CA Online

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) have received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to launch electronic book mechanism for issuance of debt securities on a private placement basis. The mechanism will increase efficiency, transparency of the price-discovery mechanism and improve liquidity in the secondary market. It will come into effect from July 1, 2016. Hindustan Times New Delhi, 22th July 2016

Firms like DLA Piper, Baker & McKenzie keen on mapping local corp legal professionals As the Indian executive debates and formulates laws to allow foreign lawyers to practice here, big foreign law firms are scoping the market for talent and acquisition targets. Global recruitment firms that have so far remained fringe players in the area are beefing up their legal practices as firms like DLA Piper, Baker & McKenzie, Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Jones Day and Gibson Dunn show interest in mapping Indian corporate legal professionals. Foreign law firms at the moment are keen on identifying talent in niche areas synergistic to their existing clients with Indian presence or little law firms with low cost structures and small presence in major cities, said recruitment experts contracted by foreign firms almost on a quarterly basis for updated reports on Indian lawyers. “Foreign law firms seem to be looking at lean operations and would not be looking to compete for domestic ...

Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) has issued a consultation paper proposing changes to regulations regarding portfolio managers to enable fund managers to handle foreign money from Indian shores. The amendments were approved by Sebi’s board at a meeting held on June 17. Within the consultation paper, Sebi has proposed to insert offshore fund managers (OFMs) or eligible fund managers ( EFMs) as a new chapter in the existing norms. The change may allow Sebi registered portfolio managers to act as offshore fund managers with prior intimation to Sebi. Eligible fund managers/ offshore fund manager acting on behalf of an eligible investment fund ( EIF) can register under the PMS regulation, subject to conditions. Sebi has said in the paper, issued on Tuesday, offshore fund manager will be required to have a minimum networth of Rs. 2 crore apart from appointment of a principal officer and a minimum of two employees with requisite qualificatio...

During the tax filing season, many of our investments in property or instruments get tax exemption, leading to considerable savings. In fact, many investors rush to make investments at the end of the financial year only to get these exemptions. However, simply buying a property or investing does not ensure exemption. Other guidelines need to be followed lest the Income Tax Department comes back with queries or even withdraws the exemptions. Here are a few examples that will help understand this: Property: If you purchase a property on a home loan, you can claim exemption on the principal up to Rs. 1.5 lakh and up to Rs. 2 lakh on the interest amount. However, if you sell the house within five years of buying, you will lose the exemption on the principal in the following year. There is no mechanism for tax authorities to know, as filing is self- declaration. But, since there is one per cent tax deduction at source for any transaction above Rs. 50 lakh, the information will go to t...

In stricter measures on tax defaulters, the department of revenue has decided to block their Permanent Account Number (PAN), cancel their cooking gas subsidy and ensure non- sanction of loans by banks, among others. The measures are contained in the income tax department’s Central Action Plan for 2016- 17, presented at the recent conference of tax officials. The department also aims at augmenting collection from tax deduction at source (TDS), by identifying focus areas such as large companies and the ecommerce segment. The department aims to collect Rs. 54,000 crore in taxes from arrears in 2016- 17. The paper also asked tax recovery officials to use the provisions of arrest and detention contained in the Income Tax Act against defaulters. However, the finance ministry on Tuesday issued a clarification that no such statement had been authorised by the I- T department. “ Though the provisions for arrest and detention in respect of defaulters are contained in the Act, these are u...

www.caonline.in News... 1. NIRC of ICAI is organizing a workshop on TDS on 22 June at 5PM at Hindi Bhawan, ITO, Rouz Avenue, Delhi and Workshop on VAT on 23 June at 5PM at ICAI Bhawan, Vishwas Nagar, Delhi. For Register and Pay at www.nircseminars.org 2. Offshore supply of equipments not taxable in India. [M/S Nortel Networks India International Inc. vs. DIT]. 3. Interest U/s. 244A on excess self assessment tax payment cannot be denied. [CIT vs. Birla Corporation Limited]. 4. SEBI invites applications from CA firms, for empanelment to take up assignments relating to forensic audit of SEBI registered RTA/STA. 5. CBDT clarifies that the higher turnover threshold of Rs. 2 crores for non-audit of accounts is granted only to assesses, opting for presumptive taxation scheme u/s 44AD. 6. Today (21.06.16) is last day for e-payment of DVAT and CST for the month of May, 2016.

Small businesses with a total turnover of up to Rs. 2 crore will not be required to get their accounts audited, if they opt for presumptive taxation scheme, the finance ministry said on Monday. “The higher threshold (up to Rs.2 crore) for non-audit of accounts has been given only to assessees opting for presumptive taxation scheme under section 44AD,” the ministry said. Hindustan Times New Delhi,21st June 2016

The government has kept interest rates unchanged for various small savings schemes for the July-October quarter of 2016-17. The finance ministry said in a statement on Monday that interest rate on one-year deposits for July-October quarter of the current fiscal has been kept unchanged at 7.1%. Similiarly, interest rate on two-year time deposit, three-year time deposit and five-year time deposit were kept at 7.2%, 7.4% and 7.9%, respectively. Likewise, interest rate on Public Provident Fund scheme, Kisan Vikas Patra scheme and Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme were kept at 8.1%, 7.8% and 8.6%, respectively. Hindustan Times New Delhi, 21st June 2016

Readies amendments for Cabinet approval after last week's meeting of top officials of PMO as well as the ministry The labour ministry has lined up amendments to at least four key laws for the Cabinet's approval in a renewed push to labour reforms by the BJP-led NDA government after the revised foreign direct investment norms unveiled on Monday. This comes after a meeting between the officials of the ministry and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) last week. “PMO has asked labour ministry to send the key legislations for consideration,“ a senior government official told ET, requesting not to be identified. The idea is to line up enough legislations for Parliament's approval in the upcoming monsoon session, he said. The first of several legislations that could soon get a go-ahead by the Union cabinet is the Shop & Es tablishment Act, which will pave the way for retailers to remain open round the clock. The idea was backed by finance minister Arun Jaitley ...

It is the annual general meeting ( AGM) season. The annual ritual of conducting the shareholder meetings, complete with tea, coffee, samosas and some incidental work such as passing of resolutions, begins somewhere in June and goes on till September. An integral part of the season is the annual report, prepared in great detail and released to the shareholders. It would contain audited annual accounts and the balance sheet, it had details about remuneration of key managers and even details of sexual harassment cases reported. Till now, it even contained the notice and agenda of the AGM. The old listing regulations required that the AGM notice be posted on the stock exchanges 21 days in advance. Thus, the annual report became available in the public domain well before the AGM. Shareholders and other stakeholders had enough time to study the report and prepare themselves to face the management and ask relevant questions at the AGM. Though at many AGMs this process is reduced to ...

The National Democratic Alliance ( NDA) government on Monday morning swung into action to liberalise foreign investment rules in nine sectors — aviation, pharmaceutical, defence, food trading, retail and television broadcasting, animal husbandry, broadcasting carriage services and private security agencies, branding it as a gateway for job creation and Make in India. The announcement came two days after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan’s announced his decision not to seek a second term. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met select Union ministers and secretaries soon after 10 am to discuss relaxation of foreign direct investment ( FDI) caps. The way for Cupertino- based Apple Inc to open stores in India has also been cleared, to some extent. Sources in the government indicated that liberalisation of FDI norms was on the cards but the high- level meeting was advanced by a few days to allay investors’ sentiments following the news on Rajan’s exit. Soon after the m...