TIOL-DDT 2497
16.12.2014
Tuesday

YESTERDAY, commenting on our Message Board, Advocate Gururaj said, In the past, when I had occasion to deliver talks in NACEN, Bangalore, I have posed this question to the departmental officers: "How much revenue is received routinely through self-assessment etc, and how much is received through recovery measures, demands etc?" Their consistent answer has been than more than 98% is realized routinely through self-assessment procedure. Though this is a ball park figure, it adds up when one compares annual indirect tax revenue receipts with the alleged revenue tied up in litigation. All the high drama of investigation, inquiry, SCNs, adjudications, appeals are only for realization of balance 2% or more .

Yesterday the CBEC released its Results Framework Document (RFD) for the Financial Year 2014-15, when there are just three months left in the Financial Year.

In the RFD, Board states that its target for Augmentation of revenue from Scrutiny of Assessment, Audit, Preventive operation, Anti-evasion operation, and Arrears recovery for the year on a best performance isRs.16550 crores. Board will be happy with even Rs. 14950 Crores.

Board hopes to collect an amount of Rs.6.23 lakh crores in the Financial Year 2014-15, out of which the collection through Assessment, Audit, Preventive operation, Anti-evasion operation, and Arrears recovery will be at best 16 thousand crores, about 2.5 percent as stated by Gururaj.

So all the hungama of audit, adjudication, notices, litigation, summons, hearings, visits, returns, reports and allied varieties of harassment is only to collect 16000 Crores. And for this we have an army of over 80,000 employees with over a hundred Chief Commissioners and hundreds of lower level Commissioners all of whom will cost the Nation about 6000 crores. The Net collection because of them would be Rs. 10,000 crores and even this amount might be under dispute and litigation. Revenue collection is obviously not the major task of the tax department. They are all busy with something else.

CBEC Results Framework Document (RFD)

SOME of the targets the CBEC has set for itself for the year are:

Implementation of Goods & Services Tax (GST) - Drafting of model CGST and IGST : As stated by the former Chairman, nobody consults CBEC on these matters; so they need not bother about this.

Appeals in CESTAT: Filing of early hearing application in cases involving revenue of more than Rs.5 crore and pending for more than one year or more as on 31-03-2014 : This is another classic way of wasting time, money and paper. The CESTAT is busy clearing Stay petitions and not many matters are heard finally. How many cases can be heard early? But this is certainly a good method to keep the army employed.

Finalisation of acquisition, purchase and building plan for the new building of NACEN exclusively for probationers : Are they referring to Hindupur or Faridabad?

Prompt and friendly tax administration to encourage voluntary compliance : Board wants to/hopes to:

++ Dispose of a refund claim within 3 months of receipt of a complete claim

++ Remit drawback within 7 working days of filing of manifest in the case of electronic processing of declarations, filing of a paper claim in the case of manual processing

++ Clear the goods within 48 hours of filing of a complete & correct export / import declaration.

++ Notify common forms for registration for Central Excise and Service Tax

++ Draft model CGST and IGST law

++ Improve satisfaction and efficiency of the indirect tax administration

Good luck

CBEC RFD 2014 - 2015

Shah Rukh Khan wins Wealth Tax Case - Interest free loan to wife is not transfer of asset

ACTOR Shah Rukh Khan declared net wealth of Rs.2,75,28,460/- in his wealth tax return. The Assessing Officer accepted the wealth declared by the assessee by passing an order u/s 16(3) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. The Revenue audit raised a query and consequently, notice dated 15/03/2011 was issued to the assessee. The wife of the assessee, Gauri Khan, purchased a residential house at Delhi for Rs.1,65,95,000/- and jewellery worth Rs.70,22,658/- out of the loan of Rs.2,28,88,530/- given by the assessee. The Assessing Officer was of the view that wealth of the assessee escaped assessment, therefore, the loan amount of Rs.2,28,88,530/- was to be clubbed in the hands of the assessee for computation of his net wealth. He further observed that the jewellery would have been purchased by the assessee which he deliberately avoided and thus, there was indirect "transfer of asset" to the wife, by the assessee, therefore, within the meaning of provision of section 4(1)(a)(i) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, the transferred amount is to be included in the net wealth of the assessee. On appeal, the Commissioner of Income tax (Appeals) affirmed the view of the Assessing Officer against which the Khan is aggrieved and is in appeal before ITAT.

The Tribunal noted that for the Assessment Year 2006-07, Shah Rukh declared a net income of Rs.36,63,98,754/- and on which tax was paid to the tune of Rs.10,25,00,000/-.

The Tribunal observed,

Even as per the provisions of the Wealth tax Act, extending cash loan, to the wife, by the assessee does not come within the definition, therefore, it can be said that there is no "transfer of asset" as has been alleged by the Department.

The assessee was not the owner of the asset which was transferred to the wife, as argued by the DR, rather out of the interest free loan, the wife of the assessee purchased/acquired "new asset" in her own name from the third parties, thus, there is no justification for adding the amount as no 'asset' has been transferred.

Please see : - Breaking News

Tariff Value of Gold and Silver increased

THE Government has increased the Tariff value of Gold from 388 USD to 396 USD per 10 gms. The tariff value of Silver is also increased from 540 USD to 561 USD per kilogram.

Apart from the above, Tariff values of all oils have been brought down except Crude Soyabean Oil. Brass Scrap and Poppy seeds have no change and Areca nuts are in for a reduction.

The Tariff values as on 28.11.2014 and with effect from 15.12.2014 are as under:

Notification No. 114/2014-Cus.(N.T.), Dated: December 15, 2014

238 Strong IRS batch to join NACEN

SOME 238 candidates have been selected for the 66th batch of IRS (Customs and Central Excise) to be trained at NACEN Faridabad from 22nd December 2014. Apparently NACEN at Faridabad has no facility to train and accommodate so many probationers. So more than 150 probationers are to be housed in National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad. These probationers are to be picked up and dropped every day from and to NIFM.

How will NACEN train so many probationers? Can they ensure that quality of training does not suffer? As such not so well trained officers are creating chaos in the field.

Such large scale recruitment is not good for the cadre. After thirty years there will be 200 senior frustrated officers waiting for their promotion. Maybe by that time we will have 200 Principal Chief Commissioners!

Jurisprudentiol-Wednesday's cases

Service Tax

Payments were made by ONGC to MPT merely for permission to use port limits to lay pipelines under land and seabed and not for receiving any service - The term 'wharfage' used is merely to determine the measure of compensation and not to determine nature of service rendered - Revenue appeal dismissed: CESTAT

THE respondent and ONGC entered into an agreement to permit ONGC to lay pipelines for carrying oil - Bombay Uran Trunk (BUT), Heera Uran Trunk (HUT) and Mumbai Uran Trunk (MUT) - within the Port Trust limits on land and sea. The pipelines in question were in the nature of submarine pipelines which were buried under the land and seabed within the Port Trust limits. In consideration for allowing ONGC to lay submarine pipelines through the Port limits, Mumbai Port Trust was paid compensation by ONGC. The compensation was calculated as 50% of the wharfage charges normally payable for such goods handled by the Port. Consequent to the agreement, the respondent raised invoice for compensation on ONGC along with service tax during the relevant period but ONGC refused to pay service tax on compensation charges on the premise that no service tax is payable on the said compensation.

Income Tax

Whether in case of Joint Development Agreement, transfer of land in lieu of developed area would crystallise only on day developer hands over the developed area - YES: ITAT

THE assessee is an individual. He had filed his return declaring an income of Rs.3,54,480/-. The case of assessee was selected for scrutiny and notices u/s 143(2), 142(1) were issued. It revealed to the AO that the assessee along with his brother Mr. Nandish Reddy were the owner and in possession of 2 acres and 14 guntas of land. The AO found that both the assessee as well as Nandish entered into a joint development agreement with M/s Akme Project Ltd., wherein they had jointly received refundable deposit of Rs.1.00 crore for allowing the development on their land. The developer was to construct a saleable area of 3.00 lakh square feet at its own cost, wherein the assessee and his brother were entitled for 50% of the built up area. Thus, in the opinion of the AO, transfer of the land had taken place within the meaning of section 2(47)(v) and the assessees were assessable for long term capital gain (LTCG).

The issue before the Bench is - Whether in case of Joint Development Agreement, the transfer of land in lieu of developed area would crystallise only on the day the developer hands over the developed area. And yes is the answer of the Tribunal.

Customs

Steam Coal or Bituminous Coal - since Customs Tariff defines 'bituminous coal' by means of certain specifications and if those specifications are satisfied, goods will have to be classified as 'bituminous coal' only and not otherwise - commercial parlance cannot be adopted for classification - pre-deposit ordered: CESTAT

THE Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Panaji, Goa confirmed a differential duty of Rs.1,00,55,335/- on 13000 MTs of coal imported by the appellant on 27/04/2012 by classifying the same as 'bituminous coal' falling under CTH 2701 1200 and by denying the benefit of Notification No. 12/2012-Cus dated 17/03/2012. Apart from the above, interest along with penalty of Rs.10 lakhs has also been imposed on the appellant. The goods which were provisionally released have also been confiscated with an option to redeem the same on payment of fine of Rs.50 lakhs.

The reason for this change in classification from 'steam coal' to “bituminous coal” is that upon investigation by the Customs department it was revealed that the imported coal from South Africa had a volatile matter content of 39.26% and gross calorific value of 7827 kcal/kg.

See our Columns Tomorrow for the judgements

Until Tomorrow with more DDT

Have a nice day.

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