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NEW DELHI Looking to streamline the taxation procedure, CBDT has issued detailed guidelines on trans fer pricing cases that are expected to bring about uniformity in determining arm's ength price in similar instances. As per the regulations, each Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) will be assigned a given number of important and complex cases not exceeding 50. The Assessing Officer will be required to record in writing that the TP case falls in his jurisdiction and also the income involved in international transactions before proceeding with the case and referring it to TPO for further action. Economic Times, New Delhi, 19 October 2015

NEW DELHI Finance ministry has sought views of India Inc on firming up provisions with regard to Place of Supply (PoS) rules in five sectors, ncluding e-commerce and banking, for a smooth rollout of the Goods and Services Tax.The ministry has asked industry associations to submit their views on the transitional provisions and core exemptions to ensure hassle free implementation of the new indirect tax regime, a government official told PTI. Since GST s a destination based levy, the tax has to be mposed at the PoS of goods or services. Economic Times, New Delhi, 19 October 2015

A charitable institution is entitled to set apart 25 per cent of the total income for charitable purposes even if it is not spent in the assessment year. It is an option permitted in the Income Tax Act but the limit should be observed. The Supreme Court stated that both the commissioner of appeals and the Andhra Pradesh High Court erred while allowing a larger percentage in the case, CIT vs G RGovindarajulu. The total income was Rs.99 lakh out of which Rs.47 lakh was spent on charity and Rs.32 lakh was set to be spent for charitable purposes in the following year. The assessee claimed that it was therefore entitled to have deduction of the entire amount and its tax liability was nil. The assessment officer did not agree stating that no option for the purpose was exercised before filing the returns and it was not done in a valid manner. Though the appellate authority and the high court accepted that contention, the Supreme Court pointed out that Rs.32 lakh was more than 25 per cent of ...

In a bid to attack domestic black money, the government has set sights on India’s vast mining sector. The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT) under the finance ministry has instructed income tax ( I- T) officials to scrutinise production details and tax returns filed by the companies engaged in mining activities and take appropriate action in case of any discrepancy. “The government is quite serious about curbing the black money menace, be it stashed abroad or domestically. To curtail domestic unaccounted income, we’ve identified specific target sectors. Mining is one such sector where we’ve discovered serious instances of tax evasion,” said a government official. The government has discovered significant differences in the annual returns filed by mining firms with the Indian Bureau of Mines ( IBM) and the companies’ income tax returns. In an instruction issued to all chief commissioners as well as the director- general, CBDT said: “ While scrutinising cases of entities engaged in t...

Updates Of the Day 1.Penalties u/s 114 of Customs Act could be invoked for Export made u/s 113. [COC vs Kamalabhai, Madras High Court] 2.RBI has made the changes in the valuation guidelines of jewellery where advance against pledge of gold ornaments / jewellery is extended by the cooperative banks. 3.Supreme Court struck down National Judicial Appointments Commission Act that was brought in to replace the collegium system for appointing judges in the higher judiciary. 4.Relief under service tax cannot be granted if assessee does not comply with provisions of VCES, 2013. [Bombay High Court: Sunil Agnihotri Productions vs. UOI] 5.Services provided by a ‘Common Effluent Treatment Plant Operator’ for treatment of effluent is exempt from service tax. Vide Notification No. 6/2015-ST. 6.E-biz launches composite application form for PAN, TAN, DIN and Company Incorporation. 7.It is better to be unique than the best. Because being the best makes us the number one but being unique makes u...

The country’s telecom regulator on Friday asked telcos to pay compensation of Rs.1 for up to three call drops per user, per day. Cellular Operators Association of India Director General Rajan S Mathews said the regulation might force the sector to shell out as much as Rs.150 crore every day. Business Standard, New Delhi, 17th Oct. 2015

Provident fund (PF) subscribers may soon be able to withdraw their money online. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is hopeful of launching an online PF withdrawal facility by Marchend after the Supreme Court extended voluntary use of Aadhaar card to government schemes, including PF. At present, subscribers who wish to settle their accounts with the EPFO are required to apply manually and the process takes two to three weeks. Once the online facility is launched the subscribers will get their money in their bank accounts within three hours of making the application. The EPFO has written to the labour ministry for necessary approvals. To prepare ground for the full fledged launch, the EPFO will start settling all PF withdrawal claims having Aadhaar numbers within three days against the mandated period of 20 days though the claims will be filed manually only. Use of Aadhaar ensures speedy verification of PF withdrawal cases. Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 17th Oct...

Only Indian cos such as  Snapdeal  provide credit to the sellers on their platforms Some of the top etailers operating in India have sought the Reserve Bank of India's permission to lend to small and medium enterprises listed on their platforms. A senior RBI official said some suggestions were made at a town hall organised by the central bank in Delhi for ecommerce companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).“There were some suggestions made in this regard, and we have forwarded them to the head office. They are being looked at,“ he said, requesting anonymity . At present, only Indian firms such as Snapdeal provide credit to the sellers on their platforms to meet working capital requirements. The primary issue is that the holding pattern of some of the ecommerce companies is not clear, the official said. “They come under foreign direct investment (FDI) category and are not permitted to extend credit,“ he added. At present, Amazon Inc offers its business loan prog...

An agenda note with differences between data that can and cannot be shared is being prepared The government is devising ways to ramp up online dissemination of data and make more data available to public for free, an effort that is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative. The ministry of statistics and programme implementation is in the process of drafting an agenda note in which it has differentiated between data that can and cannot be shared on its website, officials said. It is planning to make the “sharable data“ available to everyone for free, in contrast to the current practice of charging a nominal fee for accessing data at the unit level, they said. At present, the government charges fees for providing data from the national sample surveys, Annual Survey of Industries and the economic census. This goes against the spirit of the open data policy, officials said. An internal committee of the ministry had earlier suggested continuing with the...

‘BoB case will be pursued to the ultimate conclusion’ Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan ( pictured) on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on the use of Aadhaar cards in more schemes and said it would help in financial inclusion and provide easy access to loans. “The ruling today will be quite helpful, making us use it in banking services. It will make it easier for financial inclusion,” Rajan told reporters after the central bank’s board meeting here. “Unique Identification ( UID) number will ensure that people will not get multiple loans from different places. We can make sure that it does not happen. This is an example on how we can make more lending possible,” said Rajan, who was in the city for RBI’s 554th board meeting. Speaking about the meeting, Rajan said the board discussed the state of the India’s and global economy. “ We discussed regulations, ombudsmen and Ponzi schemes. A wide variety of topics were discussed.” RBI also announced merger...

Industrial growth, signs of investment pickup & indirect tax kitty hint at rebound India's economy may be about to turn the corner on the back of robust public spending that's beginning to have an impact on the ground coupled with strong urban consumer demand, economists and government officials said. Three months of sound industrial growth driven by manufacturing, signs of a pickup in investment, robust indirect tax collections and indications of a mining sector reboot suggest that the government's attempts to revive the economy through reforms and higher public capital spend are working. Going ahead, the tailwinds of falling interest rates, big foreign inflows and a further strengthening of consumer demand in anticipation of the Seventh Pay Commission's award should propel the economy forward, said the analysts and officials.Helping this along will be the festive season bump along with the government chipping away at issues with steady reforms. “We are on ...