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As the July 31 deadline for filing tax return nears, many non-resident Indians (NRIs), expats, as well  as foreigners with investments in private equity and hedge funds here are puzzled by the strange new  demand from the Indian tax office asking them to disclose their bank accounts held across the world.  Neither can they figure out the reason nor are they comfortable with sharing details of offshore  accounts with the income-tax department which cannot tax earnings from such assets Tax practitioners and lawyers are inundated with phone calls from these individuals who fear non- disclosure could put them on the wrong side of Indian regulations.  Leading law firm Khaitan & Co is among those that have drawn the attention of Central Board of Direct  Taxes, the apex tax authority, to the additional reporting requirement that has crept into the tax  return forms. With the government refusing to spell out whether it has been inadvertently or...

More than 160,000 companies been deregistered and a series of actions are being taken against shell firms, Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha on Friday. His response was to a query on whether a large number of shell companies and entities that are primarily used as conduits for dealing in black money and hawala transactions have come to the notice of the government. Out of the 162,618 companies that have been struck-off the register, the registration of 33,000 were cancelled by RoC (Mumbai), according to a written reply by minister of state for corporate affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal. The Business Standard, new Delhi, 22th July 2017

The Goods and Services Tax Council could take up at its next meeting taxation issues raised by sectoral bodies along with a review of the implementation of the new tax regime, a top official has said. “Different issues will be coming to the table (at the next council meeting). Things that have been brought to our notice may be on the rules and implementation. Maybe, even on rates,“ Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) chair person Vanaja Sarna told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci event here on Friday . The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, will meet on August 5 to review implementation of the new tax regime. On whether concerns raised by the textile sector will be taken up, she said, “Possibly.“ GST is a uniform tax structure that replaces 17 different levies, including excise, service tax and VAT. Some textile traders have been seeking removal of the 5% GST on fabric. Surat-based traders, who had gone on ...

Three weeks into the new tax regime, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has said that it will analyze the statistics of tax payers registered with GSTIN and give them ratings based on the data they would provide on the portal. GSTN is the technology backbone for implementing the single producer levy, which came into effect from July 1. The company will also study tax-payer behaviour after the system has captured data for a couple of years. It will undertake studies of various kinds for the central government to help in the future planning process. “We would also be studying trends in various sectors production types, or turnover for certain commodities such as steel or coal or anything else,“ GSTN Chairman Navin Kumar said. The GSTN will also help the government locate tax evaders. “We will compare the data of compani es registered on our portal with those of the income tax department to find discrepancies.“ The system will alert the tax departments in case of any di...

GST Network, the technology platform for indirect taxes, has registered 76 lakh businesses and service providers with the total base expected to top the 80-lakh mark, which includes those paying central excise, service tax, state VAT, central sales tax and other levies. With 10 days left for registration of existing businesses, the government expects that it will be able to significantly expand the base, helping generate 20-25% rise in indirect tax collections, said sources. So far, 70 lakh existing taxpayers have enrolled, while six lakh new players have registered. A large number of businesses did not have to register as the threshold for GST was pegged at Rs 20 lakh, twice the level for VAT. There are, however, some companies which are in multiple businesses that can register each vertical se parately . For instance, a company which is in tobacco and hotels can seek two GST registration numbers.In addition, service providers -from Indian railways to banks, telecom and insu...

F. No. 345/114/2017-GST Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Excise and Customs GST Policy Wing *** New Delhi, the 21st July, 2017 Order No. 01/2017-GST Subject: Extension of time limit for filing intimation for composition levy under subrule (1) of rule 3 of the CGST Rules, 2017 In exercise of the powers conferred by section 168 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the Board hereby extends the period for filing an intimation in FORM GST CMP-01 under sub-rule (1) of rule 3 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 upto 16th August, 2017. -sd- (Upender Gupta) Commissioner (GST)

Your shopping out of the accumulated loyalty or bonus points will face tax under the goods and services tax (GST) regime. GST would be levied on the total price of the  product and not on the discounted value after adjusting the bonus, loyalty or rewards points.  “Loyalty points are nothing but a mode of payment,  GST must be paid on total value of supply irrespective of the fact that loyalty points are utilised while making a  purchase,” according to a report on textiles prepared by a group of officials.  The government had set up 18 sectoral groups to ensure smooth transition to GST. The law committee, which is meeting on Thursday and Friday, would take a final view on  this now.  Loyalty cards are very popular with retail chains these days as a means of coaxing customers to make repeat purchases. Customer earns certain bonus points on shopping  at stores and these points can then be set off from the total bill amount in subsequent pur...

The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) on Thursday sought a settlement with the markets regulator over allegations that it provided unfair access to its high- frequency trading systems to some brokers. NSE applied to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a settlement through the so-called consent mechanism three days after Vikram Limaye took charge as  MD and CEO. Consent mechanism is a process through which entities can settle charges by paying a penalty without admission or denial of guilt. "Sebi will review the application and get back to NSE on the future course of action. NSE will work with Sebi on early resolution of this matter," the exchange said in  an emailed statement. On May 22, the market regulator had sent show-cause notices to the bourse and 14 percent and former officials over charges of providing some brokers unfair access to  its algorithmic, or high frequency , trading systems that allow thousands of orders to be execut...

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to reduce the time taken for a security to list  on an exchange to three days from the date of closure of its initial public offer (IPO), instead of the  earlier envisaged timeline of four days. At present, public issues take six days — termed T+6 — to list after closing for a subscription.  Reducing the listing timeline to T+3 days would, feel experts, help reduce the impact of market  volatility. On January 1, 2016, Sebi had brought down the time taken for listing of shares to six days, from the  earlier 12 days. Investors were also allowed to give their application forms to banks, brokers,  depository participants and registrar & transfer agents. Earlier, the forms could be sent only through  banks and brokers. The regulator had also made use of Application Supported by Blocked Amount (Asba) compulsory for all  categories of investors. In this, an IPO applicant's account do...

Only 100,000 dealers opt for composition scheme, which provides flat rates, smooth compliance A scheme under the goods and services tax (GST) that provides easy compliance and a flat rate to small businesses has had a muted response so far. The new indirect tax regime was rolled out on July 1. Till now, of the 8 million registrations on the GST Network (GSTN), only 100,000 or 1.25 per cent have opted for  the composition scheme. The deadline for choosing this scheme is Friday. This is likely to be extended. Entities with an annual turnover of up to Rs 75 lakh are eligible to apply for the scheme, under which they are allowed to pay tax at the rates of 1 per cent (traders),  2 per cent (manufacturers), or 5 per cent (restaurateurs). “The number (of registrations under the scheme) is quite small. I hope the deadline is extended, as more people would want to opt for it,” said Navin Kumar, chairman,  GSTN. The next opportunity to register for the scheme, if th...

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has clarified that no income tax would be with held on payments  made to assessees with respect to the goods and services tax (GST) component on services rendered. It said tax would be required to be with held only on the amount paid without including the GST on  services component. For this purpose, terms of agreement between the payer and the payee would be taken into account. Under the old service tax regime as well, the CBDT had clarified that not a was required to be with held  on such service tax component. Various representations were made to the CBDT seeking clarifications whether the same kind of rule would  continue under the GST as well. Consultants PwC said the clarification will have a positive impacton reducing the prevailing ambiguity  in the industry. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 21st July 2017