CA. Praveen Sharma GST Mitra

The Income Tax department has seized over Rs 4 crore worth jewellery and cash after it raided two real estate developers of Ludhiana in Punjab about two weeks back, the CBDT said on Saturday. The raids were conducted on November 16 and 40 premises of the un-identified groups were covered. The major finding after the operation against the groups is about the receipt of unaccounted cash on property transactions, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a sta Documentary evidences in the nature of 'agreement to sale' (known as 'biyana' in local parlance) for certain properties have been seized. These documents indicate that the 'agreement to sale' for plots has been executed at much higher amount or rate as compared to the consideration disclosed in registered sale deed of the plot," the policy-making body for the tax department said. It claimed "incriminating" documents in the form of loose sheets, excel sheets showing calculation of receipt...

  The Central Board of Direct Taxes recently announced availability of Annual Information Statement (AIS) to the taxpayer. There is all around curiosity in the minds of taxpayer as to what it is and what implications it has for the tax payers. Let us discuss. Till now we have a 26AS statement which primarily provides the details as regards taxes deducted/collected from your income as well as the details of taxes paid by you directly. It also has the details of income tax refunds along with details of interest granted on such refund to you. Now the government intends to expand the scope of details which would be available to the taxpayer which will help the taxpayer in filing their income tax returns more accurately. It is this purpose of better compliance by the taxpayer that the government has introduced the AIS. AIS is nothing but a statement of financial transactions furnished to it by various entities in respect a taxpayer collated by the tax department based on the PAN. The AI...

  The Group of Ministers constituted to review the current rate slab structure under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has deferred its final meeting on November 27 to discuss various proposals for rate rationalisation and measures to shore up revenues. The ministerial panel is now expected to directly submit its report to the GST Council, which may not reflect the concerns raised by some states over recommendations of major rate tweaks by an officer-level fitment committee. The officer-level fitment committee is learnt to have recommended raising of tax rates from 5 per cent to 7 per cent and 18 per cent to 20 per cent, for which some state finance ministers had raised concerns over impact of such major rate changes. Some states had cited concerns about the inflationary impact of any such major rate hikes, especially in the aftermath of Covid. With some states holding an opposite view, recommendations of the fitment committee were not likely to be accepted in total in the Go...

  The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has asked field officers to help further improve November goods and service tax (GST) collections from October, which was the second-highest since the government implemented the indirect tax reform in 2017. The indirect tax authority urged senior officials to guide field officers to gently remind all taxpayers to file returns and deposit the due tax amount in time, a person familiar with the development said. In the latter half of every month, taxes for transactions in the previous month are collected in a staggered way. Central and state governments collected ₹1.3 trillion in GST in October, a 24% improvement from a year ago. October GST collection is also a 36% improvement from the same month in FY20, the period before the covid pandemic. However, October is when many small businesses file quarterly returns and clear dues.\ CBIC has told officials that the November collection could improve on the receipts in October with a ...

  As part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the year-long celebration of 75 years of India’s Independence, the Income Tax Department has launched a tree planting drive across the country. The Income Tax Department, Thiruvananthapuram, in association with Mar Thoma Church Education Society, will conduct a tree plantation programme at the St Thomas Institute for Science and Technology, Kazhakkoottam at 11am on Friday. A total of 400 saplings will be planted on the 28-acre campus of St Thomas Institute for Science and Technology. B V Gopinath, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Kerala, and Mathew George, Secretary, Mar Thoma Church Educational Society, will lead the plantation drive. The saplings include fruit trees such as mangosteen, Chinese orange, star fruit, avocado and rambutan and large shady trees like jamun, mango, jackfruit and teak. Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2021/nov/26/income-tax-dept-to-plant-400-saplings-on-friday-2388178.htm...

  Expressing concern over the Centre's recent notification on higher Goods and Service Tax (GST) rates to be levied on several apparel items from January 1, 2022, a prominent hosiery manufacturers'' association has sought its deferment, saying it will impact the common man and those in the micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. The proposed change in the rate from the existing 5 per cent to 12 per cent is going to significantly increase the prices of apparels now costing below ₹ 1,000, office bearers of the Federation of Hosiery Manufacturers Association of India (FOHMA) said. The move will impact the weaker section of society, who mostly buy clothes priced below Rs.1,000. "What is more important is that more than 85 per cent of India's total garment market is below the ₹ 1,000 price level," they added. Additionally, the proposed merger of 12 per cent and 18 per cent slabs to a single rate will result in a staggering increase of 30 per cent in the G...

  The case came to the fore when GST authorities summoned Subway India wanting to levy a GST of 18 percent on the income or royalty that the company receives via franchisee services. Whereas, Subway had paid 12 percent GST on these services. Post receiving the summons, the fast-food chain has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging them. The company in its plea had sought submitted that they have sought clarity from the GST Advance Ruling Authority on the applicability of the exact rate of GST on these services and thus want appropriate time to respond to the notices It has been noted of late, numerous summons are being issued to the top management seeking payments as clearance of tax dues even before issuance of any show-cause notice or order. In Subway's case, the issue is with respect to the taxability of intellectual property rights at the rate of either 12 percent or 18 percent. While Subway has filed an application with the advance ruling authority and the a...

  The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is likely to meet mobile phone and allied component makers again this week to discuss possible steps on rationalisation of levies such as Goods and Services Tax (GST). The meeting will be held before the scheduled meeting of GST Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on November 27, sources said. “There are some concerns we are aware of. We had some meetings in the past and we understand what we need to do. We will have a couple of more meetings to figure out how to best rationalise these levies,” a senior ministry official said. In its meetings with the industry associations, the Ministry is also likely to ask them to prepare a report on their demands from the Budget, sources said. In meetings over the last few weeks, mobile phone and allied component makers have in their submissions told the IT Ministry that the levy of 18 per cent GST on mobile phones had “led to very high costs”, and should be brought down to 12 per cent. They ...

  two teams of the department are collecting details of such traders in Prayagraj, Pratapgrah and Kaushambi districts, said the official of the department without wanting to be named. The official said the accounts of these traders are carefully being looked into by the department and the details are being prepared both by the special investigative branch (SIB) and the mobile squad of the department. The department is collecting details of purchase and sale data and transactions of bank accounts of these traders following which the GST that has to be deposited by them is being calculated and compared to what the individual firms have deposited in the state exchequer, the official said. The action is part of statewide exercise being initiated to increase the overall revenue of the state. The recent raid at a mobile shop owner of the Indira Bhavan of the posh Civil Lines locality too is being seen as a part of this exercise. It is alleged that this mobile shop owner had sold goods wo...

  The Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 18% will be levied by Anna University for issuing migration and duplicate certificates, incorporating corrections in certificates for graduates, giving certificates for photocopies of answer sheets, on the fee for issuing date and month of award of degree certificates and the certificate verification fee. A circular to this effect has been issued by the Controller of Examination. Following suit An official of the university said other State-funded universities had implemented the decision, mandated by the Union Government, and Anna University was following them. “The GST does not apply to those currently enrolled,” the official explained, adding that requests from students for answer sheets were not exempted. On Tuesday, Vice-Chancellor R. Velraj inaugurated a two-day book fair at the university. On the sidelines of the inauguration, he told reporters that the university might consider reducing the fee for revaluation based on the students’ dem...

  Annual Information Statement (AIS) enables a taxpayer to see and verify taxpayer information available with Income Tax Department, provide feedback in case of discrepancies, view and update the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) used for pre-filling of ITR The Income Tax Department rolled out the new AIS on the Income Tax on the income tax compliance portal. It provides a comprehensive view of information to a taxpayer relating to interest, dividend, securities transactions, mutual fund transactions, foreign remittance information etc. Taxpayers will be able to download AIS information in PDF, JSON, CSV formats. The facility also allows the taxpayer to check the information provided on the AIS and provide feedback with regards to authenticity. AIS also has a simplified TIS which shows the aggregated value for the taxpayer for ease of filing return. “TIS shows the processed value (i.e. the value generated after deduplication of information based on pre-defined rules) and derived v...

  The Income Tax Department has detected an estimated undisclosed income of Rs 400 crore after it raided two real estate groups based in Delhi and the national capital region, the CBDT said on Wednesday. The unidentified groups engaged in construction of commercial and residential projects were searched on November 17. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement that the preliminary analysis of the seized data found that the groups were receiving part of the sale consideration in cash against the sale of flats and such cash is not recorded in the books of accounts.\ It claimed, there is a “large scale tax evasion” and due tax on such income has not been offered. “The evidence gathered so far, prima facie, indicates that undisclosed income could be to the tune of about Rs 400 crore,” the statement said, adding Rs 10 crore cash was seized during the raids. The CBDT said evidence gathered during the action indicated that unaccounted income that was earned was routed i...

  The Group of Ministers (GoM) looking into GST rate rationalisation will meet on November 27 (Saturday) to finalise the report on rate changes. The panel, comprising state finance ministers, will review the current rate structure of various items, reported ET Now. The GST Fitment Committee has made several recommendations regarding slab and rate changes and taking items out of the exemption list. The recommendations will be discussed in the meeting. Sources told the channel that the GoM will meet under the chairmanship of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. The panel also includes West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal, and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad. The report of the ministerial panel is likely to be finalised in this meeting and would be presented before the GST Council when it meets next month In the meeting, the GoM will review items under an inverted duty structure to help minimise refund payout. It will also ...

  The letter stated that the textile and garment industry is already struggling for survival amid the pandemic, and this move by the government will push it into a deeper crisis. The industrialists rued that this will impact business at large as prices of woven and knitted fabrics, knitted garments, textile garments etc will increase. Also, it will adversely impact export, as the sector will not be able to compete at the international market and lead to rampant tax evasion, stated industrialists. CICU president Upkar Singh Ahuja said the industry had also opposed an increase in the GST rate, but the government notified it, ignoring their needs and demand. “We have written to Sitharaman to roll back the order, failing which the industry, especially the small units, will collapse,” Ahuja said. The industrialists stated that rising prices of raw material have already been taking a toll on the business. Knitwear and Textile Club president Vinod Thapar said, “Rather than helping the ind...

देश में लगातार बढ़ती महंगाई को लेकर जहां आम जनता पहले ही परेशान है. ऐसे में केंद्र सरकार ने आम लोगों को मुश्‍किलों को दूर करने की बजाय एक और बड़ा झटका दे द‍िया है. केंद्र सरकार ने कपड़ा और जूते (clothes and shoes) जैसे तैयार माल पर गुड एंड सर्विस टैक्स यानी जीएसटी (Good and Service Tax) को 5 फीसदी से बढ़ाकर 12 प्रतिशत कर दिया है. इस टैक्‍स स्‍लैब में नया बदलाव 1 जनवरी, 2022 से लागू हो जाएगा. इस बढ़ोत्‍तरी के फैसले को केंद्रीय उत्पाद एवं सीमा शुल्क बोर्ड (CBIC) ने गत 18 नवंबर को अधिसूचित भी कर द‍िया. उधर, व्‍यापार‍िक संगठन सीटीआई ने कपड़ों पर लगने वाले 12 प्रतिशत जीएसटी का विरोध करते हुए इसको वापस लेने की मांग की है. केंद्र सरकार (Central Government) की ओर से कपड़े एवं रेडीमेड गारमेंट्स पर जीएसटी (GST) की दरों में इजाफा करने के फैसले को लेकर व्‍यापार‍ियों ने व‍िरोध शुरू कर द‍िया है. इतना ही नहीं व्‍यापार‍ियों के शीर्ष संगठन चैम्बर ऑफ ट्रेड एंड इंडस्ट्री (CTI) ने आंदोलन की चेतावनी भी दे डाली है. सीटीआई चेयरमैन बृजेश गोयल और अध्यक्ष सुभाष खंडेलवाल ने बताया दिल्ली के कपड़ा व्यापारी नोटिफिक...

  The people of Jammu and Kashmir were denied development for over 70 years, but after the abrogation of Article 370, the government aims to reach out to every citizen of the union territory and give them their due, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Monday. The minister inaugurated 'The Chinars', Aayakar Bhawan-cum-residential complex, the first permanent establishment of the department of income tax in the UT, at the Rajbagh area here in the presence of J-K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Sitharaman said around 40,000 people were killed due to terrorism over the years in Jammu and Kashmir, and a land which is otherwise very peaceful and beautiful has spent so many years in a very "heart-crushing and tragic phase". "Now, post the abrogation of (Article) 370, the delimitation commission has also been constituted. DDC polls have shown that people are looking forward to aspirational meeting of their dreams. "Therefore, I would want to tell...

  Income Tax return (ITR) filing process ends with verifying the ITR and this should be done within 120 days of submitting it, failing which your ITR is considered invalid. The easiest way to verify your ITR is by using the Aadhaar-based OTP. But you can opt for this process provided to meet two conditions. The first one is your PAN should be linked to your Aadhaar and secondly, your Aadhaar number must be linked to an active mobile number. But if your don't meet the above two criteria you can not verify your ITR using Aadhaar-based OTP. Worth mentioning here is that there are still five other ways including one offline method to verify ITR. Here are five ways to verify your ITR other than the Aadhaar-based OTP process: 1) Sending signed ITR-V receipt: You can send a signed copy of ITR-V (Acknowledgement receipt) to the tax department for verifying your tax return. But the return must be signed in blue ink and it must be sent either through normal post or speed post. Don't cour...