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Composition scheme picks up pace after deadline leeway About 1 mn traders opt for window under GST regime About a million taxpayers have opted for a scheme that will benefit small businesses in the goods and services tax (GST) regime by allowing easier compliance and a flat rate of tax.  After a muted response initially, interest in the composition scheme has increased. As of August 16, the last date to apply for the scheme, 938,165 entities had  registered, against about 100,000 as of July 21, the earlier deadline. In other words, about 11 per cent of GST taxpayers have opted for the composition scheme.  Those with an annual turnover of up to Rs 75 lakh are eligible to apply for the scheme, which allows them to pay one per cent tax if they are traders, two per cent if they are manufacturers and five per cent if they are in the restaurant business. “Response picked up after we extended the deadline as it gave time for businesses to plan better and take a decision,” said a g

Govt all set to hike GST cess on luxury cars, via ordinance The ordinance will allow the government to hike GST cess on luxury cars and SUVs to restore tax revenue from the auto industry The government is set to promulgate an ordinance within weeks, allowing an increase in goods and services tax (GST) cess on luxury cars and SUVs, as it seeks to restore tax revenue from the automobile industry that unintentionally got affected in the transition to the new indirect tax regime. A person aware of the discussions in the finance ministry said on condition of anonymity that a cabinet note is being moved proposing changes to the schedule of cess levied under the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017, to correct the reduction in tax burden on cars due to GST rollout. The GST Council, however, has taken the view that tax rate revisions during the transition to the new indirect tax system that kicked in from 1 July will be limited only to correcting unintentional effects of the tax ra

Income tax scrutiny to remain limited despite ITR filings surge Enforcement action by the income tax department will be reserved for cases where specific tip-offs regarding large-scale tax evasions have been received   The income tax department will maintain the number of income tax returns (ITRs) chosen for scrutiny at the current level of less than 1% of all returns, in spite of a surge in individual tax filings to keep the process non-intrusive and taxpayer-friendly.   Gentle persuasion through text messages, emails and advertisements will remain the department’s main ways of interacting with taxpayers, while enforcement action will be reserved for cases where specific tip-offs regarding large-scale evasions have been received.   Out of the 52.8 million income-tax returns filed for the 2015-16 fiscal year, only about 300,000 cases, or around 0.6%, were scrutinized, a person privy to the deliberations within the tax department said on condition of anonymity.   “Ev

Haryana Tax Dept Turns Lens on Shell Cos Experts warn that intrusive methods of GST verification may hurt smaller cos Haryana excise and taxation department has asked its officers to find out whether premises companies from the state have mentioned in goods and services tax network  registration are authentic, a move that seems to be aimed at identifying shell companies. Experts, however, warn that this could create problems for several genuine companies, mainly smaller ones, and may even prompt them to deregister from the GST network. “Success of GST depends on smaller entities as their non-inclusion in the GST value chain will significantly impair the reform,“ said MS Mani, partner at Deloitte India. “Usage of intrusive methods for verification of their registration would, at this initial stage, impact their acceptance of the reform. It is expected that all tax authorities would go all out to encourage smaller businesses to embrace GST without any concerns of a heavy handed

Sebi Takes Stock of Aadhaar Linkage Seeks feedback from exchanges on brokers' preparedness to get clients' IDs by December 31 The Securities and Exchange Board of India has set the ball rolling for making Aadhaar compulsory for stock trading. The markets regulator has asked exchanges for their feedback on brokers' preparedness to get their clients to submit the biometric IDs before December 31. ET reported first on August 10 that Aadhaar would become mandatory for buying shares and mutual funds. The BSE, in a recent circular, asked brokers for their comments on the matter by August 23.It said existing clients will have to submit Aadhaar numbers to their brokers by December 31. New clients should do so within six months of opening demat account. “In case of failure to submit the documents within the aforesaid time limit, the account shall cease to be operational till the time Aadhaar number is submitted by the client,“ the circular said. The government and Sebi a

FM asks states to cut VAT on petro products Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has written to all Chief Ministers urging them to reduce  Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products used in the manufacture of goods as the current  system was leading to cascading of taxes on such goods under the Goods and Services Tax  (GST) regime. Currently, crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel are out of GST  purview. All other petroleum products fall under the new indirect tax. “The letter by Finance Minister highlights a concern being raised by the manufacturing  sector in the country regarding the rise in input costs of petroleum products happening on  account of transition to Goods and Services Tax regime,” the Finance Ministry said. “In the  post-GST scenario, manufactured goods attract GST while inputs of petroleum products used  in the manufacturing attract VAT and, therefore, it would lead to cascading of taxes.” “These products are a principal source of revenu

‘There’s No Inconsistency in Data on Taxpayers’ The Central Board of Direct Taxes has said number of individuals filing income tax returns  jumped to 2.79 crore this year from 2.23 crore, an increase of 56 lakh as stated by Prime  Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech. The apex direct taxes body said  there is no inconsistency in the data. The statement comes after doubts were raised in some quarters over the data given out by  government at different points in time. “It is clarified that there is no inconsistency in  the data provided by the government in the statements referred to above as these are in  different contexts and for different time periods,” a CBDT statement said on Friday. The  Prime Minister's speech (on August 15) referred to the increase in number of e-filed  Personal Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed from April 1, 2017 to August 5, 2017 over the ITRs  filed in corresponding period of earlier years. “The data maintained by the Income Tax  De