Deduction under section 35AC: Government notifies approved projects eligible for tax deduction across a three year approval period.
Central Government notifies specific institutions and approves their projects as eligible for deduction under section 35AC, listing twenty five named charitable and social welfare projects with specified estimated costs and maximum deductible amounts; the approvals are limited to three financial years commencing with 2011 2012 and some approved costs include corpus funds within their deductible ceilings.

Approval conditions for research associations: new compliance on object, accounts, audit, donation statements and reporting to tax authorities.
The amendment replaces the prior rule with conditions requiring research associations seeking approval to have as their sole object scientific, social science, or statistical research; to carry out research themselves; to maintain books of account and obtain an accountant's audit filed by the return due date; to keep a certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research; and to furnish a yearly statement of research activities, publications, patents, and planned programmes with financial allocations. Non-compliance permits the tax officer to enquire and report to the Central Government within six months of filing the return.

Income tax rule amendment: SAHAJ and SUGAM forms introduced; fringe benefits references removed; simplified filing clarified.
CBDT amends rule 12 of the Income tax Rules, 1962 effective 1 April 2011: SARAL II is redesignated SAHAJ (ITR 1); references to fringe benefits returns are removed; year cross references are updated; a new Form SUGAM (ITR 4S) is introduced for individuals/HUFs using presumptive business provisions; returns in specified simple ITR forms need not be accompanied by computation statements, tax proofs or audit reports; Appendix II is updated to substitute the revised form names.

Research expenditure exemption approved subject to compliance with audit, donation accounting, and genuine research conditions.
Approval is granted to Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad as a scientific research association enabling research expenditure exemption, subject to conditions: sole objective of undertaking scientific research; carrying out the research activity itself; maintaining books of account and obtaining an eligible audit with the audit report filed by the income-tax return due date; and maintaining a certified statement of donations received and amounts applied for scientific research to accompany the audit report. Approval may be withdrawn for failure to comply with these requirements or if research activities cease to be genuine.

Certificate for lower or no tax deduction: Assessing Officer may grant relief based on existing and estimated tax liability.
Substitution of rule 28AA provides that an Assessing Officer may issue a certificate for deduction of tax at a lower rate or no deduction where existing and estimated tax liability justify such relief; liability is determined by considering estimated tax for the relevant previous year, tax on returned or assessed income for the last three years, existing liabilities under tax laws, advance tax paid, tax deducted at source and tax collected at source up to the application date; the certificate is limited to and issued to the named person responsible for deduction and is valid for the period specified unless earlier cancelled.

Creation of Directorate of Income-tax (Expenditure Budget) to centralise budget management and expenditure oversight under Grant No. 42.
A Directorate of Income-tax (Expenditure Budget) is established as the nodal authority for Grant No. 42 to issue budget circulars, examine and consolidate BE/RE/FR proposals, allocate object-head provisions, prepare Statements of Budget Estimates, monitor expenditure with monthly and quarterly reviews, propose re-appropriation and surrender of savings, finalise appropriation accounts with Principal CCA, and handle audit and committee follow-up.

Transaction record retention: stock exchanges must prevent erasure and report post-registration client-code modifications monthly.
Exchanges must ensure recorded cash and derivative market transactions are not erased and that modifications after registration occur only for genuine errors; they must retain data on all modified transactions and submit a prescribed monthly statement in Form No. 3BB listing transactions with modified client codes using annexures for derivative and cash markets capturing transaction ID, broker and client details, security, quantity, rate, value, buy/sell indicator and date.

Scientific research exemption: approval granted to institute subject to conditions on utilisation, accounts, audit and reporting.
The Karnataka State Sericulture Research and Development Institute is approved as an Institution under clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 35, read with Rules 5C and 5E, from 1-4-2003, subject to conditions: funds must be used for scientific research carried out by faculty or enrolled students; separate books of account for research receipts and expenditure must be maintained and audited by a qualified accountant with the audit report furnished to the tax authorities by the return due date; and a certified statement of donations received and sums applied to research must accompany the audit report. Approval may be withdrawn for failures to comply or if research is not genuine.

Recognized stock exchange status mandates reporting of modified client-code transactions to the tax authority and ongoing compliance.
Notification designates United Stock Exchange of India Limited as a recognized stock exchange under the specified provision and requires the exchange to maintain separate records of transactions where client codes were modified and to submit a monthly electronic statement of such modified transactions to the tax intelligence authority within fifteen days of the month-end; recognition may be withdrawn for violation of rules and remains effective only while securities regulator approval subsists or until rescinded by the Central Government.

Industrial park notification conditions tax benefits on prescribed occupancy, area limits, compliant operations, and reporting.
Notification designates the specified development by M/s. Indo-Global Infrastructure & Utility Services Pvt. Ltd. as an industrial park under clause (iii) of section 80-IA(4), conditioning tax benefits on meeting prescribed occupancy, area-allocation and activity restrictions, maintenance and operation by the notified undertaking, separate accounting and timely tax filing, annual reporting in Form IPS-II, and permitting withdrawal or invalidation of approval for material misrepresentation, nondisclosure, unauthorized project amendments, duplicate approvals, or other noncompliance with scheme conditions.

Corrigendum clarifying project extension start date for a charitable trust, confirming three year period begins 2009-10.
Corrigendum to notification S.O. 2392(E) replaces the phrase "beginning with financial year 2008-09" with "beginning with financial year 2009-10," thereby amending the commencement year for the further three year extension of the project or scheme of the National Association for the Blind.

Research expenditure exemption under section 35 approved, subject to audit, separate accounts, and genuine research compliance.
Research expenditure exemption approval granted to Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai as an Institution partly engaged in research from assessment year 2009 10, conditional on use of funds for social science research, conducting research via faculty or students, maintaining separate books and a certified donations statement, and obtaining and filing an annual audit report of research receipts and expenditures; approval is subject to withdrawal for failures in these compliance requirements or lack of genuine research activity.

Research expenditure exemption approved; funds must be used for scientific research with audit and reporting conditions.
Approval for exemption of research expenditure is subject to conditions: sums received must be utilised for scientific research carried out by faculty or enrolled students; separate books of account for research receipts and expenditures must be maintained and audited by a qualified accountant; the audit report must be furnished to the tax authorities by the income-tax return due date; and a separate auditor-certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research must accompany the audit report.

Research expenditure exemption conditioned on use for scientific research, audited accounts, and certified donation statements.
Kelkar Education Trust is approved as an Other Institution for exemption under clause (ii) of subsection (1) of section 35 from assessment year 2010-11 onward, provided donations are used solely for scientific research conducted by faculty or enrolled students, separate books for research funds are maintained and audited by a qualified accountant with the audit report and a certified statement of donations and application furnished to the tax authorities by the return due date; approval may be withdrawn for failures in accounting, audit, certification, genuine research activity, or compliance with the statutory rules.

Research expenditure exemption requires approved organisation to use donations for scientific research and comply with audit reporting.
Approval is granted to Fluorosis Research & Rural Development Foundation as an approved "Other Institution" for the purpose of research expenditure under section 35(1)(ii), subject to conditions: sums must be utilised for scientific research; research carried out by faculty or enrolled students; separate books of account for research receipts and expenditures maintained and audited by a qualified accountant with the audit report furnished by the return filing due date; and a separate, auditor certified statement of donations received and amounts applied for scientific research must accompany the audit report.

Committee appointments under tax provision establish a three-year membership for the National Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Income-tax Act provision and the Income-tax Rules, reconstitutes the National Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare by appointing a Chairman and thirteen members named in the notification, and fixes their tenure to commence on the notification date for a prescribed three-year period, thereby formally establishing the Committee's membership and operational authority under the governing statutory framework.

Research exemption under section 35: approval subject to strict accounting, audit, and reporting conditions and potential withdrawal.
Approval is granted to Arogyadham Global Aids Research Foundation under clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 35 read with the Rules, effective AY 2011-2012, as an Other Institution partly engaged in research, subject to conditions: utilization of sums for scientific research; research conducted by faculty or enrolled students; maintenance of separate books of account for research receipts and applications; audit of such books by a qualified accountant with the audit report and an auditor-certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research furnished to the tax authority by the return due date. Approval may be withdrawn for specified defaults or cessation of genuine research.

Exchange of tax information empowers cross-border assistance with confidentiality and procedural safeguards under the India-Bermuda Agreement.
The notification gives effect under section 90 to the India-Bermuda Agreement for the exchange of information on taxes, applying immediately to criminal tax matters and to other covered matters from the date of entry into force for taxable periods beginning on or after that date. The Agreement mandates exchange of relevant information upon request, defines covered taxes and key terms, requires use of available information-gathering measures subject to proportionality, prescribes procedural content of requests and response obligations, permits limited grounds for refusal, mandates confidentiality, addresses costs, and provides for mutual agreement procedure and termination.

Research exemption under section 35(1) approved for institution, conditional on audit, separate accounts and reporting compliance.
Exemption under section 35(1) is approved for ARC-International as an Other Institution partly engaged in scientific research from AY 2009-10, conditional on use of sums for research and conducting research through faculty or enrolled students; maintenance of separate research books of account, audit by a qualified accountant with timely submission of the audit report, and provision of an auditor certified statement of donations and amounts applied for research. The Central Government may withdraw approval for failures in recordkeeping, reporting, genuineness of research activities, or non compliance with the governing statutory provisions and rules.

Avoidance of double taxation advances regional tax cooperation and information exchange under the SAARC multilateral agreement.
The SAARC Limited Multilateral Agreement mandates regional cooperation to avoid double taxation and provide mutual administrative assistance, applying to residents of Member States and to taxes on income as listed in Schedule II. It prescribes residency tie breaker rules for individuals and place of effective management for entities, establishes exchange of information and confidentiality safeguards, authorises assistance in collection of revenue claims subject to domestic law and proportionality limits, and provides specific short term tax exemptions for visiting academics and students. Competent Authorities are to consult, implement, review and amend the Agreement by consensus.