tax authorities

The Point of Taxation rules, which will allow tax authorities to link the payment of service tax to provision of service, raising of invoice or payment for service — whichever is the earliest — may not be introduced in this financial year. The financ Full Article

About Rs 4 crore has been siphoned off the I-T system by some unidentified fraudsters with the help of bogus PAN cards, e-returns and e-refund orders. The I-T refunds claimed on the basis of these bogus documents have been deposited in some bank accounts opened in the name of persons who have never paid any income tax. Full Article

The investigation wing of the income tax (I-T) department in Mumbai has unearthed a record Rs1,315 crore in undisclosed income in the first nine months of the fiscal year, I-T officials said. The cases involve 16 companies, including 10 that are publicly traded. “Our searches have significantly improved collection of corporate taxes in Mumbai. More and more firms are voluntarily disclosing their income and paying up tax,” an income-tax official told on Friday. Full Article

Background: Certain dealers/persons approach the departmental authorities for the issue of "Tax Clearance Certificates" in respect of various taxes. At present, the tax clearance certificates are being issued by the VAT Recovery officers at most of the locations. It has been noticed that uniformity is not seen in the process adopted for issuing of such certificates and the proforma of such certificates is also noticed to be not in a standard format. Full Article

The forthcoming budget may contain provisions for taxing the undistributed dividend of foreign corporations that are controlled or owned by Indian companies. Controlled Foreign Corporations (CFCs) laws enable the authorities to tax the income of a resident derived from a foreign corporation. This is irrespective of whether the profit/dividend of the foreign entity is transferred to India or not. Full Article

The forthcoming Union budget may have an anti-avoidance provision, which can effectively check convoluted transactions devised exclusively for the purpose of evading paying taxes in India. The finance ministry, said revenue department officials, is contemplating the idea of vesting powers with the commissioners of Income-tax (I-T) to declare a transaction a sham, if there is a reason to believe that its purpose is to avoid tax in this country. Full Article

Income of foreign companies providing technical services and data to oil exploration and production companies in India will be taxed at a concessional rate, the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) on income tax has said in a recent decision. The ruling will be a big help to oil prospecting companies in India as they step up exploration activities, allowing them to avail of technical services and data more easily. Full Article

Cash seizures by tax authorities during searches on evaders nearly doubled to Rs 400 crore in 2008-09 fiscal, while the size of total assets impounded grew by half to Rs 625 crore, says an official report. The department conducted searches on 429 groups, mostly real estate companies, across the country during 2008-09. Full Article