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Senior Union ministers have advised the nine Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP)- ruled states to call special sessions of their legislative assemblies to ratify the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution amendment Bill by the end of this month. The Lok Sabha is slated to debate the Bill on Monday, a discussion in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will intervene. Barring a tweet when the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on Wednesday, the PM is yet to comment on the proposed legislation. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has been critical of the PM’s absence during the debate in the Upper House, terming it “Modi mukt Parliament”. After the Lok Sabha’s approval, the Bill will be sent for presidential reference. The government plans to transmit the Bill to states by August 10. Government strategists are trying to ensure that the requisite 16 of the 31 states ratify the Bill by the end of this month. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu and other...

For all those who thought that GST was just an indirect tax reform, think again. The implementation of GST will affect direct taxes as well, helpinwideningthetaxbaseand increase taxe collections. According to tax administrators, GST will help in curbing domesticblackmoney.“Though it is a reform for indirect taxes, there are filers who understate incomes by not reporting transactions. By doing this, they save excise, VAT, Octroi etc, and under-report their incomes. Since, GSTwillhaveapapertrail, which can be accessed by the income tax department, such practiceswilldiscouragegeneration of black money in the system,” a tax official said. Permanent account number (PAN) and Aadhar will be used more frequently, and will be requiredtofileGSTreturns. This willhelpthetaxmentracktransactions more systematically. Therecanbemoredatamapping forauditbyrevenueauthorities. Last year, a panel headed by chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian had said that bringing alcohol, real estate and p...

The government and the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) are confident of a smooth legislative journey for the goods and services tax ( GST) over the next few months, both in state Assemblies and Parliament. The two are now chalking out a campaign to take the tax reform to the people as an effort that would reduce the burden on the common man and pave the way for ‘ achche din’, or better days. The poll campaign for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, due early 2017, will have the BJP unleash this campaign. The government also hopes to continue to isolate the Congress, the main Opposition party in the Rajya Sabha, both on the ground as well as in Parliament. In this, the support from regional parties, many of whom count Congress as the principal rival in their respective states, will become vital. On Thursday, government strategists dropped broad hints that the subsequent GST Bills — Central GST and Integrated GST — would fall eminently in the category of ‘ money Bills’, since at the heart of...

Corporate India’s compliance and legal costs are set to go up substantially over the next 12 to 18 months, as companies and businesses gear up to be goods and services tax ( GST)- ready. With eight months to go for GST roll- out — likely in April, 2017— businesses have to get their information technology ( IT) and accounting systems ready for the new indirect tax system, train personnel, suppliers and vendors, to be fully compliant of the GST processes. However, over a period of two years from the time of roll out of GST, tax experts expect compliances costs to come down as the new tax system stabilises. “There will an initial cost for businesses to be GST- ready,” says Rakesh Nangia, managing director, Nangia & Co. For large and mid- sized businesses, this would mean reorienting their IT systems, training personnel, and making their suppliers and vendors GST- compliant. Nidhi Goyal, managing director —tax and regulatory affairs, Protiviti Global, points out that many com...

The passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill by the Rajya Sabha for introduction of the goods and services tax ( GST) is expected to have a positive impact on the media and entertainment sector. Players in the direct- tohome, multiplex/ film and content production business hope to reap the benefits of the reform, though the print media and regional films may have to face some negative impact. Currently, film exhibitors, multiplexes and single screens are subjected to entertainment taxes imposed at the retail level, which are not fungible against any taxes like service tax on rentals and value added tax ( VAT) on goods. Business Standard New Delhi,05 August 2016

E- commerce companies, which are still trying to understand the ramifications of the new tax regime, want clarity from the government on many issues. The issues of concern include goods and services tax (GST) being levied on stock transfers from sellers to warehouses and taxes on discounts as well as freebies offered by e- commerce companies. “Stock transfers from sellers to the warehouses to maintain inventory across the network would attract GST, leading to cash flow impact, as some of these goods would typically wait for long before they get sold online,” said Manish Saigal, managing director, Alvarez & Marsal, a professional services firm. “ Most e- commerce firms offer aggressive discounting and freebies, with specific purchases. Under GST, these are expected to be taxed. Also, in case an e- commerce firm decides to sell an item on discount, it will have to pay the tax on the price it has purchased the goods from the supplier.” There’s lack of clarity on how GST would ...

The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) on Thursday launched a website from which anyone can obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to accept deposits, lodge complaints, and share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities. Named Sachet, the website is expected to be helpful in coordination between regulatory authorities and law enforcement agents throughout the states so any unscrupulous money- raising activities can be curbed. Collective investment schemes ( CISs) have come under the scanner and the regulators, particularly Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has cracked down on such activities after millions were duped by Sahara, Sarada, Pearl Agro, and such schemes. Launching the website, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan once again warned the public not to fall prey to phishing emails that solicit money from unsuspecting people, in return for a fortune. Phishing is the activity of tricking people by getting them to give their i...

www.caonline.in News... 1. NIRC of ICAI is organizing Workshop on GST-10 August (2PM - 5PM) at Institute of Engineers, ITO.  New Delhi. Register & Pay www.nircseminars.org 2. No Ban on Journalists to attend & report Court Proceedings. Notification No. 682 031.A1-76183/2007 dated: 30.07.2016 3. Expenditure incurred on club membership fees of employees is now admissible as business expense.  [(Foods and Inns Ltd. vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle 10(2), Mumbai) [2016] 71 taxmann 299 (Mumbai - Tribunal)] 4. MCA issues clarification on Issuance of rupee bonds to overseas investors by Indian Companies. MCA General Circular No. 09/2016 dated 03.08.16. 5. Rajya Sabha passes GST Constitutional Amendment Bill on 03.08.2016 with Key Amendments. 6. Today (05.08.16) is the last date to file IT returns for AY 2016-17 by individuals, HUF, Partnership firms (without audit). J & K assesses to file by 31.08.16.

Now, completing know-your-customer (KYC) requirement with one financial institution will be good enough for opening an account with any bank, mutual fund, insurance company, broker, or New Pension Scheme.   The financial sector regulators – Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) – have introduced a common KYC form and have asked companies in their domain to upload this data with a central agency - Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India, or CERSAI. Once you complete the KYC for opening a new account, you will receive a 14-digit identifier. Thereafter, when you go to any other financial entity for investments, new account, or policy purchase, you can simply quote the KYC identifier rather than doing the KYC process all over again. The institution will use the identifier to get KYC records from the central registry. While RB...

Many banks, brokerages, insurers and mutual funds have stopped opening or processing new accounts because they cannot upload know-your-customer details to a central database. The new registry will help individuals access a wide variety of financial services with a single 14-digit identifier. Regulators have instructed all financial institutions to use the Central Know-Your-Customer Registry (CKYCR), managed by Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India (Cersai) for new customers. Banks and insurance companies were asked to upload new client details to the platform from July 15 and brokerages and fund houses from August 1. Cersai has appointed DotEx International, a group company of the National Stock Exchange, to manage the project. But teething problems have partially stalled its implementation. "We are taking documents from customers but the account opening process will take time because of technical issues with the new syste...

www.caonline.in News... 1. Excess payment of service tax can be adjusted in subsequent months. 2. Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill, 2014 enabling levy of GST by Central Govt. as well as State Govts. is finally passed by Rajya Sabha with 100% in favour of the same. Now it shall go back to Lok Sabha to approve the amendments made by Rajya Sabha. Thereafter it shall be ratified by at least 16 States before being presented to the Hon'ble President for his assent. 3. 05.08.2016 is the last date to file IT returns for AY 2016-17 by individuals, HUF, Partnership firms (without audit). J & K assesses to file by 31.08.2016. 4. CBDT to come up with FAQs on Dispute Resolution Scheme, to settle appeals pending with IT commissioners. 5. Starting ICAI Certificate Course on Forex & Treasury Management in Delhi on 20.08.2016, visit http://www.icai.org/post.html?post_id=3552 & c_id=266Fee @17,500 #0120-3045945