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Urging the bamks to boost lending to small businesses, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on friday said the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) segment was a safer bet than large companies. RBI also said it has received seven applications for setting up the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)and has started the due diligence process. HT Mint, New Delhi, 10th August 2015

The environment ministry has proposed standards to regulate at least 22 sectors over the past few months The Union environment ministry has proposed new pollution monitoring standards for industries in at least 22 sectors over the past few months in an attempt to regulate these sectors better. Some of these standards have been put online for suggestions and comments from various stakeholders. “These would be finalized and notified within the next two to three months. These proposed standards will immensely strengthen the ministry’s overall regulation of the polluting industries,” said a senior environment ministry official, who did not want to be identified. The 22 sectors include industries such as paint, fertilizers, cement and co-processing, pulp and paper, sugar, thermal power plants, textiles, slaughterhouses, brick kilns, coffee, common effluent treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, fermentation (distilleries, maltries and breweries) and diesel generator sets. In...

CRYING FOUL Lawyers & CAs representing HSBC account holders say I-T dept is filing criminal cases against them in haste, even when their appeals are pending before CIT With the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money breathing down their necks and tax authorities seemingly eager in filing prosecution proceedings, beleaguered foreign bank account holders are now making a beeline for tax tribunals, settlement commission and high courts, to either seek a stay on prosecution proceedings or to make voluntary disclosures. Lawyers and chartered accountants representing account holders say that tax authorities are displaying unseemly haste in filing criminal cases for concealment of income, even when appeals are pending before adjudicatory forums. KK Modi's name allegedly figured in the HSBC list. Modi, who is chairman of Modi Group, has moved the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), seeking a stay on prosecution proceedings, initiated against him. Modi has denied kn...

Accountants to raise concerns with finmin & CBDT as taxpayers await clarity on law New Delhi is slowly coming under pressure to remove the anomalies in black money rules as more and more people ask for a realistic law that would encourage disclosure of foreign assets and not unleash a reign of tax terror. Members of the apex body of accounting professionals, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, will discuss with senior officials of the finance ministry and Central Board of Direct Taxes this week to spell out the ambiguities; senior tax professionals have written to the designated commissioner, pointing out issues that require clarification, while the Confederation of Indian Industry is preparing its views that will be soon submitted to the government. “There are practical problems...We have requested the revenue secretary and CBDT chief to participate in a workshop in Delhi where the issues will be raised.After this, we will make a written submission and also ...

After the income- tax ( I- T) department shifted the onus of paying 14 per cent service tax on asset management companies ( AMCs), many are feeling short- changed. While the I- T department has said AMCs are taking a service from distributors for raising money and hence should bear the burden, many fund houses feel it is the investor who is taking distributors’ service to invest and should pay the tax. “Since the investor has the option of using direct plans but is using distributor’s service to invest in mutual funds, they should bear the cost,” said the chief executive officer of a fund house. This topic is expected to be hotly debated in Association of Mutual Funds of India’s next meeting this Thursday. Business Standard, New Delhi, 10th August 2015

As it continues its fight against suspected illicit funds being routed through stock markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has initiated an internal study of suggestions made by the Supreme Court appointed special investigation team on black money and the matter would be discussed by the regulator's board later this month. In a separate development, the markets regulators has asked clearing corporations to provide elaborate monthly reports with details on settlements, actions taken against trading members as well as information about corporate governance aspects of the corporations themselves. HT Mint, New Delhi, 10th August 2015

What was the need for the amendment? This is the third major amendment in recent times to the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, prompted by dishonour of cheques in lakhs, shaking the credibility of the instrument, confidence of business community and choking courts. The 1988 amendment introduced penalty for issuing cheques which get dishonoured for want of fund in the bank. Since that provision, Section 138, was found insufficient to deal with the menace, the penalty was increased from one to two years imprisonment after a summary trial. Even this has not resolved the problem and at present 1.8 million criminal cases are before magistrates’ courts and appellate courts. One of the devices employed by dishonest drawers is to challenge the jurisdiction of the courts, stalling the proceedings. This was tried to be resolved by the Supreme Court in its 2009 judgment in Dashrath Rupsingh case. What does the present amendment do? The amendment adopts the basic principles laid down by th...

1.  India and the US signed tax agreement under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on 09.07.2015 that will enable automatic exchange of financial information between the two nations about tax evaders from 30th September. 2.  Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Poonam Spark Limited held that the process of assembling various parts bringing into existence ‘Water Purification and Filtration System’ amounts to Manufacture. 3.  If the payment is for a variety of services and the use of land is minor, the payment cannot be treated as “rent” – Section 194-I of the Income Tax Act. [Japan Airlines Co. Ltd vs. CIT (Supreme Court of India)]. 4.  Exemptions under Service tax are optional unlike Section 5A of Central Excise Act. [Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka in case of CCE Vs. Federal Mogul TPR India Ltd.]. 5.  Punjab and Haryana High Court on 07.08.2015 dismissed the petitions of more than 150 firms operating in Punjab which had challenged amendment...