Daily Updates and News

RBI

RBI has issued Master Circular on Mobile Banking transactions in India and Operative Guidelines for Banks. The Reserve Bank of India has, from time to time, issued a number of circulars containing guidelines on Mobile Banking. This Master Circular has been prepared to facilitate the banks and other stakeholders to have all the extant instructions on the subject at one place. The Master Circular has been updated by incorporating all the instructions/guidelines issued on Mobile Banking up to December 17, 2015. The guidelines are applicable to all commercial banks (including Regional Rural Banks), Urban Cooperative Banks, State Cooperative Banks and District Central Cooperative Banks. Further, Banks which are licensed, supervised and having physical presence in India, are permitted to offer mobile banking services. Only banks who have implemented core banking solutions are permitted to provide mobile banking services.

CBDT

CBDT has issued further Clarifications on the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016. CBDT clarified that a revised declaration can be filed on or before the date of closure of the Scheme provided the undisclosed income in the revised declaration is not less than the undisclosed income declared in the declaration already filed. It further clarified that immunity shall be available to the Directors or the Partners in respect of the undisclosed income declared under the Scheme by the Company or Partnership Firm. The Department also confirmed that if a share is listed on more than one recognised stock exchange and the quoted price of the share as on 01.06.2016 on the recognised stock exchanges is different, the quoted price of the share shall be computed with reference to the recognised stock exchange which records the highest volume of trading in the share as on 01.06.2016.   

CBDT:

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has entered into seven (7) Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) on 18^th July, 2016, with Indian taxpayers. Some of these agreements also have a “Rollback” provision in them. The APA Scheme was introduced in the Income-tax Act in 2012 and the “Rollback” provisions were introduced in 2014. The scheme endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and setting the prices of international transactions in advance. Since its inception, the APA scheme has attracted tremendous interest and that has resulted in more than 700 applications (both unilateral and bilateral) having been filed in just four years.

Thanks & Regards,

Meetesh Shiroya