Jurisdiction of income-tax authorities reallocated for Chennai commissioners, specifying territorial areas and person classes for case assignment.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes amends the notification on income-tax authority jurisdiction by substituting serial numbers 184-193 to allocate territorial areas within Tamil Nadu and to specify, for each Commissioner of Income-tax Chennai I-X, the classes of persons and cases (companies by registered office and name initials; individuals including company officers; persons deriving income from salary or other sources; businesses and entertainment-related activities) and case-assignment rules distinguishing principal source of income and principal place of business.

Jurisdiction of income-tax authorities amended to redefine Chennai commissionerates, substituting schedule entries and specifying an effective date.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes amends a prior notification by substituting specified schedule entries to redefine Chief Commissioner designations headquartered at Chennai and to enumerate the subordinate Commissioners under each Chief Commissioner, thereby clarifying and reassigning the jurisdictional composition of the listed commissionerates; the substituted entries are made operative from the stated effective date.

Gold Certificate definition updated: dematerialised receipts and expanded depositor eligibility enable mutual funds and ETFs to deposit gold.
The amendment expands depositor eligibility to include trusts, mutual funds and ETFs and confirms that designated banks may operate the Scheme under Reserve Bank Guidelines. It defines Gold Certificate as the final receipt, including in dematerialised form, issued after the gold is assayed and accepted. Upon acceptance, the bank shall, at the subscriber's option, issue a Gold Certificate, Statement of Account, or Passbook. Gold Certificates are transferable by endorsement and delivery, and dematerialised certificates are subject to depository transfer rules.

TDS on interest: National Skill Development Fund notified for application of exemption under section 194A sub-clause (f).
A central government notification designates the National Skill Development Fund (PAN AABTN5824G) for the purposes of sub-clause (f) of clause (iii) of sub-section (3) of section 194A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, thereby clarifying the Fund's status with respect to deduction of tax at source on interest other than interest on securities.

Centralised processing of TDS statements enables electronic correction, rectification and service procedures, with appeals to jurisdictional appellate commissioner.
The scheme mandates electronic furnishing and verification of correction statements by deductors through authorised agencies or portals, empowers Centralised Processing Cells to process statements taking prior corrections into account, and allows Commissioners to set processing procedures and priorities. Cells may rectify apparent mistakes on application or suo moto with prescribed forms and electronic intimation where liabilities or refunds are affected; such amendments can operate as notices of demand. Appeals from processing lie with the appellate commissioner over the deductor's assessing officer, remands and implementation are handled by the territorial assessing officer, and all communications may be served electronically.

Exchange of information expanded to mandate cross-border tax data sharing with confidentiality and use limits for tax enforcement.
The Protocol replaces Article 26 to require exchange of foreseeably relevant tax information (including documents), mandates confidentiality and restricted use by tax and judicial authorities, limits obligations where domestic law or public policy prevents disclosure, and clarifies that bank secrecy is not alone a ground for refusal. An added Protocol paragraph extends Article 26 to income-related regulatory enforcement and permits use of exchanged information for those regulations without further conditions; the Amending Protocol enters into force after mutual diplomatic notification and forms part of the Convention.

Industrial Park Notification: Ganesh Housing's park notified for tax benefits subject to infrastructure, unit and compliance conditions.
Notification under clause (iii) of sub-section (4) of section 80-IA notifies M/s. Ganesh Housing Corporation Ltd.'s undertaking as an industrial park for tax-benefit purposes subject to annexure conditions including park identification, industrial activity, allocable area percentages, minimum units, investment and infrastructure thresholds, a requirement that tax benefits apply only after the prescribed number of units are located, infrastructure definitions and minimum expenditure rules, occupancy restrictions for single units, requisite statutory approvals, transfer-intimation obligations, commencement deadlines, and invalidity and withdrawal consequences for misinformation or non-compliance.

Extension of ITR-V filing deadline under CPR Scheme extends time for electronic returns to address taxpayer hardship.
The Director General, under the Centralized Processing of Returns Scheme, 2011, extends time limits for filing ITR-V forms for specified assessment years for electronically filed returns without digital signature; for one category the deadline is extended to a date in February, and for returns where the 120 day period had elapsed the filing period is extended up to a date in March or 120 days from electronic upload, whichever is later, to mitigate taxpayer hardship.