R.ghosh & Associates

26/06/2020

PAN-Aadhaar, Tax saving, Form 16, belated ITR filing deadlines extended again

As per the notification issued by the government dated June 24, 2020 (effective from June 30, 2020), the deadline to file belated and/or revised tax return for FY 2018-19 has been extended to July 31, 2020.

The deadline for making tax-saving investments and expenditures to claim tax breaks under Section 80C, 80D etc for FY 2019-20 has also been further extended to July 31 from the earlier time limit of June 30,2020.

The date for issuance of TDS certificates i.e. Form 16, Form 16A etc. has been extended to August 15, 2020.

The deadline for filing ITR for FY2019-20 was earlier extended to November 30, 2020 and remains the same.

Read more at:

The extension has been done to provide further relief to taxpaying individuals.

24/06/2020

Things to do before 30th June 2020 for Tax Saving, ITR filing & Avoiding any Penalty:

I would like to remind you about 3 important things which you should do before 30th June 2020.

1. Link your Aadhar with PAN:
You can link your Aadhar Card with your PAN by visiting this website- https://www1.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-FilingGS/Services/LinkAadhaarHome.html?lang=eng
For linking Aadhar Number with your Pan, you need to go to the above website & then enter your 12 Digit Aadhar Number, Name as per Aadhar Card & Report weather you have the only year of birth in your Aadhar card.
Please note that Name, Date of Birth, and Gender as per your PAN will be validated against your Aadhar details.
30th June 2020 is the last date to link your Aadhar Card with PAN. If you fail to link, your PAN may become inactive.
A penalty of 10,000/- may apply if you failed to link your Aadhar card with PAN.
If you want to check whether your Aadhar is linked with your PAN or not then you can check through this link https://www1.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-FilingGS/Services/AadhaarPreloginStatus.html. You need to Enter your PAN & Aadhar Number to check the Status.

2. File your Income Tax Return for FY 2018-19:

You can file your return for the Financial year 2018-19 (i.e. 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019).
30th June 2020 is the last date for filing your ITR for the Financial year 2018-19.
If you have already filed your ITR for the Financial year 2018-19 & want to Revise the ITR due to any mistake or any other reason then also you can revise the ITR before 30th June 2020.
Belated Return u/s 139(4) & Revised Return u/s 139(5) of Income-tax Act 1961 both can be filed before 30th June 2020.
Income tax return helps you in followings things like:
Taking Home Loan/Car Loan
Taking Education loan for your Children
Taking a VISA for foreign travel
ITR is an Income Proof

3. Investment for Tax Saving for Financial Year 2018-19:
For taking tax-saving benefits, you need to invest in ELSS or NPS. Due to COVID 19, the Last date of Investment is extended from 31st arch 2020 to 30th June 2020.

If you have not made any Investment for tax saving, you still have time till 3oth June 2020.

You can invest in Mutual Fund (Equity Linked Saving Scheme- ELSS) up to 1,50,00/- u/s 8C of Income Tax Act, 1961 for saving tax. Also, you can also invest in NPS up-to 50,000/- u/s 80CCD(1B) of Income Tax Act, 1961 for saving tax.

You can take benefit of Investment made from 01.04.2020 to 30.06.2020 for the Financial year 2019-20 or Financial Year 2020-21 depending on your case.

18/06/2020

ITR filing deadline for FY 2019-20 extended to Nov 30, Form 16 to be received by June 30, 2020 :

The government has extended ITR filing deadline for FY 2019-20 to November 30, 2020.

As per chartered accountants, the deadline for employers to issue the TDS certificate, i.e., Form 16 for FY2019-20 to employees stands extended to June 30, 2020. Had the ITR filing deadline not been extended (from July 31 to November 30), these individuals would have only had one month to file their return.

Shalini Jain, Partner, EY India says, "As per the Ordinance passed by the government on 31 March 2020, where the due date for filing of any appeal, reply, or application or furnishing of any report, document, return, statement or such other record, by whatever name called, under the provisions of the specified Act falls during the period from the 20 March 2020 to 29 June 2020, the same shall stand extended to 30 June 2020 or such other date after 30 June 2020, as the central government may, by notification, specify in this behalf. Therefore, the due date for filing of TDS return by the employer (Form 24Q) for Quarter 4 of the FY 2019-20 and issue of Form 16 to the employees for FY 2019-20 shall be deferred to 30 June 2020."

Saraswathi Kasturirangan, Partner, Deloitte India says, "Yes, the government has extended the date for filing TDS returns by the employer from May 31, 2020 to June 30, 2020 for the FY 2019-20. Similarly, the last date to issue Form 16 by the employer to employee has also been extended to June 30, 2020."

Read more at:

The government has extended ITR filing deadline for FY 2019-20 to November 30, 2020. As per chartered accountants, the deadline for issuing Form 16 to employees for FY2019-20 has been extended to June 30, 2020, from June 15.

18/06/2020

GST Council Meet: FM gives relief to small taxpayers

The 40th GST Council meeting was held under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This was the first meet of the Council post the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Goods and Services Tax Council on Friday decided to further ease compliance burden of businesses by providing relief on late free and interest payable on late payments.

It reduced late fee and interest for those with tax liabilities and waived off late fee completely for those with no tax liabilities.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that GST collections had fallen to about 45%, aggravating the problem of compensation to states, even as states demanded they be funded through market borrowing. The Council will meet again in July to specifically discuss this issue.

“For all those who have no tax liabilities but have not filed their returns between July 2017 and January 2020 there will be zero late fees,” FM Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Companies having no tax liability will not be fined any late fee if they have not filed returns, since July 1, 2017. Those with tax liabilities will now be able to pay a late fee of Rs 500 per month, per return, far lower than Rs 10,000 per month.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/gst-council-meet-fm-gives-relief-to-small-taxpayers/articleshow/76339208.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cpps

The 40th GST Council meeting was held today under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This was the first meet of the Council post the Covid-19 lockdown.

08/04/2020

11/03/2020

E- INVOICING UNDER GST MAY BE DEFERRED:

NEW DELHI: The government is considering deferring the implementation of e-invoicing under goods and services tax (GST) by three months to July 1, two officials aware of the development said, adding that the Goods and Services Tax Council may consider such a proposal at its meeting on Saturday.
“It (deferment) is being considered… The Council has to take up the matter at the meeting… they may announce it after the meeting and consultation with states,” one of the officials said, asking not to be named.

“We need feedback… if only a few companies upload e-invoices now, we will not know the shortcomings of the system. When it becomes mandatory from April 1, a deluge will inundate the system, and then people will say that the government’s systems are not working,” the official added, requesting anonymity

The deferment proposal comes close on the heels of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman pulling up the GSTN top brass and technology provider Infosys at a GSTN meeting last week.

Voluntary uploading of e-invoices on the GSTN portal kicked off from January 1 for businesses having a turnover of over ₹500 crore. For businesses with annual turnover of over ₹100 crore it was made effective from February 1. From April 1, companies having an aggregate revenue of ₹100 crore or more have been mandated to upload e-invoices on the portal.

01/02/2020

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS 2020

In a two-hours forty Minutes Budget 2020 speech highlights, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman has made some significant proposals for tax matters.

Some of the Budget Highlights are below.

* Income Tax Slab: 10 per cent for 5 to 7.5 lakh, 15 per cent for 7.5 lakh to 10 lakh, 20 per cent for 10 lakh to 12.5 lakh, 25 per cent for 12.5 lakh to 15 lakh and 30 per cent for above 15 Lakh.

* Dividend Distribution Tax is removed and dividends are taxable.

*100% Tax Exemption for Foreign Sovereign wealth Fund Investments in India.

* Tax on Cooperative societies proposed to be reduced to 22 per cent plus surcharge and cess, as against 30 per cent at present
15% concessional rate of corporate tax extended to Power Sector
Exempts co-operative societies from Alternate Minimum tax

* New proposed tax slabs that will be voluntarily for taxpayers but subject to not claiming any deductions.

* Tax Audit threshold limit increased Rs. 5 cr from 1cr.

* Section 50C and 45CA limit extended to 10% from 5%.

* Income Tax Act to be amended to facilitate e-appeal

* Section 80G -Donations allowed as a deduction will be pre-filled in ITR forms now onwards.

* Additional Rs 1.5 lakh tax benefit on interest paid on affordable housing loans to March 2021.

* ‘Vivad se Vishwas’ scheme for direct taxpayers whose appeals are pending at various forums.-
• No Dispute but Trust Scheme
• Direct Tax Dispute Resolution
• payment of all taxes will lead to waiver of penalty and interest
• applicable for all pending appeals at all levels

* E-Invoice will be implemented in a phased manner

*Income Tax Faceless Appeals to be introduced

* Import duty hiked on inputs used by footwear and furniture MSMEs

* 60 lakh more taxpayers joined the GST tax base in the last two years.

* 40 Crores Income Tax Returns has been filed.

*Proceeds on Taxes from Medical devices will be used in funding hospital development.

* Tax Holiday to developers of affordable housing extended by 1 year.

* Govt to set up investment clearance cell to entrepreneurs.

*Scheme for reversion of duties & taxes on exported products to be launched this year

* A Taxpayer’s charter will be institutionalized.

* Changes in Companies Act – Criminal liabilities to be substituted by Civil liabilities.

* Insurance cover for a depositor will be raised from 1 lakh to 5 lakh per depositor.

* The robust mechanism in place to monitor the health of banks, depositors’ money is absolutely safe.

* Turnover limit for exemption for Start Ups now 100 Cr.

* Strengthen the role of PFRDAI; an amendment to be carried out in Pension Fund in PFRDAI.

* Faceless Appeals on lines of Faceless Assessments

15/01/2020

*A big relief to top 500 companies*
Markets regulator Sebi has deferred by two years to April 2022 its directive for listed companies to split the roles of chairman and managing director in view of demand from corporates and to keep compliance burden lower in the wake of the current economic scenario.

Under the Sebi norms, the top 500 listed entities by market capitalisation were mandated to comply with the requirement of separation of the roles of chairperson and managing director (MD) or chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from April 1, 2020.

The norms were aimed at improving corporate governance structure of listed companies.

Now, the date of implementation of the regulatory provision has been deferred to April 1, 2022, according to a gazette notification dated January 10.

While the notice did not specify any reason for the move, sources said that the decision to defer the implementation has been taken in view of demand from corporates and also to ease the compliance burden amid a slowing economic growth rate.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has been receiving various representations with respect to the regulatory requirements including from industry bodies like FICCI and CII. The representations highlighted the present levels of unpreparedness of listed entities to comply with the directive.

Data from stock exchanges reveal that presently, only around 50 per cent of the top 500 listed entities are in compliance with the regulatory provision.

Currently, many companies have merged the two posts as CMD (chairman-cum-managing director), leading to some overlapping of the board and management, which could lead to conflict of interest and consequently the regulator in May 2018 came out with its norms to split the post.

The norms were part of the series of recommendations given by the Sebi-appointed Kotak committee on corporate governance.

A large number of big companies including Reliance Industries, BPCL, ONGC, Coal India, Wipro and HeroMotoCorp have a single person holding the twin post of chairman and managing director.

09/01/2020

GST authorities begin audit exercise: issue show cause notices
India Inc is set to face first ever tax audit under the GST regime. The taxpayers are being asked to furnish detailed records of GST forms, income tax papers and other documents for detailed records for FY2017-18.

New Delhi: India Inc is set to face first ever tax audit under the goods and services tax (GST) regime. The GST authorities have begun issuing notices for the tax audit exercise, which involves detailed scrutiny of the accounts and records for FY18.
Tax authorities have issued notices seeking audit of accounts and records from July 2017 till March 2018, the first year of GST implementation. India had rolled out GST, subsuming multiple state and central taxes, from July 1, 2017.

“The notices are being issued for the first time, and taxpayers are being asked to furnish detailed records of GST forms, income tax papers, input service invoices, electronic cash/credit ledger and business agreements, among others,” a person familiar with the development said.

Tax authorities had issued a detailed GST manual earlier in June, making it clear that at least 70% of taxpayers in each commissionerate have to be audited.

However, extensions given for filing of returns for 2017-18 in 2019 several times over delayed the exercise.
The initial deadline was December 31, 2018.

“The audit notices issued indicate that the GST authorities have commenced their review of the information submitted by businesses,” said MS Mani, Partner, Deloitte India.
It is essential that businesses provide the information sought and clarify on doubts raised, Mani said.

However, some tax experts say the move may lead to unnecessary harassment of taxpayers.
“There has been no policy statement as to how and when these audits would be conducted and given that most big unit have multi state registrations, it will be a herculean task to get the audit done in all the states for each year,” said Bipin Sapra, partner at EY.
He added that the GST audits were being ordered even where GSTR 9C has been submitted and the GST authorities have reconciliations of the financial data and tax paid.
“There needs to be a centralised audit of these records to avoid undue hardship and promote ease of doing business in India,” he said .

19/12/2019

Highlights and Press Release of 38th GST Council Meeting