Corporate and Professional Updates on 24th May 2019

Direct Tax Updates:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CBDT wants religious and charitable trusts that enjoy tax exemption on their income to be more open about their affairs. The apex direct tax policy making body has sought public comments on a set of draft rules that modifies an over four decade old audit report format for these entities.

• Senior citizens with a taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh can now submit in banks and post offices Form 15H to claim exemption from TDS on interest income on deposits, according to a CBDT notification. Earlier, the limit for seeking Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) exemption was Rs 2.5 lakh. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a notification amending Form 15H to give effect to the Budget announcement. The Union Budget 2019-20 has given full tax rebate to individuals having a taxable annual income of up to Rs 5 lakh, benefitting around 3 crore middle class taxpayers.
• The amendments by the CBDT states that banks and financial institutions would accept Form 15H from assessees whose tax liability is ‘nil’ after considering rebate available under Section 87A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Senior citizens, above 60 years of age, have to submit Form 15H to banks at the beginning of a financial year to ensure that no tax is deducted at source on interest income. To provide tax relief to the taxpayers earning income up to Rs 5 lakh a year, the Budget increased the rebate under Section 87A from Rs 2,500 to Rs 12,500, thereby ensuring that those earning income up to Rs 5 lakh do not have to pay any taxes.

Indirect Tax Updates:

• GST Authority has come out with a draft of a new and simplified return form. The new form is expected to be formally rolled out in July. Through this exercise, made public on Wednesday, the authority aims to obtain feedback on the user interface and its functionalities.

• The amendment to Section 17 (5) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act deals with blocked credit. “Section 17 (5) of the CGST Act and the respective state Acts have led to a paradoxical situation by denying credits as the objective of the GST is free flow of credits when the output is in the course or furtherance of business,” said Abhishek A Rastogi, partner at law firm Khaitan & Co, who filed the writ petition on behalf of real estate companies.
• “The impugned provisions are against the objectives of GST and have accordingly been challenged on the grounds of arbitrariness and vagueness.” Tax experts said the phrase ‘on his own account’ in the GST law will need to be interpreted differently if one were to take input tax credit. Input tax credit refers to a mechanism under the GST framework wherein the tax a company pays when it purchases raw materials or other services can be passed on to the buyer when the goods or services are sold.

RBI Updates:

• The Reserve Bank of India will take a relook at its supervision structure for banks, finance companies and other entities regulated by the central bank. It will initiate a discussion with its board of directors on a proposal to overhaul the crucial job of supervision so that the regulator is better equipped in picking up early warning signs. This may involve consolidating the different supervisory activities under a separate division or head, creating a pool of officials for better analysis of the continuous flow of data from banks and finance companies, and involving specialists.

SEBI Updates:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Monday came out with a discussion paper highlighting proposals for allowing a start-up listed on the Innovators Growth Platform (IGP) to trade under the regular category of the main board. According to the proposals, the company should have listed on the IGP for a year and have a minimum of 200 shareholders for making the shift. The company, or any of its promoters, promoter group or directors, should not have been debarred from accessing the capital market or been a willful defaulter.
• Minimum promoters’ contribution should be 20 per cent of the total capital. In case of a shortfall, alternative investment funds, foreign venture capital investors, scheduled commercial banks, public financial institutions or insurance companies can step in, subject to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total capital. This capital shall be locked in for three years from the date on which trading approval on the main board is granted, and any excess over and above the 20 per cent of promoter’s holding shall be locked-in for one year. The lock-in would not apply for companies listed on the IGP for three years or more.

Other Updates:

• Aluminium body cautions govt about China
• WTO warns trade weakness to continue in Q2
• Australian election results bode well for Adani
• India adopts new standards for measuring units
• Irdai proposes to increase 3rd-party insurance premium
• MNC boardrooms open doors to Indian women leaders
• Power sector’s outstanding regulatory assets at Rs76,963 cr
• Full blow trade war will push world towards recession: Morgan Stanley
• Auditor exits mount at listed SMEs as scrutiny increases after IL&FS crisis
• Torrent Pharma reports Q4 net loss of Rs 152 crore, cites drug recall
• Lakshmi Vilas rejects Religare Finance’s disclosure, threatens action
• US seeks to join Japan-India consultations on IT product tariffs
• Tata Motors profit dips 47 % in Q4
• WTO quarterly trade growth indicator still at nine-year low
• HPCL Q4 net profit jumps 70% on inventory gains
• Gold imports rise 54% to $ 3.97 billion in April
• Ford to cut about 10% of global salaried workforce
• ICICI Bank to buy stake in BSE subsidiary INX for ₹31 crore
• BPCL Q4 net profit rises 16% to ₹3,125 cr; revenue up 10% at ₹83,942 cr
• JLR posts 1st profit in four quarters despite China woes
• Adani Green Energy’s 8.75 crore shares to be offered for sale on Tuesday
• Bitcoin roars back from ‘flash crash’ to breach $8,000 once more
• Bank credit to infra sector grows 18.5% in FY19: RBI data
• TRAI says up to government to take a call on Huawei issue
• ArcelorMittal to pay Rs 42,000 crore for Essar Steel takeover: Company tells NCLAT
• Dr Reddy’s to spend $300 million on R&D in FY 20
• Rupee records biggest gain in 2 months after exit poll results
• Gold loses sheen, falls Rs 150 on lacklustre demand
• Investor wealth soars Rs 5.33 lakh cr as exit polls predict return of NDA govt.
• India’s rating hinges on policies of new govt: Moody’s
• Adani Ports to set up first container terminal outside India in Myanmar

• De-growth in domestic traffic due to Jet Airways grounding: Icra
• DP World acquires 76% stake in KRIL
• Startups to restart talks on issues with govt
• Modi’s big win signals strong GDP growth to continue
• EPFO may suspend investment in private sector bonds, say sources
• Nippon Life, Reliance Capital sign deal for sale of mutual fund arm
• GIC Q4 PAT down 19.7% at Rs 603 cr on provisioning for IL&FS exposure
• Basmati exporters hold shipments to Iran fearing payment defaults
• Domestic pharma companies eye robust growth from US market in FY20
• Steel Strips Wheels bags orders for 400,000 wheels
• New govt to award lease rights for 6 non-metro airports to Adani
• Hindujas may invest₹1,500 cr in Jet
• Stable govt to boost economic growth, foreign fund flow: India Inc
• After OFS, promoter stake in Adani Green reduces to 80%
• China says door open to trade talks, but slams tech controls
• Spectrum auction, 5G trials top Telecom Ministry agenda for new government
• Stock market wealth grew by ₹75 lakh cr since Modi-led NDA won polls in 2014
• Liberalization of debt financing norms: The need to evaluate investment models
• DHFL Pramerica MF merges schemes with risk debt, launches side pocket in 2 FMPs
• BJP’s victory to improve biz sentiment, boost pvt investment: Fitch
• EU, China, Thailand join hands against India’s ICT products tariff
• Ola Fleet Tech gets Rs 40-crore loan from Tata Motors Finance
• April witnesses 96% fall in M&A deal values: Report
• Rupee pares gains, settles 36 paise down at 70.02
• Sensex sheds 298.82 to close at 38,811; Nifty shrinks to 11,650
• Paytm Payments Bank posts profit of Rs 19 cr in FY’19
• Hulst BV acquires additional 98,100 shares in NIIT Technologies

Key Due Dates:

• Deposit of TDS /TCS for the month of April for purchase of property is 30^th May 2019.
• TDS return for March Quarter By all Deductors is 31^st May 2019.
• Deposit odf TDS /TCS for the month of April for purchase of property is 30^th May 2019.