ICAI TO PROCEED AGAINST CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT ARRESTED FOR GST
EVASION
The disciplinary
directorate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has decided to proceed
against the Chartered Accountant arrested in Meerut last day for availing fake
input tax credit under the GST regime. The Directorate General of GST
Intelligence (DGGI), Meerut Zonal Unit, has arrested a Chartered accountant,
namely, Gaurav Jindal, 27 last day and sent him to jail. The arrested person is
a Chartered Accountant and the Disciplinary Directorate of ICAI is seized of
the matter. Elaborating on the matter, senior intelligence officer Devender
Kumar said, These offenders created multiple companies/firms using either their
own PAN card and voter id; or in the name of family members and employees of
their firm solely for the purpose of fake billing without the supply of goods.
The search revealed that the firms issued fake invoices of more than Rs 210
crore in value thereby passing on and cashing on the input tax credit of about
Rs 50 crore illegally. Interestingly these companies or firms are not engaged
in normal business activities as they neither have any godowns for storage nor
they receive or supply goods. They wrongly availed ITC without actual purchase
of goods in their firms/companies and encashed the same by the issuance of
export invoices and claiming IGST refund thereon from customs, said DGGI
intelligence officer Aishwarya Atri. The Director (Discipline) is the authority
to consider the prima facie opinion in respect of All Information and
Complaints where opinion of the Director is that the member is prima facie
guilty of professional or other misconduct mentioned in the First Schedule to
the Act and all cases where prima facie opinion is that the member is not
guilty of any professional or other misconduct irrespective of Schedules and
passing of Orders.
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PRIVATE VAULTS IN VARDAAN MARKET UNDER I-T LENS
More than 2,000 private
safe-deposit vaults housed in the basement of a bustling shopping complex in
Kolkata’s Park Street area have caught the attention of the income tax
department The investigation unit of the department has for the past few days
been searching the vaults in the Vardaan Market Shopping Complex basement,
operated by Shree Vardaan Safe Deposit Vaults, following a tipoff that those
included some benami lockers with unaccounted cash and jewellery. Of the vaults
of different sizes, 647 have been allotted to individuals, said a committee
member of the Vardaan Shop and Office Owners Association. Tax officials said
they had so far opened about 140 lockers and found unaccounted cash of Rs 1.35
crore and jewellery worth Rs 1.1 crore. Verification of the contents of other
lockers is still in progress. The investigation will take more than a month to
complete, one of them said, adding: If the contents are accounted for or
declared, we will leave those. So far, they said, nothing benami has been found
The lockers appear to have been rented out to small and mid-size businessmen
and individuals, said the officials.
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MONEY-LAUNDERING CASE: DELHI COURT EXTENDS RAJIV SAXENA’S
INTERIM BAIL TILL FEBRUARY 25
A Delhi court Friday extended
till February 25 the interim bail granted to Rajiv Saxena who has been arrested
in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money-laundering case. Special Judge
Arvind Kumar granted the relief to Saxena after perusing the medical reports
filed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The court said it
would consider his bail plea on February 25, the next date of hearing.
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INDIA CURRENTLY WORKING WITH ASEAN ON MULTIPLE CONNECTIVITY
PROJECTS
Rajnath Singh has urged
the ASEAN nations and the International Community to support India’s fight
against terrorists and terrorist organisations He said an environment of peace
and security are prerequisites for trade and commerce to flourish. This Summit
must acknowledge the fact and ensure that the soil of any country should not be
used for propagating terrorism, he said. Rajnath Singh said that there exists
immense potential to strengthen and deepen cooperation in combating terrorism
in all its forms and manifestations violent extremism and radicalization
through Information sharing, Law enforcement cooperation and capacity building
and Anti-money laundering and countering terror-financing. Shri Rajnath Singh
said that more than half of India’s foreign trade now goes to the East. The
Home Minister called for increased people-to-people contact, connectivity and
trade ties with the ASEAN nations. Strengthening India’s economic relations
with the countries in the East is one of the main objectives of India’s ‘Act
East Policy’ said Shri Rajnath Singh. Our engagement with ASEAN has acquired a
new dimension with our Prime Minister’s vision to ‘Act East’, he added. Total
bilateral trade has increased more than threefold from US$21 billion in 2005-06
to US$ 81.33 billion in 2017-18. ASEAN has emerged as the second largest trade
partner of India in 2017-18, with a share of 10.58% in India’s overall trade.
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REMOVAL OF TARIFF CRUCIAL TO ACHIEVE BILATERAL TRADE TARGET OF
USD 200 BY 2022-CR CHAUDHARY
C R Chaudhary said that
India’s trade relationship with ASEAN is a key pillar of its regional policy
and the foundation of its Act East Policy which is further reinforced by
increase in trade in goods and services and investment agreements. CR Chaudhary
said that India accords high priority to its economic and trade ties with ASEAN
and it has yielded rich dividends over the years. India-ASEAN bilateral trade
increased to USD 81.3 billion in 2017–18 from USD 56.2 billion in 2010–11 registering
a growth of 16.04%.He said that India and ASEAN have enhanced their bilateral
trade target to USD 200 billion and to achieve this target removing tariff is
very crucial. MoS Commerce and Industry further said India and ASEAN have
emerged as economically strong region growing at steady pace despite global
slowdowns. He said India’s economy is forecast to expand by 7.5 per cent during
the 2019-20 and remain the fastest growing major economy in a world of slowing
growth. ASEAN economy is expected to grow at 4.7% in 2019. He said India and
ASEAN with over USD 5 trillion combined economy present innumerable
opportunities in multiple sectors for investors across the globe. The Minister
further said that the services sector remains the key driver of India’s
economic growth and its share in the global exports which grew from 3.1 per
cent in 2014 to 3.47 in 2017 is expected to reach 4.2 per cent by 2022. The
services sector is poised to be a game changer in India’s growth story and is
expected to achieve USD 3 billon size out of 5 trillion Indian economy by 2025.
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MONEY LAUNDERING CASE PROBE: ROBERT VADRA APPEARS BEFORE ED
FOR 5TH TIME IN DELHI
Robert Vadra,
brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, on Friday appeared before
the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the fifth time in connection with a
money-laundering case related to purchase of alleged illegal assets abroad,
officials said. Mr. Vadra reached the agency’s office at Jamnagar House in
central Delhi shortly before 11 am, they said. He has been grilled in this case
four times in the past, the last being February 20. Officials said the agency
is confronting Mr. Vadra with documents and statements of other accused being
investigated in the case and his statement is being recorded section 50 (powers
of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence)
of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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VIVEK DOVAL DEFAMATION PLEA: COURT RESERVES ORDER ON WHETHER
TO SUMMON JAIRAM RAMESH, CARAVAN
A Delhi court Friday reserved
its order on whether to summon Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, The Caravan
magazine and its reporter as accused in a defamation plea filed by NSA Ajit
Doval's son Vivek against the magazine. Additional Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Samar Vishal said it will pass the order on March 2 on whether to
summon them as accused in the plea. Vivek, in his complaint, had said the
magazine and Ramesh had attempted to deliberately malign and defame him to
settle scores with his father. The Caravan had alleged that Vivek Doval, runs a
hedge fund in the Cayman Islands which is an established tax haven According to
the complaint, Ramesh had held a press conference on January 17 reiterating the
baseless and unfounded facts as narrated in the article.
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END TIES WITH NATIONS WHERE TERROR EMANATES: BCCI WRITES TO
ICC
The Supreme Court-appointed
Committee of Administrators (CoA) has written to the International Cricket
Council (ICC) raising Indian cricket board's (BCCI) concerns about the attacks
on CRPF soldiers in Pulwama on February 14 and asking the other cricket-playing
nations to sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates In an e-mail
to the ICC, we have expressed our concerns about the terrorist attack that has
taken place. We are telling them that security of players and match officials
should be appropriately taken care of, CoA chief Vinod Rai said. And number
two, we must sever ties with nations from which such terrorism emanates. We
will express our concern on an appropriate forum Rai said indicating that the
matter will be raised at the ICC quarterly Board meeting in Dubai. The ICC
meeting is scheduled to be held from February 26 to March 2. Rai said that the
board will take a call only after having a discussion with the government of
India. Three months is a long time. We will talk about the World Cup match with
the government and then decide, Rai said. In another development, the CoA has
decided to scrap the IPL opening ceremony to help the families of the martyred
soldiers. We will not have the opening ceremony this year. We will use that
budget and donate to the families of the soldiers who lost their lives in that
attack, Rai informed.
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PULWAMA TERROR AFTERMATH: SC GIVES STRICT DIRECTIONS TO CENTRE
AND STATES TO PROTECT KASHMIRIS, MINORITIES
The Supreme Court on
Friday gave strict directions to the Centre and several States to protect
Kashmiris and minority communities especially students, from violence or
backlash in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack of February 14 which had
led to the loss of 40 CRPF personnel lives. A Bench led by Chief Justice of
India Ranjan Gogoi ordered the chief secretaries and police chiefs across
several conflict-prone States to be on their toes and nip violent tendencies in
the bud. States’ police chiefs have been told to direct their officers to promptly
take action on complaints The nodal officers appointed by the Centre should act
to prevent and defuse tensions, the court said. The petition filed by advocate
Tariq Adeeb was taken up urgently as the first item for hearing even though it
was numbered 51 in the day’s list of cases. The petition sought that the court
direct the Centre to forthwith take steps to prevent threats, assaults, violent
attacks, social boycotts, ostracism, evictions and other coercive acts
committed by groups and mobs against Kashmiris and other minorities,
particularly in the wake of the Pulawama attack. It referred to incidents of
violence against these communities in States like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana,
J&K, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. The court
issued notice to these States and added two more — Punjab and Maharashtra — to
the list. The court scheduled the case for hearing next on Friday.
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IT'S INTRIGUING CONG NEEDS LESSONS ON NATIONAL SECURITY:
JAITLEY
Arun Jaitley Friday took
pot shots at the Congress, saying it is intriguing that the party which ruled
India for half a decade needs to be educated on national security issues a day
after the party roped in surgical strike architect D S Hooda to head a national
security task force. He also asked the Congress not to give an impression that
India is divided on how to fight terrorism. Lt Gen D S Hooda (Retd) will head a
Congress task force on national security. Acknowledging General Hooda as an
experienced and distinguished former officer of the Indian Army, Jaitley said,
I have not the least doubt that he would give a very valuable advice to the grand
old Party. Finance Minister said the appointment of the retired General is
significant as it is a belated and grudging recognition and acceptance of the
surgical strikes with which Hooda was intrinsically associated. I am sure the
Head of the Advisory Panel would educate the Party leaders that the surgical
strikes were no routine step which had been taken several times in the past,
but a significant first for India, he said. The Congress has been accusing the
Modi government of politicising the surgical strikes. He hoped the experts
would render to the Congress President on strategic issues while highlighting
some of the basic points which are integrally connected to consistency on the
issue of national security. Do not give an impression to the world that India
is divided on how to fight terrorism. When the world is rallying around India,
the Opposition in India should not be striking a discordant note, the minister
said. Further, next time if extremists and separatists raise slogans on how to
break India (the JNU incident), no one from mainstream parties should pay a
supporting visit to them, Jaitley said and added there is no freedom of speech
to advocate a breakup of India. In an apparent reference to the Congress
raising the Rafale jet deal issue, he said political parties should not
politicise defence procurement on false and imaginary facts for petty gains as
it hurts defence preparedness.
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KULBHUSHAN JADHAV CASE: INDIA, PAKISTAN CONCLUDE FINAL
ARGUMENTS
The judicial review
process available to Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan was hopelessly insufficient while
Pakistan was basing its case entirely on claims around a passport and an
extracted confession, India’s counsel Harish Salve told the court as he kicked
off the second round of oral arguments in the hearings at the International
Court of Justice on Wednesday, with a sharp attack on the tone and content of
Pakistan’s presentation on Tuesday. Deepak Mittal called on the court to adjudicate
on an egregious breach of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and to
order that Jadhav be given consular access. And if the court was not able to
annul the verdict of the military court and order the release of Jadhav, he
called on it to annul the military court verdict and order a civilian trial
through the ordinary courts, after excluding the extracted confession from
evidence and providing him with consular access. India insists that contrary to
Pakistan’s contention, the Vienna convention is not subject to exceptions on
any grounds – including national security and espionage. Khawar Qureshi accused
India of failing to answer any questions and of engaging in deflection,
diversion and propaganda. At the end of Wednesday’s proceedings ICJ President
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf had clarified that Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani
— Pakistan’s ad-hoc judge for the case — did not need to be replaced at this
stage, despite being taken ill and not attending the first three days, as he
had already been participating in the case ahead of the hearings, and would
still be able to continue to participate by watching recordings or reading
transcripts of the case. However, he left open the possibility of a replacement
at a later stage should Jillani still be unable to attend. Salve accused
Pakistan of failing to accord the proceedings with the dignity and solemnity,
they were due, and criticised the strong language that had been used. India
takes exception to being addressed in this fashion in this court, he said, pointing
to some of the phrases that had been deployed including the use of words such
as arrogance, ridiculous, disgraceful. Humpty dumpty has no place in this
court, he said, pointing to a reference made by Qureshi to the nursery rhyme,
accusing India of building a flimsy wall of lies. As an old saying goes when
you have the facts, you hammer the facts, when you have the law you hammer the
law, when you have neither the facts nor the law you hammer the table, Salve
told the court. He also criticised the reference to a Rs 90,605 payment that
Pakistan said had been paid by way of pay rather than pension to Jadhav’s
account. Our team has in the time available searched the entire material
[submitted by Pakistan] and not found it,’ he noted. He also criticised several
last-minute applications that had been made to the court by the Pakistani legal
team at the end of proceedings on Monday, including a request to be able to
show a video of an alleged further confession, that was subsequently referred
to by Qureshi during proceedings. Why had an application to share this only
been made at the last minute, when it had allegedly been made in November last
year, he asked the court. India’s position is that of Wonderland. Indeed it is
of a rotund character with a fragile cranium. Pakistan is not the one who
brought him into this court, he said, in an apparent reference to Salve’s
comments slamming the language and tone of Qureshi’s opening arguments, and his
reference to Humpty Dumpty. He also accused India of misrepresenting the
introduction of a photograph in one of his presentations – that of Doval – who
he described as India’s self styled super spy. If he ever visits London there
is a vacancy for an actor to play James Bond. Judgements by the ICJ are made on
average within 6 months of the hearings concluding though this can vary from a
shorter period to a couple of years. The decision of the court is binding, and
non-appealable, though it is possible to make a request for interpretation if
there is a dispute between the two sides as to what the judgement means or what
its scope is.
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INDO-CANADA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TPCI TO WORK CLOSELY TO
DEVELOP BILATERAL TRADE
A high level delegation of
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce was on a 10-day visit to India to develop
bilateral trade relations between Canada and India and to discuss joint
investment opportunities in Canada and also create business and professional
opportunities for the Canadian small businesses in India. President of the
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Pramod Goyal, said that the focus of the
delegation was on sectors like infrastructure development, information and
communication technology, advanced manufacturing, financial services, tourism,
business immigration, education and skills development. All these sectors
continue to show tremendous potential and are expected to become the pivots for
enhancing the bilateral trade between the two countries. He further said that
growing trade tensions between USA and China and its emphasis on adding dollar
value in US economy through manufacturing will also compel Canada to look East
and specially to a growing market like India to promote trade to ensure growth
and employment opportunities for its small entrepreneurs. Trade Promotion
Council of India (TPCI) assured the visiting delegation to facilitate
technology transfer and trade promotion A proposal to bring ‘Innovation Canada’
approved expertise in sewage treatment, waste management and recycling was also
discussed. Some other proposals discussed included promoting Indian food and
value-added products in Canada, investments in JVs by Indian businessmen in
Canada, bringing high-end flooring and sanitary products to India, importing
cheap but quality bitumen and lubricants to India and trade in canola oil and
maple syrup with India. A group of 33 leading buyers from Canada visited Indus Food
2019, a tradeshow on food and beverages, which saw business worth USD 1.2
billion being conducted.
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PULWAMA ATTACK: PAKISTAN TO STAY ON FATF 'GREY LIST' FOR
TERROR FINANCING
Terror financing watchdog
FATF has decided to keep Pakistan on the grey list till October This, after
India made a strong push to ensure that Islamabad is not taken off the list, in
the light of the Pulwama terror attack. The decision keeps international
pressure on Pakistan to clean up its act on terror support and terror
financing. Pakistan has made only limited progress on curbing money laundering
and terrorism financing failing to show a proper understanding of the risks
posed by JuD, LeT, JeM and others, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force
said. Given the limited progress on action plan items the FATF urges Pakistan
to swiftly complete its action plan, particularly those with timelines of May
2019, the FATF said in a statement. Pakistan had to demonstrate compliance on
five counts by February, but there has been negligible movement by Islamabad.
It needed to show sanctions were being applied in cases of money laundering and
terrorism financing, demonstrate better cooperation between authorities
identifying illegal money flows, and enhance support for prosecutors, among
other measures, the FATF said.
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PAKISTAN ARMY SAYS COUNTRY DOESN'T WISH FOR WAR, BUT WARNS
INDIA OF 'SURPRISE'
The Pakistan Army on
Friday said the country does not wish for war but warned India of surprise in
case it takes any aggressive military measures amidst heightened tensions
between the two sides following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF
soldiers. Asif Ghafoor also said that India blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama
attack without due investigation and New Delhi has not yet accepted the reality
of partition. We have a 72-year history. The partition happened in 1947 and
Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn't been able to accept that, the Army
spokesman said after the terror strike by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad
terror group in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. We are not
preparing for war, you (India) are issuing threats we have right to respond to
the threats. We are not preparing to initiate but planning to defend and
retaliate which is our right, the Army spokesman said. He further said: Should
you (India) initiate any reaction first, you would never be able to surprise us
we will surprise you. He said when it comes to India, Pakistan has singleness
of conception. We have will and determination. Ghafoor warned that military
response this time will be different in case of war. We are not the army of
past, we are a battle-hardened army. We have fought against an unseen enemy and
won, he said. The army spokesman said that we can respond to full spectrum
threat and warned I hope you (India) get (the message) and do not mess with
Pakistan. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday authorised the Army
to take all measures to defend the country in case of any attack.
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JEM MENTION IN UNSC STATEMENT ONLY IN GENERAL TERMS NOT A
JUDGEMENT: CHINA
China, a permanent member
of the UN Security Council, Friday sought to downplay the scathing statement
issued by the powerful organ of the world body naming Jaish-e-Muhammad in the
Pulwama terror attack, saying the mention of the Pakistan-based outfit was only
in general terms and does not represent a judgement The powerful UN Security
Council (UNSC) on Thursday strongly condemned the heinous and cowardly terror
attack. The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms
the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir. China's Foreign
Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that Beijing was closely
following the developments related to the terror incident. UN Security Council
issued a press statement that mentioned that a particular organisation but only
in general terms. It does not represent a judgment on the attack, Geng said. China
hopes all parties will work to find the truth about this attack. We hope
Pakistan and India will engage in dialogue to jointly safeguard regional peace
and stability, he said.
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PULWAMA ATTACK: CHINA FORCED DELAY IN UN SECURITY COUNCIL
STATEMENT ON TERROR ATTACK FOR ONE WEEK
China's lone opposition in
the 15-member UN Security Council to any mention of terrorism resulted in a
delay of nearly one week in the issuance of a statement by the powerful body on
the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources said on Friday. However,
the US assiduously worked as pen holder making various adjustments to get the
approval by all other members of the Council, the sources told PTI. While China
was trying to water down the UNSC statement on Pulwama, Pakistan worked against
issuance of any statement. The UN Security Council comprising 15 permanent and
non-permanent members on Thursday condemned in the strongest terms the heinous
and cowardly terror attack perpetrated by Pakistan-based terror group
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on February 14. Sharing details of diplomatic wranglings
on the matter, the sources said the UNSC statement on Pulwama was to be issued
on the evening of February 15 but China repeatedly sought extension of timing. China
requested extension till Feb 18 when 14 member countries were ready to issue it
on February 15 itself, they said, adding China broke silence procedure two
times suggesting multiple amendments aiming to derail the effort Even after
UNSC condemned the Pulwama strike as terrorism China continued to oppose any
mention of terrorism in the statement, said a person familiar with the
diplomatic parleys on the issue at the UN headquarters. However,
notwithstanding hectic Chinese and Pakistani efforts, the UNSC agreed to issue
the first statement in its history regarding an attack on Indian troops in
Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said. India has mounted a diplomatic offensive
to isolate Pakistan in the international community for its support to terror
groups and cross border terrorism. In the statement, the UNSC also reaffirmed
that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most
serious threats to international peace and security and underlined the need to
hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts
of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. The UNSC also urged all
States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and
relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with India and all
other relevant authorities to bring perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to
justice.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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