The government has decided to levy tax on the interest obtained on Post Office savings schemes from the current financial year. The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT )) has brought out a notification in this regard recently, which stipulates that any interest earned beyond Rs 3,500 (in case of individual accounts) and Rs 7,000 (in case of joint accounts) will be taxable from the running fiscal.
Amid the growing chorus against black money and the government’s efforts to pull the plug, Union Law Minster M Veerappa Moily has suggested Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to completely overhaul the tax administration. In a letter to Mukherjee, Moily said the two wings for tax collections in the country — Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) — should be merged for tackling black money effectively.
The Income Tax Department has now decided to provide full details of tax returns of political parties under the RTI Act after the Central Information Commission (CIC) issued it directives in this regard. The department, according to sources, used to restrict such information, citing section 138 of the Income Tax Act, which allowed denial of such information under RTI Act as ‘disclosure of information respecting assessees.’
Now, lawyers can practise, as a matter of right, in all courts and forums, including tribunals or any quasi-judicial authority.Fifty years after the Advocates Act, 1961, came into force, the Centre has notified Section 30 of the Act — with effect from June 15 2011 — to enable advocates to practise anywhere. This provision was not notified when the Act was added to the statute book. As a result, in certain courts and tribunals, lawyers could appear only if they were permitted by the presiding officer.
In order to give an opportunity for fast track exit by a defunct company for getting its name struck off from the ROC, the Ministry Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India (GOI) has on 7 June 2011 decided vide General Circular No.36/2011 to modify the existing route through e-form – 61 and has prescribed the ‘Fast Track Exit mode Guidelines’ (the FTE Guidelines) for defunct companies under section 560 of the Act.
The Central Government has vide Notification dated 30 May 2011 issued new set of rules for passing of resolution by Postal Ballot called, the Companies (Passing of Resolution by Postal Ballot) Rules, 2011 (New Rules), which will supersede the Principal Rules. Definition of Voting by Electronic Mode- A process for recording votes by the members using a computer based machine to display an electronic ballot and to record the vote and also the number of votes polled in favour or against such that the entire voting gets registered and counted in an electronic registry in a centralized server.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has proposed vide notification dated 06.06.2011 that all public companies and their subsidiaries convert share certificates and bonds into an electronic (demat) form. The Companies (Dematerialization of Certificates) Rules, 2011, are proposed to come into force from October 1. All new issuances will also have to be in demat form. MCA has also proposed to make this mandatory for all existing paper certificates by September 30.
Pune Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on the issue of deductibility of portfolio management fees in computing ‘capital gains’ under the Indian Tax Laws (ITL) held that such fees was directly connected to the acquisition and sale of securities and was incurred in the normal course of the investment activity. It was held that the payments would be allowed as a deduction in computation of capital gains under the ITL.
When works contract is sub-contracted there is only one taxable event and between main contractors and sub-contractor only one is liable to pay tax on the goods incorporated in the works contract. Herebelow this issue is discussed in the light of decision of Supreme Court and P&H High Court in the context of VAT provisions especially under Punjab VAT Act, 2005.
Delhi High Court in the case of CIT v. M/s Mediworld Publications Pvt. Ltd ( ITA no 549 of 2011) held that transfer of intangible assets with right to carry on business was taxable as capital gains and not as business income.
