TIOL-DDT 2937
26 09 2016
Monday

THE All India Confederation of Commercial Tax Associations (AICCTA) met on 24-09-2016 at New Delhi and passed the following resolutions

Resolution No.1:

The All India Confederation of Commercial Tax Officers Associations condemn the retention of Assessment jurisdiction of 20.87 lakh Service Tax Assesses and demands that Service Tax Assessees with a Turnover limit of Rs.1.5 crore per annum to be rendered of the jurisdiction of the States. The GST Council's decision to keep all the Service Tax Assessees within the jurisdiction of the Central Government goes against the principle and spirit of GST. This is a glaring instance of the Central Government's attempt to impose hegemony on the States in stark and blatant violation of the principles of federalism. The AICCTA demands the Union Finance Minister and the GST Council to reconsider the decision of retaining jurisdiction over 20.87 lakh Service Tax payers, and instead, roll it back by giving jurisdiction to the States on Service Tax Assessees. The desirable Turnover limit for States jurisdiction should be all Assessees with a Turnover limit of less than Rs. 1.5 crore.

Resolution No.2:

The State Government should involve the Respective Associations in decision making on all GST matters. The Central Government should involve AICCTA in decision making on all GST matters by making it a permanent invitee at all GST related institutions including the Empowered Committee and the GST Council.

Resolution No.3:

The Central Government and GST Council should direct the State Governments to implement the same Cadre, same Designation, same Pay Scales on principles of equal pay for equal work for the State Government Commercial Tax Officers & Employees as they exist in the Central Government Department implementing GST.

Resolution No.4:

It is demanded that the State Governments should not initiate any disciplinary

Action/drop all actions if any, on Officers passing quasi judicial Orders that are Revisable or Appealable.

Resolution No.5:

The State Government should immediately constitute a Committee comprising Officers & Employees along with State Association Office Bearers to frame and execute State of the Art Infrastructure, sufficient Human Resource, effective Logistics and IT Training, along with training appropriate for GST implementation and ensuring proper compliance and checking leakage of revenue.

Resolution No.6:

The State Governments should concede the other entire demands specific to their states put forth by their respective State Commercial Tax Officers & Employees Associations to facilitate the smooth transition to the GST regime. Failing which, AICCTA will support any agitation by the respective state Associations.

Resolution No.7:

The State Governments should concede the demands on cadre restructuring put forth by their respective State Commercial Tax Officers & Employees Associations by 15th October 2016. Failing which, AICCTA will call for a nationwide agitation including non co-operation in the transition from VAT to GST culminating in an indefinite strike by all State Commercial Tax Department Officers & employees till the demands are met.

They also had a meeting with the IRS Association President Dr. Anup Kumar Srivastav.

The whole purpose of dual GST seems to be to protect the employees.

A Minister went to a Government office and asked an employee, "what do you do here?". "I don't do anything.", replied the employee. He asked another employee sitting by the side the same question and he got the same answer. "see, duplication of work.", the Minister told the Head of the office.

FTP - service provider under Common Service Providers (CSP) in Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme - Clarification

THE issue is whether EPCG authorizations can be issued to a person who does job work for the exporter of goods, as a CSP (Common Service Provider) under para 5.02 read with para 1.35 of Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20.

The DGFT clarifies:

In the context of common service providers under the EPCG scheme dealt with in Para 5.02 of the FTP the definition of service provider includes job workers of the type illustrated in the example below.

Example - there may be multiple garment exporters obtaining services at different stages of garment manufacturing (such as knitting, dyeing, compacting, printing, embroidering, labelling, cutting etc.) from a number of other units who own these facilities but do not engage in the export of garments. The arrangement gives flexibility to exporters to not own all the infrastructures for conversion from input to final export products.

DGFT Trade Notice No. 18/2016, Dated: September 23 2016

FTP - guidelines for designating/certifying a Common Service Provider (CSP)

THE DGFT has notified guidelines for designating/certifying a Common Service Provider under Para 5.02 (b) of FTP 2015-20 with immediate effect. The designating/certifying authority should call for the following documents :-

a. IEC

b. RCMC

c. Common service to be provided (in brief)

e. List of minimum six potential users (Name and IEC)

f. Name of the TEE where the applicant unit is located

g. Product category to be serviced

h. The unit should be duly registered with relevant indirect tax authorities prior to export.

DGFT Public Notice No.33/2O15-2020, Dated: September 23 2016

Official email address and office telephone number on Notice u/s. 143(2) of Income Tax Act

IN December 2015  (DDT 2752 28 12 2015), the Revenue Secretary had directed that any notice/letter/communication issued by any officer under Department of Revenue including CBDT, its directorates and field formations to the tax payers, members of public should invariably contain mention of email address and office phone numbers, of the officers signing such, communications/notice/letters for facilitating tax payers' electronic interface with the Department.

It has come to the notice of the CBDT that that the notices do not contain any such details. This has led to a situation where the taxpayers who want to communicate with the Assessing Officer through e-mail or wish to make statutory compliance electronically are unable to do so. Further, non furnishing of official telephone number also causes inconvenience to the taxpayer concerned in case he needs to seek any clarification from the Assessing Officer. (DDT 2920 31 08 2016)

Some instances have been reported where e-mail address and office telephone number of Assessing Officer is not printed on notice u/s. 143(2) generated on the system. This is due to incomplete profile information of assessing officers present in HRMS system

Board directs that until the e-mail address and office telephone number of Assessing Officers are automatically printed on notices u/s. 143(2), the Assessing Officers should put a stamp/mention the details of their official email address and office telephone number on notices u/s. 143(2) before sending it to the assessees.

CBDT F.No. DGIT(S)/ADG(S)-2/CASS 2016-17/93/2016., Dated: September 22 2016

ST - Long Term Lease of Industrial Plots by State Industrial Development Corporations Exempted.

GOVERNMENT has exempted

taxable service provided by State Government Industrial Development Corporations/ Undertakings

to industrial units

by way of granting long term (thirty years, or more) lease of industrial plots

on the one time upfront amount (called as premium, salami, cost, price, development charges or by any other name) payable for such lease.

Notification No. 41/2016-ST., Dated: September 22 2016

Customs -Potatoes and Wheat at 10% Duty

GOVERNMENT has notified the effective rate of import duty on potatoes at 10% till October 31 st 2016, Wheat at 10% till 28th February 2017, crude palm oil at 7.5% instead of the present 12.5% and other palm oil at 15% instead of 20%.

Notification No. 51/2016-Customs., Dated: September 23 2016

Customs - Incorrect simultaneous issuance of dual benefit of Zero duty EPCG and SHIS - CBEC Clarifies

INSTANCES of simultaneous issuance of zero duty EPCG and SHIS (Status Holder Incentive Scheme) were detected by DRI and highlighted to the DGFT. Subsequently, the CAG of India also mapped the concurrent availing of SHIS and zero duty EPCG not being in line with FTP 2009-14 provisions.

DGFT had in Public Notice No. 30/2015-2020  dated 8.9.2016 clarified, (DDT 2927 09 09 2016)

On account of different interpretations on the issue in the past, it has been decided in consultation with DoR that any erroneous issuance of SHIS/Zero Duty EPCG Authorisation will be considered bonafide error and no penal action shall be taken against exporters by RAs / field formations of Customs, including DRI.

Consequential Action by CBEC: The CBEC would be issuing a separate Circular for guidance of its field formations.

The CBEC has now issued the Circular and directs that pending issues related to the simultaneous issuance or availing of zero duty EPCG/Post Export EPCG and SHIS shall be decided in terms of the said Public Notice.

Consequently, a Notification has been issued which suitably amends Notification Nos. 104/2009-Cus, 16/2015-Cus and 17/2015-Cus.

CBEC Circular No. 45/2016-Customs., Dated: September 23 2016

Notification 52/2016-Cus., Dated: September 23 2016

GST FAQ - Concerned

I am told that a "concerned Officer" is a worried officer while an "officer concerned" is a responsible officer, but in Government lexicon it doesn't seem to matter whether the word, 'concerned' is before or after who or what it concerns with. See these examples from the FAQ on GST released by CBEC. You will see that not only the tax authorities, but the State Government, supplier, departmental officer - are all concerned, very much concerned.

+ He would be required to deposit the CGST component into a Central Government account while the SGST portion into the account of the concerned State Government.

+ The applicant will reply to the query / rectify the error / answer the query within a period informed by the concerned tax authorities

+ In the GST regime, for any intra-state supply, taxes to be paid are the Central GST (CGST, going into the account of the Central Government) and the State GST (SGST, going into the account of the concerned State Government).

+ While making such payment, the concerned Government/authority shall deduct 1% of the total payable amount and remit it into the appropriate GST account.

+ Any amount shown as TDS will be reflected in the electronic cash ledger of the concerned supplier.

+ As per section 43C (6), the details of supplies and the amount collected during a calendar month, and furnished by every operator in his statement will be matched with the corresponding details of outward supplies furnished by the concerned supplier in his valid return filed under section 27 for the same calendar month or any preceding calendar month.

+ The concerned supplier shall, in whose output tax liability any amount has been added shall be liable to pay the tax payable in respect of such supply along with interest.

+ If the application is admitted, the AAR shall pronounce its ruling within ninety days of receipt of application. Before giving its ruling, it shall examine the application and any further material furnished by the applicant or by the concerned departmental officer.

+ The word prescribed officer of CGST/SGST means an officer who has been designated by the CGST/SGST administration in regard to an application for advance ruling. In normal circumstances, the concerned officer will be the officer in whose jurisdiction the applicant is located.

+ The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by the trained doctor every 48 hours during his detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by Director, Health Services of the concerned State or Union Territory, Director, Health Services should prepare such a panel for all Tehsils and Districts as well.

The Constitution - Important Extracts after GST

THE Constitution 101st Amendment Act, 2016 (GST) has resulted in addition, deletion in existing provisions and insertion of some new provisions in the Constitution of India.

To know how these Articles of the Constitution of India read after the said amendments, please click here.

Until Tomorrow with more  DDT

Have a nice day.

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