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Assessees who have admitted to holding foreign accounts, paid taxes and cooperated with I-T dept to be considered for compounding The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued guidelines for compounding of offences under Income Tax Act, 1961Wealth Tax Act, 1957, in cases of persons holding undisclosed foreign bank accountsassets. The CBDT on Friday issued directions to all field formations, including principal chief commissioners, chief commissioners and principal DGs Income-Tax, to compound cases, where an assessee has cooperated fully or partially and paid taxes. The CBDT clarified that the matter was examined in consultation with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money . The ET, on Aug 12, reported that SIT had approved compounding of offences under the Income-Tax Act, for Indians holding accounts in foreign banks, many of whom are facing prosecution for tax evasion and concealment of income. According to the compounding guidelines, “The cases in which the ...

Move to help workers join regular workforce with better wages & benefits The government is considering fixing the proportion of contract workers that an organisation can hire, a move that may help it dilute opposition to labour reforms but is sure to trigger stiff opposition from industry . The first draft of the proposal will be finalised soon, after which the government will kick-start consultation with key stakeholders, including trade unions and employers, a senior labour ministry official told ET. While it is still in the concept stage, the plan being considered is to limit the portion of contract workers in companies to 40% to 50% of the total workforce, with a pay that is no less than the government-prescribed minimum wages. The proposed changes to the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act may also make it compulsory for companies to absorb contract workers to the regular fold whenever a permanent position opens up. The move could spell a bonanza for contrac...

Suggests ending STT on equity derivatives, stamp duty on index ones; also for rupee's internationalisation,other changes A government- appointed panel has recommended abolition of the securities transaction tax (STT) in equity derivatives. The standing council on international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector also suggested doing away with the stamp duty on cash- settled products such as index derivatives. After the Special Investigative Team ( SIT) on undisclosed money noted any investor wanting to invest through participatory notes could invest afresh as a foreign portfolio investor (FPI), the council said it wanted regulatory clarifications on these instruments, through which unregistered investors invest in Indian markets. Tackling GAAR It has also suggested the government take measures to internationalise the rupee on the lines of the Chinese renminbi and remove uncertainty about availing of treaty benefits under the proposed General Anti- Avoidance R...

Draft laws likely to be ready in 3 weeks; rules being readied to avoid scrutiny overlap by Centre, states Companies with an annual turnover up to Rs.25 lakh might be exempted from the proposed national goods and services tax ( GST). The Centre and states are likely to settle for this threshold as they finalise the GST laws. According to finance ministry officials, the draft of these laws is expected to be ready by the end of this month. The Centre and states are working on a mechanism to avoid dual scrutiny of companies by them. “The thinking now is that all legal entities with an annual turnover of up to Rs.25 lakh will be completely exempt. This will be applicable to one TIN ( Taxpayer Identification Number),” said aministry official. The government is looking to reconvene Parliament’s monsoon session to get the Constitutional amendment Bill on GST passed in the Rajya Sabha. Three Bills — on the Centre’s GST ( CGST), states’ GST and Integrated GST — would come up after the Co...