Page 19 - Banking Finance September 2024

LEGAL UPDATE

crore the previous year, according to five years along with a Rs 25 lakh pen- The other proposed measures include
the report. Among these 807 cases, 36 alty. decriminalisation of non- reporting of
are pending due to ongoing proceed- The audit firm, which is a KPMG net- small foreign assets, a simplified tax
ings in State PID courts, National Com- work affiliate, and the partners have regime for charities and a tweak in lim-
pany Law Tribunal (NCLT), National been held guilty of "professional mis- its for reassessments to reduce dis-
Company Law Appellate Tribunal conduct" by NFRA, the regulator for putes.
(NCLAT) involving Rs 12,199 crore.
auditors and firms dealing with listed The Budget also proposed legislative
and large companies. changes to provide for immunity to
CCD case: NFRA bars 2
benamidar or any person other than
CAs from practice Govt decriminalises late the beneficial owner who turns
In the sternest action against an audi- payment of TDS, to reduce approver against the beneficial owner
tor, National Financial Reporting Au- under the Benami Transactions (Prohi-
thority (NFRA) barred Aravind Maiya, litigation with Vivad se bition) Act, 1988.
a former partner at BSR & Co and now Vishwas scheme "A beginning is being made in the Fi-
the CEO of Embassy REIT, from prac- The Union Budget has proposed a nance Bill by simplifying the tax regime
ticing for 10 years and also slapped number of tax simplification measures for charities, TDS rate structure, pro-
with a Rs 50 lakh penalty, while levy- including a comprehensive review of
ing a Rs 10 crore fine on the firm, in a the Income Tax Act, decriminalisation visions for reassessment and search
case involving the fraud at Cafe Coffee of late payment of tax deducted at provisions and capital gains taxation.
Day. source (TDS) and the Vivad se Vishwas The two tax exemption regimes for
Amit Somani, another partner at BSR Scheme 2024 for settling direct tax charities are proposed to be merged
into one," said Finance Minister
& Co, was barred from practising for disputes.
Nirmala Sitharaman.
At present, the Income Tax Act has two
Ombudsman help for cyber victims main regimes for trusts or funds or in-
At least two south Kolkata residents have got back money they lost to cyber stitutions to claim exemption. Now, it
fraud within 10 days to over a year after lodging complaints with the RBI is proposed to merge trusts under the
ombudsman, a senior official said. They were among the 12 cyber-crime first regime with the second regime for
victims who have got back their stolen money this year. exemption and also provide for
In the first case, a businessman from Alipore got back his money after a rationalisation of filing of applications
year. and the timelines for registration and
"This person was cheated of Rs 1,45,000 from his private bank savings ac- approval of certain benefits to chari-
count on March 27, 2023, when trying to buy hookah products online. The table trusts and institutions.
victim had found a mobile number on Google and contacted it to order the The Budget also proposed to
products. Initially, the bank was unresponsive, forcing him to approach the decriminalise several provisions under
ombudsman. Upon informing the authorities concerned, and after hearing the Income Tax Act. Indian profession-
out both sides, the entire amount was refunded to the victim," an officer als working in multinationals get
said. ESOPS (employee stock ownership
In another case, a 27-year-old IT engineer lost over Rs 14.5 lakh after he plans) and invest in social security
fell victim to the classic APK file fraud. His lawyer and cyber-crime expert schemes and other movable assets
Bivas Chatterjee sent a legal notice on his behalf to a private bank and the abroad and non- reporting of such
Reserve Bank of India. Following the legal notice reaching RBI, the apex small foreign assets has penal conse-
bank has now directed the private bank to "extinguish a loan liability" worth quences under the Black Money Act.
Rs 14 lakh. This loan was raised in the name of the engineer, for which he Now, such non- reporting of movable
had been regularly asked by the private bank to pay EMIs and recovery assets up to ` 20 lakh has been pro-
agents had even started hounding him. posed to be de- penalised.

18 | 2024 | SEPTEMBER | BANKING FINANCE