Indirect Tax Revenue (Provisional) Collections Increase From Rs. 36,408 Crore in May 2014 to Rs. 49,993 Crore During May 2015

An Increase of 37.3 % Registered During the Month of May 2015 over the Corresponding Period in the Previous Year; Central Excise Collections Registered an Increase of 84.2%; Customs Collections Registered an Increase of 16% While Service Tax Collections Registered an Increase of 13.2% During the Same Period; FM: The Underlying Momentum in the Economy is Improving Across all Sectors Including Manufacturing as Reflected in Healthy Excise Collections During the First Two Months of the Current Financial Year 2015-16.

Indirect Tax Revenue (Provisional) Collections increase from Rs. 36,408 Crore in May, 2014 to Rs. 49,993 Crore during May 2015, thus registering an Increase of 37.3% during the month of May 2015 over the corresponding period in the previous year.

Overall, Indirect tax collections during the first two months i.e. from April to May, 2015 of the Current Financial Year 2015-16 increased from Rs.69,069 crore (during the same period in 2014-15) to Rs. 96,128 crore and thus registering an increase of 39.2% during April- May 2015 over the corresponding period in the previous year.

These increase were spread across all the three categories- customs, central excise and service tax.

Central Excise collections have increased from Rs. 11,838 crore in May 2014 to Rs. 21,809 crore during May, 2015 registering an increase of 84.2 %. Central Excise collections during April to May 2015 increased to Rs. 38,535 crore from Rs. 20,493 crore (during April to May 2014) and thus registering an increase of 88.0%.

Customs collections have increased from Rs.13,539 crore during May, 2014 to Rs.15,700 crore during May 2015 registering an increase of 16.0%. Customs collections during April to May 2015 increased to Rs. 29,986 crore from Rs. 25,094 crore (during April to May 2014) and thus registering an increase of 19.5%.

Service Tax collections have increased from Rs. 11,031 crore in May 2014 to Rs. 12,484 crore during May 2015 registering an increase of 13.2 %. Service Tax collections during April to May 2015 increased to Rs.27,607 crore from Rs. 23,482 crore (during April to May 2014) and thus registering an increase of 17.6.0%.

Responding to the indirect tax collection figures, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the these indirect tax collections reflect in part the effect of the additional measures taken by the Central Government including the Central Excise increase on diesel and petrol, increase in clean energy cess, and the withdrawal of exemptions for motor vehicles and consumer durables. He said that even after taking-out the impact of these additional measures, indirect tax collections have shown an increase of 16.9% in May 2015 over May 2014; and by 12.6% for the two month period April-May 2015 over the same period last year i.e. April- May 2014.

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley further said that the underlying momentum in the economy is improving across all sectors including manufacturing as reflected in healthy Excise collections during the first two months of the Current Financial Year 2015-16.

Demand on account of tax /TDS credit mismatch cannot be enforced coercively

No. 275/29/2014-IT-(B)
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
Dated New Delhi, the 1st June, 2015

To,
The CCsIT (CCA)

Subject: Non-deposit of Tax Deducted at Source – regarding. Sir/Madam,

1. Grievances have been received by the Board from many taxpayers that in their cases the deductor has deducted tax at source from payments made to them in accordance with the provisions of Chapter-XVII of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereafter ‘the Act’) but has failed to deposit the same into the Government account leading to denial of credit of such deduction of tax to these taxpayers and consequent raising of demand.
2. As per Section 199 of the Act credit of Tax Deducted at Source is given to the person only if it is paid to the Central Government Account. However, as per Section 205 of the Act the assessee shall not be called upon to pay the tax to the extent tax has been deducted from his income where the tax is deductible at source under the provisions of Chapter- XVII. Thus the Act puts a bar on direct demand against the assessee in such cases and the demand on account of tax credit mismatch cannot be enforced coercively.
3. This may be brought to the notice of all the assessing officers in your region so that if the facts of the case so justify, the assessees are not put at any inconvenience on account of default of deposit of tax into the Government account by the deductor.
4. This issues with the approval of Chairperson, CBDT.

Yours faithfully

(Sandeep Singh)

Under Secretary to the Govt. of India

PVR acquires DT Cinemas

PVR will acquire DT Cinemas (DT) for a consideration of Rs. 500 crores subject to approvals. DT is owned by realty major DLF. 

DT Cinemas operates 29 screens with 6,000 seats across eight properties in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Chandigarh. It will add 10 more screens across two properties in the NCR in 12 months. DLF will bear the capital expenditure for the 10 screens and will hand over completed properties to PVR. As a result of the proposed acquisition, PVR will have a presence in 44 cities with 115 multiplexes and 506 screens, PVR said in a statement.

Land is not a part of the deal; PVR will pay rent to DLF after acquisition.Financial details of DT are unavailable. However, PVR expects to generate annual EBITDA of Rs.43-44 crores from the 39 screens in their first full year of operations after integration assuming some synergy benefits. 

For DLF, the deal is part of its strategy to exit non-core businesses and cut huge debt of over Rs.20,000 crores. It has already sold hotel chain Aman Resorts as well as insurance and wind power businesses. 

No denial of section 11 relief to hospital just because it didn't provide concessional treatment to poor patients

ITO V. NOBLE MEDICAL FOUNDATION & RESEARCH CENTRE (2015) 57 taxmann.com 333 (Pune - Tribunal)

Section 11 exemption could not be denied to a hospital on the ground that it didn't provide concessional treatment to poor patients as there is no provision under Income-tax Act which would disentitle assessee to claim exemption on this ground.

Facts:

• Assessee-trust, running a multi-specialty hospital, claimed exemption of income under section 11 of the Income-tax Act ('Act').
• Assessing Officer (AO) denied exemption on ground that assessee was earning profit from its activity and it had failed to provide concessional treatment to poor patients.
• On appeal, the CIT(A) reversed the findings of the AO and allowed exemption to the assessee. Aggrieved by the order of CIT(A), the AO filed the instant appeal before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal held in favour of assessee as under:

• The CBDT in its Circular No. 11, dated 19-12-2008 had clarified that where the purpose of trust or institution is relief to the poor, education or medical relief, it would constitute charitable purpose, even if it incidentally involves carrying on the commercial activities.
• In the instant case, assessee was engaged in carrying on objects of providing medical relief to people at large which has been recognised as charitable activity under the Act. Therefore, exemption under section 11 could not be denied merely because surplus was generated from such activities.
• Further, there is no provision under the Act which would dis-entitle assessee to claim exemption on the ground that it did not provide concession to poor patients and, therefore, this could not be a ground to disallow exemption under section 11.

Response Vs Reaction

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.
The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.
It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies. I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. Its not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.
More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.
Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life. I should always respond. The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety, stress or hurry.

Relaxation of 20 Audit Ceiling Limit on Statutory Audits

MCA has vide Notification dated 05/06/2015 has exempted from Statutory Audit ceiling limit  of  20 company audit limit  the following Companies :- - See more at: http://taxguru.in/company-law/govt-relaxes-20-audit-ceiling-limit-statutory-audits.html#sthash.qHTUXw7f.dpuf

MCA has vide Notification dated 05.06.2015 has exempted from Statutory Audit ceiling limit  of  20 company audit limit  the following Companies:

•  other than one person companies

• dormant companies,

• small companies and private companies having paid-up share capital less than one hundred crore rupees.

So now the Limit of 20 Companies includes:-

• Public Companies

• Private Companies having paid up capital of Rs. 100 crore or more

Revised Clause (g) of Section 141 of Companies Act is as follows :-

(g) a person who is in full time employment elsewhere or a person or a partner of a firm holding appointment as its auditor, if such persons or partner is at the date of such appointment or reappointment holding appointment as auditor of more than twenty companies other than one person companies ,dormant companies, small companies and private companies having paid-up share capital less than one hundred crore rupees.

Government issues final notifications under section 462 of the Companies Act, 2013 (Act) that provide Exemptions under various provisions of the Act to (i) Private Companies (ii) Government Companies (iii) Section 8 Companies and (iv) Nidhis

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India issued the final notifications under Section 462 of the Companies Act, 2013 (Act), which provide exemptions under various provisions of the Act to (i) Private Companies; (ii) Government Companies; (iii) Section 8 Companies and (iv) Nidhis. The notifications are available at the Ministry’s website at www.mca.gov.in

For Private Companies, the exemptions relax the provisions for entering into related party transactions; provide a shorter period for offering securities to members through right offers; provide for approving issue of employee stock option plans through a simple majority and allow an easier procedure and flexibility in holding general meetings. Private companies have also been allowed to accept deposits from members without the requirement of offer circular and creation of deposit repayment reserve etc. Flexibility has also been provided in the types of share capital that can be issued by private companies. Exemption has been given from filing of board resolutions with the registry and giving of notice for standing for directorships. Requirement of mandatory consent of shareholders with regard to certain transactions relating to sale of undertaking, investments, borrowings etc has been omitted. Further, OPCs, dormant companies, small companies and private companies having paid up share capital less than Rs. 100 crore have been excluded for calculating the limit of 20 companies for audit by an auditor. Private companies not having any investment by any body corporate have been allowed to extend loans to directors etc subject to certain conditions relating to bank borrowings and default thereof. An interested director of a private company can now participate in the Board meeting after declaring his interest.

Government Companies have been exempted from the limits pertaining to managerial remuneration; restriction on maximum number of directorships and disqualification of directors in certain cases. The provisions in respect of Nomination and Remuneration Committee have also been relaxed in respect of their applicability to directors/managerial persons. The provisions relating to loans to directors; loans and investments by companies and related party transactions have been modified to provide flexibility to Government companies in complying with such provisions. The exemption for Government companies to retain the suffix “Limited” even if incorporated as private limited company, has been continued as per the exemption available under Companies Act, 1956. Modifications in the provisions relating to place of holding general meetings have also been made. Provisions in respect of rotation of directors and right of persons to stand for directorship are exempted for wholly owned Government companies. The provisions in respect of forming opinion about integrity, expertise/experience of independent directors have been modified to provide flexibility to concerned Ministry/Department. For the Government companies engaged in producing defence equipment, the provisions of section 186 (loans and investments by companies) and Accounting Standard - 17 (Segment Reporting) shall not be applicable.

For Charitable Companies the provisions in respect of notice for general meeting have been modified to enable such companies to save time and resources in sending notices. The notice for general meeting and financial statements may be circulated at notice of 14 days instead of 21 days. The provisions in respect of appointment of independent directors (IDs) and Nomination and Remuneration Committee will not be applicable to such companies. The audit committees of such companies need not have Independent Directors. The restrictions on number of directorships have also been exempted for these companies. These companies are allowed to hold board meetings once in six months instead of four meetings in a year, as prescribed for other companies. These companies have been exempted from provisions requiring notice to be given for standing for directorship if their articles provide for election of directors by ballot. Flexibility from the provisions on passing of board resolutions in a board meeting only and on disclosure and participation in board meetings by an interested director have also been provided.

In case of Nidhis, provisions relating to serving of documents to members and payment of dividend have been modified to provide more flexibility to such companies. Provisions relating to private placement have been partially relaxed for such companies. These companies have also been exempted from the requirements of section 62 which relates to further issue of share capital. The notice amount of Rs. 1 lakh provided under section 160 has been reduced to Rs. 10,000 for these companies. Provisions of section 185 in respect of loans to directors have been relaxed for these companies with the condition that loan is given to a director or his relative in his capacity as member and the disclosure is made in the accounts.