With regard to The Income Declaration Scheme, 2016, the CBDT had earlier Circular No. 17 of 2016 dated 20th May, 2016 in which it provided clarifications to 14 queries. The CBDT has now issued Circular No. 24 of 2016 dated 27th June 2016 in which it has clarified further queries received from the public about various provisions of the Scheme

The CBDT has issued Notification dated 22nd June 2016 to clarify the law on the retrospective applicability of the anti-avoidance GAAR rule. The Notification has amended Rule 10U(1)(d) to provide that GAAR will not apply to income earned/received by any person from transfer of investments made before 1st April 2017. Earlier, this date was 30th August 2010. Rule 10U(2) also has been amended to provide that GAAR will apply to any arrangement, irrespective of the date it has been entered into, if tax benefit is obtained on or after 1st April 2017. Earlier, this date was 1st April 2015.

Further to Circular No 22/2016 dated 8th June 2016, the CBDT has issued Circular No. 23 dated 24th June 2016 in which it has provided clarification to important questions such as whether whether tax collection at source under section 206C(1D) at the rate of 1% will apply in cases where the sale consideration received is partly in cash and partly in cheque and the cash receipt is less than two lakh rupees. The CBDT has also clarified the issue whether tax collection at source under section 206C (1D) will apply only to cash component or in respect of whole of sales consideration.

Shri. Atulesh Jindal, the Chairperson of the CBDT, has issued a directive dated 24th June 2016 in which he has lamented that a large number of grievances are overdue for an inordinately long period of time. He has termed the overall progress on disposal of grievances as unsatisfactory and noted that in spite of repeated instructions from the Board from time to time, a large number of grievances have not been disposed of within the prescribed timeline of 60 days from the date of their receipt. It is again reiterated that the grievances should be resolved expeditiously. The officers have been warned that if the delays are without any valid reasons, administrative action may be initiated for inaction on the part of respective officers

The CBDT has vide Order No. 122 of 2016 dated 24th June 2016 ordered the postings and transfers of several officers in the grade of Additional and Joint Commissioners of Income-tax with immediate effect and until further orders

The CBDT has issued Notification No 9/2016 dated 09th June 2016 by which it has provided clarification on the following issues (a) Due date for quarterly uploading of 15G/H declarations by payers on e-filing portal and (b) The manner for dealing with Form 15G/15H received by payer during the period from 01.10.2015 to 31.03.2016.

Rule 8D has been amended by the Income–tax (14th Amendment) Rules, 2016 notified vide Notification No 43/2016 dated 2nd June 2016. Clause (ii) of Rule 8D(2) dealing with indirect expenditure by way of interest has been omitted. It is also stated that the disallowance u/s 14A r.w Rule 8D cannot exceed the expenditure claimed by the assessee. The limit of 0.5% under clause (iii) has been increased to 1%. However, the 1% will apply to the annual average of the monthly averages of the opening and closing balances of the value of investments, income from which does not or shall not form part of total income. The question whether the disallowance can exceed the exempt income and whether the 1% is to be applied only to investments which have generated exempt income during the previous year has not been clarified and hence litigation on those points will continue

In order to reduce the cash transactions in sale of goods and services, the Finance Act 2016 has expanded the scope of section 206C (ID) to provide that the seller shall collect tax at the rate of one per cent from the purchaser on sale in cash of any goods (other than bullion and jewellery) or providing of any services (other than payment on which tax is deducted at source under Chapter XVII-B) exceeding two lakh rupees. Further, with a view to bring high value transactions within the tax net, it has been provided in sub-section (1F) of section 206C of the Act that the seller who receives consideration for sale of a motor vehicle exceeding ten lakh rupees, shall collect one per cent of the sale consideration as tax from the buyer. To clarify the queries about the scope of the provisions and the procedure to be followed, the CBDT has issued Circular No 22/2016 dated 8th June 2016 in a Q& A format

The CBDT has vide Order No. 104 of 2016 dated 02.06.2016 ordered the postings and transfers of several officers in the grade of Assistant and Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax with immediate effect and until further orders

The CBDT has issued Circular No. 12/2016 dated 30th May 2016 in which it has stated that in accordance with the law laid down by the Supreme Court in TRF Ltd. vs. CIT 323 ITR 397, claim for any debt or part thereof in any previous year shall be admissible under section 36(1)(vii) of the Act, if it is written off as irrecoverable in the books of accounts of the assessee for that previous year and it fulfills the conditions stipulated in sub section (2) of sub-section 36(2) of the Act. The CBDT has directed that no appeals may henceforth be filed on this ground and appeals already filed, if any, on this issue before various Courts/Tribunals may be withdrawn/not pressed upon