Vide Order No. 179 of 2014 dated 08.10.2014, the CBDT has ordered the transfers and postings of several officers in the grade of Additional/ Joint Commissioners of Income-tax with immediate effect. Vide Notification No. 12 of 2014 dated 08.10.2014, the CBDT has directed that several Joint Commissioners of Income Tax shall be placed in the Selection Grade (NFSG) in the Pay Band-4 of Rs. 37,400-67,000 + Grade Pay of Rs. 8,700/- with effect from 01.01.2014.

The Hindu has made available a copy of the judgement of John Michael Cunha J. in the case of State vs. Selvi. J. Jayalalitha (pdf). The judgement exposes the intricate arrangements that were made to launder the huge amount of cash credits that were received by J. Jayalalitha from alleged corrupt means. The judgement also raises disturbing questions as to the role of the auditors of the front companies in seeking to camouflage the true nature of the transactions. A few passages from the judgement are noteworthy

In addition to the Press Release, the CBDT’s formal order dated 26.09.2014 u/s 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 extending the due date for filing the return of income from 30.09.2014 to 30.11.2014 is also available. The Order explains in detail the circumstances in which the aforesaid extension is granted

Text of Press Release Issued By The CBDT: Due Date for filing of return of Income for Assessment Year 2014-15 Extended from 30th September, 2014 to 30th November, 2014 in Specified Cases As per the provisions of the Income-tax Act, …

CBDT Extends Due Date For Filing ROI For AY 2014-15 To 30.11.2014 Read More »

The CBDT has issued Instruction No. 7 of 2014 dated 26.09.2014 pointing out that in cases selected for scrutiny under Computer Aided Scrutiny Selection (‘CASS’), some AOs routinely call for information which is not relevant for enquiry into the issues to be considered. This has been causing undue harassment to the taxpayers and has also drawn adverse criticism from several quarters. The CBDT has directed that cases selected for scrutiny during the Financial Year 2014-2015 under CASS, on the basis of either AIR data or CIB information or for non- reconciliation with 26AS data the scope of enquiry should be limited to verification of these particular aspects only. The Assessing Officer shall confine the questionnaire and subsequent enquiry or verification only to the specific point(s) on the basis of which the particular return has been selected for scrutiny.

The CBDT has issued Order Nos. 5 and 6/FT&TR/2014 dated 26.09.2014 on the jurisdiction of the Dispute Resolution Panel at Delhi & Bangalore. The CBDT has also issued Order Nos. 7 to 9/FT&TR/2014 dated 26.09.2014 on the Constitution of the DRP at Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai respectively

The CBDT has issued an Office memorandum dated 25.09.2014 drawing attention to the call of the Prime Minister for “Swachh Bharat” mass movement on 2nd October 2014. The OM directs that arrangements have to be made to administer ‘Swachhta Shapath’ to all officers and staff members of the Income-tax department. It is also directed that a detailed action plan should be drawn up to create awareness and promote cleanliness through various creative and innovative activities. All personnel have been directed to clean up their desks and office space, including weeding out of old and obsolete files and records before the appointed day.

The Ministry of Finance has vide letter dated 22.09.2014 read with corrigendum dated 25.09.2014 invited applications for appointment to the post of “Income Tax Ombudsman”. There are posts of “Income Tax Ombudsman” at various stations such as New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune and some of the posts will fall vacant during the period 1.10.2014 to 31.3.2015. The post of “Income Tax Ombudsman” carries a pay scale of Rs.75500-80000. Interested candidates are requested to forward their application by 31.10.2014 indicating their preferred location.

The following orders of the CBDT are available: (i) Order No. 172 of 2014 dated 23.09.2014 regarding postings of officers promoted to grade of Asst. CITs; (ii) Order No. 165 of 2014 dated 16.09.2014 regarding transfer/ posting of officers in the grade of CIT/ DIT; (iii) Order No. 163 of 2014 dated 15.09.2014 regarding transfer/ posting of officers in the grade of CIT/ DIT; (iv) Order No. 157 of 2014 dated 09.09.2014 regarding transfer/ posting of officers in the grade of Asst. / Dy. CsIT of International Taxation/ Transfer Pricing Directorates; (v) Order No. 4/FT&TR/2014 dated 22.09.2014 regarding Constitution of the DRP at Kolkata; (vi) Order No. 3/FT&TR/2014 dated 17.09.2014 regarding Constitution of the DRP at Bangalore.