CA Online

Indian businesses that paid most of their goods and services tax (GST) liability using input tax credit or reported a significant variation in turnover are being queried by taxmen, a move that has irked industry and prompted it to petition the authorities against such tactics.  Tax officials have sent emails seeking information from businesses that paid over 95% of their dues using input tax credit to ascertain the key factors responsible for subdued GST collections. These queries relate to a large variation in turnover reported, negative growth in central GST liability and a wide divergence in input tax credit between GSTR 2A and GSTR3B. In some centres, businesses have been even asked to furnish tax payment challans. GSTR 2A and GSTR3B are return forms. The first includes all information related to purchases, the second is a simplified return form aimed at making life easier for filers. GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017. Tax experts said revenue pressure appears to be driv...

Large overseas fund managers such as Templeton, Fidelity and BlackRock have opposed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) proposal to create a central database containing the personal information of all beneficial owners of offshore funds, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Such a database held by an external agency in India would violate the law in their home countries, they argue. The issue pertains to disclosure of know-your-customer (KYC) information of beneficial owners (BOs). Sebi had issued a circular on April 10 last year asking foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to identify the BO of a fund based on not just ownership but control as well. In cases where there is no significant BO based on economic ownership, fund managers and other senior management officials of the funds were to be considered BOs. All publicly pooled funds such as foreign mutual funds have no significant BO since they raise money from thousands of small unit holders. In such ...

Subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO would not require to file employee provident fund (EPF) transfer claims on changing jobs from the next fiscal as the process would be made automated, according to a labour ministry official.  At present, the subscribers of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are required to file transfer of EPF claims on changing jobs despite having universal account number (UAN). The EPFO gets about eight lakh EPF transfer claims every year. "The EPFO is testing the automation of EPF transfer on changing jobs on pilot basis. The facility for all subscribers is expected to be launched any time next year," a senior labour ministry official said.  The official said, "The EPFO had engaged the C-DAC to study its operating systems to achieve the goal of becoming paperless organisation. At present, 80 per cent of the work is being done online. The automated transfer of EPF on changing jobs is one of the tools to be used to achieve that ...