NEWS & EVENTS New Delhi dated the 18th January 2008
Direct Tax Collections record a growth of over 40% ………
No.402/92/2006-MC (04 of 2008)
Government of India / Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
PRESS RELEASE
Direct tax collections continued to record a growth of over 40 percent for the period April to January 15 in the current fiscal. Net tax collections stood at Rs.2,17,149 crore, up from Rs.1,52,993 crore during the same period last fiscal, registering a growth of 41.93 percent and achieving over 81 percent of budgeted direct tax target of Rs.2,67,490 crore. Corporate Tax registered a growth of 37.22 percent at Rs.1,32,948 crore, up from Rs.96,883 crore during the previous fiscal, while Personal Income Tax (including FBT, STT and BCTT) grew by 50.15 percent at Rs.83,897 crore, up from Rs.55,874 crore. Growth in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) was 78.19 percent (Rs.6,793 crore against Rs.3,812 crore) and Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) was 64.79 percent (Rs.5,121 crore against Rs.3,108 crore). Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) grew by 15.26 percent (Rs.423 crore against Rs.367 crore).
Tax deduction / collection at source increased by over 51 percent while self-assessment tax (unpaid taxes paid voluntarily before submission of tax return) increased by over 59 percent, indicating continued improvement in tax administration and tax compliance levels.
Incentive for employing Physically handicapped
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for the Central Sector Scheme of providing 1 lakh jobs per annum to the persons with disabilities, with a proposed outlay of Rs.1800 crore during the 11th Plan Period.
In addition, CCEA also approved a provision of Rs.16 crore for four years for making adequate publicity of the Scheme.
The implementation of the scheme will lead to considerable social profit and goodwill as the persons with disabilities, who are otherwise in a disadvantageous position, will get regular employment in the organized sector.
NEW INCOME TAX CODE TO BE FINALIZED SHORTLY
Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said, that the draft of the Income Tax code, which is expected to simplify and replace the present law, is ready and will be released along with a discussion paper. The release period has not been decided yet.
Chidambaram said “The Income Tax code is ready as of yesterday. But I am not in a position to release the code because I have decided that I will release it along with a discussion paper.”
He said, ”The discussion paper would elaborate the reasons for writing the code, what are the changes between the old law and the new law and the rationale of these changes
“The draft of the discussion paper that was shown to me is 70-page long, I am trying to compress it to about 50-60 pages. I have cleared only 25 pages of that,” he said.
The code would be floated along with the Discussion Paper for wider consultation.
“When will that happen I cannot say, depending on how much time I would find to clear the discussion paper. But the code will be released only with discussion paper,” he said.
As said by him, the code is only a draft, which will be discussed for one year in the country and will probably be introduced two years after. He said the code is not an amendment to the Income Tax Act, but was based on different assumptions for an emerging economy.
“I am not taking IT Act and amending it. I am writing a new code, based on very different assumptions, very different postulates, very different outlook to direct taxes,” he said.
Amendment in 80C deduction
Section 80C of the Income-tax Act provides for a deduction of up to Rs. One lakh to an individual or a Hindu undivided family (HUF) for:-
(i) making investments in certain savings instruments; or
(ii) incurring expenditure on tuition fee and repayment of housing loan.
With a view to encourage small savings, the Government has taken a policy decision to include the investments made in the following two deposit instruments within the ambit of Section 80C:-
(i) Five Year Post Office Time Deposit Account; and
(ii) Senior Citizens Savings Scheme.
Therefore, the investment by an individual or a Hindu undivided family (HUF) in these two instruments during the previous year 2007-08 (relevant to assessment year 2008-09), and subsequent years, shall be eligible for deduction under section 80C of the Income-tax Act, subject to the overall ceiling of Rs. One lakh in that section. It is further clarified that investments made on or after 1.4.2007 (i.e. from the beginning of the financial year 2007-08) shall be eligible for this deduction.
Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) may take such investments into consideration while determining the TDS liability of an employee for the previous year 2007-08 (relevant to assessment year 2008-09) and subsequent years.
Chartered Accountant Positions Shift to India
Despite the fact that accountancy deals heavily with numbers, the industry has been hesitant to make the transition to outsourcing. That all seems set to change, however, as huge numbers of Chartered Accountant or CA positions are springing up throughout India. Chosen for its abundance of skilled labor and proficiency in English, increasingly western accounting firms are shifting basic accountancy work over to Indian Accountancy Firms.
The change has caused an increasing number of business students in the Indian world to consider entereing the field of accountancy. With just 8,000 available positions just a few years ago, it hardly seemed worthwhile to study accountancy with the hope of landing what amounts to very few jobs. In recent years, however, the number of CA positions available has shot up. This indicates not only a willingness for western firms to shift work abroad, but gives yet another indicator that traditional outsourcing destination countries are rapidly moving up the value-added food chain. The Times of India reports….
About Digital Signature.
What is a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)?
The Information Technology Act, 2000 provides for use of Digital Signatures on the documents submitted in electronic form in order to ensure the security and authenticity of the documents filed electronically. This is the only secure and authentic way that a document can be submitted electronically. As such, all filings done by the companies under MCA21 e-Governance programme are required to be filed with the use of Digital Signatures by the person authorised to sign the documents.
Legal Warning:
You can use only the valid Digital Signatures issued to you. It is illegal to use Digital Signatures of anybody other than the one to whom it is issued.
Certification Agencies:
Certification Agencies are appointed by the office of the Controller of Certification Agencies (CCA) under the provisions of IT Act, 2000. There are a total of seven Certification Agencies authorised by the CCA to issue the Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs). The details of these Certification Agencies are available on the portal of the Ministry www.mca.gov.in
Class of DSCs:
The Ministry of Company Affairs has stipulated a Class-II or above category certificate for e-filings under MCA21. A person who already has the specified DSC for any other application can use the same for filings under MCA21 and is not required to obtain a fresh DSC.
Validity of Digital Signatures:
The DSCs are typically issued with one year validity and two year validity. These are renewable on expiry of the period of initial issue.
Costing/ Pricing of Digital Signatures:
It includes the cost of medium (a UBS token which is a one time cost), the cost of issuance of DSC and the renewal cost after the period of validity. The company representatives and professionals required to obtain DSCs are free to procure the same from any one of the approved Certification Agencies as per the web site. The issuance costs in respect of each Agency vary and are market driven. |
