Vide order No. 152 of 2012 dated 5.08.2012, the CBDT has posted and transferred several newly appointed Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax

The Direct Taxes Committee of ICAI has raised the difficulty of processing of returns at the Central Processing Centre (CPC). Pursuant thereto and to enable taxpayers to e-file the income-tax returns easily, the CPC has provided the following three documents (i) FAQ’s on CPC and E-filing, (ii) FAQ’s relating to Refund & Demand: No refund No demand & (iii) Data Inconsistency issues which need to be avoided for accurate processing. If taxpayers pay attention to the issues set out in the FAQs, they will be able to ensure that their ROIs get processed properly at the CPC

Thus, the claim of any expense incurred in providing above mentioned or similar freebees in violation of the provisions of Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 shall be inadmissible under section 37(1) of the Income Tax Act being an expense prohibited by the law. This disallowance shall be made in the hands of such pharmaceutical or allied health sector Industries or other assessee which has provided aforesaid freebees and claimed it as a deductible expense in its accounts against income

A section of Media has reported that the Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended ‘due date’ of filing of returns to 31st August, 2012 in respect of only those returns which were to be e-filed by 31st July, 2012. It is clarified that the notification issued by the Board on 31st July, 2012 has extended the ‘due date’ of filing of all returns for the Assessment Year 2012-13 which were due to be filed by 31st July, 2012 to 31st August, 2012

Relaxation from compulsory e-filing of return of income for assessment year 2012-13 – for representative assesses of non-residents and in the case of private discretionary trusts

The Prime Minister’s Office has issued the following Press Release dated 30.07.2012 stating that the issue of taxation of portfolio investment has been referred to the GAAR Committee with a view to have clarity on the tax liability of portfolio investors and Foreign Institutional Investors

The Prime Minister’s Officer has issued a Press Release dated 30.07.2012 stating that a Committee of top ranking officials has been formed to finalise the Safe Harbour provisions announced in Budget 2010 sector-by-sector and examine issues relating to taxation of the IT sector and suggest any clarifications that may be required. The Committee has been given a specific time frame to achieve its objectives.

The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) has addressed a letter dated 19.7.2012 to the CBDT in which it claims that the GAAR provisions are “extraordinarily broad” and “too vague”. It claims that the uncertainty is causing concern to international investors wanting to invest in India. It has also expressed concern that the 3 Member panel may provide “rubber stamp” approval to whatever the income-tax department proposes. The letter also provides suggestions on how these concerns can be addressed by the Government to provide confidence to investors & taxpayers