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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday said it is fully prepared to contain market volatility as well as address liquidity needs when foreign currency non-resident (banks) deposits start maturing in September this year. Banks had raised nearly $34 billion between September and November 2013, out of which $27 billion was through FCNR (B) deposits maturing mostly in three years. Banks, then, swapped those dollars with the RBI. The central bank thereafter readied itself by buying forwards dollar. The swaps and the forwards will take care of the dollar requirement and should be neutral for the reserves. However, banks should witness deposit base depletion and some rupee liquidity will be strained. RBI in its first bi-monthly monetary policy had said it was prepared for those. On Tuesday, RBI reiterated that and said it would take “all necessary measures to even out the resultant rupee liquidity gaps through use of appropriate instruments”. Assuring the market that the swaps...

The Department of Post will launch its payments bank by Ja nuary next year and top manage ment of the new-age venture would be in-place by July, a senior official said on Wednesday. The Department of Post along with 10 other entities, received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank to launch payments banks in August last year. The 'in-principle' approval is valid for a period of 18 months. “We (India Post Payments Bank) hope to hit streets by year-end or January because time for us is also very tight. Out of 18 months, we have have lost six months,“ India Post Member for Banking and HRD, MS Ramanujan said. The Economic Times New Delhi,14th April 2016

Introduction of goods and services tax (GST) will help settle the issue of double taxation on some transactions like in case of software, a top finance ministry official said. “On the issue of double taxation on some transactions like software, it is true that there are disputes on the issue pending in various courts and forums, but I sincerely hope that will settle only after the introduction of GST,“ said Sanjay Gupta, Commissioner of Service Tax, Delhi ­ IV, while inaugurating an Assocham national seminar on service tax and Cenvat credit. The Economic Times New Delhi,14th April 2016

You can carry forward losses and revise the returns umpteen times in case of mistakes With the income tax department allowing ample time for filing returns, many taxpayers take it easy. For the income earned in the past financial year (FY16), a taxpayer can file returns up to March 2018. However, sticking to the first deadline of July 31 has its benefits. Say, you make a mistake while filing returns — it can be a wrong computation or incorrect bank account details. If you file returns on time, the income tax (I-T) department will allow you to revise it as many times as you wish until the end of the assessment year. In case of belated filing, the taxpayer loses this advantage. “Not being able to revise returns can lead to problems. For example, in case of wrong computation, the department can send a notice. Incorrect bank account details can delay refunds,” says Vikram Ramchand, founder, Makemyreturns.com. Missing the first deadline also means that the taxpayer cannot carry fo...

www.caonline.in News... 1.No TDS on payment to non-resident which is not taxable in India. [Sesa Resources Ltd. vs. DCIT/Union of India (Bombay HC)]. 2.Assessment of holding company with notice to subsidiary is invalid. [Techpac Holdings Ltd. vs. DCIT (Bombay HC)]. 3.CBEC has decided to move to SC to vacate the stay granted by the Gujarat, Delhi and more recently Calcutta HCs on levy of service tax on legal services provided by senior advocates to other advocates and law firms. 4.All domestic e-sellers who supply goods and services to foreign buyers would be classified as exporters. It will allow them to claim benefits under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme which provides financial incentives. 5.MCA has notified new version of e-forms: DIR-12, INC-22 and MGT-7 with effect from 12th April, 2016. For more News Like us on https://www.facebook.com/caonlineofficial Or Subscribe on mail visit : www.caonline.in

The pension regulator has urged for more tax parity between the National Pension System (NPS) and other pension schemes. “This tax exemption of up to 40% of the retirement corpus is a very big step that the government has taken and which brings us closer to EPF (employee provident fund) and other pension products,“ Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman Hemant Contractor said. “So, it is a welcome move ... Hopefully ... we should see some parity between the other pension schemes.“ FM Arun Jaitley in the 2016-17 budget announced that withdrawal of up to 40% of the corpus at the time of retirement will be made tax exempt in the case of NPS. Contractor said under the NPS scheme, there has been higher growth from the voluntary or nongovernment sector. At present, the total subscriber base under NPS is 1.18 crore and the fund under management is `. 1.15 lakh crore. Contractor said the launch of the eNPS online platform to open new accounts and make contribution...

Fair value accounting of financial instruments under new standards may lead to higher MAT levy; Cos in tech, manufacturing, IT, pharma and infra could be hit harder Indian companies that have moved to the new accounting standards for the June quarter could be staring at an increased tax liability of about 20% under minimum alternate tax, or MAT. Due to the way accounting is done under the new standards, Ind-AS, many transactions involving foreign exchange, securities and equity apart from certain demergers could start attracting MAT, industry trackers said. India has changed its accounting standards from GAAP to Ind-AS, which is on a par with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), from April 1 this year. All companies with a total net worth of 500 crore or above are now following . 500 crore or above are now following ` Ind-AS. So while the financials of companies remain the same, the way they are calculated is now different, impacting the firms' profits, goodw...

The government on Tuesday relaxed the approval process for foreign firms to set up their branch, liaison and project offices in the country. Except for defence, telecom, private security, information & broadcasting, and non-government organisation sectors, such approvals can now be given by designated banks. Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India was the approving authority. “Further, anyone who has been awarded a contract for a project by a government authority/PSU (public sector unit) would be automatically given approval to open a bank account,” the finance ministry stated.  Companies in sensitive sectors such as defence will continue to require RBI approval. “As a measure towards improving the ease of doing business, it has now been decided that except for a few sectors such as defence, telecom, private security, information and broadcasting and non-government organisation and except a few countries, the power to grant approvals for establishment of branch, liaison, pro...

Allows govt to impose 30% tax deduction at source on inflow from Cyprus The high court here has agreed with the Indian government’s 2013 plan to tax investments from Cyprus, which was used by several foreign investors to avoid taxes in India. The order would impact several foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and private equity investors which invested in India via the Cyprus route. This clears the way for the government’s decision to impose a 30 per cent tax deduction at source on inflow from Cyprus, a setback for foreign institutional investors. The notification was dated November 2013. Tuesday's court order was from a bench of judges V Ramasubramanian and T Mathivanan. According to market sources, between 2000 and 2014, inflow via Cyprus into India and Indian stock markets was Rs  38,300 crore. Pramod Kumar Chopda, standing counsel for the Union ministry of finance, Central Board of Direct Taxes and the I-T department, said the order would be a  major step towar...

Government-owned companies are among the big names that are still defaulting on the rule to have at least one woman on the board of directors. There are 57 companies on the National Stock Exchange  (NSE) that have yet to appoint a single woman on their board, according to Prime Database. A little over a third are public sector undertakings (PSUs), including blue-chip names like Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Indian Oil, and GAIL India. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had a little over a year before it directed that the boards of all listed entities must have at least one woman, by March 31. Pavan Kumar Vijay, founder and managing director, Corporate Professionals, says many state-owned entities haven’t complied as their parent ministries are yet to make the appointments. Shriram Subramanian, managing director, Ingovern, says PSUs generally tend to be lax in their approach. “The government has to take things seriously and not expect only corporate India to com...

www.caonline.in News... 1.Enablement of 26QB correction facility and role of TDS officers: F.No. CIT/CPC-TDS/2015-16. 2.Calcutta HC stays service tax on senior advocate bar association. [HC Calcutta and Anr vs. Union of India & Ors]. 3.The upfront payment made for the acquisition of leasehold rights over an immovable property for a long duration does not constitute rental income in the hands of lessor. [ Foxconn India Developer (P) Ltd. and others vs... ITO, HC of Madras]. 4.CBDT notifies procedure for registration and submission of statement as per section 285BA (1) (k) of IT Act, 1961 read with Rule 114G (7) of IT Rules, 1962. 5.IT dept has activated the Aadhaar and net banking-based e-filing verification system for taxpayers to file the first appeal before CIT on similar lines of online ITR filing. For more News Like us on https://www.facebook.com/caonlineofficial Or Subscribe on mail visit : www.caonline.in