In the present scenario, tax is a burden imposed by law. Since our present state rest on the Principles of Rule of Law, the tax administration does not remain a mere revenue collection exercise, it take the shape of administration of a branch of law. Thus the ideal taxation is execution of a well defined law with defined burden, legal-procedural-financial, on the subjects. When such law is administered by an inefficient and corrupt institution, it does not result in merely less collection of revenue but erosion of subject’s faith in the existence of Rule of Law.
Under Indian tax regime, disputed taxes amounting to hundreds of crores is collected by the state, goods worth crores of rupees is confiscated by the state, penalties worth hundred of crores are imposed on citizens by the state through the process of departmental adjudication. I was thinking whether there is any procedure, which the adjudicator is required to follow before he can demand a tax of crores of rupess or deprive people of their property by confiscating goods or imposing penalty on citizens.
They are called “Public Servants”, for they are expected to serve the public. But what is being done in the name of serving the public is not even an “open secret”, it is available live on electronic media. Everyday we see some or the other so called public servants extracting money from the hapless citizens in the name of suvidha shulka, that is what bribe is called euphemistically. In customs, there is another name, speed money. If you wont pay this, you will end up paying huge amount of demurrage as your files, and consignment consequently will not move.
Once it is found that “Right to Natural Justice” is a “personal & individual right”, the person concerned can always waive such right. But the moot question is “whether principles of natural justice are personal individual rights?” This paper attempts to examine this question and waiver of such right if it is not a personal individual right.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and 926 computerized branches of public and private sector banks will receive advance income tax in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, apex bank said in a statement.These arrangements have been made for the convenience of the income tax assesses. Of the 926 bank branches 862 branches are public sector bank branches, 35 HDFC bank branches, 10 ICICI bank branches and 19 AXIS bank branches.
Major financial sector bills such as the Insurance Law Amendment Bill seeking to increase the FDI cap in private insurance firms and the Banking Regulation Amendment Bill to raise the voting rights of foreign entities in private sector banks are unlikely to be taken up in the Winter session of Parliament that begins today.
The main attraction of the Direct Taxes Code 2009 will be the simplicity of the provisions, Mr P.V. Bhide, Secretary-Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, said.The level of understating between the assessees and department will be higher, Mr Bhide said at a presentation on the code organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry here recently.
Earlier, the entities that fell under the ambit of the law included only chit fund companies, banking companies, financial institutions and housing finance companies. The amendment now says any company registered under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956, and/or as a trust or society under the Societies Act, 1860, or any similar state legislation, will be brought under the purview of PMLA.
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said it wants to bring down the time required for IPO processing to seven days from 20 days at present over the next one year. While pointing to the fact that the primary market issuance process is not as efficient assecondary market in India, SEBI chairman CB Bhave said, “We need to do something there. Currently it takes 20 days for an IPO to get listed after its closure. The delay in listing is a risk that investors and issuers carry. So the regulator’s aim is to reduce the time frame to one week within a year.”
An Information Technology (IT) Education and Multilevel Marketing group has surrendered undisclosed income of more than Rs 35 crore, before the Income Tax Department for taxation. The disclosure, biggest ever in Rajasthan, was made during the course of raids and survey conducted by the departmental sleuths at the group premises here and in Jhunjhunu town.
