Deduction of tax at source on lottery prizes: withholding required for lucky dip payments to agents under lottery tax rules.
Prizes awarded to lottery agents in 'lucky dip draws' are lotteries dependent wholly on chance and therefore subject to deduction of tax at source; State Governments and Union Territories running lotteries are requested to deduct tax at source at the rates prescribed by the annual Finance Act from such lucky dip prizes and to bring this clarification to the notice of all concerned.

Disposition under estate duty: treating unilateral transfer into HUF hotchpotch as a disposition with limited effect.
The Board advised that declaring self acquired property thrown into the HUF hotchpotch would amount to a disposition under the Estate Duty Act; it constitutes a disposition in favour of a relative if the HUF members at the time are covered by the statutory definition of "relative," and where only some members qualify the disposition applies only to the shares of those qualifying members.

Benami property passing: treated as passing on death of ostensible owner and alternatively on death of real owner.
Benami property is treated as passing on the death of the ostensible owner and is includible in the estate under the estate duty regime on that event; the CBDT instruction of February 1, 1980, records this view. The instruction also records that benami property will be held to pass on the death of the real owner for estate duty purposes, reflecting an alternative basis for inclusion.

Standard deduction admissibility: pensioners not entitled under section 16(1); refer cases only if significant tax effect.
The Board affirms that the standard deduction is not admissible to a pensioner based on the statutory language and Ministry of Law advice, notes conflicting ITAT decisions granting the deduction, and directs that fresh reference applications should not be filed unless the tax effect exceeds the specified minimum; appeals on the question are to be held pending enactment of clarifying provisions.

Weighted deduction under Sec.35B: place of expenditure irrelevant except specific exclusion; apportionment and evidentiary burden required.
Entitlement to weighted deduction under Section 35B depends on whether expenditure falls within clause (b) sub clauses; place of expenditure is irrelevant except for explicit exclusions in sub clause (iii). Composite and common expenses may be proportionately apportioned to qualifying activities. The assessee must prove that expenditures are incurred wholly and exclusively for specified activities. The Board agrees with the tribunal's interpretative principles but expresses reservations about specific factual apportionments, notably substantial salary allocations to export activities and treatment of insurance paid to export credit guarantee bodies.

Limitation under Section 73A does not preclude levying penalty for late voluntary estate duty returns.
Section 73A bars revenue authorities from commencing estate duty proceedings after five years, but a return voluntarily filed after that period remains a return under the filing provisions and may be assessed; moreover, penalty proceedings for late filing may be initiated and penalty levied where a person without reasonable cause failed to deliver the required accounts or return within the stipulated time.

Weighted deduction for export market development depends on expenses being incurred wholly and exclusively within specified eligible items.
Entitlement to a weighted deduction for export market development depends on whether the expenditure falls wholly and exclusively within items enumerated in clause (b) of subsection (1); actual exports or profits are irrelevant. Composite expenditures must be bifurcated so only qualifying portions receive the deduction. Where an expense could fall under both a restrictive sub-clause and a broader sub-clause, the broader sub-clause will generally apply, subject to facts. Agent commissions qualify only if they relate to specified services and are not disguised remissions or trade discounts.

Wealth tax exemption period begins in the assessment year following return to India and runs consecutively.
The provision grants a seven-assessment-year wealth-tax exemption commencing in the assessment year immediately following a person's return to India, with no intervening gap; the clause applies only prospectively from its commencement and is not available to persons who returned to India prior to the provision coming into force.

Write-off of small tax arrears: non-live case entries meeting specified criteria to be removed administratively under instruction.
Small, long outstanding income tax demand entries at or below the specified low value raised before the cut off year shall be written off without inquiry where they meet the non-live case criteria: no return or assessment action in the latest three years, no attachment of existing property, no instalment scheme, and not assigned to specified specialized circles or search and seizure or assessment assignments. Each removal must be recorded in the "Amounts written off" part of the Irrecoverable Demand Register, listed in duplicate for the Tax Recovery Officer, and reflected in the annual remission statement.

Rule 1D interpretation: Tribunal must apply valuation rules when assessing unquoted shares, directing departmental appeals accordingly.
The High Court held that the Tribunal's powers under section 24(5) are not different from those of the assessing authority and must be exercised in accordance with the Act and rules; the expression "as it thinks fit" does not permit disregarding the binding effect of Rule 1D. The Board instructs officers to note this decision and for Departmental Representatives to present the departmental case before the Appellate Tribunal in light of that interpretation.

Public grievance cell under Chairman CBDT to be publicised department-wide and grievances disposed within a set timeframe.
A Special Cell under the Chairman CBDT is to be publicised to all staff; reports of grievance disposal must be sent to the Board within seven days, and Public Relations Officers must publicise the Cell, clear outstanding complaints such as delayed refunds, and furnish information to enquiring members of the public.