Failure to deduct tax under withholding rules treated as assessee in default, prompting a quantified tax demand.
An order treats the payor as an Assessee In Default for failing to withhold tax on a cross-border remittance, prompting the tax authority to quantify and raise a tax demand under the statutory default mechanism; the demand must be paid within a prescribed short period after notice, and was issued following a judicial direction to determine the payor's tax liability within a limited timeframe.

Budget Manual consolidates Union Budget procedures and roles, standardising accounting, timelines and transparency for public finance management.
The Budget Manual consolidates dispersed executive instructions into a single guidance document describing Constitutional provisions, contents of budget documents, accounting and classification systems, and the operations of the Consolidated Fund of India, the Contingency Fund of India and the Public Account of India. It delineates roles of Parliament, parliamentary committees and executive wings, and outlines the full sequence of budget formulation from the Budget Circular to Budget Day, including timelines, officer duties, security and lock-in procedures, implementation and reporting, with annexes for related subjects.

Extension of Income Tax return filing deadline: filing and tax audit submission postponed due to law-and-order disruptions.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes invoked section 119 to extend the due date for filing returns of income for the State of Jammu and Kashmir to 30th November and simultaneously extended the time for obtaining and furnishing tax audit reports under section 44AB, as administrative relief in view of law-and-order disruptions.

Rate of interest change for employee provident funds announced, altering credited returns and funding approach for the benefit year.
The Central Board of Trustees recommended increasing the rate of interest to be credited to members' EPF accounts for 2010-11 to 9.5 percent from surplus in the interest suspense account. It approved closure of inoperative accounts by ceasing interest after thirty-six months of inactivity, recommended delinking EDLI assurance benefit from PF balances and fixing it at twenty times the deceased employee's average monthly wages (subject to a maximum), initiated steps to appoint a consultant for new fund managers, discussed investment pattern and fund safety with the Ministry of Finance, and deferred review of the Employees' Pension Scheme.

Extension of ITR V filing deadline grants a final opportunity to mail verification to CPC for electronic tax returns.
Extension of the time limit is announced for filing the ITR-V verification form for electronically filed returns for assessment year 2009-10, allowing submission up to the extended deadline or within 120 days from filing, whichever is later. ITR-V must be mailed only by ordinary post or speed post to the CPC in Bengaluru; forms sent elsewhere or by other means will not be accepted. Taxpayers without CPC acknowledgement must re-mail ITR-V, since returns without CPC acknowledgement will not be processed or yield refunds.

Business or commercial licence: membership card treated as intangible asset eligible for depreciation under section 32.
The membership right in a stock exchange is a personal permission akin to a licence, granting the holder economic rights to access the market and participate in trading; by virtue of Explanation 3 it is an intangible asset and therefore a business or commercial right of similar nature that satisfies the statutory test for being a depreciable asset under the provision governing licences and like rights.

Cross-border taxation: assets located in India subject cross-border mergers to Indian income-tax jurisdiction and tax liability.
Cross-border transactions involving assets located in India are chargeable to Indian income tax, and Indian tax authorities have jurisdiction over such transactions when the relevant assets are situated within India; asset location in cross-border mergers determines taxable nexus and enables Indian tax assessment and collection.

ITR-V mailing requirement: returns filed electronically must be mailed to CPC Bengaluru to enable processing and refunds.
Extension requires taxpayers who filed unsigned electronic returns for AY 2009-10 to mail the ITR-V to the Centralized Processing Center (CPC) Bengaluru by the extended deadline or within the extended filing window; ITR-Vs are accepted only by ordinary post or speed post to the specified Post Bag address. Taxpayers who filed with local offices, did not file ITR-Vs, or did not receive CPC acknowledgement should (re)mail their ITR-V. Processing of returns and refunds depends on CPC receipt and acknowledgement of the ITR-V.

Direct tax collections rise year-on-year, corporate tax growth outpacing personal income tax in the April-August period.
Net direct tax receipts for the April-August fiscal period rose 13.91 percent to Rs.1,00,112 crore, driven by a 17.05 percent increase in Corporate Income Tax to Rs.57,750 crore and a 9.68 percent rise in Personal Income Tax to Rs.42,217 crore, with marked regional variations in collection growth across specified tax jurisdictions.

Extension of filing deadline for ITR-V permits submission until 31 December 2010 or within 120 days of upload.
Extension granted for filing ITR-Vs for electronically filed returns (without digital signature) for A.Y. 2009-10: ITR-Vs may be furnished by 31 December 2010 or within 120 days of uploading the electronic return data, whichever is later. The measure targets ITR-Vs not received at the Centralised Processing Centre or received after 31 March 2010 or filed with Assessing Officers, offering a final opportunity to comply. ITR-Vs must be sent by ordinary post or speed post to Post Bag No.1, Electronic City Post Office, Bengaluru - 560100.

Exchange of information expanded to include banking and ownership data, with new limits on treaty benefits and shipping taxation.
The Protocol amends the DTAA to expand the Exchange of Information to permit foreseeable information exchange-including banking and ownership data-and to allow use for tax purposes (and other authorised uses); it applies prospectively. It introduces residence-based taxation for international shipping income, removes specified tax-sparing relief on interest, limits tax-rate divergence between residents and non-resident permanent establishments, includes recognised pension funds as residents, and adds a Limitation of Benefit clause to prevent treaty misuse on dividends, interest, royalties and similar income.

Direct Taxes Code Bill consolidates income and wealth taxation, setting residence, computation, incentives, anti avoidance and procedural regimes.
The Direct Taxes Code, 2010 consolidates and replaces the Income-tax Act and Wealth Tax Act into a single statute of 319 sections and 22 schedules, setting out the basis of charge, residence and deemed accrual/receipt rules, classification and computation of income under specified heads, aggregation and loss continuity rules, industry and transaction specific schedules, a wide range of tax incentives and deductions, detailed tax administration, assessment, appeals, recovery, penalties and prosecutorial provisions, anti avoidance measures, advance rulings and dispute resolution, and confers rule making and notification powers on the Central Government and the Board.

Tax exemption limit increase under Direct Taxes Code Bill, with proposed removal of corporate surcharge and cesses.
The Direct Taxes Code Bill proposes raising the individual income tax exemption threshold and abolishing surcharge and cesses on corporate income tax; the Cabinet has approved the Bill for tabling in Parliament and anticipated referral to a joint select committee for detailed consideration.

SEZ tax exemptions enable export income relief and duty free procurement, with service tax refund mechanisms for SEZ use.
SEZs receive duty free import and domestic procurement for development and operations; phased income tax exemptions on export income under Section 10AA, exemption from minimum alternate tax, and permitted external commercial borrowings. Developers obtain customs/excise exemptions for authorized development, a time bound income tax exemption under Section 80 IAB, exemption from minimum alternate tax, and exemption from dividend distribution tax. Service tax treatment distinguishes services rendered wholly within SEZs (exempt), services provided outside but used by SEZs (refundable), supplies to domestic tariff area units (taxable), and exported services (not chargeable).

Exchange of banking information expanded in renegotiated tax treaties; enforcement action for unauthorized foreign accounts.
Immediate enforcement under the Foreign Exchange Management Act addresses unauthorized foreign bank accounts and retention of funds abroad; the Government is renegotiating existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements to strengthen Exchange of Information provisions to permit banking information exchange. The India-Mauritius convention is being reviewed to prevent treaty shopping via safeguards developed by a Joint Working Group, and India seeks Tax Information Exchange Agreements with jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands instead of DTAAs to align with international standards.

Tax service centres expansion: additional Aayakar Seva Kendras planned, funded from existing departmental budgets to improve taxpayer services
The Government will expand Aayakar Seva Kendras by establishing additional tax service centres in selected cities as part of a phased rollout supplementing a three-location pilot; implementation targets state capitals and mid-size cities. No separate central funds are being released for these centres; the concerned Chief Commissioners of Income Tax will incur establishment expenditure from existing departmental budget grants.

Point of taxation rules link service tax liability to the earliest of service provision, invoice issuance, or payment receipt.
The Rules fix the point of taxation for services as the earliest of provision of service, issuance of invoice, or receipt of payment; make advances taxable when received (excluding interest-free refundable deposits); prescribe that where tax rates change between provision, invoice and payment the earlier qualifying event generally determines the applicable rate; treat continuous supplies as discrete periodic supplies taxed on contractual due dates, milestone completion, or invoice/payment (read sequentially); and specify points of taxation for associated enterprises and royalties when subsequent payments or invoices occur.

Goods and Services Tax phased reform: aligned exemptions, uniform small dealer threshold and transitional dual rates to enable convergence.
The Government addresses inflation through supply side agricultural measures, enhanced procurement and MSPs, investment in storage and cold chains, expanded PDS allocations where state coverage is low, and schemes to incentivize private construction of godowns with extended guarantees. Complementary monetary tightening and expectations of moderating global commodity prices are expected to ease energy pressures. On GST, the Centre proposes a phased implementation aligning central exemptions with states, uniform small dealer exemption thresholds, optional compounding limits subject to state agreement, and a transitional dual rate CGST/SGST framework intended to converge to a common rate over time.

Centralised Processing Centre processing tax returns and issuing refunds while identifying reporting errors and TDS mismatches.
The Centralised Processing Centre at Bangalore is processing income tax returns and issuing refunds under the Income Tax Act; processing outcomes include refunds and, in some cases, post processing demands arising from incorrect reporting, unsupported claims, or mismatches in tax payments or TDS, and first year operational costs comprised office expenses, rent and departmental employee salaries.

Deduction for long-term infrastructure bonds allows additional tax relief for eligible subscribers beyond existing savings limits.
A new statutory deduction permits individuals and Hindu Undivided Families to claim up to Rs. 20,000 for subscriptions to long-term infrastructure bonds made in the specified financial year; the deduction is over and above existing overall savings limits and the class of eligible bonds, tenure, interest and issuing agencies are prescribed by government notification.