Page 12 - Banking Finance April 2019

ROUNDUP

I-T Ombudsman abol- Govt to meet fiscal deficit target of 3.4%, says Garg
ished Economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg exuded confidence that fiscal
deficit target of 3.4% for 2018-19 would be met as shortfall in
The Union Cabinet has decided to indirect tax collection would be compensated by lower govern-
abolish the insti- ment expenditure. "I am very confident (of meeting fiscal defi-
tution of Om- cit target of 3.4% for 2018-19)," Garg said.
budsman for in-
The government had in Interim Budget 2019 pegged fiscal defi-
come tax and in-
direct tax. This cit target of 3.4% for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2019.
comes against the backdrop of "Our assessment at this stage is, in direct taxes, we will probably do as per the
people preferring the online griev- revised estimate, indirect taxes, there might be some shortfall, and on the ex-
ance redressal mechanism. The insti- penditure side there might be some savings. "On the whole, we should be where
tution of Income-Tax Ombudsman we are," he said.
was set up in 2003 to deal with griev- In the current fiscal, direct tax collection is pegged at Rs. 12 trillion (revised
ances of the public. estimate). The government had originally budgeted to collect Rs. 11.50 trillion
in 2018-19 from direct taxes, which include corporate tax and personal income
Stamp duty off on trans- tax. Likewise, in 2018-19, GST collection is pegged at Rs. 6.43 trillion (revised
fer of property estimate), which is lower than the targeted Rs. 7.43 trillion. On the indirect tax
front, customs collection in the current fiscal is pegged at Rs. 1.30 trillion.
The Rajasthan government has de-
cided not to charge stamp duty on
transfer of immovable property from Deadline set for assessment of 87000 non-filers under
a hushand to his wife as a gift. demonitisation

Modi launches pension Central Board of Direct Taxes has set a deadline of March 31 or latest by June
30 for completing assessment of 87,000 non-filers
plan for unorganised sec- who made "substantial cash deposits" in their bank
tor workers accounts following demonetisation in November
2016. The tax department had served notices to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an- around 3 lakh depositors, out of which 87,000 have
nounced the national launch of the not filed their returns in response to the notice is-
Pradhan Mantri-Shram Yogi sued under Section 142 (1) of the Income-tax Act.
Maandhan Yojana (PM-SYMY), which
aims to provide pension to 42 crore In a missive to its field formations, the Board has asked assessing officers to
workers in the unorganised sectors. "endeavour to identify possible addresses of the assessee" and to proceed with
best judgment assessment under Section 144 of the Act. Rakesh Nangia, man-
Govt to link kiranas with aging partner, Nangia Advisor said this is to ensure a faster closure of these
cases and also to recover the taxes due in these cases.
e-tailers
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said CBDT notifies verification scheme for e-assessment
the government will work on helping The Central Board of Direct Taxes has come up with a new verification scheme
kirana stores and local traders link for issuance of e-notices to taxpayers. It will also process the taxpayers' infor-
with online retail. "This is the mation, related documents and make the date available to the assessing of-
government's responsibility. We will ficer, it said in a notification.
definitely do that," he said at a meet-
"The notice shall be served by delivering a copy by e-mail or by placing a copy
ing of the Confederation of All India
in the registered account on the portal, followed by intimation by SMS," it said.
Traders. Traders' body CAIT de- The scheme would ensure "no person shall be required to appear in person or
manded that the cashon-delivery sys- through authorised representative before the designated authority (of the tax
tem used by e-commerce companies department) at the communication centre in connection with any proceedings,"
be stopped.
it said.

12 | 2019 | APRIL | BANKING FINANCE