Intermediary service rule: commissions paid to Indian agents for inward remittances are taxable under service tax.
Money remitted from abroad is not itself a taxable service. Indian banks or entities acting as agents for foreign MTSOs are intermediaries; under the Place of Provision of Service Rules the place of provision is the agent's location in India, making commission or fees received from the MTSO liable to service tax. Fees charged to recipients in India and commissions to sub agents are likewise taxable. Currency conversion by Indian entities is a separate taxable activity.

Designated Director requirement allows board or senior management appointment for AML compliance but excludes the Principal Officer.
Urban Cooperative Banks may appoint a Designated Director-either a board member or a senior management/equivalent person-to ensure compliance with Prevention of Money Laundering Amendment Act obligations; the Principal Officer is expressly excluded from being designated as the Designated Director.

Audit commissionerate reorganisation announced; new circle offices and contact points established, stakeholders asked to update records.
The notice implements an Audit Commissionerate reorganisation under the Cadre Re-structuring plan, establishing the Audit Commissionerate headquarters at Cochin and four Circle offices with specified addresses and PABX contact numbers to perform audit functions in the Kerala Zone. Trade Associations and Chambers of Commerce are requested to notify their members, a Hindi version will follow, and the notice is issued with an administrative file reference.

Pre-audit discretion: authorities may club artificially split rebate claims to require pre-audit scrutiny and exercise this power sparingly.
Where rebate submissions are artificially split to avoid pre-audit thresholds, sanctioning authorities may club such claims and order pre-audit scrutiny; this power is discretionary and should be used as an exception. Officers authorised to sanction rebates must be informed and may report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Jurisdiction of Central Excise & Service Tax reallocated across Patna commissionerate; divisions and ranges assigned specific territorial areas.
The Commissionerate of Patna is assigned jurisdiction over the whole of Bihar and is subdivided into Central Excise & Service Tax Divisions and Service Tax Divisions/Ranges, each defined by district boundaries and specific police-station areas. Division-level units (Patna I, Patna II, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur) and multiple Ranges allocate responsibility for central excise assessees, service tax assessees, dealers and Input Service Distributors, with certain industrial units placed in distinct Ranges.

Prior entry clearance for courier cargo permitted, allowing filing of Courier Bill of Entry before flight arrival for pre assessment.
Prior entry clearance is authorised for courier consignments, permitting filing of the Courier Bill of Entry by Authorised Couriers before arrival of the aircraft to enable pre arrival assessment by the proper officer under Regulation 5(2)(a) of the Courier Imports and Exports (Clearance) Regulations, 1998 and to expedite clearance at the courier terminal.

Dispute Resolution Panel jurisdiction reassigned by assessee name initials under Section 144C, effective November reallocation.
Allocation of jurisdiction among Dispute Resolution Panels in Mumbai is revised under Section 144C of the Income-tax Act to designate which DRP will exercise powers and perform functions for eligible assessees based on the initial letter of the assessee's name. The order lists four Mumbai DRPs and assigns specific alphabetic ranges to each DRP, with the reallocation effective from 1 November 2014, to address workload and efficient functioning of the panels.

Constitution of Dispute Resolution Panel establishes DRP IV Mumbai with appointed members and reserve, effective November first.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, exercising powers under the Income tax Act and the Income tax (Dispute Resolution Panel) Rules, 2009, constitutes Dispute Resolution Panel IV, Mumbai, comprising three specified Commissioners of Income tax as Members and a specified Reserve Member. Members will perform Panel duties in addition to their regular duties. The order is effective from 1 November 2014 and issued with the approval of the Chairman of the Board.

Assignment of charge permits Chief Commissioners to review appellate Commissioners' orders when committee membership falls to a single member.
Chief Commissioners are authorised to assign the charge of a Commissionerate to another Commissioner within the Zone for the limited purpose of reviewing orders passed by Commissioners (Appeals) when the notified committee of Principal Commissioners/Commissioners is reduced to a single member, and such temporary assignment continues until regular postings fill the vacancies.

Non-filer monitoring: authorities directed to identify and call for returns where high-income taxpayers failed to file.
The Directorate identifies taxpayers who previously filed e-returns with high returned income or significant self-assessment tax but have not filed returns for AY 2014-15, and places a compiled list on the i-taxnet portal (Resources Downloads). Principal Chief Commissioners and Commissioners are directed to personally monitor these non-filer cases and ensure steps are taken to call for and secure the missing returns as a revenue-augmentation measure.

Filing of e-com and IEC online applications requires Java security set to Medium and adding two IPs to Compatibility View.
Applicants must use the website help pages for filing e-com applications and IEC online applications. For Internet Explorer, set Java security level to Medium and enable Java content, and add 164.100.128.143 and 164.100.128.145 to Compatibility View so those sites appear in the added sites list to address technical filing difficulties.

Standardization of procedures: mandatory online submission of specified SEZ applications through NSDL module; action report required.
Directs uniform hosting and online receipt of specified Developer and Developer/Unit applications and reports for all SEZs through an NSDL module from 1-11-2014; lists Developer applications (authorized operations approval, LoA validity extensions, job-work approval, periodic returns) and Developer/Unit applications (unit setup, LoA renewal, jewellery exhibition permissions, DR/BCP and data tape movement permissions for IT units, exit permission, APR, job-work approval, commencement intimation); requires submission of an action taken report on implementation by the stated deadline.

Digitization of SEZ applications enables online submission for specified developer and unit approvals, streamlining regulatory processes.
Digitization requires online submission of specified developer and unit transactions through a government-designated digital platform, including extensions and approvals of Letters of Approval, authorized operations, periodic returns, job-work approvals, unit establishment applications, LOA renewals/extensions, APR submissions, jewellery exhibition intimation/permission, IT backup and DR/BCP permissions, exit permissions, production commencement intimation, and a grievance form; the online process is to run alongside existing channels from the commencement date, with a departmental review and prescribed compliance reporting.

Income estimation for fish farming: uniform per-acre benchmarks set by committee, treated as net income with limited deductions.
Where inland fresh water fish farmers do not maintain books under section 44AA, income from fish culture may be estimated on a per-acre water spread basis using uniform benchmarks set by a Committee of two Commissioners and two fish-farmer representatives with State agency inputs; such estimates are to be treated as net income with no further deductions under sections 30-38 when prescribed benchmarks are applied.

Restoration of registration link centralized with nodal officers; ward authorities must seek approval before restoration.
The circular designates the Assistant Commissioner/AVATO of each zone as the nodal officer responsible for accessing the system link for restoration of Registration; concerned ward authorities must process restoration proposals and obtain approval of the competent authority as per applicable provisions, rules and guidelines.

Review committee constitution under customs law: two-commissioner panels assigned to specific appeals jurisdictions for administrative review.
The Board constitutes Review Committees for administrative review by pairing two named Commissioners of Central Excise to form the Committee for specific territorial areas corresponding to a designated Commissioner (Appeals). The Table in the Order lists each pairing and the appeals jurisdiction it serves; definitions clarify that "Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals)" and "Commissioner of Central Excise" include officers empowered to act as Commissioner of Customs and that "Commissioner" includes "Principal Commissioner" where applicable.

Review Committee constitution establishes two-commissioner panels to conduct statutory review of central excise and service tax jurisdictions.
The Board constitutes two-Commissioner Review Committees, pairing specified Commissioners of Central Excise and Service Tax for listed territorial jurisdictions to perform review functions under the statutory review provision; each Committee is linked to the jurisdiction of a named Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) or Commissioner of Service Tax (Appeals). The Order further clarifies that "Commissioner" includes "Principal Commissioner" and appeals-designations are interchangeable where applicable.

Review committee formation ensures two-commissioner review panels assigned to appellate jurisdictions under Central Excise law.
The Board constitutes two-Commissioner Review Committees for implementation of the statutory review mechanism so that, for each Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) entry, a specified pair of Commissioners will form the Committee to review matters arising within the appellate jurisdiction. A detailed Table enumerates regional pairings and reciprocal arrangements; the Order clarifies that "Commissioner" includes "Principal Commissioner" and that "Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals)" includes "Commissioner of Service Tax (Appeals)" where applicable.

Review committee constitution under Customs Act: panels of Commissioners assigned to review jurisdictional appeals across specified ports and formations.
The Board constitutes territorial review Committees under the Customs Act by designating panels of two Commissioners of Customs to serve as the Committee for areas within the jurisdiction of the named Commissioner of Customs (Appeals). The order pairs specified Commissioner posts across ports, airports, cargo complexes, inland container depots and preventive formations, identifies the corresponding appellate authority for each grouping, and clarifies that cross-designations empower certain Central Excise Commissioners to act as Commissioners of Customs and that "Commissioner" includes "Principal Commissioner" where applicable.

Proprietary position limits clarified: non-bank brokers must follow higher of proportional open interest limit or specified currency caps.
The circular clarifies that the stated position limits are the total limits for stock brokers covering both proprietary and client positions, and that proprietary open position limits for non-bank stock brokers in a permitted currency pair shall be the higher of a proportionate share of total open interest or specified currency-specific caps. Exchanges and clearing corporations must implement systems, amend rules and bye-laws, disseminate the provisions to brokers and report implementation status to the regulator.