Section 50C containing very harsh and controversial provisions is one more attempt by the Government to bring to revenue the unaccounted portion of the property transactions. Earlier, we had Chapter XXA from 5-11-1972 to 30-9-1986 providing for acquisition of immovable property by the Government when it was found that fair market value was higher than the consideration stated in instrument of transfer.

The new Citizens’ Charter will be a guiding rule book for the I-T department and its officials.Taxpayers whose premises have been searched or raided by the Income Tax (I-T) department can now expect to get possession of their sealed properties and assets in two months as compared to the usual duration of over a year.

Corporate earnings from trading in certified emission reduction or carbon credits has caught the eyes of income-tax department. Tax authorities plan to closely look at companies found active in carbon trading after finding non-payment of taxes on such earnings.

The Income Tax Department has carried out search operations at companies engaged in real estate business, I-T department sources said here today. Over 50 premises including business and residence of five builders are being searched by more than 250 I-T sleuths, sources said, adding some of the business premises in Ahmedabad are also being searched.

The Income Tax Department is likely to slap a demand of Rs 8,500 crore on foreign companies and their domestic subsidiaries which allegedly transferred profits to other countries to reduce tax liability. “Income Tax Department is likely to raise over Rs 8,500 crore from transfer pricing audits. There has been scrutiny of 8,105 such cases,” Finance Ministry sources told PTI.

THE Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has directed the Income Tax Department ( ITD ) to make arrangements for receiving income tax returns on 31 st July 2010, the due date for filing tax returns by most taxpayers, as that day happens to be a Saturday. ITD has also been asked to make special arrangements by setting up additional counters from 28 th July to 31 st July 2010, to facilitate taxpayers in filing their income tax returns.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have directed the Income Tax Department (ITD) to make arrangements for receiving income tax returns on 31st July 2010, the due date for filing tax returns by most taxpayers, as that day happens to be a Saturday.

By the end of this fiscal, income tax payers will be able to get all their problems relating to filing of returns and obtaining of refunds, among others, addressed at nine more help centres. The Income Tax Department has decided to set up help centres at 12 cities, including Kolkata, Coimbatore and Surat, to address the problems of tax payers. At present, help centres exist at three places in the country.

The Income Tax (I-T) department, which is investigating the origin of funds invested in Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, has run into a road block as most of the team owners have refused to part with their funding details. The I-T department’s problems stem from the fact that most of the IPL team owners, though of Indian origin, are citizens of other countries.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said that after Bangalore, two more centres that handle I-T returns digitally would be set up at Pune and Maneasar. The Finance Minister also asked the Income Tax Department to partner with the corporate sector to automatise its non-core processes, so as to achieve economy of scale.