Income Tax
Banks not liable to pay MAT
A leading tax tribunal has said that banks are not liable to pay minimum alternate tax (MAT) since they are governed by the Banking Regulation Act and prepare their accounts differently. The Income Tax 
Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai, which passed an order in the case of Krung Thai Bank, said that MAT provisions come into …
Can Assessee claim deduction for miscellaneous income as derived from business of exports?
Income tax – Sec 10A – Can Assessee claim deduction for miscellaneous income as derived from business of exports – YES, says ITAT The issue before the Tribunal is – whether income shown under the head `miscellaneous income’ on account of service charges, exchange gain, overtime charges and services charges for procuring hardware, packing and …
If AO does not assess income for which reasons were recorded us 147, he cannot assess other income us 147
CIT vs. Jet Airways (I) Ltd (Bombay High Court) In the department’s appeal, the Court had to consider the question whether if the AO issues a notice us 148 to assess reassess a particular item of income but does not assessreassess that income, is it open to the AO to assess any other item of …
High-end investigation tools for I-T dept to probe evasion
Confronted with rising number of cases where financial data is encrypted electronically, the Income Tax department is hunting for high-end digital data extraction and investigation tools which can glean through erased information and recover internet passwords. The department has floated a ‘Request for Proposal’ for procuring and installing about 50 ‘data extraction and analysis stations’ …
Cos default on TDS transfers to I-T dept
Collecting TDS from employees and not transferring it to the income tax (I-T) department has become a common practice, as the department discovered last week during a series of surveys on firms specialising in producing TV programmes. The survey was carried out to verify whether tax was deducted under the provisions of tax deducted at …
NRIs need to be cautious, longer stay will increase tax liability
Domestic households savings contribute significantly to India’s overall domestic savings rate. The credit goes to the Indian tax laws to a certain extent, as they provide tax incentives to individuals to invest in some specified tax-saving instruments. Section 80C of the Income Tax Act (Act) provides for a deduction of Rs. 1 lakh in certain …
Service Tax
Govt rationalises service tax liability for lottery sellers and distributors
The government has rationalised the service tax liability on sellers and distributors of lottery tickets by giving them the option to pay tax at flat rate based on the face value of tickets. Under the new scheme, a distributor or lottery selling agent can opt to pay flat service tax of Rs 6,000 on every …
Finmin: New service tax payment scheme for promotion marketing of lotteries
The Finance Ministry has come up with an optional composition scheme for service tax payment on promotion or marketing of lotteries. Budget 2010-11 had introduced service tax levy on the services of promoting, marketing, or organising of games of chance, including lottery. Service Tax Under the composition scheme, a distributor or lottery selling agent who …
GST
State FMs to discuss continuation of GST council on October 30
The empowered group of state finance ministers will discuss the constitution of goods and services tax (GST) Council and dispute settlement mechanism at its meeting on October 30. Earlier, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said the proposed GST Council would only be a recommendatory body and all decisions would be taken only after consensus.
How GST got evolved?
It is India’s most radical tax reform. The Goods & Service Tax (GST), expected to be launched next year, will replace around 16 taxes, including central excise and service tax as well as state levies like value-added tax (VAT), stamp duty and entry tax. It has the potential to increase the country’s GDP by $500 billion and exports by up to 15 per cent.
Company Law
LLP: Hit with SMEs but large cos staying away due to tax ambiguity
Smaller companies in computer services, real estate and trade activities are embracing the limited liability partnership structure in a big way, while large professional firms are staying away due to a lack of regulatory clarity on issues such as stamp duty and taxation. LLP, a form of business organisation that combines the benefits of partnership …
DTC
Implication of DTC on companies and policy holders
Implications for policyholders Deductions under Section 80C: Presently, deductions under Section 80C are available, up to ‘1 lakh, for various investment instruments including premium paid for life insurance, provident fund, etc. Under the DTC, only sums paid to towards a contract for an annuity plan of any insurer (subject to it being an approved plan) …
General
Firms violating PF norm, not depositing the amount deducted from employees
Eighty-two private firms in Gurgaon have not deposited the provident fund amount deducted from their employees’ salaries in time. According to the records obtained from the regional PF office in Gurgaon, the total default amount comes up to nearly Rs 1.9 crore. Officials said that they have already sent notices to 74 such establishments and …
Frequent default of cheques can lead to closure of your account
Those writing cheques without adequate funds in their account risk having their account blocked, a measure that will further tighten the regime around bounced cheques. India’s largest lender, the State Bank of India, has decided to close the accounts of those customers who default on their cheques too frequently, a lead other banks are …
IRDA: IPO guidelines for insurance cos soon
Insurance regulator IRDA said the guidelines for insurance companies to tap the capital market for funds were awaiting SEBI nod and would be out soon. ” IPO guidelines for insurance companies will be out soon. It has been approved by the Joint Committee of SEBI and has to be approved by the SEBI (board),” Insurance …
ED asked to disclose black money stashed abroad
In a major development towards bringing transparency in the probe into black money stashed in Swiss banks, the Central Information Commission has directed the Enforcement Directorate to make public an estimate of the total amount of such money involved in its investigations. Rejecting the contention of the Directorate that it has been exempted from making …
