PPF interest rate revised; updated rate applies to subscriptions made on or after the notified effective date.
Subscriptions to the Public Provident Fund and subscriber balances on or after 1 April 2013 shall accrue interest at the notified rate of 8.7 per cent per annum, as fixed by the Central Government under its statutory authority.

Post Office time deposit interest amendment establishes a new rate schedule and retrospective commencement for deposits.
Amendment revises rule 7 of the Post Office Time Deposit Rules by narrowing Table S applicability and inserting Table T as the rate schedule for deposits made on or after the 1st day of April, 2013; the Notes to rule 7 are amended to refer to both Table S and Table T, and the amendment is deemed to have come into force on that date.

Interest rate amendment for Post Office Monthly Income Account prescribes a revised annual rate applied retrospectively from the effective date.
Amendment inserts a new clause to rule 8 fixing the annual interest rate at 8.4 per cent. per annum for deposits made on or after 1 April 2013; the Post Office (Monthly Income Account) Amendment Rules, 2013 are made under the rulemaking power conferred by section 15 of the Government Savings Banks Act and are deemed to have come into force on 1 April 2013, with certification that retrospective effect will not prejudicially affect deposit holders.

Post Office Recurring Deposit amendment updates payable tables and continuation and death-benefit provisions for eligible accounts.
The Post Office Recurring Deposit (Amendment) Rules, 2013 amend the 1981 Rules by substituting Schedule entries in rule 9, expanding table references in rules 10-12 to add Tables 50-52, and inserting Tables 50-52 which prescribe amounts payable for accounts opened on or after 1 April 2013 when continued beyond maturity or on depositor's death; the notification is made under Section 15 of the Government Savings Banks Act, 1873 and is deemed effective from 1 April 2013.

Maturity and interest rules for National Savings Certificates revised; encashment and reinvestment terms clarified, effective retrospectively.
Amendment fixes the maturity period of National Savings Certificates purchased on or after 1 April 2013 at five years; specifies annual interest accrual for each of the first five years per Rs.100 denomination with accruals for years one through four deemed reinvested and aggregated with face value; and prescribes tiered encashment amounts for certificates encashed after three years but before five years, stated for Rs.100 denomination and proportionately for other denominations.

Post Office Monthly Income Account interest set at 8.4% for deposits from April 1, 2013.
The Central Government amends the Post Office (Monthly Income Account) Rules, 1987 to insert a new clause in rule 8(1) specifying interest at 8.4 per cent. per annum for deposits made on or after 1 April 2013, and declares the amendment to be deemed effective from 1 April 2013.

National Savings Certificates: five-year maturity with specified annual accruals and staged encashment amounts for purchases from April 1, 2013.
Certificates purchased on or after 1 April 2013 have a five year maturity; the maturity encashment for Rs.100 is Rs.151.62 with proportionate rates for other denominations. Interest for a Rs.100 certificate accrues yearly (First 8.68; Second 9.43; Third 10.25; Fourth 11.14; Fifth 12.11 rupees) and interest accrued each year up to end of the fourth year is deemed reinvested and aggregated with face value.

Tax exemption application process standardized; applicants must file prescribed format and enclosures to jurisdictional tax authorities.
Standardization requires applicants seeking Central Government notification under section 10(46) to file a uniform application with prescribed enclosures to the jurisdictional Commissioner/Director of Income Tax and send a copy with acknowledgement to the Under Secretary (ITA 1), CBDT. Eligibility hinges on establishment by or under a Central/State Act or by government for public benefit regulatory/administrative purposes and the absence of commercial activity. The prescribed format requires identity, PAN, recent returns, assessing officer, category, objects, activity details, founding instruments, revenue nature, income proposed for notification, basis for claim, prior registrations or rejections, audited accounts, and records of penalties or prosecutions.

Commodities Transaction Tax procedures: filing, payment and appeal formats mandated for recognised associations and returns.
These rules operationalise the Commodities Transaction Tax regime by defining key terms and agricultural commodities, prescribing rounding rules, mandating recognised associations to remit tax via specified banks with a challan, and requiring annual returns in Form No. 1 (with Schedules A and B) filed on paper or electronically by 30 June following the financial year. Returns must be signed by authorised officers; Assessing Officers issue Form No. 2 notices for demand; refunded amounts received on assessment must be returned to persons from whom tax was collected within thirty days; appeals proceed by Forms No. 3 and No. 4 under prescribed verification and fee procedures.

Commencement of Chapter VII: appointed to take effect under section 115(2) of Finance Act 2013.
The Central Government, exercising the power conferred by sub section (2) of section 115 of the Finance Act, 2013, appoints the 1st day of July, 2013 as the date on which Chapter VII of the Act shall come into force by ministry notification.

Exchange of tax information establishes mutual assistance on requests with procedural safeguards and confidentiality protections.
The Agreement requires competent authorities to exchange information foreseeably relevant to tax determination, assessment, collection, recovery, investigation or prosecution, using domestic information gathering measures to obtain bank, financial and ownership data, depositions and authenticated records where permitted, subject to limits when information is not held or controlled within the requested jurisdiction and proportionality for publicly traded entities; requests must demonstrate foreseeable relevance and the requested authority must acknowledge, notify deficiencies and report delays within specified periods.

Exchange of information enables cross-border tax inquiries and access to banking and ownership data under the treaty.
An agreement creates a framework for the exchange of information between India and Monaco to assist tax administration and enforcement, empowering competent authorities to request information foreseeably relevant to tax determination, collection and investigation, including bank records and beneficial ownership data, subject to territorial jurisdiction limits, confidentiality protections, specified request content requirements, grounds for declining assistance, and provisions for implementation legislation, cost sharing and mutual agreement procedures.

Electronic filing of audit reports required; affected taxpayers must submit returns electronically in prescribed manner.
Rule 12 is amended to add an additional prescribed ITR form and to require that assessees obligated to furnish certain audit reports under specified tax provisions must submit those audit reports electronically. Taxpayers claiming cross-border relief or related deductions must file returns in the manner specified in the rules, and any person required to furnish the specified audit report electronically must also file their return in the applicable ITR form by the prescribed electronic or specified methods. Appendix-II is updated to substitute the listed ITR forms.

Transfer pricing: specified domestic transactions now captured and subject to documentation and reporting obligations.
The amendments extend transfer pricing rules to include specified domestic transactions alongside international transactions, amend Rule 10A to define "associated enterprise" and "enterprise" for specified domestic transaction purposes, revise rules 10AB, 10B, 10C, 10D and 10E to treat specified domestic transactions equivalently with international transactions for documentation, comparability and pricing obligations, and substitute Form No. 3CEB to require an accountant's report and an annexure detailing particulars and arm's length computations for both international and specified domestic transactions.

Cost Inflation Index updated to include new financial year index, affecting inflation-adjusted capital gains computation.
Amendment inserts a new entry in the Cost Inflation Index table, adding the index value for the specified financial year to be used for inflation adjustment in capital gains computations, made under the Explanation to the capital gains provision of the Income-tax Act and updating the prior notification's schedule.

TDS on immovable property: mandatory electronic deposit with Form 26QB and issuance of Form 16B certificate to payee.
Tax deducted on transfer of immovable property must be remitted electronically to the Central Government within seven days from the end of the month in which deduction is made, accompanied by a challan cum statement in Form No.26QB. The Director General of Income tax (Systems) shall prescribe procedures, formats and standards for electronic remittance and administer day to day operations. Deductors must generate and furnish a certificate in Form No.16B to the payee after downloading it from the specified web portal within fifteen days from the due date for furnishing Form No.26QB.

Agricultural extension project approval sets procedural notification, audit and compliance requirements for tax-favored projects.
Rules create a procedural regime for approval and notification of agricultural extension projects: projects must be for farmer training with prior ministry approval and meet an expenditure threshold; applicants file Form 3C-O with prescribed project details and ministry approval; local tax authorities review, request defects be cured, inquire as needed and recommend to the central tax board; the central board may require further verification, notify projects in Form 3CP subject to conditions, extend or rescind notifications; notified projects must maintain separate audited accounts, comply with audit report requirements, limit beneficiary charges and avoid indirect benefits beyond the allowed tax deduction.

Scientific research association approval enables tax exemption subject to audit, separate accounts and donation reporting compliance.
Gujarat Energy Research And Management Institute is approved as a Scientific Research Association from 01.04.2012, subject to having research as its sole objective and conducting research itself, maintaining separate books for research receipts and applications, obtaining an audit by a qualified accountant and furnishing the audit report and an auditor-certified statement of donations and application to the tax authorities by the income-tax return due date; approval may be withdrawn for failures in these compliance or if research activity is not genuine.

Scientific Research Association approval enables tax-exempt recognition subject to audit, separate research accounts, and compliance conditions.
Approval is granted to the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, as a Scientific Research Association subject to conditions: sole objective of undertaking scientific research and conducting research itself; maintenance of separate books of account for research funds; obtaining and furnishing an auditor's report to tax authorities by the income-tax return due date; and maintaining an auditor-certified statement of donations received and applied to research for each department. Approval may be withdrawn for failure to maintain books, furnish audit or donation statements, cease genuine research activity, or otherwise fail statutory compliance.

Basic Saving Account introduced to secure government benefit transfers, defining eligibility, deposits, balance and operation rules.
The amendment creates a Basic Saving Account to receive government benefits, specifying eligibility (registered adult beneficiaries and guardians of registered minors), nil opening deposit, a single account per beneficiary, permitted credits including government benefits and other authorised deposits, no minimum balance requirement, and operation by the registered beneficiary or guardian; prior accounts under the earlier rules are deemed Basic Saving Accounts.