Lower/no tax deduction certificates via TRACES enable electronic Form 13 filing, review, and system-generated issuance.
Electronic filing of applications in Form No. 13 for certificates under sub-section (1) of Section 197 and sub-section (9) of Section 206C is to be done via the TRACES portal with submission under digital signature or electronic verification code. The system supplies prior-year return data, audit reports, assessment orders and PAN demands to the Assessing Officer. Applications are assigned to TDS Assessing Officers according to jurisdiction and revenue-foregone thresholds; Assessing Officers may seek clarifications online, adopt system-suggested estimated rates or determine their own, and forward recommendations to Range Head or CIT for administrative approval before system-generated certificates are issued.

Formats and standards for PAN issuance require secure verification, QR-enhanced ePAN with digital signature and security policies.
The Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) prescribes procedures, formats and standards for PAN issuance, document verification, secure data capture and transmission, and archival and retrieval policies. Issuance modalities include physical PAN cards by the Director of Income-tax (Systems) and coloured security-featured cards or electronically issued ePANs by authorised providers; ePANs must be PDF documents with enhanced QR codes containing demographic and biometric information and digitally signed by the issuing agency.

Avoidance of double taxation: treaty sets residence, permanent establishment rules and limits on withholding taxation between jurisdictions.
Notification under section 90 gives effect in India to the India-Hong Kong Agreement avoiding double taxation and preventing fiscal evasion. The treaty applies to residents and taxes on income, defines residency and permanent establishment rules, allocates taxing rights for business profits, dividends, interest, royalties, technical fees and capital gains, prescribes withholding tax limits for beneficial owners subject to effective-connection exceptions, provides methods for elimination of double taxation, non-discrimination, mutual agreement and exchange-of-information mechanisms, and contains anti-abuse provisions and Protocol clarifications.

Reporting deadline for constituent entities set at twelve months; six month deadline follows notified systemic failure.
The substituted provision prescribes that the period for furnishing the report by the constituent entity shall be twelve months from the end of the reporting accounting year, with an exception providing a six month submission period from the end of the month of intimation where the parent entity's country has a notified systemic failure.

Designation of Special Courts for enforcement of income tax and black money laws within specified jurisdictions.
The Central Government, under the Income-tax Act and the Black Money Act and after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, designates the 1st Court of Judicial Magistrate at each district judgeship headquarters and the 4th Court of Metropolitan Magistrate in the City Sessions Court, Bichar Bhavan, Calcutta, as Special Courts within their respective jurisdictions for enforcement of the specified tax statutes in West Bengal and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Conversion of foreign branch triggers inclusion of prior holding period for capital assets when becoming Indian subsidiary property.
An amendment to Rule 8AA requires that when a capital asset becomes the property of an Indian subsidiary due to conversion of a foreign company's branch, the asset's holding period must include the period it was held by that branch and by any previous owner who acquired the asset by specified modes of acquisition.

Conversion of Indian branch to subsidiary: continuity of tax attributes and depreciation allocation subject to prescribed conditions.
Notification under section 115JG(1) applies where a foreign bank's Indian branch converts into an Indian subsidiary if RBI sanctioned amalgamation occurs, all assets and liabilities transfer at book values, the foreign bank or nominee holds the share capital and maintains prescribed voting power, and the foreign company receives only shares. Tax attributes-accumulated losses, unabsorbed depreciation, tax credit, asset block WDV and cost of acquisition rules-are continued to the subsidiary with specified adaptations, including depreciation apportionment and treatment of section 35AD assets; certain section provisions apply as if conversion had not occurred.

TDS exemption for senior citizens clarified: no TDS on interest income below the statutory threshold, administrative guidance issued.
TDS for interest paid to senior citizens shall not be deducted where the amount of such income, or the aggregate credited or paid during the financial year, does not exceed the statutory threshold applicable to senior citizens; this administrative clarification is issued by the Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) under delegated authority to ensure compliance and to guide withholding agents.

Approval under the Income-tax Act: scientific research association status granted, subject to audit, separate accounts, and reporting conditions.
M/s. Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Society is approved as a Scientific Research Association subject to conditions: it must exclusively undertake and carry out scientific research, maintain separate books and a separate certified statement of donations and amounts applied for research, obtain an audit by a qualified accountant and submit the auditor's report and certified statement to the tax authority by the return filing due date; the Central Government may withdraw approval for failures in these obligations or if research activity ceases or is not genuine.

Scientific research association approval requires separate research accounting, audited reports, certified donation statements and compliance-based withdrawal.
Approval is granted to M/s Centre for Brain Research as a Scientific Research Association subject to conditions: sole objective of scientific research; carrying out research itself; maintaining separate books for research funds; obtaining an audit by a qualified accountant and furnishing the audit report by the income-tax return due date; and maintaining a certified statement of donations applied to research. The Central Government may withdraw approval for failures to maintain accounts, furnish required reports, cease genuine research, or otherwise not comply with the governing provisions.

Permanent Account Number requirement expands to certain resident entities and their officers, with issuance deadline following the financial year.
Rule 114 is amended to require allotment of a permanent account number to resident non-individuals entering into specified financial transactions above the prescribed threshold and to their managing officers or representatives by the 31st day of May following the financial year; sub-rule (6) is adjusted to include issuance of the permanent account number alongside Aadhaar intimation. Forms 49A and 49AA are revised to allow PAN applicants to indicate a single mother and to select which parent's name is printed on the PAN card, with specified defaults.

Appellate review under the Benami Property Act established to hear appeals from Adjudicating Authority orders.
Establishment of an Appellate Tribunal under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 to hear appeals from orders of the Adjudicating Authority; created by Central Government notification under powers conferred by section 30, effective upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Benami adjudicatory jurisdiction specified nationwide, with a limited territorial exception, under a statutory notification.
The Central Government specifies that the New Delhi Bench of the Adjudicating Authority under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 shall exercise jurisdiction over the whole of India except for a specified territorial exclusion, and that this designation takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Adjudicating Authority appointment under Benami Property law establishes jurisdiction and powers upon Gazette publication effective immediately.
Appointment of an Adjudicating Authority at New Delhi under section 7 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 vests the authority with the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred by the Act and makes the appointment effective from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Specified jurisdictions under section 285BA designated for reporting and compliance; notification later substitutes an amended jurisdiction list.
Designation of jurisdictions for information reporting under section 285BA is made by Notification No. 78/2018 issued under the Income-tax Act read with the Explanation to rule 114F, listing specified jurisdictions for the purposes of the cited sub-clause. The notification's notes record that the original list was subsequently substituted by a later notification, thereby revising the enumerated jurisdictions applicable to the statutory reporting and compliance framework.

Adjudicating Authority delegation to PMLA appointees enables interim benami adjudication and limited time-sensitive orders.
The Adjudicating Authority appointed under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act will discharge the functions of the benami Adjudicating Authority for references received during the transitional period until the authority under the benami law assumes those functions, with a specified exception requiring the PMLA-appointed authority to pass certain time-sensitive orders; the PMLA Appellate Tribunal will likewise discharge benami appellate functions for appeals filed during the same period.

Continuity of adjudicatory functions: government may permit PML Act authorities to continue discharging Benami Act functions for specified periods and cases.
The Order empowers the Central Government to specify, by notification, that the authorities constituted under the Prevention of Money laundering Act may continue to discharge functions under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act for such period and in respect of such cases or class of cases as may be specified, thereby addressing difficulties from the time gap between constitution of Benami Act authorities and the cessation of functions by the previously notified authorities.

Recognised association status granted to exchange subject to compliance with operational, data retention and reporting obligations.
Indian Commodity Exchange Limited is notified as a recognised association for commodity derivatives trading subject to conditions: obtain regulatory approval for derivatives trading or ensure recording and storage of client particulars (including unique client identity number and PAN); maintain a complete audit trail of derivative transactions for at least seven years; prevent erasure of registered transactions; permit modification only for genuine errors while retaining data of modified transactions; and submit a monthly Form No. 3BC to the Director General (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation).

Research funding approval requires exclusive use for core scientific research, audited accounts and annual reporting, else approval withdrawn.
Approval to M/s Charutar Arogya Mandal, Gujarat, for the category of University, College or other Institution engaged in research from assessment year 2019-2020 is conditional on exclusive use of sums for core scientific research conducted by faculty or enrolled students, maintenance of separate books and a separate statement of donations, audit of such books by a qualified accountant with filing of the audit report and certified donation statement by the return due date, and furnishing an annual research statement including publications, patents and planned projects; approval may be withdrawn for non-compliance or cessation of genuine research activity.

Tax deduction certificates: electronic applications and system security enabled for lower or no tax deduction eligibility.
Applications for certificates authorising deduction or collection of income-tax at lower rates or nil deduction must be made electronically under digital signature or electronic verification code; the systems heads are required to establish secure procedures, formats and archival and retrieval standards for data capture, transmission, document upload and issuance. Certificates are issued to the named person responsible for deducting or collecting tax or, where deductors exceed one hundred and are unidentified, to the applicant; Assessing Officers must determine existing and estimated tax liability by reference to estimated and prior years' incomes, existing liabilities, advance tax and amounts already deducted or collected.