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[2016] 68 taxmann.com 336 (Chennai – Trib.) DCIT vs. Alstom T & D India Ltd A.Ys.: 2001-02, 2003-04 and 2004-05, Date of Order: 31st March, 2016

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Section 9, 40(a)(i) of the Act – to fall within the second exception provided in section 9(1)(vii) (b) of the Act, the source of income, and not the receipt, should be situated outside India.
Facts

The Taxpayer, an Indian company, was engaged in the business of manufacture of heavy electrical equipment. The Taxpayer had developed prototypes of certain equipment. As per the standards prescribed by the industry regulatory body, prototype development could be complete only after performance of certain design tests on the equipment. These tests were to be performed by an accredited international testing laboratory. The Taxpayer could not have exported the equipment to the international market unless these tests were completed and the results were benchmarked to the standards prescribed. Accordingly, the Taxpayer engaged an international testing laboratory for testing the prototypes and paid testing charges.

The Taxpayer remitted the testing charges to the laboratory without withholding tax.

In the course of the assessment, the AO invoked provisions of section 40(a)(i) of the Act and disallowed the payment. In appeal, CIT(A) relied on decisions in Havells India Ltd v ACIT 47 SOT 61 (URO) (Del) and held that the payment was covered by the second exception in section 9(1)(vii)(b) of the Act and hence, income accrued or arose in India. Consequently, tax was not required to be withheld from the payment. The tax department filed further appeal to the ITAT.

Held

  • Section 9(1)(vii)(b) provides for two exceptions. First exception is where the payment is made is respect of services utilized for business or profession carried on outside India. Second exception requires utilization of services for earning any income from source outside India.
  • For falling within the first exception, it is not sufficient to prove that the services are not utilised for business activities of production in India, but it is furthernecessary for to show that the technical services are utilised in a business carried on outside India. Nothing was brought on record to support this.
  • Without prejudice, the Taxpayer was concluding the export contracts in India. The products were manufactured in India and exported from India in fulfillment of the export contracts. Therefore, the Source of income was created when the export contracts were concluded.
  • Though the importer of the products was situated outside India, the importer was merely the source of money received.
  • The second exception in section 9(1)(vii)(b) requires the source of income, and not the receipt, to be outside India.
  • Since this condition was not satisfied, the payment was taxable in India.

MVAT Rules Amendment (3rd Amendment), 2016

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Notificaiton VAT 1516/CR 64/Taxation -1 dated 29.04.2016

Maharashtra Government has notified further amendments in the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 with effect from 26.04.2016

MVAT Rules Amendment (2nd Amendment), 2016

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Notificaiton VAT 1516/CR -52/Taxation-1 Dated 22.04.2016

Maharashtra Government has notified amendments in the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 with effect from 01.04.2016.

Changes in : Rates of tax under the Mvat Act, Modifications in the Composition Schemes, Entry Tax on slabs of marbles and granites

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Trade Circular 9T of 2016 dated 22.04.2016

Schedule A & C of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 have been amended, the revision in the tax rates and amendments to MVAT schedule entries are explained in this Circular. The Composition Schemes have been modified. Details of the amendments and amendments to the Schedule under the Maharashtra Tax on Entry of goods into Local Areas Act,2002 are explained in the this Circular.

Settlement of Arrears in Dispute under the various Acts administered by the Sales Tax Department

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Trade Circular 10T of 2016 dated 03.05.2016

To unlock the arrears pending at appellate forum under various Acts administered by the Maharashtra Sales Tax Department, “The Maharashtra Settlement of Arrears in Dispute Acts,2016” is passed with a view to provide the settlement of arrears in dispute. Salient features and related procedural aspects are explained in this Circular.

Profession Tax – Exemption of late fee to the Government aided educational institutions.

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Trade Circular 11T of 2016 dated 06.05.2016

This Circular explains the conditions and procedure granting exemption for late fees payable by educational institutions which receive grant- in -aid from State government which have not filed PT e-returns though PT for the said returns period has been deducted and paid in the Government treasury for all return periods starting from 01.04.2006 to 31.03.2016 if e returns for such periods are filed up to 30.6.2016.

Profession Tax Enrolment Amnesty Scheme 2016

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Trade Circular 12T of 2016 dated 06.05.2016

Government of Maharashtra has declared Amnesty Scheme for persons who have not obtained Enrollment Certificate yet. Accordingly, if a person makes an application for enrolment during the period from 1.4.2016 to 30.9.2016 or his application for enrolment is pending on 1.4.2016 and if enrolment certificate is obtained under the “Professional Tax Enrolment Amnesty Scheme 2016” then Profession tax and Interest prior to 1.4.2013 will be waived in full and penalty u/s. 5(5) of the Profession Tax Act, 1975 will not be imposed. Detailed procedure has been explained in this Circular.

Grant of Administrative Relief

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Trade Circular 13T of 2016 dated 06.05.2016

This Circular explains amendments in the authorities to whom application for administrative relief is to be made.

Amendments to Acts, Rules and Notifications to give effect of Budget Proposals

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Trade Circular 14T of 2016 dated 07.05.2016

To give effect of Budget proposals for the year 2016-17 a bill (Legislative Assembly Bill No. XVIII of 2016) to amend various Acts, administered by the Sales Tax Department has been passed by the legislature and has received assent of the Governor on 26.04.2016. The Act (Maharashtra Act No.XV of 2016) is published in the Maharashtra Government gazette dated 26.04.2016. In this Circular, all the amendments have been explained in detail.

Registration- Permanent Place of Residence- Documents required as proof

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Trade Circular 15T of 2016 dated 09.05.2016

By this Circular, regarding proof of permanent place of registration, more relaxation has been provided by allowing to submit any two documents from the list of 13 documents specified in Trade Circular 7T of 2015 & 4T of 2016 as proof permanent residential place at the time of registration.

Designation of Wednesday as Taxpayers’ Day

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Trade Circular 17T of 2016 dated 09.05.2016

Maharashtra Vat department has designated one day of the week viz. the Wednesday (2pm to 5pm) as Taxpayers’ Day wherein Zonal/Divisional/Unit heads of all offices will meet the taxpayers/other stakeholders in their chamber without any prior appointments in order to address their grievances relating to sales tax expeditiously.

SAP based new registration functionality

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MVAT UPDATES

Trade Circular 18T of 2016 dated 24.05.2016

Maharashtra VAT department is implementing new SAP based system in phased manner. In this Circular, changes in the process of registration, free billing software, transition issues relating to registration and about providing help from offices have been explained. The new functionality of registration based on SAP will go LIVE after 3 pm of 25.05.2016.

No Service Tax on pilgrimage to Haj Mansarovar from 01.07.2012 to 19.08.2014

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Notification No. 25/2016 dated 17.05.2016

Service Tax on Services provided by the specified organisation in respect of a religious pilgrimage facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of lndia, under bilateral arrangement is not required to be paid for the period commencing on and from the 1st day of July, 2012 and ending with the 19th day of August, 2014.

Extension to file Service Tax Return upto 29.042016

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SERVICE TAX UPDATES

Order No. 01/2016-ST dated 25.04.2016

Due to difficulties faced by the Service Tax Assessees in accessing Service Tax Applications, CBEC vide this Order has extended time to file Service Tax Return (ST-3) for the period 01.102015 to 31.03.2016 upto 29-04-2016.

State of Tamil Nadu vs. M/s. Plastic Craft Industries, [2013] 66 VST 62 (Mad).

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Central Sales Tax- Sales Price-Excise Duty Paid on Past Transaction – In absence of Evidence of Its Collection-Does Not Form Part of Sale Price- Section 2(h) of The Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

Facts
The assesse manufacturer of plastic components did not charge excise duty on certain transaction of sales on a bonafide belief that it is not payable. However, later on paid excise duty after taking licence under Central Excise provisions but did not collected the same from the buyers. The department based on proceedings from the excise authority, levied tax on excise duty paid by the dealer for past transactions although not collected from buyers. On appeal tribunal allowed appeal against which the department filed revision petition before the Madras High Court.

Held
As per definition of sale price contained in section 2(h) of the CST Act, what is charged as consideration alone could be considered as turnover of sales. Admittedly, the fact is, on the date of sale, the petitioner had collected as sale consideration and did not collect excise duty paid by it from the buyers and no evidence was available subsequent to payment of excise duty whether the portion of such payment had been passed over to the customer as a part of consideration. Therefore, the excise duty paid by the dealer and not collected from the customer cannot form part of sales turnover for levy of tax. Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the revision petition filed by the department and confirmed the order of the Tribunal.

State of AP vs. M/s. Sree Akkamamba Textiles Ltd. [2013] 66 VST 37 (AP).

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Central Sales Tax – Inter-State Sale or Stock Transfer-Dispatch of Goods to Branch Outside the State to Agents/Branch- In Absence of Documentary Evidence of Prior Contract – Is Stock Transfer. Section 6A of The Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

FACTS
M/s. Akkamamba Textiles Ltd., Tanuku was manufacturing, selling and transferring the cotton yarn and waste. It was finally assessed by the C.T.O., Tanuku-I circle, for assessment year 1993-94, under Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The assessing authority had allowed exemption on inter-state stock transfer to its Maharashtra (Bombay and Ichalkaranji), West Bengal and Tamil Nadu based four selling depot-agents under section 6A of the CST Act upon production of requisite Forms. The Deputy Commissioner (CT), Eluru Division, took up suo moto revision of the CTO ‘s order, disallowing exemption as turnover, relating to the sales said to have been made through depots, branch in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on certain grounds. Aggrieved by the aforesaid revision orders of the Deputy Commissioner (CT), Eluru division, the dealer preferred appeal before the Tribunal. The Tribunal allowed the appeal and remanded the matter to the DC (CT), Eluru, to give fair and reasonable opportunity to the appellantsassessee. In pursuance of these remand orders, the revisional authority passed consequential orders levying tax once again on the disputed turnovers under section 3(a) of the CST Act. Aggrieved of these orders the dealer preferred another appeal before the STAT , A.P. This time the appeals were allowed in favour of the assesse holding that these disputed transactions are not inter-state sales but are mere stock transfers to the four non-resident selling depot agents. The department filed revision before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

HELD

In the considered opinion of the high court, the questions of law said to have been arisen are not the questions of law in as much as all the questions relate to the finding of facts. The assessing authority, after examination of returns filed by the dealer and on scrutiny of the books of accounts, granted exemption relating to depot/branch transfer of cotton yarn made from Tanuku to Maharashtra (Bombay-Ichalkaranji), West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and allowed the exemption of the turnovers in exercise of the powers conferred u/s. 6A of the CST Act. The tribunal also recorded finding of facts and stated in its order that the revisional authority had reversed the order of the dealer merely on surmises and conjecture without citing specific instances and without any additional material. The finding of facts recorded by the tribunal is not challenged before the High Court. Accordingly, the High Court held that there is no question of law that is required to be answered, thus dismissed the revision petitions filed by the department and confirmed the order of tribunal allowing claim of stock transfer under section 6A of the CST Act.

2016 (41) STR 330 (A.A.R.) North American Coal corporation India Pvt Ltd.

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Salary paid to the secondment employees in terms of employment agreement is not liable for service tax.
Facts

The applicant is a subsidiary (Indian) of the foreign (US) company. It required services of a consultant who was in employment with the foreign company. Accordingly, a tripartite agreement was entered between employee, Indian company and US company for usage of the services of the employee by the Indian company for a particular term. During the consultants’ stay in India, he is to be treated as an employee of the Indian company while his social security interests continue to be taken care of by the foreign company. After the advent of the negative list, all earlier definitions got obliterated and new definition of ‘service’ was enacted under section 65(44) wherein service provided by an employee to the employer in the course of employment was granted exclusion from the definition of service. Social security costs were not reimbursed by the Indian company to the US company. Department contended that social security expenditure incurred by foreign company amounts to consideration paid by the applicant for employing the consultant and shall not be covered by the exclusion. Further, RBI circular was relied upon.

Held
The agreement explicitly mentioned that the consultant would be considered as an employee of the Indian company during his stay in India although his social security interests shall be borne by the US company. No salary was received from the US company during his stay in India and hence salary granted by Indian company and US company were mutually exclusive. In view of the clear provision, service of the consultant cannot be regarded as otherwise than a service provided by employee to the employer even though social security costs were paid by the US company. RBI circular is irrelevant for interpretation of the term ‘service’. Indian company is not liable to service tax on salary and allowances paid to the employee in terms of employment agreement.

[2016-TIOL-14-ARA-ST] M/s Akqa Media India P. Ltd

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In absence of any legal/contractual obligation to pay volume discounts which is purely gratuitous and discretionary on the part of media owners, such receipts are not exigible to service tax.

Facts
The Applicant intends to provide services of an advertising agency providing professional services to the advertisers in relation to placement of advertisements in various media. They propose to follow two business models- viz. placement of advertisement on behalf of the advertiser wherein they would raise an invoice on the advertiser charging service tax on the agency commission and secondly engage in buying and selling of advertising inventory on its own account wherein the applicant charges a consolidated amount which includes the cost to the media owner and their margin. They could also entail incentive/volume discount from the media owners. The question before the authority was whether the incentive/ volume discount received in both the above business models is liable for service tax.

Held
The Authority noted the definition of ‘service’ provided u/s. 65B(44) of the Finance Act, 1994 and stated that there has to be a nexus between activity and consideration. The term “activity for a consideration” involves an element of a contractual relationship which could be express or implied. The revenue has no evidence to indicate that an activity was undertaken resulting in giving volume discount by the media owner especially when the choice of selecting the media owner was of the advertiser. Further it was held 43 that volume discount is gratuitous and there is no legal/ contractual obligation to give such discounts and therefore the incidental receipt of incentives/volume discounts are not liable to service tax.

[2016] 68 taxmann.com 280 (Mumbai-CESTAT) – Magarpatta Township Development & Construction Co. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Pune-III

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When TDS liability of foreign service provider is borne by service recipient and the service provider is paid entire consideration as per the contract, such TDS component would not constitute consideration for service.
Facts

Appellant received services of a foreign architect for designing and planning of various commercial buildings and service tax liability was discharged on actual consideration paid. As regards TDS liability under the income tax law, in respect of consideration paid to foreign architect, it was borne by the appellant as determined by the terms of agreement. Service tax demand was raised on said TDS component by contending that the TDS would also form part of consideration.

Held

On perusal of the agreement between the appellant and the foreign architect, it was found that the gross amount charged was exclusive of TDS. It was noted that the erstwhile Rule 7 of Service Tax (Determination of Value) Rules, 2006 clearly stated that actual consultant charges needs to be taxed. Hon’ble Tribunal observed that combined reading of erstwhile section 67 of Finance Act, 1994 and the said Rule 7 indicates that amount billed by the service provider is liable for service tax. In present case, when it was found that service tax was paid on entire invoice amount and nothing was on record to provide that TDS component was collected from foreign architect, it was held that TDS liability borne by appellant and paid out of its own pocket cannot constitute consideration for service and accordingly there is no service tax liability.

[2016] 68 taxmann.com 280 (Mumbai-CESTAT) – Lavino Kapur Cottons (P.) Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Thane-II

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Once the refund is allowed by Commissioner (Appeals) by speaking order, it is not open to adjudicating authority to revisit the refund claim on merits
Facts

The Appellant filed 3 refund claims of unutilized CENVAT credit availed on input services in terms of Rule 5 of the CENVAT credit Rules, 2004. The said claims were consequential refund claims arising out of Order-in- Appeal wherein the Commissioner (Appeals) had ordered the Original Authority to grant refund. The claim was rejected by the adjudicating authority on the ground that they failed to declare in their ER-2 Returns the details of availment of CENVAT credit on input services and also failed to furnish the documents in support of their claim. It was contended that matter was remanded back with a direction to sanction refund claim and thus it was not within the power of the adjudicating authority to revisit the case and reject refund claim without filing any appeal to higher appellate authority. The First Appellate authority upheld the order rejecting the refund. Aggrieved by the same, the present appeal is filed.

Held

Hon’ble Tribunal observed that Commissioner (Appeals) had passed a speaking order granting refund and nothing was left for the lower authority to revisit the merits of the case. It was held that the lower authorities did not follow the judicial discipline as without contesting the order of Commissioner (Appeals) before higher judicial authority, it was not open for them to reject the refund claims by again getting into the merits of the case when the same is already dealt with by the superior authority. Appeal was therefore allowed.

2016 (42) S.T.R., 50 (Tri. Mumbai) C.S.T., Mumbai-I vs. Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre Ltd.

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The amount received as consideration should be considered as cum-tax amount unless the amount of tax is recovered separately.
Facts

The respondent received commission on the sale of bonds of RBI. No service tax was charged on the commission amount. The adjudicating authority confirmed the demand of service tax considering the commission received as inclusive of service tax. The department filed an appeal contesting that no evidence was provided to prove that amount received was inclusive of service tax and the decision in the case of Agro Industries Ltd vs. Commissioner of Central Excise 2007 (210) E.L.T. 183 (SC) was relied upon and it was provided that the judgement in case of Advantage Media Consultant-2008 (10) S.T.R. 49 (Tri-Mumbai) was incorrectly relied by first appellate authority.

Held
Tribunal observed that service tax was not separately charged on the commission during the relevant time and since Supreme Court has dismissed the department’s appeal against the judgement in case of Advantage Media Consultant-2008 (10) S.T.R. 49 (Tri-Mumbai), the Revenue’s appeal is devoid of merits and accordingly dismissed the appeal.

Whether payment of transaction charges to stock exchange amounts TO FTS – SecTION 194J – Part – I

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INTRODUCTION

1. Section 194J, in substance, requires every
person [with some exceptions] responsible for paying [Payer] to a resident
[Payee] to deduct tax at source [TDS] from payment of any sum by way of `fees
for professional services’, `fees for technical services’, etc,. at the time of
payment or credit of such sum to the account of the Payee as provided in Sec.
194 J (1) at the specified rate. There are some exceptions/ relaxations from
this requirement with which we are not concerned in this write-up. For the sake
of convenience, reference to TDS requirement at the time of credit is ignored.

1.1 For the above purpose, ‘fees for technical services’ [FTS], has the same
meaning as given in Explanation 2 to section 9 (1)(vii) [said Explanation].
This Explanation effectively defines FTS as consideration paid for rendering of
any managerial, technical or consultancy service. This definition has some
further inclusions and exclusions with which we are not concerned in this
write-up. As such, TDS requirement is required to be complied with while making
payment of FTS by the Payer as provided in section 194J (1). There is also
corresponding provision contained in section 40 (a)(ia), which provides for
disallowance of expenditure incurred by way of FTS in the event of TDS default
u/s. 194J, wherein also some relaxations are provided with which we are not
concerned in this write-up. Section 194J is also amended to cover payments of
`royalty’ within it’s scope by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2006 [w.e.f. 13/07/2006]
with which also we are not concerned in this write-up.

1.2 For the above purpose, in the context of payments for different types of
expenses , meaning of the expression FTS under the said Explanation has come-up
for interpretation before the courts/tribunal from time to time.

1.3 The Madras High Court, in the case of Skycell Communications Ltd.
(Skycell’s case) reported in 251 ITR 53 had an occasion to consider meaning of
the expression FTS in the context of payment for availing cellular telephone
services wherein, the Court has taken a view that such payment is made in order
to have the facility of communication with others and in such cases, the Payer
does not contract to receive the technical services [TS]. He agrees to pay for
the use of air time. This judgment also supports the view that mere collection
of a fee for the use of standard facility available for all those willing to
pay for it does not amount to FTS. The fact that the service provider has
installed sophisticated technical equipment in the exchange to ensure
connectivity to its subscriber, does not on that score, make it a provision for
TS. Whatever applies to cellular mobile phone services, also applies to fixed
line telephone services. Neither service can be regarded as TS for the purpose
of Sec. 194J. Similarly, the internet is very much a product of technology
which cannot be provided without installation of sophisticated equipments and
cannot be used by the subscribers without the use of telephone mobile or fixed
lines. On that score, every subscriber of internet service provider cannot be
regarded as having entered into contract for availing TS . According to the
High Court, the provisions of the Act must be construed in the background of
the realities of day to day life in which the products of technology play an
important role in making life smoother and more convenient. In fact, the Court
also found the view of the Revenue applying TDS requirement to subscribers of
telephone as grossly unreasonable. This view of the Madras High Court has been
followed in other cases by the courts/ benches of tribunal. As such, the
general view which emerged was that if a standard facility is provided through
usage of machine or technology, it should not be termed as rendering of TS and
the payments for the same should not be regarded as FTS for the purpose of TDS
u/s. 194 J .

1.4 Further, in the context of payments made to MTNL/BSNL by the companies
engaged in the business of providing cellular telephone services to their
subscribers for providing use of facilities for interconnection between the two
networks at inter connection points known as ports, the Delhi High Court in the
case of Bharti Cellular Ltd and connected appeals [319 ITR 139] took the view
that, the expression TS used in the definition of FTS was not be construed in
the abstract and general sense but in the narrower sense as it is circumscribed
by the expressions ‘managerial service’ and ‘consultancy service’ in the
definition of FTS which have a definite human element attached to them. As
such, according to the Court, the expression TS would have reference to only
technical service rendered by human, it would not include any service provided
by machines or robots. Therefore, according to the Court, payment of
interconnection charges/port access charges could not be regarded as FTS. With
this judgment, in this context, the view started getting acceptance that for
the purpose of rendering TS, the presence of human intervention is crucial and
therefore, as long as there is no human intervention in a service, it cannot be
treated as TS as contemplated in the definition of FTS given in the said
Explanation. This view is also followed in other cases. The issue with regard
to this requirement of presence of human intervention in the provision of TS
got largely settled with the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Bharti
Cellular Ltd. and other cases [390 ITR 239]. In this case, the Court dealt with
the judgment of the Delhi High Court in the case of Bharti Cellular Ltd
[supra]. In these cases, the Apex Court remitted back the matters to the
Assessing Officers [AO] with the direction that in each case, the AO should
examine a technical expert from the side of the department and to decide,
whether any human intervention was involved in the provision of interconnection
services. In this judgment, the Apex Court also gave certain directions to CBDT
to issue directions to the AOs to examine and bring necessary technical
evidences on record in such cases before deciding the issue and not to proceed
only on the basis of contracts placed before them. From this judgment of the
Apex Court, it would appear that the principle laid down by the Delhi High
Court, in restricting the scope of the expression TS that it should necessarily
involve human intervention, got effectively approved. This view is also
followed in other cases by the Tribunal. Accordingly, the view emerged is that
the element of human intervention, interface or application of human mind or
direct or indirect involvement of human endeavor is necessary for any service
to be regarded as the provision of TS within the definition of the FTS. As
such, what constitutes technical service essentially becomes a question of fact
to be examined in each case. Therefore, to an extent, uncertainty remains in
dealing with this issue.

1.4.1 Subsequently, the CBDT issued Instruction No. 5/2011 dtd 30th March, 2011
in which, by referring to the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Bharti
Cellular Ltd [supra], directing the AOs. / Transfer Pricing Officers that they
should frame assessments only after bringing on record appropriate technical
evidence that may be required in a case for this purpose and should not proceed
only by the contracts between the parties.

1.4.2 With the above position, with regard to the requirement of human
intervention for providing TS as contemplated in the definition of FTS, further
issue with regard to degree of human involvement became relevant for
consideration. In this context, the issue really faced is whether presence of
incidental/ insignificant human involvement or interface could make an
arrangement provision of TS.As such, in this context, a debate started that is
it a question of more or less of human involvement or is it a question of
presence or absence of human involvement. Generally, in this context, it was
believed that the incidental / insignificant human involvement should not make
the service as TS within the definition of FTS. This view gets support from the
decisions of the Tribunal. However, the Agra bench of the Tribunal in the case
of Metro and Metro [(2014) 29 ITR (trib) 772] took a different view that the
question is not of extent of human involvement but it is the question of either
presence or absence of human involvement. The correctness of this view is
seriously doubted in the profession. But this decision kept this further issue
alive.

1.5 In the context of the meaning of the expression TS in the definition of
expression FTS, the issue was also under debate as to whether the transaction charges
paid to Stock Exchange by its members to transact the business of trading in
securities could be regarded as FTS. This issue was decided by the Bombay High
Court against the assessee in the case of Kotak Securities Ltd [340 ITR 333].
However, the action of the AO in disallowing this expenditure u/s. 40(a)(ia)
was not upheld by the High Court for the reasons stated in the judgment.

1.6 The issue referred to in para 1.5 as to whether payment of such transaction
charges would constitute FTS for the purpose of TDS u/s. 194J and consequent
effect of section 40(a)(ia) for the assessment year in question, dealt with by
the Bombay High Court in the case referred to in the para 1.5 above, recently
came-up for consideration before the Apex Court and has now got resolved.
Considering the importance of this judgment and the other implications thereof,
it is thought fit to analyse the same in this column.

CIT vs. Kotak Securities
Ltd .- 340 ITR 333 (Bom)

2. In the above case, the relevant brief facts were: The assessee company was
engaged in the business of share broking, depositories, etc. The trading in
securities were carried out through recognized Stock Exchanges such as Bombay
Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), etc. The Stock Exchanges
regulate members’ activities like entering into, making, performance and
termination of contracts including contracts between members or between a
member and its constituents or between a member and a person, who is not a
member and the consequences of default, etc. For the purpose of facilitating
such trading activities, the BSE had devised the BSE On-Line Trading (BOLT )
system. Similar system is also devised by the NSE. For the purpose of
convenience, the Court decided to deal with BOLT system devised by the BSE.
This system provides for totally automated screen- based trading in securities
and facilitates the member- brokers to trade in securities from the trade
workstation installed in their offices which has replaced the earlier system of
assembling in the trading ring for carrying out this activity. The BOLT system
provides all the data that is necessary to the intending buyer and intending
seller of the securities and when the best buy order is matched with the best
sell order, the transaction is concluded which is followed by necessary
documentation. Under this system, the trading in securities is conducted in an
anonymous enviornment in such a manner that the buyers and sellers of the
securities do not know the names of each other and the same is revealed only
after the deal is finally settled. Settlement of transactions in securities
entered into by the members is done as per the procedure adopted by the stock
exchange which is continuously updated from time to time. The trading and
settlement activities are closely monitored in BSE by a system known as BSE
online surveillance system [BOSS]. As such, for the purpose of settling the
transactions entered in to by the members, delivery of securities and connected
matters, appropriate mechanism is provided by the Stock Exchange which is
governed by the relevant rules and regulations provided under the bye-laws of
the BSE. For the purpose of providing this facility of entering into trading in
securities, etc. through the BOLT system, the transaction charges are levied by
the BSE on the members, who enter into such transaction.

2.1 T he assessee company had furnished Return of Income for the Asst. Year.
2005-06 and during the relevant previous year, the assessee had paid to the BSE
an amount of Rs. 5,17,65,182 towards the transaction charges without deducting
any tax. During the assessment proceeding, the AO took the view that the
transaction charges paid by the assessee were in the nature of FTS covered u/s.
194J and therefore, the assessee was liable to deduct tax and the tax having
not being deducted, the AO disallowed the entire expenditure of transaction
charges u/s. 40(a)(ia). The first appellant authority took the view that the
Stock Exchange is not merely a mute spectator providing only physical
infrastructure to the members but it was a supervisor, overseer, manager,
controller, settlor and arbitrator over the security trading done through it
which necessarily had vital inputs and ingredients of rendering managerial
services and accordingly, confirmed the action of the AO However, the tribunal
took the view that the Stock Exchange does not render any managerial, technical
or consultancy service and the assessee was not required to deduct any tax u/s.
194J from the payment of transaction charges and consequently, provisions of
section 40(a)(ia) are not attracted. Accordingly, the disallowance made by the
AO was deleted. On these facts, the issue as to applicability of Sec. 194J to
the payment of transaction charges and consequent applicability of Sec.
40(a)(ia) came up before the Bombay High Court at the instance of Revenue. In
substance, the issue before the Court was whether the transaction charges paid
by the assessee company could be regarded as FTS covered u/s. 194J for the
purpose of making TDS and consequent disallowance u/s. 40(a)(ia).

2.2 Before the Court, on behalf of the Revenue, it was, interalia, contented
that the Stock Exchange through the BOLT system provides a trading platform
which is highly sophisticated and constantly monitored and managed by the
managerial staff of the Stock Exchange and hence, the services rendered by the
Exchange are TS covered u/s. 194J and since the assessee has failed to make
TDS, the AO was justified in disallowing the expenditure under Sec. 40(a)(ia).
On the other hand, on behalf of the assessee, it was, interalia, contented that
transaction charges paid by the assessee for the use of a system provided by
the Stock Exchange. The BOLT system, like the ATM system provided by the banks,
does neither envisage a contract for rendering technical services nor a
contract for rendering managerial services, but merely a contract for usage of
BOLT system. Mere fact that the BOLT system itself is a device set-up by using
high technology, in the absence of a contract for rendering technical services,
cannot be a ground to hold that payments of transaction charges are FTS u/s.
194J. As such, provisions of section 40 (a)(ia) are not applicable, there being
no liability to deduct tax u/s. 194J.

2.3 For the purpose of deciding the issue, the Court referred to the relevant
part of the provisions of section 194J(1) and the said Explanation as it stood
at the relevant time and noted that the plain reading of the provision shows
that the expression FTS includes rendering of any managerial services and the
question is, by providing the BOLT system for trading in securities whether the
Stock Exchange renders managerial services to its members. The Court also noted
that, the Tribunal as well as the counsel for the assessee strongly relied on
the judgment in Skycell’s case (supra), wherein it was held that the cellular
mobile service provider does not render any technical service though high
technology is involved in the cellular mobile phone and therefore, section 194J
is not attracted.

2.4 The Court then stated that the judgment of Madras High Court in Skycell’s
case is distinguishable on facts. In that case, the subscriber who had
subscribed to the network was required to pay for the air time used by the
subscriber at the rates fixed by the service provider. In the facts of that
case, the High Court took the view that the contract between the subscriber and
the service provider was to provide mobile communication network and the
subscriber was neither concerned with the technology involved in this process
nor was he concerned with the services rendered by the managerial staff in
keeping the cellular mobile phone activated. As such, the contract between the
customer and the service provider was not to receive any technical or managerial
service and the customer was only concerned with the facility of being able to
communicate with others on payment of charges. Accordingly, in that case, there
was no linkage between the contract for providing a medium of communication
through the cellular mobile phone and the technical and managerial service
rendered by the service provider in keeping the cellular mobile phone
activated.

2.4.1 The Court then proceeded to distinguish the facts of the case of the
assessee as compared to the facts before the Madras High Court in Skycell’s
case and for that purpose stated as under [pages 340-341]:

“. . … in the
present case, there is direct linkage between the managerial services rendered
and the transaction charges levied by the stock exchange. The BOLT system
provided by the Bombay Stock Exchange is a complete platform containing the
entire spectrum of trading in securities. The BOLT system not merely provides
the live connection between prospective purchasers and prospective sellers of
the respective securities / derivatives together with the rates at which they
are willing to buy or sell the securities, but also provides a mechanism for
concluding the transaction between the two parties. The BOLT system withholds
the identity of the two contracting parties, namely, the buyer and the seller
of the respective securities/ derivatives. Under the screen-based BOLT system,
the entire trading system is managed and monitored right from the stage of
providing the platform for the prospective buyers/sellers of the securities /
derivatives till the date the deal struck between the two parties are finally
settled in all respects. The very object of establishing the stock exchanges is
to regulate the transactions in securities and to prevent undesirable
speculation in the transactions. To achieve this goal, the stock exchange
continuously upgrades its BOLT system so that the transactions carried on
through that system inspire confidence in the general public and that the
transactions are settled smoothly and expeditiously. Thus, the entire trading
in securities is managed by the Bombay Stock Exchange through the BOLT system
provided by the stock exchange.

Unlike in the case of cellular mobile phones
where the user of the cellular telephone is at the discretion of the subscriber
and the service provider is not regulating user of the cellular mobile phone by
the subscriber, in the case of the BOLT system, the user of the system is
restricted to the trading in securities and the same is completely regulated by
the stock exchange. If during the course of trading, it is found that a member
is indulging in malpractices the stock exchange is empowered to suspend the
member broker apart from making him liable for various other consequences.
Thus, the decision of the Madras High Court in the case of Skycell [2001] 251
ITR 53(Mad) is totally distinguishable on facts and the Income-tax Appellate
Tribunal was in error in applying the ratio laid down therein to the facts of
the present case.”

2.5 Further, the Court rejected the contention raised on behalf of the assessee
that there was no contract to render technical/ managerial services in the
present case and stated that the very object of providing BOLT system is to
provide complete platform for carrying out these activities. It is only if a
member trades through the BOLT system, it is required to pay transaction
charges depending upon the volume of trading. Once the trading through BOLT
system takes place, the member is assured that the contracting party is a
genuine buyer or seller, as the case may be, and that the price offered by the
opposite party would be in consonance with the norms laid down by the Stock
Exchange and the transaction would be settled effectively and expeditiously.
According to the Court, the measure of levying the transaction charges is not
relevant and the fact that transaction charge is based on the value of the
transaction and not on the volume is not determinative of the fact as to
whether managerial services are rendered or not.

2.6 Proceeding further, in support of the view that the case is covered u/s.
194 J, the Court further observed as under [page 342]: “Unless the stock
exchange constantly monitors the transactions relating to the sale or purchase
of the securities right from the stage when the two contracting parties
interact through the BOLT system, it would be impossible to ensure safety of
the market. When there is considerable variation in the price of the securities
offered to be sold or purchased the in-built system alerts and remedial measures
are taken immediately so that no panic situation arises in the stock market.
With a view to regulate the trading in securities, the stock exchange provides
risk management and surveillance to the stock brokers to ensure the safety of
the market. The surveillance function involves price monitoring, exposure of
the members, rumour verification on a daily basis and take remedial actions
like reduction of filters, imposition of special margin, transferring scrips on
a trade to trade settlement basis, suspension of scrips/members, etc. These are
some of the identified managerial services rendered by the stock exchange for
which transaction charges are levied. ”

2.6.1 In support of the above, the Court further pointed out as under [page
342]: “The fact that the BOLT system provided by the stock exchange has
in-built automatic safeguards which automatically gives alert signal if the
fluctuation in the prices of the securities exceed a particular limit
prescribed by the stock exchange does not mean that the managerial services are
not rendered, because , firstly, the in-built mechanism in the BOLT system
itself is a part of the managerial service rendered by the stock exchange and,
secondly, even the in-built mechanism provided in the system is varied or
altered by the stock exchange depending upon the circumstances encountered
during the course of rendering managerial services.”

2.7 Rejecting the argument that the BOLT system is like the ATM system provided
by the banks, the Court stated that no trading activity is carried on at the
ATM like under the BOLT system under which the activity is
monitored/regulated/managed by the Stock Exchange.

2.8 Considering the above, on the issue of applicability of section 194J, the
Court finally held as under [pages 342-343]: “In the result, we hold that
when the stock exchanges are established under the Securities Contracts
(Regulation) Act, 1956, with a view to prevent undesirable transactions in
securities by regulating the business of dealing in shares, it is obvious that the
stock exchanges have to manage the entire trading activity carried on by its
members and accordingly managerial services are rendered by the stock
exchanges. Therefore, in the fact of the present case, the transaction charges
were paid by the assessee to the stock exchange for rendering the managerial
services which constitutes fees for technical services u/s. 194J read with
Explanation 2 to section 9(1)(vii) of the Act and hence the assessee was liable
to deduct tax at source before crediting the transaction charges to the account
of the stock exchange. ”

2.8.1 From the above, it would appear that the Court took the view that, the
Stock Exchange is rendering managerial services. According to the Court, the
in-built mechanism in the BOLT system is itself a part of managerial services
rendered by the Stock Exchange and even such in-built mechanism provided, is
varied or altered as per the need during the course of rendering managerial
service. As such, the payment of transaction charges is FTS, as the definition
of FTS includes consideration for managerial services and accordingly, the same
is covered by section 194J.

2.9 The Court then dealt with the issue of disallowance u/s. 40(a)(ia). After
considering the object of the introduction of section 40(a)(ia) as explained in
CBDT circular No/ 5 dtd 15th July, 2005, the Court noted that during the period
1995-2005, neither the assessee made TDS from the payment of transaction
charges nor the Revenue raised any objection or initiated any proceedings for
default in making TDS. The Court, under the circumstances, felt that nearly for
a decade both the parties proceeded on the footing that section 194J is not
attracted. Under the circumstances, according to the Court, no fault can be
found with the assessee for not making TDS u/s. 194J for the assessment year in
question [Asst Year 2005-06].The Court also noted that from the Asst Year
2006-07, the assessee has started deducting tax from such payments, though not
as FTS but as royalty. The Court also noted that, presumably, the Revenue has
not suffered any loss for non- deduction of tax as the Stock Exchange has
discharged its tax liability for that year. On these facts, the Court took the
view that no action can be taken u/s. 40(a)(ia) and held as under [page 343]:

” In any event, in the facts of the present case, in view of the
undisputed decade old practice, the assessee had bona fide reason to believe
that the tax was not deductible at source u/s. 194J of the Act and, therefore,
the Assessing Officer was not justified in invoking section 40(a)(ia) of the
Act and disallowing the business expenditure by way of transaction charges
incurred by the assessee.”

2.10 From the above, it is worth noting that though the Court held that the
payment of transaction charges constitutes FTS covered u/s. 194J, under
peculiar circumstances, the Court also took a fair view that disallowance u/s.
40(a)(ia) cannot be made as both the Revenue and the assessee were under the
bona fide belief for nearly a decade that the tax was not required to be
deducted.

[2016-TIOL-1104-CESTAT-MUM] Benzy Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd vs. Commissioner of Service Tax, Mumbai-I

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The provisions of section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 applies to every case of refund irrespective of the fact that the payment is made without authority of law.
Facts

The Appellant wrongly paid service tax and made an application for refund. The refund claim was rejected stating that it was filed beyond one year from the relevant date as provided under section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944. It was argued that the payment made was without authority of law and therefore was not barred by limitation.

Held

The Tribunal noted that in every case of refund the amount is refundable only where it is not payable, accordingly the section will not apply for the reason that it is neither service tax nor excise duty. If this is accepted then section 11B will stand redundant. Therefore it was held that when payment is made under a particular head such as service tax, excise duty etc. the subsequent refund of the amount not payable should be treated as refund of service tax / duty only and therefore the time limitation provided under section 11B shall apply.

Note: (Readers may note that the decision has distinguished the decision of Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd [2015-TIOL-1602-HC-KERALA-ST] reported in August-2015 issue of BCAJ, decision of Madhvi Procon P. Ltd [2015-TIOL- 87-CESTAT-AHM, Jyotsana D.Patel [2014-52 taxmann.com 255 (Mumbai-CESTAT )] referred to in February 2015 issue of BCAJ).

[2015] 56 taxmann.com 381 (Karnataka) CCE & ST vs. Mukund Ltd.

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CENVAT credit on raw material cannot be denied to manufacturer of final product, even if such raw material is used in another factory belonging to another assessee, provided, the CENVAT able input is used for common share under alliance agreement between such manufacturer and assessee and is for a continuous process of manufacturing dutiable goods.

Facts:
The assessee and two other companies entered into a “strategic alliance agreement” for the production of steel through integrated steel plant (ISP). ISP was producing the envisaged product. A supplier having its plant next to ISP, supplied oxygen and nitrogen in pipelines which was used as a raw material in ISP. The assessee used the said items as raw material and availed full CENVAT credit based on duty paid invoices although a part thereof was used by one of the alliance parties to manufacture certain items. The revenue alleged that since a portion of gases was being diverted to alliance Partner who was using the same to manufacture the products in its company, assessee would lose the benefit of CENVAT credit to that extent.

Held:
The High Court observed that by the Strategic Alliance Agreement, the corporate entities had entered into a joint venture agreement to manufacture steel products. It was also observed from the records that whatever was manufactured by the other alliance partner in the ratio agreed to between the parties was finally made over to the assessee for manufacture of final product. Thus, though there are three separate units with separate registrations, the entire raw material is being converted into final dutiable product in continuous; inter connected and integrated process conforming to the definition of a single factory u/s. 2(f) of the Central Excise Act. Relying upon the decision of High Court in the case of Vikram Cements vs. CCE [2006] 3 STT 230, the Court reiterated that a manufacturing unit can have one or more units to manufacture intermediary raw materials to manufacture a final product and dismissing revenue’s appeal held that CENVAT cannot be denied on the ground that credit is being availed by one factory and material inputs are used by three factories, because the CENVAT able input is being used for common share and continuous purpose of manufacturing dutiable goods.

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[2015] 56 taxmann.com 383 (Andhra Pradesh) Star Enterprise vs. Jt. Commissioner, CCE&ST

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Where the appeals against the Order-in -Original are dismissed by First and Second Appellate Authorities as time-barred, the writ Courts cannot accept a challenge to the very same order, as it would unsettle a legally settled position.

Facts:
The petitioner filed an appeal before first and second appellate authority, but both the authorities refused to entertain the same as they were presented not only beyond the period of limitation prescribed therefor, but also beyond the condonable period. Therefore, a writ petition was filed before High Court asking for a writ of mandamus declaring the levy of service tax on the works undertaken by the petitioner as illegal, arbitrary, amounting to double taxation and consequently setting aside the original order.

Held:
Relying upon decision dated 29.01.2015 in the case of M/s. Resolute Electronics (P.) Ltd. vs. Union of India Writ Petition No. 1409 of 2015 and Supreme Court decision in the case of Singh Enterprises vs. CCE [2008] 12 STT 21, the High Court held that after availing remedy unsuccessfully before another Court, it is not legally permissible to accept challenge to the same order under writ jurisdiction as it would result in unsettling a legally settled position. It was further held that when appellate authority has already decided the matter against the petitioner, the writ Court is debarred from doing so particularly, when the appellate authorities’ orders are not challenged in the writ jurisdiction.

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2015 (38) STR 12 (Cal.) Solux Galfab Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Service Tax.

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The ex-parte order can be set aside if sufficient cause for delay in filing the appeal is made out. Length of delay is immaterial, sufficient cause for delay is material.

Facts:
The petitioner filed an appeal along with application of condonation for delay of 21 days before the CESTAT . The Tribunal decided the application ex-parte and dismissed the appeal. After which a miscellaneous application was filed for restoration thereof and application for condonation of delay. The Tribunal misconstrued the application as a review application and recorded that sufficient cause for delay was not shown and dismissed the appeal. Therefore the present writ is filed.

Held:
The Hon’ble High Court held that the length of delay is immaterial, sufficient cause for such delay is of prime importance. Rather than finding fault with the application for condonation of delay, the Tribunal should encourage the litigation to be decided on merits and should not act harshly. The Tribunal invoked Rule 41 of the CESTAT (Procedure) Rules, 1982 for review as against Rule 20 of the said Rules which provides for setting aside ex parte order if sufficient cause is shown. The order was a set aside with a direction to fix up the date of hearing.

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Nature of Lease Transaction of Cranes

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Introduction
The identification of lease transaction is a vexed issue. The sale by “transfer of right to use goods” (Lease) is provided by a deeming clause in Article 366 (29A) of Constitution of India. However, there is no definition of the nature of lease transaction in constitution or in the respective sales tax laws. Therefore, its nature is required to be determined in light of decided cases. The controversy remains alive till the issue reaches the Supreme Court.

The decisions are also based on facts of each case.

BSNL case

One of the important judgments on the issue is of Supreme Court in case of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (145 STC 91). In this judgment, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has specified criteria for deciding the nature of lease transaction. The said criteria can be reproduced below.

“98. To constitute a transaction for the transfer of the right to use the goods, the transaction must have the following attributes:

(a) There must be goods available for delivery;

(b) There must be a consensus ad idem as to the identity of the goods;

(c) The transferee should have a legal right to use the goods consequently all legal consequences of such use including any permissions or licenses required therefore should be available to the transferee;

(d)For the period during which the transferee has such legal right, it has to be the exclusion to the transferor – this is the necessary concomitant of the plain language of the statute – viz., a “transfer of the right to use” and not merely a licence to use the goods;

(e) Having transferred the right to use the goods during the period for which it is to be transferred, the owner cannot again transfer the same rights to others.”

However, in spite of such clear criteria laid down by highest court, the litigation continues.

Case of crane
There are commercial transactions where work is carried out by parties, with use of cranes. It is but natural that the customer who employees the crane owner will request /direct the crane owner to operate the crane as he requires. However, such transactions are being attempted to be classified as lease transactions by the state sales tax authorities.

Recently, there is judgment of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in relation to such controversy.

Commissioner of Sales Tax vs. General Cranes
This judgment is given by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court on 21st April 2015 in Sales Tax Reference No. 5 Of 2009 In Reference To Application No. 72 Of 2005.

The facts in this case, as noted by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court, are as under.

“The facts, in brief, giving rise to the present Reference are as under:

The respondent is registered under the Lease Act and is engaged in carrying on the business of hiring of cranes. The respondent had filed an application under section 8 of the Lease Act for determination of question as to whether he would fall under the term of “dealer” under the Maharashtra Sales Tax on the Transfer of Right to use any goods for any purpose Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Lease Tax Act’) along with Section 52 of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. The Additional Commissioner while dealing with the said application held that the respondents would fall within the definition of a ‘dealer’ and as such, the transaction entered into by him with M/s. Offshore Hook-Up & Construction Services (I) Pvt. Ltd. would be governed by the provisions of the said Act and as such taxable. Being aggrieved thereby, an Appeal came to be preferred. The learned Tribunal reversed the finding of the learned Additional Commissioner and held that the transaction entered into between the respondent and M/s. Offshore Hook-Up & Construction Services (I) Pvt. Ltd. would not amount to sale as defined u/s. 2(10) of the Lease Act.”

In subsequent paras, the Hon’ble High Court has reproduced certain relevant portion from the agreement between the parties. Thereafter, the Hon’ble High Court has referred to the definition and provisions of the Lease Act.

More particularly, the Hon’ble High Court has relied upon the judgment in case of BSNL (cited supra) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited 126 STC 114 (SC).

After analysing facts and legal position, the Hon’ble High Court observed as under, about nature of transaction:

“As already discussed hereinabove, the learned Tribunal has extensively reproduced the terms of contract which are also been reproduced by us hereinabove. Perusal of the terms of contract would reveal that as per the contract, the driver, cleaner, diesel and oil was to be provided by the respondent. So also, transportation of accessories was to be done by the respondent. It can further be seen that there is no provision in the contract that the legal consequences such as permissions or licences were to be transferred to the transferee. The ultimate control over the crane retained with the respondent. We find that the learned Tribunal, applying the judgment of Apex Court, has rightly construed that the transaction which were entered into by the respondent with Offshore Hook Up & Construction Services (I) Pvt. Ltd. would not fall within the meaning of Lease Act and the respondent was not a dealer within the meaning of definition of section 2(4) of the Lease Act.”

Thus, the Hon’ble High Court decided that there is no transfer of right to use goods and the judgment given by the Hon’ble Tribunal is correct as per facts and law.

The concept of effective control is also discussed by Hon’ble High Court in above para. Though the judgment is in relation to cranes it can apply with equal force to other such vehicles like, buses, etc. Therefore, the above judgment will be a guiding judgment for similar transactions.

Conclusion:
It seems as though, that the dealers have to wage a long struggle to get the correct position of Law decided. And this is happening due to fact that there is no definition of the ‘nature of lease transaction’. The parameters considered by different courts further add to the controversy. Therefore, it will be useful if a statutory definition of relevant terms is provided in the Law itself. Hopefully, due care will be taken in the drafting of GST Law.

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OVERLAP OF CUSTOMS DUTY AND SERVICE TAX

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Background
In the context of indirect taxation, overlap of taxes is one of the major areas of concern inasmuch as it has a cascading effect and increases the transaction costs. While, overlap of service tax and VAT or service tax and excise duty is a subject of extensive deliberations and judicial considerations, less attention has been given to overlap of customs duty and service tax. However, actually this has a significant implication inasmuch as basic customs duty is not eligible for the benefit of CENVAT credit (only CVD equivalent to excise duty is entitled to CENVAT credit). Hence, the issue is analysed below.

Relevant Statutory Provisions

Service Tax – Reverse Charge Mechanism: effective from July 01, 2012

• Section 68 of the Finance Act, as amended (Act)

“Every person providing taxable service to any person shall pay service tax at the rate specified in section 66B in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed.

Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), in respect of such taxable services as may be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette, the service tax thereon shall be paid by such person and in such manner as may be prescribed at the rate specified in section 66B and all the provisions of this Chapter shall apply to such person as if he is the person liable for paying the service tax in relation to such service.

Provided that the Central Government may notify the service and the extent of service tax which shall be payable by such person and the provisions of this Chapter shall apply to such person to the extent so specified and the remaining part of the service tax shall be paid by the service provider.”

• Notification No. 30/2012-ST dated 20/6/12.

In case of the following services notified as specified services, the service recipient is held as the person liable for payment of service tax to the Government.

“Taxable services provided or agreed to be provided by:

(i) to (x) ……………

(xi) Taxable service provided or agreed to be provided by any person which is located in a non-taxable territory and received by any person located in the taxable territory.”

• Relevant extracts from Customs Valuation (Determination of Price of Imported Goods) Rules, 2007 (‘CVR’) issued in terms of Customs Act, 1962 – Rule 10 – Cost and Services

“(1) In determining the transaction value, there shall be added to the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods, —

(a) the following to the extent they are incurred by the buyer but are not included in the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods, namely:-

(i) commissions and brokerage except buying commissions;

(ii) the cost of containers which are treated as being one for customs purposes with the goods in question;

(iii) the cost of packing whether for labour or materials;

(b) The value apportioned as appropriate of the following goods and services where supplied directly or indirectly by the buyer free of charge or at reduced cost for use in connection with the production and sale for export of imported goods, to the extent that such value has not been included in the price actually paid or payable, namely:-

(i) materials, components, parts and similar items incorporated in the imported goods;

(ii) tools, dies, moulds and similar items used in the production of the imported goods;

(iii) materials consumed in the production of the imported goods;

(iv) engineering, development, art work, design work, and plans and sketches undertaken elsewhere than in India and necessary for the production of the imported goods;

(c) royalties and license fees related to the imported goods that the buyer is required to pay, directly or indirectly, as a condition of the sale of the goods being valued to the extent that such royalties and fees are not included in the price actually paid or payable;

(d) the value of any part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale, disposal or use of the imported goods that accrues, directly or indirectly, to the seller;

(e) all other payments actually made or to be made as a condition of sale of the imported goods, by the buyer to the seller or by the buyer to a third party to satisfy an obligation of the seller to the extent that such payments are not included in the price actually paid or payable.

Explanation.- Where the royalty, license fee or any other payment for a process, whether patented or otherwise, is includible referred to in clauses (c) and (e), such charges shall be added to the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods, notwithstanding the fact that such goods may be subjected to the said process after importation of such goods.

(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) and these rules, the value of the imported goods shall be the value of such goods, for delivery at the time and place of importation and shall include –

a) The cost of transport of the imported goods to the place of importation;

b) Loading, unloading and handling charges associated with the delivery of the imported goods at the place of importation; and

c) The cost of insurance;

Provided that –

(i) Where the cost of transport referred to in clause (a) is not ascertainable, such cost shall be twenty per cent of the free on board value of the goods;

(ii) The charges referred to in clause (b) shall be one per cent of the free on board value of the goods plus the cost of transport referred to in clause (a) plus the cost of insurance referred to in clause (c);

(iii) Where the cost referred to in clause (c) is not ascertainable, such cost shall be 1.125% of free on board value of the goods;

…………….”

Double taxation of services and intangible rights related payments by importers of goods to foreign entities

As per CVR, the value of services and intangible rights is required to be added to the transaction value of imported goods, for the purpose of levy of customs duty. At the same time such payments (consideration) for services and intangible rights are also liable to service tax under reverse charge. Thus, there is an issue of double taxation.

In particular, as per Rule 10(1)(c) & (e) of CVR, the following is required to be added to the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods while determining the transaction value.

“Royalties and license fees related to the imported goods that the buyer is required to pay, directly or indirectly, as a condition of the sale of the goods being valued, to the extent that such royalties and fees are not included in the price actually paid or payable.

All other payments actually made or to be made as a condition of sale of the imported goods, by the buyer to the seller or by the buyer to a third party to satisfy an obligation of the seller to the extent that such payments are not included in the price actually paid or payable.

Explanation:- Where the royalty, license fee or any other payment for a process, whether patented or otherwise, is includible referred to in clauses (a) and (b), such charges shall be added to the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods, notwithstanding the fact that such goods may be subjected to the said process after importation of such goods.
Issues pertaining to indian companies entering into business arrangements with foreign entities arise for consideration. Such arrangements are mainly done to use brand/reputation, intellectual property rights, product and business expertise etc. of foreign entities and sell products supplied/approved by them in indian market. Such arrangements are made in different legal forms like joint venture, franchise, license, distributor etc. under the said arrangements, indian companies are obliged to maintain prescribed standards of business, pay for value of goods being imported and are also required to make payments to foreign partner for services and intangible rights which are identified by various names like franchise/license fee, marketing/advertising fee, agents fee/commission, renewal fee, reimbursements of travel etc.

While Custom authorities relates all the above direct or indirect payments related to services and intangible rights like royalty, license fee etc. to supply of goods and hold them liable to Customs duty, service tax authorities treat such payments as consideration for services and hold indian companies liable to pay service tax under reverse Charge mechanism.

Thus,  indian  companies  are  exposed  to  the  burden of double taxation of Customs duty as well as service tax.   this   increases   the   transaction   costs   of   indian businesses substantially.

Government has in its wisdom, sought to address this issue in some specific cases. E.g.:

•    When transfer of right to use imported/locally pro- cured packaged software or canned software is passed on to the buyer, Government has exempted CVD/Central excise duty on consideration for such transfer of right to use, provided service tax is paid on the same (Ref: Notification No. 25/2011- Cus. dated 01.03.2011 and 14/2011-Ce dated 24.03.2011). Conversely, service tax was exempt- ed when CVD/Excise duty was paid (Ref: Notifica- tion no. 34/2012 – St, dated 20.06.2012).

•    IPR service providers were exempted from service tax equivalent to amount of cess payable on the transfer of technology under the provisions of the r & d Cess act, 1986 so as to avoid double taxa- tion of both service tax and r & d Cess (ref not no. 17/ 2004-St., dated 10.09.2004).

Mumbai CESTAT Ruling in united shippers lTD vs. csT (2015) 37 STR 1043 (Tri – Mumbai)

Issue before CESTAT

“Whether barge (shipping) charges collected towards transportation of the imported goods from the mother vessel anchored at Bombay floating Lights to dharmatar jetty where the goods were unloaded, which forms part of the transaction value of the imported goods can be once again levied to service tax under the category of cargo handling services?”

Contentions of the Appellants

•    The activity of transshipment of import and export cargo, from the mother vessels to the jetty and vice versa, is carried out by the barges (termed as daughter vessels) on account of the draft not permitting the mother vessels to travel until the jetty at  minor  ports. the  appellant  submitted  that  it  is a settled position in law that such transshipment of cargo from the mother vessel to the jetty is to be treated as a continuation of the journey of the goods in the import stream into india, as upheld in South India Corporation (Agencies) Ltd. vs. Collector of Customs and Ors. (1987) 30 E.L.T. 100 (Cal); Turner Morrison and Co. Ltd. vs. Asstt. Col- lector of Cus. for Exports (II) (1999) 110 E.L.T. 484 Cal.) and Collector of Customs, Ahmedabad vs. Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. (1987) 29 E.L.T. 182 (tribunal).

•    The freight amount charged to the customer for the barge transportation of goods from the mother vessel to the jetty forms a part of the assessable value of the imported goods, for the purpose of computation of Customs duty. the inclusion of the freight amount has been explicitly mandated by the amendments effected to section 14 of the Customs act, 1962 read with CVr these amendments were made in order to overcome the decision in Ispat In- dustries Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Customs, Mum- bai (2006) [202 E.L.T. 561 (S.C.)] and ensure the position in law which had always been intended by the Legislature, and accordingly the said po- sition would equally apply for the period prior to 2007. therefore, the value of the transportation by transshipment is treated as an intrinsic part of the value of a goods transaction and the said amount therefore, cannot attract the levy of service tax si- multaneously as being in the nature of consideration for provision of services. reference is made to the decision in Escotel Mobile Communications Ltd. vs. Union of India (2004) [177 E.L.T. 99 (Ker.)] wherein it was held that, based on the “aspect theory”, the same transaction could be exigible to different taxes in its different aspects – in that case, the issuance of a Sim card to a subscriber could be equally liable to sales tax and service tax at the same time. this view was challenged before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in BSNL vs. UOI (2006) [2S.T.R. 161 (SC)] in which the aforesaid finding of the high Court was overruled, and it was categorically held that the aspect theory would not apply to enable the value of the goods to be included in the rendition of services or vice versa. In the present case, the freight charged for the barge transpor- tation of the goods from the mother vessel to the jetty is includible in the assessable value on which customs duties are levied. Applying the rationale laid down in the aforesaid ruling of the Hon’ble Su- preme Court, once the freight has already rightly suffered customs duties as a part of the value of the goods being imported, a dual levy of service tax cannot also be imposed on the same freight amount, and the demand on this basis cannot sustain. Further, it was submitted that this activity of transportation of goods from the mother vessel to the jetty is earned out before the goods crosses the customs frontier of india and consequently, will be construed to be undertaken while the goods are still in the import stream and prior to the successful completion of the process of importation of the goods into india. [Garden Silk Mills vs. Union of India, (1999) 113 E.L.T. 358 (S.C.)] reliance was also placed on the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Hotel Ashoka vs. Asst. Commr. of Commercial Taxes (2012) [276 E.L.T. 433 (S.C.)], wherein it held that an activity of sale of items in the duty free zone of an airport will not attract the levy of Vat, even though such sale is actually taking place within the physical territory of india, as such goods had not crossed the customs frontier of india to form a part of the mass of goods meant for consumption in india and had therefore not been imported into india. it was therefore, submitted that taxing the transshipment of the goods in the present case will tantamount to levying service tax on an activity of import of goods, which is impermissible in law.

Contentions of the Revenue

It appears that transport of cargo by barges from the mother vessels had taken place when the mother vessels  were  at  mumbai  floating  Light/inner anchorage  of mumbai Port trust, i.e. when the vessels were already in india. Therefore, there does not appear any legal bar to levy service tax on the services provided in relation to the cargo transported by the barges from the mother vessels to  the jetty.  It  would  also  not  be  correct  to  say  that it would amount to double taxation. The levy of cus- toms duty and service tax are under separate enact- ments. In the case of CST, Bangalore vs. Lincoln He- lios (India) Ltd. (2011) 23 STR 112 (Kar.), the hon’ble high Court has held that excise duty is levied on the aspect of manufacture and service tax is levied on the aspect of services rendered. Therefore, it will not amount to payment of tax twice.

In the said case, the facts were not in dispute. the as- sessee undertook not only manufacture and sale of its products, it also erected and commissioned the finished products.  The  customer  was  charged  for  the  services rendered as well as the value for manufactured products. admittedly, up to 20/06/2003 no service tax was leviable on erection and commission work. It was only subjected to tax from 01/07/2003.

The assessee paid the excise duty on the value of the product notwithstanding the services rendered. it is in that context, they were contending that there cannot be levy of tax under two parliamentary legislations. however, the excise duty was levied on the aspect of manufacture and service tax is levied on the aspect of services rendered. Therefore it will not amount to payment of tax twice. After contesting the matter before the tribunal, the assessee paid the service tax and interest thereon. Moreover, the commissioning installation and erection work was brought to service tax only from 01/07/2003. It was during the transitional period and the benefit of doubt existing in the mind of the assessee was given to him. Since it constitutes a reasonable cause for not paying the service tax in view of Section 80, the Court held that the tribunal was justified in interfering with the levy of penalty and in setting aside the same and there was no infirmity in the order passed by the tribunal.

 Observations of CESTAT
•    As regards the first issue, since the transaction in- volves a customs transaction and a service trans- action, it is necessary to decide where the customs transaction ends and the service transaction begins.  the  issue  as  to  what  constitutes  “imports” has been settled by the hon’ble apex Court in the case of Garden Silk mills Ltd. (supra), wherein the following was observed:

“Truly speaking, the imposition of import duty, by an large, results in a condition which must be ful- filled before the goods can be brought inside the customs barriers, i.e. before they form part of the mass of the goods within the country.

It would appear to us that the import of the goods into india would commence when the same cross into the territorial waters but continues when the goods become part of the mass of goods within the country; the taxable event being reached at the time when the goods reach the customs barriers and the bill of entry for home consumption is filed.”

Thus  when  the  goods  are  being  transported  by the barges from the mother vessel to the jetty on- shore, that activity is part of the import transaction of bringing the goods into india from a place outside india. the question of rendering any service in respect of such goods by way of cargo handling or otherwise can take place only after the customs transaction is completed. therefore, the question of levying to service tax on the transportation by barges from the question of levying to service tax the transportation by barges from the mother vessel to the jetty onshore, would not arise at all since the said activity is part of the import transaction leviable to import duty and we hold accordingly. [para 5.2]

•    This is also evident from the fact that Section 14 of the CVR were amended to specifically include barge charges and handling charges in the trans- action value  of the imported goods vide  finance act, 2007 to overcome the adverse decision in the case of ispat industries (supra). Section 14 was substituted “to specifically provide that transaction value of imported goods shall include, in addition to the price, any amount paid or payable for costs and services, including commissions, … cost of transportation to the place of importation, insurance, unloading and handling charges to the extent and in the manner specified in the rules made in this regard”.

These  amended  provisions  came  into  force  with effect from 10/10/07. CBEC has also clarified vide Circular 34/2009, dated 30-11-2009 that “the issue of ineligibility of barge charges in the value (of imported goods) will be governed by the provisions of Section 14 of the Customs act, 1962 read with CVR for the assessment arising in the period from 10/10/07 onwards.”

Thus  the  question  of  demand  of  service  tax  on barge charges and the handling charges connected therewith would not arise at all with effect from 10-10-2007 as they form an integral part of the transaction value for levy of customs duty. Even fo the period prior 10-10-2007, the same position would apply for the reason that the import trans- action is complete only when the goods reach the customs barriers and the bill of entry for home consumption is field. [Para 5.3]

•    As regards the observations of Karnataka High Court relied by the revenue, it was observed that in the Lincoln helio case, the only question of law considered by the hon’ble high Court was whether setting aside the penalty by the tribunal was correct when the demand of service tax and interest was upheld and the assessee did not contest the levy.  These  are  not  the  issues  before  us  nor  is there any remote connection with the facts of the case before us. It is a settled position in law as held by the hon’ble apex Court in al noori tobacco Products india Ltd. case [2004 (170) eLt 175 (SC)] that the ratio of a decision can be applied only if the facts are identical. A slight or a material change in the facts could lead to an entirely different conclusion. [Para 5.7]

Conclusion
In light of the foregoing, it is very clear that, there is      an exposure to overlap of customs duty & service tax, more particularly, in cases of payments made to foreign entities by indian importers. the mumbai CESTAT ruling discussed earlier does lay down a sound principle in the context of the facts of that case. However, exposure to litigation even in such cases continues. Further, mandatory pre-deposit provisions causes hardship to the assesses in such cases as well. the impact of overlap of customs duty and service tax assumes significance, again in the backdrop of the increased rate of service  tax to 14% (which could go up with 2% Swatch Bharat Cess) and imminent introduction of GST. hence, it is felt that this issue needs to be speedily addressed by the Government so as to ensure that transaction cost of indian importers is not unduly burdened rendering them globally uncompetitive.

IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS IN SERVICE TAX BY FINANCE AC T, 2015

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Introduction
The Finance Bill 2015 was enacted with effect from May 14, 2015. The amended service tax provisions are a mixed bag of provisions with a few new exemptions on one hand and amending the definition of service, withdrawal of exemptions and narrowing down the scope of the Negative List on the other with a view to widen the tax base. This is further complemented by enhancing the tax rate as well. From the modest estimate of Rs. 500 crore in the year of its introduction in 1994, service tax estimate for the current fiscal is augmented to Rs. 2.10,000 crore. Some of the significant amendments made by the Finance Act, 2015 are briefly discussed herein below:-

Rate of tax
Service tax rate increased from 12.36% to 14% subsuming Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess with effect from June 01,2015.

Swachh Bharat Cess @ 2% to be levied on all or any of the taxable services and its effective date is yet to be notified.

The following services which are taxed at a specified rate are revised as follows with effect from June 01,2015

• Booking of air tickets by air travel agent
A. Domestic bookings:- 0.7%
B. International bookings:- 1.4%

• Life insurance service
A. F irst year:- 3.5%
B. Subsequent year:- 1.75%

• Money changing service
A. gross amount of currency exchange :- 0.14% or for amount upto Rs 1,00,000/- minimum Rs.35

B. gross amount of currency exchange :- Rs 140 and 0.07% for amount exceeding Rs 1,00,000/- and upto Rs 10,00,000/-

C. gross amount of currency exchange :- Rs 770 and 0.014% for amount exceeding maximum Rs 7000/- Rs 10,00,000/-

• Service provided by lottery distributor and selling agent

A. R s. [8200] on every Rs.10 lakh (or part of Rs.10 lakh) of aggregate face value of lottery tickets printed by the organising State for a draw.
B. R s. [12800] on every Rs. 10 lakh (or part of Rs 10 lakh) of aggregate face value of lottery tickets printed by the organizing State for a draw

Amendment in Definition of ‘Service’
Explanation-2 to the definition of service is amended to exclude the following transactions from the expression transaction in money or actionable claim.

Activity by a lottery distributor or a selling agent in relation to promotion, marketing, selling, organising, or facilitating in organising lottery. Accordingly the terms lottery distributor and selling agent are suitably defined under clause 31A of section 65B(44) to mean “a person appointed or authorised by a State for the purposes of promoting, marketing, selling or facilitating in organising lottery of any kind, in any manner, organised by such State in accordance with the provisions of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998.” Consequently the entry in the negative list i.e. entry 66D(i) is also amended as discussed below:

Activity by a foreman of chit fund for conducting or organising a chit. This amendment is brought about to counter the effect of the decision of the Delhi High Court in the case of Delhi Chit Fund Association V. Union of India [2013] 32 taxmann.com 332(Delhi) holding that activity by a foreman in relation to the chit fund business being a service in relation to transaction in money is not liable for service tax. Further, the SLP filed by the department against the said decision was also dismissed by the Supreme Court. Thus this amendment explicitly states the desire of the legislature to treat such activities by a foreman of a chit fund as not a transaction in money.

Negative List
The Negative List is reviewed and pruned in order to widen the tax base as discussed below:

Effective from June 01,2015
• Any contract work or job work carried out in relation to manufacture or production of alcoholic liquor is now taxable. Accordingly, the expression “process amounting to manufacture” defined under section 65B(40) has been suitably amended to exclude any process amounting to manufacture of alcoholic liquor for human consumption from the definition. (The Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India List-II, specifically authorizes the State Government to levy tax on the manufacture or production of alcoholic liquor and thus whether this levy is constitutionally valid may be a debatable issue in the future) [section 66D (f)].

• The expression betting, gambling or lottery has been revisited to exclude any service by way of promotion, marketing, organising, selling or facilitating the organizing of lottery by a lottery distributor or selling agent. Hence promotion, marketing, organising of lottery is now taxable. The term betting and gambling finds a place in entries 34 and 62 of the State list. The power to levy tax by the Central Government in relation to promotion, marketing, organising of games of chance including lottery was taxed under the erstwhile section 65(105)(zzzzn) and it was challenged in a writ petition filed by Future Gaming Solutions Pvt. Ltd 2015(37) STR 65 (Sikkim). The Hon’ble High Court while declaring the said section 65(105)(zzzzn) ultra vires held that it is the exclusive legislative domain of the State legislature to levy tax of any nature on lotteries by virtue of entry 62 of List II to the Seventh Schedule. It was also noted that, though Entry 40 of List 1 includes lotteries organised by Government of India or a Government of a State as a field of legislation, the power to regulate does not include power to tax. Therefore, though Parliament alone has enacted Lotteries (Regulation) Act,1998 under entry 40, taxing powers have been conferred on the State only as envisaged under entries 34 and 62 of List II to Seventh Schedule. Thus, in terms of the above decision, it appears that the Finance Act, 2015 has gone beyond its powers under the Constitution by excluding the promotion or marketing or organising of lottery from the negative list.

• Services by way of admission to entertainment events or access to amusement facilities are now taxable. Accordingly, admission to amusement parks, theme parks, water parks, etc. is liable for service tax. Also, entry into entertainment events like music concerts, non-recognised sporting events, award functions, pageants are also liable for service tax. Entertainment Tax is levied by the State Government on various amusement facilities and entertainment events. This levy may lead to double taxation and with the service tax rate of 14%, may result in making such activities exorbitantly priced. [Section 66D(j)]. It may be noted here however that when the amount charged for the entertainment events (not amusement events) is less than INR 500 then they shall continue to be exempted from service tax. Similarly, admission to exhibition of films, circus, dance or theatrical performances and recognized sporting events have also been exempted and this is without any limit under entry 47 of Mega Exemption Notification 25/2012-ST. In reference thereof, the term “recognised sporting event” is defined in clause (zab) of para 2 of the Mega Exemption Notification 25/2012-ST as “any sporting event where the participating team or individual represent any district, state, zone or country; covered under entry 11.

Government services: effective from a date to be notified

Presently, support services provided by the Government or Local authority to business entities are liable for service tax.   Service tax now applies   to all services provided by the Government or Local authority to business entities.  however,  the  liability is to be discharged by the business entities under reverse charge mechanism. however, the services provided by the Government or Local authorities to its citizens not being business entities continue to remain under the negative List and continue to be non-taxable. Further, with the increased involvement of the private sector in rendering services which were once in the exclusive domain of the Government, the change may provide a level playing field to both the private and the public players [section 66d(a)(iv)]. In this context, the term ‘Government’ is now defined in clause 26A of section 65B for the first time as follows:

“Government means the Departments of the Central Government, a State  Government  and  its Departments and a Union territory and its Departments, but shall not include any entity, whether created by a statute or otherwise, the accounts of which are not required to be kept in accordance with article 150 of the Constitution or the rules made thereunder”

In terms of this provision therefore, all corporations formed under the Government statute or autonomous bodies or public sector undertakings incorporated under Companies act including boards or regulatory authorities do not qualify to be considered ‘Government’ whereas all Central Government ministries and departments working thereunder, [for instance   department   of   income   tax,   department of Company affairs etc.] various State Government and their departments, union territories and their departments are part of the expression Government. “Local authority” also is not covered by this expression, however, it is already defined under clause 31 of the said  section  65B.  further,  the  term  Governmental Authority is also defined under clause (s) of the Mega Exemption Notification 25/2012-ST which is relevant for interpreting the exemption, if any, available in this regard under the said notification.

(Note: it is expected that the Government may notify the list of services in this context).

Valuation:

Reimbursements:
Section 67 is amended to include any reimbursable expenditure or cost incurred by the service provider and charged in the course of providing or agreeing to provide a taxable service except in such circumstances, and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed. the inclusion of reimbursable expenditure as a part of the gross value of taxable service under rule 5(1) of  the  Service  tax  (determination  of  value)  rules, 2006 (Valuation Rules) was always a subject matter of litigation and controversy. the Landmark judgment of delhi high Court in the case of Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. [2012-TIOL- 966-HC-DEL-ST] held that rule 5(1) of the Valuation rules is ultra vires section 67. to counter the effect of the judgment, the amendment to section 67 itself is made by including reimbursable expenditure as a part of the value of the taxable service, post may 14,  2015.  thus  litigation  process  will  be  kept  alive. nevertheless, double taxation is likely to arise in many cases unless appropriate conditions are prescribed.

Lottery distributor or selling agent:
Section 67 is also amended to include any amount retained by the lottery distributor or selling agent from the gross sale amount of the lottery tickets in addition to the fee or commission, or the discount received, which is the difference between the face value of the lottery ticket and the price at which the distributor or selling agent gets such ticket.

Exemptions

Withdrawal of Exemptions
•    Various exemptions for services provided to Government, Local authority or Governmental authority vide entry 12 are withdrawn and only selective services like construction, erection, commissioning, etc. of historical monument, archaeological sites, canals, dams, irrigation works, pipelines for water supply/treatment etc. remain exempt.

•    Exemption vide entry 13 for construction, erection, commissioning or installation of original works pertaining to airport and port also stands withdrawn.

•    Exemption in respect of transportation service available for food stuff in general by road, rail or vessel vide entry 20 and 21 has been suitably pruned to exempt only transportation of milk, salt and food grains, including flours, pulses and rice.

•    The exemption to services provided by mutual fund agents/distributor to asset management company vide entry 29 is now withdrawn and the activity is now taxable (as they used to be till 30th june, 2012) and the asset management companies are liable to  discharge  service  tax  under  reverse  Charge mechanism. It is pertinent to note that, since the tax is finally paid by the asset management companies or  the  mutual  funds,  exemption  ought  to  have been extended to the sub-distributors and sub- agents providing services to the main distributors and agents on the lines of exemption in respect of  sub-brokers  of  stock  brokers.  Further,  effect is felt by distributors on account of the amended definition of output service with effect from 01-07- 2012 whereby the service in respect of which the recipient is liable to pay entire service tax liability, such service is not  considered  output  service.  in such a scenario, service tax charged by sub- distributors on their commission cannot be taken credit of by the distributors. on account of this provision, therefore, services of sub-distributors are required to be exempted or else same service gets  taxed  twice.  this  may  be  unintended  and therefore needs to be taken care of.

•    Services by an artist in folk or classical music, dance or theatre, excluding services provided by the artist as a brand ambassador was exempt under entry 16. however where the consideration charged for such performances exceed rs. 1 lakh, the same is now taxable.
(Entry number refers to Notification 25/2012-ST)

?    New Exemptions
Certain specific services which were hitherto liable for service tax, are now exempted from service tax. the list consists of the following:-

Notification 6/2015-ST
•    Entry into museum, zoo, national park, wildlife sanctuary, tiger reserve or zoo.
•    Services by way of pre-conditioning, pre-cooling, ripening, waxing, retail, packing, labelling of fruits and vegetables which do not alter its essential characteristics.
•    Services by operator of Common Effluent Treatment Plant by way of treatment of effluent.
•    Service provided by way of exhibition of movie by an exhibitor to the distributor or an association of persons consisting of the exhibitor as one of its members.
•    Services of life insurance business provided under ‘Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana’.

Notification 12/2015-ST
•    Exemption  is  provided  to  services  of  general insurance under the Pradhan mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna, services of life insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
•    Services by way of collection of contribution under Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

Rationalisation of abatements

  •     Uniform abatement rate of 70% of the value of service in relation to transport of goods by rail, road and vessel are prescribed effective from 01-04-2015. Similarly, the conditions in respect of non-availability of CenVat credit on inputs, capital goods and input services is also now applicable to all, regardless of  the  mode  of  transport.  the  direct  impact  of  this amendment is already felt by the users of rail services for transportation of cargo. in order to be eligible for  the  CenVat  credit  of  inputs,  capital  goods  and input services, the railways have begun charging full rate of service tax and are foregoing the abatement option. the users in many cases are unable to take CenVat  credit  and  thus  the  cost  of  availing  the transport service of railways has suddenly shot up substantially and which is further impacted by the increased rate of 14%.

  • ?    The  transport  of  passengers  by  air  in  higher  class has become dearer since the abatement has been reduced from 60% to 40%.

  •     Abatement of 70% available for services provided in relation to chit has now been withdrawn.

Service Tax Rules: Aggregator Model

    One of the significant amendments carried out under the  finance act,  2015  is  the  levy  of  service  tax  on e-commerce transactions under aggregator model. The term ‘Aggregator’ is defined under the Service tax rules clause 2(aa) as “a person who owns and manages a web based software application and by means of the application and a communication device enables a potential customer to connect with persons providing service of a particular kind under the brand name or trade name of the aggregator”. the terms “brand name” and “trade name” are also defined under the Rules. The liability to discharge service tax is on the aggregator under reverse charge mechanism. thus, it is assumed that the aggregator is the service receiver. it is also provided that if the aggregator does not have presence in the taxable territory, the person representing the aggregator would discharge the liability or the aggregator would appoint a person for discharging tax liability.  the amendment clearly sets out intention of the legislature to levy service tax on certain formats in e-commerce space. accordingly, companies providing services by acting as an aggregator like travel portals, cab services, food portals etc. would be hit by this amendment irrespective of their establishments being in the non- taxable or taxable territory.

CENVAT Credit

Time  limit  for  availing  CENVAT  credit  is  extended from  six  months  to  one  year.  therefore,  the  issue faced by many assessees on account of amendment made by Finance (No.2) Act,2014 is to a significant extent resolved, as credit can be availed by the end of a period of one year from the date of invoice. for example, if credit was missed out to be availed on an input service of invoice dated may 15, 2014 and if this was noticed only in january,2015, the credit was not available in terms of proviso to rule 4(7) of CENVAT Credit  rules,  2004  (CCR,  2004).  However  in  terms of the amended provision, the said missed out credit would be available in the month of april, 2015.

CENVAT   credit  for  service  tax  paid  under  partial reverse charge is immediately available on payment of service tax to the Government. thus the condition in respect of allowing CenVat credit only after payment is made to the vendor, being a mere contractual arrangement is now done away with.

CENVAT   credit   wrongly   availed   and   utilised   or erroneously refunded is recoverable with interest as per  rule  14  of  the  CenVat  credit  rules,2004.the said rule 14 is amended from march 1, 2015 now to provide for recovery of CenVat credit wrongly availed or  erroneously  refunded  and  also  CenVat  credit wrongly availed and utilised or erroneously refunded with interest. additionally, sub rule (2) thereof provides for  the  “first  in  first  out”  method  for  computing  the amount of credit wrongly utilised on monthly basis. in the prescribed method, an assessee is required to first utilize the opening balance of a month. thereafter, one has to utilise the admissible credit availed for the said month and lastly the inadmissible credit availed is to be calculated for utilisation and thus arrive at an amount of  aggregate  credit  wrongly  utilised.  the  prescribed computation method thus determines credit to be treated as “availed and utilised” for levying interest thereon.

Penal provisions

In an attempt to encourage voluntary tax  compliance and reduce litigation, the Government has considerably reduced penalties under service tax and aligned them with Central excise law:-

    Section 76 providing for a levy of penalty in cases of short payment or non-payment of service tax, however not involving fraud, collusion or willful misstatement or suppression of facts or contravention of the provisions of the act is amended to provide as follows:-

•    Maximum penalty not exceeding 10% of the amount of service tax.
•    No penalty is leviable if service tax along with interest is paid within 30 days of service of show cause notice.
•    Reduced penalty of 25% of the penalty imposed has been prescribed when service tax is paid with interest and reduced penalty within 30 days of  the receipt of the adjudication order or within 30 days of the date of the appellate order in cases where the amount of service tax is increased at the appellate stage or court level. Thus, at appellate or court level, the time limit prescribed for payment of service tax with interest and/or penalty is now provided with reference to the date of order in place of communication of the order, thus reducing the time to such extent.

Section 78 providing for a levy of penalty for a wilful intent to evade service tax is amended to provide as follows:-
•    Penalty equals 100% of the service tax amount.
•    Reduced penalty of 15% is leviable if service tax along with  interest  and  such  reduced  penalty  is paid within 30 days of service of show cause notice.
•    Reduced penalty of 25% of the penalty imposed has been prescribed on payment of service tax, interest and reduced penalty within 30 days of the receipt of the adjudication order or within 30 days of the date of the appellate order in cases where the amount of service tax is increased/modified at the appellate stage or court level. thus, at appellate or court level, the time limit prescribed for payment of service tax with interest and/or penalty is now provided with reference to the date of the order in place of communication of the order, thus reducing the time to such extent.

Section 73(4A) triggered pursuant to any audit, investigation or verification providing for a reduced penalty in case where true and complete details of transactions are recorded in the books of account is now omitted. however, a saving clause is inserted under the said section 78, for the period between 08-04-2011 and 14-05-2015  [both  days  inclusive]  to prescribe a penalty @ 50% of the service tax determined, if the details of such transactions are recorded in the specified records.

Transitory Provisions

In order to provide benefit of reduced penalty to cases where a show cause notice has been issued u/s. 73(1) or under the proviso thereto, but no order has been passed under section 73(2) before 14-05-2015, section 78B is inserted to provide that the period of 30 days for closure of proceedings on the payment of service tax, interest and penalty is to be counted from 14-05-2015 i.e. the date of enactment of the finance act,2015.

Omission of Non-obstante Clause-Section 80

In a significant move, non-obstante clause of section 80 providing powers to condone penalty is omitted   at the end of twenty one years of the existence of service   tax.   Therefore,   penalty   is   now   invocable notwithstanding genuine cause or difficulty of the tax payers and no action will be considered bonafide.

Few Concerns

Threshold Limit
The  service  tax  rate  has  been  increased  to  14%  in order to prepare the trade and industry for GST-one of the biggest taxation reforms in india. However, commensurate increase has not been brought about in the threshold limit and the same has remained constant at Rs. 10 lakh which may affect small and marginal service providers.

CENVAT Credit
There  has  also  been  a  conscious  effort  made  to broaden the base of service tax by pruning the negative list and the exemption notification as a precursor to GST. However, one of the basic aims for the introduction of GST is to provide seamless credit across value chains, but the CENVAT credit provisions have not been accordingly expanded leading to increased cost pressures for trade and industry.

Balance in education Cess & Secondary and higher education Cess account

The service tax rate of 14% has subsumed the education cess and higher education cess. however, whether the balance of education cess and higher education cess paid on inputs, input services and capital goods lying unutilised on the date the new service tax rate is applicable will be available to the service providers for discharging service tax liability is a question which has remained unanswered. In case of Central Excise vide Notification No.12/2015 Central excise (n.t.), it is provided that credit of education Cess and Secondary and higher education Cess paid on inputs or capital goods received in factory on or after 01-03-2015 can be utilised for payment of duty of excise. Similarly, credit balance of 50% of these Cesses paid on capital goods received in the factory of manufacturer as  well  as  input  services  received  during  F.Y.  2014-15 also  can  be  utilised  for  payment  of  excise  duty.   Thus, the intent of the legislation is clear that balances in the Cess accounts of the earlier period are not allowed to be used for duty payment. Further, similar notification is not issued as yet for service providers. in the scenario, the issue of use of credit of cesses remains questionable until the issue of such notification.

(note:  reference  to  sections  made  in  the  article  refer  to  the provisions of the Finance Act,1994 unless otherwise specified)

Some of the aspects included above may require detailed analysis. Such discussion will be covered under regular service tax feature of BCAJ from time to time hereafter.

Prema G. Sanghvi vs. ITO ITAT Mumbai `C’ Bench Before R. C. Sharma (AM) and Sanjay Garg (JM) ITA No. 2109 /M/2011 Assessment Year: 2007-08. Decided on: 13th February, 2015. Counsel for assessee/revenue: Chetan Karia/ Premanand J.

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Section 56(2)(vi) – Payment of alimony amount by the ex-husband to his wife is nothing more than a gift and is exempt under the proviso to section 56(2)(vi).

Facts:
The assessee was a legally wedded wife of Mr. Zaun. The said marriage was performed as per the Hindu customary rights. The said marriage was dissolved on 20.06.1978 as per the provisions of Hindu Marriage Act. During the year under consideration the assessee received Rs. 73,60,787 from her ex-husband Mr. Siguar Erich Zaun, a German citizen. The assessee claimed the said amount to have been received as alimony on divorce with her husband and the same was claimed as exempt. The Assessing Officer (AO) however, held the said amount as taxable under the head `Income from Other Sources’.

Aggrieved, the assessee preferred an appeal to the CIT(A) who observed that the divorce granted by the City Civil Court is recognised by German law. Mr. Zuan had applied to German Court for approval of divorce already granted by City Civil Court. German court granted divorce on 17.07.2001. There was no evidence of any claim before the German court regarding alimony at the time of recognition of her divorce with her husband. The order of the German court did not have any reference of payment of alimony. Alimony was paid after a gap of five years. Since on the date of receiving the amount there was no relationship between assessee and Mr. Zaun, he held that the amount received by the assessee from Mr. Zaun was chargeable to tax u/s. 56(2)(vi) of the Act.

Aggrieved, the assessee preferred an appeal to the Tribunal.

Held:
Under the Hindu Law, a wife has a pre-existing right of maintenance and alimony. The said right exists even after divorce from the husband. So far the granting of divorce under the German Law is concerned, the CIT(A) has discussed at length about the German Law relating to marriage and divorces and thereafter has concluded that even under the German Law, the maintenance can be claimed, if any of the spouse is unable to maintain himself/herself. He has further held that under the German Law spouses are free to arrange for the financial consequences only in case of an eventual divorce possibly by way of prenatal agreement. However, the CIT(A) has not discussed, if there is any bar in paying alimony by the husband to his wife in lieu of her maintenance for the whole life.

In the proviso to section 56(2)(vi) any sum received from a relative is exempt from tax. In the definition of relative, the receipt from whom is exempt under the Act, inter alia not only the spouse but the brother and sister of the spouse have also been included. As we have observed above that the maintenance or alimony is paid by the husband to his wife in recognition of her pre-existing right, whether marriage relationship is still continuing or has been dissolved, does not bar the payment of alimony by the ex-husband, to the divorced wife. Under such type of circumstances, in our view, in the definition of spouse, exspouse is also included except where there is an evidence that the payment is not made as a gift or an alimony but for some other consideration or by virtue of some other transaction. In the absence of any such evidence, the payment of alimony amount by the ex-husband to his wife is nothing more than a gift and is exempt under proviso to section 56(2)(vi) of the Act.

The appeal filed by assessee was allowed.

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Paramount Health Services (TPA) Pvt. Ltd. vs. DCIT ITAT Mumbai `C’ Bench Before R. C. Sharma (AM) and Sanjay Garg (JM) ITA No. 5400/M/2013& 5269/M/2013 Assessment Year: 2010-11. Decided on: 13th February, 2015. Counsel for assessee / revenue: Rajesh S. Shah & Nalin Gandhi / Narendra Kumar Chand

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Section 40(a)(ia) – Disallowance u/s. 40(a)(ia) is not attracted if the payment on which tax has not been deducted at source has not been claimed as an item of deductible expenditure.

Facts:
The Assessing Officer (AO) while assessing the total income of the assessee disallowed a sum of Rs. 85,05,05,515, being payments by the assessee to various hospitals without deduction of tax at source u/s. 194J of the Act, by invoking the provisions of s. 40(a)(ia) of the Act.

Aggrieved, the assessee preferred an appeal to the CIT(A) who restricted the addition to Rs. 10,65,669 and deleted the remaining addition of Rs. 84,94,39,847 on the basis of certificates submitted by the payee hospitals u/s. 197 of the Act.

Aggrieved, the assessee preferred an appeal to the Tribunal and contended that the assessee had not claimed these payments as expenditure, hence there was no question of disallowance of any expenditure. Once an expenditure has not been claimed, no question of disallowance of the same can arise.

Held:
The Tribunal noted that in the assessee’s own case for assessment year 2009-10 vide ITA No. 2188/M/2013 dated 25.07.2014 the Tribunal, after detailed discussion, has observed as under –

“7. Though the assessee is under the obligation to deduct tax at source u/s. 194J however, the consequential liability is only u/s. 201 and 201(1A) and the disallowance u/s. 40(a)(ia) cannot be automatic when the assessee has not claimed this payment as expenditure against the income. The assessee has shown the income, only the service charges receivable from insurance companies for rendering services as 3rd party administrator and not having any margin or profit element in the payment received from the insurers for the purpose of remitting to the hospitals to settle medical claim of the insured. Therefore, when the said payment has not been claimed as expenditure incurred for earning the income by the assessee then the provisions of section 40(a)(ia) is not attracted for non deduction of tax at source in respect of the said payment. Following the decisions of the Tribunal as relied upon by the assessee and discussion above we hold that no disallowance can be made under section 40(a)(ia) in respect of the payment in question. Accordingly the ground raised in assessee’s appeal is allowed and ground raised in the revenue’s appeal is dismissed.”

The Tribunal, following the above stated observations, decided the issue in favor of the assessee and directed the lower authorities to delete the disallowance.

The appeal filed by assessee was allowed.

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DCIT vs. Godrej Oil Palm Ltd. (now merged with Godrej Agrovet Ltd.) ITAT Mumbai `G’ Bench Before Vijay Pal Rao (JM) and B. R. KBaskaran (AM) ITA No. 5098 /Mum/2013 Assessment Year: 2011-12. Decided on: 14th January, 2015. Counsel for revenue / assessee: R. N. D’Souza / Akram Khan, Taher Khokhawala

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Section 115JAA – MAT credit has to be given against gross tax payable exclusive of surcharge/cess and only after the MAT credit tax liability, the surcharge and cess has to be calculated.

Facts:
The Assessing Officer (AO) computed the gross tax liability by granting MAT credit against tax liability inclusive of surcharge and cess.

Aggrieved, the assessee preferred an appeal before CIT(A) and contended that MAT credit has to be given against gross tax payable exclusive of surcharge and cess. The CIT(A) allowed the appeal preferred by the assessee.

Aggrieved, the revenue preferred an appeal to the Tribunal.

Held:
The Tribunal observed that an identical issue has been considered by the co-ordinate Bench in the case of Wyeth Limited vs. ACIT (ITA No. 6682/Mum/2011 vide order dated 09.01.2015). The Tribunal had, in the case of Wyeth Limited (supra), following the decision of the Allahabad High Court in the case of CIT vs. Vacment India (394 ITR 304)(All), directed the AO to allow the MAT credit against the tax liability payable before surcharge and education cess or alternatively the amount of MAT credit should be inclusive of surcharge and education cess and then allow the credit against the tax payable inclusive of surcharge and education cess.

Following the earlier order of co-ordinate Bench in the case of Wyeth Limited (supra), the Tribunal upheld the order of CIT(A).

The appeal filed by revenue was dismissed.

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Certain specified services exempted Notification No. 12/2015-Service tax-dated 30 04 2015

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By this Notification, the following services are exempted from whole of the service tax :
1) Services of life insurance business provided under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY);
2) Services of life insurance business provided under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY);
3) Services of general insurance business provided under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY);
4) Services by way of collection of contribution under Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

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Definition of Chit Find removed Notification No. 13/2015-Service taxdated 19-05-2015

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The Central Govt. had withdrawn abatement in relation to Chit Fund vide Notification No. 8/2015 dated 1st March, 2015 & thereby made consideration received by Chit Fund fully taxable w.e.f. 01 04 2015. Now by this Notification, the Central Govt. has completely removed the definition given in the Principal Abatement Notification No. 26/2012 dated 20th June, 2012.

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Service tax rate of 14% applicable from 01-06- 2015 Notification No. 14/2015 – Service Tax- dated 19-05-2015

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Finance Minister while presenting the Budget, 2015 had increased the rate of service tax from 12.36 % to flat 14%. However, the date from which the new rate would be applicable was not announced. On 19th May, vide this Notification, Finance Ministry has announced that the new service tax rate of 14% will be applicable from 1st June, 2015.

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(2015) 118 DTR (Mumbai) (Trib) 227 ITO vs. Vinay P. Karve (L/H of Late Mrs. Asha Pramila Wagle) A.Y.: 2005–06 Dated: 12.09.2014

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Sections 4, 45 & 56: Compensation received by assessee under settlement for withdrawing criminal complaint for fraud constitutes capital receipt.

Facts:
The assessee was a non-resident domiciled in France. The estate of the assessee’s late father consisted of shares of certain companies which were held in joint name of the assessee’s late father either with the assessee or with the brother of the assessee. In order to transfer such shares in the name of the assessee and to manage the affairs in India the assessee had executed a general power of attorney in favour of her friend ‘R’.

During the previous year relevant to A.Y. 2003-04, ‘R’ sold the shares for Rs. 93,70,135/- and deposited sum of Rs. 60,32,000/- in the bank account of the assessee. These facts were not in the knowledge of the assessee at all.

After realising the foul play and cheating on the part of ‘R’, the assessee sent a legal notice to R and filed criminal complaint against R before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. As a result of such complaint, the police conducted enquiry and investigation into whole matter and gave prima facie findings that ‘R’ fraudulently sold these shares and have cheated the assessee. On filing of the findings of the police with the Magistrate, ‘R’ sought to settle the dispute and come forward with settlement agreement dated 31st March 2004, wherein she offered to pay Rs.1,20,00,000/- on the terms that the assessee would withdraw all the complaints filed against ‘R’.

As per the terms of the settlement agreement out of the total compensation, Rs. 33,38,135/- was towards the balance consideration of shares, and the balance lump sum amount of Rs. 86,61,865/- was for other disputes and differences. The above balance consideration was inclusive of the compensation of Rs.15,00,000/- which was on account of fraudulent sale of land situated in Alibaug.

While filing the return, the assessee allocated a substantial portion of compensation received, i.e. Rs. 1,01,97,000/- as compensation attributable to dispute relating to shares being a principal dispute (excluding compensation relating to land and other miscellaneous disputes). The assessee claimed that since she gave up her claim regarding to shares in the previous year relevant to the A.Y. 2005-06, i.e. the year in which settlement took place, the entire capital gain arising on account of initial sum of Rs. 60,32,000/- deposited in her account and allocated compensation of Rs.1,01,97,000/- was taxable in A.Y. 2005-06 but was claimed to be exempt as per Article 14(6) of the Indo-France DTAA .

The AO held that amount of Rs. 60,32,000/- received by the assessee in lieu of transfer of shares is taxable as capital gain in the A.Y. 2003-04 as it was accepted by ‘R’ that shares were actually sold in the A.Y. 2003-04. The compensation of Rs.1,20,00,000/- was taxed under the head ‘Income from Other Sources’ as in the settlement agreement there was no mention regarding agreeing on the compensation for high rise in the market price of the shares and the same cannot be attributed to transfer of shares. The AO held that if at all any capital gain is to be taxed, then same is to be taxed in the A.Y. 2003-04 and compensation received by the assessee will be taxable in the A.Y. 2005-06.

The CIT(A) held that the matter was settled in the year 2004-05 and therefore for the purpose of section 45 the shares transferred in the A.Y. 2005-06 and not in A.Y. 2003- 04. The stand taken by the assessee was accepted by the CIT(A) and a sum of Rs.1,01,97,000/- was considered to be consideration for misappropriation of shares by fraud and unfair means.

Held:
From the records and the impugned order, it is an admitted fact that in this case, no dispute other than the dispute relating to shares and land was involved. Thus, for the purpose of taxability/assessability of sum of Rs. 1.20 crore, the amount of Rs. 33,38,135, and Rs. 15 lakh has to be segregated, because, the sum of Rs. 33,38,135, pertains to transaction of shares which is to be assessed and taxed under the head capital gains, which in the present case is admittedly not taxable by virtue of Article-14(6).

Regarding balance amount of Rs. 71,61,865/-, the said amount cannot be taxed under the head capital gain as it was clearly specified that only Rs. 33,38,135/- was towards sale of shares and there cannot be any inference that the balance amount was also in lieu of shares, for the reason that at the time of settlement of agreement, the market value of these shares was very high. Further, nothing was brought on record to establish that balance amount was towards compensation for change in market value from date of sale and upto the date of settlement.

The balance compensation of Rs. 71,61,865/- was on account of personal damage done by ‘R’. The settlement has been agreed only to withdraw the police complaint and criminal case filed in the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. Under the given circumstances and facts the compensation is capital receipt and hence it cannot be taxed as it is beyond the purview of charging section.

Further, such compensation cannot be taxed under the head Income From Other Sources as nowhere it was mentioned that it was towards interest on delayed payment of shares sold in the year 2002. It has been received only towards damage for breach of trust or fraud and which has no co-relation with sale of shares and therefore compensation received cannot be taxed under any heads of income.

Thus, the sum of Rs. 71,61,865, cannot be taxed under the charging provision, as the same is compensation in the form of capital receipt.

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(2015) 117 DTR 99 (Pune) Chakrabarty Medical Centre vs. TRO A.Y.: 2008-09 Dated: 30.01.2015

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i. Section 45 – Where partners of the firm introduced land and building as their capital contribution to firm by way of transfer to partner’s capital account but not by way of registered conveyance deed, capital gains arising on sale of said property was taxable in the hands of assessee-firm.

ii. Section 54EC – Where sale consideration of property belonging to assessee-firm was credited directly in hands of partners of firm and specified bonds were also purchased in names of those partners, still assesseefirm would be entitled to claim benefit of deduction u/s. 54EC.

Facts:

i. The assessee-firm was having three partners. The land and hospital building was owned by the two partners individually before the formation of the assessee-firm in year 1992. The partners of firm introduced the said hospital building and land as their capital contribution.

The assessee-firm carried out its operation from the hospital premises after its formation. Subsequently, assessee-firm sold said land and building and earned short-term capital gain of Rs. 1,64,76,685/-.

The assessee firm contended that there was no transfer of the ownership to the assessee firm by the partners even though the land and hospital building was introduced as a capital contribution. Further, even if the immovable property is introduced by the partners towards their capital contribution but same must be by way of proper conveyance deed registered under the Indian Registration Act.

The Assessing Officer having rejected assessee’s explanation, brought to tax the short-term capital gain in the hands of the assessee-firm. The Commissioner (Appeals) confirmed the order of the Assessing Officer. Aggreived, the assessee appealed before the Tribunal.

ii. Against the capital gains which was offered to tax by the partners in their individual capacity, the exemption was claimed u/s. 54EC with respect to the investments in Rural Electrification Bonds by them. Upon shifting of taxability from partners to the partnership firm by the AO, the assessee-firm alternatively claimed that exemption u/s. 54EC be allowed to the assessee-firm.

The sale consideration received on sale of above land and building was directly credited to the Bank accounts of the two partners out of which both the partners invested the in notified bonds in terms of section 54EC. The firm, subsequent to sale of above land and building, was dissolved. Therefore, it was contended that whatever is invested by the partners on their individual names is in fact from the funds of the assets of the assessee firm which was sold out.

Held:
i. The Tribunal placed reliance on the case of K. D. Pandey vs. CWT 108 ITR 214 (All) wherein on identical issue it was observed that under the provisions of section 239 of the Indian Contract Act and section 14 of the Indian Partnership Act for the purpose of bringing the separate properties of a partner into the stock of the firm it is not necessary to have recourse to any written document at all, that as soon as a partner intends that his separate properties should become partnership properties and they are treated as such, then by virtue of the provisions of the Contract Act and the Partnership Act, the properties become the properties of the firm and that this result is not prohibited by any provision in the Transfer of Property Act or the Indian Registration Act.

Therefore the Tribunal held that Capital gains arising on sale of land and building which were introduced by the partners as their capital contribution to the assessee-firm is taxable in the hands of the firm and not in the hands of the said partners irrespective of the fact that the transfer of the said property by the partners to the assessee-firm was not made by way of registered conveyance deed.

ii. There is no dispute on the legal position that the investment made by two partners on their individual names in the notified bonds is otherwise eligible investment for getting the exemption from the taxable capital gain u/s. 54EC.

As per the well-settled law, partnership is not a legal entity in strict sense and in all the movable and immovable assets which are held by the partnership, there is an interest of every partner though not specifically defined in terms of their shares.

On perusal of the language used in section 54EC, it is provided that the assessee has to make the investment within a period of six months in the notified securities after the date of transfer of capital asset. The words used in section 54EC are – ‘the assessee has invested the whole or any part of capital gains in the long-term specified asset’. As already held that the property which was sold out, it was property of the assesseefirm and hence, the capital gain is taxable in the hands of the assessee-firm.

At the same time even though the bonds are purchased on the names of the two partners, it can be said that irrespective of the way, how the sale consideration was credited to the bank accounts of two partners, but the benefit of section 54EC cannot be deprived to the assessee-firm. As admittedly, even on the dissolution of the firm the assessee as a partner has a right to get back their capital as per the final valuation done on the date of dissolution or otherwise. Accordingly, the exemption u/s. 54EC was allowed to the assessee-firm in respect of notified bonds purchased by its partners.

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(2015) 117 DTR 340 (Del) Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. vs. ACIT A.Y.: 2008-09 Dated: 25.03.2015

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Proviso to section 254(2A) & 276C – the Tribunal has power to stay proceedings initiated by the assessing officer by issuing show-cause notice for launching prosecution u/s. 276C(1) during pendency of appeals against orders wherein the additions were made and penalty was levied.

Facts:
In the instant case, appeals in respect of the order passed u/s. 263 as well as the order u/s.143(3) pursuant to said order u/s. 263 are pending for disposal before the Tribunal. Besides this, appeal is also pending before the Tribunal against the levy of penalty u/s. 271(1)(c).

In the meantime, Assessing Officer has issued showcause notice to the assessee for initiating prosecution proceedings u/s. 276C(1) in respect of the additions made in the assessment.

The assessee filed the application for stay of launching of prosecution proceedings before the Tribunal.

Held:
From reading of proviso to section 254(2A) it is apparent that “the Tribunal can pass an order of stay in any proceedings relating to an appeal filed u/s. 253(1)”. This phrase mandates that this power is not confined to a case where the appeal is pending before the Tribunal but also extends to any proceedings relating to an appeal pending before it.

The appeals pending relate to the validity of the order passed by the CIT u/s. 263 in consequence of which the additions have been made by the AO in the assessment order passed subsequent to that. It is also not denied that the appeal is also pending in respect of the penalty imposed u/s. 271(1)(c).

Until and unless the additions as well as the penalty are sustained, it cannot be said whether there was an attempt to evade tax or not or whether this attempt was wilful or not. Steps taken by the AO for launching of the prosecution proceedings u/s. 276C(1) depend on the outcome of the appeals pending before this Tribunal.

The Tribunal noted that there is no limitation prescribed for launching the prosecution proceedings u/s. 276C(1). Therefore, when the order of the Tribunal will have a bearing on the prosecution proceedings, the Tribunal opined that there will not be any loss if the prosecution proceedings are not launched immediately but kept pending till the outcome of the order of the Tribunal. The Tribunal further opined that it is not a case where the prosecution proceedings have already been launched before the criminal Court. Had the prosecution proceedings already been launched before the criminal Court, the Tribunal would not have any jurisdiction to entertain such petition filed by the assessee. Since in this case the Revenue has not launched so far the prosecution against the assessee in any criminal Court, the Tribunal granted stay against the launching of prosecution proceedings.

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(2015) 115 DTR 99 (Del) ITO vs. Modipon Ltd. A.Y.: 2005-06 Dated: 09.01.2015

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Section 50C – Enhancement in circle rates between the date of agreement to sell and date of sale deed not relevant.

Facts:
The assessee sold a plot of land vide agreement to sell, dated 27th May 2004, for consideration of Rs. 2,62,08,000/-. The agreement to sell was duly registered on the same date. On the said date, the circle rate was Rs.13,000/- per sq mt. However, on the date of execution of sale-deed, i.e. 16th September 2004, the circle-rate enhanced to Rs. 20,000/- per sq mt resulting into stamp duty value of Rs. 4,03,20,000/-.

The assessee computed the capital gains on the basis of the circle rate on the date of agreement to sell and not the circle rate on the date of execution of sale deed.

However, the A.O. did not accept the above computation and he computed capital gains on the basis of circle rate prevailing on the date of execution of sales deed, i.e Rs. 20,000/- and enhanced the capital gains by the difference of Rs.1,41,12,000/-.

On further appeal, the CIT(A) upheld the A.O.’s view on the ground that the “agreement to sell” may bind the parties inter-se but does not override the statutory provision of section 50C as are applicable on the “date of transfer”; which in the instant case had been 16th September 2004.

Held:
It was held that the enhancement in the circle rate from Rs.13,000/- to Rs.20,000/- per sq mt was beyond the control of the assessee (seller). It is also not the case of the revenue, that the buyer has given more than the consideration that has been accepted by the parties when they executed the agreement to sale.

Further, reliance was placed on the Supreme Court’s decision in Sanjeev Lal Etc. vs. CIT (2014) 269 CTR 1 wherein it was held that the question whether the entire property can be said to have been sold at the time when an agreement to sell is entered into has to be answered in the negative in normal circumstances. However, looking at the provisions of section 2(47) which defines the word ‘transfer’ in relation to a capital asset, one can say that if a right in the property is extinguished by execution of an agreement to sell, the capital asset can be deemed to have been transferred.

Having regard to the above factual and judicial position, the additions made by A.O. were deleted.

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Transfer pricing- Section 92C-A. Y. 2007-08- Arm’s length interest rate for loan advanced to foreign subsidiary by Indian company should be computed based on market determined interest rate applicable to currency in which loan has to be repaid

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CIT vs. Cotton Naturals (I) (P.) Ltd.; [2015] 55 taxmann. com 523 (Delhi):

The assessee, an Indian company, was one of the leading manufacturers of rider apparel. It had incorporated a subsidiary company in United States for undertaking distribution and marketing activities for the products manufactured by it and advanced loan to its subsidiary and received interest at the rate of 4%. It applied CUP method and claimed rate of 4% to be comparable with the export packing credit rate obtained from independent banks in India. The TPO opined that what was to be considered was the prevalent interest that could have been earned by advancing a loan to an unrelated party in India with the same financial health as that of the tax payer’s subsidiary. The TPO further noted that while deciding the interest rate that may be charged on receivables from AE’s, Libor rate for calculating interest was not proper and instead of US rate, Indian rate was to be adopted. Finally, the TPO held that interest rate at 14% would be fair and reasonable. DRP granted partial relief in the form of reduction in rate of interest to 12.20%, recording that the loan was given on fixed rate of interest out of shareholder funds and the Prime Lending Rate (PLR, for short) fixed by the Reserve Bank of India, ranged from 10.25% to 10.75% in April, 2006 to 12.25% to 12.50% in March, 2007. The Tribunal agreed with assessee in view of earlier year’s decision of Tribunal.

On appeal by the Revenue, the Delhi High Court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and held as under:

“Arm’s length interest rate for loan advanced to foreign subsidiary by Indian company should be computed based on market determined interest rate applicable to currency in which loan has to be repaid. Interest rates should not be computed on basis of interest payable on currency or legal tender of place or country of residence of either party. There is no justification or a cogent reason for applying PLR for outbound loan transactions where Indian parent has advanced loan to an AE abroad. Parameters cannot be different for outbound and inbound loans and a similar reasoning applies to both inbound and outbound loans.”

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Search and seizure- Assessment- Section 153 A of- A. Y. 2008-09- No addition can be made in respect of an unabated assessment which has become final if no incriminating material is found during the search

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CIT vs. Continental Warehousing Corporation (Bom) TA No. 523 of 2013: dated 21/04/2015: www.itatonline.org:

In this case the Bombay High Court had to consider as to whether scope of assessment u/s. 153A of the Incometax Act, 1961 in respect of completed assessments is limited to only undisclosed income and undisclosed assets detected during search.

The High Court held as under:

“(i) On a plain reading of section 153A of the Incometax Act, it becomes clear that on initiation of the proceedings u/s. 153A, it is only the assessment/ reassessment proceedings that are pending on the date of conducting search u/s. 132 or making requisition u/s. 132A of the Act stand abated and not the assessments/reassessments already finalised for those assessment years covered u/s. 153A of the Act. By a circular No. 8 of 2003 dated 18-9-2003 (263 ITR (St) 61 at 107) the CBDT has clarified that on initiation of proceedings u/s. 153A, the proceedings pending in appeal, revision or rectification proceedings against finalised assessment/ reassessment shall not abate. It is only because, the finalised assessments/reassessments do not abate, the appeal revision or rectification pending against finalised assessment/reassessments would not abate. Therefore, the argument of the revenue, that on initiation of proceedings u/s. 153A, the assessments/ reassessments finalised for the assessment years covered u/s. 153A of the Income-tax Act stand abated cannot be accepted. Similarly on annulment of assessment made u/s. 153A (1) what stands revived is the pending assessment / reassessment proceedings which stood abated as per section 153A(1).

ii) Once it is held that the assessment has attained finality, then the AO while passing the independent assessment order u/s. 153A read with section 143 (3) of the I.T. Act could not have disturbed the assessment / reassessment order which has attained finality, unless the materials gathered in the course of the proceedings u/s. 153A of the Income-tax Act establish that the reliefs granted under the finalised assessment/ reassessment were contrary to the facts unearthed during the course of section 153A proceedings. If there is nothing on record to suggest that any material was unearthed during the search or during the 153A proceedings, the AO while passing order u/s. 153A read with section 143(3) cannot disturb the assessment order.”

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Reassessment: S/s. 143(1), 147 and 148- A. Y. 2010-11- Reopening of assessment, even in case of intimation u/s. 143(1), on the ground that a specific aspect requires verification is not permissible

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Nivi Trading Limited vs. UOI (Bom) W. P. No. 2314 of 2015 dated 07/04/2015: www.itatonline.org

For the A. Y. 2010-11, the return of income was accepted u/s. 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Subsequently, a notice u/s. 148 was issued on the ground that a specific aspect requires verification. The assessee filed a writ petition and challenged the notice.

The Bombay High Court allowed the writ petition and held as under:

“(i) The assessee filed a return of income which could have been subjected to verification and scrutiny and in terms of the applicable law and sections in the Income-tax Act, 1961 itself. However, if this notice has been issued in the present case and on the footing that the income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment during the course of the assessment proceedings, then, we would not go by the stand taken by the Revenue and on affidavit. It is too late now to urge that there was no assessment and therefore no question arises of reopening thereof. In the light of the language of the notice itself, it would not be proper for us and to permit the Revenue to raise such a plea.

(ii) In the present case, the AO does not state that any income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment. All that the Revenue desires is verification of certain details and pertaining to the gift. That is not founded on the belief that any income which is chargeable to tax has escaped assessment and hence, such verification is necessary. That belief is not recorded and which alone would enable the Assessing Officer to proceed. Thus, the reasons must be founded on the satisfaction of the AO that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment. Once that is not to be found, then, we are not in a position to sustain the impugned notice (Smt. Maniben Valji Shah (2006) 283 ITR 453 and Prashant S. Joshi and Anr. vIncome Tax Officer (2010) 324 ITR 154 referred)”

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ITAT- Power to grant stay beyond 365 days- S. 254(2A)- The Third Proviso which restricts the power of the ITAT to grant stay beyond 365 days “even if the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to the assessee” is arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory. It is struck down as violative of Article 14. The ITAT has the power to extend stay even beyond 365 days

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Pepsi Foods Pvt. Ltd. vs. ACIT (Del); W. P. No. 1334 of 2015 dated 19/05/2015:www.itatonline.org:

The third proviso to section 254(2A) was amended by the Finance Act, 2008, with effect from 01/10/2008 to provide that the Tribunal shall not have the power to grant stay of demand for a period exceeding 365 days “even if the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to the assessee”. The said amendment was inserted to overcome the judgement of the Bombay High Court in Narang Overseas Private Limited vs. ITAT 295 ITR 22(Bom). The Petitioners filed a Writ Petition to challenge the said amended third proviso to section 254(2A) on the ground that it is arbitrary and contrary to the provisions of the Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

The Delhi High Court allowed the writ petition and held as under:

“i) U /s. 254, there are several conditions which have been stipulated with respect to the power of the Tribunal to grant stay of demand. First of all, as per the first proviso to Section 254(2A), a stay order could be passed for a period not exceeding 180 days and the Tribunal should dispose of the appeal within that period. The second proviso stipulates that in case the appeal is not disposed of within the period of 180 days, if the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to the assessee, the Tribunal has the power to extend the stay for a period not exceeding 365 days in aggregate. Once again, the Tribunal is directed to dispose of the appeal within the said period of stay. The third proviso, as it stands today, stipulates that if the appeal is not disposed of within the period of 365 days, then the order of stay shall stand vacated, even if the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to the assessee.

ii) While it could be argued that the condition that the stay order could be extended beyond a period of 180 days only if the delay in disposing of the appeal was not attributable to the assessee was a reasonable condition on the power of the Tribunal to grant an order of stay, it can, by no stretch of imagination, be argued that where the assessee is not responsible for the delay in the disposal of the appeal, yet the Tribunal has no power to extend the stay beyond the period of 365 days. The intention of the legislature, which has been made explicit by insertion of the words – ‘even if the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to the assessee’– renders the right of appeal granted to the assessee by the statute to be illusory for no fault on the part of the assessee. The stay, which was available to him prior to the 365 days having passed, is snatched away simply because the Tribunal has, for whatever reason, not attributable to the assessee, been unable to dispose of the appeal. Take the case of delay being caused in the disposal of the appeal on the part of the revenue. Even in that case, the stay would stand vacated on the expiry of 365 days. This is despite the fact that the stay was granted by the Tribunal, in the first instance, upon considering the prima facie merits of the case through a reasoned order;

iii) The petitioners are correct in their submission that unequals have been treated equally. Assessees who, after having obtained stay orders and by their conduct delay the appeal proceedings, have been treated in the same manner in which assessees, who have not, in any way, delayed the proceedings in the appeal. The two classes of assessees are distinct and cannot be clubbed together. This clubbing together has led to hostile discrimination against the assessees to whom the delay is not attributable. It is for this reason that we find that the insertion of the expression – ‘even if the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to the assessee’– by virtue of the Finance Act, 2008, violates the non-discrimination clause of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The object that appeals should be heard expeditiously and that assesses should not misuse the stay orders granted in their favour by adopting delaying tactics is not at all achieved by the provision as it stands. On the contrary, the clubbing together of ‘well behaved’ assesses and those who cause delay in the appeal proceedings is itself violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and has no nexus or connection with the object sought to be achieved. The said expression introduced by the Finance Act, 2008 is, therefore, struck down as being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

iv) This would revert us to the position of law as interpreted by the Bombay High Court in Narang Overseas (supra), with which we are in full agreement. Consequently, we hold that, where the delay in disposing of the appeal is not attributable to the assessee, the Tribunal has the power to grant extension of stay beyond 365 days in deserving cases.”

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Effective date for mega exemption and abatement Notification No. 15 & 16 of 2015 dated 19-05- 2015

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By these notifications, effective date of applicability of amendments in the Mega Exemption Notification relating to services by way of job work on alcoholic liquors for human consumption; and Services by way of right to admission to exhibition of film, circus, dance or theatrical performances, sporting event, is notified as 1st June, 2015.

Further effective date of applicability of changes in abatement rates of Service Tax for Air Travel Agent, Life Insurance Business, Foreign Exchange Brokers and Distributor & Selling Agent of Lottery is also notified as 1st June, 2015.

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Housing project- Special deduction u/s. 80- IB(10)- A. Y. 2004-05: Not necessary that assesee has to develop flats: Residential area- Built-up area- Definition- Car park area not includible

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CIT vs. Subba Reddy (HUF); 373 ITR 103 (Mad):

The assessee is a promoter, claimed deduction u/s. 80- IB(10) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on the housing project for the A. Y. 2004-05. The Assessing Officer denied the claim on two counts, viz., (i) that the assessee had not developed the flats, and (ii) that out of 66 flats constructed, the built up area of 25 flats exceeded the prescribed maximum limit of 1,500 sq. ft. if the car park area of 220 sq. ft. was included. The Commissioner (Appeals) allowed the deduction u/s. 80-IB(10) holding that the provisions of section 80-IB(10) did not warrant ownership of land. As regards car park area, he held that there was no definition for the term ‘common area” in the Act. He held that the car park area has to be treated as common area. Accordingly, he held that the assessee had not come under any of the disqualifications prescribed u/s. 80-IB(10). The Tribunal confirmed the order of the Commissioner (Appeals).

On appeal by the Revenue, the Madras High Court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and held as under:

“i) The assessee was entitled to the benefit of the claim u/s. 80-IB(10) even though the assessee was not a developer but only a builder.

ii) In the absence of any specific definition of the term “built-up area” during the relevant period, the reasoning of the Commissioner (Appeals), which was confirmed by the Tribunal was justified. Nevertheless, section 80-IB(10) speaks about the residential unit having a maximum built up area of 1,500 sq. ft. to claim deduction. Even u/s. 80-IB(14)(a), which comes into effect from April 1, 2005, “built-up area is defined as inner measurements of the residential unit at the floor level, including the projections and balconies, as increased by the thickness of the walls, meaning thereby, the actual residential portion of the property. It clearly states that it will not include common areas shared with other residential units. Thus, there was no justification in including the car park in the definition of the built-up area of the residential unit for the purpose of determining the maximum built-up area.”

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DTAA between India and Mauritius- Assessee, a Mauritius based company was engaged in business of telecasting TV channels- Assessee carried out entire activities from Mauritius and all contracts were concluded in Mauritius- Only activity which was carried out in India was incidental or auxiliary/preparatory in nature which was carried out in a routine manner as per direction of assessee without application of mind: In aforesaid circumstances, assessee’s agent did not have any PE in India and, co<

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DIT vs. B4U International Holdings Ltd.: [2015] 57 taxmann.com 146 (Bom)

The assessee is a Mauritius based company. The Revenue proceeded against it on the footing that it is engaged in the business of telecasting of TV channels such as B4U Music, MCM, etc. It is the case of the Revenue that the income of the assessee from India consisted of collections from time slots given to advertisers from India through its agents. The assessee claimed that it did not have any permanent establishment in India and has no tax liability in India. The Assessing Officer did not accept this contention of the assessee and held that affiliated entities of the assessee are basically an extension in India and constitute a permanent establishment of the assessee within the meaning of Article 5 of the DTAA . The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) Mumbai, partly allowed the appeal in some cases and held that the entity in India cannot be treated as an independent agent of the assessee. Alternatively, and assuming that it could be treated as such if a dependent agent is paid remuneration at arm’s length, further proceedings cannot be taxed in India. The Tribunal upheld the decision of the Commissioner (Appeals).

On appeal by the Revenue, the Bombay High Court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and held as under:

“Assessee carried out entire activities from Mauritius and all contracts were concluded in Mauritius. It was also undisputed that only activity which was carried out in India was incidental or auxiliary/preparatory in nature which was carried out in a routine manner as per direction of assessee without application of mind. In aforesaid circumstances, assessee’s agent did not have any PE in India and, consequently, amount in question could not be brought to tax in India.”

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Capital or revenue receipt- A. Y. 1996-97- Noncompete fee- Goodwill- Assessee transferring technical know-how and other advantages to joint venture company- Payment in lieu of restrictive covenants as to manufacture- Assessee continuing business using its own logo, trade name- No intention to acquire goodwill of assessee- Non-compete fee received is capital in nature

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CIT vs. Hackbridge Hewittic and Easun Ltd.; 373 ITR 109 (Mad):

The assessee had two divisions: a transformer division manufacturing power transformers, and a tap changer division. It entered into an agreement with a German Company to sell plant and machinery of its tap changer division. Under the agreement, it undertook not to engage either directly or indirectly in the manufacture of the existing range of products. For the A. Y. 1996- 97, the assessee received a sum of Rs. 6.89 crore as a consideration for cessation of manufacturing activity. The Assessing Officer held that the receipt should be attributed to transfer of goodwill and restrictive covenants. Accordingly, he brought to tax the capital gains on the transfer of goodwill to the extent of Rs. 403.89 lakh adopting the cost of acquisition at Nil. The Commissioner (Appeals) deleted the addition holding that there was no element of goodwill in the agreement entered into by the assessee with the German company and the entire receipt should be attributed to restrictive covenants/noncompete fee. The Tribunal confirmed the decision of the Commissioner (Appeals).

On appeal by the Revenue, the Madras High Court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and held as under:

“i) The assessee transferred the technical know-how and other advantages to the joint venture company consisting of the assessee and the German company and the assessee continued its business using its own logo, trade name, licenses, permits and approval under an agreement with another company. The Tribunal held that there was no intention to acquire the goodwill of the assessee and, therefore, the non-compete fee received by the assessee could not be treated as payment for goodwill taxable as income. Section 55(2) (a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, came into effect in the year 1998-99, whereas the assessment year in question was 1996-97. Therefore, there was no basis to fall back on section 55(2). The non-compete fee received by the assessee was capital in nature.”

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Business income vs. Income from house property- A. Ys. 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08 and 2009- 10- Assessee letting out godowns and warehouses to manufacturers, traders and companies carrying on warehousing business- Income is assessable as business income

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CIT vs. NDR Warehousing Pvt. Ltd; 372 ITR 690 (Mad):

The assessee was engaged in the business of warehousing, handling and transport business. For the A.Ys. 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08 and 2009-10, the assessee showed the income from letting out of buildings and godowns as income from business. The Assessing Officer treated the income as income from house property. The assessee contended that its activity was not merely letting out of the warehouses but storage of goods with provision of several auxiliary services such as pest control, rodent control and preventive measures against decay of goods stored due to vagaries of moisture and temperature, fungus formation, etc., besides security and protection of the goods stored. The Commissioner (Appeals) allowed the assessee’s claim and held that the assessee carried out the activity in an organised business manner. These activities were more than mere letting out of the godowns for tenancy. The Department itself had accepted in the past that the income from warehousing was assessable as income from business. The Tribunal upheld the decision of the Commissioner (Appeals).

On appeal by the Revenue, the Madras High Court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and held as under:

“i) T he Commissioner (Appeals) as well as the Tribunal had not only gone into the objects clauses of the memorandum of association of the assessee but also into individual aspects of the business to come to the conclusion that it was a case of warehousing business and, therefore, the income would fall under the head “Business income”.

ii) T hus, the income of the asessee from letting out its warehouses was chargeable under the head “Income from business” and not under the head “Income from house property”.

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Assessment – Intimation – Prima Facie Adjustments – Additional tax – Retrospective amendment made in 1993 was only clarificatory of the position that existed in 1989 and was valid but 143(1A) could be invoked only where it was found in facts that the lesser amount stated in the return filed by the assessee was a result of an attempt to avoid tax lawfully payable by the assessee.

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CIT & Ors. vs. Sati Oil Udyog Ltd. & Anr. (2015) 372 ITR 746 (SC)

The assessee, in its annual return for the assessment years 1989-90 and 1991-92, showed a loss of Rs.1,94,13,40 and Rs. 1,80,22,480 respectively. By an assessment order dated 14th December, 1992, the Assessing Officer levied an additional tax u/s. 143(1A) of Rs. 5,62,490 and Rs. 8,09,290, respectively, for the two assessment years in question calculated in the manner provided in the section.

Being aggrieved by the order dated 14th December, 1992, the respondent filed two separate writ petitions to declare the provisions of section 143(1A) as ultra vires and, consequently, prayed for the quashing of the order dated 14th December, 1992. The learned single judge who heard the two petitions upheld section 143(1A) as amended in 1993 prospectively but held that in so far as it operated with effect from 1989 on losses made by companies, the section is arbitrary and unreasonable and would, therefore, have to be struck down. The Division Bench agreed with single judge and dismissed the two writ appeals before it.

The Supreme Court held that on a cursory reading of the provision, it was clear that the object of section 143(1A) was the prevention of evasion of tax. By the introduction of this provision, persons who has filed returns in which they have sought to evade the tax properly payable by them is meant to have a deterrent effect and a hefty amount of 20% as additional income-tax is payable on the difference between what is declared in the return and what is assessed to tax.

The Supreme Court observed that a plain reading of the provision as it originally stood referred to the total income. Further, it was settled law that the word “income” would include within it both profits as well as losses. The Supreme Court further held that even on a reading of section 143(1)(a) which is referred to in section 143(1A), a loss is envisaged as being declared in a return made u/s. 139. It was clear, therefore, that the retrospective amendment made in 1993 would only be clarificatory of the position that existed in 1989 itself.

According to the Supreme Court, all assessees were put on notice in 1989 itself that the expression “income” contained in section 143(1A) would be wide enough to include losses also. That being the case, on facts there was in fact no retrospective imposition of additional tax–such tax was imposable on losses as well from 1989 itself.

In the present case, the question that therefore arose before the Supreme Court also as to whether bona fide assesses are caught within the net of section 143(1A).

The Supreme Court after referring to its decisions in CIT vs. Hindustan Electric Graphites Ltd. (2000) 243 ITR 48(SC), Asst. CIT vs. J.K. Synthetics Ltd (2001) 251 ITR 200 (SC) and K. P. Varghese vs. ITO 131 ITR 579 (SC); held that section 143(1A) could only be invoked where it was found on facts that the lesser amount stated in the return filed by the assessee was a result of an attempt to evade tax lawfully payable by the assessee. The burden of proving that the assessee had so attempted to evade tax was on the Revenue which could be discharged by the Revenue by establishing facts and circumstances from which a reasonable inference can be drawn that the assessee had, in fact, attempted to evade tax lawfully payable by it. Subject to the aforesaid construction of section 143(1A), the Supreme Court upheld the retrospective clarificatory amendment of the said section and allowed the appeals.

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Upfront payment of interest on debentures in one year – the year of deductibility– Part I

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Introduction

1.1 Sizeable debt funds are being raised by the corporates through the issue of debentures. To make the issue of debentures attractive, such debentures are issued with different terms. Sometimes debentures are issued at a discount with nominal or lower rate of interest. At times, the debentures are issued at par for a fixed period with specified interest rate, but the option is also given to the debenture holders for upfront payment of present value of interest on debentures in the very first year for the entire period of debentures. In such cases, the accounting treatment of such interest is guided by the accounting principles, and generally the expenditure on interest is spread over the life of the debentures on an appropriate basis.

1.2 The expenditure of revenue nature incurred on issue of such debentures generally qualifies for deduction u/s. 37(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act). Section 36(1)(iii) of the Act grants deduction of interest on capital borrowed for business purpose. Accordingly, interest on such debentures should generally qualify for deduction u/s. 36(1)(iii) of the Act, subject to certain exceptions with which we are not concerned in this write-up.

1.3 In the past,for the assessees following mercantile system of accounting, the issue was under debate with regard to the year of deductibility of interest under the Act, in cases where the upfront payment of present value of interest on debenture is made in the very first year for the entire period of debentures and for accounting purpose, such interest is amortised over the redemption period of debentures in the books of account.

1.4 Earlier, the issue with regard to deductibility of discount on issue of debentures under the Act came up for consideration before the courts. Finally, the Apex Court in the case of Madras Industrial Investment Corporation Ltd [225 ITR 802 – Madras Industrial Investment’s case] settled the controversy with regard to deductibility of such discount and the year of its deductibility. In this case, the Apex Court, on the facts of that case, held that the discount on issue of debentures constitutes revenue expenditure. The Court further held that, although a liability of such expenditure has been incurred in the year of issue of debenture, this is a continuing liability which stretches over the period for which the debentures were issued and therefore, the liability spreads over such period. Accordingly, the deduction of such expenditure will also be spread over on a proportionate basis during the tenure of the debentures. The Court also noted that this view is in conformity with the accounting practice in which such discount is amortised over the redemption period of debentures. It may be noted that in this case, initially, the assessee itself had claimed deduction on proportionate basis and subsequently, changed it’s position in this respect. We had analysed this judgment in this column in the July, 1998 issue of the journal.

1.5 Recently, the issue with regard to the year of deductibility of upfront payment of interest in the first year of the tenure of debentures referred to in para 1.3 above came up for consideration before the Apex Court in the case of Taparia Tools Ltd. and the Court has decided this issue. Considering the importance and usefulness of this judgment, it is thought fit to consider the same in this column.

Taparia Tools Ltd. vs. JCIT – 260 ITR 102 [Bom.]

2.1 The issue referred to in para 1.3 above came up before the Bombay High Court in the above case. In this case, the brief facts were: the assessee was following mercantile system of accounting and it had issued non-convertible debentures of the face value of Rs. 100 each aggregating Rs. 600 lakh on a private placement basis. Under the terms of issue,effectively, as noted by the Court,the debenture holders were entitled to receive interest periodically on half yearly basis @ 18% p.a. for five years. Alternatively, the debenture holders had the option to receive one year upfront payment of Rs. 55 per debenture immediately on allotment. The debentures were redeemable at a premium of Rs. 10 per debenture in one installment any time after the end of fifth year from the date of allotment but, not later than the seventh year from that date.

2.1.1 The company made allotment of debentures to six parties on two different dates. On 29th March, 1996, the allotment was made to one party for which the company had received Rs. 495 lakh and on 19th June, 1996, the company had made an allotment to five parties for which the company had received Rs. 100 lakh from one party and Rs. 1.25 lakh each from the other four parties. Out of six parties, two lenders exercised the option to receive upfront payment. Accordingly, upfront payment of Rs. 2,72,25,000 became payable to one party (who was allotted debentures of the face value of Rs. 495 lakh) on 29th March, 1996 and Rs. 55 lakh became payable to another party (who was allotted debentures of the face value of Rs. 100 lakh)on 19th June, 1996. The other four debenture holders holding debentures of the aggregate face value of Rs. 5 lakh opted for payment of interest periodically as per the terms of issue of debentures. In the books of account, the assessee had shown the upfront payment of interest of both the years as ‘deferred revenue expenditure’ to be written off over a period of five years. Similarly, the premium of Rs. 60 lakh payable on redemption of debentures was also proportionately debited to each year’s profit and loss account and credited as reserve on the liability side of the balance sheet. Even for tax purpose, the claim by deduction of this premium payable on redemption was spread over the life of the debentures.

2.1.2 For the purpose of furnishing return of income for the assessment year 1996-97, the assessee claimed entire upfront payment of interest of Rs. 2,72,25,000 as deduction and similarly, in the Return of income from the assessment year 1997- 98, the full deduction of Rs. 55 lakh paid upfront was claimed as deduction. For both the years, the deduction was disallowed by the Assessing Officer (AO) on the ground that liability for the full amount regarding discounted interest paid upfront has not been incurred in the respective accounting years and the approximate income which the assessee would have earned by utilisation of Rs. 595 lakh (Rs. 495 lakh and Rs. 100 lakh) borrowed was not offered for taxation. Relying on the judgment of the Apex Court in Madras Industrial Investment’s case, the AO spread over the deduction of interest expenditure over a period of five years and worked out the amount of deduction of interest by applying appropriate discount rate for the assessment year 1996-97 [Rs. 74,250 – for three days (annual amount being Rs. 89,10,000) as against the claim of Rs. 2,72,25,000]. For the assessment year 1997-98 also, similar approach was adopted. It seems that in subsequent years, deduction was allowed on this basis. On first appeal, for the Assessment Year 1996-97, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) [CIT (A)] took the view that the entire scheme was made to avoid tax and the upfront payment was repayment of capital out of the total borrowing and accordingly, the actual borrowing for the assessment year 1996-97 was only Rs. 2,22,75,000 (and not Rs. 495 lakh). For this, the CIT(A) also relied on the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of McDowell & Company Ltd. [154 ITR 148 – McDowell’s case]. Based on this, the CIT(A) allowed deduction on this reduced amount of borrowing for three days. The Tribunal set aside the order of CIT(A) and restored the order of the AO.

2.2    It seems that similar views were taken for the assessment years 1997-98 and subsequent years. It also seems that appeals for three assessment years (1996-97 to 1998-99) were filed by the assessee  as  well  as  the  revenue  before  the Bombay high Court. details of the other years are not available. Appeals of the Revenue were filed on the ground that the upfront payment represented repayment of borrowed capital and therefore, the assessee was entitled to deduction u/s. 36(1)(iii) only on the net amount of rs. 2,22,75,000.

2.3    On the above facts, the matters came-up before the Bombay high Court, and the high Court, it seems, dealt with the appeals by first taking the appeal for the assessment year 1996-97 as the base. It seems that in the assessee’s appeals, large number of questions were raised  before  the Court. however, the high Court framed the following substantial question of law for its decision [Page 107]:

“Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, the tribunal was right in holding that, even though the liability of payment of interest stood liquidated in the first year itself, such liability had to be allowed on a spread over basis over the life of the debentures?”

2.4    On behalf of the assessee, it was, inter alia, contended that the upfront payment of Rs. 55 per debenture on 29th march, 1996 was on account of interest and the CIT(a) wrongly treated the payment   of   Rs.   55   per   debenture   on   capital account.  the terms of issue of debentures in this respect are very clear. for accounting purpose, the assessee has debited 1/5th of Rs. 55 for five years in profit and loss account but, for the purpose of determining deductibility of the amount under the act one has to go by the year in which the liability arises under the terms of issue of debentures, and for that purpose, the treatment in the books of account is irrelevant.  The assessee is following mercantile system of accounting and under the terms of issue, the liability arose in the first year itself and therefore, deductibility thereof  cannot be spread over the five years as erroneously done by the ao. It was further contended that it was not open to the revenue to tamper with the terms of issue and therefore, the ao was wrong in spreading the deduction over the five years. Such spreadover in five years amounts to altering the terms and conditions of the issue of debentures which was not permissible. It was also pointed out that, had the assessee not claimed the deduction in the very first year, the Revenue could have denied deduction in the second and subsequent years  on the ground that no liability accrued in those years and no amount was also paid during those years.   The  method  of  determining  the  quantum for allowing the deduction on a spreadover basis adopted by the revenue was also questioned.

2.4.1    It was further contended that the judgment of the apex Court in the case of madras industrial investment’s case did not apply to the facts of the case  of  the  assessee.  this  was  distinguished  on various grounds which, inter alia, include: in that case, the Court was concerned with the concept of premium payable at the time of redemption and in this case, although the assesse is liable to pay 10% premium at the time of redemption, that has been claimed on the basis of tests laid down in that case and,therefore, in this case, we are not concerned with the deductibility of such premium. Present case is concerned with the deductibility of upfront payment of interest which became payable in the very first year ending on 31st march, 1996. it was further pointed out that in madras industrial investment’s case, the premium amount was payable after five years and therefore, the apex Court has allowed amortisation whereas in this case, the liability to pay interest arose in the very first year and that is also discharged in the first year itself. Furthermore, in that case the liability was a continuing liability which is not the case in this case. From the judgment of the apex Court in that case, it would appear that the option was with the assessee to claim deduction in the very first year when it discharged the accrued liability or to spread it over for five years. As such, according to the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the assessee, the judgment of the Apex Court in the madras industrial investment’s case had no application to the facts of the present case. A reliance was also placed on the judgment of the Bombay high Court in the case of Buckau Wolf new india engineering Works Ltd. [157 ITR 751] in which case, the amount was payable in installments and yet, the high Court took the view that the deduction for the entire amount should be given in the first year because the liability was accrued in the first year.

2.4.2    It was also pointed out that @ 55 per debenture, the assessee was required to pay Rs. 4,45,50,000 interest in five years but by paying upfront amount of Rs. 2,72,25,000 it has been able to save a payment of interest to the extent of Rs. 1,73,25,000.  While spreading over the deduction,even the revenue is ultimately allowing deduction of Rs. 4,45,50,000 as against the claim of deduction of Rs.2,72,25,000 made by the assessee. It was also contended that the Revenue has wrongly invoked the judgment of the apex Court in mcdowell’s case.

2.4.3    The  learned  counsel  for  the  assessee  further contended that under the terms of issue, the lenders were free to opt for interest on half yearly basis @ 18% per annum for five years (i.e. in aggregate  Rs.  90  per  debenture)  or  to  receive upfront  payment  of  Rs.  55  per  debenture  in  the year of allotment itself.  Therefore, the lenders had a right to receive discounted amount of interest in the first year under the second option. In other words, by making upfront payment of Rs. 55 per debenture, the assessee has brought the present value  of  rs.  90  to  Rs.  55  which  is  nothing  but discounted value of the interest otherwise payable in five years. Under the first option, the assessee would  have  paid  Rs.  89,10,000  every  year  for  a period of five years on this amount of borrowing. however, by making upfront payment of discounted value of interest amounting to Rs. 2,72,25,000,the assessee  got  rid  of  the  annual  liability  of  Rs. 89,10,000 for five years. It was also contended that the  revenue  has  accepted  that  upfront  payment of Rs. 55 per debenture was revenue expenditure and by spreading over the amount of deduction, the  revenue  allows  deduction  of  rs.  89,10,000 per year for a period of five years aggregating the  amount  to  Rs.  4,45,50,000  as  against  the assessee’s claim of deduction of Rs. 2,72,25,000 in the first year. Therefore, there is no loss to the revenue. As such, the only question which the ao was required to decide was whether the liability to pay interest was incurred in the first year itself or not, and if so, the assessee was entitled to obtain full deduction in the first year.

2.4.4    It  was  also  pointed  out  that  the  tribunal  has proceeded on the footing that the entire measure was adopted because the assessee had surplus income whereas the concerned lender had brought forward losses. In this respect, it was contended that the court should not take into account extraneous factors while deciding the claim of the assessee.

2.4.5    Referring to the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of tuticorin alkali Chemicals and fertilizers Ltd. [227 itr 172 – tuticorin’s case], it was further contended that the deduction of expenditure under the act does not depend on what the assessee debits in its accounts but, it depends on the provisions of the law.  Therefore, in this case, the fact that the assessee has not debited the full amount to profit and loss account in the first year itself cannot be the ground for its disallowance in that  year. The  tax  cannot  be  levied  on  the  basis of entries made  by  an  assessee  in  its  books  of account.

2.4.6    It was also contended that the tribunal has erred in introducing matching concept to the effect that the expenditure must relate to the income in the assessment year and the benefit was spread over for a period of five years and therefore, the expenditure must also be spread over. According to the learned counsel, since the  liability  in  this case is incurred in the first year itself, the assesseee was entitled to full deduction in that year and, therefore, the question of co-relating the expenditure to income/ benefit for five years does not arise.  For this, the reliance was placed on the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Mysore Spinning and mfg. Co. Ltd. [61 itr 572].

2.5    On  behalf  of  the  revenue,  it  was,  inter  alia, contended that the option given to the lenders refers to upfront one-time payment and it does not speak of interest. the upfront payment of Rs. 55 per debenture, as against the amount of Rs. 90, was made to get the benefit of differential amount of Rs. 45 for a period of five years and therefore, the ao was right in spreading the expenses over that period. If the argument of the assessee for deduction of the full amount in the first year is accepted, then the computation of income will stand distorted, because the assesse got the benefit of Rs. 45 for five years. Upfront payment of  Rs.  55  was  on  account  of  advance  payment of interest in the first year for five years. As such, the principle laid down by the apex Court in the madras industrial investment’s case was squarely applicable to the facts of the case of the assessee. It was also contended that under both the options, the interest was payable every six months and therefore, the amortisation principle was applicable to  both  the  options.  Therefore,  even  Rs.  55  per debenture was payable by way of interest for five years which was paid by the assessee in the first year and therefore, the ao was right in applying the principle of amortisation in this case.

2.5.1    Supporting the appeals filed by  the  Revenue,  the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the revenue,  further  contended  that,  as  against  the amount  of  Rs.  4,95,00,000  borrowed  on  29th march, 1996, on the same day, an amount of Rs. 2,72,25,000 was repaid in the name of upfront payment of interest and therefore, the actual borrowed capital left with the assesse was only Rs. 2,22,75,000 which was used for the purpose of business. Since part of the borrowed capital was refunded to the subscribers on the same date, the actual borrowed capital remaining was the net amount and the tribunal has failed to appreciate this factual positon. as such, the assessee was entitled to claim deduction u/s. 36(1)(iii) for interest only on Rs. 2,22,75,000.

2.5.2.1 It was also contended that the entire scheme of issue of non-convertible debenture was devised to defeat the collection of tax revenue. In the present case, the assessee has not paid the discounted value of interest, but has repaid part of the face value of the debenture itself under the garb of upfront payment of interest at present value. therefore, the tribunal has erred in giving spread over and granting deduction of Rs. 4,45,50,000 @ 18% per annum for five years on the gross amount (i.e. Rs.4,95,00,000) of debentures.

2.6    After considering the contentions raised on behalf of both the sides, the Court proceeded to decide the question referred to in para 2.3.  For this purpose, at the outset, the Court noted the following relevant terms of the issue of debentures [Page115]:

“3(a) Each debenture shall carry interest at the rate of 2%. Per annum above the prime lending rate and the interest shall be payable half-yearly.
(b)    Each debenture shall carry interest at the rate of  Rs.  55  per  debenture,  payable  up-front  within thirty days of the exercise of option or from the date of allotment, whichever is earlier”.

These  terms  were  not  accepted  by  the  lenders.
The final terms of the issue were as follows:

“2.  Terms of the issue:
(a)    Up-front fee – the debenture shall carry up- front fee at the rate of Rs. 55 per debenture payable up-front immediately on allotment.
(b)    Redemption  period  –  the  debenture  shall be redeemed at a premium of 10 per cent, i.e.,  Rs.10  per  debenture,  in  one  instalment any time after the end of the fifth year from the date of allotment, but not later than the seventh year from the date of allotment.”

2.6.1    The Court then briefly referred to the facts of the present case and stated that the question which arises for determination in this case is whether Rs.  55  per  debenture  (total  –  Rs.  2,72,25,000) deductible in the first year of allotment or that expenditure was to be apportioned over the period of five years, which is the life of the debenture. The Court also noted that the assesse is following the mercantile system of accounting on the basis of which the assessee has made a claim for the full amount in the first year itself whereas the Revenue has treated this as deferred revenue expenditure (DRE)  and  apportioned  the  expenditure  for  five years. The Court then stated that for the purpose of deciding this issue, two concepts are required to be borne in mind, viz., matching and discount rate.

2.6.2    The   Court   then   proceeded   to   consider   the ‘matching concept’ referred to in above para.  for this purpose, the Court noted that the mercantile system of accounting is based on accrual. under this system, book profits are liable to be taxed. The profits earned and credited in the books of account constitute the basis of computation of income.  the  system  postulates  the  taxation  of monies that are due and payable by the parties to whom they are debited. explaining the effect  of the ‘matching concept’ in the mercantile system of accounting, the Court observed as under [Page no. 116]:
“…….therefore,  under  the  mercantile  system  of accounting, in order to determine the net income of an accounting year, the revenue and other incomes are matched with the cost of resources consumed (expenses). under the mercantile system of accounting, this matching is required to be done on accrual basis. under this matching concept, revenue and income earned during an accounting period, irrespective of actual cash in- flow, is required to be compared with expenses incurred during the same period, irrespective of actual out-flow of cash. In this case, the assesse is following the mercantile system of accounting. this matching concept is very relevant to compute taxable income particularly in cases involving dre. it has been recognised by numerous judgments…    ”

2.6.2.1    The Court then referred to the judgment of the apex Court in the case of Calcutta Co. Ltd. [37 ITR 1] and stated that, in that case, the Court had held that the expression ‘profits or gains’ used in section 10(1) of the income-tax act, 1922 [similar to section 28(i) of the act] should be understood in its commercial sense and there can be no computation of such profits and gains until the expenditure, which is necessary for the purpose of  earning  receipts  is  deducted  therefrom.  the Court then noted that in that case the apex Court had applied the ‘matching concept’ and allowed the deduction of an expenditure required to be incurred in subsequent period on an estimated basis which related to the income that was already accounted on the ground that otherwise it was not possible to compute profits and gains. The Court then stated that this concept is also applied by the apex Court in the case of madras industrial investment’s case and for that purpose the Court noted the following observations from the head notes of that case [Page 117]:

“Ordinarily, revenue expenditure which is incurred wholly and exclusively for thepurpose of business must be allowed in its entirety in the year in which, it is incurred. it cannot be spread over a number of years even if the assessee has written it off in his books, over a period of years. However, the facts may justify an assessee who has incurred expenditure in a particular year to spread and claim it over a period of ensuing years. in fact, allowing the entire expenditure in one year might give a very distorted picture of the profits of a particular year. Issuing debentures is an instance where, although the assesse has incurred the liability to pay the discount in the year of issue of debentures, the payment is to secure a benefit over  a  number  of  years.  There  is  a  continuing benefit to the business of the company over the entire  period.  the  liability  should,  therefore,  be spread over the period of the debentures”.

2.6.2.2    The Court then stated that the ‘matching concept’ is also covered by section 36(1)(iii) read with section 43(2), which defines the word ‘paid’ to include incurred according to the method of accounting. Both these sections are part of the provisions relating to computation of business income. Interest on monies borrowed for business purposes is an expenditure in the business, which is deductible under section 36(1)(iii).   the Court then pointed out that for claiming deduction u/s. 36(1)(iii), the necessary conditions are: the capital must have been borrowed; it must have been borrowed for business purpose and the interest must have been paid i.e., actually paid or incurred in accordance with the method of accounting followed by the assessee.

2.6.2.3    Referring to the facts of the case of the assessee, the Court noted that the assessee got the benefit of the borrowed money for a period of five years and if the ‘matching concept’ is not applied, the profits get distorted. In this context the Court then observed as under [Page 118]:

“……for  the  year  ending  march  31,  1996,  the assessee has submitted that it has incurred an expenditure  amounting  to  rs.  2,72,25,000  as and by way of interest deductible under section 36(1)(iii) of the income-tax act. however, in the annual accounts, the said amount is not debited to the profit and loss account. It is interesting     to note from the profit and loss account for the year ending March 31, 1996, that profit after tax  was  rs.1,86,34,016.  now  if  the  expenditure incurred was Rs. 2,72,25,000 as submitted by the assessee then the assessee could never have earned the said profit of Rs. 1,86,34,016. This is how the profit got distorted. In the annual report, the assessee has conceded that Rs. 2,72,25,000 was deferred revenue expenditure to be written off over five years. In his order, the Assessing Officer has recorded a finding of fact which categorically brings out the ‘matching concept’. he has stated that for the accounting year March 31, 1996, profit after  tax  increased  to  Rs.  1,86,34,016  from  rs. 50 lakhs in the last year ending march 31, 1995. Therefore, the Assessing Officer was right in apportioning the expenditure at 18 per cent. per annum on Rs. 495 lakhs amounting to Rs.74,259 for three days because only then the estimated expenditure   could   match   with   income   of   Rs. 1,86,34,016…    ”

2.6.2.4    Considering the above referred accounting treatment and the accounting profit for the year ending 31st march, 1996, the Court stated that the  assessee  has  shown  Rs.  2,72,25,000  as deferred  revenue  expenditure  and   according to the Court, this expenditure, though paid, was not incurred in the year ending 31st march, 1996 and the expenditure incurred in that year was Rs. 74,250. in this context, the Court further observed as under [Page 118]:
“… What we would like to emphasise is that, therefore, ordinarily revenue expenditure incurred only and exclusively for business purposes must be allowed in its entirety in the year in which it    is incurred. However, in a given case, like the present one, the facts may justify the Assessing Officer to spread the expenditure over the life    of the debentures because allowing the entire expenditure in one year might give a distorted picture of the profit of a particular year…    ”

2.6.2.5    Considering the overall facts of the assessee, the Court took the view that the assessee has received the borrowed funds for a period of five years and it is a continuing benefit to the business of the assessee over the entire period of debentures and therefore, the liability was required to be spread over the period of debentures.  the Court also noted that the assessee itself has applied    a ‘matching concept’ qua the claim of premium payable on redemption of debentures. As such,  in this very case, the  assessee  has  invoked  the ‘matching concept’ qua premium but not for interest.

2.7    The Court then proceeded to consider the second concept, viz., discount rate. in this context, the Court noted that the ao had taken a view that the upfront payment made by the assessee had to be discounted as these payments represent present value of the interest liability and were deferred revenue  expenditure.  For  this  purpose,  the  ao applied 18% as the discount rate which was effectively based on one of the options available for payment of interest over a period of five years. On this basis, the ao determined the annual liability  of  interest  at  Rs.  89,10,000  in  respect of borrowing of Rs. 495 lakh and Rs. 18 lakh in respect  of  borrowing  of  Rs.  100  lakh.    on  this basis, the ao allowed deduction of Rs. 74,250 for three days for the assessment year 1996-97 and Rs. 1,03,20,410 for the assessment year 1997-98 (i.e. Rs. 89,10,000 for the first set of debenture and Rs. 14,10,410 for the second set of debenture on a proportionate basis for part of the financial year 1996-97). in the subsequent years,it seems, the ao had allowed deduction on this basis for the full year.   The assessee had questioned the discount rate applied by the ao for determining the amount of deduction. After considering the factual position, the Court did not find any defect in the method of determining the amount of deduction adopted by the ao.

2.8    After considering both the above concepts, viz., ‘matching concept’ and discount rate, the Court stated that if they are kept in mind, the matter stands resolved in law.  For this purpose, the Court then analysed the annual accounts of three years under appeal and noted that in each of the years, the assessee has treated the upfront payments made in the first year as deferred expenditure and written off the same on  that  basis  during the life of the debentures. After analysing these annual accounts for three years, the Court also noticed that even this method continued in the subsequent accounting years upto 31st march, 2001 and finally, the debentures were repaid during the accounting year 2001-02.

2.8.1    Based on the analysis of the above referred annual accounts, the Court noted that this analysis indicates two things. Firstly, in the accounts, the upfront payment has been written off over the period of debentures by creating an asset in respect thereof on the basis that interest for five years is paid in advance in the first year. Secondly, the accounts show that the premium payable by the assessee on redemption was Rs. 60 lakh and in each year, 20% thereof has been charged to the profit and loss account. On this basis, the Court felt that the acceptance  of  claim  of  deduction of the full amount in the first year would result into distortion.

2.9    The   Court   then   noted   the   contention   of   the assessee that good accounting is not necessarily correct law.   For this, on behalf of the assessee, apart from the other authorities, heavy reliance was placed on the judgment of the Apex Court in tuticorin’s case to contend that the deduction of expenses in computation of income under the act does not depend on its accounting treatment but  depends  on  the  provisions  of  the  law.  For this, the Court considered the relevant provisions contained in section 36(1)(iii) read with section 43(2) and stated that, from this, it would  be  clear that question of allowance permitted to be deducted under the head profits and gains would differ according to the system of accounting adopted by the assessee.  For this purpose, one has to estimate the expenditure by applying the ‘matching concept’ and a proper discount rate. Referring to the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of A. Krishnaswamy Mudaliar [53 ITR 122], the Court stated that profits of the business should be determined according to the ordinary principles of commercial accounting so far as they are applicable.  The Court then stated that there is no merit in the argument advanced on behalf of the assessee that good accounting is not necessarily good law.

2.10    Finally, explaining the effect of judgment in tuticorin’s  case,the  Court  held  as  under  [Page 125]:
“………one of the points which arose for determination was whether interest received by the assessee on short-term deposits during pre-commencement of business could be capitalised as accretion to capital and, therefore, nontaxable.   Therefore,  in  the  case,  the  issue  was on the nature of the receipt. Hence, that case  has no application. On the contrary, it has been held that the accounting principles are relevant for ascertainment of profits made by a company or for ascertainment of value of assets of the company but, not for determining the nature of receipt. Therefore, the said judgment supports the view which we have taken as in this case,  we are concerned with computation of income.

It is important to note that the deferred revenue expenditure is of revenue nature but, because of its special features, it is spread over a number of years during which the benefit of expenditure is expected to arise to the business. on the facts, we hold that the liability was a continuing liability to pay interest spread over for a period of five years…    ”

2.11    In view of the above, the Court took the view that the ao was right in spreading the deduction over the period of five years which was the life of the debentures. Accordingly, the Court decided the question referred to in para 2.2. above in favour of the revenue and against the assessee.

2.12    On the above basis, appeals of the assessee for all  the  three  years  were  dismissed.   the  Court also noted that the three appeals preferred by the  revenue,  relate  to  the  ground  that  upfront payments represented repayment of borrowed capital and therefore, the assessee was not entitled to deduction u/s. 36(1)(iii) in respect thereof. In this respect, the Court clarified that the AO has recorded the finding of fact that the upfront payments were on revenue account and that has been confirmed by the Tribunal and therefore, the Court has decided these matters on the basis of that finding of fact. Accordingly, on this basis, the Court preferred not to answer the questions raised in the three appeals filed by the Revenue.

Payment of Ransom or Protection money and section 37

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Issue for Consideration
An expenditure laid out or expended wholly and exclusively for the purposes of business or profession is allowed as a deduction, u/s. 37, in computing the income chargeable under the head ‘Profits and Gains of Business or Profession’, provided such an expenditure is not in the nature of a capital expenditure or a personal expenditure of the assessee and is not of the nature covered by section 30 to 36 of the Act.

The expenditure, though incurred for the purposes of business, shall be deemed to have not been incurred for the purposes of business, where the expenditure is incurred for a purpose which is an offence or which is prohibited by law. No deduction or allowance, therefore can be made in respect of such an expenditure by virtue of Explanation 1 to section 37(1) of the Act.

It is not uncommon for a businessman to make certain payments in the course of his business, the payment of which might be an offence or prohibited by law. Several cases of payments of fines and penalties for violation of law are the examples that immediately come to mind. Such payments largely would be the cases of expenditure that would be hit by the Explanation 1 to section 37(1) and would stand to be disallowed in computing the Total Income.

Cases often arise wherein a businessman, for the purposes of his safety or for safeguarding his business, is required to make certain payments to either the police or security guards or to the gangsters or even to the kidnappers. Such payments, when made to the police or security guards are known as “Security Charges”, when made to gangsters are known as “Protection Money” and as “Ransom” when paid to kidnappers.

Issue arises in the context of Allowance or Deduction when such payment, i.e., security charges or protection money or ransom is made. Whether such payments, though made for business purposes, would be liable for disallowance on the ground of it being construed as an expenditure incurred for a purpose which is an offence or is prohibited by law. Conflicting views of the High Courts highlight the controversial nature of the issue under consideration.

M. S. Swam inathan’s case
Before the Karnataka High Court in the case of CIT vs. M. S. Swaminathan, 236 CTR 559, the Revenue had raised the following question for consideration of the high court in an appeal filed by it – “ whether the payment made to local police and local rowdies can be an allowable expenditure as a business expenditure ?

“In the said case, a sum of Rs. 86,000 was claimed as expenditure for money paid to local police and local goons towards the maintenance of the two theatres run by the assessee, viz., Vinayaka Touring Talkies and Sri Krishna Theatre. The expenditure of Rs. 86,000 claimed was disallowed by the AO. The CIT(A), in an appeal filed by the assessee, concurred with the view expressed by the AO and dismissed his appeal. Aggrieved by the same, the assessee filed the second appeal before the tribunal, which allowed the appeal in part, by allowing deduction of Rs. 50,000 as against Rs. 86,000 claimed. Being aggrieved by the same, the appeal was filed by the Revenue before the High Court.

On hearing the rival contentions, the Karnataka High Court allowed the appeal of the Revenue for disallowing the claim of the expenditure by holding as under;

“If any payment is made towards the security, towards the business of the assessee, such amount is an allowable deduction, as the amount spent for the maintenance of peace and law and order in the business premises of the assessee as he was running two cinema theatres. But the amount spent in the instant case claimed by the assessee is towards payment made to the police and rowdies. If any payment is made to the police illegally, it amounts to bribe and such illegal gratification cannot be considered as an allowable deduction and similarly, if any amount is paid to a rowdy as a precautionary measure to see that he shall not cause any disturbance in the theatre run by the assessee, the same is also an amount paid illegally for which no deduction can be allowed by the Department. If the assessee had spent the money for the purpose of security, we would have to concur with the view of the Tribunal. However, in the instant case, the payment has been made to the police and rowdies to keep them away from the business premises which payment be held as illegal and such illegal payment cannot be an allowable deduction.”

Khemchand Motilal Jain, Tobacco Products (P.) Ltd.’s case
The issue arose in the case of CIT vs. Khemchand Motilal Jain, Tobacco Products (P.) Ltd. 340 ITR 99 (MP) before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. In that case, the assessee company was engaged in manufacturing and sale of bidis. One Mr. Sukhnandan Jain was a whole-time director of the assessee-company and was looking after the purchase, sales and manufacturing of bidis. During his business tour in August 1987 to Sagar for purchase of tendu leaves, he was kidnapped for ransom by a dacoit gang headed by Raju Bhatnagar. Immediately, a complaint and FIR were lodged with Sagar Police. The assessee company awaited the action of the police but the police was unsuccessful in getting Mr. Sukhnandan Jain released from the clutches of the dacoit. Ultimately after 20 days, a sum of Rs. 5,50,000 was paid by way of ransom for the release of Mr. Sukhnandan Jain. On the same day of payment of the ransom, Mr. Sukhnandan Jain was released by the dacoits.

The company claimed a deduction of the ransom amount as business expenditure. The AO disallowed the claim of the assessee company on the ground that the ransom money paid to the kidnappers was not an expenditure incidental to business. On appeal, the CIT (Appeals) allowed the claim of the assessee. The Tribunal confirmed the finding of the CIT (Appeals). On appeal, the Revenue contended that the amount of ransom could not have been claimed by way of expenditure as the Explanation to sub-section (1) of section 37 prohibits such expenditure. The Tribunal referred the following question to the Court :“Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in law in holding that the amount of Rs. 5,50,000 paid as ransom money to the kidnappers of one of the Directors was an allowable deduction under section 37(1) of the Income-tax Act,1961?”

Before the High Court, the Revenue submitted that the amount of ransom could not have been claimed by way of expenditure as the Explanation of sub-section (1) of section 37 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 prohibited allowance of such an expenditure. It was submitted that the payment of any amount which was prohibited by law was not a business expenditure and it could not be allowed as an expenditure.

The amicus curiae, and the assessee company supported the orders passed by the appellate authorities and submitted that the payment of ransom was an allowable expenditure. It was pleaded that the amount was paid to the dacoits to get Mr. Sukhnandan Jain, who was on business tour and who was working as the director of the company, released from the dacoit. It was contended that the aforesaid amount was rightly claimed as an expenditure of business. It was insisted that at the relevant time, Mr. Sukhnandan Jain was on a business tour and was staying at a Government Rest House at Sagar, from where he was kidnapped.

The assessee company, in support of its claim, relied upon the judgments in cases of Sassoon J. David & Co. (P.) Ltd. vs. CIT, Bombay 118 ITR 261 and CIT West Bengal, Calcutta vs. Karam Chand Thapar and Brothers (P.) Ltd, 157 ITR 212(Cal.) and Addl. CIT vs. Kuber Singh Bhagwandas, 118 ITR 379(MP).

The  madhya  Pradesh  high  Court  extensively  quoted with approval the findings of the appellate authorities in respect  of  the   contribution  of  Mr.  Sukhnandan  Jain  to the business of the company, his need to travel for the purposes of business, the business exigency for payment of ransom money and the compulsion thereof. The court noted that from the perusal of the facts, it was apparent that  Sukhnandan  jain  was  conducting  business  tour for the company and was staying at a government rest house and the visit was to meet one Bihari Lal for the procurement of quality tendu leaves and it was during the  business  tour,  that  he  was  kidnapped.  The  court further noted that for a period of near about 20 days after lodging a report to the police, when all the efforts of the police were unsuccessful, the company made payment of  ransom  amount  of  Rs.  5,50,000  to  the  kidnappers and ultimately on the same day, Sukhnandan jain was released from the clutches of the dacoits and that both the appellate authorities had found that it was a business expenditure while allowing the claim.

The  court  referred  to  the  provisions  of   explanation  of sub-section (1) of section 37, for determining whether the expenditure could have been disallowed under that provision of the act. It also examined the provisions of section 364a of the indian Penal Code which provided that kidnapping a person for a ransom was a criminal offence. It noted that the aforesaid section 364A provided that kidnapping a person for ransom was an offence and any person doing so or compelling to pay, was liable for punishment as provided in the section, but nowhere it was provided that to save a life of the person if a ransom was paid, it would amount to an offence. No provision was brought to the notice of the court that the payment of ransom was prohibited by any law and in absence of it, the Explanation of sub-section (1) of section 37 was not applicable in the case of the assessee company.

The  madhya  Pradesh  high  Court,  after  analysing  the decisions cited by the assessee company, observed that in the case before the court, Mr. Sukhnandan Jain was on business tour and was staying at a government rest house from where he was kidnapped and to get him released, the amount was paid to the dacoits as ransom money. It thereafter held as under; “If the respondents to save his life paid the aforesaid amount, then the aforesaid amount cannot be treated as an action which was prohibited under the law. No provision could be brought to our notice that payment of ransom is an offence. In absence of which, the contention of the petitioner that it is prohibited under Explanation of section 37(1) of the Income-tax Act has no substance. The entire tour of Sukhnandan Jain was for purchase of tendu leaves of quality and for this purpose he was on business tour and during his business tour, he was kidnapped and for his release the aforesaid amount was paid.”

The high Court accordingly held that the ransom amount was an allowable business expenditure.

Observations
The  bitter  reality  of  the  day  is  that  people  do  have  to regularly cough up money, against their will, for securing the safety of their business or lives or both. in some cases. the payments are made to ensure continuity of the business. In many cases, the payments are not only involuntary but may not be authorised by the law, as well. Such payments are forced by the goons or the guardians of the law and at times by the framers of the law. Barring a very limited section of the society, no one cherishes such payments but are seen, nonetheless to be acquiescing to such extortions in the interest of survival. Cases are available wherein a citizen has to resort to imaginary ways to meet such demands by generating cash from one’s accounted funds. In most of the cases, even approaching the authorities, entrusted with the task of protecting and ensuring the safety of the citizens, involves an extra and additional cost. Therefore, it brings additional pains where such expenditure incurred against one’s will is not allowed as a deduction in computing the total income. On disallowance of the claim, it becomes a case of a double whammy for the businessman.

The Government, instead of ensuring  that its citizens are not extorted to pay money against their will by securing their safety, by booking the extortionists, has, to add insult to the injury, legislated the said Explanation to section 37(1) for providing that such an expenditure is disallowable.

Section 37 of the income-tax act provides for allowance of an expenditure that has been wholly and exclusively incurred for the purposes of the business of the assessee. It is a settled position in law that the expression “wholly and exclusively” does not mean “necessarily”. An expenditure maybe incurred by than assessee without there being a dire necessity for incurring such an expenditure and such an expenditure will not be disallowed once it is shown that the same has been incurred for the purposes of business of the assessee. It is for the assessee to decide whether any expenditure should be incurred in the course of his business or not. Such an expenditure may be incurred voluntarily and without any necessity. Once an expenditure is incurred for promoting the business and to earn profits, the assessee can claim deduction even though there is no compelling necessity to incur such expenditure.

In order to decide whether a payment of money or incurring of expenditure is for the purpose of the business and is an allowable expenditure or not, the test to be applied is that of ‘commercial expediency’. If the payment or expenditure is incurred to facilitate the carrying on of the business of the assessee and is supported by commercial expediency, it does not matter that the payment is voluntary or that it also enures to the benefit of a third party.

An expenditure otherwise allowable u/s. 37, in terms of the tests discussed above, would still be disallowed if  the same is incurred for a purpose which is an offence  or is prohibited by law, in which event the expenditure  so incurred shall be deemed to be not for the purposes of   business   or   profession.   The   purpose   behind   an expenditure assumes a great importance; where the purpose is an offence, the disallowance would take place.

An offence, as per the dictionary, in the context, is an illegal act; a transgression or misdemeanour. accordingly, an expenditure incurred for the purpose which is illegal cannot be allowed under the act. Similarly, an expenditure incurred for achieving a purpose that is prohibited by law would not be allowed a deduction. It appears that there  is very little difference between a purpose which is an offence and a purpose which is prohibited by law. In the context of explanation to section37 (1), one is therefore required to examine whether the payment is being made for a purpose which is prohibited by law.

Ensuring security of the business or of the business personnel, is an essential function of any business and therefore, payment of security charges would neither be an offence nor prohibited by law. We are afraid that the objective of the payee or his purpose behind demanding, collecting or receiving the payment is an  irrelevant  factor while applying the test of explanation 1 to section 37(1), the application of which is qua the payer and is limited to his purpose, as long as the purpose behind his expenditure is not an offence or prohibited by law.

Taking this understanding to the second level of payment of protection money, to a gangster, such a payment should not be disallowed as long as paying such an amount is not an offence under the indian Penal Code or any other law. It is true that for a gangster, demanding protection money or extorting money for not causing any damage, is an offence that is punishable under the indian Penal Code. His offence, however, need not necessarily be the offence of the payer assessee. The objectives and the purposes are different and cannot be equated.

Likewise, payment of ransom for securing the release to a kidnapper is not an offence or is not prohibited under any law. So, however, demanding a ransom is a serious crime that is punishable in law. Accordingly, the payment of ransom shall not be liable for any disallowance, simply on application of explanation 1 to section 37(1).

At the same time, it is significant to note that a payment to a police officer is an offence and is also prohibited by law if the same amounts to bribing him. however, an official payment to the Police Department, for security,  is not an offence and is not liable for disallowance. In Swaminathan’s case (supra), it is not clear that what was the nature of payment to the police. Was it a bribe? if yes, it was liable for disallowance.

Many  years  back,  the  mumbai  tribunal  in  the  case  of Pranav Construction Company, 61 T1TJ 45, held that payments made by a builder of “protection money” to tapories and hawkers was allowable as deduction on being satisfied about the genuineness of the expenditure. The   tribunal   held   that   the   builders   engaged   in construction activities were vulnerable to danger such as extortion, haftas, etc. and unless, they obliged, it would be impossible for them to conduct business.

The view of the madhya Pradesh high Court, in the case of Khemchand Motilal Jain’s case (supra), that payment of ransom for securing the release of the director was not an  expenditure for a purpose that was an offence   or was prohibited by law and was therefore not hit by the explanation 1 to section 37(1) is the correct view in law.

THE FINANCE ACT – 2015 DIRECT TAX PROVISIONS

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1. Background

1.1 The Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, presented his second budget in the Lok Sabha on 28th February, 2015. After some discussions, both the houses of Parliament have passed the Finance bill with some amendments in the Finance Bill, 2015, and the same has received presidential assent on 14th May, 2015. There are 80 sections in the Finance Act dealing with amendments in direct tax provisions.

1.2 In Paras 96 to 98 of his budget speech he has referred to certain steps which the Government proposes to take in the field of Indirect Taxes and Corporate Taxation, in the coming years. These are

(a) Expediting the process to legislate Goods and Services Tax (GST)
(b) Reduce the corporate tax to 25% over the next four years and phase out exemptions and incentives.

1.3 I n Para 99 of his budget speech he has enumerated the themes adopted by him for his tax proposals as under;

“99. While finalizing my tax proposals, I have adopted certain broad themes, which include;

A Measures to curb black money;
B Job creation through revival of growth and investment and promotion of domestic manufacturing and ‘Make in India’.
C Minimum government and maximum governance to improve the ease of doing business;
D Benefits to middle class taxpayers;
E Improving the quality of life and public health through Swachch Bharat initiatives; and
F Stand alone proposals to maximize benefits to the economy”

1.4 It may be noted that another major step in this year’s budget is about abolition of wealth tax from A.Y. 2016-17. The justification for this is given in Para 113 of the budget speech as under;

“113. My next proposal is regarding minimum government and maximum governance with focus on ease of doing business and simplification of Tax Procedures without compromising on tax revenues. The total wealth tax collection in the country was Rs. 1,008 Crore in 2013-14. Should a tax which leads to high cost of collection and a low yield be continued or should it be replaced with a low cost and higher yield tax? The rich and wealthy must pay more tax than the less affluent ones. I have therefore decided to abolish the wealth tax and replace it with an additional surcharge of 2% on the super-rich with a taxable income of over Rs. 1 Crore. This will lead to tax simplification and enable the Department to focus more on ensuring tax compliance and widening the tax base. As against a tax sacrifice of Rs. 1,008 Crore, through these measures the Department would be collecting about Rs. 9,000 Crore from the 2% additional surcharge. Further, to track the wealth held by individuals and entities, the information regarding the assets which are currently required to be furnished in wealth-tax return will be captured in the income tax returns. This will ensure that the abolition of wealth tax does not lead to escape of any income from the tax net”.

1.5 While concluding his budget speech, he has stated that the Direct Tax proposals will result in revenue loss of Rs. 8,315 Crore. As compared to this, his Indirect Tax proposals will yield estimated revenue of Rs. 23,383 Crore. Thus the net revenue gain will be about Rs. 15,068 Crore.

1.6 I n this article some of the important amendments made to the Income-tax Act by the Finance Act, 2015, have been discussed. It may be noted that the amendments, as in last year’s Finance Act, have only prospective effect i.e., will operate for assessment year 2016-17, unless specifically provided

2. Rates of Taxes

2.1 I n view of the changes in threshold limits made by the Finance (No.2) Act, 2014, the exemption limit for Individuals, HUF, AOP as well as the rates of tax remain unchanged.The rates of income tax in the case of corporate and non-corporate assessees in A.Y. 2015-16 and A.Y.: 2016-17 will be the same.

2.2 T herefore, in the case of an Individual, HUF, AOP, BOI etc., the rates of Income-tax for A.Y. 2015-16 and A.Y. 2016-17 will be as under:

Note: Rebate of Tax – A Resident Individual having total income not exceeding Rs. 5 lakh, will get Rebate upto Rs. 2,000/- or tax payable, whichever is less u/s. 87A.

2.3 A s stated earlier, due to abolition of wealth tax from A.Y. 2016-17, the rate of Surcharge on tax has been increased from 10% to 12% for Super Rich assessees. This increased surcharge will be charged as under from A.Y. 2016-17.

(i) I n the case of an Individual, HUF, AOP etc. the rate of surcharge on tax will be 12% if the total income of the assessee exceeds Rs.1 crore.
(ii) In the case of a firm, LLP, Co-operative Society and a Local Authority the rate of Surcharge on tax will be 12% if the total income exceeds Rs.1 crore.
(iii)In the case of a domestic company the rate of surcharge on tax will be as under:
(a) I f the total income exceeds Rs.1 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore the rate of surcharge will be 7%.
(b) I f the total income exceeds Rs.10 crore, the rate of surcharge will be 12%.
(iv) I n the case of a foreign company there is no increase in the rate of surcharge on tax. Hence, the existing rate which is 2% in respect of total income between Rs.1 crore and 10 crore and 5% in respect of total income exceeding Rs.10 crore will continue.
(v) T he rate of surcharge on Dividend Distribution Tax u/s. 115-0, Tax on Buy Back of shares u/s. 115 QA, Income Distribution Tax payable by Mutual Funds u/s. 115R, and Income Distribution Tax payable by Securitisation Trusts u/s. 115 TA will be 12%.

2.4 T he existing rate of 3% for Education Cess (including Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Cess) on Income tax and surcharge will continue in A.Y. 2016-17.

2.5 T he effective maximum marginal rate of tax (including Surcharge and Education Cess ) will be as under for A.Y. 2016 – 17.

3. Tax Deduction at Source:

3.1 Section 192: At present, the person responsible for paying salary has to depend upon the evidence and particulars furnished by the employee in respect of deduction, exemptions and set-off of loss claimed by the employee while deducting tax at source. There is no guidance available about the evidence or particulars to be collected. Therefore, s/s. (2D) is inserted from 1.6.2015 to provide that the person responsible for deduction of tax will have to get particulars, evidence etc. about the deduction claimed from the salary in the Form which will be prescribed in the Rules.

3.2 Section 192A: This is a new section inserted from 1.6.2015. In the case of an employee participating in a Recognised Provident Fund (RPF), the accumulated balance to his credit in his PF account is excluded from his total income if Rule 8 of Part A of Schedule IV is applicable. If this Rule does not apply, the trustees of RPF are required to deduct tax at source. The Trustees of P.F. sometimes find it difficult to determine the rate of tax for TDS. To resolve this issue, section 192A provides that, at the time of payment of the accumulated balance due to the employee, trustees shall deduct income-tax at the rate of ten per cent. If the employee fails to furnish his PAN to the trustees, tax shall be deducted at the maximum marginal rate. Tax is not deductible under this section where the aggregate amount of withdrawal is less than Rs. 30,000/- or where the employee furnishes a selfdeclaration in the prescribed Form 15G/15H that tax on his estimated total income would be nil.

3.3 Section 194A: This section has been amended from 1.6.2015. The effect of this amendment is as under:

(i)    A co-operative Bank will have to deduct tax at source from interest paid or payable on time deposit made by its member. This deduction is to be made if the amount of the interest exceeds Rs.10,000/-. however, no such deduction will be required to be made on interest paid or payable on time deposit by a co-operative society. Similarly, a primary agricultural society, a primary credit society, a Co-operative land mortgage bank, or a Co-operative land development bank will not be required to deduct tax at source from interest payment. the  amendment  to  section  194a(3)(v)  sets  at  rest  the controversy created by a recent decision of the Bombay high Court.

(ii)    Hitherto, there was no tdS from interest paid by a Bank  on  recurring  deposits.  now,  tax  will  be  required to be deducted by the bank in respect of interest on recurring deposit also.( amendment to explantion 1 of section 194 a).

(iii)    At present, the threshold limit of exemption from tdS provisions apply to interest credited or paid by a branch on an individual basis in the case of a bank, Co- operative bank or a public company engaged in long- term housing finance. It is now provided that the TDS provisions u/s. 194a with reference to interest credited or paid by such entities as a whole will apply if the entity has adopted core banking solutions. in other words, in such cases, total interest paid or payable by all branches will have to be considered for determining the threshold limit of exemption.

(iv)    Interest paid on compensation amount awarded by the motor accident Claim tribunal (MACT) shall now be liable to TDS u/s. 194a only at the time of payment of interest, if the aggregate amount of such payment during the financial year exceeds Rs. 50,000/-. Hence, as per the amended provision, there will be no withholding of tax at the time when such interest is credited.

3.4    Section  194C:   This  section  is  amended  from 1.6.2015. at present, payment to a transporter carrying on the business of plying, hiring, or leasing of goods carriages is not subject to TDS u/s. 194C if the transporter furnishes his Pan to the payer. Now, this exemption will be available only to such transporterwho owns ten or less goods carriages at any time during the previous year and also furnishes a declaration to that effect to the payer along with his Pan.

3.5    Section  194-I:   This  section  is  amended  from 1.6.2015. It is now provided that tax will not be deducted u/s. 194-I from rent paid or payable to a Business trust (real  estate  investment  trust)  in  respect  of  any  real estate asset as referred to in section 10(23fCa) owned directly by such business trust.

3.6    Section 194 LBA: This section is amended from 1.6.2015. Section 194LBA was inserted by the finance (no.2) act, 2014, w.e.f. 1.10.2014 to provide for deduction of tax @10% from income referred to in section 115ua (i.e.  interest  income  received  by  a  Business trust  from SPV)  distributed  to  a  resident  unit  holder.  in  the  case of  non-resident  unit  holder  the  rate  of  TDS  was  5% plus applicable Surcharge and education  Cess.  By an amendment of this section, the scope of this TDS provision is extended to income of Business trust from renting, leasing or letting out any real estate asset owned by it distributed to its unit holder. it is now provided that, in the case of a resident unit holder the rate of TDS will be 10% and in the case of a non-resident unit holder,  tax will be deductible at the applicable rate if the distribution of income is from income referred to in section 10 (23FCA) i.e., rental from the real estate asset.

3.7    Section 194 LBB: This is a new section inserted from1.6.2015. this section provides for deduction of tax @10% from income distributed to persons holding units issued by “investment fund” (refer section 115 uB) out of income other than that referred to in section 10(23fBB) (i.e. income of investment fund  other than income from business or profession).

3.8    Section  194  LD: This  section  was  inserted  by the finance act, 2013, w.e.f. 1.6.2013. under this section, tax is required to be deducted at concessional rate of 5% from interest payable to foreign institutional investors or Qualified Foreign Investors on Government Securities or rupees denominated Bonds of any indian Company. This concessional rate was applicable on interest payable during  the  period  1.6.2013  to  1.6.2015.  this  will  now continue in respect of interest payable till 1.7.2017.

3.9    Section  195:    This  section  is  amended  from 1.6.2015. Section 195(1) requires any person responsible for paying to a non-resident any interest or other sum chargeable under the provisions of this act  to  deduct tax from such payment. At  present,  such  person  has to furnish the information relating to payment of any sum in form 15Ca. now, section 195(6) is amended to provide for furnishing of information, whether or not such remittances are chargeable to tax, in such form as may be  prescribed.  this  will  cast  an  onerous  obligation  on payers. Section 271-I has been introduced to provide for a penalty of Rs.1,00,000/-, if the person required to furnish information under this section fails to furnish such information or furnishes inaccurate particulars. this is a new provision for levy of penalty.

3.10    Section   197A:      This   section   is   amended from1.6.2015 to provide as under:

(i)    Section 194da provides for deduction of tax at source at the rate of 2% from payments made under life insurance policy, which is chargeable to tax if the amount is rs. 1,00,000/- or more. it is now provided that tax shall not be deducted, if  the recipient of the payment on which tax is deductible furnishes to the payer a self-declaration in the prescribed form no.15G/15h declaring that the tax on his estimated total income for the relevant previous year would be nil.

(ii)    Similarly, as stated in Para 3.2 above, it is now provided that tax shall not be deducted u/s. 192a if a salaried employee withdrawing the accumulated balance from P.f. a/c gives a self-declaration in form no.15G/15h.

3.11    Section   203A:       This   section   is   amended from1.6.2015 to provide that the requirement of obtaining and quoting of TAN shall not apply to the persons as notified by the Central Government. This is in order to reduce the compliance burden for those individuals or huf who are not liable for audit u/s. 44aB or for one time transaction such as single transaction of acquisition of immovable property by an individual or huf, on which tax is deductible.

4.    Exemptions and Deductions:

In order to give certain benefits to middle class taxpayers and with a view to encourage savings and to promote health care among individual taxpayers, the following amendments are made in various sections of the income -tax act.

4.1    Section 80C: at present, section 80C (2) (vill) of the income-tax act provides that any subscription to   a scheme notified by the Central Government will be eligible for deduction in the case of an individual or huf. By Notification No.9/2015 dated 21-1-2015, a scheme for the welfare of the girl child under the SukanyaSarmiddhi Account Rules, 2014, has been notified. In view of this, amendment is made in section 80Cfrom1-4-2015. under this amendment any deposit by any individual, in the name of girl child of that individual or by legal guardian of the girl child as specified in the scheme will be eligible for deduction u/s. 80C within the overall limit of Rs.1.50 lakh as provided in that section. an amendment is also made to provide u/s. 10(11A) to grant exemption to the individual in respect of interest on the deposit under the above scheme or for the amount withdrawn from such deposit. Since this amendment comes into effect from
a.y. 2015 – 16 any such deposit made on or before 31-3- 2015 will be eligible for this deduction.

4.2    Section  80CCC:     This  section  provides  for deduction in the case of an individual in respect of contribution to any annuity Plan of LiC or any other insurer for receiving pension from the fund set up under a  pension  scheme  upto  Rs.1  lakh.    this  limit  is  now raised to Rs. 1.50 lakh froma.y. 2016-17. it may be noted that u/s. 80CCe an overall cap of Rs. 1.50 lakh for such deduction is provided for contribution u/s. 80C, 80CCC and 80CCd(1).  There is no amendment to raise this limit.

4.3    Section   80CCD:  this   section   provides   that an individual contributing to national Pension Scheme (NPS) can claim deduction upto 10% of salary, in the case of an employee or 10% of the gross total income in other cases subject to a cap of Rs.1 lakh u/s. 80CCD(1A). However, this deduction is subject to overall ceiling limit  of  Rs.1.50  lakh  u/s.  80CCe.    it  is  now  provided from A.Y. 2016-17 that the cap of Rs.1 lakh u/s. 80CCD(1A) be removed.

With a view to encourage individuals to contribute towards NPS, it is now provided, by insertion of section 80CCD(1B), that an additional deduction upto Rs.50,000/- will be allowed if the individual contributes to NPS.  this deduction will be allowed even if it exceeds 10% limit in respect of salary income (for employees) or gross total income  (for  others).  Further,  this  deduction  will  be  over and  above  the  ceiling  limit  of  Rs.1.50  lakh  provided u/s. 80CCe relating to deduction u/s. 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD(1). therefore, with proper planning of investments in PF, PPF, LIP, savings certificates etc. (section 80C), annuity Plan of LIC or other insurers (section 80CCC) and contribution to NPS (section 80CCD) an assessee can claim deduction upto Rs.2 lakh under these sections.

4.4    Section 80D: this section provides for deduction for premium paid for mediclaim policies for self, family members and Parents of the individual. Similarly, similar deduction for premium paid by huf for mediclaim polices of members of huf is allowed. the present limits for such deduction is Rs.15,000/- and for Senior Citizens it is Rs. 20,000/-.  these  limits  are  now  raised  from   A.Y.  2016- 17and a further provision is made for deduction of actual medical expenses under certain circumstances.  the new provisions are as under.

(i)    In view of continuous rise in the cost of medical expenditure, the limit of deduction is raised from Rs.15,000/-  to  Rs.  25,000/-  in  case  of  premium  for mediclaim policy for individual and his family members. Similarly, in the case of huf such deduction for premium on mediclaim policies for members of huf is also raised from Rs.15,000/- to Rs. 25,000/-. In the case of a Senior Citizen the deduction for premium on mediclaim policies is raised from Rs.20,000/- to Rs. 30,000/-.

(ii)    In the case of very Senior Citizens (i.e 80 years and above), it may not be possible to get a mediclaim policy and they cannot get benefit of the above deduction. therefore, as a welfare measure, it is now provided that deduction upto Rs.30,000/-   will be allowed for medical expenditure in respect of very senior citizens if no mediclaim policy is taken out.  The aggregate expenditure available for deduction in the case of an individual/huf  for premium on mediclaim policy and expenditure on medical expenditure for parent or family member who is a very senior citizen shall not exceed Rs. 30,000/-.

4.5    Section   80   DDB:This   section   provides   for deduction   for   expenditure   incurred   by   a   resident individual or huf for medical treatment of certain chronic and protracted diseases. It is provided that the expenditure in the case of individual should be in respect of medical treatment of himself or his dependant relative and in the case of huf it should for any member of HUF.   The  medical  treatment  should  be  for  a  disease specified in Rule 11DD and should be supported by a certificate from an authorised Doctor in a Govt. Hospital. at  present,  the  deduction  allowable  is  upto  Rs.  60,000 if the medical treatment is of a Senior Citizen and in other  cases  deduction  is  allowed  upto  Rs.  40,000/-. In view of the difficulties experienced in obtaining certificate from a specialised doctor in a Govt. Hospital, the section is now amended to provide that the assessee should obtain prescription from a specialized doctor as  may  be  prescribed.  further,  in  the  case  of  medical treatment of a very senior citizen the ceiling for deduction of   expenditure   is   now   raised   from   Rs.   60,000/-   to Rs. 80,000/- from A.Y. 2016-17.

4.6    Section  80DD:  This  section  provides  that  a resident individual or huf can claim deduction for (i) expenditure for medical treatment (including nursing), training and rehabilitation of a dependant relative suffering from specified disability or (ii) any amount paid to LIC or other insurer in respect of a scheme for the maintenance of a disabled dependant relative. At present, this deduction can be claimed upto Rs.50,000/- in the case of medical treatment for specified disability and upto rs.1 lakh in the case of medical treatment for severe disability as defined in the section. In view of rising costs of medical treatment, these limits have been raised, by amendment of this section, from A.Y. 2016-17 from Rs.50,000/- to Rs.75,000/- (for disability) and from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.1,25,000/- (for Severe disability).

4.7    Section 80U: this section provides for deduction of Rs.50,000/- in the case of a resident individual suffering from a specified Disability. If such individual is suffering from specified Severe Disability deduction of Rs.1 lakh is allowed. in view of rising costs of special needs of disabled persons, these limits are now raised from A.Y. 2016-17 from Rs. 50,000/- to Rs.75,000/- (for disability) and from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.1,25,000/- (for Severe disability).

4.8    Section 80G: this section provides for deduction of amounts contributed by way of donations to various institutions  set  up  for  charitable  purposes.  this  section has been amended as under:-
(i)    Two   funds,   namely,   “Swachh   Bharat   Kosh”   and “Clean  Ganga  fund”  have  been  established  by  the Central Government. With a view to encourage people to participate in this national effort, section 80G is amended from A.Y. 2015-16 to provide that deduction of 100% of the donation to any of these funds will be allowed. Since this amendment has been made from A.Y. 2015-16,  such donation made upto 31-3-2015 will be eligible for deduction under the amended section. it may be noted that such donation made by a company in pursuance of Corporate  Social  responsibility  (CSR)  expenditure  u/s. 135(5) of the Companies act, 2013, will not qualify for this deduction. it may be noted that section 10(23C) has been amended from A.Y. 2015-16 to provide that income of “Swachh Bharat Kosh” and “Clean Ganga fund” will be exempt from income tax.

(ii)    By another amendment to section 80G from a.y. 2016- 17  donation  made  to  “the  national  fund  for  control  of drug abuse” will now be eligible to 100% deduction.

4.9    Section 80 JJAA: This section is amended from A.Y. 2016-17. this section allows deduction to an indian Company deriving profit from manufacturing of goods in a factory. This benefit is now extended to non-corporate assessees  also.  The  quantum  of  deduction  allowed  is equal to 30% of additional wages paid to new regular workmen employed by the assessee in such factory in the previous year. this deduction can be claimed for 3 assessment years. At present, additional wages for this purpose has been defined to mean wages paid to new regular  workmen  in  excess  of  100  workmen.  This  limit is now reduced to 50. It is also clarified that the above benefit will not be granted where factory is acquired by way of transfer from any other person or as a result of any business reorganisation.

5.    Investment Fund:
a  new  Chapter XII – FB has been added in the income tax act from A.Y. 2016-17. Special provisions relating to  tax  on  income  of  “investment  funds”  and  income received from such funds are made in sections 115 UB, 10 (23 FBA) and 10 (23FFB) of the act.   In brief, these provisions are as under:

5.1    “Investment fund” means any fund established or incorporated in india in the form of a trust, Company, LLP or a body corporate which has been granted certificate of registration as a Category I or a Category II alternate investment fund (AIF) and is regulated under SEBI (AIF) regulations, 2012.

5.2    In order to rationalise the taxation of Category –i and Category-ii AIFS (i.e. investment funds) section 115uB  provides  for  a  special  tax  regime.  The  taxation of income of such investment funds and their investors shall be in accordance with the provisions applicable to such funds irrespective of whether they are set up as a trust, company, or LLP etc. the salient features of these provisions are as under:

(i)    Income of a person, being a unit holder of an investment fund, out of investments made by the investment fund shall be chargeable to income-tax in the same manner as if it was the income accruing or arising to, or received by, such unit holder.

(ii)    Income in the hands of investment fund, other than income from profits and gains of business, shall be exempt from tax. The income in the nature of profits and gains of business or profession shall be taxable in the case of investment fund.

(iii)    Income in the hands of investor which is of the same nature as income by way of profits and gain of business at investment fund level shall be exempt.

(iv)    Where any income, other than income which is taxable at investment fund level, is payable to a unit holder by an investment fund, the fund shall deduct income-tax at the rate of 10%.

(v)    The income paid or credited by the investment fund shall be deemed to be of the same nature and in the same proportion in the hands of the unit holder as if it had been received by, or had accrued or arisen to, the investment fund.

(vi)    If in any year there is a loss at the fund level either current loss or the loss which remained to be set off, the loss shall not be allowed to be passed through to the investors but would be carried over at fund level to be set off against income of the next year in accordance with the provisions of Chapter Vi of the income-tax act.

(vii)    The provisions of Chapter Xii-d (dividend distribution tax) or Chapter Xii-e (tax on distributed income) shall not apply to the income paid by an investment fund to its unit holders.

(viii)    The income received by the investment fund would be exempt from TDS requirement. this would be provided by issue of appropriate notification u/s. 197A(1F) of the act subsequently.

(ix)    It shall be mandatory for the investment fund to file its return of income.  The investment fund shall also provide to the prescribed income-tax authority and the investors, the details of various components of income, etc. for the purposes of the scheme.

6.    Business Trusts:

6.1    This  was  a  new  concept  introduced  by  the finance (no.2) act, 2014 w.e.f. A.Y. 2015-16.  new chapter XII FA (Section 115 UA) was inserted in the income-tax Act, w.e.f. 1.10.2014. The definition of the term “Business trust”  is  now  amended  in  section  2(13a)  from  a.y. 2016-17 to mean a trust registered as an “infrastructure investment trust” (inVitS) or a real estate investment trust” (reit), under the relevant SeBi regulations, the units of which are required to be listed on a recognised Stock exchange, in accordance with the SeBi regulations. in brief, at present the following is the taxation position of the trust.

Out any real estate asset owned directly by the reit, by granting exemption to the reit u/s. 10(23fCa) and taxing such income in the hands of the unit holder, by amending section 115ua(3) to provide that the distributed income, of the nature referred to in section 10(23fCa), received by a unit holder during the previous year shall be deemed to be the income of the unit holder and shall be charged to tax as his income of the previous year. Consequential amendments have been made in relation to tdS provisions in sections 1941 and 194LBa, which are effective from 1st june, 2015.

6.5    In view of the above amendments from A.Y. 2016- 17, the taxation structure of reit and its unit holders shall be as under:

(i)    Any income of reit by way of renting or leasing or letting out any real estate asset owned directly by such business trust shall be exempt;

(ii)    The distributed income or any part thereof, received by a unit holder from the reit, which is in the nature of income by way of renting or leasing or letting out any real estate asset owned directly by such reit, shall be deemed to be income of such unit holder and shall be charged to tax.
 
6.2    Section 47(xvii) Currently provides that the
 
(iii)    The reit shall effect tdS on rental income allowed to be passed through. in case of resident unit holder, tax shall be deducted @ 10%, and in case of distribution
 
Transfer of shares of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to a Business trust by a share holder (Sponsor) in exchange of units allotted by the trust to the share holder is not considered as a transfer for the purpose of capital gains in the hands of the share holder. Section 10(38) has now been amended to provide that the long term capital gain from transfer or such units will be exempt. Section 111a has also been amended to provide that short term capital gains arising on transfer of such units of a Business trust shall be charged to tax at the rate of fifteen per cent.

6.3    Therefore,   units   received   by   a   ‘Sponsor’  in exchange of shares of a SPV, are now at par with other units of a Business trust.  further, Stt is now chargeable on sale of unlisted units of a Business trust under an offer for Sale. therefore, Sale of such unit in an offer for sale will qualify for exemption u/s. 10(38) and the concessional rate of tax in respect of short term capital gains u/s. 111A.

6.4    reit has been granted pass through status also in respect of income by way of renting or leasing or letting
to non-resident unit holder, the tax shall be deducted at applicable rate.

(iv)    No deduction of tax at source shall be made u/s. 194- 1 of the act, where the income by way of rent is credited or paid to such business trust, in respect of any real estate asset held directly by such reit (Business trust)

7.    Charitable Trusts:

7.1    Section 2(15): The Definition of “charitable purpose” in the section has been amended from A/Y:2016- 17 as under:-

(i)    “yoga” is now recognised as a charitable purpose. hence any charitable trust for promotion of “yoga” can now claim exemption u/s. 11 to 13 of the income tax act.

(ii)    Under the existing provisions of section 2(15) if a charitable trust having “any other object of general public utility”, carries on any activity in the nature of trade, commerce or business, or any activity of rendering any service in relation to the above for a consideration, will lose the exemption u/s. 11 if the total receipts from such activities is more than Rs. 25 lakh. By amendment of this section, it is now provided that such a trust will not lose its exemption if:

(a)    Such activity is undertaken in the course of actual carrying out of such advancement of any other object of general public utility; and

(b)    The aggregate receipts from such activities, during the previous year, do not exceed 20% of the total receipts of the trust.

(c)    This  amendment  will  create  a  fresh  round  of litigation for charitable trusts. the limit of 20% will affect small charitable instituitions adversely.

7.2    Section 11 provides that a charitable trust should apply at least 85% of its income for charitable or religious purposes. if it is not possible to do so, it can apply the balance  of  unspent  amount  in  the  next  year.  for  this purpose, the trust can write a simple letter to a.o. before the due date for filing the return u/s. 139(1). It is now provided from a/y: 2016-17 that the trust can exercise such option only by filing the prescribed from before the due date for filing the return of income.

7.3    Section 11 also provides that if a trust is not able to apply 85% of the income or any part of the same it can apply for accumulation of such unspent amount for 5 years. For this purpose the trustees have to file an accumulation application in Form No.10. No specific time limit is fixed in the Act. The Supreme Court in CIT vs. Nagpur Hotel Owners Association (247ITR201) held that Form 10 can be filed at any time before completion of the assessment. now, by amendment of section 11 from A.Y. :2016-17, it is provided that form no.10 should be filed before due date for filing Return u/s. 139(1). By amendment of section 13 it is also provided that if the return  of  income  as  well  application  in  form  10  is  not filed before the due date provided in section 139(1), the benefit of accumulation will not be available.

7.4    A university or educational institution, hospital or other Institution which is wholly or substantially financed by the Government and which is exempt u/s. 10(23C) (iiiab) or (iiiac) is not required to mandatorily file its return of income. By amendment of section 139(4C), it is now provided that these entities will have to mandatorily file return of income from A.Y. 2016-17.

7.5    Section 10(23C)(vi) and (via) provides that educational institutions or hospital specified in section 10(23C)(iiiab) to (iiiae) have to  obtain  approval  from the prescribed authority. If this approval is denied there  is at present no specific  remedy.  Section  253(1)  is now amended from 1.6.2015 to provided that appeal to ITA Tribunal can be filed against any order for denying such approval.

8.    Income from business or profession:

8.1    Income: The definition of “Income” in section 2(24) has now been widened by insertion of clause (xviii) in section 2(24) from A.Y 2016-17. Under this definition, any receipt from the central or state Government or any authority, body or agency in the form of any assistance in the form of subsidy, grant, cash incentive, duty drawback, waiver, concession or reimbursement in cash or kind will be considered as income. however, if any subsidy, grant etc is required to be deducted from the cost of any asset under explanation (10) to section 43(1), the same will not be considered as income.

From the wording of the above definition it will be seen that no distinction has been made between Government Grants which are of a capital nature and which are in the nature  of  revenue  grant.  The  Supreme  Court  and  the various high Courts have held that subsidy received from Government as an incentive to set up an industry is a capital subsidy not liable to tax. In the case of Sahney Steel & Press Works Ltd vs. CIT (2281TR 253), the Supreme Court has held that subsidy given to set up the business or to complete a project will be considered as a Capital receipt not liable to tax. In view of the above amendment assessees will have to enter into fresh litigation about taxability of subsidy received from the Government.

8.2    Additional Depreciation : at present, additional depreciation of 20% is allowed in respect of new plant and machinery (other than ships and aircraft) installed  by an assessee engaged in the business of manufacture or production or in the business of generation as well   as generation and distribution of power u/s. 32(1) (iia). There was no clarity about deduction in the event of Plant & machinery installed and put to use for less than 180 days. By amendment of section 32(1) from A.Y. 2016-17  it is now provided that in such a case 10% of additional depreciation will be allowed in the year if the new plant & machinery is used for less than 180 days and the balance of 10% will be allowed in the subsequent year.

8.3    Backward Area Incentive: a special incentive is given by way of additional depreciation at the rate of 35% (instead of 20%) in respect of new plant & machinery (other than ships and aircraft) acquired and installed during  the  period  1.4.2015  to  31.3.2020. this  incentive will be available to new plant & machinery installed in  the notified backward area of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, telangana  and  West  Bengal.  in  this  case  also,  if  the new plant and machinery is used for less than 180 days, 17.5% additional depreciation will be allowed in the first year and balance 17.5% additional depreciation will be allowed in the next year.

8.4    Investment Allowance: A new section 32 ad has been inserted from a.y. 2016 – 17 providing for deduction of one time investment allowance in respect of newly established undertaking for  manufacture or production in the notified backward areas of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, telangana  and  West  Bengal.  This  deduction  will  be  at 15% of the actual cost of the new asset (other than office equipments, vehicles etc.) acquired and installed in the new undertaking during the period 1.4.2015 to 31.3.2020. this deduction is allowable in the year of installation of new plant and machinery and isin addition to depreciation (including additional depreciation) allowable u/s. 32 and investment allowance allowable u/s. 32AC. It is also provided that if the above plant and machinery is sold or transferred within 5 years from the date of installation, otherwise than in connection with amalgamation, demerger or business  re-organisation  (section  47  (xiii), (xiii b), or (xiv), the amount of deduction allowed u/s. 32ad shall be taxable as income of the year of sale or transfer.

8.5    Section 35(2AB): under this section a company can claim deduction of 200% of the expenditure on scientific research by way of in house research and development facility.  For this purpose, the company has to comply with certain formalities. One of the requirements is to get the accounts maintained for this research facility audited. This requirement is now modified from A.Y. 2016-17 and its is provided that the company should fulfill such conditions with regard to maintenance of accounts and audit and furnishing the reports as may be prescribed by the rule.

8.6    Section 36:  this section is amended from A.Y. 2016-17 as under

(i)    Section 36(1) (iii) provides for deduction of interest paid on funds borrowed for the purposes of business.
It is provided in this section that  interest  paid  in  respect of amount borrowed for acquisition of asset for extension of existing business shall not be allowed. By amendment  of  this  section  the  words  “for  extension  of existing business or profession” have now been deleted. the  effect  of  this  amendment  is  that  interest  paid  for acquisition of any asset for the business or profession from the date of purchase to the date it is put to use,   will not be allowed. it appears that this amendment is made to bring this provision in line with income Computation and disclosure Standard (ICDS IX) relating to “Borrowing Costs”.

(ii)    Section 36(1) (vii) dealing with allowance of Bad debits is also amended to provide that an amount of any debt or part thereof is considered as income under any ICDS issued u/s. 145(2) without recording in the  books of accounts, it will be possible to claim deduction for such amount in the year in which such debt becomes irrecoverable.  thus,  if  the  a.o.  makes  any  addition  in the computation of income from business under ICDS IV  dealing  with  “revenue  recognition”  and  no  entry  is made in the books of accounts, deduction u/s. 36(1) (vii) can be claimed in any subsequent year when the debt representing such amount becomes irrecoverable.

(iii)    Section 36(1)(xvii):  this provision  added in section 36(1) provides for deduction  of  expenditure  incurred  by a co-operative society engaged in the business of manufacturing of sugar for purchase of sugarcane at a price which is equal to or less than the price approved by the Government.

9.    Income computation and disclosure standards (ICDS):

9.1    Section 145 of the income-tax act (act) dealing with “method of accounting” was amended by the finance act, 1995, effective from a.y. 1997- 98. the concept of Tax Accounting Standards was introduced for the first time by this amendment. this section has been amended by the finance (no.2) act, 2014, effective from 1.4.2015.  By this amendment, the concept of computation of income from “Business or Profession” and “income from other Sources” are required to be computed in accordance with “income Computation and disclosure Standards” (ICDS) notified by the Central Government. In brief, section 145 is divided into three parts as under.

(i)    Income under the heads “income from Business or Profession” and “income from other sources” shall be
    computed in accordance with either (a) cash or (b) mercantile system of accounting regularly adopted by the assessee.

(ii)    The  Central  Government  shall  notify  ICDS  to  be followed by the assessee for computation of income from the above two sources.

 
(iii)    The assessing officer (A.O) can make a best judgment assessment u/s. 144 of the act by estimating the income if the provisions of section 145 are not complied with by the assessee.

9.2    On 25.1.1996, the Central Government notified two accounting Standards viz. (i) disclosure of accounting Polices and (ii) disclosure of Prior period and extra ordinary items and Changes in accounting Policies”. these  standards  were  required  to  be  followed  by  the assessee while maintaining its books of account.   These two standards were more or less on the same lines as AS-1 and AS-5 issued by the institute of Chartered accountants of  india  (ICAI).  Thereafter,  for  about  two  decades,  no information and make the adjustments while computing the taxable income from these two sources. If the required information is not furnished by the assessee, the A.O. can make the best judgment assessment u/s. 144 of the Act.
 
Accounting Standards were notified u/s. 145(2) of the Act.

9.3    CBDT has now notified 10 Accounting Standards u/s.  145(2)  on  31/3/2015.  this  Standards  are  called “income Computation and disclosure Standards” (iCdS). The notification u/s. 145(2) states that ICDS will have   to be followed by the assessee following mercantile system of accounting for the purpose of computing income chargeable to tax under the head “Profits and Gains of Business or Profession” and “income from other sources”. This Notification comes into force with effect from 1/4/2015 i.e. a/y:2016-17 (f.y:2015-16).

9.4    The Ten ICDS notified u/s. 145(2) of the Act and the corresponding aS issued by iCai and ind – aS as notified under the companies Act, 2013, are as under:

9.5    It may be noted that ICDS issued u/s 145(2) of the act only provide that income from Business/Profession or income from other sources should be computed in accordance  with  the  standards  ICDS.  Therefore,  the assessee will have to maintain its accounts in accordance with applicable AS issued by ICAI or IND – AS notified under the Companies act. if there is any difference between the accounting results and the requirements of applicable ICDS, the assessee will have to make adjustments while computing its taxable income from the above two sources while filing its Return of Income. If this is not done, the a.o. can call upon the assessee to furnish the required information     and    make     the     adjustments     while     computing the taxable income from these two sources. if the required information is not furnished by the assessee, the a.o. can make    the    best    judgment    assessment    u/s.    144    of    the    Act.

 
9.6    It may be noted that the amended section 145 (3) of the Act provides that if the A.O. is not satisfied about the correctness or completeness of the accounts of the assessee or where the method of accounting as provided in section 145(1), i.e. either cash or mercantile has not been regularly followed by the assessee or income has not been computed in accordance with the requirements of ICDS, he can make a best judgment assessment. In fact, the standards notified are “computation “ standards and not accounting standards.there is no mandate that the assessee should maintain accounts which comply with iCdS. in view of this, in the case of a company, no adjustment can be made in the computation of Book Profits u/s. 115JB of the Act if the accounts are prepared in accordance with the applicable accounting Standards and the Provisions of of the Companies act. in other words, ICDS do not apply for computation of Book Profits u/s 115jB of the act.

9.7    In the preamble of all the ten ICDS it is stated that in case of conflict between the provisions of the income tax act and ICDS, the provisions of the act shall prevail to that extent.  To take an example, if a provision for any tax, duty, cess or fee etc. is made and the same is in accordance with any ICDS, deduction will not be allowable unless actual payment is made as provided in section 43B of the act. Similar will be the position where provisions of section 40(a)(i) or 40 (a)(ia) are applicable.

10.    Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)

During the last over a year there has been an extensive debate  aboutcertain  provisions  of  section  115JB  which levies tax on Book Profits. By amendment of this Section from A.Y. 2016-17, the Government has tried to deal with some of the issues in brief, these amendments are as under.

(i)    Income  accruing  or  arising  to  a  foreign  Company from (i) Capital Gains arising on transactions in securities or  (ii)  interest.   royalty  or  fees  for  technical  Services chargeable at the concessional rates specified in Chapter Xii, after deduction of expenses relatable to such income (i.e. net income), shall not form part of Book Profits u/s. 115  jB.  this  provision  will  apply  if  the  tax  payable  on such net income is less than the tax payable at the rate specified u/s. 115JB

(ii)    Share of a company in the income of aoP or Boi on which tax is payable u/s. 86, after deduction of expenditure relatable to such income, shall not be included in the computation of Book Profit u/s. 115JB. This will benefit companies which have entered into joint venture and income of the j.V. is taxed as AOP.

(iii)    Notional Gain or notional loss on transfer of capital asset,  being  shares  in  SPV  to  a  Business  trust,    in exchange of units allotted by such trust, as referred to in section 47 (xvii), shall not be considered in the computation of Book Profits u/s. 115JB. Similarly, notional gain or  loss resulting from any change in carrying amount of the said units or gain or loss on transfer of units referred to in section 47(xvii) will be excluded from the computation of Book Profits u/s. 115JB. It may be noted that certain adjustments, as provided in the amended section for computation of cost of shares or units, have to be made in computing the notional gain or loss on such transfer  of shares or units.

11.    Capital Gains:

11.1    Sections 2(42a), 47 and 49 have been amended from  a.y.  2016–17.  The  amendments  in  the  sections provide that consolidation of two or more similar schemes of mutual  funds  under  the  process  of  consolidation  of schemes of mutual funds in accordance with SEBI (mutual funds) regulations, 1996 will not be treated as a transfer.  the consolidation should be of similar schemes i.e. two or more schemes of an equity oriented fund or two or more schemes of a non-equity oriented fund. Consequently, section 2 (42A) and section 49 relating to the period of holding and cost of acquisition, respectively, have been amended to provide that the cost of acquisition of the units of the consolidated scheme shall be the cost of the units in the consolidating scheme and the period of holding of the units of the consolidated scheme shall include the period for which the units in the consolidating scheme were held by the assessee.

11.2    The provisions of section 49 have been amended from A.Y. 2016-17 to provide that the cost of acquisition of a capital asset acquired by a resulting company in      a scheme of demerger shall be the cost for which the demerged company acquired the  asset  as  increased by the cost of improvement incurred by the demerged company. Consequently, the period of holding of the capital asset by the demerged company will be considered in the hands of the resulting company u/s. 2 (42a).

11.3    Section 49 has been amended from A.Y. 2016-
17 to provide that cost of acquisition of shares of a company  acquired  by  a  non-resident  on  redemption  of Global  depository  receipts  (GDR)  referred  to  in  section 115AC (1)(b) shall be the price of the shares quoted on the recognised Stock exchange on the date on which request for such redemption is made. A consequential amendment is made in section 2(42A) to provide that the period of holding of such shares shall be reckoned from the date on which such request for redemption of Gdr is made.

12.    Domestic Transfer Pricing:

At present, section 92BA can be invoked only if the aggregate of transactions, to which the provision applies exceeds  Rs.5 Crore.  this limit is now increased to Rs. 20 Crore from a.y. 2016-17.

13.    Deferment of applicability of general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR):

Sections 95 to 102 (chapter X-a) dealing with provisions of Gaar were to come into force from a.y. 2016-17 (i.e. accounting year 1-4-2015 to 31-3-2016 and onwards). in order to accelerate the momentum in investment (Para 109 of the speech of the finance minister) the applicability of Gaar has been postponed to a.y. 2018 – 19 (i.e from accounting year 1.4.2017 to 31.3.2018 and onwards).

14.    Measures to curb black money:

14.1    One of the broad themes adopted by the finance  minister  in  the  finance  Bill  was  to  curb  black money. Provisions of the income-tax act 1961, were felt to be inadequate as regards to achieve this objective. In the opinion of the finance minister it required stringent measures, which he summarised in in Paras 103 to 105 of his budget speech.

14.2    To achieve the above objective, the Parliament has    passed  the  Black  money“  undisclosed  foreign income and assets (imposition of tax) act, 2015”.   this act has come into force from 1.4.2015 (A.Y. 2016-17). Suitable amendments are also made in Prevention of   money-   laundering  act,   2002,   foreign   exchange management act, 1999 and other relevant acts. Since the said act is an independent legislation, the same is being mentioned in this article and not analysed.

15.    Furnishing of returns, assessment and reassessment:

15.1    Section 139 has been amended from a.y. 2016- 17  to  provide  that  a  resident  (other  than  notordinarily resident in india) who is not required to furnish his return as his income is below taxable limit or for any other reasons will now be required to file his return of income mandatorily before the due date. this amended provision will apply if the assessee –

(i)    Holds, as beneficial owner or otherwise, any asset (including any financial interest in any entity) located outside india or has signing authority in any account loaded outside india, or,

(ii)    Is a beneficiary of any asset (including any financial interest in any entity) located outside india.

It is also provided that if the assessee is a beneficiary of any asset located out of India, will not be required to file return under the above provision if income from such asset is includible in the income of the person referred to in (i) above under the provisions of the act.

15.2    In section 139, it is now provided that every “Investment Fund” shall file its return of income from A.Y. 2016-17.

15.3    In the form of return of income, from a.y. 2016- 17, the assessee will be required to give details of assets
of prescribed nature and value held by him as a beneficial owner or otherwise or as a beneficiary. This will mean that details  of  assets  of  a  trust  in  which  the  assessee  is  a beneficiary will have to be disclosed.

15.4    Section 151 is amended to provide that notice u/s. 148 can be issued by an Assessing Officer, after the expiry of a period of four years from the end of the relevant assessment year, only after the sanction of Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner. In any other case, where Assessing Officer is below the rank of the Joint Commissioner, sanction of joint Commissioner is required.

16.    Appeals and Revision:

16.1    A new procedure for non-filling an appeal by the Commissioner before the income tax appellate tribunal (itat)tribunal against the order of the CIT (a) for avoiding multiple litigation has been introduced from 1.6.2015 in section 158 aa.

This Procedure is as under:

(i)    If a question of law decided by the CIT (a) is in favour of the assessee and the identical question of law is pending before the Supreme Court either by way of an appeal or by way of a Special Leave Petition in case of the same assessee for any other year and the Commissioner receives an acceptance from the assessee that the question of law is identical to the one which is pending before the Apex Court, he need not file before ITAT.

(ii)    On receipt of the acceptance from the assessee, the Assessing Officer will apply to the ITAT stating that an appeal against the order of CIT (a) on a question of law may be filed within 60 days of receipt of the order of the Supreme Court.

(iii)    If no acceptance is received from the assessee, the Commissioner will proceed to file an appeal before the ITAT.

(iv)    If the order of the CIT(a) is not in conformity with Supreme Court order, the Commissioner will file an appeal against the CIT(a)’s order, within 60 days of receipt of Supreme Court order.

It may be noted that similar facility is already given to the assessee in section 158A.

16.2    As stated earlier any order rejecting the application for approval of an educational institution or hospital u/s. 10(23C) can be challenged in appeal before ita tribunal from 1/6/2015.

16.3    A single member bench of the itat can now dispose of any case where the income assessed by the Assessing Officer does not exceed Rs.15 lakh. Earlier this limit was Rs. 5 lakh.  this amendment in section 255 from 1/6/2015.

16.4    At present, the CIT is empowered to revise u/s. 263 the order passed by the Assessing Officer, if it is erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue. The section does not provide for the meaning of the words ‘erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue’. Explanation 2 is added in section 263(1) from 1.6.2015  to provide that an order passed by the Assessing Officer shall be deemed to be erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of revenue, if in the opinion of the CIT:-

(i)    The  order  is  passed  without  making  inquiries  or verification which should have been made;

(ii)    The order is passed allowing any relief without inquiring into the claim;

(iii)    The order has not been made in accordance with any order, direction or instruction issued by the Board u/s. 119; or

(iv)    The order has not been passed in accordance with any decision which is prejudicial to the assessee, rendered by the jurisdictional High Court or Supreme Court in the case of the assessee or any other person.

From  the  above  explanation,  it  will  be  noticed  that  very wide powers are given to CIT to revise the order passed by A.O. the extent of enquiry or verification is a very subjective matter.  thus,  any assessment order passed by the A.O. will not become final for 2 years during which it can be revised by CIT on any of the above grounds. CIT may try to revise the order of A.O if A.O is not able to reopen the assessment u/s. 147 on some technical or other ground.

17.    Settlement Commission:

Chapter XIX-A deals with settlement of cases. Several amendments have been made in some of the sections in this Chapter from 1.6.2015. Consequential changes have also been made in a few other sections. The important amendments are as under:
(i)    For   an   assessee   to   approach   the   Settlement Commission u/s. 245a, it was necessary that a notice u/s. 148 was received for every assessment year for which the application was to be made. this provision is amended to provide that where a notice u/s. 148 is issued for any assessment year, the assessee can approach the Settlement Commission for other assessment years even if notice u/s. 148 for such other assessment years has not been issued if return of income for such other assessment years has been furnished u/s. 139 of the act or in response to notice u/s. 142 of the act.

(ii)    In Section 245A(b), the explanation is amended to provide that a proceeding for assessment or reassessment referred to in clause (i) or clause (iii) or clause (iiia) for any assessment year shall be deemed to have commenced from the date on which a return of income is furnished u/s. 139 or in response to notice u/s. 142 and concluded on the date on which the assessment is made or on the expiry of two years from the end of relevant assessment year, in a case where no assessment is made.

(iii)    The provision for time limit for rectification of an order assed by the Settlement Commission has been revised.

(iv)    Section 245h is amended to provide that while granting immunity to the applicant from prosecution, the Settlement Commission must record its reasons in writing.

(v)    245K is amended to ensure that in respect of an individual who has made an application to the Settlement Commission u/s. 245C, any entity controlled by such person is also barred from making an application to the Settlement Commission. Hitherto, only the concerned person was prevented from making another application to the Settlement Commission. Now, entities controlled by such a person will also be prevented. The situations when an entity will be considered to be controlled by the applicant are provided in the explanation inserted after section 245K(2).

(vi)    Section 132B is amended to allow the assets seized from an assessee u/s. 132 or requisitioned u/s. 132a to be adjusted against the liability arising on an application made to the Settlement Commission u/s. 245C.

Sub-section (2A) is inserted in section 234B to levy interest on the shortfall, if any, that may arise in the advance tax on account of an application made u/s. 245C. The interest would be calculated from the 1st april of the assessment year and ending on the date of making the application. Similarly, interest would also be payable on the additional shortfall, if any, arising on the basis of an order passed u/s. 245d for the period from 1st day of april of the assessment year and ending on the date of the order.

18.    Taxation of non-residents:

18.1    Section 6 of the income-tax act has been amended from A.Y. 2015–16 to provide that in the case  of an individual who is a citizen of india and a member of a crew of a foreign bound ship leaving india, the period of stay in india shall be determined as prescribed in the rules.  The  earlier  explanation  (now  renumbered  as explanation 1 applied only to indian Ship.

18.2    Section 6 has been further amended from a.y. 2016-17. Under the existing provisions, a company is said to be resident in india in any previous year, if:

a)    It is an indian company; or

b)    During that year, the control and management of its affairs is situated wholly in india.

Therefore, currently, a foreign company which is partially or wholly controlled abroad is to be regarded as non- resident in india. now section 6, has introduced the concept of ‘Place of effective management’ (Poem), in substitution of the existing provisions of requiring the control and management of affairs to be situated wholly india. In view of the above, provisions of this section has been amended to provide that a company shall be said to be resident in india in any previous year, if;

a)    It is an indian company; or

b)    Its place of effective management, in that year, is in india. (it may be noted that in the finance Bill, 2015, the proposal was to provide that the company will be resident in india if Poem is “at any time” in that year is in india.  the words “at any time” in india have been dropped while passing the finance act.)

Further, POEM has been defined to mean a place where key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for the conduct of the business of an entity as a whole are, in substance,  made.  this is a far reaching amendment as a number of indian Companies have foreign subsidiaries and what would be considered as POEM in such cases will be a subject matter of litigation. if any foreign company becomes resident in india, it will have to comply with the various provisions of the income-tax Act such as filing return of income, getting accounts audited u/s. 44aB, complying with tdS provisions etc.

18.3    Explanation 5 to section 9(1) provides that an asset being any share or interest in a foreign company or entity shall be deemed to have been situated in india if it derives, directly or indirectly, its value substantially from assets located in india.  The word “substantially”   in the explanation was not defined. In order to clarify the position, new explanation (6) is added from A.Y. 2016-17 to provide as under

(i)    If the value of assets (tangible on intangible) situated in india exceeds Rs.10 crore and represents at least 50% of the value of total assets of the foreign company as on valuation date (without deduction of any liabilities) it will be deemed that the interest in the foreign company is substantially from assets in india.

(ii)    the  valuation  date  shall  be  the  last  day  of  the accounting period preceding the date of transfer or the date of transfer in case the book value of assets on the date of transfer exceeds book value as on the last day of the accounting period by 15%.

(iii)    The taxation of gains arising on transfer of share or interest deriving directly or indirectly its value substantially from assets located in india will be on proportional basis and the method for determination of such proportion shall be  provided  in  the  rules. To  avoid  hardship  in  genuine cases, exemption is available in certain transfers subject to fulfillment of prescribed conditions.

Moreover, to keep a track of such offshore transactions, an obligation has been cast on the indian concern to furnish information in respect of off-shore transactions resulting into modification of its control or ownership structure. any non-compliance in this regards by the india concern would attract penalty of Rs.5 lakhs or 2% of transaction value, as the case may be.

18.4    At  present,  income  arising  to  foreign  Portfolio investors   (‘FPIS’)   from   transactions   in   securities   is treated as capital gains. however, the provisions of the act did notadequately address the apprehension of fund managers, resulting in a large number of offshore funds choosing to locate their investment managers outside india. therefore, new section 9a is inserted in the income tax act from A.Y.2016-17 for providing clarity on issues relating to business connection/permanent establishment and residential status of offshore funds. in order to facilitate location of fund managers of off-shore funds in India, this section now provides that, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions by the fund and the fund manager:

(i)    The tax liability in respect of income arising to the fund from investment in india would be neutral to the fact as to whether the investment is made directly by the fund or through engagement of fund manager located in india;

(ii)    Income of the fund from the investments outside india would not be taxable in india solely on the basis that the   fund   management   activity   in   respect   of   such investments have been undertaken through a fund manager located in india;

(iii)    In the case of an eligible investment fund, the fund management activity carried out through an eligible fund manager acting on behalf of such fund shall not constitute business connection in india of the said fund;

(iv)    An eligible investment fund shall not be said to be resident in india merely because the eligible fund manager undertaking fund management activities on its behalf is located in India, subject to certain conditions.

(v)    The term “Eligible Investment Fund” is defined in section  9a(3)  and  the  term  “eligible  fund  manager”  is defined in section 9A(4).

Further,  every  eligible  investment  fund  shall,  in  respect of its activities in financial year, furnish within ninety days from the end of the financial year, a statement in the prescribed form to the prescribed income-tax authority containing information relating to the fulfillment of the conditions or any information or document which may be prescribed. In case of non-furnishing of the prescribed information  or  document  or  statement,  penalty  of  Rs.5 lakh shall be leviable on the fund.

18.5    Under the provisions of Securities Contracts (regulation) (Stock exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, 2012 (SECC) notified by SEBI, the Clearing Corporations are mandated to establish a fund, called Core  Settlement  Guarantee  fund  (Core  SGF)  for  each segment of each recognised stock exchange to guarantee the settlement of trades executed in respective segments of the exchange. under the existing provisions, income by way of contributions to the investor Protection fund set up by recognised stock exchanges in india, or by commodity exchanges in india or by a depository is exempt from taxation.  on  similar  lines,  the  income  of  the  Core  SGF arising from contribution received and investment made by the fund and from the penalties imposed by the Clearing Corporation subject to similar conditions as provided  in  case  of  investor  Protection  fund  set  up  by a recognised stock exchange or a commodity exchange or a depository will now be exempt u/s. 10(23ee) from A.Y. 2016-17.

However, where any amount standing to the credit of the fund and not charged to income-tax during any previous year is shared, either wholly or in part with the specified persons, the whole of the amount so shared shall be deemed to be the income of the previous year in which such amount is shared.

The specified person for this purpose is defined to mean any recognised clearing corporation which establishes and maintains the Core Settlement Guarantee fund and the recognised stock exchange being the shareholder of such clearing corporation.

18.6    The  CBDT,  in  its  Circular  no.740  dated  17/4/1996 had clarified that branch of a foreign company in India is a separate entity for the purpose of taxation under the act and accordingly tdS provisions would apply along with separate taxation of interest paid to head office or other branches of the non-resident, which would be chargeable to tax in india.

Considering that there are several disputes on the issue which are pending and likely to arise in future, section 9 is amended form a.y. 2016-17 to provide that, in the case of a non-resident, being a person engaged in the business of banking, any interest payable by the permanent establishment in india of such non-resident to the head office or any permanent establishment or any other part of such non-resident outside india shall be deemed to accrue or arise in india and shall be chargeable to tax   in addition to any income attributable to the permanent establishment in india and the permanent establishment in india shall be deemed to be a person separate and independent of the non-resident person of which it is a permanent establishment and the provisions of the act relating to computation of total income, determination of tax and collection and recovery would apply. Accordingly, the PE in india shall be obligated to deduct tax at source on any interest payable to either the head office or any other branch or PE, etc. of the non-resident outside india. Further,  non-deduction  would  result  in  disallowance  of interest claimed as expenditure by the PE and may also attract levy of interest and penalty in accordance with relevant provisions of the act.

18.7    Section 115a (1)(b) has been amended from a.y. 2016-17  to  provide  that  the  rate  of  tax  on  royalty  or fees for technical Services received by a non-resident or a foreign Company shall now be 10% instead of 25%.

18.8    Section 91(1) of the income-tax act provides for relief in respect of income-tax on the income which is taxed in india as well as in the country with which there is no double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA).   it provides that an indian resident is entitled to a deduction from the india income-tax of a sum calculated on such doubly taxed income, at the indian rate of tax or the rate of said country, whichever is lower. in case of countries with which india has entered into an agreement for the purposes of avoidance of double taxation u/s. 90 or section 90A, a relief in respect of income-tax on doubly taxed income is available as per the respective dtaas. the  income-tax  act  does  not  provide  the  manner  for granting credit of taxes paid in any country outside india. accordingly, Section 295(2) is amended from 1.6.2015 to provide that CBDT may make rules to provide the procedure for granting relief or deduction, of any income-tax paid in any country or specified territory outside india, u/ss. 90,90A or 91, against the income-tax payable under the act.

19.    Restrictions    about    Appointment Tax Auditors:

19.1    Assessees are, under various  provisions  of  the act, required to obtain and/or furnish  the  reports and certificates from an ‘accountant’. At present, the term “accountant” is defined in theExplanation below section 288(2) to mean a chartered accountant within the meaning of the Chartered accountants act, 1949. From 1.6.2015 this definition has been amended. The amended definition defines the term ‘accountant’ to mean a chartered accountant as defined in section 2(1)(b) of the Chartered accountants act, 1949 who holds a valid certificate of practice u/s. 6(1) of that Act. The definition specifically excludes the following chartered Accountants for purposes of Tax Audit and certification.

(1)    Where the assessee is a company – any person who is not eligible for appointment as an auditor of the said company in accordance with the provisions of section 141(3) of the Companies act, 2013;
(2)    Where the assessee is a person other than a company –

(i)    Where the assessee is an individual, firm or association of persons or hindu undivided family – the assessee himself or any partner of the firm, or member of the association or the family;
(ii)    Where the assessee is a trust or institution, any person referred to in clauses (a), (b), (c) and (cc) of section 13(3) of the act;

(iii)    Where the assessee is any person other  than  those referred to in (i) and (ii) above any person who is competent to verify the return u/s. 139 in accordance with the provisions of section 140;

(iv)    Any relative of any of the persons referred to in (i), (ii) and (iii) above;

(v)    An officer or employee of the assessee;

(vi)    An individual who is a partner, or who is in employment of an officer or employee of the assessee;

(vii)    An individual who himself or his relative or his partner

(a)    Is holding any security of or interest in, the assessee;

however, the relative may hold security or interest in the assessee of the face value up to Rs. 1,00,000/-.
(b)    Is indebted to the assessee;

however, the relative may be indebted to the assessee for an amount upto Rs.1,00,000/-.

(c)    Has given a guarantee or provided any security in connection with the indebtedness of any third party to the assessee;

However, the relative may give guarantee or provide any security in connection with the indebtedness of any third person to the assessee for an amount up to Rs.1,00,000/.

(viii)    Any person who, whether directly or indirectly, has business relationship with the assessee of such nature as may be prescribed;

(ix)    A person who has been convicted by a court of an offence involving fraud and a period of ten years has not elapsed from the date of such conviction.

19.2    For this purpose, the term ‘relative’ in relation to an individual  is defined to mean (a) spouse of the individual;
(b) Brother or sister of the individual; (c) brother or sister of the spouse of the individual; (d) any lineal ascendant or descendant of the individual; (e) any lineal ascendant or descendant of the spouse of the individual; (f) spouse of the person referred to in clause (b), (c), (d) or (e) above; or
(g) Any lineal ascendant or descendant of a brother or sister of either the individual or of the spouse of the individual.

19.3    The above disqualification will apply only to professional assignment as tax auditor or assignment for Certification of financial statements for tax purposes. It may be noted that disqualification noted in Para 19.1 (2) above is on similar lines as provided in Section 141(3) of the Companies act, 2013. As the amended provisions come into force from 1.6.2015, many non-corporate assessees will have to change their tax auditors for auditing the accounts for the accounting year 2014-15 if the existing tax auditor is to be considered as disqualified under amended explanation as stated in Para 19.1 (2) above. It may be noted that the above disqualification does not apply to representation by a Chartered accountant before tax authorities.

19.4    Sub-section (4) of section 288 has been amended to provide that a person who has become insolvent or has been convicted by a court for an offence involving fraud, shall be disqualified to represent an assessee for a period of ten years from the date of conviction.

20.    Penalties :

20.1    Section 271: (i) under the  existing  provisions of this section penalty for concealment of income or furnishing inaccurate particulars of income is levied on the “amount of tax sought to be evaded”, which has been defined, inter alia, as the difference between the tax due on the income assessed and the tax which would have been chargeable had such total income been reduced by the amount of concealed income.

(ii)    There was no clarity on the computation of amount of tax sought to be evaded, where the concealment of income or furnishing inaccurate particulars of income occurred in the computation of income under the other provisions whereas the book profits u/s. 115JB remained unchanged.  further, in the case of CIT vs.  Nalwa Sons Investments Ltd. [327 ITR 543 (Del)], it was held that penalty u/s. 271(1)(c) cannot be levied in cases where the concealment of income occurred under the income computed under general provisions but the tax was paid under  the    provisions  of  sections  115JB,  where  there was no addition to the Book Profit. The SLP against the judgment of the Delhi High Court was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

(iii)    In order to deal with such cases, it is now provided from A.Y. 2016-17 that the amount of tax sought to be evaded shall be the summation of tax sought to be evaded under the general provisions and the tax sought to  be  evaded  under  the    provisions  of  section  115JB. However, if an addition on any issue is considered both under the general provisions and also u/s. 115JB, then such amount shall not be considered in computing tax sought to be evaded under provisions of section 115JB or 115JC.  Further, in a case where the provisions of section 115 JB are not applicable, the computation of tax sought to be evaded under the provisions of section 115JB shall be ignored.

20.2    Sections 269SS/269T and 271D / 271E:
(i)    Sections  269SS  and  269t,    at  present,  prohibit acceptance  of  loan  or  deposit  in  excess  of  Rs.20,000/- by any person or repayment of loan or deposit in excess of Rs.20,000/- by any person in cash. The scope of both these sections has been enlarged by amendments in these sections from 1.6.2015. This amendment in section 269SS extends its scope to specified items. In brief, this section will also apply to any sum of money received or receivable as advance or otherwise in relation to an immovable property, whether or not the transfer takes place.   Similar   amendment   in   section   269T  prohibits repayment of advance in relation to transfer of an immovable property, whether or not the transfer takes place. With these amendments, any advance given or repaid in cash, where such advance exceeds Rs. 20,000/- in immovable property transactions will contravene the provisions of  Section 269SS or 269T.

(ii)    Section 271D and 271E levying penalty of a sum equivalent to the amount received or paid in cash in contravention     of     269SS  and  269T has  now  been extended to the above transactions relating to immovable properties from 1.6.2015.

20.3    Section 271 FAB: under new section 9A(5), an eligible investment fund is required to furnish a statement, information or document within the prescribed time. if this is not furnished, this new section inserted from A.Y. 2016- 17 provides for levy ofpenalty of Rs.5,00,000/-

20.4    Section 271 GA: new Section 285A provides for furnishing information/document by an indian Concern. if this is not done in accordance with the prescribed rules, penalty @ 2% of the value of the transaction as specified in the section can be levied under this new section from A.Y. 2016-17. in any other case of default u/s. 285 A, penalty of Rs.5,00,000/- can be levied.

20.5    Section   271   –   I   :   This   is   a   new   section inserted from 1.6.2015. It provides for levy of penalty of Rs.1,00,000/- if the information required u/s. 195 (6) is not furnished or inaccurate information is furnished.

20.6    Section  272A:   this  section  is  amended  from 1.6.2015. under the existing provisions, Government deductors/collectors are allowed to pay TDS / TCS through book  entry.    rules  30  and  rule  37CA  of  the  income- tax Rules required the Paying Officer to furnish Form 24G detailing the deduction / collection and adjustment. There are no penal consequences for non-furnishing of the said information.

With a view to enforce compliance for reporting of payment through book entry of TDS/TCS, sections 200 (2a) and section 206(3a) are inserted requiring furnishing of the prescribed information for TDS / TCS by the Government dedicators / collectors concerned. Section 272a has been suitably amended to extend levy of penalty of Rs. 100/- for every day of delay in filing the requisite statement under section 200(2a) and 206(3a) in respect of tdS / tCS which shall not exceed the amount of tax.

21.    Other Provisions

21.1    Interest payable u/s. 234B: in case of increase in the assessed income on reassessment u/s. 147 or 153A, currently interest u/s. 234B is chargeable from the date of the regular assessment up to the date of reassessment. Section 234B has now been amended from 1/6/2015to provide that such interest would be chargeable from 1st april of the relevant assessment year up to the date of reassessment on the additional tax liability.

21.2    Section  285A:  this  is  a  new  section  inserted from a.y. 2016-17. It is provided in this section that where any share of or interest in a foreign company or entity, derives directly or indirectly, its value substantially from assets located  in india (refer section 9(1)(i) explanation 5, the indian concern owning such assets shall furnish such information as may be prescribed within the prescribed time limit.

21.3    Wealth Tax Act: Section 3 of the wealth – tax has been amended. it is provided there in that net Wealth shall not be changed to wealth-tax with effect from a.y. 2016-17. Thus, assessees will have to file return of wealth tax in respect of net Wealth as at 31.3.2015 and no such return will be required to be filed from next year.

22.    To sum up:

22.1    From the above discussion it is evident that the finance  minister  has  lived  upto  his  promise  made  last year that all major amendments in the Income tax Act will be only prospective. This year one major step taken for tax reforms relates to Goods and Service tax (GST).  The necessary legislation, as a first step, is passed in the Lok Sabha. It is expected to be cleared in the Rajya Sabha during  the  year.  Let  us  hope  that  GSt  is  implemented from 1/4/2016 as promised by the Government.

22.2    In the last year’s Budget Speech an assurance was given that direct tax Code Bill, 2010, which lapsed, will be revived after consultation with the stakeholders. It is surprising that in this year’s budget speech the finance minister has stated in Para 129 of his Speech that now there is no need for revival of dtC.

In view of this, we will have to live with the present income-tax act with so many sections, sub-sections, clauses, provisos, explanations etc. and many different interpretations leading to unending litigation.

22.3    Another  important  step  taken  by  the  finance minister is to address the burning issue about Black money. he has listed steps taken and proposed to be taken in Para 103 of his Budget Speech. in order to tackle the  issue  relating  to  Black  money  stacked  in  foreign Countries  Black  money  “undisclosed  foreign  income and  assets  (imposition  of  tax)  act,  2015”,  has  been passed. Harsh penalty and prosecution provisions are made in this legislation. if this act was made applicable to persons holding foreign assets exceeding rs.1 crore small assesses would not have been put to any hardship.

22.4    The  finance  minister  has  tried  to  show  some sympathy so far as personal taxation is concerned. he has also given some benefit to the salaried employees by increasing the exemption limit for the transport allowance from   Rs.800/-   per   month   to   Rs.1,600/-   per   month. However, if we consider the other procedural provisions of the income-tax act, very wide powers are given to assessing officers and commissioners. This will be evident from the amendments relating to taxation of charitable trusts where compliance cost to trusts  will  increase  and the responsibility of trustees, who generally render honorary service, will increase. further, amendments in section 263 will give wide powers to Commissioners to revise the orders of the assessing officers. Thus, cases in which the assessments cannot be reopened by the assessing officers will be reopened through this route. again, the finance minister, while abolishing the Wealth tax  act,  has  stated  that  to  track  the  wealth  held  by individuals and entities, information regarding the assets which are currently required to be furnished in wealth tax return will be captured in the income tax return. This will show that compliance cost of getting valuation of assets, which were subject to wealth tax, will not reduce. Further, this information will have to be given by firms, AOP, etc. who were outside the wealth tax provision. Let us hope that this requirement of disclosing assets in the income tax return is introduced only in cases where the value of such assets exceed the specified limit and is restricted to only those who were otherwise liable to the wealth tax. If this is not done, all taxpayers, whether small or big, will have to get valuation of assets done for disclosing in the income tax return.

22.5    The concept of minimum alternative tax (mat) was introduced for the first time by the Finance Act, 1987 effective from A/Y:1988-89.  The finance minister at that time explained that many Companies were not paying any tax or paying nominal tax but were showing large profits in the published accounts and paying dividend to shareholders. This was because they were availing of tax incentives and reducing taxable profits as compared to book profits. For this reason, tax on Book Profits (MAT) was introduced. It was always understood that these provisions   (sections   115J,   115JA  or   115JB)   applied to domestic Companies. In last couple of years, the tax  department  has  started  applying  mat  provisions  to foreign Companies (in particular FIIS) although they are not required to prepare accounts under the Companies act,   1956.   in   view   of   the   loud   protest   by   foreign Companies, the finance act has made only halfhearted attempt   to   amend   section   115JB   from  A/Y :2016-17. Earlier year’s issues, involving huge tax demands which are under litigation, are now being considered by an expert Committee.   The ideal way of handling the issue was  to  declare  that  section  115JB  does  not  apply  to foreign Companies which have no P.E. in india.

22.6    One disturbing feature relates to notification issued u/s. 145(2) requiring assesses carrying on business or profession or having income from other sources to comply with “income Computation and disclosure Standards” (iCdS) from A/Y:2016-17. Since accounts are required to be prepared according to Accounting Standards notified by the Government under the Companies and ICDS notified u/s. 145(2) are different in some important areas there will be lot of confusion while  computing  taxable  income.     This  will  lead  to unending litigation.

22.7    Another area of concern is about the provisions relating  to  disclosure  of  foreign  income  and  foreign assets  in  the  return  of  income. These  provisions  also apply  to  residents  who  have  no  taxable  income.   This new provision read with the new legislation Black money “undisclosed foreign income and assets (imposition of tax) act, 2015” which has come into force from A/Y:2016-17 will create lot of confusion and hardships. Some asessees who are not aware of these provisions will suffer harsh penalty and prosecution proceedings.

22.8    The   finance   minister   has   assured   that   the amendments made in the act will not put small assesses to any hardship. While concluding his speech he has stated as under:-

“To conclude, it is no secret that expectations of this Budget have been high. . In this speech, I think I have clearly outlined not only what we are going to do immediately, but also a roadmap for the future.

I think I can genuinely stake, for our Government, a claim of intellectual honesty. We have been consistent in what we have said, and what we are doing. We are committed, to achieving what we have been voted to power for: Change, growth, jobs and genuine, effective upliftment of the poor and the under-privileged. This will be in the spirit of the Upanishad-inspired mantra:

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah, Sarve Bhandraanni Pashyantu,
Maa Kashcid-Dukkha-Bhaag-Bhavet,
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih!

(OM! May All Be Happy, May All Be Free From Illness, May All See What is Beneficial, May No One Suffer)”

Let us hope, the present Government is able to achieve its goal and make our life happier.

An avoidable complication

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The last two decades have been extremely challenging for the Indian accountant. With the Indian economy being gradually liberalised, global accounting practices reached the Indian shores. As foreign investors started investing in Indian businesses, there was a growing demand for Indian accounting to converge to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). While everyone realised that this was inevitable in the long run, the change from a historical cost convention to a fair value system which is significantly different is beset with problems. In order to harmonise IFRS to India specific situations, Ind AS-the Indian version of IFRS was mooted. It was however felt that Indian businesses were ill-equipped to adopt even Ind AS. It was therefore decided to adopt a calibrated approach and with effect from 1st April 2016, adoption of Ind AS, was made mandatory for listed companies, while others were permitted to follow the accounting standards applicable to them as prescribed either by the relevant statute or those formulated by the accounting regulator, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). It then became apparent that identically placed entities following two distinct accounting systems would show different book results. In order to ensure that these entities paid the same tax, ”Tax Accounting Standards” as they were then called were thought of.

Thus, the objective of these standards was to modify the book profit in the process of computation of income. It was universally accepted that it was impractical for any business entity to maintain two sets of accounts – one for reporting to stakeholders and the other for paying tax. The tax accounting standards were expected to bridge that gap. However, somewhere along the way, that objective seems to have been totally lost sight of.

The committee that was formed for this purpose made its recommendations by way of a report and tax accounting standards were placed for comment is in the public domain. To what extent the responses from the public were considered is a matter of debate. Finally, ten “Income Computation and Disclosure standards” ICDS were notified by the government and they came into effect from accounting year commencing from 1st April 2015, relevant to assessment year 2016-17. As notified today, the standards will create a host of complications.

Firstly, these standards require “disclosure” of policies followed. They apply to all assessees following the mercantile method of accounting and having income under the head “profits and gains of business” or “income from other sources “. These are not accounting standards but computation standards. Therefore, the place of disclosure is a matter of debate. It must be remembered that the amended section 145 gives a power to the assessing authority to make a best judgment assessment in case of non-compliance. It was thus essential that these standards were precise and comprehensive to the extent possible which they do not appear to be.

Secondly, these standards completely exclude those following cash method of accounting. While this will certainly give relief to those assessees who follow only the cash method, it could cause complications when under the same head, two different methods are followed for two different sources. The standards should have addressed situations arising in this scenario.

Thirdly, it is provided that wherever the computation standards are in conflict with the provisions of the Income -tax Act (the Act), the provisions of the Act would prevail. While this sounds to be perfectly acceptable, it could create significant controversy. It is a well-established proposition that the Supreme Court interprets the law, as it always stood. Given the Indian judicial system, it could be close to two decades for a particular provision to be finally interpreted by the apex court. In a situation like this, if income is computed on the basis of ICDS and the same is in harmony with the law as it stood at the time, but subsequently the law is interpreted differently by the apex court, then it would create great difficulty. One would possibly say that this is the position even today. But now there would be two prescriptions to be interpreted under the same statute. The Act and ICDS themselves.

Finally, one needs to consider the effect of the transitional provisions. In a couple of standards namely construction contracts and revenue recognition, the transition provisions are extremely harsh. They would apply to unfinished contracts entered into before 31st March 2015, where the assessee was following completed contract method, but now is forced to follow percentage completion. This would create a substantial liability in the year of transition i.e., assessment year 2016-17.

In fact, a preliminary study of ICDS seems to suggest that the cost of compliance will increase significantly. Though the standards do not require maintenance of separate sets of books as the computation is of taxable income and not book profit, the prescriptions are such that a virtually parallel separate record will have to be maintained by each entity of some size. With the current attitude of revenue officials being what it is, one is really concerned about the litigation that will ensue.

The way the standards have been drafted, the objective seems to be to garner maximum revenue at the earliest. It may have been easier to recommend some adjustments to book profit to take care of some of the issues thrown up. If that could be achieved, Income Computation and Disclosure standards were possibly unnecessary. If this was not feasible then the issues arising out of Ind AS, in regard to computation of income ought to have been addressed, comprehensively. The ICDS as notified will only increase litigation.

The last but not the least, power to formulate standards affecting taxable income is virtually power to amend the law without going to the Parliament. One wonders how desirable this is.

If the government is serious about promoting their pet theme of ease of doing business, like GAAR, ICDS in their present form certainly need a rethink.

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The Eternal Life

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Do you want an eternal life? Do you aspire to live forever? This is not an easy question to answer. One must think a lot before giving the answer.

This story is attributed to Alexander the Great. Like all highly ambitious persons, Alexander, the emperor, was seeking Eternal Life. He was directed to a reknowned Indian Sage. The sage told him about a magical tree which grew on the shores of a lake, far away, hidden deep inside the forests, which could be reached only after crossing several mountain ranges. Eating the fruit of that tree gave eternal life. Alexander set off, taking the directions from the sage. After travelling for seven days and seven nights, he reached that lake and found the magical tree with the fruits. As he was about to eat one, a voice called him and cautioned him “Do not eat the fruit”. Alexander was amazed to find that it was a crocodile and that the lake was teeming with crocodiles. “We have eaten the fruit and are miserable. How much so ever we may wish, we cannot die. We have become old, disabled, have nothing to live for and yet we cannot die. Do not make the same mistake we had made. Otherwise you will have an eternally miserable life, cursing this day when you ate this fruit”. Alexander realized the wisdom of the words of the crocodile. He no longer wanted eternal life. His quest was over. He returned back without eating the fruit.

The question we have to ask ourselves is ‘Do we want eternal life?’ or we would be happier with a few good years?

Let us imagine the life of a caged bird, alone in the cage. The cage may be made of gold and he would be getting the best of food and care from the lady who lovingly kept him as a pet. He would not be wanting anything; anything except freedom to fly in the open sky and meet and mingle with the other birds of his tribe. Would the bird prefer a hundred years of such caged life, or would he rather be satisfied with just a few years of life in the open, flying soaring high up above in the sky. No question. The bird would surely love to be out of the cage, and flying high. No matter the life in the open world would carry with it its own perils. He would have to face hunger, illness, brave all kinds of weather and even run the risk of falling prey to predator birds. But it would be better than a purposeless eternal life.

All this leads us to the conclusion that endless life is not a boon, but a curse; a life which is totally protected, cut off from all risks and also human contacts is worthless. Further, to lead a good life, one requires challenges to meet and goals to achieve. One requires someone to share both, happiness and sorrow. As they say “a ship is safe in the harbour, but that is not what it is meant for”. The captain of a ship would be far happier sailing the seven seas, fighting wild winds, weathering thunderous storms and facing turbulent waves than merely sitting in the harbour. So it is with our lives. What one really seeks is not just a long life, but a good and a meaningful life, even if it be short. I am reminded of the words of Philip James Bailey:

“We live in deeds, not years
In thought, not breath
We should count time by heart throbs
He most lives, who thinks most
Feels the noblest, acts the best”
But still one may aspire to live eternally, though not in a physical form. It is well said that “to live in the Hearts of Men, is not to Die”. One would certainly aspire to live in the hearts of men for a long time by one’s noble deeds.

We then have to decide, that whatever may be our remaining life span, we will live a purposeful, meaningful life, we shall strive to achieve great goals and make the best use of our lives. We will leave our footprints on the sands of time. Maybe then, even when we die a physical death, we shall continue to live in the hearts of our fellow human beings and have a truly eternal life. We can then attain the state described in the bhajan of Jain Muni Shri Anandghanji:

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Coparcenary Property – Right of daughters – Daughter born prior to 9-9-2005 has right to file suit for partition: Hindu Succession Act section 6-

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Babu Dagadau Awari vs. Baby W/o Namdeo Lagad & Ors AIR 2015 (NOC) 446 (Bom) (HC)

The suit was filed by respondent No. 1 – Smt. Baby for partition of Hindu joint family properties and for possession of her share from the properties. The suit was filed in respect of four agricultural lands and three house properties.

The applicant/defendant No. 1 is the father of plaintiff. Defendant Nos. 2 to 4 are also daughters of present applicant. It was contended by the plaintiff that the suit properties are the ancestral properties though they are in the hands of defendant No.1. It was contended that, in view of amendment made in Hindu Succession Act, the plaintiff needs to be treated as coparcener along with defendant No. 1 and other defendants and she has right to claim partition and possession of her share.

The Court relied on the following observations made by this Court in case of Vaishali Satish Ganorkar and Anr. vs. Satish Keshaorao Ganorkar & Ors (2012) (3) Mh. L.J. 669 “14. It may be mentioned, therefore, that ipso facto upon the passing of the Amendment Act all the daughters of a coparcener in a co-parcenary or a joint HUF do not become coparceners. The daughters who are born after such dates would certainly be coparceners by virtue of birth, but for a daughter who was born prior to the coming into force of the Amendment Act she would be a coparcener only upon a devolution of interest in coparcenary property taking place.”

Thus, the Court held that plaintiff has right to file suit for relief of partition in respect of co-parcenary properties though she was born prior to 09-09-2005 and the trial Court had not committed any error in rejecting the application filed by the applicant. In the result, the application stands dismissed.

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Appeal – Abatement– Death of defendant during pendency of appeal – Failure to bring his legal representative on record – Appeal would abate against deceased defendant CPC, C.22 R. 4

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Naveen Shanker Lokure vs. Nascimento Milgares Pereira & Ors AIR 2015 (NOC) 156 (Bom) (HC)

The original plaintiffs namely Jose Francisco Pereira and his wife Ana Francisca Dias had filed the said suit for a declaration that they were exclusive owners in possession of the property allegedly purchased by the defendants no. 1 and 2 namely Shankar Krishnappa Lokure and Shivagundappa Krishnappa Lokure from the defendant no. 3, Aniquinha Maria Apolonia Dias.

By judgment and order dated 29/04/1999, the said suit was dismissed. Plaintiffs filed Regular Civil Appeal No. 70/1999 against the judgment and decree of the trial Judge.

The original defendant no. 3 had died during the pendency of the suit and her legal representatives, namely Mrs. Catherina Ana Dias, along with other legal representatives were brought on record, in the said suit. However, the legal representative Mrs. Catherina Ana Dias had also expired during the pendency of the suit on 23/09/1994. However, her heirs were not brought on record. However, since the husband of the said Mrs. Catherina, namely Francisco Rosario Dias was already on record, there was no abatement of the suit.

In the Regular Civil Appeal No. 70/1999, the deceased Mrs. Catherina Dias was, however, impleaded as the respondent no. 7, as if she was alive. During the pendency of the said Regular Civil Appeal, the husband of the said deceased Catherina Dias, namely Francisco Rosario Dias impleaded as respondent no. 6, died on 01/02/2002. The legal representatives of the deceased Francisco Rosario Dias were not brought on record, in the said Regular Civil Appeal No. 70/1999. Thus the Regular Civil Appeal No. 70/1999, has been decided against two dead persons.

The learned Senior Counsel for the plaintiffs submits that the plaintiffs were not aware of the death of the said parties. In the circumstances above, it appears that in the Regular Civil Appeal No. 70/1999, the decree is passed in ignorance of death of two of the defendants/respondents, the respondent no. 7 having died during the pendency of the suit and the respondent no. 6 having died during the pendency of the said appeal, due to which the appeal had abated against the dead persons.

The High Court observed that in Second Appeal against such a decree, the court cannot itself set aside the abatement nor can it affirm the decree passed by the lower appellate Court. The proper course in such a case is to set aside the ineffective decree passed by the lower appellate Court and remand the case to the court where abatement has taken place leaving the parties to take necessary steps to have the effect of abatement set aside if they so desire and if they can satisfy the Court that parties are entitled to get the abatement set aside under law.

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Appeal High Court – Stricture against Department – Direction to replace advocates in old matters – Otherwise High Court would dispose old matters in their absence

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Commissioner of Central Excise, Thane II vs. Milton Polyplas (I) P. Ltd. (2015) 318 ELT 47 (Bom.)(HC)

In the Central Excise Appeals, the Hon’ble Court noted that the system of filing of Appeals and arguing them has undergone a drastic change. Now, each Commissionerate exercises discretion and chooses to engage an Advocate from a list of Advocates, for representing them. Any such Advocate practicing in this Court and authorised by the concerned Commissionerate to file the Appeal, keeps track of the same and argues it. The vakalatnama to act, appear and plead on behalf of these Commissioners located at various places, thus emanates from the said Commissionerates. At several Commissioners’ offices, there is a legal cell headed by an Assistant Commissioner level officer and either he or the staff of such cell keeps track of the cases pertaining to that Commissionerate, in addition to the Advocate engaged by that Commissionerate.

The Court observed that on several occasions, there is no indication as to who will argue the Appeals on behalf of the Commissioners. It was informed that some nodal officers were present in Court. However, the court cannot take note of their presence. The court is concerned with the Advocates, who have been engaged and authorised to argue cases.

The Advocates regularly appearing before the court informed the Bench that the concerned Commissionerate has not taken any decision as to who should replace one Mr. T. C. Kaushik and thereafter argue the Appeal.

The Hon’ble Court further remarked that when complaints are made, that old matters are not being taken up and given priority, then, firstly the Revenue/State should put its house in order. There are many old matters pending and for more than 10 years that have serious revenue implications. In the circumstances, the court directed the registry to send a copy of this order to the Office of the Chief Commissioner, Central Excise and Customs of each Commissionerate. The Court further observed that the high level officers may apply their mind so as to enable the Court to take up the old Appeals for hearing and disposal. Immediate steps should be taken to replace the old Advocates or else the court will be constrained to dispose off the matters in their absence.

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NEGATIVE REVENUE

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Many of the current business models are highly disruptive, and also throw up interesting accounting challenges from time to time. One of those challenges is with respect to accounting for consideration paid to a customer and the accounting of negative revenue.

Query
Pay Gate runs a website which provides a market place for vendors to sell their merchandise to different buyers. The buyers can open a wallet on Pay Gate by paying cash or using a debit/credit card and then use that wallet to buy goods through that website from vendors. Pay Gate earns a commission from the vendor for every sale made. Pay Gate is desperately seeking to expand in the market and hence provides a sizable cash back incentive to buyers. The commission earned from vendors is much lower than the cash back incentive to buyers. Consequently the overall revenue earned by Pay Gate is negative. How is such revenue presented?

Author’s Response
Many such interesting issues have emerged since the issuance of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. These issues have gained urgency in India because it makes IFRS 15 (Ind AS 115) mandatory with immediate effect. These issues and the following discussions would be also relevant for Indian GAAP purposes. The Joint Transition Resource Group for Revenue Recognition (TRG) discussed a number of implementation issues on IFRS 15, including the one raised in the query above.

Under IFRS 15, an entity is required to determine if a consideration that it pays a customer is for a distinct good or service. Consider a manufacturer sells to its customer (eg Retailer) certain goods and earns revenue. It also pays the Retailer a fee for prominent display of those goods. Because the payment to the Retailer is not for a distinct good or service, the manufacturer will reduce the fee paid from the revenue it earns from the Retailer.

In the above example, if the Manufacturer paid to the Customer (who is also an advertiser) for carrying a huge advertisement on an advertising space it owns outside the retail outlet, this would be treated as a distinct service received from the customer. Consequently, revenue would be presented gross and the fee paid to the customer (advertiser) would be treated as an advertising expenditure. IFRS 15 also has another interesting concept, where the customer’s customer is also treated as the customer of the entity. Consider the manufacturer sells to its customer (the Retailer) certain goods, and those goods carry some cash coupons which the final buyer (Retailer’s customer) redeems with the manufacturer. Because under IFRS 15, a customer’s customer is the customer of the entity, revenue would be presented net of the cash coupon amount.

TRG members did not agree on whether the new standards are clear as to whether the requirements will also apply to all payments made to any customer of an entity’s customer outside the distribution chain. For example, in an arrangement with a principal, an agent and an end-customer, TRG members agreed it was not clear whether the agent’s fee would have to be reduced for any consideration that the agent may pay to the end-customer (i.e., its customer’s (the principle’s) customer). Some agents may also conclude that they have two customers –the principal and the endcustomer- in such arrangements. TRG members agreed that agent will need to evaluate their facts and circumstances to determine whether payments made to an end-customer will be treated as a reduction of revenue or a marketing expense. TRG member observed that there is currently diversity in practice on this issue and that it may continue under the new standards, absent further application guidance.

On negative revenue, TRG members felt that if negative revenue is determined on an overall customer relationship basis, one view is that entities should present negative revenue as performance obligations are satisfied. An alternative view is that entities should reduce cumulative customer revenue to zero and reclassified the remaining negative revenue as expenses in the period such determination is made.

If
negative revenue is determined based on a specific contract, potential
views are (a) entities should present negative revenue as performance
obligation are satisfied or (b) entities should reclassify negative
revenue as expenses in the period determined. The latter would not
result in negative revenue on a specific customer contract. If
determined on a specific contract basis, there would likely be far fewer
instance of negative revenue given payments to a customer won’t be
linked to a specific revenue contract in many, if not most, cases.

Overall,
in the query raised above, the author believes that multiple views are
possible at this juncture, absent further application guidance:

1.
Disclose revenue as a negative number, on the basis that consideration
received from a customer should be reduced by a payment made to a
customer or a customers’ customer for goods and services that is not
distinct.

2. Disclose revenue at the gross amount and the
consideration paid to the buyers in the fact pattern be treated as a
marketing expense incurred for acquiring eye balls.

3. Disclose
revenue at a zero sum, and present the excess of cash back incentive
paid to buyers over revenue as a marketing expense. This is done on the
basis that revenue is a reward and should not be a negative number.

The author recommends that the ICAI interact with the TRG group and ensure that an amicable view is reached.

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Agilisys IT Services India P. Ltd. vs. ITO TS-257-ITAT-2015 (Mum) A.Y.: 2003-04, Dated: 29.04.2015

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Sections. 10B, 92C, the Act – as legislative intent behind section 10B is to provide incentive to EOUs to bring foreign exchange into India, benefit cannot be allowed in case of suo moto transfer pricing adjustment since foreign exchange is not brought into India.

Facts:
The taxpayer was an Indian Company. The taxpayer was engaged in the business of development and export of software. It was registered as a 100% EOU eligible to claim tax holiday benefit u/s. 10B of the Act. While filing transfer pricing report in Form 3CEB, the taxpayer made suo moto transfer pricing adjustment in respect of its sale transactions with its associated enterprises (AEs). It did not make corresponding adjustment in books of account. Further, it also did not receive the adjusted amount from its AEs in foreign exchange. However, it claimed the tax holiday benefit u/s. 10B on the enhanced amount.

TPO accepted the adjustment made by the taxpayer. However, the AO did not allow tax holiday benefit on the suo moto adjustment amount.

Held:
The first proviso to section 92C(4) of the Act provides that, in case of enhancement of income consequent to determination of the arm’s length price by the Tax Authority, the tax holiday benefit is not to be allowed in respect of the enhanced income.

Though the Act is silent in respect of suo moto adjustment by the taxpayer, section 92C cannot be read in an isolated manner but must be read in consonance with the tax holiday provisions under consideration.

The legislative intent of section 10B is to give incentive to a 100% EOU. The tax holiday benefit is provided only when the convertible foreign exchange money is brought into India within stipulated period. If the tax holiday benefit were to be allowed to the taxpayer because there is no enhancement by the TPO, then every taxpayer would underprice sale with AEs, make suo moto adjustment and claim tax holiday benefit without bringing foreign exchange into India.

Having regard to the legislative intent, the taxpayer cannot be permitted to stretch the benevolent provision to avail the benefit which the Legislature never intended to provide.

On a harmonious reading of the provisions of the ITL and considering the intent of the Legislature, the Taxpayer is not entitled to claim deduction in respect of the amount of voluntary TP adjustment.

In I Gate Global Solutions Ltd [112 TTJ 1002 (2007)] the Bangalore Tribunal held that the relevant provision to disallow tax holiday benefit does not apply where the transfer pricing adjustment is made on suo moto basis by the taxpayer. However that decision had not considered the relevant tax holiday provision and the legislative intent and therefore, is distinguishable.

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Section 92C, 37(1), the Act – authority of TPO is limited to determination of ALP and not determination of actual provision of services; such determination and deductibility of expenditure u/s. 37(1) is in exclusive domain of the AO.

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Facts:
The taxpayer was an Indian Company. The taxpayer had made certain commission payment to its AEs and had benchmarked the transactions under TNMM. The TPO rejected application of TNMM. Considering the transaction as intra-group service, TPO proceeded to determine the ALP under CUP method. After seeking and considering the details from the taxpayer, the TPO concluded that the taxpayer failed to provide any evidence of an independent transaction between unrelated parties, failed to explain the functions performed by the AE, and failed to provide documentary evidence for necessity of payment of such commission. Accordingly, TPO determined the ALP as Nil. Accordingly, the AO added entire commission paid by the taxpayer to its AEs. The DRP confirmed the action of the AO.

Held:
The TPO computed ALP at Nil and the AO made the addition without independently examining the deductibility or otherwise of commission in terms of section 37(1).

In CIT vs. Cushman & Wakefield (India) (P.) Ltd. [2014] 367 ITR 730, the Delhi High Court has held that the authority of the TPO is limited to conducting transfer pricing analysis for determining the ALP of an international transaction and not to decide if such services existed or benefits accrued to the taxpayer. Such determination is in exclusive domain of the AO.

Accordingly, assessment order was set aside and matter was remanded to the AO/TPO for deciding it in conformity with the law laid down by the jurisdictional High Court.

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DCIT vs. UPS Jetair Express (P.) Ltd. [2015] 56 taxmann.com 387 (Mumbai – Trib.) A.Y.: 2008-09, Dated: 27.02.2015

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Article 12, India-USA DTAA; Sections. 9(1)(vii), 40(a)(i), 195, the Act – amounts reimbursed to one US company in respect of services provided by another US company being not ‘fees for technical services’ under the Act nor ‘fees for included services’ under India-USA DTAA, were not subject to tax deduction u/s. 195; hence, payments could not be disallowed u/s. 40(a)(i).

Facts:
The taxpayer was an Indian Company. It was a joint venture between UPS International Forwarding Inc., USA and Jetair Private Limited. The taxpayer was engaged in the business of international express delivery services and international integrated transportation services and was having branches in several locations in India. UPS Worldwide Forwarding Inc. (“UPSWWF”) was a member-company of UPS group. UPS Group had a global arrangement with Receivables Management Services Inc. (“RMS”), USA for providing debt collection services. RMS provided these services to taxpayer outside India. As per the practice, UPSWWF would make payment to RMS and the taxpayer would then reimburse UPSWWF on cost-to-cost basis without any mark-up. During the year under consideration, the taxpayer made certain reimbursements to UPSWWF for services rendered by RMS.

In the course of assessment, the AO concluded that UPSWWF was merely a conduit or a facilitator and the taxpayer had obligation to deduct tax as per section 195 read with section 9(1)(vii) and Explanation to section 9(2) of the Act. Since the taxpayer had not deducted tax, invoking section 40(a)(i), the AO disallowed the payments.

The taxpayer relied on several decisions3 and contended that payment by way of reimbursement of expenses incurred on behalf of the payer is not income chargeable to tax in the hands of the payee and hence, it cannot be disallowed u/s. 40(a)(i).

The taxpayer further contended that since the services provided did not make available technical knowledge, skill, experience, know-how or process, the amounts paid were not taxable in India even in terms of Article 12 of India-USA DTAA .

Held:
Invoices raised by UPSWWF on taxpayer matched back-to-back with the invoices raised by the RMS. Thus, it was a clear case of reimbursement without any profit element.

In terms of Article 12 of India-USA DTAA , the services should make available technical knowledge skill, experience, know-how or process. If the taxpayer had directly paid RMS for debt collection services, it would not have been treated as Royalties or Fees for Technical/Included Services, either under the Act or under Article 12 of India-USA DTAA . Hence, provisions of section 195 were not attracted. Accordingly, payments could not be subjected to disallowance u/s. 40(a)(i) of the Act.

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Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India (P) Ltd. vs. ACIT [2015] 56 taxmann.com 238 (Del) A.Y.: 2010-11, Dated: 13.04.2015

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Sections. 40(a)(i), 195, the Act – additional payment pursuant to rupee depreciation is not subject to tax deduction because under section 195 point of time for deduction is earlier of, credit or payment; once deduction is made on credit, further deduction on payment is not required.

Facts:
The taxpayer was an Indian company. During the year under consideration, the taxpayer had acquired technical know-how in respect of certain automobile models. The taxpayer capitalised the amount of Rs 141.48 crore as ‘Intangible asset’ and claimed depreciation thereon. Between the date of credit of amount and the date of actual payment, on account of depreciation of rupee, the taxpayer suffered forex loss of Rs. 5.22 crore. Hence, the taxpayer stepped-up the cost of acquisition to Rs.146.70 crore.

The AO observed that the taxpayer deducted tax at source u/s 195 of the Act only on Rs.141.48 crore. The taxpayer contended that no tax at source was required to be deducted on liability arising from fluctuation in exchange rate. However, invoking section 40(a)(i) of the Act, the AO disallowed depreciation on forex loss of the Rs. 5.22 crore.

Held:
Juxtaposition of section 40(a)(i) and section 195 shows that: there should be income on which tax is deductible at source; and the taxpayer has failed to deduct tax on such income. Section 195 provides that tax should be deducted “at the time of credit of such income to the account of the payee or at the time of payment … …, whichever is earlier”. Thus, deduction of tax is contemplated at the earlier of credit or payment, but not at both the stages. If credit occurs first and tax is deducted at the time of credit, there is no question of again deducting tax at the time of payment, whether in full or in part. This position is also clear from Rule 26 of Income-tax Rules, 1962 which bears the heading ‘Rate of exchange for the purpose of deduction of tax at source on income payable in foreign currency’2.

If the contention of the Revenue is taken to its logical conclusion, every payment in convertible foreign exchange would require deduction of tax at source, firstly, at the time of credit and secondly, at the time when additional liability is fastened on it due to unfavourable rate of exchange.

Further, a peculiar situation would arise if exchange fluctuation results in forex gain for the taxpayer. As per the contention of the Revenue, Revenue would become liable to refund excess tax deducted at source at the time of credit.

In both the situations, i.e., whether there is a forex loss or gain, deduction of tax at source u/s 195 is contemplated only at the first stage, whether it is credit to the account of the payee or payment to the payee.

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Delta Air Lines Inc. vs. ADIT TS-239-ITAT-2015 (Mum) A.Y.: 2010-11, Dated: 29.04.2015

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Article 8, India-USA DTAA – code-sharing arrangement is neither chartering arrangement nor pooling arrangement; therefore, income derived therefrom does not qualify for exemption under Article 8 of India-USA DTAA.

Facts:
The taxpayer was a tax resident of USA. It was engaged in the business of carriage of cargo and passengers in its own aircraft and in third party aircrafts. The taxpayer had entered into ‘Interline Cargo Special Prorate Agreement’ with other airlines for carriage of cargo and ‘Code-Sharing Agreement’ with other airlines for carriage of passengers. The agreements respectively provided for space sharing for cargo and seat sharing for passengers at agreed rates. The agreements did not provide chartering of aircrafts.

The taxpayer filed its return of income for the relevant tax year claiming ‘nil’ income contending that its income qualified for exemption under Article 8 of India-USA DTAA. The AO, however, held that as the taxpayer itself was not involved in operation of aircrafts in international traffic, the requirement of Article 8(1) was not fulfilled and further, the arrangement of the taxpayer with other airlines was not akin to that of pooling/chartering contemplated under Article 8(2) and Article 8(4) of India-USA DTAA . Therefore, the AO rejected the claim of the taxpayer for exemption of income. The DRP confirmed the action of the AO.

Held:
There was nothing on record to suggest that the taxpayer had slot charter/space charter arrangement to qualify under Article 8(2). Unlike charter arrangement, the taxpayer did not have exclusive right to book flights under code-sharing arrangement. The role of the taxpayer in respect of bookings so made under codesharing arrangement was essentially that of booking agent and not charterer.

The taxpayer did not bring anything on record to support its contention that there was inextricable link between voyage from India to interim destinations (“hubs”) by third parties under code sharing arrangement and from hubs to final destination by taxpayer’s owned/ chartered/leased. Therefore, the decision in MISC Berhard vs. ADIT [2014] 47 taxmann.com 50 (Mumbai – Trib.) could not be applied.

A “pool” requires several persons coming together to contribute, share and combine their resources for a larger business. However, in the present case, the arrangement was only a bilateral arrangement. Nothing was brought on record to indicate that the common funds and resources were brought together in a pool which was shared by members of the pool. The taxpayer and third party both were not contributing aircraft in a pool shared by both. Rather, third party was contributing its aircraft and the taxpayer was merely booking seats. Thus, the arrangement did not meet principle of pool arrangement.

Accordingly, income derived by the taxpayer by booking of seat/space under code-sharing arrangement cannot be said to be income derived from operation of aircraft/ship in international traffic through owned/ leased/chartered aircraft/ship. Further, in absence of inextricable linkage of both legs of journeys, codesharing arrangement also cannot be said to be space/ slot charter. Therefore, receipts of code-sharing arrangement were not profits derived from operation in international traffic under Article 8 of India-USA DTAA.

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ADIT vs. Baker Hughes Singapore Pvt. Ltd. TS-214-ITAT-2015 (Del) A.Ys.: 2004-05, Dated: 20-04-2015

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Section 44BB – base erosion and profit shifting is a tax policy consideration relevant only for law making but not for judicial decision making

Facts:
The taxpayer was a non-resident company. It was engaged in the business of hiring of equipment and rendering of services to entities/contractors engaged in oil exploration work. The taxpayer offered its income to tax, in terms of section 44BB of the Act on presumptive basis1. The AO contended that the taxpayer has a PE in India and, hence, income from services rendered through the PE is taxable as royalty or FTS on net basis without applying presumptive taxation provisions of section 44BB. Relying on the decision in CGG Veritas Services SA vs. ADIT [2012] 18 taxmann.com 13 (Delhi), the CIT(A) accepted the contentions of the taxpayer and held that the income will be subject to presumptive taxation u/s. 44BB of the Act. The AO contended that allowing the benefit of presumptive taxation to the taxpayer would amount to Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) from India.

The issue before the ITAT was whether, on facts, the provisions of section 44BB (i.e., presumptive taxation) will apply or those of section 44DA will apply to the facts of the case. Further issue was whether benefit of presumptive taxation can be denied on the ground that it leads to BEPS.

Held:
As regards presumptive taxation u/s. 44BB
The issue is directly covered by the decisions of the coordinate benches and there are no direct decisions on the issue by any higher forum. Hence, benefit of presumptive taxation is available.

As regards BEPS
BEPS is a tax policy consideration relevant only for the process of law making. but not for the process of judicial decision making. Taking BEPS into consideration would infringe the neutrality of judicial process. The judicial authority must not only be neutral vis-à-vis the party but also vis-à-vis competing ideologies.

The law has to be interpreted as it exists and not as it ought to be in the light of certain underlying value notions.

The issue being directly covered by the decisions of the coordinate benches, there is no reason to take any other view of the matter.

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Issues Concerning Indian Expatriates Working in the US

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The US tax laws and Indian Tax Law are unique in their own ways and hence it is advantageous to have some basic knowledge before one plans to move from one country to the other. With this intention, we published a series of articles on US Taxation in this column.

In the earlier parts of this series on US Taxation, we covered tax implications on passive income such as capital gains, dividends, interest and rental income pertaining to NRIs, US Citizens residing outside US and Indian expatriates working in US etc. This part covers tax implications on active income such as salaries and income from trade and business1 especially for Indian Expatriates working in US. In order to elucidate issues clearly, they are discussed in a Questions – Answers format based on a Case Study.

The intention of this article is to highlight some of the important issues for the Indian Expatriates who intend to serve in the US or engage in some trade or commerce. One more aspect that such expatriates need to bear in mind is applicability of the Social Security Laws, which is not a subject matter of this article. Readers are well advised to consult US Tax Expert before taking a final call on any issues. This article should be referred as a piece of information and not as professional advice.

Introduction
India has experienced massive brain drain for a long period of time. However, of late, the trend seems to be reversing with more and more Indians returning home for better prospect. Even those who are taking up assignments in the US, ranging from three months to five years, are planning for eventual settlement in India. Those who go to the US for a short stint either on deputation, secondment or a job are addressed as “Indian Expatriates” (IE) in this Article for the purpose of better understanding.

These assignments for a specified/short duration may make IE tax resident of the US (resident alien) and in the year of their return to India they may land up having dual residency of both India and the US.

Under the US Tax law, it is possible to have a dual status i.e. non-resident alien and a resident alien, for the same tax year. This usually occurs in the year the IE arrives in or departs from the US. We shall discuss such eventualities as well.

Let us examine the tax implications for an Indian Expatriate in respect of his active income such as salaries and income from trade and business taking into account dual status and transitory issues, with the help of a case study.

Case Study:
Mr. Shah, a Citizen and resident of India, is offered a job with Google in the US. He was unmarried in the year 2013. He had relocated to California, USA in October 2013 for work and starts his new job from November 1st 2013. He stays in the US for the rest of 2013 and the whole of 2014. His Green card was applied by the company and was received by him in February 2014. Mr. Shah got another fabulous opportunity in March 2015 with Flipkart and decides to move back to India and would like to surrender his green card. He moves to India on 1st May 2015 after surrendering his Green Card in April 2015 and resumes his new job on 1st June 2015. In the meantime, he gets married in India in May 2015.

Mr. Shah had earned the following income in Calendar Years (C.Y.) 2013, 2014 and 2015:-

He also earns income in India which if converted to US$ would be as follows:-

(It is assumed that Dividends and Interest Income are accrued to Mr. Shah evenly during the year. This assumption will help us in apportionment of income for the part of the year. However, in actual practice, one must consider the actual accrual during the period of computation of income)

As explained in Part I of the current series of Articles, in the US, the residential status is decided under two tests i.e. Green Card and Substantial Presence Test. Mr. Shah would not be a US resident in 2013 as he was neither holding a green card nor he had resident under substantial presence in the US. Therefore, Mr. Shah’s tax status in the US for the C.Y. 2013 would be ‘Non – resident Alien’. His tax status for the Calendar Year 2014 & 2015 would be that of a ‘Resident Alien’ as he possessed Green Card. In the backdrop of above facts, let us understand the applicable US tax provisions.

1. For a non resident alien, what are the factors determining the taxability of US sourced income?

A non-resident alien (meaning a foreign citizen nonresident of US) in the US is usually subject to tax only on U.S. source income. Under limited circumstances, certain foreign source income is also subject to the US tax.

The general rules for determining liability of the US source income that apply to most non-resident aliens are shown in the Table below:

Not all items of US source income are taxable in the hands of non residents. Certain Interest and dividend income, services performed for foreign employer etc. earned in US may not be taxable in the US. In general, a resident alien is subject to the same taxes as a US Citizen, while a non – resident alien pays tax on income that is generated within the US but not including Capital Gains.

Mr. Shah was a “Non – resident Alien” in the US for the C.Y. 2013. Therefore, salaries earned by him for the month of November & December 2013 would be taxed in the US.

The provision for taxation of salaries in the US for “non – resident aliens” is similar to section 9 (1) (ii) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1961 which also provides that the salaries are deemed to be earned and taxed where services are rendered.

2. What are the various categories (tax status) available to a “resident alien” in US for filing Return of income? What difference does it make while selecting a particular tax status? What are the various threshold exemption limits under different tax status categories?

Various filing categories (Tax Statuses) that a “Resident alien” in the US can choose are:
Single Individual
Married Filing Jointly
Married Filing Separately
Head of Household
Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child

[Tax rates in all above categories ranges from 10% to 39.6% with different slabs for different categories. Higher tax is levied to a person with fewer responsibilities. e.g. Single Individual would get 10% slab for an annual income upto US$ 9,075, whereas a Married man filing jointly return would be taxed @ 10% on an annual income up to US$ 18,150/-]

Computation of tax depends upon the filing status of the tax payer. Various items which varies as per filing status of the tax payer are: the amount of standard deduction available to a resident alien, Itemised2 deductions, exemptions and certain credits (They are all covered in the later part of this article); as well as the tax rate schedule which dictates the marginal tax bracket.

Marginal Tax Rates for 2014 for all the above statuses are:-

For 2015 Tax Slabs and US Federal Income Tax Rates are as follows:-

In the case study under consideration, since Mr. Shah was unmarried in 2014, he has to file Return in the status/category of single individual.

3. How is the Gross Income computed in the US and what are the various deductions and exemptions available from the Gross Income in the US?

For the US income tax purposes, “gross income” means all income from whatever source received, except for those items specifically excluded by law.

Gross income includes wages, salaries and other compensation, interest and dividends, State income tax refund (if claimed as an itemised deduction in prior years), income from a business or profession, alimony received, rents and royalties, gains on sales of property, income from small business corporation, trust, or partnership.

In this case study, Gross Income of Mr. Shah would be calculated as follows:-

Mr. Shah would be “non resident alien” in 2013, as he neither fulfills the Substantial Presence Test nor holds Green Card. hence, only the uS sourced income would be considered while calculating Gross Income for filing return for the Calendar year 2013:-

 

Salaries (for november & december 2013) interest in uS

2013

uS$ 20,000

uS$ 75

total

uS$ 20,075

 

2014

Salaries

uS$ 1,20,000

dividends3

uS$ 750

interest
(1,000+1,500)
4

uS$ 2,500

total

uS$
1,23,250


Deductions from gross income are used to arrive at Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Non-resident alien can claim deductions only to the extent they are effectively connected with the uS business activity.

? Deductions and exemptions from Gross income:-

Besides deductions for business expenditure following two types of deductions/exemptions are available to a resident alien in uS:-

(i)    Standard Deduction or Itemised Deduction

Taxpayers  have  the  choice  of  either  taking  a  standard deduction or itemising their deductions i.e. actual deductions, whichever will result in a larger deduction. The amount of the standard deduction varies depending on the filing status. Non-resident aliens cannot claim the standard deduction.

If the allowable sum of actual deductions is greater than the standard deduction allowed based on the filing status, one should opt for actual deductions. the following are examples of amounts that can qualify as itemised or actual deductions: medical and dental expenses, Greater of state and local income taxes or general sales taxes, foreign  taxes  (if  one  elect  to  deduct  rather  than  take a  credit),  real  estate  taxes,  Personal  property  taxes, Qualified home mortgage interest and points, Mortgage insurance premiums, Charitable contributions to  qualified U.S. charities, Investment interest, if applicable, unreimbursed employee expenses, miscellaneous expenses, gambling losses etc. non-resident aliens can deduct certain itemized deductions if he receives income effectively connected with uS trade or business.

Standard deductions: – The standard deduction for 2014 is $6,200 for single taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately. the standard deduction is $12,400 for married couples filing jointly and $9,100 for heads of households.

In 2013, Mr. Shah would be taxed as Non – resident Alien and would be taxed on his entire salary earned in the US without Standard Deduction.

In 2014, Mr. Shah has an option: either to claim Standard deduction of US$ 6,200 or actual deduction of US$ 8,000 in respect of State income tax. Since, the actual deduction is more than the standard deduction, it’s advisable for him to opt for itemise deduction.

(ii)    Exemptions

Exemption in US tax law context, are akin to personal allowance. a resident alien can claim certain amount as exemption from its taxable income. This is over and above Standard deduction or itemised deduction mentioned above.

Resident aliens can deduct $3,950 for year 2014 for each exemption  allowed.  resident  aliens  are  allowed  one exemption for themselves, and if one is married and files a joint return, then he can claim one exemption  for the spouse and one exemption for each dependent person. Certain dependency tests needs to be met in order to qualify for exemption i.e. he/she either has to be a qualifying child or a qualifying relative.

“non-resident aliens” can claim only one personal exemption for themselves.
 
As Mr. Shah has no dependent, he would be eligible for one exemption i.e. US$ 3,950 for himself.

Computation of Taxable Income of Mr. Shah would be as follows:-

Gross income

uS$
1,23,250

Minus

deductions
from Gross income
5

 

nil

Equals

adjusted
Gross income (aGi)

 

uS$
1,23,250

Minus

itemised or
Standard deduction

 

uS$ 8,000

Equals

taxable
income before exemptions

 

uS$
1,15,250

Minus

exemptions

 

uS$ 3,950

Equals

taxable income

 

uS$
1,11,300

Application of tax rates as above

tentative tax liability

uS$ 24,340


4.    What are the various credits available to a resident alien and a non-resident alien? What are the provisions in US tax laws for granting foreign tax credit?

Tax planning in the uS consists of two equally important parts, namely, (i) using deductions to reduce taxable income  and  (ii)  using  credits  to  reduce  tax. tax  credits reduce a person’s tax liability. Various tax credits available are foreign tax credit, credit for child care and dependent care expenses, credit for elderly and disabled, education credit, retirement savings contribution credit, child tax credit, adoption tax credit, earned income credit and other credits.

Resident and Non – resident aliens have different filing advantages and disadvantages for example, a “resident alien” can use foreign tax credits whereas a “non – resident alien” cannot.

Foreign taxes paid are allowed as credit against the US tax, on income which is taxed in both jurisdictions. This is referred to as the foreign tax credit. To qualify for this credit, the foreign tax incurred must be imposed on a person and levied on his income.

The  foreign  tax  credit  is  limited  to  the  lesser  of  the actual foreign tax paid or accrued or the uS tax liability associated with the income that attracts the foreign tax (foreign source taxable income).

Two levels of computation for calculation of Foreign Tax Credit:

In the first level, one needs to compute foreign source taxable income. While calculating foreign source income, it is necessary to allocate a portion of the deductions used to arrive at taxable income (before the deduction for personal exemptions). this can be done based on the following formula:-

Foreign Source income   X Certain itemized deduction Gross income    = amount of deduction allocated to foreign Source income

Gross  foreign  Source  income  –  amount  of  deduction allocated  to  foreign  Source  income  =  foreign  Source taxable income

In our case study, dividends (uS$ 750) earned by mr. Shah are not taxable in india as they are exempt under 10(34)  of  the  income  tax  act.  however,  interest  (uS$ 1,500) is taxable and US$ 200 was paid by him in india.

Let’s first find foreign source income less deductions. i.e. US$ 2,250/ US$ 1,23,2506 = 0.018. applying the said ratio to deduction i.e. 0.018*US$ 8,0007 = 144.

Hence foreign source taxable income = US$ 2,106 (US$ 2,250 – US$ 144)

The second level is where foreign tax Credit limitation is calculated by applying the following formula:

Foreign Source taxable income
X U.S.tax Liability = foreign tax Credit
Since Mr. Shah’s foreign tax credit US$ 200 is less than the eligible tax credit of US$ 445, US$ 200 would be allowed as foreign tax credit on foreign sourced income.

5.    What are the various activities that fall under Trade and business income in the US?

Whether a resident or a non resident alien is considered as engaged in trade and business activities in the uS depends upon the nature of business activities carried on by such a person. It also depends upon any income received in that year as effectively connected with that trade or business. activities like performing Personal Services (even that of babysitting), business operation of selling services/products/merchandise, membership of a Partnership firm in the US, beneficiary of an estate or trust in the US, trading in stocks, securities and commodities through a fixed place of business in the US, may result in a person to be engaged in trade and business in the uS.

However, if a non resident’s only US business activity is trading in stocks, securities, or commodities (including hedging transactions) through a US resident broker or other agent, then he will not be regarded as engaged in a trade or business in the uS.

6.    What is the meaning of “dual status”? What types of income are taxed in the US in a dual status year? What are the restrictions on the dual status tax payers as per the US Laws?

“dual Status” arises when a person has been both a “resident alien” and a “non-resident alien” in the same year. dual status does not refer to citizenship; it refers only to a residential status under the uS tax laws. the most common dual-status tax years are the years of arrival and departure.
An Indian Expatriate is taxed on his worldwide income in US for the part of the year when he is a “Resident alien”.
 
Total taxable income Before exemptions
 
Limitation
 
for that part of the year when a person is a non-resident alien, he is taxed on (i) income from uS sources and (ii) on certain foreign source income which are treated as
 
Applying the above formula, the foreign  tax  credit  would be:-

US$ 2,106/ US$ 1,15,250 (US$ 1,23,250 – US$ 8,000) X US$ 24,340 = US$ 445
effectively connected with a US trade or business.

When determining what income is taxed in the US, one must consider exemptions under the US tax law as well as the reduced tax rates and exemptions provided by the tax treaty between the US and india.

The following restrictions apply if a person is filing a tax return for a dual-status tax year.

?    Standard deduction: Standard deduction will not be available. however, one can itemise any allowable deductions.
?    Exemptions:   the   total   reduction   on   account   of exemptions for a person’s spouse and allowable dependents cannot be more than his taxable income [computed (figured) without deducting personal exemptions] for the period he is a resident alien.
?    Head of household: one cannot use the head of household  tax  table  column  or  tax  Computation Worksheet. In other words, one cannot file return in the status of “head of household” in a dual status year.
?    Joint  return:  One  can  file  a  joint  return,  subject  to fulfillment of certain conditions.
?    Tax credits. one cannot claim the education credits, the earned income credit, or the credit for the elderly or the disabled unless one is married, and chooses to be treated as a resident for the whole year by filing a joint return with the spouse who is a u.S. citizen or resident.

In our case study, Mr. Shah would be a dual – status taxpayer for Calendar Year 2015. his residency in US ends on 30th April 2015. he would be taxable from 1st January 2015 to 30th April 2015 on his worldwide income as a resident alien. As discussed above Mr. Shah would be faced with some restrictions with respect to deductions and exemptions while filing his return as dual tax payer.

However, for the period of “non – resident alien” (i.e. from 1st may 2015 to 31st december 2015) Mr. Shah would be taxed only on uS sourced income or an income effectively connected with US trade or business.

Bank interest earned by US non – residents on bank deposits in US are exempt from uS income tax if not connected to US trade or Business.

Computation of income of mr. Shah for the year 2015 would be as follows:-

Gross total income from 1st jan 2015 to 30th April 2015

Particulars

uSd

Salary
Income

US$ 30,000

Interest
Income in the US (500*4/12)

US$    42

Interest
income in India (3000*4/12)

US$ 1,000

Dividend
Income in India (800*4/12)

US$ 267

Gross Income during period of residence

US$ 31,309

Gross
income

uS$ 31,309

Minus

deductions
from Gross income

 

nil

Equals

adjusted
Gross income (aGi)

 

uS$ 31,309

Minus

itemised or
Standard deduction
*

 

uS$ 1,500

Equals

taxable
income before exemptions

 

uS$ 29,809

Minus

exemptions
2015

 

uS$ 4,000

Equals

taxable income

 

uS$ 25,809

Application of tax rates as proposed for
2015

tentative tax liability

uS$ 3,410

Minus

tax credits**

 

uS$     138

Equals

net tax liability

 

uS$ 3,272


As  mentioned  above,  dual  tax  payers  can’t  claim standard  deduction.  therefore,  mr.  Shah  will  have  to claim itemised deduction in place of Standard deduction. one of the itemised deduction is State income tax which in mr. Shah’s case is uS$ 1,500/-

**in our case study, dividend (uS$ 800) earned by mr. Shah is not taxable in india as it is exempt under 10(34) of the income-tax act. however, interest (uS$ 3,000) is taxable and US$ 150 was paid by him in India. Let’s first find foreign source income (US$ 3800*4/12 = US$ 1267) less deductions. i.e. US$ 1,267/ US$ 29,809 = 0.043. applying the said ratio to deduction i.e. 0.043*US$ 1,500
= 65. hence foreign source taxable income = US$ 1,202 (US$ 1,267 – US$ 65)

Applying the formula, the foreign tax credit would be:- US$ 1,202/ US$ 29,809 X US$ 3,410 = US$ 138
Since Mr. Shah foreign tax credit of uS$ 150 is more than the eligible tax credit of US$ 138, US$ 138 would be allowed as foreign tax credit on foreign source income.

Net Tax Liability
for 2015 Minus Tax Withheld

Net Tax
refund due to Mr. Shah

US$ 3,272

US$ 4,000

(US$ 728)


for the non – residence period (i.e. 1st may 2015 to 31st december 2015), the only uS sourced income of mr. Shah is interest on bank deposits which is exempt for non residents aliens.
 
7.    For how long the records for the US earned income and expenses are to be kept?

The length of time for which a person is required to keep record of income and expenses depends upon the action, expense, or event which the document records. Generally, one must keep the records that support an item of income, deduction or credit shown on his tax return till the period of limitations for that tax return runs out.

the  period  of  limitations  is  the  period  of  time  in  which a person can amend his tax return to claim a credit or refund, or the irS can assess additional tax. in normal cases i.e. if returns are filed in time and correctly, one needs to keep records for at least three years.

Period of Limitations that apply to Income tax returns

a)    Keep records for 3 years if situations (d), (e), and (f) below do not apply to a person.
b)    Keep records for 3 years from the date in which a person has filed original return or 2 years from the date in which he paid the tax, whichever is later, if he filed a claim for credit or refund after he filed his return.
c)    Keep records for 7 years if a person filed a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt deduction.
d)    Keep records for 6 years if a person did not report income that should be reported, and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on his return.
e)    Keep records indefinitely if one does not file a return.
f)    Keep records indefinitely if one files a fraudulent return.
g)    Keep employment tax records for at least 4 years after the date that the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.

8.    What precaution a resident alien has to take before leaving the US?

Before leaving the US, all aliens (except those which are not required to obtain Sailing or departure Permits) must obtain a certificate of compliance. This document, also popularly known as the sailing permit or departure permit, is part of the income tax form one must file before leaving. A person will get the permit from an IRS office in the area of his employment, or he may obtain one from an IRS office in the area of his departure. A person will receive a sailing or departure permit after filing Form 1040-C or form 2063.

A person gets his sailing or departure permit at least 2 weeks before he plans to leave. he cannot apply earlier than 30 days before his planned departure date.

Also the person has to comply with the provision of expatriation tax provisions. (refer the  answer to the next question)

9.    What is an Expatriate Tax (Exit Tax) and what are the provisions related to it?

The expatriation tax provisions apply to uS citizens who have renounced their citizenship and long-term residents who have ended their residency. Long term resident are persons who were a lawful permanent resident of the uS in at least 8 of the last 15 tax years ending with the year his residency ends.

If   a   person   expatriated   after   June   16,   2008,   the expatriation rules apply to him if he meets any of the following conditions.

?    Income Tax Test: the expatriate’s average annual u.S. income tax liability over the 5 years prior to expiration was over uS$ 160,000/- for 2015 ($1,57,000/- for 2014).
?    Net worth test:  the expatriate’s net worth is at least uS$ 2 million.
?    Compliance Test: the expatriate does not certify that he met all US tax obligations for the five years before expatriation.

If a person is subject to exit tax, then he is known as “covered expatriate” and he is treated as if he has sold all  his  property  at  its  fair  market  Value  (FMV)  on  the day before his date of expatriation. Any resulting gains in excess of exclusion amount (US$ 6,68,000/- for 2013, US$ 6,80,000 for 2014 & US$ 690,000/- for 2015) are subject to income tax (called as “mark-to-market tax”). For  the  purposes  of  calculating  this  “deemed  gain”  on property that he owned when he first became a US resident, he is treated as if he acquired that property for its FMV on the date that he became a US resident, if that amount is higher than the actual cost of acquisition.

A person who expatriated or terminated his US residency, must file Form 8854, attach it to Form 1040 or Form 1040NR (whichever is applicable). a person can also make an irrevocable selection to defer payment of the mark-to-market tax imposed on the deemed sale of property subject to certain conditions.

Summation:

US tax laws are unique in many ways. To understand US tax system, we need to unlearn many indian tax concepts. in US, tax rates are prescribed from US$ 1 and there is no threshold exemption. However, Standard deductions and exemptions are available before arriving net taxable income. Tax payers have the option to file joint tax returns. Tax  relief  is  given  based  on  family  responsibilities  one bears. foreign tax credit is allowed in proportion to US tax liability on the same income. exit tax is levied on uS Citizens and long-term residents on fulfillment of certain tests. Finally, the dual tax status allows one to compute tax liability for the part of the year, such that double taxation can be avoided in the year of migration, in or out of USA.

Amendments to various Acts administered by the Sales Tax Department and notifications issued there under.

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Trade Circular 6T of 2015 dated 14.5.2015

Commissioner of sales tax has issued circular clarifying recent amendments

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Online grant of registration under the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 and Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

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Trade Circular 5T of 2015 dated 6.5.2015 & 7T of 2015 dated 19.5.2015

Procedure of Online registration under Maharashtra Value added Tax Act and Central Sales Tax act explained in the given circular in detail now no need to visit sales tax office for submission of documents and even for photo signature, all the documents can be scan and upload if all documents are in order registration number will be communicated through email and registration certificate will be sent by post.

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Income-tax Return of Professionals – Issues related to Tax Credit (TDS) Mismatch

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The Editor
Bombay Chartered Accountant Journal
Mumbai
23rd May 2015

Re: Income-tax Return of Professionals – Issues related to Tax Credit (TDS) Mismatch

As
you are aware, most Individual Taxpayers, particularly various
Professionals, maintain their books of account on Cash Basis and
accordingly account for professional fees received on cash basis.

Accordingly,
while filing the Return of Income, credit for TDS deducted by the
payers u/s 194J is claimed in the year in which the relevant
professional income is accounted/ received and offered for tax on
receipt basis, in accordance with the provisions of section 199 of the
Income-tax Act, 1961 which provides that “Any Deduction made in
accordance with provisions of section 192………. 194J ………. and paid to the
Central Government, shall be treated as payment of tax on behalf of the
person from whose income the deduction was made …. and credit shall be
given to him for the amount so deducted, on the production of the
Certificate furnished u/s. 203 in the assessment made under this Act for
the assessment year for which such income is assessable”.

Thus,
whereas the Payers deduct TDS in Year 1 on accrual basis, particularly
various types of Professional fees at the end of the Financial Year as
on 31st March, the Recipient Professionals claim credit for the TDS in
Year 2, upon actual receipt, resulting in TDS Credit mismatch.

Prior
to AY 2014-15, there was no proper disclosure mechanism in the Returns
of Income filed by the Individual Professional Tax Payers for AY 2012-13
and AY 2013- 14 and earlier years. The CPC Bangalore does not give
credit/ has not given credit for TDS in such cases i.e. TDS deducted in
Year 1 but credit whereof is claimed in Year 2, resulting in huge demand
for tax and interest and causing huge mental agony and anxiety to the
taxpayers.

There is no clear, effective and speedy redressal
mechanism in such cases and one has to run from Pillar to Post upon
receipt of Intimation u/s 143(1), reflecting a huge demand on account of
such Tax Credit mismatch.

Through the medium of BCAS’s
prestigious Journal, I wish to highlight this issue faced by thousands
of Individual Professionals, to the attention of High Revenue Officials
in CBDT and CPC Bangalore, requesting them to issue clear guidelines and
establish speedy and effective remedial mechanism.

Regards,
Tarun Singhal

The Editor
Bombay Chartered Accountant Journal

Sir,
Apropos
your editorial captioned “A GOOD BEGINNING” [April 2015 issue] wherein
you have made very important observation about black money lying within
the country and which reads as ” If income or assets on which tax has
been evaded lie within the country, normally they circulate through
distribution channels albeit unofficial…………. must be grossly
unequal. Consequently, to an extent, such moneys gives a fillip to economic activity.”
I fully endorse your view . Black money does play positive role in the
economy.To my mind it is not tax evaders but tax “predators” who cause
immense damage to the economy. Tax predators are those who eat away
taxes paid by taxpayers.They squander taxes in the name of cost of
governance, development and helping poorest of poor. Mindless use of
taxes is as dangerous as tax evasion. Any government be it Congress or
BJP, is interested in finding ways and means for collecting more and
more taxes, [knowing fully well] that this adds to inflationary
conditions in the economy. I am sorry to say, any new legislation
enacted, whatever be its noble objectives, means a new area/era of
litigation, even if it begins well.

Regards

Avinash Rajopadhye
Chartered Accountant

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Serve from India – Growth in IT may be faltering, India must diversify its basket of services exports

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India’s information technology revolution happened on its own and we can’t expect it to go on forever. Infosys last week unveiled lacklustre financial results for the March quarter, in line with the trend seen among top-tier IT companies. While it may be too early to reach a definitive conclusion on the scale of challenges confronting the IT sector and its capacity to overcome them, the financial results should serve as a wake-up call to India’s economic policy makers. It’s time to diversify our basket of services exports instead of just firing on one or two cylinders. India should look to match its greatest wealth, its human potential, with the latent global demand that exists across a range of services beyond IT.

A vigorous emphasis on services will dovetail nicely with the thrust on manufacturing through ‘Make in India’. In the wake of technological changes, boundaries between manufacturing and services have begun to blur. Consequently, ‘Make in India’ can be complemented by ‘Do in India’. Two building blocks are needed to harness the potential of services exports. The protectionist thrust of trade policy must be discarded. Unless India opens up its services sector, opportunities to be part of a global network can never be exploited in full measure. If there is a lesson to be learnt from the success of IT, it is that openness leads to job creation.

The lowering of barriers must also encompass the education sector, which needs to welcome rather than run scared from participation of foreign universities. Raising India’s abysmal standard of education is critical to tapping opportunities in services. Under present HRD minister Smriti Irani, counterproductive micromanagement of institutions seems to be the preferred approach to education policy. This must end and a new era of competition, diversity, growth facilitation and quality enhancement begin.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a votary of expanding services. His government has shown willingness to act on this conviction. Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) was launched this month with the aim of becoming an international financial centre. In a similar manner, India can piggyback on homegrown talent to be a part of the global network in areas such as entertainment, tourism, legal and accounting services. It is time to junk existing shibboleths and show some ambition.

(Source: Editorial in The Times Of India dated 28-04-2015.)

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Modern Arthashashtra—Waging a War on the Economy.

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Russia’s market capitalization is currently about $495 billion. It’s down about 68% from the peak in January 2008. But in local currency, it is down about only 13% in the same period (about 10% of the fall has been in the last quarter). This means that the entire country is valued at less than three quarters of Apple Inc. Russia has a gross domestic product (GDP) in excess of $2 trillion; foreign exchange reserves in excess of $355 billion; and 12.5% of world’s land mass along with abundant natural resources, especially related to energy. And yet it is valued lower than a company that makes iPhones and iPads.

This is surprising because the Russian economy has, in fact, done well over the years. It is the 10th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the seventh largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has enjoyed fiscal surplus for most of the past decade, except marginal deficits in past five years. Its fiscal deficit in 2014 was just 0.5% of GDP. Government debt to GDP ratio was one of the lowest in the world, at under 14%. Current account was in surplus at 1.5% of GDP. With a GDP per capita at $6,923 (in 2013), Russians are better off than many of their emerging market peers.

From the time when its economy had hit rock bottom in 1998, after the collapse of the USSR, unemployment and poverty have been reduced significantly. While oil and gas remain a substantial part of the country’s exports and its economy, the talent pool it has in the field of space and engineering remains enviable.

But still many aspects show weakness. From the third largest forex reserves globally in 2008, in excess of $590 billion then, there has been a decline of more than 40%. The Russian equity index saw a correction of about 53% between June and December of 2014. The Russian ruble went down from about 34 to a dollar in June 2014 to 67 per dollar in December 2014, before recovering to around 52 to a dollar currently. Russian credit spread expanded from 173 basis points (bps) to 590 bps in the same period, before recovering to 360 bps currently. (One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.) Russian overnight implied forwards moved from 8.5% in June 2014 to 31% in December 2014 before recovering to 15% currently. The Russian overnight repo rate went from 8.5% to 18% during the same period before recovering to 15% at present.

The impact of the turmoil witnessed by the Russian economy can be seen when its equity markets are down by about 5% in local currency terms but 53% in dollar terms, forex reserves are down by 18% and overnight repo rate up by 211%.

This devastation has been caused by a combination of many factors—drop in crude prices, sanctions on Russia due to Ukraine engagement, raw material-heavy export basket in a period of falling commodity prices, and more. But the volatility witnessed in the markets was much more than what the fundamentals suggest. It was not as if Russian equities came from a bubble valuation to warrant such a large correction. The damage witnessed by Russia was nothing short of what a physical war could have caused.

Is this evidence of the world having moved from physical warfare to financial warfare? Do analysts and fund managers now do what soldiers used to do earlier? While in the long term fundamentals will prevail, can the markets be influenced in the short term with such devastating effect on fundamentals? Can the short-term trends be accentuated to cripple markets, and consequently, economies?

One doesn’t know the answers convincingly but it is possible that a short- to medium-term trend of falling crude oil and gas prices was accentuated to create a turmoil in Russian markets.

Integrated debt, currency and equity markets, and the presence of offshore markets allow fund managers to make the effect the cause for further adverse effects. Presence of offshore markets, which are beyond the regulatory oversight and reach of the target country, availability of leverage at near zero interest rates, ability to use the media to push one set of views, ability to influence independent opinion makers such as rating agencies, economists, columnists, policy advisers, and global watchdogs in terms of data interpretation and forecasting can magnify the effects of a small shift in fundamentals. In addition, the adverse effect can be increased manifold if the opposite side does not have financially savvy decision makers; open and liberal markets that allow free flow of capital across debt, equity, commodity and currency markets; deep local markets; and large and nimble domestic institutions that can face the battle. If the perpetrators are able to get financial as well as nonfinancial support from sovereign organizations, then the target country becomes even more vulnerable. Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad hinted at such a scenario during the Asian crisis of 1997-98.

It is important for India to safeguard against a black swan event like this where the presence of offshore markets and open access to equity, fixed income and currency markets is used to destabilize Indian markets, and consequently, the Indian economy. Superior macros along with low inflation, balanced budget, manageable current account, adequate forex reserves and higher growth is the best way to keep a global investor’s interest. Development of large domestic institutional investors and increasing the depth of the domestic market is critical to maintain equilibrium. Most importantly, regulators and policymakers will have to be prepared with a deeper understanding of the market, quicker decision-making and having the ability to take unconventional steps such as the Hong Kong monetary authority’s intervention in equity during the Asian crisis. While the probability of such an event taking place is low, it is better to be safe than sorry.

(Source: Article in Mint by Nilesh Shah, chief executive officer, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. Ltd, dated 23-04-2015.)

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Reservation for small enterprises has ended.

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The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government deserves to be congratulated wholeheartedly for at long last bringing to an end one of the most pernicious vestiges of the licence-permit Raj. Early this week, a notification was issued taking the last 20 products off the “reservation list” – the list of products that can legally be made only by small and medium enterprises, or SMEs. While this last step is welcome, it is worth noting exactly how long it has taken to end this counter-productive restriction. After all, industrial policy was freed up in 1991; only now, 24 years on, has this forced stunting of certain sectors come to an end. The dangers of “gradualism” in reform are revealed here for all to see. Indeed, while the government deserves full credit for taking the last bold step, it is worth noting that the notification took almost six months to be issued, since the committee that decides such matters under the Industries Act of 1951 had recommended the delisting of the final 20 items as long ago as last October. This is more than a symbolic step. These are not marginal, unimportant items that were still on the SME list. In all these sectors, new large-scale enterprises were forbidden. Is it any surprise that almost every lock in Indian markets is made in big, efficient Chinese factories? Once, in the mid-1980s, there were as many as 873 items on this list. From 2002 to 2009, under the first NDA and the first United Progressive Alliance governments, about 790 of these items were removed – including such things as garments. Is it surprising that, with garments on this list, India failed to reach its potential as a garment exporter in spite of ample human resources? The average size of a garment factory in India is about a tenth of their competitors in Bangladesh.

Typically for such economic restrictions, this reservation for SMEs was counter-productive in more than one way. Not only did it stunt the sector, but it ensured the perpetuation of monopolies. After all, when the restrictions were first introduced, existing companies were granted what were called “carry-on business” licences. Thus Bata could continue to make footwear in-house if it chose, but no large Indian competitors could come up to challenge it. One other aspect of this gradualism is worth noting: that, even if there is no will to reform domestically, openness to the world economy can force the government’s hand. After all, if Indian SMEs are competing with large-scale enterprises from China under free trade, why not with large-scale enterprises from India?

Finally, it is worth noting that the biggest beneficiary of this reservation will likely be SMEs themselves. For ‘Make in India’ to thrive and for India to become a genuine manufacturing hub, growth must be driven by SMEs that become big companies. By ending the reservation policy, the government has helped make that possible.

(Source: Article in Business Standard dated 16-04-2015.)

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Make it easy for experts to come to India to teach: Narayana Murthy

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India should make it easy for foreign intellectuals and experts to come here says the Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.Speaking at the launch of N R Narayana Murthy Distinguished Chair in Computational Brain Research, set up by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in the campus, Murthy said: “The aspiration for us has to be how can our Institutes of higher learning emulate those great institutes. I am positive that the students and faculty of these institutes have the competence and inclination for that.Therefore, it is the task of our society, government, political leaders, bureaucrats, and the alumni of the institutes to make life easy for these people to achieve what they want.

That is where I believe enhanced interaction with leading researchers, ability of our students to go to those places, and the ability of those people to travel easily to India at short notices, the ability of our students to attend conferences, perhaps exchange students. . . these things become extremely important.I only hope that this nation, outside this ecosystem of the institutes, will cooperate with all these people to make our dream worthwhile and to ensure that India too receives its rightful place in the threshold of research in these areas,” he added.

According to Murthy, there should be more scholarships to Indian students to go abroad and study there. While it’s easy for Indians to get Visas from any developed countries, Murthy said, many of his friends outside India had told him that getting Visa to visit India is not that easy. He said the country should change that perception.“It should not take more than 24 hours to get the Visas,” he said.

Murthy noted that the brain research activities initiated in IIT Madras, along with other overseas institute, would put India on the map of leading edge ideas in brain research. (Source: Business Standard dated 20-04-2015.)

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A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 101 dated May 14, 2015

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Export of Goods and Services- Declaration of Exports of Goods/Software

This circular states that in case of exports through the EDI ports declaration of export of Goods/Software in the SDF is not to be made as the necessary details are included in the Shipping Bill format.

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A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 98 dated May 14, 2015

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Foreign Currency (Non-Resident) Account (Banks) (FCNR (B)) Scheme

This circular clarifies that A2 Form is not required to be filled at the time of remittance of FCNR (B) funds. Also, to ensure hassle free remittance of funds to the account holder, banks, with the help of technology, will have to devise better alternatives/methods for ensuring bonafides of the transaction and not insist on physical presence of the account holder.

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DIPP – Circular F. No. 5(1)/2015-FC-1 dated the 12th May, 2015

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Consolidated FDI Policy

The DIPP has released the Consolidated FDI Policy on May 12, 2015. This circular subsumes and supersedes all Press Notes / Press Releases / Clarifications / Circulars issued by DIPP, which were in force as on May 11, 2015 and reflects the FDI Policy as on May 12, 2015. However, Press Note 4 of 2015, dated April 24, 2015, regarding policy on foreign investment in pension sector, will remain effective. This Circular will take effect from May 12, 2015 and will remain in force until superseded in totality or in part thereof.

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A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 97 dated April 30, 2015

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Merchanting Trade to Nepal and Bhutan

This circular states that, since Nepal & Bhutan are land locked countries, goods consigned to the importers of Nepal and Bhutan from third countries under merchanting trade from India would qualify as traffic-in-transit, if the goods are otherwise compliant with the provisions of the India-Nepal Treaty of Transit and Indo-Bhutan Treaty of Transit respectively.

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DIPP Press Note No. 5 (2015 Series) dated April 27, 2015

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Streamlining the Procedure for issue of Industrial Licenses

Presently, the initial validity of Industrial License for Defence Sector is 3 years, extendable to 7 years.

This circular has increased the initial validity of Industrial License in the Defence Sector to 7 years, further extendable up to 3 years. This change will be applicable to all existing as well as future Licenses.

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Given below are the highlights of certain RBI Circulars, 2 DIPP Press Notes and 1 DIPP Circular

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DIPP Press Note No. 4 (2015 Series) dated April 24, 2015

Policy on Foreign Investment in the Pension Sector – addition of paragraph 6.2.17.9 of Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2014’

This Press Note states that the Government has decided, with immediate effect, Foreign Direct Investment in the Pension Sector as under: –


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ITAT- Miscellaneous application- S/s. 254(2) and 260A- A. Y. 2007-08- Pendency of an appeal filed in the High Court u/s. 260A is no bar to the maintainability of a MA filed u/s. 254(2)- R. W. Promotions P. Ltd vs. ITAT (Bom)

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W. P. No. 2238 of 2014 dated 08/04/2015: www.itatonline. org

For the A. Y. 2007-08, the assessee had filed an appeal u/s .260A to the High Court against the order of the Tribunal. During the pendency of the appeal, the assessee filed a miscellaneous application (MA) before the Tribunal u/s. 254(2) to request it to rectify certain mistakes apparent from the record. The Tribunal dismissed the miscellaneous application on the ground that “judicial propriety does not allow the assessee to seek efficacious remedy simultaneously before two authorities and in particular where the issue is seized by a higher judicial forum, even if pending admission”.

On a Writ Petition filed by the assessee to challenge the order of the Tribunal dismissing the MA, the Bombay High Court allowed the petition and held as under:

“i) The least that can be said about the understanding of the legal provision by the Tribunal is that it is ex facie incorrect and erroneous. Merely because the assessee has challenged the order of the Tribunal in an Appeal u/s. 260A of the Incometax Act, 1961 before the High Court does not mean that the power under s/s. (2) of section 254 cannot be invoked either by the assessee or by the revenue/ Assessing Officer. Such a power enables the Tribunal to rectify any mistake apparent from the record and make amendments.

ii) That in a given case would not only save precious judicial time of the Tribunal but even of the higher Court. Only when the assessee or the Assessing Officer calls upon the Tribunal to undertake an exercise which is not permissible within the meaning of s/s. (2) of section 254 that the Tribunal can rely on the principle of judicial propriety or its reluctance or refusal to take upon itself the powers of the higher Court of Appeal. We can understand if the Tribunal had passed an order after considering the application made by the petitioner-assessee on its merits and in accordance with law.

iii) However, the refusal of the Tribunal to go ahead and reject the application only on the ground that the petitioner-assessee has invoked the appellate powers of higher Court cannot be sustained. That is contrary to the plain language of the two statutory provisions and which have been brought to our notice. Nothing contrary having been pointed out and such a view of the Tribunal may affect and prejudicially the interest of the revenue that all the more we cannot sustain the impugned order. The Writ Petition is allowed. The petitioner’s misc. application seeking to invoke the powers under s/s. (2) of section 254 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 shall now be heard by the Tribunal and it shall be decided in accordance with law.”

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SEBI ORDERS ON TAX LAUN DERING – More orders and updates

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Background

In an article in this column earlier published in the February 2015 issue of this Journal, recent orders of SEBI debarring hundreds of persons from dealing in securities were discussed. It was alleged in these orders that trades were carried out for the purposes of making illegitimate long term capital gains (LTCG) using the stock market which would be exempt from tax. In other words, the allegation was that massive tax evasion has been carried out by indulging in price manipulation and related activities.

Soon thereafter, there have been two more Orders of SEBI (Mishka Finance, dated 17th April 2015 and Pine Animation, dated 8th May 2015) of similar nature. The earlier article referred to orders of SEBI in the case of First Financial Services Limited (“First Financial”), Radford Global Limited (both orders dated 19th December 2014) and Moryo Industries Limited (dated 4th December 2014).

The amounts continue to be large with alleged tax evasion as LTCG as high as Rs. 87 crore in case of a single individual. The price increase reflected in such profits is nearly 8300% over a period of less than two years.

There are related developments too, which will also be discussed. Apparently, on the basis of guidance by SEBI, the Bombay Stock Exchange suspended 22 companies from trading ostensibly on the ground that these companies too had certain similar suspicious features. One of the companies, however, appealed to the Securities Appellate Tribunal which reversed the SEBI’s order. It appears that now the matter is before the Supreme Court. Some parties raised a grievance that only because the second holder in their demat account was debarred, their demat account has also been frozen.

In light of these and a few other factors, an update is in order.

Review of the Orders
A quick review of what the earlier and latest orders involved is given hereafter, though for a detailed discussion the preceding article of February 2015 can be referred to. SEBI made observations as follows that were common in most companies. SEBI found that there were certain companies that had very low activities and revenues/ profits/losses. They made preferential allotment of shares that was many times its existing paid up capital to a large number of persons. The allotment price was not, according to SEBI, justified by the fundamental of such companies. There were off market transfer of existing shares held by the Promoters. The shares were subdivided and/ or bonus shares issued. The share capital thus underwent a massive expansion in terms of total paid up capital and number of shares.

Following this, the share price was allegedly increased by manipulation by entities related/connected to the Promoters. In a short period of time, the price increased many times. In case of Mishka, the increase in price was more than 60 times the cost of the shares/preferential issue price. In case of Pine, such increase was 85 times.

The persons who acquired shares off market and those who were allotted shares by way of preferential allotment sold the shares at such high price. The shares were allegedly purchased by persons connected with the Promoters. Thus, SEBI alleged that the shares went back to the same group from whom shares were acquired. Since there was a gap of more than one year between the date of purchase and sale (also because of lock in period in case of preferential allotment of shares), the gains were long term capital gains and thus exempt from tax. SEBI alleged that this whole exercise was undertaken to generate such bogus LTCG using the stock market.

SEBI referred the matter, inter alia, to income-tax authorities. It also debarred the Company, its Promoters, the persons who had acquired the shares and the persons who gave the exit route to such persons, from accessing the capital markets and also dealing in the stock markets. The demat accounts of such persons were also frozen.

22 companies have already been identified by the BSE and their trading suspended though in one case, SAT has reversed the order of suspension. However, the matter appears to be in appeal before the Supreme Court now.

Debarring other companies? – directions of BSE and decision of SAT

The issue already involves hundreds of persons facing such a bar and hundreds of crores of allegedly bogus LTCG. From press reports, the total amount of such allegedly bogus LTCG may be Rs. 20,000 crore taking into account further companies being investigated. Thus, it is likely that more such orders involving other companies may be released soon.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) suspended trading of twenty-two other companies with effect from 7th January 2015 by a notice dated 1st January 2015. One of the companies, viz., 52 Weeks Entertainment Ltd. (formerly known as Shantanu Sheorey Aquakult Ltd.), appealed to SAT against this suspension. It is interesting to study this decision though it relates to the facts of one of the twentytwo companies.

The original notice of BSE did not give any reason for the suspension, nor had it given any opportunity to the companies to be heard. SAT directed BSE to give hearing and record decision, which BSE did on 12th January 2015. The SAT Order contains certain details relating to this company which are given below and then proceeds to set aside the Order of BSE, alongwith certain directions.

The company was suspended from 2001 to 2012 on account of non-payment of listing fees, NSDL charges, etc. The company decided to revive its operations in 2012. The company made three preferential allotment of shares in 2013/2014 after taking due approval from BSE as required by law. The aggregate preferential allotment was of 3,07,55,000 shares, and it appears that this took the share capital from 41,25,000 to 3,48,80,000 shares (i.e., by about 8.50 times). The public holding post the preferential issue was about 91%.

The suspension was made, BSE stated, on account of directions given by SEBI in its meeting with stock exchanges. SEBI gave certain parameters to identify companies for this purpose. These were (a) non-existence of the company at the address mentioned (b) making of preferential allotment with or without stock split and following end of lock in period, rise in volumes in trading and exit of the preferential allottees (c) company having weak financials which did not warrant the rise in price. The company disputed the order giving several reasons. It stated that the company did exist at the address given. It pointed out the existence of a representative there who had offered the BSE representative who had visited there to talk to the concerned person on phone.

The company had many upcoming operations/projects. Though some of the preferential allottees were also such allottees in case of Radford/Moryo orders, this cannot be a ground for suspension of trading. After hearing representatives of SEBI and BSE, SAT , vide its order dated 13th March 2015, set aside the order (the two members gave their reasons separately, and in following paragraphs, reasons given by Presiding Officer, Justice J. P. Devadhar are given).
It was noted that in other cases, SEBI had found market manipulation, etc. and passed formal orders while it had passed no such orders in the present case. it also noted that even the existence of the three parameters specified by SEBI were not established. BSE suspended trading “… even though there is not an iota of evidence to show that the appellant-company or its promoters/ directors have directly or indirectly indulged in market manipulation.” (per justice devadhar). SAT also noted that the price had risen from Rs. 2.67 to Rs. 149 but still, assuming there was market manipulation, no action was taken against the manipulators but trading in the company suspended instead. Justice devadhar observed that “…it is not open to SEBI to direct the Stock exchanges to suspend the trading in the securities of the companies if they satisfy certain parameters fixed by SEBI which have no bearing whatsoever with the alleged market manipulation.”

Justice  devadhar  further  stated  that,  “..the  fact  that some of those preferential shareholders have allegedly indulged in market manipulation cannot be a ground to consider that all preferential shareholders are market manipulators.”

The SEBI order was set aside. However, directions were also given that the Promoters of the company shall not buy/sell/deal in the securities of the company till 30th june 2015. further, SEBI/BSE could suspend the trading in the securities of the company and restrain the promoters/directors/preferential allottees if prima facie evidence of manipulation by them is found.

It appears that an appeal has been filed against the order of  SAT before  the  Supreme  Court  for  this  matter  of  52 Weeks entertainment Limited.

Debarment of Joint Account Holders
There  was  another  interesting  decision  of  SEBI.  It  appears that SEBI has frozen the accounts of certain persons named in its orders. However, in some cases, those accounts where such persons were second holders were also frozen. the result of this was that even though the first holder may not be a person who has been debarred, simply having a debarred person as a second holder resulted in such account getting frozen. this happened in the case of ms. Sachi agrawal and Ms. Sneha Agrawal. Their parents were debarred from dealing in securities in the matter of moryo industries Limited. However, though each of them had a separate demat account, such account was also frozen because their mother, Ms. Neeli Agrawal, who was second holder, had been debarred by an order. They prayed to SEBI claiming that the securities in such account belonged to them exclusively. They also provided several documents including certificates of Chartered accountant in support of their contention. However, SEBI was not satisfied. It held that in view of section 2(1)(a) of the Depositories Act, joint holders were joint beneficial owners. Taking a view that “…it is likely that the aforesaid beneficiary demat accounts would be used by Ms. Neeli agarwal for sale or purchase of securities thereby defeating the purpose of the interim order and ongoing investigation”, it refused to unfreeze the account.

Conclusion
The facts in such cases are clearly prima facie of serious concern. however, it is also seen that orders have been passed by SeBi till now against 5 companies, their Promoters and hundreds of shareholders. They have been debarred indefinitely from accessing the capital markets and dealing in securities. The orders are ad-interim and eXparte. It appears, from the statements of  SEBI itself, that it could be a long period before which the final orders would be passed. Trading in 22 other companies has been suspended by BSE, of which in one matter, SAT has reversed the matter and now the matter is before the Supreme Court. It also is seen that SEBI has  not yet given opportunity to most of the persons involved to present their case. In some cases, prima facie, it is submitted that orders are arbitrary and may cause injustice to people who are not involved in the alleged manipulation, etc. also, a common order has been passed against all persons even though the orders themselves describe substantially different alleged roles played by different groups.

Interesting question arises: Can SEBI question the eventual motive of a person trading on stock exchange? Can SEBI, purely on suspicion that the transaction is with an intent to avoid/evade tax, of financing, etc., take action against such persons? Parties may have many reasons for dealing through the stock exchange, not all of which would involve violations of Securities Laws. it appears from past decisions that what was relevant was whether price manipulation was involved.

The next few months, and eventually perhaps at least a couple of years will be interesting to watch. Apart from SEBI passing orders in case of several other companies, it is also likely that there will be appeals to SAT and Supreme Court. There will also be objections raised by parties before SEBI itself who will be obliged to confirm or modify the directions in individual cases. More importantly, these cases may also help clarify the role of SEBI in matters where there may be avoidance or violation of other laws such as income-tax.

It will also be interesting to watch how the income-tax department, with whom the information about such transactions has been shared by SeBi, deals with such transactions. More particularly, whether it disallows outright the claims of the parties to exemption leaving them exposed to interest, penalties and even prosecution. Some cases relate to AY 2013-14/2014-15, the returns for which have already been filed while other cases related to AY 2015- 16 for which there is time to file returns.

From the legal and other perspectives, the coming years will result in interesting developments which will be worth closely watching.

Part A Article of CIC

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Following is the article written by Shri Shailesh Gandhi – Former Central Information Commissioner, similar to what appeared in Times of India on 19.05.2015.

The RTI Act Present Status
The RTI Act has caught the imagination of people and the way it has spread is being appreciated and admired around the world. A great change has come in India in the last decade in the power equation between the sovereign citizens of the country and those in power. This change is just beginning and if we can sustain and strengthen it, our defective elective democracy could metamorphose into a truly participatory democracy within the next one or two decades. We have just begun this journey towards a meaningful Swaraj. I believe media-visual, print and social, and RTI have all been a fortunate heady mix. They have the potential of actualizing the promise of democracy. However there are also signs of regressive forces which could stymie these promises.

I am going to refer to the two biggest dangers to RTI :

1. Most established Institutions are unhappy with RTI . When the power equation changes between those with power and the ordinary citizen, resistance is to be expected.

Everyone in power generally feels transparency is good for others, whereas they should be left to work effectively. It is implied that transparency is a hindrance to good governance. We have travelled some distance away from the statement made by a seven judge bench by Supreme Court of India in S. P. Gupta vs. President of India & Ors. (AIR 1982 SC 149). “There can be little doubt that exposure to public gaze and scrutiny is one of the surest means of achieving a clean and healthy administration. It has been truly said that an open government is clean government and a powerful safeguard against political and administrative aberration and inefficiency”.

The former Prime Minister, harried by the uncovering of various scams by RTI , said at the Central Information Commission’s convention in October 2012: “There are concerns about frivolous and vexatious use of the Act in demanding information the disclosure of which cannot possibly serve any public purpose.” The present Prime Minister has taken a pre-emptive action by not appointing a Chief Information Commissioner at all to render it dysfunctional. The bureaucracy is also hardening its stand and in most cases has realised that the Commissioners are not really committed to transparency. This coupled with the long wait at the Commissions and the stinginess of the Commissions in imposing penalties is slowly making it difficult to get sensitive information which could aid citizens to expose structural shortcomings or corruption. A former Chief Justice of India said in April 2012, “The RTI Act is a good law but there has to be a limit to it.” I am amazed at the suggestion that there should be a limit to RTI . The limit has been laid down in the law by Parliament in terms of exemptions. Any interpretation beyond what is written in the law will be a violation of Citizen’s fundamental right to information.

2. A greater danger comes from the selection of Information Commissioners as a part of political patronage. Most have no predilection for transparency or work. Their orders are often biased against transparency and in many places a huge backlog is being built up as a consequence of their inability to cope. Consequently a law which seeks to ensure giving information to citizens in 30 days on pain of penalty gets stuck for over a year at the Commissions. Most of these Commissioners do not work to deliver results in a time bound manner and lose all moral authority to penalise PIOs who do not work in a time bound manner. Commissioners are slowly working less and less. In the Central Information Commission six Commissioners had disposed 22351 cases in 2011, whereas in 2014 seven Commissioners disposed only 16006 cases! Whereas civil society and media are rightly critical of the government for not appointing the balance four Commissioners, at the current rate of disposal eleven Commissioners will not dispose over 25000 cases a year. In 2014 CIC received 31000 cases and presently has a pendency of over 38000 cases. It is evident that at this languorous pace of working RTI will slowly become like the Consumer Act, mainly in existence for the Commissioners. Citizens must wake out of their slumber and focus on getting commissioners who will dispose over 6000 cases each year and give clear signals that they will not tolerate tardiness from Public Information Officers or Commissioners.

Eternal Vigilance is the price for democracy. We have a very useful tool to make our democracy meaningful and effective. It will work and grow if we struggle to ensure its health. We need to put pressure on various institutions so that they restrain from constricting our right, ensure a transparent process of selection for Commissioners and adequate disposal of cases at the Commissions. If we are lazy this right will also putrefy.

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IS IT FAIR TO CHARGE LATE FEES U/S. 234 E FOR DELAY IN FILING RETURN FOR TDS U/S. 194 IA?

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Introduction
Readers are aware that the Finance Act, 2012 introduced section 234E in the Income-tax Act, 1961 with effect from 01/07/2012. It requires payment of a late fee of Rs. 200/- per day for delay in submission of TDS returns. This is in addition to the interest payable on belated payment of TDS. Although, the late fee is restricted to the amount of TDS, it is very unfair. In fact, it has become a nightmare to small tax-deductors. The Hon’ble Bombay High court has upheld its constitutional validity of the provision in the case of Mr. Rashmikant Kundalia and another vs. Union of India and others (Writ Petition No.771 of 2014)

Unfairness
Section 194 IA was inserted by the Finance Act, 2013 w.e.f. 01/06/2013. It requires any person, being a transferee, responsible for paying to a resident transferor any sum by way of consideration exceeding Rs.50 lakh to deduct 1% as income tax thereon.

For any other type of TDS viz. u/s. 192, 194C, 194J etc. (collectively referred as other TDS) one need to have TAN but for the purpose of TDS u/s. 194IA, it is to be paid on PAN of deductor.

In case of other TDS, payment of TDS is to be made on or beforethe 7th of next month and TDS returns are to be filed at least 15 days after the end of the quarter. Therefore, there is a breathing time between payment of tax and filing of TDS return.

However, in case of 194IA, there is no separate return as such. The return is embedded in the challan itself. And there lies the problem.

As all are aware, the late fee u/s. 234 E has created havoc across the board. The Hon’ble Bombay High Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the section. Many deductors were not aware of this draconian fee applicable to TDS u/s. 194 IA.

In case of the other TDS, if the payment is delayed by, say a month, but before the due date of filing return, he will be liable to pay only the interest but not the late fee once the TDS return is filed in time.

However, if there is a delay in payment of TDS u/s. 194 IA, one has to pay interest as well as late fee u/s. 234E. Thus, the levy of late fees become automatic and results in double jeopardy.

It may be noted that instances for average individual paying for an immovable property maybe once or twice in his lifetime. The provision of TDS u/s. 194 IA is applicable to every transaction exceeding Rs. 50 lakh irrespective of the fact whether deductor is educated or uneducated, salaried or pensioner, housewife or senior citizen. It is improper to expect everyone to be well aware of the stringent provisions and deadlines just because the consideration exceeds Rs. 50 lakh.

Rather, it is pertinent to note that individuals and HUFs whose turnover of previous year has not exceeded the limit prescribed u/s. 44AB are exempt from the TDS provisions u/s. 194C, 194 J, 194 I, etc. There is no sound logic in thrusting such onerous burden u/s. 194IA on a layperson.

Suggestion
Ideally, section 234E itself deserves to be omitted from the Act. There was already a penalty of Rs. 100/- per day in terms of section 272A which in itself is on higher side. In any case, late fee should not be levied on individuals and HUFs in respect of delay in complying with section 194IA.

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Stamp Act – Change is the Only Constant!

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Introduction
Heraclitus, a Greek Philosopher stated that “Change is the Only Constant in Life”. Lawmakers in India also follow this maxim, especially when it comes to Fiscal Statutes. The Stamp Act is no exception. Every year, the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 (“the Act”) is tweaked throwing up a mixed bag of changes – some good, some bad and some ugly! The Maharashtra Stamp (Amendment) Act, 2015 has made some substantial changes to the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958. Let us consider the impact of these changes on the way instruments are executed in the State of Maharashtra.

Multiple Documents for a Lease
Where multiple documents are executed for a lease transaction, the Act now provides that only the principal document would be exigible with the duty as on a lease. All other instruments would be chargeable with a duty of only Rs. 100. This would avoid double taxation. Earlier this facility was only available for four transactions ~ sale, mortgage, development agreement and settlement.

Ensuring Stamp Duty Payment
Certain State Government Departments, Institutions of Local Self-Government, Semi-Government Organisations, Banks, Non-Banking Institutions, etc., which have been notified by the State Government shall ensure that proper stamp duty is paid on certain unregistered documents which would also be notified. This is to ensure better compliance with the Stamp Act in respect of unregistered documents which may escape payment of stamp duty. The Notification would be eagerly awaited. This would also place an additional burden upon banks / NBFCs. One wonders whether they are capable of determining whether or not an instrument is adequately stamped? Can one expect an officer of a bank or an NBFC to exercise a quasi-judicial function?

Penalty Doubled
Under the Act, if any instrument is inadequately /not stamped, then it shall be inadmissible in evidence for any purpose, e.g., in a Civil Court. Such instruments are admissible in evidence on payment of the requisite amount of duty and a penalty @ 2% per month on the deficient amount of duty calculated from the date of execution. Earlier, the maximum penalty could not exceed twice the amount of duty involved. The maximum penalty now cannot exceed four times the amount of shortfall in duty involved. That is a 200% increase in the ceiling limit – an amazing strike rate even by Twenty20 standards! One would have to be extremely careful and exercise caution while executing instruments so that there is no hefty penalty later on.

Claim for Refund Extended
A claim for refund of stamp duty on an instrument which has not been executed due to refusal of any party to the instrument must be filed within 6 months from the date of the instrument. However, a concession has now been provided in case of a registered agreement to sell an immovable property which has been cancelled by a registered cancellation deed before taking possession of the property. In respect of such an agreement to sell, the application for refund of stamp duty can be now made within 6 months from the date of registration of the cancellation deed.

Amendments in Schedule – I to the Act
Schedule-I to the Act provides for various Articles which lay down the stamp duty applicable on different instruments. Section 3 provides that an instrument shall be stamped as per the rates / amount specified in Schedule-I. Hence, it becomes very essential to ascertain the rate specified in Schedule-I. The 2015 Amendment Act has made several changes to this Schedule-I, let us analyse some key changes:




Conclusion
In recent times, the Stamp Law has become very important and dynamic. Businesses and advisors would be well advised to pay heed to this Act and keep pace with the changes or else they could face unpleasant consequences.

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Notary – Recognition of notarial acts – Document executed and authenticated before Notary Public of Singapore – Document cannot be judicially recognised: Evidence Act section 85, Notaries Act, section 14.

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In the Matter of Rei Agro Ltd. & Ors. AIR 2015 Calcutta 54 (HC)

In a winding up petition, the counsel representing the petitioners produced a document which purported to be a Power of attorney issued by UBS AG dated 5th November, 2014, signed by two persons, namely, Celine Teo and Pram Kurniawan, described as Executive Directors. The Power of attorney had been notarised by one Yang Yung Chong, whose seal indicated that he/she was a notary public of Singapore.

A question, therefore, arose as to whether the Court can recognise a notarial act which took place before a notary public at Singapore.

The Court observed that the answer to this question was clearly provided u/s. 14 of the Notaries Act, 1952. So far as section 85 of the Indian Evidence Act was concerned, it provided that the Court shall presume that every document purporting to be a Power of attorney, and to have been executed before, and authenticated by a Notary Public, or any Court, Judge, Magistrate, Indian Consul or Vice- Consul, or representative of the Central Government, was so executed and authenticated. However, it must be held that to the extent it dwells upon presumption as to Powers of attorney, executed and authenticated by a Notary Public, the provision of section 85 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, cannot be read in isolation to the specific provision as contained u/s. 14 of the Notaries Act, 1952, insofar as notarial acts done by foreign notaries are concerned. For an Indian Court to recognise a notarial act done by a notary public at Singapore, it is imperative for the Central Government to issue a notification u/s. 14 of the Notaries Act, 1952, declaring that the notarial acts lawfully done by notaries in Singapore shall be recognised within India for all purposes, or as the case may be, for such limited purposes as may be specified in the notification. In other words, unilateral recognition by an Indian Court of a notarial act done by a foreign notary is impermissible in the absence of reciprocity of recognition as contemplated u/s. 14 of the Notaries Act, 1952. The reason is, if it is otherwise, the sanctity of the sovereign power being exercised by an Indian Court will be compromised.

Since there is clearly no such notification of the Central Government in the Official Gazette granting recognition to the notarial acts done by the notary public of Singapore, the Court held that it is unable to take any judicial recognition of the document which has been handed over before the Court by the counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners.

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Hindu Law – Joint family property – Wife is entitled to share in property alongwith her husband – Wife cannot demand for partition, unlike daughter

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Thabagouda Satteppa Umarani vs. Satteppa AIR 2015 (NOC) 435 (Kar)(HC)

The Petitioner contended that as per the position of law the mother cannot demand a partition but, in the suit filed for partition among the co-parceners, she is entitled to a share, independent of her husband.

The court observed that the wife may be a member of a joint Hindu Family, but by virtue of being a member in the joint Hindu Family, she cannot get any share, right, title or interest in the joint Hindu Family property which that family owns. A wife cannot demand for partition, unlike a daughter. She would get a share only if partition is demanded by her husband or sons and the property is actually partitioned. The claim by a wife during lifetime of the husband in the share and interest which he has as a co-parcener in his Hindu Undivided Family is wholly premature and completely misconceived. This position of law is that though the wife is entitled to interest i.e. share, it is to be along with her husband. Any such decision being taken by the Courts, earmarking separate share for herself and one share in that of her husband’s cannot in any way be recognised.

To clarify this position, here it is to be noted that coparcener refers to a male issue i.e. may be a father or a son. The wives of co-owners do not get any interest by virtue of their marriage. It is only a Hindu widow who gets the interest of her husband in the co-parcenary or in the joint family property upon the death of her husband. That interest enables her to claim maintenance and residence. Only a widow can demand partition of the interest which her deceased husband would have been entitled to. Consequently, a wife has no share, right, title or interest in the Hindu Undivided Family in which her husband is a co-parcener with his brothers, father or sons and after the amendment of section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 2005, with his sisters and daughters also. The wife,may be a member of a joint Hindu Family, but by virtue of being a member in the joint Hindu Family, she cannot get any share, right, title or interest in the joint Hindu Family property which that family owns. A wife cannot demand for partition unlike a daughter. She would get a share only if partition is demanded by her husband or sons and the property is actually partitioned. The claim by a wife during lifetime of the husband in the share and interest which he has as a co-parcener in his Hindu Undivided Family is wholly premature and completely misconceived.

This position clarifies that though the wife is entitled to interest i.e., share, it is to be along with her husband.

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M/S. Plastic Processors vs. State of Tamil Nadu [2013] 58 VST 86 (Mad)

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Sales Tax-Penalty – Concealment- Claim of High Seas Sale Disallowed-Levy of Penalty- Not Justified, section 16(2) of The Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Facts
The assessee while filing the original returns had claimed exemption in respect of certain high- seas sales and the same was disallowed and a penalty was levied u/s. 16(2) of the Act. Against the said order of the assessing authority; the assessee filed an appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner confirmed the order of the assessing authority, against which the assessee filed a further appeal before the Tribunal and the Tribunal while confirming the orders of both the authorities, reduced the penalty to 50 per cent by holding that there is willful nondisclosure u/s. 16(2) by the assessee. The assessee filed a revision petition before the Madras High Court against the impugned order of the Tribunal.

Held
The law is well-settled that once the sale is shown in the bill of lading and an exemption claimed that will not amount to willful non-disclosure by the assessee. It is not even the case of the assessing authority that there was willful non-disclosure u/s. 16(2) of the Act. The act is quasi-criminal in nature and there must be willful nondisclosure on the part of the assessee for the purpose of imposing the penalty. Accordingly, the High Court allowed the petition filed by the assessee.

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M/S. F. K. M. Steels and Ors.vs. Assistant Commissioner (CT) [2013 ] 58 VST 58 (Mad)

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VAT- Cancellation Of Registration Certificate- No Power to Cancel From Retrospective Effect- section 39(15) of The Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006

Facts

The sales tax registrations of the petitioners, under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006, had been cancelled retrospectively by the impugned orders of the respondent, dated June 29, 2010, without giving an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioners, contrary to clause (15) of section 39 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006. The Dealers filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court against the impugned order.

Held
In view of the averments made on behalf of the petitioners as well as the respondent, and on a perusal of the records available, that the registrations of the petitioners had been cancelled by the impugned orders of the respondent, without giving an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioners, as provided under clause (15) of section 39 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006. Further, nothing has been shown on behalf of the respondent to substantiate the claim that the respondent has the authority or power to cancel the registration, retrospectively. In such circumstances, the impugned orders of the respondent were set aside by the Court. The High Court issued direction that it would be open to the respondent to serve notices on the petitioners, at the addresses furnished by the petitioners in their writ petitions, asking the petitioners to show cause as to why the registrations of the petitioners should not be cancelled. On receipt of such notices, the petitioners shall file its objections, if any, along with the relevant documents. On receipt of such objections, the respondent shall consider the same and pass appropriate orders thereon, on merits and in accordance with law, after giving an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioners. Accordingly, the writ petitions were disposed.

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M/S. Harsh Jewelers vs. Commercial Tax Officer, [2013] 57 VST 538 ( AP)

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VAT- Input Tax Credit- Purchase From Registered Dealer-Selling Dealer Did Not Disclose Sales in His Return- Not a Ground For Denial Of Input Tax Credit, section 13(1) of The Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005

Facts
The petitioner purchased goods from the registered dealer and claimed input tax credit. Subsequently the registration certificate of the selling dealer was cancelled after the date of sale by him to the purchasing dealer but he did not disclose the turnover in his returns. The vat department disallowed the input tax credit claimed by the petitioner on the impugned purchases on the ground that the turnover of sales is not declared by selling dealer in his returns and raised ademand . The petitioner filed a writ petition before the Andhra Pradesh High Court against the said assessment order.

Held
Section 13(1) of the Act entails input tax credit to the VAT dealer for the tax charged in respect of all purchases of taxable goods, made by that dealer during the tax period. It is not disputed that the registration of the selling dealer was cancelled after the transaction in question occurred. The failure on the part of the selling dealer to file returns or remit the tax component of the sale made to the petitioner dealer cannot per se be a ground for denial of input tax credit. Accordingly, the High Court quashed the order of assessment and it was made open to the vat department to pass revised order if there be material on the basis of which the input tax credit can be denied except on the ground that the selling dealer, despite being a registered dealer on the relevant date, did not remit the tax. The writ petition was allowed by the High Court.

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[2015-TIOL-830-CESTAT-MUM] Idea Cellular Ltd vs. Commissioner of Service Tax, Mumbai.

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Outdoor Catering Service which is used in or in relation to rendering of output service is eligible as CENVAT Credit prior to 01/04/2011. 50

Facts:
The Appellant is denied CENVAT Credit of service tax paid on Outdoor Catering Service. The decision of Ultra Tech Cement [2010 (20) STR 577 (Bom)] was relied upon by the Appellant for allowing the CENVAT Credit. The Adjudication Authority stated that the facts in Ultra Tech Cement (supra) were distinguishable as it dealt with a factory employing 250 workers and the present case was of a service provider.

Held:
Input service has been defined under Rule 2(l) of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 and at the relevant time included within the scope any service which was used in or in relation to the rendering of output service. The ratio of Ultra Tech Cement (supra) squarely applicable to the facts of the case and the appeal is allowed.

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2015 (38) S.T.R. 77 (Tri.-Ahmd.) Commissioner of Central Excise & Service Tax, Bhavnagar vs. HK Dave Ltd.

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The amount paid during investigation takes colour of ‘deposit’. Therefore, there is no time limit for refund of such amount.

Facts:
The respondents paid an amount during the course of investigation. Since they had won the case on merits, a refund claim was filed. Revenue argued that since the claim was filed after 1 year from the date of CESTAT’s order, it was time barred vide section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Held:
It was held that the amount was paid during investigation and not at the time of rendering of services, thus amount paid by the respondents cannot be termed as ‘duty’ but it was a ‘deposit’. Therefore, bar contained in section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was not applicable. The action of the Respondent contesting issue on merits constituted a case of ‘deemed protest’ and no time limit will be applicable as per the Second Proviso to section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944. Therefore, the appeal filed by revenue was rejected

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2015 (38) S.T.R. 69 (Tri.-Del.) Maosaji Caterers vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Raipur-I

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If the appellant had bona fide belief regarding non-taxability and paid Service tax with interest immediately on initiation of investigation, penalty u/s. 78 of Finance Act, 1994 shall not be levied.

Facts:
The appellants were engaged in providing canteen services at the premises of a company, servicing food to their employees. They failed to pay service tax under outdoor caterer’s services. Department conducted an investigation and the demand of service tax with interest and penalties was confirmed against them. It was argued that they were under a bona fide belief that the activity undertaken did not fall under outdoor catering and therefore, they had not collected service tax. Entire Service tax along with interest was paid as soon as investigation was initiated.

The respondents contested that the activity was that of outdoor catering services they had not even taken registration. Therefore, penalties were rightly imposed on them.

Held:
The appellant’s contention that there should be a special occasion for availing catering services was not acceptable. Therefore, the activity undertaken fall under Outdoor Catering service. The Tribunal observed that there was a bona fide belief that the services were not taxable and the tax was paid immediately on initiation of investigation. Therefore, the penalty u/s. 78 of the Finance Act, 1994 was set aside.

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2015 (38) S.T.R. 73 (Tri. – Mumbai) C.K.P. Mandal vs. Commissioner Of Service Tax, Mumbai-II

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If the amount paid is not a ‘duty’ or “service tax”, no time limit applies for the refund of such amount collected without the authority of law.

Facts:
The appellants were charitable trust. They received donations from caterers and decorators for permitting them to use the halls. Service tax was demanded by department on donations. Ultimately, the Hon’ble High Court upheld that donations were not leviable to service tax. Therefore, refund claims were filed out of which one was sanctioned and another was rejected on the grounds of time-bar.

Held:
The Tribunal observed that for the sanctioned claim, interest has to be paid for delayed refund. For the rejected claim it was held that the time-bar u/s. 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 will apply only if the demand has been made or amount has been paid as ‘duty’ under the law. In the present case, no such demand was made under law. Hence, refund claim was allowed along with appropriate interest as payable under the law.

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2015 (38) STR 44 (Tri.-Mumbai) Commissioner of ST vs. Sure-Prep (India) Pvt. Ltd.

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In case of export of services, CENVAT Credit refund shall be granted even in absence of Service tax registration If the case is remanded back and if the matter is old and the assessee is suffering for none of their faults, request can be made to Tribunal for giving direction for early disposal of the case.

Facts:
The respondents were exporting 100% of its services and had filed a refund claim under Notification 05/2006-CE (NT) dated 14.03.2006. However, they had no service tax registration while receiving, using and exporting the input services. The appellants contested that the lower authorities did not look into the question of limitation and Commissioner (Appeals) did not verify the nexus of input services with the output services.

It was argued that 100% of its services were exported and all records established that input services were used for exporting services.

Held:
As per the said Notification, the service provider had to submit an application indicating the registered premises from which services were exported. Relying on the decision of mPortal India Wireless Solutions Pvt. Ltd. 2012 (27) SR 134 (Kar.), the Tribunal held that it was just a procedural formality in order to claim refund and it was not a substantial condition for grant of refund.

The adjudicating authority had made a bland statement that input services were not used to provide output services without any support and logic which shows its non-application of mind. In view of Hon’ble Bombay High Court’s decision in case of Ultratech Cement Ltd. 2010 (260) ELT 369 (Bom.), it was held that all input services were used for providing export services.

The case was remanded back for the limited purpose of verification that input services were used for providing export services, the department was directed to decide the case within 3 months from the receipt of order.

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[2015] 54 (37) STR 151 (Tri.-Bang.) –Infosys Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Service Tax, Bangalore.

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Is CENVAT credit admissible on employee’s group health insurance and construction and other services used for setting-up global training center, hostel and gym situated therein? Services of data link and communication charges classifiable under ‘Tele Communication Services’ received from foreign service providers not taxable as the provider does not have a license under Indian Telegraph Act. Services tax under reverse charge mechanism not applicable in respect of services received from overseas subcontractors by the overseas branches of the appellant when the services are also utilised abroad as payments made from export earnings only.

Facts:-
The appellant took CENVAT credit of group health insurance obtained for their employees, construction services used for setting-up of global training center & various services used for hostel and gym lying within the center during the period prior to 01/04/2011 and subsequently. Further, services were received from outside the territory of India relating to communication and data link. Their overseas branches undertook several projects relating to software development etc. which were entrusted to overseas sub-contractors. The payments to the subcontractors were done by appellant through their EFFC account in foreign currency. Department sought to demand service tax on ineligible CENVAT credits and under reverse charge mechanism on services received by overseas branches and data link charges etc.

Held:-
Relying upon the decision of Commissioner of CE vs. Micro Labs Ltd. 2011 (270) ELT 156 (Kar.-High Court) and Commissioner of CE v. Stanzen Toyotestu India (P) Ltd. 2011 (23) STR 444 (Kar.), the Tribunal held that, CENVAT credit is admissible in respect of insurance coverage of employees alone. However, if policy covers person other than employees and no contribution is required from the employees towards such coverage then such credit shall have to be proportionately reversed, to such extent.

In respect of construction services, it was argued that Appellant was rendering commercial training and coaching service and the center was used for the said purpose on which service tax was paid. The Tribunal, relying on the decision of CE vs. Sai Sahmita Storages (P) Ltd. 2011 (23) STR 341 (AP) and noting the fact that upto 01/04/2011 setting up of premises of output service provider was eligible for credit, allowed the same. However, subsequent to 01-04-2011, only services used in respect of modernisation, renovation, repairs of premises from where service is provided would be admissible. Further, in respect of hostel and gym, it was claimed that such facilities to employees is necessary as the center was situated far away from city. It was held that both cannot be considered as premises from where service is provided, as contemplated by definition of input service and hence CENVAT credit is inadmissible.

In respect of, demand of service tax under reverse charge mechanism, appellant relied upon Board’s circular issued in F. No. 137/21/2011-ST dated 19-12-2011 and referred observations made on same issue in the case of their own sister company M/s. Infosys BPO Ltd. wherein, demand was dropped. Tribunal held that service is classifiable under “Telecommunication Service” and such services are taxable only when the same is provided by a person having license under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.

In respect of reverse charge mechanism, it was stated that, the foreign branches of the appellants received the services abroad and the same was consumed abroad and thus, section 66A has no application. In view of the revenue, the services were received from the sub-contractors through their overseas branches and payments for such services were made by the appellant. The Tribunal placed reliance upon KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd. vs. CCE, Pune-I 2014 (33) STR 105 (Tri.-Mum) and affirmed that, payment made to sub-contractors from EFFC account shows that, payment was made from export earnings only and demand was dropped on account of absence of any evidence to show such receipt of service in India.

Further, since the issue relates to interpretation of legal provisions, the demand beyond normal period and penalties were set side.

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44. [2015-TIOL-1239-HC-P&H-ST] Ajay Kumar Gupta vs. CESTAT and Another.

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Service Tax deposited on a non-taxable service u/s. 73A(2) of the Finance Act with delay, penalty u/ss. 76 and 78 not leviable.

Facts:
The Appellant collected service tax on a non-taxable service and had deposited the tax with delay without the payment of interest. Show Cause Notice was issued proposing levy of interest and penalty u/ss. 76, 77 and 78 of the Finance Act, 1994. The First Appellate Authority held that since the amount collected was not chargeable, penalty u/s. 76 and 78 was set aside. Aggrieved thereby, Revenue appealed before the Tribunal. While allowing the Revenue’s appeal, the Tribunal noted that since the tax was collected and the same was deposited only on the insistence of Revenue, it was a case of willful suppression and interest and penalty u/ss. 75 and 78 was restored leading to the present appeal.

Held:

The Hon’ble High Court noted that service tax was not leviable u/s. 68 of the Finance Act and the liability was only to deposit tax u/s. 73A(2) of the Finance Act which was done after delay. Thus as service was not taxable, penalty u/s. 78 was not invocable.

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[2015-Tiol-1067-hc-mad-st] M/s Sree Annapoorna Hospitality Services Pvt Ltd vs. The commissioner of Customs Central Excise and Service Tax

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Petitioner is bound to pay 7.5% of the total service tax demanded at the time of filing the appeal before the CESTAT.

Facts:
The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the order of the Adjudicating Authority regarding admissibility of the benefit of Notification 12/2003-ST.

Held:
The Hon’ble High Court held that the disputed questions could be raised before the CESTAT as the petitioner has a remedy of filing an appeal and is bound to pay 7.5% of the total service tax demanded for filing the appeal which cannot be reduced by this court.

Note: Readers may also note a recent decision of the Gujarat High Court in the case of Premier Polyspin Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India [2015-TIOL-1265-AHM-CX] holding that pre-deposit is mandatory. Further, it is important to note a CONTRARY decision of the Kerala High Court in the case of A. M. Motors vs. UOI [2015-TIOL-1069-HC-Kerala-ST] where the Hon’ble High Court has held that pre-deposit of 7.5% is not mandatory when the case commenced prior to the introduction of the amendment of 2014. Similarly, reference can also be made to the Kerala High Court decision in the case of M/s Muthoot Finance Ltd .[2015-TIOL-632-HC-Kerala-ST] reported in the BCAJ April issue and decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in the case of M/s K. Rama Mohanarao & Co. [2015-TIOL-511-HC-APCX]. Further, in Hoosein Kasam Dada (India) Ltd vs. State of MP 1983 (13) ELT 1277 (SC), it was held that for the purpose of the accrual of the right of appeal the critical and relevant date is the date of initiation of proceedings and not the decision itself.

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[2015]-TIOL-566-HC-MUM [Commissioner of Central Excise vs. Paper Products Ltd].

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A clear rethink is necessary when blindly some ratio of a Judgment of the Apex Court and dehors the factual position is relied upon to file frivolous Appeals.

Facts:

Assessee was a manufacturer and was availing CENVAT credit on inputs and capital goods used in or in relation to the manufacture of final product. The department issued a show cause notice contending that the activity did not amount to manufacture relying on a decision of the Apex Court and the claim to CENVAT credit was ineligible. The Tribunal allowed the appeal of the Assesse and the department is in appeal.

Held:
The Hon’ble High Court held that the decision of the Apex Court is clearly distinguishable which exercise has already been done by the Tribunal and thus the appeal is dismissed as devoid of any merits.

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[2015-TIOL-1216-HC-MAD-ST] M/s Sundaram Industries Ltd vs. The Department of Central Excise

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Incorrect Assessee Code selected while making
e-payment and the payment made again with the correct code is liable to
be refunded as the payment is made twice.

Facts:
The
petitioner erroneously made payment against a wrong STC code and also
made the same payment again with the correct code. The Assessee whose
STC code was selected wrongly had provided a no-objection in refunding
the amount to the petitioners. Bank letter was also submitted certifying
the wrong payment made and an indemnity bond undertaking to indemnify
the loss of the department on sanctioning the refund claim to them was
also filed.

Held:
Since the payment is made twice, the Respondent is directed to refund the amount to the Petitioner.

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[2015-TIOL-1210-HC-MUM-CX] The Commissioner of Central Excise, Pune-I vs. M/s. GL & V India Pvt. Ltd.

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Mere availing of wrong CENVAT Credit without utilising the same attracts levy of interest.

Facts:
The Respondent a manufacturer of excisable goods availed CENVAT credit which was subsequently reversed without being utilised. The Tribunal relying on the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of Ind-Swift Laboratories Ltd. [2009-TIOL-440-HC-P&H-CX] set aside the interest liability as the CENVAT Credit was merely availed and not utilised. Aggrieved thereby, the present appeal is filed by the department.

Held:
Relying on the decision of the Apex Court in the matter of Ind-Swift Laboratories Ltd. [2011-TIOL-21-SC-CX], the Hon’ble High Court set aside the order of the Tribunal. Respondent argued that on a combined reading of sections 11A and11AB of the Central Excise Act,1944 appearing in Rule 14 of the CENVAT Credit Rules,2004, it would reveal that payment of interest would arise only when there is an amount payable as determined by the authority, however as per the facts of the case there is no question of payment as there is a mere availment. However, the High Court proceeded to rely on the judgment of the Apex court and allowed the appeal of the department. However, since the Tribunal allowed the appeal in view of the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court without going into other aspects of the matter, the matter was remitted back.

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[2015] 56 taxmann.com 259 (Karnataka High Court) – Commissioner of Central Excise & Service Tax vs. Jacobs Engineering UK Ltd.

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A foreign company with no business establishment nor operations in India cannot be held liable to service tax on mere visit of its officers in India for providing service.

Facts:
Assessee company is situated in United Kingdom with no office or branch in India. They provided consulting engineering service to an Indian Fertiliser company for period March 1998 to April 2001. Revenue alleged that since officers of respondent company had visited premises of assessee they are liable to service tax. Both the appellate authorities decided against the Revenue, aggrieved by which appeal is filed before High Court.

Held:
The High Court observed that, the Tribunal dismissed the order relying upon Mumbai Bench judgment of Tribunal in case of Philcorp Pte. Ltd. vs. CCE on the ground that the respondent company did not have any office or operations within the Territory of India. The submission made by the revenue that respondent company’s officers had visited the client’s plant in India and thus liable to tax is not accepted by the Court , in view of the fact that, assessee don’t have branch or office within the taxable territory. Thus, the appeal was dismissed as service provider was located outside India with no business operations or office within territory of India.

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