GST REVENUE COLLECTION FOR MARCH, 2019 CROSSED RUPEES ONE LAKH
CRORE
Total Gross GST revenue
collected in the month of March, 2019 is Rs. 1,06,577 crore of which CGST is
Rs. 20,353 crore, SGST is Rs.27,520 crore, IGST is Rs.50,418 crore (including
Rs. 23,521 crore collected on imports) and Cess is Rs. 8,286 crore (including
Rs. 891 crore collected on imports). The total number of GSTR 3B Returns filed
for the month of February up to 31st March, 2019 is 75.95 lakh The Government
has settled Rs.17,261 crore to CGST and Rs. 13,689 crore to SGST from IGST as
regular settlement. Further, Rs. 20,000 crore has been settled from the balance
IGST available with the Centre on provisional basis in the ratio of 50:50
between Centre and States. The total revenue earned by Central Government and
the State Governments after regular and provisional settlement in the month of
March, 2019 is Rs. 47,614 crore for CGST and Rs. 51,209 crore for the SGST. The
collection during March, 2019 has been the highest since introduction of GST.
The revenue in March, 2018 was Rs. 92,167crore and the revenue during March,
2019 is a growth of 15.6% over the revenue in the same month last year. The
revenue for the last quarter in the year 2018-19 is 14.3% higher than the
revenue collected during the same period last year. The monthly average of GST
revenue during 2018-19 is Rs. 98,114 crore which is 9.2% higher than FY
2017-18. These figures indicate that the revenue growth has been picking up in
recent months, despite various rate rationalization measures.
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FY19 DIRECT TAX COLLECTIONS FALL SHORT BY RS 50K CR
Direct tax collections
have fallen short by Rs 50,000 crore thereby failing to meet the revised target
of Rs 12 lakh crore for 2018-19 fiscal on account of poor personal income tax
collections. "We will get close to most likely the earlier target of Rs
11.5 lakh crore for 2018-19 as calculations are at the final stage not beyond
that We will not meet upward revised target of Rs 12 lakh crore," an
official source said. Sources said the target of personal income tax of Rs 5.29
lakh crore was not met by almost the same shortfall amount of Rs 50,000 crore,
which dragged down the direct tax collections for the fiscal 2018-19. They also
said that the corporate tax target of Rs 6.71 lakh crore was more or less met
with minor aberrations. The advance tax paid was over Rs 5 lakh crore of the
total 11.5 lakh crore. Advance tax is payable on total income sources --
salary, business, professions, rent of a fiscal year. It is paid before the
fiscal ends.
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ROLL-OUT OF NEW, SIMPLIFIED MONTHLY GST RETURN FORMS DEFERRED
The pilot project
envisaged for rolling out simplified monthly goods and services tax (GST)
return forms from April 1 has been deferred and the new forms would be made
available once they the notified and the software is ready. The pilot project
of new return filing has been deferred. The new date would be decided. The
forms would be notified first; following which the pilot would be launched.
Systems are being developed for the new forms, an official said.
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CBDT EXTENDS PAN AADHAR NUMBER LINKING DEADLINE TO 30TH
SEPTEMBER 2019
In exercise of the powers
conferred under sub-section (2) of section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961
(Act), the Central Government, hereby notifies that every person who has been
allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who is
eligible to obtain Aadhaar number shall intimate his Aadhaar number to the
Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Principal Director of
Income tax (Systems) in the form and manner specified in Notification no. 7
dated 29th of June, 2017 issued by the Principal Director General of Income Tax
(Systems) by 30th of September, 2019. This notification shall not be applicable
to those persons or such class of persons or any State or part of any State
who/which are/is specifically excluded under sub-section (3) of section 139AA
of the Act. However, notwithstanding the last date of linking of Aadhaar number
with PAN being extended to 09.2019 in para 1 above, it is also made clear in
Circular No.6 of 2019 that w.e.f. 01st of April, 2019. it is mandatory to quote
Aadhaar number while filing the return of income as required under Section
139AA(1)(ii) unless specifically exempted as per any notification issued under
sub-section (3) of section 139AA of the Act. It is also made clear that the
returns being filed either electronically or manually cannot be filed without
quoting the Aadhaar number.
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GST RULE CHANGE TO AID BUSINESSES WITH BETTER CASH FLOW
MANAGEMENT
Reversing its February
notification, the central board of indirect taxes and customs (CBIC) has
provided a relief to businesses in terms of using credit in the goods and
services tax (GST) system towards tax payment. This will aid businesses with
better cash flow management. Input tax credit on account of Integrated tax
(IGST) shall first be utilised towards payment of integrated tax, and the
amount remaining, if any, may be utilised towards the payment of central tax
(CGST) and State tax (SGST) or Union territory tax (UTGST), as the case may be,
in any order, the notification said. Abhishek Jain, said that this amendment
would bring relief to businesses, who have been worried in the last couple of
months on account of the possible increased cash outgo for payment of GST
liability With this change, businesses could now structure IGST credit
utilisation in an order, which does not entail unwarranted cash payments of GST
liability where credits are available, he added. From February 1, companies
were mandated to utilise available Integrated GST (IGST) credit to set off tax
liability in the form of IGST, Central GST and State GST or UTGST in this very
order. As a result, they were unable to use IGST credit to set off SGST
liability without extinguishing their CGST liabilities. With this change,
businesses still have to set off IGST liability first But now, the government
has allowed businesses to utiise the remainder of IGST credit to pay off either
of CGST or SGST liabilities according to their discretion. Under the old rules
which were in operation in February and March, in most of the cases, IGST
credit used to get exhausted in IGST and CGST payments in order. CGST credit
used to stay in the system un-utilised, and businesses had to make cash
payments for SGST. Now, under the modified rules, the taxpayer can choose to
pay off SGST using IGST credit, even if the latter is not used to set off CGST
liability. This will improve the efficiency of credit utilisation in the GST
system, while helping the concerned company with marginally increased working
capital. However, some businessmen said that the rules effective in February
and March were not implemented in reality, since the GST Network (GSTN) system
did not allow for the same. But nevertheless, this change makes it better for
businesses, they said.
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SYSTEM BASED APPROVAL OF MEIS APPLICATIONS FOR SEZ SHIPPING
BILLS TO ENABLE FROM APRIL 8: DGFT
The Directorate General of
Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified that the online filing, processing and system
based approval of Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) applications in
respect of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) shipping bills is being enabled from
April 8, 2019 The move has been taken in line with the Government of India’s
motto of facilitating the Ease of doing business. The procedure and guidelines
for exporters/applicants and SEZ RAs would be just like the system based
automatic approval for MEIS applied for such Shipping bills, said DGFT. Effectively,
the exporters would be able to electronically attach the SEZ shipping bills in
their online application and link these shipping bills with e-BRCs for shipping
bills with HS Codes, which are not in the negative list issued vide Public
Notice 68 dated 09.01.2019, it added. The Commerce Ministry’s arm, DGFT said
The system would approve the MEIS applications and SEZ RAs are required to
dispatch them within 1 working day or hand over to the applicant, as opted by
the applicant in the online module.
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UDIN MANDATORY FOR GST & TAX AUDIT REPORTS FROM TOMORROW,
NOT APPLICABLE TO STATUTORY BANK AUDIT: ICAI
In a set of Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs) issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India (ICAI) has clarified that though UDIN is mandatory for GST & Tax
Audit Reports it is not applicable to Statutory Bank Audits With effect from
1st April 2019, Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) is being made
mandatory for GST & Tax Audit Reports. Considering the fact that Bank Audit
is about to commence, UDIN Monitoring Group of the ICAI has come out with
detailed FAQs on UDIN for Bank Audit. For Statutory Bank Audit, UDIN is not
mandatory. However, for all Certificates to be signed while conducting Bank
Audit, generation of UDIN is mandatory as UDIN is already mandatory on all
Certification w.e.f 1st, 2019, the document said. UDIN has been made mandatory
in a phased manner, i.e. on certification done by practising Chartered
Accountants with effect from 1st February 2019, on GST and tax audit reports
with effect from 1st April 2019, and on all other attest functions with effect
from 1st July 2019. Since 1st February 2019, more than 3.68 lakh UDINs have
been issued. I request my professional colleagues to take note of the above
schedule of mandating UDIN and adhere to the same while discharging their
attest functions, ICAI Chief CA. Prafulla P. Chhajed said. The FAQ has also
said that the UDIN has to be generated per Assignment per Signatory. In Bank
Branch Audit, One Branch is one assignment, hence, one UDIN for all
certificates will suffice. However, care should be taken that a list of all
certificates bearing same UDIN should be compiled and handed over to management
under a covering letter so that the UDIN generated cannot be misused by
affixing on any other certificate which has not been signed by you, it said. It
further said that in the Bank Branch Audit, separate UDIN has to be taken for
Tax Audit. Tax Audit is the separate assignment. Hence separate UDINs have to
be taken while conducting Bank Branch Audit for each Branch. Therefore, 2
separate UDINs are to be generated – one for Certificates and other for Tax
Audit Report. However, if certificates are signed by more than one partner then
more UDINs on certificates have to be generated, it added. It further clarified
that UDIN will be applicable both for manually as well as digitally signed
Reports / uploaded online. In the case of digitally signed / online reports,
UDIN has to be generated and retained for providing the same on being asked by
any third party/ authority.
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TAX EVASION MAY GET MORE DIFFICULT AS I-T DEPT TO USE BIG DATA
ANALYTICS FROM APRIL
Tax evasion is likely to
get more difficult if not impossible with the entry of Big Data Analytics into
the Income Tax (I-T) Department's realm of tools to check tax evasion starting
April 1 The Rs 1,000 crore programme named Project Insight would track social
networking profiles of people and keep a tab on the expenditure patterns
through the photographs and videos uploaded on social media. If the purchases
and travel expenses are found to be disproportionate to the declared income of
a person, the I-T officials would be informed of the mismatch and actions would
follow. According to informed sources, the I-T Department has given the tax
officials access to the software from March 15 If you are travelling to a
foreign country and posting pictures on social media, or buying a luxury car
which is beyond your means as per your returns filed, the I-T Department can
use Big Data to analyse them and check the mismatch between your earnings and
spendings. The process can easily use the complete trail even for the new tax
filer, said people in the know of things. The I-T Department can also prepare a
master file containing all the details and key information about individuals
and corporates, they said. The main objective of the project is to catch the
tax evaders and increase the number of people filing returns and paying taxes.
The Insight Project will feature an integrated information management system,
which will harness machine learning to help take the right step at the right
time. The software would also collect web pages and documents that could be
probed by the I-T Department. With the usage of Big Data Analytics, India is
set to join a league of countries such as Belgium, Canada and Australia which
already use Big Data to keep a check on tax evasion. Since the inception of the
technology in Britain in 2010, the system has prevented the loss of around 4.1
billion pound (Rs 36,942 crore) in revenue. The software would ensure the
overall scrutiny of all the returns filed and selection based on numerous small
parameters from which the probability of tax evasion is likely to be nil,
according to analysts.
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ITRS FILED PRIOR TO 01.04.2019 AS PER DECISIONS OF VARIOUS
HIGH COURTS VALID – CBDT
As per clause (ii) of
sub-section (1) of section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961, with effect from
01.07.2017, every person who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number has to quote
the Aadhaar number in return of income. In a series of judgments i.e. (i) Binoy
Viswam Vs. Union of India reported in (2017) 396 ITR 66 (ii) Final Judgment and
order of the Constitution Bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 26.09.18 in
Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and another (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 494 of
2012}; & (iii) Shreya Sen & Anr. In SLP (Civil) Diary No(s) 34292/2018
dated 04.02 .2019, Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld validity of Section 139AA. In
light of the aforesaid judgement(s)/order(s) of Hon’ble Supreme Court, from
04.2019 onwards, to give effect to the above judgements/orders, it has been
decided by the Board that provision of clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of
section 139AA of the Act would be implemented and it is mandatory to quote
Aadhaar while filing the return of income unless specifically exempted as per
any notification issued under sub-section (3) of section 139AA of the Act.
Thus, returns being filed either electronically or manually cannot be filed
without quoting the Aadhaar number. Returns which were filed prior to
01.04.2019 without quoting of Aadhaar number as an outcome of any decision of
different High Courts in a specific case or returns which were filed during the
period when the online functionality for filing the return without quoting of
Aadhaar number was so available in the aftermath of decision of Delhi High
Court dated 24.07.18 in W.P. C.M 7444/2018 & C.M. Application No.
28499/2018 in case of Shreya Sen vs. Union of India & Ors., till it was
withdrawn post decision of Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court
dated 26.09.18, would also be taken up for processing without causing any
adverse consequence for non-quoting of Aadhaar as per provision of section
139AA of the Act.
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DPIIT WORKING ON DEFINITION OF ACCREDITED INVESTORS FOR ANGEL
TAX EXEMPTION
The Department for
Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on a definition of
'accredited investors' who could be provided tax incentives for investments in
startups, an official said. The department, under the commerce and industry
ministry, has already prepared a draft definition and is now seeking views of
stakeholders. The official said these accredited investors, which can include
trusts, individuals, family member of a startup and unlisted companies, may get
exemption from angel tax under Section 56(2)(viib) of Income Tax Act, 1961,
beyond the Rs 25 crore limit. Currently, the government allows startups to
avail full angel tax concession on investments up to Rs 25 crore. Besides this,
three categories of investors with specified limit of turnover and net worth --
listed companies, non residents and alternate investments funds category I like
venture capital funds -- also get exemption from angel tax on investment beyond
Rs 25 crore.
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CENTRE TO MISS TAX COLLECTION TARGETS
The central government
will miss its tax mop-up targets for both direct and indirect taxes for the
financial year 2018-19, finance ministry officials said. The ministry had
pegged the direct and the indirect tax collection targets at Rs 12 lakh crore
and Rs 10.45 lakh crore, respectively, as per the revised Budget estimates. It
is almost clear now that the budgeted tax collection targets for both direct
and indirect tax will not be met. We expect the indirect tax shortfall to be
around Rs 50,000 crore during 2018-19. Of this, Rs 30,000-35,000 crore is
likely to be on account of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the target for which
is pegged at Rs 6.44 lakh crore for the year. The excise mop-up target of Rs
2.60 lakh crore, too, will see a shortfall, of which Rs 10,500 crore is likely
to be due to a reduction in excise duty on petroleum products by Rs 1.50 per
litre. The customs collections may, however, overshoot its Rs 1.30 lakh crore
target, a revenue department official said. Due to muted collections, the
government had revised downwards the GST target from Rs 7.44 lakh crore to Rs
6.44 lakh crore in the interim Budget. The total indirect tax collection
target, which includes GST, excise and customs duties, was revised from Rs
11.18 lakh crore to Rs 10.45 lakh crore. Any shortfall in GST collections will
not only impact the Centre's finances but also the state finances in terms of
lower tax devolution and grants-in-aid transfers. We are trying every possible
method to collect direct taxes for the current fiscal and reach closer to the
original Budget target of Rs 11.50 lakh crore, if not exactly meet it. The
unrealistic revised target of Rs 12 lakh crore is impossible to meet. There are
some last-minute entries which get reflected in a few days. The real position
on total collections will be known by April 4, said another finance ministry
official. The last date for payment of personal income and corporate tax for
the financial year 2018-19 was March 31.
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GST CATCHES FIRM FOR TAX FRAUD
Officials of the Goods and
Services Tax (GST) department caught a city-based company that was fraudulently
claiming input tax credit worth crores. GST officials booked KSEG India
International for wrongfully availing input tax credit to the tune of Rs 3.3
crore. The company management showed fake invoices issued by various firms sans
physical or actual movement of goods. The investigation has also revealed that
these supplier firms existed only on paper and they have issued only invoices
to their customers without supplying any physical or actual movement of goods
to facilitating false claim of ITC, an official release by Mallika Mahajan,
principal commissioner, Central GST and Central Excise, Vadodara 1, said. Proprietor
of the company, Sazid Ali Khan, was arrested by GST officials on Saturday. He
was given bail on issuance of Rs 35 lakh bond, a GST spokesperson said.
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SETTLED GST, CREDIT FLOWS AMONG 7 REFORMS TO AID INDIA GROW
7.5% IN 2019: CII
A settled goods and
services tax (GST), improving credit availability and capacity expansion from
increasing investment in infrastructure are among seven key drivers that will
help Indian economy grow 7.5% next year, said the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII). CII said that amid growing global vulnerabilities of trade wars
and US monetary tightening, India shines as the fastest growing major economy
with robust gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018 that is expected to continue
to expand in 2019. Better demand conditions, settled GST implementation,
capacity expansion resulting from growing investments in infrastructure and
continuing positive effects of the reform policies undertaken and improved
credit offtake especially in services sector at 24% will sustain the robust GDP
growth in the range of 7.5% in 2019, CII said in a statement. The positive
outlook is supported by improved demand conditions arising from election
spending, stronger services and infrastructure sector, it said. The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) expects India’s economy to grow 7.4% in 2018-19. CII also said
that additional benches of the National Company Law Tribunal will address the
issue of non-performing assets. It said that increasing domestic oil
production, special window for oil marketing companies to procure oil and
stepping up diplomacy with the US to continue oil purchases from Iran will help
India guard against the risk of higher oil prices.
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GST OFFICERS PRODDING BUSINESSES TO DEPOSIT TAXES BY MARCH 31
TO MEET FISCAL TARGET
Racing against time to
meet the GST collection target for 2018-19, tax officers have been prodding
businesses to pay taxes by Sunday so that the amount gets reflected in the GST
revenue collection data for March to be released on April 1 (Monday), a
government official said. Since taxes collected by non-EDI (electronic data
exchange) ports takes about four-five days to get reflected in the system, the
government is planning to come out with a reconciled data for full fiscal by
April 10, the official further added. The tax officers are putting to use their
goodwill with the assessees and nudging them to pay the taxes by March end, the
last month of the fiscal, to make up for the collection target for 2018-19, the
official told. The official said officers were also prodding some importers to
front-load their integrated GST (IGST) payments in March for those inward
shipments for which orders have already paid and are due to delivered in next
couple of months. This practice of prodding assessees to pay taxes by March end
to meet the fiscal target was also prevalent during the erstwhile excise and
service tax regime. This was done to balance the revenue targets allocated to
each individual division. GST would loose its lustre if tax officers continue
to use methods of persuasive coercion.
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TAX REFUND IN THE WORKS FOR EXPORTS TO US
The government is
considering a scheme to refund taxes imposed on India’s exports to the US that
will suffer loss of competitiveness once the concessional duties enjoyed under
the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) are withdrawn. A Rebate of State
Levies (ROSL) kind of scheme, which would refund unrebated taxes that are
included in the price of goods, would incentivise exporters and ensure India’s
shipments do not drop. The unrebated taxes would be refunded through the
drawback route. Leather, textiles, some lines of organic chemicals, and nuclear
reactors and boilers are some sectors that are likely to face a disadvantage.
The government may consider ROSL for these sectors, an official in the know of
the development said. While most Indian exports are incentivised through the
Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, the programme has been disputed by the
US for violating the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. ROSL is compliant
with international trade norms and found favour in mid-term review of the
Foreign Trade Policy. The scheme should take into account the needs of the
energy-intensive sectors and states with poor infrastructure, the government
had noted in the review. The industry has identified basic and processed food,
imitation jewellery, leather articles (other than footwear), pharmaceuticals,
chemicals and plastics as sectors that would get hit the most with the
preferential tariffs in the post GSP era. In the event of withdrawal of the GSP,
India will have to compete on most favoured nation (MFN) terms. About 60% of
the US imports take place on MFN duty, Federation of Indian Export
Organisations (FIEO) said in a study. The MFN rates on these exports are
between 4.8% and 6.9% but on certain lines such as par boiled rice and some
kinds of silver jewellery, the duty is as high as 11%, leaving a huge tariff
gap between preferential and actual duties. The preferential tariffs under the
GSP on Indian exports range between 1% and 6%. Looking at the tariff advantage,
some sectors may not be able to absorb it. So, some handholding is required,
said Ajay Sahai. As per the study, India’s global merchandise exports for 2018
were $324.7 billion, of which $51.4 billion were to the US. However, only $6.35
billion of exports from India to the US benefited from the GSP scheme. Such
exports were covered under 1921US tariff lines.
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REVENUE DEPARTMENT TAKES FINAL SHOTS ON THE LAST DAY OF GST
COLLECTION
For a department that
collects tax on behalf of the government, the last day of the financial year is
generally known to be like this: Tax offices filled with dynamism, officers
handling bunches of demand drafts and cheques; clerks making to-and-fro visits
to banks to clear them; and officials staying in office till midnight to rake
in as much taxes possible, to manage the revenue numbers promised in the
Budget. But with most payments happening online, and with smoother experience
of tax payment compared to the old times, tax officials are relatively better
placed to handle the last day’s pressure, at least for the goods and services
tax (GST), some of them working closely in the process, said. Yet, most tax
officials that Business Standard tried to reach out to on phone, were not
available for comment. Those involved in the process of ensuring revenue
targets are met, are putting extra hours to clock the Rs 5.04 trillion figure
for Central GST. Similar is the case with states. In that respect, union
finance ministry officials said that reports have been shared with field
offices on the pockets where the shortfall in payment of GST has been observed
in GST Network (GSTN). Data with specific details on the places where revenue
shortfall is happening, and taxpayers whose GST arrears for previous months
have accumulated has been shared with states weeks ago, says a senior official
in the finance ministry.
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RESTAURANTS LOSE APPETITE WITH TAX SOP NOT ON MENU
About a dozen prominent
restaurant brands have either halted expansion in the country or revised
targets downwards over a year after the government scrapped input tax credit
(ITC) under the revised goods & services tax regime. A few others said they
would set up only online outlets or within hotel premises where they can
continue to avail of the tax credit. We are dealing with a 25-30% loss in
EBITDA after the restaurant sector was denied input tax credit. We will stop
expanding in India and set up outlets only overseas if a rollback doesn’t
happen this year, said Priyank Sukhija, chief executive of First Fiddle
Restaurants, which operates Lord of the Drinks, Warehouse Cafe and Townhouse. We
have decided not to invest in new brick and mortar stores this year, unless
things for the sector improve. Instead, we are planning to set up an
online-only restaurant brand, said Anurag Katriar. The denial of input tax
credit has led to capital expenditure going up and margins coming under
pressure. Besides, a lot of business is moving online, Katriar said. Deep
discounting by heavily funded online delivery platforms such as Swiggy and
Zomato has changed the dynamics of the sector, impacting footfalls and
diverting consumer traffic to these platforms. These platforms, though, gave
the restaurant industry the option to set up online-only outlets where the
costs are less.
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INDIA DELAYS LEVYING RETALIATORY TARIFF ON US GOODS TO MAY 2
India has once again
delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the
United States to May 2, according to a government order. The new tariff
structure was to come into force from April 1. Angered by Washington's refusal
to exempt it from new steel and aluminium tariffs, New Delhi decided in June
last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including
almonds, walnuts and apples. But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed
the implementation of the new tariff.
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ILFS SECURITIES FILES CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST DELHI POLICE'S
ECONOMIC OFFENCES WING
ILFS Securities Services
Limited (IISL), a subsidiary of ILFS, has filed a criminal writ petition in the
Delhi High Court against Delhi Police EOW (Economic Offences Wing) claiming
they passed orders, restricting the company from selling specified securities,
without application of mind, on wrongful assumption of power, without following
due process, without authority of law and in an arbitrary and illegal manner.
The petition also challenged the order on the grounds that EOW acted on the
basis of a complaint filed by Dalmia Cements without any FIR and without having
any provision under law authorising it to issue such impunged order prior to
initiating investigation under CrPC. The case involves IISL, a clearing member;
Allied Financials, a broker; and its clients Dalmia Cements in an Options
Contract. Allied Financials sold Options Contract on Nifty, in the F&O
segment of NSE, in December 2018. The contracts were to be settled in cash on
expiry in March 2019 and June 2019. Allied Financials got Rs 380 crore for
these contracts and offered MFs to IISL towards collaterals for these Options,
which was transferred to NSE Clearing Limited(NCL).
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ASSESSING OFFICER CAN SUO MOTO EXTEND TIME PERIOD FOR SPECIAL
AUDIT RETROSPECTIVELY: SC
The Supreme Court has held
that the Assessing Officer can suo moto extend the time period for a special
audit retrospectively even before the amendment in the Finance Act of 2008. The
judgment, which lays to rest a long controversy, relates to Section 142 (2C) of
the Income Tax Act, which deals with special audit and empowers the AO to
direct the assessee to get the accounts audited by an accountant in some cases
due to complexity and to protect the department’s interests. The amendment
empowers the AO to extend the deadline for the audit report either suo moto or
on an application from the assessee but within a-180 day period from the
direction of the special audit. We have come to the conclusion that the
provisions of Section 142(2C), as they stood prior to the amendment which was
enacted with effect from April 1, 2008 by the Finance Act, 2008 did not
preclude the exercise of jurisdiction and authority by the AO to extend time
for the submission of the audit report directed under subsection (2A), without
an application by the assessee, held the Supreme Court in a recent judgment,
adding that the amendment was intended to remove an ambiguity and is
clarificatory in nature. Dismissing a batch of appeals by assessees who had
contended that the AO had no jurisdiction or authority under Section 142 (2C)
before April 1, 2008, to extend time for the submission of the audit report
without an application, the Supreme Court overruled the judgment of a Division
Bench of the Delhi High Court in Commissioner of Income Tax against Bishan
Swaroop Ram Kishan Agro of May 2011.
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MAKE MY TRIP WAS NOT LIABLE TO DEDUCT TDS ON PAYMENT GATEWAY
CHARGES PAID TO BANKS – HC
Commissioner of Income Tax
v JDS Apparels (P) Ltd. (2015) 370 ITR
In this case, the Revenue
had filed an Income Tax Appeal against an order passed by the Income Tax
Appellate Tribunal, (ITAT) in deleting the addition made by the Assessing
Officer (AO) u/s 40(a)(ia) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) being non
deduction of TDS on account of payment gateway charges. The Assessee was a
engaged in the business of selling its travel products to the customers through
a renowned website namely makemytrip.com. A customer can log on to the
Assessee’s website, choose from its various travel products displayed there.
Once the customer enters into a transaction, payment therefor is made by using
the facility of an Internet Payment Gateway, which automatically opens. The
payment gateway, which is provided in this case by four banks viz., HDFC,
ICICI, Citibank and American Express, electronically transfers the customer
data to the credit card issuer through VISA / Master Card, for the approval of
the issuer and consequently the amount is debited by the issuer to the
cardholder. Instantly the payment gateway website confirms approval to the
merchant/e-Commerce website and the transaction gets concluded. The net price
after deduction of facility charges by the payment gateway is automatically
credited to the bank account of the merchant. The amount retained by the
payment gateway facility provider includes the charges for the facility of
secured payment gateway and the charges of VISA/Mastercard. The AO disallowed
the payment made by the Assessee to the above Banks towards charges for providing
the payment gateway facility for the AY in question under Section 40(a)(ia) of
the Act since according to the AO the said payment was in the nature of
commission paid to the Banks from which TDS under Section 194 H of the Act
ought to had been deducted. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) reduced
the disallowance as the assessee, before the AO, had produced the ‘Nil’
withholding tax certificate under Section 195 (3) of the Act with respect to
some payments. The ITAT, in the impugned order allowed the Assessee’s appeal on
this issue and held that the payment gateway charges were in nature of fees for
banking services and not commission or brokerage and thus no TDS was deductible
from the said charges under Section 194 H of the Act. The Hon’ble High Court
noted that the ITAT had relied on its judgment wherein it was held that in a
similar kind of transaction, the amount retained by the bank is a fee charged
for having rendered banking services and cannot be treated as a commission or
brokerage paid in course of use of any services by a person acting on behalf of
another for buying or selling of goods. The Hon’ble High Court opined that the
ITAT had rightly, held that the services provided by the payment gateway is
such that the charges collected by it has to be necessarily treated as fees and
not as a commission. The payment in fact was made by one principal to another
and it is only being facilitated by the payment gateway by providing a service.
The Hon’ble High Court further noted that the Central Government, by
notification dated 31st December, 2012 had notified that no TDS shall be made
on specified payments to the banks listed in the Second Schedule to the Reserve
Bank of India Act which inter alia exempted credit card or debit card
commission for transaction between the merchant establishment and acquirer
bank. The Hon’ble High Court observed that the said notification though
referred to in the order of the CIT (A) but not discussed. The assessee was
right in contending that by virtue of the above notification no TDS is
deductible from payments made towards credit card or debit card commission for
transaction between the merchant establishment and the acquirer bank. This
applied to the charges paid to the Banks for providing payment gateway in the
case on hand. The Hon’ble High Court held that the ITAT had not committed any
error in deleting the addition under section 40(a)(ia) of the Act on account of
non-deduction of TDS from the payment gateway charges paid to the Banks
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FRESH CRACKDOWN ON GST EVADERS ON THE CARDS
Tax sleuths are planning a
fresh crackdown on traders evading the payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST)
by seeking new registration for their businesses without revoking an earlier
application. The move is aimed at bringing tax evaders to book and prevent GST
evasion to the tune of several hundred crores of rupees. Deficiencies in the
current registration process have the potential to substantially bring down GST
revenues at a time when the collections have moved up and down and missed
targets. In a circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and
Customs (CBIC), the authority has instructed its officers to exercise due
caution while processing new applications for GST registration. It said that
not applying for revocation or cancellation of an earlier registration will be
deemed to be a deficiency and could be the reason for rejection of application
for new registration for businesses. Rejection of GST registration means
suspension of business activity, as no commercial activity could be performed
by an entity that is falling under the GST threshold but is still not
registered. The matter was taken up by the CBIC after it noticed several cases
of tax evasion using the re-registration route. Under this route, if a trader's
application was rejected on any ground earlier, the information was suppressed
and not revealed when a fresh registration was filed. This allowed businesses
to evade paying taxes for the period when the first application was filed. The
changes would help in increasing GST collections as businesses would now find
it difficult to evade taxes. As businesses would not be registered if any
earlier application is not revoked and tax dues settled, it would be a big
disincentive to hide facts, said a tax expert who asked not to be named. To
make the system foolproof, the CBIC has instructed its field formation to
verify registration details of businesses with their PAN. If an earlier
registration detail is flashed using the same PAN number, its details would be
verified and outstanding tax payments would be calculated. The process will
also show if an earlier application was rejected or whether a business filed
for the revocation of the said registration application. In either case,
registration could be denied if outstanding issues, including tax dues, are not
settled.
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NEW DISPUTES IN OLD VAT LAW: ROYALTIES TO OVERSEAS ENTITIES
COME BACK TO HAUNT MNCS
Recently the Maharashtra
VAT authorities have issued notices to the multi-nationals across the state and
their overseas group companies proposing to demand VAT on the royalty paid for
obtaining licenses to use the trademark, technical Know-how and other
intellectual property rights. The action undertaken by the VAT authorities has
been suspected to arise due to the decision of the Maharashtra VAT tribunal in
the case of Merk KGaA Germany. In the aforementioned case, Merk KGaA
(appellant), a Germany-based pharmaceutical company had a subsidiary namely
M/s. Merk Ltd. in Mumbai. An agreement was entered into between both the
companies, which was examined by the tax authorities, and it was concluded that
there was a transfer of right to use the trademark and the consideration in the
form of a royalty received for such transaction was taxable in the state of
Maharashtra. The matter subsequently reached to the tribunal and it has been
held that royalty received as a consideration for the transfer of right to use
the trademark is taxable under the sales tax laws. In our view, the said order
of the tribunal has not laid down the correct legal position Even otherwise,
the said decision passed in the facts and circumstances of the particular case,
ideally, should not be applied to all the assessees in the state. It has been
settled by the courts in India time and again that intangible are goods and
therefore right to use intangible is covered under the purview of VAT laws. However,
the stand taken by the VAT authorities, while relying upon the Merk decision,
should not hold good due to various reasons. The few key contentions are first,
the parent companies situated outside India, which have no business in India,
cannot be assessed under the provisions of the MVAT Act. Second, the liability
of tax in respect of the royalty paid to overseas entities would only arise if
the situs of the intangibles is in the state of Maharashtra. Third, the
activity of transfer of right to use the intangible has to take place within
the state of Maharashtra. Therefore, there are fair chances to get success in
such matters, however, the facts of each case have to be examined independently.
The important factors to be considered while determining the taxability of the
royalty paid to an overseas entity would be the following:
·
The nature of the
agreement between the parties.
·
The place where the
agreement has been signed or registered.
·
The place where the
relevant trademark and other IPRs have been registered.
·
The place where the
transfer of right to use such IPRs has taken place.
·
Whether the company has
any business connection/permanent establishment in India.
Thus, it is only upon a
determination of all the above relevant factors that the taxability of a
transaction can be determined and the same would differ on a case-to-case
basis. The VAT department’s knee-jerk reaction to the present matter, in light
of the Merk decision, has put a lot of multinationals under huge tax risks.
Though so far this issue has been raised in the State of Maharashtra, however,
the possibility of VAT authorities initiating the similar proceedings in other
states cannot be ruled out completely. Interestingly, some of the corporates
(overseas companies) are contemplating to ignore such notices on the ground
that these are beyond the jurisdiction of the VAT authorities in the state of
Maharashtra. In our view, taking such a position would lead to passing the
ex-parte order which is well within the rights of the VAT authorities. Having
confirmed the demand, the VAT authorities can proceed to recover the same from
the Indian subsidiaries by invoking the Garnishee provisions inbuilt under the
VAT laws. Therefore, the need of the hour is that the companies should identify
the crucial facts of the matter and build the suitable arguments even at the
lower stage so that the facts important in the matter are placed on record at
this stage itself. In our experience, there is always a challenge to bring new
facts on record at a later stage of litigation if these are not taken at the
lower level. There is likely chance that the issue in dispute would go to the
higher forum given the fact that the whole controversy has arisen due to the
tribunal decision. Hence the necessary preparation at the adjudication level
would be critical to succeeding at a later stage.
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NIRAV MODI, AIDES CHARGED UNDER US LAW USED TO NAIL MOBSTERS
A US bankruptcy court
executive has charged fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi and two of his associates
under a tough law once used to nail mobster families The use of the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), framed in 1970, signals the
prosecutor’s aggressive approach in this case. The Chicago Outfit and the
Gambino crime family are among mobster families convicted under this law. The
complaint filed in the bankruptcy court against Modi, Mihir Bhansali and Ajay
Gandhi, top executives of the three bankrupt US companies, accused them of
breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty,
corporate waste, and violations of the RICO Act. Defendants Modi, Bhansali, and
Gandhi, together with all Modi owned or controlled entities, form an
association-in-fact engaged in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce
for a common and continuing purpose of formulating and implementing a common
scheme to defraud PNB for the Defendants’ personal enrichment through a pattern
of fraud, lies, deceit, and corruption (hereinafter the RICO Enterprise), read
the 27 March complaint filed by Levin. On numerous occasions during the
relevant period, the RICO Enterprise, as conducted and controlled by defendants
Modi, Bhansali, and Gandhi, wilfully and knowingly transported, transmitted, or
transferred in interstate or foreign commerce—or received, possessed,
concealed, stored, bartered, sold, disposed of, or pledged as security for a
loan—goods, wares, merchandise, securities, or money that crossed an interstate
or international boundary after being stolen, converted, or taken by fraud, the
complaint said. Expectedly, Levin in his complaint has asked that defendants
Modi, Bhansali, and Gandhi, jointly and severally, in treble the amount of
damages to be proven at trial that were suffered by the debtors and their
estates as a result of the defendants’ violation of the Racketeering Influenced
Corrupt Organizations Act, plus interest, costs and attorneys’ fees.
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NOW, NIRAV MODI’S CARS TO GO UNDER HAMMER
After seized paintings
belonging to Nirav Modi fetched the tax agencies more than Rs 54 crore now 13
high-end cars of the fugitive jeweller are set to go under the hammer. Metal
Scrap Trading Corporation will conduct e-auction of the 13 cars seized by the
Enforcement Directorate (ED), people aware of the development told. According
to sources, the auction is likely to take place in the third week of April. We
will put out public notices of the auction.. likely to be conducted on April
18, an official from the central agency told. By this week, we will also share
the details of the cars with MSTC, the person said on condition of anonymity.
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WILL NIRAV MODI & VIJAY MALLYA SHARE THE SAME JAIL CELL IF
EXTRADITED, UK JUDGE ASKS PROSECUTOR
There was some
light-hearted moments during the second bail plea hearing of Nirav Modi at the
UK court when Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the prosecution whether the fugitive
diamond trader would be lodged in the same jail cell along with liquor baron
Vijay Mallya if he is also extradited to India. At the very start of the
hearing on Friday, Westminster Magistrates Court Chief Magistrate Arbuthnot
said she was getting a sense of deja vu, in reference to her having ordered the
extradition of Mallya in December last year. Do we know which part of India he
(Modi) is being sought in, the judge asked, to try and establish which jail
Modi is likely to be held in. She was told by the Crown Prosecution Service
(CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, that it would be an
extradition to Mumbai and that he may in fact be held in the same Arthur Road
Jail as that prepared for liquor tycoon Mallya, to which the judge said in a
light-hearted vein that it could even be the same cell as we know there is
space from the previous video submitted during the Mallya extradition trial.
India has informed the UK court that Mallya will be lodged in one of the high
security barracks located in a two-storey building inside the Arthur Road
prison complex in Mumbai. Authorities at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai have
kept a high security cell ready for Mallya if he is extradited from UK in
connection with loan default cases against him in India. An official from the
Ministry of Home Affairs earlier said Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail was one of the
best in the country.
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NIRAV MODI WAS TRYING FOR VANUATU CITIZENSHIP: UK JUDGE
At the bail hearing of fugitive
Nirav Modi, his lawyer Clare Montgomery QC had put forward a bail security
offer of up to £1 million and offered for Nirav to be electronically tagged or
report at his local police station in something akin to house arrest. But chief
magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, who was delivering the verdict, said: Clare's offer
is not substantial security in a case where a billion dollars is said to be
lost. These are early stages of the case and there are major inconsistencies in
some witness statements. Looking at the case as it is today, I do find
substantial grounds to believe he would fail to surrender based on his lack of
community ties as his son has gone to the US, and the large resources he could
draw on. He was attempting to become a citizen of Vanuatu and that is some way
away for someone trying to run businesses, which may indicate he has interest
to move away from India at this important time, the judge added.
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NIRAV MODI'S DEFENCE TEAM EVEN USES HIS PET DOG IN ATTEMPT TO
WIN BAIL
Fugitive diamond merchant
Nirav Modi on Friday failed in his second attempt to get bail in his
extradition case at Westminster Magistrates' Court despite his defence team
vehemently trying to establish his close ties to the UK, including having to
care for a pet dog. Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot declined the bail
application of the 48-year-old prime accused in the USD 1-2 billion Punjab
National Bank (PNB) fraud case on the grounds that he did pose a substantial
flight risk and that he lacked community ties with the UK. Clare Montgomery,
Modi's barrister, made a series of offers to try and convince the judge to
grant bail. He did have a son at Charterhouse [school in London] who has now
gone to university in the States and as a sign of ageing parents, led Modi to
get a dog instead. None of these actions are emblematic of someone setting out
to flee the country, Montgomery claimed. It is nonsense to say that he is a
flight risk He does not have a safe haven open to him and he has not travelled
or applied for citizenship elsewhere. he only qualifies for leave to remain in
this country, she added. But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on
behalf of the Indian authorities, stressed that Modi posed a significant flight
risk and was also likely to further intimidate witnesses and destroy evidence
if he were released. Judge Arbuthnot accepted the Indian government's
arguments, noting the very unusual evidence she had seen at this early stage in
the case of interference with witnesses and destruction evidence in the form of
mobile phones and a server. Montgomery, who along with Anand Doobay of Boutique
Law makes up a very similar defence team as that of former Kingfisher Airlines
boss Vijay Mallya in his extradition case against India, told the court that
her client was willing to put up 1 million pound as security - doubling of the
500,000 pounds figure offered at the first bail hearing last week. She also
offered to submit to several stringent conditions, including Modi wearing an
electronic tag to be monitored regularly. The tag was claimed to be even better
than reporting to any police station but Modi was also willing to submit to
even that requirement. As in the case of Mallya, who was granted bail
immediately after his arrest on an extradition warrant in 2017, Montgomery said
that Modi would guarantee to keep a mobile phone on him which was charged up
and switched on at all times, submit to complete travel restrictions and also
surrender all his residence permits, including for Hong Kong, Singapore and the
UAE. The defence team also attempted to counter additional CPS evidence,
submitted on Friday morning by the joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team, that claimed Modi had made death threats
to witnesses in the PNB fraud case, many of whom had been forced to leave India
to hide away in Cairo, Egypt. All of the witnesses who make varying claims have
been in India since then and cooperating with the authorities, said Montgomery.
The CPS was able to challenge Modi's defence claims that he had not travelled
out of the UK since January 2018, when he allegedly arrived in Britain to
establish the global headquarters of his diamond business. CPS barrister Toby
Cadman told the court that in fact he had flown out to New York as recently as
last month. That aside, he has known about these matters for some time but has
not cooperated with authorities in any way. Now that the [extradition] process
has started, there is an even greater risk of his fleeing [the UK], Cadman
submitted. The judge agreed that she did not feel that the conditions met with
Modi's statutory right to bail in such a case and directed Modi to be remanded
in custody to appear for a remand hearing on April 26, required within a
four-week period of an accused being remanded in custody.
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‘HUGE CASH WITHDRAWALS OVER 10 DAYS PROMPTED I-T SEARCHES’
Huge cash withdrawals over
the last 10 days by public works contractors, mostly in southern districts,
which came to the notice of the Income Tax Department, was what prompted the
searches on Thursday, I-T sources said. The searches on contractors, allegedly
associated with Public Works Minister H.D. Revanna and Minor Irrigation
Minister C.S. Puttaraju, generated political heat with both the JD(S) and
Congress leaders, led by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, slamming the
department and accusing the Centre of misusing official machinery. As many as
13 contractors and five public works engineers were searched by the income tax
slueths at 21 locations that spanned Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan, Chikkamagalur and
Shivamogga districts on Thursday. Sources in the department said that searches
continued in some locations on Friday too, and was likely to be completed by
night. Sources said that huge amounts of money coming into the contractors’
accounts from the government, and withdrawal of the same was noticed during the
last two months. However, the intensity of withdrawals had increased in the
last 10 days. We also had information about PWD engineers asking contractors to
submit bills quickly so that money could be released, whereas many other
contractors who had completed works and submitted bills were waiting for the
money to be released, sources said. In many cases, sources said, though bills
have been submitted, work has not been executed on the ground. In other cases,
the time between the award of contract and bill submission is suspect. Not just
release of funds, the manner in which works were awarded are also being
scrutinised. We are checking with the contractors where the money that has been
withdrawn has gone. The cash trail and how the cash withdrawn from the bank was
used is now being probed. We may also probe whether the work was completed or
was a mere bill generated, sources said. When asked about I-T searches having a
political colour given the timing, with just 20 days left for the first phase
of polling, an I-T official said the searches were part of election expenditure
monitoring. The EC also mandates to prevent cash getting generated and going
into the system without proper documentation, said the source. Meanwhile, a
contractor who was searched on Thursday said all those who were affected were
part of an informal group that executed road works. He also acknowledged that
he has now been asked to show where the money has gone after withdrawal.
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WEAPONS SEIZED FROM HOMES OF ACCUSED INVOLVED IN CLASH
After arresting 11 persons
for their alleged involvement in a group clash in Bhuj, police swung into
action and recovered a large number of arms and weapons after carrying out
search operations at the residences of the accused. From the residence of
Mujahid Hingorja at Azadnagar near Salfia mosque, we confiscated four swords,
one scythe, two axes and 10 knives, while we got three knives, one scythe and
one air gun from the house of Alimamad Bafan, said an official from Bhuj B
division police station. As both the accused have flouted notification about
the prohibition of arms, they have been booked under section 135 of Gujarat
Police Act, the official added.
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UK TAX FRAUD FUNDED AL-QAIDA IN PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN: REPORT
A British Asian gang of
fraudsters may have been involved in misusing billions of pounds of British
tax-payers money to fund terrorist networks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, claims
a UK media investigation based on police and intelligence files. The gang,
based in London, Buckinghamshire, Birmingham, north-west England and Scotland,
is alleged to have sent 1 per cent of its gains from their elaborate tax fraud
to al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where it funded madrasas, training
camps and other terrorist activities, according to the leaked files seen by
‘The Sunday Times'. An estimated 80 million pounds is believed to have been
funneled out by the fraudsters as part of an elaborate VAT and benefits fraud
against the UK's revenue department over the past two decades, with further
gains made through mortgage and credit card fraud targeting banks and
individuals. Secret intelligence held by MI5 states that some of the money
reached the Pakistani compound that housed the al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin
Laden before US forces stormed it in 2011, the newspaper reports as part of a
two-year investigation. Their crimes have reportedly cost the UK taxpayer an
estimated 100 million pounds.
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GOLDMAN SEES SOFTER, LATER BREXIT AS MPS REJECT MAY'S DEAL FOR
A THIRD TIME
The balance of risks
around Brexit outcomes is tilted towards a softer, longer departure from the
European Union, Goldman Sachs said after British lawmakers on Friday rejected
Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement for a third time. Risks
around the timing of the ratification of that modified Brexit deal are now
skewed towards a long Article 50 extension (of greater than one year) rather
than a short Article 50 extension (of fewer than three months), Goldman Sachs
Europe economist Adrian Paul wrote in a note late on Friday. A long extension
of this kind would require UK participation in elections to the European
Parliament, he added. Goldman Sachs cut to 45 per cent from 50 per cent the
chance that a modified version of the current withdrawal agreement is
eventually approved in the House of Commons. It said the odds of 'no Brexit'
had risen to 40 per cent from 35 per cent, while it kept the probability of 'no
deal' unchanged at 15 per cent.
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DEEPAK TALWAR CASE: ED ATTACHES DELHI HOTEL WORTH ₹120 CRORE
The Enforcement
Directorate has provisionally attached a Hotel Holiday Inn worth ₹120.20
crore in connection with an alleged money laundering case against lobbyist
Deepak Talwar, his family members and related entities, said the agency on
Friday. The ED said Mr. Talwar is being probed on the basis of an FIR lodged by
the Central Bureau of Investigation against officials of the Civil Aviation
Ministry, NACIL, Air India and unknown private persons. It has been revealed
that accused Deepak Talwar illegally engaged in liasoning/lobbying with
politicians, ministers, other public servants and officials of Ministry of
Civil Aviation for airlines such as Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways for
securing undue benefits for them, alleged the agency. The accused illegally
managed to secure favourable traffic rights for these airlines during 2008-09
at the cost of national carrier, Air India. In lieu of securing favourable
traffic rights, these airlines allegedly made payments to the tune of ₹272
crore to Mr. Talwar during 2008-09. Investigation revealed that Mr. Talwar
created a web of entities owned by him and his family members in India and
offshore havens, to launder proceeds of crime of ₹272 crore, the ED alleged.
Part of these payments were deposited in a Bank of Singapore account, belonging
to a company, Asiafield Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands and
beneficially owned by Mr. Talwar, as alleged by the agency.
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PAK F-16 SHOT DOWN, BUT OPPOSITION KEPT ASKING ABOUT
ABHINANDAN RETURN: PM MODI
Stepping up his attack on
the Opposition in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, referring to the Pakistani retaliation and the capture of Wing Commander
Abhinandan a day after the Balakot air strike, has said that instead of
praising the Indian forces for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 intruder, the
Opposition kept saying when will Abhinandan return when will Abhinandan return.
Modi targeted the Opposition and their supporters, saying they did not have
respect for our brave martyrs that some people who survive on Congress bread
found statesmanship in the Pakistan Prime Minister’s statement while doubting
their own Prime Minister. You would know, when the Abhinandan incident
happened, all Indian political parties should have united and said that we are
proud of the Indian forces, that an F-16 was shot down. Instead, within two
hours, they went on saying ‘when will Abhinandan return, when will Abhinandan
return, he said. OK, he was caught. The government will do what it has to do at
the diplomatic level. But they (Opposition) had planned a candle light march
over Abhinandan, Pulwama and the airstrike. Of course, there was planning. They
were going to hold a candle light march for Abhinandan. But around 3-4 pm, the
Pakistan Prime Minister announced in Parliament (about the decision to release
the IAF pilot). And their politics was held up. They have tried to do politics
at every moment on such a grave issue such language does not suit them.
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TAXMEN RAID RESIDENCE OF DMK LEADER DURAIMURUGAN
Income tax sleuths on
Saturday conducted searches at the residence of senior DMK leader Duraimurugan
at Katpadi in Vellore district over suspected use of unaccounted money for
electioneering The tax officials along with personnel from the election flying
squad arrived late last night at the residence of the DMK treasurer and
conducted searches early on Saturday morning. Duraimurugan alleged that the
raids were a conspiracy by some political leaders who could not face them in
the electoral arena. They (tax officials) have gone with the understanding that
we have nothing (to hide), he told. The DMK leader also questioned the timing
of the raid.
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SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LIFE TERM FOR SARAVANA OWNER
The Supreme Court on
Friday upheld the conviction and life sentence awarded to P Rajagopal, owner of
popular south Indian restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan, for murdering one of his
employees 18 years ago to take the widow as his third wife. A bench of Justices
NV Ramana, Mohan M Shantanagoudar and Indira Banerjee took note of the
circumstantial and forensic evidence, to conclude that Rajagopal, with the help
of four others, had meticulously planned and executed the kidnapping and murder
of Shathakumar in 2001 to enable him to fulfil his desire of marrying
Shantakumar's wife. The SC gave details of Rajagopal's obsession with taking
the married woman as his third wife. Rajagopal is the proprietor of a chain of
hotels (Saravana Bhavan). Either upon the advice of an astrologer or having
become besotted with the woman, he had evinced a keen desire to take her as his
third wife, though she was already married to Santhakumar (the deceased).
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JAITLEY CRITICISES JDS, CONGRESS FOR ORGANISING PROTEST
AGAINST IT RAIDS
Arun Jaitley on Saturday
criticised JDS and Congress leaders for organising a protest outside the Income
Tax Office at Bengaluru for conducting searches on PWD contractors and
engineers. Stating that the disproportionality of the reaction of the Congress
and the JDS raises a needle of suspicion, Jaitley said If no politician has
been searched, no minister has been searched, then why the protest? The
Bengaluru case is a text book method of the UPA on 2 fronts: use government
money, round trip it through contractors and beneficiaries to enrich themselves
and then lip sympathy for federalism destroying it whenever the opportunity
arises. This is a very transparent self goal, Jaitley said. Jaitley said that
it was unprecedented that the chief minister of a state joined the street
protest against income tax searches with a political motivation. The disproportionality
of the reaction of the Congress and the JDS raises a needle of suspicion. Was
the minister’s nephew a PWD contractor to whom largesses have been given — a
case of nepotism? The CM and the ministers who joined the protest need to
answer these questions, Jaitley said.
#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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