Corporate and Professional Updates on 15th May 2019

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The income tax department Tuesday deferred for the second time the requirement for companies to include in their tax audit report the details of Goods and Services Tax and GAAR.
The reporting requirement of these details in the income tax audit form has been kept in abeyance till March 31, 2020 — meaning that all income tax audit reports need not include details on GST and General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) till March 2020. Business entities having a turnover of more than Rs 1 crore (or Rs 2 crore if they have opted for presumptive taxation) and professionals with gross receipts of more than Rs 50 lakh have to comply with the tax audit requirements.
The due date for its filing is September 30 and if the taxpayer is covered by transfer pricing provisions, the due date is November 30. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in an order issued Tuesday, said the Board has received representations that implementation of reporting requirements under clause 30C (pertaining to GAAR) and clause 44 (pertaining to GST compliance) of Form No 3CD may be deferred further. “The matter has been examined and it has been decided by the Board that the reporting under clause 30C and clause 44 of the Tax Audit Report shall be kept in abeyance till March 31, 2020.

Inflation forecasts lie at the heart of any central bank’s monetary policy decision-making. In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) adopted the flexible inflation target (FIT) framework in June 2016 and a predetermined 4% inflation rate which made inflation forecasts critical in helping it decide whether to cut or hike rates. In recent years though, RBI has overestimated the threat of inflation.
The accuracy of RBI’s inflation forecasts compares favorably with other central banks’, according to an RBI study. However, a study conducted by Janak Raj and others of RBI argues that the forecasts have been largely unbiased, barring two major episodes of deviation driven by unexpected food price movements. In the study, the authors compare inflation forecast data with actual inflation.