Notification under section 80-IA(4)(v): Ratnagiri Gas & Power Pvt Ltd designated for specified income-tax benefit under Act.
The Central Government, exercising powers under sub-clause (a) of clause (v) of sub-section (4) of section 80-IA, notifies Ratnagiri Gas & Power Private Limited by name and registered office for the purposes of that sub-clause, thereby designating the company as within the scope of the specified provision.

Income-tax Appellate Tribunal members' retirement ages set: President 65; Senior Vice President, Vice President and Members 62.
Clause (c) of rule 2 is amended so that rules 12 and 13 do not include the President, Senior Vice President and Vice President. Rule 11 is replaced to prescribe retirement ages: the President on attaining sixty five years; the Senior Vice President, Vice President and Member on attaining sixty two years, and retirement occurs on the date of attaining the specified age rather than the last date of the month applicable to other Government servants.

Industrial park approval granted subject to infrastructure, allocation and compliance conditions and FDI approvals required.
The Central Government notifies M/s. Vanenburg IT Park Private Limited as an industrial park under clause (iii) of sub-section (4) of the tax provision, subject to annexed terms: specified location, foreign ownership, software-related industrial activities, investment and area details, mandatory minimum allocable industrial area and caps on commercial area, minimum infrastructure and built-up expenditure thresholds, defined infrastructure components, restrictions on unit occupancy, requirement for separate foreign investment approvals, operator continuity during benefit period, and withdrawal of approval for non-compliance or nondisclosure.

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal rules set minimum shortlisting criteria for accountant and judicial member viva voce, including experience and income thresholds.
Where the Selection Board finds it impracticable to call all candidates for viva voce, it may shortlist candidates by adopting criteria not less than specified minima: for accountant members, either three years as Commissioner-level Indian Income-tax Service Group 'A' officer or twenty years' Chartered Accountancy practice with net taxable income of at least Rs. 1,40,000; for judicial members, specified judicial service tenure, twenty years' advocacy with similar income threshold, Grade-I Indian Legal Service experience, or combined twenty years in judicial or tribunal posts; and relaxed but not below statutory-floor criteria for SC/ST/OBC candidates.

Transfer pricing jurisdiction redefined: regional assignment of Transfer Pricing Officers and empowerment to allocate their work.
Redefinition of territorial jurisdiction for Transfer Pricing Officers assigns designated Joint Commissioners at specified headquarters with delineated territorial areas tied to persons or classes of persons assessed or assessable within the territorial limits of the Assessing Officer whose office lies in those areas, and empowers Directors of Income tax (Transfer Pricing) to distribute work among the Transfer Pricing Officers under them.

Transfer pricing officer designations updated, substituting the schedule to specify designated officers across major tax jurisdictions.
Amendment substitutes the schedule designating officers responsible for transfer pricing matters, listing Director General/Director-level posts for international taxation and the corresponding Joint Commissioners functioning as Transfer Pricing Officers in the specified jurisdictions, thereby replacing the prior table with a new roster of designated transfer pricing officers.

Open ended equity linked saving plan allowed with prior regulatory approval; mutual funds or unit trusts may operate one plan.
Amendment provides that "year" means a year commencing from the date of allotment or holding of units in the plan and inserts a provision permitting a Unit Trust or Mutual Fund, at their discretion, to operate one Open Ended Equity Linked Saving Plan subject to prior regulatory approval.

Tax exemption notification: research centre granted conditional exemption subject to application of income, investment, business and dissolution rules.
Notification grants statutory recognition under the Income-tax Act to the Centre for Research in Rural & Industrial Development, Chandigarh, for specified assessment years on conditions: income must be applied or accumulated exclusively for the institution's objects; investments must be limited to prescribed modes and exclude general deposits; business income is taxable unless incidental with separate accounts; returns must be filed regularly; and on dissolution surplus and assets must transfer to a like-minded organisation.

Tax exemption notification grants recognition to a research institution subject to application of income and compliance conditions.
Notification recognises the Centre for Research in Rural & Industrial Development, Chandigarh, subject to conditions: income must be applied or accumulated wholly and exclusively to its objects; investments limited to forms permitted under section 11(5) (except certain voluntary contributions in tangible forms); business income excluded unless incidental with separate accounts; regular filing of income tax returns required; and on dissolution surplus and assets must be transferred to an organisation with similar objectives.

Notification under Section 10(23C)(iv) grants tax-exempt status subject to compliance, filing, investment restrictions and asset-transfer obligations.
Notification under Section 10(23C)(iv) recognizes the Centre for Research in Rural & Industrial Development, Chandigarh as eligible for tax exemption for specified assessment years, conditioned on applying or accumulating income wholly and exclusively to its objects, not claiming exemption for business profits, restricting investments to permitted forms under the law, filing returns regularly, and transferring surplus and assets on dissolution to an organisation with similar objectives.

Corrigendum name correction: official tax notification amended to replace an erroneous organizational name with the correct designation.
Corrigendum effects a partial modification to an existing tax notification by correcting the registered name of the concerned organization: references in Notification No. 208/2005 are to be read as M/s Central India Institute of Medical Sciences instead of M/s Central Indian Institute of Medical Sciences.

Research approval for donor deductions requires audited research accounts and auditor certificates to enable donor tax deductions.
Approval is granted to M/s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research under Section 35(1)(ii) read with rule 6 as an institution partly engaged in research, subject to conditions: maintain separate research accounts; submit audited Income & Expenditure accounts for each approved year to the Commissioner/Director (Exemptions) by the return due date or within 90 days of notification, whichever is later; and provide an auditor's certificate specifying amounts received eligible for donor deductions and certifying that expenditures were for social science/statistical research.

Investor Protection Fund designation confirms National Stock Exchange Investor Protection Fund Trust qualifies for tax exemption purposes.
Section 10(23EA) specifies the National Stock Exchange Investor Protection Fund Trust as an Investor Protection Fund established by the National Stock Exchange of India Limited; the Central Government's notification formally recognises the trust's status under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Jurisdictional allocation of income-tax investigation charges updated: Ahmedabad and Surat territories in Gujarat redefined by notification.
Jurisdictional allocation of investigatory charges is revised by substituting the Schedule entry to designate the Director of Income-tax (Inv.), Ahmedabad as responsible for Gujarat except areas under the charges of CCsIT Surat and Baroda, and by inserting a new entry creating the Director of Income-tax (Inv.), Surat to cover areas under the charges of CCsIT Surat and Baroda in Gujarat, thereby effecting a formal territorial reassignment in the Schedule by notification amendment.

Notification amendment under Section 120 restructures Schedule I appointments for income tax investigation posts in Ahmedabad and Surat
Amendment under Section 120 substitutes serial number 5 in Schedule I of notification S.O.734(E) to designate Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Ahmedabad, and to list the associated posts: Commissioner of Income tax (Central), Ahmedabad I; Commissioner of Income tax (Central), Ahmedabad II; Commissioner of Income tax (CIB), Ahmedabad; Director of Income tax (Investigation), Ahmedabad; and Director of Income tax (Investigation), Surat.

Section 35(1)(ii) approval for research donations requires separate audited accounts, timely filings, and auditor certification of eligible receipts and expenditure.
Approval under Section 35(1)(ii) is granted to Sri A.M.M. Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre for 1-4-2001 to 31-3-2004 as an institution partly engaged in research, subject to maintaining separate accounts for research, timely submission of audited Income and Expenditure accounts to the Commissioner/Director of Income-Tax (Exemptions) by the due filing date or within 90 days of notification, and provision of an auditor's certificate specifying eligible research receipts and certifying that expenditure was for social science/statistical research.

Tax exemption notification for a society subject to conditions on application of income, permitted investments, business income, returns and dissolution.
Notification grants tax exemption under section 10(23C)(iv) to the Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development for assessment years 2005-06 to 2007-08, subject to conditions: apply or accumulate income wholly for its objects; invest only in forms specified in section 11(5) (excluding certain voluntary contributions held as jewellery or furniture); business income excluded unless incidental and kept in separate books; regular filing of income-tax returns; and on dissolution transfer surplus and assets to a like-minded organisation.

Charitable tax exemption conditioned on exclusive use of income and permitted investments for the notified institution.
Notification under Section 10(23C)(iv) notifies Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata for assessment years 2005-06 to 2007-08 subject to conditions: income must be applied or accumulated wholly and exclusively to its objects; investments limited to forms specified in section 11(5) (excluding certain tangible voluntary contributions); business income excluded unless incidental and separately accounted; regular filing of income-tax returns; and surplus/assets on dissolution must be transferred to a like-minded organisation.

Exemption under section 35AC extended for rehabilitation project; project specified and higher cost cap authorised.
An existing tax exemption under section 35AC for the rehabilitation project by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti at Jaipur is extended for a further three years commencing in the financial year 2005-06. The Central Government, following the National Committee's recommendation that the project is properly executed, amends the prior notification to increase the maximum project cost allowable for deduction, thereby authorising deduction treatment for the increased specified project cost during the renewed period.

Exemption under section 35AC: eligible charitable project extended for two additional financial years, maintaining approved project cost.
The Central Government specifies under section 35AC that Amar Seva Sangam's "Valley for the Disabled" project at Ayikudi is an eligible scheme for a further two years from financial year 2005-06, pursuant to a recommendation under rule 11M(5) and exercised under sub-section (1) read with clause (b) of the Explanation to section 35AC; the specification covers construction, purchase of books, vehicles, equipment, furnishing and running of the project without any change in the approved cost of Rs. 500.31 lakhs.