TIOL-DDT 1466 · the untouched capture
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<p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font color="#663399" size="3">TIOL-DDT 1466 </font><br>
14.10.2010 <br>
Thursday </strong></font></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">DGFT amends DEPB entry Sl. No. 434 & 525 </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>THERE</strong> were two DEPB entries at Sl. No. 434 and 525 of the Product Group “Chemicals” (Product Code: 62) for the same product “Refined Glycerine”. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">DGFT has now amended the DEPB Rate Schedule by deleting entry Sl. No. 434 of the Product Group “Chemicals” (Product Code: 62). </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The purpose of the amendment is to retain only one entry i.e. Sl. No. 525. However, there is no change in the DEPB rate for this entry. </font></p>
<p><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=47&filename=notification/dgft/2010/dgft10pn013.htm" target="_blank"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">DGFT Public Notice No. 13 /( RE2010 )/2009-14 Dated : October 13, 2010 </font></strong></a></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Income Tax Department's VISION 2020 - Draft for Discussion among Staff - 'Walking on Two Legs'</font></strong></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>THE</strong> Income Tax Department has prepared a Draft for Discussion of the VISION 2020 Document. Apparently they now want feedback only from staff. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Increasing importance of direct tax in overall fiscal management of the government and its contribution to the nation's development is now well recognized. As per the vision statement contained in the Vision 2020 document, ITD aspires to be a partner in the nation building process by augmenting its “revenue mobilization apparatus” for optimization of revenue collection, ensuring compliance with the tax laws. This optimization is sought to be achieved through progressive tax policy, efficient & effective administration and improved voluntary compliance. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">While the Direct Tax Code bill is in the Parliament, the Income Tax Department (ITD) is preparing itself simultaneously to carry out administrative reforms for effective implementation of the tax policy. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It is through improved voluntary compliance, ITD aims to optimize its resource mobilization efforts. However, to ensure full compliance, ITD would make use of targeted enforcement as well. Hence, ITD intends following a strategy of <strong>'Walking on two legs'</strong>, balancing excellence in service delivery with targeted non-intrusive enforcement. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Vision 2020 aims to provide a framework for sound tax administration, reflecting the aspirations of all the stakeholders, guiding ITD in all its operations and decision making. Though the document spells out the long term strategic direction of ITD, it also contains an operational strategic plan covering the five year period 2010–15. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The strategic plan outlines the initiatives for translation of the vision into a set of measurable goals and objectives after an analysis of the challenges in the new decade, followed by formulation of a strategy and its various elements in the form of action points. Seven Strategic projects with separate task forces working out the details have been identified to augment the “revenue mobilization apparatus” </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The strategic plan also contains a detailed implementation plan with a monitoring mechanism and a set of measures of performance: </font></p>
<blockquote>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Voluntary Compliance Rate (VCR) </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">E-file rate by non-mandatory categories </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Index of taxpayer satisfaction </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Index of employee engagement </font></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Vision 2020 is neither a prediction of what will happen, nor simply a wish list of desirable but unattainable goals. It is a document that contains what the Department believes is possible for it to accomplish provided it is able to integrate its people, processes and technology together to augment the “Revenue mobilization apparatus”. Vision is what vision does. Vision must be articulated, internalized and acted upon. At the end of it, the worth of the vision is in its executed reality. It is time for the Department to take stock of the achievements and look deeply into the shortcomings as lost ground can be retrieved and lost opportunities regained if action is taken now. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ITD is committed to throw its full weight behind the goals and the strategies to realize the positive potentials revealed by the analysis documented here. Activation of the strategies would require prompt decision making, disciplined execution, systematic implementation, and by inculcating a culture of collaboration across functional areas with cross-functional teams implementing the projects. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Incidentally the Draft Vision nowhere mentions CBDT anywhere – it is ITD all through! Is the CBDT on its way out? </font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/pdfdocs/draft_vision_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Vision 2020</a></strong></font></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Vision 2020 - Improved Litigation Management </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>DELAY</strong> in resolution of tax disputes adversely affects voluntary compliance. Protracted litigation results in wasteful expenditure of time and resources for both taxpayer and the Department. A systemic approach to resolve disputes would be a win-win situation both for the ITD and the taxpayers. ITD intends to put in place a mechanism for putting an end of unproductive litigation. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ITD (Income Tax Department) intends to </font></p>
<blockquote>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1. expand the scope of Dispute Resolution Panel currently used for transfer pricing and international tax issues. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2. improve the administrative machinery of the Appellate Commissioners by working out new work norms and introducing new mechanism of “Appeal Registry” for redistribution of work. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3. develop consistent views across the Department on disputes arising out of the Income Tax Act through knowledge management. “Let us Share – A compilation of Best Practices and Orders”, an annual compilation for both ITD personnel and taxpayers, is expected to be expanded further and evolve into an online real time knowledge sharing mechanism. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4. issue revenue ruling on important legal issues having wider implications and making the Departmental stand known to the taxpayers on such issues for reducing litigation. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5. complete the work of departmental judicial referencing system on a fast track for having a database of legal issues which are being agitated before various higher appellate authorities. </font></p>
</blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">From<a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/pdfdocs/draft_vision_2020.pdf" target="_blank"> <strong>VISION 2020 Draft</strong></a>. </font></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Revenue is Booming – 44.4 percent increase in Indirect taxes</font></strong></p>
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<td valign="top"> </td>
<td valign="top"><p align="center"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">April-Sep 2010 (Rs. Crores) </font></strong></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="center"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Percentage increase over previous year corresponding period </font></strong></p></td>
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<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Customs </font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">63229 </font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">66.8 </font></p></td>
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<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Central Excise </font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">60834 </font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">40.7 </font></p></td>
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<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Service Tax </font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">26623 </font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">14.8 </font></p></td>
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<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font color="#FF6633"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Total </font></strong></font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font color="#FF6633"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">150686 </font></strong></font></p></td>
<td valign="top"><p align="right"><font color="#FF6633"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">44.4</font></strong></font></p></td>
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</table>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>HOWEVER</strong> encouraging the results are, the collections for the first six months are 48.1% of the Budget Estimates and if the Service Tax Revenue was a little better, maybe they would have crossed the 50% mark. This proves that the estimates were after all very accurate. </font></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Agreed List – Furnish Documents - Delhi High Court </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>AGREED</strong> List is a list of officers maintained jointly by the CBI and the Government Departments of officers whose integrity is doubtful. For more details, please see today's <strong>CobWeb</strong>. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This is a case of a Revenue officer who was kept in the list in the year 2004 and continued in 2005 and 2006. This officer sought information under RTI of the file pertaining to the preparation of the ‘agreed list'. The information was refused and the officer went right up to the CIC. The CIC allowed the appeal and directed the Department to furnish the documents pertaining to his inclusion in the dreaded list. Government does not budge that easily and took the matter to the Delhi High Court, which dismissed the appeal and awarded cost of Rs. 5000/-. </font></p>
<p><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Please See <a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=51&filename=legal/hc/2010/2010-TIOL-708-HC-DEL-SERVICE.htm" target="_blank">2010-TIOL-708-HC-DEL-MISC</a></font></strong></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Field Officers loitering in North Block - What are they doing there? </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>A </strong>Government Servant is paid out of the Public Funds to sit in his office and do work for at least six to seven hours a day. At any point of time you can find at least ten senior level field officers in the North Block visiting the officers of the Revenue Boards. There is a virtual Durbar in the Boards when the field officers come to the Boards and <strong>pay</strong> courtesy calls on the Board Members. (Actually you and I pay for these calls). Most of them come to please the officers or to seek favours – mostly transfers. They are wasting not only their time but that of the officers of the Board – all at our cost. Because of these unnecessary meetings and waste of time, the officers do not have enough time to attend to the tax payers' woes and simple issues are pending crying for clarifications. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sometime back the CBDT had asked the Chief Commissioners to ensure that officers leave their Headquarters to visit Board Office only with their permission for urgent/important assignments <strong>only [please see</strong> <strong><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/inside2.php3?filename=bnews_detail.php3&newsid=8507" target="_blank">DDT 1040</a>]</strong>. But then field officers are not in the habit of obeying Board orders. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It is not as if the Boards should be ivory towers not accessible to the field officers – but this massive waste of public time and money should be curbed. Maybe in the Boards, they should maintain a record of the visits of the field officers and the minutes of the meetings should be recorded including the time! </font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>US and UK Tax Computers Fail? </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>TO</strong> err is human, to really mess up, you need a computer! In the US, the IRS servers closed for maintenance over the weekend, but for love or money, the IRS could not bring the system back into operation. And the assessees have no clue as to how to file their returns! </font></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And in England, almost every assessee found that as per the information available in the online accounts, the HM Revenue & Customs owed them huge refunds, which were not really due.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The next time you feel like complaining about our ACES, please recall the above incidents. </font></p>
<p align="center"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font color="#006600">Jurispruden</font><font color="#FF6633" size="5">tiol</font><font color="#006600"> - Friday's cases</font></strong></font></strong></font></strong></p>
<p><strong><font color="#663399" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/image/stories/ddt_hammer.jpg" alt="Legal Corner Icon" width="100" height="84" hspace="5" border="0" align="left">CESTAT/ITAT </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><font color="#FF6633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Tribunal bound by decision of a High Court, even of a different State so long as there is no contrary decision of any other High Court - High Court </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>THE</strong> Tribunal had no option but to follow the judgment of the Madras High Court. An authority like an Income tax Tribunal acting anywhere in the country has to respect the law laid down by the High Court, though of a different State, so long as there is no contrary decision of any other High Court on that question. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><font color="#663399" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Income Tax </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><font color="#FF6633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Initial value of land - Whether, when value of land as credited by assessee to account of partner, is accepted in wealth tax proceedings, AO is right in adopting different value under Income Tax Act? - NO, says High Court </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>THE</strong> issue before the Bench is - Whether, when the value of land as credited by the assessee to the account of partner, is accepted in wealth tax proceedings, the AO is right in adopting different value under the I-T Act. And the High Court's answer is NO. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><font color="#663399" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Customs </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><font color="#FF6633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Refund consequent to finalisation of provisional assessment – Relevant date for filing claim is date of adjustment of duty to be communicated to the importer - CESTAT </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>RELEVANT</strong> date for filing the claim is the date of adjustment of duty to be communicated to the importer by way of letter indicating the finalisation of the assessment or the return of Bill of Entry with endorsement of finalisation of assessment – Unjust enrichment - Merely because the duty had been shown as expenditure, the conclusion of the Commissioner (Appeals) that duty incidence has been passed on is erroneous - Matter remanded to examine limitation and unjust enrichment afresh. </font></p>
<p align="justify"><strong><font color="#663399" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">See our columns tomorrow for the judgements </font></strong></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Until Tomorrow with more <strong>DDT</strong></font></p>
<p><font color="#FF6666" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Have a nice day. </font></p>
<p><font color="#FF6666" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mail your comments to</font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <a href="mailto:vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com"><strong>vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com</strong></a></font></p>
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