The income tax (I-T) has barred all Chartered Accountants (CAs) from valuing shares of closely-held companies.
Earlier, the fair market value of unlisted equity shares was calculated at the option of the company on either the book value on the valuation date or by the discounted cash flow method. Calculated by a merchant banker or a CA.
However, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has removed the CAs from the list of authorised professionals in this regard. From Thursday, only a merchant banker may do this. This change brings this provision at par with Rule 3 of the I-T Act, which says only a merchant banker may calculate the value of unlisted shares issued under Employee Stock Ownership schemes.
Interestingly valuation of shares may still be done by CAs under the Companies Act.
So, unlisted shares or unlisted companies may be sold or valued by a CA’s valuation but, for I-T purposes, it will require a merchant banker’s valuation report.
It is expected that the government is considering a qualifying course for valuation; only those who clear it may do valuation.
The GST Council on Friday finally approved single monthly return with an aim to boost collections and compliance. The new system is scheduled to be implemented in next six months.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday finally approved single monthly return with an aim to boost collections and compliance. The new system is scheduled to be implemented in next six months — but could take more time. “The Council has approved the new system of GST return but the software will take six months to get fully operationalised,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
However, from the preliminary information provided by the GST Council, the new system will be implemented in three phases. “While the initiative of GST return simplification appears to have crossed another milestone – the 3 Phase implementation plan of the revised returns format or procedures do not bring out the exact comfort that industry has sought so far,” Indirect tax expert Jigar Doshi of SKP Business Consulting told FE Online. He explained how the new single return filing system is planned for implementation.
The new return filing process would be introduced in three phases:
Phase 1: First six months
The current process of filing GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 will continue for the first six months.
Software for the new system will be developed during this phase.
Phase 2: Next six months
A single-monthly system of filing returns will be introduced for all taxpayers, except persons with nil liability and composition dealers. They will be filing quarterly returns.
A uni-directional system of uploading details of invoices by the supplier will be implemented. Recipients will get credit on the basis of these invoices.
For the first six months of the new system, a facility to avail provisional credit by the recipient will be available.
Suppliers will be uploading details of invoices and recipients will follow up with the supplier in case of any gap in the uploaded details.
Recipients will try and reduce mismatch through follow up only. No mechanism will be in place for the recipients to upload any invoice.
Phase 3: After 1 year
The new system of return filing will be fully implemented with no facility of provisional credit. Credit will be available on the basis of details of invoices uploaded by the supplier only.
If tax liability on uploaded invoices is not discharged by the supplier but the credit is availed by the recipient, the government would first recover the same from the supplier. However, the government would retain the power to recover the tax from the recipient also.
SEBI proposed that the board of RTA should have public interest directors when it becomes a QRTA.
A Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) panel on Friday proposed tighter ownership and governance norms for registrar and transfer agents (RTAs).
According to a discussion paper released by Sebi, the panel, headed by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor R. Gandhi, felt that since RTAs manage sensitive investor-related data, there need to be stricter governance rules for them.
RTAs maintain detailed records of all investor transactions in mutual funds and shares. They also help investors complete their transactions and receive a record of their account statements.
This is the second discussion paper by the panel after some market participants suggested it should add credit rating agencies (CRAs), RTAs and debenture trustees (DTs) in the list of market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) and frame stricter norms for them, similar to those followed by MIIs such as exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations.
The panel, however, felt RTAs, CRAs and debenture trustees need not be categorized as MIIs but suggested that RTAs should have tighter norms.
In September 2017, Sebi had defined qualified RTAs (QRTAs) as “RTAs servicing more than 20 million folios”. The Sebi panel felt that once an RTA becomes a QRTA, enhanced ownership norms should be applied to them.
In India, there are only two RTAs (Karvy Computershare Pvt. Ltd. and Computer Age Management Services Pvt. Ltd.) which service 90% of the mutual fund folios. Karvy has around 40% market share in corporate folios.
The Sebi panel said QRTAs should either have a dispersed ownership or be owned by regulated entities or entities in the business of RTA.
While regulated entities can be allowed to hold 100% in RTAs, unregulated entities should not be allowed to hold more than 49% collectively and 15% individually in RTAs, the panel said. If the QRTA is an in-house entity or one that performs the function exclusively for one entity only, such ownership norms may not be required, the paper said. However, when an RTA becomes a QRTA, it may be given five years to achieve the proposed ownership structure, said the Sebi panel.
Sebi proposed that the board of RTA should have public interest directors (PIDs) when it becomes a QRTA.
“If the chairperson is a non-executive director, the QRTA shall have at least one-third of the board of directors as PIDs; and where the QRTA does not have a regular non-executive chairperson, it shall have at least half of the board of directors as PIDs,” according to the Sebi panel.
With regard to CRAs, the panel said since Sebi has already put in place tighter norms for CRAs, they need not be categorized as MIIs and be subjected to further stringency.
However, the panel proposed that the so-called “Appeal Committee” in CRAs should be renamed as ‘Review Committee’, as the word appeal has a legal connotation to it. Further, the review committee of CRAs should have independent members, the Sebi panel said.
On DTs, which act as intermediaries between the issuer of debentures and the holders of debentures, the Sebi panel said there are already quite a few challenges before them in performing their obligations and that the function of DTs is still evolving. “Therefore, the committee is of the view that the review of ownership and governance of DTs is not the immediate priority.”
Sebi has put in place a stronger mechanism to check non-compliance of listing conditions, wherein exchanges will have powers to freeze promoter shareholding and even delist the shares of such defaulting companies.
The move is aimed at maintaining consistency and adopting a uniform approach in the matter of levy of fines for non-compliance with certain provisions of the listing regulations.
Under the new framework, exchanges would have the power to freeze the entire shareholding of the promoter and promoter group in non-compliant listed entity also holding in other securities, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.
Besides, exchanges can levy fines on non-compliant company, move the stocks of such firms to restricted trading category and suspend trading in the shares of such entities.
Further, in case an entity fails to comply with the requirements or pay the applicable fine within six months from the date of suspension, the exchange will need to initiate the process of compulsory delisting.
The new rules would come into force with effect from compliance periods ending on or after September 30, 2018.
Grounds for suspension from listing include failure to comply with the board composition including appointment of women director and failure to constitute audit committee for two consecutive quarters; failure to submit information on the reconciliation of shares and capital audit report for two consecutive quarters.
According to new rules, Sebi has asked stock exchanges to impose penalties ranging from Rs 1,000-5,000 per day on violation of certain clauses of the listing agreement like non-submission or delay in submission of document related to the company’s financial and shareholding details, failure to appoint women director on the board.
Besides, the exchanges can levy a fine of Rs 10,000 per instance for delay in furnishing prior intimation about the company’s board meeting and delay in non-disclosure of record date or dividend declaration.
Such fines will continue to accrue till the time of rectification of the non-compliance to the satisfaction of the concerned recognized stock exchange or till the scrip of the listed entity is suspended from trading for non-compliance with the provisions of Listing Regulations.
Such accrual will be irrespective of any other disciplinary or enforcement action initiated by stock exchanges or Sebi.
Further, if a non-complaint entity is listed on more than one exchanges, the concerned bourses need to take uniform action in consultation with each other.
The board of directors need to be informed about the non-compliance and their comments need be made public so that investors can make informed decisions.
The exchanges would have to disclose on their websites the action taken against the listed entities for non-compliance of the listing conditions, including the details of respective including the details of respective requirement, amount of fine, period of suspension, freezing of shares, among others.
Every bourse is required to review the compliance status of the listed entities within 15 days from the date of receipt of information. Also, exchanges need to issue notices to the non-compliant listed entities to ensure compliance and pay fine within 15 days from the date of the notice.
If any non-compliant listed entity fails to pay the fine despite receipt of the notice, the exchange will initiate appropriate enforcement action including prosecution.
If the non-compliant listed entity complies with the Sebi’s requirement and pays applicable fine within three months from the date of suspension, the exchange will have to revoke the suspension of trading of its shares after seven days of such compliance and trading would be permitted only in ‘trade to trade’ basis for a week from revocation.
The government announced today that the GST revenue for the month of April has crossed Rs 1 lakh crore – a first since GST was rolled out in July last year. As mentioned by the Ministry of Finance, the total gross GST revenue collected in April is Rs 1,03,458 crore.
Out of that CGST (Central GST) amounted to Rs 18,652 crore, while SGST (State GST) amounted to Rs 25,704 crore. IGST (Integrated GST) stood at Rs 50,548 crore, including Rs 21,246 crore that was collected on imports, and cess at Rs 8,554 crore, including Rs 702 crore collected on imports.
As mentioned in ANI, the finance ministry also noted that the central and state governments earned a total revenue of Rs 32,493 crore in CGST and Rs 40,257 in SGST, after settlement in April.
Moreover, the ministry noted that out of 87.12 lakh, 60.47 lakh GSTR 3B returns were filed for March till April 30. That makes 69.5% of the eligible proportion. The ministry also said that 11.47 lakh out of 19.31 lakh composition dealers filed their quarterly return (GSTR 4), amounting to 59.40%. In total Rs 579 crore in taxes were paid, which is included in the aforementioned GST revenue figure.
The ministry said, “The buoyancy in the tax revenue of GST reflects the upswing in the economy and better compliance. However, it is usually noticed that in the last month of the financial year, people also try to pay arrears of some of the previous months. Therefore, this month’s revenue cannot be taken as a trend for the future.”
The recently introduced e-way bill might be the reason behind the sudden spike in GST revenues. E-way bill, which is generated for consignments moving inter-state or intra-state was rolled out in April. The inter-state e-way bill was introduced in April 1, while the intra-state one was pushed to April 15.
The GST Council is scheduled to meet on May 4 next.
The CBDT today extended the deadline for the PAN-Aadhaar linking to June 30.
The policy-making body of the tax department issued an order extending the deadline from the current last date of March 31.
The order said the deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking for filing I-T returns is being extended after “consideration of the matter”.
It is understood that the latest order by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has come in the backdrop of the Supreme Court, earlier this month, directing extension of the March 31 deadline for linking Aadhaar with various other services.
The apex court ordered for the extension in the deadline till the five-judge constitution bench delivers its judgment on petitions challenging the validity of the biometric scheme and the enabling law.
This is a fourth extension given by the government for individuals to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with their biometric ID (Aadhaar).
The government has now made quoting of Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs) as well as obtaining a new PAN.
Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities.
As per updated data till March 5, over 16.65 crore PANs, out of the total about 33 crore, have been linked with Aadhaar.
The earlier deadlines for linking the two databases were July 31, August 31 and December 31, 2017, with the last being March 31 this year.
– Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, the CEO of the Qatar Financial Center, a business and financial center located in Doha, told CNBC that the country has moved to attract foreign investment by making it easier to get business visas and buy real estate. – Qatar is looking for new partners, new alliances, so we are moving on, he said.
Qatar is looking to Asia for foreign investment in a “new era” for the country, following the blockade by a number of major Arab nations in June last year.
Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, the CEO of the Qatar Financial Center, a business and financial center located in Doha, told CNBC Friday that the country has moved to attract foreign investment by making it easier to get business visas and buy real estate.
“Qatar is looking for new partners, new alliances, so we are moving on,” he said.
“Our presence in Hong Kong speaks a lot. We’re going to be doing a lot of more tours in Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, within the next two months,” he added.
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt imposed trade and travel bans on Qatar in 2017, blaming the country for supporting terrorism.
The Qatar Financial Center, which aims to foster investment in Qatar, has been explaining to foreign investors that, after the deterioration of relations between Qatar and other Arabic countries, the country has been putting forward a slew of reforms to adapt to a “new reality.”
“The appetite is good, I think we have to do a lot more of awareness as to what the blockade means. What we are trying to pitch in terms of the blockade is that this is a new era for Qatar,” Al-Jaida said.
The income tax (I-T) has barred all Chartered Accountants (CAs) from valuing shares of closely-held companies.
