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Days ahead of the Budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that India needed competitive tax rates to become an attractive manufacturing hub that will help create jobs and boost economic growth. "In order to keep manufacturing competitive, we have to keep our rates competitive and, therefore, have to occasionally vary those rates...," Jaitley said at the Investiture Ceremony 2016 and Annual Central Excise Custom Day Function. Manufacturing is not only an extremely important activity but it is one activity with its spiral effect on the economy which also creates the largest volumes of job, and a tax on that manufacturing adds to the government revenue, he added. He said the revenue was the lifeline of governance and if governments have no adequate revenue, it becomes almost impossible for the government to function. The corporate tax may see a small reduction from the current 30 per cent rate as the finance minister moves to reduce it to 25 per cent ov...

Goods and Services Tax (GST) can bring a huge relief for ecommerce companies in the country, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has said in a representation to the government. IAMAI said that various states levy different taxes on sellers on ecommerce marketplaces ­ many of whom are micro, small and medium businesses scattered across India ­ which are difficult to comply with and the industry is seeking a common rate and some clarity on taxation in order to boom. Subho Ray , president of IAMAI, said that while the large ecommerce companies in the country may have the wherewithal to deal with such issues, the smaller players who are still trying to find their feet in the market do not. “Right now we have 5-6 states troubling the industry , if the GST doesn't get passed in Parliament, we will have issues with all 2829 states,“ he said. Ray said that only two to three large ecommerce players may be able to survive in such a situation. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO ...

get NPS-like treatment; Additional deduction of 50k under 80CCD Contributions to the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) will now be eligible for the same tax benefits as the National Pension System (NPS), according to a circular released by the Income Tax department. The tax benefits include the additional deduction of Rs. 50,000 under section 80CCD(1) introduced in last year's Budget. The APY is open to Indians aged between 18 and 40 years and has a minimum tenure of 20 years. Nearly 20 lakh subscribers have joined the scheme since its launch in June 2015.The APY replaced the NPS Lite or Swavalamban scheme, which got about 45 lakh subscribers in the past six years. The biggest draw of the APY is that the government will contribute 50% of the contribution made by the investor for a period of five years. But this benefit will only go to subscrib ers who put in less than Rs 1,000 a year and those who join the scheme before March 31, 2016. Those with taxable income are also not eligible....

www.caonline.in News... 1.NICASA of NIRC of ICAI is organising Seminar on 28/2/2016 at ICAI, Vishwas Nagar, Delhi for CPT CA Students on How to face Exam and Amendments from 10AM-1PM and Service Tax for all Students from 2PM-5PM. No Fee. 2.NIRC of ICAI is organising a Discussion on Union Budget on 1/3/2016 By CA Amarjeet Chopra Ji (Hon'ble Past President), CA(Dr) Girish Ahuja ji CA Atul Gupta Ji, CCM and CA Ashok Batra ji at Satya Sai Audi at 10AM. No Fee. Free Budget Copy. 3.Union Bank invites applications from CA eligible/interested firms/companies for empanelment as Concurrent Auditors for F.Y. 2016-17. 4.Get ICAI Now Mobile App for latest ICAI Updates - Available on Android, iOS, Windows and Blackberry 10. To download please visit http://www.icai.org/mobile 5.MCA invites comments on draft Companies (Incorporation) second Amendment Rules, 2016 & Companies (Authorized to Register) Amendment Rules, 2016 till 2 Mar 2016. 6.MCA invites comments on Draft Companies (Cost R...

Capital markets regulator to decide on brokers suspected of selling NSEL contracts as investment vehicles The capital markets regulator will seek a report from Mumbai police’s economic offences wing (EOW) to decide whether it needs to act against brokers who may have engaged in mis-selling contracts in the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam, two persons familiar with the development said. After procuring a report from the police wing, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will examine whether some brokers indeed violated regulations, the two persons said on condition of anonymity. Some brokers are suspected to have sold NSEL contracts as investment vehicles. Around 200 brokers are alleged to have sold NSEL products by promising an assured return to investors. Trading was halted on NSEL in July 2013 after a Rs.5,574 crore settlement scam surfaced at the commodities bourse, which is 99.99% owned by Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL). This month, the ministr...

Govt stares at a weaker revenue mobilization in the next fiscal because of poor performance of Indian companies The government’s fiscal assumptions in the budget appears to be fraught with hurdles. An expenditure rise is on the anvil even as the government stares at a weaker revenue mobilization in the next fiscal year because of poor performance of Indian companies. The downside risks to the global economy, too, have increased. On 29 February, finance minister Arun Jaitley will present his third Union budget. His efforts to boost public investment will come at a time when he also has to significantly increase revenue expenditure for the implementation of One Rank One Pension scheme for defence personnel and Seventh Pay Commission. Direct tax collection, especially corporate tax collections, have remained poor with the government consistently falling short of its budget estimates in the past few years. For 2015-16, the shortfall in direct tax collection is expected to be around...

Corporates nor banks bother to put mandatory UPSI in public domain when a debt deal is signed Many large, highstreet banks and finance houses are nonchalantly flouting insider trading rules while cutting deals to fund corporates that are listed on stock exchanges. Capital market regulatory norms require a company to share with the public all information that it discloses to lenders and financiers -just as numbers of financial performance and ratios are divulged in M&As or placement of stocks once a deal is struck. But, neither corporates bother nor banks insist on putting the unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) in public domain when a debt deal ­ which could be bonds, debentures or plain vanilla loans ­ is signed for financing business. The regulatory concern is simple: such information shared in the course of debt finance can be misused by someone in the financial institution to trade on the shares of the listed company that is being funded.Debt finance deals,...

Indian Patents Office rolls back its guidelines that allowed patenting for software inventions The Patent Office's decision to roll back its guidelines that allowed software patents in India is being hailed as a big win for domestic startups, which will not have to worry about expensive patent litigation that can potentially stifle innovation in the country. Indian law on granting patents for software became a hot issue among startups, in the past year, after the Indian Patent Office in August interpreted the law to mean that if a software had industrial applications, it could be granted a patent. The move was opposed by software product companies, activists and other industry folks who saw the decision as detrimental to startups and existing companies who would get entangled in endless litigation for developing a new product. On February 19, the Patent Office rolled back the decision to allow software patenting for computerrelated inventions (CRI). “The legislature by limiti...

What you should consider before choosing an ELSS Take into account your risk profile while choosing a tax- saver fund, advise experts With the end of the financial year drawing near and offices demanding proof of tax- saving investments, a lot of people will buy products such as tax- saving ( equity- linked saving schemes or ELSS) funds in the coming weeks. Since last- minute purchases are made in a hurry, a lot of misbuying as well as mis- selling happens. Here’s what you should look up before deciding on an ELSS fund. Look at the nature of the fund: whether it is large- cap, multi- cap or mid- cap oriented. “Take into account your risk profile while choosing a tax- saver fund,” says Vidya Bala, head of research at Fundsindia. com. Conservative investors should opt for a large- cap ELSS fund, while those with a higher risk appetite might opt for a multi- cap fund. The style sheet tells you about a fund’s market- cap orientation. Next, look up the fund’s track record. When ...

The white goods sector is seeking succour from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in next week’s Budget. Sales of various categories of home appliances declined in 2015 because of weak demand and abnormal weather, and the industry is expecting lower taxes apart from higher pay to government employees to boost consumption. While the goods and services tax will help the inventory- heavy industry move goods among states easily, it will also gain if the cumulative taxation is brought down to 18- 20 per cent from 23- 24 per cent. “The consumer goods industry will gain significantly under the Goods and Services Tax ( GST). In a competitive market, the ability of dealers to corner the benefit of lower taxes is limited,” said Sachin Menon, partner and national head of indirect tax at KPMG India. “The excise duty should be brought down from 12 per cent to 10 per cent to help reinstate demand,” said Kim- Ki- Wan, managing director, LG Electronics India. “In the last Budget, the finance mi...

www.caonline.in News... 1.When the issue has been decided by the CIT(A) then only CIT(A) can rectify the order u/s 154, AO has no jurisdiction to rectify such order - Tribunal.[M/s. NHPC Ltd. vs Asstt. Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle-II, Faridabad And vica-versa - 2016 (2) TMI 676 - ITAT DELHI] 2.Demand of service tax on management, maintenance or repair service collected from flat owners, in this fact the appellant is not liable for service tax - Tribunal.[M/s Omega Associates vs Commissioner of Service Tax, Mumbai - 2016 (2) TMI 690 - CESTAT MUMBAI] 3.Mandatory recovery of advertising cost should be included in AV. [M/s Rathi Transpower Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise (CESTAT-Mumbai)] 4.Testing cost of returnable durable cylinders not includible in AV. [M/s Bombay Oxygen Corporation Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise (CESTAT Mumbai)] 5.No CENVAT reversal under Rule 6 on SEZ supply with effect from 10/09/2004. [Commissioner of Central Excise vs. M/s. Mather...