Corporate and Professional updates on 1st Feb 2019

Direct Tax updates:

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes  has come up with a new scheme of  verification for issuing e-notices to taxpayers. It will also process the documents of information related to the taxpayers’, and make all the data available to the assessing officer.
• The notice should be served by delivering a copy by e-mail or by placing a copy in the registered account on the portal, followed by intimation of SMS.
• The scheme would ensure “no person shall be required to appear in person or through authorised representative before the designated authority at the communication centre in connection with any proceedings.

Indirect Tax Updates:

In Budget’s Reference:

• The Enhanced Revenue from GST would definitely help govt. to reduce pressure on the fiscal deficit in the current financial year when the ministry is expecting a shortfall of about Rs 50,000 crore in Centre.
• The GST (goods and services tax) in January has crossed Rs 1 trillion, the finance ministry informed by social media. This is the third instance of GST revenue crossing the trillion mark in the 2018-19 financial year, the first two being in April and October 2018.
• The positive trend in the data has been considered in projecting the revised estimate of GST revenue for 2018-19 and the Budget estimate for 2019-20. Enhanced revenue from GST would help the Centre red­uce pressure on the fiscal deficit in the current financial year when the min­istry is expecting a shortfall of about Rs 50,000 crore in central GST.
• The GST collection in Jan­uary stands at Rs 1 trillion, the total collection in April 2018 to January 2019 would be close to Rs 9.7 trillion. To meet the annual budgeted expectation of nearly Rs 12.5 trillion from GST till April 2019, the government needs to collect Rs 2.8 trillion in two months.
• The average monthly collection of Rs 97,100 crore in ten months, the required revenue strike rate for the next two months would be Rs 1.4 trillion, 44 per cent higher than the monthly average. Instead to imminent shortfall, experts were hopeful due to increased revenue in January. The increased GST collection is overwhelming and quite positive for the economy.”
• The Centre’s revenues, the CGST collection till November 2018 stands at Rs 2.97 trillion according to data maintained by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). Adding Rs 43,851 crore collected as CGST in December 2018 as per the press release and assuming Rs 50,000 crore of CGST collection in January the CGST accumulated in 10 months would touch Rs 3.9 trillion.

FAQ’s on GST:

QUES. Whether Banks are required to capture the details of ATMs in registration certificate as a ‘place of business’?

ANS. No. Banks are not required to provide the details of ATMs while applying for registration. For the purposes of registration, ATM on its own does not constitute a place of business, as defined in the CGST Act, 2017.

QUES. As per RBI guidelines, Banks can use third party ATMs, Business Correspondents (BC), Customer Service Points (CSP) or third party warehouses. Are Banks required to include these third party places also in their GST registration?

ANS. No. Third party places are neither places of business nor fixed establishments from where Banks ordinarily carry on their business. These are independent service providers to the Bank which are subject to GST. Thus, these places are not required to be declared as place of business by the Bank.

Other Updates:

• Oil India gets SEBI exemption from buyback norms.
• NCLT allows Govt to add 19 new names in PNB scam.
• Airtel loses 5.7 cr Mobile Customers in Dec 2018.
• Ola losses narrow to Rs 2,842 Crore for FY18.
• Sale in SE Asia business will improve Tata Steel’s leverage profile.
• India’s Core Sector Growth falls to 18-month low of 2.6% in December.
• Govt refuses to extend February 1 deadline for new e-commerce FDI rules.
• Unemployment rate at four-decade high of 6.1% in 2017-18.
• RBI removes BoI, BoM, OBC from Prompt Corrective Action framework.
• IRDAI asks insurers to provide for IL&FS exposure, wants mis-selling curbed.
• Domestic mining firms to gain as International Iron oyre prices surge.
• CPI inflation for Industrial workers rises to 5.24% in December.
• Higher cost, lower realisation pull Vedanta’s net down 21%.
• NMDC net up 78% at ₹1,577 Cr.
• Lower logistics cost to help boost Exports by 5-8%.
• Escorts chalks out ₹400-cr CapEx for expansion.
• GDP Growth rate for 2017-18 revised upwards to 7.2%.
• China appeals to US to accept its technology progress.
• HERO MotoCorp quarterly Profit slips on higher expenses.
• Bharti Airtel Q3 net Profit falls 71.8% to₹2 Crore.
• Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra out of RBI’s corrective action list.
• Govt approves 4 Lakh Houses under PMAY.
• Govt floats tender to tie up 2.5 GW PPAs with stranded plants.
• Power Grid Corp Q3 Profit rises 14.2% to Rs 2,368 Crore.
• Central bank Gold buying at highest level since 1970s.
• Limited awareness among SMEs restricts growth of online lending platforms.

Key Due Dates:

• Due Date for Payment of TDS & TCS Deducted/Collected in the month of January is 7^th February 2019.
• Due Date for TDS Return for the month of January is 10^th January 2019.

Quote of the Day:

“You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional. Professionalism has nothing to do with getting paid for your services.”