Govt amends Conditions for Advance Authorization Scheme: CA Certificate mandatory even if Credit not Availed [Read Notification]

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued a notification removing pre-import conditions and included specified deemed export supplies for exemption from integrated tax and Compensation cess for materials imported against Advance Authorization and Advance Authorizations for Annual Requirement.

As per the Notification issued in 2015, Advance Authorization and/or materials imported thereunder will be with actual user condition. It will not be transferable even after completion of export obligation. However, Authorization holder will have the option to dispose of product manufactured out of duty-free inputs once export obligation is completed.

In case where CENVAT credit facility on inputs have been availed for the exported goods, even after completion of export obligation, the goods imported against Advance Authorization shall be utilized only in the manufacture of dutiable goods whether within the same factory or outside (by a supporting manufacturer), for which the authorization holder shall produce a certificate from either the jurisdictional Central Excise Superintendent or Chartered Accountant, at the option of the exporter, at the time of filing application for EODC to RA concerned.

The notification issued by the Board last day said that the Certificate of Chartered Accountant is mandatory even if the credit is not availed after completion of export obligation, the goods imported against Advance Authorization.

Also Read: GST Fraud: Two Firms evaded Rs 41.78, Six Arrested

The present Notification inserted a new provision in (vi)(a) of the earlier notification that “in respect of imports made after the discharge of export obligation in full, if facility of input tax credit under relevant Goods and Services Tax law on inputs used for manufacture and supply of goods exported has been availed, then the importer shall, at the time of clearance of the imported materials, furnish a bond to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, binding himself, to use the imported materials in his factory or in the factory of his supporting manufacturer for the manufacture and supply of taxable goods (other than nil rated or fully exempt supplies) and to submit a certificate from a chartered accountant within six months from the date of clearance of the said materials, that the imported materials have been so used.”

This is subject to a condition that if the importer pays integrated tax and the goods and services tax compensation cess leviable on the imported materials under sub-section (7) and sub-section (9) respectively of section 3 of the said Customs Tariff Act on the imported materials but for the exemption contained herein, then such imported materials may be cleared without furnishing a bond specified in this condition.

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GST Council extends Last Date for Passing GSTP Exam

The GST Council, in its 32nd meeting held at New Delhi, has decided to extend the Last Date for passing the examination for GST Practitioners till 31.12.2019. This is for those GST Practitioners who have enrolled under rule 83(1)(b) i.e. who were sales tax practitioner or tax return preparer under the existing law for a period of not less than five years.

Earlier, it was mandated that the candidates who have applied for GST Practitioners shall pass the exam conducted by NACIN before 31st December 2018 for confirmation of their enrollment.

Also Read: Major Decisions taken in 32nd GST Council Meeting

The National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) has been authorized to conduct an examination for confirmation of enrollment of Goods and Service Tax Practitioners (GSTP) in terms of sub-rule (3) of rule 83 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Rules, 2017, vide Notification No. 24/2018-Central Tax dated 28.5.2018.

The GSTPs covered under rule 83(1)(b) read with the second proviso to rule 83 (3) of said rules, are required to pass the said examination before 31.12.2018. The schedule of examination, syllabus of examination and the website for registration for examination will be notified in due course.

Also Read: Top 15 GST Judgments in 2018

Cabinet approves Signing of the TOR provide Tax Assistance to Swaziland

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Signing of Terms of Reference (TOR) governing the engagement of the designated Indian Expert to provide tax assistance to Swaziland (now known as Eswatini) under the Tax Inspectors Without Borders Programme between India and Eswatini.

Point-wise details

  1. An Indian Expert has been mutually selected by the Government of India and the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini under the TIWB programme.
  2. The Terms of Reference will formalize the conditions of the engagement of the designated Indian Expert to provide tax assistance to Eswatini under the TIWB Programme.

Major Impact

The engagement of the Indian Expert under the TiWB programme will give impetus to India’s support in capacity building in tax matters in developing countries.

Also Read: Top 30 Income Tax Judgments in 2018

Background

The Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) Programme which is jointly launched by UNDP and OECD is intended to support developing countries to strengthen national tax administrations through building audit capacity and to share this knowledge with other countries. The TIWB Programme aims to strengthen tax administrations of developing countries by transferring technical know-how and skills to their tax auditors, and through the sharing of general audit practices and dissemination of knowledge products with them. The TIWB Programme complements the efforts of the international community to strengthen cooperation on tax matters and contribute to domestic tax mobilisation efforts of developing countries. India has been supportive in capacity building in tax matters in developing countries. India being a global leader in this respect has a very important role to play in South-South Cooperation in tax matters.

Tendu Leaves are not ‘Minor Forest Produce’, Higher VAT Rate Leviable: Chhattisgarh HC [Read Judgment]

A two-judge bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court has held that the tendu leaves are not ‘Minor Forest Produce’ and therefore, the concessional rate of 5% is not leviable on the same.

The State Government issued notification power under Section 15-B of the Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 wherein the tax rate on minor forest produce was reduced to 5%. The issue before the bench comprising Chief Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi and Justice Parth Prateem Sahu was that whether the reduced tax rate is applicable to Tendu leaves by treating them as a minor forest produce despite the Tendu leaves having been separately shown as a taxable item in Part III of Schedule II.

While considering the writ petition, the Court held that Tendu leaves are minor forest produce and the reduced tax rate of 5% as per the said notification is applicable.

On appeal, the bench held that Since the notification extending benefit of 5% VAT has been issued by the State only for minor forest produce and the entry ‘Tendu leaves’ stands untouched as an item of highest incidence of tax and has been clubbed with some such goods like diesel, petrol, aviation fuel, etc., entries in Part III of Schedule II cannot be pulled out and read into a general notification with the object of extending benefit of the said notification.

“We are satisfied that serious error of interpretation has been committed by the learned Single Judge by treating the Tendu leaves as a minor forest produce to allow benefit of reduced rate of tax at 5% when the said Schedule in VAT Act still stands and the incidence of tax shown therein is 25%,” the bench said.

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Also Read: Top 15 GST Judgments in 2018

Major Decisions taken in 32nd GST Council Meeting

The GST council, in its 32nd meeting held at New Delhi, made the following decisions.

Increase in turnover limit for the existing composition scheme: The limit of annual turnover in the preceding financial year for availing composition seller. for goods shall be increased. to Rs 1.5 crore. Special category States would decide within one week, about the composition limit in their respective States.

Compliance simplification: The compliance under composition scheme shall be simplified as now they would need to file one annual return but payment of taxes would remain quarterly (along with a simple declaration).

Higher exemption threshold limit for the supplier of goods: Time would be two threshold limits for exemption from registration and payment of GST for the suppliers of goods i.e. Rs 40 lakhs and Rs 20 lakhs. States would have an option to decide about on. of the limits within a weeks’ time. The threshold for registration for service providers would continue to be Rs 20 lakh and in case of Special category States Rs 10 lakhs.

Also Read: GST Council Meet: Exemption Limit Hiked, Composition Scheme extended to Services

Composition scheme for services: A composition scheme shall be made available for suppliers a services (or mix. suppliers) with a tax rate of 6% (3% CGST +3% SGST) having an annual turnover in preceding financial year up to Rs 50 latch. The said scheme shall be applicable to both service providers as well as suppliers of goods and services, who are not eligible for the presently available composition scheme for goods. They would be liable to file one annual returns with quarterly payment of taxes (along with a simple declaration).

The above decisions shall be made operational from the of April 2019.

Free Accounting and Billing Software shall be provided to small taxpayers by GSTN.

Matters referred to Group of Ministers: i. A seven-member Group of Ministers shall be constituted to examine the proposal of giving a composition scheme to boost the residential segment of the real estate sector. ii. A Group of Ministers shall be constituted to examine the GST rate structure on lotteries.

Revenue mobilization for natural calamities: GST Council approved 1, or cess on the intra-State supply of goods and services within the State of Kerala at a rate not exceeding 1% for a period not exceeding 2 years.

GST Fraud: Two Firms evaded Rs 41.78, Six Arrested

In a scam of Rs. 41.78 crores committed by two firms, the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) department has arrested six proprietors or managers of two bogus firms.

The action was taken after RK Gupta, Excise Taxation Officer (ETO), Rohtak, wrote to the Superintendent of Police in connection with the involvement of two Rohtak-based companies issuing fake invoices and claiming input tax credit without the actual receipt and supply of goods.

The ETO, in a complaint lodged at the Meham police station in Rohtak district, alleged that five persons — Gurugram resident Suman Devi, proprietor of Priya Industries, Meham; two brothers Parveen Kumar and Naveen Kumar of Akbarpur village in Rewari district; Charan Singh of Raliawas village in Rewari district; and Anupam Singla of Sirsa — had evaded tax to the tune of Rs40.76 crore by way of getting a registration certificate under the GST Act, 2017, by means of fraud and suppression of facts.

Also Read: GST Council Meet: Exemption Limit Hiked, Composition Scheme extended to Services

“The accused have shown purchases from non-existent GST dealers within and outside Haryana without supplying goods and further issuing fake tax invoices to non-existent dealers. These persons have fraudulently claimed the input tax credit for disposal of output tax liabilities without the actual payment of tax, resulting in a loss of revenue to the state,” the ETO alleged.

Another FIR under same sections has been registered at the Arya Nagar police station in Rohtak on the basis of a similar complaint lodged by the ETO against Vinod of Jatuwas Bithwana village in Rewari district. Vinod claimed to be the proprietor of Vishal Industries, Rohtak.

The companies are found to be bogus during the enquiry. He had “fraudulently” obtained the registration under the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, to evade tax, resulting in a loss of Rs1.02 crore to the state exchequer.

GST Council Meet: Kerala to impose 1% Disaster Cess

The 32nd GST Council meeting held at New Delhi has allowed the Kerala Government to impose 1 percent cess on intra-State sales.

The disaster cess is a special tax to raise additional resources aimed at meeting the cost of reconstruction in Kerala in the aftermath of floods. The Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac brought the idea of levying cess.

According to the recommendation of the Council, the cess can be imposed for sales within the Kerala State for a period of two years.

Also Read: Key Takeaways of GST Council 32nd Meeting, GST exemption Limit Hiked

“The levy is permitted under the Goods and Services Tax law,” Jaitley said while addressing the media persons.

Though the last meeting of the Council discussed the proposal, a final decision could not be taken as some of the States are opposing the levy. Therefore, the Council had directed the Group of Ministers (GoM) to give further recommendations on it.

The ministerial panel, on Sunday, had cleared the decks for levying state-specific calamity cess.

GST Council Meet: Exemption Limit Hiked, Composition Scheme extended to Services

The 32nd GST Council meeting held in New Delhi has doubled the exemption limit under the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) regime.

After the meeting, the Union Finance Minister addressed the press and informed that the threshold limit has been enhanced to 40 lakhs from the current 20 lakhs. However, Rs. 20 lakhs will be applicable to North-East Small states.

Presently, the threshold limit under the GST regime is 20 lakhs in case of businesses all over India. However, the business in the north-east region will get the exemption if the annual turnover is below 10 lakhs.

consequently, 60% of the registered dealers falling out of the GST net with a negligible impact on the tax revenue.

Also Read: Key Takeaways of GST Council 32nd Meeting, GST exemption Limit Hiked

The Finance Minister said that the move is “primarily emotional.”

In another significant move, the Council has rationalized the GST Composition Scheme. The Council recommended to enhance the Composition Scheme Threshold to 1.5 Crore w.e.f 1st April 2019.

Further, the council recommended the scheme of quarterly payment of tax and filing of annual return by the Composition Taxpayers.

It was further said that the GST Composition Scheme must be extended to Service Providers with a turnover of up to 50 Lakhs. 6% GST would be applicable to such services, Jaitley said.

Breaking: Key Takeaways from 32nd GST Council Meeting, GST exemption Limit Hiked

The 32nd GST Council meeting concluded in New Delhi with a catena of changes in the present Goods and Services Tax regime.

In a significant move, the Council has rationalized the Composition Scheme and approved disaster cess proposed by Kerala subject to conditions. Another important decision made by the Council is the hike in GST exemption Limit to 40 lakhs.

Corruption Case: Sessions Court rejects Bail Applications of CA, IT and IRS Officers

Ahmedabad City Sessions Court has rejected the bail applications filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Suresh Chand Meena and chartered accountant Sumeet Singhania.

Suresh Chand Meena, who has been declared absconding by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Both the accused persons were arrested for accepting Rs 8 lakh as bribe from the complainant.

In December 2018, Suresh Chand Meena, the assistant commissioner of Income Tax (ACIT) Circle-6 in Ahmedabad; Sunil Patni, junior staffer working under Meena, CA Sumeet Singhania and his wife CA Namita Singhania were booked for soliciting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a taxpayer for not opening up additional account books as part of a scrutiny notice.

Also Read: Govt likely to collect KYC details of Chartered Accountants

PC Chauhan, additional sessions judge of Ahmedabad City Sessions Court rejected the bail applications of the two accused in the corruption case.

DySP D P Chudasama of the ACB, speaking on the matter, said, “The anticipatory bail has been rejected and we are hopeful of catching both the absconders soon. Our teams are on the lookout for them.”

Of the four, Namita was caught red-handed accepting the amount of Rs 8 lakh from the complainant who has been left unnamed by the authorities. The other three accused are absconding. Namita is currently lodged at Sabarmati Central Jail.

Also Read: Top 30 Income Tax Judgments in 2018

GST Council to meet Today, GoM nods for MSME Relief and Calamity Cess

The 32nd GST Council meeting will be held today in New Delhi to decide a hike in exemption limit for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the natural calamity cess proposed by Kerala.

The 31st GST Council meeting held in New Delhi had not addressed certain points and postponed some decision to the next meeting.

On Monday, the Group of Ministers ( GoM ) formed by the council had given green signal to increase the exemption threshold for MSMEs beyond an annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh.

The panel, headed by Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, however, has not decided the new limit, leaving that decision to the GST Council, headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Also Read: NAA receives 360 Profiteering Complaint in April to Nov

Currently, businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh are exempt from the Goods and Services Tax.

Modi, who is a member of the panel on MSME relief, said the GoM was unanimous that the exemption limit for the MSMEs which are a supplier of goods should be increased but there was no unanimity among states. Hence, it was left to the GST Council to decide.

“Under the earlier excise duty regime, businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore were exempt. So it was felt that there was a need to give relief to the MSMEs under GST,” Modi said.

The panel had also cleared the decks for levying state-specific calamity cess proposed by Kerala.

NAA receives 360 Profiteering Complaint in April to Nov

The National Anti-Profiteering Authority ( NAA)  has been constituted under Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 to ensure that the reduction in the rate of tax or the benefit of the input tax credit is passed on to the recipient by way of commensurate reduction in prices. Further, the following steps have been taken by the NAA to ensure that customers get the full benefit of tax cuts:

  1. Holding regular meetings with the Zonal Screening Committees and the Chief Commissioners of Central Tax to stress upon consumer awareness programmes;
  2. Launching a helpline to resolve the queries of citizens regarding registration of complaints against profiteering.
  3. Receiving complaints through email and NAA portal.
  4. Working with consumer welfare organizations in order to facilitate outreach activities.

A number of complaints regarding companies not passing on the full benefits of tax cuts to consumers have been received by the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA). The details are as follows:

Complaints received by the NAA in 2018

MonthReceived onReceived by e-mailReceived by postTotal
NAA portal
April90110
May7018
June4228
July623267
August646474
September640165
October4344693
November1618135

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Govt yet to implement filing of GST Returns on Quarterly basis

Ludhiana: After almost five months the Central Government has made a proposal to file GST returns on a quarterly basis, the Government is yet to implement the same.

In August 2018, additional director general, GST, Yogendra Garg had told city businessmen that this system will be rolled out by January 2019. However, no development has been taken place.

Also Read: GST: Non-compliant Businesses can’t generate E-Way Bill

Unhappy with the inaction of the Government, the businessmen are of the view that if the Central government is really interested in giving relief to businessmen, it should be done right away rather than delaying it further.

The President of Chamber of industrial and trading entrepreneurs, According to Kulwant Singh, said, “It has been five months since the government had mooted the proposal to reduce the number of GST returns, but nothing has been done so far. We are planning to send a memorandum to the GST Council and request for implementation of this at the earliest.

Auditor can’t Issue Valuation Certificates to Auditee Company: ITAT [Read Order]

The Bangalore bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that an internal auditor cannot issue valuation certificates to the companies they are auditing.

The Tribunal, while considering an appeal filed by the assessee-Company, held that the auditors of a company cannot double up as accountants especially in situations while dealing with “share valuation for the purpose of excess share-premium taxability.”

The Assessing Officer, while completing assessment against the assessee, had noted that the person who is said to have valued the share of the assessee company as on 15.11.2013 and 02.05.2014 respectively is none other than the person who has signed the Audit report under section 44AB of the Income Tax Act. He further ignored the valuation report submitted by the assessee because the same is not as per Rule 11UA and therefore, determined the fair market value on the basis of NAV.

The Tribunal noted that the purposes of sub-rule (2) of rule 11UA, the auditor cannot be an accountant for the purposes of Rule 11UA (2).

Dismissing the appeal, the Tribunal held that “the AO has worked out the fair market value of assessee company at Rs. 714.38/- on the basis of NAV in the absence of any valuation report of any valuer who can be accepted as an Accountant as per Rule 11U(a) and taxed the excess amount of premium received by assessee over and above the permissible amount at Rs. 714.38/- per share in respect of 36957 shares and taxed the excess amount received of Rs. 1,32,29,088/- u/s. 56(2)(viib) of IT Act. In the facts of the present case, I find no reason to interfere in the order of CIT(A) on this issue in this year also.”

Before concluding, the Tribunal also held that “when an auditor cannot be accepted as an accountant for the purposes of Rule 11UA (2) read with Rule 11U(a), there is no option available to the AO but to accept the earlier report in A. Y. 2014 – 15 valuing the shares at Rs.100/- per share instead of Rs. 400/- per share as per a certificate by the auditor who cannot be accepted as an accountant for the purposes of Rule 11UA (2) read with Rule 11U(a), and adopt NAV method in A. Y. 2015 – 16. This is very important to note that when a Chartered Accountant who can be accepted as an Accountant as per Rule 11UA (2) read with Rule 11U(a) certifies the value, the value certified as on 02.02.2012 is Rs. 100/- per share and when the auditor certifies such value on 15.11.2013 (just after 21 months approx), the value certified rises four times to Rs. 400/- per share. These facts also suggest that such restriction as per Rule 11U(a) on the auditor’s acceptance as Accountant for the purposes of Rule 11UA (2) is well founded.”

Earlier, there were reports that the tax department has started issuing show-cause notices to valuation experts, questioning the premiums several startups fetched during their investments rounds.

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MCA re-constitutes Governing Council and Steering Committee of NFCSR [Read Order]

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs ( MCA ) has re-constituted Governing Council and Steering Committee of National Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility ( NFCSR ).

The Ministry has also renamed the Advisory group as Governing Council.

The NFCSR will continue to be housed and managed by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs ( IICA ).

The composition of Governing Council of NFCSR is as under:-

The Composition of Steering Committee of NFCSR is as under:-

The order issued by the MCA has also mentioned the terms of reference of Steering Committee are:

  1. To sensitize stakeholders on the importance of CSR and to facilitate exchange of experiences and ideas between corporate leaders, policy makers, regulators, law enforcing agencies, non-government organizations with a view to develop a framework for CSR domain and to provide a strong, independent, neutral and credible platform to Central and State Government, Local Authorities,.
  2. To facilitate in policy research, advisory, training, capacity building, monitoring, standard setting in the field of CSR.
  3. To publish and disseminate information about the objectives and achievements of the Foundations.
  4. To organize, conduct and/or participate in national and international conferences, seminars, workshops etc. for promoting the objectives of the Foundation.
  5. To plan and make the policies for strategic direction and setting up the foundation goals.
  6. To undertake any other activity as and when need arise and to formulate any other rules governing the functioning of the Foundation.
  7. To engage advisers, consultants and research scholars as per the regulations of the Foundations for all or any of the objectives of the foundation.
  8. To establish, equip, maintain and operate all administrative functions, directly or indirectly, as may be necessary for fulfilling the objects of the NFCSR (Foundation).
  9. To approve the budget estimates, if any
  10. To undertake any other activity towards the objectives of NFCSR

The tenure of the Steering Committee will be for three years from the date of its constitution. The Steering Committee shall meet at least four times in a year. The Chairman of the Committee has the discretion to co-opt other members as and when required. Such members may include representatives from Central Government, State Government, Local Government, Corporate, Civil Societies and other eminent person nominated by Chairman.

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Two GST Officers held for accepting Bribe

The Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested two officers of the Goods and Service Tax ( GST ) Department, Srinagar for demanding and accepting a bribe from an industrialist for issuing a clearance certificate.

Reportedly, the accused, namely Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani, a Multi-Tasking Worker and Priveen Kumar Loomba, a Superintendent in GST Department, Government of India, located at Bishamber Nagar Srinagar, were demanding and accepting the bribe amount of Rs 4,000 from the complainant Mansoor Ahmad Shayir, proprietor of M/s Reliable Silks, located at Chowdrey Bagh Rainawari.

Also Read: GST: Non-compliant Businesses can’t generate E-Way Bill

The complainant had lodged a written complaint with ACB alleging that the accused public servants were demanding an amount of Rs 4000 as the bribe for the issuance of clearance certificate in his favor from the Department to get 30 percent CIS released on plant and machinery under Central package.

Further investigation into the case is going on.

GST Evasion: Rs. 9959.29 crore recovered till Dec, says Shiv Pratap Shukla

Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha last day said that the State has recovered Rs. 9959.29 crore till last month under the GST regime.

Investigation in 3626 cases of GST evasion/violations has been initiated in the present financial year by CGST (Central GST) formations (up to December 2018).

On the basis of investigation conducted so far it emerges that the amount of tax involved in these 3626 evasions/violations cases as mentioned in part(a) above is estimated to be Rs. 15278.18 crore (up to December 2018)

Also Read: GST: Non-compliant Businesses can’t generate E-Way Bill

An amount of Rs. 9959.29 crore has been recovered out of the total detection amount in the present financial year. (up to December 2018).

“A dedicated Fraud Analytics System namely Directorate General of Analytics & Risk Management (DGARM) has been created by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and has become operational w.e.f. 1st July 2017. The DGARM functions as an apex body of CBIC for data analytics and risk management,” he said.

“The DGARM utilizes internal and external data sources for data mining and analysis to generate outputs for focused and targeted action by field formations and investigation wings of CBIC. It has shared various reports regarding stop filers, GSTR 3B vs. GSTR1 difference etc. with field formations which have resulted in total detection of Rs. 677.68 crore and realization of Rs. 43.06 crore till November 2018,” he added.

Budget Session from Jan 31st to Feb 13, Arun Jaitley to announce Budget on 1st Feb

As the Lok Sabha elections to be held in May 2019, the last budget of the NDA Government will be presented on 1st February by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The session of the Parliament will start from 31st January to 13th February.

According to a tweet by ANI, the interim budget will be presented on February 1 during the session of the parliament. The decision was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA).

The Union Budget 2019 will be the sixth consecutive Budget to be presented by the FM Arun Jaitley.

Also Read: GST: Non-compliant Businesses can’t generate E-Way Bill

With the rollout of GST on 1st July 2017, the budget does not have much relevance in the case of indirect taxes. The main focus regarding direct tax.

On 21 September 2016, the government put an end to the 92-year-old practice of separate rail and general budgets and merged the two to one. With the government’s decision, Railway Budget 2019 will be presented as a part of the Union Budget. In 2018, the Budget session had ended on April 6. A legislative research body has termed the budget as the least productive since the year 2000.

According to data provided by Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar, the productivity during the Budget session in 2018 in Lok Sabha (LS) was 134 percent, and that of the Rajya Sabha (RS) around 96 percent during the brief Part I of the session. The Part I of the session had seven LS and eight RS sittings.

GST: Non-compliant Businesses can’t generate E-Way Bill

With a view to curbing the tax evasion, the finance ministry has barred the businesses who do not file GST returns from generating e-way bills, Financial Express reported.

The Ministry has barred e-way bill generation while transporting consignment if the supplier or recipient of the cargo has not furnished returns for two consecutive tax periods under Goods and Services Tax ( GST ).

The e-way bill is required to be generated from a common portal by a business for movement of consignment worth more than Rs. 50,000. For this, the supplier/recipient furnishes part A of the form with details of GST identification number, the value of goods and invoice number among others. Further, part B of the e-way bill form is furnished by the transporter with details of vehicle used.

Also Read: Out of Rs. 1.02 Crore, Rs. 73 Lakhs granted from Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund: ICAI Chief

The move comes after the Government failed to achieve the targeted revenue figures since the GST rollout from July 2017.

Nearly 30% of eligible taxpayers continue to fail to file a summary return GSTR-3B by the deadline, which is set on the 20th of every month.

For instance, nearly 29% of the eligible 98.4 lakh taxpayers had not filed returns for November by the end of December. Similarly, for composition scheme taxpayers who are required to file quarterly returns, over 25% of nearly 18 lakh eligible taxpayers had not filed returns for the July-September quarter till December 27.

Combined with low compliance and truncated return-filing system, the tax department has found it difficult to rein in tax evasion as the flow of intelligence data is fragmented. The GST Council, in its 31st meeting, concluded in December, had announced that the new simplified return system would become operational from July this year. The cases of evasion have increased in the second year of GST.

Gypsum Board Taxable at 4% under Rajasthan VAT Act: Supreme Court [Read Judgment]

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court has held that the lower tax rate of 4 percent is applicable to Gypsum Board under the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003.

The question before the bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph was that whether ‘gypsum board’ would be taxable at 4 percent or under the residuary tax rate of 12.5 percent under the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act.

Under the Act, Entry 56 of Schedule IV specified ‘Gypsum’ as a taxable entity, taxable at 4%. Later, an amendment was done to the said Entry 56 to expand the meaning of Entry 56 of Schedule IV of the RVAT by changing it to ‘Gypsum in all its forms’.

In an application filed by M/s. Indian Gypsum Ltd, the Additional Commissioner had clarified that ‘gypsum board’, being commercially a different product would not fall under Entry 56 of Schedule IV of the RVAT but would fall under the residuary Entry. Later, the department took a similar view while passing orders against the respondent, Lohiya Agencies and Others. Both the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) and Rajasthan Tax Board upheld the orders.

However, the Rajasthan High Court granted relief to the assessee by reversing the orders and held that the product is taxable at 4%.

While dismissing the departmental appeal, the bench noted that the gypsum boards are used as thinner plasterboards for paneling stud walls. The aforesaid material itself gives rise to the conclusion that there are no major chemical changes in gypsum which are carried out other than dehydration and mixing of additives, so that the paper sheets can be used on both sides, to be made capable of being used as a board.

The bench held that the amended Entry 56 of Schedule IV of the RVAT, read as ‘gypsum in all its forms’, would include ‘gypsum board’ under the term ‘all its forms’.

“it can hardly be doubted that meaning has to be given to the Entry made by the legislature, expanding the original Entry from ‘gypsum’ to ‘gypsum in all its forms’. If the object was to include only ‘gypsum’, then why would the Entry be changed to ‘gypsum in all its forms’? The corollary would also be as to what is meant by ‘in all its forms’, as it is not, as if mere geometrical alteration of shape would form part of the Entry. In such a situation, the original Entry itself was comprehensive enough to have included it,” the bench said.

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Out of Rs. 1.02 Crore, Rs. 73 Lakhs granted from Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund: ICAI Chief

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI ) has recently said that so far an amount of Rs. 1,02,35,824/- has been received by the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund (CABF), out of which, Rs. 73,00,000/- has been utilized.

The CABF was formed to provide financial assistance for maintenance, education or medical treatment to its members and their families in distress.

While addressing the members of the Institute, the ICAI Chief said that “ICAI is committed to working for the welfare of its members and students in every possible way. As you know, ICAI had set up Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Fund (CABF) in the year 1962 to provide financial assistance for maintenance, education or medical treatment of its members and their families in distress.”

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“The Fund, with the contributions of its members, is gradually growing strong. A total contribution of 1,02,35,824/- has been received so far by the CABF and a sum of 73,00,000/- has been granted as financial assistance to the members in distress and to the families of deceased members during 1st April 2018 to 30th November 2018. I would appeal my membership to keep donating to the Fund so that it will always be there to help our members in distress and the families of our deceased members,” he said.