New Direct Tax Code from April 1, 2012

New Direct Tax Code from April 1, 2012The government on Monday introduced Direct Taxes Code (DTC), offering much lower benefits than in the original proposal.The new code would now be applicable from April 1, 2012, instead of next year as proposed earlier by the finance minister. The Bill seeks to increase tax exemption on income from Rs. 1.6 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh and fix the corporate tax at a flat...

Summary of Examiners’ Comments on the Performance of Candidates [Final (Old) Course and Final (New) Course, May 2010 Examination

In a move to facilitate the students, the Board of Studies has compiled the comments of the examiners on all the subjects of the Final (Old) Course and Final (New) Course examinations held in May, 2010. The group-wise general comments of the examiners on the performance of the students have been summarised, which are followed by the question-wise specific comments on the mistakes committed by the...

Tamil Nadu Professional Tax Amendment

Tamil Nadu Professional Tax Amendment Click here to view/downl...

The Indian Warren Buffett - Mr Rakesh Jhunjunwala

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is an Indian Chartered Accountant by qualification but an investor / trader by profession. In 2010, Forbes rated him as India's 51st and the world's #1062 richest man with wealth of $1.0 billion. He is one of the most famous and respected equity investors in India and manages his own portfolio as a partner in his asset management firm, Rare Enterprises. A large man in his late...

SEBI asks brokers to return idle cash to investors

Concerned over brokers misusing the funds lying in investors' trading accounts, market watchdog SEBI has asked the brokerage entities to return the clients' un-utilised cash at the end of every month or quarter. Although some brokers are resisting the move citing high costs associated with such frequent transfers of funds to and from the clients' accounts, the SEBI has also asked them to transfer...

Requirement to mention the firm registration number allotted by ICAI in all reports issued, including certificates, by members of the ICAI

Announcement on – Requirement to mention the firm registration number allotted by ICAI in all reports issued, including certificates, by members of the ICAI – (16-08-2010). Attention of the members is invited to the announcement regarding requirement relating to mentioning the firm registration number in the audit reports and resolution passed by the company for appointment of statutory auditors,...

Criteria / Guidelines for selection of cases for Income tax Scrutiny for Assessment year 2010-11 or Financial Year 2009-2010

  Guidelines for selection of cases for Scrutiny During 2010-11 1.       Selection of cases for scrutiny during the financial year 2010-11 will be done primarily through CASS this year. Manual Selection for scrutiny this year will be limited only to a few cases listed below. 2.       List of cases selected during each month in accordance...

Soon Just one Application for Getting Trademark in more then one Countries Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Trademarks (amendment) Bill of 2009, which enables a person or an enterprise to seek registration of a trademark in any of the 84 member countries  of the Madrid Protocol through a single application. The amendment bill, which provides for a simplified trademark registration process,...

Regulatory experiment on Retail Investors - A Sucessful Move

The past three months have seen a regulatory experiment of sorts in the Indian capital markets. The purpose was to bring back retail investors' interest in initial public offers (IPOs). The experiment has already shown some signs of success.The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed IPO-issuing companies to keep their issues open for retail investor for an extra day after the subscription...

Transfer of shares by a foreign company to its wholly owned Indian subsidiary not taxable in India

Praxair Pacific Limited (PPL ), a company incorporated in Mauritius, proposes to transfer its 74% equity stake in Jindal Praxair Oxygen Company Private Limited (JPOCPL) to its wholly owned subsidiary in India, Praxair India Private Limited (Praxair India). The consideration for the proposed transfer is stated to be determined on the basis of cost, unless a higher consideration is required under the...

FEMA – Change in Pricing Guidelines for issue of shares to non-residents

      Background The Pricing Guidelines for the issue of shares by an Indian Company to a non resident is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or issue of security by a person resident outside India) Regulations 2000. As per the aforesaid regulations, pricing norms for issue of shares by an Indian Company to non-resident were as under: -          ...

Amended DTAA with Switzerland will provide sharing of information on Indians having unaccounted wealth in secret Swiss bank accounts

The amended protocol will pave the way for Indian authorities to obtain from their Swiss counterparts details regarding illegal money and the ownership of those accounts in specific cases where there is a proper justification for such a request, they said. Both the countries had recently completed the renegotiation of the DTAA. The amended DTAA will take effect only after it is notified in...

Soon service tax may be levied when the consideration is received or when the invoice is raised, whichever is earlier

According to the new rules on 'time of supply', service tax will also be levied at the point of raising invoice. At present, service tax is charged only when the amount is received. However, it has been proposed in the new rules that it be levied when the consideration is received or when the invoice is raised, whichever is earlier."There will be a change from cash system to accrual system. This...

TODAY'S MARKET

Auto stocks lead markets higher The Indian markets have started today's session on a positive note. The benchmark indices opened below the breakeven mark but soon moved into the positive territory. They have managed to stay firmly in the green since then. Other key Asian markets are in the green with Taiwan (up 0.2%) leading the pack of gainers. The US markets closed lower by 0.1% yesterday. Currently...

Disclosure of Fund flow statement may soon become mandatory for all companies

Disclosure of Fund flow statement may soon become mandatory for all companies The government is considering to make it mandatory for all companies to disclose a fund flow statement, an indicator of utilization of financial resources by an entity, along with their annual financial reports. The provisions for mandatory disclosure of fund flow statement is likely to be included in the Companies Bill,...

Taxation of Banks – Press Release

Taxation of Banks – Press Release   India has not agreed to a "one size fits all" solution in the European Union Plan of taxing banks and has emphasized that such a tax is not appropriate for India, even though it may be appropriate for other countries e.g. in some European countries. In the G20 meetings, India did not agree to the banking sector tax in India as our banks are strongly regulated,...

Fee for software is NOT royalty & TDS u/s 195 not required

The assessee applied to the AO for a NOC u/s 195(2) for remittance of a fee to IXOS Software, Singapore, to acquire software. The assessee claimed that the fee was commercial profits and not taxable in the hands of the recipient under Article 7 of the India-Singapore DTAA as the recipient did not have a PE in India. The AO & CIT (A) took the view that as the software was a “copyright” / “secret...

Know Your Income Tax Refund Status online

The Centralised Processing Centre of the Income Tax Department here has processed over 26 lakh e-filed returns in Forms 1-4 for the assessment year 2009-10. It has determined refunds in over five lakh cases. A release said refunds are being sent through State Bank of India. The status of these refunds can be checked at CPC's call centre (080-43456700) or at www.tin-nsdl.com.The department has been...

Using RTI to Get Income Tax Refund

There are many disputes regarding this tax refund many people have complaint about the tax refunds that the income tax administration is taking many years in refunding the money.The Right to Information Act (RTI) came into effect from October 12, 2005. The right to information Act helps many citizens to obtain information, which earlier was a not available, from various Govt Departments and...

Six Myths About the Indian IFRS Transition

Six Myths About the Indian IFRS Transition  We have a comfortable transition deadline  IFRS is limited to changes in accounting procedure  We can rely solely on auditors and consultants  Transition won't be very expensive  Accountants are the only constituency we need to train   We'll get it right the first time MYTH 1WE HAVE A COMFORTABLE TRANSITION...