corporate and Professional Updates on 31st January 2019

Direct Tax Updates:

• Income Tax Department has confiscated assets worth Rs 6,900 crore till now as part of its action under the anti-benami transactions law, the agency said in a public advertisement. who “abet and induce” benami transactions, benamidar and beneficiaries are prosecutable and may face rigorous imprisonment up to 7 years besides being liable to pay fine up to 25 per cent of fair market value of benami property.
• The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that the circular issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) clarifying that there is no need to deduct TDS on the Bank Guarantee Commission has retrospective application.
• CBDT notifies Centralised Verification Scheme 2019 which will setup the Centralised Verification Centre for Centralised Issuance of Notice and for Processing of Information or Documents and making available the outcome of the processing to the Assessing Officer.

Indirect Tax Updates:

• Springs of Iron and Steel for railways are classifiable under heading 7320 and to be taxed at 18% GST.
• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs has issued an Order which may be called as the Central Goods and Services Tax Order, 2018.

FAQ’s on GST:

QUES. Would services provided by banks to RBI be also taxable?

ANS. Yes. Services provided by banks to RBI would be taxable as these are not covered by any of the exemptions or excluded from the purview of GST under the CGST Act, 2017 or under the IGST Act, 2017.

QUES. Who is liable to comply with GST on charges levied by Overseas Correspondent Banks facilitating trade and other cross border transactions?

ANS. In this case, there are two supplies namely, from bank in India to the importer/exporter and one from the overseas correspondent banks to the bank in India. So the liability to discharge GST on such supplies will be required to be determined accordingly.

MCA Updates:

• Under the newly introduced The Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, MCA has re-introduced the concept of obtaining Commencement of Business Certificate for all companies registered in India having Share Capital before commencing any business activity or exercising any borrowing powers by any company incorporated after November 2018.

Time Limit for Obtaining COB:

• Within 180 days of incorporation of the company.

Form to File:

• Form INC-20A will be filed in which each director of the company must declare that every subscriber to the memorandum has paid the value of the shares agreed to be taken by him/her on the date of the making of such declaration.

Penalty for Non-Compliance:

• On Company- Rs.50,000/-.
• On Directors- Rs.1000/- per day of default up to a maximum of Rs.1Lac.
• Also, after 180 days of incorporation, if the ROC has reasonable cause to believe that the company is not carrying on any business or operations, he/she may initiate action for the removal of the name of the company from the register of companies.

RBI Updates:

• RBI has asked all registered peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders to furnish details about borrowers, lenders, their financial profiles, total exposure of participants and the financial health of the platforms themselves as it looks to assess the overall well being of the sector. The regulator sent its queries to the companies earlier this month and asked them to respond in two weeks.
• The government had made a case for expansion and more active participation in the Board for Financial Supervision and the Committee of the Central Board the two important committees where there is no government representation.
• RBI governor Shaktikanta Das attending the recent meeting with state-run lenders held by the finance ministry. Relations between the regulator and the government had deteriorated before Urjit Patel resigned as RBI governor on December 10, 2018. The government appointed former bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das, who then took charge on December 12.
• The government has also moderated its stance on relaxation of the prompt corrective action framework and is agreeable to only performing lenders being given some relief. RBI, after its central board meeting in November 2018, had said: “With regard to banks under PCA, it was decided that the matter will be examined by the Board for Financial Supervision of RBI”.

SEBI Updates:

• SEBI has put out a consultation paper on commodity index design, to boost derivative markets in such indices. Index-based commodity products should shore up institutional participation and raise liquidity in futures and options, for instance, to arbitrage across index products, and use one product to hedge their position in another.

Other Updates:

• Allows separate registration for multiple places of business within a State or Union territory.
• Threshold limit for registration increased to 20 Lakhs for certain dealers operating from 5 special category states.
• Defines jurisdiction of Joint Commissioner and Joint Commissioner.
• Govt to probe allegations against Dewan Housing.
• Oilfield auction Vedanta, ONGC, others put in bids.
• India may again defer duty hike on US products till.
• NCLT initiates insolvency process against Emaar MGF.
• Postal dept to spin off life insurance biz into separate unit.
• US Fed leaves rates steady, says will be ‘patient’ on future hikes.
• Zydus Wellness completes acquisition of Heinz India.
• Unemployment rate at four-decade high of 6.1% in 2017-18: NSSO survey.
• ICICI Bank Q3 profit declines 3% to Rs 1,605 cr, GNPA ratio improves.
• Govt arms DIPP with policy oversight to assume singular control over retail.
• Trai asks DTH firms to allow customers with long-term packs to continue.
• SBI Research report backs govt to meet fiscal deficit target this year.
• Parliament’s Budget Session will start from Today i.e. January 31 and will last till February 13. Finance Minister CA Piyush Goyal will present Interim Budget 2019-20 on February 1 i.e. tomorrow.
• Nearly 2 months after the extradition of Christian Michel from Dubai, 2 more accused was extradited to India from the Dubai, CA Rajiv Saxena, and corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar was brought back to India in a special aircraft reportedly by a team of the Enforcement Directorate.
• FDI during the previous fiscal grew 18 % to Rs 28.25 lakh crore, data from RBI showed. FDI increased by Rs 4,33,300 crore, including revaluation of past investments, during 2017-18 to reach Rs 28,24,600 crore in March 2018 at market value, according to RBI data on ‘Census on Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Indian Direct Investment Companies, 2017-18’.
• Piyush Goyal to present interim Budget on Feb 1.
• renames DIPP as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
• Divestment process for Air India subsidiary likely to begin in 10 days.
• RTIL’s largest investor moves NCLAT.
• JSW Energy net profit up by 212% at Rs 146 cr.
• Bajaj Auto Q3 profit up 20% to Rs. 1,220.77 cr.
• Chanda Kochhar sacked after probe panel indictment.
• Godrej Consumer’s household insecticides performance repels investors.
• HCL Tech’s new IBM products will help generate 30% profit.
• Investcorp acquires IDFC Alternatives’ private equity, realty arms.
• IBC may go the way of Sarfaesi Act if cases are not resolved soon: Seshagiri Rao.
• Indian Oil looking for annual deal to buy US oil.
• Nudge by govt: Buyback spree by PSUs to begin with Coal India.
• Essel set to sell solar business to Actis.
• Stung by falling crude prices, IOC net falls 91 per cent to Rs 717 crore.
• Jubilant Foodworks reports 46 per cent rise in Q3 net profit.
• Bailout Planning Jet Airways may turn to Adani Group for investment.
• Govt may hold back Q4 fertilizer subsidy to meet fiscal deficit goal.
• SC refuses to interfere in 63 Moons case, asks HC to conclude hearing in Feb.
• PM credits demonetisation for affordable housing.
• Accenture to sell software that eats up BPO jobs.
• HDFC net falls to Rs 2,114 crore.

Key Due dates:

• TDS Return For All the Deductor For December Quarter Is 31^st January 2019.
• GST TCS Return for the month of Oct., Nov., & Dec is 31^st
• GST TDS Return for the month of Oct., Nov., & Dec is 31^st

Quote of the Day:

“Believe passionately in what you do, and never knowingly compromise your standards and values. Act like a true professional, aiming for true excellence, and the money will follow.”