The Finance Bill 2010, introduced provisions for conversion of private companies / unlisted companies into LLP along with conditions for tax neutrality of such conversions. One of the conditions for tax neutrality is that the total sales, turnover or gross receipts in any of the three years preceding the conversion does not exceed INR 6 mn. Consequential amendments were also made to various sections in the Income-tax Act 1961 (ITA).
The Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently pronounced its ruling on an appeal originating from a transfer pricing adjustment imposed on 3 Global Services Private Limited (“assessee”). The assessee operates in the voice based customer care segment within the IT-enabled services (ITeS) industry. During financial year 2003-04, the assessee rendered services to its associated enterprises (“AEs”).
This judgment emphasizes the fact that total amount of transfer pricing adjustment cannot exceed the absolute amount of revenue realized by the associated enterprise from third parties and idle capacity adjustment should be allowed to the taxpayer to improve the comparability analysis.
Please refer to our Circular DBOD.Dir.(Exp).BC.No.94/04.02.001/2009-10 dated April 23, 2010 extending the scheme of interest subvention of 2 percentage points from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011 on pre and post-shipment rupee export credit for four employment oriented export sectors viz. Handicrafts, Carpets, Handlooms and Small & Medium Enterprises (SME). Banks were further advised vide our circular DBOD.Dir.(Exp).BC.No.115/04.02.01/2009-10 dated June 29, 2010 that with the change over to the Base Rate System, the interest rates applicable for all tenors of rupee export credit advances with effect from July 1, 2010 will be at or above Base Rate in respect of all fresh / renewed advances. Accordingly, banks may reduce the interest rate chargeable to the exporters as per Base Rate system in the above mentioned sectors eligible for export credit subvention by the amount of subvention available subject to a floor rate of 7%.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India released CORPORATE GOVERNANCE VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES 2009 on December 21, 2009. The preamble to Guidelines states that These guidelines provide for a set of good practices which may be voluntarily adopted by the Public companies. Private companies, particularly the bigger ones, may also like to adopt these guidelines.
The Finance Ministry today said it has uncovered around Rs 44 crore of untaxed money parked by 18 Indian nationals with LGT Bank in the European tax haven of Liechtenstein and have raised a tax demand of Rs 24 crore. “Assessments have been made against total 18 individual cases involving total assessed income of Rs 43.83 crore and total demand of Rs 24.28 crore (has been raised),” Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
Private sector banks could be allowed to handle provident fund and pension payments of government employees, giving them access to large amount of low-cost funds. The proposal is in response to a demand by the public sector banks for an increase in the commission fee for handling such accounts, which the official documents say could receive nearly `43,000 crore from the government on account of pension payments only.
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1A) of Section 86 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Board hereby makes the following further amendments in the Notification of the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, No. 19/2007-Service Tax, published vide number G.S.R. 354(E), dated the 12th May, 2007, namely
Attention is invited to Notification No.13/2010-Customs dated 19.2.2010 granting exemption from customs duty on specified goods imported into India for the purpose of organizing the Commonwealth Games to be held in October, 2010 in New Delhi. In this regard, references have been received from field formations as well as the Organizing Committee Commonwealth Games, 2010 Delhi (OC, CWG) regarding difficulties faced in interpretation of notification and clearance of goods imported for the Games and requesting that a suitable clarification may be issued by the Board in this regard.
PAYMENT made in kind too is liable to be taxed in India, said the Supreme Court in a ruling last month. The apex court in July dismissed an appeal filed by Kanchanganga Sea Foods, an Andhra Pradesh-based company, which was asked to pay tax on the payment it made to a Hong Kong-based firm Eastwide Shipping.
