THE
GLOBAL ENERGY & OTHER CRISES
The world is currently experiencing
a plethora of problems – energy crisis, supply chain disruption, chip shortage
and inflation – and these will directly impact our lives and businesses and
also the manufacturing and economic development of the country. We are staring
at shortages of coal and natural gas, along with a sudden spike in the prices
of coal (up 40% to 100% in one year), natural gas (prices have shot up six to
eight times in the last one year) and oil (prediction of oil > $100+).
Global supply-chain bottlenecks are feeding on one another, with shortages of
components and surging prices of critical raw materials squeezing manufacturers
around the world with a delay in turnaround time for containers and congested
ports in the USA and China. This is adding to inflation.
The USA walked out of its
20-year-old war on terror in Afghanistan, proving once again that Afghanistan
is the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, having forced the retreat of the USSR, Britain,
the Mughals and the Mongolians. Will China take the risk of entering this
graveyard? Is Pakistan celebrating its pyrrhic victory in humbling two empires
(the USA and the USSR), or will it live to regret it as the international
community is upset with it? India could see the inflow of terrorists into
Kashmir, but with the technology widely used by our security forces, terrorists
are unlikely to have a safe passage.
These were some of the points made
at the IESG meeting held on 25th October, 2021. All members of the
group along with CA Harshad Shah gave their views in the course of the
deliberations.
‘IMPORTANT
LEGACY JUDGMENTS ON INDIRECT TAXES’
The Indirect Tax Study Circle
organised a Zoom online meeting on ‘Important Legacy Judgments on Indirect
Taxes – Discussion on Principles, Issues & Jurisprudence w.r.t. GST’ on 26th
October. Group leader CA Vishal Poddar had drafted five case studies on
important legacy judgments on indirect taxes. The implications of the
principles, issues and jurisprudence of these cases in the GST era were
discussed.
The case studies broadly covered
the following:
1. Penalty u/s 74 for non-reversal
of proportionate ITC u/s 17(2) towards sale of factory building;
2. Taxability and valuation of
supply in case of supply of raw materials by customer;
3. Mismatch in ITC as per GSTR9 and
GSTR2A;
4. GST on royalty for mining,
including RCM provisions; and
5. GST on cost-sharing
arrangements.
The participants took active part
in the discussion on all the case studies and the issues were discussed at
length. Mentor Adv. CA Jatin Harjai offered his exhaustive comments on
several aspects covered in all the case studies. Around 50 participants
benefited from the active discussion led by him.
ITF
STUDY CIRCLE MEETING
The ITF Study Circle’s virtual
meeting on ‘Residence of Companies under the Act and DTAA’ took place on 29th
October.
It was led by Group Leader CA Abbas
Moiz Jaorawala who explained the concepts with respect to residence of companies
under the Indian Income-tax Act and DTAA.
Determining a company’s residence
status is one of the most important factors based on which taxability is
decided. With this in mind, he walked the audience through the Income-tax Act,
its amendments, DTAAs and various court rulings in relation to residence of
companies. With the help of several simplified illustrations, he lucidly
explained various concepts related to the topic.
A
few other speakers also dealt with and answered queries raised by the audience.
The meeting was quite interactive and the participants said they benefited
enormously from the discussion and insights provided. The BCAS
ITF
Study Circle plans to organise such insightful and exciting meetings for
participants in future as well. Details of the upcoming sessions will be shared
with the Study Circle and other members soon.
