Penalty on Undisclosed Income unearthed during the Search & Survey –Analysis in present scenario

Penalty on Undisclosed Income unearthed during the Search & Survey –Analysis in present scenario
– CA Vidhan Surana & CA Sunil Maloo
The legislature has intentionally drafted the provisions relating to Search and Survey in the statue book of Income Tax  Act, 1961 with the target of unearthing the undisclosed income of any person in form of any money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing.
Search carried out u/s 132 of the Income Tax Act is looked upon by the assessee as a thorough invasion of his privacy.

The Powers of the Search operation u/s 132 are much wider than the Survey proceedings as prescribed u/s 133A of the Act.
The most primary reason for Search being far more feared is that it empowers the authorities to make assessments / reassessment for Six Assessment Year immediately preceding the Assessment year in which the search is conducted, whereas in Survey only those Assessment years are assessed / reassessed for which the information collected during the survey belongs to.
Even though the ultimate objective for both Search and Survey is same, i.e. to curb the practice of having undisclosed incomes, yet the scope of powers attributed to the officers investigating illustrates the wide dissimilarity. Not only the authority of the officers even the penalty provisions relating to the undisclosed income detected during the Search and Survey is dissimilar.
Under the Income Tax Act, 1961 penalty is to be levied on the amount of “tax sought to be evaded” in respect of the concealment of particulars of income or furnishing inaccurate particulars of the income. Nevertheless, in case of SEARCH penalty is also levied in
respect of “Undisclosed Income” too.
“Penalty in case of Search” –
whether the disclosures made during the Search safeguards Assessee from Penalty???
Presently the Income Tax Act, 1961 contains special provisions in respect of penalty where the Search has been initiated. These provisions are summarized as under:
Sr.
No.
Section
Applicability
1
271(1)(c)
read with Explanation 5A
Applicable
to Search carried out on or after 01/06/2007
2
271AAA
Applicable
to Search carried out on or after 01/06/2007 but before 01/07/2012
3
271AAB
Applicable
to Search carried out on or after 01/07/2012
In the course of Search operations, generally the Assessee declares his undisclosed income in the statement recorded u/s 132(4) under the impression that if the disclosure of undisclosed income is made then penalty shall not be initiated / levied.
The Search action of the department inclines the Assessee towards making maximum disclosure of the undisclosed income if any, which might result into timely targeted recovery of taxes on the disclosure made by the Assessee.
Let’s analyze, the real question that whether under the amended law, is there any direct provision which enables the Assessee immunity from the penalty provisions, if the undisclosed income is admitted in statement u/s 132(4) of the Act during the search?
The coup de grâce regarding which most assessee are unaware about is that once the disclosure of additional / undisclosed income is made and unaccounted income is admitted in the statement u/s 132(4) of the Act, then same shall be the minimum binding commitment made by him to the department with respect to his unaccounted income, which could not and should not be retracted subsequently. Mere act of retraction on part of the Assessee shall not serve the purpose and the department can still proceed on the basis of the statement so recorded and corroborative evidences collected during the search. Therefore, the Assessee must be cautious and well aware as to the commitment he is making
by admitting the additional undisclosed income in the statement u/s 132(4) of the Act.
The penalty provisions are being regularly strengthened. Counter to this the immunity provisions inbuilt the sections levying the penalty are being made fully non-operative or non-practicable. This fact is clearly apparent from the Memorandum explaining the provisions of the Finance Bill 2012:-
PENALTY ON UNDISCLOSED INCOME FOUND DURING THE COURSE OF SEARCH
Under the existing provisions of section 271AAA of the Income-tax Act, no penalty is levied if the assessee admits the undisclosed income in a statement under sub-section (4) of section 132 recorded in the course of search and specifies the manner in which such income has been derived and pays the tax together with interest, if any, in respect of such income. As a result, undisclosed income (for the current year in which search takes place or the previous year which has ended before the search and for which return is not yet due) found during the course of search attracts a tax at the rate of 30% and no penalty is leviable. In order to strengthen the penal provisions, it is proposed to provide that the provisions of section 271AAA will not be applicable for searches conducted on or after 1st July, 2012. It is also proposed to insert a new provision in the Act (section 271AAB) for levy of penalty in a case where search has been initiated on or after 1st July, 2012. The new section provides that,-
(i)  If undisclosed income is admitted during the course of search, the taxpayer will be liable for penalty at the rate of 10% of undisclosed income subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions.
(ii)  If undisclosed income is not admitted during the course of search but disclosed in the return of income filed after  the search, the taxpayer will be liable for penalty at the rate of 20% of undisclosed income subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions.
(iii)  In a case not covered under (i) and (ii) above, the taxpayer will be liable for penalty at the rate ranging from 30% to 90% of undisclosed income.
These amendments will take effect from the 1st day of July, 2012 and will,
accordingly, apply to any search and seizure action taken after this date.
[Clauses
89, 95, 96]
As a result, now both the immunity provisions i.e. Explanation 5 to Section 271(1)(c) and Section 271AAA of the Act, have been made non-operative and accordingly now entire undisclosed income as detected in the Search shall be subject to the penalty provisions irrespective of the fact whether the same is duly disclosed or admitted by the Assessee at the time of Search. Nonetheless, a small relief is made available by Finance Act, 2012 in by inserting section 271AAB by providing
payable penalty slab rates of 10%, 20% and 30% to 90% of the undisclosed income, subject to fulfillment of difficult conditions.
By going through the conditions prescribed for applicability of the lower slab of penalty on undisclosed income, it is apparent that fulfillment of such conditions is not only impracticable but also unfeasible in most of the cases. The unrealistic conditions are as follows:
Section
Conditions
for applicability of lower slab of the penalty
Quantum
of Penalty
Remarks
271AAB(1)(a)
a)     
Admission of such income in
statement u/s 132(4)
b)     
Specified and SUBSTANTIATE the manner in which such undisclosed income was
derived
c)     
Pays the tax and interest on such
undisclosed income before the specified date;
d)    
Furnish the return of income for
specified previous year and declare such undisclosed income therein
Penalty
Leviable @ 10% of undisclosed income
This
clause is practically not possible in each and every cases, because even
after the disclosure of income in the statement u/s 132(4), most
of the Assessee could not substantiate the same.
And
also the discretion always lies with the department whether to appreciate the
manner so substantiated by the Assessee or to outright reject the same
stating it to be a “Make believe
Story”
271AAB(1)(b)
a)     
Such Undisclosed Income NOT
admitted in statement u/s 132(4); and
b)     
Furnish the return of income for
specified previous year and declare such undisclosed income therein
c)     
Pays the tax and interest on such
undisclosed income before the specified date;
Penalty
Leviable @ 20% of undisclosed income
In
this clause, there is no condition to substantiate the manner in which such
undisclosed income was derived. Only covers subsequent disclosure prior to
assessments with higher quantum.
271AAB(1)(c)
a)     
Undisclosed income of specified
previous year not covered in clause (a) and (b) of section 271AAB(1).
Penalty
Leviable @ 30% to 90% of undisclosed income
Quantum
of penalty same as per section 271(1)(c) r.s. Expl. 5A
The definition of the term “Specified Previous Year” has been provided in explanation (b) to section 271AAB, which reads as under:
Definition
Remark
(b) “specified previous year” means the previous
year–
(i)
which
has ended before the date of search, but the date of furnishing the return of
income under sub-section (1) of section 139 for such year has not expired
before the date of search and the assessee has not furnished the return of
income for the previous year before the date of search; or
Technically
there cannot be any undisclosed income for any Assessee till he is lawfully having
prescribed time for filing of return and has not yet filed the return. (as the law does not specifically
prescribes maintaining day to day books, but practically the Assessee should)
It
is the prerogative of assessee as its always open for him to include any
income before the due date of filing the return.
(ii)
in which search was conducted;
Here
also, the question of undisclosed income does not arise as the income is
generally declared in the return of income, and return shall be filed after the
end of the year in which search is carried out. Hence, once again the
Assessee can still disclose all such incomes in his return.
On in depth reading of the above explanation which is definition of the term “Specified previous year”, one may conclude that the same is defined to include only those periods for which the Assessee already had a lawful right to disclose any such income into its return of income yet to be filed. This neutralizes the so-called relief of lower penalty, based on slab rate as per section 271AAB as there is no extra benefit even if a taxpayer admits and declares his undisclosed income of such “Specified previous year” in the statement recorded u/s 132(4) of the Act. Accordingly, this makes the above condition totally impracticable.
Similarly, explanation 5A to section 271(1)(c) of the Act, covers the period other than the period already covered by the “Specified Previous Year”, in this provision also there is no immunity available to the Assessee for the undisclosed income. This explanation 5A reads as under:
[Explanation 5A.–Where, in the course of a search initiated under section 132 on or after the 1st day of June, 2007, the assessee is
found to be the owner of —
(i) any money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing (hereafter in this Explanation referred to as assets) and the assessee claims that such assets have been acquired by him by utilising (wholly or in part) his income for any previous year; or
(ii) any income based on any entry in any books of account or other documents or transactions and he claims that such entry in the books of account or other documents or transactions represents his income (wholly or in part) for any previous year,
which has ended before the date of search and, —
(a) where the return of income for such previous year has been furnished before the said date but such income
has not been declared therein; or
(b) the due date for filing the return of income for such previous year has expired but the assessee has not filed the return,
Thus under the amended provisions of the Income Tax Act with respect to the penalty in cases of Search as applicable today, there is no immunity as such, even if the full disclosure of such income is made in the statement u/s 132(4) of the Act and also taxes has been paid thereon.
The legislative language of explanation 5A to section 271(1)(c) of the Act, is so strict that it provides no escape route from levy of penalty. This provision is strictly applicable even if the Assessee is duly disclosing the additional unaccounted income as admitted in statement u/s 132(4) by paying appropriate tax in the return of income filed u/s 153A of the Act and the assessment u/s 153A is made without any deviation from the returned income.
Recently, a case with such facts was decided by the ITAT CHANDIGARH BENCH in case of Shri Rajnish Vohra Vs. DCIT, in ITA number ITA No. 516/CHD/2012, held as under:
30. Further, the provisions of Section 153A are specifically brought on the Statute book, for assessment, in case of search u/s 132(1) or requisition of books of account u/s 132A of the Act. The opening sentence of Section 153A of the Act, overrides the provisions of Section 139, 147, 148, 149, 151 and 153 of the Act. The assessee has declared undisclosed income, in the return filed, in response to notice u/s 153A of the Act and the CIT(Appeals), having regard to the facts of the case, invoked
the currently applicable Explanation 5A Section 271(1) (c) of the Act and upheld the penalty, levied by the AO.
In such a fact-situation, the CIT(Appeals) has acted in accordance with the currently operative and relevant penal provisions, with reference
to the return of income, f i led in response to Section 153A of the Act.
31. In view of the above legal and factual discussions, and having regard to the express statutory provisions of Section 271(1) (c) of the Act read with Explanation 5A thereunder, as inserted by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009, with retrospective effect from 01.06.2007, we do not find any infirmity, in the findings of ld CIT(Appeals) . Therefore, the findings of the CIT(Appeals) are upheld and, consequently, the grounds of appeal of the assessee are dismissed.
However, still the applicability of explanation 5A can be ruled out based on the interpretation of the term “due date for filing the return of income
as used in clause (b) of this explanation. The clause (b) can be termed as a
saving clause wherein penalty u/s 271(1)(c) can’t be levied.
For the purpose of clause (b), one has to see whether or not the assessee has shown the income in the return of income which is filed on the “due date”. Provisions of section 139(1) provides for various types of assesses to file return of income before the due date and such due date has been provided in the Explanation 2, which varies from year–to–year.
Whereas, provisions of section 139(4) and section 139(5) provides for extension of period of “due date” as per the circumstances mentioned therein and it enlarges the time frame provided in section 139(1). The operating line of sub–section 4 of section 139 provides that “any person who has not furnished the return within the time allowed”, here the time allowed refers to time limit prescribed under section 139(1), and hence in such case, the time limit is extended.
Wherever in the legislature the term “due date” has been specified or the date for any compliance has been specified, the same has been categorically specified in the Act. For e.g., under section 44AB where the assessee is required to get his accounts audited before the specified date and furnish by that date, the specified date has been specifically mentioned as the date provided in section 139(1). Similarly, in section 43B
also, the “due date” has been specifically provided as the date mentioned in sub–section (1) of section 139. In the aforesaid Explanation 5A, the
legislature has not specified the due date as provided in section 139(1) but
has merely envisaged the words “due date”.
This “due date” can be very well inferred as due date of the filing of return of income filed under section 139, which invariably includes section 139(4) as well as section 139(5) of the Act.
Where the legislature has provided the consequences of filing of the return of income under section 139(4), then the same has also been specifically provided.
For e.g., section 139(3), provides that for the purpose of carry forward losses under sections 72 to 74A, the return of income should be filed within the time limit provided under section 139(1), otherwise losses cannot be set–off. In absence of such a restriction, the limitation of time of “due date” cannot be strictly reckoned with section 139(1) only. Thus, the meaning of the words “due date”, sans any limitation or
restriction as given in clause (b) of Explanation 5A, cannot be read as “due date” as provided in section 139(1).
The words “due date” therefore, can also safely mean date of filing of the return of income under section 139(4) and section 139(5) of the Act.
In this connection kind attention is invited to the recent judgment of Mumbai ITAT in case of ITO Vs Mr. Gope M. Rochlani in ITA Number ITA no. 7737/Mum./2011, which has been rendered after placing reliance on judgments of various high courts delivered in context of exemption u/s 54 of the Act. In case of Mr. Gope M. Rochlani (Supra), it was held as under:
14.  In our considered opinion, once the legislature has not specified the “due date” as provided in section 139(1) in Explanation 5A, then by implication, it has to be taken as the date extended under section 139(4). In view of the above, we hold that the assessee gets the benefit / immunity under clause (b) of Explanation to section 271(1)(c) because the assessee has filed its return of income within the “due date” and, therefore, the penalty levied by the Assessing Officer cannot be sustained on this ground. Even though we are not affirming the findings and the conclusions of the learned Commissioner (Appeals), however, as per the discussion made above, penalty is deleted in view of the interpretation of Explanation 5A to section 271(1)(c). Consequently, the ground raised by the Revenue is treated as dismissed.
Following are the citations of the judgments of high courts delivered in context of exemption u/s 54 of the Act based on above analogy (and no contrary decision of any other high court or of Supreme Court):
1.      Fathima Bai Vs. ITO  {Karnataka High Court in ITA No. 435/2004}
2.      CIT Vs. Ms. Jagriti Aggarwal {Punjab & Haryana HC in 15 Taxmann.com 146}
3.      CIT Vs. Rajesh Kumar Jalan {Gauhati High Court in [2006] 157 TAXMAN 398}
4.    CIT v. Jagtar Singh Chawla* [2013] 33 taxmann.com 38 (Punjab & Haryana)
However, on an overall it can be concluded that the penal provisions as provided in explanation 5A of the Act are very strict and does not provide for any way out for the Assessee to resist the levy of penalty u/s 271(1)(c).
Still, on perusal of the Income Tax Act, 1961 there are 3 different provisions whereby the Assessee can be granted immunity from the penalty even in cases of Search. There provisions are summarized as under:
Particulars
Alternate
1
Alternate
2
Alternate
3
Section
245H(1)
273A
273AA w.e.f.
1-4-2008.
Competent Authority
Settlement Commission
Commissioner with prior approval of
CCIT or DGIT
Commissioner after abatement from
settlement commission
Conditions
prescribed therein
a. co-operated with the Settlement
Commission
b. has made a full and true disclosure
of his income and the manner in which
such income has been derived
a. prior to the detection by the [Assessing] Officer, of the
concealment of particulars of income or of the inaccuracy of particulars
furnished in respect of such income, voluntarily and in good faith, made full
and true disclosure of such particulars
b.   has co-operated in any enquiry
relating to the assessment of his income
c.  and has either paid or made
satisfactory arrangements for the payment of any tax or interest payable in
consequence of an order passed under this Act in respect of the relevant
assessment year
a. he has made an application for
settlement under section 245C and the proceedings for settlement have abated
under section 245HA
b.the penalty proceedings have been
initiated under this Act
c. if he is satisfied that the person
has, after the abatement, co-operated with the income-tax authority in the
proceedings before him and has made a
full and true disclosure of his income and the manner in which such income
has been derived
All the above three sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides for immunity from penalty subject to fulfillment of conditions prescribed therein. The Assessee should apply for any of the above 3 options which best suits to the facts and circumstances of his case. Pertinent to note that all the above three options are available to the Assessee on once in the lifetime basis.
“When
one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully
upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
Alexander Graham Bell
Same nuances of the quote applies here as when an Assessee has made an application u/s 245C of the Act, praying for immunity from penalty etc. before the Income Tax Settlement Commission and the proceedings for settlement have been abated under section 245HA whatsoever cause / findings. Even for the cases, where the settlement commission has rejected the application for settlement of the case at any stage, then there is one more specific option available to the Assessee in form of Section 273AA of the Act introduced with effect from
01/04/2008.
Due importance is to be given to the sections 245H and 273AA where emphasizes and stress is given on full and true disclosure of undisclosed income and disclosure of the manner in which such income has been derived, however these sections does not mandate the Assessee to SUBSTANTIATE the manner in which such income is derived, unlike the
mandatory unambiguous wording of section 271AAA and section 271AAB of the Act. Below is the summary of the phrase “manner in which such income has been derived
wherever occurred in Income Tax Act:
Sections where only requirement of
is to Disclose the manner
Sections where TWIN requirements are
prescribed
Disclose the manner as well as
SUBSTANTIATE the same
245C:
Application for settlement of cases
271AAA:
Penalty where search has been initiated
245H
Power of Settlement Commission to grant immunity from prosecution and penalty
Section
271AAB Penalty where search has been initiated.
271(1)(c)
Explanation 5
273AA
Power of Commissioner to grant immunity from penalty
278AB:
Power of Commissioner to grant immunity from prosecution
Further, the HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT in case of COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX vs. MAHENDRA C. SHAH, reported in (2008) 299
ITR 305 (Guj)
has  held that if the income is declared and taxes have been paid thereon, there would be substantial compliance not warranting any further denial of the benefit, even if the statement u/s 132(4) does not
specify the manner in which the undisclosed income is derived.
Similar view was also taken by Allahabad High Court in the case of COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX vs. RADHA KISHAN GOEL, held as under:
Much importance should not be attached to statement about the manner in which such income has been derived—In the absence of anything to the contrary, it can be inferred from the facts—Thus, non-statement of the manner in which such income was derived would not make Expln. 5(2) inapplicable Therefore, unless and otherwise the Assessee is required to substantiate the manners of earning the undisclosed income by virtue of provisions of the Income Tax Act, the manners as disclosed by the Assessee should be accepted by the department unless the facts of the
case suggests anything contrary thereto. This approach of the department shall promote the Assessee’s to disclose their
undisclosed / unaccounted income truly and fully in the statement u/s 132(4) of the Act and/or also during the pendency of Assessment u/s 153A r.w.s. 143(3) of the Act and also in making timely payment of the taxes thereon.
However,
at the same time the manner so disclosed by the Assessee should be considered in its true spirit otherwise the Assessee will hesitate in making any disclosures, as same shall not grant them immunity from penalty.
Penalty on Disclosure made
during the Survey
Survey action is taken u/s 133A of the Act, wherein the Authorized Officers are authorized to make survey at the business premises / related places. The basic purpose of the survey is to check the business activities of the Assessee and also tax related compliance. This is done with a view to expose the unaccounted income as a result of such discrepancies. The powers during the survey are comparatively lesser than as conferred in section 132 of the Act.
The disclosure during the survey may relate to:
        Current Assessment year in which the survey action is executed; and / or
        Earlier Assessment years
If the disclosure of additional income during the survey is made for the current Assessment year in which the survey action is executed, then the penal provisions are not applicable as the due date for filing the return for such AY has not expired. Such transactions can easily be incorporated in the books of accounts of the current year and can be considered while filing the return of income for such year. As explanation 5A of section 271(1)(c) of the Act is applicable only in relation to Search u/s 132,  the same cannot be extended to survey actions u/s 133A of the Act. Thus there cannot be any deemed concealment as referred in such explanation 5A in cases of survey. Kind attention is invited on Vasavi Shelters vs ITO, ITAT BANGALORE BENCH ‘B’ IT APPEAL NOS. 499 & 500 (BANG.) OF 2012 dated 22/02/2013, held as under:
It necessarily follows that concealment of particulars of income or furnishing of inaccurate particular of income by the assessee has to be in the IT return filed by it. The assessee can furnish the particulars of income in his return and everything would depend upon the IT return filed by the assessee. This view gets supported by Explanations 4 as well as 5 and 5A of s. 271.
Obviously, no penalty can be imposed unless the conditions stipulated in the said provisions are duly and unambiguously satisfied. Since the assessee was exposed during survey, may be, it would have not disclosed the income but for the said survey. However, there cannot be any penalty only on surmises, conjectures and possibilities. Sec. 271(1)(c) has to be construed strictly.
Unless it is found that there is actually a concealment or non-disclosure of the particulars of income penalty cannot be imposed. There is no such concealment or non-disclosure as the assessee had made a complete disclosure in the IT return and offered the surrendered amount for the purposes of tax
14. Explns. 5 and 5A are also an exception to the rule that when an income which is ultimately brought to tax is declared in a return of income, there can be no question of treating the Assessee as having “concealed particulars of income or furnished inaccurate particulars of income” Those Explanations will also not apply in the present case because those Explanations are applicable only when there is a search u/s.132 of the Act and to a case of Survey u/s. 133A of the Act.
15. For the reasons given above we hold that there can be no justification for imposition of penalty on the income offered in the return of income by the Assessee for both the A.Ys., because there cannot be any penalty on income which is declared in a return of income, on the facts and circumstances of the present case.
However, the additional income disclosed during the survey for any earlier assessment years shall always be subject to regular penal provisions as stipulated in section 271(1)(c) read with explanations thereunder on a case to case basis having regard to the peculiar facts of each and every case.
Therefore, having regard to the law as applicable in the statue book, it can be summarized that the penalty provisions are being made stringent frequently to discourage the practice of keeping unaccounted income / assets amongst the Assessee’s. Therefore, now there is no immunity route available in the sections levying the penalty, which was earlier available in form of Explanation 5 to section 271(1)(c) and also in section 271AAA. But it is worthwhile to mention that the legislature is taking care of the Assessee’s who come forward and make true and full disclosure of undisclosed income and disclose even the manner in
which such income is earned, by way of special immunity provisions in form of section 245H (by settlement Commission), Section 273A and Section 273AA (By Commissioner).
Prosecution proceedings may follow, Once penalty is confirmed.
Disclaimer:
The contents of this document are solely for informational purpose. It does not constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation. While due care has been taken in preparing this document, the existence of mistakes and omissions herein is not ruled out. The authors do not accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any inaccurate or incomplete information in this document nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
– CA Vidhan Surana & CA Sunil Maloo
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Disallowance u/s. 40(a)(ia) applies only to amounts ‘payable‘ as of 31st March – scenario

Disallowance u/s. 40(a)(ia) applies only to amounts ‘payable‘ as of 31st March – SC
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MCA Clarification on section 188 of Companies Act, 2013 – Related Party Transactions

MCA vide circular no 23/2014 dated 17th July 2014 has issued various clarifications on one of the most of the argumentative section under the Companies Act 2013 i.e. section 188

Highlights of the clarifications issued are given below:

Voting by related parties in general meeting 

As per second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 188 no member of the company shall vote on a special resolution to approve the contract or arrangement (referred to in the first proviso), if such a member is a related party.

It is clarified that ‘related party’ referred above has to be construed with reference only to the contract or arrangement for which the said special resolution is being passed. Thus, the term ‘related party’ in the above context refers only to such related party as may be a related party in the context of the contract or arrangement for which the said special resolution is being passed.

But the above clarification will still not provide any solution to the problem faced by the private companies where the directors and shareholders are generally common and are related to each other.

Applicability of Section 188 to corporate restructuring, amalgamations etc. 

It is clarified that transactions arising out of Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations dealt with under specific provisions of the Companies Act, 1956/Companies Act, 2013, will not attract the requirements of section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Requirement of fresh approvals for past contracts under Section 188. 

A very common issue of debate was related to the status of contracts entered into by companies, after making necessary compliances under Section 297 of the Companies Act, 1956, which already came into effect before the commencement of Section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013. Whether any fresh approval was required under section 188 or not for such contracts?

As per the clarification, no fresh approval will be required for aforesaid mentioned contracts u/s 188 till the expiry of the original term of such contracts. But if any modification in such contract is made on or after 1st April, 2014, the requirements under section 188 will have to be complied with.

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Applicability of the Companies Act, 2013 to Auditor’s Report to FY 2014-15 and Onwards1

CLARIFICATION

Applicability of the Companies Act, 2013 to Auditor’s Report to FY 2014-15 and Onwards

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on 26th March 2014 notified a majority of the remaining sections of the Companies Act, 2013, including sections 139 to 148, relating to audits and auditors. The Act was stated to be effective from 1st April, 2014.

Accordingly, queries are being raised by a number of members as to whether any auditor’s report of a company being signed on or after 01st April, 2014 would be in accordance with the requirements of section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013.

In this context, it may be noted that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has, on 04th April 2014, vide its General Circular No. 08/2014, clarified that the financial statements (and documents required to be attached thereto), auditor’s report and Board’s report in respect of financial years that commenced earlier than 01st April, 2014 shall be governed by the relevant provisions/Schedules/rules of the Companies Act 1956. This MCA Circular can be seen at URL http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/General_Circular_8_2014.pdf.

Therefore, it is clear from MCA’s aforesaid General Circular that the auditor’s report of a company pertaining to any financial year commencing on or before 31st march 2014, would be in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act, 1956 even if that financial year ends after 01st April 2014. For example, where the financial year of a company is 01st January 2014 to 31st December 2014, the statutory auditor’s report signed therefor would be in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act, 1956.

As a corollary to MCA’s General Circular, it appears that the provisions of the 2013 Act would apply only to the financial years commencing on or after 01st April 2014. Thus, for example, the statutory auditor’s report signed in respect of the financial year of the company ended 31st March 2015would need to be issued in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

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Whether wealth tax is leviable on the making charges of the jewellery? – A Detailed Analysis – CA Vidhan Surana & CA Sunil Maloo

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A Detailed Analysis

– CA Vidhan Surana & CA Sunil Maloo

Under the scheme of Wealth Tax in India, Wealth tax is levied on the net wealth of the every individual, Hindu undivided family and company as on the valuation date. “Net Wealth” means the amount by which the aggregate value computed in accordance with the provisions of Wealth Tax Act of all the assets, wherever located, belonging to the assessee on the valuation date, including assets required to be included in his net wealth as on that date under this Act, is in excess of the aggregate value of all the debts owed by the Assessee on the valuation date which have been incurred in relation to the said assets.

Assets” has been defined in section 2(ea) of the Act, which inter alia includes jewellery, bullion furniture, utensils or any other article made wholly or partly of gold, silver, platinum or any other precious metal or any alloy containing one or more of such precious metals, except held as stock in trade.

Out of the above, the term ‘jewellery’ is further defined in explanation 1 to this section, which reads as under:

[Explanation 1] : For the purposes of this clause, —
(a) “jewellery” includes —
(i) ornaments made of gold, silver, platinum or any other precious metal or any alloy containing one or more of such precious metals, whether or not containing any precious or semi-precious stones, and whether or not worked or sewn into any wearing apparel;
(ii) precious or semi-precious stones, whether or not set in any furniture, utensils or other article or worked or sewn into any wearing apparel;

Many times the registered valuers while valuing the jewellery for the purpose of wealth tax and also sometime the Assessing Officer while making the Wealth Tax Assessment, includes the ‘Making Charges’ in the value of the jewellery and levies Wealth Tax on the Same.
Now the question arises as to whether the ‘Making Charges’ incurred by the Assessee in connection with the ‘jewellery’, are also subject to the levy of Wealth Tax? Whether the value of Making Charges also needs to be included in the valuation of ‘jewellery’ for the purpose of the Wealth tax?

Let’s examine this issue in detail herein under:
What ‘Making Charges’ exactly are?
Making Charges are the charges we pay to the Gold Smith to make the Jewel out of raw gold/ any other precious metal. It is nothing but the amount that we pay for the labour involved in making a piece of jewellery. A good design is a culmination of artistic view and effort to create a wonderful design that attracts the eyes of buyer. So for making such designs, Jewelery stores generally charges the customer with making charges. This varies from design to design based on the complexity. It varies based on jeweller. Making charges are usually a percentage of the current price of the metal used in jewellary. This means higher the price of metal, higher would be the making charges. Also the more intricate the design, the higher will be the charges. Making charges normally range between 5% and 25% of the cost of metal.

Provisions relating to Valuation of ‘jewellery’ under the Wealth Tax Act:
Section 7 of the Wealth tax Act, 1957 provides for ‘Value of assets, how to be determined’, which reads as under

7. Value of assets, how to be determined
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the value of any asset, other than cash, for the purposes of this Act shall be its value as on the valuation date determined in the manner laid down in Schedule III.

Accordingly, the Net Wealth is to be valued at the rates as specified in the Schedule III of the Wealth Tax Act. Schedule III of the Act lays down the ‘Rules for Determining the Value of Assets’. Part ‘G’ of the said schedule contains the rules for determination of ‘Valuation of jewellery’, which reads as under:

Part G
Jewellery
18. Valuation of jewellery.
(1) The value of the jewellery shall be estimated to be the price which it would fetch if sold in the open market on the valuation date (hereafter in this rule referred to as fair market value).

(2) The return of net wealth furnished by the assessee shall be supported by, —
(i) a statement in the prescribed form, where the value of the jewellery on the valuation date does not exceed rupees five lakhs;
(ii) a report of a registered valuer in the prescribed form, where the value of the jewellery on the valuation date exceeds rupees five lakhs.

(3) Notwithstanding anything mentioned in sub-rule (2), the Assessing Officer may, if he is of opinion, that the value of the jewellery declared in the return, —
(a) is less than its fair market value by such percentage or such amount as is prescribed under sub-clause (i) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 16A;
(b) is less than its fair market value as referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 16A,

he may refer the valuation of such jewellery to a Valuation Officer under sub-section (1) of the said section and the value of such jewellery shall be the fair market value as estimated by the Valuation Officer.]

Thus, the levy of Wealth tax on ‘Making charges’ of the jewellery is unjustified because of the following reasons:

a) ‘Making Charges’ are not included in the definition of the Assets either individually or also not covered in the definition of the term ‘jewellary’;

b) In the Rules of Valuation of jewellery, it is clearly provided that the value of jewellery shall be estimated to be the price which it would fetch if sold in the open market on the valuation date. It is well settled principle that no one in the open market shall pay for the ‘making charges’ incurred by the seller. The seller will fetch the amount exclusively attributable to the contents of the precious metal at the prevailing rates on that particular date and nothing more than that.

c) There is a difference between the term ‘Cost’ and ‘Value’. In general the ‘Cost’ is the amount that we incur for acquisition of something and ‘Value’ is the amount that we can fetch is that item is sold in open market. Making Charges are without any ambiguity considered as a part of the ‘cost’ of the jewellery but under the scheme of the Wealth Tax, same should not be considered as a part of the ‘Value’ according to the provisions of the Act.

d) In many cases, the Department also argues and levy wealth tax on the making charges of the jewellery on the ground that when a manufacturer of gold jewellery or a person engaged in business of jewellery sell such items into open market, they also realize the making charges. This ground for taxing the making charges under the Wealth Tax Act does not sound to be valid, as such manufacturer / jeweler held the jewellery as stock in trade and which is specifically excluded from the definition of the term ‘jewellery’.

e) Further, the ‘form O-8’ which is the designated form for ‘Valuation of Jewellery’ also does not contain any field which gives even a remote indication regarding inclusion of ‘Making Charges’ into the value of jewellery. Abstracts of Form O-8 is reproduced hereunder for ready reference:

Point number 12 is for ‘Total Value of Jewellery’, which is succeeded to Point No. 10 and Point No. 11, which are ‘Value of each precious or semi-precious stone and the total value of all such stones’ and ‘Value of the precious metal content in all the items of jewellery’ respectively. Thus, it can also be positively inferred that Point No. 12 is nothing but a sum of Point No. 10 and 11. Inclusion of Making Charges into the value of jewellery does not find any place in the form O-8 of ‘Valuation Report’, which itself implies that same is not to be intended to be included in the taxable ‘Value of Jewellery’.

Conclusion:
Under the background of the above analysis of the provisions of the Wealth Tax Act and ‘Rules for Determining the Value of Assets’, it can safely be concluded that ‘Making Charges’ should not be made subject to levy of Wealth Tax. Though, one may logically argue that the Making charges must, invariably form part of the value of jewellery, but the law ALWAYS does not works on mere logics. However, a clarificatory amendment on this aspect of law will be appreciated for the removal of the ambiguity amongst the department being the exchequer, taxpayers, tax-professional and registered valuers.

Disclaimer: The contents of this document are solely for informational purpose. It does not constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation. While due care has been taken in preparing this document, the existence of mistakes and omissions herein is not ruled out. The authors do not accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any inaccurate or incomplete information in this document nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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MCA vide circular no 23/2014 dated 17th July 2014 has issued various clarifications on one of the most of the argumentative section under the Companies Act 2013 i.e. section 188

Highlights of the clarifications issued are given below:

Voting by related parties in general meeting

As per second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 188 no member of the company shall vote on a special resolution to approve the contract or arrangement (referred to in the first proviso), if such a member is a related party.

It is clarified that ‘related party’ referred above has to be construed with reference only to the contract or arrangement for which the said special resolution is being passed. Thus, the term ‘related party’ in the above context refers only to such related party as may be a related party in the context of the contract or arrangement for which the said special resolution is being passed.

But the above clarification will still not provide any solution to the problem faced by the private companies where the directors and shareholders are generally common and are related to each other.

Applicability of Section 188 to corporate restructuring, amalgamations etc.

It is clarified that transactions arising out of Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations dealt with under specific provisions of the Companies Act, 1956/Companies Act, 2013, will not attract the requirements of section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013.

Requirement of fresh approvals for past contracts under Section 188.

A very common issue of debate was related to the status of contracts entered into by companies, after making necessary compliances under Section 297 of the Companies Act, 1956, which already came into effect before the commencement of Section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013. Whether any fresh approval was required under section 188 or not for such contracts?

As per the clarification, no fresh approval will be required for aforesaid mentioned contracts u/s 188 till the expiry of the original term of such contracts. But if any modification in such contract is made on or after 1st April, 2014, the requirements under section 188 will have to be complied with.

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RBI allows buying of immovable properties outside India by residents under Liberalized Remittance Scheme

LIBERALISED REMITTANCE SCHEME (LRS) FOR RESIDENT INDIVIDUALS-INCREASE IN THE LIMIT FROM USD 75,000 TO USD 125,000

A.P. (DIR SERIES 2014-15) CIRCULAR NO. 5, DATED 17-7-2014

1. Attention of Authorised Dealer Category-I (AD Category-I) banks is invited to the guidelines regarding the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for Resident Individuals (the Scheme).

2. It was decided vide A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No. 138 dated June 3, 2014, to increase the limit to USD 125,000 per financial year (April-March) from USD 75,000. Accordingly, AD Category –I banks have been allowed to remit up to USD 125,000 per financial year, under the Scheme, for any permitted current or capital account transaction or a combination of both. Further, it is clarified that the Scheme can now be used for acquisition of immovable property outside India.

3. All other terms and conditions mentioned in A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No. 64, dated February 4, 2004, A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No. 24 dated December 20, 2006, A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No.51 dated May 8, 2007, A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No.36 dated April 4, 2008, A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No.17 and 18 both dated September 16, 2011, A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No.106 dated May 23, 2013, A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No.24 dated August 14, 2013 and A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No. 138 dated June 3, 2014, shall remain unchanged.

4. Reserve Bank has since amended the Principal Regulations through the Foreign Exchange Management (Permissible Capital Account Transaction) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 notified vide Notification No. FEMA 311/2014-RB dated June 24, 2014 c.f. G.S.R. No. 488 (E) dated July 11, 2014.

5. AD-Category I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned.

6. The directions contained in this Circular have been issued under Section 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1992 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/approvals, if any, required under any other law.

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