FATCA and CRS compliance: internet banking self certification, TIN exceptions, custodial valuation and reporting steps clarified for financial institutions.
Financial institutions may obtain self certification via the customer's internet banking account. FIs need not collect a TIN where the jurisdiction does not issue one, nor from persons eligible but not yet assigned a TIN, though they should record and later obtain it. Custodial account valuation for reporting must use values communicated by depositories to participants/brokers. Registration and submission procedures for FATCA and CRS reports are set out in a Notification and a Systems Directorate User Manual covering Form 61B.

Mandatory e-filing of appeals: deadline extension permits late electronic submissions to be treated as filed in time.
Mandatory electronic filing of appeals required under Rule 45 encountered implementation problems (awareness gaps, technical issues, phased EVC availability, word limits and jurisdiction mapping). The Board extended the filing window so that e-appeals due by 15 May 2016 may be filed electronically up to 15 June 2016 and will be treated as appeals filed in time; taxpayers who filed paper appeals must file the corresponding e-appeal within the extended period to obtain the same treatment.

Jurisdiction for income declarations clarified: file declarations with the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner exercising jurisdiction over you.
The circular clarifies that declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 must be made to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner who exercises jurisdiction over the declarant as notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes; the notified territorial Principal Commissioner/Commissioner is the officer to whom such declarations are to be submitted.

Fair market value determination for indirect transfers requires prescribed valuation and reporting by Indian concerns, triggering disclosure and certification.
The draft rules prescribe computation of fair market value of Indian and global assets for indirect transfer provisions using observable market prices or valuation reports by merchant bankers/accountants with internationally accepted methodologies, add back liabilities, and require exchange conversion at telegraphic transfer buying rates. An apportionment formula attributes transfer income to Indian assets by the ratio of FMV of Indian assets to total FMV; failure to furnish necessary information results in full attribution to Indian assets. Transferors must furnish a certified apportionment report (Form 3CT) and Indian concerns must file detailed information electronically in Form 49D and retain supporting records for eight years.

Unique identification number requirement relaxed for Form 15G/15H in quarterly TDS statements for specified quarters.
The CBDT relaxes the obligation to furnish the Unique identification number allotted by the deductor for Form 15G/15H in quarterly TDS statements for the quarters ending 31.12.2015 and 31.3.2016 due to operational constraints, while reiterating that amended Rule 29C provides for online filing, UID allotment, and the general requirement to include such UIDs in quarterly statements under prescribed procedures.

Income Declaration Scheme enables voluntary disclosure of undisclosed income with tax and immunity, subject to eligibility limits and exclusions.
The Scheme permits voluntary disclosure of undisclosed income by paying prescribed tax, surcharge and penalty; declared fair market value of assets as on the valuation date is treated as the cost of acquisition for capital gains and holding period begins from that date. Part assessed assets are apportioned pro rata to determine undisclosed income. Declarations are barred for assessment years with pending specified notices or certain search/survey operations, exclude income from offences like corruption, are confidential, and require Form 1 disclosure about service of notices; valuation reports need not be filed but must be maintained.

Income declaration scheme enables voluntary disclosure of undisclosed income in exchange for a consolidated tax, surcharge and penalty payment.
The Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 permits voluntary disclosure of undisclosed income or income invested in Indian assets for years before 2017 18, subject to a consolidated levy equal to forty five percent of the undisclosed income. Declarations must be made in prescribed Form 1 by authorised signatories, with asset disclosures valued at fair market value as of 1 June 2016. The Scheme lists ineligibility where specific notices, searches, surveys, certain statutory Acts or criminal proceedings are implicated, prescribes acknowledgements and payment procedures, and sets out that valid declarations exclude the disclosed amount from income and bar admissibility in prosecution and penalty proceedings.

Exchange of tax information enhanced under amended India-Slovenia protocol, enabling broader sharing and mutual tax collection assistance.
The Protocol signed on 17 May 2016 amends the Convention and earlier Protocol to broaden the scope of tax information exchange and to enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes, strengthening the bilateral framework to prevent fiscal evasion and to improve administrative cooperation between India and Slovenia.

Additional depreciation eligibility confirmed for printing and publishing as manufacturing; departmental appeals should not be pursued.
Printing and printing and publishing constitute manufacture or production of an article or thing and therefore qualify for additional depreciation under clause (iia) of sub section (1) of section 32; the Board accepts the relevant High Court precedents and directs that departmental appeals on this ground should not be filed and existing appeals may be withdrawn or not pressed.

Digital reporting requirement: electronic submission of Form No.61 summarising Form No.60 declarations now mandated with adjusted filing timing.
Amendments require electronic furnishing of a statement in Form No.61 containing particulars of declarations in Form No.60, to be submitted by persons required to get accounts audited, within prescribed timelines based on when declarations are received. Due to implementation hardship, completion of all fields in Form No.60 is made mandatory for transactions entered on or after the operative date, and online reporting for the March quarter may be submitted together with the September quarter statement.

Paperless issuance of NSC and KVP: exclusive e mode preferred, pass book alternative retained with pledging and transfer rules enforced.
Issuance of KVP and NSC shifts to two modes: exclusive e mode with non printable online Part A and database Part B accessible only to the investor, and pass book mode where the e mode format is printed or entered in a pass book bearing the issuing officer's signature and designation. Systems must record issue date and mode, pass books may be collected and cancelled if replaced by e mode, pass book instruments are eligible for pledging subject to verification and freezing by the CBS office, transfers require prescribed applications and reissuance/cancellation of pass books, and serial numbers are replaced by unique account/registration numbers.

EVC verification allowed to regularize pending unverified income tax returns; processing and final compliance required within prescribed deadline.
Verification is permitted for electronically uploaded returns for Assessment Years 2009 2010 to 2014 2015 that remained incomplete for lack of ITR V by allowing verification through EVC or by receipt of a signed ITR V by speed post; verification must be completed by the prescribed deadline and such returns will be processed and intimated accordingly, with refund interest determined under the applicable refund provision. The relaxation applies only to returns filed within the time allowed under section 139 and does not apply where the Department has taken other statutory measures after declaring a return Non est.

Committee notification under rule 10VA designates income tax officials to oversee international taxation and transfer pricing compliance.
Notification establishes a committee under rule 10VA(4), read with section 9A, to centralise oversight of international taxation and transfer pricing, constituted of designated senior income tax officials from the Mumbai charge, for administrative implementation and circulation to all concerned.

Tax Evasion Petition management: only TEPs deemed useful after review to be entered in the offline utility.
Review and re-categorisation of pending Tax Evasion Petitions as on 01-04-2016 must be completed in a time bound manner; only TEPs found useful and having potential for the Investigation Directorate are to be entered into the offline utility, while non-useful TEPs must be closed or forwarded to Assessing Officers per extant instructions. A Revised Standard Operating Procedure for TEP management on the ITBA platform is pending and will be released when the TEP module is ready.

Capital gain classification for transfers of unlisted shares ensures uniform tax treatment regardless of holding period.
Income arising from transfer of unlisted shares for which no formal market exists shall be considered under the head Capital Gain irrespective of holding period to reduce disputes and maintain uniformity; exceptions apply where transaction genuineness is questionable, where lifting the corporate veil is implicated, or where transfer includes control and management of the underlying business, in which cases the Assessing Officer may take an appropriate view.

Tax data release makes time series, PAN allotment and return statistics available online for policy analysis and forecasting.
Release of comprehensive tax datasets by the Income Tax Department, comprising Time Series Data for financial years 2000-01 to 2014-15, PAN allotment statistics for financial year 2013-14, and Income Tax Return statistics for assessment year 2012-13, drawn from internal MIS, Controller General of Accounts reports, and other government publications and published on the Department's official website for public viewing.

Submission of reports: principal commissioners must sign and submit ITSC reports, noncompliance will be viewed seriously.
Reports to the Income Tax Settlement Commission must be submitted under the name and signature of the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner/Principal Chief Commissioner; the ITSC (Procedure) Rules, 1997 prescribe submission by the CIT concerned, and recurring direct submissions by Assessing Officers or junior officers are to cease as non compliance will be viewed seriously.

Book profit computation for MAT clarified: use net profit excluding other comprehensive income with specified inclusion rules.
The Committee recommends using net profit excluding Net Other Comprehensive Income as the basis for MAT book profit for Ind AS companies, subject to existing statutory adjustments. Permanently recorded OCI items should be included in book profit at specified times: revaluation surpluses and certain fair-value equity gains on realisation or disposal; remeasurements of defined benefit plans annually; and other permanent OCI items as they crystallise. First-time adoption transition adjustments are to be included according to whether they will be reclassified to profit or loss or will never be reclassified.

RSA Token required for secured ITBA access; issuance, custody, deactivation, and replacement procedures mandated.
The policy mandates RSA SecurID tokens as mandatory second factor authentication for ITBA/ITD access; tokens are bound to employee identifiers, a PIN is communicated after binding, and no centralized login is permitted without both token and PIN. Distribution, training, updates, custody registers, spare stock management, and lifecycle procedures (leave, transfer, retirement, suspension, death) are managed by designated CIT(Admin & CO)/Pr. CCIT offices and Building in Charge officers, with the RSA Token database centrally maintained and deactivation required within 24 hours of loss or relevant events.

Interest on tax refunds: resident deductors entitled to interest on excess withholding, aligning departmental practice with judicial principle.
Refunds of tax withheld in excess to resident deductors must include interest from the date of payment of the tax, reflecting the principle that sums retained without right carry an obligation to reimburse with accrued interest; departmental officers should not file or press appeals contesting interest liability and must align refund practice accordingly.