Concurrent audit online application link of United Bank of India

Concurrent audit online application link of United Bank of India

http://ubionline.unitedbank.co.in/ca/application.php

Concurrent audit online application link of Punjab & Sindh bank

Concurrent audit online application link of Punjab & Sindh bank

https://www.psbindia.com/OnLine_Application_CCA.php

New CA Course applicable from 2016 ( drafted by ICAI )

FYI - ICAI Notifications
New CA Course applicable from 2016 ( drafted by ICAI ) :
1. Change in CA Foundation :-
- Name changed from CPT to CA Foundation
- Duration increased to 9 months
- Number of Papers 4
Paper 1 - Fundamentals of Accounting (100
Marks)
Paper 2- Quantitative Aptitude (100 Marks)
Paper 3A - Mercantile Law (60 Marks)
Paper 3B - General Economics (40 Marks)
Paper 4A - General English (50 Marks)
Paper 4B - Business Communication (50 Marks)
- Partly descriptive & partly MCQ paper.
2. Change in CA Intermediate :-
- Cost Accounting & FM to be 2 different subject.
- Duration increased from 9 months to 12 months.
- ITSM removed
- Number of Papers 8
Paper 1 - Accounting ( 100 Marks)
Paper 2 - Company Law, Other law and Ethics
Part I : Company Law (60 Marks)
Part II: Other Law (20 Marks)
Part III: Ethics (20 Marks)
Paper 3 - Cost Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper 4 - Direct Taxes (100 Marks)
Paper 5 - Advanced Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper 6 - Auditing & Assurance (100 Marks)
Paper 7 - Financial Management (100 Marks)
Paper 8 - Indirect Taxes (100 Marks)
3. Change in CA Final :-
- New subject added Capital Markets & Financial Services.
- ISCA removed.
- Eligibility to appear to CA Final only after
completion of articleship.
- Number of Papers 8
Paper 1 - Financial Reporting (100 Marks)
Paper 2 - SFM (100 Marks)
Paper 3 - Advance Auditing & Professional Ethics (100 Marks)
Paper 4 - Corporate & other economic law (100 Marks)
Paper 5 - Advance Management Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper 6 - Financial Services & Capital Market (100 Marks)
Paper 7 - Advance tax management (60 Marks) & International Taxation (40 Marks)
Paper 8 - Indirect Taxation (100 Marks)
Note : New course is expected to be introduced somewhere in 2016, ICAI has also previously announced that both the existing as well as new course will continue for the next few years after which ICAI will gradually shift to the new course.
The existing students need not to worry as they would be given ample time to clear their exams.

Forwarded as received

CA. Ashwin Nagar

Draft Circular on Range Concept

Draft norms for range concept in transfer pricing

The tax department on Friday came out with draft norms for introduction of a range concept for calculating an Arms Length Price for valuing transactions between related entities for the purpose of taxation. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has proposed to use multiple year data for determining the price. At present, only one year's data is used for calculating the price.

CBDT Circular No.8

Important CBDT Circular Sets Out Procedure For Speedy Resolution Of Taxpayer's Grievances Regarding Outstanding Tax Demands

The CBDT has issued Circular No. 8 of 2015 dated 14.05.2015 setting out the detailed procedure that has to be followed by taxpayers in response to an arrear demand from the AO. The Ministry of Finance has also issued a press release stating that the said Circular is because the Income Tax Department has taken note of grievances of taxpayers arising on account of outstanding tax demand which may be inaccurate due to non-reporting or delayed reporting of TDS by deductors leading to mismatch between the claim and data available with the Department, non-posting of challans, non-disposal of rectification applications, incorrect details of income or pre-paid taxes reported by taxpayer etc. It is emphasized that the Income Tax Department is committed to early and satisfactory resolution of taxpayers' grievances. It is also stated that about 95% of entries of Demand involve demand up to Rs. 1 lakh and about 90% of such assessees are Individuals and HUFs. It is expected that majority of the grievances of small taxpayers can be redressed by following the procedure prescribed in the circular.ivinayaka Residency,

Income Exempted-No TDS

Unconditional exemption of income under Section 10 and no statutory liability to file return of income under Section 139- NO TDS- SEE CIRCULAR NO.7

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.

More than 4 concurrent audits of banks

Brief decision of Council of ICAI at 342nd Meeting held on 15.05.2015. A CA is not allowed to do more than 4 concurrent audits of banks

Guidance note issued by ICAI on CSR activities expenditure

FYI - ICAI today issued Guidance Note on Accounting for Expenditure on Corporate Social Responsibility Activities. 

The objective of this Guidance Note is to provide guidance on recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of expenditure on activities relating to corporate social responsibility.

The Guidance Note does not deal with identification of activities that constitute CSR activities but only provides guidance on accounting for expenditure on CSR activities in

line with the requirements of the generally accepted accounting principles including the applicable Accounting Standards.

Link for the guidance note: http://220.227.161.86/37627gn-csr150515.pdf

Supreme Court Upholds NCLT

Supreme Court upholds the constitutional validity of National Company Law Tribunal

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 1072 OF 2013

MADRAS BAR ASSOCIATION

VERSUS

UNION OF INDIA & ANR. 

J U D G M E N T

A.K. SIKRI, J.

This writ petition filed by the petitioner, namely, the Madras Bar Association, is sequel to the earlier proceedings which culminated in the judgment rendered by the Constitution Bench of this Court in Union of India v. R. Gandhi, President, Madras Bar Association¹ (hereinafter referred to as the '2010 judgment'). In the earlier round of litigation, the petitioner had challenged the constitutional validity of creation of National Company Law Tribunal ('NCLT' for short) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ('NCLAT' for short), along with certain other provisions pertaining thereto which were incorporated by the Legislature in Parts 1 B and 1 C of the Companies Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act, 1956′) by Companies (Second Amendment) Act,2002.

2) Writ petition, in this behalf, was filed by the petitioner in the High Court of Madras which culminated into the judgment dated 30.03.2004. The High Court held that creation of NCLT and vesting the powers hitherto exercised by the High Court and the Company Law Board ('CLB' for short) in the said Tribunal was not unconstitutional. However, at the same time, the High Court pointed out certain defects in various provisions of Part 1B and Part 1C of the Act, 1956 and, in particular, in Sections 10FD(3)(f)(g)(h), 10FE, 10FF, 10FL(2), 10FR(3), 10FT. Declaring that those provisions as existed offended the basic Constitutional scheme of separation of powers, it was held that unless these provisions are appropriately amended by removing the defects which were also specifically spelled out, it would be unconstitutional to constitute NCLT and NCLAT to exercise the jurisdiction which is being exercised by the High Court or the CLB. The petitioner felt aggrieved by that part of the judgment vide which establishments of NCLT and NCLAT was held to be Constitutional. On the other hand, Union of India felt dissatisfied with the other part of the judgment whereby aforesaid provisions contained in Parts 1 B and 1 C of the Act, 1956 were perceived as suffering from various legal and Constitutional infirmities. Thus, both Union of India as well as the petitioner filed appeals against that judgment of the Madras High Court. Those appeals were decided by the Constitution Bench, as mentioned above. 

Black Money Bill: All You Need to Know

Black Money Bill: All You Need to Know

The black money Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday. Christened the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Bill, 2015, it seeks to check the black money menace with stringent provisions for those stashing illegal wealth abroad. The Bill provides for separate taxation of any undisclosed income in relation to foreign income and assets. Such income will henceforth not be taxed under the Income-tax Act but under the stringent provisions of the new legislation.
Here's your 10-point cheat-sheet to the story:

1. According to the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Bill, 2015, those who conceal income and assets and indulge in tax evasion in relation to foreign assets can face rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years.

2. The offence will be non-compoundable and the offenders will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission for resolution of disputes.

3. There will also be a penalty of 300 per cent of taxes on the concealed income and assets.

4. According to the Bill, undisclosed foreign income or assets shall be taxed at the flat rate of 30 per cent. No exemption or deduction or set off of any carried forward losses which may be admissible under the existing Income-tax Act, 1961, shall be allowed. And concealment of income in relation to a foreign asset will attract penalty equal to three times the amount of tax (90 per cent of the undisclosed income or the value of the undisclosed asset). This would be over and above tax at a flat rate of 30 per cent.

5. The Bill also proposes to make concealment of income and evasion of tax in relation to a foreign asset a 'predicate offence' under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which will enable the enforcement agencies to attach and confiscate the accounted assets held abroad and launch proceedings.

6. It seeks to make non-filing of income tax returns or filing of returns with inadequate disclosure of foreign assets liable for prosecution with punishment of rigorous imprisonment of up to 7 years. To protect persons holding foreign accounts with minor balances which may not have been reported out of oversight or ignorance, it has been provided that failure to report bank accounts with a maximum balance of upto Rs.5 lakh at any time during the year will not entail penalty or prosecution.

7. The tax liability on an overseas property would be computed on the basis of its current market price, not the price at which it was acquired.

8. The Bill provides for a short window for those holding overseas assets to declare their wealth, pay taxes and penalties to escape punitive action. Failure to furnish return in respect of foreign income or assets shall attract a penalty of Rs.10 lakh. The same amount of penalty is prescribed for cases where although the assessee has filed a return of income, but he has not disclosed the foreign income and asset or has furnished inaccurate particulars of the same.

9. The Income Tax assesses with overseas assets will get a one-time opportunity for declaring them. The time-frame of the short window will be notified after the passage of the bill.

10. The proposal to come out with a new law on black money was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his first full-year Budget in February

Finance Bill 2015 gets presidential assent

Finance Bill 2015 gets presidential assent today and becomes Finance Act 2015. Service tax rate of 14% get approved, however will be effective from date to be notified, till that time old rate will be applicable.

Companies amendment bill passed in Rajya Sabha

Companies amendment bill passed in Rajya Sabha

Main features and relaxations are as under:

1.      No minimum capital requirement of Rs.1 lakh (in case of private company) or Rs. 5 lakh (in case of public company)

2.      Approval of shareholders under Section 188 (related party transactions) can be ordinary

3.      Transaction between holding and wholly owned subsidiaries whose accounts are consolidated and laid before general meeting are exempt from shareholders’ approval requirement is exempt from requirement of obtaining shareholders’ approval

4.      No requirement of common seal. If the company does not have common seal, authority in favour of any person by two directors or one director and company secretary, if any, will bind the Company

5.      If deposit is accepted in violation of deposit rules or the company fails to repay deposit or interest thereon the company shall, in addition to the payment of the amount of deposit or part thereof and the interest due, be punishable with fine which shall not be less than one crore rupees but which may extend to ten crore rupees; and every officer of the company who is in default shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to seven years or with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five lakh rupees but which may extend to two crore rupees, or with both. If it is proved that the officer of the company who is in default, has contravened such provisions knowingly or wilfully with the intention to deceive the company or its shareholders or depositors or creditors or tax authorities, he shall be liable for action under section 447.

6.      Exemption for loan given to wholly owned subsidiary and security or guarantee provide on behalf of subsidiary is given 185 itself (earlier exemption was through rules, subordinated regulations)

7.      Board resolutions under Section 179 which are filed with RoC, will not be public document

8.      Previous losses and depreciation will need to set off out of current year profit before declaring dividend

9.      If dividend is claimed and paid, shares in respect thereof should not be transferred to IEPF

10.  Fraud exceeding certain percentage need to be reported to Central Government. Other fraud of lesser amount need to be reported to audit committee/ board and details of frauds which are reported to audit committee/ board also need to be disclosed in directors report

11.  Audit Committee can give omnibus approval (this will be on the lines of listing agreement; but threshold and other conditions will be prescribed by Rules)

ICAI has issued today Guidance note on Accounting for Derivatives.

ICAI has issued today Guidance note on Accounting for Derivatives.

This Guidance Note is an interim measure to provide recommendatory guidance on accounting for derivative contracts and hedging activities considering the lack of mandatory guidance in this regard with a view to bring about uniformity of practice in accounting for derivative contracts by various entities.

Please refer link to view / Download GN on Accounting for Derivatives http://220.227.161.86/37597research27174.pdf

Proposed amendment : IMPORTANT effective from 1st JUNE, 2015;

Forwarding as received from Chintan Patel..
Proposed amendment :
IMPORTANT effective from 1st JUNE, 2015;
TDS provision u/s 194C applicable on payments to transporters vide Finance Bill, 2015
  
CURRENT SCENARIO:

Under the existing provisions of sub section (6) of section 194C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, there is no deduction of tax from payments made to the contractor during the course of plying, hiring and leasing goods carriage if the contractor furnishes his Permanent Account Number (PAN) to the payer.

REASON FOR THE AMENDMENT:

This exemption (as mentioned above) applies to all the transporters irrespective of their size, which defeat the real intention of bringing this amendment vide Finance Bill, 2009.

The memorandum explaining the provisions of Finance (No.2) Bill, 2009 indicates that the intention was to exempt only small transport operators (as defined in section 44AE of the Act) from the purview of TDS on furnishing of Permanent Account Number (PAN). Thus, the intention was to reduce the compliance burden on the small transporters. However, the current language of sub-section (6) of section 194C of the Act does not convey the desired intention and as a result all transporters, irrespective of their size, are claiming exemption from TDS under the existing provisions of sub-section (6) of section 194C of the Act on furnishing of PAN.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT:

Now to bring the more rationale, it is proposed to amend the provisions of section 194C of the Act to expressly provide that the relaxation under sub-section (6 ) of section 194C of the Act from non-deduction of tax shall only be applicable to the payment in the nature of transport charges (whether paid by a person engaged in the business of transport or otherwise) made to an contractor who is engaged in the business of transport i.e. plying, hiring or leasing goods carriage and who is eligible to compute income as per the provisions of section 44AE of the Act (i.e. a person who is not owning more than 10 goods carriage at any time during the previous year) and who has also furnished a declaration to this effect along with his PAN.

We can depict the changes made by Finance Bill, 2015 in Section 194C(6) as follows:-

Existing Section 194C(6)

Sec 194C(6) After proposed amendment

No deduction shall be made from any sum credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the previous year to the account of a contractor during the course of  business of plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages, on furnishing of his Permanent Account Number, to the person paying or crediting such sum.

No deduction shall be made from any sum credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the previous year to the account of a contractor during the course of business of plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages, on furnishing ofwhere such contractor owns ten or less goods carriages at any time during the previous year and furnishes a declaration to that effect along with his Permanent Account Number, to the person paying or crediting such sum.

Emphasis supplied

This amendment will take effect from 1st June, 2015.

Points to note:-

1. As per Explanation (ii) of Section 194C the ‘Goods carriages” shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Explanation to subsection (7) of Section 44AE.

2. In continuation of Note 1, “Goods Carriage” means any motor vehicle constructed or adapted for use solely for the carriage of goods, or any motor vehicle not so constructed or adapted when used for the carriage. [Explanation (a) to subsection (7) of Section 44AE read with Section 2 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.]

3. A person, who is in possession of goods carriage, whether taken on hire purchase or on instalments and for which the whole or part of the payment is still due, shall be deemed to be the owner of such goods carriages. [Explanation (b) to subsection (7) of Section 44AE.]

IMPACT AREA:

This proposed amendment will have impact on both the parties i.e. payer and payee. As far as payees are concerned, the inflow of cash will be lower now as there going to be a deduction of 1% / 2% from the revenues. Further, it may also bring the larger amount of revenue under the tax umbrella as the deduction of tax will imply to declare that income to the income tax department curbing the unfair practices. Those entities which are not profitable and making losses, this deduction of Tax may block the money for a very long time until they get it back via income tax refund after processing of the income tax return. To cater this problem, one may obtain the certificate u/s 197 of Income Tax Act, 1961 for deduction of tax at lower/nil rate.

Taking the look at the impacts on other side i.e. on payers the major work stands to identify all such cases where no TDS was made and now it is required to deduct the TDS, if declaration is not available.  It is advisable on the part of the payer to communicate (if possible) to all the payees and ask for the declaration well in advance so that any lack of communication regarding these provisions can be avoided.. This process will also require the changes in the accounting software/ERP/SAP of the payee so that there will be the deduction of tax. Further, the proper record and documentation of declarations and PAN, should be maintained to substantiate the cases where deduction of tax is not to be made. A sample declaration is enclosed as Annexure –A of the article.

Annexure – A

Sample Declaration u/s 194C(6) for non-deduction of tax at source.

To,

__________ (name of the Payer)

__________  (Address of the Payer)

Declaration

I, ________, Proprietor / Partner / Director of M/s _________________ (name and address of Payee) [hereinafter “the contractor”] do hereby makes the following declaration as required by sub section (6) of Section 194C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for receiving payments from the payer without deduction of tax at source:-

1. That I/We am/are authorized to make this declaration in the capacity as proprietor/partner/director.

2. That the contractor is engaged by the payer for plying, hiring or leasing of goods carriage* for its business.

3. That the contractor does not own more than 10 goods carriage* as on date.

4. That if the number of goods carriages* owned by the contractor exceeds ten at any time during the previous year 2015-16 (i.e. 01.04.2015 to 31.03.2016) or after furnishing this declaration, the contractor shall forthwith, in writing intimate the payer of this fact.

5. That the Income Tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the contractor is ____________ . A self-attested photocopy of the PAN is furnished to the payer along with this declaration. 

Place : ______

Date : _______                                                                                             (Name of Declarant)

Verification

I, the above named declarant do hereby verify that the contents of the above paragraphs one to five are true to the best of my knowledge and belief, and no part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed in it.

Place :

Date:                                                                                                  

(name of Declarant)

* Goods Carriage” means any motor  vehicle constructed or adapted for use solely for the carriage of goods, or any motor vehicle not so constructed or adapted when used for the carriage. [Explanation (a) to subsection (7) of Section 44AE read with Explanation (ii) of Section 194C and  Section 2 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.]

Finance Bill passed

Rajjya Sabha passed Finance Bill 2015. Now only ascent from President required for enactment of Budget.

Notification on Education Cess

Amendment to The CENVAT Credit Rules,2004 (CCR,2004)

 

Rule 3(7)(b) of the CCR,2004 has been amended so as to allow utilization of credit of Education Cess and Secondary Education Cess for payment of basic excise duty in the following situations:

 

1.       Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess on inputs or capital goods received in the factory of manufacture of final product on or after the 1^st day of March,2015;

 

2.       Balance 50% Education Cess and Secondary and Higher Education Cess on Capital Goods received in the factory of manufacture of final product in the financial year 2014-15; and

 

3.       Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess on input services received by the manufacture of final product on or after 1^st day of March,2015;

 

(Notification No.12/2015-Central Excise (N.T.) dated 30-04-2015 refers)

 

Illustrative formats of an auditors’ report on CFS

ICAI has today issued illustrative formats of an auditors’ report on CFS, covering some of the clauses of section 143(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 (and where the auditor does not have the responsibility for reporting on internal financial controls over financial reporting under section 143(3)(i) of the Companies Act, 2013).
These formats may be applied for the FY 2014-15 and until further announcement.

Format of Auditor's Report

(a) Unmodified opinion on the consolidated financial statements :  220.227.161.86/37520aasb27034-cfs-co.pdf

(b) Modified opinion on the consolidated financial statements:  220.227.161.86/37521aasb27034-cfs-qo.pdf

Changes in Finance Bill,2015

Snippets of changes made in Finance Bill, 2015 as passed by the Lok Sabha

The Hon'ble Finance Minister had presented the Finance Bill, 2015 in lok Sabha on February 28, 2015. Now the Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill, 2015 with certain changes. Originally the Finance Bill, 2015 proposed to provide relief from MAT only to FIIs without extending such relief to foreign companies. Now exemption from MAT has been proposed to be provided to foreign companies as well. Key changes as made to the Finance Bill, 2015 are given hereunder:

1) MAT exemption to foreign coImpanies : The Finance Bill, 2015 proposed to provide relief from MAT only to FIIs without extending such relief to foreign companies. Thus, the foreign company would be liable to pay MAT on capital gains arising from transfer of securities and income arising from royalty, interest or FTS even if such income would not be chargeable to tax or taxable at lower rate in India by virtue of applicable double taxation avoidance agreements ('DTAA') or any provision of the Income-Tax Act.

Therefore, the Finance Bill, 2015 as passed by Lok Sabha proposes to provide relief from MAT to foreign companies as well. Capital gains from transfer of securities, interest, royalty and FTS accruing or arising to foreign company has been proposed to be excluded from chargeability of MAT if tax payable on such income is less than 18.5%.

2) Increase in limit of Section 80D deduction to Individuals : The Finance Bill, 2015 had increased the limit of deduction under Section 80D to Rs 25,000 for any member of HUF. It omitted to increase such limit for individuals. Accordingly, necessary changes have been proposed to rectify such omission.

3) Subsidies included in definition of income : Any subsidy which is not reduced from the actual cost of the asset in view of provisions of Explanation 10 to Section 43(1) has been proposed to be included in the definition of income.

4) Interest on loan taken to acquire an asset : Interest on borrowings used for acquisition of asset has been proposed to be disallowed as revenue expenditure till the date on which asset is put to use.

Circular on Goods cleared from DTA to SEZ treated as Exports

Goods cleared from DTA to SEZ treated as Exports

CBEC vide Circular No. 1001/8/2015-CX, Dated: April 28, 2015 has clarified that Benefit of rebate of duty under Rule 18 of Central Excise Rules, 2002 and Refund of accumulated CENVAT credit under Rule 5 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 will continue to be available on goods cleared from Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) to Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

As per the provisions of SEZ Act, supply of goods from DTA to the SEZ is treated as export; as a SEZ is treated as a territory outside the customs territory of India. The DTA supplier supplying goods to the SEZ shall clear the goods either under bond or as duty paid goods under claim of rebate on the cover of ARE-1. Thus, any licit clearances of goods to an SEZ from the DTA will continue to be treated as export only.

 [Circular No. 1001/8/2015-CX, Dated: April 28, 2015]