URL of RBI for Checking Appointment of Statutory Auditors

URL of RBI for Checking Appointment of Statutory Auditors. Pl keep on checking

http://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=947

New Office Bearers of Vasai Branch of WIRC of ICAI for 2012-13.

New office Bearers of Vasai Branch of WIRC of ICAI for 2012-13.

 

CA Shweta Jain - Chairperson 

 

CA Ramanand Gupta - Vice Chairman 

 

CA Kishor Vaishnav - Secretary

 

CA Kishor Vaishnav - Additional Incharge as a Treasurer 

Competition Commission of India amends combination Regulations.

Competition Law newswire
Competition Commission of India amends combination Regulations.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has recently notified the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Amendment Regulations, 2011 and thereby amending the provisions of the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combination) Regulation, 2011 (Combination Regulations or Regulations).
The Combination Regulations have been in force with effect from June 1, 2011 and based on the past experience of last nine months, the Commission has brought in these amendments making an effort to remove ambiguities, to simplify the procedures and to liberalize notice requirements.
The key provisions of the amendments are discussed hereunder:
1.	Filing of Forms:
	a.	Amendments have been made in Regulation 5(2) and 5(3) of the Combination Regulations thereby bring more clarity with respect to filing of Form I (brief form) or Form II (descriptive form).
	b.	As per the amendment made in Regulation 5(2), the Commission has provided that ordinarily Form I would be filed and has removed/deleted the inclusive instances as provided earlier under the regulation, in which the Form I would have been filed.
	c.	Further to bring more clarity, the Commission has under Regulation 5(3), introduced two inclusive instances in which Form II may preferably be filed. The instances so introduced are as followings:
		i.	The parties to the combination are engaged in production, supply, distribution, storage, sale or trade of similar or identical or substitutable goods or provision of similar or identical or substitutable services and the combined market share of the parties to the combination after such combination is more than fifteen percent (15%) in the relevant market;
		ii.	The parties to the combination are engaged at different stages or levels of the production chain in different markets, in respect of production, supply, distribution, storage, sale or trade in goods or provision of services, and their individual or combined market share is more than twenty five percent (25%) in the relevant market.
	Thus the choice of filing of Forms still vest with the parties to the combination and the commission has not provided specific instances wherein form I is to be filed and instances wherein form II is to be filed. Though with intent to bring in more clarity and considering the fact that filing of Form II is much more time consuming and costlier, the Commission has now indicated the inclusive instances wherein Form II may preferably be filed. Further the instances as indicated earlier wherein Form I may be filed have also been removed to avoid any ambiguity.
	Therefore now as per the amended provisions, parties may prefer to file Form I in all cases other than only those falling under the limited inclusive criteria of Regulation 5(3) in which Form II is to be filed. The Commission, considering the fact of the case, if required may ask the parties to further file Form II. The fees filed with Form I would be adjusted with fees for Form II.
2.	Time period for prime facie opinion of CCI:
	a.	In cases wherein the parties are required by the Commission to file Form II after the filing of Form I, the period of 30 days as allocated to the Commission to form its prima facie opinion has been amended to reckon afresh from the date of receipt of notice in Form II as against the earlier requirement of excluding the time of filing of Form II from the total time.
3.	Value of assets and turnover:
	a.	A further clarity has been brought with respect to the valuation of business for the purpose of the combinations by insertion of the new sub-regulation 5(9).
	b.	As per this newly inserted Regulation 5(9), Where in a series of inter related individual transactions, assets are transferred to an enterprise to affect any combinations between that transferee enterprise and other enterprise or person under section 5, the value of the assets of the transferor enterprise are also to be calculated with the value of the assets of the transferee enterprise.
4.	Acquisition by financial institutions, Banks, Venture funds etc.:
	a.	As per section 6(5) of the Competition Act 2002 (Act) read with Regulation 6(1), in case of acquisitions by PFIs, FIIs, banks or VCFs, the notice is to be filed by these acquirers in Form III, within seven days of acquisition.
	b.	Now, as per the amendment in Regulation 6(1), it is further required to file a certified copy of the loan or the investment agreement subsequent to which the acquisition is taking place, along with the Form III.
	c.	Further by insertion of Regulation 6(3), the Commission has been provided with the power of condonation of delay in respect of filing Form III at its discretion.
5.	Authorization to Company Secretaries for signing of Forms filed by the Companies:
	a.	Vide amendments made in the existing provisions of Regulation 9(1) and 9(3), in cases of acquisitions as well as mergers and amalgamations, now Company Secretaries duly authorized by the Board of Directors, are further authorized to sign Form I or Form II as the case may be.
6.	Filing Fees of Form I and Form II:
	a.	The filing fees for Form I & Form II have been increased substantially by amending the provisions of Regulation 11.
	b.	In case of Form I, filing fees has been enhanced from the existing Rs.50,000 to Rs.10,00,000
	c.	In case of Form II, filing fees has been enhanced from the existing Rs.10,00,000 to Rs.40,00,000.
7.	Filing of Summary of Combination along with respective Forms:
	a.	As per newly inserted Regulation 13 (1A), the Companies would be further required to file a summary note giving brief note on the proposed combination to the Commission. The summary note shall be filed in 9 copies along with electronic form and would be of atleast 2000 words and not containing any confidential information.
	b.	Other particulars to be comprised in the note shall be as following:
		i.	The products and services of the parties to the combination;
		ii.	Values of assets and turnover of the parties;
		iii.	Relevant markets of the parties;
		iv.	Details of agreement & board resolution effecting the combination;
		v.	Nature and purpose of combination;
		vi.	Likely impact of combination on competition in relevant market.
8.	Exemption from filing of notice to the commission:
	a.	The Commission has further made amendments in Schedule I, thereby liberalizing and expanding the ambit of exemptions for filing of notice to the CCI in cases of proposed combinations.
	b.	Under clause 1 to the schedule, now in cases of Acquisitions of shares or voting rights (under section 5 (a)(i) and (ii) of the act), the commission has increased the exemption limits from more than 15% of total shares or Voting rights to 25%. Thus, now no notice is required to be given to the commission for the Acquisitions of shares or voting right upto 24.99%.
	c.	Under clause 6, further acquisition of shares pursuant to buy back has also been exempted, subject to the condition that there is no acquisition of control.
	d.	Further under clause 6 only, exemption in case of subscription to Right Issue is modified and now the Right Issues are exempted subject to the condition that there is no acquisition of control as against the earlier condition to subscribe to the extent of entitled proportion.
	e.	Definition of word “Group” is removed from under Clause 8, and now the definition is to be taken as provided under the Act only.
	f.	By insertion of new clause 8(A), now merger and amalgamation between Holding and Wholly owned Subsidiaries of same group enterprises and merger and amalgamation between Wholly owned Subsidiaries of same group enterprises are totally exempted from filing of notice to the Commission
	Relaxing the acquisition limits of shares and voting rights upto 24.99% is a welcome step towards synchronizing the provisions of the Regulations with that of SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) Regulations 2011. Under SEBI Regulations also, the acquisition upto 24.99% is exempted from requirement of open offer.
	Introduction of buy-back without acquisition of control as exempted category is again comforting for the enterprises since there being no active acquisition by the parties.
	The most important awaited amendment had been exempting the mergers and amalgamations amongst Holding and Wholly owned Subsidiaries and amongst Wholly owned Subsidiaries of the same groups. This move would facilitate consolidations amongst the groups without the statutory hassles. Though what is important to consider is that only the transactions involving Wholly owned Subsidiaries are exempted and not all subsidiaries or group mergers, which would still be required to file notice to the Commission.
9.	Modification in Schedule II (Form I):
	a.	With respect to the changes made in the Regulations, suitable modifications have also been made in the format of Form I to be filed.

Online Registration Open for Revised Schedule VI Workshop to be held on Sunday, March 25th, 2012

“Revised Schedule VI Workshop”

by KGMA, Delhi

Workshop Coverage:

·        MCA Notification on applicability of Revised Schedule VI;

·        Features of Revised Schedule VI;

·        Issues and Resolutions under Revised Schedule VI:

1.   Comparatives under Revised Schedule VI;

2.   Bifurcation into Current and Non-current category;

3.   Multiple Business and Concept of Operating Cycle under Revised Schedule VI;

4.   Sundry Debtors under Revised Schedule VI;

5. Treatment of Equity Shares, Preference Shares and Share Application money;

6.   Proposed Dividends;

7.   Miscellaneous Expenditure, and much more

·    CARO and Revised Schedule VI

·    CD on Revised Schedule VI including MS Excel Template for Revised Schedule VI

Notes:

(i)     The fees for this Workshop is Rs. 750/= (including cost of Background Material, CD and Refreshments) per participant;

(ii)     The fees shall be payable through Cheque/ DD drawn in favour of KG Management Advisors LLP;

(iii)    The fees can be paid either by sending Courier/ Speed Post/ Online Transfer

(iv)    For cash payment of fees contact at 9953590104, 9899954015

 

Venue: Shah Auditorium, Civil Lines (Near Kashmere Gate Metro Station), Delhi 110006

Schedule: Sunday, March 25^th, 2012 from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm

Speaker: FCA Kamal Garg, Delhi

Contact: 09953590104, 09899954015

Email: llp.kgma@gmail.com, admin@kgma.in

URL: www.kgma.in (Visit the Website for Online Registration)

Last Date of Registration: March 18^th, 2012

 

Seats are limited, enrolment for the Workshop is accepted on First-Come-First-Serve basis

Service Tax is Payable on Flats Allotted to Landowner, clarifies Finance Ministry

Service Tax is Payable on Flats Allotted to

Landowner, clarifies Finance Ministry

When the landowner is given flats in lieu of cash,

such flats become liable to service tax, the Finance

Ministry clarified recently among other things.

Suppose, the landowner invites a builder to demolish

his bungalow and construct 10 flats thereon, with two

flats being allotted to him as sale consideration, the

two flats, though for non-cash consideration, would

attract service tax immediately on signing of the

building agreement. The taxable value would be the

amount for which similar flats have been booked by

the other buyers on the date of such agreement. It

boils down to this: if on the date of the agreement

with the builder, there are two buyers who have

booked their flats that are similar to those allotted to

the landowner at R40 lakh each, the allotment of the

two flats to the landowner would be a taxable event,

liable to service tax. With abatement allowed being

75% towards the goods used in the construction,

which obviously cannot be subjected to service tax,

R10 lakh would be liabe to service tax, which currently

is10.3%. If the flats are not comparable on account of

difference in the area, the rate per square foot charged

from buyers must be taken into account.

Three who believe the worst is yet to come

Behind the mainstream Wall Street happy talk about more stable financial markets and an improving economy are grim warnings of tough times ahead from a small cadre of doomsayers who warn that the worst of the financial crisis is still to come.


Harry Dent, author of the new book The Great Crash Ahead, says another stock market crash is coming due to a bad ending to the global debt bubble. He has pulled back on his earlier prediction of a crash in 2012, as central banks around the world have been flooding markets with money, giving stocks an artificial short-term boost. But a crash is coming in 2013 or 2014, he warns. "This will be a repeat of 2008-09, only bigger, when it finally hits," Dent told USA TODAY.


Gerald Celente, a trend forecaster at the Trends Research Institute, says Americans should brace themselves for an "economic 9/11" due to policymakers' inability to solve the world's financial and economic woes. The coming meltdown, he predicts, will lead to growing social unrest and anti-government sentiment, a U.S. dollar with far less purchasing power and more people out of work.


Celente won't rule out another financial panic that could spark enough fear to cause a run on the nation's banks by depositors. That risk could cause the government to invoke "economic martial law" and call a "bank holiday" and close banks as it did during the Great Depression.


"We see some kind of threat of that magnitude," Celente, publisher of The Trends Journal newsletter, warned in an interview.


Robert Prechter, author of Conquer the Crash, first published in 2002 and updated in 2009, is still bearish. He says today's economy has similarities to the Great Depression and warns that 1930s-style deflation is still poised to cause financial havoc. Prechter predicts that the major U.S. stock indexes, such as the Dow Jones industrials and Standard & Poor's 500, will plunge below their bear market lows hit in March 2009 during the last financial crisis. The brief recovery will fail as it did in the 1930s, he says.


2 very different viewpoints


If he's right, stocks would lose more than half of their value. "The economic recovery has been weak, so the next downturn should generate bad news in a big way," Prechter said in an e-mail interview. "For the third time in a dozen years, the stock market is in a very bearish position."


These dire forecasts differ sharply with the brighter outlooks being espoused by the bulls, or optimists, on Wall Street. Recent stock performance and fresh readings on the economy also suggest a future that is less gloomy than the doomsayers predict.


The Dow, for instance, is in rebound mode and has climbed back to levels not seen since the early days of the financial crisis in May 2008. Tech stocks in the Nasdaq composite are trading at levels last seen in 2000. Data on auto sales, manufacturing and consumer confidence have been firming. Job creation is also on the rise. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.3% in January, its lowest level in three years.


As a result, stock market strategists such as Rod Smyth of RiverFront Investment have been raising their outlooks for 2012. Smyth raised his target range for the S&P 500 to 1250-1500. If the market hits the top of the range, stocks would have risen 10%. Similarly, Brian Belski, strategist at Oppenheimer, recently said he remains comfortable with his year-end 2012 target of 1400. That's up 2.5% from here. Bespoke Investment Group published research that shows the market, which is closing in on a new bull market high, has done well in the past once it breaks through old highs.
Bulls are betting that Europe's banking system will be stabilized, minimizing the risk of a severe credit crisis. Bulls are also encouraged by recent data from around the world that show modest growth and a pickup in economic momentum.


The causes of economic calamity


So what has the super-bears so worried?


Dent says the combination of aging Baby Boomers exiting their big spending years and a shift toward debt reduction and austerity around the world will cause the economy to suffer another severe leg down, making it more difficult for the government and Federal Reserve to avert a new meltdown. He has not always been bearish. In 1993 he wrote The Great Boom Ahead.


Celente, who as far back as 2008 has been warning of economic calamity, argues that the ballooning debt and the growing divide between the haves and have-nots has put the U.S. in a weakened state.


As a result, he says, the nation is more vulnerable to potential shocks. He worries about potential chaos caused by people all trying to yank their money out of financial markets at the same time. He also sees risk in the event there is a loss of confidence in elected leaders.


Societal unrest in the form of street protests and increased crime are possible, too, he adds. Markets could also be spooked by an oil price shock due to a military conflict between Israel and Iran, or a bad outcome to Europe's debt crisis.


"2012 is when many of the long-simmering socioeconomic and political trends that we have been forecasting and tracking will climax," Celente noted in his Top 12 Trends 2012 newsletter. In an interview he added: "When money stops flowing to the man on the street, blood starts flowing in the street."


While bulls are urging investors to get back into stocks, the doomsayers are advising a far different strategy. Dent's investment advice is simple: "Get out of the way." He recommends buying short-term U.S. Treasury bills and the U.S. dollar, which will benefit from safe-haven cash flows. He says stocks will fall sharply in value.


Celente's advice centers on survival. He says buy gold so you don't lose purchasing power when the value of the dollar plummets. He says buy a gun to protect your family against desperate people in search of food and money. He says plan a getaway to places with more stable finances and governments.


Prechter says to keep your powder dry and buy when things get really bad: "When things get really scary, as in early 2009, I get bullish."

INCOME-TAX (APPELLATE TRIBUNAL) AMENDMENT RULES, 2012

INCOME-TAX (APPELLATE TRIBUNAL) AMENDMENT RULES, 2012 - AMENDMENT IN RULES 2, 4A, 9, 26 & 34A; DELETION OF PROVISO TO RULE 35A AND SUBSTITUTION OF WORDS 'INCOME TAX OFFICER' AND "APPELLATE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER"

NOTIFICATION NO. F. 71-AD(AT)/2012, DATED 7-2-2012

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (5) of section 255 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Appellate Tribunal hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963, namely :-

Short title and Commencement	(1) These rules may be called the Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Amendment Rules, 2012.
	(2) These rules shall come into force with effect from the date of their publication in the official Gazette.
Amendment in Rule 2	Definitions. For the existing Rule 2(ii)(b), the following shall be substituted:- "(b) in relation to an income-tax authority who is a party to any proceedings before the Tribunal - (i)  a person duly appointed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes as "authorised representative" to appear, plead and act on behalf of the income-tax department; and (ii) a person duly authorised by the Chief Commissioner of Income-tax to appear, plead and act on behalf of the income-tax department."
Amendment in Rule 4A	Powers and functions of the Registrar. For the existing Rule 4A(2)(i), the following shall be substituted:- "to receive all appeals, miscellaneous applications, stay petitions as well as other documents including applications for early hearing, transfer of appeals, applications for adjournment;"
Amendment in Rule 9	What to accompany memorandum of appeal? In Rule 9, the words "Income Tax Officer" may be substituted by the words"Assessing Officer.'' After existing Rule 9, the following shall be inserted as Rule 9 A :- "9A (1) In the event of change in the address of the parties to the appeal as provided in column Nos. 10 & 11 of Form No. 36, the appellant should file a revised Form No. 36 duly filled up giving the new address of the party, duly verified in the same manner as required by Rule 47 of the Income Tax Rules, 1962. (2) The revised Form No. 36 shall specify the appeal No. as originally assigned or, in the event of non-availability of such No., the date of filing of the appeal shall be mentioned in the covering letter. (3) No cognizance of change of address of the parties shall be taken for any purpose, unless a revised form as per sub-rules (1) and (2) is filed. (4) The address furnished in the revised Form No. 36 shall be deemed to be the address of the parties for the purpose of service of all notices/orders."
Amendment in Rule 26	Continuation of proceedings after the death or insolvency of a party to the appeal. For the existing Rule 26, the following rule shall be substituted:- "Where an assessee whether he be an appellant or the respondent to an appeal dies or is adjudicated insolvent or in the case of a company being wound up, the appeal shall not abate and may, if the assessee was the appellant, be continued by, and if he was the respondent be continued against, the executor, administrator or other legal representative of the assessee or by or against the assignee, receiver or liquidator, as the case may be: Provided that: (i)  The assessee files a revised Form No. 36 duly filled up giving revised name of the party duly verified in the same manner as required by Rule 47 of Income Tax Rules, 1962; (ii) The revised Form No. 36 shall specify the appeal number as originally assigned or, in the event of non-availability of such number on the date of filing the appeal shall be mentioned in the covering letter to enable the Registrar to place fresh Form No. 36 in the original file."
Amendment in Rule 34A	Procedure for dealing with applications under section 254(2). For the existing Rule 34A(2), the following shall be substituted:- "Every application made under sub-rule (1) shall be in triplicate and the procedure for filing of appeals in these rules will apply mutatis mutandis to such applications. The Applicant shall also state whether any Miscellaneous Application under section 254(2) was filed earlier before the Tribunal against the same order and if so, the fate of such application. Copies of the orders passed by the Tribunal on such applications shall also be filed before the Tribunal in triplicate along with the Miscellaneous Application." The existing proviso to Rule 34A(3) is deleted.
Deletion of proviso to Rule 35A	Procedure for filing and disposal of stay petition. The existing Rule 35A(3) is deleted.
Further amendments	Wherever the words "Income Tax Officer" exist in the ITAT Rules, the same shall be substituted by the words "Assessing Officer." Likewise, wherever the words "Appellate Assistant Commissioner" exist in the ITAT Rules, the same be substituted by the words "CIT(Appeals)".

 

List of Participants who have qualified the Evaluation Test and completed the Certificate Course on Arbitration successfully held at Ghaziabad in January, 2012

List of Participants who have qualified the Evaluation Test and completed the
Certificate Course on Arbitration successfully held at Ghaziabad in January, 2012
Roll Number Name Membership No.
1 CA. Ram Avtar 84458
2 CA. Deepak Gulati 86403
3 CA. Gautam Khera 520278
4 CA. Surender Pal Bagaria 011344
5 CA. Nitish Kumar Chugh 512742
6 CA. Deepak Bichhoria 505783
7 CA. Arun kumar Agarwal 73598
8 CA. Navneet Agarwal 400504
9 CA. Richa sharma 410977
10 CA. Sanjay Arora 091491
12 CA. Narender Singh 089004
13 CA. Nitin Pahariya 409770
14 CA. Deepak Kumar Gupta 502964
15 CA. Brijesh Kaushik 092573
16 CA. Rajesh Kumar Dixit 407417
17 CA. Anil Kumar Singal 092024
18 CA. Virender Kumar Chawla 090857
19 CA. Sumit Siwal 507704
20 CA. Anil Kumar Jain 072783
21 CA. Sudhir Singh Yadav 519826
22 CA. Anshul Jain 517058
23 CA. Ranjan Kumar 086451
24 CA. Sudhir Kumar Bhutani 082204
26 CA. Govind Kumar Goyal 403064
27 CA. Sunil Kumar Singh 503608
28 CA. Sachin Kumar Sharma 407536
29 CA. Diwakar Jain 075191
Secretariat
Committee on Economic, Commercial Laws and WTO

New tax deal for housing

Significant changes have been proposed in respect of taxability of house property income.

 

It is proposed that the Direct Taxes Code, 2010 (‘DTC') will be introduced from April 1, 2012. It is an attempt to simplify the overall tax structure and lay-out of the tax provisions in a manner that these are better understood by the common tax payer. In this context, significant changes have been proposed in respect of taxability of house property income, which are worth noting.

Let-out house property

The income from letting of any house property owned by a person shall be computed under the head “Income from House Property”. The income from any house property (subject to certain exceptions) shall be computed under this head, regardless of the fact that the letting, if any, of the property is in the nature of trade, commerce or business. It has been clarified that provisions of taxability of income from house property shall not be applicable to the house property which is not ready for use during the financial year.

The income from house property is to be computed as gross rent less the aggregate amount of deductions specified below. Gross rent shall be the amount of rent received or receivable for the financial year or part thereof for which such property or any part of the property is let-out. A person shall be eligible to claim the following deductions from his gross rent.

First, the amount of tax actually paid to the local/municipal authority during the financial year.

Second, a sum equal to 20 per cent of the gross rent in respect of repair and maintenance of such property. Under the existing provisions of Income-tax Act, a deduction of 30 per cent is allowed towards repair and maintenance.

The reduction in rate for repairs and maintenance from 30 per cent to 20 per cent will result in higher tax outflow for the property owners.

Third, the amount of any interest on loan taken for the purposes of acquisition, construction, repair or renovation of the property or on loan taken for the purposes of repayment of the aforesaid loan. It is important to note that there is no restriction on the amount of interest that could be claimed as deduction in case of a let-out property.

Further, any interest in respect of the period prior to the financial year in which the house property has been acquired or constructed shall be allowed as deduction in five equal instalments, beginning from the financial year in which the property has been acquired or constructed. The said provisions are similar to the existing tax regime.

Co-owners

In case any house property is owned by two or more persons having definite and ascertainable shares, then their income shall be computed separately in accordance with respective shares. It has been clarified that in case the shares are not definite and ascertainable, then such income shall be assessed as an Association of Persons (AOPs) in respect of such property and thus may be taxed at higher applicable rate.

Self-occupied property

In case of a self-occupied property, a deduction can be claimed up to Rs1.5 lakhs (as allowed currently) for the interest paid on loan taken for the purposes of acquisition, construction, repair or renovation of a house property in the year which such property is acquired or constructed provided the following conditions are satisfied:

the house property is owned by the person and not let-out during the financial year.

the acquisition or construction of the property is completed within a period of three years from the end of the financial year in which the loan was taken.

the person obtains a certificate from the financial institution to whom interest is paid.

Deemed to be let-out property

The concept of deemed to be let-out property under the existing provisions has been done away with under DTC.

Therefore, if an individual owns more than one house property, then no income in respect of the same would be subject to tax unlike as at present wherein only one house property at the option of the tax payer is considered to be self-occupied and others are deemed to be let-out and taxed accordingly. As no income would be subject to tax, any interest paid on housing loan taken for that property would also not be eligible for the deduction, as permissible under existing provisions.

Repayment of principal amount

No deduction shall be allowed in respect of the repayment of the principal amount of housing loan availed of against the property, unlike as at present under the current tax provisions, wherein deduction under an overall limit of Rs 1 lakh under Section 80C could be claimed. Besides, one should also take note of the provisions of the wealth tax and, accordingly, plan his investments in house property to avail of maximum tax benefits once the DTC comes into force in the present proposed form.

(The author is Partner, Tax — KPMG in India.)

sources:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/taxation-and-accounts/article2935425.ece

Amendment to Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963

Amendment to Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963

Vide Notification No. F. 71-Ad(AT)/2012, dated 7-2-2012 certain important amendments have been incorporated to the Income Tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963. Some of the amendments are to give effect to the judgement of the Bombay High Court in Jagjivandas Nandlal vs. ITAT 236 CTR 274 as incorporated in the Practice Note dated 22.2.2011 issued by the Registrar of the Tribunal.


It may be recalled that the Bar Association had called for suggestions on the amendments vide letter dated 1.11.2011.


(Click Here To Read More)

ARTICLE ON BANK AUDIT issue ------BY CA SURINDER ANAND

Please find attached article on Bank Audit Issue by CA Surinder Anand.

Article-on Bank Audits.pdf

CHAIRMAN KHADI BOARD, PUNJAB GAVE MEMORANDUM ON BANK AUDIT ISSUE

MEMORANDUM AGAINST RBI’s PROPOSAL TO EXEMPT PUBLIC SECTOR’S BANKS BRANCHES FROM THE PURVIEW OF STATUTORY AUDIT

To,

Her Excellency,

The President of India,

New Delhi,

Through

Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar

Honorable President,

This has reference to the latest development which is being observed in business, trade, corporate, financial, political and banking sectors that Reserve Bank of India has made up its mind to exempt nationalized bank’s branches which are having total advance up to Rs. 20 Crores, from the purview of audit which is a statutory requirement ever since nationalization of public sector banks.  Her Excellency, we daily used to hear through media or other sources various financial frauds, irregularities which are exposed by the auditors through audit process.  We strongly oppose this proposal of the RBI on the following counts:

1. In public sector banks hard earned money of general public lies in the shape of deposits, saving accounts or other modes.  Banks just act as custodian of this public money and lend advances with this money to earn profits for the benefits of general public.  Audit system is of utmost importance to ensure smooth functioning of banking systems and timely detection of irregularities and frauds and their remedial measures.  If there will be no independent outside agency (auditors) which can have a check on all these matters, then chances of frauds, irregularities will increase manifold and it will ultimately lead to corruption.  On the one hand the government expresses its intention to eradicate corruption, while on the other hand this proposal of RBI will create corruption.
2. If the proposal of limit of Rs. 20 Crores of RBI is implement then majority of bank’s branches (80% to 85%) will be out of purview of audit because in most of the branches there is huge deposits running in hundred crores but advances are nominal because as per Policy of the Bank, huge advances are done at few branches at corporate levels.
3. With this proposal almost all the branches of rural sector will be outside the purview of audit and chances of frauds, irregularities will grow thereat.
4. If due to irregularities, frauds with public money banking collapses, the economy of the country can also collapse as banking is the back bone of any nation’s economy.

In view of the above, we request you to kindly intervene and ensure that any such decision of RBI could be stopped as this can be highly detrimental in the growth of Indian Economy and will increase Corruption in the country.

                                                                                     

Place:   Jalandhar                                                         (Vijay Sampla)

Date :  27/02/2012                                                                     Convener,