House property taxation shifts to gross rent basis with interest deductions moved to aggregate income, altering set-off rules.
Chapter VII reforms house property taxation by treating gross rent on a receipt or accrual basis, retaining a presumptive valuation route, and permitting deductions for local taxes, a reduced repair-and-maintenance allowance, and interest on borrowed capital. The draft relocates the interest deduction to a deduction from gross total income with a per-property cap for individuals and HUF, thereby affecting loss set-off under the house property head. Letting inseparable from furniture or plant is to be taxed as house property income. (AI Summary)

House property taxation revised: gross rent basis and calibrated interest deduction now taken from gross total income, altering set off rules.
Chapter VII revises house property taxation by taxing let property on a gross rent receipt-or-accrual basis, retaining presumptive treatment where applicable, including inseparable lettings of building and furniture as house property, allowing deduction of local taxes and a recalibrated repair allowance, and moving interest on borrowed capital for acquisition or construction to deduction from gross total income-thereby restricting set-off of house property losses; treatment of advance and unrealised rent remains unspecified. (AI Summary)

EEE treatment for specified retirement savings preserved with grandfathering, while MAT shifts to book profits amid implementation uncertainties.
The revised DTC paper proposes computing Minimum Alternate Tax on book profits rather than asset value but omits rules on carry forward and computation mechanics; reintroduces consideration of a security transaction tax; adopts EEE treatment for specified approved retirement savings with grandfathering for pre commencement investments while restricting EEE scope to approved plans; and consolidates employment income to include perquisites and retirement receipts, permitting exemptions only when deposited in a Retirement Benefit Account and taxing withdrawals, with significant administrative and valuation uncertainties left unresolved. (AI Summary)

Condonation of delay: High Courts may now allow late appeals in amended excise and customs provisions, but anomalies persist.
The article explains that judicially contested doctrines on condonation of delay have produced conflicting outcomes under the Central Excise and Customs Acts, with some decisions preferring merits where sufficient cause is shown while others treat special statutory time-limits as exclusive. The Finance Act, 2009 amended certain excise and customs appeal provisions to permit High Courts to condone delay, but Section 35 of the Central Excise Act and Section 128 of the Customs Act remain unamended, creating an anomalous statutory regime and a call for harmonising amendments to preserve the right of appeal. (AI Summary)

Refund of unlawfully collected tax: advance FBT paid before abolition may be claimable, interest entitlement contested.
Fringe Benefit Tax was abolished by the later Finance Act with retrospective effect to the start of the financial year and the earlier Finance Act was repealed; taxpayers who paid advance FBT instalments before the later Act became law may claim refunds or adjustments under the tax refund provisions, using Form 30 where assessment-year procedures do not apply, while entitlement to interest on such refunds is contested between arguments based on ordinary refund law and those treating payments as made under mistake of law. (AI Summary)

Wealth tax threshold excludes discretionary trusts, narrowing exemptions and lowering rates, likely eroding the taxable base and revenues.
The Direct Tax Code Bill, 2009 sets a high wealth tax threshold applicable to individuals and HUFs but excludes private discretionary trusts, which remain fully taxable. Taxable persons include individuals, HUFs and private discretionary trusts and interests in unincorporated bodies are included in net wealth. Exemptions are narrowed - notably a single property exemption limited by a historical cut off - while some traditional exclusions and a cash in hand allowance are omitted. Valuation follows prescribed methods, financial assets use cost or market whichever is lower, deeming rules broaden inclusion for transfers to family members, and the statutory tax rate on net wealth is substantially reduced, likely contracting the tax base and revenues. (AI Summary)