Business So Simple

Income Tax Department conducts search & seizure operations in Mumbai (Press release 03 March 2022)

Posted on 3rd Mar 2022 by Business So Simple in Income Tax

During the course of the search operation, numerous incriminating documents, loose sheets and digital evidences have been found and seized. The evidences so seized strongly indicate a close nexus between these contractors and the said person. Particulars of about 3 dozen immovable properties, whose value could be more than Rs. 130 crore have also been detected. It includes properties acquired either in their name or their associates or benamidars. Evidences of their involvement in international hawala transaction and routing of the ill-gotten money to certain foreign jurisdictions have also been recovered. Loose sheets and excel files with details of unaccounted cash receipts and payments aggregating to several crores have also been found and seized, which have not been recorded in the regular books of account.

In the case of contractors, the seized documents reveal the modus-operandi adopted by them for large-scale suppression of taxable income by inflating their expenses. For this purpose, the prominent recourse is over-invoicing of sub-contract expenses through a maze of entities and by claiming non-genuine expenses. Certain instances show that cash has been taken out from these entities and the same has been utilized for obtaining undue favours for awarding of contracts and also for making unaccounted payments for investments in properties. The preliminary investigation indicates that these contractors have evaded income to the extent of Rs. 200 crore on account of the above malpractices.

During the search operation, undisclosed cash of Rs. 2 crore and jewellery of Rs. 1.5 crore have been seized so far.

Further investigations are in progress.

Reduction of compliances and end-to-end automation of procedure relating to import of certain goods at concessional rate of duty (Press release 02 March 2022)

Posted on 3rd Mar 2022 by Business So Simple in Custom, Taxation

In a significant step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has reduced the compliances required under the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty-IGCR) Rules, 2017 and introduced end to end automation of the procedure involved. Towards this end, the online portal has gone live on www.icegate.gov.in today. Importers desirous of availing exemptions linked to these Rules may register on the portal now.

The above rules provide for procedural safeguards to ensure that the goods imported at a concessional rate of duty, subject to an end-use condition, are used for the purpose specified in the exemption notification.

Based on the feedback from the Industry, the procedures were simplified and made paperless and contactless with end-to-end automation. The changes brought about are summarized as follows:

All the intimations for claiming such exemptions can be submitted electronically, through a common portal that has been notified.
The various forms in which details need to be submitted electronically have also been standardized and notified.
The transaction-based permissions and intimations which were a part of the erstwhile procedures have now been done away with.
Instead of a quarterly return, for effective monitoring of the use of goods for the intended purposes, a monthly statement has been introduced. This statement shall also be submitted by the importer electronically on the Common Portal.
Accepting the demand of the trade, a specific provision has been introduced clarifying the procedure for allowing imported goods for inter-unit transfer.
In order to further ease the procedures, an option for voluntary payment through the Common Portal, as specified in the Rules, is being enabled shortly.

For the sake of clarity among trade and industry, the procedure set out in the IGCR Rules, 2017 and the guidelines for smooth implementation have been clarified and elaborated through the Customs Circular 04/2022 dated 27-02-2022. Further, in order to familiarize the trade with the new system based architecture, the DG Systems, CBIC has published System Advisory 06/2022, dated 01-03-2022 andSystem Advisory 07/2022, dated 01-03-2022.

In addition, the importers have been given an option to follow the erstwhile procedure till 13.03.2022, so as to facilitate the transition in a smooth and seamless manner.

In case of any clarifications/ issues on the modalities involved, the member of the trade can reach out to dircus@nic.in. Regarding system related issues, the users can reach out to ICEGATE helpdesk at 1800-3010-1000 or icegatehelpdesk@icegate.gov.in.

New e-Bill system to enable paperless submission and end to end digital processing of bills

Posted on 2nd Mar 2022 by Business So Simple in Business Consultancy, Financial Prudence

Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launches e-Bill system on 46th Civil Accounts Day

New e-Bill system to enable paperless submission and end to end digital processing of bills

Press Release posted Date:- Mar 02, 2022

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched the e-Bill system for Central Government Ministries on the 46^th Civil Accounts Day here today.

In a phased manner, the new system will make the entire process of submission and backend processing of bills completely paperless and transparent. Thus, it is a major step forward in realizing the vision of “Digital India” and promoting ease of doing business.

The objectives of the system are to:

a) Provide convenience to all vendors/suppliers of the government to submit their bills/claims at anytime, from anywhere.

b) Eliminate physical interface between suppliers and government officers.

c) Enhance efficiency in processing of bills/claims.

d) Reduce discretion in processing of bills through “First-In-First-Out”(FIFO) method.

Currently, the suppliers of various goods and services to the Government have to submit physical, ink signed copies of their bills to the respective Ministries/Departments/offices of the Government of India. Similarly, the government employees also need to submit hard copies of their claims. At the backend too, the processing of bills is done through a mixed system of physical and digital modes. So the suppliers/vendors or their representatives need to visit the offices to deliver bills. Moreover, they are unable to track the status of processing of their bills.

Under the newly launched e-Bill system, vendors/suppliers can upload their bills online along with supporting documents from the convenience of their homes/offices at any time through digital signature. For those not having a digital signature, the facility of e-sign using Aadhaar has also been provided. So, the suppliers will no longer be required to visit the offices concerned for this purpose.

At the backendtoo, the electronic bill received will be processed by the authorities digitally at every stage and finally, the payments will be credited digitally to the bank account of the vendor. The vendor/supplier would be able to track the status of processing of their bills online. Thus, the new system will bring in lot of efficiency and transparency in the system and is a big citizen-centric decision of the Government of India.

The e-Bill system has been developed by the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) Division in the office of the Controller General of Accounts in the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. The bills will be processed by First-In-First-Out (FIFO) method.

The system has been initially rolled out in the following nine Pay and Accounting Units of following nine Ministries/Departments:-

1) PAO Ministry of Food Processing Industry

2) PAO, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemical and Fertiliser

3) PAO, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology

4) PAO (CGA HQ), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance

5) PAO (PFMS Division), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance

6) PAO, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

7) PAO (Census), Ministry of Home Affairs

8) PAO M/o Steel

9) PAO (NIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

The e-Bill system will be rolled out in other Ministries/Departments in a phased manner in 2022-23.

In addition to promoting ease of doing business and brining convenience to lakhs of vendors/suppliers, the e-Bill system will be environment friendly, eliminating the need to submit crores of paper bills annually and will thus save tonnes of papers every year. The e-Bill system has an elaborate digital storage facility for retrieval of documents and a robust audit trail.

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Invitation for public comments on draft ‘IFSCA Guidance framework on Sustainable and Sustainability linked lending by financial institutions in IFSCs’(Press Release 02 March 2022)

Posted on 2nd Mar 2022 by Business So Simple in Financial Prudence

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has been established as a unified regulator to develop and regulate financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India.

As the climate crisis deepens, economies across the globe are transitioning towards sustainable and low-carbon growth. This transition is fueled by their commitment to meet the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Banks and financial institutions are one of the key players who can support this transition by directing financial flows to sustainable and climate friendly solutions via lending or by raising capital for sustainable and sustainability-linked projects. However, there is a need for banks and financial institutions to have a policy to ensure transparency in this process to avoid concerns like greenwashing.

In view of the above, the draft guidance framework, intends to encourage the IFSC Banking Units (IBU) and Finance Companies/Finance Units (FC/FUs) (undertaking lending activities from IFSCs) to internally develop a comprehensive Board approved policy on green/social/sustainable/sustainability linked lending. The guidance intends to provide a broad framework for adoption of principles aligned with the existing international standards viz. Green/Social Loan Principles developed by Loan Market Association (LMA), Bond Principles developed by International Capital Markets Association (ICMA), Climate Bond Standards by Climate Bonds Initiative and any other similar recognized standards.

IFSCA proposes to direct the IBUs and FC/FUs (undertaking lending activities from IFSCs) registered with it to develop a Board approved policy on sustainable lending within a time period of 9 months from the date of issuance of the final framework. Further, such entities shall have at least 10 per cent of their loan assets in the form of lending to green/social/sustainable/sustainability-linked sectors/facilities, from the financial year beginning April 2023 /calendar year beginning January 2023. In case, if the IBU or FC/FU is unable to meet the above targets, it shall report to the Authority explaining reasons for non-compliance of the same.

The core components of such policy on lending shall cover aspects such as:

Borrower assessment process,Assessing the use of proceeds and appropriately describing it in the legal documentation of the loan facility,Process to be adopted for project evaluation and selection, management of proceeds,Reporting mechanism,Monitoring either internally or through external reviewer, and;De-classification of lending facilities.

The Draft further provides an illustrative list of eligible green projects, social projects and certain industry green standards based on which labelling or classification of a facility can be carried out.

The Draft guidance is uploaded on the IFSCA website at the URL https://www.ifsca.gov.in/PublicConsultation.

The comments / suggestions are invited from general public and stakeholders on the draft framework, so as to reach us on or before March 22, 2022 (i.e. within 21 days from the date of press release).

Government invites applications for National Startup Awards 2022 across 17 sectors and 7 special categories

Posted on 1st Mar 2022 by Business So Simple in Science & Technology, Startups

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the third edition of the National Startup Awards.In line with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the National Startup Awards 2022 will acknowledge startups and enablers who have been instrumental in revolutionising the development story of India and hold within them the power and potential to further fuel the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The first National Startup Awards were announced in 2020 and witnessed applications from over 1,600 startups and ecosystem enablers across India. The recently concluded National Startup Awards 2021 saw participation from over 2,200 startups and ecosystem enablers. After conducting two successful editions, the National Startup Awards 2022 are open for applications.

The awards for startups will be given in 17 sectors classified into 50 sub-sectors. The 17 sectors are Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Construction, Drinking Water, Education & Skill Development, Energy, Enterprise Technology, Environment, FinTech, Food Processing, Health and Wellness, Industry 4.0, Media & Entertainment, Security, Space, Transport, and Travel.

In addition, there are seven special categories of awards for startups:

Women-led startups
Impact in rural areas
Campus startups
Manufacturing excellence
Innovation tackling the pandemic (preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, monitoring, digital connect, work from home solutions, etc.)
Solution delivery or business operations in Indic languages
Startups from North-East (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura) and Hilly States/ Union Territories (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh)

The National Startup Awards 2022 will also reward exceptional incubators and accelerators as key building blocks of a robust startup ecosystem.

A cash prize of INR 5 lakh will be awarded to each winning startup. The winners and runners-up will also be given opportunities to present their solutions to relevant public authorities and corporates for potential pilot projects and work orders and pitching opportunities with investors. They will also be given priority for participation in various national and international startup events.

A cash prize of INR 15 lakh each will be awarded to one winning incubator and one winning accelerator.

The applications for the National Startup Awards 2022 are open till 15^th March 2022. For more details, visit www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/nsa2022.html.

Delhi Adjudication Order for the violation of Section 92 & 137 of CA 2013 in the matter of ASTRO AUTO ANCILLARIES PRIVATE LIMITED dated 25 Feb 2022

Posted on 28th Feb 2022 by Business So Simple in Company Law

Delhi Adjudication Order for the violation of Section 92 & 137 of CA 2013 in the matter of ASTRO AUTO ANCILLARIES PRIVATE LIMITED dated 25 Feb 2022

👉The company could not file its AOC 4 (Financial Statements) and eform MGT 7 (Annual Return) for the financial year ended on 31st March 2020 as its Annual General Meeting could not be held in time.

👉That after holding the Annual General Meeting on 6th September, 2021, the company has filed its due documents viz. eform MGT 7A (Annual Return) & eform AOC-4 (Financial Statement) for the Financial Year ended 31st March, 2020 and thus made good the default.

👉 As per Companies (Amendment) Act 2020 the following proviso has been added to sub section (3) of section 454:

“Provided that in case the default relates to non-compliance of sub-section (4) of section 92 or sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 137 and such default has been rectified either prior to, or within thirty days of, the issue of the notice by the adjudicating officer, no penalty shall be imposed in this regard and all proceedings under this section in respect of such default shall be deemed to be concluded”

On account of the above amendment since the company has already rectified its default u/s 92 as well as u/s 137 of the Act, before the notice, the penalty proceeding would be deemed to have been concluded.

This matter is accordingly disposed off.

Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane launches Union Bank MSME RuPay Credit Card (Press release 25th Feb 2022)

Posted on 26th Feb 2022 by Business So Simple in Banking, Financial Prudence

Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Shri Narayan Rane today launched the Union MSME RuPay Credit Card of Union Bank of India in Sindhudurg at the two day MSME Conclave being held in the district. The card is being offered by Union Bank of India in association with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It provides a simplified payment mechanism to MSMEs to meet their business-related operational expenses.

The RuPay Card offers benefits like anytime digital payments, interest-free period and will carry interest rate similar to the rate charged for loans. MSME borrowers will be able to enjoy an interest-free credit period of up to 50 days on their business spends. The card also offers the EMI facility to the customers on their business-related purchases. MSMEs will also get specially curated efficient business services on this card which will help them in taking their business on most of the digital platforms.

The RuPay Credit card will simplify and expedite payment mechanism for MSMEs while enabling banks to monitor the transactions at granular level. The Credit card will also reduce the demand for cash withdrawal by the businesses due to availability of the digital payment tool.

Other benefits include accidental insurance coverage, lounge access, and other rewards being offered by NPCI on RuPay cards. Besides this, the card offers variety of additional features and business services for the MSMEs.

During the MSME Conclave, the Union Minister distributed the first batch of RuPay cards to select MSME entrepreneurs.

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PIB Mumbai 001 / DJM / JSP /DLakshmi/ PK

SFIO arrests Satish Kumar Pawa, Saurav Aggarwal, Suhas S. Paranjpe in connection with investigation into affairs of Jagat Agro Commodities Pvt. Ltd.(Press release 25 Feb 2022)

Posted on 26th Feb 2022 by Business So Simple in Company Law, Legal awareness

Mr. Satish Kumar Pawa, promoter and shareholder, Mr. Saurav Aggarwal, son of promoter and Mr. Suhas S. Paranjpe, Statutory auditor, were arrested by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in connection with investigation into the affairs of Jagat Agro Commodities Pvt. Ltd. The arrests were made as part of the investigation into the affairs of Jagat Agro Commodities Pvt. Ltd. by SFIO.

The investigation was assigned by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to SFIO based on the Orders passed by the National Company Law Tribunal.

The arrest has been made by SFIO in exercise of the powers under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act, 2013, based on the material in its possession which has revealed that these persons were guilty of indulging in serious corporate fraud punishable under Section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013. They have falsified the financial statements over a period of 3 years by inflating their stock position and falsely induced banks to lend on the strength of the falsified financial statements. The company borrowed funds from public banks viz. SBoP and PNB and diverted/ siphoned through various channels.

They were produced before the court of Competent Jurisdiction in Delhi and transit remand orders were obtained for producing them before the Special Court (Companies Act, 2013), Mumbai.

The additional session judge, Mumbai, has remanded all the three accused in SFIO custody till 01.03.2022.

The investigation is currently under progress.

Income Tax Department conducts searches on a group engaged in organizing multi-state gaming activities, online betting, etc. (Press release 24th Feb 2022)

Posted on 26th Feb 2022 by Business So Simple in Income Tax

The Income Tax Department conducted search and seizure operations on a business group engaged in gaming activity, online betting (including cricket betting), etc. on 15.02.2022. Total of 29 premises spread over Mumbai, Delhi, Surat, Jaipur, Pune and Kolkata were covered. The search action revealed that the group was operating in a clandestine manner and had concealed its operations and income from law enforcement agencies. The revenue generated by the group from its activities is largely in cash.

The group operates from Mumbai and has a wide network of agents and area managers in different cities for collection of cash from large customer base who use the websites hosted on cloud servers by private operators. It was detected during the search that, after allotting IDs and passwords to the customers, points are credited into their accounts by agents/area managers after collecting cash from them. The cash is then sent to Mumbai through hawala operators. Handwritten notes, documents and digital evidence containing detailed account of daily cash transactions to be introduced in the books of account have been seized during the search.

The search revealed that the group has been introducing its unaccounted cash into books of account as unsecured loans, security premium, partner’s capital, agricultural income, share transactions, commission and trading income, etc., in the form of accommodation entries. This cash has been routed through several layers of dummy/shell companies controlled by the entry provider groups or through hawala channels. The amounts introduced in the books of account have been invested in real estate and securities market. Preliminary investigation has revealed cash turnover of more than Rs. 600 crore in the last 6 months or so.

Listed securities worth more than Rs. 550 crore and 30 bank accounts have been provisionally attached so far. Cash (including foreign currency) of Rs. 3.08 crore and jewellery worth Rs. 81 lakh has been seized.

Further investigations are in progress.

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2021-22– Issue price Series-X (Press release 25 Feb 2022)

Posted on 26th Feb 2022 by Business So Simple in Financial Prudence, RBI

In terms of Government of India Notification No.4(5)-B(W&M)/2021 dated October 21, 2021, Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22 (Series X) will be opened for subscription during the period February 28- March 04, 2022 with Settlement date March 08, 2022. The issue price of the Bond during the subscription period shall be Rs 5,109 (Rupees five thousand one hundred nine only) – per gram, as also published by RBI in their Press Release dated February 25, 2022.

The Government of India in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow discount of Rs 50 (Rupees Fifty only) per gram from the issue price to those investors who apply online and the payment is made through digital mode. For such investors the issue price of Gold Bond will be Sr 5,059 (Rupees five thousand fifty nine only) per gram of gold.