E-filing of tax returns via ATM

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs, Income Tax,e-Filing- Individuals, Firms, Companies | 0

The Income Tax department has launched an ATM-based validation system for filing e-ITRs by taxpayers as part of its measure to enhance the paperless regime of filing the annual IT returns.

“Now, Electronic Verification Code (EVC) can be generated by pre-validating your Automated Teller Machine (ATM) provided by the bank where a taxpayer has an account. While SBI has activated the facility beginning yesterday, other banks will follow soon,” a senior IT official said.

Last month, the department had launched the bank account based validation facility in this regard for those who have not availed internet banking facility. The new facility is available on the official e-filing portal of the department – http://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/ and will work by using the One Time Password verification system as activated by the department last year by using the Aadhaar number.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/policy/efiling-of-tax-returns-via-atm/article8693669.ece

Listed company’s documentation may get simpler

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is learnt to be finalising a new mechanism to simplify the documentation process for listed companies wishing to issue new securities. Sources told FE that the concept of an ‘annual information memorandum’ will be introduced by the regulator, replacing the traditional offer document, if a company plans subsequent public issues via an offer for sale (OFS) or a follow-on public offering (FPO).

This memorandum is expected to provide exhaustive information about a company including financials, pending litigations and risk factors. Companies will have to file the document once a year. To incorporate the new mechanism, Sebi will amend Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement (LODR) regulations.

As per the current LODR regulations, a company needs to file an offer document whenever it comes up with a public offering. However, offer documents are not mandatory in the cases of private placement like preferential issue, qualified institutional placements (QIPs), etc. The documentation is also not mandatory in case of rights issue where the company plans to tap existing shareholders.

Offer documents are usually drafted by merchant bankers in coordination with legal advisers. Post introduction of annual information memorandum, a company will be able to cut on the fees paid to merchant bankers and lawyers for the issue.

“Currently, we have the concept of annual reports. The new mechanism is a step forward. Annual information memorandums would provide additional details like pending litigations, etc. The regulator would come up with a format for the memorandum soon. This will also help investors get all the information about a company at a single place,” said an investment banker who is part of the primary markets advisory committee (PMAC) of Sebi.

As per the current LODR regulations, a company needs to upload an annual report which should contain audited financial statements, cash flow statements,directors report and management discussion and analysis report. The top 500 listed entities in terms of market capitalisation should also disclose business responsibility report describing initiatives taken by them from an environmental, social and governance perspectives.

In October 2015, Sebi had introduced the concept of abridged prospectus that companies need to file for public offers. Under this mechanism, any company going for an IPO needs to file an abridged prospectus along with the regular draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). The abridged prospects would be a 10-page document which would provide all the key information to the investor about the company. The decision was taken in the interest of investors as the full DRHP of a company runs into 400-500 pages.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/listed-companys-documentation-may-get-simpler/273624/

Company Law Tribunal benches ‘will be fully functional’ in next few days

by | posted in: Company Incorporations, e-filing of MCA Returns, Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs | 0

All the 11 benches of the newly constituted National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will be fully functional in the next “couple of days”, a top Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) official said.

Infrastructure is ready in all the 10 cities where the NCLT benches are being set up. The human resources aspect has also been taken care of and adequate steps are being taken to start work immediately.

To begin with, NCLT will handle all pending cases before the Company Law Board and other matters not assigned to any other Court, the official said.

“There will be no transition problem for existing CLB cases,” the official added.

As on date, as many as eight members have joined NCLT, out of approved 25 members. “The remaining members are expected to join in the next few days. They will be posted in various benches,” the official said.

The MCA has also planned a 10-day colloquium in July for the NCLT members, the official added. Asked about the status of cases before High Courts (company cases), the MCA official said the High Court will be the second stage of transfer.

“We will let the CLB cases transition to stabilise for some time and then, in discussion with NCLT Chairman, decide on the High Courts related matter,” the official said.

The creation of NCLT from June 1 is expected to speed up delivery of justice in corporate cases. Sai Venkateshwaran, Partner and Head, Accounting Advisory Services, KPMG in India, hailed the MCA move to set up NCLT and NCLAT.

“We can expect to see the new Companies Act become a reality in its entirety in the coming months,” Venkateshwaran said. The time required for setting up of the NCLT and NCLAT was one of the key reasons for the Companies Act 2013 not being fully operationalised, he said.

However, with the setting up of these tribunals, the way has been paved for operationalising most of the remaining parts of the Companies Act 2013, he added. .

Meanwhile, the Company Law Board hearing in the Financial Technologies’ Board removal case did not take place on Thursday as the CLB stood dissolved on May 31 by virtue of the government move to set up NCLT from June 1.

Indications are that an NCLT bench will hear this matter in the coming days, sources said.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-news/company-law-tribunal-benches-will-be-fully-functional-in-next-few-days/article8688161.ece

Government issues licence guidelines for virtual telecom operators

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The entry of VNOs is expected to push down cost of providing telecom services for companies and even give them room for cutting down tariffs.

The Telecom Department on Friday released licence guidelines for virtual network operators, opening the door for new class of players which will act like retailers for telecom service providers.

 

“After considering the recommendations of Trai on VNO, the government has decided to grant Unified Licence VNO (UL VNO),” DoT said in the licence guidelines.

 

The Virtual Network Operators will be entities providing telecom services like mobile landline and internet but only as retailer for full-fledged telecom operators such as BSNL, MTNL and Airtel etc.

 

The entry of VNOs is expected to push down cost of providing telecom services for companies and even give them room for cutting down tariffs.

 

“VNO shall use underutilized telecom infrastructure of national telecom operators. This will reduced cost of ownership on telecom companies to provide telecom services at more affordable rates,” internet firm Bluetown’s Country Managing Director Satya N Gupta said.

 

For obtaining UL VNO, interested companies will need to pay a one-time non-refundable entry fee for authorisation of each service they want to provide and for each service area where they wish to operate.

 

“The total amount of entry fee shall be subject to a maximum of Rs 7.5 crore,” the guidelines said.

Corporate Affairs Ministry again extends statutory filing deadline amid MCA21 woes

by | posted in: Company Incorporations, e-filing of MCA Returns, Corporate & Business Advisory Services, Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs | 0

Extending the deadline for the third time, Corporate Affairs Ministry has now given time till July 7 for companies to submit their statutory filings as issues related to MCA21 portal are yet to be fully resolved.

MCA21 is used for making electronic filings under the Companies Act and is managed by Infosys  for the ministry.

The upgraded system went live in the last week of March and stakeholders have been facing issues in using the portal.

The Ministry has extended the filing deadline for the third time in less than two months.

Initially, the extension was till May 10 and later the deadline was fixed for June 10.

Giving more time, the Ministry has extended the time limit for making the requisite filings under the companies law to July 10.

“…keeping in view, requests received from various stakeholders, it has been decided to extend the period for which the one time waiver of additional fees is applicable to all e-forms which are due for filing by companies between March 25 to June 30, 2016 as well as extend the last date for filing such documents and availing the benefit of waiver to July 7, 2016,” it said in a communication dated May 31.

While the communication does not mention anything about MCA21, Ministry officials expect to resolve the issues related to the portal soon.

On April 6, an Infosys spokesperson had said it was working with the Ministry to resolve the “minor teething problems” related to MCA21.

The portal is designed to fully automate all processes related to enforcement and compliance of legal requirements under the Companies Act.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has also extended the time limit for submitting Form 11 of LLP in respect of 2015-16 financial year without any additional fees to June 30.

Form 11 is for filing annual returns LLPs.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52556624.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

Japanese investors keen on India’s infra growth story: Arun Jaitley

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Cross Border Transactions, M&As, Joint Ventures, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs, India & International - Corporate updates | 0

TOKYO: Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and a number of investors here have shown keen interest in investing in India’s “infrastructure growth story”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today as he kicked off his 6-day visit to Japan aimed at attracting investments from Asia’s second biggest economy.

After a meeting with Jaitley, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said he is also interested in Internet companies as well as solar energy sector, where he has already announced $20 billion investment through a joint venture.

“There are people who want to participate in infrastructure growth story. For example, at the SoftBank meeting we just had, they are looking at one of the biggest investments in solar power already,” Jaitley said after meeting Son.

“There are people who want to participate in infrastructure growth story. For example, at the SoftBank meeting we just had, they are looking at one of the biggest investments in solar power already,” Jaitley said after meeting Son.

In June last year, SoftBank announced that the group was forming a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group to invest about $20 billion in renewable energy in India. The JV would aim to generate 20 gigawatts of electricity.

“They have made considerable headway and have identified location. It will probably be one of the largest investment in those areas,” Jaitley said.

The Japanese telecom and Internet giant has made a string of tech investments in India, amounting to $2 billion in the past two year. SoftBank is looking at accelerating the pace of investments in the future.

“India has a great future… We are interested in investing for Internet companies, also for solar energy. We would make a strong commitment,” Son said.

He had previously said that India’s market is poised for massive growth, making it an important destination for investors.

SoftBank’s investments in the past two years include $627 million in online-retailing marketplace Snapdeal and leading a $210 million funding round in taxi-hailing app Ola Cabs.

It paid $200 million for a 35 per cent stake in InMobi, an Indian mobile-advertising network, starting in 2011.

SoftBank also has a JV with Bharti Group, Bharti SoftBank, the investments of which include the mobile application Hike Messenger. Its other investments include real-estate website Housing.com, hotel-booking app Oyo Rooms and Grofers.

Son had previously predicted that India’s e-commerce industry would become a $500 billion business in the next 10 years.

SoftBank, which owns one of Japan’s biggest mobile carriers and a controlling stake in US-based Sprint Corp, has been moving quickly to expand its Internet and media holdings.

As the largest shareholder in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the Chinese e-commerce company, SoftBank has ample resources to deploy for acquisitions.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52491788.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Filing tax returns on time has benefits

by | posted in: Corporate & Business Advisory Services, Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs, Income Tax,e-Filing- Individuals, Firms, Companies | 0

With the income tax department allowing ample time for filing returns, many taxpayers take it easy.

For the income earned in the past financial year (FY16), a taxpayer can file returns up to March 2018. However, sticking to the first deadline of July 31 has its benefits.

Say, you make a mistake while filing returns – it can be a wrong computation or incorrect bank account details.

If you file returns on time, the income tax (I-T) department will allow you to revise it as many times as you wish until the end of the assessment year.

In case of belated filing, the taxpayer loses this advantage.

“Not being able to revise returns can lead to problems. For example, in case of wrong computation, the department can send a notice. Incorrect bank account details can delay refunds,” says Vikram Ramchand, founder, Makemyreturns.com.

Missing the first deadline also means that the taxpayer cannot carry forward certain losses.

The Income Tax Act allows individuals to carry forward losses under the ‘capital gains’ head and also business losses for professionals and businesspersons.

These can be adjusted against the future gains for up to eight years.

Due to the correction in stock market in the last financial year, many investors would have suffered a loss in their equity trade.

Filing returns on time can help them utilise these losses in the coming years.

“The only loss that’s allowed to be carry forward for latecomers is the loss from house property,” says Ramchand.

This is the deduction that a person gets on the interest portion of a home loan under Section 24.

Though the deduction can be claimed in the subsequent year, the total limit for deduction will remain Rs 2 lakh for first-time home buyers. In case of a house property that’s not self-occupied, the entire interest can be claimed as deduction.

For those filing belated returns, they will also need to shell out a penalty.

There will be a one per cent penalty every month under Section 234A on the liability if the return is not filed on time, according to Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader (personal tax) at PwC India.

Professionals and businesspersons will also need to pay one per cent penal interest per month under Section 234B, if 90 per cent of the tax is not paid by March 31.

If you don’t file returns at all, there are provisions in the I-T Act that say if the tax due is more than Rs 3,000, the taxpayer can be prosecuted and jailed.

Ramchand says that in his experience, he has also seen that those who file returns on time get faster refunds and their filing is processed quickly, too.

Last year, many taxpayers who filed before the deadline got refunds within a fortnight, according to Ramchand.

However, in case of belated filing, the processing and returns are both delayed – it can easily take six to eight months.

Also, those filing belated returns usually see that their refund amount is adjusted against some pending tax demand of the past, according to tax experts.

Although this is not a rule, tax experts say such cases of adjustments are higher for those filing belated returns.

PwC’s Kumar points out that in the recent Union Budget, the period of filing returns has been reduced from two years to one year.

Taxpayers will need to file returns before the end of the relevant assessment year.

This will apply from the next assessment year.

Therefore, it’s beneficial, one should start filing returns on time to avoid hassles later.

Read Source: Rediff.com