Direct Tax
Filing of appeals by department before income tax appellate tribunal, High Court and SLPS/ appeals before supreme court - measures for reducing litigation
Circular No. 9/2024 [F. NO. 279/ MISC./M-74/2024-ITJ] dated 17 September 2024
Vide circulars, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had specified monetary limits and other conditions for filing Departmental appeals under the Income-tax Act, before ITAT, Hon'ble High Courts and Special Leave Petitions (SLPs)/ appeals before Hon'ble Supreme Court (SC).
In order to reduce unnecessary litigation and provide certainty to taxpayers on their Income-tax assessments, CBDT clarified that a Department appeal should not be filed before ITAT, HC, SLP and Supreme Courts merely because the tax effect in a case exceeds the monetary limits prescribed in Circular No. 17/2019, dated 8 August 2019.
- For this purpose, 'tax effect' means the difference between the tax on the total income assessed and the tax that would have been chargeable had such total income been reduced by the amount of income in respect of the issues against which appeal is intended to be filed (hereinafter referred to as 'disputed issues'). Further, 'tax effect' shall be tax including applicable surcharge and cess. However, the tax will not include any interest thereon, except where chargeability of interest itself is in dispute.
- CBDT has also specified method of calculation of tax effect, where income is computed under the provisions of section 115JB or section 115JC.
- CBDT has decided to revise the monetary limits for filing of appeals in aforementioned Circular as follows:
| Sr. No. | Appeals/SLPs in Income-tax matters | Monetary Limit (Tax effect in INR) prior to this circular | Monetary Limit (Tax effect in INR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Before Income Tax Appellate Tribunal | 50 million | 60 million |
| 2 | Before High Court | 10 million | 20 million |
| 3 | Before Supreme Court | 20 million | 50 million |
Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Rules, 2024
Notification No. G.S.R. 584(E) [NO. 104/2024, F. NO. 370142/16/2024-TPL dated 20 September 2024
In exercise of its powers the Central Government has specified following rules and has notified forms under the Vivad se Vishwas scheme:
Amount payable by declarant
| Sr. No. | Nature of the tax arrear | Amount payable if application made on or before 31 December 2024 | Amount payable if application made on or after 1 January 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. | Tax arrear is aggregate amount of Disputed tax, interest chargeable, and penalty leviable or levied on such disputed tax. | ||
| 1. | Where appeal is filed after 31 January 2020 but on or before 23 July 2024 | Disputed tax amount | 110% of the disputed tax |
| 2. | Where appeal is filed on or before 31 January 2020 | 110% of the disputed tax | 120% of the disputed tax |
| B. | Tax arrear is disputed interest, disputed penalty, or disputed fees. | ||
| 1. | Where appeal is filed after 31 January 2020 but on or before 23 July 2024 | 25% of the tax arrear | 30% of the tax arrear |
| 2. | Where appeal is filed on or before 31 January 2020 | 30% of the tax arrear | 35% of the tax arrear |
Form of declaration and undertaking
The declaration for any dispute referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 91 and the undertaking referred to in subsection (4) of the said section shall be made in Form-1 to the designated authority.
Form of certificate by Designated Authority
The Designated Authority shall issue a certificate to the declarant containing particulars of the tax arrear and the amount payable after such determination, electronically in Form-2.
Intimation of payment
The intimation of payment as referred to in sub-section (2) of Section 92, made pursuant to the certificate issued by the designated authority shall be furnished along with proof of withdrawal of appeal, objection, application, writ petition, special leave petition, or claim filed by the declarant to the designated authority in Form-3.
Order by designated authority
The order by the designated authority, in respect of payment of amount payable by the declarant as per certificate issued shall be in Form-4.
CBDT has also specified:
- Manner of computing disputed tax in cases where loss or unabsorbed depreciation is reduced.
- Manner of computing disputed tax in cases where Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) credit is reduced.
Indirect Tax
Customs
CBIC extends export benefits to Courier shipments
Notification No. 60/2024–Customs (N.T.) dated 12 September 2024 r/w Circular No. 15/2024-Customs dated 12 September 2024
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has notified amendments to the Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2010 to enable exporters to claim benefits under the Duty Drawback, RoDTEP, and RoSCTL schemes for exports made through courier mode.
To by-pass the limitations of the present Express Cargo Clearance Systems (ECCS) in processing the Drawback, RoDTEP, and RoSCTL claims for courier shipments, the Indian Customs EDI System (ICES) will be used at the International Courier Terminals (ICTs) to process the payments. Thus, while the logistics of the courier terminal will be used for physical handling and examination purposes, the customs clearance will be handled on ICES.
Foreign Trade Policy (FTP)
Import authorizations for IT Hardware under HSN 8471 to remain valid till 31 December 2024
Policy Circular No. 7/2024-25 dated 24 September 2024
In partial modification of Policy Circular No. 06/2023, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has clarified that importers are allowed to apply for authorisations for import of specified IT hardware like laptops, computers, tablets etc., falling under HSN Code 8471, which will be valid upto 31 December 2024. Further, the existing import authorisations issued till 30 September will continue to be valid upto 31 December 2024.
DGFT notifies updated SCOMET List for 2024
Notification No. 25/2024 dated 02 September 2024 r/w Press Release dated 03 September 2024
The DGFT has notified amendment in Appendix 3 - Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies (SCOMET) List to Schedule 2 of ITC (HS) Classification of Export and Import Items, 2018. The same is in line with recent changes in the control lists of the multilateral export control regimes, and certain policy amendments in the national system.
The Notification provides a transition period of 30 days from the issuance date, to enable the industry to adjust to the changes.
DGFT eases Export Obligation reporting requirements under EPCG scheme
Public Notice No. 24/2024-25 dated 20 September 2024
The DGFT has eased the reporting requirement under the EPCG Scheme, as given in Para 5.14 of Handbook of Procedures, 2023 with immediate effect. Accordingly, the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) authorization holder shall now submit to the concerned Regional Authority a report on fulfilment of Export Obligation (EO) through online mode after expiry of the first block of four years and continuously till the expiry of EO period.
Such a report shall contain a statement with details of Shipping bill / Invoice number / Bill of Export / Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) number with date, as applicable, duly certified by Chartered Accountant / Cost Accountant / Company Secretary for evidencing fulfillment of specific as well as average EO (wherever applicable).