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Despite uncertainty over the goods and services tax (GST) roll-out, the information technology backbone GST Network (GSTN) has initiated the process to migrate over eight million taxpayers on its system. The enrolment drive kicked off last month with Puducherry and Sikkim, and covered 19 more states and Union territories, including Maharashtra, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. GSTN has worked out a timeline to switch all value added tax, excise duty and service tax payers to the GST network by March 20, 2017. The 15-day enrolment window for value-added tax payers in nine states, including Delhi, Punjab and Uttarakhand, is open till December 30. “It is good that GSTN is sticking to its timeline to migrate taxpayers to its network, as all procedures must be complete before the roll-out. In states covered so far, about 70 per cent of the traders must have already enrolled on the platform,” said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, the Confederation of All

With more instances of bank employees helping launder black money during the demonetisation drive surfacing, the finance ministry has sought a report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on whether banks compromised on so-called know-your-customer norms, said two people directly familiar with the matter, including a finance ministry official. The ministry’s move was prompted by investigations by the income-tax department, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that prima facie established the involvement of some bank officials in such money laundering. “While the investigative agencies are doing their bit, we are seeking a report from the central bank on whether there is a systemic concern or case of few ‘bad apples’,” said the finance ministry official cited above, who asked not to be identified. Spokespersons for RBI and the finance ministry did not respond to emails seeking comment. In the past 20 days, as many as eight banks have be

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has proposed an amnesty for employers who have failed to get workers to sign up for the tax-exempt employee’s provident fund (EPF) scheme that aims to bring more workers under the social security net. According to the ‘Enrolment and Establishment coverage campaign, 2017,’ proposed by EPFO at its apex body meeting in Bengaluru on Monday, employers can get workers signed up now with a nominal penalty of Re1 per year of delay. The penalty otherwise applicable is 5-25% of the shortfall in contribution, depending on the period of delay. The move gives an opportunity to all principal employers such as large state-run and private companies that hire contractors for specific projects to ensure that workers who are indirectly employed also get social security benefits. Any worker who should have joined the scheme between 1 April 2009 and the end of this year, is eligible to join EPF now during a three-month window starting 1 January 2017, sa

The government is trying various ways to plug the loopholes so that the motive behind the demonetisation move is not defeated. One of its targets was bringing out unaccounted wealth. In this regard, different government departments are coming up with new circulars, notices and press releases regularly. In a recent notice, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stated its concern regarding filing of revised income tax returns by tax payers. CBDT stated in the notice that, “any instance coming to the notice of income-tax department, which reflects manipulation in the amount of income, cash-in-hand, profits, and fudging of accounts may necessitate scrutiny of such cases.” It can further lead to penalty or prosecution as well. So, if you are filing a revised tax return, here’s a look at which of the changes can attract scrutiny. Revising a return Once you file an income tax return, you are allowed to file a revised return under section 139(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. You ca