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Corporate India is looking to next week’s budget for wideranging tax reforms like abolition of the Minimum Alternate Tax ( MAT) and clarification on the tax status for Special Economic Zones ( SEZs) apart from the government burying the ghost of retrospective tax once and for all. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised tax and banking reforms during their interaction with corporate leaders during Make- In- India week, to take the manufacturing sector’s share in the gross domestic product from the current 18 per cent to 25 per cent. One of India Inc’s top demands is the abolishing of the minimum alternate tax or MAT, which will put a significant cash flow in the hands of taxpayers to make much needed investments. If the corporate tax rate is to be reduced to 25 per cent over the next three years, and investment and profit- linked exemptions and deductions are to be phased out, then there is a very good case to phase out MAT and ultimately scr...

Simplified mechanism has been prescribed to clear up past pendency at the Special Valuation Branch  India has simplified rules governing pricing of imports by related parties including Indian arms of import-dependent multinationals such as Swarovski, Apple, BMW, Audi, and Bausch & Lomb, a move that is expected to significantly improve ease of doing business for such entities. The government has revamped decadeand-half-old customs rules and done away with a requirement that made deposit of extra duty on imported goods by such entities mandatory. The new simplified mechanism has been prescribed to clear up past pendency at special valuation branches (SVBs) of customs. “In order to facilitate quick disposal of cases currently pending with SVBs for renewal, a system of one-time declaration is being provided,“ said a di rective to field formations issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs. Typically, transactions between related parties such as subsidiaries of fore...

The government will withdraw the contentious Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, during the Budget session that begins on Tuesday. The ministry of parliamentary affairs has listed the Bill for withdrawal in its list of business for the session. The government had attracted much criticism for its attempts to amend the 2013 land law, with Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders painting it to be ‘anti-farmer’. As a compromise, the Bill was sent to a committee of Parliament. Most respondents, including allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had criticised some provisions. Anticipating little likelihood of the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority, passing the Bill, the government had asked state governments to push through amendments to their own. But, the Prime Minister and BJP have  increasingly tried to showcase the ‘farmer friendly’ policies of th...

In some cases, like motor insurance, the government needs to first recognise these Soon, you could be assigned an electronic insurance number when you buy an insurance policy. And, based on this number, you will receive an electronic or e- policy. With the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ( Irdai) mandating that e- policies will have to be issued for certain kinds of insurance plans — term- and non- term life plans with sum assured of Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 lakh or annual premium of Rs.10,000; all individual motor and overseas travel plans; and retail health policies having sum assured of Rs.5 lakh or more or premium of ? 10,000 or more — bulk of both life and nonlife industry’s products will soon go the electronic way. The biggest advantage of the e- insurance account will be that once a policyholder opens an e- Insurance Account ( eIA), the same knowyourcustomer norms can be used to purchase the other policies. Any change in personal details such as teleph...

The loss of important documents constitutes negligence, entitling consumers to make a claim for deficiency in service. Even though certified copies are valid, consumers should be compensated It is a usual practice that banks retain the title deed as security for loans advanced. There are quite a few instances when years later, after the loan is fully repaid, the bank finds itself unable to return the title deeds as these have been lost. The consumer is, thus, left without the title deeds to establish his ownership rights. Here is a case of Leenata Dhamankar, who successfully fought against the negligence of the mighty State Bank of India ( SBI). Dhamankar had taken a housing loan in 2000 for purchasing two flats in a society in Chembur, Mumbai. The title documents were deposited with SBI as collateral security, and had to be returned upon repayment of the loan. Considering the value of the flat, Dhamankar was also sanctioned an education loan in 2003 against the same title docume...

Many exemptions make little sense, such as a monthly exemption of Rs.100 for college education and Rs.300 for hostel fees If an employee is not paid any house rent allowance, he will get atax exemption of up to Rs. 2,000. “The number was quite decent for a small house in the 1990s but means nothing today. Even in a smaller city, the monthly rent is as high as Rs.5,000. And, in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru, even if one shares the room with several people, this amount would fall short,” says Rakesh Rai, an employee with a telecom company. With the Union Budget approaching, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be inundated with requests from all sections. Everyone would want sops. If the minister would simply enhance the existing limits for many outdated exemptions, consumers would stand to gain immensely . While the finance minister made some good changes in the previous Budget, the net impact on the taxpayer was quite limited. For example: The 80C limit was increase...

Union minister optimistic about mustering enough political support to get the tax reform through  The Congress party is isolated on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) issue and the government is confident of generating enough political support to get the country's biggest indirect tax reform passed in the Rajya Sabha soon, said Nitin Gadkari, Union mini ster for roads, highways and shipping. “I feel that in GST, the other important political parties in the Rajya Sabha are now ready to support it. I am confident that with the support of these regional political parti es, we will suc ceed (in pas sing) this bill,“ Gadkari told an exclusive gathering at the ET Mar kets' pre-budget meet in Mumbai on Friday. The event was attended by some of the count ry's top fund managers, strategists and brokers in the biggest gathering of people related to the financial markets this year. The minister hoped that the Congress will see sense on the measure. GST, one of the most importa...

The next financial year will be a tightrope walk for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, with the mounted challenge of narrowing the fiscal deficit and enhancing tax revenue collections to compensate for higher salaries and pensions and capital spending. Besides raising tax revenue, Jaitley will have to deliver on the promise of a fair, transparent and non- adversarial tax regime in light of multinational companies such as Vodafone receiving fresh notices for payment of tax dues based on retrospective provisions. the government has been assuring investors that it will not invoke the retrospective tax clause, there has been no attempt to remove it from the statute. While personal income tax might not see much tweaking, corporate tax could see a small reduction from the current 30 per cent rate, as the finance minister moves to reduce it to 25 per cent in the next four years, as promised in the previous Budget. Towards that, the Budget will lay down the road map to simultaneously phas...

As the finance minister rises to present the Budget 2016, tax payers, particularly businesses, will eagerly await the announcement of reform measures to ease tax administration. While foreign investments into India have improved recently, most investors continue to be apprehensive of realities at the ground level. Such apprehension is not without cause, recent tax disputes and a generally non- chalant approach of the tax administration leave much to be desired. The disturbing aspect is not so much the number of cases in which taxes are adjusted, but that a large portion of additions to income are considered frivolous and turned down by a higher appellate authority. Recent actions of prosecution threats, particularly in the case of digital businesses, have alarmed investor circles. Leaving aside the merits, it is difficult to comprehend if such coercive measures are necessary when due processes of law are followed to initiate prosecution. While judicial intervention is the only ...

Need for a strong, effective leniency programme’ It is easy to criticise aregulator or authority, and the Competition Commission of India ( CCI) has had its fair share of criticism, including from the Appellate Tribunal. However, the CCI’s work has definitely had an impact on consumers – from home buyers, who now are unafraid of developers, to movie goers, who are no longer held to ransom by distributors. Therefore, a foundation has been set and awareness built, but now the time has come to set the house in order. I have a few concrete suggestions. Cartels are most damaging to consumers. Unfortunately, the CCI’s enforcement activity in this sphere has been wanting, largely as a result of poor evidence being collected. In order to ensure an effective anti- cartel regime, it is essential to have a strong and robust leniency programme. The CCI’s existing programme is unpredictable and does not incentivise whistle blowers. In past cases, even the identity of the whistleblower has not...

www.caonline.in News... 1.Transmission and exchange of financial messages service falls under the category of ‘Banking and Other Financial Services’ – CESTAT. [Bank of Baroda vs Commissioner of Service Tax (CESTAT-Mumbai)] 2.CENVAT credit eligible on furniture & fittings used for output service. [ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Service Tax (Mumbai CESTAT)] 3.Job worker enjoying exemption under Notification No. 214/86 not liable to reverse Cenvat credit as the duty on job worked goods ultimately paid by principal manufacturer. [Precision Metals vs. CCEx (CESTAT Mumbai), Appeal No. E/740/07] 4.Penalty cannot be levied unless evasion of duty alleged in SCN. [Precision Metals vs. CCEx, Raigad (CESTAT Mumbai), Appeal No.- E/633/11-Mum] 5.Excise duty rate should be rate prevalent at the time of clearing. [M/s Siemens Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise (CESTAT Mumbai); Appeal No. E/3360/05] For more News Like us on https://www.facebook.com/caon...