CA Online

Advance Authority for Rulings in Demand to Clear Doubts on GST Fight for Forum Cos, associations approaching courts in absence of advance ruling mechanism A few senior tax officials and corporates have requested the government to start Advance Authority for Rulings as early as possible to clear doubts on goods and services tax (GST), as this will prevent companies and associations from approaching courts for clarity . Advance Authority for Rulings (AAR) is a forum companies customarily approach to get clarity on certain tax issues to determine their future liability. Absence of such an authority is leading to many companies and associations dragging the GST Council and government to court, say industry trackers. At the last count, about 10 writ petitions were filed, challenging some aspect of GST. About half a dozen more writs would be filed in the next fortnight alone. The trigger may have been some prominent companies, associations and multinational banks having either moved co...

Disqualified Directors Seek Reprieve from Ministry Disqualified directors have started knocking on the doors of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) seeking reprieve from the debarment ordered by the government last month, with several of them explaining to the government that they have been wrongly disqualified and that they were not associated with the struck-off companies. The government could consider coming up with some solution for the aggrieved directors since no recourse is currently available under the Companies Act 2013. While companies can approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), directors have no such option. “The directors have got disqualified by the operation of law. We had sent notices to the companies before we struck off their names. We are seeing what can be done now...discussions will start soon,“ a senior official told ET. Chartered accountants and company secretaries have also met government officials over the disqualification of directors. Many C...

Sebi breather on loan default disclosure Regulator is considering increasing the timeline for disclosing defaults to 30 days The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is looking to issue a more relaxed loan default disclosure framework. According to sources, the market regulator now plans to give up to a month’s time to companies for disclosing loan defaults and also make provision to explain the nature of the default. Under the previous proposal (according to a circular dated August 4) — the implementation of which has been deferred — Sebi had mandated companies to make public any loan default within 24 hours of missing the repayment obligation. Sources said Sebi is re-looking at some of the contentious issues in the proposed circular, which have been brought to its notice by market players, including industry bodies, banks and rating agencies. Under the revised directives, Sebi may increase the “delta D” or date of default to 30 days and may give some additional time to...

Centre to crack whip on firms not filing cost audits The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is planning to pull the plug on companies that do not file cost audits to ensure these businesses pay accurate corporation taxes and consumers know the pricing of products. A senior official said the ministry will examine companies across 10 sectors to identify companies that do not hire cost accountants and file reports. Textiles, machinery, insecticides, milk powder, glass, tea and coffee are some of the sectors that will be monitored. The move will ensure firms do not evade corporation tax, the official explained. Cost audit, which reflects efficiency of the company concerned, also provides the consumer an idea about the fair price of products. The official stated the plan is being thought of in the interest of investors as well. “Filing of cost audits will tell us if companies are fudging numbers, and will also tell investors what the company’s costing plan is,” the official added. At present...

GST anti-profiteering body: Govt to examine contours today The Union Cabinet is likely to approve setting up of an anti-profiteering authority under the goods and services tax (GST) regime on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed Cabinet may also approve creation of the post of chairman and four technical members of the authority on Wednesday, officials said. To keep a tab on businesses that have not passed on to consumers the benefit of lower tax rates under the GST regime, the GST Council had approved setting up of a five member National Anti-Profiteering Authority. The authority will have a sunset date of two years from the date on which the chairman assumes charge. The chairman and the four members of the authority have to be less than 62 years. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 04th October 2017

Tax dept to engage with corporates to spur receipts Amid slowing growth in advance tax collections, the income-tax department is exploring enhanced engagement with the top 100 companies to facilitate compliance. A committee set up under the direct tax department to review assessment and scrutiny has identified “taxpayer segmentation” to improve collections. “The idea is to provide differential treatment to big taxpayers as they make up for the bulk of the revenue collection. The tax department is, after all, a 30 per cent stakeholder in corporate sector earnings. Stepping up engagement with them will help the department and the companies,” said a government official. The idea is to have a dedicated tax officer who will act as a one-point contact, keeping a close watch on a company’s quarterly results or performance, facilitating advance tax filing and helping estimate earnings for advance tax computation. Advance tax collection up to September 15 slowed to 11 per cent as against 14...

The smoother and easier way of transferring EPF money The process of transfer of Employees Provident Fund money is not smooth and according to VP Joy, central provident fund commissioner, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the delay is primarily due to the multiple bank accounts held by regional provident offices. “The transfer can take months because the money in the employees account has to be transferred from the bank account held by a regional provident fund commissioner’s (RPFC’s) office of the previous employer to the bank account held by the RPFC of the new employer,” he said. To reduce the turn around time of such transfers, EPFO has decided to discontinue the practice of multiple bank accounts and keep just one. This is likely to get operational by the end of this week. “We have now abolished individual State Bank of India (SBI) receipt accounts and have only one bank account for the EPFO. The money is tagged to the employee’s UAN and as she changes jobs, only...

GST Council set to consider measures to help exporters In a move to support exporters recovering from a prolonged contraction, the goods and services tax (GST) Council headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley is set to consider new measures for a quick refund of taxes paid by them.Measures for the swift processing of refund claims, which will be taken up at a meeting of the council on Friday, will improve the liquidity of exporters. An official privy to the discussions in the council said on condition of anonymity that the indirect tax body will consider the report of a panel led by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia which examined ways to avoid blocking exporters’ funds. The panel set up by the council had sought exporters’ views in August. Exporters are likely to be allowed refunds without waiting for the invoice details of raw materials and other purchases, but based on the summary of all transactions and details of exports made. Exporters have made a series of demands includi...

Start-up launches slump to 800 in 2017 The number of new start-ups has now dropped steeply for two years in a row The number of new internet and technology start-ups launched in the first nine months of this year has slumped to 800 from more than 6,000 in all of last year, as start-up closures, the struggles of large internet companies such as Snapdeal and a slow-down in the growth of the e-commerce market took their toll on entrepreneurial activity. According to data from Tracxn, a start-up tracker, the number of new start-ups has now dropped steeply for two years in a row. Mint reported on 22 September that while some investors are again interested in backing new consumer internet start-ups, there is an acute shortage of such companies. The slump in new start-up formation is a worrying trend for the nascent Indian start-up ecosystem. It is a legacy of the go-go years of 2014 and 2015, when investors rushed to fund internet start-ups in the belief that the Indian internet ma...

Crucial year ahead for regulator It has been a hectic first year for the insolvency regulator, which hit the ground running. A year ago, when MS Sahoo went to work inasmall room in the building of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India, there were not many to assist him. The board itself comprised only nominee members.The first whole time member would join only five months later.But, Sahoo had tight deadlines. The government wanted the entire corporate insolvency framework to be ready by December 1.Sahoo recalls how active participation from stakeholders helped him beat that tight 60day deadline.“This becameareform by the stakeholders, of the stakeholders and for the stakeholders,” he said in an interview. Today, the board is better placed than in those early days.It has already moved to a more spacious office in the Connaught Place area. Three whole time members have joined —Suman Saxena, who looks after research and regulation, Navrang Saini (registration and monitoring) ...

Composition scheme takes aquantum leap Availing of the benefits of a flat tax rate and easier compliance, the number of businesses opting for the composition scheme under the goods and services tax has gone up by 50 per cent. About 540,000 taxpayers have opted for the scheme under the new window of about 14 days till September 30, compared to one million as of August 16, the earlier deadline. The scheme is for specific categories of small businesses with a turnover of Rs 75 lakh and below.Anyone availing of the scheme cannot claim input tax credit.Such a dealer cannot issue a tax invoice. Hence, someone buying from a composition dealer cannot claim input tax on the goods bought. The number of taxpayers under the composition scheme, at 1.5 million, is about a sixth of the 8.9 million assessees under the GST. Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat account for half of the composition dealers. UP has the highest number of such dealers at 291,552, followed by R...