisions for under-estimation or postponement, enforce recovery procedures for instalment defaults including continuing penalties until regular assessment, and maintain prompt, accurate crediting of payments through strengthened recordkeeping and supervisory inspections.