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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

1.  India and the US signed tax agreement under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on 09.07.2015 that will enable automatic exchange of financial information between the two nations about tax evaders from 30th September. 2.  Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Poonam Spark Limited held that the process of assembling various parts bringing into existence ‘Water Purification and Filtration System’ amounts to Manufacture. 3.  If the payment is for a variety of services and the use of land is minor, the payment cannot be treated as “rent” – Section 194-I of the Income Tax Act. [Japan Airlines Co. Ltd vs. CIT (Supreme Court of India)]. 4.  Exemptions under Service tax are optional unlike Section 5A of Central Excise Act. [Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka in case of CCE Vs. Federal Mogul TPR India Ltd.]. 5.  Punjab and Haryana High Court on 07.08.2015 dismissed the petitions of more than 150 firms operating in Punjab which had challenged amendment in the VAT (value-added

1.  Mutual organization can be treated as ‘Charitable’ within the meaning of section 2(15) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. [ DDIT vs. Association of Unified Telecom Providers of India, ITAT – Delhi ] 2.  Section 80IB (10) restriction on extent of commercial area not applies to projects approved before 01.04.2005. [Supreme Court CIT vs. Sarkar Builders] 3.  E-Governance in Haryana VAT w.e.f. 05.08.2015 [Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Haryana, vide memo. No. Secy/ACSET/2015/183, dated 04.08.2015] 4.  MCA establishes 'Serious Fraud Investigation Office' under Section 211 of the Companies Act, 2013. 5.  Registeration open for 3 CPE - A Talk on GST & Service Tax at FICCI Auditorium ,Delhi on 20th August from 6pm (followed by Dinner) Fee Rs.500 visit  http://www.nircseminars.org ,

Aims to clear products within a month; advisory panels constituted for promoting e- commerce The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) plans to make the approval process for online products simpler and faster. With a separate process for filing applications on these, it says it is trying to ensure they do not undergo the same rigorous process as offline products to get approved, and are approved within 30- 40 days. An insurance product first goes to the regulator, which approves the features and pricing, after which it can be brought to the market for sale. “Offline products take at least four to six months to be approved. The same process might not be viable for an online insurance market, where customers look for new products and riders on a regular basis. Hence, the portfolio requires to be updated every few months,” said the head of products in a mid- size life insurance company. For customers, too, the proposal form would get simpler, with few

The government appears resigned to the fact that it will not be able to push through labour reforms critical to generating millions of jobs in the remaining five days of the Parliament session. “I am hopeful of tabling the child labour bill only,” labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said. “I don’t think anything else is possible.” Several opposition parties led by the Congress stayed away from the Lok Sabha for the third day on Thursday after their demands that a central minister and two chief ministers resign ended in the suspension of 25 Congress members on 3 August. The logjam in Parliament has set back one of the top priorities of the government: reforming India’s archaic labour laws to create a better business environment that encourages hiring and improves employment prospects for about 12 million youngsters entering the job market every year. “Employment generation is a priority and our government believes in boosting job creation for country’s youth,” Dattatreya said,

1.  Today 07.08.2015 is last day for payment of TDS/TCS deducted/collected in the month of July. 2.  Penalty u/s 271(1)(C) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be levied merely because the claim of the assessee is found to be incorrect unless it is confirmed that the assessee had any mala fide intention. [CIT vs. Dalmia Dyechem Industries, High Court of Bombay]. 3.  Input credit not reversible in case of remission of duty on destroyed goods. [Joy Foam Pvt. Ltd. vs. CCE, Madras High Court] 4.  CLB allowed petition u/s 74(2) of Companies Act 2013 in CP No. 76/ 2015 in the case of Billcare Limited Pune granting deferment of payment of Public Deposit of Rs 168 Crores by 15 Month. 5.  Today is last extended date of filing of online / hard copy of first quarter return for the financial year 2015-16, in Form DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 along with required annexure / enclosures.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) on Wednesday asked listed companies and their promoters to make more disclosures about pledging of shares, including the purpose of the encumbrance, and also disclose name of the lender. So far, companies and their promoters were only disclosing the names of trustees holding the pledged shares, rather than making the disclosure about the real lender. Under the revised disclosure requirements, which Sebi said are aimed at helping investors take " an informed decision" about the state of affairs at the concerned company, the listed firm and its promoters would need to specifically disclose “ the purpose of collateral for loans taken by the company, personal borrowing, third party pledge, etc.” Business Standard, New Delhi,6th August 2015