India shifting from Production to Consumption TaxIndia is shifting from tax on production to a sort of consumption tax and consolidating all indirect taxes under the banner of the new goods and services tax (GST). Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was quick to announce to go by the report, declaring that he would use it in the upcoming union budget in February for effecting fiscal discipline. |
ICAI Central Council Team 2010 – 2012With most professionals in holiday mood there was a lot happening last week at ICAI institute, with ICAI Elections ’09. Over last week we had both Central & Regional Team Elected for all 5 zones, i.e. WIRC, NIRC, SIRC, EIRC & CIRC for term 2010 – 2012 Region-wise Candidates Elected List for ’10 – ’12 with their designated location to the Twenty First Council and Twentieth Regional Councils is as follow: With Delhi temperature below 10 degree, this week we will see heat soaring up in… |
Property in Maharashtra just got More ExpensiveThe ready reckoner is a guide for the market price of residential and commercial properties, based on which stamp duty and registration fee for their sale and purchase are calculated. Property in Maharashtra just got more expensive. The state government today increased the market value of real estate by 10-20 per cent in its Ready Reckoner 2010. |
Remuneration payable Auditors of Public Sector BanksRemuneration payable to the Statutory Central and Branch Auditors of Public Sector Banks from the year 2006-07 The matter regarding assignment of the tax audit work to one of the SCAs and fee payable to SCA so selected was reviewed and it has been decided that PSBs may appoint at the Head office level also any chartered accountant firm as their tax auditor at a reasonable fee with the approval of their Board /ACB. |
Under “Block of Assets” even a Closed Unit is Eligible for DepreciationThe assessee had two divisions, one at Dombivili and the other at Surat. The division at Surat was closed since two/three years. The assessee claimed depreciation on the assets of the said Surat division which was rejected by the AO and the CIT (A) on the ground that the assets were not “used” and depreciation could not be allowed. On appeal by the assessee, HELD allowing the appeal. |
Your Income Tax Refund StatusYou can now any time check your Income Tax Refund Status on-line by entering your Permanent Account Number and Assessment Year for which status of refund is to be tracked. Just follow these simple steps…… |
Netas’ I-T Returns to be matched with their Poll AffidavitsThe finance ministry has quietly initiated the process of opening up the income tax files of politicians belonging to all parties and tallying their income statements with the affidavits filed by them with the Election Commission during the 2009 parliamentary polls. Verification of the assets declared by the Lok Sabha candidates, many of whom have now become MPs and even ministers, will help the department to assess if they had paid appropriate taxes as declared in … |
RBI policy may Determines Bank rates: KotakLending rates might move upward in the months ahead as credit growth picks up, but banks may take a cue from the RBI policy before effecting any change in their rate-structure said a top banker. “It (interest rate movements) will depend on the RBI policy. In my view, bank credit will pick up in the months ahead…rates may move upward,” Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Uday Kotak told reporters here. |
Two Major Tax Reforms to Reduce Transaction Costs for ExportersTwo major tax reforms due by next year promise to reduce transaction costs for exporters significantly. A simpler income-tax regime will put more money in the hands of businesses, which can invest these as they consider best. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will reduce complications and lower the compliance costs. Together, they will help Indian businesses get more competitive. |
Inviting Suggestions relating to Tax issues arising from IFRSThe Central Board of Direct taxes and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India have jointly constituted a study group to identify direct tax issues arising from convergence of Indian Accounting Standards [IAS] with the International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRS]. The 1st meeting of the aforesaid Study Group was held on 6th January, 2010 in the head office of the Institute at New Delhi. |
Govt to Check ROC data for Key Policy DecisionsThe government will sift through the financial data filed by companies with the Registrar of Companies to get a better picture of their investments and expenditure, helping it get better inputs for key policy decisions such as tax incentives. The initiative is driven by the ministry of corporate affairs. The RoC has financial data of nearly 10 lakh companies stored in its database management system, MCA-21. |
Declaration of ICAI poll results stayedPrakash Sharma, a contestant from Jaipur, had approached the court against an order on postal ballots by T. Karthikeyan, secretary, ICAI Sangeeta Singh The Rajasthan high court has stayed the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) from declaring the results of the election to its apex council held on 4-5 December. The results were to be declared on 6th of January’10 |
Govt is planning a Reduction in No. of Personal Income Tax RatesIn the run-up to Budget 2010-11, the Finance Ministry is mulling a reduction in the number of personal income tax rates from the current three to two. At present, there are three rates – 10, 20 and 30 per cent – and these are applied on slabs that are specified from year to year as part of the Budget. |
Final & CPT Results to be declared on 17th Jan ‘10The results of the Chartered Accountants Final and Final (New Course) Examinations held in November, 2009 and Common Proficiency Test (CPT) held in December, 2009 are likely to be declared on Sunday, the 17th January, 2010 around 2:00 PM and the same as well as the merit list (candidates securing a minimum of 55% and above marks and upto the maximum of 50th Rank in the case of Final Examination and candidates securing a minimum of 60% ) on all India basis will be available on the following… |
Non submission of Form 112In has decided that delay in submission of Form 112 for having done additional / other course alongwith articleship through correspondence mode of study/private student be condoned by taking a liberal view of the lapse on the part of the students concerned and membership be granted, as an amnesty measure for all such requests already received or to be received upto 31st March 2010. |
Compulsory Internal Audits for Credit Rating Agencies: SEBIThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) made it compulsory for credit rating agencies (CRAs) to have internal audits. The internal audit to be conducted on a half-yearly basis by chartered accountants, company secretaries or cost accountants, and will cover all aspects of CRA operations and procedures, including investor grievance redressal mechanism, the regulator said in its circular. |
RBI asks Banks to Disclose Fees Earned through Policies SalesRBI has asked banks to disclose the kind of fees and commissions they have earned through sales of life insurance policies to their account holders. RBI’s directive may come up with major revelation in terms of commission earned by domestic private banks and foreign banks such ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, HSBC, Citibank and Stanchart. |
GST rollout date likely to be announced todayThe Centre and the States are likely to firm up on Friday a fresh date for rollout of dual goods and services tax (GST) in the country. The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, had already dropped strong hints that the GST may not be introduced from the earlier specified date of April 1. |
GST Finalised & Plans to Introduce in Budget SessionThe Government may introduce a legislation in the budget session of Parliament to make necessary constitutional amendments and facilitate the launch of the goods and services tax (GST) although the rollout of this comprehensive indirect tax reform from the scheduled date of April 1, 2010, seems unlikely. “The legislation has been finalised and the attempt is to introduce it in the budget session,” told a government official. |
RBI Reference Rate for US $ and Euro – 8th January 2010The Reserve Bank of India’s Reference Rate on January 8, 2010 for the US Dollar is Rs. 45.80 for Euro is Rs. 65.56 The corresponding rates for the previous day (January 7, 2010) were Rs. 45.87 and Rs. 65.94 respectively. |
Indexed cost of gifted assets has to be determined with reference to previous ownerExplanation (iii) to s. 48 defines the term “indexed cost of acquisition” to mean the amount which bears to the cost of acquisition the same proportion as the …. Cost Inflation Index for the first year in which the asset was held by the assessee …”. Expl. (iii) to s. 48 has to be read to mean that the indexed cost of acquisition has to be computed by taking into account the period for which the asset was held by the previous owner. |
RBI Notification on Disclosure in Balance Sheet – Bancassurance BusinessAs a further step in enhancing transparency, it has been decided that banks should disclose in the ‘Notes to Accounts’, from the year ending March 31, 2010, the details of fees/remuneration received in respect of the bancassurance business undertaken by them. |
