Due to the widespread of COVID-19 and social distancing norms and consequential restrictions linked thereto, MCA has received several representations to allow companies to hold their Annual General Meeting for the financial year ended on 31st March, 2020 beyond the statutory period provided in section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013.
The matter was examined and MCA clarified vide General Circular No. 20/2020, dated 05.05.2020 regarding holding of AGM through video conferencing (VC) or other audiovisual means (OAVM), the companies which were unable to hold their AGM were advised to prefer applications for extension of AGM at a suitable point of time before the concerned Registrar of Companies under Section 96 of the Act.
MCA, in this regard, vide General Circular no. 28/2020 dated 17th August,2020 has issued clarification on extension of Annual General Meeting for the financial year ended as at 31.03.2020.
Provisions of holding Annual General Meeting (AGM) as per Companies Act, 2013.
According to section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013, companies are to hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM) within a period of 6 months from the date of closing of the financial year and companies which are to hold their first AGM shall be held within a period of 9 months from the date of closing of the financial year of that company.
The Ministry once again reiterated that the companies which are unable to hold their AGM for the financial year ended on March 31, 2020, despite availing the relaxations provided in MCA General Circular No. 20/2020 ought to file their applications in E-Form GNL-1 for seeking an extension of time in holding of AGM for the financial year ended on March 31, 2020, with the concerned Registrar of Companies on or before 29th September, 2020.
Also the Ministry has directed Registrars of Companies to consider all such applications (Filed in E-Form GNL-1) liberally in view of the hardships faced by the stakeholders and to grant an extension for the period as applied for (up to three months i.e. 31st December) in such applications.
Procedure to file Application seeking extension of time for holding Annual General Meeting:
1.
Chairman /Director of the company shall call for a meeting of Board of Director for which a notice must be send at least 7 days before holding of Meeting of Board.
2.
Convene a Board Meeting on the specified date.
3.
Pass a resolution for extension of time limit for holding annual general meeting specifying the due reason for extension of AGM.
4.
File an application to Registrar of Companies in E-Form No. GNL-1. (Reason for not holding AGM, along with other necessary information to be provided)
5.
Attach the Certified true copy of the Board Resolution in E-Form-GNL-1.
6.
The registrar will examine the application on the specific grounds and grant an extension.
Obtain the Certificate of Grant of extension in holding Annual General Meeting of theCompany.
Convening of Annual General Meeting in extended period:
Once the extension is granted, the company may convene the Annual General Meeting of the Company within the period as allowed by the Registrar of Companies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced several tax measures on the eve of India’s Independence Day last week honouring the honest tax-paying citizen.
You will now have to file your income-tax (IT) return or pay higher percentage of tax deduction at source if you make certain spends in a year.
If you spend Rs 20,000 a year as hotel expenses, property tax or even a health insurance premium, then your transactions would be reported. Similarly, if your annual rent exceeds Rs 40,000, life insurance premium is at least Rs 50,000 or electricity bills of Rs 1 lakh or more during a financial year, then you would be answerable to the taxman either via notices or through mandatory filing of returns.
The motive of the move is to check whether your spending is in line with the income you actually disclose in your return.
The Government has been shunting all doors to not only reduce the number of all cash transactions, but also increase the number of returns filed. The new move to collect spending data is another tool in the armoury to curb tax evasion.
Are transactions tracked currently?
The existing income tax rules mandate financial institutions such as banks, mutual fund houses, share registrar and transfer agents,sub-registrars to report high value transactions exceeding a specified limit during a financial year to the Income Tax Department.
So, a bank has to report details of every account holder who makes cash deposits of more than Rs 10 lakh in a year in a savings account or makes a payment of more than Rs 2 lakh from his credit card in a year. Similarly, asset management companies are required to report details of all the investors who invest more than Rs 2 lakh in a single mutual fund scheme. Now not only your investments and financial transactions, but also your specific spends will be tracked.
Do I have to inform the government of all my spends?
No. You do not have to go out of your way to inform the government or anyone, unless asked for in the tax return forms. Your purchases and expenses beyond a threshold will be mentioned in the returns of the hotel, electronic goods seller, artist, school, ceramic supplier or the Registrar in the case of property purchase, apart from banks, mutual fund houses, life and general insurance companies.
The details mapped to you would be reflected in your individual tax statement or Form 26AS. This form would be available on your income-tax website login.
The moment your spends in any of the high-spend categories mentioned, exceed the respective threshold limits, your Form 26AS would capture it. In other words, you have to file your tax returns.
Non-filing of ITR may have severe consequences for a person, who is otherwise required to file an ITR. Apart from attracting interest, late fee and penalty, wilful non-filing of ITR may also attract criminal prosecution.
The new move has been part of the government’s move to widen the tax net and get more and more people to file their income tax returns. A total of about 55 lakh or 80 per cent of the total returns are filed by people having an income of up to Rs 5 lakh, as per the Central Board of Direct Tax’s numbers as of July 31, 2020.
Only 5,066 individuals, who have an income above Rs 1 crore file returns, accounting for 0.73 per cent of the total individual tax returns.
Taxpayers would not need to mention their high-value transactions in their income tax returns, said officials in the know of the matter, but added that broadening the scope of reporting financial transactions by third parties had become vital since taxation was moving towards a faceless approach.
It’s clarified that only third parties would report high-value transactions to the income tax department as per the Income Tax Act. The information would be used to identify people who are not paying up due taxes, and not for examining affairs of honest taxpayers.
“The information will be used to identify those who are either not filing the returns or the income disclosed in the returns are not proportionate to the pattern of expenditure reported in the statement of financial transactions (SFTs),” the official said.
Data analytics and artificial intelligence will be used for this, instead of manual intervention.
Terming the method as most ‘non-intrusive’, the official said it would be used for identifying those who spend big money on business class air travel, foreign travel and expensive hotels or send their children to expensive schools, but do not pay taxes, claiming their income to be under Rs 2.5 lakh a year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged this very issue on Thursday, and asked people to pay their fair share of taxes, given that the country’s tax base was relatively small.
“Only 1.5 crore people pay taxes in a country of 130 crores,” he pointed out while launching a taxpayer’s charter and faceless assessment, aimed at improving transparency in tax administration.
“No doubt, the third-party reporting of high-value transactions made by such non-filers would allow the department to nudge such persons to file their returns and pay their due tax,” the official said.
Faceless e-assessment will have no human interface and it’s purpose will be to eliminate instances of “undesirable practices” on the part of tax officials.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Thursday revised the ‘E-assessment Scheme, 2019’ notified on September 12, 2019. The Government notified that now, the e-Assessment scheme shall be called Faceless Assessment.
Now, the National e-Assessment Centre shall intimate the assessee for the conduct of faceless assessment in case wherein notice has been issued by AO.
The Board has also extended its scope to cover best judgment assessments.
E-Assessment was a roadway towards a paperless, faceless assessment stripping away at bureaucratic layers. E-Assessment was earlier tried and tested by the Income-tax Department, before going forth with the E-Assessment Scheme, 2019.
The Board notified that in the notification dated September 12, 2019, in the opening portion, for the word “E-assessment”, the words “Faceless Assessment” shall be substituted. The Board notified the procedure for the faceless assessment wherein the National e-Assessment Centre shall serve a notice on the assessee under sub-section (2) of section 143, specifying the issues for selection of his case for assessment.
Promoting a transparent and fair tax regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled ‘taxpayers’ charter’, enshrining rights of assesses in a statute under the Income tax law. With the launch of ‘Transparent Taxation — Honoring the Honest’ platform, Modi also unveiled faceless appeal and expanded the scope of faceless assessment, eliminating physical interface between taxpayers and tax authority.
Step wise process for Faceless Assessment, scope extended to cover best judgement assessment:
Introduction
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has revised the ‘E-assessment Scheme, 2019’ notified on September 12, 2019. Now, e-assessment scheme shall be called Faceless Assessment.
The National e-Assessment Centre shall intimate the assessee for conduct of faceless assessment in case wherein notice has been issued by AO. The Board has also extended its scope to cover best judgment assessments.
What was the E-assessment Scheme, 2019?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the e-assessment scheme in her Budget speech on July 5, 2019, which was subsequently inaugurated on October 7, 2019.
This was aimed at moving to faceless scrutiny and elimination of human interface in assessment proceedings. The scheme was set to bring in a “paradigm shift” in taxation by eliminating human interface in the income tax assessment system.
The Ministry of Finance vide Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notification No 61 & 62 dated 12th September 2019 has respectively notified the E- assessment Scheme 2019 & gave directions for its implementation.
E-assessment Scheme, 2019 to be now called as “Faceless Assessment”
Step wise process for Faceless Assessment
By the Notification issued by CBDT on 13th August, 2020, “E-assessment” will be now called as “Faceless Assessment”. Faceless assessment shall be made as per the following procedure:-
Step 1 – Issue of Notice on Assessee
National e-Assessment Centre shall serve a notice on the assessee under section 143(2), specifying the issues for selection of his case for assessment
Assessee may, within 15 days from the date of receipt of notice, file his response to the National e-assessment Centre
Step 2 – Case to be assigned to Assessment Unit
1.National e-assessment Centre shall assign the case selected for the purposes of e-assessment to a specific assessment unit in any one Regional e-assessment Centre through an automated allocation system
2. Where a case is assigned to the assessment unit, it may make a request to the National e-assessment Centre for:-
a. obtaining such further information, documents or evidence from the assesse or any other person
b. conducting of certain enquiry or verification by verification unit
c. seeking technical assistance from the technical unit
3. Where a request for obtaining further information, documents or evidence from the assessee or any other person has been made, the National e-assessment Centre shall issue appropriate notice or requisition to the assessee or any other person for obtaining the information, documents or evidence requisitioned by the assessment unit
4. Where a request for conducting of certain enquiry or verification by the verification unit has been made, the request shall be assigned by the National e-assessment Centre to a verification unit through an automated allocation system
5. Where a request for seeking technical assistance from the technical unit has been made, the request shall be assigned by the National e-assessment Centre to a technical unit in any one Regional e-assessment Centre through an automated allocation system
6. The assessment unit shall, after taking into account all the relevant material available on the record, make in writing, a draft assessment order either accepting the returned income of the assessee or modifying the returned income of the assessee, and send a copy of such order to the National e-assessment Centre with details of the penalty proceedings to be initiated therein, if any.
Step 3 – Draft Assessment Order
1.National e-assessment Centre shall examine the draft assessment order in accordance with the risk management strategy specified by the Board, including by way of an automated examination tool, whereupon it may decide to:-
a. finalise the assessment as per the draft assessment order and serve a copy of such order and notice for initiating penalty proceedings, if any, to the assessee, alongwith the demand notice, specifying the sum payable by, or refund of any amount due to, the assessee on the basis of such assessment, or
b. provide an opportunity to the assessee, in case a modification is proposed, by serving a notice calling upon him to show cause as to why the assessment should not be completed as per the draft assessment order, or
c. assign the draft assessment order to a review unit in any one Regional e-assessment Centre, through an automated allocation system, for conducting review of such order;
2. Review unit shall conduct review of the draft assessment order, referred to it by the National e-assessment Centre whereupon it may decide to:-
a. agree with the draft assessment order and intimate the National e-assessment Centre about such agreement; or
b. suggest such modification, as it may deem fit, to the draft assessment order and send its suggestions to the National e-assessment Centre;
3. National e-assessment Centre shall, upon receiving concurrence of the review unit, follow the procedure laid down in sub point (a) or (b) of point (1), as the case may be
4. National e-assessment Centre shall, upon receiving modification suggestions from the review unit, communicate the same to the Assessment unit
5. Assessment unit shall, after considering the modifications suggested by the Review unit, send the final draft assessment order to the National e-assessment Centre
6. The National e-assessment Centre shall, upon receiving final draft assessment order, follow the procedure laid down in sub point (a) or (b) of point (1),as the case may be
7. The assessee may, in a case where show-cause notice has been served upon him, furnish his response to the National e-assessment Centre on or before the date and time specified in the notice
8. The National e-assessment Centre shall,-
a. in a case where no response to the show-cause notice is received, finalise the assessment as per the draft assessment order; or
b. in any other case, send the response received from the assessee to the assessment unit;
9. The assessment unit shall, after taking into account the response furnished by the assessee, make a revised draft assessment order and send it to the National e-assessment Centre
Step 4 – Final Order and Completion of Assessment
The National e-assessment Centre shall, upon receiving the revised draft assessment order:-
a. in case no modification prejudicial to the interest of the assessee is proposed with reference to the draft assessment order, finalise the assessment or
b. in case a modification prejudicial to the interest of the assessee is proposed with reference to the draft assessment order, provide an opportunity to the assessee
c. the response furnished by the assessee shall be dealt with as per the procedure laid down in point 7, 8, 9 of Step 3
2. The National e-assessment Centre shall, after completion of assessment, transfer all the electronic records of the case to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such case for:
a. imposition of penalty
b. collection and recovery of demand
c. rectification of mistake;
d. giving effect to appellate orders
e. submission of remand report, or any other report to be furnished, or any representation to be made, or any record to be produced before the Commissioner (Appeals), Appellate Tribunal or Courts, as the case may be
f. proposal seeking sanction for launch of prosecution and filing of complaint before the Court;
3. National e-assessment Centre may at any stage of the assessment, if considered necessary, transfer the case to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such case.
Faceless assessment facility was extended to the entire country on 13th August, 2020, ending territorial jurisdiction and individual discretion, where an officer was the whole and sole to the assessee. Scrutiny will be allotted on a random basis. Assessment of a taxpayer in Delhi could well be carried by an officer sitting in Pune. It will put an end to needless litigation. Best Judgements Assessments under Section 144 will be also now covered under Faceless Assessment.
What is the meaning of Best Judgement Assessment?
The Best Judgment Assessment is a procedure under the Income Tax Act to comply with the principles of natural justice. Vide Section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 the Assessing Officer is under an obligation to make an assessment of the total income or less to the best of his judgment in the following cases:
If the person fails to file a return required under section 139(1) and he has not filed a revised return.
If any person fails to comply with all the terms and conditions stipulated under a notice under section 142 or fails to comply with the directions requiring him to get his accounts audited in terms of section 142(2A).
If any person, after having filed a return fails to comply with all the terms of a notice under section 143(2) requiring his presence or production of evidence and documents; or
If the Assessing officer is not satisfied about the correctness and the completion of the accounts of the assessee if no method of accounting has been regularly employed by the assessee.
While Faceless Assessment and Taxpayers Charter came in force already, Faceless Appeal will be available from September 25, 2020. Under the Faceless Appeals system introduced by the government, appeals will be randomly allotted to any officer across the country and the identity of the officer deciding the appeal will remain unknown. The decisions will be team-based.
In a view of the pandemic situation due to COVID-19 outbreak and several representations made, by the stake holders, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has came out with a new scheme called “Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013” for the purpose of condoning the delay in filing certain forms related to creation/ modification of charges.
This important relaxation by MCA in relation to creation and modification of Charges under the Companies Act, 2013 is very significant, especially during the pandemic situation due to COVID-19, is detailed as below:
F.No. 02/05/2020 CL-V
Government of India
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
5th Floor, ‘A’ Wing, Shastri Bhawan,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi-1.
General Circular No. 23/2020
Dated: 17th June, 2020
To
All Regional Directors,
All Registrar of Companies,
All Stakeholders.
Subject: Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013.
Sir/Madam,
The companies are required to file forms related to creation or modification of charges within the timelines provided in section 77 of the Companies Act, 2013 (Act), i.e. a total of 120 days of the creation or modification of charge. In case, the company fails to register the charge within the period of thirty days referred to in sub-section (1) of section 77, the charge holder may file the form related to creation or modification of charges under section 78 of the Act, within the overall timelines for filing of such form under section 77.
On account of the pandemic caused by the COVID-19, representations have been received in this Ministry, requesting that the timelines related to filing of certain charge related forms may be suitably relaxed so as to provide a window of compliance for the registration of charges. Under the Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020 as laid out in the General Circular No. 12/2020, dated 30.03.2020, the benefit of waiver of additional fees was not extended to the charge related documents. Therefore, it has been suggested that some dispensation may be provided for filing of charge related documents as well.
In view of the above, the Central Government in exercise of its powers under section 460 read with section 403 of the Act and the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 (Fees Rules) has decided to introduce a Scheme, namely “Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013” for the purpose of condoning the delay in filing certain forms related to creation/modification of charges.
The details of the scheme are as under: –
(i) The scheme shall come into effect from the date of issue of this Circular.
(ii) Applicability: The scheme shall be applicable in respect of filing of Form No. CHG-1 and Form No. CHG-9 (both referred as ‘form’ or ‘forms’) by a company or a charge holder, where the date of creation/modification of charge:
(a) is before 01.03.2020, but the timeline for filing such form had not expired under section 77 of the Act as on 01.03.2020, or
(b) falls on any date between 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020 (both dates inclusive).
(iii) Relaxation of time:
(a) In case a form is filed in respect of a situation covered under sub-para (ii)(a) above, the period beginning from 01.03.2020 and ending on 30.09.2020 shall not be reckoned for the purpose of counting the number of days under section 77 or section 78 of the Act. In case, the form is not filed within such period, the first day after 29.02.2020 shall be reckoned as 01.10.2020 for the purpose of counting the number of days within which the form is required to be filed under section 77 or section 78 of the Act.
(b) In case a form is filed in respect of a situation covered under sub-para (ii)(b) above, the period beginning from the date of creation/modification of charge to 30.09.2020 shall not be reckoned for the purpose of counting of days under section 77 or section 78 of the Act. In case, the form is not filed within such period, the first day after the date of creation/modification of charge shall be reckoned as 01.10.2020 for the purpose of counting the number of days within which the form is required to be filed under section 77 or section 78 of the Act.
(iv) Applicable Fees:
(a) In regard to sub-para (iii)(a) above, if the form is filed on or before 30.09.2020, the fees payable as on 29.02.2020 under the Fees Rules for the said form shall be charged. If the form is filed thereafter, the applicable fees shall be charged under the Fees Rules after adding the number of days beginning from 01.10.2020 and ending on the date of filing plus the time period lapsed from the date of the creation of charge till 29.02.2020.
(b) In regard to sub-para (iii)(b) above, if the form is filed before 30.09.2020, normal fees shall be payable under the Fees Rules. If the form is filed thereafter, the first day after the date of creation/modification of charge shall be reckoned as 01.10.2020 and the number of days till the date of filing of the form shall be counted accordingly for the purposes of payment of fees under the Fees Rules.
(v) The Scheme shall not apply, in case:
(a) The forms i.e.CHG-1 and CHG-9 had already been filed before the date of issue of this Circular.
(b) The timeline for filing the form has already expired under section 77 or section 78 of the Act prior to 01.03.2020.
(c) The timeline for filing the form expires at a future date, despite exclusion of the time provided in sub-para (iii) above.
(d) Filing of Form CHG-4 for satisfaction of charges.
This issues with the approval of the Competent Authority.
The ministry further said it has also taken a note of difficulties and concerns expressed by the taxpayers regarding filing of GSTR-3B and other returns.
The 40th GST Council met under the Chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman through video conferencing here today- 12th June 2020. The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Thakur besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance& States/ UTs.
GST Council, has recommended to reduce / waive the interest/ late fee for delayed filing of GSTR 3B by small taxpayers (having turnover upto Rs. 5 crores) for the tax period from July 2017 to July 2020, as under:
Reduction in Late Fee for Past Returns (July 2017 to January 2020)
As a measure for trade facilitation and to clean-up the pendency in filing of GSTR 3B for the period from July 2017 to January 2020, the GST Council has recommended to reduce/ waive the late fee for past returns, as under:
a) ‘NIL’ late fee if there is no tax liability;
b) Maximum late fee capped at Rs. 500/- per return if there is any tax liability.
The reduced rate of late fee would apply for all the GSTR-3B returns furnished between 01.07.2020 to 30.09.2020.
Relief for filing of returns for February – April 2020
Further GST Council has recommended to provide relief for small taxpayers (having turnover upto Rs. 5 Crores) by way of reduced interest of 9% in lieu of 18% upto 30 Sept. 2020, for late filing of returns for the tax periods February, March and April 2020. This interest shall be charged beyond specified last date (staggered upto 6th July 2020) for filing of GSTR 3B return for the said tax periods.
Relief for filing of returns for May – July 2020
Also, GST Council has recommended to provide relief for small taxpayers (having turnover upto Rs. 5 Crores) by way of waiver of interest and late fee upto 30 Sept. 2020, for late filing of GSTR 3B return for the tax periods May, June and July 2020.
Recommendations of GST council related to Law & Procedure
The GST Council has made the following recommendations on Law & Procedures changes.
Measures for Trade facilitation:
Reduction in Late Fee for past Returns:
As a measure to clean up pendency in return filing, late fee for non-furnishing FORM GSTR-3B for the tax period from July, 2017 to January, 2020 has been reduced / waived as under: –
i) ‘NIL’ late fee if there is no tax liability;
ii) Maximum late fee capped at 500/- per return if there is any tax liability.
The reduced rate of late fee would apply for all the GSTR-3B returns furnished between 01.07.2020 to 30.09.2020
b) Further relief for small taxpayers for late filing of returns for February, March & April 2020 Tax periods:
For small taxpayers (aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 crore), for the supplies effected in the month of February, March and April, 2020, the rate of interest for late furnishing of return for the said months beyond specified dates (staggered upto 6th July 2020) is reduced from 18% per annum to 9% per annum till 30.09.2020. In other words, for these months, small taxpayers will not be charged any interest till the notified dates for relief (staggered upto 6th July 2020)and thereafter 9% interest will be charged till 30.09.2020.
c) Relief for small taxpayers for subsequent tax periods (May, June & July 2020):
In wake of COVID-19 pandemic, for taxpayers having aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 crore, further relief provided by waiver of late fees and interest if the returns in FORM GSTR-3B for the supplies effected in the months of May, June and July, 2020 are furnished by September, 2020 (staggered dates to be notified).
d) One time extension in period for seeking revocation of cancellation of registration:
To facilitate taxpayers who could not get their cancelled GST registrations restored in time, an opportunity is being provided for filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration up to 30.09.2020, in all cases where registrations have been cancelled till 12.06.2020.
Certain clauses of the Finance Act, 2020 amending CGST Act 2017 and IGST Act, 2017 to be brought into force from 30.06.2020.
Note: The recommendations of the GST Council have been presented in this release in simple language for information of all stakeholders. The same would be given effect through relevant Circulars/ Notifications which alone shall have the force of law.
Council to meet again in July to specially discuss how the government can pay off states for the compensation cess dues, since the funds are falling short.
This would substantially improve ease of GST compliance for over 22 lakh registered taxpayers who had to otherwise log into their account on the common portal and then file their returns every month.
In a significant move towards taxpayer facilitation, the Government has today onwards allowed filing of NIL GST monthly return in FORM GSTR-3B through SMS.
This would substantially improve ease of GST compliance for over 22 lakh registered taxpayers who had to otherwise log into their account on the common portal and then file their returns every month.
Now, these taxpayers with NIL liability need not log on to the GST Portal and may file their NIL returns through an SMS.
For this purpose, the functionality of filing Nil FORM GSTR-3B through SMS has been made available on the GSTN portal with immediate effect.
The status of the returns so filed can be tracked on the GST Portal by logging in to GSTIN account and navigating to Services>Returns>Track Return Status.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified new Income-tax Return (ITR) forms applicable for the Assessment Year 2020-21.
CBDT notified Income Tax Return forms of FY 2020-21
G.S.R. 338(E).— In exercise of the powers conferred by section 139 read with section 295 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Board of Direct Taxes has made the rules to amend the Income-tax Rules, 1962.
The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii) vide notification number S.O. 969(E), dated the 26th March, 1962 and last amended by the Income-tax (11th Amendment) Rules, 2020, vide notification number G.S.R. 329 (E) dated 28.5.2020.
In essence, the following are the key changes:
House ownership: Individual taxpayers who are joint owners of house property cannot file ITR 1 or ITR4.
Passport: One needs to disclose the Passport number if held by the taxpayer. This is to be furnished both in ITR 1-Sahaj and ITR 4-Sugam. Hopefully, it will be made mandatory in other ITR Forms as and when they are notified.
Cash deposit: For those filing ITR 4-Sugam, it has been made compulsory to declare the amount deposited as cash in a bank account, if such amount exceeds Rs 1 crore during the FY.
Foreign travel: If you have spent more than Rs 2 lakh on travelling abroad during the FY, you need to disclose the actual amount spent.
Electricity consumption: If your electricity bills have been more than Rs 1 lakh in aggregate during the FY, you need to disclose the actual amount.
Investment details: Details of investment qualifying for deduction under chapter VIA with bifurcation of details of investment made during the period from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020.
A new schedule ‘Schedule DI’ has been inserted to claim benefit of investment/ deposit/payments made between 01-04-2020 to 30-06-2020 for the previous year 2019-20.
Due to the widespread of COVID-19 and social distancing norms and consequential restrictions linked thereto, MCA has received several representations to allow companies to hold their Annual General Meeting for the financial year ended on 31st March, 2020 beyond the statutory period provided in section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013.
