President’s Message | July 2020
Dear Professional friends,
I write to you as the President of this association for the 12th time in the newsletter and this experience to work from home has been new normal for all of us. The association continues to operate by adopting to new normal and has been conducting webinars on various topics of interest to members.
1stday of the month of July is celebrated as CA day and this year unlike many years was different from the rest of the year. I hope that the role of professionals like Chartered Accountants is taking a paradigm shift in the way world sees the profession and accordingly our members have also entered various fields and portfolios of influence. We see lot of CA firms adopting themselves to the new way of working from home and these are signs of adopting themselves to the crisis. While the profession is yet to see these in the background of challenges and practical adoption without dilution of quality of work, I see this to stay with us to attract new talents and reduce cost of facility. Many companies across industry see work from home as means to reduce the cost of maintaining facility and time of commuting, these are inversely proportion to productivity. The busy lives have got breaks and it is the right time to get discipline in food habits, improve immunity etc.
Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 is also applicable to Chartered Accountants. An article by Adv. M. G. Kodandaram on ‘Challenges for Chartered Accountants in the Privacy Realm’ is published in this issue. The article discusses the details of the proposed bill to be followed by all CAs. This will help all practitioners to adapt themselves to the changing scenarios around the globe.
There is a delay in process of conduct of AGM and declaration of financial statements for the year 2019-20 by a month due to restriction placed in public assembly.
News Roundup
Goods and Service Tax
On the one side, at the stroke of mid night hour of 1st July 2020, India Celebrated 3rd Anniversary of GST roll out. On the other side, covid-19 pandemic continues to pose new challenges to the Government to keep the Governments taxation machinery running while facilitating taxpayers by addressing to their concerns. The Government has been responsive to the felt needs of the trade and industry which covid-19 pandemic in these trying times presents and in this directions it has given reliefs in the form of conditional waiver of late filing fees on GST returns and charging of interest on late payment of taxes at abated rate.
Government’s recent circular on the applicability of GST on director’s remuneration should help clear much of the haze this area has been so far surrounded with.
It is also clarified that, as a consequence of, and consistent with invoking of Rule 36(4), the refund claims related to accumulated ITC would be restricted only to the purchase invoices that reflected in GSTR-2A.
The last date for various other compliances like filing appeals, submission of reply, etc. which was earlier extended to 30th June 2020 is now further extended to 30th August 2020.
Corporate and Business Law
MCA has further extended the time limits for Name Reservations and resubmissions of certain forms for companies and LLPs. Additional time has been provided for such forms due between 15th March to 31st July 2020.
With the change in definition of MSMEs, the Indian Industries Associations (IIA) has mandated all the MSMEs to re-register as MSME under the new “Udyam Registration” which has come into effect from 1st July 2020.
MCA has further extended the timelines for creation of Debenture Redemption Reserves and investment of 15% amount of maturing Debentures to 30th September 2020
Direct Tax
- The Department released Income-tax (15th Amendment) Rules, 2020 that will make changes in the Income-tax Rules,1962. The amendment will come into force from the 1st day of April 2020 and shall be applicable for assessment year 2020-21and subsequent assessment year.
- CBDT issued Notification on Extension of time limits under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and related Acts.
- Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued tax refunds worth Rs. 26,242 crores to 16,84,298 assesses since 1st April 2020 to 21st May 2020.
- CBDT released concerning provisions to subsection (3) of section 9A of the Income-tax Act, 1961(43 of 1961), the notification states that the conditions specified in clauses (e), (f) and (g) of the said subsection will be not applicable in case of an investment fund set up by a Category-I foreign portfolio investor registered under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2019, made under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992). The notification will come into force from the 23rd of September 2019.
Conclusion
As the saying goes, time is the best healer, the tuff day or the bad days do not stay long with anyone. With passage of time, we conquer new skill sets to beat the pain or strive to adopt to situation. Either ways with passage of time, we come out of the tragic and pain of current phase of life. Some also argue that, time is a fiction which we create and the success or loss is the reality which we create or suffer with passage of time. But the fact that time is treated as god by many generations, even in Bhagavat Geetha Lord Krishna tells “kalo ‘smiloka-ksaya-krtpravrddho”, which translates to ‘I’m the time destroying as well as famously excel the world’. So, I personally believe that the sacrosanct immaterial or non-living being concept heals the tuff days and current days are not exception.
My Wishes to you all for a great learning and enriching experience.
Yours Sincerely,
Chandrashekara Shetty,
President