A new schedule has been added to report income from cryptocurrencies and other Virtual Digital Assets.
An interim report on the action has also been sent by the field investigation wing of the income tax department to the Central Board of Direct Taxes in Delhi, the administrative body for the department.
The government has exempted units of investment trusts and ETFs issued by entities based in GIFT City or traded in exchanges there from capital gains tax. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified the exemption from capital gains tax any unit of investment trust; a unit of a scheme; and a unit of an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) launched under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Fund Management) Regulations, 2022. Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT)-IFSC is being promoted as a tax-neutral enclave for the financial sector.
'If taxpayers have not filed a belated ITR, they will be allowed to file an updated ITR from April 1, 2024.'
The last two I-T teams left the premises, one each in Odisha and Jharkhand, carrying with them a number of seized "incriminating documents" and data cloned from electronic gadgets in the early morning hours.
The income tax department has notified rules for valuation of equity and compulsorily convertible preferable shares issued by startups to resident and non-resident investors. As per the changes in Rule 11UA of I-T rules, which comes into effect from September 25, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) provides that the valuation of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) can also be based on the fair market value of unquoted equity shares. The amended rules also retain the five new valuation methods proposed in the draft rules for consideration received from the non-residents viz., (i) Comparable Company Multiple Method, (ii) Probability Weighted Expected Return Method, (iii) Option Pricing Method, (iv) Milestone Analysis Method, and (v) Replacement Cost Method.
The Union government's finances witnessed significant improvement in August after a stressful first four months of the current fiscal year. India's gross tax revenue, comprising both direct and indirect taxes, for the first five months of 2023-24 surged 16.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 11.8 trillion. During the April-July period, gross tax revenue increased by a mere 2.8 per cent compared to the Budget Estimate of 12.1 per cent growth for FY24.
The Union government's revenue from securities transaction tax (STT) is on track to exceed its Budget projection for the current fiscal year, with the mop-up already surpassing 50 per cent of the annual estimate. Provisional figures reveal that the Centre has collected approximately Rs 14,000 crore in the first half of this fiscal year up to September, according to a government official. This amount exceeds half of the full-year target of Rs 27,625 crore set for FY24.
Persons and entities who have faced search or survey proceedings by the income tax department "in any previous year" will no longer be allowed to file updated tax returns. Earlier, it was proposed that an updated tax return cannot be filed, in case of search or survey proceedings in the relevant financial year and the preceding one.
The income-tax (I-T) authorities have tightened disclosure norms for charitable trusts. They now have to declare the nature of their activities from October 1 for tax purposes. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified changes in reporting rules where the charitable institutions have to mention whether the activities undertaken are charitable, religious, or both to claim tax benefits.
India's gross tax revenue, comprising both direct and indirect taxes between April and July, reported a growth rate of merely 2.8 per cent to Rs 8.9 trillion compared to the same period a year ago, as shown by government data on Thursday. This growth was dampened by direct tax figures, offsetting the healthy growth in goods and services tax collections and Customs duties. While net tax revenue contracted by 12.6 per cent to Rs 5.8 trillion up to July, accounting for 25 per cent of the Rs 23.3 trillion full-year target, this could be attributed to the increased tax devolution to states during the period.
Sheilu Sreenivasan, founder president, Dignity Foundation, an NGO that works for the cause and care of the elderly, said "Our biggest worry is not what the government is going to give to senior citizens, but what it is going to take away from them."
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) chairman Bibek Debroy on Tuesday said the government was losing revenue due to the GST, which should be revenue neutral with a single rate. Speaking at an event organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata, he however said that GST has led to a lot of simplification. "The ideal GST is one that has a single rate, and it was meant to be revenue neutral.
The FM flew to Chennai on Sunday to inaugurate Nandavanam, the central revenue quarters of the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs at Anna Nagar in Chennai.
British broadcaster BBC has communicated to the income-tax department that some of its past income, for its operations in India, could have gone unreported during the statutory filing of returns and hence it would like to amend it, official sources said on Wednesday.
The critical information in the first quarter (Q1) gross domestic product (GDP) data relates to the proximity of real and nominal GDP growth rates at 7.8 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. The implicit price deflator (IPD)-based inflation is only 0.2 per cent. This phenomenon has repeated after fifteen quarters.
Employees who benefit from rent-free accommodation should pay heed to these new regulations, especially if they are in the higher salary brackets.
Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday asked all investors to link their PAN with Aadhaar number by March-end for continual and smooth transactions in the securities market. The non-compliance with this would be considered non-KYC compliant, and there could be restrictions on securities and other transactions until the Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Aadhaar are linked, Sebi said in a statement.
The developers, including Raheja Ltd, Ascendas, L&T and GMR, among others, are in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Export Promotion Council for export oriented units and special economic zones.
While the corporate sector has benefited from massive capital expenditure, leading to sky-rocketing stock prices, investors would do well to keep an eye on the macroeconomic picture and government finances, not just corporate profits, for signs of trouble, alerts Debashis Basu.
The preliminary processing of tax returns is already undertaken with the help of technology. There is now greater scope of using more technology to reduce the human interface even further, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday clarified that any deposit in the form of bonus or incentives credited in a user account will be considered net winnings, and subject to tax deduction, in case of withdrawal. If these are used only for playing, then it's not liable for tax deducted at source (TDS). Further, in case net winnings do not exceed Rs 100 a month, the applicable tax need not be deducted.
Before 2019, an estimated 22 million individual income-tax returns did not have to pay any taxes. But after the change in the exemption level, another 13 million individual tax returns did not require to pay taxes. Thus, of about 58 million returns, as much as 63 per cent or 35 million went out of the direct tax net, A K Bhattacharya points out.
A complaint has been lodged with the Election Commission against Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra for allegedly filing false election affidavits and tax evasion.
Ahead of the Union Budget, the banking sector, through the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), has made recommendations to the Union finance ministry on direct tax, including removing Section 194N of the Income Tax Act. According to Section 194N, tax deduction at source (TDS) has to be done if a sum or sums withdrawn in cash by a person in a fiscal year exceed Rs 20 lakh if no income-tax return (ITR) has been filed for the three previous assessment years, and Rs 1 crore if ITRs have been filed in all the three previous assessment years.
The federal probe agency has also called for documents and the recording of statements of some company executives under provisions of the FEMA, they said.
The Centre and states are likely to budget for higher market borrowings to the tune of Rs 2.3 lakh crore next fiscal even though the Union budget may peg a lower-than-expected fiscal deficit for the Centre at 5.8 per cent of GDP, says a report. Icra Ratings anticipates higher redemptions will lead to gross market borrowings of the Centre to rise to Rs 14.8 lakh crore and of the states to jump by Rs 1.6 lakh crore to Rs 9.6 lakh crore, taking the combined borrowings (of the Centre and the states) to Rs 24.4 lakh crore in FY2024, up by 2.3 lakh crore from FY23 combined. In FY23, the Centre's gross borrowings are budgeted at Rs 14.1 lakh crore and of the states at Rs 8 lakh crore, or a combined borrowing of Rs 22.1 lakh crore, according to the agency.
The benefit of the revamped I-T regime will percolate down to every section of the taxpayer and the government expects a 'fabulous' response to it, a top Income Tax official said on Friday. The 2023-24 Budget has proposed changes to the new optional tax regime which provides that no tax would be levied on annual income of up to Rs 7 lakh. It also allowed taxpayers to claim standard deduction of Rs 50,000 -- a move seen as a push for the salaried class to switch to the new tax regime where no exemptions on investments are provided.
'Personal income tax collections have been high on account of impressive advance tax mop-up.'
The Budget may tweak capital gains taxes levied on equity, debt and immovable property to bring parity in varied tax rates and holding period, a senior official said. Explaining the rationale, the official said there needs to have an alignment in tax rate and holding period for all the asset class. Changes in capital gain tax expected in Budget, the official said.
Transactions were allegedly not reported correctly in the tax returns for FY20.
The BBC is not driven by an "agenda" but by purpose and will not be put off reporting impartially and without fear or favour, the UK-headquartered media organisation's chief has said days after the income tax department survey operation at its New Delhi and Mumbai offices.
India's gross tax collections soared to a record high of Rs 27.07 lakh crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, led by impressive growth in corporate tax and customs, taking the tax-to-GDP ratio to an over two-decade high of 11.7 per cent, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Friday.
The Income Tax department Saturday issued an advisory that those permanent account numbers (PAN) which are not linked with Aadhaar by the end of March next year will be rendered "inoperative". "What is mandatory, is necessary. Don't delay, link it today!" the department said in a public advisory. "As per Income-tax Act, 1961, it is mandatory for all PAN holders, who do not fall under the exempt category, to link their PAN with Aadhaar before 31.3.2023. From 1.04.2023, the unlinked PAN shall become inoperative," it said.
The income tax department has allowed non-resident taxpayers not having PAN to file Form 10F manually till March 31, 2023, a move which would ease their compliance burden and enable them to claim lower TDS rate. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had in July made it mandatory for non-resident taxpayers to file Form 10F electronically to claim benefit of lower Tax Deducted at Source (TDS). However, taxpayers faced problems in electronic filing of the form as the income tax portal did not allow a taxpayer who does not have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) to file Form 10F.
While one can file an updated return, there are certain caveats, warns rediffGURU Mihir Tanna.
'I'm pitching India for the strengths we offer, including the English language, engineers, doctors, nurses, professionals, innovative talent of startups.'
Penalties for non-disclosure or inaccurate disclosure of these details can be severe.
The government expects indirect tax collection to be lower than the Budget Estimate (BE) of Rs 13.38 trillion this fiscal year, despite prospects of netting goods and services tax (GST) in large amounts, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj has said. "Indirect tax collection may see lower realisation than budgeted on account of cuts in excise and customs duties. "We could see a shortfall of about Rs 1.5 trillion on account of those," he told Business Standard.
Despite a dull macro-economic environment almost all the FMCG companies posted a decent volume growth.