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Circular No. 20/2023 dated 28/12/2023 issued, providing clarity on applicability of Section 194-O in a multiple e-commerce operator model framework.
The Circular is available at:
incometaxindia.gov.in/news/ciruclar-…
Details in the Press Release at:
pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIf…
*Chandigarh ROC order dated 28 Dec 2023* *Adjudication order for violation of section 137 (Failed to file Financial statements) of the companies Act, 2013 the matter of M/s. Beckons Industries Limited* : Penalty imposed Rs. 6,13,400
*Chandigarh ROC order dated 28 Dec 2023* *Adjudication order for violation of section 137 (Failed to file Annual Returns) of the companies Act, 2013 the matter of M/s. Beckons Industries Limited* : Penalty imposed Rs. 4, 98,560
*Chandigarh ROC order dated 28 Dec 2023* *Adjudication order for violation of section 12(1) (Failed to maintaining RO) of the companies Act, 2013 the matter of M/s. Beckons Industries Limited* : Penalty imposed Rs. 200,000
12 cases of GST evasion of Rs. 344.57 crore detected and Rs. 621.56 crore recovered against lottery distributors between July, 2017 to November 2023
A reference was received from Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for comments regarding disbursement of prize amount of lotteries through formal banking channel and comments in this regard have been sent to MHA. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Elucidating further, the Minister stated that using formal banking channel for any kind of transaction, including disbursement of lottery prize, is helpful in mitigating the associated money laundering/terrorist financing / proliferation funding risks in view of the robust banking system and effective regulation/supervision of the regulated entities.
In reference to the Section 194B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘the Act’), the Minister stated that the person responsible for paying to any person any income by way of winnings from any lottery or crossword puzzle or card game and other game of any sort or from gambling or betting of any form or nature whatsoever, being the amount or the aggregate of amounts exceeding ten thousand rupees during the financial year shall, at the time of payment, deduct income-tax at the rates in force.
The Minister further stated that vide Finance Act 2023, the rate in force is 30%. This also includes winnings in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind. It is substantively charged to tax at the rate of 30% under section 115BB of the Act and no deduction on the winnings is allowed.
On the question of tax evasion by lottery distributors, the Minister stated that the Income Tax Department takes appropriate action in cases involving evasion of tax whenever any credible information/intelligence of violation of provisions of Direct Tax Laws relating to any taxpayer comes to its notice. Such action under Direct Tax laws includes conducting enquiries, mounting search and seizure or survey action, assessment and consequential actions thereto, wherever applicable as per the provisions of the Act. Twelve (12) cases involving GST evasion of Rs. 344.57 crore have been detected against lottery distributors and Rs. 621.56 crore (including interest and penalty) has been recovered/ realised from July, 2017 to till November 2023.
Press Release dated 11th Dec 2023
GST Council recommends certain amendments in CGST Act 2017 and IGST Act 2017, including amendment in Schedule III of CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming
GST Council also recommends inserting a specific provision in IGST Act, 2017 to provide for liability to pay GST on supplier located outside India supplying online money gaming to a person in India
GST Council recommends GST on valuation of supply of online gaming and actionable claims in casinos at entry level
The 51st GST Council met under the Chairpersonship of Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman via video conferencing in New Delhi today. The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs (with legislature) and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance & States/ UTs.
The GST Council in the 50th meeting held on 11.07.2023 had deliberated on the Second Report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Casinos, Race Courses and Online Gaming and had recommended that the actionable claims supplied in Casinos, Horse racing and Online gaming may be taxed at the rate of 28% on full face value, irrespective of whether the activities are a game of skill or chance. The Council had also recommended that the law may be amended to provide clarity in the matter.
Accordingly, the GST Council in its 51st meeting recommended certain amendments in the CGST Act 2017 and IGST Act 2017, including amendment in Schedule III of CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming. The Council also recommended to insert a specific provision in IGST Act, 2017 to provide for liability to pay GST on the supply of online money gaming by a supplier located outside India to a person in India, for single registration in India for the said supplier through a simplified registration scheme and also for blocking of access by the public to any information generated, transmitted, received or hosted in any computer resource used for supply of online money gaming by such supplier in case of failure to comply with provisions of registration and payment of tax.
The Council also recommended that valuation of supply of online gaming and actionable claims in casinos may be done based on the amount paid or payable to or deposited with the supplier, by or on behalf of the player (excluding the amount entered into games/ bets out of winnings of previous games/ bets) and not on the total value of each bet placed. The Council recommended that CGST Rules, 2017 may be amended to insert specific provisions for valuation of supply of online gaming and supply of actionable claims in casino accordingly. The Council also recommended issuance of certain notifications/ amendment in notification related to the issue.
It was also decided by the Council that effort will be made to complete the process of making amendments in the Act at the earliest and bring the amendments into effect from 1st October 2023.
Note: The recommendations of the GST Council have been presented in this release containing major item of decisions in simple language for information of the stakeholders. The same would be given effect through the relevant circulars/ notifications/ law amendments which alone shall have the force of law.
ITR Filing analytics till 31st July 2023-Filing, processing, verification, query resolution
👉 New record of over 6.77 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed till 31st July, 2023; record growth of 16.1% Year-on-Year
👉 64.33 lakh ITRs filed on 31st July, 2023
👉 53.67 lakh ITRs from first time filers indicates widening of tax base
👉 5.63 crore ITRs already e-verified, with more than 3.44 crore (61%) ITRs for AY 2023-24 processed by 31st July, 2023
👉 New e pay tax payment platform- Over 1.26 crore challans have been received through TIN 2.0 payment system in the month of July, 2023 itself, while total challans filed through TIN 2.0 since 1st April, 2023 stands at 3.56 crore.*
👉 The e-filing Helpdesk team has handled approximately 5 lakh queries from taxpayers in the month of July, 2023
👉 E verification & processing
5.63 crore returns have been e-verified, out of which more than 5.27 crore are through Aadhaar based OTP (94%). Of the e-verified ITRs, more than 3.44 crore ITRs for AY 2023-24 have been processed (61%) by 31st July, 2023.
| FAQs : ₹2000 Denomination Banknotes – Withdrawal from Circulation; Will continue as Legal Tender |
| 1. Why are ₹2000 denomination banknotes being withdrawn? The ₹2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of RBI Act, 1934 primarily with the objective to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after withdrawal of the legal tender status of all ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes in circulation at that time. With fulfilment of that objective and availability of banknotes in other denominations in adequate quantities, printing of ₹2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. A majority of the ₹2000 denomination notes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years. It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continue to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public. In view of the above, and in pursuance of the “Clean Note Policy” of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the ₹2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. 2. What is Clean Note Policy? It is a policy adopted by RBI to ensure availability of good quality banknotes to the members of public. 3. Does the legal tender status of ₹2000 banknotes remain? Yes. The ₹2000 banknote will continue to maintain its legal tender status. 4. Can ₹2000 banknotes be used for normal transactions? Yes. Members of the public can continue to use ₹2000 banknotes for their transactions and also receive them in payment. However, they are encouraged to deposit and/or exchange these banknotes on or before September 30, 2023. 5. What should the public do with the ₹2000 denomination banknotes held by them? Members of the public may approach bank branches for deposit and/or exchange of ₹2000 banknotes held by them. The facility for deposit into accounts and exchange for ₹2000 banknotes will be available at all banks until September 30, 2023. The facility for exchange will be available also at the 19 Regional Offices (ROs) of RBI having Issue Departments1 until September 30, 2023. 6. Is there a limit on deposit of ₹2000 banknotes into a bank account? Deposit into bank accounts can be made without restrictions subject to compliance with extant Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and other applicable statutory / regulatory requirements. 7. Is there an operational limit on the amount of ₹2000 banknotes that can be exchanged? Members of the public can exchange ₹2000 banknotes upto to a limit of ₹20,000/- at a time. 8. Can ₹2000 banknotes be exchanged through Business Correspondents (BCs)? Yes, exchange of ₹2000 banknotes can be made through BCs upto a limit of ₹4000/- per day for an account holder. 9. From which date will the exchange facility be available? To give time to the banks to make preparatory arrangements, members of the public are requested to approach the bank branches or ROs of RBI from May 23, 2023 for availing exchange facility. 10. Is it necessary to be a customer of the bank to exchange ₹2000 banknotes from its branches? No. A non-account holder also can exchange ₹2000 banknotes up to a limit of ₹20,000/- at a time at any bank branch. 11. What if someone needs more than ₹20,000/- cash for business or other purposes? Deposit into accounts can be made without restrictions. The ₹2000 banknotes can be deposited into bank accounts and cash requirements can be drawn thereafter, against these deposits. 12. Is there any fee to be paid for the exchange facility? No. The exchange facility shall be provided free of cost. 13. Will there be special arrangements for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, etc. for exchange and deposit? Banks have been instructed to make arrangements to reduce inconvenience to the senior citizens, persons with disabilities, etc., seeking to exchange/deposit ₹2000 banknotes. 14. What will happen if one cannot deposit / exchange ₹2000 banknote immediately? To make the entire process smooth and convenient for the public, a period of over four months has been given for deposit and/or exchange of ₹2000 banknotes. Members of the public, are therefore, encouraged to avail this facility at their convenience within the allotted time. 15. What will happen if a bank refuses to exchange / accept deposit of ₹2000 banknote? For redress of grievance in case of deficiency of service, the complainant / aggrieved customer may first approach the concerned bank. If the bank does not respond within a period of 30 days after lodging of the complaint or if the complainant is not satisfied with the response/resolution given by the bank, the complainant can lodge the complaint under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021 at the Complaint Management System portal of RBI (cms.rbi.org.in). |
RBI Press Release 19th May 2023
| ₹2000 Denomination Banknotes – Withdrawal from Circulation; Will continue as Legal Tender |
| The ₹2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of RBI Act, 1934, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes in circulation at that time. The objective of introducing ₹2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of ₹2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. 2. About 89% of the ₹2000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years. The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from ₹6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3% of Notes in Circulation) to ₹3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8% of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023. It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public. 3. In view of the above, and in pursuance of the “Clean Note Policy” of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the ₹2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. 4. The banknotes in ₹2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender. 5. It may be noted that RBI had undertaken a similar withdrawal of notes from circulation in 2013-2014. 6. Accordingly, members of the public may deposit ₹2000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch. Deposit into bank accounts can be made in the usual manner, that is, without restrictions and subject to extant instructions and other applicable statutory provisions. 7. In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, exchange of ₹2000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made upto a limit of ₹20,000/- at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023. 8. To complete the exercise in a time-bound manner and to provide adequate time to the members of public, all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for ₹2000 banknotes until September 30, 2023. Separate guidelines have been issued to the banks. 9. The facility for exchange of ₹2000 banknotes upto the limit of ₹20,000/- at a time shall also be provided at the 19 Regional Offices (ROs) of RBI having Issue Departments1 from May 23, 2023. 10. The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to stop issuing ₹2000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.11. Members of the public are encouraged to utilise the time up to September 30, 2023 to deposit and/or exchange the ₹2000 banknotes. A document on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in the matter has been hosted on the RBI website for information and convenience of the public. (Yogesh Dayal) Chief General ManagerPress Release: 2023-2024/257 |
RBI Notification dated 22 May 2023
₹2000 Denomination Banknotes – Withdrawal from Circulation; Will continue as Legal Tender
RBI/2023-24/33
DCM(Plg) No.S-239/10.27.00/2023-24
May 22, 2023
The Chairman / Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer
All Banks
Dear Sir /Madam,
₹2000 Denomination Banknotes – Withdrawal from Circulation; Will continue as Legal Tender
In continuation to our circular DCM(Plg) No.S-236/10.27.00/2023-24 dated May 19, 2023 on the captioned subject, it is advised as follows:
2. The facility of exchange of ₹2000 banknotes across the counter shall be provided to the public in the usual manner, that is, as was being provided earlier.
3. Banks are advised to provide appropriate infrastructure at the branches such as shaded waiting space, drinking water facilities, etc. considering the summer season.
4. Banks shall maintain daily data on deposit and exchange of ₹2000 banknotes in the format given below and submit the same as and when called for.
| Bank Name | Date | Amount of ₹2000 banknotes Exchanged | Amount of ₹2000 banknotes Deposited | Total Amount |
5. Please acknowledge receipt.
Yours faithfully
(Suman Ray)
Chief General Manager in-Charge
In the Finance Act, 2023, an amendment has been introduced to bring the consideration received from non-residents for issue of shares within the ambit of section 56(2)(viib) of the Income-tax Act, 1961(the Act), which provides that if such consideration for issue of shares exceeds the Fair Market Value(FMV) of the shares, it shall be chargeable to income-tax under the head ‘Income from other sources’.
Subsequent to this amendment, detailed interactions have been held with stakeholders. Based on the inputs , Rule 11UA for valuation of shares for the purposes of section 56(2)(viib) of the Act is proposed to be modified and notification of entities to which the said provision shall not apply is also being issued separately.
Proposed changes in Rule 11 UA :
1. Rule 11UA currently prescribes two valuation methods with respect to valuation of shares namely, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and Net Asset Value (NAV) method for resident investors. It is proposed to include 5 more valuation methods, available for non-resident investors, in addition to the DCF and NAV methods of valuation.
2.Further,where any consideration is received by a company for issue of shares , from any non-resident entity notified by the Central Govt , the price of the equity shares corresponding to such consideration may be taken as the FMV of the equity shares for resident and non-resident investors subject to the following:
On similar lines, price matching for resident and non-resident investors would be available with reference to investment by Venture Capital Funds or Specified Funds.
3. It is proposed that the valuation report by the Merchant Banker for the purposes of this rule would be acceptable, if it is of a date not more than ninety days prior to the date of issue of shares which are subject matter of valuation.
4. Further, to account for forex fluctuations, bidding processes and variations in other economic indicators, etc. which may affect the valuation of the unquoted equity shares during multiple rounds of investment, it is proposed to provide a safe harbor of 10 % variation in value.
5.The draft Rules on the above lines will be shared for public comments for 10 days, after which these will be notified.
Notification for Excluded entities
It is also proposed to notify certain classes of persons being non-resident investors to whom clause (viib) of sub-section (2) of section 56 of the Act shall not be applicable. This includes :
1. Government and Government related investors such as central banks, sovereign wealth funds, international or multilateral organizations or agencies including entities controlled by the Government or where direct or indirect ownership of the Government is 75% or more.
2. Banks or Entities involved in Insurance Business where such entity is subject to applicable regulations in the country where it is established or incorporated or is a resident.
3. Any of the following entities, which is a resident of a certain countries or specified territories having robust regulatory framework:-
1. Entities registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India as Category-I Foreign Portfolio Investors.
2. Endowment Funds associated with a university, hospitals or charities,
3. Pension Funds created or established under the law of the foreign country or specified territory,
4. Broad Based Pooled Investment Vehicle or Fund where the number of investors in such vehicle or fund is more than 50 and such fund is not a hedge fund or a fund which employs diverse or complex trading strategies.
For Investment in Start-ups
It is also proposed to modify Notification No. S.O 1131(E) dated 5th March, 2019 so as to provide that the provisions section 56(2)(viib) of the Act shall not apply to consideration received from any person by start-ups covered in para 4 & 5 of Notification dated 19.2.2019 issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Press Release dated 19 May 2023
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has been releasing key statistics relating to Direct Tax collections and administration in public domain from time to time. In continuation of its efforts to place more and more information in public domain, the CBDT has further released Time-Series data as updated upto F.Y. 2021-22.
The key highlights of some of these statistics are as under:
(i) Net Direct Tax Collections have increased by 121.18% from Rs. 6,38,596 crore in F.Y. 2013-14 to Rs. 14,12,422 crore in F.Y. 2021-22.
(ii) Net Direct Tax Collections have increased by 160.17% from Rs. 6,38,596 crore in F.Y. 2013-14 to Rs. 16,61,428 crore (provisional) in F.Y. 2022-23.
(iii) Gross Direct Tax Collections have increased by over 126.73% in F.Y. 2021-22, reaching a figure of Rs. 16,36,081 crore from Gross Direct Tax Collections of Rs. 7,21,604 crore in F.Y. 2013-14.
(iv) Gross Direct Tax Collections have increased by over 172.83% in F.Y. 2022-23, reaching a figure of Rs. 19,68,780 crore (provisional) from Gross Direct Tax Collections of Rs. 7,21,604 crore in F.Y. 2013-14.
(v) Direct Tax Buoyancy at 2.52 in F.Y. 2021-22 is the highest Direct Tax Buoyancy recorded over last 15 years.
(vi) Direct Tax to GDP ratio has increased from 5.62% in F.Y. 2013-14 to 5.97% in F.Y. 2021-22.
(vii) The Cost of collection has decreased from 0.57% of total collection in the F.Y. 2013-14 to 0.53% of total collection in the F.Y. 2021-22.
The availability of the Time-Series data in public domain will be useful for academicians, research scholars, economists and the public at large in studying long-term trends of various indices of the effectiveness and efficiency of Direct Tax administration in India. This time series data is available at www.incometaxindia.gov.in.
Ministry of Finance Press Release 13th April 2023
Crypto Assets are borderless, require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage
Under PMLA, Rs. 936 crore related to crypto currency is attached/seized/freezed by ED as on 31.01.2023
Posted Date:- Feb 06, 2023
Crypto Assets are by definition borderless and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage. This was stated by the Union Minister of State for Finance, Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Therefore, the Minister stated, any legislation for regulation or for banning can be effective only with significant international collaboration on evaluation of the risks and benefits and evolution of common taxonomy and standards.
The Minister stated that the Directorate of Enforcement is investigating several cases related to crypto currency frauds wherein a few crypto exchanges have also been found involved in money laundering. Necessary action as per provisions of Prevention of Monyt Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) has been taken by the Directorate of Enforcement. As on 31.01.2023, proceeds of crime amounting to Rs. 936 crore have been attached/seized/freezed, 05 persons have been arrested and 06 prosecution complaints (PCs) including 01 supplementary PC have been filed before the Special Court, PMLA in these cases.
Further, the Minister stated, under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) assets amounting to Rs. 289.28 crore have been seized under section 37A of FEMA and 01 Show Cause Notice to cryptocurrency exchange Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd, known as WazirX and its directors under FEMA for transactions involving cryptocurrencies work Rs. 2,790 crore has also been issued.
Giving more information, the Minister staetd that RBI has been cautioning users, holders and traders of Virtual Currencies (VCs) vide public notices on December 24, 2013, February 01, 2017 and December 05, 2017 that dealing in VCs is associated with potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks. RBI, vide its circular dated May 31, 2021 has also advised its regulated entities to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes for transactions in VCs, in line with regulations governing standards for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti- Money Laundering (AML), Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT), obligations under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, etc. in addition to ensuring compliance with relevant provisions under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for overseas remittances.
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RM/PPG/KMN
Release Id :-1896722
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has furnished the list of Digital Lending Apps (DLAs) being used by Regulated Entities (REs) of RBI to the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), which in turn, has shared the list with respective intermediary (App Stores) and requested them to ensure that only the apps figuring in the list are hosted on their app stores. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Giving information on addressing the issue of money laundering through illegal loan apps, the Minister stated that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has been entrusted to curb money laundering under the provisions of PML Act, 2002. ED has initiated investigation under PMLA in several cases where the proceeds of crime has been generated and acquired by accused persons/entities through illegal loan apps, the Minister stated.
In these cases, the Minister stated that as on date, proceeds of crime of Rs. 2,116 crore (approx) has been identified, out of which proceeds of crime amounting to Rs. 859.15 crore have been attached / seized / freezed under the provisions of PMLA. Further, assets amounting to Rs. 289.28 crores have been seized under section 37A of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
Giving more information, the Minister stated that the RBI has issued master circular on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms / Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards/Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Obligation of banks and financial institutions under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Under this circular, banks and financial institutions have been advised to follow certain customer identification procedure for opening of accounts and monitoring of transactions of suspicious nature to avoid its misuse for money laundering and reporting the same to appropriate authority, the Minister stated.
The Minister further stated that RBI has issued digital lending guidelines dated 2.9.2022 which advises measures including, inter alia, due diligence of Loan Service Providers (LSPs), direct disbursal of loan from bank account of lender to bank account of the borrower without any pass-through/pool or third-party account to avoid layering, publishing of the list of DLAs, LSPs engaged by REs and details of activities to avoid anonymity.
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