Monday, 30 December 2019

30 December 2019 News and Updates

👉 The Reserve Bank of India-appointed administrator of the crippled Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) called for a meeting of its creditors for the first time on Monday after the mortgage lender was admitted for insolvency proceedings.
The third-largest pure play mortgage player is the first non-banking financial company or housing finance company to face the corporate insolvency resolution process.

👉 Markets regulator SEBI on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 8 lakh on three non-independent directors of ABG Shipyard for misleading the company's stakeholders by approving false and mis-stated financial results.
The markets watchdog has levied a fine of Rs 3 lakh each on Arun Pathak and Syed Abdi and Rs 2 lakh on Dhananjay Datar.

👉  Around half of the claims under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) were settled in 2018-19, the latest RBI report showed, helping banks recover stressed assets more quickly. Against Rs 1.66 lakh crore claims involved under IBC, the recovery was Rs 70,819 crore. Through the Sarfaesi mechanism, it stood at Rs 41,876 crore. Recoveries through DRTs and Lok Adalats were Rs 10,575 crore and Rs 2,816 crore, respectively.

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No service Tax or VAT on Society, Club or Company

👩🏻‍🎓 Supreme Court in case of State of West Bengal & Ors Vs Calcutta Club Ltd vide Civil Application no 4184 of 2019 has held that No service Tax or VAT on Society, Club or Company registered u/s 25. This decision has wide impact on GST applicability on Society or Club. 

👨🏻‍🎓Supreme Court has observed that The expression “unincorporated associations” would include persons who join together in some common purpose or common action – see ICT, Bombay North, Kutch and Saurashtra, Ahmedabad v. Indira Balkrishna (1960) 3 SCR 513 at page 519-520. The expression “as the case may be” would refer to different groups of individuals either bunched together in the form of an association also, or otherwise as a group of persons who come together with some common object in mind. 

👩🏻‍🎓Whichever way it is looked at, what is important is that the expression “body of persons” cannot possibly include within it bodies corporate.

👨🏻‍🎓Further, it has observed that We are therefore of the view that the Jharkhand High Court and the Gujarat High Court are correct in their view of the law in following Young Men’s Indian Association (supra). We are also of the view that from 2005 onwards, the Finance Act of 1994 does not purport to levy service tax on members’ clubs in the incorporated form.
The appeals of the Revenue are, therefore dismissed. 

👩🏻‍🎓 Writ Petition (Civil) No.321 of 2017 is allowed in terms of prayer (i) therein. Consequently, show-cause notices, demand notices and other action taken to levy and collect service tax from incorporated members’ clubs are declared to be void and of no effect in law.

👉December 31, 2019 upcoming Due Dates :
- Mandatory to link PAN Card-Aadhaar.
- ITR with Late Fees of Rs. 5000 for Income exceeding Rs. 5 lacs.
- Sabka Vishwas Scheme, 2019 for resolution of pending Excise Duty and Service Tax.
- MGT-7 for the year ended March 31, 2019.

👉ICAI: Payment of Membership/COP Fees for the year 2019-20 upto to 31st December, 2019 , link to pay
https://www.icai.org/new_post.html?post_id=15946
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👉 It wasn’t a one-way street for Indian finance. Dewan Housing went into bankruptcy and NBFCs in general struggled. State -run banks, burdened by bad loans, are not out of the woods yet

👉  IBC ordinance that shields buyers from prior lapses passed. 

👉  The NCLAT has dismissed petitions filed by the Income Tax Department, which raised objection over the approval granted to Reliance Jio Info. Comm. scheme to hive off its fiber and tower business into two separate units. The Ahmedabad-bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had earlier this year granted permission to the composite scheme of arrangement, through which two companies were proposed to be demerged -- Jio Digital Fibre Pvt Ltd and Reliance Jio Infratel Pvt Ltd.
 
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👉  Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited, a state-run infrastructure firm that is setting up optical fibre network under BharatNet Project, has paid around Rs 770 crore in advance to BSNL to help the telecom firm clear dues of vendors involved in the project. The debt-ridden state-run telecom firm had requested BBNL to pay Rs 1,033 crore earlier this month to clear the dues of vendors engaged in BharatNet project.

👉  Positive developments on the US-China trade deal front and fund infusion in some PSU banks by the government boosted sentiment on Dalal Street on Friday. Stocks benchmarks Sensex and Nifty were on track to snap three-day losing run.

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👉🏻RBI directs large co-op banks to report exposures above Rs 5 Cr
(RBI has directed large cooperative banks to report all exposures of 5 crore rupees and more to the Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC)
👇🏻 👇🏻 👇🏻
http://bit.ly/37iv1Gi

👉🏻SBI to launch OTP-based ATM cash withdrawal from Jan 1
( From January, SBI customers will be able to make ATM withdrawal above Rs 10,000 only after an OTP verification during 8 PM to 8 AM.)
👇🏻 👇🏻 👇🏻
http://bit.ly/2F5yEmV

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CBDT instructs all CITs(A) to dispose of more than 20,000 Appeals which are PENDING for more than 5 years, on or before March-31-2020.

Surat ITAT: Payment made by resident Indian company to a foreign national (hired as ‘Technical Advisor’ in personal capacity) was held to be Fee for Included Services (under Article 15 of India Korea DTAA) and not Fee for Technical Services (under Article 13 of India Korea DTAA). Such payment was held to be non-taxable in India and accordingly not liable to TDS. [J.Korin Spinning Pvt. Ltd. vs ITO (Intll. Tax) ITA No. 2734/AHD/2016] (CA Deepankur (9891636395), 

Gst notifications and order issued on 26-12-2019: Not no 74- Gstr 1 late fees waived for Period July 17 to Nov 19 if filed between 19-12-19 to 10-1-20; clarification awaited for Gstr 1s filed late but prior to 19-12-19

Not. no 75- restrictions on use / Debit of electronic credit ledger in case of non existent or fraudulent parties. Not. no 76- Gstr 1 date extended to 31-12-19 for Nov 19 for north eastern states with more than 1.5 crores turnover. 

Not no 77- Gstr 3B date for Nov 19 extended to 31-12-19 for north east states. 

Not no 78- gstr 7 date extended to 25-12-19 for north east states. Order no 10- extension of annual return date to 31-01-2020. cajatinminocha.com/Image/ECL_Debit_Restrictions.pdf

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Delhi HC holds Circular dated 25.09.2019 not in violative of Sabka Vishwas Scheme, 2019 nor any relevant Act [Read Judgment]

Read more at: https://www.taxscan.in/delhi-hc-circular-violative-sabka-vishwas-scheme-2019/41433/
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2 held for ‘posing as CBI chief, threatening Income Tax officials’:

READ MORE- https://www.gststation.in/2-held-for-posing-as-cbi-chief-threatening-income-tax-officials/
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Dalmia Power Limited vs. ACIT (Supreme Court)
S. 139(5)/ 170:

The consequence of amalgamation is that the amalgamating companies lose their separate identity and cease to exist. The successor is obliged u/s 170 to file a revised return to reflect the effect of the amalgamation. The fact that the revised return is filed after the due date specified in s. 139(5) is irrelevant as the scheme approved by the NCLT provides for it. The assessee is also not required to seek condonation of delay u/s 119(2)(b) (Dalmia Power 418 ITR 242 (Mad) reversed)

The more advisable course from the point of view of the Revenue would be to make one assessment on the Transferee Company taking into account the income of both of Transferor or Transferee Companies and also to make separate protective assessments on both the Transferor and Transferee Companies separately. There may be a certain practical difficulty in adopting this course inasmuch as separate balance-sheets may not be available for the Transferor and Transferee Companies. But that may not be an insuperable problem inasmuch as assessment can always be made, on the available material, even without a balance-sheet. In certain cases, best judgment assessment may also be resorted to
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👆A Division bench of the High Court of Madras has upheld the validity of the 'proviso' to Section 167(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2013. It relied on the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in Mukut Pathak & Ors Vs. Union of India, WP.No.9088 of 2018. The High Court held that the proviso to Section 167(1)(a) is neither manifestly arbitrary nor does it offend any of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India.
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Important IT change for companies having turnover more than Rs 50 crore effect from 1.11.2019

Section 269SU of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, applicable with effect from 1 November 2019, makes it mandatory to accept payments (ie provide facility to the customers for accepting payment) in prescribed electronic modes, in addition to existing modes, for entities having turnover exceeding INR 50 Crore.

Any business entity/person having business turnover/gross receipts exceeding INR 50 Crore in FY 2018-19, please note the following changes brought in to effect from 1st Nov 2019.

Failure to provide such facility will be liable to a penalty of five thousand rupees, for every day during which such failure continues.

Que: What does it mean?

Ans: Please ensure that you print your preference to accept payments from customers/debtors/payees in electronic mode by furnishing your E Mode payment details on your invoices / contracts / agreements / order acceptance letter etc.

Que: What is prescribed Electronic Mode in addition to existing electronic mode?

Ans: At the outset, if you strictly encourage payments by payees to you to your bank accounts by NEFT, RTGS, IMPS as mentioned above it is reasonable compliance.  In addition, please try to arrange for E Modes like BHIM UPI, UPI-QR Code, Aadhaar Pay, Payment Gateways of banks / Financial Institutions / Payment Settlement Systems etc.

Que: Despite arranging NEFT/RTGS/IMPS payments, if the customer comes and hands over a cheque /Demand Draft, what should be done?

a) Please advise them to use E Mode for making payments to you

b) If they insist for cheque/DD payment only, please get a declaration signed duly by him/them on his/their commercial letter head if any (refer their Aadhar No and valid Mobile phone No too) stating the following:

> I / We do not have net banking facility or any other E Mode at the time of payment / for the time being / always

> I / We have no option but to pay by mode other than E Mode, though you insisted for payment by E Mode only

Que: Despite making all possible efforts and arrangements, in case a few payments are received in other than E-mode, will the penalty of Rs 5000 per day, be applied automatically?

Ans: It is not an indiscriminate and mechanically imposed penalty.  You can prove your genuineness with necessary evidences and avoid such penalties.
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Company Law / M&A Update:

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited Demerger Scheme: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal dismisses objections raised by the Income Tax department 

The proposed scheme of demerger proposed transfer of certain assets from Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited into two new entities - Jio Digital Fibre Private Limited and Reliance Jio Infratel Private Limited.

The Income tax department objected to the demerger scheme on the following grounds: 

Firstly, conversion of redeemable preference shares by their cancellation and conversion into loan would substantially reduce Reliance Jio Infocomm's profitability, acting as a tool for it to avoid and evade taxes.

Secondly, the demerger would result in reduction of profitability and bring down the dividend distribution tax, thus acting as a way to avoid taxes. The scheme did not fulfill the requirements of demerger under the Companies Act, 2013. 

What did the NCLAT say ?

NCLAT dismissed the appeal citing that the IT department failed to place any evidence to support its objections and had the liberty to take action if at all the demerger scheme results in a tax evasion

Source: NCLAT Order dated December 21, 201

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# CBIC: Constitution of Grievance Redressal Committees at Zonal/State level for redressal of  grievances of taxpayers on GST related issues.
http://cbic.gov.in/htdocs-cbec/gst/Instruction_Grievance_Redressal_Committee_GST.pdf

# CBIC Notification No. 74/2019-Central Tax dt. 26-12-2019 : Seeks to waive late fees for non- filing of FORM GSTR-1 from July, 2017 to November, 2019.
http://cbic.gov.in/htdocs-cbec/gst/notfctn-74-central-tax-english-2019.pdf

# CBIC Notification No. 75/2019-Central Tax dt. 26-12-2019 : Seeks to carry out changes in the CGST Rules, 2017
http://cbic.gov.in/htdocs-cbec/gst/notfctn-75-central-tax-english-2019.pdf

# Income Tax : The time limit for submitting response to Notice u/s 142(1) issued up to 24th December, 2019 by National e-Assessment Centre has been extended till 10th January, 2020 or the time limit mentioned in the Notice whichever is later.
https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home

# Upcoming Due Date : 31-12-2019
- Mandatory to link PAN Card-Aadhaar.
- ITR with Late Fees of Rs. 5000 for Income exceeding Rs. 5 lacs.
- Sabka Vishwas Scheme, 2019 for resolution of pending Excise Duty and Service Tax.
- MGT-7 for the year ended March 31, 2019.
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Important IT change for companies having turnover more than Rs 50 crore effect from 1.11.2019

Section 269SU of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, applicable with effect from 1 November 2019, makes it mandatory to accept payments (ie provide facility to the customers for accepting payment) in prescribed electronic modes, in addition to existing modes, for entities having turnover exceeding INR 50 Crore.

Any business entity/person having business turnover/gross receipts exceeding INR 50 Crore in FY 2018-19, please note the following changes brought in to effect from 1st Nov 2019.

Failure to provide such facility will be liable to a penalty of five thousand rupees, for every day during which such failure continues.

Que: What does it mean?

Ans: Please ensure that you print your preference to accept payments from customers/debtors/payees in electronic mode by furnishing your E Mode payment details on your invoices / contracts / agreements / order acceptance letter etc.

Que: What is prescribed Electronic Mode in addition to existing electronic mode?

Ans: At the outset, if you strictly encourage payments by payees to you to your bank accounts by NEFT, RTGS, IMPS as mentioned above it is reasonable compliance.  In addition, please try to arrange for E Modes like BHIM UPI, UPI-QR Code, Aadhaar Pay, Payment Gateways of banks / Financial Institutions / Payment Settlement Systems etc.

Que: Despite arranging NEFT/RTGS/IMPS payments, if the customer comes and hands over a cheque /Demand Draft, what should be done?

a) Please advise them to use E Mode for making payments to you

b) If they insist for cheque/DD payment only, please get a declaration signed duly by him/them on his/their commercial letter head if any (refer their Aadhar No and valid Mobile phone No too) stating the following:

> I / We do not have net banking facility or any other E Mode at the time of payment / for the time being / always

> I / We have no option but to pay by mode other than E Mode, though you insisted for payment by E Mode only

Que: Despite making all possible efforts and arrangements, in case a few payments are received in other than E-mode, will the penalty of Rs 5000 per day, be applied automatically?

Ans: It is not an indiscriminate and mechanically imposed penalty.  You can prove your genuineness with necessary evidences and avoid such penalties.