TIOL-DDT 598 · the untouched capture
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>Untitled Document</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font color="#663399" size="3">TIOL-DDT 598</font><br> 23.04.2007<br> Monday</b></font></p> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Publication of names of Prospective Offenders</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As per the newly inserted Section 37E of the Central Excise Act, 1944 the Government can publish the names and other details of assessees against whom the Department has launched proceedings or prosecution. Now the Government has issued guidelines on how to go about publishing the names. The decision to publish or not publish the names will be taken by the Member, CBEC and the actual publication will be done by the Chief Commissioner or DGCEI and the names may be published. The Board has cautioned the Chief Commissioners that the cases should have material evidence to show that fraud, collusion, wilful mis-statement or suppression of facts, has been committed with an intent to evade payment of duty/tax.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Is this not the requirement for every case? Does the Board admit that sometimes cases are booked without evidence? Board has also cautioned that these are stringent provisions and may effect the reputation of a person and so should be sparingly used. However Board wants that in deserving cases this power should be used though there should not be any arbitrary selection.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Speaking in the Lok Sabha on 20.8.2004, the Honourable Finance Minister said,</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>I think, one must be careful before branding somebody finally as a tax evader. There is a hierarchy of Tribunals and Courts and only when the last forum is exhausted, we come to a final conclusion; one can say that there is a final evasion of tax. </i></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This was in response to request for publication of names of tax evaders.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today we are carrying an interesting article on the issue by one of our most popular writers. See <b>Lethal Libel</b> in the <a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/inside2.php3?filename=bnews_detail.php3&newsid=5363" target="_blank"><u>Guest Column</u></a><strong>.</strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=31&filename=notification/excise/2007/excircular849.htm" target="_blank">Circular No. 849/07/2007-CX., Dated April 19, 2007</a></u></font></p> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Smart Phones – Classification of – Board clarifies </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where do you classify a cell phone which has GPS, FM Radio, Camera, Voice Recorder, MP3 Player, E-Mail, Internet and what have you? Is it a Phone, a Camera or a Computer? Board now clarifies that what ever may be the additional features, the instrument is basically a phone and is also used as a phone. It also noticed that in trade parlance these instruments are sold as phones. Therefore Board clarifies that all these phones with the extra facilities would fall under Sub Heading 8570 12. Please also See <u>DDT 146 Dated 29.6.2005</u>.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=25&filename=notification/custom/2007/cuscir07_17.htm" target="_blank">Circular No. 17/2007-Cus., Dated April 19, 2007</a></u></font></p> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Failure to export – Interest reduced</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The current rate of interest charged by the Government for delayed payment of duty is 13%. But it used to be 24% once upon a time and it was remained 24% in some of the notifications. The Government has now corrected this anomaly in Notification No. 42 and 45/2001-C.E. (N.T.) Dated June 26, 2001 relating to exports. The rate of interest is made the interest prescribed by notification under Section 11AB.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=30&filename=notification/excise/2007/exnt07_20.htm" target="_blank">Notification No. 20</a> <strong>&</strong> <a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=30&filename=notification/excise/2007/exnt07_21.htm" target="_blank">21/2007-C.E. (N.T.), Dated April 19, 2007</a></u></font></p> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Forms ER-1 and ER-2 - Changed</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">But this time only amendment to the forms and not a total overhaul. When we commented about the ST-3 Form change, a netizen remarked that instead of changing the whole form the Government can consider amending the existing form and adding the changes. The Government seems to have heard the peoples’ voice and this time it is only amendment to the form and not total re-haul.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=30&filename=notification/excise/2007/exnt07_22.htm" target="_blank">Notification No. 22</a> <strong>&</strong> <a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=30&filename=notification/excise/2007/exnt07_23.htm" target="_blank">23/2007-C.E. (N.T.), Dated April 19, 2007</a></u></font></p> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Service Tax on tour operators – Board clarification </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In 2004, Board has issued directions to the Department not to undertake coercive recovery action against tour operators who operate regular point to point services in tourist buses having contract carriage permit. The doubt was regarding the levy of tax on the commission or the gross receipts. Recently the Government has granted an abatement of sixty percent of the gross amount retrospectively from 1.4.2000, by Notification 15/2007-S.T., Dated April 4, 2007. Now the Board wants pending Show Cause Notices to be decided by allowing the abatement.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=41&filename=notification/servicetax/2007/354order.htm" target="_blank">Board’s F.No. 354/180/2005-TRU, Dated April 13, 2007</a></u></font></p> <p align=center><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font color="#006600">Bangalore</font></b><font color="#006600"><b> DGCEI – Super performance</b></font></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Bangalore Zonal unit of DGCEI having jurisdiction over Karnataka, Kerala and Goa has detected service tax evasion cases to the tune of Rs. 191 Crores and a tenth of this amount was detected in Central Excise evasion cases. They have realized an amount of Rs. 44 Crores out of the above detections. The unit has disbursed about Rs. 18 Lakhs to informers who helped the department rope in all these revenues. In the list of alleged offenders are the names of some of the top corporate names of India.</font></p> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>FDI – RBI revises Form FC-GPR </b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Indian Companies are required to report the details of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in form FC-GPR to the RBI. To capture the details of FDI in a more comprehensive manner, the RBI has changed the Form which obviously means more data.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=49&filename=notification/rbi/2006/rbi06cir040.htm" target="_blank">RBI Circular No. 40/RBI, Dated April 20, 2007</a></u></font></p> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Overseas Direct Investment - Changes</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The RBI has issued revised instructions regarding the law governing overseas investments.</font></p> <blockquote> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">i) Investment by swap or exchange will now be accepted as a mode of direct investment.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ii) Pledge of shares to an overseas lender is permitted provided the lender is regulated and supervised as a bank and the amount is within the limit stipulated by the RBI.</font></p> </blockquote> <p align=center><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Management of Court cases – Justice Abichandani</b></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In the context of huge pendency of cases in our courts, today we bring you a brilliant paper on the art and science of case management by <b>Justice Abichandani, </b>Hon’ble President of the CESTAT. Incidentally CESTAT is to be 25 years old shortly and Justice Abichandani is the President during the silver jubilee year. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/inside2.php3?filename=bnews_detail.php3&newsid=5367" target="_blank">See our top story today. </a></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><a href="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/subCatDesc.php3?subCatDisp_Id=49&filename=notification/rbi/2006/rbi06cir041.htm" target="_blank">RBI Circular No. 41/RBI., Dated April 20, 2007</a></u></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Until tomorrow with more DDT</font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Have a nice day. </font></p> <p align="justify"><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"><u> <a href="mailto:vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com">vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com</a></u></font></p> </body> </html>