SOME VIEWS ON SECURITY FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PUNJAB VAT ACT 2005

0 comments Monday, November 8, 2010

For registration under the Punjab VAT Act 2005 one of the requirement u/s 25(1) is furnishing of security for securing the payment of tax under PVAT Act 2005. This requirement is compulsory as per the wording of section 25(1) of PVAT Act 2005 which runs as under:

Every person applying for registration under this Act, shall furnish a security of rupees fifty thousand in the manner, prescribed for securing proper and timely payments of tax or any other sum, payable by him under this Act:
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No Input Tax Credit under PVAT Act on Purchase of Diesel used for capitve generation of electric power - Punjab and Haryana High Court

0 comments Saturday, October 16, 2010
The Honourable Punjab and Haryana High court has held in an important decision in the case of
State of Punjab & others.
Vs.
M/s Malwa Cotton & Spinning Mills Ltd.(decided on 24/08/2010)
reversing the decision of the Punjab VAT Tribunal that no input tax credit will be available on the purchase of  Diesel used in generation of electric power for capitve use in the factory under clause (i) of section 13(5).

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No penalty u/s 271B, If the audit report is obtained within the due date, but return is filed after the due date.

0 comments Tuesday, September 28, 2010
I have had a discussion lately on the topic whether penalty u/s 271B is imposable in case the audit report u/s 44AB is obtained within the due date of filing the ITR u/s 139 but the ITR is filed after such due date? I have tried to examine such situation out of my Legal conscience as follows:


The due date for filing Income Tax Return for corporate and those assessees who are required to get their accounts audited is 30th september every year. But it has been extended to 15th October this year. The Due date for furnishing Audit report u/s 44AB to the Income Tax Department is also 30th september every year which also has been extended to 15th october this year.

Earlier before the introduction of annexure less forms the audit report was required to be submitted with the department before the due date of return of Income, otherwise it attracted penal provisions u/s 271B. Penalty under section 271 B is a sum equal to half per cent of the total sales, turnover or gross receipts from business or profession as the case may be , in such financial year or one lakh rupees, whichever is less.

But after the introduction of annexure less forms i.e ITR4, ITR5, ITR6 etc., the Tax Audit Report is not required to be submitted along with the Return of Income nor it is to be submitted separately any time before or after the due date. But one should get the Tax Audit Report from his CA before the due date of submitting the Return of Income and fill the relevant columns of the Return of Income on the basis of such report.

The Tax Audit Report is required to be submitted if it is called for by the Income Tax Officer during the Assessment proceedings. This has also been explained in CBDT's circular No 3 of 2009. The relevant portion of the said circular is reprduced herebelow:
"7. Following clarifications are also issued in respect of certain issues arising from furnishing
the returns in the above mentioned forms:



(i) An assessee should obtain the report of audit from an accountant under
section 44AB of the Act on or before the due date of the furnishing of the return and
should fill out the relevant columns of the return forms on the basis of such report.
However, the report of audit should not be attached with the return or furnished
separately any time before or after the due date. The assessee should retain the report
with himself. If called for by any income-tax authority during any proceeding under the
Act, it shall be incumbent upon the assessee to furnish/produce the same in original. No
penalty under section 271B shall be initiated or levied for not furnishing the tax audit
report on or before the due date. However, if the audit report has not been obtained before
the due date, provisions of section 271B shall continue to be attracted."

As per the above circular You are not in contravention of any provisions if tax audit report is obtained before due date.
There is no Penalty attracted if the Tax Audit Report is not submitted along with the Income Tax Return on or before the due date. However , if the Tax Audit report has not been obtained from the CA on or before the due date of filing return of Income, Penalty under section 271 B shall be attracted.
Although section 234A is attracted for late filing of return .There was one view expressed by someone to me that filing up the ITR ( particularly tax audit columns) is furnishing of the tax audit report and if that is not done before due date , penalty can be levied .  
 In my view  circular asks the assessee to fill up the relevant tax audit columns in the return of Income and file the return . It no where mentions that fill up the columns and file the ITR before due date. Moreover section 271B should be read with section 44AB and not with section 139.
Penalty u/s 271B is imposed on two grounds i.e for not getting the books of accounts audited within due date and for not furnishing the audit report within due date of filling of return of income. Now as per above circular furnishing of audit report has been done away with after the introduction of annexureless forms. The only thing that is required is to obtain the audit report within due date and fill the relavant audit columns of the ITR,  if it is done no penalty can be initiated u/s 271B.
Therefore in my view if you have got the audit report from your C.A. on or before the due date of furnishing the Return of Income, there is no penalty u/s 271B attracted even if you file return after the due date. 
Please Note: The views expressed are my Personal Views only.
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Due date of auditable Income Tax Returns extended from 30th september to 15th october

0 comments Monday, September 27, 2010
F.No. 225/72/2010-ITA.II
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
Dated : September 27, 2010
Order under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961
On consideration of the reports of disturbance of general life caused due to floods and heavy rains, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, in exercise of powers conferred under section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, hereby extends the due date of filing of returns of income for the Assessment Year 2010-11 from 30.09.2010 to 15th October 2010. Accordingly the due date for Tax Audit report u/s. 44AB of the Income Tax Act is also extended to 15th October, 2010.
(Ajay Goyal)
Director (ITA. II)
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Supply of SIM card is not sale, discount on sale of SIM cards and recharge coupans liable to TDS u/s 194H - Kerala High Court

0 comments Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Kerala High Court in an important Judgement namely Vodafone Essar Cellular vs. ACIThas decided that the discount given on the SIM cards and recharge coupans to the dealers of the telecom company is commission u/s 194H and is liable to TDS. The court held that "The terminology used by the assessee for payment to the distributors is immaterial. In substance the discount given at the time of sale of Sim Cards or Recharge coupons by the assessee to the distributors is a payment for services rendered to the assessee and falls within s. 194H."
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A finding of mens rea is a condition precedent for levying penalty under section 10(b) read with section 10A of Central Sales Tax Act

0 comments Friday, September 17, 2010


  • The use of the expression “falsely represents” is indicative of the fact that the offence under Section 10(b) comes into existence only where a dealer acts deliberately in defiance of law or is guilty of contumacious or dishonest conduct; therefore, in proceedings for levy of penalty under Section 10A burden would be on the revenue to prove the existence of circumstances constituting the said offence

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SOME ISSUES PERTAINING TO C FORMS UNDER CST ACT 1956

12 comments Sunday, September 12, 2010
Under CST Act 1956 there are lot of Forms and declarations which help in saving CST on the interstate transactions. C form is an important and foremost common among dealers registered under CST Act 1956 engaged in interstate sales or purchases.

Although the CST Act 1956 is on the verge of its end with the advent of GST knocking at the doors waiting to change the whole picture of Indirect taxation in India. But still I feel inclined to discuss some issues relating to C forms under CST Act since due to the pendency of assessments under VAT and CST Acts many dealers have been facing problems in getting and producing the C forms for finalization of their assessments. Some important issues relating to the C forms are discussed as below for the benefit of dealers all around India:

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GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION OF CASES FOR SCRUTINY DURING 2010-11

4 comments Monday, September 6, 2010
GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION OF CASES FOR SCRUTINY DURING 2010-11
  1. Selection of cases for scrutiny during the financial year 2010-11 will be done primarily through CASS this year. Manual Selection for scrutiny this year will be limited only to a few categories of cases listed below.
  2. List of cases selected during each month in accordance with the selection criteria mentioned below shall be submitted by the Assessing Officers to their respective Range heads by the 15th of the following month and also displayed on the Notice Board of their office.
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Software Supply Is Not "Sale"- Madras High Court

1 comments Friday, September 3, 2010
The Madras High court has held in Infotech software Dealers Association vs UOI that though software is a good but a supply of it may be a service and not a sales. When a person enters into an agreement with the developer of software like an end user licence agreement for marketing the software to end user, then such transaction between the end user and the person marketing such software is only a service and not a sale.

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New Direct tax code is cleared:Exemption limits hiked, will have to pay less tax under DTC

2 comments Thursday, August 26, 2010
The cabinet has cleared new Direct tax code which is proposed to be implemented from 01-04-2011 onwards. The new Direct Tax code proposes to raise the basic exemption limit for individual tax payers from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. So there will be no tax on incomes below Rs 2 lakh. The exemption for senior citizens has been raised to Rs 2.5 lakh, up from 2.4 lakh at present.

Direct Tax Code incorporates all three direct tax act; IT Act of 1961, Wealth Tax of 1957, Dividend Distribution Tax of 1997.The Bill also seeks to remove surcharge and cess on corporate tax, providing relief to business houses. According to the new direct tax code corporate tax rate will be 30 per cent including all taxes, down from the existing 33 per cent.

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Development of IT infrastructure must before implementation of GST

0 comments Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Goods and Service tax (GST) is the most talked about topic in the field of indirect taxation today in India. Everybody is keenly waiting for the proposed GST draft which will replace the existing system of VAT in India. The central government wants the GST to be implemented in India by 1st April, 2011. Although there are and will be been many hurdles which are to be crossed before GST is implemented in India.

With the advent of GST the whole picture of indirect taxation in India will change. GST will help bringing to an end tax cascading i.e. tax on tax. But before GST is implemented all over the nation, the IT infrastructure connecting all the states must be developed.

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PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO TDS AND FILING OF TDS STATEMENTS UNDER INCOME TAX ACT 1961

1 comments Sunday, August 15, 2010
T.D.S means the Tax deducted at source. Whenever a person liable to deduct tax of another person under Income Tax Act, deducts tax, the credit of such tax is given to the deductee when his liability to pay income tax is calculated. Such credit is given on the basis of the information given by the deductor to the Income Tax Department by way of filing his T.D.S statements, wherein the full detail about the tax deducted, the PAN No of deductee etc are given, so that the right credit of T.D.S can be given to the deductee.

Rule 37BA(1) provides that credit for tax deducted at source and paid to the Central Government in accordance with the provisions of Chepter XVII, shall be given to the person to whom payment has been made or credit has been given (i.e.Deductee), on the basis of information relating to deduction of tax furnished by the deductor to the income tax authority or the person authorized by such authority.
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ENTRY TAX IMPOSED ON NEW ITEMS AND ENTRY TAX RATES ALREADY EXISTING REVISED BY PUNJAB GOVERNMENT

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The Punjab Govt has imposed entry tax on some new items and rate of entry tax on certain items has been revised. These revised rates of entry tax and imposition of entry tax on new items will come into force w.e.f 18/08/2010. The new items and revised rate of entry tax is given herebelow in the public notice issued by the Punjab Government.


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PRESUMPTIVE INCOME SCHEMES FOR SMALL ASSESSEES UNDER INCOME TAX ACT 1961

1 comments Sunday, August 8, 2010

There are many presumptive income schemes for small businessmen engaged in civil construction, transport business, retailers etc. A person covered under these schemes can declare his income under these sections on presumptive basis and can get himself free from the botheration of maintaining regular books of accounts u/s 44AA.

However these provisions are optional and an assessee covered under these schemes can also declare income outside such schemes by declaring lower profits as compare to what is required under these presumptive schemes. But in such case he will have not only to maintain compulsory books of accounts u/s 44AA but also will have to get his books of accounts audited u/s 44AB.

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A big Flaw and Mistake in The Punjab VAT Act 2005

0 comments Friday, August 6, 2010

There are many sections under the Punjab VAT Act where the word Designated officers is used. Many  powers under the Punjab VAT Act 2005 like of assessments, of levying penalties etc have been conferred on the Designated Officers. These Designated officers are appointed and conferred powers upon under section 3 of Punjab VAT Act 2005. Wherein the state govt has been authorised to confer various powers under the Punjab VAT Act 2005 on the different officials and allow them to act as designated officers under various sections of the PVAT Act 2005 by issuing a notification to that effect.
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FILING INCOME TAX RETURN AFTER DUE DATE

0 comments Monday, August 2, 2010

The due date for filing income tax return for  corporate aseessees and other aseessees who are  required to get their accounts audited under Income Tax Act 1961 or under any other law for the time being in force is 30th September and for others it is 31st July every year as have been prescribed u/s 139(1).

These due dates are also sometimes extended by the CBDT as this year has been done, extending the due date from 31st July to 4h August. For a layman sometimes it may create doubt if he fails to file his return of Income within due date, whether he can file his return of Income after the due date, especially when  he is under no obligation  to get his accounts audited under Income Tax Act or under any other law.

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DUE DATE OF INCOME TAX RETURNS FOR A.Y. 2010-11 HAS BEEN EXTENDED TILL 4TH AUGUST 2010

1 comments Saturday, July 31, 2010
CBDT has extended the due date for filing income tax returns for assessment yeas 2010-11 has been extended till 4th August 2010. All paper and efilled returns will be considered as filed within due date if filed on or before 4th August 2010.
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New VAT form 16-A and 16-B notified for Brick Klin and Dhaba owners opting for lump sum payment of tax under Punjab VAT Act 2005

1 comments Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Excise and taxation department has notified new VAT form returns 16A and 16B for the Brick Klin owners and Dhaba owners respectively under the new rule 36-A added to Punjab VAT Rules. These  returns forms are required to be filed quatorly by those brick klin and dhaba owners who opt for the Lump Sum payment of tax under Punjab VAT Act 2005. The relevant notification as well as the form 16-A and 16-B are available for download at the official website of the department and the same is reproduced herebelow for ready reference.  

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Efiling of Income Tax Return made compulsory for Individuals and HUFs who are covered under section 44AB

6 comments Sunday, July 11, 2010
The Efiling of ITR 4 has been made compulsory by the Income Tax Department for the Assessment year 2010-11 for those individuals and HUFs who are required to get their accounts audited u/s 44AB of Income Tax Act by a notofication No.49/2010[F.No.142/15/2010-TPL], dated 9-7-2010.Earlier it was only Firms  who were liable to get their accounts audited u/s 44AB and the companies were compulsorly required to file their ITR online.
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Filling Stations in Punjab need not to calculate Input Tax or Output Tax on Petrol and Diesel under Punjab VAT Act 2005

1 comments Thursday, July 8, 2010


Filling Station dealers i.e. Retail outlets of oil companies are not required under the Punjab VAT Act 2005 to calculate output tax or input tax on the sale and purchase of petrol and diesel in view of explanation 8 which was added lately to section 2(zg) explaining the sale price of oil companies in relation to the petrol and diesel under the Punjab VAT Act which runs as under:
“The amount received or receivable by oil companies for the sale of diesel and petrol, shall be deemed to be equivalent to the price, on which the retail outlets will sell these commodities to the consumer”

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