Archives 2021

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

CSR is a responsibility of a Company’s towards the community and environment in which it operates. CSR is a way of conducting business, by which corporates contribute to the social good.

Companies contribute for the betterment of our society out of the profit as a mandatory provision under section 135 of Companies Act, 2013 for betterment of our society.

Applicability of CSR Provisions:

Every Company including its holding or subsidiary during the immediately preceding financial year having:

  • Turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more, or
  • Net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more, or
  • Net Profit of Rs. 5 crore or more.

This provision also apply to the foreign companies having branch office in India and fulfills the above mention conditions.

However, if a company ceases to meet the above criteria for 3 consecutive financial years then the company need not required to comply with these Provisions till such time it meets the specified criteria.

Composition of CSR Committee:

Every Company which fulfills the above mentioned CSR provision shall be required to constitute a CSR Committee.

  • Committee Consist of 3 or more directors, out of that at least one director shall be an independent director. However, if the company is not required to appoint an independent director then shall have 2 or more directors in the Committee.
  • CSR Committee Consist of 2 directors in case of a private company.
  • CSR Committee Consist of at least 2 persons in case of a foreign Company of which one person shall be its authorized person resident in India and another nominated by the foreign company.
  • However, if the expenditure of the company against CSR is not more than Rs. 50 lakhs, then it is not required to form the committee.

Functions of CSR Committee:

The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee shall,—

(a) Formulate and recommend to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy which shall indicate the activities to be undertaken by the company as per Schedule VII,

(b) Recommend the amount of expenditure to be incurred on the activities referred to in clause (a),

(c) Monitor the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of the company from time to time.

Responsibility of Board of Directors:

The Board of every company referred to in sub-section (1) shall,—

(a) After taking into account the recommendations made by the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, approve the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for the Company and disclose contents of such Policy in its report and also place it on the Company’s website, if any, in such manner as may be prescribed; and

(b) Ensure that the activities as are included in Corporate Social Responsibility Policy is undertaken by the company or not; and

(c) Ensure that the company spends, in every financial year, at least 2% of the average net profits of the company made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy.

(d) If the company fails to spend such amount, the Board shall, in its report, specify the reasons for not spending the amount as clause (o) of sub-section (3) of section 134 of the Companies Act.

For the term above “average net profit” shall be calculated as per the provisions of section 198:

 PARTICULARSFY
 Net profit after tax* 
AddAllowed Credits 
 Profit on sale of Immovable Property (Original Cost – WDV) 
LessCredits Disallowed 
 Premium on Shares or Debentures 
 Profit on sale of Forfeited Shares 
 Profit on sale of Immovable Property (Sale Value – Original Cost) 
 Surplus in measurement of asset or liability at fair value 
LessExpenses Allowed 
 All the usual working charges 
 Director’s Remuneration 
 Bonus or Commission paid to Staff 
 Tax on excess or abnormal profits 
 Tax on business profits imposed for special reasons 
 Interest on Debentures 
 Interest on Loans 
 Expenses on Repairs (other than Capital Expenditure) 
 Contributions made under section 181 (Bonafide Charitable Trusts) 
 Depreciation 
 Prior period items 
 Legal liability or compensation or damages 
 Insurance Expenses 
AddExpenses Disallowed 
 Income Tax 
 Compensations, damages, or payments made voluntarily 
 Capital Loss on sale of undertaking or part thereof (Not include losses on sale of asset) 
 Expenditure in P&L on measurement of asset or liability at fair value 
*Net profit after tax is taken as base and accordingly the adjustments need to be considered.

Activities permitted under CSR:

  • Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty;
  • Promotion of education;
  • Promoting gender equality, and empowering women;
  • Reducing child mortality;
  • Improving maternal health;
  • Combating human immunodeficiency virus, acquired, immune deficiency syndrome, malaria, and other diseases;
  • Ensuring environmental sustainability;
  • Rural development projects
  • Slum area development.
  • Protection of national heritage, art, and culture
  • Employment enhancing vocational skills, social business projects;
  • Contribution to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government or the State Governments for socio-economic development, and
  • Relief and funds for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women, and such other matters as may be prescribed.

Other Important Point:

The Company shall give preference to the local areas around it where it operates, for expenditure earmarked for Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

CSR is not a donation or charity so 80G deduction not allowed on this expenditure.

However, if the expenditure of the company against CSR is not more than Rs. 50 lakhs, then it is not required to form the committee.

Penalty Provision:

The Government has amended the provision of Section 135 through the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019 and inserted penalty provisions for companies as well as officers in default as follows;

a) Penalty for Companies: The company shall be punishable with a fine which shall not be less than 50,000 rupees and it may extend to 25 lakh rupees, and

(b) Penalty for Officer in default: Every officer of such company who is in default shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years or with a fine which shall not be less than 50,000 rupees but it may extend to 5 lakh rupees, or with both.

Income tax Benefits:

It is very much clear that expenditure incurred as CSR is not incurred wholly and exclusively for the purpose of carrying on business so not allowed as tax deduction. But if such expenditures are in nature described in Section 30 to 36 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 shall be allowed as deduction.

THE ABOVE AMENDMENT SHALL BE APPLICABLE FROM 1ST APRIL, 2015

Amendments in GST on E- Invoicing & HSN Code

E- Invoicing:

‘E-Invoicing’ is a system in which B2B (Business to Business) invoices are authenticated electronically on the GST portal. Under the electronic invoicing system, a unique identification number will be issued against each and every invoice by the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) to be managed by the GST Network (GSTN). 

Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) is launched for the purpose of real time data sharing GST portal and E invoicing portal that eliminate the manual data entry in GSTR-1 as well as Part 1 of E way bills.  However, GST department issued an update on 1st February 2021 that while pulling the e-invoice data into the GST System, details of some invoices were not getting auto- populated into the GSTR-1. Complete data will take some more time to update. Hence taxpayers are advised not to wait for the complete auto-population of data, and instead proceed with preparing and filing the GSTR-1, by the due date, based on the data as per their records.

Applicability:

E- Invoicing is applies from 1st Oct-20 to all taxpayers whose aggregate turnover has exceeded Rs.500 crore limit in any of the preceding financial years from 2017-18 to 2019-20 (Notification No.61/2020). Further, from 1st January 2021, the above limit is changed to 100 crore (Notification No.88/2020). Further, from 1st April 2021, the above limit is changed to 50 crore (Notification No. 5/2021).

Not Applicable to:

E-Invoicing is not applicable to Specified Businesses such as SEZ Unit, Insurer, Banking Company, Financial Institution, NBFC, GTA Service, Passenger Transport Service, and Admission to Multiplex for Films.

Eligibility for ITC:

If the Supplier of Goods and Services are required to issue E-Invoices and not comply with this requirement then no ITC is available to the Purchaser.  For this condition, it’s very difficult for the buyer to ascertain whether E- invoicing is applies to supplier or not. It’s better to take an Undertaking from the supplier.

Generation :

All the ERP software provides API backlinking of the ERP with the E-invoicing portal on real time basis to authenticate the invoice by a single click but under manual process, Bulk E- invoicing offline tool should be used and the JSON file uploaded in the IRP portal.

HSN Code Applicability:

CBIC (The Central Board of Indirect Taxes) issued Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax dated 28th June, 2017, to show specified digits of Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN)/ Service Accounting Code (SAC) Code on the tax invoices for supply of goods or services. Further, the above notification was amended vide Notification No. 78/2020 – Central Tax, dated 15th October, 2020 to mandate 4/6- digit HSN/SAC Code on supply of goods or services on the tax invoices w.e.f. April 1, 2021:

Sr. NoAggregate T/O in Preceding F.YNo Of Digits of HSN Code upto 31st Mar-21No Of Digits of HSN Code from 1st April-21
1Upto 1.5 Crores04
21.5 Crores to 5 Crores24
3More than 5 Crores46

Thereafter,  Notification No. 90/2020 – Central Tax, dated December 01, 2020  issued to provide for the class of supply of ‘Chemicals’ whose HSN Code are required to be mentioned at 8-digit on the tax invoices.

Along with above notification 8 digits of HSN code is mandatory in case of export and imports under the GST.

Penalty:

Under section 125 – General Penalty of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 n case of non-mentioning or mentioning wrong HSN code under the Goods and Service Tax Act, the maximum penalty of INR 50,000/- ( INR 25000/- for CGST and SGST each) shall be levied.

For the correct HSN code do visit on https://cbic-gst.gov.in/gst-goods-services-rates.html.

Capital Gain Tax on a Specified Entity at “Dissolution or Reconstitution” under Section 9B and 45(4) of Income Tax Act

Provision under Section 9B of Income Tax Act:

Where a specified person receives any “capital asset or stock in trade or both” from a specified entity during the previous year in connection with the “dissolution or reconstitution” of such specified entity then the specified entity shall be deemed to have transferred such capital asset or stock in trade or both, as the case may be to the specified person in the year in which such capital asset or stock in trade or both are received by the specified person.

Explanation:

In this Section 9B (1) it’s says that deemed transfer at a time of:

  • At a time of Dissolution or Reconstitution
  • Transfer of capital assets or stock in trade or both and,
  • The tax to be payable by the specified entity not in the hand of the specified person.

In case of transfer of Capital assets:

Capital Gain Tax to be charged in the hand of the specified entity under the provision of Sec. 45(1).

For this sale consideration is the fair market value (FMV) of the capital assets at the time of transfer (-) minus Cost of Acquisition/ indexed Cost of Acquisition  

In case of transfer of Stock in Trade:

For this sale consideration is the fair market value (FMV) of the capital assets at the time of transfer (-) minus Cost of Acquisition

Provision under Section 45(4) of Income Tax Act:

Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) of section 45 of Income Tax Act, where a specified person receives any money or capital asset or both from a specified entity in connection with the “reconstitution” of such specified entity during the previous year, then any profits or gains arising from such receipt by the specified person shall be chargeable to income-tax as income of such specified entity under the head “Capital gains and shall be deemed to be the income of such specified entity of the previous year in which such money or capital asset or both were received by the specified person.

 Such profits or gains shall be determined as per this formula :-“A=B+C-D”

Where,

A = income chargeable under the head “Capital gains” in the hand of the entity,

B = value of any money received by the specified person from the specified entity (on the date of receipt),

C= the amount of fair market value of the capital asset received by the specified person from the specified entity (on the date of receipt),

D = the amount of balance in the capital account of the specified person in the books of account of the specified entity (at the time of its reconstitution)

if the value of ‘A’ in the above formula is negative then its deemed to be zero.

Explanation:

In this Section 45(4) it’s says that:

  • At a time of Reconstitution only
  • Transfer of capital assets or money or both and,
  • The tax to be payable by the specified entity not in the hand of the specified person.

Let’s understand with the help of an Example:

Mr. “A “who is retired from a partnership firm (consider as Reconstitution of partnership firm) get:

Capital Assets of Rs. –     6 Crores      Cost of Acquisition of Rs –             4 Crores

Stock in Trade od Rs.-     1.5 Crores   Cost of Stock of Rs.-                        1 Crore

Cash of Rs.                         2 Crores     Capital in books Rs.                         5 Crore

Then Partnership firm is liable to pay tax on an amount calculated as under-

Capital Gain u/s 45(1) = 6-4=2 Crores

Business profession u/s 28 = 1.5-1=.50 crore

Capital Gain u/s 45(4) = 2+6-5= 3 crores

Definitions:

1) “Reconstitution of the specified entity” means where:

(a) One or more of its partners or members, as the case may be of such specified entity ceases to be partners or members,

(b) One or more new partners or members, as the case may be, are admitted in such specified entity in such circumstances that one or more of the persons who were partners or members, as the case may be, of the specified entity before the change, continue as partner or partners or member of members after the change or

(c) All the partners or members, as the case may be of such specified entity continue with a change in their respective share or in the shares of some of them.

(ii) “Specified entity” means a firm or other association of persons or body of individuals (not being a company or a co-operative society)

(iii) “Specified person” means a person who is a partner of a firm or member of other association of persons or body of individuals (not being a company or a co-operative society) in any previous year.

Changes in “Tax on Maturity Proceeds of ULIP” as per Finance Act 2021

What Is a Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP)?

ULIP is a product issued by Insurance Companies. It’s a product combination of insurance coverage and investment exposure. Like all other insurance policy, Policyholder requires to pay the regular premium. There are many different ULIP plans available (Equity / Debts) in the market like life insurance, retirement income, and education expenses.

Exemptions, Tax Deduction & Taxability:

Exemption under Section 10 (10D) can be claimed only fulfillment of the following conditions:

  1. In the case of ‘Death Claim’, any amount of claim received by the nominee is entirely tax free.
  2. In the case of ‘Maturity Claim’, any amount of claim received by policyholder is subject to tax and the tax is deducted under Section 194DA (TDS on the maturity of Life Insurance Policy) at the rate of …..by the insurance company if the annual premium payment is more then 10% of sum assured and the policy issued on or before 1st April ‘2012.(as per sub section (d) of Section 10 (10D))
  3. Deduction under Section 80C is available for the premium paid for ULIP subject to the condition of 10% of the sum assured and has a lock-in period of 5 years.
  4. If annual premium payment is more then 10% of the sum assured and the policy issued on or before 1st April ‘2012 than the amount of claim is added to total income (Income from other sources) and the tax calculated as per the Income tax slab.

In Finance Bill 2021, Proviso 4 and 5 of Section 10 (10D) added and the explanation as follows.

Fourth proviso to Section 10(10D)

Fourth proviso to clause (10D) of section 10 is inserted to provide that the exemption under this clause shall not apply with respect to any ULIP issued on or after the 1st February, 2021, if the amount of premium paid for any of the previous year during the term of the policy exceeds amount Rs. 2,50,000.

It means all the policies issued before 1st Feb,2021 are not considered in this Proviso and Exemptions, Tax Deduction, and taxability same as we discussed before.  

Fifth proviso to Section 10(10D)

Fifth proviso to clause 10(10D) is proposed to be inserted to provide that, if premium is paid by a person for more than one ULIPs, issued on or after the 1st February, 2021, exemption under this clause shall be available only with respect to such policies aggregate premium whereof does not exceed the amount of Rs. 2,50,000, for any of the previous years during the term of any of the policy.

It means if the policyholder has more than one ULIP policy then aggregate premium consider for calculation of 2,50,000 limit as referred in the forth proviso.

If proviso 4th and 5th applicable then Taxability:

As per new amendments ULIP is treated as “Equity Oriented Funds”. So now Capital gain tax arises on the maturity of ULIP’s if Proviso 4 and 5 applicable under section 45(1B) of Income Tax Act.

Under Section 112A, Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) arising out of the sale of units of equity-oriented mutual fund schemes are taxed @ 10% without any indexation benefit, if the LTCG exceeds Rs. 1,00,000 in a financial year.

As per Section 111A -In case the equity oriented mutual fund units redeemed are held for 12 months then it qualifies for short term capital gain and taxable at a flat rate of 15%.

Accordingly, Section 2(14) is amended and ULIP is defined as a ‘Capital Asset’ and Section 45(1B) included “Proceeds from the redemption of ULIPs are taxable under the head ‘Capital Gains’

Decoded TCS-Section 206C(1H) & TDS-Section 194Q

TCS Provisions on Sale of Goods under Section 206C(1H) along with TDS Provision on Purchase Transactions under Section 194Q

TCS Provisions on Sale of Goods under Section 206C(1H):

Finance Act 2020 had inserted a new sub-section (1H) under section 206 of the Income Tax Act. This new provision specifies the collection TCS on Sale of goods with some conditions, For this CBDT issued a circular No. 17 on 29th Sept 2020 for a better understanding of this provision. This section came into force with effect from 1st Oct 2020. 

Applicability of Section 206C(1H):

  1. The tax shall be collected by the seller only if turnover is more than 10 crores in the preceding financial year.
  2. The seller “receives” any amount for consideration for the “sale of goods” of the value or aggregate of such value exceeding INR 50 lakhs in any previous year from such buyer.

Then TCS collected by the seller at the rate of 0.1% on the sale consideration received exceeding Rs.50 lakhs on and after 1st Oct, 2020 and deposited the same within 7 days from the end of the month. The limit of 50 lakhs is per buyer per year.

The Guidance note clearly said that any transaction with various exchanges like recognized stock exchanges, recognized clearing corporations, and transaction with power exchanges not considered for the provision of Sec 206C(1H) as there is no one to one contract of buyer and seller.

In short, if the turnover of the seller exceeds 10 crores in the last year and the amount received from a buyer in the current year exceeds 50 lakhs then TCS should be collected on such sum exceeding 50 lakhs on and after 1st Oct,2020.

TDS Provisions on TDS on Purchase Transactions Section 194Q :

Finance Act 2021 had inserted a new Section 194Q- TDS on Purchase Transactions. This new section says Tax to be deducted on transactions with some conditions; this section is effect from 1st July 2021.

Applicability of Section 194Q:

  1. The tax shall be deducted by the buyer only if turnover is more than 10 crores in the preceding financial year.
  2. a buyer who is responsible for paying any sum to the seller for “purchase of goods” of the value or aggregate of such value exceeding INR 50 lakhs in any previous year, 

Then TDS to be deducted by the buyer at the rate of 0.1% on the payment exceeding Rs.50 lakhs on and after 1st July, 2021 and deposited the same within 7 days from the end of the month. TDS deducted at the time of payment and Seller must be resident.

In short, if the turnover of the Buyer exceeds 10 crores in the last year and the amount need to pay to the seller by such buyer in this year is exceeds 50 lakhs then TDS should be deducted on such sum exceeding 50 lakhs on and after 1st July,2021.

Summary:

Seller Buyer
T/O last YearSale ValueTCST/O last YearPurchase ValueTDS
Less than 10 CRLess than 50 LakhsN.ALess than 10 CRLess than 50 LakhsN.A
Less than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsN.ALess than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsN.A
More than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsYesLess than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsN.A
Less than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsN.AMore than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsYes
More than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsNoMore than 10 CRMore than 50 LakhsYes

Why section 194-Q and section 206 C (1H) was required by Law?

The motive behind Govt. having implemented these sections seems to be very clearly brought about a change where large amount of transactions are being traced without any trail where GST amounts is being misappropriated. Govt. intends to bring all such purchase and sales transactions under some audit trail so that fake or frivolous transactions could be tracked or bring under the trail of TDS and TCS provisions and checked in future, if required.

Key Changes in ITR-1 for AY 2021-22

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) was issued Notification No. 21/2021, dated 31-03-2021and notify the changes in ITR Forms for the Assessment Year 2021-22. 

First understand what is ITR-1?

 ITR-1 (Sahaj), A simpler forms and filed by the small and medium individual taxpayer having income up to Rs 50 lakh and who receives income from salary, one house property or other sources like  interest income etc.

In this Pandemic time there is no such significant changes done.

Changes in ITR-1 from AY 2021-22 are as follows:

  • ITR-1 shall not be available to an individual taxpayer whose tax has been deducted on cash withdrawal under Section 194N.

Under section 194N of the Income Tax Act, tax is required to be deducted by any bank, banking institution, cooperative bank or post office if the amount of cash withdrawn by individual person from one or more account during the year exceeds Rs 20 lakh in case of certain non-filers of return and Rs 1 crore in other cases.

Rule 12 of the Income tax rules has been amended and Consequential changes have been made to ITR-1.

  • ITR-1 shall not be available to an individual taxpayer in case of deferment of tax on ESOPs, Deferment the payment or deduction of tax on ESOPs allotted by an eligible start-up referred under Section 80-IAC has allowed in the Finance Act, 2020

Under section 80-IAC (applicable for eligible start-ups) of the Income Tax Act, Tax is required to be deducted or paid of such ESOP’s within 14 days from the following period:

Under section 80-IAC (applicable for eligible start-ups) of the Income Tax Act, Tax is required to be deducted or paid of such ESOP’s within 14 days from the following period:

  1. After expiry of 48 months from the end of AY relevant to the financial year in which ESOPs are allotted;
  2. From the date of sale of shares allotted under ESOP ; or
  3. From the date the assessee ceases to be an employee of the organization.

Rule 12 of the Income tax rules has been amended and Consequential changes have been made to ITR-1.

  • ITR-1 changes due to change in taxability in Dividend Income.

The Finance Act 2020 Finance Minister abolished the Section 115-O – Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) and Shift the burden of tax on the shareholders by withdrawing the Section 10(34) and accordingly section 115BBDA has no relevance as entire dividend is taxable in the hands of shareholders from 1st April 2020.

From 1st April 2020 Companies deducted TDS @ 10% under section 194 of Income tax Act if dividend payout is more than Rs.5000.

Now Dividend Income comes in Schedule SI (Special Income) of ITR-1 and taxable with special rate. Corresponding changes have been made to Schedule SI.

Deferment in Payment of Tax on ESOP’s “By Taxmann”

Provision & Computation with Example’s

The Finance Act, 2020, has allowed to defer the payment or deduction of tax on ESOPs allotted by an eligible start-up referred under Section 80-IAC. The tax is required to be paid or deducted in respect of such ESOPs within 14 days from the earliest of the following period:

  1. After expiry of 48 months from the end of Assessment year relevant to the financial year in which ESOPs are allotted;
    1. From the date the assessee ceases to be an employee of the organization; or
    1. From the date of sale of shares allotted under ESOP.

Reporting of amount deferred in respect of ESOPs

If an employee has received ESOPs from an eligible start-up referred to in Section 80-IAC in respect of which the tax has been deferred, the Part B of Schedule TTI (Computation of tax liability on total income) seeks the disclosure of the tax amount which has been deferred in this respect.

The ITR Form does not provide any guidance on the computation of the tax to be deferred. In such a situation, the tax to be deferred can be computed in accordance with the guidance give below.

Applicable rate of tax

As the perquisite arising from ESOPs shall be taxable in the year in which shares are allotted or transferred by the employer to employees, the tax shall be calculated on the basis of rates applicable in the year in which shares are allotted or transferred.

Example, X Pvt. Ltd launched an Employee Stock Option Scheme for its employee in year 00 under which shares of the company would be allotted to employees at free of cost. Mr. A, one of the employees of X Pvt. Ltd., exercises his option to apply for the shares of the company in year 01. At the time of exercising of option, the fair market value of shares was Rs. 100. However, the company allots shares to Mr. A in Year 02. What shall be the amount of perquisite and in which year it shall be chargeable to tax in hands of Mr. A and at what rate?

In the above example, the amount of perquisite chargeable to tax in the hands of Mr. A shall be the fair market value of shares on the date of exercising of option, i.e., Rs. 100 and it shall be chargeable to tax in the year in which shares are allotted by the company, i.e., Year 02. Thus, tax on perquisite shall be calculated at the rate as applicable in Year 02.

How to calculate the amount of tax to be deferred?

An employee is required to disclose the value of perquisite from ESOPs in his return of income (Schedule TTI) of the year in which shares are allotted. However, due to the deferment of payment of tax, the employee shall not be required to pay tax on perquisite arising from ESOPs in such year. The tax to be payable on the salary income, excluding the perquisite value of ESOPs, should be computed as per following formula.

Tax payable on salary income excluding ESOPs perquisite=Tax on total income including ESOPs perquisitesXTotal income excluding ESOPs perquisites
————————
Total income including ESOPs perquisites

Example, Mr. A, working in a start-up company, has been allotted 100,000 shares at the rate of Rs. 10 per share under ESOP scheme in the Financial Year 2020-21. The fair market value of shares at the time of exercising of option by Mr. A is Rs. 100. The perquisite value of ESOPs taxable in the hands of Mr. A shall be Rs. 90 Lakhs [100,000 shares* (Rs. 100 – Rs. 10)]. The annual salary of Mr. A (excluding perquisite value of ESOPs) in that year is Rs. 40 Lakhs. He continues with the company even after expiry of 48 months from the end of the assessment year in which shares are allotted and he does not sell the shares even after expiry of said period. What shall be the mechanism for deferment of TDS and tax on perquisite value of ESOPs in such a case?

Assessment Year 2021-22
Mr. A would be required to disclose the perquisite value of ESOPs, i.e., Rs. 90 lakh in his return of income but he shall not be liable to pay any tax thereon in the year of allotment of shares. The tax to be payable on the salary income, excluding the perquisite value of ESOPs, shall be computed in the following manner:

ParticularsAmount (in Rs.)
Total Income before including perquisite value of ESOPs (A)40,00,000
Add: Perquisite Value of ESOPs (B)90,00,000
Total Income after including perquisite value of ESOPs  (C)1,30,00,000
Tax on Rs. 1.30 crore  as per slab rates applicable for Assessment Year 2021-22 as per old taxation regime (D)37,12,500
Add: Surcharge [E = D * 15%]5,56,875
Add: Education Cess [F = (D + E) * 4%]1,70,775
Total tax liability for Assessment Year 2021-22 after considering perquisite value of ESOPs [G = D + E + F]44,40,150
Tax liability attributable to salary income (excluding the perquisite of ESOPs) [G * A / C]13,66,200

Assessment Year 2026-27
As Mr. A continues with the company after expiry of 48 months from the end of the Assessment Year in which shares are allotted and he does not sell the shares even after expiry of said period, the liability to deduct tax or make payment of tax on perquisite value of ESOP will arise in the Assessment Year 2026-27, i.e., after expiry of 48 months from the end of the Assessment year (2021-22) in which shares are allotted. The TDS shall be deducted within 14 days from the end of the assessment year 2025-26. The tax liability for the Assessment Year 2026-27 shall be computed as under:

ParticularsAmount (in Rs.)
Total tax liability for Assessment Year 2021-22 after considering perquisite value of ESOPs44,40,150
Less: Tax already paid at the time of filing of return for the Assessment Year 2021-2213,66,200
Differential amount to be deducted or paid by the employer or employee in the Assessment Year 2026-2730,73,950

Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme

About Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs):

Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) are the alternative to investment in physical gold. These bonds are risk-free as issued by the Government of India. The Government launched this scheme in 2015 under Gold Monetisation Scheme. These bonds are backed with policies and procedures notified by RBI.  

Features:

  • A Person resident in India having PAN can apply for this scheme. Even a resident person subsequently changes the status to non-resident also continues to hold SGB till early redemption/maturity.
  • The Bonds are issued in one gram of gold denominations and in multiples thereof. The Minimum investment shall be 1 gram per fiscal year. The Maximum investment is 4 kg for Individual/HUF and 20 kg for others per fiscal year.
  • Bonds having a tenor of 8 years but early redemption allowed after 5 years of lock- in period.
  • Once bond purchased the certificate of holding will be issued by the RBI. The said holding is credited in the Demat account and can be traded in stock exchanges.
  • At the time of redemption price will be decided based on the simple average of the closing price of gold purity 999 of the previous 3 working days published by the India Bullion and Jewelers Association Limited.

Advantage to Invest in SGB:

  • Every investor is compensated with fixed Interest at the rate of 2.50 percent payable semiannually directly in the bank account of the investor.
  • Bonds are exchange traded fund.
  • Bonds are transferable to relatives/friends/others in accordance with the provisions of the Government Securities Act 2006.
  • The capital gains tax arising on redemption on the maturity of SGB to “an individual” has been exempted. The indexation benefits will be provided to long terms capital gains arising on the transfer of bonds.
  • Joint holding is allowed.
  • A minor also can invest.
  • Nomination facility is available for the investor.
  • Investment in SGB is risk-free. All the risk and cost of storage with holding physical gold are eliminated.
  • No TDS will deduct. It’s the responsibility of bond holders to comply with tax laws.
  • Partial redemption is allowed in multiples of 1 gram.

Offer for Sale (OFS)

What is Offer for Sale (OFS)?

An Offer for Sale is a method in which promoters of listed companies can sell their shares through the bidding platform for the Exchanges and transparently reduce their holdings.

It’s an easier process for the promoter to dilute their stake with minimum compliance. OFS was introduced in 2012 by SEBI and available for top 200 companies in terms of market capitalization.

OFS process opted by the listed companies for the fulfillment of financial needs. Only promoters or shareholders holding more than 10 percent of the share capital can avail this issue. The minimum offer size is 25 crore.

Bidder Includes Companies, Individual, FII’s, and QIB’s.

In an OFS, a minimum of 25 percent of offer size is reserved for mutual funds (MFs) and insurance companies, and a minimum of 10 percent of the offered size is reserved for retail investors.

Process for Application, Bidding, and Allotment in OFS:

  • The company has to inform stock exchanges atleast 2 days before the OFS.
  • An individual can apply for OFS with the help of brokers with the bid value not exceeds Rs. 2 Lakh. And unlike to IPO an investor can put multiple bids and the bid can be modified or cancel any time during bidding hours.
  • The company set a floor price, No allocation will be made below the floor price.
  • The OFS is open for a single trading day with Bid timing is between 9.15 am to 2.45 pm.
  • Settlement takes place T+1 day.

Difference between OFS and IPO/FPO

Difference KeysOFSIPO / FPO
 Offer ApplicationNo application required.Application required
 OpeningOpen for single Trading SessionOpen for four to five days
ChargesCharges like Brokerage, STT and other chargesNo Charges
ComplianceLowHigh
ProcessSimpleHarder
About CompanyVery known companyNot Much known
Fresh CapitalNot involve the raising of capital only change in ownershipFor capital raising
Effect on EPSNot EPS dilutiveEPS dilutive

How to file Income Tax return (ITR) for Previous Years

Timeline to file belated Income Tax Return (ITR) under section 139(4):

As per the Finance Act 2016 amendment from AY 2017-18 anyone can file a belated return on or before the relevant Assessment Year if missed the due dates mentioned in section 139(1) of the Income tax Act.

Example: For AY 20-21 last date to file a belated return on or before 31st Mar 2021.  

File Income Tax return under section 119:

This section 119 authorized to Central Board of Direct taxes -CBDT to direct Income tax authority to allow the assessee to file ITR even missed deadline under section 139(4). The Taxpayer can claim for exemption, deduction, refund, and any other relief even after the expiry of the time limit to make such claims.

Conditions:

  • Taxpayers have to file an Application in writing to the relevant Authorities.
  • Time limit to file the application within next 6 years from the end of the assessment year
  • The authorities accept the application to file the return under sec. 119 only if there is a genuine reason otherwise they have right to reject.

How to file returns under section 119(2)(b):

Once the application is accepted an order should be passed by the authorities.

Then follow the below steps:

  • Login to  income tax e-filing portal
  • Go to the “e-file” tab and select “Income tax returns”
  • Select the assessment year for which you have to file the return under this section
  • Then, choose the filing type – “Filing against notice/order”
  • Select the filing section – “139 read with section 119(2)(b)”
  • Then upload an XML and file return by verifying it.