The CBDT has issued Order No. 155 of 2017 dated 13th September 2017 by which it has stated that the President has extended the ad-hoc appointment of several IRS Officers to the grade of Joint Commissioner of Income-tax from 1st July 2017 to 15th October 2017

The CBDT has vide Order No. 151 of 2017 dated 8th September 2017 promoted several officers to the grade of Principal Commissioner of Income-tax (Pr CCIT) (level 17 in the pay matrix of Rs. 2,25,000) with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders. The CBDT has also directed the posting of the officers on promotion

The CBDT is on a shopping spree. It has been allocated a whopping sum of Rs. 615 crore by the Finance Ministry ostensibly to “augment the infrastructure” of the Income-tax department. Of this Rs. 264 crore will be splurged, inter alia, on buying mobile phones, laptops etc for the ITOs and Inspectors. It is claimed that this will “improve efficiency & capabilities of the officers & officials of the Department”. The CBDT has invited suggestions on how the balance of the bonanza should be spent by it

The speed with which the Law Ministry and the ITAT have moved with regard to the setting up of the new Bench at Surat has impressed tax professionals and taxpayers. A glittering function was held to inaugurate the Bench on 1st September 2017. The function was attended by several eminent dignitaries. A few photos taken on the occasion are available

The Constitution of the Bombay High Court’s Tax Bench w.e.f 04.09.2017 is as follows

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed high ranking officials of the CBDT and CBEC at Rajasva Gyan Sangam. He exhorted the officials to incorporate both a ‘sense of urgency,’ and ‘measurability,’ in their performance. He also directed them to fix clear targets to improve the country’s tax administration by 2022. He also instructed the officials to come up with an action plan to eliminate pendency in tax related cases. He emphasized that an environment that instills confidence among honest taxpayers & uproots corruption has to be created

The CBDT has issued two Notifications under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, both dated 31st August 2017 and bearing the same number. Vide one Notification, the CBDT has directed that the due date for filing the return of income and tax audit reports shall be extended from 30th September, 2017 to 31st October, 2017. Vide the other Notification, the CBDT extended the time for linking Aadhar with PAN till 31.12.2017

The ITAT, Mumbai Bench, has announced that due to the disruption caused by heavy rains, matters in which the parties are unable to attend will be adjourned. No matters will be decided ex-parte. This decision has been taken by the authorities at the request of the ITAT Bar Association.

The infamous ‘Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (Qualifications, Experience And Other Conditions of Service of Members) Rules, 2017‘ is under attack from several fronts. The Supreme Court will now examine whether the Rules, which seek to appoint the Members of the Tribunal for a limited period, and which make the appointment and removal of the Members the sole prerogative of the Government, is valid in law

In an astonishing incident, the Maharashtra State Government has alleged that a senior High Court judge is ‘biased’ against it and sought transfer of its cases from his Court. While the judge declined to recuse himself, the Chief Justice intervened and transferred the cases to another Judge. The move has not gone down well with the Advocates and the Bar Association and they have unanimously condemned the incident