Amendment to Arbitration Law

Cabinet approves arbitration law amendments for expeditious case disposal, cost-effective arbitration

Union Cabinet approves amendments to arbitration law, with an aim to ensure neutrality of arbitrators, expeditious disposal of cases, making arbitration more user friendly & cost effective; Amendments include disqualification of arbitrator if he has any relationship or interest in the matter, insertion of a provision for fast track procedure for conducting arbitration; Also includes amendment to Section 34 relating to grounds for challenge of an arbitral award, to restrict the term "Public Policy of India" (as a ground for challenging the award) by explaining that only where making of award was induced or affected by fraud or corruption, or it is in contravention with the fundamental policy of Indian Law or is in conflict with the most basic notions of morality or justice, the award shall be treated as against Public Policy of India; Amendments seek insertion of a new provision that Arbitral Tribunal shall make its award within a period of 12 months and if the award is made within a period of six months, arbitrator may get additional fees if the parties so agree; New provision inserted to provide that application to challenge the award is to be disposed of by the Court within 1 year, thereby ensuring speedy disposal of cases; New Section 31A to be added for providing comprehensive provisions for costs regime, applicable both to arbitrators as well as related litigation in Court, that will avoid frivolous and meritless litigation/arbitration; Amendments also empower Arbitral tribunal to grant all kinds of interim measures which the Court is empowered to grant : Govt. Press Release

GST-Formation of Two Committees

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
17-June-2015 17:15 IST

Finance Minister approves the formation of 2 Committees for facilitating implementation of Goods and Services Tax from 1.4.2016.

Finance Minister has approved the formation of 2 Committees for facilitating implementation of Goods and Services Tax from 1.4.2016.

A Steering Committee been formed under the Co-Chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Department of Revenue and Member Secretary, Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers. This Committee has Members from Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise & Customs, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and representatives of State Governments. This Committee shall monitor the progress of IT preparedness of GSTN/CBEC/Tax authorities, finalisation of reports of all the Sub-Committees constituted on different aspects relating to the mechanics of GST and drafting of CGST, IGST and SGST laws/rules. The Committee shall also monitor the progress on consultations with various stakeholders like trade and industry and training of officers.

Another Committee has been formed under the Chairmanship of the Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance to recommend possible tax rates under GST that would be consistent with the present level of revenue collection of Centre and States. While making recommendations, this Committee would take into account expected levels of growth of economy, different levels of compliance and broadening of tax base under GST. The Committee would also analyse the Sector-wise and State-wise impact of GST on the economy. The Committee is expected to give its report within two months.

Meanwhile, progress is underway to finalise various aspects of GST design like business processes, payment systems, matters relating to dual control, threshold, exemptions, place of supply rules and also making of model GST, SGST and IGST laws and rules. This task is being undertaken through various Sub-Committees formed by the Empowered Committee which has officers from Government of India as well as State Governments as Members.

Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) is taking steps for preparing the IT infrastructure for roll out of GST. The IT infrastructure shall enable online registration, filing of returns and getting refunds. Various State Governments are also preparing the necessary back end IT infrastructure for implementation of GST which shall relate to aspects like assessments and audit.

Periodic reviews are being held in the Department of Revenue to monitor the progress of all the above activities.

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DSM/MAM

Draft Gold Monetization Scheme

Draft Gold Monetization Scheme 

 

The Finance Minister in his budget speech for the Union Budget 2015-16 made the following announcement: "India is one of the largest consumers of gold in the world and imports as much as 800-1000 tonnes of gold each year. Though stocks of gold in India are estimated to be over 20,000 tonnes, most of this gold is neither traded, nor monetized. Keeping this in view, the government in Budget 2015-16 has announced the Gold Monetization Scheme which will replace both the present Gold Deposit and Gold metal Loan Schemes. The new scheme will allow the depositors of gold to earn interest in their metal accounts and the jewellers to obtain loans in their metal account. Banks/other dealers would also be able to monetize this gold".

 

Accordingly, a draft outline of the Scheme has been prepared. Comments and views are invited on the Draft Gold Monetization Scheme.

Draft Gold Monetization Scheme (The outline of the Gold Monetization Scheme placed below is only at the draft stage and is being placed here to obtain public opinion. The scheme as it stands at this stage, does not imply any commitment from the government)

The last date to share your views is 2nd June, 2015 by 5:00 p.m.

LIST OF YEAR END STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS

LIST OF YEAR END STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS
~ by Rajesh

LAST DATE - 31-3-2015 (Tuesday)

INCOME TAX

1.Pay remaining Advance Tax for AY 2015-16.

2.File  Income  Tax Return for AY  2014-15 without penalty of Rs. 5,000/-.

3.File  Income  Tax Return for AY  2013-14 with  penalty of Rs. 5,000/-.   

4.File  Wealth  Tax Return of  for AY  2013-14 & 2014-15.

5.Make investments in PPF, LIC etc (Sec 80C), pay Mediclaim Premium (80D) etc.

6.Banks to file Return of Interest upto Rs.10,000 without TDS for Mar 2015 quarter in Form No. 26QAA.

SERVICE TAX/ EXCISE

7.Pay Service Tax/Excise Duty for Month/Qtr Mar 2015.

COMPANIES ACT, 2013

8.Company to repay Deposits from Members & Relatives of Directors etc. taken before 1-4-14. Fine of 1-10 cr for Co & 25 lac - 2 cr for Officers in Default &/ jail upto 7 years
9.Company to reduce number of Directors to 15. Beyond 15 Directors, Special Resolution is required. Sec (149(1)).

10.Directors to reduce Number of Directorships to 10 in Public Cos & 20 in all cos u/s 165. Minimum Fine 5,000. Maximum Fine 25,000 per day from 2nd day of default.

11.Listed Cos & other Public Cos with Paid up Share capital of 100cr or more or Turnover of 300cr or more to have at least 1 Woman Director.

12.Audit Committee of a company existing before 1-4-2014 to be reconstituted by having minimum 3 directors, with independent directors forming a majority. Sec 177(3).

13.Listed Public Company to have at least one-third of the total number of directors as Independent Directors.

14.Auditor NOT to provide prescribed Non audit services like internal audit, accounting & book keeping etc. beyond 31st March, 2015. (Sec 144). Fine of 25000 to 5 lac on Auditor besides on Co & Officers in Default.

15.Large companies (Net worth of 500 cr or more or Turnover of 1000 cr or more or Net Profit of 500 cr or more during any financial year) to spend at least 2% of  Average Net Profits during 3 immediately preceding financial years in CSR activities

16.File e-form CRA-2 (Notice of Appointment of Cost Auditor) without Penalty/Late Fee. MCA Circular 2/2015 of 11-2-15.

CAs

17.CAs comply with CPE hours requirement for Calendar Year 2014.

GHMC

18.Pay Property Tax for 2014-15.

Note : Above list has been compiled merely to assist you in meeting your year end statutory responsibilities. Please check for any extensions, exclusions etc. While we have taken utmost care and caution in compiling it, you are requested to check the correctness etc of the same from independent sources. The sender, updation team  and no other person can be held responsible for any inadvertent errors, mistakes or omissions, if any.

Digital locker

Govt. Of india has introduced Digital locker in which you can keep copy of your important documents / certificate like Passport, pancard, driving license, educational certificate etc. With link of Adhar card

http://digitallocker.gov.in

Now no need to give any copy in government / bank etc.  Just give them only link of your Aadhar card. (Good Initiative)

CTT on Agricultural Products

Govt. notifies new list of agricultural commodities which aren't "taxable commodities transactions"

COMMODITIES TRANSACTION TAX (FIRST AMENDMENT) RULES, 2015 - AMENDMENT IN RULE 3

NOTIFICATION NO.13/2015 [F.NO. 142/09/2013-TPL]/SO 424(E), DATED 10-2-2015

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 133 of the Finance Act, 2013 (17 of 2013) (herein after referred to as the Act), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules to amend the Commodities Transaction Tax Rules, 2013, namely:—

1. (l) These rules may be called the Commodities Transaction Tax (First Amendment) Rules, 2015.

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

2. In the Commodities Transaction Tax Rules, 2013, for rule 3, the following rule shall be substituted, namely:—

"3. Agricultural commodities.— For the purposes of clause (7) of section 116 of the Act, the agricultural commodities shall be the following, namely:—

(i)		Almond
(ii)		Barley
(iii)		Cardamom
(iv)		Castor Seed
(v)		Channa/Gram
(vi)		Copra
(vii)		Coriander/Dhaniya
(viii)		Cotton
(ix)		Guar Seed
(x)		Isabgul Seed
(xi)		Jeera (Cumin Seed)
(xii)		Kapas
(xiii)		Maize Feed/Maize
(xiv)		Pepper
(xv)		Potato
(xvi)		Rapeseed/Mustard Seed
(xvii)		Raw Jute
(xviii)		Red Chilli/Chillies
(xix)		Soya bean/seed
(xx)		Soymeal
(xxi)		Turmeric
(xxii)		Wheat
(xxiii)		Aniseed
(xxiv)		Arhar Chuni
(xxv)		Bajra
(xxvi)		Betelnuts
(xxvii)		Celeryseed
(xxviii)		Chara or Berseem (Including Chara seed or Berseem seed)
(xxix)		Cinnamon
(xxx)		Cloves
(xxxi)		Cotton pods
(xxxii)		Cotton seed
(xxxiii)		Ginger
(xxxiv)		Gram Dal
(xxxv)		Gram Husk (Gram Chilka)
(xxxvi)		Groundnut
(xxxvii)		Jowar
(xxxviii)		Kulthi
(xxxix)		Lakh (Khesari)
(xl)		Linseed
(xli)		Masur
(xlii)		Methi
(xliii)		Moth
(xliv)		Mung
(xlv)		Mung Chuni
(xlvi)		Mung Dal
(xlvii)		Nutmeg
(xlviii)		Onion
(xlix)		Peas
(l)		Ragi
(li)		Rice Bran
(lii)		Rice or Paddy
(liii)		Safflower
(liv)		Seedlac
(lv)		Sesamum (Til or Jiljilli)
(lvi)		Small Millets (KodanKulti, Kodra, Korra, Vargu, Sawan, Rala, Kakun, Samai, Vari and Banti)
(lvii)		Sunflower seed
(lviii)		Tur (Arhar)
(lix)		Tur Dal (Arhar dal)
(lx)		Urad (Mash)
(lxi)		Urad Dal.".

 

TARC Report

The Parthasarathi Shome-led Tax Administration Reforms Commission has submitted its fourth and final report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

This report suggests many departures from existing methodologies including those on revenue forecasting.

One of the areas highlighted by the commission is the importance of research inputs in tax governance,

"The suggestive list of areas where research can be considered are very thought provoking, such as fairness in tax disputes, use of technology, performance management, trade and customs,  etc," said Krupa Venkatesh, Senior Director, Deloitte in India.

www.ebiz.gov.in

Now, access 11 new services on eBiz portal

Setting up a business in India may have just become a tad easier. Rather than visit various offices or websites, investors can now get as many as 14 services, ranging from submission of forms to obtaining licences, on the eBiz single-window portal.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has announced the launch of 11 Central services on the eBiz Government-to-Business portal spread across ministries and institutions. This takes the total number of such services to 14.

The services that have been integrated include four from the Corporate Affairs Ministry, two from the Reserve Bank of India, two from Central Board Of Direct Taxation, and one each from the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organisation.

At present, it takes about six months and 20 visits to various departments for an investor to get the mandatory clearances for starting a business, according to the DIPP.

The eBiz portal seeks to bring down the time and cost required to get the clearances and also significantly cuts down on legwork.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: "The eBiz platform will now (with the integration of 14 services) provide end-to-end online submission and process of forms, including tracking and online payment. It strives to achieve horizontal integration across various verticals of the Centre, State and para-statal agencies."

India is hopeful that the project will help it to move up the World Bank's 'ease of doing business index', where it was ranked a low 142 among a total of 189 countries last year.

"We will try to ensure that more than 200 services related to investors and businesses will be rolled out across the country over the next few years," DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant said.

The first three years following the launch of eBiz would be the pilot phase during which 50 services will be implemented across 10 States, including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I get started? Answer: Prior to invoking any of the services, you must first register with eBiz. Registration is a two step process. You first need to register yourself as an individual and get yourself a Login account. User registration will enable to invoke some services that are not linked to a Business - Name Availability etc.. The second step is to register your business. This would enable you to access the complete set of eBiz services such as Registering with various Tax and other Regulatory agencies, Apply for utility connections and services related to Regulatory filings. 2. Is there a fee for registration? Answer: No - there is no fee for registering on eBiz. Fees are applicable when you start applying for services. The fee will be dependent on the service availed.   3. What to do if I didn't receive an email confirmation after registration? Answer: On registration, an email confirmation is sent. In case you have not received the email confirmation, you may do the following - 1. Please check whether the email has been saved under your Trash / Spam folder. This may happen because of your email account settings. 2. In case your mailbox is full and the mail has bounced, please clear your mailbox and send a mail to ebizsupport-lndc@nic.inwith your login details and a confirmation mail will be sent to you. 3. In case the email address provided by you is incorrect, please log in and change the details. Then send a mail to ebizsupport-lndc@nic.in with your login details and a confirmation mail will be sent to you. 4. How do I provide Feedback? Answer: You may provide feedback about the site and its functionality through email. Please mail your feedback to ebizfeedback-lndc@nic.in.   5.How many services are enabled on eBiz? Answer: In the current release, two DIPP services (IL and IEM) have been enabled on eBiz. The portfolio of services will be soon expanded to include additional services and states.   6. How do I pay the fees when invoking these services? Answer: eBiz is integrated with an electronic payment gateway. You can make payment towards the services online using your net banking facilities or offline payment (after generating challan on eBiz portal) by visiting any 'Central Bank of India' branch.   7. After applying for the service through eBiz, how do I know the status of my application? Do I need to contact the departments for status update? Answer: eBiz is integrated with department systems and processes. Hence you will receive the status updates on your application on the eBiz portal. You can use the status page on the eBiz portal to learn the status of your application and also respond to any queries/clarifications raised by the department. 8. How can I update/change my personal information? Answer: Personal information can be edited by logging in to eBiz website and editing the details present in the 'My details' section. These changes will get reflected in the system once you login the next time.   9. What happens if I forget my username and / or password? Answer: In case you forget your username and / or password, please visit the 'Forgot Password' link to retrieve your login details. An email with your login details will be sent to your registered email address.   10. What information do you need when I begin to register? Answer: In case of individual member registration, details such as name, date of birth, email address, telephone number etc. are required. In case of a business registration, details such as name of the establishment, address, email address etc. are required.

 

Pan-India Services

1. Industrial Licence	2. Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum	3 Employer Registration with ESIC
4. MCA Name Availability	5.MCADirector Identification Number	6.Certificate of Incorporation
7.Certificatefor Commencement of Business	8. Reporting of Advance Foreign Remittance	9• Reporting of FC-GPR
10. Issue of Permanent Account Number-NSDL	11. Issue of Permanent Account Number-UTIITSL	12. Issue of Tax Deduction & Collection Account Number
13• Employer Registration with EPFO	14• Issue of Importer Exporter Code	15• License for Possession and Sale or Possession and Use of Explosives

 

 

Small Companies

Centre tightens definition of 'small company'

The Corporate Affairs Ministry has tightened the definition of a 'small company' in the new company law, to prevent misuse of the privileges available to this category.

The new company law enacted in 2013 had introduced this new category.

Under the earlier definition, a small company was one that met one of two criteria: paid-up share capital not exceeding Rs. 50 lakh or turnover not exceeding Rs. 2 crore. 

The main difficulty was that companies that met the first criterion but exceeded the monetary limit in respect of the second criterion were also getting classified as a 'small company'.

Now, a company will have to clear both the tests — paid-up capital as well as turnover norm — to qualify as a 'small company'.

Consequently, it is likely that several entities that were previously classified as small companies will cease to be categorised as such, said Sai Venkateswaran, Partner and Head of Accounting Advisory Services at KPMG in India, in a conversation with BusinessLine .

Those companies that lose the 'small company' tag need to comply with all the general requirements applicable to companies, he said.

Lalit Kumar, Partner, J Sagar Associates, a law firm, opined that the change in the definition of a 'small company' should have come through an amendment Bill in Parliament and not through a removal of difficulty order, as was the case now.

e FDI

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance

17-February-2015 17:17 IST

New Upgraded and Secure Portal for E-Filing of Applications for Foreign Direct Investment Launched

 Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance launched here today a new upgraded and secure user friendly web site for filing and processing of applications for Foreign Direct Investment (FD) requiring Government approval. Presently the applications are filed online at www.fipbindia.com which had limited features and processing capabilities. The new website http://fipb.gov.in, which becomes operational from today, shall henceforth receive applications regarding FDI in approval route sectors.

 With the introduction of the new website, applicant will have to submit only SINGLE copy of the application for records with the FIPB Secretariat instead of 15-18 copies being filed earlier.   

 The initiative is part of the Government's ongoing efforts for Good Governance by enhancing transparency and accountability in its procedures and is a step towards Minimum Government and Maximum Governance.  The innovative features of the website are:

 

• Global Reach -Apply from anywhere in the world! Access your status from anywhere in the world!
• E-communication – communication between the applicant, FIPB and other ministries/ departments is online.
• Quicker communication- All the correspondence including updates/ decisions are communicated through SMS/emails and thus eliminating physical delivery and loss of time due to postal delays.
• Less Paperwork - Single signed copy only needed (for record) instead of present multiple sets of the application.
• SMS/email alert- Regular alerts are sent to the applicants related to the queries raised by the administrative ministries, inclusion of the proposal in the scheduled FIPB meeting and decisions.
• Transparency and security- all transactions and correspondences are recorded online and are secure.
• Query module- Any doubts? A user can raise a query online which shall be replied by the relevant ministry.

NBFC-Revised Regulatory Framework

RBI tightens norms for NBFCs

In a bid to bring non-banking financial company (NBFC) norms in line with those of banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  unleashed tighter rules for NBFCs. According to the new guidelines, NBFCs will require higher minimum capital, have less time to declare bad loans, and a board-approved fit and proper criteria for director appointments.The new norms, which will be implemented in a phased manner, are made applicable for NBFCs that manage funds worth Rs 500 crore and for those that accept public deposits. The central bank will also start granting fresh NBFC licences.

IndianCAs: Wish you a very Happy Diwali!!

 

| Ashwin Nagar | FCA and SAP-Finance & Consolidations |+919833015352

Success is not permanent and failure is not final

 

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Posted by: Ashwin Nagar <ashwin.nagar@gmail.com>

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