Thursday, 22 August 2019

Simplified process of Incorporation of Section 8 companies


Section 8 Companies are the limited companies established under the Companies Act and granted an exclusive license by Government under Section 8 association. It is a non-profit organization acquiring numerous tax benefits which are availed under Section 80G of Income Tax Act, 1961. They delight in minimal stamp duty structure and do not require much share capital. Funding for such organizations comes from subscriptions or donations made to them.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) vide its notification dated 7 June 2019 has amended the Companies Incorporation Rules, 2014 to simplify and fast track the incorporation procedure. This shall be effective from 15 August 2019. Any person desirous of incorporating a company under section 8 i.e., Not for Profit Organization, under the Companies Act, 2013 can make an application in e-Form INC-32. No separate application for license is required to be made. Prior to this amendment, the applicant was required to make an application in Form INC 12 to obtain license and thereafter application for Incorporation was required to be made. Post scrutiny of the documents, the Certificate of Incorporation for Section 8 companies will now be issued by Registrar of Companies in Form INC-11 which earlier was issued as a license under Form -16 or Form-17.

Section 8 Companies can be incorporated by either reserving names through Run and filing SPICe thereafter or by directly filing SPICe. License No. for a section 8 company shall henceforth be allotted at the time of incorporation itself.

In view of the above, all pending INC-12 SRNs for new Companies pending at respective RoCs would be marked as ‘Rejected’ on 15th August 2019. Such applicants may thereafter directly file SPICe for obtaining License Number and for incorporation of Section 8 Companies.

Stakeholders who have already obtained License Numbers and are yet to file SPICe form for incorporating Sec 8 companies may do so at their convenience but may please note that the forms shall be processed only after a certain time lag to allow for work flow changes to take effect.
Those stakeholders who have already filed SPICe forms which are pending at CRC may kindly await processing of these forms after the work flow changes take effect.

The income of the Company must be used to promote only charitable objects and cannot pay any dividend to the members of the company. The central government provides an incorporation certificate to all such companies and also informs them about some restrictions and conditions. In case they don’t fulfill them, the central government may also order them to wind up the company. In case fraud objectives of the Company are proved, legal action will be taken against all officers of the Company.

If you are looking forward to establish a business in India, know about latest updates, we can offer a comprehensive range of professional services in registration process, attest services, special advisory services and its statutory compliance as per your business requirements.

Monday, 12 August 2019

Introduction to Ind AS 12


Ind AS 12 prescribes accounting treatment for income taxes. The principal issue in accounting for income taxes is how to account for the current and future tax consequences of future recovery of the carrying amount of assets (liabilities) that are recognized in an entity’s balance sheet and transactions and other events of the current period that are recognized in an entity’s financial statements.
Notable changes were made in Ind AS 12 in comparison to AS 22. Considering the time constraint and for ease of understanding it is important to address only those issues which are imperative for the one’s understanding. To summarize the same following are the important points are to be taken care of while applying Ind AS 12.
Scope of Ind AS 12
For the purpose of this standard, income taxes include:
  • All foreign and domestic taxes which are based on taxable profits
  • Withholding taxes, payable by the components on distributions to the reporting entity.
And income taxes exclude:
  • Other taxes (e.g. VAT, Business Tax) that are levied on another basis (e.g. on gross revenue)
  • Methods of Accounting for Government grants
Brief
Concept of current tax, deferred tax assets / liabilities is same as in AS 22 and new concept of taxable and deductible temporary differences is introduced which is an elaborative version of timing difference if we compare it with AS 22. Further, entirely new concept which is introduced in Ind AS 12 is Tax Base.
Concept of tax base under Ind AS 12
The tax base of an asset or liability is the amount allocated to that asset or liability for tax purposes. The tax base of an asset is the amount that will be deductible for tax purposes opposed to any taxable economic benefits that will flow to an entity when it recovers the carrying amount of the asset. If those economic benefits will not be taxable, the tax base of the asset is equal to its carrying amount.
For an instance,
(a) Current liabilities include accrued expenses having carrying amount of INR 100. The associated expense has already been deducted for tax purposes. The tax base of the accrued costs is INR 100.
(b) Current liabilities include accrued expenses having carrying amount of INR 100. The associated expense will be deducted for tax purposes on a cash basis. The tax base of the accrued costs is nil.
Recognition
Recognition of current tax liabilities and current tax assets under Ind AS 12 will remain same as in AS 22.
Recognition of Deferred Tax Liabilities (DTL) and Deferred Tax Assets (DTA)
Taxable Temporary Differences: A deferred tax liability shall be recognized for all taxable temporary differences, but to the extent that the deferred tax liability arises:
  1. At the time of initial recognition of goodwill; or
  2. At the time of initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction which:
  • is not a business combination; and
  • at the time of the transaction, affects neither book profit nor taxable profit (tax loss).
However, for taxable temporary differences related with investments in subsidiaries, branches and associates, and interests in joint ventures, a deferred tax liability shall be recognized.
Approach for creating deferred tax
Ind AS 12 is based on balance sheet approach. It requires recognition of tax consequences of differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax base whereas existing AS 22 is based on income statement approach. It requires recognition of tax consequences of differences between taxable income and accounting income.
No Discounting
DTA and DTL shall not be discounted.
Review of Deferred Tax Asset
The carrying amount of a DTA shall be reviewed at the end of each reporting period. An entity shall reduce the carrying amount of a DTA to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profit will be available to allow the benefit of part or all of that DTA to be utilized. Any such decrease shall be reversed to the extent that it becomes probable that sufficient taxable profit will be available.
Important Disclosures
Below mentioned are some essential disclosures in Ind AS 12:
  1. Major component of tax expenses (income) that are required separate disclosure such as:
  • Current tax expense
  • Prior period adjustment
  • Deferred expense/income
  1. Total of current and deferred tax relating to items that are charged or credited directly to equity.
  2. Income tax relating to each component of Other Comprehensive Income (OCI).
  3. Reconciliation
  • a numerical reconciliation between tax expense (income) and the product of book profit multiplied by the applicable tax rate, disclosing also the basis on which the applicable tax rate is computed; or
  • a numerical reconciliation between the average effective tax rate and the applicable tax rate, disclosing also the basis on which the applicable tax rate is calculated.
  1. A statement for explanation of changes in the applicable tax rate compared to the previous accounting period.
  2. Amount and expiry date, if any of deductible temporary differences, unused losses and credits for which no DTA recognized.
  3. Aggregate amount of temporary differences associated with investments in subsidiaries, branches and associates and interests in joint ventures, for which DTL have not been recognized.
  4. Amount of DTA recognized and nature of evidence supporting its recognition, when:
  • the utilization of the DTA is dependent on future taxable profits in excess of the profits arising from the reversal of existing taxable temporary differences; and
  • the entity has incurred a loss in either the current or preceding period (history of losses)
  1. In respect of each class of temporary difference, and in respect of each type of unused tax losses and unused tax credits:
  • the amount of the DTA and DTL recognized in the balance sheet for each period presented,
  • the amount of the deferred tax income or expense recognized in profit or loss, if this is not apparent from the changes in the amounts recognized in the balance sheet.
  1. Amount of income tax consequences of dividends to shareholders of the entity that were proposed or declared before the financial statements were approved for issue, but are not recognized as a liability in the financial statements.
Guidance on certain issues can be obtained from AS 22:
Existing AS 22 specifically provides guidance in relation with the tax rates to be applied in measuring deferred tax assets / liabilities in a situation where a company pays tax under section 115JB as per the Income Tax Act 1961. Ind AS 12 doesn’t specifically deal with this aspect.
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Tuesday, 6 August 2019

Union Budget of India (2019–20)

Union Budget of India (2019-20)

Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Government of India announced the Union Budget for 2019-20, in Parliament on July 05, 2019. The budget aimed at boosting infrastructure and foreign investment, the first since the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned for a second term in power. The main focus of this budget is reducing red tape, making best use of technology, building social infrastructure, digital India, pollution free India, make in India, job creation in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and investing heavily in infrastructure making India, a US$ 3 trillion economy by the end of 2020.Total expenditure for 2019-20 is budgeted at INR 2,786,349 crore, an increase of 14.09 % from 2018-19 (budget estimates). Termed as Green budget by PM Modi, it will focus on water, water managements & lean rivers, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and more emphasis on energy conservation and sustainable development. Below are some highlights of Union Budget 2019-20:
  1. StartupsThis budget does provide lot of heart for startups and the VC industry in general and a bunch of verticals in particular. A separate committee will be created to administer the issues that startups face due to angel tax. As a welcome step the matter will now will not be subject to subjective interpretation by an assessing officer. From now onwards, there won’t be any consequences of angel tax on registered startups. A proposal for greater FDI in insurance is definitely a shot in the arm for the insurance industry and startups operating in the vertical where there is very high investor interest. A budget will be proposed for capitalization of banks and performing NBFCs paving greater ability to get benefits by way of first loss guarantee from public sector banks. Apart from these benefits, there are steps like greater flexibility in set off and carrying forward of losses for startups, bringing larger number of corporates in the lower tax rate threshold, streamlining of labor laws to provide a more consistent set of definitions, and credit guarantee scheme for small businesses that will enable an opportunity to hasten business cycles.
  1. Corporate Tax proposalIndividual taxpayers with annual income up to INR 5 lakh will get full tax rebate and hence will not be required to pay any tax. Limit for applicability of lower corporate tax rate of 25 per cent increased from INR 250 crore to INR 400 crore.
  1. Aadhaar and PAN interchangeabilityAadhaar and PAN to be interchangeable and permit those who do not have PAN to file Income Tax returns by only citing their Aadhaar number. More than 120 crore Indians now have Aadhaar card, therefore for ease of tax payers I propose to make PAN card and Aadhar card interchangeable and allow those who don’t have PAN to file returns by simply quoting Aadhaar number and use it wherever they require to use PAN.
  1. ReturnsTaxpayers having annual turnover of less than INR 5 crore can now file quarterly returns.
  1. GST refund moduleFully automated GST refund module shall be implemented.
  1. GST e-way billAn electronic invoice system is proposed that will eventually eliminate the need for a separate e-way bill
  1. SurchargeSurcharge increased on individuals having taxable income from INR 2 crore to INR 5 crore and INR 5 crore and above.
  1. Arrival of NRI’s passportAadhaar cards to non-resident Indians holding Indian passport are required to wait for 180 days to get the Aadhaar card on their arrival in the country.
  1. Pension benefitPension benefit is extended to around INR 3 crore for retail traders and shopkeepers with an annual turnover less than INR 1.5 crore under Pradhan Mantri Karam Yogi Man Dhan Scheme.
  1. Digitalized paymentsIn order to discourage business payments in cash, there will be a TDS of 2% on cash withdrawals exceeding INR 1 core in a year from bank accounts further, businesses with annual turnover of over INR 50 crore will offer low-cost digital payments. No charges will be levied on customers and merchants as RBI will bear these expenses.
  1. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and TradersGovernment has proposed granting of loans up to INR 1 crore for MSMEs within 59 minutes through a committed online portal. Under the Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs, INR 350 crore has been allocated for FY 2019-20 where the government will create a payment stage for MSMEs to enable filing of bills and payment thereof on the platform itself. The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is being extended to all Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) providing more opportunities for MSMEs to sell their products.
  1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)FDI in sectors like aviation, media (animation, AVGC) and insurance sectors can be opened further after multi-stakeholder examination. Insurance Intermediaries will get 100% FDI.
    Also, local sourcing norms to be eased for FDI in single brand retail sector.
  1. Other announcementsApart from the above, below are some other announcements:
  • Government has proposed to permit investments made by Foreign Institutional Investor’s (FIIs) / Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) in debt securities issued by Infrastructure Debt Fund.
  • Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme for quick closure of pending litigations in Central Excise and Service tax from pre-GST regime.
  • To boost affordable housing, additional deduction up to INR5 lakh will be provided for interest paid on loans borrowed up to 31st March, 2020 for purchase of house valued up to INR 45 lakh
Being a 6th largest economy in the world and 3rd largest in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms, the government has continuously shown that it doesn’t lack the intent. Things are moving and we are in a position to fulfill the commitments Indian fund managers have made to financial and strategic investors, overseas and in India. However, there is a slightly different track India must take for the next decade.
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