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Update of Cenvat credit to allow manufacturers to transfer tax credit to an outsourced unit stuck due to definition issue An ambiguity in drafting has prevented companies that rely on outsourcing from getting the benefit of a key change announced in this year's budget. This was aimed at providing credit for taxes paid even if work was outsourced. The government did not carry out complementary changes to the definition of `input service', which has led to some being denied the advantage of the provision, a precursor to the goods and services tax regime. A number of pharmaceutical companies, soft drink makers, fastmoving consumer goods compani es and garment makers outsource all their work to workers or contract manufacturers. The budget proposal was seen as a big impetus to contract manufacturing. In the budget, the government proposed an amendment in the Cenvat (central value added tax) credit provisions to allow manufacturers or service providers to transfer tax credit

NO LEGAL IMMUNITY Ac holders need to prove innocence by allowing their banks to share info with taxmen Even NRIs with offshore bank accounts cannot keep the taxman at bay by obtaining quick relief from the court of law. In order to prove their innocence, such persons will have to instruct the overseas banks to share information on the accounts with the Indian tax office. And, only after the details released by the bank show that the money lying in the account does not belong to the person who has been pulled up (for hiding offshore assets), can he escape the glare of tax officials. The Bombay High Court recently dismissed the writ petition filed by an NRI -an alleged beneficiary of a trust linked to an account with HSBC Geneva -after she refused to sign the “consent waiver“ form to let HSBC share the information on the account. Governed by rules and conventions of banking secrecy, banks in Switzerland and tax havens divulge information only after account holders gives their c

To ensure gender-diversity in boardrooms, two years ago the market regulator asked all listed firms to have at least one woman director on their boards from April 1, 2015 Some of India's largest public sector units, including Oil & Natural Gas Corp, GAIL (India) Ltd, Indian Oil Corp and MMTC, are among the companies that have failed to meet the requirement of at least one woman director on their boards, more than a year after the rule came into force. About half of the 56 NSE-listed companies that have yet to meet the rule are state-owned enterprises, according to PRIME Database, a data provider on capital markets. The deadline to meet the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) rule was March 31, 2015. “Though a bulk of the companies has met the criterion, there are some for whom it does not seem to be on top of their agenda,“ said Pranav Haldea, managing director of PRIME Database. It is an embarrassment to the government as PSUs do not see it as a priority, s

Public sector banks, saddled with rising non-performing assets (NPAs) — loans that do not fetch returns — are likely to frame stringent rules, allowing lenders to take action against service providers such as chartered accountants and advocates if required. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has asked banks to come up with appropriate guidelines, saying bank officials should not be solely held responsible for the rise in NPAs, which went up by Rs.94,666 crore in the April-December period of 2015-16. “At present, bank officials are taking the entire responsibility (of the issue of NPA) but this is a narrow way of dealing with the problem and the role of CAs and lawyers must be scrutinised. A framework needs to be designed so that they are accountable too,” an official source said. Two out of 10 loan applications are being rejected due to the NPA pressure, even as finance minister Arun Jaitley has asked banks not to adopt an over-cautious approach, sources said. The CVC has

www.caonline.in News... 1.Simultaneous penalty on firm & partners restricted to abatment. [ Amritlakshmi Machine Works vs. The Commissioner of Customs (Import) (Bombay HC). 2.Directorate of Education, Government of Delhi invites application from CAG empanelled CA firms based in delhi for special inspection and verification of private schools. Kindly apply online through recruitment link of edudel.nic.in. last date 21.04.2016. 3.Members / Firms are required to update PAN details to ICAI, otherwise they would not be able to upload tax audit reports & MCA forms online. The photocopy of PAN card self attached along with request letter has to be sent at vishwas nagar NRO Office of ICAI. 4.Government issued public notice on abandonment of Trade Mark applications. 5.Reopening to disallow deduction allowed during scrutiny assessment not permissible. [ Ann Kumar vs. DCIT (Delhi ITAT)]. For more News Like us on https://www.facebook.com/caonlineofficial Or Subscribe on mail visit

India and the US have agreed to enhance cooperation on tackling offshore tax evasion through information sharing and joint audits, while intensifying efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley , on the second day of his seven-day visit to US, met US Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew for the Sixth Annual US-India Economic and Financial Partnership (EFP) here on Thursday and agreed to a dialogue by competent authorities on the two sides to raise engagement on tackling tax evasion. The US also extended support to National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in a bid to help India raise resources and fund infrastructure growth, said a Joint statement after the meeting. “We are committed to continued collaboration and sharing of experience in tackling offshore tax evasion and avoidance, including joint tax audits & tax examination abro ad. We look forward to the Competent Authorities of the two countries engaging in bilateral dialogue to

The government is planning to issue the fourth tranche of sovereign gold bonds around Akshaya Tritiya, according to sources in the know. Akshaya Tritiya, which falls on May 9 this year, is an important day for the bullion market as people consider buying gold on that day as auspicious. In the past two years, gold demand on this day stood at 25-30 tonnes. In 2013, around 50 tonnes of gold was estimated to have been sold on Akshay Tritiya. The government has issued three tranche of sovereign gold bonds so far, with a total subscription of around 5,000 kg. Of this, the second tranche accounted for around 60 per cent. The third tranche evoked very poor response because it was issued in March last year when investors were more focused on investing in tax-saving products and gold price was also at Rs 2,900 a gram for bonds, which was considered quite high. Prices are around that level now, but with Akshaya Tritiya round the corner, gold prices are likely to moderate. Already, price