Month: June 2019

The Government of India (GOI) has swung into action the faceless income tax assessment and scrutiny, and this would all together transform the relationship between a taxpayer and income tax department and would surely lower down the corruption and tax malfeasance and quicken up the processing.

Faceless tax assessment and scrutiny simply construe that now a taxpayer would not need to personally contact or communicate with the tax officer. And at the same an assessing officer would be utterly techno-dependent and he would not be aware of the taxpayers, whose records he assesses and audits.

The government has delegated the responsibility of faceless or anonymised income tax verification & scrutiny and the formation of related modalities to the top-level direct taxes panel. The faceless processing and issuance of refunds have already been carried out by them in Bangalore.

“Terms of reference of the direct tax task force have been expanded,” a senior government official said.

Under the Narendra Modi administration, various taxpayer convenient measures were rolled out in the previous term, and now the measure of faceless assessment is the top-notch priority for the government. The squad of experts who have been appointed for this task has allotted time till July 31 to submit the report.

Read Also: Income Tax Department To Impose Tax On Cashback Exceeding INR 50K

At the same time, they have been asked to curtail down the complexities and compliance concern related to GST and Customs from the shoulders of taxpayers.

Now, the task force will explore more measures to simplify the tax mechanism while casting about a method for system-based assessment of monetary dealings.

In November 2017 the Finance ministry framed a task force to revamp the income tax norms and regulations to the simplicity and ease while considering the tax mechanism of other countries, economic needs of India and other best practices prevailing in the world.

The tenure of the task force which was gathered by Akhilesh Ranjan, who is a member in the CBDT had extended by two months in May by Arun Jaitley, who is the former finance minister. The task force will now have Ritvik Pandey, joint secretary in the department of revenue and Chief Economic Advisor K Subramanian as members. Former CEA Arvind Subramanian was a fixed invitee of the crew

With the ITR filing dates coming close, everyone must be busy in collecting the relevant documents and information for filing an ITR. While filing an ITR one should not forget that the cashback offers served via, UPI, e-wallets, credit/debit cards under certain conditions may be taxable.

A person can get cashback immediately or after the transaction is complete. Cashbacks are basically the discounts one gets on purchase. For instance, on the purchase of Rs. 5,000 you get a cashback of Rs. 500. Such discounts are eligible for taxations in case if they exceed Rs. 50,000 in a financial year.

Cashback or discounts exceeding the limits (Rs.50,000) are targeted under section 56(2) of the Income Tax Act. They are treated as gift tax under ‘income from other sources’ or ‘profits from the business’.

Read Also: Step by Step Guide To File Income Tax Return FY 2018-19

To be noted, there are certain exceptions where gift tax is not applicable, such as free pen drives, earphones unless they are purchased for business or generating business. In such cases, taxes can be charged on free commodities under section 28(4) based on the market value of that commodity.

As per the norms of section 147 of the Income Tax Act, a notice of reassessment can be issued if the filer fails to mention such income in ITR.

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New Filing System for filing Simplified Returns under GST has been the fiery topic since past few months. The government notified the launch of the new system for trial purpose to make the taxpayers on board with the same. However after many postpone, the new system for trial is finally going to set in motion from July 2019, whereas the ultimate implementation of the system will be from October 2019.

Key Points About New GST Return Filing System

Under the new filing system, An important and main return is proposed, known as GST RET 1 return form to represent all supplies made, ITC claimed, and all tax or interest paid. GST RET 1 will take place of the GSTR 3B and ANX 1 will take place of GSTR 1 return, both which are being filed under the current system.

This form consists of two Annexures, namely –Annexure of SuppliesandAnnexure of Inward Supplies. These annexures will be linked to the main return.

Annexure of Supplies (FORM GST ANX-1) will include details of :

• Outward Supplies,
• Inward Supplies Subject to Reverse Charge,
• Import of Goods and Services.

Note: These details have to be reported invoice-wise on a real-time basis.(except B2C supplies).

Annexure of Inward Supplies (FORM GST ANX-2) will include the details of :

• Inward Supplies

Note: Here the recipient can act on the auto-drafted documents which are uploaded by the supplier (as documents are available on a real-time basis).

• The Form GST RET-1 will be filed on a monthly basis. However, the small taxpayers whose turnover of previous F.Y. is up to INR 5 crore, can file this return on a quarterly basis. But in this case as well they will need to pay the taxes on a monthly basis in FORM GST PMT-08.
• The New Filing System demands supplier to upload invoices on a real-time basis which will enable recipients to take instant action. This will lead to a genuine claim of ITC.
• In cases when a supplier fails to upload invoices or file his return, the recipient will be able to claim ITC on a provisional basis, which will not exceed the 20% of the value mentioned. The current system does not allow any provisional credit.

Timeline Comparison of New GST Filing System vs Old

For the Period from July to September 2019, small as well as large taxpayers will file Form GSTR-1, GSTR-3B under the current filing system. While under the new filing system, only Annexures will be available for upload and view on a trial basis for both types of taxpayers.

For the Period from October to December 2019, the small taxpayer will have to file the monthly return of GST PMT 08 and large taxpayers will have to file GSTR-3B for the month of October and November and monthly GST ANX – 1 as per the current system.

Under the new system, a small taxpayer will have to GST ANX-1 (quarterly), GST RET-01 (quarterly) and GST PMT-08 (monthly) and large taxpayers will have to file monthly GST ANX-1 and GST RET 01 form ( only from Dec’19 onwards)

GST Return: Compare Old vs New GST Return Filing System

The objective of the New Simplified GST Returns is to completely knock off the tax evasion pan India so that the transparency and equality can be attained under the indirect tax mechanism. Lets us check how a new system quick fixes the failings of the current systems :

Tax Payment: In the current system, Full Tax liability must be paid for a tax period while filing monthly return GSTR-3B. In the new system, complete Tax liability must be paid for a tax period in monthly PMT-08, regardless of monthly or quarterly filing of GST returns.

Number of Returns: Present System demands the filing of two returns while the new system demands the filing of just one return.

Reporting of Invoice Details in Returns: In the current filing system, invoice details can be reported while filing GSTR 1 form but can be viewed afterwards in GSTR-2A. In the new filing system, filing and viewing go simultaneously so that instant action can be taken on that.

The changeover period from the current filing system to the new filing mechanism is very important and worth taking care. C.A. professionals also need to give all their attention to the mutation resulting out of the launch of the new system even if is also under the prevailing GST Law.

Few Noteworthy Points:

• The three months trial period for the new filing system will begin from July and will last till September 2019.
• In the trial period, the filing of GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B can be continued.
• After the trial period, from October to December, taxpayers whose total turnover exceeds INR 5 crores will need to adopt the new filing system and so start filing only GSTR-3B.
• From January 2020, all taxpayers will have to file the new GST returns and annexures mandatorily.
• The new filling completely snuffs out the Form GSTR-3B.

What is Form DPT-3?

DPT-3 form is a one-time return form of loans that has to be filed by a company that has outstanding loans not treated as deposits.

According to the latest Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) Amendments, it is mandatory for all the companies excluding the Government Companies to file a one time return for the outstanding receipts of money which are the loan of the company but are not considered deposits.

How did the Form DPT-3 Come into Existence?

On 22nd January 2019, the MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) rolled out a new rule in the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits), Rules, 2014 and that new rule is DPT-3 form.

Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2019

MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 22nd January 2019

G.S.R. 42(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (31) of section 2 and section 73 read with sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 469 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the Central Government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014, namely:-

1. (1) These rules may be called the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2019.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in rule 2, in sub-rule (1), in clause (c), in sub-clause(xviii), after the words “Infrastructure Investment Trusts,” the words “Real Estate Investment Trusts” shall be inserted.

3. In the said rules, in rule 16, the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely:- “Explanation.- It is hereby clarified that Form DPT-3 shall be used for filing return of deposit or particulars of transaction not considered as a deposit or both by every company other than Government company.”.

4. In the said rules, in rule 16(A), after sub-rule (2), the following sub-rule shall be inserted, namely:- “

(3) Every company other than Government company shall file a onetime return of outstanding receipt of money or loan by a company but not considered as deposits, in terms of clause (c) of sub-rule 1 of rule 2 from the 01st April, 2014 to the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette, as specified in Form DPT-3 within ninety days from the date of said publication of this notification along with fee as provided in the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014.”.

Who has to File The DPT-3 Form?

Except for the Government companies, all other companies which include all private limited companies, OPC, limited companies or Section 8 Company have to mandatorily file this form.

What is the Last Date (Due Date) to File the DPT-3 Form?

As per the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2019, all the companies have to compulsorily file the one-time deposit return in E-form DPT-3 within 90 days form the end Financial Year 2018-19. While filing the return, the company has to give all the details about the outstanding receipt of money or debt which are not treated as deposits from 1 April 2014 to 31st March 2019.

Which Period Loans Must be Covered Under the Form DPT-03?

All Outstanding receipt of Money or Loan by the company prevailed from 1st April 2014 up to 22nd January 2019 must be covered under the DPT-3 form.

Should Form DPT-3 be Filed if there is no Outstanding Loan?

No, the DPT-3 form must not be filed if there is no outstanding receipt of money or loan.

Who is Applicable to File the DPT-3 Form?

• According to the rule 16A, DPT-3 must be filed by all the companies who have received money and loan which is due.
• The DPT-3 form must be filed by all the companies including small, private, non-small, OPC, etc.
• Both secured, unsecured Loans along with advance for goods and services must be filed in the DPT-3 Form.
• Even if the Holding Company or Subsidiary Company or Associate Company obtains the loan then it also has to file the DPT-3 Form
• If the company has not paid the loan before 1st April 2014 which is still continuing then such loans have to be reported to the ROC under the DPT-3 Form.

Who is not Applicable to File the DPT-3 Form?

• If the company does not have any loan till 22nd January 2019, then the filing of DPT-3 form is not required.
• If the company takes a loan after 1 April 2019 or pays it before 22nd January 2019 and there is no record of an outstanding loan then the company does not have to file the DPT-3 Form.

Given below is a table of Effect of Amendment to understand it clearly.

Relevant Amendment	Applicable to	Type of Return	Due Date
Explanation to rule 16	Every company excluding Government Company	Return of deposit or particulars of the transactions not treated as a  deposit or both	On or before 30th June of the previous year.
Insertion of rule 16A (3)	Every company excluding Government Company	One time return of outstanding receipt of money or dept by a  company which is not treated as deposits as per rule 2 (1) (c)	On or before 30th May 2019.

Sample of the Form DPT-3

Given below is the sample of the DPT-3 Form with the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2019

Under GST regime, registration is the foremost and the essential step for existing taxpayers as without registration they would not get GSTIN number which is a basic identity number of a taxpayer. Filling the correct details in registration form is necessary but, what if somebody entered wrong details or missed out some important fields?

Recommended: All Latest Updates on 32nd GST Council Meeting

To ease the hurdles, Rule 12 and Form GST REG 14 provides a way to correct the information without visiting any government office or centre. An applicant can correct some information and change the particulars without approval from any authority and some fields require approval but editing can be done online in both the cases. The amendments for GST registration are categorized into three, which describes the level of approval and time period to amend the fields. While applying for amendment in particular fields of a registration form, it is mandatory to mention the “Reasons” for amendment in GST registration process.

Three Types Of Amendments That Can Be Done:

Change In Core Field: The changes in Core field includes the legal name of the business, the address of the principal place of business, and any additional place of business. It takes 15 days to get approval from a proper office to amend the Core Fields.

Change In Non-core Field: There are some fields which don’t require any approval from a proper office and amendments in Non-core fields can be easily done online. All the fields except those, which are covered under core fields come under a Non-core field.

Change In Email Or Mobile Number: The change in email or mobile number requires a verification by OTP(One-Time Password) after online verification on common GST portal.

Eligible Applicant To Change The Registration Details:

The taxpayers under the following category can amend the registration details:

• Normal taxpayers and new applicants
• Changes in TDS/TCS registration for the person having UIN card and belongs to UN Bodies, Embassies & other notified
• person
• Non-resident foreign taxpayer
• GST practitioner
• Online application and retrieval service provider

The Fields Which Cannot Be Changed:

• Any amendment to the details of PAN card cannot be done as GST registration is wholly based on PAN number
• Change in constitution of business cannot be done as it requires change in PAN number on the first place
• Modification in place of business from one state to another state cannot be possible as GST registration are state-specific

Apart from this, primarily authorized signatory can also be changed with the condition to add a new primary signatory. If the condition is not fulfilled, then changes in primary signatory are not possible.

Timeline For Amendment in GST Registration Process

In case of requirement of any modification in the GST registration, a taxpayer needs to submit the application with required documents for amendments on GST portal within 15 days. After GST REG 14 amendment form approval, the changes will be corrected in form GST REG 06.

The application for amendments of registration can be saved for 15 days. However, if an applicant fails to submit the application for any reason, the application for amendments will be removed automatically.

How To Do Changes In Core Fields?

To change the details of the core fields in a registration form, you need to follow below-mentioned step by step procedure:

• Step 1: Go to GST home page by clicking www.gst.gov.in
• Step 2: Login with the provided credentials to GST portal
• Step 3: Click on ‘Services’ tab from the main menu, hover the mouse on ‘Registration’ tab under services
• Step 4: Click on ‘Amendment Of Registration Core Fields’ to open the link

Business Details Tab

Step 5: The “Business Details’ tab appears as a default. Select the field which you want to edit by clicking the Edit icon

• Edit the particular detail you wish to edit
• Select the ‘Date Of Amendment’ by clicking on calendar icon
• Provide the reason for amendment in GST registration process online under “Reasons” tab
• Click the ‘Save’ button given at the bottom of the page
• After verifying all the “Business details”, press “Continue” button at the bottom of the page

Principal Place of Business Tab

Step 6: Click on “Principal Place of business” provided in the main menu, after that select the “EDIT” button provided at the bottom of the page, if there is need to edit something

• Edit the required details and then follow the same procedure of entering “Reasons”, and “Date Of Amendment”
• Click on “Save” button at the bottom of the page.

Additional Places of Business Tab

Step 7: Click on “Additional Places of Business” Tab provided in the main menu, after that enter the details about “Number of additional places”, this field requires to filled by values

• Click on “Add New” button
• Edit the desired details in relevant field
• After that follow the same “Reasons” field and “Date Of Amendment”
• Click on “Save & Continue” and “Save” button at the bottom of the page.
  

Note: To VIEW, DELETE, and EDIT promoter or partner details, click on the respective button

Promoter / Partners tab

Step 8: Select the “Promoter / Partners” tab, provided in the main menu

• Click on “ADD NEW” button to add promoter/partners’ details
• Enter the details and upload the relevant documents as an identity proof
• After that follow the same “Reasons” field and “Date Of Amendment”
• Click on “Save” & “Continue” button at the bottom of the page.

Verification Tab

Step 9: Select “Verification” tab and click on Verification checkbox

• In the “Name of Authorized Signatory” field, choose the authorized signatory by drop-down list
• Enter the name of the place in “Place” field
• After successfully amending the field under “Amendment Of Registration Core Fields”, digitally sign the form by using Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)/ E-Signature or EVC.

After successful completion of the amendment in GST registration process online, the acknowledgement message will be sent automatically to registered Email and mobile no. in next 15 minutes. Again, the message of application approval or rejection by a tax authority will be sent by SMS and email to the registered email ID and mobile number.

How To Do Changes In Non-Core Fields?

To change the details of the core fields for a registration form, you need to follow below-mentioned step by step procedure:

• Go to GST home page by clicking www.gst.gov.in
• Login with the provided credentials to GST portal
• Click on ‘Services’ tab from the main menu, hover the mouse on ‘Registration’ tab under services
  
• Click on ‘Amendment Of Registration Non-Core Fields’ to open the link
• The Non-Core fields are shown in editable format, edit the details in the respective fields and tabs
  
• Select “Verification” checkbox under “Verification” tab
• In the “Name of Authorized Signatory” field, choose the authorized signatory by drop-down list
• Enter the name of the place in “Place” field
• After successfully amending the field under “Amendment Of Registration Core Fields”, digitally sign the form by using Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)/ E-Signature or EVC.

After successful completion of the amendment in GST registration process, the acknowledgement message will be sent automatically to registered Email and mobile no. in next 15 minutes. The modification done in the Non-core fields doesn’t require any approval by the Tax Official.

Latest in the news, Government has made it clear in its pitch that, goods and services tax or GST will be imposed on the exchange of services from one state to another. If the scale of the services provided by the office in one state goes to the office in another state than the responsible organization has to face GST. This clause adopted by the GST council on papers will soon be effective. 

This decision is followed by the vision of Karnataka Authority of Advance Rulings (AAR) which states that any domestic activity carried out in the office of one state for the office in another state has to confront GST and an invoice will be issued for the same. 

This clause will be a tough one for companies having branch offices in different states. 

The council in its new GST circular will also include the perks of the employees, said a government official. On this, Input Tax Credits can be claimed by the companies but for absolve sectors such as healthcare, liquor, education, power, it will be a cost as the tax charged would not be credited.

This new circular also has portrayals from industries, asking for clarification on tax-ability of activities performed by the offices of an organization in multiple states, considered as two different entities, under GST laws, services offered by the office in one state to the office of the same organization in another state will be treated as the supply between two different units.

The law commission under GST council has decided to clarify the issues through the circular regarding the division of input tax credit in regards to the input services offered by the head offices or other outlets of the same organization. 

Input tax credit assured by the GST council will consider the expenses sustained by the head office on the purchase, distribution, and management of the services and treatment of services provided by the head office to its outlets and their assessments. 

Read also: List of Goods and Services Not Eligible for Input Tax Credit

The circular in the form of Frequently asked questions will define the distribution of input tax credit between the head office and branch offices of the same organization. 

Expenses will be allocated based on the valuation principles specified by the GST council and generally accepted accounting principles. According to some experts in the field, regardless of the location, the government has to treat an employee of an organization as the employee of the single organization. 

Experts say “it would be a sensible approach of the government to consider an employee as an employee of the whole organization and not of a defined location, so there may not be a need to cross charge of income cost between head office and branch office transactions”. Deduction of cross charging will prevent loads of confusion based on paperwork.

In most of the cases, it is the revenue neutral practice, except where the output is either immune or not within GST where GST charged becomes a cost. Technically speaking it should be made optional by the government where the input tax is confined to a state, further the salary of the employee should not be included as he is an employee of the particular organization and not of a particular state or location.

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Company secretaries deal with security market, company law, corporate strategies and related cases. They play a big role in maintaining the compliance to provisions and ascertains that the company’s administration goes steadily.

Starting a career as a Company Secretary brings many Duties & Responsibilities and apart from this, they play a significant role in company reputation as they handle legal matters.

It is required before starting a career as CS that you understand the role and aware about the pros and cons attached with the position.The company secretary takes care about the onus of the company in different responsibilities and completes everything in time.

The significance of a company secteratary is ofrten felt when there are multiple responisibilties of a company towards any statuory compliance.

Let us Understand The Advantages of An Company Secteraty in Every Company:

1. Professional Profile:

Company Secretary is a professional course. With the completion of the degree, one gets a job at companies with a professional designation. This degree can be completed along with the graduation as well and do not require your full-time involvement at premises like other degree courses.

2. No Stress:

Company Secretary does not have any stress regarding meeting requirements and deadlines. The administrative work is required to be done but there is no such limitation of time. It is not that tough like other jobs where you feel stressed and gets problems related to health and dissatisfaction from the job.

There are various websites for CS which can help the CS in maintaining their work for clients in an easy manner.

3. Paper Work:

There is the wrong mentality that company secretary deals with a lot of paperwork and he/she has to spend most of his/her time in typing papers and hours for a long documentation. But, in reality, with the technology enhancement, they only deal with software and hardware data which are stored in electronic document format.
With the responsive web design, the CS firms’ work becomes easy and it is easy to bring more client to them.

Read Also : Company Secretary (CS) Profession – Your Road to Success

4. No Age Restriction:

There is no such age restriction that the students should not have crossed a particular age as anyone can face this competitive environment and fight for the degree achievement. A person with good job experience, attitude, positive team player and decision making skills can go for an opportunity to become a Company Secretary.

5. Higher Job Satisfaction:

Many people do not feel satisfied with their job and they have many complaints such as salary, profile, knowledge, and growth, but with company secretary profile, these all doubts go invisible. They handle a more authoritative position which provides opportunities and space for ideas and opinions.

This job provides many perks and job satisfaction is one of them, CS gets a higher management position quite early in the career. So, they as well obtain recognition in the good working environment.

6. Flexible Timing:

Company Secretary has flexible working hours. With other jobs, it is hard to balance the work and life, but it is not the case with a career in CS.

They can establish a good balance between personal and professional life as they do not have heavy working hours and stress to submit the project before the date. There is no need of overtime unless and until there is something very important regarding documents and papers need to be filed as soon as possible. So, in a true sense, they enjoy the life and manage their precious time for family and professional life equally.

7. Connection With Higher Authorities:

They generally deal with higher authorities. This favors their reputation in the company for colleagues. There are much to learn from higher authorities as they have a very good experience in the field. With the management engagement, their growth is certain with the company.

So, this is how the Career of Company Secretary brings many advantages over the other professional job profiles.

Every registered taxpayer whose turnover of an F.Y. is more than the specified limit of INR 2 crores u/s (5) 35 of the CGST Act shall get his accounts audited by a chartered accountant or a cost accountant and shall furnish its copy and a reconciliation statement in FORM GSTR-9C.

Here we will discuss the complete GSTR 9C DSC issues into 2 parts divided into Part A & Part B.

GSTR 9C Part A – Issues under DSC

Digital Signature Certificates (DSC): Digital Signature Certificate is an electronic or digital format of authorization and plays the role of evidence of an individual’s identity for the purpose of online transactions and filings.

While filing Form GSTR-9C on GST Portal, you may encounter some issues related to DSC Part-A, some of them are highlighted here along with the quick fix.

• Taxpayers may use PAN-based Class 2 or Class 3 DSC on GST Portal
• Make sure that PAN entered and PAN mentioned in DSC is the same, in the case of PAN verification failed error.
• Make sure that DSC is installed / token is plugged in your system.
• In case of issues on registration or signing DSC on the GST Portal, ensure that emSigner is started.
  • When emSigner server is started to → Stop the server > Restart the emSigner server as ‘Run as Administrator’.
  • When emSigner server is not started to → Start the emSigner server as ‘Run as Administrator’.
• In case of error after clicking the PROCEED button or invisible WebSocket, restart the emSigner.

For more details click on the link given below:

• https://www.gst.gov.in/help/loginanddsc
• https://tutorial.gst.gov.in/userguide/loginanddsc/#t=Troubleshoot_DSC_Issues.htm

GSTR 9C Part B – Issues under DSC

Steps for Filing Form GSTR 9C

Collection of Data by Taxpayer For Sending it to Auditor

• On the GST portal, download filed Form GSTR-9 as well as Form GSTR-9C Tables from Form GSTR-9.
• Send these downloaded files to the Auditor for the Preparation of GSTR-9C Statement.

GSTR-9C Statement Preparation By Taxpayer Via GSTR-9C Offline Utility

• Download the latest version of GSTR-9C Offline Utility from GST Portal
• Install the emSigner after downloading it.
• Open the GSTR-9C Offline Utility Excel Worksheet > Include the table-wise details in the Worksheet > Create Preview PDF file > Access the Draft Form GSTR-9C
• Create JSON File which auditor will attest by affixing his/her DSC.
• Send the attested JSON File to the taxpayer for uploading it on GST Portal.

Upload The prepared GSTR-9C Statement

• Taxpayer Uploads the attested JSON File on GST Portal using his/her DSC Save Form on GST Portal.
• Signature the Form and finish the filing of Form GSTR-9C on GST Portal.

Note: While signing generated JSON File, by using his/her DSC, Auditor should make sure that

• HTML file name ‘WSweb’ and ‘GSTR_9C_Offline_Utility’ is in the same folder to create the JSON and emSigner is installed in your system.

For further detail, check the link given below: https://tutorial.gst.gov.in/downloads/gstr9cofflineutility.pdf

According to section 149 of the Income Tax Act, Certain terms and conditions may apply while issuing the notice of tax assessment above six years. Also, the income tax department is liable to reopen a case only when an assessee has failed to provide returns or has not given proper information and documents regarding the tax assessment.

Keeping in mind the concerns of a taxpayer, ITA has launched a long queue of policies which the tax department has to follow before reopening a case, just to make a note that a taxpayer is not unnecessarily disturbed in the process.

Read Also: Tax Clarification in Case of Income INR 2.5 Lakh to INR 5 Lakh

An assessing officer can examine the case with the satisfaction of the taxpayer. The most important thing is that a taxpayer has all the rights to question the department’s offer to reopen the assessment

Furthermore, according to the sections of the ITA, reopening of the cases above six years is a very difficult conduct. “This provision has led to unnecessary litigations,” said the officials.

There are even cases of tax officers reopening the case just to expand the range of any ongoing assessment on the basis of non-disclosure of the information by the assessee. Experts suggest that doing away with the extended assessment cases will make sure that the department achieves tax certainty for taxpayers and at the same time it will help the department to increase the chances of tax recovery.

Recommended: How To Revise A Defective Income Tax Return Notice?

As per tax experts, “there could be possibilities where an assessee himself is not traceable after a long time, with much advanced analytical tools and a much more proactive department, this reduction in the time period of tax recovery is definitely achievable.”

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The 35th GST council meeting has been live since today 21st June 2019 and the newly appointed Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to discuss and initiate the council meeting for the first time in her position. There are some important suggestions and discussions backed by tax experts which are to be taken in the meeting.

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Live Updates on 35th GST Council Meeting0

06:10 pm: “GST Council approves the transition to new GST return system“

05:50 pm: “Effective date to not allow e-way bill generation for not filing returns for >2 months, extended till Aug 21”

05:39 pm: “GST Council approves the proposal of the introduction of e-invoicing”

05:31 pm: “GST Council approves setting of state & area based GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT); some states to have more than one GSTAT”

05:20 pm: “GST rate cut on electric charger approved from 18% to 12% to enhance electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.”

04:57 pm: “GST Council extends the due date for filing GSTR 9”

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04:55pm: “GST Council approves an extension of National Anti-profiteering Authority by 2 years. Also, the penalty for not paying Profiteering charges & If the profiteered amount is not paid up to 30 days of order then there will be a 20% penalty. Business can use Aadhaar card for registration”

04:45 pm: “GST Council approves a two-year extension for National Anti-profiteering authority”

03:38 pm: “In her Opening Remarks, the Finance Minister, Smt. @nsitharaman further said that GST Council has much more work to do including simplification of GST Rules, rationalisation of GST rates &bringing more items in the ambit of GST among others.”

1.20 pm: “the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought the cooperation of all the States & Union Territories in achieving the aspirations of the people at large & extended full cooperation from her side in achieving the desired goals”

1.10 pm: “The Union Finance Minister said that the share of the States in tax devolution has increased from 32% under 13th Finance Commission to 42% in 14th Finance Commission during the first tenure of the present Government”

1.05 pm: “In her Opening Remarks, the FM said that unprecedented level of devolution of funds has taken place from Centre to the States which has increased in recent times from Rs.8,29,344 Crore to Rs.12,38,274 Crore”

1.00 pm: “The FM further said that the Centre has the responsibility of setting the direction of the economic growth while it’s the responsibility of the States to implement in the field”

Below is the List of Expectations of 35th GST Council Meeting

Focus on Curbing Tax evasion

An important topic which is the most likely to be discussed in the upcoming GST council meeting is of the increasing tax evasions causing low GST collections. After providing sufficient relaxation to businesses during the first two years of the launch of the GST, the government is now ready to strengthen the compliance rules & requirements in order to curb tax evasion. This may include mandatory generation of e-voices, e-wall bill validation at toll plazas, etc. The new rules are expected to be applied to big companies first and eventually on all businesses.

Proposal for 50 Cr Turnover

The finance ministry may fix the 50 crore turnover threshold for the business firms to generate the e-invoice but on the centralised government online portal. The invoice will be generated for business-to-business (B2B) sales.

The decision can be taken on the basis of 68,041 businesses with a 50 crore turnover is of 66.6% total GST paid but are only 1.02% GST payer. Also to note that they are 30 per cent of B2B invoice generator.

“The Council is likely to meet before the General Budget so that its views could be included in the Budget,” a senior Finance Ministry official said.

Officials do understand the immediate need to iron out the issues so they have started making a detailed note on recommendations from various industries bodies for the new government so that the matter could be taken up by the GST Council on the hair-trigger basis.

Major issues, highlighted by the industry experts which need resolution on priority basis encompass inadequate precision in the concept of anti-profiteering, cross charge of employee cost such as salaries, overheads etc, eligibility to avail ITC relies on vendor’s compliance which affects working capital of the assessee, charging interest on false Input Tax Credit (ITC) claim, dual tax on ocean freight charged on the importers, ITC on services accompanying immovable property.

Understanding the urgent need of resolution of key issues like a cross charge of employee costs, double taxation on ocean freight, ambiguity on the computation of profits for anti-profiteering etc. Harpreet Singh, Indirect Tax Partner at KPMG said “Issuance of a Master Circular on all key open issues, similar to the one issued under the erstwhile service tax regime, perhaps could be a good idea for further streamlining the new regime,”

As far as the anti-profiteering issue is concerned, industry bodies are not endowed with precise information about the clause which lead to the bewilderment when it comes to fixing the selling prices for goods. The law needs to be improved and encompassed with the factors that offer clarity on the costs spent on account of shifting from GST to non-GST era.It also doesn’t specify the ways to pass on the perks by loss-making units. Considering all these facts , industrialists are emphasizing on the elaborating the provisions of the anti-profiteering clause so that a precise method of computing the benefit and tool for passing the said benefit can be adopted.

Cross charge of employee costs like salaries and overheads is another important issue which needs prompt settlement. The issue was accentuated when an Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) said that activities served by corporate office based employees for the branch office situated in a different State (distinct person) shall be considered as a supply of service and thus GST would be exercised upon it.
It also states that the value of such supply will incorporate the cost of employees. Industry bodies insist solution about this and want that employee cost should not be cross charged from branches or other units running under a different GSTIN.

Industrialists hope to acknowledge the GST notifications and implementations of changes within the standard time period.