The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Kora Master Fund LP investment of up to 10% ($75 million) in Edelweiss Securities Limited under sub-section (1) of Section 31 of the Act.
The notification relates to a proposed investment by Kora in Edelweiss Securities Limited (ESL) and Edelweiss Global Investment Advisory Business (EGIA) Subsidiaries of up to INR equivalent to $75 million, as set out in the Share Subscription Agreement.
The Acquirer is a foreign portfolio investor (FPI) registered with the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Its principal activity is that of investment holding and related activities.
The Target Entities belong to the Edelweiss Group, with Edelweiss Financial Services Limited (EFSL) as the ultimate holding company, are broadly engaged in the Edelweiss Global Investment Advisory Business.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Institute of Banking Personnel Selection ( IBPS ) has Invited applications from eligible chartered accountants for selection of personnel to the Deputy Manager (Accounts).
Any eligible chartered accountants, who aspires to join IBPS as Deputy Manager (Accounts) is required to register for the online examination. Candidates who appear and are shortlisted in the examination will subsequently be called for further process of selection including Item Writing/Group Exercises/ Interview, etc.
Prospective candidates will have to apply to IBPS after carefully reading the advertisement regarding the process of examination, interview and eligibility criteria, online registration processes, and ensure that they fulfill the stipulated criteria and follow the prescribed processes.
The tentative schedule of events is as follows:
Event Tentative Dates
Online Registration : 18.10.2019 to 01.11.2019
Online Examination (Tentative) : November 2019
HOW TO APPLY: –
Candidates can apply online only from 18.10.2019 to 01.11.2019 and no other mode of application will be accepted. A candidate can apply for only one post as the skill sets for the posts are different. Not more than one application should be submitted by any candidate. In the case of multiple Applications, only the latest valid (completed) application will be retained.
For further information Click here.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT ) has notified that, Tax Deduction at Source ( TDS ) under Section 194N of the Income Tax Act, 1961 is not applicable on cash withdrawal for forex authorised dealers and full-fledged money changers licensed by the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ).
The exemption is available if cash withdrawal is made only by foreign tourists, Non- Residents visiting India, resident Indian returning to India or for disbursement of inward remittances to the recipient beneficiaries in India in cash under Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS).
According to the notification, a certificate is furnished by the authorised dealers and their franchise agent and sub-agent, and the Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMC) and their franchise agent to the bank that withdrawal is only for the purposes specified above and the directions or guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) has imposed, by an order dated October 14, 2019, a monetary penalty of ₹ 75 lakh (Rupees Seventy Five Lakh) on Syndicate Bank (the bank) for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on (i) Frauds Classification and Reporting and (ii) Housing Sector: Innovative Housing Loan Products – Upfront disbursal of housing loans.
This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Sections 46(4)(i) and 51(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 taking into account the failure of the bank to adhere to the aforesaid directions issued by RBI.
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.
Background
The Return on Fraud filed by the bank with RBI revealed that the bank had failed to comply with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI on fraud reporting and disbursal of housing loans. Based on the findings, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI. After considering the reply received from the bank and submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI came to the conclusion that the aforesaid charges of non-compliance with RBI directions were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 14, 2019, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹ 1 crore on The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. (the bank) for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI on “Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms”. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section 47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.
Background
The statutory inspection of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2017 revealed, inter alia, non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on “Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms”. Based on the inspection report, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for non-compliance with the directions. After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and examination of additional submission, RBI concluded that the aforesaid non-compliance warranted the imposition of monetary penalty.
Shri J.P.S. Chawla assumed charge as the new Controller General of Accounts, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, here today.
Government of India has appointed Shri J. P. S. Chawla, 1985-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) Officer as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure with effect from October 15, 2019, on regular basis. Shri J. P. S. Chawla has however been officiating as CGA with effect from September 1, 2019.
Shri Chawla is a bachelor of Engineering (BE) in mechanical engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi. He has worked for four years with the Public Sector Engineering Enterprise, Engineers India Limited (EIL), prior to joining the Civil Services. During his 34-year career, he has held various cadre posts at different levels in a number of Ministries/Departments with Prasar Bharti, Urban Development, Civil Aviation & Tourism and Agriculture to name a few.
He has also served on deputation with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and served as Director (Finance) in the Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited (IPGCL) and Pragati Power Limited (PPL).
Prior to assuming the charge of CGA, Shri Chawla served as Principal Chief Controller of Accounts, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) where he was instrumental in the finalisation of the accounting procedure and operationalisation of GST Network (GSTN) before the national rollout of GST. He also played a key role in the integration of the IGST refund payment network of CBIC with the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) as part of the Government of India’s decision to digitise all Government receipts and payments through the PFMS portal of the Office of Controller General of Accounts.
The Rajasthan High Court has rejected bail application in the Input Tax Credit ( ITC ) Fraud Case.
The Petitioner has filed the application under Section 439 code of Criminal procedure,1973 seeking regular bail in criminal complaint pending before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, (Economic Offences) Jaipur Mahanagar, for offences under Section 132(1)(b)(c)(d),(f)(i) and (1) of Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 punishable under Section 132 (1)(i) and (iv) of Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 read with Section 132(5) of Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017.
The Standing Counsel for GST has submitted that all the accused had created 35 fake firms and after making fake entries had issued invoices involving tax amount of more than 66.81 crores. The firms were misused for evading GST input taxes by the accused. The fake firms were created in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Gujarat, Assam, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
While rejecting the bail application, a single judge bench of Justice Sabina said that, “Keeping in view the seriousness of allegations levelled against the petitioner, no ground of bail to her is made out”.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Institute of Chartered Accountant of India ( ICAI ) has issued a clarification on Ind AS Technical Facilitation group (ITFG).
Ind AS Technical Facilitation Group (ITFG) of Ind AS Implementation Committee has been constituted for providing clarifications on timely basis on various issues related to the applicability and /or implementation of Ind AS under the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015, and other amendments finalised and notified till March 2019, raised by preparers, users and other stakeholders.
Ind AS Technical Facilitation Group (ITFG) considered some issues received from members and decided to issue clarifications.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Supreme Court of India today set aside Delhi High Court order restraining the Income Tax department from taking any action against VVIP chopper scam accused Gautam Khaitan.
The Supreme Court’s order came on an appeal filed by the Union of India against the order of the Delhi High Court.
The three-Judge bench comprising of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice M.R Shah, and Justice B.R Gavai observed that, Section 3 provides that tax shall be charged on every assessee for every assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2016 in respect of his total undisclosed foreign income and assets of the previous year. The rate of the said tax has been quantified at thirty per cent. The proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Black Money Act provides, that undisclosed assets located outside India shall be charged to tax on its value in the previous year in which such asset comes to the notice of the Assessing Officer.
It would further be relevant to note that sub¬section (3) of Section 1 of the Black Money Act, itself provides that save as otherwise provided in this Act, it shall come into force on 1st day of July, 2015. A conjoint reading of the various provisions would reveal, that the Assessing Officer can charge the taxes only from the assessment year commencing on or after 01.04.2016. However, the value of the said asset has to be as per its valuation in the previous year. As such, even if there was no change of date in sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Black Money Act, the value of the asset was to be determined as per its valuation in the previous year. The date has been changed only for the purpose of enabling the assessee(s) to take benefit of Section 59 of the Black Money Act. The power has been exercised only in order to remove difficulties. The penal provisions under Sections 50 and 51 of the Black Money Act would come into play only when an assessee has failed to take benefit of Section 59 and neither disclosed assets covered by the Black Money Act nor paid the tax and penalty thereon. As such, we find that the High Court was not right in holding that, by the notification/order impugned before it, the penal provisions were made retrospectively applicable.
While quashing the Delhi High Court order, the Supreme Court observed that, “The High Court is requested to decide the writ petition on its own merits. However, we clarify that the observations made by us are only for the purposes of examining the correctness of the interim order passed by the High Court and the High Court would decide the writ petition uninfluenced by the same”.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Direct Taxes Committee, GST & Indirect Taxes Committee and Committee on International Taxation of ICAI are in the process of identifying issues for inclusion in the Pre-Budget Memoranda – 2020 to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance or respective State Ministry.
Suggestions under the following heads are invited on laws relating to Direct Taxes (including International Taxation) and Indirect Taxes:
Direct Taxes (including International taxation)
Suggestions may be submitted latest by 20th October, 2019.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI ) has announced Zone shifting of candidates than the Zone opted by them in coming CA Exams November 2019.
Due to paucity of accommodation in certain Zones opted by the candidates in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Vadodara, Vasai some of the candidates have been allotted examinations centres in the zone other than the zone opted by them in the said cities. In view of this, it is not possible to accede to the requests of the candidates for transfer to an examination centre in a particular zone of the city opted by them.
While inconvenience caused in the matter is deeply regretted, we seek cooperation from the ICAI students and other stakeholders in this regard.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has launched a revamped and streamlined programme to attract investments into India and strengthen Make in India through manufacture and other operations under the bond scheme, under Customs Act, 1962. Section 65 of the Customs Act, 1962 enables the conduct of manufacture and other operations in a customs bonded warehouse.
The scheme has been modernized with clear and transparent procedures, simplified compliance requirements ICT-based documentation and account keeping, by the issue of Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse (no. 2) Regulations, 2019 and Circular 34/2019 both dated 01 October 2019. The main features of the scheme are as below –
CBIC has collaborated with Invest India to launch a dedicated microsite for providing information and promoting the scheme and for the facilitation of investors.
The scheme is expected to play a critical role in promoting investments in India and in enhancing ease of doing business. It can enable the ‘Make in India’ programme, encourage exports, create hubs for electronics assembly, repair & refurbishment operations, inward and outward processing, facilitate global e-commerce hubs etc.
The Amazon has invited applications for the post of Tax Compliance Manager from qualified Chartered Accountants.
Amazon is seeking a Tax Compliance Manager to join the Taskless Tax team. The Taskless Tax team is comprised of tax professionals, product managers, software engineers, and UX designers. The team is responsible for ensuring withholding tax compliance for global Amazon businesses. To ensure withholding tax compliance, we develop platforms & processes which are adaptable and scalable to meet Amazon’s growth.
The Tax Compliance Manager is a key role within the Taskless Tax team and has the following primary focus areas:
– Tax Compliance: Ensure global Tax Operations processes are compliant with existing tax laws and adapt quickly to operationalize new laws as they arise.
– Business Expansions: Represent Tax Operations as a single point of contact for Amazon businesses. Partner with internal and external parties to create project-specific requirements and ensure standardized solutions are developed, tested, and operationalized based on the requirements.
– Customer Experience: Determine effective solutions to satisfy customer needs. Collaborate on new products or enhancements to current products to delight our customers.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
· Certification as CA
· Work experience in public accounting or a large multi-national organization.
· Strong tax research skills.
· Strong analytical skills and ability to prioritize.
· Ability to demonstrate empathy for customers issues and problems.
· Ability to work as a team player in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
· Proven track record in learning and applying new technologies.
· Experience building and maintaining relationships with cross-functional teams.
· Detail-oriented, highly organized, decisive, and self-motivated.
For Further Information Click here.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has issued advisory on Review of online refund functionality.
The advisory explained various processes and functionality for backend handling of it claims by CBIC officers in the Refund module in the system.
The Advisory directed the proper officer in zone may be sensitized to go through the advisory and appropriately handle the refund applications being filed online w.e.f. 26.09.2019.
The CBIC said that, Out of the 5383 refund claims filed so far, it is noticed that 706 number of Acknowledgements RFD 02 and 304 number of Deficiency Memos RFD 03 have been issued. It is also noticed that only two RFD 05 Payment Order have been issued. Hence, it is requested that the Zonal Pr. Chief Commissioners/Chief Commissioners may review the disposal and pendency of it claims on regular basis.
The CBIC also proposed to conduct a Video Conference (VC) on processing of which claims in the newly launched online module on 16.10.2019 from 10:30 AM onwards from NACIN ZTI, New Delhi.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentMinister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has called for the inclusion of petroleum products under GST regime. Speaking at third India Energy Forum by CERAWeek in New Delhi today, he appealed to the union finance minister to take this up in the GST council and at least make a beginning by including natural gas and ATF in the GST. He said.
“It’s been two years since the introduction of historic tax reform the GST was implemented by decisive leadership of Prime Minister Modi. Given the complexity of the petroleum sector and the revenue dependence of state governments in this sector, petroleum products have been kept outside the ambit of GST regime. There has been continuous demand from the petroleum industry for the inclusion of petroleum products under the GST regime.”
Shri Pradhan said that no single form of energy can meet the growing energy demand in India given India’s development imperative that aims to ensure energy justice to all. Mixing all commercially viable energy sources is the only feasible way forward in our context. India will chart its own course of the energy transition in a responsible manner.
The Minister highlighted several measures taken by the Government to overhaul the hydrocarbon policy framework to revitalize oil and gas ecosystem and establish a conducive business environment. The growing presence of global oil and gas majors like Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, BP, Shell, Total, Rosneft and ExxonMobil in India is a testimony to the faith and confidence of global investors on promising India’s growth story. He said, “I am glad to see investors, Making in India, for India, and also for the globe.”
Shri Pradhan said that we have successfully completed three bid rounds under Open Acreage Licensing Policy and two rounds of bidding under the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) policy. Through these successful biddings, India is expected to garner an estimated investment of 58 billion US dollars in E & P sector by 2023. He said that Special thrust is being given to promote gas-based economy under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi. “I am happy to inform you that as we speak, an estimated investment of 60 billion US dollars is lined up in building gas pipelines, terminals, and City Gas infrastructure that are in different stages of implementation.”, he added. The City Gas Distribution network development in India which has been authorized for building and commissioning will cover half of India’s geography and would serve 70%of India’s population through the availability of low carbon and affordable natural gas.
The Minister expressed the Government’s commitment to make India a low carbon economy, through our per capita carbon emission is far less than the world average particularly the OECD countries. Regarding the downstream sector, he said that it has been completely liberalized. Market-driven pricing of major petroleum products reflects the changes in line with the international price of crude oil. “Our fuel standards are comparable to the best in the world and pan India BS-VI compliant fuel will be available in India from 1 April 2020.”, Shri Pradhan said.
To promote energy sustainability, the Minister said that we are giving thrust on biofuels. The new National Biofuel policy envisages an integrated approach to produce biofuels from various types of agriculture residue and municipal solid waste. Biofuel policy will help farmers to become “urjadata from anndata”. An important initiative has been undertaken to produce compressed biogas from biomass waste. We have made a target to set up 5000 compressed biogas plants in different parts of the country. These plants are being set up by private entrepreneurs. Oil marketing companies are offering assured price and offtake guarantee to procure the compressed biogas. Highlighting some difficulties being faced by these private entrepreneurs to access to bank finance for setting up CBG plants, he requested the Finance Minister to look into this challenge. The Minister said that We also aim to achieve 10% blending percentage of ethanol in petrol by 2022 to cut dependence on energy import, promote the use of environment-friendly fuel and boost the agriculture sector. We are accelerating the conversion of Used Cooking Oil (UCO) to biodiesel across 100 cities in India.
Inaugurating the Conference, the finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman said that India is becoming an attractive destination for foreign investors. Highlighting the recent announcements to bring down the Corporate Tax rates, she said that atmosphere to invest is friendlier now. She also talked about the amendments in the Companies act and IBC Code, stating that the focus is now on compliance. Smt Sitharaman assured that Energy sector is on top of agenda, and we are on the cusp of the energy transition. The finance minister said that the Government will ensure that the commitments made to the investors are honoured. Reiterating the Government’s commitment to COP-21 targets, she said that renewable energy sources are being encouraged. She said that India wants to widen its basket of energy sources. Lauding the Government’s initiatives to provide cooking gas fuel and electricity to all the people of the country, she said that the Government had taken up these initiatives on mission mode, benefitting a large population.
The theme of third India Energy Forum by CERAWeek Conference is ‘New India’s Energy @75: Balancing Energy Security and Sustainability’. 1200 delegates from 15 countries and 300 companies are participating in the 3-day conference.
The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) has invited applications from CA, CS, CMA, MBA, CIMA and LLB graduates for various posts.
Interested and eligible candidates are invited to submit applications for various positions in Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, purely on contractual basis.
Available Positions
A walk in Interview is being conducted on 16.10.2019 & 23.10.2019. The reporting time is between 10.30 AM to 11 AM.
Eligible and interested candidates should bring 4 copies of CVs on the day of the interview. Photocopying of any kind of document shall not be entertained inside the campus.
Interested and eligible candidates can forward their CVs at gauri.iica@gmail.com/ hr@iica.in
One candidate can apply for one position at a time. Those who have appeared earlier need not apply.
For Further Information Click here.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has issued Clarification regarding taxability of supply of securities under Securities Lending Scheme, 1997.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has prescribed the Securities Lending Scheme, 1997 for the purpose of facilitating lending and borrowing of it. Under the Scheme, lender of which lends to a borrower through an approved intermediary to a borrower under an agreement for a specified period with the condition that the borrower will return equivalent securities of the same type or class at the end of the specified period along with the corporate benefits accruing on the which borrowed. The transaction takes place through an electronic screen-based order matching mechanism provided by the recognised stock exchange in India. There is anonymity between the lender and borrower since there is no direct agreement between them.
The purpose of GST Act, “securities” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (h) of section 2 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 [Section 2(101) of CGST Act]. The definition of services as per Section 2(102) of the CGST Act, is extracted as below: –
“services” means anything other than goods, money and securities but includes activities relating to the use of money or its conversion by cash or by any other mode, from one form, currency or denomination, to another form, currency or denomination for which a separate consideration is charged; Explanation.––For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that the expression “services” includes facilitating or arranging transactions in securities;
In a Circular issued by CBIC said that, The activity of lending of securities is not a transaction in securities as it does not involve disposal of securities. The clause 4 of para 4 relating to the Scheme under the Securities Lending Scheme, 1997 doesn’t treat lending of securities as disposal of securities and therefore is not excluded from the definition of services.
The Circular also said that, “The lender temporarily lends the securities held by him to a borrower and charges lending fee for the same from the borrower. The borrower of securities can further sell or buy these securities and is required to return the lended securities after the stipulated period of time. The lending fee charged from the borrowers of securities has the character of consideration and this activity is taxable in GST since 01.07.2017”.
The CBIC clarified that, “The supply of lending of securities under the scheme is classifiable under heading 997119 and is leviable to GST@18% under Sl. No. 15(vii) of Notification No. 11/2017- Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 as amended from time to time”.
“For the past period i.e. from 01.07.2017 to 30.09.2019, GST is payable under forwarding charge by the lender and request may be made by the lender (supplier) to SEBI to disclose the information about borrower for discharging GST under forward charge. The nature of tax payable shall be IGST. However, if the service provider has already paid CGST / SGST / UTGST treating the supply as an intra-state supply, such lenders shall not be required to pay IGST again in lieu of such GST payments already made”.
While Concluding the Circular the CBIC also said that, “With effect from 1st October, 2019, the borrower of securities shall be liable to discharge GST as per Sl. No 16 of Notification No. 22/2019-Central Tax (Rate) dated 30.09.2019 under reverse charge mechanism (RCM). The nature of GST to be paid shall be IGST under RCM”.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has issued a clarification regarding the determination of place of supply in case of supply of software/design services by a supplier located in the taxable territory to a service recipient located in non-taxable territory by using the sample hardware kits provided by the service recipient.
It is stated that a number of companies that are part of the growing Electronics Semiconductor and Design Manufacturing (ESDM) industry in India are engaged in the process of developing software and designing integrated circuits electronically for customers located overseas. The client/customer electronically provides Indian development and design companies with design requirements and Intellectual Property blocks (“IP blocks”, reusable units of software logic and design layouts that can be combined to form newer designs). Based on these, the Indian company digitally integrates the various IP blocks to develop the software and the silicon or hardware design. These designs are communicated abroad (in industry-standard electronic formats) either to the customer or (on behest of the customer) a manufacturing facility for the manufacture of hardware based on such designs.
In addition, the software developed is also integrated upon or customized to this hardware. On some occasions, samples of such prototype hardware are then provided back to the Indian development and design companies to test and validate the software and design that has been developed to ensure that it is error-free.
The trade has requested clarification on whether the provision of hardware prototypes and samples and testing thereon lends these services the character of performance-based services in respect of “goods required to be made physically available by the recipient to the provider”.
In a Circular issued by CBIC said that, In contracts where the service provider is involved in a composite supply of software development and design for integrated circuits electronically, testing of software on sample prototype hardware is often an ancillary supply, whereas, chip design/software development is the principal supply of the service provider. The service provider is not involved in software testing alone as a separate service. The testing of software/design is aimed at improving the quality of software/design and is an ancillary activity. The entire activity needs to be viewed as one supply and accordingly treated for the purposes of taxation. Artificial vivisection of the contract of a composite supply is not provided in law. These cases are fact-based and each case should be examined for the nature of supply contracted.
The CBIC clarified that, “the place of supply of software/design by supplier located in taxable territory to service recipient located in non-taxable territory by using sample prototype hardware / test kits in a composite supply, where such testing is an ancillary supply, is the location of the service recipient as per Section 13(2) of the IGST Act. Provisions of Section 13(3)(a) of IGST Act do not apply separately for determining the place of supply for ancillary supply in such cases”.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Central Board of Indirect Taxes ( CBIC ) said that, Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) exempted for maritime courses conducted by the Maritime Training Institutes of India approved by Directorate General of Shipping.
Under GST Law, vide Sl. No. 66 of the notification No. 12/2017- Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, services provided by educational institutions to its students, faculty and staff are exempt from levy of GST. In the above notification, “educational institution” has been defined to mean an institution providing services by way of education as a part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by any law for the time being in force.
GST exemption on services supplied by an educational institution would be available if it fulfils the criteria that the education is provided as part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification/ degree recognized by law.
In order to streamline and monitor the maritime education and training by maritime institutes and to administer the assessment agencies, the Merchant Shipping (standards of training, certification and watch-keeping for Seafarers) Rules, 2014 has been notified. Under Rule 9 of the said Rules, the Director-General of Shipping is empowered to designate assessment centres. Further, the provisions of sub-rules (6), (7) and (8) of Rule 4 of the said Rules, empowers the Director-General of Shipping, to approve (i) the training course, (ii) training, examination and assessment programme, and (iii) approved training institute etc.
In a Circular issued by the CBIC clarified that, the Maritime Training Institutes and their training courses are approved by the Director-General of Shipping which are duly recognised under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 read with the Merchant Shipping (standards of training, certification and watch-keeping for Seafarers) Rules, 2014 are educational institutions under GST Law and the courses conducted by them are exempt from levy of GST. The exemption is subject to meeting the conditions specified at Sl. No. 66 of the notification No. 12/ 2017- Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017.
The CBIC also clarified that, “This clarification applies, mutatis mutandis, to corresponding entries of respective IGST, UTGST, SGST exemption notifications”.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Maharashtra State Government has amended Maharashtra Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 regarding the filing of returns.
The Circular said that, The term “annual” was inserted by this notification, which means the period of twelve months starting on the 1st April and ending on the 31st March of the relevant financial year.
The Circular also said that, New sub-rule (4B) was inserted in rule17 of the MVAT Rules, for change in the periodicity of filing of returns. The periodicity for filing of returns for the period starting on or after 1st April 2019 is as follows [rule 17(4B) inserted by G.N.F.D. No VAT-1519/CR-89/Taxation-1, dated 8th August 2019]:-
(i) A registered dealer whose tax liability during the previous year had not exceeded rupees twenty five thousand, shall file Annual Return within twenty-one days from the end of the year to which such return relates.
(ii) A registered dealer,
succeeding the quarter to which the return relates.
(iii) A registered dealer,
Shall file monthly return within twenty-one days from the end of the month to which the return relates.
While concluding the Trade Circular, the department also said that, The periodicity of returns for the period, prior to 1st April 2019, has not been changed. The clarification of the terms, “tax liability” and “entitlement for refund” in Explanation I and II of rule 17(4), for determining the periodicity of refund shall apply for the periods from 1st April 2019 onwards also.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentThe Central Government has formed a panel to suggest measures for better Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) Collections.
A high-level panel will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, a senior official reportedly said.
The government last week constituted the panel of officers to suggest steps to expand the tax base and check evasion in the backdrop of falling revenue collections under GST.
The GST collections dropped sharply to a 19-month low in September to Rs 91,916 crore, reflecting the slowdown in the economy.
The 12-member panel, comprising of state-level GST commissioners and central officials, has been asked to suggest urgent measures regarding fall in tax revenues and steps to be taken to improve revenue collection.
“The committee should consider a wide range of reforms so that a comprehensive list of suggestions may emerge,” an official order had said.
The panel has been asked to look into “systemic changes in GST including checks and balances to prevent misuse.” It has also been tasked to suggest measures to improve voluntary compliance as well as policy measures and changes in law needed. Its key mandate is to suggest “measures for expansion of tax base” and make recommendations on “improved compliance monitoring and anti-evasion measures using better data analytics,” the order also said.
