Permanent Account Number allotment required; departments must complete allotment, notify applicants, and file compliance report.
Section 139-A requires applications for allotment of a Permanent Account Number in Form No.49-A by the prescribed deadline. The Board directs that all pending applications must have P.A.N.s allotted and communicated to applicants by 31st May, 1977, and requires submission of a compliance report immediately after that date.

Remuneration received includes employer borne benefit expenses; valuation follows prior circular guidance for Board's report disclosures.
The Department clarifies that remuneration received for Board's report disclosures under the Companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975 includes employer borne expenses for benefits and amenities and perquisites, and reiterates that valuation should follow the approach in its earlier Circular Letter No. 23/76, superseding prior conflicting departmental views.

Share premium account classification clarified as part of paid-up capital, affecting computation of net owned funds for deposit limits.
For the purpose of computing net owned funds under Rule 3(2) of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 1975, the balance shown in the share premium account is to be treated as part of the company's paid up share capital and not as free reserves, thereby determining the amount available within the ceiling for acceptance of public deposits.

Acceptance of tax payments at public sector banks replaces income-tax office cheque counters, requiring record safeguards and taxpayer notice.
The Board has ordered immediate withdrawal of Income-tax Office cheque-receipt-counters following nationwide extension of authorised public sector banks to accept direct tax payments. Commissioners must direct officers to collect and securely custody cheque-counter records, deliver assessee challan copies for already accepted cheques, recover and account for unused provisional receipt books, and advise taxpayers about the authorised banks for future payment.

Checking of tax calculations is required of assessing officers under reiterated instructions with specified monetary thresholds to prevent errors.
The Public Accounts Committee criticised reliance on lower-level clerical checks and emphasised that checking of tax calculations is an essential function of assessing officers, not to be foisted on subordinates. Comprehensive instructions prescribing responsibility at different levels and monetary thresholds for arithmetic verification were issued by audit authorities, and the Board has reiterated that these instructions must be carefully followed by officials at all levels to minimise errors in assessments and refunds.

Guarantee permission requirement: Indian guarantees for foreign obligations must have prior central bank approval before NOC for remittance.
Income tax officers must ensure an Indian concern has obtained prior Reserve Bank permission for giving guarantees on behalf of foreign collaborators before accepting such guarantees or issuing a 'No Objection Certificate' for remittances of royalty, technical know how fees or similar payments abroad.

Tax deduction at source on lottery prizes must follow Part II rates of the Finance Act until further instruction.
Deduction of income-tax at source from lottery and crossword puzzle prizes is to be made by applying the rates set out in Part II of the First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1976; this procedure applies for the financial year 1977-78 until further instructions, and State Governments must notify concerned offices while consulting the Income-tax Officer in cases of doubt.

Tax deduction at source on insurance commission continues at prior year rates pending legislative update and further instructions.
Deduction of income-tax at source under Section 194D applies to payments "by way of insurance commission," and withholding rates for the financial year are to remain the same as specified in Part II of the First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1976 until further directions; consult the Income-tax Officer in cases of doubt.

Deduction at source on interest from government securities remains at prior-year rates; continue existing withholding practice.
Tax deduction at source on interest payable on Government securities for 1977-78 shall be made at the same rates as applied in 1976-77; until further instructions, withholding must follow the rates given in Part II of the First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1976, under Section 193 read with section 197(1) and (2).

Tax at source on salaries may be deducted at existing withholding rates until further instructions are issued.
Tax withholding from Salaries is to continue at the same rates previously prescribed; payers must apply the existing withholding schedule set out in Part III of the First Schedule to the Finance Act, 1976 until further instructions, and State Governments should notify disbursing officers and undertakings accordingly.

Quantitative disclosure requirement: companies must report opening and closing stock particulars for both trading and manufacturing activities in full.
Companies must disclose quantitative particulars for both trading and manufacturing activities regarding opening and closing stocks, purchases and sales, including quantitative analysis for all stock items beyond raw materials; paragraph 3(ii)(d) of Part II does not exempt companies from this mandatory disclosure requirement.

Relief from capital gains tax: taxpayers must calculate reinvestment decisions; officers must expedite assessments on request.
Relief from capital gains tax is available when sale proceeds are reinvested in a replacement capital asset within the prescribed period, and the taxpayer must decide on reinvestment based on their calculation of capital gains. Where a taxpayer specifically requests prompt determination of the capital gain, the Board directs the Income tax Officer to prioritise and expedite that assessment so the taxpayer can determine whether to invest sale proceeds within the allowable timeframe.

Central information branch standards require defined staffing, measurable output targets and restricted scope to information collection and dissemination.
Organisation of Central Information Branches is to be standardised with annual programmes for information gathering from identified sources and measurable work standards to assess manpower and output. As an interim benchmark a model unit composition and minimum annual output are prescribed, and units must maintain complete unit-wise output records for performance measurement and future work-measurement studies. Central Information Branches are to be confined strictly to collection, collation and dissemination of information to income-tax officers and not assigned unrelated duties.

Managing director status ends when directorship lapses; continuance requires both director status and Central Government approval.
A person must remain a director to continue as managing director; cessation of directorship-on expiry of an additional director's interim term or when a principal director returns and displaces an alternate-terminates the managing directorship immediately, notwithstanding prior Central Government approval; re election at the AGM preserves both directorship and the managing directorship for the approved period.

Transfer pricing and resident-nonresident transactions: determine India sourced income attributable to foreign branches under section 92.
Section 92 empowers tax authorities to determine India sourced income from transactions between residents and non residents; Commissioners must examine assessments of Indian entities with foreign branches, liaison offices or subsidiaries, collect factual particulars (including RBI lists), apply section 92 where appropriate, and report detailed cases of escapement of income and modus operandi to the Board.

Tax avoidance through foreign branches prompts transfer pricing scrutiny and mandatory reporting to tax authorities.
Commissioners of Income tax must investigate Indian companies' foreign branches, liaison offices, or subsidiaries to detect escapement of income, obtain up to date lists from the Reserve Bank of India where necessary, and apply transfer pricing scrutiny when computing income arising from transactions between residents and non residents; findings of escapement and detailed factual reports on modus operandi and tax effect are to be reported to the Board for review.

Audit objection compliance: Commissioners must initiate remedial action within prescribed timeframes for significant revenue effects.
CsITs and IACs must carefully examine audit objections exceeding prescribed monetary thresholds, record reasons if no instructions are issued, and issue directives to ITOs for appropriate remedial action rather than rely on mechanical rectification. The same supervisory obligations apply to objections from Internal Audit Parties: IAC (Audit) must forward substantial objections promptly to CsIT/Range IACs, and CsIT/IACs must ensure issuance of instructions to ITOs for remedial action within one month of receipt, with necessary follow-up to secure early settlement.

Precedent invocation: Department Counsel may assert High Court coverage to streamline argument, subject to departmental guidance.
Whether Department Counsel may state before a High Court that a matter is covered by an earlier decision to save argument was considered; the Board examined the Ministry of Law's proposal, clarified its view, and endorsed that clarification to Commissioners of Income-tax as guidance for handling similar situations.

Cotton content threshold clarified: majority cotton per fabric required for investment allowance eligibility under textiles provision.
Investment allowance under section 32A for textiles in Item 21 of the Ninth Schedule requires that each fabric be made "mainly" of cotton, interpreted as at least 51 per cent. of the weight of all yarn used. Cotton content must be calculated by weight of yarn; where yarns are blends, their cotton proportion is included. Machinery qualifies for the allowance only for production of fabrics meeting this 51 per cent. cotton threshold; fabrics below that threshold do not qualify as made mainly of cotton.

Investigation case allocation should limit officer groups to ensure yearly finalisation, with Commissioner discretion for larger groups.
Investigation case allocation in Central Circles should limit the number of groups assigned to each Income-tax Officer at the start of the year so the officer can finalise investigations and update assessments within the year; for large or complex groups the Commissioner may assign additional officers based on file volume, pending assessments and complications.