Thursday, December 2, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENT - CPT Exams - Dec 2010


Common Proficiency Test - Proposed amendment in the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988

The President in his column (President’s page) in the December, 2010 issue of the Journal, `The Chartered Accountant’ has inter-alia conveyed the decision of the Council as under:

Common Proficiency Test: The Council at its 300th meeting reviewed the requirement for passing the Common Proficiency Test and decided that a candidate shall have to obtain at one sitting, a minimum of 30 per cent marks (out of maximum marks specified by the Council for each Section) and a minimum of 50 per cent marks in the aggregate of all the Sections, subject to the principle of negative marking, in a manner as may be specified by the Council from time to time subject to proposed amendments in the regulations approved by the Central Government.

Upon reading the above write-up, the Institute has been receiving telephone calls from anxious students, their parents and members. It has been brought to our knowledge that SMS/email chain have started circulating giving some misinformation about the applicability of the proposal for December, 2010 CPT examination.

It is hereby clarified that as mentioned in the above write-up, the decision of the Council will be made applicable only after the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 are amended by the Central Government, for which a proposal will be sent to the Central Government shortly.

It is further clarified that the process of Central Government’s approval includes consideration by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Law Ministry, consideration by the Council of ICAI of public comments on the draft amended Regulations, final approval of the proposed amendments by the Central Government and publication of the same in the Gazette of India.

As such, the above decision taken by the Council, as rightly conveyed by the President, cannot and will not be made applicable for the CPT examination scheduled for 19th December, 2010.

It is once again reiterated that the students and other stakeholders should take cognizance of the official announcements only (published in the Chartered Accountants Journal, CA Students newsletter and www.icai.org)

EXAMINATION DEPARTMENT

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Announcement Regarding ISA AT to be held in Dec 2010 - (29-11-2010)

The Committee on Information Technology, has introduced, New Syllabus, with effect from April 2010 for which first Assessment Test will be held in Dec 2010.

It has been decided that the members already registered for the ISA course prior to April 2010 will have the option to appear in ISA AT to be held in Dec 2010 either in the New Syllabus or in the Old Syllabus that existed until March 2010.

The members who registered for the ISA course effective from April 2010 will be eligible to appear only in the New Syllabus.

It is noticed that the Application form for the ISA AT Dec. 2010 does not contain boxes for ticking the option of syllabus.


It is hereby requested that the members registered for ISA course until March 2010 may indicate their option of syllabus, ( i.e New Syllabus or Old Syllabus as the case may be) on the face of the application in bold capital letters.

Members who had registered for ISA course until 31st March 2010 and who do not indicate their option of syllabus in the exam application form, will be deemed to have opted for “Old Syllabus” by default.

Members may note that the option once exercised will be final and irrevocable and no change thereafter will be allowed under any circumstances.

Examination Department

Source : http://www.icai.org/new_post.html?post_id=6639&c_id=219

DISA AT Examinations Dec 2010

Highlights :


1) Madurai Centre included (Subject to required numbers, Hence members residing at/around Madurai to make use of the opportunity)
2) Fees Rs. 1000/-
3) Date of Exam : Dec 18 2010 (Saturday)
4) Last date for forms to reach ICAI : Dec 3, 2010.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

IPO investing is no more a lottery; make sure you see value when investing in them

Coal India changes nothing

Do not draw the wrong conclusions from the Coal India IPO

The recently listed Coal India scrip has been a far bigger success than anyone had envisaged. However, it is important that investors do not draw the wrong conclusions from this. Unlike most issues in recent years, Coal India has had a robust subscription from retail investors. Given the state of the markets, it is also very likely that the stock will register good returns when it starts trading.

However, investors should not use Coal India as a guide to whether to invest in other IPOs to follow, whether from the public sector or from the private sector. The basics of IPO investing have not changed because of Coal India. Whether you make money from a particular IPO or not remains a toss-up that depends on how the general market outlook will be and how generous the promoters are.

To take a less charitable view, it depends on how scared the promoters and the investment bankers are of the issue bombing. For investors, the best combination is that of promoters and investment bankers who are afraid that the issue may not do well along with a robust market at the time of the stock listing. This will ensure a reasonable price coupled with a strong opening. In Coal India's case, this is exactly what has happened. The issue was probably priced reasonably because there was some nervousness about its massive size.

Going forward, this may not be the case. If there's an 'IPO season' up ahead, then investment-worthy issues will have to be selected carefully. The success of the Coal India IPO will doubtlessly encourage other issues to be priced to the hilt. Anyhow, none of this changes the basics of IPO investing, as it applies to individual investors. By and large, it doesn't make sense for individual investors to invest in IPOs. In India, we have this idea that IPOs are somehow especially suited for retail investors. This is an outdated concept that actually makes little sense, as I've written earlier.

There is nothing about IPOs that makes them especially suited for the casual retail investor. If anything, compared to listed stocks, IPOs are actually less suitable for such investors. The reason is simple. IPOs are lesser-known entities. The balance of power (in the sense of information) lies with the seller. The companies have not been in the public eye at all. Invariably, the promoter has spent the preceding months carefully building up an image to ensure that the investing public has a positive image. Unlike listed stocks, the financials haven't been scrutinised by analysts quarter after quarter for years. And of course, the price is the promoter's gambit, rather than one that has been through the price discovery cauldron of the market.

In the case of the government's offers for sale, this is even truer. In this case, while the promoter may not have been able to organise any elaborate window-dressing of the company, the money is not going to the company and is therefore not making any contribution to the improvement of the company's fortunes.

No matter how much of a sure bet an IPO appears to be, investors must approach it with caution. In the old days, it was possible that an IPO could go up by a huge margin on listing and never again be available at the original issue price. Such lottery tickets simply don't happen any more, least of all in a booming market. Each IPO should be evaluated on its own merit, and then most of them should be rejected.

-- Dhirendra Kumar
-- Value Research

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Performance Audit Report on the Issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G Spectrum by the Department of Telecommunications

Performance Audit
(Report No. 19 of 2010-11)
2009-2010

CONTENTS
Preface
Executive Summary
CHAPTER - 1 Introduction
CHAPTER - 2 Audit Approach
CHAPTER - 3 Implementation of Unified Licensing Regime
CHAPTER - 4 Procedures Adopted in Issues of UAS Licences and Allotment of Spectrum
CHAPTER - 5 Financial Impact
CHAPTER - 6 Conclusion
Annexures

Source Link :
http://www.cag.gov.in/html/reports/civil/2010-11_19PA/contents.htm

Complete stuff in one file :
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-0hzoMM8_XZMGI0ZjhhOTItNjNkYi00MjdmLThiNjgtNDg4OGMyMzU3ZjA0&hl=en

Download PDF File (Zipped) :
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZMjAyZWEwNDctM2M5YS00MGE5LTkwN2YtODJhZGM1ZGViMjNk&hl=en&authkey=CL79m-AF

Excess of Input Tax to lapse - TN VAT

Tamil Nadu: Ordinance to bring provision of the Tamil Nadu VAT (Second Amendment) Act, 2010 into force with retrospective effect

The notification which was earlier effective from 19.8.2010 has been brought into effect from 1.1.2007 advising dealers that if input tax exceeds output tax, excess of input tax cannot be adjusted and will lapse. This will have an impact on VAT assessments from 1.1.2007 for all dealers has sold goods at a price less than the price of the goods purchased by him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT
TAMIL NADU ORDINANCE No. 7 OF 2010
CHENNAI, 29th OCTOBER 2010

An Ordinance to bring provision of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 2010 into force with retrospective effect

WHEREAS, the Legislative Assembly of the State is not in session and the Governor of Tamil Nadu is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action for the purpose hereinafter appearing;

NOW, THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 213 of the Constitution, the Governor hereby promulgates the following Ordinance:—

1. This Ordinance may be called the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax (Special Provision) Ordinance, 2010.

2. Notwithstanding anything contained in sub- section (2) of section 1 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 2010 (hereinafter referred to as the 2010 Act) and in the notification of the State Government in the Commercial Taxes and Registration Department No. II (2)/CTR/527(b)/2010, published at page 1 in Part II - Section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary, dated the 19th day of August 2010, section 2 of the 2010 Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of January 2007.

28th October, 2010
SURJIT SINGH BARNALA
Governor of Tamil Nadu


EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

In order to protect the revenue of the Government, Section 19 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 (Tamil Nadu Act 32 of 2006) has been amended suitably by Tamil Nadu Act 22 of 2010 providing for reversal of the amount of the input tax credit for the goods over and above the output tax of those goods, in a case where a registered dealer has sold goods at a price less than the price of the goods purchased by him and the said amendment has been given effect to from the 19th August 2010.

2. Now, the Government have decided to give effect to the said amendment from the date of coming into force of the said Tamil Nadu Act 32 of 2006 (i.e.) from the 1st day of January 2007 itself, in order to prevent any loss to the State exchequer from that date.

3. The Ordinance seeks to give effect to the above decision.

(By order of the Governor)

S. DHEENADHAYALAN
Secretary to Government
Law Department

Life goes on... (Nov. 2010)

There was a farmer who grew watermelons. He was doing prettty well, but he was disturbed by some local kids who would sneak into his watermelon patch at night and eat all his watermelons. After some careful thought, he came up with a clever idea that he thought would scare the kids away for sure.

So he made up a sign and posted it in the field. The next day, the kids show up and they see a sign saying "Warning! One of the watermelons in this field has been injected with cyanide."

So the kids run off and make up their own sign and post it next to the farmer's sign. The farmer shows up the next week and looks over the field. He notices that no watermelons are missing, but reads the sign next to his : "Now there are two!!!"

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Introduction of Pre-Open Session‏

18th October, Monday onwards the Markets will open with a Pre-Open session.

This session is meant for smooth discovery of the market open price and will be from 9.00 am to 9.15 am. Normal market sessions will be from 9.15 am to 3.30 pm.


NSE presentation download / Link for further details and clarifications:
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZYTJhZTRlOGEtZTU3MC00N2RiLTkzOGUtZjIzMDA2YWJkMGIz&hl=en

Vodafone moves court against I-T Dept treating it as Hutchison's agent

New Delhi, Oct 15



Vodafone International BV on Friday filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court to defend itself against a different course of action now taken by the Income-Tax (I-T) Department in the landmark Vodafone tax case.

The I-T Department recently sent a notice that sought to treat Vodafone International (purchaser) as a “representative assessee” (agent) of Hutchison Whampoa (seller) and therefore bring to tax assessment the entire income (gains/profit) in the $11-billion Vodafone-Hutch deal of 2007.

The implication of this move is that Vodafone may now be faced with a much higher tax bill from Indian tax authorities than earlier envisaged for its alleged failure to deduct tax at source. The I-T Department was hitherto looking to demand Rs 12,000 crore-plus from Vodafone towards tax and interest relating to the withholding tax obligations on the deal.

Vodafone International has, however, in the writ petition filed today contested the Tax Department's latest step to treat it as an agent of the seller, stating that such an action was misguided and premature when the key issue of jurisdiction was currently under appeal before the Supreme Court.

The main issue on jurisdiction was whether the Indian tax authorities could tax the transfer of a foreign company's shares between two non-residents if some of the underlying assets were located in India.

Meanwhile, the Income-Tax Department sees merit in adopting a new course of action of seeking to treat Vodafone International as a representative assessee.

“The earlier action was for failure to conform to TDS obligations. That is different as it related to deductor's liability. We are now further proceeding to do income assessment of the deal and treating Vodafone as a representative assessee of the seller for this purpose,” official sources said.

The Bombay High Court is slated to hear the matter on the writ petition on October 27. The Supreme Court hearing on the jurisdiction matter is scheduled for October 25. The four-week period given by the Supreme Court to the Tax Department to determine and quantify the tax liability of Vodafone ends on October 23.

Meanwhile, Vodafone said on Friday that the Indian tax office's actions are “an unusual development, not least because they ignore the imminent hearing of the Supreme Court on the jurisdiction issue”.

Vodafone continues to believe that it has no tax liability whatsoever on this transaction and we look forward to this matter being thoroughly reviewed by The Supreme Court, a Vodafone Group Plc spokesperson said.

Source Link : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/10/16/stories/2010101651310300.htm

SMP Initiative for Special Loan Scheme for Practicing CAs. - (15-10-2010)

An Initiative of the Committee for Capacity Building of CA  Firms and Small & Medium Practitioners, ICAI

The Committee for Capacity Building of CA Firms and Small & Medium Practitioners, ICAI is set up to promote capacity enhancement of members and firms through Networking, Merger and raising core competency of CA professionals.

The Committee has taken a major initiative to arrange financial assistance to all members in practice / firms in the form of specially designed loan scheme through Corporation Bank.

Through the scheme, eligible Chartered Accountants can avail finance for setting up of offices including cost of furniture/fixture/office equipments-computers and other accessories. The scheme would also enable the Chartered Accountants to finance a part of the working capital for building their profession and will also take care of the needs of fresher (CAs with experience below three years).

* Members & firms are requested to avail the benefits of this loan scheme. For further details, please contact nearest branch of Corporation Bank.

Highlights of the loan scheme are given below:

Eligibility:

 Chartered Accountants, individually/jointly or Proprietorship Concern or a Partnership Firm/ Partnership with Limited Liability

 Age of the individual/ proprietor shall not exceed 65 years.

 The applicants/Firms are registered with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and also holding valid certificate/license for carrying out the practice.

 The applicant’s/firm’s name shall not appear in the RBI defaulters list/CIBIL report.

 In case of Firms, all partners shall join as co applicants.

 The applicants/firms should not have been subjected to disciplinary action by the Institute.

Purpose:

 For construction of office premises

 For acquisition of ready built new office premises, partly or fully constructed

 To finance cost of land and construction thereon

 To finance cost of furniture & fixture, fittings of office equipments/computers/other accessories etc.

 To finance working capital and /or financing receivable

Nature of facility:

Demand Loan/Term Loan for acquisition of fixed assets and/or Cash Credit/Overdraft for working capital

Margin:

A. For Term Loan/Demand Loan: Uniform margin of 20%

B. For Working Capital: 25% for Book Debts/Receivables for cash credit or clean overdraft

 Value of land shall not exceed 50% of project cost in case of purchase of site and construction of premises
 
Source Link : http://220.227.161.86/20667corpbankloanscheme.pdf

Furnishing remitter details in pass book / pass sheet / account statement for credits received by customers through NEFT / NECS / ECS

Date: Oct 08, 2010

Furnishing remitter details in pass book / pass sheet / account statement for credits received by customers through NEFT / NECS / ECS

RBI/2010-11/230
DPSS (CO) EPPD No. 788/ 04.03.01 / 2010-11
October 8, 2010

The Chairman and Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of member banks participating in NEFT / NECS / ECS

Madam / Dear Sir,

Furnishing remitter details in pass book / pass sheet / account statement for credits received by customers through NEFT / NECS / ECS

The volumes handled by the retail electronic payment products viz. National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), National Electronic Clearing Service (NECS) and Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) variants are considerably increasing, which is indicative of their acceptability and popularity. Concomitant service delivery levels at banks should match customer requirements and expectations.

2. Complaints about incomplete details about the remitter (or beneficiary) and / or the source of credit (or debit) in the pass books / pass sheets / account statements, as also lack of uniformity across banks in providing even such minimal information are rising. A very generic mention as 'NEFT' or 'NECS' does not help customers in identifying the source of credits, particularly where multiple credits are afforded to their accounts through these products. The Procedural Guidelines on NEFT / NECS / ECS and various circulars issued from time to time clearly highlight the minimum information that should be provided to customers.

3. The Core Banking Solutions (CBS) of banks should be enabled to capture complete information from the relevant fields in the messages / data files which can be displayed to customers when they access their accounts online or provided to them additionally when they approach the branch counters / help desks / call centres. In the interest of straight-through capture of details from messages / data files and standardising the minimum information to be given in the pass books / pass sheets / account statements issued to customers, banks are advised to ensure the following -

a) NEFT

Message N-02 - Inward transactions
The mandatory field 6091 contains the remitter's name, which should be picked up for the source of credit and information contained should be printed in the pass book / account statement. Banks originating transactions should ensure proper and meaningful details are provided in this field. Description of field 6091 is -

M
6091
Sending customer a/c name
50x
Sender’s account name

There is an optional field with tag 7495 that enables inclusion of additional sender-to-receiver information. Destination banks should capture and store this information in their CBS / other systems as appropriate, to be provided to the customer on request.

Message N-07 - Return transactions
M
2006
Related reference number
16x
Transaction reference number of the received inward credit message at bank branch that is returned

M
6366
Rejection code
50x
Description of the reason for rejection

Destination banks may also explore the possibility of using the Unique Transaction Reference (UTR) number to link / retrieve the original message received by them, based on which additional information can be provided as a service initiative when customers make requests online or through call centres.

The extant prescriptions relating to the information to be provided (a) to the remitters for transactions originated by them, and (b) transactions that are returned, shall continue to be applicable.

b) NECS / ECS Variants
The fields "user name" and “user credit reference” (serial numbers '9' and ‘10’ in the credit contra record) have a length of 33 (20 and 13) characters which should be printed in the pass book / account statement.

Sponsor banks need to advise user institutions to fill in these fields meaningfully, so that relevant information is passed on to the customers.

4. In addition to the above, banks are free to provide any additional details as they deem necessary or useful.

5. It is incumbent on the originating banks to ensure that all the relevant information as is provided to them is captured in the relevant fields in messages / data files.

6. Please acknowledge and ensure compliance with the requirements latest by January 1, 2011. These instructions are being issued under the powers conferred on the Reserve Bank of India by the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).

Yours faithfully
(G. Padmanabhan)
Chief General Manager

Granting of Facility of Writer's Help/Extra Time to Physically/Visually Challenged Candidates in CA Exams

Procedure for Granting of Facility of Writer's Help/Extra Time to Physically/Visually Challenged Candidates in The Chartered Accountants Examinations - (21-09-2010)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Physically/Visually Challenged candidates appearing in the Chartered Accountants Examinations requiring writer’s help/extra time are requested to adopt the following procedure:

To send an application in candidate’s own hand writing if he can write. In respect of candidates who can not write, their representatives may write and forward the application.

To enclose a certified true copy of the certificate issued by the Doctor of not less than the level of Civil Surgeon of Government Hospital to the effect that the disability is of permanent nature and specifying clearly the nature and extent of Permanent disability (in terms of %age).

To enclose certified true copies of the permission, if any, granted by the State Higher Secondary Board/University in candidate’s 10th, 10+2 or degree examinations in which he/she had appeared.

To enclose an attested full size latest photograph indicating name of the candidate on the photograph itself.

Any other document in support of request for grant of the facility of a writer and/or extra time as aforementioned.

It is clarified that cases of injuries or disablement of temporary nature such as fracture of the right or left arm, forearm or dislocation of a shoulder, elbow or wrist or any other illness etc. are not entitled for extending the facility of writer/extra time.

Kindly note that one /one and a half hour (for PCE, IPCE and Final Examination), half/one hour (for CPT paper-pencil mode) extra time and/or writer’s help will be granted depending on the nature and extent of Permanent disability and in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Institute in this regard.

The request for extra time/writer’s help should be sent as a separate request and not be enclosed to the examination application form. The request should be sent preferably with the details of registration no. and complete postal address of the candidate.

The candidate will be informed about the grant of extra time/writer’s help by way of separate communication normally about 15 days prior to the commencement of examination.

The request along with the requisite documents must be sent to:
Dr. T. Paramasivan
Sr. Deputy Director (Exams)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
ICAI Bhawan
Indraprastha Marg
New Delhi-110002

Changes - eTDS - Q2 - due on 15th October 2010

NSDL has notified changes in data structure and validations for filing eTDS statement for FY 2010-11.

These changes are effective for the forthcoming second quarter statement filing due on Oct 15, 2010. The changes are primarily to give effect to Notification 41.


Changes
1. 100% Valid PANs
2. Reporting of Transport Contract payments without deduction of TDS
3. Flagging penal rate deductions
4. Mandatory Contact details of Deductor
5. Reporting requirements for Govt Deductors



1.100% Valid PANs
Existing Rule

At present a minimum percentage of valid PAN is mandatory in any eTDS statement. This is 95% for Form 24Q and 85% for others

Changed Rule

Form 24Q/26Q/27Q
All deductee records must have valid PANs. Even deductee records where tax has been deducted at lower/NIL rate must have valid PAN

Only exception is deductee records where tax has been deducted at higher rate u/s 206AA

Form 27EQ
The existing rule of 85% continues

2.Reporting of Transport Contract payments without deduction of TDS

Finance Act 2009 had made an important change in respect of applicability of TDS on transport contractors. Section 194C was replaced and the following two sub sections provided for non deduction of TDS on transport contractors

(6) No deduction shall be made from any sum credited or paid or likely to be credited or paid during the previous year to the account of a contractor during the course of business of plying, hiring or leasing goods carriages, on furnishing of his Permanent Account Number, to the person paying or crediting such sum.

(7) The person responsible for paying or crediting any sum to the person referred to in subsection (6) shall furnish, to the prescribed income-tax authority or the person authorised by it, such particulars, in such form and within such time as may be prescribed.

In terms of sub section (7), now such transactions are to be reported in regular eTDS statement.

All such deductions to transport contractors where tax has not been deducted are to be marked “T” in the column Reason for Non-deduction / Lower Deduction, if any in the deductee details

3 :Penal rate deductions

All deductions where tax has been deducted at higher rate in terms of section 206AA are to be marked “C” in the column Reason for Non deduction / Lower Deduction, if any in the deductee sheet.Such transactions need not have valid PAN.

For records marked with higher rate only below mentioned fields can be updated:
PAN
Amount of payment
Date of payment

4. Mandatory Contact details of Deductor

In the deductor details , contact details of deductors are provided
Email-Id of deductor / responsible person is now mandatory
Field for mobile number of responsible person has been added.
Any one of the contact details of deductor is mandatory:
Deductor telephone no. along with STD code
Responsible person telephone no. along with STD code
Mobile no. responsible person

5. Reporting requirements for Govt Deductors

For TDS deposited by book entry, 7 digit number generated by TIN for accepted Form 24G statement to be quoted in BSR code field. This value will be provided by the Accounts Officer to the deductor.

For TDS deposited by book entry, 5 digit number generated by TIN for DDO record of accepted Form 24G statement will be quoted in Transfer voucher field. This value will be provided by the Accounts Officer to the deductor

Form No 27EQ
Form No 27EQ is to be filed for tax collection at source
Validation for no/lower/higher deduction will not be applicable for Form no. 27EQ
PAN compliance validation of 85% will be applicable for Form no. 27EQ

New File Validation Utility
Quarterly e-TDS statements (regular and correction) upto FY 2009-10 should be validated with FVU version 2.129. There is no change in the validations for statements upto F.Y. 2009-10 Quarterly e-TDS statements (regular and correction) for FY 2010-11 should be validated with FVU version 3.0.

MEF 2010-11

LIST hosted at http://www.meficai.org/

Link for
1) List of Applicants whom Declaration has been received :
http://www.meficai.org/declarations_recieved.jsp

2) List of applicants from whom financial documents (called for from 10% applicants selected on random basis) have not been received.
http://www.meficai.org/FindocQuerynotRcvdhtm.htm

3) List of Applicants whom Declaration not received
http://www.meficai.org/declaration_not_recieved.jsp

4) List of Applicants whom Declaration is not signed
http://www.meficai.org/declarations_not_signed.jsp

5) MEF Complaint Link
http://www.meficai.org/complaints/complaint_enrty_enter.jsp

6) Track Complaint Status
http://www.meficai.org/complaints/viewcomplaintstatus.jsp

7) Excel file download link which may be confirmed with data available at website:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZMTM3YTdhMWMtNGVmNy00ZjQ0LTk2NGItZGUxZmQ2MjQ1MWVj&hl=en

Indian CA firms having tie-up/affiliation with international entities/network - (13-10-2010)

ANNOUNCEMENT
(For Mandatory compliance in terms of Clause (2) Part III of The First Schedule to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949)

Indian CA firms having tie-up/affiliation with international entities/network

The Council of the Institute had recently considered the draft Report on Operation of Multinational Network Accounting Firms in India, which inter alia, was based on examination of documents/details provided by many CA firms registered with ICAI and having tie-up/affiliation with international entities/network and the relevant provisions of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988.

While considering the aforesaid draft report, the Council noted that announcements had been in the past hosted by the Institute in its website in June, 2009 and again in April, 2010, besides publishing the same in the July, 2009 issue of the journal, `The Chartered Accountant’ requiring all the Indian CA firms having tie-up/affiliation with international entities/network to furnish the following documents/details to the Institute:

(1) Agreement/contract with the multinational entity
(2) Terms and conditions for usage of name of multinational entity
(3) Arrangement for sharing of fees/profit with other Indian CA firms with similar/identical name and with the multinational entity
(4) Arrangement for sharing of human resources and infrastructure with other Indian CA firms with similar/identical name and with the multinational entity
(5) Details of remittances made to and received from the multinational entity
(6) Partnership deed (as on vogue in the last 5 years)
(7) Income-tax assessment orders for the last 3 years. If assessment orders have not been received, then they may submit computation of income and copies of returns, and
(8) Copies of letterheads and visiting cards generally used.

The Council further noted that pursuant to the above announcement, while many CA firms concerned had responded by sending the documents however, there could still be some CA firms which might be having tie-up/affiliation with international entities/network, but have not disclosed the same to the Institute and thus have not submitted the required documents/details.

The Council, therefore, decided that suitable announcement be hosted in the website of the Institute once again, besides publishing the same in `The Chartered Accountant’ and the newsletters of the Regional Councils, so that the firms which have till now not responded is given a last and final opportunity. The Council also decided that in case on a later date, the Institute comes to know of any firms which have international tie-up/affiliation, but yet had not come forward to disclose the same and submit the documents/details called for, then necessary action under the provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 be taken against them.

Accordingly, this announcement is published with a request that the CA firms which have till now not responded to the earlier announcements on the subject, now submit the documents/details to the below-mentioned officer of the Institute at the following address at the earliest, and thus comply with the requirements asked for by the Institute:
G. Ranganathan
Deputy Secretary
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
ICAI Bhawan
C-1, Sector 1,
Noida – 201 301.
Tel.: 0120-3054 823
Mobile.: 093507 99933, Email: ranga@icai.org

(T. KARTHIKEYAN)
Secretary, ICAI, New Delhi

Source Link : http://220.227.161.86/20650announ11528.pdf

Revised Structure of Question Papers for November, 2010 Examination

ANNOUNCEMENT

Revised Structure of Question Papers for November, 2010 Examination

It has been decided to revise the structure of question papers for the PCE, IPCE and Final (old and new course) examinations as under, from November, 2010 examination onwards:
1. One question will be compulsory.
2. Among other questions, one choice will be provided uniformly in all the papers.
3. In addition, in one of the questions, one internal choice may be provided as far as possible.

Nomination for National Level Faculty for Live Virtual Classes

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Subject: Nomination for National Level Faculty for Live Virtual Classes

As you are aware, the Council at its last meeting (No.) held on September 20-21, 2010 has decided to start Live Virtual Classes with the assistance of a service provider. To begin with, a pilot project has been envisaged whereby classes would be organized on selective subjects at select cities including ICAI Regional Offices. At this moment, studio facilities for delivering lectures will be available at Chennai & Delhi.

The objective of Live Virtual Classes is delivery of coaching facilities to students across the country by eminent faculties of national level. I am sincerely thankful to those who has already responded to this. I would request you to recommend the names of outstanding faculty members known to you for various subjects of CPT, IPCC and Final course for empanelment. The list of nominated faculty members containing names, mobile number and e-mail id may be sent at the earliest.

Your kind support in this regard would go a long way in making this project successful.

Regards,
CA.Vinod Jain
Chairman
Board of Studies

DISA ET - November 2010

Notification for Eligibility Test (ET) for Post Qualification Course on Information Systems Audit (ISA) on Saturday the 13th November, 2010

Last Date for Online Form Submission 31st October, 2010 till 5:30 PM

1. The next Eligibility Test for ISA PQC is scheduled to be held on Saturday the 13th November, 2010 from 08.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. A detailed notification giving list of centers would be hosted on Committee Portal at http://cit.icai.org by 15th October, 2010.

2. A list of candidates, who have completed ISA Professional Training from 1st July 2010 to 30th September 2010, would also be hosted by 15th October 2010. In case you do not find your name in the list, kindly forward your request giving requisite details (ISA No, Membership No., Name, ISA PT Date and City) to isa@icai.org, by October 20, 2010.

3. Candidates desirous of taking this ISA ET have to submit the Online ISA ET Form (by giving their ISA No. and password) that would be available on the Committee Portal at http://cit.icai.org from 15th to 31st October, 2010.

4. ISA Eligibility Test November 2010 will be conducted with both revised (as effective from 1st April 2010) and old syllabus. Members will be required to choose the version of the syllabus which should be considered for their exam.

5. Candidates filling form B or C (2nd or subsequent attempt) have to ensure that their ISA ET Fee of Rs. 500/- (Rupees five hundred only) reaches the following address by the aforementioned last date through Demand Draft/ Pay Order in favour of "The Secretary, ICAI", payable at Delhi.
The Secretary
Committee on Information Technology
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
ICAI Bhawan
Plot Nos. 52-54, Vishwas Nagar
Shahadra, Delhi - 110 032
(Near Karkardooma Court)
Phone: PABX: 011-39893990
Extn. 619/ 621
Direct: 011 - 30210619/ 621
Fax: 011-30210681/ 680
E-mail ID: isa@icai.org

6. Applications received after the aforementioned last date would not be entertained under any circumstances and candidates would have to take the ISA ET in May, 2011 attempt.

7. Result of ISA Eligibility Test on 13th November, 2010 would be announced by 5.00 P.M. on Saturday the 20th November, 2010.



Source Link :
1) http://www.icai.org/post.html?post_id=6454&c_id=218
2) http://cit.icai.org/isapdf/Notification%20for%20Eligibility%20Test%20Nov10.htm

Online Articles Placement Portal for selection of Articled Assistants

ANNOUNCEMENT

September 27, 2010

On Line Articles Placement Portal for selection of Articled Assistants by CA Firms from 5th October, 2010

The Board of Studies of the Institute has introduced an optional Campus Placement Scheme for selection of Articled Assistants by CA Firms. The Pilot Campus Placement Programme held at Delhi in August 2010 has been a great success with an overwhelming response from both CA Firms and Students.

Considering the positive feedback and requests received from both CA Firms and Students, it has been decided to start an Online Articles Placement Portal to facilitate placement of Articles in CA Firms on pan India basis. Both eligible CA firms and candidates who are willing to avail of this facility shall have to register themselves online through the articles placement portal at http://bosapp.icai.org. The Portal would be operational from 5th October, 2010 at 11.00 A.M. onwards. The services on the Portal would be available for two months from the time of registration by the firm. Similarly the bio data of a student will also be available on the portal for a maximum period of 2 months from the date of student’s registration.

The Articles Placement Portal has been put into place to provide a platform to the firms of Chartered Accountants having vacancies for Articled Assistants to shortlist eligible students for selection of articled assistants, and call them for Interview at their offices, as per date and time convenient to them. The candidates who have either (a) Passed Group-I or both Groups of the IPCC examination, or (b) Passed either of the Groups or both groups of PE-II examination; and are eligible for undergoing articled training for selection as articled assistants in the CA firms can  register themselves on the portal, such that they can be considered for selection by the CA Firms.

The candidates shortlisted by CA Firms would be automatically informed by e-mail through the Portal, to appear for interview at their respective Offices, at the designated date and time.

Norms for Firms of Chartered Accountants participating in the Campus Placement Programme:

 All CA firms registered with the Institute and having vacancies for articled assistants are eligible to register through Portal by paying the requisite fee mentioned hereunder.

 After Registration, the participating firms would short list the candidates from the data available on the portal as per their requirement on the basis of number of vacancies available with them and call the candidates for interviews/interaction at their offices as per the suitable time and date convenient to them.

 Participating CA Firms should ensure that they have the number of vacancies available with them for articled assistants and shall have to mandatorily give offer letter to the selected candidates in writing on the date of the interview itself. (Please access ICAI website under "Know Your Firm Details" to find latest position).

 The CA firms are also requested to please see the list of candidates already selected by other CA firms on the Portal before giving offer letters to the candidates.

 The services on the Portal would be available for two months from the time of registration by the firm. Similarly the bio data of a student will also be available on the portal for a maximum period of 2 months from student’s registration.

Scale of Fee to be Charged From the Participating CA Firms:

CA Firms making use of the above Portal are required to pay through the Payment Gate way at the following rates to cover costs of the Portal, etc.:
Proprietorship Firms Rs. 1,000/-
Partnership Firms up to 6 partners Rs. 1,500/-
Partnership Firms having 7 to 12 partners Rs. 2,000/-
Partnership Firms having more than 12 partners Rs. 3,000/-
(Please add applicable Service Tax @ 10.3%)

Guidelines for CA Students:

 CA students who have qualified either (a) Passed Group-I or both Groups of the IPCC examination, or (b) Passed either of the Groups or both groups of PE-II examination and are eligible for undergoing articled training can apply for registration through Portal.

 The participating firms would short list the candidates registered on the Portal as per their requirement and call the candidates for interviews/interactions as per date and time convenient to them at their offices.

 If the date and/or time given by the CA firm is clashing with date and/or time of other CA firm(s), the candidate concerned is required to intimate the other firm(s) about the clash of date and time and request the firm(s) to change the same as per mutual convenience.

 Candidates appearing for the interviews are required to carry proof of their identity along with a copy of the mark-sheet(s) relating to IPCC/PE-II Examination, duly attested by a Chartered Accountant or a Gazetted Officer.

 Each student who would be given letter by the CA firm for pursuing articled training is required to give acceptance to the firm within 7 days’ time.

 In case the consent as per consent form is given by the Article to the firm this will be irrevocable from both sides and student will not be registered by ICAI under any other CA firm without the consent of the firm who were originally given the consent.

 After giving consent to the CA firm, he shall be required to indicate about his selection at the appropriate place on the Portal so that he should not be invited for further interviews by the CA firms.

 Students are advised to follow the proper Dress Code as prescribed by the Institute while appearing for interviews/interactions.

Disclaimer

Please note that The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India will be acting as a facilitator only and shall not be responsible in case of non-placement / non-selection of candidates.

In case of any clarification, please contact the Board of Studies, ICAI Bhawan, A-94/4, Sector-58, Noida-201301, Tel. No. 0120-3045930/931; eMail: bosapp@icai.org.

Director , Board of Studies

Common Errors Found While Processing ITR 4, 5 and 6 for AY 2009-10

1. Schedule Profit and Loss is filled with a claim for depreciation but depreciation details are either not added back in Schedule BP or details of depreciation in plant and machinery and other assets are not filled by the assessee in Schedule DPM, DOA and Schedule DEP, leading to disallowance of depreciation.

2. Assessees declaring deemed income under section 44AD, 44AF, etc., are filling up Schedule P & L account but not entering all relevant details in Schedule BP such as Items A4, A33, depreciation, Schedule DPM/DEP etc in the return, leading to addition to deemed income.

3. Schedule OI is filled with details of disallowances or amounts added back to income due to the provisions like 40A, 40(a), 43(1), 36 but they are not entered in Schedule BP in arriving at the income from Business and Profession leading to additions to income mentioned in Schedule BP during processing.

4. Schedule CFL is not being filled by assessee who is claiming adjustment of Brought Forward Loss Adjustments. The assessee has to fill the schedule CFL and give the breakup of the losses claimed for set off which alone will be considered for Schedule BFLA. Direct entries in Schedule BFLA will not be entertained, thus leading to demand due to disallowance of claim for adjustment of brought forward loss.

5. Schedule VI A details are not filled correctly. The assessee is filling only the Total deductions under Chapter VI A without giving break up of deductions claimed. Also while claiming deductions in Chapter VI A the respective schedules like 80IA, 80IB, 80IC, 80G, etc. are not filled, leading to disallowances of deductions claimed under Chapter VIA.

6. In ITR 5 in many returns the assessee has not selected Status (such as Cooperative Society, Firm, etc) in the General Information Portion of ITR 5 leading to taxation at higher rate or disallowance on specific deductions like 80P, etc.

7. In ITR 6 many assessees are opting for ‘No’ in section in General Information relating to ‘If a Domestic Company’. When ‘N’ is selected the tax rate applicable to Foreign Companies will be charged, leading to higher taxation.

8. The payment details in Schedule IT and Schedule FBT are misconstrued by the assessee. The assessees have claimed Income Tax payments in Schedule FBT and FBT payments in Schedule IT leading mismatch and disallowance on credit for tax payments.

9. Schedule MAT is not being entered by many assessees even though they are falling within the ambit of the provisions of MAT.

10. In Schedule CG, there are additions to Total income on account income from STCG due to incomplete filling of the Schedule CG, incorrect apportionment of Total STCG as determined in Item 6 between Items 7 and 8 and incorrect or incomplete filling up of the correct code and corresponding value of STCG under section 111A in Schedule SI- Income chargeable to Income tax at special rates. Mistakes in LTCG are due to incomplete filling of the Schedule- CG and incorrect or incomplete filling up of the correct code and corresponding values of LTCG in Schedule SI- Income chargeable to Income tax at special rates.

Due date of filing extended to 15 th Ocober 2010

F.No. 225/72/2010-ITA.II

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes

Dated : September 27, 2010


Order under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961


On consideration of the reports of disturbance of general life caused due to floods and heavy rains, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, in exercise of powers conferred under section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, hereby extends the due date of filing of returns of income for the Assessment Year 2010-11 from 30.09.2010 to 15th October 2010. Accordingly the due date for Tax Audit report u/s. 44AB of the Income Tax Act is also extended to 15th October, 2010.


(Ajay Goyal)
Director (ITA. II)





Source Link :
https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/portal/downloads10-11/itr/extends%20the%20due%20date.jpg

DSC Error

It is observed that Corporate users are registering the DSC and immediately trying to upload the I-T Return. This will throw up an Error like "Your DSC is not registered". Therefore, it is requested that whenever the new DSC is being registered or DSC is being updated, the user should first log out and then login again for the registration or updation to take effect, and then only upload the I-T return.

PAN based DSC for Non-residents relaxed

Requirement of encrypted PAN on DSC for non-resident signatories of foreign companies has been relaxed. The signatory may register with a non-PAN based DSC from the CCA, India and use the same DSC while uploading the return.

This facility is available ONLY for all foreign companies under the jurisdiction of respective International Taxation wards or circles of the Income Tax Department.

Foreign companies still facing any difficulty may send a email to efiling@incometaxindia.gov.in or efiling.administrator@incometaxindia.gov.in giving their name, PAN and jurisdiction.

Income Tax Ombudsman

Income Tax Ombudsman

Source Link : http://www.incometaxindiapr.gov.in/incometaxindiacr/ombudsman.pdf

Download Link Direct : https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZNzRjZjU3ZDYtMTRiZC00OWZmLThiZmQtOTAwY2E4MTYwNzQz&hl=en


.

PERIOD OF PRESERVATION OF ACCOUNTS/RECORDS UNDER DIFFERENT LAWS

COMPANIES ACT, 1956

· A company is required to maintain its books of account and vouchers for a period of 8 years immediately preceding the current year.

· A s. 25 company is required to maintain its books of account and vouchers for a period of not less than 4 years.

· The books and papers of the Amalgamated/Transferor Company must be not be disposed of without the prior permission of the Central Government

· The books and papers of a company which has been wound-up and of its liquidator shall not be destroyed for a period of 5 years from the date of its dissolution. They may be destroyed earlier with prior Central Government permission.

· Every Company (not being an NBFC) accepting public deposits must maintain a Register of deposits for 8 calendar years from the financial year in which the latest entry is made in the Register

· The Register and Index of Members must be maintained Permanently.

· The Register and Index of debenture-holders must be maintained for 15 years after the redemption of debentures
· The copies of all Annual Returns and Certificates annexed thereto must be maintained for 8 years from date of filing with the ROC


NBFC DIRECTIONS

· Every NBFC accepting public deposits must maintain a Register of deposits for each branch and a consolidated Register for 8 calendar years following the financial year in which the latest repayment /renewal entry is made in the Register

INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961

· Assessees are required to preserve the specified books of account for a period of 6 years from the end of the relevant assessment year, i.e., for a total period of 8 previous years. Thus, accounts must be maintained for PY 1997-98 and onwards and accounts up to 31st March, 1997 (PY 1996-97) need not be maintained for income-tax purposes.

· Transfer Pricing documents and information specified under Rule 10D must be maintained for a period of 8 years from the end of the relevant assessment year, i.e., for a total period of 10 previous years.

CENTRAL EXCISE :

· Daily Stock Account of goods produced must be maintained for 5 years immediately after the financial year to which such records pertain

SERVICE TAX

· Records maintained under various other laws in force from time to time would be acceptable

SEBI REGULATIONS

· Under the SEBI Regulations for Stock Brokers, Merchant Bankers, Portfolio Managers, Underwriters, Debenture Trustees, FIIs, Custodian of Securities and Depository Participants the Records prescribed by SEBI under relevant Regulations must be maintained for a minimum period of 5 years

· Under the SEBI Regulations for Venture Capital Funds and Mutual Funds the records prescribed by SEBI under relevant Regulations must be maintained for a minimum period of 8 years

· SEBI Regulations for Registrar & Transfer Agents and Bankers to an Issue the records prescribed by SEBI under relevant Regulations must be maintained for a minimum period of 3 years

ICAI – COUNCIL’S DECISION OF 1957

· CAs should preserve records relating to audit and other work done by them, routine correspondence and other papers for a minimum period of 10 years

Friday, October 15, 2010

Life Goes on...

"A CA was walking along a beach when he found a lamp. Upon rubbing the lamp a genie appeared who stated ""I am the most powerful genie in the world. Because I am so powerful, I can grant you any wish you want, but only one wish.

The CA pulled out a map of the South Asia and said ""I'd like there to be peace among the people in the South Asia without any terrorist attacks.""
The genie responded, ""Gee, I don't know. Those terrorists have been fighting since the beginning of time. They are always going to be fighting. I can do just about anything, but this is beyond my limits.""
The CA then said, ""Well, we are conducting an audit for a big corporate. If you can help us to find frauds in the company, should there be any""
Genie: ""Uh, let me see that map again.""
(March 2009)

"In a small town in India, a person decided to open a Bar, which was right opposite to the Temple. The Temple & its congregation started a campaign to block the Bar from opening with petitions and prayed daily against his business.
Work progressed. However, when it was almost complete and was about to open a few days later, a strong lightning struck the Bar and it was burnt to the ground.
The temple folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, till the Bar owner sued the Temple authorities on the grounds that the Temple through its congregation & prayers was ultimately responsible for the demise of his bar shop, either through direct or indirect actions or means.
In its reply to the court, the temple vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection that their prayers were reasons to the bar shop's demise.
As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented: I don't know how I'm going to decide this case, but it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and we have an entire temple and its devotees that doesn't!!'"
(April 2009) 

"A group of frogs were travelling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, he said to the other frogs “Thanks for encouraging me as I being deaf could only see your energising actions”.

This teaches two lessons:
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words... it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
(May 2009)

Two Chartered Accountants are in a bank, when armed robbers burst in. While several of the robbers take the money from the tellers, others line the customers, including the two Chartered Accountants, up against a wall, and proceed to take their wallets, watches, mobile phones etc. While this is going on CA number one jams something in CA number two's hand. Without looking down, CA number two whispers, "What is this?" to which CA number one replies, "It's that Rs.1000 I owe you."
(July 2009)

Two Candidates Ram and Shyam applied for a job of accountant. The boss decided to take a written test as the profiles of Ram and Shyam were similar.
They took the test and came back next day to see the who the boss chose. ""Well"", he said, ""Both of you got the same score, but I,m going to select Ram""
Shyam complained ""Don't you think that's prejudice""
""Well"", the boss said,""It's because, for the last question Ram answered, 'I don't know' and you answered, ""I also don't know""."
(August 2009)


"A Chartered Accountant opened the door of his Mercedes Benz, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the CA was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious Mercedes.
""Officer, look what they've done to me car!"" he whined.
""You CAs are so materialistic, you make me sick!"" retorted the officer. ""You so worried about your stupid Mercedes, that you didn't even notice that you left arm was ripped off!""
""Oh my god...."", replied the CA, finally noticing the bloody left shoulder where his arm once was ""Where's my Rolex!?""
(September 2009)

"Doctor to CA:
""Take the green pill with a glass of water when you get up.
Take the blue pill with a glass of water after lunch.
Then just before going to bed, take the red pill with a glass of water.""
CA: ""Exactly what's my problem, Doctor?""
Doctor: ""You are not drinking enough water.""
(October 2009)

"There was a teacher who asked her class to use the word green, pink and yellow in a sentence.
A small kid raised his hand and said: ""The phone goes green green, I pink up the phone and say yellow""
""Ok, give me a sentence about public servant"", said the teacher.
The small boy said: ""The fireman came down the ladder pregnant""
The teacher took the lad aside to correct him.
""Don't you know what pregnant means?"" She asked.
""Sure"" said the young student confidently. ""Means carrying a child""
(November 2009)

"An internal auditor for a manufacturing group was concerned about anomalies in stock levels.
He thought someone might be pinching stock but he couldn't prove it. He had his eye on one shifty-looking individual who every day drove his old truck out of the factory with the load covered by a tarpaulin.

Time after time the auditor stopped this individual, made him remove the tarpaulin and then inspected the load. On every occasion there was only scrap metal in the truck. On three occasions, the auditor got the truck checked removing the tarpaulin and then unloading the scrap in front of him, suspecting that there might be stolen stock hidden underneath. Nothing. He could never find anything amiss.

After a few months of this the auditor was offered a better job elsewhere and resigned. A few weeks later he was eating in a restaurant, when the shifty character walked in. On an impulse, the auditor went up to him and said, ""Look, I've left the company, I'm not interested in taking it any further and I won't shop you, but I just have to know.
What were you taking?"" And the individual said ""Tarpaulins.""
(December 2009)

"One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route.
No problems for the first few stops, a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.
At the next stop, however, a big strong guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "" 'Bully'Raja doesn't pay!"" and sat down at the back.
The driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek... Naturally, he didn't argue with 'Bully'Raja, but he wasn't happy about it.

The next day the same thing happened -'Bully'Raja got on again, said ""'Bully'Raja doesn't pay!"" and sat down.
And the next day, and the one after that, and so forth. This irritated the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way 'Bully'Raja was taking advantage of his size.
Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building programme - karate, judo and all that good stuff. In the end, he had become quite strong.
So on the next Monday, when 'Bully'Raja got on the bus and said, "" 'Bully'Raja doesn't pay!"" the driver stood up, glared back and screamed, ""And why not?""
With a surprised look on his face, 'Bully'Raja replied, "" 'Bully'Raja has a Bus pass.""

Moral: First, be sure that there is a problem, before working hard to solve one."
(January 2010)


"A man was driving well above the speed limit when a police car suddenly emerged from behind, sirens blaring. Thinking he'd outpace the cop, the man pushed his accelerator to the floor. His car's speed rose to sixty, then seventy, eighty, and ninety. Finally, the man thought, what the heck, and pulled over, ready to receive a Challan.
The police officer got out, leaned over the man and said: ‘Listen, I have had a really lousy day, and I just want to go home. Give me a good excuse and I'll let you go.’
The man thought for a moment and said: ‘Three weeks ago my wife ran off with a police officer. When I saw your car in my mirror, I thought you were that officer and were trying to give her back to me.’
No Challan.
**********************
A Chartered Accountant joined a large organisation. On his first day he dialled the canteen and shouted into the phone, “Get me some coffee, quick!”
The voice from the other side responded “You fool, you’ve dialled the wrong extension!
Do you know who you are talking to?”
“No”, replied the trainee.
“It’s the Managing Partner, you fool!” The voice shouted back.
The trainee did some quick thinking and asked forcefully,
“And do you know Sir, who you’re talking to?”
“No”, replied the Managing Partner.
“Ok”, said the trainee and hung up the phone.
**********************
A Chairman, Secretary and Vice-Chairman go out to lunch.
They see a brass lamp lying on the way. Curious, they pick it up and give it a rub.
Instantly, a genie appears.""You know the deal,"" says the genie.
""Three wishes. But seeing there are three of you, you can have just one wish each.""
""Great,"" says the Vice Chairman ""Take me to Goa where I have lot of wealth, a bungalow, car and leave me there for ever.""
Pouf! There is a flash of light, a puff of smoke and he is gone.
""Now me,"" says the Secretary. ""Take me to Darjeeling where I have lot of wealth, a bungalow, car and leave me there for ever.""
Pouf! There is a flash of light, a puff of smoke and he is gone.
The genie turns to the Chairman ""And what do you want?""
""I want those two back in the office immediately.""
**********************
(February 2010)

"These are some of the application and leave letters written by various personnel .
English, as they say, is really a funny language!

1. A candidate's application ""This has reference to your advertisement calling for a 'typist and an accountant - Male or Female'... As I am both for the past several years and I can handle both, I am applying for the post.""
2. An employee applied for leave as follows: Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife. please sanction me one week leave""...
3. Another employee applied for half day leave as follows: ""Since I have to go to the cremation ground and I may not return, please grant me half day casual leave""
4. A friend of mine had written a leave letter to the headmaster: ""As I am studying in this school i am suffering from head-ache. I request you to leave me today""
5. A family friend of ours told an incident of his friend's letter ""I am suffering from fever, please declare holiday to the school""
6. Another leave letter written to the headmaster: As my headache is paining, please grant me leave for the day.
7. Another leave letter written to Administration dept: As my mother-in-law has expired and I am responsible for it, please grant me 10 days leave.
(March 2010)

"How Do Stock Markets Work?
It was autumn, and the Red Indians on the remote reservation asked their New Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian chief in a modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his Tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.
Being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the Meteorological Department and asked ""Is the coming winter going to be cold?"" ""It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed,"" the meteorologist responded.
So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood. A week later, he called the Meteorological Department again. ""Is it going to be a very cold winter?"" ""Yes,"" the man at Meteorological Department again replied, ""It's definitely going to be a very cold winter.""
The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find.
Two weeks later, he called the Meteorological Department again. ""Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?""
""Absolutely,"" The man replied. ""It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever.""
""How can you be so sure?"" the Chief asked.
The weatherman replied, ""The Red Indians are collecting wood like crazy.""
This is how stock markets work !! "
(April 2010)

"THE COMMUNICATION
From : Managing Director
To : Executive Director
""Tomorrow morning there will be a total eclipse of the sun at nine o'clock. This is something which we cannot see everyday. So let the work-force line up outside, in their best clothes to watch it. To mark the occasion of this rare occurrence, I will personally explain the phenomenon to them. If it is raining we will not be able to see it very well and in that case the work force should assemble in the canteen.""

From : Executive Director
To : Departmental Head
""By order of the Managing Director, there will be a total eclipse of the sun at nine o' clock tomorrow morning. If it is raining we will not be able to see it in our best clothes, on the site. In this case the disappearance of the sun will be followed through in the canteen. This is something we cannot see happening everyday.""

From : Departmental Heads
To : Sectional Heads
""By order of the Managing Director, we shall follow the disappearance of the sun in our best clothes, in the canteen at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. The Managing Director will tell us whether it is going to rain. This is something which we cannot see happen everyday.""

From : Section Heads
To : Foreman
""If it is raining in the canteen tomorrow morning, which is something that we cannot see happen everyday, the Managing director in his best clothes, will disappear at nine o' clock.""

From : Foreman
To : All Operators
""Tomorrow morning at nine o' clock, the Managing Director will disappear. It's a pity that we can't see this happen everyday"" "
(May 2010)

"A business owner tells her friend that she is desperately searching for an accountant. Her friend asks, ""Didn't your company hire an accountant a short while ago?"" The business owner replies, ""That's the accountant I've been searching for.""
*** ***
The accountant had just read the story of Cinderella to his four-year-old daughter for the first time. The little girl was fascinated by the story, especially the part where the pumpkin turns into a golden coach. Suddenly she piped up, ""Daddy, when the pumpkin turned into a golden coach, would that be classed as income or a long-term capital gain?""
*** ***
(June 2010)

"A CA walks into a bank and asks for the loan officer. He says he is going out of town on audit for three weeks and needs to borrow Rs. 1 Lakh. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for such a loan.

So the CA hands over the keys of his Mercedes Benz parked on the street in front of the bank along with necessary papers. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. An employee drives the Mercedes Benz into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Three weeks later, the CA returns, repays Rs. 1 Lakh and the interest, which comes to Rs.1000/-. The loan officer says, ""We are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little confused. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are pretty rich. What confuses us is why would you bother to borrow Rs. 1 lakh?""

The CA replied, ""Where else in this city can I park my car safely for three weeks for 1000 bucks?""
(July 2010)

"A new manager spends a week at his new office with the manager he is replacing. On the last day, the departing manager tells him, ""I have left three numbered envelopes in the desk drawer. Open an envelope if you encounter a crisis you can't solve.""

Three months down the line there is a major crisis, everything goes wrong and the manager feels very threatened by it all. He remembers the parting words of his predecessor and opens the first envelope. The message inside says: ""Blame your predecessor!"" He does this and gets off the hook.

About six months later, the company is experiencing a dip in sales, combined with serious product problems. The manager quickly opens the second envelope. The message read: ""Re-organise!"" This he does and the company quickly rebounds.

Three months later, at his next crisis, he opens the third envelope. The message inside says: ""Prepare three envelopes!""
(August 2010)

"A Scientist conducted a very important experiment. He was doing research on frogs to jump upon giving it a verbal command (“Jump!”)

In the first stage of the experiment he told the frog to jump and it jumped. So he wrote in his scientific notebook: “All organs of frog are functioning properly.”

Then he removed one leg of the frog and asked to jump, it obeyed, so he wrote again: “Upon removing one leg, all frog’s organs are functioning properly.”

Then he removed the second leg, asked the frog to jump and nothing happened.

He did not want to take a chance, so he repeated the experiment several times but the frog never jumped. So he wrote the conclusion: “Upon removing second leg, the frogs lose their sense of hearing”
(September 2010)

"Once a captain on his ship was disturbed by his assistant telling him, ""Sir! Sir! There are 5 enemy ships on the horizon.""
The captain tells the man,"" Get my red coat and prepare for battle!""
The assistant runs without question to get the captains red coat and prepares for battle. After their victory the assistant asks the captain why he wanted his red coat.
The captain tells the assistant ""If I was shot you would not be able to tell I'm bleeding and you would keep fighting.""
The assistant thought this was a great idea. The next day the assistant came to the captain, ""Sir! Sir! There are twenty enemy ships on the horizon!""
The captain was stunned. He looked at the assistant and told him ""Get me my brown pants!""
(October 2010)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2010

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2010 as passed by Rajya Sabha

Download Link :
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZY2I3OWYwNjMtNThlMi00NzJiLTk5MTgtOGRiNTYwMDZlMDZj&hl=en

Monday, September 20, 2010

Revised Guidance Note on Tax Audit u/Sec. 44AB of IT Act, 1961

Attention of members is invited towards the changes in the Guidance Note on tax Audit under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 approved subsequent to the publication of the Supplementary Guidance Note, issued by the erstwhile Fiscal Laws Committee, as a part of the publication “Guidance Note on Audit of Fringe Benefits under the Income-tax Act, 1961” in 2006.

The Fifth Edition of the Guidance Note on Tax Audit under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 incorporating the law as amended by the Finance Act, 2005 was published in September, 2005.

Subsequently, a supplementary Guidance Note has been published on the amendments made by the notification No. 208/2006 dated 10th August, 2006 issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in Form No. 3CD.

Subsequent to the publishing of the above Supplementary Guidance Note, the Finance Act, 2007 has made amendments in section 40A(3). New Rule 6DD was inserted in the Income-tax Rules by notification No. 208/2007 dated 27.6.2007 w.e.f. A.Y. 2008-09.

The Council thereupon approved some more changes subsequent to the publication of the Supplementary Guidance Note. These may be taken into consideration while reading in the Guidance Note on Tax Audit [2005 Edition] and the Supplementary Guidance note on Tax Audit [2006 Edition published along with the Guidance Note on Audit of Fringe Benefits under the Income-tax Act, 1961].

For convenience of members the clauses wherein there have been changes are listed hereunder and the full text which forms part of the Guidance to members is available at http://220.227.161.86/20408announ11236a.pdf. Please note that some changes approved relating to fringe benefits have not been given here since they are no longer relevant.

1. Clause No. 12(a) and (b) of Form 3CD Para No. 23 of the Guidance Note[2005 Edition]
2. Clause 17(h) of Form 3CD Para 35 of the Guidance Note (Subsequent changes have been made in section 40A(3) by the Finance Act, 2008 and Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 and also in Rule 6DD.These changes may have an effect on the computation of the amount to be reported but no further guidelines in this regard is considered necessary)
3. Clause 17(l) of Form 3CD
4. Clause 17A in Form 3CD – Amount inadmissible under section 23 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006.
5. Select issues in accounting for state level VAT. (These do not represent the views of the Council but are based on the original draft prepared by Indore Branch of the CIRC of the Institute.)

Download Link :
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZYjE2NWQ3MzYtZWIyOC00YjYyLThkOGQtMzQ1OTNmMDI1N2Vj&hl=en

DSC and E-filing related

1) E-filing of Returns - An Overview of the Process of e-Filing of Returns
Link : https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0Ae0hzoMM8_XZZGRkNTM5eHRfMTBmaHhxM21jcA&hl=en

2) Changed DSC Procedure
Link : https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZZjE4ODFiMDMtNTBlNC00ZDI3LWJkMTktNjM4MTU3YmQ2MzM4&hl=en

3) Help / Guidance for USB Token
Link : https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZMTc0YTY2MDEtZGQ0My00NDA4LTlmODgtNWY5MmU1Y2Q2OWYw&hl=en

MS-Office 2003 MENU for MS-Office 2007

For all those MS-Office 2007 users who are missing Office 2003 Menu features

Please load this utility.

Setup File Link1 : http://www.ubit.ch/fileadmin/UBitMenu/UBitMenuSetupUK.exe

Setup File Link2 : https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZZjE4M2IyNmQtMzI0Zi00MjVmLTk5ZTItZmFhYmM1ZWE0Yjhl&hl=en&authkey=CJvAjLoI

Site Link : http://www.ubit.ch/software/ubitmenu-languages/

Save this exe file and run. This will load a small Add-in for Microsoft Office 2007 which will give you the MENU of Ms-office 2003.

Note : This utility is for users having MS-Office 2007 and ensure that No MS-Office 2007 application is running while loading this application.

E-books on Stock Market

All About Stocks
Download Link : https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZNDRhOGE5NjItZjgwZC00NDAxLWE5YjEtMjA5YmQ0YzNiNmQ0&hl=en

Demystifying Derivatives
- Courtesy: Sharekhan
Download Link : https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZZTQxZWZlZWItMDViMy00ZWY0LTllM2ItM2QwM2UxMzczZmEx&hl=en

Sunday, September 19, 2010

HUF - Efiling - Date of Creation : Ancestral

For HUFs:


Date of creation of HUF shall be
01-01-0001
where the date of creation is not available / HUF date is ancestral.

The same can be used for e-filing of IT Returns as well of updation of PAN.

Tax Free Railway Bonds

NOTIFICATION NO. 72/2010, Dated: September 8, 2010

In exercise of the powers conferred by item (h) of sub-clause (iv) of clause (15) of Section 10 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby authorizes the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to issue, during Financial Year 2010-11, tax free secured, redeemable, non-convertible Railway Bonds of Rs. 1,000 each in case of public issue and Rs.1,00,000 each in other cases, aggregating to an amount of three thousand and eighty crore rupees only, carrying an interest rate in the range of 6% to 7.25% per annum, depending upon the size and tenor of a tranche:

Provided that the benefit under the said item shall be admissible only if the holder of such bonds registers his or her name and the holding with the said Corporation.

F.No.178/126/2009-ITA-1
(Raman Chopra)
Director (ITA-1)

Notification Download: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZMjQ3MmI3NDUtNWNlZi00MTlhLWI2NzctMWU4YTNiZDIzNmQ2&hl=en

Source Link :
http://law.incometaxindia.gov.in/DIT/File_opener.aspx?page=NOTF&schT=&csId=5857d9b4-0293-4146-a99b-8a28b50b200a&NtN=&yr=ALL&sec=&sch=&title=Taxmann

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Vodafone International Holdings B.V. vs. UOI (Bombay High Court)

The purchase of shares of a foreign company by one non-resident from another non-resident attracts Indian tax if the object was to acquire the Indian assets held by the foreign company

A Cayman Island company called CGP Investments held 52% of the share capital of Hutchison Essar Ltd, an Indian company engaged in the mobile telecom business in India. The shares of CGP Investments were in turn held by another Cayman Island company called Hutchison Telecommunications. The assessee, a Dutch company, acquired from the second Cayman Islands company, the shares in CGP Investments for a total consideration of US $ 11.08 billion. The AO issued a show-cause notice u/s 201 in which he took the view that as the ultimate asset acquired by the assessee were shares in an Indian company, the assessee ought to have deducted tax at source u/s 195 while making payment to the vendor. This notice was challenged by a Writ Petition but was dismissed by the Bombay High Court. In appeal, the Supreme Court remanded the matter to the AO to first pass a preliminary order of jurisdiction which the AO did. This order was challenged by the assessee by a Writ Petition on the ground that as one non-resident had acquired shares of a foreign company from another non-resident, s. 195 had no application. HELD dismissing the Petition:

(i) An assessee is entitled to arrange his affairs so as to avoid tax and the department is not entitled to disregard it on the ground of motive. However, a “sham” or “colourable” transaction can be disregarded by the AO. Azadi Bachao Andolan 263 ITR 706 (SC) & Wallfort followed;

(ii) A share, being a capital asset, comprises of an indivisible set of rights, not capable of being separately transferred at law. A controlling interest does not constitute a distinct capital asset because it is an incident of the ownership of shares and flows out of the holding of shares. Also, the business of a company is not the business of its shareholders and the assets of a company are not the assets of its shareholders;

(iii) The State has jurisdiction to tax non-residents if there is a nexus connecting the non-resident and the State. The nexus arises where the source of income originates in the jurisdiction. The source of income is determined in accordance with source rules. U/s 5 & 9, the nexus for charging a non-resident is provided by the receipt or accrual of income in India. If the income can be taxed in more than one jurisdiction, it has to be apportioned;

(iv) U/s 9(1)(i), income arising from the transfer of a capital asset situated in India is chargeable to tax. The situs of the capital asset is the crucial jurisdictional condition that must be fulfilled in order to attract chargeability to tax of income arising from the transfer of a capital asset;

(v) Article 13 of the OECD Model Convention illustrates how a value driven deeming nexus may be created by legislation and how one can look behind corporate structures if the ownership of shares represents an interest of a certain value in real estate situated within the taxing jurisdiction;

(vi) S. 195 creates an obligation to deduct tax where the sum payable to a non-resident is (even partly) chargeable to tax. If the sum payable is not assessable in India, there is no question of TDS being deducted by an assessee. The argument that as the payer is a non-resident, it was not obliged to deduct tax is not acceptable because there is sufficient territorial connection or nexus between the payer and India. The fact that enforcement of the obligation may be difficult as the payer is a non-resident does not mean that obligation is not applicable;

(vii) On facts, the argument that the transaction involved merely a sale of a share of a foreign company by one non-resident to another is not acceptable. It would be simplistic to assume that the entire transaction between the non-residents was fulfilled merely upon the transfer of a single share of the Cayman Islands company. The commercial and business understanding between the parties postulated that what was being transferred from one non-resident to the other was the controlling interest in Hutchison Essar, an Indian company. The object and intent of the parties was to achieve the transfer of control over the Indian company and the transfer of the solitary share of the Cayman Islands company was put into place as a mode of effectuating the goal;

(vii) Even the price of US $ 11.01 Billion paid by the assessee factored in diverse rights and entitlements that were being transferred to the assessee. Many of these entitlements were not relatable to the transfer of the CGP share. The transactional documents were not merely incidental or consequential to the transfer of the CGP share, but recognized independently the rights and entitlements of the vendor in relation to the Indian business which were being transferred to the assessee;

(viii) As the consideration was paid for acquisition of a panoply of entitlements including a control premium, use and rights to the Hutch brand in India, non-compete agreement with the Hutch group etc, it will have to be apportioned by the AO to determine which portion has a nexus within the Indian taxing jurisdiction and which lies outside;

(ix) Accordingly, as the transaction between the assessee and Hutchison Telecommunications had sufficient nexus with Indian fiscal jurisdiction, the AO did have jurisdiction to initiate proceedings against the assessee for failure to deduct tax at source.

Note1: The judgement was pronounced today via video-conferencing with Justice Chandrachud sitting in Mumbai and Justice Devadhar sitting in Nagpur. This is the first tax judgement delivered this way

Note2: Clause 5(4)(g) of the Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010 provides that income from transfer outside India of a share in a foreign company shall be deemed to arise in India unless if the FMV of assets in India owned by the foreign company is less that 50% of its total assets.

Legal reactions


DSK Legal partner Balbir Singh said that the decision opened a Pandora's box, "as tax authorities will find a reason and basis to open the already closed transactions".

"So long as this high court ruling remains," added Economic Laws Practice (ELP) partner Pranay Bhatia, "the tax dept may certainly say, I do have a legal basis to examine withholding tax liability of every offshore transaction which results in a change of ownership."

Singh said: "The Vodafone judgment will have far reaching impact as it would certainly influence the way transactions are structured in terms of instruments and jurisdiction."

Lawyers would have to "go back to the drawing board" to come up with new and valid tax efficient structures, agreed ALMT Legal partner Hitesh Jain, who had previously also advised Vodafone on the case.

Bhatia commented that structures such as the one in the Vodafone Hutch acquisition were used in “some” cases but were not unique. "This decision is backed on a very specific factual matrix. Every case may not be pari passu to the Vodafone and Hutch transaction because here there is a controlling stake involved, a third telecoms regulator and in every case that may not be the situation."

"There are a number of factors which could make a case go one way or another but this Vodafone case is an important one but can not be a decider whether everything going forward will be looked at like that," he said.

Singh said the consequences of the case could negatively affect foreign investment. "It will impact the cost of acquisition and doing business in India. By charging tax on offshore transactions, tax authorities may garner more tax but will lose on larger FDI in India."

"The most critical part of this judgment is confirming liability to withhold tax by an offshore company while making payment to the seller in another offshore jurisdiction and treating the underlying entity as an 'assessee in default'," noted Singh.

The reasoning

"The transaction was of a composite nature and created reciprocal rights and obligations which included but were not limited to the transfer of the CGP share," explained ELP in its analysis of the decision:


Link to Download the full 196 page judgment :
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B-0hzoMM8_XZN2JmNjY3N2QtNDk1Mi00ZjQ1LTgxMDgtMjA4YWM3ZjIxNzY0&hl=en