PAN card issuance timelines require service providers to meet prescribed turnaround times; backlog persists due to defective applications.
Service providers must issue PAN cards within stipulated turnaround times-fifteen calendar days for fresh applicants and twenty calendar days for reprint/correction-excluding time attributable to the department or applicant; reported weighted average processing time is lower. A substantial backlog of long-pending applications exists, largely attributable to defective applications where applicants were notified but failed to provide satisfactory clarifications.

Valuation of housewife services: apply structured notional income and multiplier method for compensation assessment.
The Motor Vehicles Act's structured formula under Section 163A and the Second Schedule prescribes age-linked multipliers and a notional-income rule for non-earning persons; tribunals must ascertain age and income, deduct personal living expenses, and apply the multiplier method. Gratuitous services of a housewife/mother merit a broad valuation distinct from paid domestic labour; where no regular income exists, clause (6) of the Second Schedule provides a reasonable notional income to compute annual dependency, subject to standardised additions for future prospects and deductions for personal expenses.

Valuation of homemaker work must inform compensation frameworks to recognise unpaid household labour and remedy gender bias.
The Motor Vehicles Act's structured formula, notably Clause 6 of the Second Schedule, imputes homemakers' income as one-third of an earning spouse's income, a categorisation criticised as irrational for ignoring the economic value of unpaid household production. Census and administrative classifications that label household duties as "non-workers" further entrench gender bias. Courts, tribunals, and the legislature are urged to adopt gender-sensitive valuation methods-replacement cost, partnership, and opportunity-cost approaches-and amend statutory compensation and related laws to ensure homemakers' work is properly assessed in compensation and property regimes.

Fiscal consolidation urged to reduce the fiscal deficit under the finance commission roadmap; consensus sought on draft tax code.
Extensive stakeholder consultation on the Draft Tax Code has addressed many concerns while further political consensus, and a constitutional amendment, are required for GST implementation with assured central compensation to States; concurrently the Finance Minister called for fiscal consolidation per the Finance Commission roadmap and emphasized tackling inflation through economic measures and improved public distribution.

GST implementation to unify indirect taxes, simplify compliance and enable cooperative fiscal federalism.
The government proposes a new Direct Tax Code to create a simpler, broad based direct tax regime that lowers rates, incorporates time tested practices, improves compliance and reduces litigation. Parallelly, a nationwide GST is proposed to replace multiple Centre State indirect taxes, harmonise exemptions and thresholds, and pursue phased rate unification. Implementation depends on a pre existing IT infrastructure and coordinated Centre State governance; stakeholder consultation and a TAGUP led roadmap are central to preparing administrative and technical parameters for roll out.

Doctrine of merger cannot extinguish unlitigated claims; issues not contested earlier remain open for proper challenge.
The doctrine of merger cannot be applied mechanically to extinguish arguments or rights that were never contested in the earlier proceeding; where an adjudicating authority disallowed two deductions and allowed six, and an appeal to the Tribunal challenged only the two disallowances, the Tribunal's reliance on merger to preclude reconsideration of the six allowed deductions was incorrect because those deductions were not litigated and could only have been contested by the Revenue.

Service taxation expanded: eight new service categories now taxable, including health services, brand promotion and copyrights.
Eight service categories were made taxable by Notification No.24/2010-Service Tax (dated 22 June 2010) effective 1 July 2010. The notification lists games of chance; health services; maintenance of medical records; promotion of a brand of goods, services, events or business entities; commercial exploitation of organized events; electricity exchange service; copyrights on cinematographic films and sound recordings; and provision of preferential location or development of complexes as taxable services.

Trade growth: exports rose year-on-year while imports increased, widening the trade deficit in the April-May period.
Exports rose year on year in May and cumulatively for April-May, while imports increased more rapidly-driven by a sharp rise in oil imports and strong non oil demand-resulting in a widened trade deficit for the April-May period compared with the prior year.