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The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the government to inform people that Aadhaar was not mandatory, but allowed its use in distribution of LPG, kerosene and PDS subsidy schemes for now, a move that may in effect deny these benefits to those who do not have a unique identification number. In an interim order, a three-judge Supreme Court bench on Tuesday partially allowed the government to use Aadhaar cards to weed out the unde serving and plug leakages in PDS subsidy schemes, rolling back a 2013 order that completely banned use of Aadhaar in dispensing social security benefits of any kind. The court, however, restrained the government from either sharing the personal information and biometrics collected under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) with any other entity or using it for any other purpose. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi gave assurance to this effect. The interim order, issued by Justices Jasti Chelameswar, SA Bobde and C Nagappan, also said it would...

No Plan B to defer its introduction yet The finance ministry still hopes to implement goods and services tax (GST) from April 1, 2016 even if the constitution amendment Bill is not passed by the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session, which is slated to end on Thursday. However, independent experts are not as sure. Sources in the finance ministry said there would be tremendous pressure on the ministry if the Bill is not cleared by the Rajya Sabha in the ongoing session, but it is not impossible to meet the deadline of introducing GST. “A window to pass the constitution amendment and GST Bills between December and March would be narrower. It would be difficult, but it is not impossible to clear them,” a key official said. Meanwhile, Empowered committeeofstate finance ministers Chairman K M Mani said implementation of GST from April 1, 2016 would be very difficult if the Bill is not cleared by Parliament in the current session, butallthoseconcernedwill trytoovercome themandintroduc...

1.  The income tax department has notified tax return forms for non-salaried class, including companies, partners in firms and individuals deriving their income from proprietary business or profession. 2.  CIT can revise order u/s 147 by invoking provision of section 263 on the issue of share at premium. [ITAT Kolkata: Subhalakshmi Vanijya Pvt. Ltd. vs. CIT]. 3.  Directorate General of Service Tax. (DGST) will henceforth be re-named as Directorate General of Goods and Service Tax (DGGST) w.e.f. 01.08.2015. And its headquarter be shifted from Mumbai to Delhi. 4.  DG- RBI has urged banks to be sensitive towards the lifecycle needs of their MSME clients and develop products that are suitable to their requirements for working capital and for capital expenditure purposes. 5.  DVAT authorities have released a list of existing dealers whose PAN is not verified through NSDL. 6.  NIRC of ICAI is organising sub regional conference of H.P. state on 14.08. 2...

1.  Ministry of Finance increased Transport Allowance for Central Government employees w.e.f 1st April, 2015 [Notification No. 21(2)/2008-E.II (B)]. 2.  Supreme Court bench has stayed the Bombay High Court’s dismissal of a challenge to the levy of service tax on lawyers. The Court also stayed the Bombay High Court order dated December 15, 2014. 3.  The date of filing of DVAT return for the quarter ended 30-06-2015 has been extended upto 17-08-2015 vide circular no. 18. 4.  RBI has decided to increase exposure ceiling limits in respect of single borrower from 25% to 50% of latest audited Net Owned Funds (NOF) and in respect of group borrower from 40% to 65% of NOF only for investments in AAA rated corporate bonds. 5.  Government has recently modified the FEMA Rules, 2000 and Liberalized Remittance Scheme for resident individuals that CA Certificate not required for certain remittances. 6.  Government extends E-Tourist visa scheme to 36 more countr...

Urging the bamks to boost lending to small businesses, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on friday said the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) segment was a safer bet than large companies. RBI also said it has received seven applications for setting up the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)and has started the due diligence process. HT Mint, New Delhi, 10th August 2015

The environment ministry has proposed standards to regulate at least 22 sectors over the past few months The Union environment ministry has proposed new pollution monitoring standards for industries in at least 22 sectors over the past few months in an attempt to regulate these sectors better. Some of these standards have been put online for suggestions and comments from various stakeholders. “These would be finalized and notified within the next two to three months. These proposed standards will immensely strengthen the ministry’s overall regulation of the polluting industries,” said a senior environment ministry official, who did not want to be identified. The 22 sectors include industries such as paint, fertilizers, cement and co-processing, pulp and paper, sugar, thermal power plants, textiles, slaughterhouses, brick kilns, coffee, common effluent treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, fermentation (distilleries, maltries and breweries) and diesel generator sets. In...

CRYING FOUL Lawyers & CAs representing HSBC account holders say I-T dept is filing criminal cases against them in haste, even when their appeals are pending before CIT With the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money breathing down their necks and tax authorities seemingly eager in filing prosecution proceedings, beleaguered foreign bank account holders are now making a beeline for tax tribunals, settlement commission and high courts, to either seek a stay on prosecution proceedings or to make voluntary disclosures. Lawyers and chartered accountants representing account holders say that tax authorities are displaying unseemly haste in filing criminal cases for concealment of income, even when appeals are pending before adjudicatory forums. KK Modi's name allegedly figured in the HSBC list. Modi, who is chairman of Modi Group, has moved the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), seeking a stay on prosecution proceedings, initiated against him. Modi has denied kn...

Accountants to raise concerns with finmin & CBDT as taxpayers await clarity on law New Delhi is slowly coming under pressure to remove the anomalies in black money rules as more and more people ask for a realistic law that would encourage disclosure of foreign assets and not unleash a reign of tax terror. Members of the apex body of accounting professionals, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, will discuss with senior officials of the finance ministry and Central Board of Direct Taxes this week to spell out the ambiguities; senior tax professionals have written to the designated commissioner, pointing out issues that require clarification, while the Confederation of Indian Industry is preparing its views that will be soon submitted to the government. “There are practical problems...We have requested the revenue secretary and CBDT chief to participate in a workshop in Delhi where the issues will be raised.After this, we will make a written submission and also ...

After the income- tax ( I- T) department shifted the onus of paying 14 per cent service tax on asset management companies ( AMCs), many are feeling short- changed. While the I- T department has said AMCs are taking a service from distributors for raising money and hence should bear the burden, many fund houses feel it is the investor who is taking distributors’ service to invest and should pay the tax. “Since the investor has the option of using direct plans but is using distributor’s service to invest in mutual funds, they should bear the cost,” said the chief executive officer of a fund house. This topic is expected to be hotly debated in Association of Mutual Funds of India’s next meeting this Thursday. Business Standard, New Delhi, 10th August 2015

As it continues its fight against suspected illicit funds being routed through stock markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has initiated an internal study of suggestions made by the Supreme Court appointed special investigation team on black money and the matter would be discussed by the regulator's board later this month. In a separate development, the markets regulators has asked clearing corporations to provide elaborate monthly reports with details on settlements, actions taken against trading members as well as information about corporate governance aspects of the corporations themselves. HT Mint, New Delhi, 10th August 2015

What was the need for the amendment? This is the third major amendment in recent times to the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, prompted by dishonour of cheques in lakhs, shaking the credibility of the instrument, confidence of business community and choking courts. The 1988 amendment introduced penalty for issuing cheques which get dishonoured for want of fund in the bank. Since that provision, Section 138, was found insufficient to deal with the menace, the penalty was increased from one to two years imprisonment after a summary trial. Even this has not resolved the problem and at present 1.8 million criminal cases are before magistrates’ courts and appellate courts. One of the devices employed by dishonest drawers is to challenge the jurisdiction of the courts, stalling the proceedings. This was tried to be resolved by the Supreme Court in its 2009 judgment in Dashrath Rupsingh case. What does the present amendment do? The amendment adopts the basic principles laid down by th...