Sonia Ahuja & Co.-Chartered Accountant

22/10/2015

22/09/2015

I-T dept to use email for issuing notices

The new system will reduce the interface between the taxpayer and the assessing officer.

NEW DELHI: In welcome news for taxpayers, the IT department has decided to launch a new system of issuing email notices to which an assessee can respond electronically, obviating the need for a physical interface with the taxman which often led to complaints about harassment.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex policy-making body of the IT department, is working on a strategy to create the required processes and capacity in this regard.

"We have been thinking how can we make life easier for taxpayers especially for those who are in the middle and the slightly higher tax bracket. So, now we are thinking of allowing that when a notice is issued in an assessment or scrutiny case, the taxpayer can send the department an e-response.

"We are trying to resolve some security issues in this regard now after which it could be implemented," CBDT chairperson Anita Kapur told PTI in an interview.

Explaining the procedure, Kapur said if a taxpayer provides the department with a bonafide email address in his Income Tax Return (ITR), the Board will be able to send him an e-notice and not a paper document dispatched through post for which he usually has to travel and meet the assessing officer (AO).

"The taxpayer can respond through the email and if we have some more queries we give you another notice by the electronic medium so that both the AO and the taxpayer remain in an e-environment and, may be, during the final hearing when the AO wants to close the matter, the taxpayer can come once to the tax office," the CBDT chief said.

She said the purpose of introducing the system was to reduce the interface between the taxpayer and the AO.

"The taxpayer can send documents over email, scan them, upload them and it's over," she added.

"It (scrutiny session) should be over and should not go beyond that. This is the way we are trying to address the issues of compliance and limiting the interface between the taxman and the taxpayer. This will be a sea change in our tax administration," Kapur said.

14/09/2015

Last day tomorrow !

10/09/2015

No extension of time limit for tax audit assesses & companies

09/09/2015

Gold Monetisation Scheme Launched
- 2.5% Interest on Bonds.
- Gurantee by GOI
- Gold Bricks, Bars , Coin Accepted ... No Jewellery.
- Banks, NBFC to issue Bonds
Gold Deposit Scheme
- Jewelery can be given as Deposit.
No question on source of Gold for 250 Gms (Men) and 500 Gms (Women)

- What are Sovereign Gold Bonds?

Sovereign gold bonds are papers or certificates issued by the government saying that investors bought a certain amount of gold. The value of the bond will be linked to the price of gold. The bonds would provide an alternative to purchasing physical gold.

- Objective: The main idea is to reduce the demand for physical gold.

- Features:

i. The Government will issue bonds with a nominal rate of interest (which will be linked to international rate for gold borrowing). An indicative lower limit of 2% may be given but the actual rate will have to be market determined. On maturity, the investor receives the equivalent of the face value of gold in Rupee terms. The rate of interest on the bonds will be payable in terms of grams of gold.

ii. The price of gold may be taken from NCDEX/ London Bullion Market Association/RBI and the Rupee equivalent amount may be converted at the RBI Reference rate on issue and redemption. Banks/NBFCs/Post Offices may collect money / redeem bonds on behalf of government (for a fee, the amount would be as decided).

iii. Bonds will be issued on behalf of the Government of India by RBI.

iv. The bonds will be issued in denominations of 2, 5, 10 grams of gold or other denominations.

v. The tenor of the bond could be for a minimum of 5 to 7 years so that it would protect investors from medium term volatility in the gold prices. Since the bond will be a part of the sovereign borrowing, these would need to be within the fiscal deficit target for 2015-16 and onwards.

vi. Capital gains tax treatment will be the same as for physical gold. This will ensure that an investor is indifferent in terms of investing in these bonds and in physical gold- as far as the tax treatment is concerned. This is still under examination.

vii. The bond would be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities. The cap on bonds that may be bought by an entity would be at a suitable level, not more than 500 grams per person per year.

viii. Bonds to be used as collateral for loans. The Loan To Value ratio be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by RBI from time to time.

ix. Bonds to be easily sold, traded on commodity exchanges.

x. Bonds to have a sovereign guarantee.

xi. The bond would be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities. The cap on bonds that may be bought by an entity would be at a suitable level, not more than 500 grams per person per year.

Note: The above material is just for our understanding.

28/07/2015

Watch your restaurant bills

Service tax will not be levied on customers dining in restaurants without air conditioning facility or central heating, the finance ministry has clarified.

Even the restaurants that have ACs or central heating will levy service tax only on 40% of the total bill amount, the ministry said in a statement. In case of air-conditioned or air-heated restaurants, "60% of the value is to be deducted from the total amount charged while applying the rate of service tax and tax is to be calculat ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/47601274.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

The clarification follows confusion over the levy and some reports of overcharging after the higher service tax rate of 14% became applicable from June 1.

10/03/2015

PPF V/S. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana !

Thinking of investing in the PPF and fixed deposits for your little daughter's education or marriage? The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) could be a better alternative. The scheme, which was launched in January as part of the Prime Minister's Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative, was already eligible for deduction under Section 80C. The Budget has now made the income from the scheme tax free.

The SSY is more attractive than the PPF because it offers a higher interest rate. The interest rate of the SSY is also linked to the government bond yield. While the PPF offers 25 basis points higher than the yield of 10-year government bonds, the SSY will offer 75 basis points higher than the 10-year government bond yield for the previous year (which was 8.33% for 1 April, 2013 to 31 March, 2014).

For 2014-15 PPF offers rate of interest of 8.7% whereas SSY offers 9.1%.Though the SSY is an attractive proposition, the scheme is not open to everybody. An SSY account can be opened by the parent or guardian in the name of a girl child not more than 10 years old. Only for this year, the government has offered a grace period of one year and allowed accounts to be opened for girls who will be 11 years old by 1 December 2015. Children born before 2 December 2003 are not eligible

26/11/2014

Procedure for applying for the PAN Card for Minors :

The procedure for applying for the PAN Card for Minors is fairly simple. The parents of the minor would be required to submit an application in Form 49A.

The fee to be submitted for applying for PAN Card is Rs. 105 (Rs. 93 + Service Tax @ 12.36%).

Documents for Proof of Identity, Proof of Address and Proof of Date of Birth are required to be submitted while making the application. The Birth Certificate of the minor would be a valid proof for the Date of Birth.

In case of minors, the proof of identity and proof of address of either parent would be required to be submitted. The application should also be signed by the parent whose documents have been submitted. The signature of the parent would be printed on the PAN Card.

2 photographs of the minor child would also be required. However, the photo of the minor won’t appear on the PAN Card as there are several physical changes which develop in a minor over the course of time. In the space for photograph in the PAN Card, the word “Minor” would be stated. However, that does not mean that the photo is not to be submitted to the Income Tax Dept at the time of making the application.

On attaining the majority, the applicant can file for correction in data of PAN Card and can furnish his photos and update his signature with the income tax authorities and the Minor PAN Card would be updated with his photograph and signature.

Hope you had a good read !

24/09/2014

Digital Signatures

What is Digital Signature?
A digital signature authenticates electronic documents in a similar manner a handwritten signature authenticates printed documents. This signature cannot be forged and it asserts that a named person wrote or otherwise agreed to the document to which the signature is attached. Instead if you are looking for something on the go try these digital signature .

Why do we need a Digital Signature?
• Income Tax returns - IT department offers a facility to eFile your tax returns. eFIling ensures accuracy of assessment and faster processing of refunds. Digital signature may be used during eFIling of tax returns so that you need not send a signed copy of the return by post. Corporates are required to file their tax returns using digital signature mandatorily.
• FIling annual corporate returns - All Private Limited companies and LLPs need to file their returns electronically using Digital signature.

APPLICABILITY:

Digitally sign your e-mail
Encrypt your e-mail
Single Key Pair Support
Electronically authenticate individual / device identity to web servers
Personal Use
Requires verification of applicant credentials
Digitally sign official documents / communications
Encrypt sensitive data shared over the web, originating from certified individual / device
Dual Key Pair Support
Obligatory electronic proof of identity for regulatory purposes
Applicability to online transactions and e-commerce
Binding as per Indian IT Act 2000
Commercial Use
Online Tax Returns / TDS Filing
E-commerce transactions
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and other secure login-based transactions requiring strong authentication
Physical authentication and confirmation by RA
Internet Banking
ONLINE TRADING
Bill Payments

Class II available at Rs. 2,000/- Class III at Rs. 6,500/-

24/09/2014

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