Delay in framing criminal charges prompts call for pan-India guidelines to curb trial backlogs and ensure timely trials.
The Supreme Court identified non-framing of charges after filing of chargesheets as a major cause of trial delay and proposed issuing pan-India guidelines to ensure timely commencement of trials; it sought assistance from senior law officers, appointed an amicus curiae and a former judge, and noted existing statutory expectations that charges in sessions trials be framed within a short period from first hearing.

ITR filing deadline extended for taxpayers with audit obligations, with audited report submission also extended as administrative relief.
The tax administration extended the due date for furnishing Return of Income for taxpayers required to obtain audited accounts to 10 December, and further extended the deadline for furnishing audited reports to 10 November, providing administrative relief to companies, proprietorships and partnership firms after representations citing disruptions from floods and natural calamities.

CBDT extends due dates for income-tax return and audit report filings to December and November 2025.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date for furnishing the Return of Income under section 139(1) for the class of assessees in clause (a) of Explanation 2 to 10 December 2025, and has further extended the specified date for furnishing the report of audit for the previous year 2024 25 for those assessees to 10 November 2025; a formal order/notification will be issued separately.

Tax policy consultation solicits industry proposals for direct and indirect tax changes, requiring economic justification and supporting data.
Solicitation of industry proposals for direct and indirect tax changes for the Union Budget requiring economic justification, year-wise import and domestic production statistics, quantified revenue implications, and value-addition support for inverted duty structure corrections; GST matters excluded. Customs and Central Excise requests must state existing and requested duties in prescribed format. The Government indicates a medium-term approach to phase out tax incentives and rationalise direct tax rates, and seeks suggestions that reduce compliance, improve tax certainty, quantify positive externalities, and limit litigation, with specified submission channels and detailed annexural data fields.

Preserving indigenous Tagin culture through documentation, translation, institutional collaboration, and intergenerational transmission.
Preservation of Tagin cultural heritage centers on documenting oral traditions, translating priestly chants into accessible language for younger generations, and ensuring inter generational transmission of rituals, folklore, and indigenous knowledge. Institutional mechanisms include the Tagin Cultural Society's secretariat cum heritage centre and collaboration with the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture to combine cultural practice with scholarly research for documentation and dissemination, alongside encouragement of local support for hydropower projects as part of regional development.

Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls to remove illegal foreign migrants, with phased state rollout and CEO readiness.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) will be rolled out in phases to clean electoral rolls by verifying place of birth and removing presumed foreign illegal migrants. The EC will prioritise states with upcoming assembly elections and omit states holding local body polls; the last SIR in each state will serve as the cut off baseline. State Chief Electoral Officers are required to prepare and publish post SIR electoral rolls and be ready to implement the revisions within EC directed timelines.

SIT probe sought into alleged disproportionate assets and benami holdings amid claims of investigative delay and agency admissions.
The petition seeks a court monitored SIT led by a retired judge with officers from the CBI, ED, Income Tax Department and state police to investigate alleged disproportionate assets and benami properties, asserting agencies admitted discovery of such assets but prosecutions and reassessments are not progressing; agencies counter that investigations and tax proceedings are underway, challenge maintainability and note prior high court dismissals, and object to the MP not being impleaded, prompting directions for responses from state and central agencies.

Income tax: due date for filing returns by auditable assessees extended to November 30, 2025.
Gujarat High Court directed the CBDT to issue a circular extending the due date for filing income-tax returns from October 31 to November 30, 2025 for assessees required to furnish tax audit reports, on the basis that a statutory one-month gap must be maintained between the specified date for audit report submission and the return filing due date.

Direct tax collection grows year-on-year after higher corporate receipts and slower refunds, supporting fiscal revenue plans.
Net direct tax collection rose year on year by 6.33 per cent to about Rs 11.89 lakh crore through October 12, driven by stronger corporate tax receipts and slower refund issuances, while gross direct tax receipts showed more modest growth and Securities Transaction Tax collections increased slightly.

GST evasion in Kumaon uncovers collusion with joint commissioner-level official; goods seized, vehicle detained, penalty imposed.
Coordinated raids by the state GST headquarters uncovered transporters bringing goods into Kumaon without proper documentation, resulting in seizure of goods and a vehicle. Investigations found over Rs 20 lakh of goods evaded tax and assessed penalties of about Rs 25 lakh under the GST Act. Alleged collusion by a joint commissioner-level official to obstruct enforcement is under separate investigation and may prompt departmental action.

TCS reports Q2 profit rise, 20,000 headcount reduction, major AI data centre investment and acquisition of ListEngage, plus interim dividend.
Regulatory filing discloses quarterly financial results, a Rs 1,135 crore severance charge and a 20,000 headcount reduction, with the 25.2% operating margin stated excluding severance. It announces incorporation of a wholly owned subsidiary to establish AI and sovereign data centres, a plan for a 1 GW AI data centre in India with over USD 6.5 billion investment and potential equity partners, acquisition of a US firm for USD 72.8 million, and declaration of a second interim dividend with specified record and payment dates.

Underreporting of layoffs alleged as union claims additional unreported departures may mislead regulators and stakeholders.
TCS reported a quarterly headcount reduction of 19,755 employees, attributing exits to a combination of voluntary and involuntary attrition and recording a severance charge, while announcing support measures for impacted mid and senior staff. NITES alleges that the company under reported the scale of retrenchments, claiming additional unaccounted departures and asserting that management driven releases, rather than voluntary attrition, account for the discrepancy and may mislead regulators and the public.

Dividend declaration sets record date for entitlement following regulatory disclosure of subsidiary incorporation and acquisition.
The company announced a second interim dividend with a fixed record date for entitlement, incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary to establish AI and sovereign data centres including a planned 1 GW AI data centre capacity, and completed a 100 per cent acquisition of a US-based Salesforce and AI services firm; these corporate actions were disclosed in the regulatory filing alongside quarter financial metrics and commentary on strategic investments and contract value.

TCS Q2 FY26: consolidated profit and revenue rose; company disclosed results post market and declared a second interim dividend.
TCS reported consolidated Q2 FY26 net profit of Rs 12,075 crore and operating revenue of Rs 65,799 crore, disclosed in a post market regulatory filing, and declared a second interim dividend of Rs 11 per Re 1 share.

Tribunal pendency and reform: transparent appointments and consistent rulings urged to modernise tax adjudication.
Large-scale pendency of tax disputes before the ITAT remains a systemic problem despite reductions in numerical backlog. Proposed reforms concentrate on transparent appointments, reformed tenure and eligibility to attract experienced practitioners, systematic induction and continuing education, early identification of conflicting decisions through special benches and internal references, and operational upgrades in case management, technology, secretariat staffing and infrastructure to modernise the Tribunal and promote consistent, efficient tax adjudication.

Chhattisgarh rice milling scam alleges organised extortion of millers via withheld incentive payments and alleged corruption.
Supplementary chargesheet names Anil Tuteja and Anwar Dhebar accused in an alleged scheme where officials and association office-bearers pressured rice millers into paying illegal commissions of Rs 20 per quintal by withholding incentive bill payments, invoking alleged criminal conspiracy, extortion, fiduciary misconduct and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, with digital evidence and tax-agency inquiries linking collection and use of illicit funds.

Digital arrest scam exposed, resulting arrests and seizure of instruments used in nationwide identity and bank fraud.
A coordinated probe uncovered a pan India digital arrest scam where impersonation of officials induced a victim to disclose banking credentials, enabling unauthorized transfers and loans routed through shell companies; five suspects were arrested and extensive digital and financial evidence seized as forensic and financial investigations continue.

UP tax field postings set to be performance based; only officers with clean image and commitment will be assigned.
Field postings in the Uttar Pradesh state tax department will be assigned on a strictly performance based basis, limited to officers with clean image and commitment to achieving revenue targets. Zonal officers must explain shortfalls, prepare corrective action plans for underperforming divisions, and be held accountable. Measures emphasise increasing GST registrations, preventing fraudulent Input Tax Credit claims, recovering dues, speeding disposal of pending GST/VAT cases, and strengthening e governance to enhance taxpayer convenience, with transparency and integrity as core principles.

Investigation into alleged fiscal crimes by event manager Shyamkanu Mahanta may expand as ED and I T consider joining.
CID investigations into Shyamkanu Mahanta allege organised financial crimes, acquisition of benami properties and money laundering; ED and Income Tax officials have visited CID and are likely to join the probe. Seized material includes duplicate PAN cards, nearly 30 corporate and official stamp seals, and documents relating to benami properties and public works contracts. CID reports also reference alleged 20 year old fiscal irregularities from Mahanta's tenure at an NBFC involving over Rs 14 crore in advance loans and an incomplete internal probe.

H-1B hiring practices questioned; firm asked for detailed disclosures on displacement, wage parity, outsourcing, and recruitment methods.
Lawmakers requested detailed information from TCS about its H-1B hiring practices, specifically whether Americans were displaced, whether good-faith recruitment efforts preceded H-1B filings, wage and benefit parity between H-1B hires and comparable US workers, the use of separate H-1B recruitment ads, and the role of contractors or staffing firms in placing and paying H-1B employees; the inquiry references an ongoing EEOC probe and seeks data by a stated deadline against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny and a recent increase in the fee for new H-1B petitions.