Here are some News / Updates / Highlights / Changes in law during the month. Happy Reading !!

Nov 30, 2018

  • DUE DATE FOR FILING OF GSTR-7 FOR AUTHORITIES DEDUCTING TDS EXTENDED TO JANUARY 31, 2019

The CBIC has extended the due date for filing of GSTR-7 (Return for authorities deducting tax at source) for the months of October, 2018 to December, 2018 till January 31, 2019.

  • Obligation to verify & submit ITR on behalf of co. does not lie on Managing Director only:HC

IT: Where there was a failure to furnish return of income within time stipulated under section 139(1) or in response to notice under section 142(1), omission to mention belated filing of return by assessee in complaint filed by revenue would not come in way of criminal prosecution under section 276CC

IT: Directors are also equally responsible for furnishing of return on behalf of company as is case of managing director

  • HC directed revenue to penalise employers who failed to issue Form No.16 within prescribed time

IT : Where assessee filed instant petition contending that Form No. 16 having not been issued by his employer in time, he was suffering at hands of department it was appropriate to issue direction to Commissioner (TDS) to file a comprehensive affidavit and Department of Revenue was also to be directed to penalise such defaulters and take other strict measures as contemplated by law against them

Nov 29, 2018
  • NRIs don’t need to reveal details of foreign bank accounts, assets to Indian tax dept: I-T TribunalThe Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has said NRIs do not need to reveal details of their foreign bank accounts and assets to Indian authorities. The tribunal has also ruled that the onus is on the I-T Department to prove an assessee has parked undeclared income arising from India in foreign bank accounts. The recent judgment was passed in the case involving Japan-based NRI Hemant Mansukhlal Pandya, who has an account with HSBC Bank in Geneva. Pandya has been living in Japan since 1990, is a non-resident taxpayer since 1995-96, and received a Japanese residency certificate in 2001.

Nov 24, 2018

  • ITAT ruling on premium earned on preference shares may benefit start-upsIn what could benefit many start-ups in the country, the Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has ruled that premium earned on allotment of preference shares by a loss-making entity cannot be taxed. The tribunal said the valuation of shares is not relevant for determining the genuineness of the transaction. The ruling, pertaining to Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, stated that the assessing officer (AO) can only verify the nature and source and not question the genuineness of the premium on allotment of preference shares.
Nov 17, 2018
  • HC allows adjustment of wrong paymentIn what is seen as a major relief for GST assessees, especially dealers, the Kerala High Court has ruled that any GST mistakenly paid under one head can be adjusted under the correct head. While noting that it sees no difficulty for the tax authorities to allow the petitioner’s request and get the amount transferred from the head ‘S-GST’ to ‘I-GST’, the court said it is inequitable for the authorities to let the petitioner suffer.
Nov 16, 2018
  • Goods can be impounded for lapses under GST, says Kerala High CourtAuthorities impounded a car being sent by a dealer from Puducherry to Thiruvananthapuram for personal use of his customer without an e-way bill. It has to be generated if goods worth more than Rs 50,000 are transported, but is not applicable on goods for personal consumption. The matter went to the Kerala high court. The court said the vehicle could be impounded for lapses under the GST laws. But, the litigant is free to press for his arguments that it was for personal use through adjudication. However, he will have to prove the car being transported stand exempted from the rigours of the GST regime.

Nov 14, 2018

  • Over 2 lakh assessees who migrated from VAT regime opt out of GST netOver 2 lakh assessees have opted out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration as their turnover is below the prescribed threshold. This will benefit both the taxpayers and the GST Network, the IT back-bone of the new indirect tax regime. These are assessees who migrated from the VAT (Value-Added Tax) regime to the GST regime. A senior Finance Ministry official told BusinessLine: “Turnover of these assessees are below the threshold of ?20 lakh (?10 lakh in some States), which means they are not required to continue under the new regime, though they think otherwise.
Nov 05, 2018
  • Pending VAT comes to haunt companies claiming input tax creditState tax authorities have begun blocking input tax credit claims of companies that have any value-added tax (VAT) demand in the erstwhile tax regime pending against them. This has led to some worry in the industry which had hoped that input tax credit settlements in the goods and services tax (GST) regime would be seamless. Large multinational companies in some states such as Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are facing this issue.
  • 75 Lakh New Tax Filers Added To Income Tax Net This Fiscal Year: OfficialAbout 75 lakh new tax filers have been added to the income tax payers list in the country so far this fiscal year, a senior official said. The number of policy and enforcement measures undertaken to check tax evasion are among the reasons for achieving these numbers, the official told PTI. The target is to add 1.25 crore fresh tax filers by the end of the financial year 2018-19 that ends in March, as per a directive of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. The Income Tax department is hopeful of meeting that 1.25 crore target, the official added.The department, last fiscal, had added 1.06 crore new tax filers to the income tax net. A new income tax filer is defined as a person who is not included in the tax filing base at the beginning of the year, but who files the return during the year.
Nov 02, 2018

  • GST audit deadline’s close! When is taxpayer chosen for audit? What are kinds of audit? All you need to knowAfter one year of Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime, it is now critical for the taxpayers to start focusing on various GST compliances such as reconciliations, annual return and GST audit certification. All of these compliances will form an important basis for the first audit/scrutiny/assessment under the GST law .The law prescribes multiple audits conducted by or on behalf of the authorities or audit certification by a professional appointed by the company. It is interesting to note that the GST law for the first time has defined the term “audit” as an examination of records, returns and other documents maintained or furnished by the taxpayer to verify the correctness of turnover declared, taxes paid, refund claimed and input tax credit availed, and to assess his compliance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder.
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