Month: April 2013

The Finance Bill 2013 has been passed by the Lok Sabha today (30.04.2013) after incorporating several important amendments. Among the important amendments is the proposed insertion of sub-section (3) to s. 252 to provide that the Central Government may inter alia appoint a person who is a sitting or retired Judge of a High Court as the President of the Tribunal

Vide Circular dated 17.04.2013, the Ministry of Law & Justice has invited applications for appointment to the posts of Judicial & Accountant Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. There are 20 vacancies for the post of Judicial Member and 28 vacancies for the post of Accountant Member. The posts belong to General Central Services Group ‘A’ (Gazetted) and carry a pay-scale of Rs.75,500- 3% Annual Increment- 80,000/- plus other allowances as admissible under the extant rules. The posts are temporary at present, but are likely to continue. The applications have to be sent by 14.06.2013

Vide letter dated 27.04.2013 the CBDT has informed the names of several Income Tax Officers who are to be appointed in the grade of Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax (ACIT) in the pay scale of Rs. 15,600 – 39,100 (plus grade pay of Rs. 5,400 in Pay Band -3)

Vide Order No. 71 of 2013 dated 25.04.2013, the CBDT has posted several Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax (probationers) in the Pay Scale of Rs. 15,600-39,100 (Plus Grade pay of Rs. 5,400 in PB-3), on completion of training at National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur in the Region of CCIT(CCA)/Station/Charge indicated against each with immediate effect and until further orders

RESOLVED THAT considering the conduct of Shri A. K. Garodia, the Accountant Member of ITAT Bench at Ahmedabad, it was found that on account of his consistent gross, rude, arbitrary and outrageous behavior with all members of the Bar appearing before him and his doubtful integrity and unethical standards, the committee decided to boycott the Bench consisting of Shri A. K. Garodia from Monday i.e 22nd April 2013 indefinitely, and information of this Resolution is given to the members of the Association through Email as well as SMS with request that all members will observe the boycott of the Bench

The Income-tax department has released a publication titled “A Step Ahead – A compilation on contentious issues in assessments”. The publication is authored by top-notch senior IRS officers who have a good grasp on the theoretical and practical aspects of making an assessment. It identifies 19 important provisions in the Act which are the subject matter of most additions and disallowances and explains them thoroughly. The provisions of the Act have been explained in a simple and easy to understand manner and a reference has been made to the prevailing controversies and most of the latest important judgements. The book uses an objective approach and advises Assessing Officers on the facts that they have to focus on in order to make a sustainable assessment

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has recently released a Guidance Note on Report Under Section 92E of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (Transfer Pricing). The Guidance Note is very comprehensive and incorporates the significant amendments made by the the Finance Act, 2012 such as the definition of International Transaction, Advance Pricing Agreement (APA), Amendments relating to Penalties, etc. It explains all the important concepts in a clear and easy-to-understand manner

Constitution Of The Bombay High Court’s Tax Bench w.e.f. 08.04.2013

The Cabinet Secretariat has issued an important Office Memorandum dated 04.02.2013 pointing out that after the disbanding (pursuant to the judgement of the Supreme Court in Electronics Corporation vs. UOI 332 ITR 58(SC)) of the Committee on Disputes set up to give clearance for litigation between Govt. Departments and PSUs, an attempt had been made by some Govt. Depts/ PSUs to revive the litigation even where the COD had earlier rejected clearance. The Cabinet Committee has now directed that cases where the COD had earlier rejected clearance for litigation should NOT be revived. It has also threatened that violations will be viewed seriously and may attract disciplinary action