The High Court of Delhi held that where Assessing Authority uploaded a notice being issued under section 59(2) on website of department in account of assessee directing it to furnish certain informations, in view of order dated 17-1-2014 being passed by Commissioner, in exercise of his powers under rule 62(1)(vi), which, inter alia, states that all notices or summons or orders shall be served upon dealer(s) by electronic means, there was proper service of above notice upon assessee.

CESTAT, Mumbai Bench held that expression "net cenvat credit" in rule 5 of CENVAT Credit Rules,

2004 means credit "availed" during relevant quarter; hence, irrespective of date of invoice or date of receipt of inputs/services, refund of credit is allowed during period in which "date of taking

credit" falls. Decos Software Development (P.) Ltd. v. CCE [2016] 71 taxmann.com 293

Amid shareholder complaints about many companies refusing to pay dividend despite having

extra cash, markets regulator Sebi has made it mandatory for the top 500 listed firms to have a 'dividend distribution policy'.

To allay concerns over misuse of controversy-ridden P-Notes, regulator SEBI has notified new

norms restricting transfer of these offshore instruments only to entities authorised for their use and that too after prior consent from the issuer foreign investor.

For the June 2016 quarter, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the deadline by one month, allowing companies to report results by September 14.

The owner of a plot who signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a builder for raising multi-storeyed apartments is a 'consumer' and, therefore, can sue the builder for deficiency in service, the Supreme Court ruled in case of, overruling the National Consumer Commission and the Andhra Pradesh consumer commission.

Companies seeking deposits from the public will now have to carry a disclaimer in their advertisements that the government does not take responsibility for the financial soundness of the schemes being floated. This has been introduced through amendments to the Companies Act.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 makes employment of children below 14 years as cognizable offence for employers and provides for penalty for parents.

The Supreme Court has directed the government to give three per cent reservation to Persons With Disability (PWD) in all services, irrespective of the mode of filling such posts.

The Centre is planning to change the Motor Vehicles Act to empower state governments to regulate taxi aggregators like Uber and Ola. This will also allow states to cap fares and end surge pricing.

SIT appointed by Supreme Court has directed ED to take action under FEMA with respect to 216 companies with respect to the period before March 1, 2016 and 572 companies for the period after March 1, 2016, for which each such company had export proceeds pending for realisation for more than Rs 100 crore and also take action on such companies' with smaller dues.

Employees who left EPFO membership before January 1, 2014, now do not need to furnish their UAN for settlement of PF claims or withdrawal."Claim forms may be accepted without UAN if the date of leaving/exit of the member is before 01.01.2014," says a circular dated July 13, by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) sent to all zonal and regional offices.

Though arbitral proceedings have certain shades of civil suits, they are different in substance. Therefore, the bar on suits imposed in the Partnership Act in certain circumstances will not come in the way of taking disputes to arbitration, the Supreme Court has held in its judgment, Umesh Goel vs Himachal Coop Housing Society.

A provision in the scheme allows the I-T department to go after evaders for undisclosed assets acquired well before six years. Today, tax officers, as per law, refrain from reopening assessment which are more than six years old. "The IDS changes this as it empowers assessing officers to revisit old matters. It is against the Income-tax Act and settled nature of tax assessment," said a tax official in Mumbai. The IDS provisions even legally do not over power existing 6 years limitation and FAQ issued in this regard is not main tenable as per jurisprudence.

The Income Tax department has identified 90 lakh high-value transactions carried out without quoting PAN, the Finance ministry said asking tax evaders to own up and come clean on such transactions.

A person having undisclosed income in the form of an investment in immovable property in the name of his spouse can declare the fair market value of the property in his own name if the funds for acquisition of the said property were provided by such person.

The High Court of Patna held that there appears to be sufficient justification for taking the view that the employees' and the employer's contribution ought to be treated in the same manner. Bihar State Warehousing Corporation Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-tax 1, Patna. [2016] 71 taxmann.com 247

The High Court of Karnataka held that, in view of specific language of section 43B, amount of customs and excise duty on value of closing stock should be allowed as deduction in assessment year relating to previous year in which it was actually paid even though assessment of closing stock of that year would be in subsequent assessment year.

The High Court of Gujarat held that lease equalization charge is neither a reserve nor a deduction; said amount would not be part of net profit in computing book profit under section 115JA.

ITAT Delhi bench held that where assessee US company provided Indian company a gateway that would facilitate communication from India to people of USA and vice versa and same was done through embedded secret software owned by assessee, payments received from Indian company was royalty.

ITAT Mumbai bench held that where assessee engaged in manufacture and export of processed food products, in order to safeguard itself against fluctuations in exchange rates of foreign currency, entered into foreign exchange forward contracts with banks against confirmed export order, hedging loss suffered by assessee in respect of said forward contracts was to be allowed as business loss.

ITAT Bangalore bench held that capital gains addition in respect of sale of various lands held by assessee an individual engaged in buying/selling of immovable properties was to be upheld as land was converted from agricultural to non-agricultural prior to sale with sole purpose and intent to sell land for industrial purpose and period of holding was also very short; land in question did not fall under exclusion clause (iii) to section 2(14). Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle 5 (1), Bangalore v. B. Sudhakar Pai. [2016] 71 taxmann.com 318

In a bid to end taxpayers' harassment, the Finance Ministry has "modified" the Income Tax department notice issued for the tedious scrutiny procedure by bringing in "three new formats" that will clearly stipulate if the inquiry against them is "limited, complete or manual".

Companies can now obtain PAN or TAN registration within a day if they submit digital signature certificate based application, thereby ensuring ease of doing business, Income Tax department said today. Besides, individuals can now get a new Permanent Account Number (PAN) through Aadhaar-based e-signature facility which will reduce the effective time in allotment.

The Income Tax department has launched an ATM-based validation system for filing e-ITRs by taxpayers as part of its measure to enhance the paperless regime of filing the annual IT returns. "Now, Electronic Verification Code (EVC) can be generated by pre-validating your Automated Teller Machine (ATM) provided by the bank where a taxpayer has an account.

The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has called for a complete ban on cash transactions above Rs. 3 lakh as well as setting a Rs. 15-lakh cap on cash holdings by individuals. It further said the government should frame a new law to make transactions above this threshold illegal if the amount is not paid by cheque, bank draft, or electronic clearing system through a bank account.

In a relief to tax payers, the government has asked taxmen not to proceed with recovery of a 'confirmed' demand in relation to indirect taxes during pendency of stay applications. The CBEC issued a circular on 'Recovery of Confirmed Demand of Tax During the Pendency of Stay Application' in relation to indirect taxes. Confirmed demand of tax arises, when after examining the submissions of a tax payer, an order is issued confirming demand of tax from a tax payer.

Tax is not required to be deducted on interest paid by IBUs, on deposit made on or after 1.4.2005 by a non resident or a person who is not ordinarily resident in India, or on borrowings made on or after 1.4.2005 from such persons.

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation has firmed up the Draft Agreement for Sale Rules, 2016 applicable for the five Union Territories of Chandigarh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep, an official statement said on Monday. clearly indicate the date of delivery of possession to the allottee in the Agreement itself. "However, there is a provision for extension of this date due to force majeure. There shall be a clear mention in the Agreement of date of grant of commencement certificate, clear land title giving the area of project and Khasra numbers, number of stories and plots in the project, carpet area and common area, share of allottee in common area, total price etc.

The government plans state-owned Life Insurance Corporation to join other state-run financial institutions to set up a new entity to provide credit enhancement to bonds issued by infrastructure companies, a move that can help them raise funds easily. The proposed new institution will help improve credit worthiness of bonds issued by infrastructure companies, making them more attractive to investors. Under the proposed structure, LIC will hold a majority stake in the firm while the rest will be held by two or three large state-run banks and financial institutions. Multilateral financial institutions may also be roped in at a later stage.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a consultation paper on financial disclosures and valuation of the units of the newly introduced Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).

The government will put a total of 2,354.55 megahertz of mobile airwaves frequencies for auction all band -- 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz and 2300 Mhz. All the airwaves being put for auction can be used for high-speed 4G services. Bidding rounds for the country's biggest-ever spectrum auction will begin from September 29, in which mobile airwaves worth Rs. 5.63 lakh crore at the base price value will be put up for sale.

According to the scheme, banks can convert half the company's loans into equity/redeemable optionally convertible preference shares or optionally convertible debentures in the next 90 days. The rest will be serviced according to present terms and conditions.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed demat account holders of NSDL and CDSL to put through trades in government securities (G-Secs) on the Negotiated Dealing System - Order Matching (NDS-OM) platform. The central bank added that the scheme seeks to facilitate efficient access to the retail individual investor to the same G-Sec market being used by the large institutional investor in a seamless manner.

The tariff fixed in a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is not sacrosanct and it could be reviewed by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, which is the statutory authority for fixing tariff under the Electricity Act, the Supreme Court ruled in its judgment, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd vs Tarini Infrastructure Ltd.

The Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) system could become a tool for expanding business as it gives an opportunity to offer lower rates in short-term maturities, opening up a new market which was so far not within the reach of lenders. The key difference between MCLR and the

India would soon start offshore exploration of rare minerals and relevant rules would be in place in three months. About 50-60 blocks would be put on auction or would be allotted through a competitive bidding process. The blocks that have been identified are seven nautical miles from the coast.

The new Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, has stipulated that all licences henceforth would be granted through only auctions by the respective state governments. However, if any company was issued a letter of intent by the state under the old law, the licence for that block should be granted by January 2017. If any mining proposal has been approved by a state government under the earlier law but got stuck with the Centre, the licence must be issued by January 2017.

The Cellular Operators Association of India and the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India have submitted a joint response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The telecom sector should not be at the receiving end of net neutrality rules. The internet is an ecosystem and, therefore, same rules should apply to all stakeholders including content providers, telecom service providers, device manufacturers and services subscription entities.

The recent relaxation of foreign investment norms in the defence sector will transform the country into an "export hub" for weapons and armaments in the future, said Defence Minister.

The benefits could be many and all of them cannot be enlisted. The Modi Government biggest success is to achieve unanimity in Rajya Sabha, which will pave way for smoother parliament democracy and better political atmosphere, being most important for peace and progress. BJP, PM Narendra Modi, Shri Arun Jaitely, Shri Amit Shah all are to be congratulated. At the same time congress, and entire UPA as well as communist party all are to be given adequate credit for their support.

Tasks ahead

The constitution amendment bill is now required to be passed by majority of the Sates in their State legislature. Thereafter only the constitutional amendment will become valid on receiving President assent.

The real challenge will be to pass the detailed law for:

• Information technology backbone, system and processes.
• Department and officials to administer manufacturers, traders, service providers- division between states and central Government. Even the Government machinery will need training and understanding of law clearly.
• Decision on
• Tax free products and services,
• "NIL" Tax products and services,
• Low rate tax products and services,
• Maximum ceiling tax rate - Goods or Services
• Process to ensure that no large refunds or unadjusted credit remains with dealers e.g. with exporters, adversely impacting trade or commerce.
• Collection methodology from importers.
• Special tax zone like Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal, Assam and Eastern states, Himachal -existing continuing exemptions on "NIL" tax regime & other migration issue.
• Incentive mechanism for segments to be promoted.
• Tax on food items, housing, jewellery, education, health, legal services, regulatory and government services needs careful handling.
• Off books transactions and parallel economy will be a larger challenge.
• Tax rate on services has to be much lower than Goods to ensure growth of service sector, existing credits, procedures, processes, returns, registration, exemption threshold and so on.