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The Taxation Division of FICCI is the fountainhead of new ideas and fresh concepts on matters relating to taxation.

The division, during the last few years, organized Annual Tax meet, Conference on Economic Legislation; Union Budget; Implications of Finance Bill; Value Added Tax (VAT); CENVAT Credit & Service Tax; National Convention on The Emerging Role of CEOs and CFOs and International Conference on Investment Friendly Tax.

The Annual Tax Conference of FICCI has been the meeting place for tax and corporate laws experts, policy-makers, representatives of industry and academia to brainstorm on the direction in which the reforms have to be carried out in direct taxes, indirect taxes, corporate laws and corporate governance.

The focus of these multidisciplinary discussions has been as to how to make the tax laws structure simple, growth-oriented, progressive and easy to comply with. Also, it has provided the intellectual inputs to the formation of the general budgets.
To discuss relevant issues and in continuation with past, FICCI, in association with OECD, IBFD and European Commission organized a 2-day International Conference. The Conference aimed to ensure that tax laws of India were in tune with current global practices of financial management and Indian laws and policies were integrated with the rest of the world. It provided a forum for the experts and policy makers to understand each other's perspective in respect of legislation affecting international transaction and also to suggest optimum solutions.
The division prepares and submits every year a detailed Pre-Budget Memorandum to the government as also a Post Budget Memorandum after the presentation of the budget.
It also analyzes various issues raised by FICCI members pertaining to Direct/Indirect taxation matters, guides them and where deems necessary makes representations before the concerned authorities for suitable modifications/clarifications. Also, conducts learning programs on various contentious and complicated topical issues for the benefit of constituents members.

Team Leader

Ira Khanna

Addl. Director

Timeline

2023
Jul
Event

FICCI's GST Conclave
Journey towards GST 2.0 - Six Years of GST

Press Release

Tracing fake GST registrations is on radar of the government: Shashank Priya, Member (GST), CBIC 

May
Event

E-Masterclass on TDS and TCS

Apr
Event

Masterclass on GST

Feb
Press Release

The Budget is about continuing growth and ensuring that benefits percolate to each and every individual: Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary Revenue, Ministry of Finance

Study

Union Budget 2023-24: Analysis Report

Event

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2023-24

2022
Dec
Event

E-Masterclass on Customs Issues

Oct
Event

Masterclass on GST

Jul
Press Release

GST Council will take decisions in national interest, benefiting taxpayers and industry: Deputy CM, Bihar & Member, GoM on Rate Rationalisation under GST

Event

FICCI GST Conclave Stride towards GST 2.0 - Five Years of GST

Apr
Event

Webinar on E-Invoicing under GST : A game changer

Event

E-Masterclass on TDS and TCS provisions under Income Tax Law

Mar
Event

DPIIT Post Budget Webinar - Make in India for the World

Feb
Event

Post Budget Interactive Session

2021
Dec
Event

FICCI International Tax Conference 2021

Sep
Event

Masterclass on GST

Event

Take through key decisions of the GST Council's 45th meeting with Impact Analysis

Aug
Event

Impact Analysis and Deliberations on exercise of 'Review of Customs Duty Exemptions by CBIC'

Jul
Event

Impact Analysis and Deliberations on exercise of Review of Customs Duty Exemptions by CBIC

Event

Four Year Journey of Goods and Services Tax and Way Ahead

Apr
Event

Masterclass on GST - Recent changes under GST Regime

2020
Dec
Event

Master Class on CAROTAR, 2020(Customs Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements Rules, 2020) and Faceless Assessment

Sep
Event

FICCI Dialogue for Actionable Insights: Transparent Taxation- Honouring The Honest Tax Payers

Press Release

Data driven, faceless approach in taxation will bring down compliance cost: Finance Secretary

Event

Special interactive session with Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI on Transparent Taxation

Aug
Press Release

FICCI welcomes the launch of 'Transparent Taxation-Honouring the Honest' platform

Jun
Event

Masterclass on GST

Event

FICCI-Shardul Amarchand Webinar on Tax treatment of Capital Instruments and Analysis of Recent Trends in Permanent Establishment (PE) and Secondment Structures

May
Event

Webinar on Anti Profiteering and COVID-19 created Issues

Event

Anti Profiteering and COVID-19 created Issues

Event

Webinar on Taxation Issues and Impact of Stimulus Package for MSMEs

Event

Special Webinar on Writ petitions under GST with focus on Credits and Intermediaries

Apr
Event

Online Interaction with Mr. AK Pandey, Member (GST), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs

Event

Key Tax Measures and Developments amid COVID-19

2019
Sep
Press Release

Tax reliefs to corporates will act as a booster dose to revive growth: Sandip Somany, President FICCI

Event

Interactive Session with Member (GST) on Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019

Aug
Event

Workshop by GSTN Representatives on Offline Tool of New Return under GST

Jul
Event

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2019-20

Jun
Press Release

FICCI congratulates government on completion of two-years of GST

Jan
Press Release

FICCI welcomes doubling of GST exemption threshold from Rs 20 lakh to 40 lakh

2018
Dec
Press Release

FICCI welcomes GST rate reduction roadmap Pragmatic rationalisation of tax rates has taken GST reform to its next level: Sandip Somany, President, FICCI

Jul
Press Release

GST Council's decisions will facilitate ease of doing business: FICCI President Rashesh Shah

Press Release

India Growth Story Intact, Despite Some Challenges GST will boost growth, bring down inflation

Press Release

Continuous efforts being made to simplify GST system: Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia

Study

FICCI Survey on one year of GST

Event

Session on One Year Journey of GST

May
Study

Tax Updates, May 2018

Press Release

New GST return filling system is a welcome move, but industry preparedness must be taken care of in its implementation- Mr. Rashesh Shah, President, FICCI

Feb
Press Release

FICCI Industry Survey on GST- Positive impact on logistics, GSTN portal glitches and cost of compliance among concern areas

Survey

FICCI's Survey Taxpayers' Goods and Services Tax Implementation Experience Survey, 2018

Event

Interactive Session on GST journey and Union Budget Analysis

Event

Union Budget 2018-19 Viewing and Interactive Session

2017
Dec
Study

FICCI Pre Budget Memorandum

Press Release

FICCI demands across the board Income Tax rate cut in 2018-19 budget

Event

Pre-Budget Meeting with the Finance Minister

Oct
Study

Tax Updates, October 2017

Sep
Study

Tax Updates, September 2017

Aug
Event

Seminar on Contemporary Tax Issues (BEPS)

Jun
Press Release

FICCI looks forward to working with the Governments to ensure successful implementation of GST

Press Release

Tax Collection at Source under GST would have slowed down e-commerce, economic growth and job creation

May
Event

Series of Interactive Sessions on GST - Transition and the Way Forward

Study

Tax Updates, May 2017

Mar
Study

Tax Updates,March 2017

Feb
Study

Tax Updates,February 2017

Jan
Study

Tax Updates,January 2017

2016
Dec
Event

FICCI KPMG Seminar on GST Laws and Implications

Study

Tax Updates, December 2016

Event

Interactive Session on GST Laws and their Implications

Nov
Policy

FICCI's Pre-Budget Memorandum 2017-18

Study

Tax Updates, November 2016

Press Release

FICCI comments on GST rate structure

Oct
Study

Tax Updates, October 2016

Event

Awareness Workshop on 'GST & It's Implications'

Event

Awareness Workshop on "GST & It'S Implications"

Sep
Event

Interactive Session on - GST Laws and their Implications

Study

Tax Updates, September 2016

Aug
Press Release

FICCI submits recommendations on GST to Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers

Policy

FICCI's Suggestions on approach to the GST Rates and Comments on draft Model GST Law

Press Release

FICCI submits feedback on the model GST law to the Government

Study

Tax Updates, August 2016

Press Release

FICCI comments on the passage of GST bill in the Lok Sabha

Press Release

FICCI comments on GST

Press Release

FICCI looks forward to the Goods and Services Tax becoming a reality

Jul
Survey

Report on Taxpayers' Experience Survey, 2016

Study

Tax Updates, July 2016

Jun
Press Release

FICCI meets FM regarding Income Declaration Scheme 2016

Study

Tax Updates, June 2016

Press Release

FICCI comments on the need of widening the tax net

Event

Interactive Session on Issues and Trends in Service Tax Regime in India

May
Study

Tax Updates, May 2016

Apr
Study

Tax Updates, March-April 2016

Mar
Event

Interactive Session on 'GST and its Implications'

Feb
Study

Tax Updates, February 2016

Jan
Study

Tax Updates, January 2016

Policy

Pre-Budget Memorandum 2016-2017

2015
Dec
Study

Tax Updates, December 2015

Event

Interactive Session on 'GST and Its Implications'

Press Release

FICCI comments on the recommendations by the GST panel

Nov
Study

Tax Updates, November 2015

Press Release

FICCI comment on revamp of the appraisal system of the tax officers

Oct
Study

Tax Updates, October 2015

Event

Interactive Session on GST and Taxpayers' Services

Sep
Study

Tax Updates, September 2015

Press Release

FICCI comments on Govt.'s decision on MAT

Aug
Study

Tax Updates, August 2015

Jul
Press Release

Model GST law being drafted

Event

Interactive Session on 'Goods and Services Tax - Challenges for the Businesses'

Jun
Press Release

India likely to sign IGA for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in early July, says JS, Ministry of Finance

Study

Tax Updates, June 2015

May
Press Release

FICCI comments on Passage of the GST Bill in Lok Sabha

Apr
Study

Tax Updates, April

Study

Tax Updates, February 2015

Mar
Study

Tax Updates, March

Event

Interactive session on Union Budget 2015-16

Feb
Press Release

FICCI identifies the root causes of black money generation

Study

A Study on Widening of Tax Base and Tackling Black Money

2014
Dec
Study

Tax Updates, December

Nov
Study

Tax Updates, November

Press Release

There is an urgent need for more transparency in bringing about GST, a major tax reform initiative

Oct
Study

Tax Updates

Jul
Event

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2014-15 in Mumbai

Event

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2014-15 in New Delhi

2013
Apr
Study

Towards the GST - An Approach Paper

Event

Interactive Session on Goods and Services Tax (GST) with Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Bihar and Chairman, Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers

Mar
Study

Dispute Resolution in Tax Matters: A Discussion Paper

Jan
Press Release

FICCI's Comments on FM's statement

2012
Dec
Press Release

Apply 30% Peak Tax Rate to Personal Income over Rs. 20 lakh: FICCI

Oct
Event

Seminar on Key Latest Developments under Direct Taxes and Service Tax

Event

Seminar on Key Latest Developments under Direct Taxes and Service Tax

2011
Mar
Press Release

FICCI Welcomes Roll-Back of Service Tax Levy on Healthcare Services

2010
Oct
Press Release

Constitution Amendment Bill on GST Roll Out Likely to be Tabled in Next Budget Session: Revenue Secretary

Event

Roundtable on Indian Tax Policy and Administration

Press Release

FICCI Call to End Anomalous Tax Treatment of ESOPs 'Align Income Tax Rules with SEBI Guidelines Framed for ESOPs'

Jun
Press Release

FICCI Suggests Replacement of DDT with Withholding Tax

2008
Aug
Event

Professional Workshop on "Issues Concerning Direct Taxes And Goods & Services Tax"

Events

Jul, 2023

FICCI's GST Conclave
Journey towards GST 2.0 - Six Years of GST

Jul 03, 2023, FICCI, New Delhi, 10:30 a.m. to 01:00 p.m.

May, 2023

E-Masterclass on TDS and TCS

May 09, 2023, Online, Webex Platform, 3:00 P.M. - 4.30 P.M.

Apr, 2023

Masterclass on GST

Apr 26, 2023, Online, Webex Platform, 3.00 P.M. to 4.30 P.M.

Feb, 2023

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2023-24

Feb 02, 2023, FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi, 11:00 A.M. to 02:30 P.M.

Dec, 2022

E-Masterclass on Customs Issues

Dec 08, 2022, Webex Platform, 3.00 PM to 4.30 PM

Oct, 2022

Masterclass on GST

Oct 28, 2022, Virtual Platform, 3.00 P.M. to 4.30 P.M

Jul, 2022

FICCI GST Conclave Stride towards GST 2.0 - Five Years of GST

Jul 08, 2022,

Apr, 2022

Webinar on E-Invoicing under GST : A game changer

Apr 21, 2022, Virtual Platform, 3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M

E-Masterclass on TDS and TCS provisions under Income Tax Law

Apr 05, 2022,

Mar, 2022

DPIIT Post Budget Webinar - Make in India for the World

Mar 03, 2022, Virtual Platform, 11 a.m. to 5.20 p.m

Feb, 2022

Post Budget Interactive Session

Feb 02, 2022, Virtual Platform, 11:00 A.M. to 01:30 P.M.

Dec, 2021

FICCI International Tax Conference 2021

Dec 10, 2021, Virtual Platform

Sep, 2021

Masterclass on GST

Sep 29, 2021, Virtual Platform

Take through key decisions of the GST Council's 45th meeting with Impact Analysis

Sep 25, 2021, Virtual Platform, 11.30 a.m. to 12.45 p.m.

Aug, 2021

Impact Analysis and Deliberations on exercise of 'Review of Customs Duty Exemptions by CBIC'

Aug 02, 2021, Virtual Platform, 3.00 p.m. to 4.15 p.m.

Jul, 2021

Impact Analysis and Deliberations on exercise of Review of Customs Duty Exemptions by CBIC

Jul 27, 2021, Virtual Platform, 12 p.m.

Four Year Journey of Goods and Services Tax and Way Ahead

Jul 02, 2021, Virtual Platform, 11.30 a.m. to 12.45 p.m.

Apr, 2021

Masterclass on GST - Recent changes under GST Regime

Apr 23, 2021, Virtual Platform, 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Dec, 2020

Master Class on CAROTAR, 2020(Customs Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements Rules, 2020) and Faceless Assessment

Dec 18, 2020, Virtual Platform, 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM

Sep, 2020

FICCI Dialogue for Actionable Insights: Transparent Taxation- Honouring The Honest Tax Payers

Sep 11, 2020, Virtual Platform

Special interactive session with Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI on Transparent Taxation

Sep 04, 2020, Online: 4:30-5:30 pm

Jun, 2020

Masterclass on GST

Jun 25, 2020, Virtual Platform, 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM

FICCI-Shardul Amarchand Webinar on Tax treatment of Capital Instruments and Analysis of Recent Trends in Permanent Establishment (PE) and Secondment Structures

Jun 12, 2020, Virtual Platform, 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

May, 2020

Anti Profiteering and COVID-19 created Issues

May 28, 2020, Webinar, 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM

Webinar on Anti Profiteering and COVID-19 created Issues

May 28, 2020, Webinar, 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM

Webinar on Taxation Issues and Impact of Stimulus Package for MSMEs

May 26, 2020, Webinar, 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM

Special Webinar on Writ petitions under GST with focus on Credits and Intermediaries

May 18, 2020, Webinar, 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM

Apr, 2020

Online Interaction with Mr. AK Pandey, Member (GST), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs

Apr 24, 2020, Webinar,

Key Tax Measures and Developments amid COVID-19

Apr 13, 2020, Webinar, 02:30 PM

Sep, 2019

Interactive Session with Member (GST) on Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019

Sep 06, 2019, FICCI, New Delhi

Aug, 2019

Workshop by GSTN Representatives on Offline Tool of New Return under GST

Aug 08, 2019, FICCI, New Delhi

Jul, 2019

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2019-20

Jul 09, 2019, FICCI, New Delhi

Jul, 2018

Session on One Year Journey of GST

Jul 06, 2018, FICCI, New Delhi

Feb, 2018

Interactive Session on GST journey and Union Budget Analysis

Feb 03, 2018, Jaipur, Rajsthan

Union Budget 2018-19 Viewing and Interactive Session

Feb 01, 2018, Hotel Novotel, S G Highway, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Dec, 2017

Pre-Budget Meeting with the Finance Minister

Dec 06, 2017, New Delhi

Aug, 2017

Seminar on Contemporary Tax Issues (BEPS)

Aug 31, 2017, New Delhi

May, 2017

Series of Interactive Sessions on GST - Transition and the Way Forward

May 24, 2017, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Chennai

Dec, 2016

FICCI KPMG Seminar on GST Laws and Implications

Dec 22, 2016, Jaipur

Interactive Session on GST Laws and their Implications

Dec 07, 2016, Pune

Oct, 2016

Awareness Workshop on 'GST & It's Implications'

Oct 28, 2016, Kochi

Awareness Workshop on "GST & It'S Implications"

Oct 06, 2016, Thiruvananthapuram

Sep, 2016

Interactive Session on - GST Laws and their Implications

Sep 30, 2016, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower - Mumbai

Jun, 2016

Interactive Session on Issues and Trends in Service Tax Regime in India

Jun 06, 2016, Kolkata

Mar, 2016

Interactive Session on 'GST and its Implications'

Mar 14, 2016, Bhubaneswar

Dec, 2015

Interactive Session on 'GST and Its Implications'

Dec 17, 2015, Hyderabad, Bengaluru

Oct, 2015

Interactive Session on GST and Taxpayers' Services

Oct 05, 2015, Chennai

Jul, 2015

Interactive Session on 'Goods and Services Tax - Challenges for the Businesses'

Jul 17, 2015, FICCI, New Delhi

Mar, 2015

Interactive session on Union Budget 2015-16

Mar 05, 2015, FICCI, New Delhi

Jul, 2014

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2014-15 in Mumbai

Jul 15, 2014, Mumabi

Interactive Session on Union Budget 2014-15 in New Delhi

Jul 14, 2014, FICCI, New Delhi

Apr, 2013

Interactive Session on Goods and Services Tax (GST) with Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Bihar and Chairman, Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers

Apr 22, 2013, Mumbai

Oct, 2012

Seminar on Key Latest Developments under Direct Taxes and Service Tax

Oct 09, 2012, FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi

Seminar on Key Latest Developments under Direct Taxes and Service Tax

Oct 06, 2012, Chennai

Oct, 2010

Roundtable on Indian Tax Policy and Administration

Oct 29, 2010, New Delhi

Aug, 2008

Professional Workshop on "Issues Concerning Direct Taxes And Goods & Services Tax"

Aug 20, 2008, New Delhi

Chair

Mr Pranav Sayta

Partner & National Leader
International Tax & Transaction Services (ITTS)
Ernst & Young LLP

Co-Chair

Mr Rajeev Dimri

National Head of Tax
KPMG in India

Mentor

Mr. Dinesh Kanabar

CEO
Dhruva Advisors LLP

Report on Taxpayers' Experience Survey, 2016

Download PDF

Tax Updates, November 2013

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Tax Updates, October 2013

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Tax Updates, September 2013

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Tax Updates, August 2013

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Tax Updates, July 2013

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Tax Updates, June 2013

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Tax Updates, May 2013

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Tax Updates, April 2013

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Tax Updates, March 2013

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Tax Updates, February 2013

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Tax Updates, January 2013

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Tax Updates, September 2012

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Tax Updates, December 2012

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Tax Updates, November 2012

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Tax Updates, October 2012

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Tax Updates, August 2012

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Tax Updates, July 2012

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Tax Updates, June 2012

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Tax Updates, December 2013

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Tax Updates, January 2014

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Tax Updates,February 2014

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Tax Updates, March 2014

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Tax Updates, April 2014

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Tax Updates, May 2014

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Tax Updates, June 2014

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Tax Updates, July 2014

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Tax Updates, August 2014

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Tax Updates, September 2014

Download PDF

Pre-Budget Memorandum 2016-2017

Download PDF
The Telegraph Online |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals, says senior CBIC official

Representational image. File photo The Centre will soon notify rules to set up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday.“We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps. We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council.“We will have to set the manpower, and institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner,” Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said at a Ficci event.The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal.In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up the appellate tribunals.There will be benches of the tribunal in every state, with a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to ‘’place of supply’’.Currently, taxpayers move the high courts against any GST ruling.The resolution process takes a longer time as the high courts are already burdened with a backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST.Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution.Tax basePriya said the department was working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the income tax department on corporate taxpayers.The move to widen the tax net comes at a time the Centre is chuffed by the 12 per cent jump in GST collections in June — with collections over the past four months consistently topping Rs 1.5 lakh crore.The move to triangulate date indicates glaring cracks in the system that haven’t been resolved to date – more than five years after the Modi government launched its biggest tax reform in July 2017.As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST.Priya said the board has detected 45,000 fake GST registrations involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore. The officers have also blocked the wrongful availment of ITC (input tax credit) worth Rs 1,430 crore.Modi also said that some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policy and the grouping must not hesitate to criticise them

Millennium Post |

Centre to soon notify rules to set up GST appellate tribunals

New Delhi: The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday.Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime. As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST. As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017. Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years. Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. “We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps,” Priya said. “We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner,” Priya said addressing Ficci’s GST conclave. The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal. In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST. As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to ‘place of supply’. Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts. The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases. Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution. Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters. He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration. The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore. © Copyrights 2022. All rights reserved. Powered By Hocalwire

Money Control |

Unregistered sellers can make intra-state supply to Amazon, Flipkart from Oct 1, says CBIC

My AccountFollow us on: Find & Invest in bonds issued by top corporates, PSU Banks, NBFCs, and much more. Invest as low as 10,000 and earn better returns than FDInvest NowPowered By Find safe & high-yielding bonds for your buck. Discover the right bonds meeting your investment amount & investment horizonInvest NowAMBAREESH BALIGAFundamental, Stock Ideas, Multibaggers & InsightsSubscribeCK NARAYANStock & Index F&O Trading Calls & Market AnalysisSubscribeSUDARSHAN SUKHANITechnical Call, Trading Calls & InsightsSubscribeT GNANASEKARCommodity Trading Calls & Market AnalysisSubscribeMECKLAI FINANCIALSCurrency Derivatives Trading Calls & InsightsSubscribeSHUBHAM AGARWALOptions Trading Advice and Market AnalysisSubscribeMARKET SMITH INDIAModel portfolios, Investment Ideas, Guru Screens and Much MoreSubscribeTraderSmithProprietary system driven Rule Based Trading callsSubscribeCurated markets data, exclusive trading recommendations, Independent equity analysis & actionable investment ideasSubscribeCurated markets data, exclusive trading recommendations, Independent equity analysis & actionable investment ideasExploreSTOCK REPORTS BY THOMSON REUTERSDetails stock report and investment recommendationSubscribePOWER YOUR TRADETechnical and Commodity CallsSubscribeINVESTMENT WATCHSet price, volume and news alertsSubscribeSTOCKAXIS EMERGING MARKET LEADERS15-20 High Growth Stocks primed for price jumpsSubscribeSellers without GST registration will be able to supply to e-commerce operators such as Amazon and Flipkart for intra-state supply starting October 1, Shashank Priya, Member, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said. This move is expected to give a boost to MSMEs.Speaking at the GST Conclave organised by industry body FICCI, he said, "Sellers will be allowed intra-state supply without registration to e-commerce operators from October 1" .The GST Council had given in-principle approval for the same in the 47th meeting held in June.E-commerce companies had also raised concerns over the necessity of having a brick-and-mortar address under GST. Priya said that for the verification and audit process under GST, a physical address is a must but added that at the time of registration this factor may be considered by the officials.He added that the blueprint for an appellate tribunal is likely to be approved at the next GST Council meeting slated for July 11. "We will notify the rules for the GST appellate tribunal after Council approval," he said.Talking about various indirect tax reforms, he said the GST 2.0 includes the e-way bill reform under which the threshold will be lowered further from  August 1, 2023, to Rs 5 crore.Priya said tax buoyancy has increased from 1.26 in 2018 to 1.40 in 2023, as GST implementation completes six years.Despite the average GST rate of 11.6 percent being much below the 15.3 percent revenue-neutral rate, tax collection has seen an increase thanks to a widening base and the plugging of leakages."Tax rate on many household items were pruned under GST. We started with 229 items in the 28 percent GST slab, but now only 37 items remain in the slab,” he said.Talking about the special two-month drive to weed out fake input tax credit (ITC) claims, he said so far evasion of Rs 13,900 crore had been detected."We have been conducting a drive against fake ITC claims for the last 5 weeks. ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore has already been blocked in this special drive," he said. Copyright © e-Eighteen.com Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of news articles, photos, videos or any other content in whole or in part in any form or medium without express writtern permission of moneycontrol.com is prohibited.You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user.

GST Club |

More businesses to be brought under e-invoicing scheme from 1 August

Subscribe New Delhi: More businesses will be brought under the e-invoicing scheme, meant to track business-to-business sales, from August, and small businesses will be allowed to sell through e-commerce platforms without a Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration from October, said an official on Monday.The e-invoicing scheme, that covers all sales other than those at the retail level, is a reporting requirement of transactions to designated portals meant to improve compliance. The data so reported at the time of the transaction also helps in auto-population of tax returns and brings efficiency and accuracy in reporting besides helping to reduce disputes.Shashank Priya, member (GST) in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), said at a conference organized by industry body Ficci that the game changing step of introducing e-invoicing in 2020 will be expanded in August.E-invoicing was first introduced on 1 October 2020 for businesses with sales more than ₹50 crores and the threshold was gradually lowered and stands at ₹10 crore as of now. "From 1 August, e-invoicing will become compulsory for businesses with sales up to ₹5 crore. That is a game changer," said Shashank Priya.E-invoicing helps in automating accounting, the data gets auto populated in GST returns and facilitates trade, explained the official. "We are not following a Big Bang approach. We continue to incrementally improve it (the GST system). We bring the changes in a calibrated manner," explained Priya.A separate scheme of facilitating e-commerce for small businesses will be rolled out from October.At present, GST registration is compulsory for sales through e-commerce platforms irrespective of the turnover of the supplier, unlike in the case of offline traders, who do not require GST registration for up to ₹4 million."As you would be aware, we are also looking at making life simpler for some of the smaller taxpayers for supplying through ecommerce operators, with certain safeguards. Now we are proposing to allow, from October, those who are within the threshold of GST registration, to do intra-state supply without compulsorily getting registered," said Shashank Priya, adding that the move is a step in facilitating trade. "We are hoping to get this started from 1 October, 2023," he said. Businesses in the composition scheme that file file tax returns quarterly are also likely to be included in this scheme. There, however, will be safeguards to make sure the scheme is not abused.Priya also said that the government was examining how to further step-up compliance, using information technology. The administration and tax payers have to work collectively on this, he said. Meanwhile, as part of the ongoing drive against fake GST registrations, authorities have detected tax evasion of about ₹13,900 crore and have also blocked wrongfully taken input tax credit of ₹1,430 crore, he said. New Delhi: More businesses will be brought under the e-invoicing scheme, meant to track business-to-business sales, from August, and small businesses will be allowed to sell through e-commerce platforms without a Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration from October, said an official on Monday.The e-invoicing scheme, that covers all sales other than those at the retail level, is a reporting requirement of transactions to designated portals meant to improve compliance. The data so reported at the time of the transaction also helps in auto-population of tax returns and brings efficiency and accuracy in reporting besides helping to reduce disputes.Shashank Priya, member (GST) in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), said at a conference organized by industry body Ficci that the game changing step of introducing e-invoicing in 2020 will be expanded in August.E-invoicing was first introduced on 1 October 2020 for businesses with sales more than ₹50 crores and the threshold was gradually lowered and stands at ₹10 crore as of now. "From 1 August, e-invoicing will become compulsory for businesses with sales up to ₹5 crore. That is a game changer," said Shashank Priya.E-invoicing helps in automating accounting, the data gets auto populated in GST returns and facilitates trade, explained the official. "We are not following a Big Bang approach. We continue to incrementally improve it (the GST system). We bring the changes in a calibrated manner," explained Priya.A separate scheme of facilitating e-commerce for small businesses will be rolled out from October.At present, GST registration is compulsory for sales through e-commerce platforms irrespective of the turnover of the supplier, unlike in the case of offline traders, who do not require GST registration for up to ₹4 million."As you would be aware, we are also looking at making life simpler for some of the smaller taxpayers for supplying through ecommerce operators, with certain safeguards. Now we are proposing to allow, from October, those who are within the threshold of GST registration, to do intra-state supply without compulsorily getting registered," said Shashank Priya, adding that the move is a step in facilitating trade. "We are hoping to get this started from 1 October, 2023," he said. Businesses in the composition scheme that file file tax returns quarterly are also likely to be included in this scheme. There, however, will be safeguards to make sure the scheme is not abused.Priya also said that the government was examining how to further step-up compliance, using information technology. The administration and tax payers have to work collectively on this, he said. Meanwhile, as part of the ongoing drive against fake GST registrations, authorities have detected tax evasion of about ₹13,900 crore and have also blocked wrongfully taken input tax credit of ₹1,430 crore, he said.Subscribe to our newsletters.© 2021 Avinash Poddar.Use phone?Use email?

Devdiscourse |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals

The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday.Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime.As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST.As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017.Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years.Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month.''We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps,'' Priya said.''We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner,'' Priya said addressing Ficci's GST conclave.The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal.In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST.As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to 'place of supply'.Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts.The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases.Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution.Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters.He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration.The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore.(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Email: info@devdiscourse.com Phone: +91-720-6444012, +91-7027739813, 14, 15 © Copyright 2023

Bollywood Wallah |

GST Appellate Tribunal will be formed in India, benches will be established in states

New Delhi : The Modi government at the Center will soon set up a GST Appellate Tribunal to settle cases related to Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India. Before setting up the tribunal, the rules will be notified by the government. Members will be appointed for this. Shashank Priya, Member, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said the department is working to widen the taxpayer base and is using data from various sources in the case of corporate taxpayers in the income tax regime for accurate assessment .1.39 crore companies registered under GSTAccording to statistics, at present only 40 per cent of the company income tax payer base is registered under GST. There are 1.39 crore companies registered under GST. This is almost double the number of goods and services applicable from July 1, 2017. During this, the average monthly GST collection has also increased. Where it was Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18, it has increased to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. The average income so far in the current financial year was Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. He said that we are taking steps after thinking. We are in the process of taking business friendly steps.Approval of changes in the Finance Bill in MarchShashank Priya said at the GST convention of FICCI that after getting approval from the GST Council, we are in the process of notifying the rules. We have to set up institutions with the workforce. We hope it will happen soon. The council will also approve the work experience and eligibility of the members of the tribunal. In March, Parliament approved changes to the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up an appellate tribunal to resolve disputes under GST.GST tribunal bench will be established in each stateAccording to the plan presented by the government, GST tribunal benches will be set up in each state of India, while Delhi will have a principal bench. At present, taxpayers have to go to the concerned High Court if they have a complaint with the system of the tax authority. Since, there are already a large number of cases pending in the courts. In this case, there is a delay in the resolution process. Also, they do not have any special bench to deal with GST cases. In such a situation, by setting up benches at the state and national level, the disposal of cases will be done faster.45,000 fake GST registrations under investigationShashank Priya further said that there are some companies, who have misused the registration process. Now CBIC is using information technology to tighten the registration process and catch wrongdoers. He said 45,000 bogus GST registrations linked to evasion of Rs 13,900 crore are under scrutiny in a two-month-long drive by the central and state tax officials to crack down on bogus registrations. Apart from this, the officials have also stopped wrongful availing of input tax credit of Rs 1,430 crore.Panchakarma Treatment: Panchakarma, which is derived from Sanskrit, translates to "five actions" or "five remedies".…PMJJBY: In today's time, every man should take an insurance plan for his family. No…Chetak EV Sales: Many companies of the auto sector are presenting the sales figures for…Shravani Mela 2023: The world famous, State Shravani Fair of Jharkhand has started. Along with…Lucknow: Is it all over in BJP for Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi who has been…Muzaffarnagar: With the start of Savan from Tuesday, special arrangements have been made for the…

Tax Concept |

Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council

The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday.Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime.Read more at: Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT): A Success StoryAs per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST.As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017.Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years.Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month.“We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps,” Priya said.“We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner,” Priya said addressing Ficci’s GST conclave.The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal.In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST.As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to ‘place of supply’.Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts.The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases.Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution.Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters.He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration.The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore.read more at: Big relief to taxpayers on recovery proceedingsWhatsapp GROUP LINKarticle@taxconcept.netCopyright © 2023 TAX CONCEPT

Plunge Daily |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals

ByPress Trust of India The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime. As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST. As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017.Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years. Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. “We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps,” Priya said. “We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner,” Priya said addressing Ficci’s GST conclave.The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal. In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST. As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to ‘place of supply’. Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts. The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases.Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution. Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters. He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration. The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore.Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );Plunge Media LLP © 2022

Satlok Express |

Center to soon notify rules for setting up GST Appellate Tribunals

Satlok ExpressNews, Spiritual, & FinanceThe Center will soon notify the rules for setting up the GST Appellate Tribunal and appoint members after approval from the Goods and Services Tax Council. Shashank Priya, Member, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said that the department is working to widen the taxpayer base and is using data from various sources in the case of corporate taxpayers in the income tax regime to arrive at an accurate assessment. .According to statistics, at present only 40 per cent of the company income tax payer base is registered under GST.There are 1.39 crore companies registered under GST. This is almost double the number of goods and services applicable from July 1, 2017. Average monthly GST collection has also increased during this period. Where it was Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18, it has increased to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. The average income so far in the current financial year was Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month.He said, “…we are taking steps after thinking. We are in the process of taking business friendly steps.Shashank Priya said at the GST conference of industry body FICCI, “We are in the process of notifying the rules after getting approval from the council. We have to set up institutions with a workforce. We hope it will happen soon.The council will also approve the work experience and eligibility of the members of the tribunal. In March, Parliament approved changes to the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up an appellate tribunal to resolve disputes under GST.According to the plan, benches of the tribunal will be set up in each state while Delhi will have a principal bench.At present, taxpayers have to go to the concerned High Courts when they have complaints from the system of tax authorities. Since there are already a large number of cases pending in the courts, the resolution process gets delayed. Also, they do not have any special bench to deal with GST cases.In such a situation, by setting up benches at the state and national level, the disposal of cases will be done faster.Priya said that there are some companies, who have misused the registration process. Now CBIC is using information technology to tighten the registration process and catch the wrongdoers.He said 45,000 bogus GST registrations linked to evasion of Rs 13,900 crore are under scrutiny in a two-month-long drive by central and state tax officials to crack down on bogus registrations.Apart from this, the officials have also stopped wrongful availing of input tax credit of Rs 1,430 crore.

News Drum |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals

Follow Us New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime. As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST. As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017. Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years. Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. "We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps," Priya said. "We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner," Priya said addressing Ficci's GST conclave. The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal. In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST. As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to 'place of supply'. Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts. The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases. Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution. Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters. He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration. The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore. PTI JD DRR Share this article If you liked this article share it with your friends.they will thank you later

International News and Views |

Notification of rules for setting up GST Appellate Tribunals issued

After the approval of the GST Council, the Center will soon notify the rules for setting up GST Appellate Tribunals and appoint members. A senior CBIC official gave this information on Monday. Shashank Priya, Member (GST), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), said that the Income Tax Department is working to expand the taxpayer base and is taking action to match the data with corporate taxpayers in the income tax regime. Is.As per the data, currently only 40 per cent of the corporate income tax payer base is also registered under GST. There are 1.39 crore businesses registered under GST, which is almost double the number six years ago when GST was launched on July 1, 2017.Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue is witnessing a boom. Average monthly GST revenue to increase from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. The average revenue in 2023-24 is Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. Shashank Priya while addressing the GST conference of FICCI said that we are in the process of notifying the rules after the approval of the Council. We have to set up new institutions with manpower. We hope that this will be done soon. The Council shall also approve the work experience and qualifications of the members of the Tribunal.In March, Parliament approved changes to the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up an appellate tribunal to resolve disputes under GST. According to the plan, benches of the tribunal will be set up in each state, while Delhi will have a principal bench. At present, taxpayers aggrieved by the decision of the tax authorities have to approach the respective High Courts. But this leads to longer resolution process, as the High Courts are already overburdened with pending cases and do not have any special benches to deal with GST cases. Establishment of state and national level benches will pave the way for speedy resolution of disputes.Shashank Priya said that there are some businesses which have misused the registration process. He stressed the need for strict measures to check this and said that CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to nab fraudsters. He said 45,000 bogus GST registrations linked to evasion of Rs 13,900 crore are under probe in a two-month-long drive by the central and state tax authorities to crack down on fake registrations. ( PLC/GT )Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

ABP Live |

GST: Govt soon to notify Rules for setting up Appellate Tribunals

By: ABP News Bureau | Updated at : 03 Jul 2023 06:08 PM (IST) Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. ( Image Source : Getty )The central government will soon notify rules for setting up Goods and Services Tax (GST) appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday, reported the PTI. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime.According to the PTI report, as currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under the GST. As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017.GST revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years.Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-6601185-5"); });"We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps," Priya said. "We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner," Priya said addressing Ficci's GST conclave. The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal.In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under the GST.As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to 'place of supply'.Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts. The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases.Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution. Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters.He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration. The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore. Stock Market: Sensex Jumps 274 Points, Nifty Settles Near 19,400 Amid Volatility. Bajaj Finance Zooms 7 Per CentUnderstanding 'Greedflation': Exploring The Phenomenon; Its Effects On Global, Indian EconomiesPrice Of Commercial LPG Cylinders Hiked By Rs 7, To Be Sold At Rs 1,780 In DelhiHDFC Merger: A Gamechanger For NBFCs And Borrowers? Here's All You Need To KnowByju’s Unlikely To Renew Endorsement Contract With Shah Rukh Khan: ReportBJP Changes State Presidents In Big Reshuffle, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy Made Telangana Party Chief'No Double Standards On Terrorism': PM Modi Calls Out Pakistan At SCO In Presence Of PM Sharif9 Dead As Truck Rams Into House After Losing Control In Maharashtra’s DhuleHeavy Rains Lash Delhi And Gurugram, Three Flights DivertedBJP Eyes Big Organisational Rejig, Likely To Change Presidents In 6 States

Financial Express |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals

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Business Standard |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals

Unsubscribe to continueThis is a subscriber only feature Subscribe Now to get daily updates on WhatsAppAs per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime. As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST. As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017. Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years. Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. "We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps," Priya said. "We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner," Priya said addressing Ficci's GST conclave. The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal. In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST. As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to 'place of supply'. Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts. The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases. Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution. Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters. He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration. The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore.(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)First Published: Jul 03 2023 | 1:25 PM ISTCOVID-19Personal FinanceVirtual RealityEnvironment

Live Mint |

Back More businesses to be brought under e-invoicing scheme from 1 August

New Delhi: More businesses will be brought under the e-invoicing scheme, meant to track business-to-business sales, from August, and small businesses will be allowed to sell through e-commerce platforms without a Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration from October, said an official on Monday. The e-invoicing scheme, that covers all sales other than those at the retail level, is a reporting requirement of transactions to designated portals meant to improve compliance. The data so reported at the time of the transaction also helps in auto-population of tax returns and brings efficiency and accuracy in reporting besides helping to reduce disputes. Shashank Priya, member (GST) in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), said at a conference organized by industry body Ficci that the game changing step of introducing e-invoicing in 2020 will be expanded in August. E-invoicing was first introduced on 1 October 2020 for businesses with sales more than ₹50 crores and the threshold was gradually lowered and stands at ₹10 crore as of now. "From 1 August, e-invoicing will become compulsory for businesses with sales up to ₹5 crore. That is a game changer," said Shashank Priya. E-invoicing helps in automating accounting, the data gets auto populated in GST returns and facilitates trade, explained the official. "We are not following a Big Bang approach. We continue to incrementally improve it (the GST system). We bring the changes in a calibrated manner," explained Priya. A separate scheme of facilitating e-commerce for small businesses will be rolled out from October. At present, GST registration is compulsory for sales through e-commerce platforms irrespective of the turnover of the supplier, unlike in the case of offline traders, who do not require GST registration for up to ₹4 million. "As you would be aware, we are also looking at making life simpler for some of the smaller taxpayers for supplying through ecommerce operators, with certain safeguards. Now we are proposing to allow, from October, those who are within the threshold of GST registration, to do intra-state supply without compulsorily getting registered," said Shashank Priya, adding that the move is a step in facilitating trade. "We are hoping to get this started from 1 October, 2023," he said.  Businesses in the composition scheme that file file tax returns quarterly are also likely to be included in this scheme. There, however, will be safeguards to make sure the scheme is not abused. Priya also said that the government was examining how to further step-up compliance, using information technology. The administration and tax payers have to work collectively on this, he said.  Meanwhile, as part of the ongoing drive against fake GST registrations, authorities have detected tax evasion of about ₹13,900 crore and have also blocked wrongfully taken input tax credit of ₹1,430 crore, he said.Download the Mint app and read premium storiesLog in to our website to save your bookmarks. It'll just take a moment.You are just one step away from creating your watchlist!Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.Your session has expired, please login again.You are now subscribed to our newsletters. In case you can’t find any email from our side, please check the spam folder.This is a subscriber only feature Subscribe Now to get daily updates on WhatsApp

Deccan Herald |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals

The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday.Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime.As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST.Also Read: Over 12k fake entities in GST; CBIC plans biometric authentication, tighter return filingAs many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017.Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years.Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month."We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps," Priya said."We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner," Priya said addressing Ficci's GST conclave.The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal.In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST.As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to 'place of supply'.Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts.The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases.Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution.Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters.He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration.The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore.Check out all newslettersDeccan Herald News now on Telegram - Click here to subscribeFollow us on Facebook | Twitter | Dailymotion | YouTube Kerala's snake boat on Wimbledon's online platformsReliance Jio launches 4G Jio Bharat phones for Rs 999From heat to hail: China's deadly weather takes a tollWas concerned about fitness at Lausanne: Neeraj ChopraFIFA Women's WC 2023: Guide to each groupHow to stop sweating so much: StudyKerala's snake boat on Wimbledon's online platformsReliance Jio launches 4G Jio Bharat phones for Rs 999From heat to hail: China's deadly weather takes a tollWas concerned about fitness at Lausanne: Neeraj ChopraFIFA Women's WC 2023: Guide to each groupHow to stop sweating so much: Study National Karnataka Bengaluru Sports Business Multimedia Opinion Entertainment NCP Crisis: Pawar takes actionOpposition meet rescheduledJio to launch Rs 999 internet phonesDH GalleriesDH PicksLatest storiesTrending newsDownload DH APPServicesOur group sitesDownload DH APP We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve user experience. This includes personalising content and advertising. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy. We use cookies.

The Week |

Centre to soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals

Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to set up tribunals in MarchThe Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council, a senior CBIC official said on Monday. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) member (GST) Shashank Priya said the department is working to expand the taxpayer base and doing data triangulation with the corporate taxpayers in income tax regime. As per data, currently, only 40 per cent of the corporate income taxpayer base is also registered under GST. As many as 1.39 crore businesses are registered under GST, almost double of the number when GST was launched six years ago on July 1, 2017. Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue buoyancy, which was 1.25 after introduction of the indirect tax regime in 2017, has risen to 1.40 in the last two years. Average monthly GST revenue increased from Rs 89,885 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 1.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. In 2023-24, the average revenue stands at Rs 1.69 lakh crore per month. "We are not following a Big Bang approach, we are working in a calibrated manner. We are in the process of taking more trade-friendly steps," Priya said. "We are in the process of notifying the rules after approval of the Council. We will have to set the manpower, institutions in place. We are hopeful it will be done sooner," Priya said addressing Ficci's GST conclave. The council will also approve the work experience and qualifications of members of the tribunal. In March, Parliament had cleared changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for setting up appellate tribunals for resolution of disputes under GST. As per the plan, benches of the tribunal would be set up in every state while there will be a Principal Bench in Delhi which will hear appeals related to 'place of supply'. Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts. The resolution process takes longer time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases. Setting up of state and national-level benches would pave the way for faster dispute resolution. Priya said there are some businesses who have misused the registration process and now the CBIC is working to tighten the registration process and use information technology to catch fraudsters. He said 45,000 fake GST registration involving evasion of Rs 13,900 crore is under scanner in the ongoing two month long drive by central and state tax officers to catch fake registration. The officers have also blocked wrongful availment of ITC worth Rs 1,430 crore.📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines*Articles appearing as INFOCUS/THE WEEK FOCUS are marketing initiativesCopyright © 2023 All rights reserved

ET Energy World |

Scrap windfall tax: FICCI to govt

The Hindu Business Line |

Allow healthcare sector to claim input tax credit: FICCI

Telangana Today |

FICCI welcomes GST Council decisions

Deccan News |

FICCI welcomes GST board decisions

Deccan News |

FICCI welcomes GST board decisions

Orissa Diary |

FICCI welcomes GST Council decisions

Business Dunia |

FICCI welcomes GST Council decisions

Live Mint |

Tough to label corporate pricing as profiteering amid economic devastation: Uday Shankar

Businesses should not profiteer by retaining goods and services tax (GST) relief meant for the consumer, but any corporate response to a minor tax cut should be viewed in the current context of a much bigger economic devastation before labelling it as profiteering behaviour, said Uday Shankar, president of industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Shankar said in an interview on 23 December that the industry body’s members are bound by the law of the land and it expects them to pass on any benefit of GST reduction to consumers. There is no sector of the industry that has not been devastated and every business has struggled to survive, Shankar said.

“If there is a reduction (in GST rate), people should abide by the rules that we all have signed up for. There is no question about that and, if there is any deviant behaviour, we need to come down on it very strongly. However, you also have to understand that if there is a little bit of reduction here and there in tax when it comes in the wake of a much bigger devastation of the larger economic process, it is very tough to call that behaviour as profiteering," he said. These observations come in the wake of a series of orders by the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) holding leading businesses guilty of profiteering for not passing on the benefit of GST relief to consumers.

National Anti-profiteering Authority does not accept an increase in input cost as justification for denying the benefit of a GST rate cut to consumers, but once the price is reworked to reflect the tax rate cut, there is no lock-in period for the new price.

Shankar also said industry members were responsible for complying with the laws.

“Everybody is bound by the laws of the land. If there is a commitment that a certain duty reduction will get passed on, we expect our members to do that," he said.

Shankar is also the president of The Walt Disney Co. APAC and chairman, Star and Disney India, and assumed the mantle of the industry body earlier this month.

Shankar said farm sector reforms were much needed to raise productivity and profitability. Infusing capital and technology into farming was not possible without major reforms, he added.

The Economic Times |

Industry seeks easier Income Tax rules for foreign nationals

Industry bodies including CII, FICCI, Assocham and US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) have sought exemption from personal tax for foreign domiciled individuals working or living in India but have not been citizens of India for at least three years.

The proposal has been mooted to make India an attractive residency option for foreign nationals managing foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, amid investors looking for alternatives to China for shifting their supply chains.

Industry bodies are seeking that India taxes only the local income of foreign nationals or expats staying in India for extended periods for investing or monitoring large amounts of FDI or for bringing in technical and management expertise.

“Such a policy has worked extremely well for Singapore and China, which was able to achieve 4% of its GDP as FDI in its boom phase,” said Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General at FICCI, adding that India must act fast to attract global citizens and increase the pool of potential domestic taxpayers who have benefited from FDI.

Having reduced corporate tax rates for existing and new manufacturing units and opening up sectors for privatisation, the industry said that India should review the residency rules for individuals who are investors and are adversely impacted due to tax on their global income.

“Along with the changes in sectoral policies, it is equally important for India to be able to provide a conducive environment for expatriates to live in India for extended periods of time to manage their investments… consider taxing foreign personnel on their locally generated income,” said Deepak Sood, secretary general of Assocham.

The industry has suggested an exception under Section 6 of the Income Tax Act for foreign domiciled individuals working or living in India who have not been citizens or residents of India and have not filed tax returns as ordinary residents in India for at least previous three years. The range can be increased to five years as well, so as to prevent any misuse.

The proposal will also form part of the suggestions being sent to the finance ministry for pre-Budget consultations, senior industry executives said.

“The government would benefit from the higher level of taxes that may be generated due to increased foreign investment in India and increased economic activity in India,” the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said in its representation to the finance ministry.

USISPF president Mukesh Aghi added that change in tax laws can ensure job creation and inclusive growth. “US MNC’s are willing to invest in India but they need confidence that their teams comprising of foreign citizens that are deputed in India for overseeing investments do not have to worry about potential residency and taxation issues,” he noted.

The government will also gain revenue from expatriates who may pay income tax on their earnings in India, instead of paying tax on their global incomes, which acts as a disincentive for foreign citizens to come and work in India, the industry bodies have said.

The industry has also cited relaxation in personal tax rules given by China that has driven investments there. From January 1, 2019, the new law stipulates all non-China-sourced income of foreigners residing in China for less than six consecutive full years be exempted from income tax.

As per present Indian taxation rules, global income of foreigners falls under the tax ambit if they stay for more than 182 days in India in a year. An individual is considered a resident in India if he/she is present in India for 182 days or more during a tax year or 365 days in four preceding years and 60 days in the tax year, which applies to all individuals including those who are not Indian citizens.

“The government will gain immensely from this (China-like relaxation) because top companies can come to India without the hesitation they face now due to tax rules… companies can set up local offices here, instead of Hong Kong or Singapore,” said BK Modi, chairman of Overseas Citizens of India Investor Forum.

The proposal has also been backed by the electronics industry, which is pitching India as an investment destination through production-linked incentive scheme, scheme for promotion of manufacturing of electronic components and semiconductors and electronics manufacturing clusters schemes.

“For cutting edge technology products, it is imperative to attract global talent who live in India and partner with India's technologists… India needs to have more flexible income tax laws for the foreign nationals who will be relocating in India along with the foreign investment,” the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association has said in its representation to the finance ministry.

Money Control |

Tax only domestic income of foreigners, industry bodies suggest Finance Ministry: Report

Assocham, CII, FICCI and the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) are among the industry bodies that have approached the Finance Ministry seeking exemption of personal tax of individuals who have not been citizens of India for at least three years.

The aim is to make India an attractive destination for residency for expatriates managing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country, The Economic Times reported.

As per the proposal, only local income of expats living in India for extended periods to invest or manage FDI or bring in managerial and technical expertise should be taxed.

“Such a policy has worked extremely well for Singapore and China, which was able to achieve 4 percent of its GDP as FDI in its boom phase,” said Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General at FICCI.

Chenoy added that India must “act fast” to review residency rules for investors who are adversely affected due to current policies.

Deepak Sood, secretary general of Assocham further emphasised the need for creation of “a conducive environment for expats to live in India for extended periods, adding that the Centre should “… consider taxing foreign personnel on their locally generated income.”

To enable the update, exception has been suggested under Section 6 of the I-T Act for foreign domiciled individuals living or working in India, but not citizens or residents and not having filed returns for at least three previous years – with a possible range increase of five years, the report said.

The proposal is being sent to the Finance Ministry for pre-Budget consultations, a senior executive told the paper.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

CII on its part has noted the move could increase economic activity and tax collections due to higher FDI; while the USISPF President Mukesh Aghi said it would ensure “job creation and inclusive growth.”

Presently, India taxes foreigners’ global income if they stay in the country for over 182 days a year – and they are considered residents if they lived for the period or more in four preceding years.

News7trends |

Industry seeks easier Income Tax rules for foreign nationals

Business our bodies together with CII, FICCI, Assocham and US India Strategic Partnership Discussion board (USISPF) have sought exemption from private tax for overseas domiciled people working or residing in India however haven’t been residents of India for at the least three years.

The proposal has been mooted to make India a beautiful residency possibility for overseas nationals managing overseas direct funding (FDI) in India, amid traders in search of options to China for shifting their provide chains. Business our bodies are in search of that India taxes solely the native revenue of overseas nationals or expats staying in India for prolonged durations for investing or monitoring massive quantities of FDI or for bringing in technical and administration experience.

“Such a coverage has labored extraordinarily properly for Singapore and China, which was capable of obtain 4% of its GDP as FDI in its increase section,” mentioned Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General at FICCI, including that India should act quick to draw world residents and improve the pool of potential home taxpayers who’ve benefited from FDI.

The business mentioned that India ought to assessment the residency guidelines for people who’re traders and are adversely impacted resulting from tax on their world revenue.

The Hindu Business Line |

Faceless IT Assessment for taxpayers here to stay: J B Mohapatra

Faceless IT Assessment for taxpayers is working well and it is here to stay, said J B Mohapatra, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana State.

Participating in an Interactive session on ‘Transparent Taxation-Honoring honest tax payers here on Friday,’ Mohapatra said, “Though there are some teething troubles like infrastructure, bandwidth, technology glitches, it will be overcome without any difficulty. The standards are being set out. The facilities are sourced up. Faceless assessment is a successful.”

He said rates may not go further down because, government needs revenue, failing which 104 departments will crumble.

Mallika Arya, Chief Commissioner, GST & Customs observed that GST Tax Compliance in Hyderabad is good.

T Muralidharan, Chairman, FICCI Telangana State Council said Tax Compliance is a national duty.

“The reality is that without tax, government cannot run. The 2019-20 budget establishes that the total gross tax collections of Rs 24.6 lakh crore are equal to 88 per cent of the total Central Government expenditure of Rs 27.9 lakh crore. The government gets most of its revenue by taxing citizens, corporations, goods and services,” said Muralidharan.

“Ninety-nine per cent of the gross tax revenue depends on tax compliance. Of the budget of Rs 27.9 lakh crore, 19 per cent goes to Defence and home affairs, 5 per cent to education and public health, 12 per cent towards subsidies on food, fertilizer, petroleum, etc, 9 per cent to rural and farmer welfare, 26 per cent towards establishment costs of Central government, including pension, and 24 per cent towards interest. So without government spends, there is no Defence, no Law and Order, no Community Welfare,” he said.

On GST compliance front the GSTR-3B compliance – on time filing– during July 17 till Feb 20 stood at around 70 per cent but reached 88-90 per cent after a period.

Muralidharan said, according to a tweet from CBDT the statistics on returns filed for the financial year 2018-19 showed only 14.6 million (25 per cent) people paid income tax of the 57.6 million who filed their returns. Only about 2,200 doctors, chartered accountants, lawyers, and other professionals disclosed annual income of over Rs 1 crore from their profession, excluding other incomes like rental, interest, capital gains, etc.

BankeyBehari Agrawal, a retired GST official said 50 per cent of tax officers time is spent chasing for simple tax compliance. He suggested to FICCI in collaboration with various trade bodies and association set up a small working group and put your wish list in-front of the department, and in return whatever you are going to offer to the department.

APN News |

Faceless IT Assessment for Taxpayers is working and it is here to stay: J .B. Mohapatra, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax - AP & TS

Faceless IT Assessment for Taxpayers is working and it is here to stay says Mr. J .B. Mohapatra, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax – AP & TS participating in an Interactive session on ‘Transparent Taxation’.

Ms. Mallika Arya, Chief Commissioner, GST & Customs also took part

FICCI Telangana State Council organized the virtual Interactive Webinar session on the Transparent Taxation-Honoring the Honest Tax Payer- which is topical.

Many members, tax payers, tax officials, academia and corporate executives joined live on YouTube.

This was the fourth session in the series of FICCI DIALOGUE FOR ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS.

Setting the tone T. Muralidharan, Chairman, FICCI Telangana State Council said Tax Compliance is a National Duty. The reality is that without tax, government cannot run. The 2019-20 budget establishes that the total gross tax collections of Rs 24.6 lakh crore are equal to 88% of the total Central government expenditure of Rs 27.9 lakh crore. The government gets most of its revenue by taxing citizens, corporations, goods and services. 99% of the gross tax revenue depends on tax compliance. Of the budget of Rs 27.9 lakh crore, 19% goes to Defence and home affairs, 5% to education and public health, 12% towards subsidies on food, fertilizer, petroleum, etc, 9% to rural and farmer welfare, 26% towards establishment costs of Central government, including pension, and 24% towards interest. So without government spends, there is no Defence, no Law and Order, no Community Welfare.

On GST compliance front the GSTR-3B compliance – on time filing – during July 17 till Feb 20 stood at around 70% but reached 88-90% after a period.

On Income Tax front said Muralidharan, according to a tweet from CBDT the statistics on returns filed for the financial year 2018-19 showed only 14.6 million (25%) people paid income tax of the 57.6 million who filed their returns. Only about 2,200 doctors, chartered accountants, lawyers, and other professionals disclosed annual income of over Rs 1 crore from their profession, excluding other incomes like rental, interest, capital gains, etc.

People friendly tax administration must happen along with change in attitude of tax payers – tax compliance must become a fundamental duty

Policy change in Tax administration must be co-created by the government and the tax payers – The tax collections has to increase and the cost of tax collections has to decline. We have no option but to succeed in this new initiative, Muralidharan said.

The two top officers were in conversation with Mr Muralidharan, who facilitated the dialogues with help of two industry professionals and tax practitioners Mr Maruthi Raghuram, CA, Maruthi Raghuram& Co and Shri VS Sudhakar, CA, Core Partner Hiregange& Associates

Mr Murali Krishna Reddy, Co-Chairman of FICCI Telangana State Council welcoming the gathering said our Prime Minister set out the goal to move forward to a transparent tax system. His vision is minimum government and maximum governance.

SME Times |

Faceless taxation approach to cut compliance cost: Fin Secy

Union Finance Secretay Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that when the world around us is turning faceless and digital, it's time for tax administration also to go faceless and eliminate the physical interface between the taxpayer and the income tax department.

Speaking at a webinar organized by FICCI jointly with ET Markets, the Finance Secretary said that the tax system is going to be entirely data-driven and seamless tax reforms will change the way taxes are paid in the country. The objective of this reform is to remove harassment and corruption that people used to criticize in the tax administration previously.

The pandemic led to better digital adoption and raced up the implementation of a faceless system in tax administration and the new system unveiled by the PM, removes the territorial system from tax administration and the structure we inherited from the British, he said.

Speaking on this further, he said, major cases of withdrawal, transactions, stock transaction, foreign travel etc, all will be fed into the system, while they will form the basis for tax assessment -- the selection of cases for assessment will be done electronically.

He further mentioned that out of 7 crore I-T return filings as of now, only about 2 lakh assesses are being selected for further scrutiny, which shows the government's trust on the taxpayers. We are obtaining data from not only national transactions but also from 98 countries with whom we have tax treaties, said the Finance Secretary.

Encouraging and honouring the honest taxpayers of the country, Dr Pandey said, we are looking at the process of faceless tax system, from the point of ease of doing business and ease of living for the common man. He also urged the taxpayers to look at the government as a facilitator and not as someone trying to extort tax from the taxpayers.

Speaking on the current economic scenario, he said, it is vital to keep in mind that the GDP contraction was expected, given that it took place during a quarter when the country was in complete lockdown due to COVID-19. However, going by the experience, we always hope to bounce back with a faster recovery.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy said, "FICCI has lauded the faceless tax system as a milestone in the structural reforms initiated by the Government. It has immense importance not only in enhancing the ease of doing business but also for building trust between government and businesses and for attracting greater investments."

Speaking on this further, the FICCI President FICCI said, "It is indeed praiseworthy that our Government is leveraging the great potential of technology in transforming the economy and unleashing tech-driven transformation and this initiative fits very well with Government's vision of minimising government and maximising governance."

This initiative is a clear articulation of the Government's commitment to honour and respect honest taxpayers and recognise their contribution towards realisation of the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', Reddy said.

The Economic Times |

Big Data to track tax frauds? Govt lens on big deals, stock purchases

Union Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Friday hinted at the use of Big Data to track major financial transactions, under-reporting of income and tax frauds in the country, even as he assured that the government would make the taxation process fearless and pain-free for honest taxpayers.

"We are collecting many information about taxpayers without putting pressure on the assesses; be it about major cash withdrawals, property transactions, large purchases, stock transactions or foreign travel. We are getting data not only domestically, but also from 98 other countries with whom we have tax treaties. These will help streamline the tax assessment process," he said in a webinar on ‘Faceless Taxation’ jointly organised by ETMarkets and FICCI on Friday.

Dr Pandey said tax authorities are scrutinising far less percentage of tax cases now. "Only about 2 lakh assesses were selected for scrutiny out of about 7 crore tax returns that were filed. This shows the government has a lot of trust on taxpayers. Such scrutiny is going to happen only where there are large discrepancies,” he said. The 'faceless' appeal system comes into force from September 25.

Dr Pandey, a 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer took over as Finance Secretary this March. In his previous stint, has was the CEO of UIDAI.

He said the selection of cases for assessment and scrutiny is no longer being done manually. “Certain risk parameters will be assigned to all tax return filings, basis which cases will be picked up electronically," he said.

“The new system will eliminate harassment and corruption that people used to complain about in the tax administration earlier. The entire process will now be managed from a back office system, eliminating human interfacing, and thereby, removing the element of discretion," Dr Pandey said.

The Prime Minister on August 13 unveiled the landmark tax reforms to facilitate Faceless Assessment and Faceless Appeal and introduced for the first time a Taxpayers’ Charter that lists out the rights and responsibilities of the taxpayer.

While the Faceless Assessment process eliminates human interfacing, the Faceless Appeals system will facilitate appeals that will be allotted randomly to a team of officers anywhere in the country, and whose identity will remain anonymous.

“The government's aim is to become a facilitator and not someone trying to extort taxpayers,” Dr Pandey said. He said the government favours not tinkering with the tax system too often, and efforts have been made recently to transform what used to be a colonial legacy of territorial tax administration into a universal one.

"The government has brought in a lot of reforms in direct and indirect tax systems over the past few years. Corporate tax rates have been brought down significantly to one of the lowest in the world. The common thread in all this has been tax reduction and making the system competitive. Along with these tax cuts, there have also been reforms in processes. We need to remove the element of fear from the process," he said.

Dr Pandey said the government first started the 'faceless' tax assessment process in June-July 2019 and has improved it incrementally over the past year before the Prime Minister announced its nationwide rollout on August 13. "We are looking at it from the point of ease of doing business, and ease of living. When the world around us is going faceless and going digital, our tax system cannot remain archaic," he said.

"Now we have removed the territorial system and discretion of tax officials. Covid-19 led to better digital adoption in the country, and that sped up the adoption of the faceless system in the tax administration," he said.

Dr Pandey said the tax department processed some 58,000 tax cases through the faceless system in the last one year, and out of them, 11,000 cases were resolved in a record time.

The Economic Times |

Finance Secretary says legacy cases, appeals too will be handled under new 'faceless' regime

Union Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey says the ‘Faceless Taxation’ mechanism will apply not only to new tax cases, even some of the legacy cases or those where appeals are pending would also be taken up in a faceless manner from September 25, when the new system comes into play.

Speaking at a webinar on ‘Faceless Taxation’ jointly organised by ETMarkets and FICCI, Dr Pandey said taxpayers would not have to go to the appellate authority, but would be able to file their replies or appeals in a faceless manner.

“If the authority has any question, the same can also be replied to through a faceless mechanism. The appeal order would be then passed based on the reply,” he said.

He said the government is also in favour of facilitating virtual hearings through video conferencing in complex cases, where interpretations of the law may differ and exchange of views might be required.

The top bureaucrat at the North Block said since the new arrangement may involve multiple officers in the same tax case, a technical unit will be formed to assist in complicated matters.

“In case of any doubt, the technical unit will be aware of the department’s interpretation of a particular section of the law. In cases any internal clarification is required, there is a mechanism to discuss the matter at a higher level,” he said.

The Finance Secretary said roughly 7 crore people filed income-tax returns last year. “Out of these, 5.5 crore tax-filers were not eligible to pay tax, as they fell in the below-Rs 5 lakh income bracket,” he said.

“In a country of 130 crore people, only 7 crore are filing tax returns. And just 1.5 crore people are actually paying taxes. This is a problem we are trying to address,” he said.

Dr Pandey said the objective of the new faceless taxation system, which the Prime Minister unveiled on August 13, is to eliminate harassment and corruption that people used to complain about in the tax administration earlier.

“We are collecting more information about taxpayers now without putting pressure on the assesses, and scrutiny is going to happen only where there are large discrepancies,” he said.

The Finance Secretary said major cases of large cash withdrawals, property transactions, stock transaction, foreign travel etc all will be fed into the system on the basis of which the cases for tax assessment will be decided.

Asked about faceless assessment in transfer pricing cases, the Finance Secretary said the government was also looking at certain areas such as how the penalty will be imposed and how transfer pricing will be valued, among others before coming out with a detailed SOP on this aspect. “Those things are being studied at this point in time,” he said.

Dr Pandey said corporate and personal income-tax rates have come down sharply in the last few years . “In the case of GST, the tax regime has replaced 17 taxes, and the average GST rate has come down to 11 per cent. Even at the lower tax rates, the government has been able to generate optimal revenues,” he said.

The Economic Times |

I-T dept prepares to implement faceless income tax appeals from September 25: Finance secretary

Finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said preparations are being made to implement faceless income tax appeals from September 25. The income tax department has already rolled out pan-India faceless assessment facilities for all taxpayers from August 13.

“It is completely doable… there may be some teething troubles, but they can be addressed,” Pandey said at a webinar on Transparent Taxation organised by ET Markets and FICCI on Friday.

The department is studying whether cases of penalty and transfer pricing could be included in the faceless regime, he said when asked about procedures for transfer pricing and penalties. He added that pending appeals, cases will be resolved without direct interaction with the tax authorities, with a technical unit to help the appellate officer.

India’s taxation system will have to be aligned with the challenges of global mobility of people, the finance secretary said in response to a question on the need for simplification of taxes for non-resident Indians.

“The government or the Central Board of Direct Taxes will have to be more aligned to such problems because these are recent phenomena and this problem will get highlighted more,” he said.

The faceless system will ease compliance and widen the tax base while doing away with discretion and subjectivity at the hands of tax officers, Pandey said.

“The move to a faceless system will lead to reduced compliance burden, lower cost of compliance and reduced litigation,” he said. “The faceless system will improve the ease of doing business and more people will come into the tax stream.”

The finance secretary said the tax department is relying heavily on data from sources including banks, stock markets, mutual funds, property registrations, remittances and foreign exchange transactions to identify mismatches in tax declarations and single out evaders.

“Data triangulation will help in weeding out tax evaders and hence lead to better tax collections,” he said.

India has a population of 1.13 billion, of which only 70 million are in the tax system and only 15 million of them pay tax, a disparity that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pointed out last month.

Pandey added that of 70 million returns filed as of now, only about 200,000 are being selected for further scrutiny.

Asked whether faceless assessments could lead to varying interpretations of rules or guidelines and thus lead to increasing litigation, the finance secretary said that while officers were aware of the department’s stand, in case of different court orders on an issue, such matters would be discussed at a higher level within the CBDT.

India introduced faceless assessment of tax on a pilot basis in October 2019, taking up about 58,000 cases. Of these cases, orders were passed in 11,000 cases and about 4,000-5,000 orders will be issued soon.

In the transformation to faceless assessment, about 53% of the 40,000 income tax officers will be involved across assessment, technical and legal units, besides those handling the digital infrastructure required for supporting the change.

The Economic Times |

I-T dept closely monitoring implementation of faceless assessment scheme

The Income Tax department is closely monitoring the implementation of faceless assessment if I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to ensure there is no increased compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday.

Assuaging concerns of the industry on how a taxpayer would explain his/her position to the I-T department, Pandey said the provision of video conferencing would also be there under the faceless assessment scheme for cases which require "deeper engagements".

"We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax," Pandey said at an event organised jointly by FICCI and ET Markets.

He said the number of cases picked up for scrutiny has come down from 5-6 lakh for 3-4 crore ITRs filed, to less than 2 lakhs for 7 crore ITRs.

On apprehension of increased compliance burden, while dealing with faceless assessment, Pandey said "we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy".

He said all important meetings are currently happening via digital platforms, and there is no reason why faceless assessment and faceless appeals cannot take place.

"The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage," Pandey said.

Since August 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure and international tax, are being assessed under faceless assessment.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically, without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official.

Business Standard |

IT dept closely monitoring implementation of faceless assessment scheme

The Income Tax department is closely monitoring the implementation of faceless assessment of I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to ensure there is no increased compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday.

Assuaging concerns of the industry on how a taxpayer would explain his/her position to the I-T department, Pandey said the provision of video conferencing would also be there under the faceless assessment scheme for cases which require "deeper engagements".

"We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax," Pandey said at an event organised jointly by FICCI and ET Markets.

He said the number of cases picked up for scrutiny has come down from 500,000-600,000 for 30-40 million ITRs filed, to less than 200,000 for 70 million ITRs.

On apprehension of increased compliance burden, while dealing with faceless assessment, Pandey said "we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy".

He said all important meetings are currently happening via digital platforms, and there is no reason why faceless assessment and faceless appeals cannot take place.

"The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage," Pandey said.

Since August 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure and international tax, are being assessed under faceless assessment.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically, without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official.

Faceless appeals System would start from September 25.

Business Standard |

Faceless approach in taxation to bring down compliance cost: Finance secy

Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Friday said that when the world was turning faceless and digital, it was time for tax administration to also go faceless and eliminate the physical interface between the taxpayer and the Income Tax department.

Speaking at a webinar on ‘Transparent Taxation: India's Tax system becomes fearless, painless and seamless’, the finance secretary said that the tax system was going to be entirely data-driven and seamless tax reforms would change the way taxes are paid in the country.

The objective of this reform is to remove the harassment and corruption that people used to criticise earlier, he said.

The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic led to better digital adoption and speeded up the implementation of a faceless system in tax administration and the new system removes the territorial system from tax administration and the structure that was inherited from the British, he said.

Pandey said major cases of withdrawal, transactions, stock transaction, foreign travel etc, would be fed into the system. "While they will form the basis for tax assessment -- the selection of cases for assessment will be done electronically," he said.

He further mentioned that out of 70 million I-T return filings as of now, only about 200,000 assesses were being selected for further scrutiny, which clearly showed the government's trust on taxpayers.

"We are obtaining data from not only national transactions but also from 98 countries with whom we have tax treaties," said Pandey.

Live Mint |

Tax reforms guided by rate cuts, simplification: Finance secretary

Tax rate reduction and process simplification are the key pillars of the direct tax reforms, which along with technology use is improving the ease of doing business as well as of living for tax payers, finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday.

Pandey said at a conference organised by industry chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Economic Times that decisions such as corporate tax rate reduction and removal of dividend distribution tax from companies were guided by this philosophy.

“We should do tax administration from the point of ease of doing business. In the case of a common man, it should improve ease of living," he said.

Pandey’s emphasis on ease of doing business and of living comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the advantages India offered to global investors, which included a transparent and predictable tax regime and a tax system that encourages and supports honest tax payers.

Almost 53% of Income Tax department will be involved in faceless assessment proceedings in one way or the other, he said.

Pandey said that the tax department is receiving information from banks and other agencies like stock market players, mutual funds and property registrars. Tax returns are matched with the data from these agencies for selecting cases for scrutiny.

“We are selecting only about 2 lakh returns for scrutiny out of seven crore tax returns received," said Pandey. He said India is now getting information from about 90 countries in an automated way that goes into data analysis. However, honest tax payers are not harassed, Pandey said.

CNBC TV18 |

New-age philosophy is to cut taxes to optimal level: Ajay Bhushan Pandey

The new-age tax philosophy of finance ministry is to make minimal changes, bring in ease of paying taxes and reducing the tax rates to optimal level, said Finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

Pandey said that “the attempt of the tax department is to make minimal changes in the tax rates, tax administration system and policies for better compliance and bringing ease of paying taxes for the taxpayers.”

He is also of the view that the revenue department is looking at bringing in more predictability in tax rates and tax reforms. “I am of the view that we should not be resorting to changes too often. I feel that tax rates should not be changed more than once in a year. Ultimate aim is to go to a lower optimal rate of tax, be it for income tax or in GST, to enhance tax base and revenues.”

Pandey, who was talking at a FICCI Webinar, also said that it is too early for the tax department to assess how many people opted for the new income tax rates (without rebates) as the filing deadline is yet to come.

The Income Tax Department on February 1, in the Union Budget 2020, had announced a new personal income tax regime by reducing taxes but only for those who choose not to take any rebate or deductions.

On August 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the future course of tax assessment and making the entire system faceless for direct taxes.

“I am confident at this particular time that with new faceless system and enhanced information gathering, tax collection will see a significant impact of these two reforms,” Pandey added.

He also said that the department is trying to address the anomaly that in a country of over 130 crore only 7 crore file tax returns.

This was also highlighted by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he had expressed concerns over this trend.

“We are trying to address the problem of why only 7 crore people out of 130 crore are filing tax returns. Once those who are not filing tax returns, start filing then the tax base will increase and reduce the burden of taxes on honest tax payers. Now, with more information coming we are now reaching out to non-filers to start filing to avoid adverse action,” Pandey said.

He also added that the department is conscious of the recent concerns that NRIs are facing with the tax administration and the department is open to address their issues.

“There is a thinking to simplify taxation norms for NRIs. This is one area where problems have come to the fore recently. CBDT will have to be more aligned to such problems of NRIs,” Pandey pointed out.

Meanwhile, categorically highlighting the philosophy of the tax department, Pandey said that “the overall purpose of the tax department is to provide ease of living and ease of doing business through ease of paying taxes. All recent tax reforms have a common thread of simplification and reduction of taxes.”

He also said that, “The tax reforms recently announced by the government are aimed at making India globally more competitive on tax rates. Also simplification will lead to very little chance of litigation. Taxation should not be a painful exercise; it should be a painless and fearless exercise and the tax department is very clear that its role is now to be a facilitator for the taxpayers.”

Taking about the merits of faceless and transparent tax regime, Pandey added that “For a common taxpayer we are striving to attempt to give him ease of living, we have moved away from territorial to dynamic jurisdiction. Orders have been passed on more than 11000 cases handling them totally on the faceless platform.”

“There will be a technical and one assessment unit under the system of faceless assessment. Technical unit will share the department’s assessment of the law and how that law has been interpreted by various courts, in some cases the option is available to take clarity at the board level also. In 11,000 cases, which have been dealt through faceless assessment in the first phase which had 58,000 cases, not even in a single case physical hearing was demanded.”

“There has to be a valid ground for demanding a physical hearing and if there is merit then it will be granted. All the legacy appeal cases will be taken up in a faceless manner post 25th September. In the appeal system also we will have a technical team to help assesses know the right interpretation of the law,” he further added.

Pandey also said that the government is taking a lot of measures to broaden the tax base. These include, “Extensive use of data will help in scrutiny and assessment. We are getting lots of information from assesses through new form 26 AS and other information sharing and information gathering platforms. Stock market transactions, mutual fund transactions, foreign remittances data etc will be available in 26AS. These information can be used appropriately by the taxpayer while filing the tax returns. With increasing number of taxpayers, risk parameters have been identified to assess selective returns for scrutiny. Large discrepancies cases are only getting selected for scrutiny.”

Quoting the recent data, Pandey added that “only a quarter of a percent cases are only getting scrutinized. A lot of trust is now being placed on the taxpayers by the tax department.”

On the data sharing and the benefits attached, Pandey added that “recently, sharing of information with GSTN, banks, customs other India agencies and 98 countries abroad. With all these information the tax dept is able to do data assessment and select cases for scrutiny. Complaints of harassment and corruption will also get eliminated. We want a system where honest tax payer doesn’t get harassed even if his case is picked for scrutiny. Even in wrong disclosure of taxes, we want to give a fair chance to the taxpayer to correct his return. “

He also elucidated that the new faceless appeals system will be ready and will begin by 25th September.

To ensure a smooth transition to the faceless regime, “the tax department will closely work to ensure teething troubles are well taken care off. In future, with faceless assessment, fair orders will be issued, leading to less no cases landing up for litigation,” Pandey added.

Talking about other measures taken by the tax department and their success, Pandey added that the tax department can now issue instant PAN cards to those who already have the unique ID or the AAdhar. “Till now, 35 crore PANs have been linked to AADHAR already. With instant PAN allocation facility now been made available, it has also brought in seamless and transparency to next level,” Pandey said.

Pandey says that the department has also “expanded the scope of statement of financial transactions to SEBI, Mutual funds, GST, etc to get more data to the tax department. High value transactions data is being sourced from various agencies and not from the taxpayer. The need for such data is to match the profile of taxpayer with the high value transactions the same taxpayer has undertaken. And all these activities are completely faceless.”

Fiannce secretary has also explained the benefits of GST, saying that according to the data of roads ministry, “Prior to GST, a truck used to move 225 Kms per day and post GST this has got increased to more than 300 kms a day, reflecting the increased efficiency with removing of barriers.”

CNBC TV18 |

Economic recovery indicators visible in July and August, says Finance Secy Ajay Bhushan Pandey

Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey is optimistic about the current trends as far economic recovery is concerned and in a webinar on September 4 said that early signs of revival are clearly visible. However, he stressed that one needs to keep a watch on how the situation pans out in the coming months, before making any predictions.

Expressing his views on the economy, Pandey said: "The decline in first quarter GDP numbers is due to two months of complete lockdown. Initial indicators for July and August show some recovery. GST collections are back to 87 percent of last year's collections. So we are seeing the same recovery path through rising numbers of e-way bills. Thus, we can say that we can see a recovery path."

Nonetheless, he was a little cautious as he added that the unpredictable nature of COVID-19 can have a negative impact here.

"COVID is behaving unpredictably. We have to closely watch the situation as partial lockdowns are coming and going. The economy did revive up to 87 percent in July and August. We have to learn to live with the economic downturn and uptick until the time the virus behaves like this. We might see some decline in economic activity, if a fresh spike comes, so that is unpredictable," Pandey added.

He also suggested that for the time-being all economic participants will have to learn to live with this unpredictable nature of virus.

Pandey stressed that an important indicator of economic recovery is UPI transactions, which have risen to a record highs. This is an indicator of economic recovery as people are trying to conduct transactions for businesses and personal reasons.

"One quarter figures cannot be anticipated with two months of complete lockdown. But in the last two months, indicators are showing the recovery path. But we need to watch out the coming months crucially," Pandey said and noted that one quarter decline should not worry much as an uptick is coming in the following months.

India's GDP in the first quarter of FY21 contracted by 23.9 percent, data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) showed.

Bloomberg Quint |

Income Tax Department closely monitoring implementation of faceless assessment scheme

The Income Tax department is closely monitoring the implementation of faceless assessment if returns picked up for scrutiny to ensure there is no increased compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday.

Assuaging concerns of the industry on how a taxpayer would explain their position to the income tax department, Pandey said the provision of video conferencing would also be there under the faceless assessment scheme for cases which require "deeper engagements".

"We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax," Pandey said at an event organised jointly by FICCI and ET Markets.

He said the number of cases picked up for scrutiny has come down from 5-6 lakh for 3-4 crore ITRs filed, to less than 2 lakhs for 7 crore ITRs.

On apprehension of increased compliance burden, while dealing with faceless assessment, Pandey said "we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy".

He said important meetings are currently happening via digital platforms, and there is no reason why faceless assessment and faceless appeals cannot take place.

"The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage," Pandey said.

Since Aug. 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure and international tax, are being assessed under faceless assessment.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically, without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official.

Faceless appeals System would start from Sept. 25.

Outlook |

I-T dept closely monitoring implementation of faceless assessment scheme

The Income Tax department is closely monitoring the implementation of faceless assessment if I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to ensure there is no increased compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday.

Assuaging concerns of the industry on how a taxpayer would explain his/her position to the I-T department, Pandey said the provision of video conferencing would also be there under the faceless assessment scheme for cases which require "deeper engagements".

"We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax," Pandey said at an event organised jointly by FICCI and ET Markets.

He said the number of cases picked up for scrutiny has come down from 5-6 lakh for 3-4 crore ITRs filed, to less than 2 lakhs for 7 crore ITRs.

On apprehension of increased compliance burden, while dealing with faceless assessment, Pandey said "we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy".

He said all important meetings are currently happening via digital platforms, and there is no reason why faceless assessment and faceless appeals cannot take place.

"The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage," Pandey said.

Since August 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure and international tax, are being assessed under faceless assessment.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically, without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official.

Faceless appeals System would start from September 25.

News7trends |

I-T dept prepares to implement faceless income tax appeals from September 25: Finance secretary

Finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey mentioned preparations are being made to implement faceless revenue tax appeals from September 25. The revenue tax division has already rolled out pan-India faceless evaluation amenities for all taxpayers from August 13.

“It’s fully doable… there could also be some teething troubles, however they are often addressed,” Pandey mentioned at a webinar on Clear Taxation organised by ET Markets and FICCI on Friday.

The division is learning whether or not instances of penalty and switch pricing could possibly be included within the faceless regime, he mentioned when requested about procedures for switch pricing and penalties. He added that pending appeals, instances shall be resolved with out direct interplay with the tax authorities, with a technical unit to assist the appellate officer.

India’s taxation system should be aligned with the challenges of world mobility of individuals, the finance secretary mentioned in response to a query on the necessity for simplification of taxes for non-resident Indians.

“The federal government or the Central Board of Direct Taxes should be extra aligned to such issues as a result of these are current phenomena and this drawback will get highlighted extra,” he mentioned.

The faceless system will ease compliance and widen the tax base whereas taking out discretion and subjectivity by the hands of tax officers, Pandey mentioned.

“The transfer to a faceless system will result in lowered compliance burden, decrease price of compliance and lowered litigation,” he mentioned. “The faceless system will enhance the benefit of doing enterprise and extra individuals will come into the tax stream.”

The finance secretary mentioned the tax division is relying closely on information from sources together with banks, inventory markets, mutual funds, property registrations, remittances and international change transactions to determine mismatches in tax declarations and single out evaders.

“Information triangulation will assist in removing tax evaders and therefore result in higher tax collections,” he mentioned.

India has a inhabitants of 1.13 billion, of which solely 70 million are within the tax system and solely 15 million of them pay tax, a disparity that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had identified final month.

Pandey added that of 70 million returns filed as of now, solely about 200,000 are being chosen for additional scrutiny.

Requested whether or not faceless assessments may result in various interpretations of guidelines or tips and thus result in rising litigation, the finance secretary mentioned that whereas officers have been conscious of the division’s stand, in case of various court docket orders on a problem, such issues can be mentioned at a better stage inside the CBDT.

India launched faceless evaluation of tax on a pilot foundation in October 2019, taking on about 58,000 instances. Of those instances, orders have been handed in 11,000 instances and about 4,000-5,000 orders shall be issued quickly.

Within the transformation to faceless evaluation, about 53% of the 40,000 revenue tax officers shall be concerned throughout evaluation, technical and authorized items, apart from these dealing with the digital infrastructure required for supporting the change.

International News Headline |

I-T dept closely monitoring implementation of faceless assessment scheme

The Income Tax department is closely monitoring the implementation of faceless assessment if I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to ensure there is no increased compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday.

Assuaging concerns of the industry on how a taxpayer would explain his/her position to the I-T department, Pandey said the provision of video conferencing would also be there under the faceless assessment scheme for cases which require “deeper engagements”.

“We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax,” Pandey said at an event organised jointly by FICCI and ET Markets.

He said the number of cases picked up for scrutiny has come down from 5-6 lakh for 3-4 crore ITRs filed, to less than 2 lakhs for 7 crore ITRs.

On apprehension of increased compliance burden, while dealing with faceless assessment, Pandey said “we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy”.

He said all important meetings are currently happening via digital platforms, and there is no reason why faceless assessment and faceless appeals cannot take place.

“The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage,” Pandey said.

Since August 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure and international tax, are being assessed under faceless assessment.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically, without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official.

Faceless appeals System would start from September 25.

Devdiscourse |

I-T dept closely monitoring implementation of faceless assessment scheme

The Income Tax department is closely monitoring the implementation of faceless assessment if I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to ensure there is no increased compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday. Assuaging concerns of the industry on how a taxpayer would explain his/her position to the I-T department, Pandey said the provision of video conferencing would also be there under the faceless assessment scheme for cases which require "deeper engagements".

"We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax," Pandey said at an event organised jointly by FICCI and ET Markets. He said the number of cases picked up for scrutiny has come down from 5-6 lakh for 3-4 crore ITRs filed, to less than 2 lakhs for 7 crore ITRs.

On apprehension of increased compliance burden, while dealing with faceless assessment, Pandey said "we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy". He said all important meetings are currently happening via digital platforms, and there is no reason why faceless assessment and faceless appeals cannot take place.

"The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage," Pandey said. Since August 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure and international tax, are being assessed under faceless assessment.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers. This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically, without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official.

Faceless appeals System would start from September 25.

Techno Codex |

Faceless Taxation: Finance Secretary says legacy cases, appeals too will be handled under new 'Faceless' Regime

Union Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey says the ‘Faceless Taxation’ mechanism will apply not only to new tax cases, even some of the legacy cases or those where appeals are pending would also be taken up in a faceless manner from September 25, when the new system comes into play.

Speaking at a webinar on ‘Faceless Taxation’ jointly organised by ETMarkets and FICCI, Dr Pandey said taxpayers would not have to go to the appellate authority, but would be able to file their replies or appeals in a faceless manner.

“If the authority has any question, the same can also be replied to through a faceless mechanism. The appeal order would be then passed based on the reply,” he said.

He said the government is also in favour of facilitating virtual hearings through video conferencing in complex cases, where interpretations of the law may differ and exchange of views might be required.

The top bureaucrat at the North Block said since the new arrangement may involve multiple officers in the same tax case, a technical unit will be formed to assist in complicated matters.

“In case of any doubt, the technical unit will be aware of the department’s interpretation of a particular section of the law. In cases any internal clarification is required, there is a mechanism to discuss the matter at a higher level,” he said.

The Finance Secretary said roughly 7 crore people filed income-tax returns last year. “Out of these, 5.5 crore tax-filers were not eligible to pay tax, as they fell in the below-Rs 5 lakh income bracket,” he said.

“In a country of 130 crore people, only 7 crore are filing tax returns. And just 1.5 crore people are actually paying taxes. This is a problem we are trying to address,” he said.

Dr Pandey said the objective of the new faceless taxation system, which the Prime Minister unveiled on August 13, is to eliminate harassment and corruption that people used to complain about in the tax administration earlier.

“We are collecting more information about taxpayers now without putting pressure on the assesses, and scrutiny is going to happen only where there are large discrepancies,” he said.

The Finance Secretary said major cases of large cash withdrawals, property transactions, stock transaction, foreign travel etc all will be fed into the system on the basis of which the cases for tax assessment will be decided.

Asked about faceless assessment in transfer pricing cases, the Finance Secretary said the government was also looking at certain areas such as how the penalty will be imposed and how transfer pricing will be valued, among others before coming out with a detailed SOP on this aspect. “Those things are being studied at this point in time,” he said.

Dr Pandey said corporate and personal income-tax rates have come down sharply in the last few years . “In the case of GST, the tax regime has replaced 17 taxes, and the average GST rate has come down to 11 per cent. Even at the lower tax rates, the government has been able to generate optimal revenues,” he said.

JustAnews |

Faceless Taxation: Finance Secretary says legacy instances, appeals too can be dealt with beneath new 'faceless' regime

Union Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey says the ‘Faceless Taxation’ mechanism will apply not solely to new tax instances, even a number of the legacy instances or these the place appeals are pending would even be taken up in a faceless method from September 25, when the brand new system comes into play.

Talking at a webinar on ‘Faceless Taxation’ collectively organised by ETMarkets and FICCI, Dr Pandey stated taxpayers wouldn’t need to go to the appellate authority, however would be capable of file their replies or appeals in a faceless method.

“If the authority has any query, the identical will also be replied to by means of a faceless mechanism. The attraction order could be then handed based mostly on the reply,” he stated.

He stated the federal government can also be in favour of facilitating digital hearings by means of video conferencing in complicated instances, the place interpretations of the regulation might differ and alternate of views could be required.

The highest bureaucrat on the North Block stated for the reason that new association might contain a number of officers in the identical tax case, a technical unit can be fashioned to help in sophisticated issues.

“In case of any doubt, the technical unit will pay attention to the division’s interpretation of a selected part of the regulation. In instances any inner clarification is required, there’s a mechanism to debate the matter at the next stage,” he stated.

The Finance Secretary stated roughly 7 crore folks filed income-tax returns final 12 months. “Out of those, 5.5 crore tax-filers weren’t eligible to pay tax, as they fell within the below-Rs 5 lakh revenue bracket,” he stated.

“In a rustic of 130 crore folks, solely 7 crore are submitting tax returns. And simply 1.5 crore individuals are really paying taxes. It is a drawback we are attempting to deal with,” he stated.

Dr Pandey stated the target of the brand new faceless taxation system, which the Prime Minister unveiled on August 13, is to remove harassment and corruption that folks used to complain about within the tax administration earlier.
“We’re gathering extra details about taxpayers now with out placing strain on the assesses, and scrutiny goes to occur solely the place there are massive discrepancies,” he stated.

The Finance Secretary stated main instances of huge money withdrawals, property transactions, inventory transaction, international journey and so forth all can be fed into the system on the premise of which the instances for tax evaluation can be determined.

Requested about faceless evaluation in switch pricing instances, the Finance Secretary stated the federal government was additionally taking a look at sure areas reminiscent of how the penalty can be imposed and the way switch pricing can be valued, amongst others earlier than popping out with an in depth SOP on this side. “These issues are being studied at this cut-off date,” he stated.
Dr Pandey stated company and private income-tax charges have come down sharply in the previous few years . “Within the case of GST, the tax regime has changed 17 taxes, and the common GST price has come all the way down to 11 per cent. Even on the decrease tax charges, the federal government has been capable of generate optimum revenues,” he stated.

Worldsnews.Biz |

I-T dept carefully monitoring implementation of faceless evaluation scheme

The Income Tax division is carefully monitoring the implementation of faceless evaluation if I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to make sure there isn’t a elevated compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey stated on Friday.

Assuaging issues of the business on how a taxpayer would clarify his/her place to the I-T division, Pandey stated the supply of video conferencing would even be there underneath the faceless evaluation scheme for instances which require “deeper engagements”.

“We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax,” Pandey stated at an occasion organised collectively by FICCI and ET Markets.

He stated the variety of instances picked up for scrutiny has come down from 5-6 lakh for 3-Four crore ITRs filed, to lower than 2 lakhs for 7 crore ITRs.

On apprehension of elevated compliance burden, whereas coping with faceless evaluation, Pandey stated “we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy”.

He stated all necessary conferences are at the moment occurring through digital platforms, and there’s no purpose why faceless evaluation and faceless appeals can not happen.

“The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage,” Pandey stated.

Since August 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, besides these relating to go looking and seizure and worldwide tax, are being assessed underneath faceless evaluation.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central laptop picks up tax returns for scrutiny based mostly on danger parameters and mismatch after which allots them randomly to a workforce of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at one other randomly chosen location and provided that concurred, a discover is distributed by the centralised laptop system. All such notices must be responded electronically, with out the requirement of visiting a tax workplace or assembly any official.

Faceless appeals System would begin from September 25.

New on News |

IT dept closely monitoring implementation of faceless assessment scheme

The Income Tax department is closely monitoring the implementation of faceless assessment of I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to ensure there is no increased compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Friday.

Assuaging concerns of the industry on how a taxpayer would explain his/her position to the I-T department, Pandey said the provision of video conferencing would also be there under the faceless assessment scheme for cases which require “deeper engagements”.

“We wanted a system where an honest taxpayer is not harassed even if his case is selected for assessment. If somebody has understated income, he should be given fair chance to explain whatever is the tax due and he has an opportunity to pay the tax,” Pandey said at an event organised jointly by FICCI and ET Markets.

He said the number of cases picked up for scrutiny has come down from 500,000-600,000 for 30-40 million ITRs filed, to less than 200,000 for 70 million ITRs.

On apprehension of increased compliance burden, while dealing with faceless assessment, Pandey said “we are very, very closely monitoring this. From system perspective also we are taking all step so that at least people who are trying to interact with us on this faceless platform their life should be easy”.

He said all important meetings are currently happening via digital platforms, and there is no reason why faceless assessment and faceless appeals cannot take place.

“The outcome of this system is that it is going to be very, very fair, have a very minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this will lead to very, very fair and reasonable order and good quality order and therefore appeals and litigation could be avoided if we are able to pass a reasonable and good order in the first stage,” Pandey said.

Since August 13, all Income Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure and international tax, are being assessed under faceless assessment.

Under Faceless Scrutiny Assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically, without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official.

Faceless appeals System would start from September 25.

BNews |

I-T dept carefully monitoring implementation of faceless evaluation scheme

The Earnings Tax division is carefully monitoring the implementation of faceless evaluation if I-T returns picked up for scrutiny to make sure there is no such thing as a elevated compliance burden on the taxpayer, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey mentioned on Friday.

Assuaging issues of the trade on how a taxpayer would clarify his/her place to the I-T division, Pandey mentioned the availability of video conferencing would even be there below the faceless evaluation scheme for circumstances which require “deeper engagements”.

“We needed a system the place an sincere taxpayer will not be harassed even when his case is chosen for evaluation. If someone has understated earnings, he needs to be given honest probability to elucidate no matter is the tax due and he has a chance to pay the tax,” Pandey mentioned at an occasion organised collectively by FICCI and ET Markets.

He mentioned the variety of circumstances picked up for scrutiny has come down from 5-6 lakh for 3-4 crore ITRs filed, to lower than 2 lakhs for 7 crore ITRs.

On apprehension of elevated compliance burden, whereas coping with faceless evaluation, Pandey mentioned “we’re very, very carefully monitoring this. From system perspective additionally we’re taking all step in order that no less than people who find themselves attempting to work together with us on this faceless platform their life needs to be simple”.

He mentioned all vital conferences are at the moment taking place through digital platforms, and there’s no cause why faceless evaluation and faceless appeals can not happen.

“The end result of this technique is that it will be very, very reasonable, have a really minimal scope of discretion. Our understanding is this can result in very, very reasonable and cheap order and good high quality order and subsequently appeals and litigation might be prevented if we’re in a position to move an affordable and good order within the first stage,” Pandey mentioned.

Since August 13, all Earnings Tax returns picked up for scrutiny, besides these relating to look and seizure and worldwide tax, are being assessed below faceless evaluation.

Below Faceless Scrutiny Evaluation, a central pc picks up tax returns for scrutiny based mostly on danger parameters and mismatch after which allots them randomly to a staff of officers.

This allocation is reviewed by officers at one other randomly chosen location and provided that concurred, a discover is distributed by the centralised pc system. All such notices should be responded electronically, with out the requirement of visiting a tax workplace or assembly any official.

Faceless appeals System would begin from September 25.

India Daily Mail |

Big Data to track tax frauds? Govt lens on big deals, stock purchases

Union Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Friday hinted at the use of Big Data to track major financial transactions, under-reporting of income and tax frauds in the country, even as he assured that the government would make the taxation process fearless and pain-free for honest taxpayers.

“We are collecting many information about taxpayers without putting pressure on the assesses; be it about major cash withdrawals, property transactions, large purchases, stock transactions or foreign travel. We are getting data not only domestically, but also from 98 other countries with whom we have tax treaties. These will help streamline the tax assessment process,” he said in a webinar on ‘Faceless Taxation’ jointly organised by ETMarkets and FICCI on Friday.

Dr Pandey said tax authorities are scrutinising far less percentage of tax cases now. “Only about 2 lakh assesses were selected for scrutiny out of about 7 crore tax returns that were filed. This shows the government has a lot of trust on taxpayers. Such scrutiny is going to happen only where there are large discrepancies,” he said. The ‘faceless’ appeal system comes into force from September 25.

Dr Pandey, a 1984-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer took over as Finance Secretary this March. In his previous stint, has was the CEO of UIDAI.

He said the selection of cases for assessment and scrutiny is no longer being done manually. “Certain risk parameters will be assigned to all tax return filings, basis which cases will be picked up electronically,” he said.

“The new system will eliminate harassment and corruption that people used to complain about in the tax administration earlier. The entire process will now be managed from a back office system, eliminating human interfacing, and thereby, removing the element of discretion,” Dr Pandey said.

The Prime Minister on August 13 unveiled the landmark tax reforms to facilitate Faceless Assessment and Faceless Appeal and introduced for the first time a Taxpayers’ Charter that lists out the rights and responsibilities of the taxpayer.

While the Faceless Assessment process eliminates human interfacing, the Faceless Appeals system will facilitate appeals that will be allotted randomly to a team of officers anywhere in the country, and whose identity will remain anonymous.

“The government’s aim is to become a facilitator and not someone trying to extort taxpayers,” Dr Pandey said. He said the government favours not tinkering with the tax system too often, and efforts have been made recently to transform what used to be a colonial legacy of territorial tax administration into a universal one.

“The government has brought in a lot of reforms in direct and indirect tax systems over the past few years. Corporate tax rates have been brought down significantly to one of the lowest in the world. The common thread in all this has been tax reduction and making the system competitive. Along with these tax cuts, there have also been reforms in processes. We need to remove the element of fear from the process,” he said.

Dr Pandey said the government first started the ‘faceless’ tax assessment process in June-July 2019 and has improved it incrementally over the past year before the Prime Minister announced its nationwide rollout on August 13. “We are looking at it from the point of ease of doing business, and ease of living. When the world around us is going faceless and going digital, our tax system cannot remain archaic,” he said.

“Now we have removed the territorial system and discretion of tax officials. Covid-19 led to better digital adoption in the country, and that sped up the adoption of the faceless system in the tax administration,” he said.

Dr Pandey said the tax department processed some 58,000 tax cases through the faceless system in the last one year, and out of them, 11,000 cases were resolved in a record time.

The Economic Times |

Finance Secretary to detail faceless taxation at ETMarkets - FICCI event

Is the Modi government’s latest initiative for faceless taxation going to make life easier for the taxpayer – both individuals and companies? Will it make tax-paying a more hassle-free experience, leading to far better compliance, and substantially increase the taxpayer base in the country?

The government’s latest tax reforms initiative may not have created much of a buzz, but tax experts and policy analysts say this is a watershed moment in India’s sustained efforts to usher in a friendlier and more transparent direct tax regime.

And for those who have not realised the implications of it and figured out the changes that this reform has brought upon us, here is an opportunity to hear it out right from the Finance Secretary, Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, at a webinar jointly organised by FICCI and ETMarkets this Friday.

Besides laying down the scheme in bare details, Dr Pandey will also have a Q&A session with FICCI members and other participants during the one-hour interaction from 4.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Interested participants can sign in for the event and post their questions on this web link.

"Faceless assessment is another milestone in India’s journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country. It also adds to the positive messaging that India is committed to improve both the ease of doing business as well as the cost of doing business in the country,” says Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI.

For the uninitiated, what the new regime does is completely remove human interface between the taxpayer and the income-tax department, and thereby eliminate the risk of harassment of assessees by tax officials.

The reform move – ‘Transparant Taxation: Honoring the Honest’, which the Prime Minister unveiled on August 13, 2020 – digitises tax administration to make the assessment and appeal processes faceless, and also introduces for the first time a taxpayers’ charter, which essentially puts in black and white what you can expect from the tax authorities and what they are going to expect from you. This brings in the much-needed transparency, removes scope for biases and subjective interpretations and brings in accountability at all ends.

"The government has struck the right cord by picking digitization as a solution to the many challenges that the country faces. We have seen enormous success and multifold benefits of this approach with the implementation of Aadhar, GST, DBT and multiple other e-initiatives. Based on the way these initiatives have been clearly conceptualised and executed, I am convinced of a seamless and impactful implementation of faceless taxation, which will go a long way in providing further efficiency, transparency and speed. Of course, simpler tax regulations would be a “sone pe suhaaga” and will ensure greater compliance," says Sunil Sanghai, Chairman, FICCI National Committee on Capital Markets and Founder & CEO, NovaDhruva Capital.

Financial Express |

I-T dept to use video conference sparingly in faceless assessment scheme

The income-tax department’s faceless assessment regime will leave room for interaction between a taxpayer and officials through video conference (VC) in specific circumstances but the government’s intention is to use it sparingly, so that the new system built on anonymity isn’t jeopardised, senior tax officials said in a webinar on Friday.

The webinar on faceless assessments was organised by Dhruva Advisors and FICCI.

The system of fully digitised and anonymous assessment and appeal was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week. The regime seeks to eliminate the interface between taxpayers and the tax official, which is expected to cut the discretionary power enjoyed by the officials while also restricting the opportunity for the taxpayers to enter into illegal arrangements with their assessors.

However, this has unnerved many taxpayers who have asked the department whether the absence of oral or physical hearing would rob the proceedings of ‘fair exchange of information’ as only written submission would be allowed. “Can the taxpayer be assured that their written points would be understood by the tax officer and taken into consideration, and therefore can the taxpayer be assured of justice in the current scheme,” S Nageswari, tax head at Tata Group, asked the tax officials at the webinar.

In response, Rajesh Bhoot, joint secretary at the tax policy and legislation unit of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that while written submission made by the taxpayers would be taken into account in assessment, any misunderstanding could be sorted out through the provision of video conferencing. He added that the officials were already using email and VC facilities during the pandemic to test the electronic interface, which was the future of tax-related processes.

Further, the officials explained that the extant standard operating procedure (SOPs) on video conferencing was liberal and could be granted to anyone requesting for it. But a new set of SOPs for faceless assessment regime would be approved by CBDT outlining the criteria under which a request for a VC interaction could be approved.

Bhoot added that given faceless assessment is a pioneering attempt and there is no history of such a system for reference, the SOPs would be flexible so that suggestions could be incorporated into the initial guidelines.

“It would actually be spelling out the parameter or circumstance or the kind of cases that would warrant a personal hearing. It would be a guidance to the chief commissioners and the national e-assessment centre (NeAC) while evaluating request for a personal hearing but it would do well for the assessee to know if his request for personal hearing matches the criteria laid out for the same,” Smita Jhingran, chief commissioner at regional e-assessment centre in Delhi, said. She added that the CBDT would approve such a document.

Business Standard |

Transparent Taxation - Honouring the honest will tremendously boost confidence of taxpayers says FICCI

Commenting on the launch of the platform 'Transparent Taxation - Honouring the Honest' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI stated that this is another milestone in India's journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country. Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the government is committed to honour and respect the honest taxpayers and make them a part of the team that is working towards realising the vision of an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

The tax administration in India is undergoing a change and a new governance structure is emerging that included faceless assessment, faceless appeal and defined charter for the taxpayers that outline their rights and responsibilities. There is a great thrust on the use of technology for social good and improvement in governance and this is now reflected even in our tax administration.

Live Mint |

India Inc welcomes new norms on assessment

Processing all tax assessments in a technology driven and faceless manner is set to offer a big compliance relief to businesses while giving income tax department officials more time to specialize in complex areas of taxation, said industry representatives and experts.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday issued separate orders to the effect that other than certain specified cases, all assessment orders are to be issued under the faceless assessment scheme and that income-tax surveys can only be sanctioned by top officials handling investigation and tax deducted at source .

While the tax department processes bulk of the returns in an automatic way, some may need clarifications and the degree of deep dive needed may vary. Some returns are chosen for scrutiny although these account for only a fraction of all the returns processed. Now, most assessments including scrutiny cases will be under the faceless scheme.

Faceless assessment is a welcome step and is applicable for all taxpayers including corporate taxpayers, said Amit Maheshwari, partner, Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP. “In complex tax matters, however, it is very difficult to expect the tax officer to appreciate the nuances of the taxpayer’s case just over emails and though an opportunity is given to have a face-to-face interaction, it is given at the time of issuing a showcause notice," said Maheshwari. “Unfortunately by that time, the tax officer has already made up her mind and hence the face to face interaction may not be of much use."

Tax reforms such as faceless assessment would promote ease of living, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said quoting its president Uday Kotak. A policy-driven governance based on digital interface minimizes grey areas, eliminates discretion and promotes transparency and certainty, said Kotak.

Sangita Reddy, president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) called it a milestone in the path of structural reforms.

For startups and small and medium enterprises, faceless assessment and appeals will be a great step forward, said Sachin Taparia, founder and chairman of LocalCircles, an online community of citizens. “The new tax administration model is in line with what we have been advocating - an Indian startup should not have to visit a tax inspector in the first 10 years of its existence," said Taparia.

Experts added that there was a need to streamline the difficulties faced by non-residents who invest in India and who are partnering for business in the country. “They need to have tax certainty. Almost every transaction of large amount ends up in litigation. This is a great deterrent for foreign investors. If India wants to benefit from China plus one policy, taxation of non-residents needs to undergo fundamental change," said Daksha Baxi, head - international tax, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, a law firm.

AIR News |

Launch of 'Transparent Taxation-Honoring the Honest' platform is a historic step in tax administration: FICCI

The launch of the platform for "Transparent Taxation-Honoring the Honest" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a historic step in tax administration, said Secretary General of FICCI, Dilip Chenoy today.

He said this will primarily benefit the honest tax payers and FICCI welcomes the charter and transparency that has been brought in.

On behalf of FICCI, Mr. Chenoy said that as appealed by the Prime Minister, FICCI too urges people who fall in the tax bracket and those who evade tax to pay their tax on time and contribute in the development of the country.

Outlook |

Faceless tax assessment to promote transparency, empower honest taxpayers: India Inc

Faceless tax assessment and appeals unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will promote transparency and certainty, and empower honest taxpayers, India Inc and experts said.

In a major overhaul of tax administration, Modi unveiled faceless tax assessment and appeals to reduce the scope for corruption and overreach by officials, and said a taxpayers' charter is being implemented to ensure a free, fair and transparent tax environment.

Launching the "Transparent Taxation - Honouring The Honest Platform" through video conferencing, he said the taxpayer base at just 1.5 crore in India is very low and urged those who owe taxes to come forward and honestly pay their dues and contribute to nation building.

The taxpayers' charter and faceless assessment are the next phases of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers as the government looks to rebuild the pandemic-hit economy.

While faceless assessment, that does not require the taxpayer to visit any office or meet any official, and taxpayers' charter will be implemented from Thursday, faceless appeal will come into force from September 25, Modi said.

"The platform lays down the framework for big reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal, and taxpayers charter and will greatly benefit taxpayers," CII President Uday Kotak said.

"Such reforms would further lay the roadmap for making the income tax system seamless, painless and faceless and promote ease of living in line with Prime Minister's ''Aatmanirbhar Bharat'' vision," he added.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy said, "This is another milestone in our journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country."

She said Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the government is committed to honour and respect honest taxpayers and make them a part of the team that is working towards realising the vision of an ''Aatmanirbhar Bharat''.

Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood said the overall feeling among taxpayers is that such schemes can go a long way in bringing reforms in direct taxation.

"The relationship between the taxpayer and the government should be seamless, fearless and the one that cements mutual confidence. The e-assessment is a step in that direction," he added.

Himanshu Parekh, Partner and Head, Corporate and International Tax, KPMG in India, said, "The aspects related to faceless assessments and appeals will ensure that there is no opportunity for personal bias and assessments or appeals are conducted in a fair and transparent manner, which will avoid unnecessary controversy and long drawn litigation, which has been a bane for taxpayers."

Business World |

India Inc, experts hail 'Transparent Taxation' platform by PM Modi

India Inc., and tax experts have hailed the PM Modi's initiative of 'Transparent Taxation - Honoring The Honest' platform, a move aimed at easing the compliance for assessees and reward the "honest taxpayer". "The country's honest taxpayer plays a big role in nation building... The new facilities being launched today reinforce the government's commitment to honoring the honest," PM Modi said on August 13.

The Transparent Taxation platform is based on reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal and taxpayers' charter... A 'faceless' tax system will give the taxpayer confidence on fairness and fearlessness," PM Modi said in a virtual address. "Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest" platform is a new milestone in the structural reforms initiated by the NDA Government. The basic aim is now to focus on making tax-paying seamless, painless, and faceless. 'Faceless as it shouldn't matter who is paying tax and who is tax officer', the PM explained.

Sudhir Kapadia, National Tax Leader, EY India said this initiative will go a long way in ensuring "ease of tax compliance" for honest and law abiding tax payers. "As an immediate relief, it would be highly desirable if CBDT instructs release of all pending refunds to companies ( without any monetary thresholds) as quite a few companies are left with no choice but to consider approaching Courts to expedite their refunds in these pandemic induced stressful business environment," Kapadia said.

Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, "This is another milestone in our journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country. Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the government is committed to honour and respect the honest taxpayers and make them a part of the team that is working towards realising the vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’."

Reacting to the initiative, Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South East Asia, Middle East & Africa said it is a positive step by the government to strengthen our economy. "This will also ensure that more people join the taxation process willingly and contribute their bit towards nation building," he said.

Kedar Patki, CFO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company said these measures, when holistically implemented by the 'Tax Department', will be responded equally well by the taxpayers. "Gradually, we will all move towards a ‘responsible society’ that is enhanced by trust to favorably impact business sentiments," he said.

Divakar Vijayasarathy, Founder & Managing Partner, DVS Advisors pointed to the fact that this idea was 'originally propounded in our 2019 National Economic Survey' as well. "To derive optimum benefits, these reforms should be followed by consistent efforts to simplify the legislation and removing subjectivity in tax enforcement," Vijayasarathy said.

Kapil Rana, Founder and Chairman, HostBooks said: "The faceless assessment, appeals and other administrative coupled with the adoption of new-edge technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) to make the taxpayer journey & experience more transparent and ardent. It was a much-awaited & bold step from the Government and a strong footprint in India’s progress towards the "True Digital Economy". HostBooks is a Gurugram-based start-up providing all-in-one automated business solutions empowering small and medium enterprises to manage their accounting and finances.

Devdiscourse |

Faceless tax assessment to promote transparency, empower honest taxpayers: India Inc

Faceless tax assessment and appeals unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will promote transparency and certainty, and empower honest taxpayers, India Inc and experts said. In a major overhaul of tax administration, Modi unveiled faceless tax assessment and appeals to reduce the scope for corruption and overreach by officials, and said a taxpayers' charter is being implemented to ensure a free, fair and transparent tax environment.

Launching the ''Transparent Taxation - Honouring The Honest Platform'' through video conferencing, he said the taxpayer base at just 1.5 crore in India is very low and urged those who owe taxes to come forward and honestly pay their dues and contribute to nation building. The taxpayers' charter and faceless assessment are the next phases of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers as the government looks to rebuild the pandemic-hit economy.

While faceless assessment, that does not require the taxpayer to visit any office or meet any official, and taxpayers' charter will be implemented from Thursday, faceless appeal will come into force from September 25, Modi said. "The platform lays down the framework for big reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal, and taxpayers charter and will greatly benefit taxpayers," CII President Uday Kotak said.

"Such reforms would further lay the roadmap for making the income tax system seamless, painless and faceless and promote ease of living in line with Prime Minister's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' vision," he added. FICCI President Sangita Reddy said, "This is another milestone in our journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country." She said Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the government is committed to honour and respect honest taxpayers and make them a part of the team that is working towards realising the vision of an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood said the overall feeling among taxpayers is that such schemes can go a long way in bringing reforms in direct taxation. "The relationship between the taxpayer and the government should be seamless, fearless and the one that cements mutual confidence. The e-assessment is a step in that direction," he added.

Himanshu Parekh, Partner and Head, Corporate and International Tax, KPMG in India, said, "The aspects related to faceless assessments and appeals will ensure that there is no opportunity for personal bias and assessments or appeals are conducted in a fair and transparent manner, which will avoid unnecessary controversy and long drawn litigation, which has been a bane for taxpayers."

Today News |

Faceless tax evaluation to advertise transparency, empower sincere taxpayers: India Inc

Faceless tax evaluation and appeals unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will promote transparency and certainty, and empower sincere taxpayers, India Inc and specialists stated.

In a serious overhaul of tax administration, Modi unveiled faceless tax evaluation and appeals to scale back the scope for corruption and overreach by officers, and stated a taxpayers’ constitution is being applied to make sure a free, truthful and clear tax surroundings.

Launching the “Transparent Taxation – Honouring The Honest Platform” by way of video conferencing, he stated the taxpayer base at simply 1.5 crore in India could be very low and urged those that owe taxes to return ahead and truthfully pay their dues and contribute to nation constructing.

The taxpayers’ constitution and faceless evaluation are the subsequent phases of direct tax reforms aimed toward easing compliance and rewarding sincere taxpayers as the federal government seems to be to rebuild the pandemic-hit financial system.

While faceless evaluation, that doesn’t require the taxpayer to go to any workplace or meet any official, and taxpayers’ constitution shall be applied from Thursday, faceless attraction will come into power from September 25, Modi stated.

“The platform lays down the framework for big reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal, and taxpayers charter and will greatly benefit taxpayers,” CII President Uday Kotak stated.

“Such reforms would further lay the roadmap for making the income tax system seamless, painless and faceless and promote ease of living in line with Prime Minister’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision,” he added.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy stated, “This is another milestone in our journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country.”

She stated Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the federal government is dedicated to honour and respect sincere taxpayers and make them part of the workforce that’s working in direction of realising the imaginative and prescient of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood stated the general feeling amongst taxpayers is that such schemes can go a good distance in bringing reforms in direct taxation.

“The relationship between the taxpayer and the government should be seamless, fearless and the one that cements mutual confidence. The e-assessment is a step in that direction,” he added.

Himanshu Parekh, Partner and Head, Corporate and International Tax, KPMG in India, stated, “The aspects related to faceless assessments and appeals will ensure that there is no opportunity for personal bias and assessments or appeals are conducted in a fair and transparent manner, which will avoid unnecessary controversy and long drawn litigation, which has been a bane for taxpayers.”

Business Dunia |

FICCI welcomes the launch of 'Transparent Taxation-Honouring the Honest' platform

  • This will tremendously boost Indian taxpayers’ confidence, ease of doing & cost of doing business: FICCI President
Commenting on the launch of the platform ‘Transparent Taxation – Honouring the Honest’ by Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, “This is another milestone in our journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country. Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the government is committed to honour and respect the honest taxpayers and make them a part of the team that is working towards realising the vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”

“We have seen the government take up several initiatives over time to bring improvement in the tax system making it more efficient, transparent and enhancing the ease of compliance. FICCI commends the government for all such steps. These are vital to make India a competitive economy. As we are in the midst of a changing global order that is bringing up new opportunities, developments such as the one seen today add to the positive messaging that India is committed to improve both the ease of doing business as well as the cost of doing business in the country,” Dr Reddy added.

“The tax administration in India is undergoing a change and a new governance structure is emerging that included faceless assessment, faceless appeal and defined charter for the taxpayers that outlines their rights and responsibilities. There is a great thrust on the use of technology for social good and improvement in governance and this is now reflected even in our tax administration. The government deserves complete credit for these initiatives and FICCI will continue to provide inputs to the Ministry of Finance and Department of Taxation,” said Dr Reddy.

Yahoo News |

Taxation platform launch: 40 eminent persons including top industrialists, RBI Guv attend event

Industrialist Ratan Tata, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran were among the 40 distinguished persons from industry, banks and autonomous bodies who attended launch of platform 'Transparent Taxation - Honoring The Honest' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Launching the platform through a video conference, Modi said just 1.5 crore people pay taxes in India, which has a population of 130 crore, and urged those who owe taxes to come forward and honestly pay their dues and contribute to nation-building.

Government sources said there were more than 40 distinguished people from different walks of life including from industry, business, banks, judicial and autonomous bodies and the government and leading economists who participated in the event via video conference. Participants included luminaries like veteran industrialist Adi Godrej, Infosys Founder Narayana Murthy, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, Adi Godrej, CII President Uday Kotak, FICCI President Sangita Reddy, PDHCCI President D K Agarwal and Assocham President Niranjan Hiranandani.

Sources said RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani could not attend the event as both of them were occupied with some other pre-scheduled programmes and expressed their regret while appreciating the launch and efforts of the Income Tax Department.

SEBI Chief Ajay Tyagi, IRDAI Chief S C Khuntia, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and ITAT President Justice PP Bhatt were also attended the event.

Besides, heads of all major banks including SBI, PNB, IDBI, CanaraBank, UBI, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda; and leading economists Shekhar Shah, Partha Mukhopadhyay, Nitin Desai, Shankar Acharya, and Arvind Virmani were present. The presidents of India's three accounting bodies ICAI, ICWAI and ICSI also attended the event. The 'Transparent Taxation -- Honoring the Honest' platform launched by Modi is launched with the key objectives of bringing in transparency, efficiency and accountability. Apart from launching faceless assessment, the I-T department has adopted a taxpayers' charter beginning Thursday. Faceless Appeals will begin from September 25.

Within two hours of launch, the platform hashtag #HonoringTheHonest was trending at No. 1 nationally for a long time and was at No. 5 in worldwide trends on Twitter. This created a sort of record in the most successful social media campaigns where no hashtag has broken into top 5 Globally in last 3 years, sources said.

APN News |

Launch of 'Transparent Taxation-Honoring the Honest' platform is a historic step in tax administration: FICCI

The launch of the platform for “Transparent Taxation-Honoring the Honest” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a historic step in tax administration, said Secretary General of FICCI, Dilip Chenoy today.

He said this will primarily benefit the honest tax payers and FICCI welcomes the charter and transparency that has been brought in.

On behalf of FICCI, Mr. Chenoy said that as appealed by the Prime Minister, FICCI too urges people who fall in the tax bracket and those who evade tax to pay their tax on time and contribute in the development of the country.

The Economic Times |

Faceless tax assessment to promote transparency, empower honest taxpayers: India Inc

Faceless tax assessment and appeals unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will promote transparency and certainty, and empower honest taxpayers, India Inc and experts said.

In a major overhaul of tax administration, Modi unveiled faceless tax assessment and appeals to reduce the scope for corruption and overreach by officials, and said a taxpayers' charter is being implemented to ensure a free, fair and transparent tax environment.

Launching the ''Transparent Taxation - Honouring The Honest Platform'' through video conferencing, he said the taxpayer base at just 1.5 crore in India is very low and urged those who owe taxes to come forward and honestly pay their dues and contribute to nation building.

The taxpayers' charter and faceless assessment are the next phases of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers as the government looks to rebuild the pandemic-hit economy.

While faceless assessment, that does not require the taxpayer to visit any office or meet any official, and taxpayers' charter will be implemented from Thursday, faceless appeal will come into force from September 25, Modi said.

"The platform lays down the framework for big reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal, and taxpayers charter and will greatly benefit taxpayers," CII President Uday Kotak said.

"Such reforms would further lay the roadmap for making the income tax system seamless, painless and faceless and promote ease of living in line with Prime Minister's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' vision," he added.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy said, "This is another milestone in our journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country."

She said Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the government is committed to honour and respect honest taxpayers and make them a part of the team that is working towards realising the vision of an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood said the overall feeling among taxpayers is that such schemes can go a long way in bringing reforms in direct taxation.

"The relationship between the taxpayer and the government should be seamless, fearless and the one that cements mutual confidence. The e-assessment is a step in that direction," he added.

Himanshu Parekh, Partner and Head, Corporate and International Tax, KPMG in India, said, "The aspects related to faceless assessments and appeals will ensure that there is no opportunity for personal bias and assessments or appeals are conducted in a fair and transparent manner, which will avoid unnecessary controversy and long drawn litigation, which has been a bane for taxpayers."

ET Now News |

Should corporate tax rates be lowered to 15%?

Before COVID-19 hit the world, India was already reeling under the stress of a deep slowdown. In order to battle this upfront, the government last September reduced the corporate tax rate to 22% for companies that gave up all exemptions and incentives. This brought the actual rate to 27.8% after exemptions and 25.17% for companies that opted to let go of all benefits.

In an exhaustive discussion on India Development Debate with Tamanna Inamdar, Sangita Reddy- Joint MD of Apollo Hospitals & President of FICCI said it’s important to take all measures to boost manufacturing as it contributes 16-17% to India’s GDP. A rate reduction to 15% will make corporate tax in India the lowest in the region and will add to the country’s domestic market attraction. “I think a lower tax rate will definitely separate us from our competition and encourage investment in India. It will also attract people who wish to expand outside of China or relocate partly from China”, said Sandip Somany, Joint MD of HSIL and Immediate Past President of FICCI.

A corporate tax cut to 15% will not only help India become a manufacturing hub but will also see exports getting a boost. Higher investment will lead to increased job creation and hence an increase in income. Rohinton Sidhwa, Partner at Deloitte India believes a corporate tax cut will find its way to all taxpayers; however when and how that happens is open to question.

Meanwhile, Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at CARE Ratings expects no benefit from a rate cut in the near term. “In the past we have seen that any concession given in terms of taxation leads to higher investment with a lag of 1-2 years but then you are back to normal”, said Madan.

But even as the industry considers a rate cut, FICCI has requested the government to extend the deadline of 15% rate for new manufacturing companies to 2024. “I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of 31st March, 2023”, said FM Nirmala Sitharaman while speaking with FICCI National Executive Committee members. The government last year had offered a lower tax rate of 15% to new manufacturing companies provided it commenced manufacturing before 31st March 2023.

With the global average of 23.03% corporate tax rate, India is still losing its competitive advantage to countries like Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand. As companies look to shift from China, experts believe this makes it the right time for India to rework its tax regime.

India Info Line |

Deadline extension in 15% corporate tax on new investment soon; FM to consider

While addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hinted towards extension in corporate tax deadline for new investments giving further relief to taxpayers amid Covid-19. The FM is considering to extend the due date until March 2023. A notification in this regards may soon be announced.

Sitharaman said, "the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments."

“I will see what can be done. We want the industry to benefit from the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of 31st March 2023,” Sitharaman added.

Earlier on June 07, the Finance Ministry ridiculed certain media reports on the growth of direct taxes collection for the FY 2019-20 has fallen drastically and buoyancy of the direct tax collection as compared to the GDP growth has reached negative.

In regards to corporate tax, the ministry pointed out that to promote growth and investment, the Government has brought in a historic tax reform through the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 which provided a concessional tax regime of 22% for all existing domestic companies from FY 2019-20 if they do not avail any specified exemption or incentive.

Further, such companies have also been exempted from payment of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT), explained the ministry.

Data of the ministry shows that actual corporate tax collection stands at Rs 6,78,398 cr in FY 2019-20, while after adjustment due to revenue foregone for Tax Reforms - the collection was at Rs 1,45,000 cr in the same fiscal.

Asian Lite |

'Covid Emergency Credit Facility for all businesses'

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the Covid Emergency Credit Facility announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

The clarification assumes importance as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all businesses and everyone is looking at special liquidity window from the government to stay afloat in these difficult times.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

“We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem,” she said.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said: “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.”

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

“I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023,” she said.

Sitharaman also suggested that the industry submit their recommendations related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said: “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council.”

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the Covid-19 impact. “FICCI is committed to the common goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation,” Reddy added.

KNN |

Covid Emergency Credit Facility covers all firms not just MSMEs: Fin Min

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has clarified that the Covid Emergency Credit Facility announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package covers all companies and not just Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

She said this while addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, on Monday, Sitharaman and also assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

“We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem,” she said.

Speaking on liquidity, the Finance Minister said, “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.”

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the worst affected sectors, she said, "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the council is also looking for revenue. The decision for a reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

On June 1, the Centre had cleared Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free and government-guaranteed loans for MSMEs, traders, Mudra borrowers and other eligible firms.

The emergency credit scheme covers existing borrowers with outstanding credit limit of up to Rs 25 crore as on 29 February, 2020 and having a turnover of up to Rs 100 crore. The borrowers are eligible for up to 20% of their entire outstanding loans as an emergency credit line.

The upper limit for interest rate charged by banks and financial institutions has been capped at 9.25%. For the NBFCs, the upper limit is 14%.

Indus Scrolls |

COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies, not just MSMEs, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members today, the Finance Minister assured the industry of all possible Government support.

On the question of liquidity, she said, government has taken adequate measures to address the issue and assured every possible support to factor out remaining concerns.

Ms. Sitharaman said that every Government department has been told to clear off outstanding dues.

She informed that the Government will also consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

Stressing on the necessity for revenue collection, Ms Sitharaman said that any decision regarding reduction in GST rates will be taken by the GST council.

FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the COVID-19 impact.

Inc42 |

Not just for MSMEs: Sitharaman clears the air on Covid-19 relief funds

The Covid-19 emergency credit facility will cover all businesses and will not be limited to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the minister for finance and corporate affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has clarified.

The central government approved the emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) for MSMEs and Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) borrowers on May 21, 2020. Under this, the government offered 100% guarantee coverage to National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for additional funding of INR 3 Lakh Cr for eligible borrowers.

While addressing the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) national executive committee members, on Monday (June 8), Sitharaman assured that the government will support Indian businesses in all possible ways and work towards reviving the economy. “We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem,” she added.

Govt Addressed Liquidity, Claims Sitharaman

The finance minister added that the government has already addressed the issues of liquidity “fairly” and there is “definitely” the availability of the liquidity. Besides this, the government has conveyed all the departments to clear dues as well. She added that the government will also look into the matters if there continues to be some issues.

Sitharaman has also assured that the government will consider extending the deadline for availing the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments to March 31, 2023. The industry can also submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

GST, Income Tax Benefits For Businesses

Besides this, the Union minister has also touched upon the need for reduction of goods and service tax (GST) rates for the badly hit sectors. “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the council is also looking for revenue. The decision for the reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council,” Sitharaman said.

Finance and revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed the FICCI members that the Income Tax refunds are also being initiated. So far, the government has issued IT Refunds worth INR 35K Cr in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by the secretary expenditure T V Somanathan , economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj, corporate affairs secretary Rajesh Verma , department of financial services secretary Debasish Panda and chief economic advisor K V Subramanian.

Hindustan Times |

FM Nirmala Sitharaman weighs extension of tax cut-off for corporate sector

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said she will consider extending the deadline for availing a lower tax rate on new investments in manufacturing as the government weighs options to ease strain on companies.

“I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023,” Sitharaman said.

The government is willing to give additional time to businesses as they are in the process of recovering from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including loss of sales because of the more than two-month-long lockdown to stem the spread of the virus, Sitharaman told the national executive committee members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The government slashed corporate tax rates in September to reverse an economic slowdown. Firms not availing of tax sops could opt for a 22% rate and new manufacturing companies that start production before March 2023 could opt for a 15% rate.

The government also lowered from 18.5% to 15% the rate of minimum alternative tax, a provision that aims to bring profitable firms that pay zero or marginal taxes into the tax net. The lowering of rates was aimed at making the corporate tax regime globally competitive and increase post-tax earnings of firms for reinvestment. However, the outbreak of Covid-19 has hit economic growth. The government has now taken a slew of measures to improve liquidity for businesses and has suspended the operation of the bankruptcy code for at least six months. “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues,” the minister said.

Every government department has been told to clear payments pending to small businesses, she said. If there is any problem with any department, the government will look into it, she added. The minister also said the emergency credit facility announced recently is not restricted to micro, small, and medium enterprises and can be availed by any business meeting the eligibility criteria. Sitharaman said the final call on reducing the goods and services tax (GST) rate for sectors hit by covid will be taken by the GST Council.

Business Today |

Centre will consider deadline extension to avail 15% corporation tax rate benefit: Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her address to the members of industry body FICCI, said the Centre may consider extending deadline for availing lower 15 per cent corporation tax on new investments. The new corporation tax rate is available for manufacturing companies incorporated after October 1, 2019, and that have started operations before March 31, 2023.

"I will see what can be done. We want the industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporation tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," Sitharaman said.

The minister also assured the industry of all possible government help amid the coronavirus crisis. "We are committed to supporting/intervene if any of your members have a problem," she said.

The Finance minister sought the industry's recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

The Centre in September last year reduced corporate tax rates from a high of 30 per cent to 22 per cent.

It also allowed any new domestic companies incorporated on or after October 1, 2019, making fresh investment in manufacturing to pay income-tax at the rate of 15 per cent. The new tax rates apply to companies which do not avail of any exemptions or incentives.

The Union Minister also said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the worst affected sectors, she said, "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the council is also looking for revenue. The decision for a reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council".

Finance and Revenue Secretary Mr Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

Money Control |

Govt to consider extension in deadline for availing 15% corporate tax rate benefit: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the lower 15 percent corporate tax rate on new investments, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the biggest reduction in 28 years, the government in September last year slashed corporate tax rates by up to 10 percentage points to attract private investment and push sagging economic growth.

Base corporate tax for existing companies was reduced to 22 percent from 30 percent, and to 15 percent from 25 percent for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 percent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," Sitharaman said.

Addressing members of FICCI, the minister assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

Sitharaman clarified that the COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

On the question of liquidity, she said, "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The finance minister also said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 percent corporate tax rate on new investments.

The minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or Sebi deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But, the GST Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey told FICCI members that income tax refund to the corporates has also started and income tax refunds of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the past few weeks.

SME Times |

COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers not just MSMEs: Sitharaman

Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Smt Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible Government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy, and said, “We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem”.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said, “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.” Sitharaman also said that every Government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments.

“I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of 31st March, 2023,” Smt Sitharaman said.

The Finance minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council".

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by the Secretary Expenditure Mr T V Somanathan , Economic Affairs Secretary Mr Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Mr Rajesh Verma , Department of Financial Services Secretary Mr Debasish Panda and Chief Economic Advisor Dr K V Subramanian.

FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the COVID-19 impact.

“FICCI is committed to the common goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation,” Reddy added.

AIR News |

COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies not just MSMEs: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members today, the Finance Minister assured the industry of all possible Government support.

On the question of liquidity, she said, government has taken adequate measures to address the issue and assured every possible support to factor out remaining concerns.

Ms. Sitharaman said that every Government department has been told to clear off outstanding dues.

She informed that the Government will also consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

Stressing on the necessity for revenue collection, Ms Sitharaman said that any decision regarding reduction in GST rates will be taken by the GST council.

FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the COVID-19 impact.

Tripura India |

Covid Emergency Credit Facility for all firms, not just MSMEs: FM

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the Covid Emergency Credit Facility announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

The clarification assumes importance as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all businesses and everyone is looking at special liquidity window from the government to stay afloat in these difficult times.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

"We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem," she said.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said: "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," she said.

Sitharaman also suggested that the industry submit their recommendations related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said: "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the Covid-19 impact. "FICCI is committed to the common goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation," Reddy added.

Smart Investor |

Will consider corporation tax rate benefit extension: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday the government would consider an extension in the deadline for availing of the lower 15 per cent corporation tax rate on new investments.

The concessional corporation tax rate against the existing 25-30 per cent is available for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.

“I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporation tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," Sitharaman said, addressing members of industry body FICCI.

The FM said demand for GST rate reductions would go to the GST Council, but the body of Union and state FMs is also looking at revenue. The decision for rate cut for any sector has to be taken by the Council, she said. The GST Council is likely to meet on Friday through video conferencing.

The minister assured the industry of all possible support. Sitharaman clarified that the Covid-19 Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

In the biggest reduction in 28 years, the government in September slashed corporation tax rates by up to 10 percentage points to attract private investment and push sagging economic growth. Base corporation tax for existing companies was reduced to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.

On the question of liquidity, she said: "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues." She also said every government department had been asked to clear dues and if there are any issues with any department, the government would look into them.

The minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or Sebi deadlines, so that necessary steps could be taken.

Millennium Post |

Govt to consider extension in deadline for availing 15 pc corporate tax rate benefit: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the lower 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the biggest reduction in 28 years, the government in September last year slashed corporate tax rates by up to 10 percentage points to attract private investment and push sagging economic growth.

Base corporate tax for existing companies was reduced to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," Sitharaman said.

Addressing members of FICCI, the minister assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

Sitharaman clarified that the COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

On the question of liquidity, she said, "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The finance minister also said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

The minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or Sebi deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But, the GST Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey told FICCI members that income tax refund to the corporates has also started and income tax refunds of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the past few weeks.

Deccan Herald |

Govt to consider extension in deadline for availing 15% corporate tax rate benefit: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the lower 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the biggest reduction in 28 years, the government in September last year slashed corporate tax rates by up to 10 percentage points to attract private investment and push sagging economic growth.

Base corporate tax for existing companies was reduced to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," Sitharaman said.

Addressing members of FICCI, the minister assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

Sitharaman clarified that the COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

On the question of liquidity, she said, "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The finance minister also said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

The minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or Sebi deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But, the GST Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey told FICCI members that income tax refund to the corporates has also started and income tax refunds of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the past few weeks.

DT Next |

Covid Emergency Credit Facility for all firms, not just MSMEs: FM

The clarification assumes importance as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all businesses and everyone is looking at special liquidity window from the government to stay afloat in these difficult times.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

"We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem," she said.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said: "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," she said.

Sitharaman also suggested that the industry submit their recommendations related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said: "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the Covid-19 impact. "FICCI is committed to the common goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation," Reddy added.

India.com |

COVID Emergency Credit Facility for all firms, not just MSMEs, says Sitharaman

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the Covid Emergency Credit Facility announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

The clarification assumes importance as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all businesses and everyone is looking at special liquidity window from the government to stay afloat in these difficult times.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

“We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem,” she said.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said: “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.”

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

“I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023,” she said.

Sitharaman also suggested that the industry submit their recommendations related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken. With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said: “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council.”

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the Covid-19 impact. “FICCI is committed to the common goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation,” Reddy added.

Outlook |

Govt to consider extension in deadline for availing 15 pc corporate tax rate benefit: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the lower 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the biggest reduction in 28 years, the government in September last year slashed corporate tax rates by up to 10 percentage points to attract private investment and push sagging economic growth.

Base corporate tax for existing companies was reduced to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," Sitharaman said.

Addressing members of FICCI, the minister assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

Sitharaman clarified that the COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

On the question of liquidity, she said, "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The finance minister also said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

The minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or Sebi deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But, the GST Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey told FICCI members that income tax refund to the corporates has also started and income tax refunds of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the past few weeks.

Outlook |

Covid Emergency Credit Facility for all firms, not just MSMEs: FM

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the Covid Emergency Credit Facility announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

The clarification assumes importance as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all businesses and everyone is looking at special liquidity window from the government to stay afloat in these difficult times.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

"We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem," she said.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said: "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," she said.

Sitharaman also suggested that the industry submit their recommendations related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said: "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the Covid-19 impact. "FICCI is committed to the common goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation," Reddy added.

INVC News |

Every Government department has been told to clear dues

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs. Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Smt Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible Government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy, and said, “We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem”.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said, “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.” Smt Sitharaman also said that every Government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments. “I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of 31st March, 2023,” Smt Sitharaman said.

The Finance minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council".

Finance and Revenue Secretary Mr Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by the Economic Affairs Secretary Mr Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Mr Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Mr Debasish Panda.
FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the COVID-19 impact. “FICCI is committed to the common goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation,” Dr Reddy added.

Swarajya |

Covid-19 Emergency Credit Facility to be available to all companies, not just MSMEs: FM Sitharaman

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (8 June) said that the Covid Emergency Credit Facility announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

The clarification assumes importance as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all businesses and everyone is looking at special liquidity window from the government to stay afloat in these difficult times.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

"We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem," she said.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said: "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues."

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

"I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023," she said.

Sitharaman also suggested that the industry submit their recommendations related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said: "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council."

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the Covid-19 impact. "FICCI is committed to the common goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation," Reddy added.

newsd |

Covid Emergency Credit Facility for all firms, not just MSMEs: FM

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the Covid Emergency Credit Facility announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package covers all companies and not just MSMEs.

The clarification assumes importance as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all businesses and everyone is looking at special liquidity window from the government to stay afloat in these difficult times.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

“We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem,” she said.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said: “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.”

She also said that every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

“I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023,” she said.

Sitharaman also suggested that the industry submit their recommendations related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said: “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council.”

Finance and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the Covid-19 impact. “FICCI is committed to the common goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation,” Reddy added.

Investing Guide |

Govt to contemplate extension in deadline for availing 15 laptop company tax fee profit: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the lower 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the biggest reduction in 28 years, the government in September last year slashed corporate tax rates by up to 10 percentage points to attract private investment and push sagging economic growth.

Base corporate tax for existing companies was reduced to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.

“I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of March 31, 2023,” Sitharaman said.

Addressing members of FICCI, the minister assured the industry of all possible government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy.

Sitharaman clarified that the COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

On the question of liquidity, she said, “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.” She also said every government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The finance minister also said the government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15 per cent corporate tax rate on new investments.

The minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or Sebi deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But, the GST Council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council.”

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey told FICCI members that income tax refund to the corporates has also started and income tax refunds of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the past few weeks.

Ten News |

COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs: Finance Minister

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs. Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Smt Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible Government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy, and said, “We are committed to support/intervene if any of your members have a problem”.

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said, “We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of the liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues.” Smt Sitharaman also said that every Government department has been told to clear dues and if there is any issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments. “I will see what can be done. We want industry to benefit from the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of 31st March, 2023,” Smt Sitharaman said.
The Finance minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the badly affected sectors, She said, “GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the council is also looking for revenue. The decision for reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council”.

Finance and Revenue Secretary Mr Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by the Economic Affairs Secretary Mr Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Mr Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Mr Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the COVID-19 impact. “FICCI is committed to the common goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation,” Dr Reddy added.

Devdiscourse |

COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just MSMEs. Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee members, Smt Sitharaman assured the industry of all possible Government support with the intent of supporting Indian business and reviving the economy, and said, "We are committed to supporting/intervene if any of your members have a problem".

On the question of liquidity, the Finance Minister said, "We have fairly clearly addressed the issue of liquidity. There is definitely the availability of liquidity. We will look into it if there are still issues." Smt Sitharaman also said that every Government department has been told to clear dues and if there is an issue with any department, the government will look into it.

The Finance Minister also said that the Government will consider an extension in the deadline for availing the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments. "I will see what can be done. We want the industry to benefit from the 15% corporate tax rate on new investments and I take your point for considering an extension in the deadline of 31st March 2023," Smt Sitharaman said.

The Finance minister suggested the industry to submit their recommendations related to the ministry of corporate affairs or SEBI deadlines so that necessary steps could be taken.

With regard to the need for reduction in GST rates in the worst affected sectors, She said, "GST rate reduction will go to the Council. But the council is also looking for revenue. The decision for a reduction in rate for any sector has to be taken by the Council".

Finance and Revenue Secretary Mr Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed FICCI members that Income Tax Refund to the corporates have also started and I-T refunds to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore have been issued in the last few weeks.

The meeting was also attended by the Economic Affairs Secretary Mr Tarun Bajaj, Corporate Affairs Secretary Mr Rajesh Verma and Department of Financial Services Secretary Mr Debasish Panda.

FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy informed the Finance Minister that the chamber is in constant touch with different government departments to support the implementation of the measures announced to deal with the COVID-19 impact. "FICCI is committed to the common goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat and working with the government in enhancing implementation," Dr Reddy added.

Business Standard |

FICCI welcomes stimulus package 2.0, looks forward to more measures

The series of measures spelt out by the Finance Minister gave the confidence that our government is ready and will lead from the front in taking India out of the covid-19 storm and emerge bigger and stronger, Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said while commenting on the set of economic measures announced by the Finance Minister. "With today's comprehensive set of announcements, the stage is now set to rebuild the Indian industry and economy.

And as the country moves ahead it will ensure that every individual, every enterprise, and every section of society is taken along in a guided manner so that the impact of the turmoil is cushioned in the best possible manner. FICCI thanks the Finance Minister for the Stimulus Package 2.0 and looks forward to more such measures in the ensuing days."

The MSME sector has been facing the maximum brunt of covid-19 induced lockdown and many of our constituents from across the country were looking forward to the relief measures to be announced by the government. The Rs 3 lakh crore package geared towards this is most welcome and it should help bring back to like a large proportion of our MSMEs. Additionally, with the government announcing another Rs 20,000 crore of funds to be provided to stressed MSMEs and setting up a fund of funds worth Rs 50,000 crore that could take up equity in viable MSMEs and thereby pave the way for their listing on the market is a novel approach that will come in handy for the cash starved but viable business entities. Clearing of the receivables for MSMEs due from CPSEs and other central government departments in the next 45 days will also bring back liquidity in the system and help units as they plan to restart their operations.

Besides these direct liquidity infusion measures, the government has given MSMEs another shot in the arm by declaring that all public procurement tenders upto Rs 200 crore will no longer be global tenders. This will help in bringing more business to Indian MSMEs and create greater opportunities for them in government projects and procurement areas that can be substantive.

On support extended on payment of statutory dues, the 3-months extension given to the earlier announced measure of government contributing both the employer and employee share in PF within certain limits is a noteworthy move.

Another sector that came in for special mention was NBFC / HFC and MFI sector. The clear developmental role of these players was recognised by the government and as an acknowledgement of their contribution to promoting growth by delivering credit to the underserved segments of society, the government announced two special lines. A special government guaranteed liquidity line worth Rs 30,000 crore and extension of the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme by Rs 45,000 crore with first loss default cover of 20 per cent.

On the power sector, the need for reforms is urgent and long overdue. While the infusion of liquidity to the tune of Rs 90,000 crore in DISCOMs against their receivables by PFC and REC will help DISCOMS discharge their payments to Gen-Cos, a longer-term approach to make the sector sustainable is required.

The relief offered to contractors undertaking infrastructure projects in terms of extending the timelines for completion of projects / construction related milestones without attracting any penalty should offer some succour to them. However, the larger support that comes to them is in the form of release or repayment of bank guarantees linked to the completion of the projects. This would be helpful and players in the infrastructure sector were seeking such relief. In the same light, the declaration of covid-19 as force-majeure under RERA should de-stress players in the real estate sector.

Further, continuing with the earlier efforts to ease the compliance burden on individuals and companies, the government has further extended the due dates for filing of tax returns and assessments and we welcome these steps. On the tax side, the reduction by 25 per cent in the applicable rates of TDS and TCS is expected to release Rs 50,000 and this will be another avenue by which more money will be left in the hands of companies and individuals.

FICCI is hopeful that more such measures will be announced by the government in the coming days and we will see greater thrust being laid on some of the most battered segments of industry including tourism, hospitality, aviation and healthcare. FICCI has requested that a minimum amount of Rs 20,000 crore be allotted for these sectors as they have seen maximum dip in demand and will also take much longer to recover from the set-back seen. Healthcare sector also needs huge impetus in order to build capacity to fight the covid-19 menace effectively. The sector is trying to make its contribution but needs support to sustain its efforts. The government also needs to plan for more support for the migrant workers and the more vulnerable sections of society.

Law 360 |

India defers taxes, vows more relief to Counter Pandemic

India’s government announced deferred tax filing deadlines Tuesday while extending a taxpayer amnesty program and introducing other, nonspending relief measures to gird the economy from damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised further fiscal measures but insisted that India, which has the world’s seventh-biggest gross domestic product, was not on the verge of economic catastrophe.

Individuals will be allowed to file their annual tax returns by June 30, a three-month extension, for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2019, Sitharaman said via videoconference from New Delhi, the Indian capital.

“We are very close to coming up with an economic package which will be announced sooner rather than later,” she said.

However, concerns among Indian citizens and businesses about the pandemic’s immediate impact prompted the government to respond quickly with a set of statutory and regulatory compliance measures, the minister said.

“There have been several calls for us to respond to in terms of deadlines that people are struggling to keep. So therefore, today, we have come up with a comprehensive and detailed announcement,” she said.

Nonetheless, the government will not declare a financial emergency, according to Sitharaman.

The other measures she announced include reducing the interest rate on delayed tax payments to 9% from 12% for fiscal 2019, extending to June 30 - from March 31 - the deadline to link government-issued Aadhaar and PAN cards for tax payments, and extending the application deadline for India’s tax amnesty program to June 30.

In addition, the government relaxed rules that trigger insolvency cases against micro-sized, small and medium-sized enterprises, loosened norms for the conduct of corporate board meetings, extended the final date for return of goods-and-services tax for March, April and May to June 30, and provided for around-the-clock customs clearances through June 30.

Across India on Sunday, residents observed what was described as a voluntary curfew, hours after the country’s borders were temporarily closed to international flights in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. As of Tuesday, the country had reported 536 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, including 10 deaths.

Sudhir Kapadia, national tax leader of EY India, called Sitharaman’s tax announcements “significant” in light of business disruptions from COVID-19.

He said extending last year’s indirect tax scheme and this year’s customs-related direct tax resolution program to June 2020 - without the usual 10% tax surcharge for direct taxes - will give Indian businesses “breathing room to assess and carefully evaluate these options and allow for liquidity to make the necessary tax payments under these schemes.”

In a note to clients, Kapadia called the interest rate cut to 9% for delayed tax payments “welcome relief.” But he said it would have been better if the government had allowed a three-month deferral for paying income taxes without any interest.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a leading business lobby, welcomed the minister’s announcement.

Sangita Reddy, FICCI president, said in a statement the “extensive measures” to relax regulatory and tax compliance rules to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 were “a good first step.”

livemint |

Coronavirus impact: Govt to announce relief on tax return filing

The Centre is weighing the option of extending compliance deadline of filing goods and services tax (GST) and income tax returns to provide relief to businesses struggling amid lockdowns across the country, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

As many as 30 states and union territories have imposed complete lockdown covering a total of 548 districts in the country. Only essential services are allowed to function.

The government is also working out a way to ensure how it can facilitate uninterrupted supply of food grains and essentials to the poor, the official told Mint.

Corporates are required to file their annual returns with the Registrar of Companies by end of September. They are also required file their income tax returns by end of September.

Individuals and Associations of Persons have to file their personal income tax returns by end of July. Businesses also have to file monthly GST returns about their sales. Small businesses that have signed up for a flat tax (composition) scheme have to file quarterly returns. Besides these, businesses also have to report compliance about various provisions in the Companies Act.

“Our immediate concern is to ensure that essential supplies reach the poor. We will also have to give relief on compliance related to taxation," the official said.

Measures for businesses hit by the coronavirus outbreak are also in the offing.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address the nation at 2pm.

“Even as we are readying an economic package to help us through the corona lockdown (on priority, to be announced soon), I will address the media at 2 pm today, specifically on statutory and regulatory compliance matters via video conference," the minister said in a tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 8pm on coronavirus outbreak. As many as 499 people have been diagnosed with the infection in India, with death toll at nine.

The pandemic has disrupted business activities, led to factory shutdowns, closure of schools and colleges and has prompted the government to set up a task force to examine measures required to offset its adverse impact on the economy. The spread of the virus could delay a recovery in India’s growth, which has in recent months been battling a slump in consumption.

Industry chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Friday said, quoting a survey done between 15 --19 March, that 47% of the 317 companies surveyed indicated the pandemic was having moderate-to very high impact on business even at early stages. The impact is seen on new orders, inventory and cash flow.

At a meeting of central and state officials on Sunday, it was decided that there was an urgent need to extend curbs on movement of non-essential passenger transport--bus, metro, rail-- till the end of the month.

The Economic Times |

Panel to give feedback on new GST system

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has set up a consultation committee to provide feedback on new functionalities in the GST system. Suggestions will be related to policy and technology. The committee, which will include representatives from selected states recommended by the GST Council, member secretary of GSTN, representatives from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and independent experts, will provide suggestions related to policy and technology, as per an office order issued to the effect.

The panel will also have representatives from trade and industry bodies such as CII, FICCI and ICAI. It will provide feedback “when significant changes are brought in the system, or when changes in business processes are contemplated”, the order said. “Provide feedback on procedures and processes from point of view of tax payers and tax consultants,” it said. The committee will elect its chairman at the beginning of every meeting, while the strength of the quorum will be a third of the total number of members.

The setting up of the committee comes in the backdrop of taxpayers facing several issues while uploading returns on the GSTN website, and of the government seeking feedback from industry on the new beta version.

STATES TO GET Rs 3,500 CR

The Centre will soon release another Rs 35,000 crore to states to compensate for the revenue loss on account of GST rollout, an official said. Under the GST law, states are guaranteed compensation for revenue loss for five years if their revenue does not increase 14 per cent on the base year of 2015-16. There were no differences between the Centre and states with regard to compensation payment in 2017-18, 2018-19, and in the first four months of the current fiscal.

Importers and exporters will have to mandatorily declare GSTIN in documents from February 15 as the revenue department moves to crackdown on evaders and plug GST revenue leakage. In a circular, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said that in certain cases the importer or exporter did not declare their GSTIN in the Bill of Entry/Shipping Bill despite being registered with GSTN.

Research Columnist |

Panel to provide comments on new GST gadget

The Items and Services and products Tax Community (GSTN) has arrange a session committee to offer comments on new functionalities within the GST gadget. Tips might be associated with coverage and generation. The committee, which can come with representatives from decided on states advisable through the GST Council, member secretary of GSTN, representatives from the Central Board of Oblique Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and unbiased professionals, will supply ideas associated with coverage and generation, as in step with an workplace order issued to the impact.

The panel may also have representatives from industry and business our bodies reminiscent of CII, FICCI and ICAI. It’ll supply comments “when important adjustments are introduced within the gadget, or when adjustments in industry processes are pondered”, the order mentioned. “Supply comments on procedures and processes from standpoint of tax payers and tax specialists,” it mentioned. The committee will elect its chairman firstly of each and every assembly, whilst the power of the quorum might be a 3rd of the entire choice of contributors.

The putting in of the committee comes within the backdrop of taxpayers going through a number of problems whilst importing returns at the GSTN website online, and of the federal government looking for comments from business at the new beta model.

STATES TO GET Rs 3,500 CR

The Centre will quickly unlock every other Rs 35,000 crore to states to atone for the earnings loss as a result of GST rollout, an reliable mentioned. Underneath the GST regulation, states are assured repayment for earnings loss for 5 years if their earnings does now not build up 14 in step with cent at the base 12 months of 2015-16. There have been no variations between the Centre and states in regards to repayment fee in 2017-18, 2018-19, and within the first 4 months of the present fiscal.

Importers and exporters must mandatorily claim GSTIN in paperwork from February 15 because the earnings division strikes to crackdown on evaders and plug GST earnings leakage. In a round, the Central Board of Oblique Taxes and Customs mentioned that during positive instances the importer or exporter didn’t claim their GSTIN within the Invoice of Access/Transport Invoice regardless of being registered with GSTN.

SME Times |

Need to bring unorganised sector in tax net: CBDT chief

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairperson P.C. Mody on Tuesday said that the unorganised sector is ought to be under the tax framework.

At a conference organised by FICCI here, the CBDT chief said that having a broader tax base would result in lower tax rates across the board.

To a query regarding taxing rich farmers, Mody responded by saying: "There is an equal portion in the unorganised sector (as compared to agriculture) which is going untaxed and they ought to be in the tax framework."

"More broader the case, the better case there would be for more tweaking of the income tax rates also," he added.

Mody said that those in the unorganised sector can be motivated to come under the taxation framework, if they are assured that they would not have to face harassment and the taxpayers should be provided with information so that accuracy of return filing will improve.

Regarding the new optional income tax regime announced in the budget, the CBDT Chairman said that young people are likely to prefer the new regime.

Informing the that the contents of the proposed income charter will soon be released, he said that the stated policy of the government is to do away with exemptions and deductions of course in a phased manner.

Among several proposals on the direct taxation front, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21, proposed a tax payers' charter in the Income Tax Act to ensure fairness to all assessees and to make sure that officials in their quest to collect taxes do not end up harassing citizens.

She also announced a new tax regime with lower tax rates, but at the cost of exemptions and deductions. A taxpayer opting for the lower tax regime would have to forgo all the deductions and exemptions availed by him in the old regime.

The News Minute |

Unorganised sector ought to be in tax net: CBDT chief

With the common man still facing the conundrum of whether to avail lower tax by foregoing all exemptions or stay with the old regime, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairperson P.C. Mody on Tuesday said that the unorganised sector ought to be under the tax framework.

At a conference organised by FICCI in New Delhi, the CBDT chief said that having a broader tax base would result in lower tax rates across the board.

To a query regarding taxing rich farmers, Mody responded by saying: "There is an equal portion in the unorganised sector (as compared to agriculture) which is going untaxed and they ought to be in the tax framework."

"More broader the case, the better case there would be for more tweaking of the income tax rates also," he added.

Mody said that those in the unorganised sector can be motivated to come under the taxation framework, if they are assured that they would not have to face harassment and the taxpayers should be provided with information so that accuracy of return filing will improve.

Regarding the new optional income tax regime announced in the budget, the CBDT Chairman said that young people are likely to prefer the new regime.

Informing that the contents of the proposed income charter will soon be released, he said that the stated policy of the government is to do away with exemptions and deductions of course in a phased manner.

Among several proposals on the direct taxation front, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21, proposed a tax payers' charter in the Income Tax Act to ensure fairness to all assesses and to make sure that officials in their quest to collect taxes do not end up harassing citizens.

She also announced a new tax regime with lower tax rates, but at the cost of exemptions and deductions. A taxpayer opting for the lower tax regime would have to forgo all the deductions and exemptions availed by him in the old regime.

Eastern Mirror |

GST credit against excise duty on petroleum products

In a big relief to the oil sector, government may allow producers of petroleum and natural gas to claim credit for GST on all inputs, input services and capital goods being paid by them even though the output petroleum products including petrol, diesel, ATF remain outside the new indirect tax framework.

Sources said that government is looking at an industry proposal to amend CENVAT rules that will allow petroleum producers to claim credit on all taxes paid on inputs under the GST system and get a set-off on these duties against output excise duty paid on five petroleum products that continue to remain outside GST.

“This is a very good proposal that would allow relief from additional tax burden to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore on oil marketing companies at present. The problem is coming as sector’s input are in GST system where tax set-off is available but final product is outside the GST system where credit on inputs is not allowed. Tax credits won’t be transferable between the two systems,” said an executive of public sector oil company asking not to be named.

Tax credits on products not in GST system may create accounting complications, but government sources said this could be done as a temporary measure if the products were expected to come under the new indirect tax system soon. An announcement about the proposed changes may be made in the coming budget.

As of now, five petroleum products viz. petroleum crude, motor spirit (petrol), air turbine fuel (ATF), high speed diesel and natural gas are included in GST, but is governed under existing Central Excise Act as well as State VAT and Central Sales Tax Act, till GST Council recommends the same for coverage under GST.

In the absence of a consensus among states, the five products remain outside the GST fold. Accordingly, input tax credit of GST paid on procurements is not allowed against the output tax liability to the supplier of the said products and is an additional cost for the producers of oil and gas.

“It’s a matter of time now before petroleum products are also included under GST. It could happen gradually with gas and ATF being placed under GST first before other products move there. Till that time, if a tax set-off mechanism involving excise duty paid on petroleum products is evolved, it would work best for the sector,” said a government official privy to the development.

The GST Council could consider bringing natural gas in the GST net ahead of other four petroleum products. Inclusion of gas would not pose a challenge for the Council as it largely an industrial product where a switchover to new taxation would not be difficult. The revenue implication for the states is also low in the case of this switchover. This could be followed by including ATF in GST fold.

Ministry of petroleum and natural gas has been pushing for inclusion of petroleum products in the indirect tax system for some time now as it feels that this would bring down volatility in its retail pricing that is constantly under pressure on rising global oil prices.

Industry body FICCI has also pitched for provision of credit of GST against excise duty on petroleum products as a temporary measure till all products get into the indirect tax system.

Deccan Chronicle |

Corporate tax cut: Is it half full or half empty?

The corporate world revels in great glory ever since the corporate tax cut announcements made by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in what could be called the ‘mini-budget’. The government slashed the corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 22 per cent for all companies so that their effective rate came down to 25.17 per cent. Earlier in July, the government had reduced the tax rates to 25 per cent for companies having turnover less than Rs 400 crore. This budget proposal has become irrelevant by the new tax cuts for all companies. The new base rate, 22 per cent, is less than that of US, China, Japan and Korea.

When we consider the recent fiscal announcements of the government, perhaps none are as important as this corporate tax cut because of its huge cost. The revenue forgone on account of this decision is Rs 1.45 lakh crore which is equal to one fifth of the projected corporate tax collections. This will increase the fiscal pressure of the government enormously. The government’s fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent was mainly based on tax buoyancy and high corporate tax growth. The projected corporate tax collection was Rs 7,70,000 crore and a 20 per cent reduction in it will magnify the fiscal risks of the government.

There is no doubt over the fact that the tax cut will increase the after tax profits of the companies so that their net economic efficiency will improve. This makes the lenders happier to give loans to finance the fixed and working capital needs of the firms. Further, the cut will increase the net income of the company and shareholders may get a higher dividend, if the firms keep a higher payout ratio. However, the underlying principle behind the tax cut-investment hypothesis is “low tax rate, low dividend payout, reinvestment of earnings and economic growth”. But the incongruity lies in the fact that the capacity utilisation is stagnant in Indian manufacturing sector for a series of quarters. A survey report of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at the beginning of the year showed that the capacity utilisation is only 75 per cent. The major reasons for this capacity under-utilisation are the poor demand scenario in the country and the low purchasing power of households.

It clearly shows that unless the demand scenario is changed, the future investment outlook will remain the same. The main issues confronted by the Indian manufacturing sector constitute high cost of inputs and uncertainty in demand. In order to make the companies to re-invest their extra earnings generated by tax cut, the demand environment should change. Otherwise, the companies will pass the benefits to shareholders in the form of dividends or bonus shares.

The RBI’s consumer Confidence Index in July fell by 4 points on account of low income assessment of households. In order to boost consumer demand in the market, the government should take necessary steps to reduce the cost of inputs used in the production process. In addition to this, there should be adequate measures to improve the disposable income of the rural households so that their purchasing power will improve.

There is growing consensus among the economists that there should be an economic stimulus to revive the domestic demand and to promote fresh investment cycle. However, the route chosen by the government will reduce the government spending in future as the corporate tax kitty is weakened. At the same time, there exists an uncertainty regarding the reinvestment decisions of the companies. Further, in the current scenario, companies in many sectors may not pass on the benefits of tax cut to the consumers due to their liquidity issues. Since the basic problem is poor demand caused by the low household income, a favourable change in the GST or personal income tax would have created more benefits. The corporate tax cuts will not generate adequate cash inflows in the market immediately.

AIR News |

Industry, Trade welcome govt decision to cut corporate tax rate saying it will boost economy

Captains of Industry and Trade have welcomed the slashing of corporate tax by about ten per cent saying that it will give a big boost to the economy and make Indian Industry more competitive globally. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FICCI said the tax reliefs will certainly prove to be a much-needed booster in tackling the current slowdown and regaining the growth momentum.

FICCI President Sandip Somany said lowering of income tax on corporates had been a longstanding FICCI request. Hailing the announcement, Confederation of Indian Industries, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said, the Government has fulfilled the demand of the industry which will make it more competitive globally.

ASSOCHAM Secretary General Deepak Sood welcomed the move saying this will not only give a boost to the domestic economy, but also attract foreign investors to invest in India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday announced reduction in corporate tax rate to 25.17 per cent from the current 30 per cent, to bring them on par with Asian rivals such as China and South Korea, hoping to boost demand and investments.

Briefing reporters about the decision in Goa, Finance Minister said to attract fresh investment in manufacturing and to give a boost to ‘Make-in-India initiative, another new provision has been ed in the Income-tax Act with effect from current fiscal. It allows any new domestic company incorporated on or after 1st of October 2019 making fresh investment in manufacturing, an option to pay income-tax at the rate of 15 per cent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the decision terming it as historic one. In a tweet, he said, it will give a great stimulus to Make In India, attract private investment from across the globe, improve competitiveness of the private sector, create more jobs and result in a win-win for 130 crore Indians.

newKerala.com |

Tax reliefs to corporates will act as a booster dose to revive growth: FICCI

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said on Friday that lowering of income tax on corporates will unleash the animal spirits of corporate India and reinvigorate manufacturing sector which has been going through a difficult phase of late.

"With the kind of corporate tax rate cuts announced today, India now becomes a competitive market in the region with our rates similar to those prevailing in the ASEAN countries," said FICCI President Sandip Somany.

"This trigger will lead to a virtuous cycle of investments, growth and higher employment," he said in a statement.

The additional measures announced to stabilise flow of funds to capital markets by not applying the enhanced rate of surcharge on capital gains arising from sale of equity shares and units of equity funds is another major positive.

"This will make India an even more attractive