Page 14 - Banking Finance September 2021

ROUNDUP

In an amendment to Income Tax the Auto Renewal of Certificate of En- before joint or additional commissioner
Rules, 1961, published, the CBDT said listment through online system for ur- (appeals), commissioner (appeals), Ap-
the rules and forms were being omit- ban areas has received the gold pellate Authority for Advance Ruling,
ted with immediate effect. award. Online issuance of trade li- tribunal and various courts against any
cences in rural areas and the E- quasi-judicial order or where proceed-
However, any pending proceeding be-
Nathikaran: the online system for reg- ing for revision or rectification of any
fore the income-tax authorities, appel-
istration, preparation and submission of order is required to be made. This ex-
late tribunals or courts will continue,
deeds have won two silver awards. tension of timeline is not applicable to
and agreements, appointments, ap-
any other proceeding under GST laws,
provals, recognitions, directions and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
notifications on the basis of the with- tweeted, the state government will the tax authority said.
drawn rules and forms will remain in ensure that the ease of doing business Experts said the tax authority's clarifi-
force. in West Bengal continues to be one of cation defines the scope of the apex
the foremost in the country. court's relaxation and limits it to filing
The list of forms and rules, which were
of appeals or petitions for revision or
omitted from 29 July, is extensive and
includes income tax forms, statements CBIC interprets SC orders rectification of any order.
and returns, which were used for com- only for filing appeals
pliance, said Archit Gupta, founder and Govt begins comprehen-
chief executive officer of online tax The government has clarified that a
relief granted by the Supreme Court in sive review of GST
service provider Clear (formerly
Cleartax). April by way of extra time for various The Centre has begun a comprehen-
proceedings under law in view of the sive review of the goods and services
pandemic was limited only to filing tax (GST) law, as well as various rules
Fee exemption for battery appeals by parties and that it does not pertaining to the levy, to provide clar-
operated vehicles prevent officials from carrying out their ity on issues that have cropped up
The Union government has exempted quasi-judicial work. since it was rolled out in July 2017. The
battery-operated vehicles from pay- The Central Board of Indirect Taxes review is aimed at clearing the air on
ment of registration fees, a move and Customs (CBIC) has in a circular issues such as whether services pro-
aimed at encouraging e-mobility in the issued interpreted that the apex vided by back offices of multinational
country. "Battery operated vehicles court's order does not apply to the companies in India qualify as exports,
which are zero-rated and therefore
shall be exempted from the payment compliance requirements of taxpayers
don't face tax.
of fees for the purpose of issue or re- and the routine decision making of tax
newal of registration certificate and officers who perform quasi-judicial du- Simillarly, there is confusion over dis-
assignment of new registration mark," ties. counts reimbursed by FMCG and con-
the ministry of road transport and high- The apex court had on 27 April ruled sume durables companies to their deal-
ways said in a gazette notification The that the period starting from 15 March ers to sell products at specially re-
notification shall come into effect im- 2020 till a time to be specified will not duced prices being liable for GST or
mediately, it said. not. The review is expected to simplify
count as far as the time limits pre-
the law and reduce disputes.
scribed for filing appeals or other pro-
Bengal govt wins SKOCH ceedings under various laws and that A government official said these issues
awards it should be excluded. CBIC's clarifica- along with many others will then be
tion is based on a legal view it has ob- taken to the officials' committee of the
The Government of West Bengal has tained, given the far-reaching nature GST Council for discussion.
received four SKOCH awards for its of the apex court's ruling.
schemes under the Ease of Doing Busi- Subsequently, based on the feedback,
ness initiative. The State scheme According to the clarification from the a detailed proposal will be put to the
'Silpasathi'-the online single window indirect tax body, the extension of council for a final decision.
portal won the platinum award while timelines granted by the court is appli- "The ideas is to iron out any legal is-
cable to appeals required to be filed

14 | 2021 | SEPTEMBER | BANKING FINANCE