This include Personal income tax (PIT) refunds amounting to Rs 35,123 crore and corporate tax refunds amounting to Rs 97,677 crore during this period.
“CBDT issues refunds of over Rs 1,32,800 crore to to more than 39.75 lakh taxpayers between April 1,2020 to November 10,2020.
Income tax refunds of Rs 35,123 crore have been issued in 37,81,599 cases and corporate tax refunds of Rs 97,677 crore have been issued in 1,93,813 cases,” the I- T department tweeted.
Source: Economic Times
For improving the ease of doing business in India and to reduce the cost of compliance, RBI has made a review of requirements of submission of various forms and reports under FEMA and has decided to discontinue submission of 17 such returns/ reports with immediate effect.
Discontinuation of Returns/ Reports under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
1. The attention of Authorised Persons is invited to the Master Direction- Reporting under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 dated January 01, 2016, as amended from time to time, and other reporting related instructions issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
2. With a view to improve the ease of doing business and reduce the cost of compliance, the existing forms and reports prescribed under FEMA, 1999, were reviewed by the Reserve Bank. Accordingly, it has been decided to discontinue the 17 returns/ reports as listed in the Annexure with immediate effect.
3. The Master Direction- Reporting under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 dated January 01, 2016, shall accordingly be updated to reflect the above changes. AD banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents.
4. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under Section 10(4) and 11(2) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/ approvals, if any, required under any other law.
List of Discontinued Reports
|
Sl. No. |
Name of Report |
Reporting Entity |
Frequency |
|
1 |
Category-wise transaction where the amount exceeds USD 5000 per transaction |
AD Category-II |
Monthly |
|
2 |
Category-wise, transaction-wise statement where the amount exceeds USD 25,000 per transaction |
AD Category- II |
Monthly |
|
3 |
Statement of Purchase transactions of USD 10,000 and above (including transactions of their franchisees) |
FFMCs and AD |
Monthly |
|
4 |
Extension of Liaison Offices (LOs) |
AD Category-I banks |
As and when extension |
|
5 |
Extension of Project Offices (POs) |
AD Category-I banks |
As and when extension |
|
6 |
FII/FPI daily: Daily inflow/outflow of foreign fund on account of investment by FPIs |
AD banks |
Daily |
|
7 |
FII/FPI Return (Monthly): Data relating to actual inflow/ outflow of remittances on account of investments by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in the Indian Capital market |
AD Category-I banks |
Monthly |
|
8 |
FVCI reporting: Inflows/outflows of remittances on account of investments by Foreign Venture Capital Investor (FVCIs) and Market value of Investments made by FVCIs |
AD Category-I banks/Custodian banks |
Monthly |
|
9 |
Reporting of Inflow/ Outflow details in respect of Mutual Fund by Asset Management Companies |
Asset Management |
Quarterly |
|
10 |
Market value of FII Investment in India on fortnightly basis |
AD Category-I banks |
Fortnightly |
|
11 |
Market value of FII Investment in India on Monthly basis |
AD Category-I banks |
Monthly |
|
12 |
FII holdings as percentage of floating stock |
AD Category-I banks |
Monthly |
|
13 |
Form DRR for Issue/ transfer of sponsored/ unsponsored Depository Receipts (DRs)-Hardcopy** |
Custodian |
At the time of |
|
14 |
ADR/ GDR Movement Report- two way fungibility |
AD Category-I banks |
Monthly |
|
15 |
Repatriation of Sales proceeds of underlying shares represented by FCCBs/ GDRs/ ADRs |
Custodian |
Monthly |
|
16 |
GDR/ ADR underlying shares issued, re deposited and released monthly reporting |
Custodian |
Monthly |
|
17 |
Monitoring of disinvestments by Overseas Corporate Bodies |
AD banks |
Monthly |
|
** Please note that it is only the hardcopy filing of form DRR that has been discontinued. The domestic custodian may continue to report the form DRR on FIRMS application in terms of Regulation 4(5) of FEM (Mode of Payment and Reporting of Non-Debt Instruments) |
|||
Read the RBI Notification: Discontinuation of Returns Reports under FEMA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched GST into operation on the 1 st of July, 2017. GST was publicised as ‘one nation, one tax’ by the government, aimed to provide a simplified, single tax regime. GST is a dual levy where the Central Government levies and collects Central GST (CGST) and the State levies and collects State GST (SGST) on intra-state supply of goods or services. Centre also levies and collects Integrated GST (IGST) on inter-state supply of goods or services. The GST Portal is a website where all the compliance activities of GST can be done before and after GST login. Activities such as the GST registration return filing, payment of taxes, application for refund, etc. can be done on the GST Portal.
GSTN, recently launched many new features on GSTN portal. One of its features is that GSTN portal is now showing aggregate annual turnover for previous financial year after logging in to the portal.
The GST turnover is being shown in 26AS just for the information of the taxpayer. DoR acknowledged that there may be some differences in GSTR-3Bs filed and the GST shown in the Form 26AS but it can’t happen that a person shows turnover of crores of rupees in GST and doesn’t pay a single rupee of income tax.
The DoR said that the notified Income Tax Return for the current AY 2020-21 already requires reporting of GST outward supplies in the Schedule GST.
Therefore, the information displayed in Form 26AS would provide ease of compliance to the taxpayers in filling Schedule GST.
The revenue department has noticed that many unscrupulous persons are trying to avail or pass on input tax credit fraudulently by generating fake invoices and has already formulated a strategy for identifying these fake invoice generators which inter alia takes into account the income tax profiles of the suspected fake invoice generators.
These persons in most of the cases never file their income tax returns or disclose very meagre taxable income in the income tax return.
The suspected fake invoice generators are being identified for serious action under GST and other laws including suspension of their GST registration based on the fact that whether their income tax payment commensurate with the expected profit margin on turnover reported by them in the GST returns, the DoR said.
What “aggregate turnover” means?
“Aggregate turnover” is the aggregate value of all taxable supplies, exports of goods or/and services or both, exempt supplies and interstate supplies of persons having the same PAN, to be computed on all India basis. However, such taxable supplies do not include the value of inward supplies on which GST is being paid under reverse charge basis. The aggregate turnover also excludes Central tax, State tax, Union territory tax, Integrated tax and cess.
Basically, sum of the following shall be considered as an aggregate turnover:
However, the following items would be excluded from Turnover:
Extrapolation of Turnover at GSTIN level (for those who have not filed all the returns as per their eligibility or liability)
For those taxpayers who have filed all the returns as per their respective eligibilities, value of S. No. (c) will be the actual turnover)
Aggregation of extrapolated turnover at PAN level or Annual Aggregate Turnover Resultant values as per S.No. (c) above are aggregated or rolled up at PAN level to arrive at the Annual Aggregate Turnover.
What is the relevance of knowing aggregate turnover?
The aggregate turnover is a crucial parameter for determining the following aspects:
Determining whether registration is required or not-
Determine the limit of composition levy – Threshold limit to opt for composition scheme: Rs 1.5 crore in a financial year (Rs 75 lakh in case of supplies effected from special category states).
To determine a “Taxable person” – Section 2 of CGST Act defines the “taxable person” as a person who has obtained registration or is liable to register as per section 22 and 24 of CGST Act. Here the Section 22 provides a liability to register when the tax payer’s turnover exceeds the limit as determined in certain cases. This is again based on aggregate turnover.
Calculation of Late fee –
To determine whether Audit is required –
Registered persons with an aggregate turnover exceeding the prescribed GST audit limit of Rs 2 Crore during a financial year are liable for GST Audit. The turnover limit of Rs 2 Crore is same for the registered tax persons across all States and UTs. Thus, no separate turnover limit is defined for Special Category States for GST Audit.
Therefore, it is advised to carry on the computation of aggregate turnover accurately as the same will be used at a number of places which will in turn determine the tax liability of a person.
Borrowers will not need to apply for the interest-on-interest waiver scheme for the six-month loan moratorium, the finance ministry has said, asking lenders to credit ex-gratia relief amount into the accounts of those eligible.
The ministry late Tuesday issued a set of 20 clarifications on the scheme in form of frequently asked questions or FAQs
The lending institutions will draw up a list of their borrowers eligible under the criteria laid down by the government and refund the difference between the compound interest and simple interest paid between March 1 and August 31.
The benefit is available to all eligible borrowers including those who did not opt for moratorium. The lenders can seek a refund from the government that will foot the bill.
According to a Crisil report, 75% of borrowers will be covered under the scheme, which likely to cost the government Rs 7,500 crore.
The scheme is not applicable to accounts classified as non-performing assets (NPAs) at the end of February as also loans against fixed deposits, bonds, shares or other interest-bearing instruments and loans given for investment in financial assets such as shares and debentures.
While the scheme includes any outstanding amount on credit cards, relief will not be paid to those credit card holders with a card balance in ‘credit’, as per the FAQs.
The Rs 2 crore limit is based on the borrower’s aggregate loans across lending institutions as on February 29.
Non-fund based limits such as letters of credit and guarantees would not count towards the Rs 2 crore limit.
For calculating the interest differential, lending institutions will consider the contracted interest rate on loans as of February 29. For zero interest loans, the lender’s base rate should be used while for credit card dues, the weighted average lending rate for the transactions between March 1 and August 31 should be applied, the ministry said.
On October 23, the government had announced the scheme for ex-gratia payment of difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months (March 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020) to borrowers in specified loan accounts.
The move was in response to the Supreme Court (SC) seeking clarity on the waiver of ‘interest on interest’ in the ongoing case filed for relief of borrowers availing the moratorium on loan repayments granted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The case was filed on behalf of borrowers, seeking relief from payment of the interest accruing on the monthly instalments that were paused for six months.
The SC has set the next hearing for November 2 to assess the implementation of the scheme, which the government said would be completed by November 5.
“Banks will not have to go through individual borrowers, only the categories need to be selected and the scheme needs to be applied. It will all be system-based, there is not much manual intervention required,” said Mukesh Kumar Jain, former managing director and CEO of the erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce.
The FAQs said banks would use the information they had along with information from credit bureaus to assess a borrower’s aggregate loans. Jain said this should not be an issue as, “Normally, loans up to Rs 2 crore are taken from a single bank since it is a relatively small amount”.
Source: Economic Times
The income tax return (ITR) filing deadline for FY 2019-20 has been extended to December 31, 2020, for most individual taxpayers, from the earlier deadline of November 30, 2020. This the second time the tax filing deadline for FY20 has been extended.
As per the government’s press release issued on October 24, 2020, “In order to provide more time to taxpayers for furnishing of their ITR, it has been decided to further extend the due date for furnishing of Income-Tax Returns as under:
The due date for furnishing of income tax returns for these individual taxpayers [for whom the due date (i.e. before the extension by the said notification dated June 24, 2020 as per the Act was 31st July, 2020] has been extended to 31st December, 2020.
The due date for furnishing of Income Tax Returns for the taxpayers (including their partners) who are required to get their accounts audited [for whom the due date (i.e. before the extension by the said notification dated June 24, 2020) as per the Act is 31st October, 2020] has been extended to 31st January, 2021.
The due date for furnishing of Income Tax Returns for the taxpayers who are required to furnish report in respect of international/specified domestic transactions [for whom the due date (i.e. before the extension by the said notification dated June 24, 2020) as per the Act is 30th November, 2020] has been extended to 31st January, 2021.
Consequently, the date for furnishing of various audit reports under the Act including tax audit report and report in respect of international/specified domestic transaction has also been extended to 31st December, 2020, said the government press release issued today.
Further, relief is provided to the small and middle class taxpayers in the matter of payment of self-assessment tax, the due date for payment of self-assessment tax date is hereby again being extended. Accordingly, the due date for payment of self-assessment tax for taxpayers whose self-assessment tax liability is up to Rs. 1 lakh has been extended to 31st January, 2021 for the taxpayers whose accounts are required to be audited and to 31st December, 2020 for the taxpayers whose accounts are not required to be audited.”
Source: Press Release
The government on Saturday said due dates for filing income tax returns and tax audit reports for FY20 for various classes of tax payers have been extended to give more time for tax payers to comply.
The government also, on advice from the federal tax body, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, extended the due date for filing annual return for FY19 from 31 October to 31 December, finance ministry said.
For filing income tax returns for FY20, individuals who are not required to conduct a tax audit report will now get time till 31 December. The original due date of 31 July was earlier extended to 30 November.
Tax payers who are required to file their tax audit reports—professionals with gross receipts more than ₹50 lakh and those running businesses with sales up to ₹1 crore—have also got extra time. They can now file their tax returns by 31 January. The earlier deadline, after one extension, was 30 November.
Assessees who enter into international transactions or specified domestic transactions and are required to file tax audit reports, have also been given extra time to file their FY20 tax returns. As per Saturday’s announcement, they can file their tax returns for FY20 by end of January.
“Consequently, the date for furnishing of various audit reports under the Income Tax Act including tax audit report and report in respect of international or specified domestic transaction has also been extended to 31 December, 2020,” said the finance ministry statement.
The ministry also gave extra time for small tax payers to pay their self- assessment tax. This facility is available only to those with self-assessment tax liability up to ₹1 lakh. Accordingly, those who are liable to get tax audit done, can pay self assessment tax by end of January and others can pay by end of December. Finance ministry said it will notify these changes.
The government also said it has been receiving requests for more time to file GST annual return and the reconciliation statement for FY19. Accordingly the due date for the same has been extended from 31 October to 31 December, said the ministry.
Filing annual return (form GSTR-9/GSTR-9A) for FY19 is optional for taxpayers who had sales below ₹2 crore. Filing of reconciliation statement in form 9C is optional for the taxpayers with sales up to ₹5 crore, said the ministry.
Read the Press release dated 24 October, 2020: GST Annual Return date extended
A major relief has been granted to around 1.2 million companies, by MCA granting extension of 3 months for holding annual general meeting.
The MCA had earlier allowed companies to hold virtual AGMs due to Covid-19. However, companies were finding it difficult to complete the audit functions and finalize the annual reports.
The Companies with AGM due date as 30.09.2020 can now conduct their AGM by 31.12.2020, as per MCA.
There is no need of separate application in form GNL-1 for extension.
Below are the excerpt of the extension notification by the various ROCs.
Section 96 of the Companies Act 2013 provide that every company other than a One Person Company , shall in each year hold an a general meeting as its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it and not more than fifteen months shall elapse between the date of one AGM of a company and that of the next
And WHEREAS the first proviso of section 96 of the Act provides that in case of the first AGM, it shall be held within a period of nine months from the date of closing of the first financial year of the company and in other case, within a six months, from the date of closing of the financial year
And WHEREAS, the third proviso to Sub-section (I) of section 96 of the Act provides that the Registrar may, for any special reason, extend the time within which any annual general meeting, other than the first annual general meeting, shall As held, by a period not exceeding three months
And WHEREAS, various representations have been received from the companies, bodies and Professional Institutes pointing out that several companies are finding it difficult to hold their AGM for the financial year ended on 31.03.2020 due to the difficulties faced in view of the COVID 19 pandemic
And WHEREAS, the representations have been considered and the undersign is of the considered opinion that due to such unprecedented special reasons, the time within which the AGM for the financial year ended on 31.03.2020 is required to be held as per provisions to be extended
The undersigned hereby extend the time to hold the AGM, other than the first AGM, for the Financial year ended 31.03.2020 for companies that are unable to hold their AGM within due date of holding or period of three months from the due date are extended without companies requiring to file GNL 1 Form.
The approval for extension of AGM upto 3 months from the due date of AGM shall be deemed to have been granted by the undersigned without any further action on the part of Company.
The MCA issued directions to the registrar of companies (ROCs) to issue orders to even those who have not filed formal applications to this effect. Even those applications, which have already already filed, but not approved, or rejected, are also covered under this relief, MCA said in a release.