Taxation of gifts-in-kind: property gifts above the monetary threshold are taxable as income from other sources and must be disclosed.
With effect from 1 October 2009, immovable property and other property received as gifts by an individual or HUF whose value exceeds the statutory monetary threshold are includible as income from other sources; the donee must pay tax on and disclose the taxable value in the income tax return for the assessment year beginning 2010 11 and thereafter.

Due date extension for income tax returns in specified districts extended to late October, affecting local filers.
An administrative extension of the filing due date for income tax returns was announced for taxpayers in Pune, Sangli and Kolhapur, moving filings due at the end of September 2009 to 31st October 2009, with an official notification to follow.

Customs duty exemption applies to imports under export promotion schemes, covering capital goods, inputs and duty credit scrip imports.
Finance ministry notifications grant exemption from duties of customs for imports under multiple Foreign Trade Policy export promotion schemes. Exemptions cover EPCG (including Common Service Providers), Advance Authorisations, Duty Free Import Authorisations, DEPB, and duty credit scrips under schemes such as Vishesh Krishi and Focus Market/Product schemes. Specified exemptions extend to whole of customs duty and, in relevant notifications, to additional duty, safeguard duty and anti dumping duty, and apply to inputs, capital goods, consumables and items imported for service sector exports under the Served From India Scheme.

Depreciation eligibility for licences limited to intellectual property related rights; stock exchange membership card excluded from allowance.
Depreciation under Section 32 is limited to specified categories of intangible assets closely related to intellectual property; the expression licences must be construed with noscitur a sociis to restrict its scope to such intellectual property related licences. A stock exchange membership card does not constitute a business or commercial right relating to intellectual property and therefore does not qualify for depreciation merely because it is a capital asset liable to capital gains on sale.

GST administration preparedness drives conference to evaluate departmental readiness and strengthen indirect tax compliance and border management.
Conference of senior customs and central excise officials will focus on departmental readiness for Goods and Service Tax administration, covering procedural adaptations, IT initiatives, audit controls, revenue collection strategies, border management, and measures to improve indirect tax compliance and strengthen tax administration.

Advance tax instalment requirement for corporate and non corporate taxpayers due mid September; pay via net banking or Challan ITNS 280.
Direct tax receipts rose modestly in the first five months, with Corporate Tax growing more slowly and Personal Income Tax growing faster; increased tax refunds significantly offset net growth. Advance tax instalments for corporate and non corporate taxpayers are due in mid September, calculated as a proportion of estimated annual tax liability reduced by amounts deductible or collectible at source, and must be paid via Challan No. ITNS 280 or electronic net banking to avoid penalties.

Charitable purpose: paid research and consultancy for public bodies can remain charitable when it advances public utility.
The High Court held that an educational institution's research and consultancy projects commissioned by government bodies, undertaken due to the institution's expertise to improve public systems, can constitute the advancement of general public utility and remain charitable; receipt of remuneration for such projects does not automatically make them commercial, and a charity may have income from gifts or business without losing charitable character.

Direct Taxes Code consultation: committee constituted to collect, consolidate and forward structured suggestions for board review.
A Core Committee was constituted to solicit and consolidate suggestions on the draft Direct Taxes Code, invite inputs from officers and the public through prescribed channels, prepare a draft based on suggestions and studies, and place consolidated recommendations before the full Board for approval and onward submission to the Finance Minister; the Committee's membership is allocated by subject area and a standard submission format and contact method are prescribed.

Export incentive expansion and simplification increases market and product coverage while easing procedural barriers.
Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 broadens and raises export incentives under Focus Market, Focus Product and Market Linked Focus Product Schemes, adds new products and markets, introduces a common simplified application for major Chapter 3 schemes, expands EPCG benefits including a Zero Duty EPCG scheme for specified sectors, grants additional duty credit scrips to Status Holders with conditional transferability, relaxes EPCG obligations for spares, and implements procedural simplifications, fee reductions, EDI integration with customs, and the creation of a Directorate of Trade Remedy Measures.

Foreign trade policy promotes export growth through fiscal incentives, market diversification and institutional reforms to boost competitiveness.
The 2009 Foreign Trade Policy establishes a two year export promotion programme combining fiscal incentives, institutional reforms and market diversification to reverse export decline. Key operative measures include continuation and extension of incentive schemes (DEPB, tax concessions, interest subvention, enhanced export credit insurance), a 15% minimum value addition norm for imported inputs under advance authorisations, technology upgradation support for recognised status holders via duty credit scrips and zero duty EPCG capital goods, focused support for SEZs and Towns of Export Excellence, establishment of a Directorate of Trade Remedy Measures, and implementation of e trade and single window procedures to reduce transaction costs.

Export Promotion Policy seeks to restore export growth through fiscal incentives, market diversification, and infrastructure reforms.
The policy aims to reverse export decline and achieve sustained high growth through a mix of fiscal incentives, institutional reforms, market diversification, infrastructure improvements and full refund of indirect taxes on exports. It continues and enhances support schemes (including tax and duty concessions, export-credit and insurance measures), mandates value addition requirements for certain imports, recognises leading exporters as status holders eligible for Duty Credit Scrips to import capital goods duty free, and introduces targeted market-development and trade-remedy institutions to assist exporters and MSMEs.

Residence-based taxation: residents taxed on worldwide income while non-residents taxed on India-sourced income under the Code.
The Paper proposes a consolidated Direct Taxes Code applying residence based taxation to residents (worldwide income) and source taxation to non residents, reorganising computation into ordinary and special sources, adopting an income expenses model for business with clarified expenditure categories and capital allowances, rationalising tax incentives (notably EET treatment for permitted savings), introducing a GAAR to counter impermissible avoidance, modernising tax administration via centralized risk based scrutiny and information systems, and reforming procedures for filing, assessment, penalties and corporate taxation including dividend distribution tax and an asset based Minimum Alternate Tax.

Direct Tax Code transition increases interpretational complexity and compliance burden for tax professionals, requiring extended case tracking.
Introduction of the Direct Tax Code will alter the income-tax legal framework and create novel interpretational issues requiring judicial clarification; tax professionals must manage concurrent regimes and monitor evolving case law while advising clients and reconciling legacy matters pending under the existing statute.

Tax rate differential increases individual burden, with MAT on gross assets and dividend tax hindering conversions.
Direct tax proposals create a tax rate differential by proposing a lower corporate tax rate than the maximum marginal rate for individuals while keeping unincorporated entity rates unchanged; they shift MAT to operate on gross assets instead of book profit and retain Dividend Distribution Tax, together potentially discouraging conversion of non corporate entities into corporate form and increasing tax burden for asset intensive or early stage companies.

Extension of time for filing ITR V permits later postal submission for electronically filed returns while retaining postal verification requirement.
For electronic returns filed without a digital signature, the verified ITR V may now be submitted by the later of the specified extended calendar deadline or within sixty days of uploading the electronic return data; the ITR V must be sent by ordinary post to the designated Post Bag address in Bengaluru.

Tax law amendments update definitions, income exclusions, valuation rules and compliance obligations under direct tax statutes.
Amendments under the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 revise numerous provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and selected Wealth Tax Act provisions, updating definitions, exclusions from total income, special regimes for export and SEZ units, capital gains valuation (including slump sale and specified valuation rules), deductions, depreciation and presumptive taxation, and reforming compliance and enforcement mechanisms-accounting and audit requirements, assessment and reassessment procedures, search and seizure powers, PAN/TAN and withholding obligations, penalties, provisional attachments, appellate pathways and relevant schedules.

Tax compliance changes introduce PAN requirement, DIN allotment, TDS processing and new provisions for specified businesses and trusts.
Insertion of multiple provisions by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 revises tax compliance and substantive rules: it mandates furnishing of Permanent Account Number, provides for Document Identification Number allotment, requires processing of TDS statements, enables reference to a Dispute Resolution Panel, empowers issuance of safe harbour rules, and creates specified-business loss setoff and deduction rules alongside special provisions for electoral trusts and LLP partner liability; it also inserts a Customs refund provision and restricts application of Chapter VII in certain securities and commodities transaction taxes.

Direct Taxes Code released for public consultation, proposing replacement of existing income and wealth tax statutes.
The draft Direct Taxes Code and a Discussion Paper will be published online with a web interface to receive public comments; the Code is intended to replace the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, and the Government will consider submissions received before finalising the Bill for introduction in Parliament.

Direct tax collections show modest growth while higher tax refunds dampen net revenue gains in early fiscal months.
Direct tax receipts showed modest year-on-year growth in the first four months of the fiscal, with Corporate Tax rising more slowly than Personal Income Tax and Securities Transaction Tax recovering; a marked increase in tax refund outgo materially constrained net collection growth and reduced net cash inflows despite positive monthly net receipts for July.

Unique Transaction Number mandatory in tax returns to ensure verification and timely tax credit allocation.
The Unique Transaction Number must be quoted in Income-tax return forms by assessees to whom it is allocated, as it will be allotted against each transaction where tax is deducted or collected at source to ensure prompt verification and accurate granting of tax credits; the requirement was deferred for the stated assessment year pending communication of the numbers, with the allotment system expected to become operational on the announced implementation date.