Category: News Desk

Updates on Income tax, GST, Company Law, SEBI, FEMA, FCRA

GST exemption for traders having turnover up to 25 lakhs

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GST exemption for traders having turnover up to 25 lakhs: Hasmukh Adhia


GST exemption for traders having turnover up to 25 lakhs: Hasmukh Adhia
The Revenue Secretary, Hasmukh Adhia said that small traders having annual turnover of up to Rs 20-25 lakh will be exempted from GST and the Centre and the states are likely to agree to this limit.
Currently, the threshold limit for imposition of VAT is Rs 10 lakh in most of the States.
He said the incidence of tax on most items would come down on implementation of GST. He also said that a 24X7 call centers will be opened in every state to answer queries relating to GST. Similarly, call centers will also be opened for answering questions on GSTN for payment of taxes.
Adhia said the filing of GST return would be easy as the software will be simple that can be used by a layman.
September 2, 2016
Source: www.businesstoday.in 

Industry pitches for GST rate of 18 %

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Industry pitches for GST rate of 18 %


August 31, 2016
Companies on Tuesday pitched for a standard goods and services tax (GST) rate of 18 per cent and sought time to switch over to the new regime at a meeting with the empowered committee of state finance ministers chaired by West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Tuesday. States, which are seeking a higher tax rate of 20 per cent, asked companies if they would pass on low rates to consumers. The finance ministers did not buy the argument of the e- commerce industry, which sought an exemption from the tax, that it merely provided a platform for vendors and customers and did not make money out of sales. This was the first meeting of the empowered committee of state finance ministers since the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill for the GST in Parliament. The meeting discussed GST rates and the accountability of the goods and services tax network. Thirteen states have ratified the Bill. Telangana and Mizoram had the legislation approved by their assemblies on Tuesday. The Centre is targeting April 1, 2017 to roll out the GST, but industry said it needed more time to prepare. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) said at least six months would be needed from the date of adoption of the GST law by the GST Council. Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal argued they provided service to vendors and were liable to pay the tax only on service income. They said the vendors selling goods on their portals should be liable to pay the GST. When Mitra questioned the billion- dollar valuations of some of these companies, e- marketplace companies said advertisement was their source of income. According to the model draft GST law, e- commerce will come under the ambit of the tax. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) said in its representation e- commerce created huge job opportunities and allowed small industries to sell their products. “E-commerce brings in competition, but you are also adding some value. Else how are your companies generating so much valuation,” Mitra said, asking these companies to revert in writing what the tax structure should be for them. Pitching for alower GST rate, industry argued an 18 per cent standard rate would provide it a competitive advantage in the global market. It also sought a single centralised registration for service providers and no tax on freebies. “A maximum rate of 18 per cent should be the standard GST rate. A five- year guaranteed compensation will ensure that an 18 per cent rate is workable,” said Naushad Forbes, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “For industry, which seeks to be competitive in the global marketplace, a standard rate of 18 per cent will be advantageous in order to boost exports and generate employment,” the CII said in its presentation. It argued the average standard rate of value- added tax in high income countries was 16.8 per cent, while that in emerging market economies was 14.1 per cent, although rates in China and Mexico were higher. Ficci said the standard rate should be such that “it checks inflation, and the tendency to evasion”. The industry associations pointed out a higher rate would push up inflation, affecting consumption, demand and, in turn, investment. A committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian had suggested a standard GST rate of 17- 18 per cent and a lower rate of 12 per cent for essential goods. It has also suggested a “sin tax” of 40 per cent on luxury cars, aerated beverages, paan masala and tobacco. The industry bodies argued that since free supplies were of zero value, they should not be taxed. The draft model law provides these will be taxed. The chambers also pitched for allowing the use of input credits in this case because the value of free supply was embedded in the supplies for consideration. The model GST law provides benefits for after supply discounts will be allowed only if these are part of an agreement at the time of supply and specifically linked to relevant invoices. “For consumer goods and retail companies, where the transactions are voluminous, it is impossible to link after- supply discounts to invoices. The condition of linking discounts to invoices should be removed,” the CII said. – http://www.business-standard.com [31-08-2016]

FREEDOM

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1. Give away your rights

Those Who Fight For Their Rights Are Weak For They Do Not Know Their Inner Strength, Their Magnanimity. The weaker you are, the more you demand your rights. Asserting your rights makes you isolated and poor. People who fight for their rights, take pride in it. This is an ignorant pride. You need to recognize no one can take away your rights. They are yours.
The courageous will give away their rights. The degree to which you give away your rights indicates your freedom, your strength. The stronger you are the more you give away your rights. Only those who have their rights can give away their rights!!!
Demanding rights does not really bring you the rights, and giving them away does not really take them away.
Poor are those who demand their rights.
Richer are those who know their rights cannot be taken away.
Richest are those who give away their rights.
Demand for rights is ignorance, agony.
Knowing no one can take away your rights is freedom.
Giving away your rights is love, wisdom.​
2.Freedom And Discipline
Freedom and discipline are opposites and complementary. The purpose of defense is to protect freedom. But is there freedom in defense? Do soldiers have freedom? No, they are totally bound, not even allowed to put the right foot down when told the left foot. Their steps are measured and they are unable even to walk with a natural rhythm. There is total lack of freedom in defense. That which has absolutely no freedom is protecting the freedom of the country! So it is with the police; they protect the freedom of the individual. But are they free?
Discipline protects freedom. They both go hand in hand. Understand this and go ahead in life. You have some restrictions and it is this that allows you freedom. You can choose to focus either on freedom or discipline, and this makes you happy or unhappy. Freedom without discipline is like a country without a defense.
Fences should be fences; a fence cannot be built all over the property. If your fence is all over, how can you build on the property? That state of high absolute freedom is too difficult; we need to be very practical. Yes, there is a state of unlimited bliss, the freedom Advaita talks about. The Advaita Knowledge has been totally misused or used according to one’s own fancies and conveniences.
There must be awareness in the mind, love in the heart, and righteousness in action.
Love and fear are two possibilities that put you on track. The Jewish religion put fear as the main thing so that life could improve. Nature induces fear at a certain age in a child. When a child is very young, it gets 100 percent time and love of the mother. The child has no fear. As the child grows more independent it becomes cautious. Nature brings in an iota of fear. With freedom, the child starts walking carefully. Fear of losing freedom also brings defense. The purpose of defense is to eliminate fear.
On this path Knowledge is your Freedom and also your Defense.

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3.Prestige and Honor, Your Golden Cage

Honor reduces the freedom. Your fame, honor and virtue can limit your freedom. Nobody expects a good person to make a mistake. So the better person you are, the higher the expectations people have of you. It is then that you lose your freedom. Your virtues and good actions are like a golden cage. You are trapped by your own good actions, for everyone expects more from a good person. Nobody expects anything from a bad person.
Most of the people are stuck in this cage of prestige and honor. They can not smile. They are constantly worried about keeping up their prestige and their honor. It becomes more important than their own life. Just being good or doing good to keep the prestige and honor is worthless. Prestige and honor can bring more misery in life than poverty.
Many desire fame, but little do they know that they are looking for a cage. It is an art to be dignified, and yet not be suffocated by it. Only the wise would know this. For the wise one it is natural to be in honor, and he has no concerns even if it falls apart. Despite having fame or prestige, he will live as though he has none. A wise person can handle any fame without feeling suffocated, for he is crazy too! By doing good in the society one gains prestige, then enjoying the prestige and honor, one loses their freedom.
Question: Then how do you keep your freedom?
Answer: By being like a child, considering the world as a burden a joke or a dream.


4. Education

Education has five aspects
  • Information — Often we think information is education, but it is only one aspect of education.
  • Concepts — Concepts are the basis for all research. You need to conceive in order to create.
  • Attitude — An integral aspect of education is cultivating the right attitude. Proper attitude at the right time and place determines your actions and behavior.
  • Imagination — Imagination is essential for creativity, for the arts. But if you get stuck in imagination, you may become psychotic.
  • Freedom — Freedom is your very nature. Only with freedom, do joy, generosity and other human values blossom. Without freedom, attitudes become stifling, concepts become a burden, information is of no value and imagination becomes stagnant.
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5. Beyond the rational mind: breaking the barrier

We Usually Do Only That Which Is Purposeful, Useful, And Rational. Everything You See, You See Through The rational mind. But an intuition, a discovery, new knowledge goes beyond the rational mind. Truth is beyond the rational mind.
The rational mind is like a railroad track that is fixed in grooves. A plane has no tracks. It can fly anywhere. A balloon can float anywhere. Some people step out of the rational mind in order to rebel against society. They want to break social law but for the ego’s sake. They do it out of anger, hatred, rebelliousness, and wanting attention. This is not stepping out of the rational mind (though they think it is).
We step out of the rational mind when we do something that has no purpose. Accepting that, as an act, makes it a game. Life becomes lighter. If you are stuck with only rational acts, life becomes a burden. Suppose you play a game without a thought to winning or losing, just act irrationally. Making an act without any purpose attached to it – it is freedom – like a dance
So just step out of the rational mind and you will find a greater freedom, an unfathomable depth, and you willl come face to face with reality. Reality transcends logic and the rational mind. Until you transcend the rational mind you will not get access to creativity and the infinite.
But if you do an irrational act in order to find freedom, then it already has a purpose and a meaning. It is no longer irrational. This knowledge sheet has already spoiled it’s own possibility.
Break the barrier of the rational mind and then find freedom for yourself.​

(ART OF LIVING: Sources: http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/wisdom/knowledge-sheets/)

FAQ on GST(Press Release 03 Aug 2016)

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON GOODS AND SERVICE TAX (GST)
PRESS RELEASE, DATED 3-8-2016
Following are the answers to the various frequently asked questions relating to GST:

Question 1. What is GST? How does it work?

Answer: GST is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market.

GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from the manufacturer to the consumer. Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be available in the subsequent stage of value addition, which makes GST essentially a tax only on value addition at each stage. The final consumer will thus bear only the GST charged by the last dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous stages.

Question 2. What are the benefits of GST?

Answer: The benefits of GST can be summarized as under:

♦ For business and industry
• Easy compliance: A robust and comprehensive IT system would be the foundation of the GST regime in India. Therefore, all tax payer services such as registrations, returns, payments, etc. would be available to the taxpayers online, which would make compliance easy and transparent.
• Uniformity of tax rates and structures: GST will ensure that indirect tax rates and structures are common across the country, thereby increasing certainty and ease of doing business. In other words, GST would make doing business in the country tax neutral, irrespective of the choice of place of doing business.
• Removal of cascading: A system of seamless tax-credits throughout the value-chain, and across boundaries of States, would ensure that there is minimal cascading of taxes. This would reduce hidden costs of doing business.
• Improved competitiveness: Reduction in transaction costs of doing business would eventually lead to an improved competitiveness for the trade and industry.
• Gain to manufacturers and exporters: The subsuming of major Central and State taxes in GST complete and comprehensive set-off of input goods and services and phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST) would reduce the cost of locally manufactured goods and services. This will increase the competitiveness of Indian goods and services in the international market and give boost to Indian exports. The uniformity in tax rates and procedures across the country will also go a long way in reducing the compliance cost.
♦ For Central and State Governments
• Simple and easy to administer: Multiple indirect taxes at the Central and State levels are being replaced by GST. Backed with a robust end-to-end IT system, GST would be simpler and easier to administer than all other indirect taxes of the Centre and State levied so far.
• Better controls on leakage: GST will result in better tax compliance due to a robust IT infrastructure. Due to the seamless transfer of input tax credit from one stage to another in the chain of value addition, there is an in-built mechanism in the design of GST that would incentivize tax compliance by traders.
• Higher revenue efficiency: GST is expected to decrease the cost of collection of tax revenues of the Government, and will therefore, lead to higher revenue efficiency.
♦ For the consumer
• Single and transparent tax proportionate to the value of goods and services: Due to multiple indirect taxes being levied by the Centre and State, with incomplete or no input tax credits available at progressive stages of value addition, the cost of most goods and services in the country today are laden with many hidden taxes. Under GST, there would be only one tax from the manufacturer to the consumer, leading to transparency of taxes paid to the final consumer.
• Relief in overall tax burden: Because of efficiency gains and prevention of leakages, the overall tax burden on most commodities will come down, which will benefit consumers.
Question 3. Which taxes at the Centre and State level are being subsumed into GST?

Answer: At the Central level, the following taxes are being subsumed:
a. Central Excise Duty,
b. Additional Excise Duty,
c. Service Tax,
d. Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty, and
e. Special Additional Duty of Customs.
At the State level, the following taxes are being subsumed:
a. Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax,
b. Entertainment Tax (other than the tax levied by the local bodies), Central Sales Tax (levied by the Centre and collected by the States),
c. Octroi and Entry tax,
d. Purchase Tax,
e. Luxury tax, and
f. Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling.
Question 4. What are the major chronological events that have led to the introduction of GST?

Answer: GST is being introduced in the country after a 13 year long journey since it was first discussed in the report of the Kelkar Task Force on indirect taxes. A brief chronology outlining the major milestones on the proposal for introduction of GST in India is as follows:
a. In 2003, the Kelkar Task Force on indirect tax had suggested a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax (GST) based on VAT principle.
b. A proposal to introduce a National level Goods and Services Tax (GST) by April 1, 2010 was first mooted in the Budget Speech for the financial year 2006-07.
c. Since the proposal involved reform/ restructuring of not only indirect taxes levied by the Centre but also the States, the responsibility of preparing a Design and Road Map for the implementation of GST was assigned to the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (EC).
d. Based on inputs from Govt of India and States, the EC released its First Discussion Paper on Goods and Services Tax in India in November, 2009.
e. In order to take the GST related work further, a Joint Working Group consisting of officers from Central as well as State Government was constituted in September, 2009.
f. In order to amend the Constitution to enable introduction of GST, the Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2011. As per the prescribed procedure, the Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance of the Parliament for examination and report.
g. Meanwhile, in pursuance of the decision taken in a meeting between the Union Finance Minister and the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on 8th November, 2012, a ‘Committee on GST Design’, consisting of the officials of the Government of India, State Governments and the Empowered Committee was constituted.
h. This Committee did a detailed discussion on GST design including the Constitution (115th) Amendment Bill and submitted its report in January, 2013. Based on this Report, the EC recommended certain changes in the Constitution Amendment Bill in their meeting at Bhubaneswar in January 2013.
i. The Empowered Committee in the Bhubaneswar meeting also decided to constitute three committees of officers to discuss and report on various aspects of GST as follows:—
(a) Committee on Place of Supply Rules and Revenue Neutral Rates;
(b) Committee on dual control, threshold and exemptions;
(c) Committee on IGST and GST on imports.
j. The Parliamentary Standing Committee submitted its Report in August, 2013 to the Lok Sabha. The recommendations of the Empowered Committee and the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee were examined in the Ministry in consultation with the Legislative Department. Most of the recommendations made by the Empowered Committee and the Parliamentary Standing Committee were accepted and the draft Amendment Bill was suitably revised.
k. The final draft Constitutional Amendment Bill incorporating the above stated changes were sent to the Empowered Committee for consideration in September 2013.
l. The EC once again made certain recommendations on the Bill after its meeting in Shillong in November 2013. Certain recommendations of the Empowered Committee were incorporated in the draft Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill. The revised draft was sent for consideration of the Empowered Committee in March, 2014.
m. The 115th Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2011, for the introduction of GST introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2011 lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
n. In June 2014, the draft Constitution Amendment Bill was sent to the Empowered Committee after approval of the new Government.
o. Based on a broad consensus reached with the Empowered Committee on the contours of the Bill, the Cabinet on 17.12.2014 approved the proposal for introduction of a Bill in the Parliament for amending the Constitution of India to facilitate the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 19.12.2014, and was passed by the Lok Sabha on 06.05.2015. It was then referred to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, which submitted its report on 22.07.2015.
Question 5. How would GST be administered in India?

Answer: Keeping in mind the federal structure of India, there will be two components of GST – Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST). Both Centre and States will simultaneously levy GST across the value chain. Tax will be levied on every supply of goods and services. Centre would levy and collect Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), and States would levy and collect the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) on all transactions within a State. The input tax credit of CGST would be available for discharging the CGST liability on the output at each stage. Similarly, the credit of SGST paid on inputs would be allowed for paying the SGST on output. No cross utilization of credit would be permitted.

Question 6. How would a particular transaction of goods and services be taxed simultaneously under Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST)?

Answer: The Central GST and the State GST would be levied simultaneously on every transaction of supply of goods and services except on exempted goods and services, goods which are outside the purview of GST and the transactions which are below the prescribed threshold limits. Further, both would be levied on the same price or value unlike State VAT which is levied on the value of the goods inclusive of Central Excise.
A diagrammatic representation of the working of the Dual GST model within a State is shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: GST within State
image

Question 7. Will cross utilization of credits between goods and services be allowed under GST regime?

Answer : Cross utilization of credit of CGST between goods and services would be allowed. Similarly, the facility of cross utilization of credit will be available in case of SGST. However, the cross utilization of CGST and SGST would not be allowed except in the case of inter-State supply of goods and services under the IGST model which is explained in answer to the next question.

Question 8. How will be Inter-State Transactions of Goods and Services be taxed under GST in terms of IGST method?

Answer: In case of inter-State transactions, the Centre would levy and collect the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on all inter-State supplies of goods and services under Article 269A (1) of the Constitution. The IGST would roughly be equal to CGST plus SGST. The IGST mechanism has been designed to ensure seamless flow of input tax credit from one State to another. The inter-State seller would pay IGST on the sale of his goods to the Central Government after adjusting credit of IGST, CGST and SGST on his purchases (in that order). The exporting State will transfer to the Centre the credit of SGST used in payment of IGST. The importing dealer will claim credit of IGST while discharging his output tax liability (both CGST and SGST) in his own State. The Centre will transfer to the importing State the credit of IGST used in payment of SGST.Since GST is a destination-based tax, all SGST on the final product will ordinarily accrue to the consuming State.
A diagrammatic representation of the working of the IGST model for inter-State transactions is shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2
image

Question 9. How will IT be used for the implementation of GST?

Answer: For the implementation of GST in the country, the Central and State Governments have jointly registered Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) as a not-for-profit, non-Government Company to provide shared IT infrastructure and services to Central and State Governments, tax payers and other stakeholders. The key objectives of GSTN are to provide a standard and uniform interface to the taxpayers, and shared infrastructure and services to Central and State/UT governments.
GSTN is working on developing a state-of-the-art comprehensive IT infrastructure including the common GST portal providing frontend services of registration, returns and payments to all taxpayers, as well as the backend IT modules for certain States that include processing of returns, registrations, audits, assessments, appeals, etc. All States, accounting authorities, RBI and banks, are also preparing their IT infrastructure for the administration of GST.
There would no manual filing of returns. All taxes can also be paid online. All mis-matched returns would be auto-generated, and there would be no need for manual interventions. Most returns would be self-assessed.

Question 10. How will imports be taxed under GST?

Answer: The Additional Duty of Excise or CVD and the Special Additional Duty or SAD presently being levied on imports will be subsumed under GST. As per explanation to clause (1) of article 269A of the Constitution, IGST will be levied on all imports into the territory of India. Unlike in the present regime, the States where imported goods are consumed will now gain their share from this IGST paid on imported goods.

Question 11. What are the major features of the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014?

Answer: The salient features of the Bill are as follows:
a. Conferring simultaneous power upon Parliament and the State Legislatures to make laws governing goods and services tax;
b. Subsuming of various Central indirect taxes and levies such as Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duties, Service Tax, Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty, and Special Additional Duty of Customs;
c. Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax, Entertainment Tax (other than the tax levied by the local bodies), Central Sales Tax (levied by the Centre and collected by the States), Octroi and Entry tax, Purchase Tax, Luxury tax, and Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling;
d. Dispensing with the concept of ‘declared goods of special importance’ under the Constitution;
e. Levy of Integrated Goods and Services Tax on inter-State transactions of goods and services;
f. GST to be levied on all goods and services, except alcoholic liquor for human consumption. Petroleum and petroleum products shall be subject to the levy of GST on a later date notified on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council;
g. Compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the Goods and Services Tax for a period of five years;
h. Creation of Goods and Services Tax Council to examine issues relating to goods and services tax and make recommendations to the Union and the States on parameters like rates, taxes, cesses and surcharges to be subsumed, exemption list and threshold limits, Model GST laws, etc. The Council shall function under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister and will have all the State Governments as Members.
Question 12.What are the major features of the proposed registration procedures under GST?

Answer: The major features of the proposed registration procedures under GST are as follows:
i. Existing dealers: Existing VAT/Central excise/Service Tax payers will not have to apply afresh for registration under GST.
ii. New dealers: Single application to be filed online for registration under GST.
iii. The registration number will be PAN based and will serve the purpose for Centre and State.
iv. Unified application to both tax authorities.
v. Each dealer to be given unique ID GSTIN.
vi. Deemed approval within three days.
vii. Post registration verification in risk based cases only.
Question 13.What are the major features of the proposed returns filing procedures under GST?

Answer: The major features of the proposed returns filing procedures under GST are as follows:
a. Common return would serve the purpose of both Centre and State Government.
b. There are eight forms provided for in the GST business processes for filing for returns. Most of the average tax payers would be using only four forms for filing their returns. These are return for supplies, return for purchases, monthly returns and annual return.
c. Small taxpayers: Small taxpayers who have opted composition scheme shall have to file return on quarterly basis.
d. Filing of returns shall be completely online. All taxes can also be paid online.
Question 14.What are the major features of the proposed payment procedures under GST?

Answer: The major features of the proposed payments procedures under GST are as follows:
i. Electronic payment process- no generation of paper at any stage
ii. Single point interface for challan generation- GSTN
iii. Ease of payment – payment can be made through online banking, Credit Card/Debit Card, NEFT/RTGS and through cheque/cash at the bank
iv. Common challan form with auto-population features
v. Use of single challan and single payment instrument
vi. Common set of authorized banks
vii. Common Accounting Codes

Rajya Sabha clears GST (Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2016)

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Rajya Sabha clears GST (Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2016)
On Aug 3, 2016, Rajya Sabha discussed amendments to Constitution Bill for Goods and Service Tax i.e. Constitutional (One Hundred and First Amendment) Bill, 2016 and finally the most crucial bill passed in Rajya Sabha. GST will be introduced in the country after a long journey of 13 years as it was first discussed in the Kelkar Task Force report on indirect taxes in 2003.

This amendment bill was cleared since Government agreed to drop 1% additional tax and gave assurance that it will compensate States for any revenue loss incurred due to GST rollout. There will be a huge impact of GST on common man. Goods like Small Cars, Two wheeler, Movie Tickets, Electronic Items, etc., will be cheaper. But Air Travel, Insurance, Textile, Jewellery, Mobile Calls, Cigarettes will be costlier.

Please refer extract of Constitutional (One Hundred and First Amendment) Bill, 2016:

A Bill further to amend the Constitution of India.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

1. Short title and commencement.

(1) This Act may be called the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the commencement of that pro-vision.
Insertion of new article 246A.

2. After article 246 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:—

“246A. Special provision with respect to goods and services tax.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in articles 246 and 254, Parliament, and, subject to clause (2), the Legislature of every State, have power to make laws with respect to goods and services tax imposed by the Union or by such State.
(2) Parliament has exclusive power to make laws with respect to goods and services tax where the supply of goods, or of services, or both takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.
Explanation.—The provisions of this article, shall, in respect of goods and services tax referred to in clause (5) of article 279A, take effect from the date recommended by the Goods and Services Tax Council.”

Amendment of article 248.

3. In article 248 of the Constitution, in clause (1), for the word “Parlia-ment”, the words, figures and letter “Subject to article 246A, Parlia-ment” shall be substituted.
Amendment of article 249.

4. In article 249 of the Constitution, in clause (1), after the words “with respect to”, the words, figures and letter “goods and services tax provided under article 246A or” shall be inserted.

Amendment of article 250.

5. In article 250 of the Constitution, in clause (1), after the words “with respect to”, the words, figures and letter “goods and services tax provided under article 246A or” shall be inserted.

Amendment of article 268.

6. In article 268 of the Constitution, in clause (1), the words “and such duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations” shall be omit-ted.
Omission of article 268A.

7. Article 268A of the Constitution, as inserted by section 2 of the Constitution (Eighty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2003 shall be omitted.

Amendment of article 269.

8. In article 269 of the Constitution, in clause (1), after the words “consignment of goods”, the words, figures and letter “except as pro-vided in article 269A” shall be inserted.

Insertion of new article 269A.

9.     After article 269 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:—

“269A. Levy and collection of goods and services tax in course of inter-State trade or commerce.—(1) Goods and services tax on supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce shall be levied and collected by the Government of India and such tax shall be apportioned between the Union and the States in the manner as may be provided by Parliament by law on the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax Council.
(1A) The amount apportioned to a State under clause (1) shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India.

(1B) Where an amount collected as tax levied under clause (1) has been used for payment of the tax levied by a State under article 246A, such amount shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India.

(1C) Where an amount collected as tax levied by a State under article 246A has been used for payment of the tax levied under clause (1), such amount shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of the State.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, supply of goods, or of services, or both in the course of import into the territory of India shall be deemed to be supply of goods, or of services, or both in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.

(2) Parliament may, by law, formulate the principles for determining the place of supply, and when a supply of goods, or of services, or both takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.”

Amendment of article 270.

10. In article 270 of the Constitution,—

(i) in clause (1), for the words, figures and letter “articles 268, 268A and 269”, the words, figures and letter “articles 268, 269 and 269A” shall be substituted;

(ii) after clause (1), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—

“(1A) The tax collected by the Union under clause (1) of article 246A shall also be distributed between the Union and the States in the manner provided in clause (2).
(1B) The tax levied and collected by the Union under clause (2) of article 246A and article 269A, which has been used for payment of the tax levied by the Union under clause (1) of article 246A and the amount apportioned to the Union under clause (1) of article 269A, shall also be distributed between the Union and the States in the manner provided in clause (2).”

Amendment of article 271.

11. In article 271 of the Constitution, after the words “in those ar-ticles”, the words, figures and letter ‘‘except the goods and services tax under article 246A,’’ shall be inserted.

Insertion of new article 279A.

12. After article 279 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:—

“279A. Goods and Services Tax Council.—(1) The President shall, within sixty days from the date of commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, by order, constitute a Council to be called the Goods and Services Tax Council.

(2) The Goods and Services Tax Council shall consist of the following members, namely:—

(a)
the Union Finance Minister……………………
Chairperson;
(b)
the Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance……………..
Member;
(c)
the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister
nominated by each State Government………………..
Members.


(3) The Members of the Goods and Services Tax Council referred to in sub-clause (c) of clause (2) shall, as soon as may be, choose one amongst themselves to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Council for such period as they may decide.

(4) The Goods and Services Tax Council shall make recommendations to the Union and the States on—

(a)
the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and
the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services
tax;
(b)
the goods and services that may be subjected to, or exempted from
the goods and services tax;
(c)
model Goods and Services Tax Laws, principles of levy,
apportionment of Goods and Services Tax levied on supplies in the
course of Inter-State trade or commerce under article 269A and
the principles that govern the place of supply;
(d)
the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services
may be exempted from goods and services tax;
(e)
the rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax;
(f)
any special rate or rates for a specified period, to raise additional
resources during any natural calamity or disaster;
(g)
special provision with respect to the States of Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand;
and
(h)
any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the
Council may decide.
(5)  The Goods and Services Tax Council shall recommend the date on which the goods and services tax be levied on petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel.
(6) While discharging the functions conferred by this article, the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be guided by the need for a harmonised structure of goods and services tax and for the development of a harmonised national market for goods and services.

(7) One half of the total number of Members of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall constitute the quorum at its meetings.

(8)  The Goods and Services Tax Council shall determine the procedure in the performance of its functions.

(9) Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely:—

(a) the vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast, and

(b) the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast,
in that meeting.
(10) No act or proceedings of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be invalid merely by reason of—
(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in, the constitution of the Council; or
(b) any defect in the appointment of a person as a member of the Council; or
(c) any procedural irregularity of the Council not affecting the merits of the case.
(11) The Goods and Services Tax Council shall establish a mechanism to adjudicate any dispute—
(a) between the Government of India and one or more States; or
(b) between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more other States on the other side; or
(c) between two or more States,
arising out of the recommendations of the Council or implementation thereof.”
Amendment of article 286.

13. In article 286 of the Constitution,—

(i) in clause (1),—
(A) for the words “the sale or purchase of goods where such sale or purchase takes place”, the words “the supply of goods or of services or both, where such supply takes place” shall be substituted;
(B) in sub-clause (b), for the word “goods”, at both the places where it occurs the words “goods or services or both” shall be substituted;
(ii) in clause (2), for the words “sale or purchase of goods takes place”, the words “supply of goods or of services or both” shall be substituted;
(iii) clause (3) shall be omitted.

Amendment of article 366.

14. In article 366 of the Constitution,—

(i) after clause (12), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—

‘(12A) “goods and services tax” means any tax on supply of goods, or services or both except taxes on the supply of the alcoholic liquor for human consumption;’;
(ii) after clause (26), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:—
‘(26A) “Services” means anything other than goods;
(26B) “State” with reference to articles 246A, 268, 269, 269A and 279A includes a Union territory with Legislature.

Amendment of article 368.

15. In article 368 of the Constitution, in clause (2), in the proviso, in clause (a), for the words and figures “article 162 or article 241”, the words, figures and letter “article 162, article 241 or article 279A” shall be substituted.
Amendment of Sixth Schedule
16. In the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, in paragraph 8, in sub-paragraph (3),—
(i) in clause (c), the word “and” occurring at the end shall be omitted;
(ii) in clause (d), the word “and” shall be inserted at the end;
(iii) after clause (d), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—
“(e) taxes on entertainment and amusements.”.
Amendment of Seventh Schedule.
17. In the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution,— (a) in List I – Union List,—
(i) for entry 84, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:—
“84. Duties of excise on the following goods manufactured or produced in India, namely:—
(a) petroleum crude; (b) high speed diesel;
(c) motor spirit (commonly known as petrol); (d) natural gas;
(e) aviation turbine fuel; and
(f) tobacco and tobacco products.”;
(ii) entries 92 and 92C shall be omitted;
(b) in List II – State List,—
(i) entry 52 shall be omitted;
(ii) for entry 54, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:—


“54. Taxes on the sale of petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas, aviation turbine fuel and alcoholic liquor for human consumption, but not including sale in the course of inter-State trade or commerce or sale in the course of international trade or commerce of such goods.”;
(iii) entry 55 shall be omitted;
(iv) for entry 62, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:—
“62. Taxes on entertainments and amusements to the extent levied and collected by a Panchayat or a Municipality or a Regional Council or a District Council.”.

Compensation to States for loss of revenue on account of introduction of goods and services tax.

18. Parliament shall, by law, on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council, provide for compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax for such period which may extend to five years.

Transitional provisions.

19. Notwithstanding anything in this Act, any provision of any law relating to tax on goods or services or on both in force in any State immediately before the commencement of this Act, which is incon-sistent with the provisions of the Constitution as amended by this Act shall continue to be inforce until amended or repealed by a compe-tent Legislature or other competent authority or until expiration of one year from such commencement, whichever is earlier.
Power of President to remove difficulties.

20. (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the Constitution as amended by this Act (including any difficulty in relation to the transition from the provisions of the Constitution as they stood immediately before the date of assent of the President to this Act to the provisions of the Constitution as amended by this Act), the President may, by order, make such provisions, including any adaptation or modification of any provision of the Constitution as amended by this Act or law, as appear to the President to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty:
Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of three years from the date of such assent.

(2) Every order made under sub-section (1) shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of Parliament.

Ease of Doing Business – Paperless PAN & TAN application process

Posted on by Business So Simple in Miscellaneous

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
New Delhi, 22nd July, 2016.
Sub :- Ease of Doing Business – Paperless PAN & TAN application process.
For fast tracking the allotment of PAN and TAN to company applicants, Digital Signature Certificate(DSC) based application procedure has been introduced on the portals of PAN service providers M/s NSDL eGov and M/s UTIITSL. Under the new process PAN and TAN will be allotted within one day after completion of valid on-line application.
Similarly, a new Aadhaar e-Signature based application process for Individual PAN applicants has been made available on the portals of PAN service providers M/s NSDL eGov.
The URL links for the above applications are available in ‘important links’ on the homepage of the departmental website ‘incometaxindia.gov.in’.
Introduction of Aadhaar based e-Signature through M/s NSDL eGov in PAN application not only ensures paperless hassle free PAN application process but also seeding of Aadhaar in PAN which will curb the problem of duplicate PAN to a great extent.
(Meenakshi J. Goswami)
Commissioner of Income Tax
(Media and Technical Policy)
Official Spokesperson, CBDT.

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Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Recommendations of SIT on Black Money as Contained in the Fifth SIT Report
14-July-2016

The Fifth SIT report has been submitted before the Hon’ble Supreme Court by the SIT. An extract of the report has been uploaded on Department of Revenue website http://www.dor.gov.in.


The SIT has made the following recommendations in the Fifth Report:

Cash transactions : The SIT has felt that large amount of unaccounted wealth is stored and used in form of cash. Having considered the provisions which exist in this regard in various countries and also having considered various reports and observations of courts regarding cash transactions the SIT felt that there is a need to put an upper limit to cash transactions. Thus, the SIT has recommended that there should be a total ban on cash transactions above Rs. 3,00,000 and an Act be framed to declare such transactions as illegal and punishable under law.


Cash holding : The SIT has further felt that, given the fact of unaccounted wealth being held in cash which are further confirmed by huge cash recoveries in numerous enforcement actions by law enforcement agencies from time to time, the above limit of cash transaction can only succeed if there is a limitation on cash holding, as suggested in its previous reports. SIT has suggested an upper limit of Rs. 15 lakhs on cash holding. Further, stating that in case any person or industry requires holding more cash, it may obtain necessary permission from the Commissioner of Income tax of the area.


Suggestions are invited on the above recommendations of SIT at sit_suggestions@nic.in

Compulsory manual selection of cases for scrutiny during the Financial Year 2016-2017

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Instruction No. 4/2016
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue (CBDT)
North-Block, New Delhi
Date: 13th of July, 2016
To
All Pr. Chief-Commissioners of Income-tax/Chief-Commissioners of Income-tax
All Pr. Directors-General of Income-tax/Directors-General of Income-tax
Sir/Madam
Subject: Compulsory manual selection of cases for scrutiny during the Financial Year 2016-2017- regd:-
1. In supersession of earlier Instructions on the above subject, the Board hereby lays down the following procedure and criteria for manual selection of returns/cases for compulsory scrutiny during the financial-year 2016-2017:-
(i) Cases involving addition on a substantial and recurring question of law or fact in earlier assessment year(s), in excess of Rs. 25 lakhs in metro charges at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune, while for other charges, quantum of such addition should exceed Rs. 10 lakhs (for transfer pricing cases, quantum of such addition should exceed Rs. 10 crore) and where:
a. such an addition in assessment has become final as no further appeal was/has been filed; or
b. such an addition has been confirmed at any stage of appellate process in favour of revenue and assessee has not filed further appeal; or
c. such an addition has been confirmed at 1st appeal stage in favour of revenue or subsequently and further appeal of assessee is pending before any Authority in the appellate process.
(ii) All assessments pertaining to Survey under section 133A of the Act excluding those cases where books of accounts, documents etc. were not impounded and returned income (excluding any disclosure made during the Survey) is not less than returned income of preceding assessment year. However, where assessee retracts the disclosure made during the Survey, such cases will not be covered by this exclusion.
(iii) Assessments in search and seizure cases to be made under section(s) 158B, 158BC, 158BD, 153A & 153C read with section 143(3) of the Act and also for the returns filed for the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which authorization for search and seizure was executed u/s 132 or 132A of the Act.
(iv) Return filed in response to notice under section 148 of the Act.
(v) Cases where registration u/s 12AA of the IT Act has not been granted or has been cancelled by the CIT/DIT concerned, yet the assessee has been found to be claiming tax-exemption under section 11 of the Act. However, where such orders of the CIT/DIT have been reversed/set-aside in appellate proceedings, those cases will not be selected under this clause.
(vi) Cases of entities, being ‘scientific research association’ or ‘university, college or other institution’, having approval under section(s) 35(1)(ii)/35(1)(iii) of the Act.
(vii) Cases in respect of which specific and verifiable information pointing out tax-evasion is given by any Government Department/Authority. However, before selecting a case for scrutiny under this criterion, Assessing Officer shall be required to take prior administrative approval from the concerned jurisdictional Pr. CIT/Pr.DIT/CIT.
2. Computer Aided Scrutiny Selection (CASS): Cases are also being selected under CASS-2016 on the basis of broad based selection filters. List of such cases has been/is being separately intimated by the Pr.DGIT(Systems) to the jurisdictional authorities concerned.
3. As a taxpayer friendly measure, to reduce the departmental interface with the assessee and reduce the compliance burden of tax payers in scrutiny assessment proceedings, the scheme of Assessment through e-mail is being extended to all scrutiny cases including the cases selected under above parameters in seven cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. However, assessees in these seven cities can exercise the option of not being scrutinized under the e-mail based paperless assessment proceedings after informing the Assessing Officer concerned in writing in the beginning or subsequently during the course of assessment proceedings. Further, in cases which require submission of voluminous documents and it is not practicable to submit the scanned copies thereof through e-mail, in such instances; the Assessing Officer may decide to receive such documents in physical form after recording reasons for the same.
4. It is reiterated that the targets for completion of scrutiny assessments and strategy of framing quality assessments as contained in Central Action Plan document for Financial-Year 2016-2017 have to be complied with and it must be ensured that all scrutiny assessment orders including the cases selected under the manual criterion are completed through the AST system software only. It should be the endeavour of the Assessing Officers and his supervisory authorities to ensure that scrutiny assessment cases are disposed in a well planned manner without dragging the assessment proceedings till the last date of limitation. Further, Pr. CCsIT/CCIT(Central)/Pr. CCIT(International tax)/CCIT(Exemption)/DsGIT should evolve a suitable monitoring mechanism in their respective charges in order to ensure quality of assessments being framed during the financial year. In this regard, by 31st January, 2017, such authorities shall send a report to the respective Zonal Member with a copy to Member (IT) containing details of at least 25 quality assessment orders from their respective charges. It may further be the endeavour that cases selected for publication in ‘Let us Share’ are picked up only from the quality assessments as reported.
5. These instructions may be brought to the notice of all concerned for necessary compliance.
6. Hindi version to follow.
(Rohit Garg)

Deputy-Secretary to the Government of India

Revised format u/s 143(2) of Income Tax Act for scrutiny notices

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CBDT has decided to modify notice under section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act. Now  all scrutiny notices shall be issued in following revised format:
–Limited Scrutiny
-Complete Scrutiny
-Manual Scrutiny

 (F.No. 225/162/2016/ITA ,CBDT , 11th of July, 2016)
Limited Scrutiny
Notice under Section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961

PAN: ………………………………………………………. Dated:         
To
Sir/Madam
This is for your kind information that the return of income for Assessment Year ………………….filed vide ……………………………………………….  on ……………………  has been selected for Scrutiny. Following issues have been identified for examination:
—————————————-
2. In view of the above, we would  like to give you an opportunity to produce, or cause to be produced, any evidence which:you feel is necessary in support of the said return of income on (date) in the office of the undersigned.
3. Sending a communication to the undersigned in this regard shall also be treated as sufficient compliance in case no evidence is sought to be produced as required in Para 2 above.
4. Specific questionnaire/show-cause notice shall be sent giving you another opportunity in case any adverse view is contemplated.
5. (#)The assessment proceeding in your case is proposed to be conducted through email based communication. The email provided in the said return of income shall be used for communication for this purpose. In case you wish to communicate through any other alternate email, the same may kindly be informed. A brief note regarding benefits of this facility and procedure is enclosed overleaf. In case you do not wish to participate in this taxpayer friendly initiative, you may convey your refusal to the undersigned by the above mentioned date. In case, you wish to opt out from this scheme at any subsequent stage due to any technical difficulties faced by you, the same can be done with prior intimation to the undersigned.
Yours faithfully,
Seal
(Name of the Assessing Officer)
(Designation)
(Telephone No./Fax No.)
(E-mail id.)
Note: (#)Applicable only in case of taxpayers whose Income-tax jurisdiction falls in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata or Mumbai
Complete Scrutiny
Notice under Section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961
Sir/Madam
This is for your kind information that the return of income for Assessment Year …………………. filed vide ………………………………………………  on ……………………..  has been selected for Complete Scrutiny.
2. In view of the above, we would like to give you an opportunity to produce, or cause to be produced, any evidence which you feel is necessary in support of the said return of income on (date) in the office of the undersigned.
3. Sending a communication to the undersigned in this regard shall also be treated as sufficient compliance in case no evidence is sought to be produced as required in Para 2 above.
4. Specific questionnaire/ show-cause notice shall be sent giving you another opportunity in case any adverse view is contemplated.
5. (#) The assessment proceeding in your case is proposed to be conducted through email based communication. The email provided in the said return of income shall be used for communication for this purpose. In case you wish to communicate through any other alternate email, the same may kindly be informed. A brief note regarding benefits of this facility and procedure is enclosed overleaf. In case you do not wish to participate in this taxpayer friendly initiative, you may convey your refusal to the undersigned by the above mentioned date. In case, you wish to opt out frorii this scheme at any subsequent stage due to any technical difficulties faced by you, the same can be done with prior intimation to the undersigned.
Yours faithfully,
Seal
(Name of the Assessing Officer)
(Designation)
(Telephone No./Fax No.)
(E-mail id.)
Note:(#) applicable only in case of taxpayers whose Income-tax jurisdiction falls in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata or Mumbai
Manual Selection
Notice under Section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961
PAN: ……………………………………………………….. Dated: 
To
Sir/Madam
This is for your kind information that the return of income for Assessment Year ………………….filed vide ……………………………………………….  on ……………………….  has been selected for Scrutiny on the basis of parameter at Para 1(……………. … ) of the Manual Compulsory Guidelines of CBDT issued vide Instruction No. ……………………………. dated………………….
2. In view of the above, we would like to give you an opportunity to produce, or cause to be produced, any evidence which you feel is necessary in support of the said return of income on (date) in the office of the undersigned.
3. Sending a communication to the undersigned in this regard shall also be treated as sufficient compliance in case no evidence is sought to be produced as required in Para 2 above.
4. Specific questionnaire/show-cause notice shall be sent giving you another opportunity in case any adverse view is contemplated.
5. (#) The assessment proceeding in your case is proposed to be conducted through email based communication. The email provided in the said return of income shall be used for communication for this purpose. In case you wish to communicate through any other alternate email, the same may kindly be informed. A brief note regarding benefits of this facility and procedure is enclosed overleaf. In case you do not wish to participate in this taxpayer friendly initiative, you may convey your refusal to the undersigned by the above mentioned date. In case, you wish to opt out from this scheme at any subsequent stage due to any technical difficulties faced by you, the same can be done with prior intimation to the undersigned.
Yours faithfully,
Seal
(Name of the Assessing Officer)
(Designation)
(Telephone No./Fax No.)
(E-mail id.)

Note:(#) applicable only in case of taxpayers whose Income-tax jurisdiction falls in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata or Mumbai.

Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS) shall be applicable from A/Y 2017- 18

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Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS) shall be applicable from 1.4.2016 i.e. previous year 2016-17 (Assessment Year 2017- 18) (Press release dated 06th July 2016, CBDT).


Applicability of Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS) notified under section 145 (2) of the Income tax Act, 1961.

Vide Notification No. SO 892 (E) dated 31st March, 2015, Central Government notified 10 Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS). These ICDS are applicable from 1.4.2015 i.e. previous year 2015-16 (Assessment Year 2016-17). Subsequent to notification of the ICDS, a number of representations were received which were examined by an Expert Committee. The Committee has recommended amendments to the notified ICDS and also issuance of clarification in respect of certain points raised by the stakeholders.

The revision of ICDS/issue of clarifications as recommended by the Committee, is under consideration. The revision of the Tax Audit Report is also being made for ensuring the compliance with the provisions of ICDS and for capturing the disclosures mandated by the ICDS.

Some of the tax payers might have filed their return of income and obtained Tax Audit Report without incorporating the compliance with the ICDS and related disclosures in the absence of the revised Tax Audit Report. 

Considering these facts, it has been decided that the ICDS shall be applicable from 1.4.2016 i.e. previous year 2016-17 (Assessment Year 2017- 18). The notification to this effect will be issued shortly.