CA Online

The income taxpayer base moved up substantially to 62.6 million at the end of the last financial year, from nearly 40 million earlier, the Central Board of Direct  Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra said on Monday. Clearing the air on disclosure of bank account details of nonresident Indians (NRIs), expats, as well as foreigners with investments in private equity in India,  Chandra also said such accounts need to be disclosed only whenarefund is due to the assessee. The chairman of the CBDT said after demonetisation the department has takenahost of measures to increase tax base and the statement of financial transaction (SFT)  report filed by banks shows widening of taxpayer base. “As on date, we have got 62.6 million assessees. These assessees who have filed returns, paid advance tax or tax has been deducted at source. This is a large jump from earlier years,” he said, speaking at the Income Tax Day celebrations here. The challenge before the taxmen now remains how to

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has notified stricter participatory notes (P-notes)  norms stipulating a fee of $ 1,000 that will belevie done each instrument to check any misuse for  channelising black money. The new measures, which follow as lew of other steps taken by Sebi in the recent past, come at a time  when the value of foreign investments through P- notes or off shore derivative instruments (ODIs) has  surged to a seven month high of about Rs 1.81 lakh crore at May end. While such investments used to  account for more than half of the overall oreign portfolio investments at one point, their share has  now fallen to just a little over 6 percent. Still, concerns remain that P-notes are misused by some to channelise black money from abroad in to the  country through the stock markets. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 25th July 2017

The non-resident Indians will not have to give details of their bank accounts held outside the country  while filing their income tax returns, if they are not seeking refunds, the CBDT said today. "It (providing details of foreign bank accounts) is not mandatory. It is optional. It is for cases  where refund is sought," CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra told reporters on the sidelines of an event to  celebrate the 157th Income Tax day here. The department's top boss said this when asked to clarify if it was mandatory for Non-Resident Indians  (NRIs) to provide the details of their foreign bank accounts in certain return forms like the ITR-2. That column in the income tax returns (ITRs), Chandra said, is to be filed in "only one condition, that  is, if they (NRIs) are seeking a refund." The Central Board of Direct Taxes (policy-making body for the I-T Department) had brought out new ITRs  on March 31 this year and a newly introduced column in the ITR-2 see

Stating that linking of Aadhaar with PAN was an effective anti-evasion measure, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday that "non-compliance" were being defended  in "the name of privacy". Addressing tax officials to mark the Income Tax Day, the FM said a series of steps taken by the government were intended to expand the tax base, make processes more  reasonable, make rates more reasonable, and enrich and empower the country. "You take some effective anti-evasion measures like linking of PAN with Aadhaar to avoid multiple PAN cards or to keep a watch on the nature of expenditure that the  expenditure is compliant with the declared income of an assessee, you will find noncompliances being defended these days in the name of privacy," Jaitley said. "Now this is where we have to get out of, and the debate in favour of compliances has to be a debate based on creating a more ethical and a more complaint India." FM  said net impact of de

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is looking to align the remuneration paid to directors  and key management personnel at stock exchanges in line with provisions of the Companies Act, said two  people with direct knowledge of the matter. This is part of the comprehensive review of governance and  ownership norms at stock exchanges and clearing corporations which the regulator had embarked on in  February. The review will focus on increasing the governance, accountability and transparency at these market  infrastructure institutions, said these people on condition on anonymity. On February 11, the Sebi board  had decided to do this review in the wakeof exchanges getting listed and observing certain governance  lapses. Sebi had invited comments from the market to finalise a list of proposed norms. “A discussion paper is being prepared,” said the first person cited earlier. “The regulator is also  looking to increase transparency in the appointment of Public Intere

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said demonetisation and GST will make cash transactions  a lot more difficult and lead to greater compliance as well as expansion of tax base. Mr Jaitley said the government has come out with laws to contain overseas black money as well as those  dealing with domestic black money and cracking down on shell companies. The minister said the country had reconciled to a Indian normal — a very large number of tax non- compliance and very large amount of transaction which took place outside the system. “There was almost a helplessness in trying to deal with the situation. Every year through the Finance  Bill we would announce some changes which at best had a marginal impact. I think the lasting impact of  those marginal changes was not very significant. And therefore, steps had to be taken in order to make a  very significant impact,” he said. “Net impact of the demonetisation coupled with the GST exercise, which is going to make ge

The proposed anti-profiteering authority under the new goods and services tax (GST) regime will take up  for scrutiny only those cases that have mass impact and those where undue profit of more than Rs1 crore  has been earned, a senior government official said. A five member National Anti-Profiteering Authority, headed by a secretary-level officer, will be set up  soon to keep a tab on businesses that have not passed on to consumers the benefit of lower tax rates  under the GST regime. The Mint, New Delhi, 24th July 2017