The CBDT has issued Circular No. 23 of 2017 dated 19th July 2017 in which it has clarified that wherever in terms of the agreement or contract between the payer and the payee, the component of ‘GST on services’ comprised in the amount payable to a resident is indicated separately, tax shall be deducted at source under Chapter XVII-B of the Act on the amount paid or payable without including such ‘GST on services’

The CBDT has issued Instruction No. 07 /2017 dated 21st July 2017 in which it has lamented that in spite of a comprehensive instruction with well-defined role & responsibilities of various authorities, the pendency of outstanding objections has not abated. Further, indiscriminate remedial measures result in frivolous litigations causing undue hardship to tax payers. The CBDT has reviewed entire workflow to handle receipt audit observations with twin objectives of quick conclusion of remedial action in cases of accepted audit objections & to avoid remedial action as precautionary measure where observations are not acceptable. The CBDT has made it clear that it expects strict compliance by all concerned

The CBDT has issued a directive dated 21st July 2017 in which it has called for the names of defaulters as on 31st March 2017 where the undisputed demand exceeds Rs. 1 crore. The names of these defaulters will be made public as per the CBDT’s policy of ‘name and shame’. The CBDT has directed that notice for publication of the name must be given to the assessee

The CBDT has issued a letter dated 14th July 2017 in which it has noted that in certain cases appellate authorities are dismissing appeals without going into the merits of the case by relying on the definition of ‘tax effect’ as defined in Circular No. 21/2015, which prescribes the monetary limit for filing appeals before various appellate authorities. In certain situations where income is computed under the provisions of section 115JB or section 115JC for the purposes of determination of ‘tax effect’, and the additions made under provisions other than sections 115JB or section 115JC do not impact book profit, the appellate authorities are not considering the said additions for the purpose of ‘tax effect’ as defined in para 4 Circular No. 21/2015. The CBDT has examined the matter and directed the insertion of para 4.1 after the para 4 of the Circular No. 21/2015

The Finance Ministry has issued important clarification by way of a press release dated 15th July 2017 regarding the controversy whether legal services are subject to GST or not

The CBDT has instituted a scheme for awarding income-tax employees for “innovative ideas” and “special efforts” in their work. However, the baffling aspect is that the CBDT has turned a blind eye to the rampant corruption being carried on under its nose. In the latest episode, four high-ranking officials, including a Principal Commissioner of Income-tax, have been caught by the CBI for alleged corruption

The CBDT has issued Instruction No. 5/2017 dated 7th July 2017 by which it has laid down the procedure and criteria for compulsory manual selection of returns/cases requiring scrutiny during the financial-year 2017-2018. It is also stated that cases are also being selected under CASS-2017 (Computer Aided Scrutiny Selection) on the basis of broad based selection filters and in a non-discretionary manner in two categories of Limited Scrutiny & Complete Scrutiny

The CBDT has released the “Central Action Plan for 2017-18” in which it has inter alia dealt with the issue of “litigation management’. The CBDT has laid out a clear cut strategy for reducing appeals pending before the CIT(A), ITAT and Courts. Systematic targets have been set out in which the number of appeals with time-frame for disposal are specified