CA Online

The hope of the goods and services tax ( GST) being implemented has revived with the model GST law being put out in the public domain for comments and the support of virtually every state for the GST in the last empowered committee meeting. The model GST law with 184 sections and four schedules is longer than each of the laws relating to indirect taxes that the GST seeks to subsume. But it is still incomplete. There is a mention of another schedule in the charging section, but this unnumbered schedule is yet to be made available. Some of the schedules also mention the list therein is only indicative, revealing the model GST law is still a work in progress. While many of the existing areas of dispute may continue, Isee potential for new avenues opening up for disputes between taxpayers and tax authorities. Let me illustrate: The GST seeks to tax supply of goods and services. The question of whether a supply will be supply of goods or of service will remain contentious if and so

Recently, courts have ignored agreements between developers and purchasers, and awarded compensation to the latter The buyer- builder relationship has always been in favour of the latter. From booking of property to possession, builders had an upper hand because of one- sided agreements. For example, before giving possession, developers make buyers sign a document that states flat owners have inspected everything and the house is delivered according to the agreed specifications. This leaves little scope for buyers to challenge discrepancies in the court. This seems to be changing. The judiciary has started going beyond the technicalities of the agreements and awarding compensation to buyers. “ Courts realise the buyer is made to sign such documents. In some cases judges have rejected one- sided agreements, these citing them as unfair trade practices,” says Hitesh Jain, senior partner at ALMT Legal. In a recent case, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ( NC

www.caonline.in News... 1. Deviation from stock valuation method prescribed in Section 145A cannot lead to addition if exclusive method followed [DCIT vs. M/s Stone India Limited (ITAT Kolkata)]. 2. Mobiisation / demobiisation charges cannot be treated as Royalty [Technip Singapore Pte Ltd. Vs. DIT & ANR (Delhi High Court)]. 3.Speedy disbursal of pending refund claims of exporters of services under rule 5 of CENVAT Credit Rule, 2004 [Circular No. 195/05/2016- Service Tax]. 4. Non Resident Indians (NRIs) can now join and subscribe to NPS online through eNPS [Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Finance 17-June-2016]. 5. Registration u/s 12AA cannot be denied on town Planning Activities continuing from earlier years [ITO vs. Moradabad Development Authority (ITAT Delhi)].

CBDT to broaden NMS for a more robust database Tax authorities will use 360 degree profiling and match the database of people filing returns with information about high value transactions to unearth concealed income. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has received one crore information through the Non-Filers Management System (NMS), more than 50 lakh tax payers were added and about Rs. 7,000 crore taxes were collected, CBDT Chairman Atulesh Jindal said. “We have a very robust nonfilers management system, under which we are matching the information which is being received from various sources,“ Jindal said . At the end of the two-day annual conference of tax administrators, Jindal said this year the CBDT has further expanded the areas on which information is being received. “Our emphasis will be to broaden this NMS so that we have more robust data base, on the basis of which we have more widening of tax base,“ he said, adding that the department would use non-intrusive method for

Apex direct taxes body exempts investments in startups from Section 56(2) of I-T Act The government has removed the so-called `angel tax' for investors providing funding to startups under its ambitious plan to boost entrepreneurship and job creation in the country . Funding to startups, notified under the government-approved plan announced by PM Narendra Modi in January , will not face tax even if it exceeds the face value. Resident angel investors, domestic family offices or domestic funds which were not registered as ven ture capital funds can now heave a sigh of relief and not worry about the invested amount getting taxed.Under existing rules, funds raised by an unlisted company through equity issuance are covered under this tax to the extent the amount is in excess of the fair market value. Such extra inflow is taxable as “income from other sources“ under Section 56(2) of the Income-Tax Act and charged the corporate tax rate, resulting in an effective tax of over 30%. T

The income tax (I-T) department has decided to hold extensive publicity campaigns on the Black Money Disclosure Scheme launched on June 1. Also, to widen the tax base and devise ways to check the issue of undisclosed money, it was decided at the two-day Rajasva Gyan Sangam, a retreat for the tax administrators that concluded on Friday. Tax departments will work to improve payer services, increasing the tax base, checking evasion, reducing litigation and digitising processes, said revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia. “We had an entire session on strategies to tackle the menace of black money in the system. The ideas or the strategy that emerged cannot be revealed,” he added. A website will be opened to monitor the efforts by officers to increase the popularity of the Income Declaration Scheme and the Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his inaugural address on Thursday had outlined a five-point charter for tax administrators — RAPID, which stands

A typical property dispute: After buying an old bungalow or asecond- hand property, the buyer ends up in court because aclose relative of the seller claims to be a partial owner. Property ownership disputes, especially among Hindu Undivided Families, are common. But, it is not restricted to HUFs. Many developers in the past faced problems because they sold one flat to several individuals. To provide relief to such buyers, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ( Irdai) has set up a committee to launch title insurance. Popular in the US and Europe, the policy protects an owner’s or lender’s financial interest in property against loss because of title defects and other matters. “ It defends against alawsuit contesting the title, or reimburses the policyholder for the monetary loss incurred, up to the amount of insurance provided by the policy,” says an official of a general insurance company. The official says this will be a product essentially for the retail ind