Extension of due date of filing ST-3 returns from 25th April to 29th April

Assessees have faced difficulties in accessing the ACES application on 25th April 2016, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub­rule (4) of rule 7 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, the Central Board of Excise & Customs has extended the date of submission of the Form ST-­3 for the period from 1st October 2015 to 31st March 2016, from 25th April 2016 to 29th April 2016 vide Order No. 1/2016-ST.

If you bought property but have not deposited TDS, you may get a tax notice

While the rule has been in effect since June 1, 2013, many buyers are unaware or often confused about how to calculate the tax.
If you bought property worth more than Rs 50 lakh and did not deduct tax at source (TDS) or failed to deposit the amount with the income tax department on time, you may have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh.

Several taxpayers recently received notices from the department for no t doing so. Anyone buying real estate worth more than Rs 50 lakh has to deduct 1% of the price of the property before paying the seller. That 1% TDS has to be deposited with the tax department using Form 26QB.

"The income tax department recently matched the TDS data with the data they received from the property registrar for property transactions over `50 lakh. Wherever there was a discrepancy, either the buyers failed to deduct or deposit the TDS, a notice has been sent," said Vaibhav Sankla, director, H&R Block.

While the rule has been in effect since June 1, 2013, many buyers are unaware or often confused about how to calculate the tax. TDS has to be calculated on the total sale price and not the amount exceeding Rs 50 lakh.

"Sometimes total sale price, which exceeds `50 lakh in aggregate, may be payable in instalments. The TDS in that case must be deducted from each instalment no matter how small the instalment is. Most people fail to do that," said Archit Gupta, founder, ClearTax.in.

In case the payment is made in instalments, then TDS needs to be deducted at the time of making each payment. This TDS, deducted each time while paying the instalment, is to be deposited with the department by way of return cum challan (Form 26QB) within seven days of the following month of making the payment. Failing to do so can, apart from the dues and late filing interest, attract a penalty under Section 271H of up to Rs 1 lakh.

For those who have received a notice, the immediate corrective step to avoid paying a penalty is to pay the TDS along with the applicable interest and late filing fee.

The interest payable under Section 201 is 1% per month if tax wasn't deducted and 1.5% in case this was done but not paid.

"This interest is calculated on the TDS amount from the date of payment, whether paid in lump sum or in instalments," said Sankla. Take the example of a property purchased in January 2015 worth Rs 60 lakh where the first Rs 20 lakh was paid that month and the rest in June that year. For the first instalment of Rs 20 lakh, the interest will be applicable from January onwards, while that on the second payment will be from June 2015. There is also a late filing fee under Section 234E for delaying the interest payment of `200 per day, subject to the maximum of taxes due. There may be some leniency if the seller has already paid capital gains tax or claimed capital gains exemption (on the sale of property).

"The intent of the department is that there is no tax evasion. So, if the seller has already paid the taxes, the buyer can submit Form 26A certificate from a chartered accountant and request that penalty under Section 234E should not be levied," . Though this will save you from the late filing fee, the interest under Section 201 will still apply.

Buyers should also remember to issue Form 16B. "It is generated via TRACES and the seller may not be able to take tax credit for TDS deducted in case of non-filing or latefiling of Form 26QB," . Penalties remain the same for failing to do so.

Core Banking at 25K Post Offices by April

Govt to Move SC on Tax Levy on Legal Services

 The revenue department has decided to move the Supreme Court for transfer of petitions filed in three High Courts, which had stayed levy of service tax on legal services provided by senior advocates. It has also decided to rope in Attorney General in the case and get the stay orders vacated. The High Courts of Delhi, Gujarat and Calcutta have stayed the levy of tax on legal services. “The Chairman CBEC has directed to engage the services of the Ld Attorney General to get the stays vacated by moving...SC and requesting for aggregating the petitions filed in various courts, “said a CBEC communication.

 (Economic Times)

CBDT staring at Rs. 7L cr unpaid, disputed taxes

 At a time when the government is bearing down upon banks to recover up to Rs. 7 lakh crore of outstanding loans from companies, it has admitted that a like amount of outstanding taxes may be irrecoverable. The tax department has indicated to the government auditor, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that more than 96% of this uncollected demand is difficult to recover in the current financial year. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one tax department official said even later, much of the amount was likely to prove unrecoverable. According to a CAG audit, pending tax demands have more than doubled in five years, from Rs. 2.91 lakh crore in 2010-11 to Rs. 7 lakh crore in 2014-15. The tax department ascribed the ‘difficulty’ in recovery to “inadequate assets for recovery, cases under liquidation, assessees not traceable, demand stayed by various authorities etc.” The CAG had rapped the department for its deficient recovery mechanism, saying: “The uncollected demand is rising despite clear provisions in the Act to enforce collection and recovery of outstanding demand— attachment and sale of assessees’ property, appointment of a receiver for management of (such) properties and imprisonment.” According to CBDT, of this amount, approximately Rs.3.66 lakh is corporate tax, including two major cases under litigation — Cairn Energy and Vodafone. CBDT told HT that as of March 2015, as much as 38% (Rs.2.63 lakh crore) of the total dues are stuck in cases “where either there are no assets or inadequate assets for recovery of demand.” “This category includes a small number of cases with very high demand. Approximately Rs.29,000 crore of demand is related to cases where assesses are not traceable and Rs. 12,000 crore is related to companies under litigation,” it said.

 The tax department is clueless on how and when it can make recoveries, and to what extent. “Raising of new tax demands, liquidation of old demands and recovery of tax dues are continuous processes,” CBDT told HT. “The department makes continuous efforts to recover all dues. However, recovery of outstanding dues on a particular date is not amenable to a timeframe.”

(Hindustan Times)

I-T e-filing Appeals Based on Aadhaar, Net Banking

 The Income-Tax department has activated the Aadhaar and net banking-based e-filing verification system for taxpayers to file the first appeal before a tax officer, on similar lines of online ITR filing. To reduce the interface between taxman and the taxpayer, the department has recently operationalised the maiden facility on its official e-filing portal. “One EVC (Electronic Verification Code) can be used to validate one form of the assesse irrespective of the assessment year, “a notification in this regard said.


(Economic Time)

ITR-1 & ITR-4S

Important changes in these returns are as under: -

1. Schedule of Assets & Liabilites introduced in ITR-1 & ITR-4S, where income exceeds Rs. 50 Lacs.
2. Deduction w.r.t. 80CCD(1B) regarding Contribution to NPS.
3. Schedule TCS added.
4. Partnership Firms having presumptive business income may file ITR-4S.

Tax collection estimate for FY16 crossed

 The government says it surpassed the revised ( higher) tax collection target for 2015- 16 by Rs. 5,000 crore, at Rs.14.6 lakh crore. The revised estimate (RE) was Rs.14.55 lakh crore, higher than the original budget estimate (BE) of Rs.14.45 lakh crore. Indirect tax collections have exceeded the RE by Rs. 9,885 crore and direct tax realisations were short by Rs.4,000 crore over the revised estimate, said the finance ministry on Wednesday. The total collection, it said, was BE crore. This was primarily due to the additional duties on petrol and diesel, and the increase in service tax rates. The collection represents a growth of 31.1 per cent over 2014- 15. Direct tax collection was 7.6 per cent higher than the 2014- 15 receipts.

 (Business Standard)

New instructions for preparation of B/S & P/L of a Company

MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi , 6th April, 2016

G.S.R. 404(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub section (1) of section 467 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following amendments to Schedule III of the said Act with effect from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette, namely:-

2. In the Companies Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act) in Schedule III, for the heading “General instructions for preparation of Balance Sheet and Statements of Profit and Loss of a Company” the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“Division I

Financial Statements for a company whose Financial Statements are required to comply with the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2006.

GENERAL INSTURCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF BALANCE SHEET AND STATEMENT OF PROFIT AND LOSS OF A COMPANY”.

3. In the principal Act, in Schedule III, at the end, the following shall be inserted, namely:- “Division II

Financial Statements for a company whose financial statements are drawn up in compliance of the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF A COMPANY REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH Ind AS

1. Every company to which Indian Accounting Standards apply, shall prepare its financial statements in accordance with this Schedule or with such modification as may be required under certain circumstances.

2. Where compliance with the requirements of the Act including Indian Accounting Standards (except the option of presenting assets and liabilities in the order of liquidity as provided by the relevant Ind AS) as applicable to the companies require any change in treatment or disclosure including addition, amendment, substitution or deletion in the head or sub-head or any changes inter se, in the financial statements or statements forming part thereof, the same shall be made and the requirements under this Schedule shall stand modified accordingly.

3. The disclosure requirements specified in this Schedule are in addition to and not in substitution of the disclosure
requirements specified in the Indian Accounting Standards. Additional disclosures specified in the Indian Accounting Standards shall be made in the Notes or by way of additional statement or statements unless required to be disclosed on the face of the Financial Statements. Similarly, all other disclosures as required by the Companies Act, 2013 shall be made in the Notes in addition to the requirements set out in this Schedule.

4. (i) Notes shall contain information in addition to that presented in the Financial Statements and shall provide
where required-

(a) narrative descriptions or disaggregations of items recognised in those statements; and

(b) information about items that do not qualify for recognition in those statements.

(ii) Each item on the face of the Balance Sheet, Statement of Changes in Equity and Statement of Profit and Loss shall be cross-referenced to any related information in the Notes. In preparing the Financial Statements including the Notes, a balance shall be maintained between providing excessive detail that may not assist users of Financial Statements and not providing important information as a result of too much aggregation.

Filling new income tax return forms could prove challenging: Experts

 The Central Board of Direct Taxes has released instructions for the new ITR forms, but experts believe filling up the new schedule AL (assets and liabilities) could prove challenging for taxpayers. The new section AL is mandatory for individuals and HUFs earning more than Rs 50 lakh a year and requires the taxpayer to declare all moveable and immovable assets. These assets have to be declared at cost, i.e. the price at which they were acquired by the taxpayer. This, experts feel will be a huge challenge as assets appreciate or depreciate. Therefore, the declarations would not paint a fair picture of the net worth of a person. "A luxury car may have been acquired at a certain price but depreciates as soon as it turns around the corner. It would be unfair to book it at cost price. Similarly, jewellery bought, say, 10 years ago would have multiplied many fold. Showing it at cost price will defeat the purpose of declaring the net worth," says Archit Gupta, founder, ClearTax.in. In the wealth tax declarations everything was at fair market value and therefore there was a method to it and valuation was less confusing. "Although wealth tax has been abolished, tax authorities intend to track the assets you own so that there is no accumulation of unaccounted wealth. However, the 'at cost' criteria will make things more complicated," says Kuldip Kumar, executive director, Tax, PwC India.

Earlier such extensive declarations were part of the lengthy ITR-4 form where most of the assets owned were included as business assets. However, this year salaried individuals too will have to comply to this requirement via ITR-1, 2, 2A. "People who otherwise do not have high income, but end up having a total income higher than Rs 50 lakh this year only, due to say, a property sale or windfall will also be required to fill this schedule," points out Gupta. The 'at cost' declaration applies to inherited assets to. It will be most challenging to declare values of these assets, especially, if it has been passed down from more than a generation ago.

 (Economic Times)

Various Due Dates

Due Dates for Paymet of Service Tax, TDS, PF, ESIC

Month	Service Tax*	TDS	PF	ESIC	Adv. Tax
April	–	30	15	21
May	5	7	15	21
June	5	7	15	21	15**
July	5	7	15	21
August	5	7	15	21
September	5	7	15	21	15
October	5	7	15	21
November	5	7	15	21
December	5	7	15	21	15
January	5	7	15	21
February	5	7	15	21
March	5/31	7	15	21	15/31

* For Service Tax, if an entity makes online payment, due date is 6 instead of 5.
** Only for Corporate Assesses

TDS/TCS Due Dates
7th of Every Month	Deposit TDS/TCS of Previous Month
15th Jan, May, July, Oct.	File Quarterly  Return of TDS/TCS
30th of Jan, May, July, Oct.	Issue Quarterly TDS/TCS Certificate (Other Than Salary
7th April	Deposit 15G/15H Forms
30th of April	Deposit TDS/TCS Deducted in March
31st of May	Issue Yearly TDS Certificate of Salary

INCOME TAX DUE DATES
15th June	Deposit Advance tax Corporate Assesse
15th Sep. Dec. March	Deposit Advance tax
31st March	Last Date for filling of belated return or revise return in some cases
31st July	Last Date of Return Filling for non-audit cases.
30th September	Last Date of Return Filling for audit cases.

Due date of filing of return of income
Sr. No.	Status of the taxpayer	Due date
1	Any company other than a company who is required to furnish a report in Form No. 3CEB under section 92E (i.e. other than covered in 2 below)	September 30 of the assessment year
2	Any person (may be corporate/non-corporate) who is required to furnish a report in Form No. 3CEB under section 92E	November 30 of the assessment year
3	Any person (other than a company) whose accounts are to be audited under the Income-tax Law or under any other law	September 30 of the assessment year
4	A working partner of a firm whose accounts are required to be audited under this Act or under any other law	September 30 of the assessment year
5	Any other assessee	July 31 of the assessment year

SERVICE TAX DUE DATES
5th Of Every Month	Deposit Service Tax of Company/ Society.
5th Jan, 5th July, 5th Oct.	Deposit Quarterly Service Tax of individual/ Partnership firm.
31st March	Deposit Quarterly Service Tax of individual/ Partnership firm & Monthly for Company & Society
25th April	File 2nd  Half yearly return
25th Oct.	File 1st   Half yearly  return

PF Due Dates
15th	1. Last date of PF deposit of previous month
ESI Due Dates
21th	Last date of ESI deposit of previous month

CBDT launches E-filing Vault facility for securing income tax e-filing account against fraudulent attempt

Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes PRESS RELEASE
New Delhi, 4 th April, 2016
Sub:Release of new functionality to taxpayers to secure their E-filing account -reg

The Income Tax Department has from time to time issued advisories regarding the need to avoid phishing emails and to carefully protect the passwords, OTPs and not share them with others. In order to ensure that taxpayers are able to secure their E-filing account against any fraudulent attempts, the Income Tax Department has introduced a new facility called the “E-filing Vault”. In order to use this facility, taxpayers can log in to their E-filing Account and under their profile page select “E-filing Vault – higher security”. Taxpayers can then select to login with any one or multiple options of the higher security methods namely – Using Aadhaar linkage to generate OTP, Login through Net-Banking or Login using Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). Once this has been done, any future attempt to login will require the additional check of OTP using Aadhaar or the taxpayers will have to login using net banking or login using DSC. By using this facility, taxpayers can prevent anyone from logging in even if in the past they shared the user id and password.
The dual factor authorization ensures higher degree of security compared to the simple User id and Password. Similarly, taxpayers can also select how their password can be reset. Once the taxpayer has selected reset password using any one or multiple options of the higher security methods namely – Using Aadhaar linkage to generate OTP, Login through NetBanking or Login using Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), then no other person will be able to reset taxpayer’s password even if the secret answer or E-filing OTP etc is known.
Additional EVC options using ATM, Bank Account Validation or Demat Account Validations are shortly going to be introduced and these options will also be available for the higher level of security for login as well as resetting of password. Income Tax Department strongly advises all taxpayers to use a strong password (combination of at least one uppercase, one special character and one numeral) and select the E-filing Vault option to add an additional layer of security to the their E-filing Account to login and resetting of password .
(Shefali Shah)
Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax 

Taxman seeks more details of those earning over Rs.50 lakh

 The government has asked wealthy individuals to mandatorily disclose details about assets such as land, property and jewellery in their tax returns to gather more information and prevent accumulation of illegal wealth. The income-tax department has asked taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs.50 lakh to declare immovable assets such as land and building and movable assets such as cash in hand, jewellery, vehicles, yachts, boats and aircraft. The tax department notified the new tax return forms for assessment year 2016-17 on Thursday. “The department is trying to get as much information as possible from these tax return forms,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, a professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi. “The whole purpose is to minimize tax evasion.” Since coming to power in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance government has introduced several steps to check domestic black money as well as unaccounted wealth stashed overseas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, in fact, promised to recover thousands of crore of rupees in black money in the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign. To prevent tax evasion, the tax department last year sought information on foreign travel undertaken by taxpayers and the expenditure incurred, as well as details of all bank accounts along with account balances at the end of a year in the tax return forms. However, the tax department issued revised forms seeking only the passport numbers without details of travel and expenditure and bank account information without the need to disclose the balance, after protests by taxpayers over the tedious tax return forms. The forms also sought the taxpayer’s Aadhaar number, if available. For assessment year 2016-17, the tax department has now included a schedule on asset and liabilities which will have to be filled by individuals and HUFs, or Hindu Undivided Families, where total income exceeds Rs.50 lakh. It has also asked individuals and HUFs to provide details of pass-through income from business trust or investment fund in ITR form 2 and ITR form 2A. “Last year, the income-tax department asked for bank account information and this year they have gone a step further and asked for net worth of taxpayers,” said Archit Gupta, founder and chief executive officer of Clear Tax, an electronic tax return filing service provider. “A large number of taxpayers will need help to file their tax returns and find out the value of assets to be included in the form,” he said. The Modi government has already enacted the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, requiring compulsory disclosure of foreign assets and income and subjecting evaders to stiff penalties and jail terms. It has also introduced legislation aimed at amending the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act. It will help check creation of black money in India, especially in real estate transactions. In addition, the tax department is also seeding the permanent account number with Aadhaar—a unique identity number that is already linked to many bank accounts—to bring tax evaders to book.

(HT Mint)