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Saturday, October 31, 2020

ICSI – Carry Forward of Examination Fees to June 2021 Exam session

ICSI – Carry Forward of Examination Fees to June 2021 Exam session

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

ATTENTION STUDENTS

CARRY FORWARD OF EXAMINATION FEES TO JUNE 2021 EXAM SESSION

As the students are already aware that June, 2020 examination had been merged with December, 2020 examination which is scheduled to be held from December 21, 2020.

In view of the present COVID-19 crisis, some of the students enrolled for June, 2020 session (merged with December 2020 exam session) and students enrolled afresh for December 2020 exam session may wish to appear in June 2021 session of examination, instead of appearing for December 2020 examination session.

In order to facilitate the above, the institute has decided as under :

1. To allow such students to opt June 2021 exam session, instead of December 2020 exam session.

2. Carry forward the examination fee already paid by the students for the module for which they have enrolled for June 2020 Session (merged with December 2020 session)/ December 2020 session.

3. Student’s enrolment status as on date shall be carried forward in total. (i.e. Module, Centre, Exemptions, medium, syllabus, Elective Subject what is available as on date in the enrolment status shall be carried forward as it is).

4. Students desirous of enrolling for additional number of modules in June 2021 exam session, shall be required to enroll for the respective modules and remit the additional exam fee for such module through online mode separately when in enrolment process for June 2021 exam session shall commence in future.

5. Any addition/modification in the enrolment status shall be allowed subject to validity of registration of Executive and Professional Programme students.

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Friday, October 30, 2020

GST officers can arrest evaders without completion of assessment: HC

GST officers can arrest evaders without completion of assessment: HC

The Gujarat High Court in a recent order has armed GST Commissioners with the power to authorize the arrest of a person if he has reasons to believe that the person has committed a cognizable and bailable offense and that the power can be exercised even before completion of assessment and determination of tax evaded.

Extract of Order

CONCLUSION:

77. In view of foregoing reasons and conspectus of law and the analysis of provisions of the section 69 read with section 132 of the CGST Act and provisions of the Code, we may sum up our Final conclusion to answer the questions arising in these petitions as under:

(1) Q. whether the power to arrest as provided under section 69 read with section 132 of the CGST Act can be invoked by the Commissioner only upon completion of the adjudication process of finalising the assessment and determination of the liability as per the provisions of the CGST Act?

A. we are of the opinion that the power to arrest as provided under section 69 of the CGST Act can be invoked if the Commissioner has reason to believe that the person has committed offences as provided under the clauses (a), (b), (c) or (d) of sub-section(1) of section 132 of the CGST Act, which are punishable under the clause (i) or clause (ii) of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of the section 132 of the CGST Act without there being any adjudication for the assessment as provided under the provisions of the Chapter VIII of the CGST Act. The reference to section 132 in section 69 of the CGST Act is only for the purpose of indicating the nature of the offences on the basis of the same the reasonable belief is formed and recorded by the Commissioner for the purpose of passing an order of arrest.

(2) Q. whether the provisions of section 69 of the CGST Act envisages that the Commissioner is obliged to record his reasons of belief and furnish the same to the person who is sought to be arrested?

A. (i) The Commissioner is required to record reasons of belief to arrest a person as per sub-section (1) of Section
69 of the CGST Act. However sub-section (2) and sub-section (3) of section 69 with reference to the provisions of sub- section(4) and sub-section (5) of section 132 of the CGST Act, differentiates between the cognizable and non cognizable offences. The sub- section (2) of section 69 provides for informing such a person about grounds of arrest if he is alleged to have committed a cognizable and non bailable offence and sub-section (3) authorises the Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner subject to the provisions of the Code for releasing the arrested person on bail if he is alleged to have committed non cognizable and bailable offences by exercising the power as an officer in charge of the police station. Therefore, it is not necessary for the Commissioner to provide a copy of the reasons recorded by him for his belief if he has reason to believe that any person has committed offences which are cognizable and non bailable. Sub-section (2) of section 69 of the CGST Act provides statutory duty upon the
officer authorised to arrest to inform such person about grounds of his arrest and in case if the person is ordered to be arrested for offences which are non- cognizable and bailable , he would be released on bail as per provision of sub-section (3) of section 69 of the CGST Act.

(ii) The Commissioner while recording his reasons to believe that a person has committed any offence has only to form a prima facie opinion based on cogent materials and credible information. The words “reason to believe” contemplate an objective determination based on intelligence, care and deliberation involving judicial review as distinguished from a purely subjective consideration and hence he is not required to conclude that the person sought to be arrested is guilty of any offence. The expression ‘any person’ in Section 69 of the CGST Act includes a person who is suspected or believed to be concerned in the evasion of tax or availing illegal input tax credit. However, a person arrested by an authorised Officer because he is found to be evading tax or availing input tax credit as specified in the clauses (a) to (d) of the sub-section (1) of the section 132 of the CGST Act is not, when called upon by the authorised Officer to make a statement or to produce a document or thing, accused of an offence within the meaning of Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India. Where an authorised Officer arrests a person and informs that person of the grounds of his arrest, for the purposes of holding an inquiry into the infringement of the provisions of the CGST Act which he has reason to believe has taken place, there is no formal accusation of an offence. The accusation could be said to have been made when a complaint is lodged by an officer competent in that behalf before the Magistrate. The arrest and detention are only for the purpose of holding effective inquiry under the provisions of the CGST Act with a view to adjudging the evasion of GST and availing illegal input tax credit and imposing penalty.

(iii) The order authorising any officer to arrest may be justified if the Commissioner or any other authority empowered in law has reasons to believe that the person concerned has committed the offence under section 132 of the Act. However, the subjective satisfaction should be based on some credible materials or information and also should be supported by supervening factor. It is not any and every material, howsoever vague and indefinite or distant remote or far-fetching, which would warrant the formation of the belief.

(iv) The power conferred upon the authority under Section 69 of the Act for arrest could be termed as a very drastic and far-reaching power. Such power should be used sparingly and only on substantive weighty grounds and reasons.

(v) The power under Section 69 of the Act should neither be used as a tool to harass the assessee nor should it be used in a manner which may have an irreversible detrimental effect on the business of the assessee.

(vi) The above are merely the incidents of personal liberty guaranteed under the Constitution of India. No arrest can be made because it is lawful for the police officer to do so. The existence of the power to arrest is one thing. The justification for the exercise of it is quite another. The Commissioner must be able to justify the arrest apart from his power to do so. Arrest and detention in police lock-up of a person can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person. No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent for the authority in the interest of protection of the constitutional rights of a citizen and perhaps in his own interest that no arrest should be made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness and bona fides of a complaint and a reasonable belief both as to the person’s complicity and even so as to the need to effect arrest. Denying a person of his liberty is a serious matter. A person is not liable to be arrested merely on the suspicion of complicity in an offence. There must be some reasonable justification in the opinion of the authority effecting the arrest that such arrest is necessary and justified.

(3) Q. (i) Whether the provisions of sections 154, 155(1), 155(2), 155(3), 157, 172 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 are applicable or should be made applicable for the purpose of invoking the power to arrest under section 69 of the CGST Act? In other words, whether the authorised officer can arrest a person alleged to have committed non-cognizable and bailable offences without a warrant of arrest issued by the Magistrate under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973?

(ii)For the purpose of section 69(3) of the CGST Act, whether the officers of the GST department could be said to be a “police officer in charge of a police station” as defined under section 2(o) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973?

A. (i) Any person can be arrested for any offence under the section 69 of the CGST Act, 1962, by the authorised officer to whom authority to arrest is given by the Commissioner if the Commissioner has reasons to believe that such person has committed an offence punishable under the clauses (a) to (d) of the subsection (1) which is punishable under the clause(i) or Clause (ii) of the sub- section (1) or sub-section(2) of the Section 132 of CGST Act and in such circumstances, the authorised Officer is not obliged to follow the dictum of the Supreme Court as laid in the case of Lalitha Kumari (supra).

(ii) When any person is arrested by the authorised officer, in exercise of his powers under Section 69 of the CGST Act, the authorised officer effecting the arrest is not obliged in law to comply with the provisions of Sections 154 to
157 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The authorised officer, after arresting such person, has to inform that person of the grounds for such arrest, and the person arrested will have to be taken to a Magistrate without unnecessary delay, if the offences are cognizable and non bailable. However, the provisions of Sections 154 to 157 of the Code will have no application at that point of time. Otherwise, sub-section (3) of section 69 provides for granting bail as the provision does not confer upon the GST officers, the powers of the officer in charge of a police station in respect of the investigation and report. Instead of defining the power to grant bail in detail, saying as to what they should do or what they should not do, the short and expedient way of referring to the powers of another officer when placed in somewhat similar circumstances, has been adopted. By its language, the sub-section (3) does not equate the officers of the GST with an officer in charge of a police station, nor does it make him one by implication. It only, therefore, means that he has got the powers as defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure for the purpose of releasing such person on bail or otherwise. This does not necessarily mean that a person alleged to have committed a non cognizable and bailable offence cannot be arrested without a warrant issued by the Magistrate.

(iii) The authorised officer exercising power to arrest under section 69 of the CGST Act, is not a Police Officer and, therefore, is not obliged in law to register FIR against the person arrested in respect of an offence under Sections 132 of the CGST Act.

(iv) The decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Om Prakash (supra) has no bearing in the case on hand.

(v) An authorised Officer is a ‘proper officer’ for the purposes of the CGST Act. As the authorised Officers are not Police Officers, the statements made before them in the course of inquiry are not inadmissible under Section 25 of the Evidence Act.

(vi) The power to arrest a person by an authorised Officer is statutory in character and should not be interfered with. Section 69 of the CGST Act does not contemplate any Magisterial intervention.

(vii) The main thrust of the decision in the case of Om Prakash (supra) to ascertain whether the offence was bailable or non-bailable, was on the point that the offence being non- cognizable, it had to be bailable. In other words, Om Prakash (supra) deals with the question, “whether the offences under the Customs Act, 1962, and the Central Excise Act, 1944, are bailable or not?” However, provisions of the subsections (2) and (3) of Section 69 of the CGST Act, provides inbuilt mechanism and procedure in case of arrest for non-bailable offences and bailable offences.

(4) Q. Whether the constitutional safeguards laid out by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu’s case [1997 (1) SCC 416] in the context of the powers of the police officers under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and of officers of the Central Excise, Customs and Enforcement Directorate are applicable to the exercise of powers under the provisions of section 69 of the GST Act in equal measure?

A. We may now address ourselves on the last question as regards the applicability of the safeguards pertaining to arrest as explained by the Supreme Court in case of D.K. Basu (supra), referred to above. It is significant to note that in D.K. Basu (supra), the Supreme Court did not confine itself to the actions of police officers taken in terms of powers vested in them under the Code but also of the officers of the Enforcement Directorate including the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (‘DRI’). This also included officers exercising powers under the Customs Act, 1962 the Central Excise Act, 1944 and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA’) now replaced by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (‘FEMA’) as well. It observed:

“30. Apart from the police, there are several other governmental authorities also like Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Directorate of Enforcement, Costal Guard, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the State Armed Police, Intelligence Agencies like the Intelligence Bureau, R.A.W, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) , CID, Tariff Police, Mounted Police and ITBP which have the power to detain a person and to interrogated him in connection with the investigation of economic offences, offences under the Essential Commodities Act, Excise and Customs Act. Foreign Exchange Regulation Act etc. There are instances of torture and death in custody of these authorities as well, In re Death of Sawinder Singh Grover [1995 Supp (4) SCC 450], (to which Kuldip Singh, J. was a party) this Court took suo moto notice of the death of Sawinder Singh Grover during his custody with the Directorate of Enforcement. After getting an enquiry conducted by the additional District Judge, which disclosed a prima facie case for investigation and prosecution, this Court directed the CBI to lodge a FIR and initiate criminal proceeding against all persons named in the report of the Additional District Judge and proceed against them. The Union of India/Directorate of Enforcement was also directed to pay sum of Rs. 2 lacs to the widow of the deceased by was of the relevant provisions of law to protect the interest of arrested persons in such cases too is a genuine need.
………
33. There can be no gainsaying that freedom of an individual must yield to the security of the State. The right of preventive detention of individuals in the interest of security of the State in various situations prescribed under different statures has been upheld by the Courts. The right to interrogate the detenues, culprits or arrestees in the interest of the nation, must take precedence over an individual’s right to personal liberty. The latin maxim salus populi est suprema lex (the safety of the people is the supreme law) and salus republicae est suprema lex (safety of the state is the supreme law) co-exist and are not only important and relevant but lie at the heart of the doctrine that the welfare of an individual must yield to that of the community. The action of the State, however must be “right, just and fair”. Using any form of torture for extracting any kind of information would neither be ‘right nor just nor fair’ and, therefore, would be impermissible, being offensive to Article 21. Such a crime-suspect must be interrogated
– indeed subjected to sustained and scientific interrogation determined in accordance with the provisions of law. He cannot, however, be tortured or subjected to third degree methods or eliminated with a view to elicit information, extract confession or drive knowledge about his accomplices, weapons etc. His Constitutional right cannot be abridged except in the manner permitted by law, though in the very nature of things there would be qualitative difference in the methods of interrogation of such a person as compared to an ordinary criminal. ”
These constitutional safeguards emphasised in the context of the powers of police officers under the Code of Criminal Procedure and of officers of central excise, customs and enforcement directorates, are applicable to the exercise of powers under the GST Act in equal measure. An officer whether of the Central Excise department or another agency like the DGCEI, authorised to exercise powers under the Central Excise Act and/or the FA will have to be conscious of the constitutional limitations on the exercise of such power.
However, in context of D.K.Basu(supra), we would like to clarify that the law laid down by the Supreme Court in case of Poolpandi and others v. Superintendent, Central Excise and others reported in (1992) 3 SCC 259 has either been set aside or has been deviated from. It appears in paragraph no. 38 of the said judgment itself, it has been stated that the requirements referred to above (i.e. in paragraph no. 33) are for Articles 21 and 22 respectively of the Constitution of India and not to be strictly followed. We may give a simple illustration. Take a case in which writ application is filed seeking direction for giving an opportunity to the person who is sought to be interrogated by the police officer for any offence punishable under the Indian Penal Code to consult his lawyer. Such a direction may perhaps be issued in case of an accused because of his right under Article 22 of the Constitution of India but the same cannot be made applicable to a person who is interrogated under section 70 of the GST Act or section 108 of the Customs Act where no right under Article 22 of the Constitution is affected as held by the Supreme Court in case of Poolpandi(supra). This Court, however, is quite conscious of the fact that pronouncement of Supreme Court in case of Poolpandi(supra) as also in another case, pointing out that the right of investigating authority should not be interfered with, as given to them under the provisions of the Act, does not give them an uncharted liberty to proceed in whatsoever manner they like in the matter of such inquiry or to extract statements from the person concerned by perpetuating torture or by applying third degree methods. That, no doubt, will be in clear violation of the right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India which is available to all the citizens including a person who will be interrogated under section 70 of the GST Act or section 108 of the Customs Act as held by the Supreme Court in case of D.K. Basu (supra).

78. The petitioners have expressed apprehension of harassment at the end of the respondent authority. Though, such apprehension is not substantiated by any credible material on record, the same would be taken care of by the above observations made in answer to the question no.4. We also clarify that in none of the petitions, any case is made out for grant of any relief having regard to the facts narrated by the petitioners in their respective petitions. What has been observed and discussed by us are general propositions of law keeping in mind the subject matter.

79. We also in this context emphasise the mode of exercise powers of arrest under the GST Law as the power of arrest specified in Section 69 of the CGST Act undoubtedly displeases the corresponding powers of arrest vested in a police officer under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 69 of the CGST Act requires certain preconditions to be fulfilled prior to the arrest. In particular, the reasons to believe have to be recorded in writing in the file. The second aspect of Section 69 of the GST Act is the communication of the grounds of arrest. Although, Section 69 uses the word “inform” in the context in which it appears, yet a mere communication of the grounds would not be sufficient. Merely reading out the grounds of arrest to the detenu would defeat the very object of requiring the reasons to believe to be recorded in writing and communicated to the detenu.

80. In the aforesaid context, we may refer to and rely upon the Constitution Bench decision of the Supreme Court in the case of C.B.Gautam v. Union of India & ors. reported in 1993 (1) SCC 78. The said decision is in the context of the Income Tax Act. The judgment explains the importance and the obligation to record reasons and convey the same to the party concerned. The judgment explains that such a course would operate as a deterrent against the possible arbitrary action by the quasi- judicial or the executive authority invested with judicial powers. We quote the relevant observations as under:

“31. The recording of reasons which lead to the passing of the order is basically intended to serve a two-fold purpose:

(1) that the “party aggrieved” in the proceeding before acquires knowledge of the reasons and, in a proceeding before the High court or the Supreme court (since there is no right of appeal or revision), it has an opportunity to demonstrate that the reasons which persuaded the authority to pass an order adverse to his interest were erroneous, irrational or irrelevant, and (2) that the obligation to record reasons and convey the same to the party concerned operates as a deterrent against possible arbitrary action by the quasi-judicial or the executive authority invested with judicial powers.

32. Section 269UD(1), in express terminology, provides that the appropriate authority may make an order for the purchase of the property “for reasons to be recorded in writing”. Section 269UD(2) casts an obligation on the authority that it “shall cause a copy of its order under Ss. (1) in respect of any immovable property to be served on the transferor”. It is, therefore, inconceivable that the order which is required to be served by the appropriate authority under Ss. (2) would be the one which does not contain the reasons for the passing of the order or is not accompanied by the reasons recorded in writing. It may be permissible to record reasons separately but the order would be an incomplete order unless either the reasons are incorporated therein or are served separately along with the order on the affected party. We are, of the view, that reasons for the order must be communicated to the affected party.”

81. We have already indicated in our judgment that the guidelines as laid by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu (supra) shall apply even to the officers of the GST department. Before being codified in the Code, the specific requirement to draft an arrest memo at the time of arrest was first laid down as a guideline by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu (supra). In D.K. Basu (supra), the Supreme Court laid down 11 guidelines to be followed in all cases of arrest and detention. As one of these guidelines, the requirement to draw up an arrest memo was first articulated as:
“36 (2) That the police officer carrying out the arrest of the arrestee shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by at least one witness, who may be either a member of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is made. It shall also be countersigned by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest.”

While producing the person arrested under Section 69 of the CGST Act, the importance of valid, proper and exhaustive arrest memo should not be undermined. Every authorized officer under the Act, 2017 carrying out arrest must be clear that the preparation of an arrest memo is mandatory. At this stage, we may state the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu (supra):

“(1) The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register.

(2) That the police officer carrying out the arrest of the arrestee shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by at least one witness, who may be either a member of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is made. It shall also be countersigned by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest.

(3) A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or interrogation centre or other lock-up, shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place, unless the attesting witness of the memo of arrest is himself such a friend or a relative of the arrestee.

(4) The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of an arrestee must be notified by the police where the next friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or and through the Legal Aid Organisation in the District and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8 to 12 hours after the arrest.

(5) The person arrested must be made aware of this right to have someone informed of his arrest or detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained.

(6) An entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention regarding the arrest of the person which shall also disclose the name of the next friend of the person who has been informed of the arrest and the names and particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.

(7) The arrestee should, where he so requests, be also examined at the time of his arrest and major and minor injuries, if any, present on his/her body, must be recorded at that time. The “Inspection Memo” must be signed both by the arrestee and the police officer effecting the arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.

(8) The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by a trained doctor every 48 hours during his detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by Director, Health Services of the concerned State or Union Territory, Director, Health Services should prepare such a panel for all Tehsils and Districts as well.

(9) Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above, should be sent to the Illaqa Magistrate for his record.

(10) The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation.

(11) A police control room should be provided at all district and State headquarters, where information regarding the arrest and the place of custody of the arrestee shall be communicated by the officer causing the arrest, within 12 hours of effecting the arrest and at the police control room it should be displayed on a conspicuous notice board.”

The safeguards mandated through the above- referred guidelines, particularly the requirement to prepare an arrest memo, are directed towards “transparency and accountability” in the powers to arrest and detain. These safeguards flow from the fundamental rights guaranteed in Articles 21 and 22 respectively of the Constitution of India. The life and liberty of a person is secured under Article 21 and supplemented by Article 22 that provides key protection against the arbitrary arrest or detention to every arrested person.

82. Unlike the powers of the police to lodge and register F.I.R. at the police station, the authorized officer under the GST can only lodge a complaint in writing before the Court concerned. Again the cognizance of such complaint has to be taken by the Court concerned only in accordance with Section 134 of the Act 2017. We are laying emphasis on this mandatory procedure to be adopted because many times the complaint is not lodged immediately. In most of the cases when arrest is affected under Section 69 of the Act, a person arrested would be produced before the Magistrate and the Magistrate may thereafter remand the arrested person to judicial custody after looking into the arrest memo. At the time of production of the accused and also at the time when the person arrested is remanded to the judicial custody, the Magistrate may not have any idea as to on what basis and what type of allegations, the person has been arrested by the authorized officers of the GST and has been produced before him. The production of a person accused should not be accepted by the Magistrate without being convinced that the arrest is on lawful grounds and on prima-facie materials indicating the complicity of the accused in the alleged offence. It is at that stage that the arrest memo assumes importance. It is not just sufficient to state in the arrest memo that the person arrested and produced has committed offences under Section 132 of the Act, 2017. The arrest memo should contain some details or information on the basis of which the Magistrate can arrive at a subjective satisfaction that the person has been arrested on lawful grounds. It is necessary, therefore, to incorporate some prima-facie material against the accused showing his complicity in the alleged offence.

83. There is no doubt that the arrest memo is a key safeguard against illegal arrest and a crucial component of the legal procedure of arrest. Full and consistent compliance is a responsibility of both, the officers of the GST as well as the Magistrate. It is high time that the GST department prescribes a standardized format for the arrest memo. The format must contain all the mandatory requirements and necessary additions. The gist of the offence alleged to have been committed must be incorporated in the arrest memo. It would be the duty of the concerned Magistrate to check that an arrest memo has been prepared and duly filled. In a given case, if the Magistrate finds that the arrest memo is absent or improperly filled or bereft of necessary particulars, then the Magistrate should decline the production of the arrested person. At this stage, we may refer to a very recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the case of Union of India v. Ashok Kumar Sharma & Ors. reported in 2020 SCC OnLine SC 683. The issue in the said judgment was as under:

“What is the interplay between the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as “CrPC” for short) and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act” for short)? Whether in respect of offences falling under chapter IV of the Act,a FIR can be registered under Section 154 of the CrPC and the case investigated or whether Section 32 of the Act supplants the procedure for investigation of offences under CrPC and the taking of cognizance of an offence under Section 190 of the CrPC? Still further, can the Inspector under the Act, arrest a person in connection with an offence under Chapter IV of the Act.”

What is important to note are the observations made by the Supreme Court in para-92 which reads thus:

“92. The person arrested is not to be subjected to more restraint than is necessary to prevent his escape, declares Section 49 of the CrPC. Every Police Officer or other person, arresting a person without a warrant, is bound forthwith to communicate to him all particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest. This is provided for in Section 50 of the CrPC. A Police Officer, when he arrests a person without warrant and he is not accused of committing a non-bailable offence, is duty-bound to inform him of his entitlement to be released on Bail. The Police Officer is also under an obligation to inform, under Section 50A of the CrPC, a nominated person about the factum of arrest. This came into force on 23.06.2006. Section 51 deals with search of the arrested person.”

84. We have quoted the decision of the Supreme Court referred to above to highlight the importance of the communication of the grounds of arrest to the accused and the mode and manner of the preparation of arrest memo.

85. In view of the foregoing reasons, observations and directions, the petitions are accordingly ordered to be rejected. Ad interim relief granted earlier stands vacated. Rule is discharged with no order as to costs. Civil Applications, if any, stand disposed off.

86. The Registry is directed to circulate this judgment in all the sub-ordinate Courts across the State of Gujarat. One copy of this judgment shall also be forwarded to the Commissioner of State Tax, State of Gujarat.

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Faceless Assessment – New provisions in ICES

Faceless Assessment – New provisions in ICES

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, NS- I
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU CUSTOM HOUSE, NHAVA SHEVA,
TAL: URAN, DIST: RAIGAD, MAHARASHTRA-400 707.

F. No. S/22-Gen-20/2020-21 AM (I) /JNCH

Dated: 26.10.2020

STANDING ORDER NO. 39/2020

Sub: Faceless Assessment – New provisions in ICES in terms of Board Circular 45/2020 dated 12.10.2020– regarding.

Attention of all the officers and staff of JNCH is drawn to Board’s Advisory No. 41/2020-Cus dated 26.10.2020 which is to be read with Board’s Circular 45/2020 – Customs dated 12.10.2020. Reference is also invited to JNCH Standing Order No. 38/2020 dated 21.10.2020 and 37/2020 dated 15.10.2020.

2. In line with the Board’s Circular and based on the feedback received from field formations, following new provisions have been added in ICES for assisting the field officers in the workflow of BEs marked for faceless assessment.

2.1  View of Past BEs : At times, the appraising officer may have to refer to a previous Bill of Entry of the importer to compare and verify valuation or other related declarations in a Bill of Entry. In many cases, RMS instructions also give reference of some previous Bills of Entry for the officer to check. Till now, if the previous BEs pertained to a different port, it was not possible for the assessing officers to check them in ICES. This became particularly critical when BEs were marked for faceless assessment to other ports. A provision has now been made available in the top menu on the Appraising BE screen itself to view the past Bills of Entry referred to by RMS in the appraising instructions. Additionally, there is already a provision for the importer to declare a previous BE as a reference for every item while filing a Bill of Entry. The view of such declared Previous BE has also been given along with the RMS reference BEs.

Officers are also directed to advise Importers/Customs Broker (CB) in the jurisdiction to avail the option of giving reference of their previous BEs during Bill of Entry filing itself in the Item table. The view of reference BE indicated either by RMS or optionally declared by the importer/CB can assist assessing officers in expeditious assessment of the document.

2.2  Option to send BE to FAG for reassessment : In terms of Para 2.5 of the Circular 45/2020 dated 12.10.2020 and Para 2.8 of JNCH Standing Order 37/2020 dated 15.10.2020, option has now been made available to the Port of Import officer to send the BE to FAG for reassessment. Once the BE is past the assessment stage and is required to be re- assessed for any reason, the group AC/DC at the Port of Import now has the option to mark the BE either to local appraiser (APR) or the FAG appraiser (VAO) while recalling the BE for reassessment from the ACL role. The officer can exercise the option in terms of Para 2.5 of the Circular 45/2020 dated 12.10.2020 & Para 2.8 of JNCH Standing Order 37/2020 dated 15.10.2020 and mark the BE accordingly. If the BE was initially assessed by FAG, it will be routed to the same VAO when marked for reassessment. BEs facilitated by RMS will be available to be picked up by any available VAO when marked for reassessment.

2.3  New group 3A for Chapter 71 : As mentioned in Para 3(iv)(b) of the Circular 45/2020 dated 12.10.2020, new assessment group 3A has been enabled in System for Chapter 71 to deal with Gems and Jewellery. The air-cargo sites of Ahmedabad (INAMD4), Jaipur (INJAI4), Chennai (INMAA4), Delhi (INDEL4), Kolkata (INCCU4) and Mumbai (INBOM4) have been enabled for FAG for this group. Roles of APR and ACL meant for local assessment may also be allotted to officers for this group at all the sites.

2.4  Dynamic daily target for assessment : Daily targets for assessment are already indicated on System for the appraising officers of the FAG. These targets are now re-calibrated everyday based on the pendency of unallocated BEs of that group so that the pendency in the group can come down completely when the daily targets are met by all FAG officers.

3. Difficulty, if any, faced in implementation of the said Standing Order may be brought to the notice of the Addl. /Joint Commissioner (Appraising Main (Import)) through email on appraisingmain.jnch@gov.in.

Sd/-

(Sunil Kumar Mall)
Commissioner of Customs (NS-I)

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Govt prohibits Export of Onion seeds

Govt prohibits Export of Onion seeds

Government of India

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

(Department of Commerce)

(DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF FOREIGN TRADE)

Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi

     Notification No. 43/2015-2020     
New Delhi, the 29th October, 2020

Subject : Amendment in Export Policy of Onions Seeds.

S.O. 3903(E).—In exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (No. 22 of 1992), as amended, read with Para 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, the Central Government hereby makes the following amendment in the Export Policy of Onion seeds for the item description at Serial Number 73 of Chapter 12 of Schedule 2 of ITC (HS) Classification of Export & Import Items, with immediate effect:

S.No ITC (HS) Code Description Present Policy Revised Policy
73 12099130 Onion seeds Restricted Prohibited

2. The provisions as under Para 1.05 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 regarding transitional arrangement shall not be applicable under this Notification.

3. Effect of this Notification:

The Export of Onion seeds is prohibited, with immediate effect. The provisions under Transitional Arrangement (Para 1.05 of the FTP 2015-20) shall not be applicable under this notification.

[F. No. 01/91/180/923/AM21/EC (E23941)]

AMIT YADAV,
Director General of Foreign Trade

& Ex-Officio Addl. Secy.

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DGGI Gurugram arrests man for forging input tax credit of around Rs 392 crore

DGGI Gurugram arrests man for forging input tax credit of around Rs 392 crore

Ministry of Finance

PRESS RELEASE

29th OCT 2020

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) Gurugram Zonal Unit (GZU), Haryana has arrested one Kabir Kumar, resident of New Delhi on charges of creating and operating fictitious firms on forged documents and passing fake input tax credit by way of issuance of invoices without any actual receipt or supply of goods or services.

It is apparent from the investigation conducted till date, that Kabir Kumar created multiple proprietary companies merely on paper based in Gurgaon, New Delhi, Faridabad, Solan, Noida, Jhajjhar, Sirsa etc. During the investigation of his premises, it was revealed that Kabir had also attempted to flee the city, however, he was prevented from doing so at IGI Airport by the DGGI Officers with the support of Customs and CISF officials.

Further to that, he admitted to creation of 31 firms which have generated bogus invoices without actual supply of goods amounting to Rs. 2993.86 croreand ITC amounting to Rs 392.37 crore. Mutiple evidences, such as laptop, mobile phones and 140 SIM cards were resumed from his person.

The investigation spanned multiple locations in Delhi and based on documentary evidence and statement recorded, it was established that Kabir Kumar is the key person in orchestrating this racket of making fake firms on forged documents. Accordingly, Kabir Kumar was arrested today and produced before Duty Magistrate, Delhi, who ordered judicial custody. A total fake ITC of more than Rs. 392 crore has been thus passed by the accused.

Further investigations in the matter are under progress.

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Input tax credit through fake billing racket busted by CGST officials

CGST officials bust racket for generating fraudulent input tax credit through fake billing of around Rs 1,278 crore

Ministry of Finance

PRESS RELEASE

29th OCT 2020

Based upon specific intelligence, the officers of the Anti Evasion branch of Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST),Commissionerate, Delhi (East) have busted a major racket for generation of huge inadmissible input tax credit (ITC) through fake billing of Rs 1,278 crore (approx). The well established syndicate was being operated by floating seven different fake firms with the intent of passing of inadmissible credit to the tune of Rs 137 crores (approx). Searches were conducted over more than nine places spread over different locations in the state of Delhi and Haryana to identify the taxpayers, who were defrauding the Government of its legitimate taxes. The modus operandi of the fraudulent taxpayers includes bogus invoices/bills creation, without actual movement of goods. All the e-way bills generated to transport the goods were fake.

The mastermind of the entire racket Shri Ashish Aggarwal has been arrested under Section 132 of the CGST Act on 29.10.2020 and has been remanded to the transit judicial custody by the duty Metropolitan Magistrate till the hearing of regular judicial remand application by the CJM Patiala House Court. The accused kingpin of this fake billing racket has been absconding for more than 60 days and after intense coordinated efforts of the officers of Anti Evasion branch, his presence was secured to record the statement, wherein he admitted his guilt and was arrested subsequently.

The primary beneficiary firm of this bogus billing network, was M/s Maya Impex, which has been registered in the name of Shri Ashish Aggarwal’s 66 years old mother through which fake ITC of Rs 77 crore has been passed on. Shri Ashish Aggarwal knowingly committed offences under Section 132(1)(b) and 132(1)(c) of the CGST Act, 2017 which are cognizable and non-bailable offences as per the provisions of Section 132(5) and punishable under clause (i) of the sub section (1) of Section 132 of the Act ibid. The fake billing operation was primarily engaged in generating and passing of fake ITC primarily to the milk products industry. Bogus invoices were raised against fictitious sale of milk products such as Ghee, milk powder etc. It is pertinent to mention here that apart from the other number of distinct companies, major brands like M/s Milk Food Ltd. was one of the major beneficiary of this inadmissible credit. During the course of search operations huge quantum of incriminating documents pertaining to this racket were recovered.

So far the inadmissible input tax creditof more than Rs 7crore has been recovered and further investigations are underway to expose the other fictitious billing entities associated with this syndicate, who have defrauded the exchequer.

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CBDT notifies extended Due dates of ITR & TAR for AY 2020-21

CBDT notifies extended Due dates of ITR & TAR for AY 2020-21

The Extended due dates are as follows:

  • Due date for furnishing of ITR for the taxpayers who are required to get their accounts audited has been extended to 31st January 2021.
  • The due date for furnishing of ITR for the taxpayers who are required to furnish a report in respect of international/specified domestic transactions has been extended to 31st January 2021.
  • The due date for furnishing of ITR for the other taxpayers has been extended to 31st December 2020.

Tax Audit, ITR & GSTR-9/9C due dates extended

CBDT notifies extended Due dates of ITR & TAR for AY 2020-21

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(Department of Revenue)

(CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES)

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 29th October, 2020

TAXATION AND OTHER LAWS

S.O. 3906(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (38 of 2020) (hereinafter referred to as the Act), the Central Government hereby specifies, for the purpose of the said sub-section (1), that, in a case where the specified Act is the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the compliance for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 2020, relates to –

(i) furnishing of return under section 139 thereof, the time-limit for furnishing of such return, shall –

(a) in respect of the assessees referred to in clauses (a) and (aa) of Explanation 2 to sub-section (1) of the said section 139, stand extended to the 31st day of January, 2021; and

(b) in respect of other assessees, stand extended to the 31st day of December, 2020:

Provided that the provisions of the fourth proviso to sub-section (1) of the Act shall, mutatis mutandis apply to these extensions of due date, as they apply to the date referred to in sub-clause (b) of clause (i) of the third proviso thereof.

(ii) furnishing of report of audit under any provision of that Act, the time-limit for furnishing of such report of audit shall stand extended to the 31st day of December, 2020.

2. This notification shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

[Notification No. 88/2020/ F. No. 370142/35/2020-TPL]

NIRAJ KUMAR,
Dy. Secy. (Tax Policy and Legislation Division)

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CBIC has released a guidebook for Faceless Assessment

CBIC has released a guidebook for Faceless Assessment

CBIC has released a guidebook for Faceless Assessment to assist the concerned stakeholders in the successful implementation of Faceless Assessment across the country.

Faceless Assessment, a component of the Turant Customs programme, is a path breaking initiative aimed at introducing anonymity and uniformity in Customs assessments pan India.

Overview: The journey towards Faceless Assessment has been long. Decades ago, goods imported into India were assessed for Customs duty at the border by jurisdictional Customs officers on the basis of physical documents. Subsequent introduction of computers led to automation of assessment. This was followed by a robust digital risk management system (RMS) for Customs clearance with minimal checks, while interdicting risk-prone cargo for assessment and examination.

In 2012, the Customs Act 1962, was amended to introduce self-assessment by importers/ exporters themselves. While digitisation helped in streamlining of procedures, yet disparities in assessment prevailed due to interpretation issues. Customs officials recognised a dire need to provide uniformity and certainty in assessment practices.

It was also clear that anonymity in assessment and load balancing of import documents that are required to be assessed would bring about more efficiency and help improve the speed of Customs clearances across India. This was the trigger for the conceptualization and development of Faceless Assessment.

Faceless Assessment a Balance between Anonymization and Specialization: Anonymity in assessment is a core feature of the Faceless Assessment initiative. This is aimed to reduce the unnecessary need of a face to face interaction with a Customs official.

This measure will also encourage specialization and uniformity in assessment of identified goods, as officers in a Faceless Assessment Group (FAG) would no longer be required to work on assessment of all goods.

Link to access E-book –

Click Here To Read Further

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CBDT designates Court u/s. 280A of Income-tax Act, 1961

CBDT designates Court u/s. 280A of Income-tax Act, 1961

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(Department of Revenue)

(CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES)

(Investigation Division-V)

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 28th October, 2020

S.O. 3854(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 280A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 37/2018 dated the 8th August, 2018, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii), vide number S.O. 3942(E), dated the 8th August, 2018, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, hereby designates the Court of Munsiff No. 3-cum-Judicial Magistrate, 1st Class, Kamrup (M), Guwahati as the Special Court for the States of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh for the purposes of the said sub-section.

2. This notification shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

[Notification No. 86/2020 dated 28-10-2020/F. No. 285/09/2018-IT(Inv.V) CBDT]

DEEPAK TIWARI, Commissioner of Income Tax (OSD) (INV.)

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Tax Audit Penalty of Rs 10000 on Chartered Accountants for error in the report

Tax Audit Penalty of Rs 10000 on chartered Accountants for error in the report

This article discusses the penal provisions wherein a Penalty can be levied on a Chartered Accountants for giving erroneous reports.

  • As per Section 271J of the Income Tax Act, 1961 the Assessing Officer can levy a penalty of Rs. 10,000 on a Chartered Accountant.
  • The Penalty can be levied if the Assessing Officer believes that the CA has furnished incorrect information in his report.
Tax Audit Penalty of Rs 10000 on chartered Accountants for error in the report
Tax Audit Penalty of Rs 10000 on chartered Accountants for error in the report

Tax Audit Penalty Section 271J of the Income Tax Act, 1961 is presented below for reference:

Penalty for furnishing incorrect information in reports or certificates.

271J. Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act, where the Assessing Officer or the Commissioner (Appeals), in the course of any proceedings under this Act, finds that an accountant or a merchant banker or a registered valuer has furnished incorrect information in any report or certificate furnished under any provision of this Act or the rules made thereunder, the Assessing Officer or the Commissioner (Appeals) may direct that such accountant or merchant banker or registered valuer, as the case may be, shall pay, by way of penalty, a sum of ten thousand rupees for each such report or certificate.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,—

(a) “accountant” means an accountant referred to in the Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288;

(b) “merchant banker” means Category I merchant banker registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India established under section 3 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992);

(c) “registered valuer” means a person defined in clause (oaa) of section 2 of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957).

Some of the common errors in Tax Audit that are made by Chartered Accountant while filing tax audit are as follows:

1. Interest, Late fees & Penalties under GST:

There are two views on allowing Interest, late fees, and penalties under GST:

  • The Income Tax Act, 1961 does not permit the deduction of penalties, fees, fines from the turnover for calculation of Profit as per section 37. Section 37 disallows the expenditure incurred for any purpose that is an offense or which is prohibited by any law. One view can be disallowing Interest, late fees, and penalties under GST.
  • Another view can be allowing Interest and Late Fees considering them as a charge against late payment of GST. Same is Allowed under income tax. However, Penalty under GST is disallowed as per section 37.

The CAs should as per their point of view take into account these expenses while making tax audit report.

2. Taking care of Section 145A of the Income Tax Act, 1961

Section 145A. For the purpose of determining the income chargeable under the head “Profits and gains of business or profession”,—

(i) …

(ii) the valuation of purchase and sale of goods or services and of inventory shall be adjusted to include the amount of any tax, duty, cess or fee (by whatever name called) actually paid or incurred by the assessee to bring the goods or services to the place of its location and condition as on the date of valuation;

Discussions:

  • As per Section 145A, for calculating Valuation of inventory for Sale of Goods amount of any tax, duty, cess, or fee shall be included in the valuation of sale.
  • CA should ensure that while doing stock valuation the value of inventory shall include the amount of any tax, duty, cess or fees. The amount of taxes on the goods shall be included in the cost. Taxes included Goods and Service Tax.

3. TDS credit in books should match which TDS as per 26 AS

The receipts and TDS as shown in 26AS may be checked with the receipts and TDS in the books of accounts. The same should be shown in ITR. If there is any mismatch in details furnished in ITR and 26AS, then one may receive notice for such mismatch.

4. CA should not forget to take care of sec 14A of Income Tax Act, 1961 which provides for disallowance of expenses incurred for earning tax-exempt income as read with Rule 6D.

5. Turnover as per Books should match with the GST Return Return.

6. Noncompliance or non reporting of ICDS will tantamount to professional negligence and will be a fit case for levy of penalty u/s 271J.

7. Payment of interest to NBFC also attracts TDS and is not exempt like payment of interest to Bank. Needless to say, just casualness in incorporate it in the TAR will result in adverse consequences.

8. Acceptance & repayment of loan from NBFC will also form the part of section 269SS & 269T reporting.

This list is not exhaustive. These are some of the general things you need to take care so that to ensure that Tax Audit Penalty is not levied on CA.

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LTC cash voucher scheme benefit extended to non-Central Govt employees

LTC cash voucher scheme benefit extended to non-Central Government employees

Ministry of Finance

PRESS RELEASE

29th OCT 2020

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant nationwide lockdown as well as disruption of transport and hospitality sector, as also the need for observing social distancing, a number of employees are not able to avail of Leave Travel Concession (LTC) in the current Block of 2018-21.

With a view to compensate Central Government employees and incentivise consumption, thereby giving a boost to consumption expenditure, the Government of India allowed payment of cash allowance equivalent to LTC fare to Central Government employees subject to fulfilment of certain conditions vide OM No F. No 12(2)/2020-EII (A) dated 12th October 2020. It has also been provided that since the cash allowance of LTC fare is in lieu of deemed actual travel, the same shall be eligible for income-tax exemption on the lines of existing income-tax exemption available for LTC fare.

LTC cash voucher scheme benefit extended to non-Central Govt employees
LTC cash voucher scheme benefit extended to non-Central Govt employees

In order to provide the benefits to other employees (i.e. non-Central Government employees) who are not covered by the above mentioned OM, it has been decided to provide similar income-tax exemption for the payment of cash equivalent of LTC fare to the non-Central Government employees also. Accordingly, the payment of cash allowance, subject to maximum of Rs 36,000 per person as Deemed LTC fare per person (Round Trip) to non-Central Government employees, shall be allowed income-tax exemption subject to fulfilment of conditions specified in para 4.

The income-tax exemption to receipt of deemed LTC fare by a non-Central Government employee (‘the employee’) shall be allowed subject to fulfilment of the following conditions:-

(a) The employee exercises an option for the deemed LTC fare in lieu of the applicable LTC. The Block year is for LTC is 2018-21.

(b) The employee spends a sum equals to three times the value of the deemed LTC fare. The amount should be spent on purchase of goods/services. They should carry a GST rate of not less than 12% from GST registered vendors/service providers (‘the specified expenditure’). Payment should be made by digital mode during the period from the 12th of October, 2020 to 31st of March, 2021 (‘specified period’). The Purchase voucher should indicate the GST number and the amount of GST paid.

(c) An employee who spends less than three times of the deemed LTC fare on specified expenditure during the specified period shall not be entitled to receive full amount of deemed LTC fare and the related income-tax exemption. In this case the amount of both shall be reduced proportionately as explained in Example-A below.

The DDOs shall allow income-tax exemption subject to fulfilment of the above conditions. Copies of invoices of specified expenditure incurred during the specified period should be obtained. An employee who has exercised an option to pay income tax under the concessional tax regime under section 115BAC of the Income-tax Act, 1961 shall not be entitled to this exemption. This is because this exemption is in lieu of the exemption provided for LTC fare.

The clarifications issued by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance for the Central Government employees vide OM F. No 12(2)/2020-EII (A) Dated 20th October 2020 and subsequent clarification, if any, issued in this regard shall apply mutatis mutandis to non-Central Government employees also subject to fulfilment of conditions specified in the preceding paras.

The legislative amendment to the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for this purpose shall be proposed in due course.

Example-A

Deemed LTC Fare : Rs.20,000 x 4 = Rs. 80,000

Amount to be spent : Rs. 80,000 x 3 = Rs. 2,40,000

Thus, if an employee spends Rs. 2,40,000 or above on specified expenditure, he shall be entitled for full deemed LTC fare and the related income-tax exemption. However, if the employee spends Rs. 1,80,000 only, then he shall be entitled for 75% (i.e. Rs. 60,000) of deemed LTC fare and the related income-tax exemption. In case the employee already received Rs. 80,000 from employer in advance, he has to refund Rs. 20,000 to the employer as he could spend only 75% of the required amount.

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Thursday, October 29, 2020

Options for senior citizens to invest their retirement corpus

Options for senior citizens to invest their retirement corpus

Balwant Jain

One of my journalist friends, who retired after completing 60 years, called me to seek my opinion about safe investment avenues with relatively better returns available for senior citizens. And this is how the idea germinated about this article. Let us discuss the safe investment avenues with better returns which are available to senior citizens.

Senior Citizen Savings Scheme ( SCSS)

An Individual over 60 years can open a single or a joint account with spouse, under this scheme, with any post office or any designated bank. Non resident Indian (NRI) and person of Indian origin (PIO) are not eligible to invest under SCSS. Those who have taken voluntary retirement can , however, open invest their retirement corpus here even before 60 years but after 55 years. Likewise those who have retired from defence service, can also open account under SCSS anytime after 50 years of age. In both the cases the account needs to be opened within one month from receipt of the retirement money.

Under this scheme, you can open one or more accounts during one year or spread over different years. The minimum amount for opening an account under SCSS is 1,000/- but aggregate of deposits, in all the accounts taken together, cannot exceed Rs. 15 lakhs at any given point of time.

The account under SCSS has an initial tenure of five years which you can extend three years. You can withdraw money after one year but with a penalty. However in case you withdraw during the first year, the full interest paid is recovered back.

The rate of interest applicable for the accounts opened during the current quarter is 7.4% which is valid for full tenure of five years. The payment of interest is made quarterly and the first interest is adjusted so as to make all the subsequent payments quarterly. Interest under SCSS is taxable and is subject to tax deduction at sources.

The amount deposited under this scheme is eligible for deduction under Section 80C. This benefit is significant looking at the fact that other avenues under Section 80 C like life insurance premium, payment towards pension plan, contribution to PPF account, ULIP, repayment of home loan etc. are no longer workable or attractive for senior citizens.

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojna(PMVVY)

In addition to the SCSS, senior citizens have one more option to invest another 15 lakhs under “Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojna(PMVVY)”, to earn higher returns. This product guarantees a pension at 7.40% p.a. if opted for monthly payouts. You also have other options to receive pensions at quarterly, half yearly and yearly intervals and the effective rate goes up accordingly. The rate is fixed for 10 years and then the full principal amount is repaid to you at the end of 10 years. This scheme is open only to resident Indian. It is managed by Life Insurance Corporation of India and can be bought online as well as offline.

Unlike SCSS there is no tax benefit for money deposited under this scheme. There is no provision for deduction of tax on annuity payments but the amount of annuity received by you is taxable.

You can withdraw money from this account before completion of 10 years but only under exceptional circumstances like for treatment of terminal illness or critical illness of the spouse or self but with 2% deduction from the principal amount. You can also avail loan upto 75% of the amount deposited by you after three years. The amount of interest on loans is adjusted against pension payable to you. Any amount of loan remaining unpaid shall be adjusted against the principal payable.

RBI floating rate savings bonds

After you have exhausted limit of 15 lakhs available under SCSS and PMVVY each, you can invest in the floating rate savings bonds issued by the RBI with tenure of seven years. There is no age limit or the maximum amount upto which you can invest in these bonds. These bonds can be bought online and offline through the authorised banks.

Any person who is a resident of India can invest in these bonds. A resident who become non resident later on is allowed to continue to hold these bonds.

Unlike SCSS and PMVVY where the rate of interest gets fixed for the full tenure, the interest under these bonds keeps floating and the interest for a half year is announced by RBI. Presently the rate interest is pegged at 0.35% higher than those payable on National Saving certificates. So any change in the interest on NSC shall automatically change the interest payable on these bonds. The interest on these bonds is taxable and subject to deduction of tax at source.

Individuals between the age of 60 and 70 are allowed to go for premature redemption of these bonds after seventh year of their tenure. The individual bond holder who is between 70 and 80 can go for early redemption anytime after five years and for those above 80 years can go for redemption after the bonds have run for 4 years.

The writer is a tax and investment expert and working as Chief Editor of ApnaPaisa. He can be reached at balwant.jain@apnapaisa.com

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CBDT notifies Equalisation levy (Amendment) Rules, 2020 & Forms

CBDT notifies Equalisation levy (Amendment) Rules, 2020 & Forms

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(Department of Revenue)

(CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES)

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 28th October, 2020

EQUALISATION LEVY

S.O. 3865(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) of Section 179 of the Finance Act, 2016 (28 of 2016), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules to amend the Equalisation levy Rules, 2016, namely:-

1. Short title and commencement. ─ (1) These rules may be called the Equalisation levy (Amendment) Rules, 2020.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In the Equalisation levy Rules, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in rule 2, after clause (a), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-

‘(aa) “electronic verification code” means a code generated for the purpose of electronic verification of the person furnishing the statement of specified services as per the data structure and standards laid down by the Principal Director- General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems), as the case may be;’.

3. In the said rules, in rule 3,-

(a) in the heading, the words “for specified services” shall be omitted;

(b) for the words “The amount of consideration, for specified services and”, the words, “The amount of consideration” shall be substituted.

4. In the said rules, for rules 4 and 5, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

4. Payment of Equalisation levy. ─ The assessee or e-commerce operator, as the case may be, who are required to deduct and pay equalisation levy, shall pay the amount of such levy, by remitting it into the Reserve Bank of India or in any branch of the State Bank of India or of any authorised Bank accompanied by an equalisation levy challan.

5. Statement of specified services or e-commerce supply or services. ─ (1) The statement required to be furnished under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 167 of the Act shall be in Form No. 1, duly verified in the manner indicated therein, and may be furnished by the assessee or e-commerce operator, as the case may be, in the following manner, namely:-

(i) electronically under digital signature; or

(ii) electronically through electronic verification code.

(2) The statement in Form No. 1 required to be furnished under sub-section (1) of section 167 of the Act shall be furnished on or before the 30th day of June immediately following that financial year.

(3) The Principal Director-General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems), as the case may be, for the purpose of ensuring secure capture and transmission of data, shall –

(i) lay down the procedure for electronic filing of Form No.1;

(ii) lay down the data structure, standards and manner of generation of electronic verification code, referred to in sub rule (2), for the purpose of verification of the person furnishing the said form;

(iii) be responsible for formulating and implementing appropriate security, archival and retrieval policies in relation to the said form so furnished; and

(iv) specify the manner of furnishing the revised statement required to be furnished under sub-section (2) of section 167 of the Act.”

5. In the said rules, in rule 6,-

(a) in the heading, after the words “specified services” the words “or e-commerce supply or services” shall be inserted;

(b) for the words “Where an assessee fails”, the words, “Where an assessee or e-commerce operator, as the case may be, fails” shall be substituted.

6. In the said rules, in rule 7, in the proviso, for the word “assessee”, the words “assessee or e-commerce operator, as the case may be,” shall be substituted;

7. In the said rules, in rule 8, for sub-rules (2), (3) and (4), the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“(2) The form of appeal referred to in sub-rule (1), shall be verified by the person who is authorised to verify the statement under rule 5, as applicable to the assessee or e-commerce operator, as the case may be.

(3) Any document accompanying Form No. 3 shall be furnished in the same manner in which the Form No. 3 is furnished.

(4) The Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems), as the case may be, for the purpose of ensuring secure capture and transmission of data, shall-

(i) lay down the procedure for electronic filing of Form No.3;

(ii) lay down the data structure, standards and manner of generation of electronic verification code, referred to in sub rule (2), for the purpose of verification of the person furnishing the said form; and

(iii) be responsible for formulating and implementing appropriate security, archival and retrieval policies in relation to the said form so furnished.”

8. In the said rules, in rule 9, for the word “assessee” at both the places where they occur, the words “assessee or e-commerce operator, as the case may be” shall be substituted.

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Patentees would get 6 months instead of the current 3 months for filing Form-27

Patentees would get 6 months instead of the current 3 months for filing Form-27

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

PRESS RELEASE

28th OCT 2020

Consequent to Delhi High Court’s Order dated 23-04-2018 in writ petition No. WPC- 5590 of 2015 in the matter of Shamnad Basheer Vs UOI and others, stakeholder consultation was undertaken in order to streamline the requirements related to submission of statement regarding the working of a patented invention on a commercial scale in India (Form 27).

The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020, which came into effect on 19 October 2020, have further streamlined the requirements related to filing of Form 27 and submission of verified English translation of priority documents, which is not in English language.

Important changes with reference to Form-27 and Rule 131(2) are as follows:

1. Patentee would get flexibility to file a single Form-27 in respect of a single or multiple related patents.

2. Where a patent is granted to two or more persons, such persons may file a joint Form-27.

3. The patentee would be required to provide ‘approximate revenue / value accrued’.

4. Authorized agents would be able to submit Form-27 on behalf of patentees.

5. For filing Form-27, patentees would get six months, instead of current three months, from expiry of financial year.

6. Patentee will not be required to file Form-27 in respect of a part or fraction of the financial year While on one hand the requirements in Form-27 regarding submission of information by patentees have been eased, it may be noted that Section 146(1) of the Patents Act, 1970 empowers the Controller to seek information from the patentee, as may be deemed appropriate.

Important changes with reference to Rule 21 are as follows:

1. If the priority document is available in WIPO’s digital library, the applicant would not be required to submit the same in the Indian Patent Office.

2. Applicant would be required to submit verified English translation of a priority document, where the validity of the priority claim is relevant to the determination of whether the invention concerned is patentable or not.

These changes will streamline the requirements related to submission of statement regarding the working of a patented invention on a commercial scale in India (Form 27) and the submission of verified English translation of priority documents.

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Foreign company operating e-commerce platforms in India to have PAN

Foreign company operating e-commerce platforms in India to have PAN

“An e-commerce operator will be a “non-resident who owns, operates or manages digital or electronic facility or platform for online sale of goods or online provision of services or both,” the CBDT said in the notification.

Foreign entities operating e-commerce platforms in India or having access to Indian market will be mandated to have permanent account numbers (PAN) for paying up equalization levy.

Foreign company operating e-commerce platforms in India to have PAN
Foreign company operating e-commerce platforms in India to have PAN

The change has been notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as it amended the equalisation levy rules of 2016 to include e-commerce operators as those required to pay the equalisation levy, and for various procedural, regulatory compliances related to filing of the levy’s returns besides issue of notice of demand and filing of appeals.

CBDT has also amended existing forms to create separate sections for reporting of the payments of levy by e-commerce operators. The changes also include the option of keying in Aadhaar in place of PAN while filing the details.

The changes have been made to align the annual statement and forms with the new e-commerce equalisation levy introduced earlier this fiscal year.

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CBIC prescribe concessional Basic customs duty rate on potato

CBIC prescribe concessional Basic customs duty rate on potato imports with the prescribed quota (TRQ) till the 31st January 2021

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)

Notification No. 40/2020-Customs

New Delhi, the 28th October, 2020

G.S.R……. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts the goods of the description specified in column (3) of the Table below, and falling within the sub-heading or tariff item of the First Schedule to the said Customs Tariff Act, 1975, as are specified in the corresponding entry in column (2) of the said Table in such quantity of total imports of such goods in a financial year, as specified in column (4) below (herein after referred to as the ‘tariff rate quota (TRQ) quantity’), when imported into India, from so much of the duty of customs leviable thereon under the said First Schedule as is in excess of the amount calculated at the rate specified in the corresponding entry in column (5) of the said Table (herein after referred to as the In-quota tariff rate), subject to any of the conditions, specified in the Annexure to this notification, the condition number of which is mentioned in the corresponding entry in column (6) of the said Table, namely: –

S.No. Sub–heading or tariff item Description of goods Tariff rate quota quantity In-quota tariff rate Condition No.
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
1. 0701 Potatoes 10,00,000 MT 10% 1
Condition No. Condition
1. (a) The TRQ is allotted to the importer by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, in accordance with the relevant procedure as specified in the Hand Book of Procedure 2015-20.

(b) The TRQ authorization shall contain name and address of the importer, IEC code, Customs notification No., sub-heading or tariff item as applicable, quantity and validity period of certificate.

(c) The TRQ authorization shall be issued electronically by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and transmitted to ICES system.

(d) Imports made against the TRQ shall be allowed only upon debiting electronically in the ICES system.

Provided that nothing contained in this notification shall apply to the goods specified against serial number 1 of the said Table after the 31st day of January 2021.

[F. No. 354/105/2014-TRU]

(Gaurav Singh)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

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Tags: GST

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