STPI to sponsor over 100 start-ups for CeBIT show

To promote domestic start-up companies, state-run Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) will sponsor over 100 such new age IT firms during the three-day CeBit India exhibition, which is scheduled to begin from October 29 in Bengaluru.

“We are collaborating with CeBit to promote start-ups. Last year, we sponsored 127 start-up companies and looking for similar number this year as well,” STPI Director General Omkar Rai told PTI.

He said that STPI has written to states for nominating best start-up companies from their territory and they will be then shortlisted by STPI.

“Start ups are not required to pay anything. STPI will spend around Rs 50 lakh… Around 10 start-ups were able to make to the show in Hannover where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also visited,” Rai said.

Hannover Milano Fairs organised CeBit show in Germany.

Around 450 firms are expected to participate in CeBit India, which included major participation from STPI, Hannover Milano Fairs India Managing Director Mehul Lanvers-Shah said.

“We are expecting 10 per growth in CeBit India participation and even we are seeing traction from foreign companies. Last year 25 countries participated in the show. This year we have 27 with participation increasing from Taiwan, China, Germany and Canada,” Shah said.

Australia to collaborate with Indian researchers

The Australian government, through the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF), would collaborate with Indian researches in the field of agriculture, mining, energy, health etc. The Australian government has earmarked $84 million to be spent over three years in creating infrastructure, awarding fellowship and scholarship to promote research between the two countries.

“The Australian government greatly values strong relationship with India, particularly in education and research. We have a roadmap to promote bilateral research between the two countries. During his visit to Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi identified sectors like agriculture, mining, energy, health etc for research, so we have decided to enhance cooperation between the two countries in these areas, ” said Australian Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne, who is in India to promote research collaboration between the two countries and also to highlight the opportunities for enhanced collaboration between Australia’s world-class education system and Indian institutions.

The AISRF is Australia’s largest fund dedicated to bilateral research with any country and one of India’s largest sources of support for international science.

The AISRF helps Australian researchers from public and private sectors to participate with Indian scientists in leading-edge scientific research projects and workshops.

Taking a step forward in this direction, the minister on Saturday officially opened new facilities at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)-Monash Research Academy.

The collaboration between the IITB and Monash University will see students receive a joint PhD from both institutions, with the added benefit of exposing a large cohort of young researchers to cutting-edge international research.

“The Australian government, through the AISRF, was one of the early contributors to this joint venture, providing $1.5 million in seed funding to establish the IITB-Monash Research Academy,” he said.

Meanwhile, he also visited Delhi Public School and launched a pilot project linking schools in India and Australia.

The Australia-Asia Building Regional Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement, or BRIDGE, connects Australian teachers, students, and school communities with their peers in Asia so they can exchange knowledge.

“The BRIDGE programme connects Australian schools to schools around the world so that students and teachers alike can learn from one another and build lasting cultural ties and skills,” Pyne said.

“Strengthening partnerships between school leaders, teachers, and school communities in India and Australia helps us build strong education relationships and share our ideas and knowledge,” he said.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/australia-to-collaborate-with-indian-researchers-115082500054_1.html

India signs 16 advance pricing pacts with MNCs

The income tax department has signed 16 advance pricing agreements (APAs) with multinational companies (MNCs) so far, exempting their transactions with local units from rigorous tax audits.

APAs were introduced to give tax certainty to MNCs that agree on certain principles in the valuation of their cross-border transactions.

These companies are in the business of telecommunication, oil exploration, pharmaceuticals, finance, banking and software development.

India has also resolved 45 tax disputes with multinational companies, especially US-based IT and IT-enabled services firms, under provisions in a bilateral tax treaty for avoiding double taxation. Sources said the tax department is working on another set of disputes for resolution. The India-US treaty provides for tax authorities of both the countries to bilaterally apportion the income of MNCs from cross-border operations to be taxed in each country and avoid double taxation.

The scheme, called mutual agreement procedure (MAP), offers MNCs a quick dispute resolution mechanism.

Most of the large US-based software companies having contract research and development operations in India have faced tax disputes on how much of the local arms’ revenue from services to the offshore parent is taxable in India.

“We are working on signing as many as 50 APAs, including some bilateral ones and resolving about 100 tax disputes under MAP soon,” said a person privy to the development.

Additional Fees for delay in e-filing under Companies Act, 2013

MCA had changed the structure of Additional Fees to be levied for delay in filing E Forms over the companies while filing their Balance Sheet and Annual Returns with concerned Registrar of Companies through MCA Portal. Such change of Additional Fee Structure encouraged the Corporate to file their returns as early as possible so that they can avoid the heavy additional fees. That has resulted in increase the percentage of filing within the due time.

Pursuant to rule 12 of the Companies (Registration of Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, following table of additional fees shall be applicable for delays in filing of the forms other than for increases in Nominal Share Capital

Sl  No. Period of delay  Additional fees for the period of delay
01 Up to 15 days (sections 93,139 & 157)         One time
02 More than 15 days and up to 30 days (Sections 93, 139 & 157) and up to 30 days in remaining forms.         2 times of normal filing fees

 

03 More than 30 days and up to 60 days         4 times of normal filing fees
04 More than 60 days and up to 90 days         6 times of normal filing fees
05 More than 90 days and up to 180 days         10 times of normal filing fees
06 More than 180 days and up to 270 days         12 times of normal filing fees

 

Further Note:

1) The additional fee shall also applicable to revised financial statement or board’s report under sections 130 and 131 of the Act and secretarial audit report filed by the company secretary in practice under section 204 of the Act.

(2) The belated filing of documents /forms (including increasing in nominal capital and delay caused thereon) which were due to be filed whether in Companies Act, 1956 Act or the Companies Act, 2013 Act i.e due for filing prior to notification of these fee rules, the fee applicable at the time of actual filing shall be applicable.

(3) Delay beyond 270 days, the second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 403 of  the Act may be referred.

MCA asks companies to submit annual filings on time

To ensure that there is no last-minute congestion on its e-filing portal, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has asked companies to submit their financial statements and annual returns at the earliest.

The Ministry’s message assumes significance as this would also be the first year that corporates would be making their filings under provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 — which came into effect from April 1, 2014.

“To avoid last minute rush and system congestion on the MCA 21 portal on account of annual filings during month of October/November 2015, companies are requested to file their financial statements and annual returns at the earliest without postponing it to the last few days permitted for the same,” the Ministry said in a notice.

MCA 21 is the portal for companies to submit their filings electronically to the government under the Companies Act.

A raft of provisions have been introduced in the new that replaces the nearly six-decade old Companies Act, 1956.

In terms of compliance, companies have slightly different requirements under the new Act and new electronic forms (e-forms) have been issued by the Ministry.

The Ministry, which is implementing the Companies Act, had earlier faced glitches with respect to functioning of MCA 21 due to various factors.

Most provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 came into force from April 1.

Among others, corporates are now required to furnish Permanent Account Number (PAN) while submitting their annual returns to the government, a move that would help in sharing of information between different departments.

So far, companies were not asked to provide PAN in the electronic form used for filing annual returns.

A new column has been inserted for providing PAN in the MGT-7 form — which is used for submitting the annual returns.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has already made a draft of changes to the Companies Act, 2013. Besides, various rules have been amended.

Amid concerns expressed in various quarters about certain provisions in the new Act, a high-level panel has also been set up to look into the issue.

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Income Tax department to use email for issuing notices

In welcome news for taxpayers, the IT department has decided to launch a new system of issuing email notices to which an assessee can respond electronically, obviating the need for a physical interface with the taxman which often led to complaints about harassment.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex policy-making body of the IT department, is working on a strategy to create the required processes and capacity in this regard.

“We have been thinking how can we make life easier for taxpayers especially for those who are in the middle and the slightly higher tax bracket. So, now we are thinking of allowing that when a notice is issued in an assessment or scrutiny case, the taxpayer can send the department an e-response.

“We are trying to resolve some security issues in this regard now after which it could be implemented,” CBDT Chairperson Anita Kapur told PTI in an interview.

Explaining the procedure, Kapur said if a taxpayer provides the department with a bonafide email address in his Income Tax Return (ITR), the Board will be able to send him an e-notice and not a paper document dispatched through post for which he usually has to travel and meet the Assessing Officer (AO).

“The taxpayer can respond through the email and if we have some more queries we give you another notice by the electronic medium so that both the AO and the taxpayer remain in an e-environment and, may be, during the final hearing when the AO wants to close the matter, the taxpayer can come once to the tax office,” the CBDT chief said.

She said the purpose of introducing the system was to reduce the interface between the taxpayer and the AO.

“The taxpayer can send documents over email, scan them, upload them and it’s over,” she added.

“It (scrutiny session) should be over and should not go beyond that. This is the way we are trying to address the issues of compliance and limiting the interface between the taxman and the taxpayer. This will be a sea change in our tax administration,” Kapur said.

Tax experts say the initiative will also ensure privacy of a taxpayers’ communication with his AO and the tax department.

The CBDT chief said she was aware of instances where the taxpayers complained about the AO raising numerous queries upon meeting the assessees despite their earlier order sheets having mention of only a few queries.

“This (sending emails) is one way of giving both the taxpayer and the AO a good opportunity to solve their things without any problem. It has also been mentioned in our earlier instructions to the field that the questionnaire sent to the taxpayer in scrutiny cases should be focused and specific so that the person knows what is he being enquired about.

“We are trying to do this for a medium-level taxpayer and others,” Kapur said, adding she hopes this would bring down taxpayers’ complaints.

The CBDT chief said the number of cases landing for scrutiny had gone down over the years following introduction of technology in the administration of taxes.

“The overall percentage of cases brought under scrutiny across the country in a financial year is less than one per cent. The entire system is handled electronically and there is no human intervention. I can assure taxpayers that there is no personal role of a tax official in deciding who can be scrutinised or who cannot be,” she said.

Kapur added that as part of measures to further check instances of harassment of taxpayers, the CBDT has recently asked its field offices to not undertake any “fishing or roving inquiries”.

“We are also saying to our officers that when you select a case for scrutiny you should say that this is the reason that we have selected your case.

“We are asking our officers that if we are selecting a case for scrutiny on a third-party information (through banks, credit card agencies) just limit your inquiry to those issues which have been flagged and based on which your case have been selected for scrutiny. No fishing inquiries (should be undertaken),” she said.