Board authorisation for reference applications: endorsing copies must state the Board letter's date and number for file linkage.
Endorsed copies of reference applications filed by Commissioners after Board authorisation must invariably state the date and number of the Board letter conveying authorisation; this detail is required for linking papers with the Board's file. The same requirement applies when a second reference is submitted, to preserve file continuity for reference applications under the Wealth-tax Act, Gift-tax Act and Estate Duty Act.

Tax deduction at source on interest from securities requires specified rates, prescribed exemptions, and rounding to the nearest rupee.
Tax must be deducted at source from interest on Government securities at rates determined by the payee's status and security type, subject to acceptance of exemption or abatement certificates issued under the relevant provision, specified statutory exemptions for certain securities and holders (including particular Defence Loans, Gold Bonds, National Savings Certificates, resident individuals meeting holding and income declarations, and exempt corporations), and a statutory rounding rule that rounds tax to the nearest rupee. Consult the Income tax Officer in cases of doubt.

Foreign tax statistical reporting: mandatory forms capture non resident income and payments to foreign concerns for separate compilation.
Two statistical reporting forms require collection of detailed data on foreign tax cases. Form A records non resident income by head, income returned and assessed, gross tax with breakdowns (deducted at source, advance tax, self assessment, balance on assessment), gross receipts, allowable expenses, dividends and Head Office expenses. Form B records payments to foreign concerns for royalties, technical service fees, know how fees and related charges. Assessing officers must file the completed forms, retain a copy on assessment records, and send batches to the Statistician for separate compilation from existing revenue statistics.

Discretion to waive interest should favour assessees when registration is refused, reducing interest on tax-status computation differences.
Rule 40(5) empowers the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner to reduce or waive interest under section 217(1A); the Board directs that where continuation of registration is refused at the time of regular assessment, the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner should reduce or waive interest to the extent of the interest on the difference between tax demanded or paid in the status of a registered firm and tax computed in the status of an unregistered firm on the income for which advance tax was demanded or an estimate filed.

Starred assessee status for sustained compliance enables streamlined procedural facilities including return submission and adjournments.
Only assessees whose returns have been accepted on scrutiny for three consecutive years and who have paid tax promptly are to be treated as starred assessees and given facilities such as facilitated return submission, grant of adjournments, and streamlined payment procedures as recognition of sustained honest compliance.

Cost audit compliance: tax officers must review audit reports or require cost statements to determine company income.
Income-tax Officers must verify whether a company is subject to cost audit and, if so, examine the Auditor's report on cost accounts and cost statements before completing assessments. If a statutory cost audit report for the relevant year is not available, officers shall call for and examine the regularly maintained cost accounting records and cost statements prescribed by the Cost Accounting Records Rules to determine the company's income.

AGM requirement: company accounts must be laid at the annual general meeting before Registrar filing; otherwise Registrar will not accept them
The Registrar will not accept balance sheets and profit and loss accounts for filing when those accounts have not been laid before an annual general meeting; if accounts are not ready, the company may adjourn the annual general meeting by resolution to a specified date or to a date to be specified later to enable proper laying and subsequent filing. Noncompliant filings may prompt consideration of prosecution.

Advance payments classification added as a new minor head under Gift-Tax, requiring account and challan updates.
Addition of a new minor head Advance Payments under Major/Sub-major head 033 - Gift-Tax, to be placed immediately before 'Ordinary Collections', with immediate modification of Heads of Accounts and public challans and an instruction to acknowledge receipt.

Acquisition of shares by scheme: departmental approval under section 372 not required; courts should consider compliance flagged by directors.
Acquisition of shares effected by a court approved scheme of reorganisation does not require separate Departmental approval under section 372 where the Department is a statutory party to the scheme; Regional Directors receiving notices of schemes must scrutinise them and bring any section 372 requirements to the court's attention for consideration when orders are passed under the scheme provisions.

Exclusion of family pensions from estate duty advised pending notification and amendment; commuted pension values should not be taxed.
Section 29A excludes family pensions under superannuation or pension funds of specified international organisations from estate duty, but no notification designating those organisations has been issued; an amendment is proposed to allow retrospective notification. Meanwhile the Board directs that no steps be taken to assess or tax under the Estate Duty Act the commuted value of pensions receivable from the international organisations identified in the instruction, maintaining the prior administrative exclusion.

Tax deduction on disclosed income allowed when spread over acceptance links tax payable to valuation years, applicable to estates too.
When an assessee's claimed spread over of voluntarily disclosed income is accepted by the Department as income and assets for particular assessment years, the tax payable on that disclosed income should be allowed as a deduction from net wealth for the valuation dates relevant to those years; the same deduction applies in estate assessments where the income forms part of the estate.

Limitation periods under CrPC require immediate review and filing of prosecutions before expiry to preserve prosecutorial rights.
Chapter XXXVI of the new Criminal Procedure Code sets periods of limitation applicable to offences under direct tax laws and IPC, requiring an immediate review, with prosecution counsel, of pending cases to determine feasibility of launching prosecutions. Officers must report to the Board on such cases within the internal timetable and, where limitation has expired or will expire imminently, finalise cases and file complaints in court before the applicable cutoff. The limitation rules also apply to cases already approved by the Board but where complaints remain unfiled.

Acquisition time limit extended; validation of late notices and clarified deadlines for jurisdictional challenges and objections.
Amendments extend the period to initiate acquisition proceedings by raising the notice-publication limit from six to nine months, validate notices published within that extended period (with exclusion of injunction durations), allow challenges to jurisdiction within 30 days from publication or from the Act's commencement, permit objections within the prescribed period or within 45 days from commencement, and exempt furnishing transfer statements at registration where the declared consideration does not exceed a specified threshold, effective from the stated date.

Superannuation fund approval requiring rules to bar pensions for voluntary leavers before granting tax approval.
Fresh approval of superannuation funds under the Income-tax Act, 1961 will not be granted until fund rules are amended to conform with Rule 3(b) of Part B of the Fourth Schedule; fund rules must not permit payment of pension to persons leaving service voluntarily, though approvals already granted under the earlier Act need not be withdrawn.

Appeal pendency: prioritize disposal of long standing income tax appeals to prevent accumulation and ensure timely resolution.
The instruction requires administrative revenue authorities to prioritize elimination of long standing appeal pendency in income tax cases, noting the Public Accounts Committee's expectation that appeals should not remain pending beyond a three year period. Appellate authorities and Commissioners/Addl. Commissioners must give due priority to old appeals and pending revision petitions and ensure their prompt disposal to prevent accumulation and reduce backlog.

Appellate relief scrutiny: require reports to state if relief stems from difference of opinion or perfunctory work.
Require appraisal reports to indicate whether relief granted by appellate authorities arises from a difference of opinion between the I.T.O and the appellate authority, from perfunctory assessment work by the I.T.O in framing orders, or from perfunctory relief granted by the appellate authority, and to critically analyse and appreciate the work of the I.T.O and A.A.C accordingly.

Double taxation relief now governed by domestic relief rules for India-Pakistan/Bangladesh cases after treaty cessation.
Following cessation of the India-Pakistan D.T.A., double taxation between India and Pakistan/Bangladesh for assessment year 1972-73 and thereafter is to be resolved under the domestic statutory relief mechanism; assessments prior to 1972-73 (including reopened assessments) continue to follow the now-terminated D.T.A. in relation to Pakistan and the territory formerly East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Refund compliance: enforce prompt refunds and payment of interest via surprise inspections and disciplinary action for officials.
The instruction mandates surprise inspections to ensure refunds are issued promptly and interest on delayed refunds is paid; any cases revealed by inspections or complaints must be promptly investigated and consequential action taken, including streamlining Ward/Circle functioning and imposing disciplinary punishment on erring officials to prevent future lapses in refund administration.

Classification of unaccepted High Court decisions directs appeal strategy and circulation for administrative tax case management.
Instruction sets out the Board's internal classification of High Court decisions the Department did not accept: Statement B (not accepted but not appealed to the Supreme Court for reasons such as limited revenue or concurrent Supreme Court litigation), Statement C (not accepted and appealed to the Supreme Court), and Statement D with two parts (leave to appeal refused by High Courts and Special Leave Petitions not granted by the Supreme Court). It also notes discontinuance of Statement A and directs circulation to officers and authorised representatives.

Verification of agent authenticity required before issuing lower tax deduction certificate; withhold if agent appears benami.
Applications for certificates under section 197(1)(a) for lower or nil tax deduction on insurance commission must be promptly decided and only issued after verifying the applicant is the real agent; certificates must be withheld if evidence indicates a benami or fictitious agent. Verification should confirm procurement of business and receipt/encashment of commission cheques and validate addresses, with special scrutiny for lady agents, staff agents, or relatives, and a list kept of suspected benami cases for further enquiries to identify the true recipient of commission.