Considering the large scale disruption of internet services in the North Eastern States – Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram – the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), in exercise of powers conferred under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, has decided to extend the last date for payment of December installment of advance tax for FY 2019-20, from 15 December to 31 December, 2019, in case of all the assesses, Corporate and other than Corporate, in the above mentioned States.

Following a tweet from Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that said, “Assam Government has decided to lift curfew completely from Tuesday December 17, 2019, including the night curfew. The broad band internet connectivity will also stand restored from tomorrow,” the Government has completely lifted the curfew in the state capital Guwahati. Authorities have also lifted day curfew from Dibrugarh, and broadband services have been restored in the state from today.

Internet and broadband services were cut in Assam and several parts of the North East following violent protests that broke out over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, or CAB, that has since been signed into an Act. Sarma said 136 cases have been registered in the State and 190 persons arrested for their alleged involvement in the violence during the protests.