FINANCE

This week, bitcoin saw its value increase by almost $1,500 per coin. Image: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier London — Bitcoin transactions use so much energy that the electricity used for a single trade could power a home for almost a whole month, according to a paper from Dutch bank ING. Bitcoin trades use a lot of electricity as a means to make verifying trades expensive, therefore making fraudulent transactions costly and deterring those who would seek to misuse the currency. "By making sure that verifying transactions is a costly business, the integrity of the network can be preserved as long as benevolent nodes control a majority of computing power," wrote ING senior economist Teunis Brosens. "Together, they will dominate the verification (mining) process. To make the verification (mining) costly, the verification algorithm requires a lot of processing power and thus electricity." Comparing the amount of energy used for a bitcoin transaction to running his home in...

Demand and recovery can be initiated for short-levy, non-levy, short paid, non-paid, erroneous refund, wrong availment and incorrect utilisation of   input tax credit . All demand and recovery proceedings under GST start with the issuance of a show cause notice. In this article, we look deeper into GST show cause notice. When can Show Cause Notice (SCN) be issued under GST? Show Cause Notice can be issued under GST, when an officer believes that there has been any of the following instances with respect to GST revenue or payment for the Government: Short levy or Non-levy Short paid or Not paid Erroneous refund Wrong utilisation of input tax credit Time Limit for Issuing Show Cause Notice GST Act specified a time limit for issuing show cause notice. The time limit for issuing show cause notice depends on whether fraud or suppression is involved or not. If Fraud or Suppression is NOT Involved If no fraud or suppression is involved, a show cause n...

Procedure for Registration of Trust S No   Particulars / Requirements Remarks         1   Before you register your trust you will need to decide the following:         a  Name of the trust         b  Address of the trust         c  Objects of the trust(charitable or Religious)         d  One settler of the trust (Person who donates the property to the trust)         e  Two trustees of the trust (who holds the propery on trust)         f Property of the trust-movable or immovable property (normally a small amount of cash/cheque is given...

Some taxpayers are reported that there is late fee amount shown in their GSTR 3B return, for the month of September, 2017, even though the last date of filing GSTR 3B return for the month of September, 2017, is 20th October, 2017. This is not for any delay on filing of GSTR 3B for September, 2017 (as last date of filing GSTR 3B is 20th October). It is on account of late filing of return for previous period, i.e. August, 2017. The system does entry into ledgers from GSTR 3B return on the date on which return is submitted (entries get frozen). The late fee for the difference of date of submission and prescribed due date of filing, till the date of submission is applied in that month itself. In case the return is filed later than the date of submission, then the differential late fee for the gap between date of filing and last date of filing return or date of submission (whichever is later), is added in the next month’s return. The delay between date of submission (D1) and date of f...

Following new functionalities have been made available to taxpayer on GST Portal: GSTR-2 Offline Version 2.1 - New version of GSTR-2 offline tool is available on portal now. This will enable taxpayers to export data of GSTR-2 from Tool to Excel. This will be helpful in comparing this data with purchase register to take actions like accept, reject and modify. Form GST CMP-02 - Intimation to pay tax under Section 10 (Composition Levy) under Rule 3(2) of CGST Rules, to be furnished by the person for opting to pay tax under Composition Levy, (Refer Notification No. 45/2017 Central Tax Dated 13/10/2017 issued by CBEC). Form GST CMP-03 - Intimation of details of stock held on the date preceding the date from which the option for composition levy is exercised. Now this form can be filed electronically on GST portal by 30th November 2017, by virtue of Order No. 5/2017-GST Dated 28/10/2017 issued by CBEC. Form GST ITC-04 – Quarterly Statement to be furnished by taxpayer having deta...

Every registered taxpayer under GST who is not under a special scheme (like the composition scheme or an ISD registration) is required to file three tax statements each month called  GSTR-1  (for sales),  GSTR-2  (for purchases) and  GSTR-3 (consolidated). While the GSTR-1 needs to be drafted by you, you can literally auto-generate your GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 using the data submitted by your vendors and customers on the GSTN. Here’s how it works: If your sales records match with their purchase records, they can just accept their GSTR-2A and file GSTR-2 (for purchases).  Mismatches can be corrected by them before they file GSTR-2 and whenever this happens, the GSTN sends you an alert. You:  Cross-verify changes made by your customer and file the  GSTR-1A  before 17th of the following month to make necessary corrections to your GSTR-1. Purchase return Vendor:  Files GSTR-1 into the GSTN and this data populates your GSTR...

Taxable and Nontaxable Income IRS Tips about Taxable and Nontaxable Income Are you looking for a hard and fast rule about what income is taxable and what income is not taxable? The fact is that all income is taxable unless the law specifically excludes it. Taxable income includes money you receive, such as wages and tips. It can also include noncash income from property or services. For example, both parties in a barter exchange must include the fair market value of goods or services received as income on their tax return. Some types of income are not taxable except under certain conditions, including: Life insurance proceeds paid to you are usually not taxable. But if you redeem a life insurance policy for cash, any amount that is more than the cost of the policy is taxable. Income from a qualified scholarship is normally not taxable. This means that amounts you use for certain costs, such as tuition and required books, are not taxable. However, amounts you use for room...

According to Income Tax Department, these figures show “marked improvement in the level of voluntary compliance” as a result of action taken on the basis of data of cash deposits following demonetisation. A year after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and 1,000 currency notes, the government has made some clear gains: an improvement in the level of voluntary tax compliance, and the stage being set for infusing funds into the country’s loss-laden banking system. Sources said the bank recapitalisation programme could not have come at a more opportune time than this, when the banks are flush with liquidity in the aftermath of the demonetisation exercise. The large amount of cash deposits after demonetisation set the stage for banks to subscribe to the Rs 1.35-lakh crore worth recapitalisation bonds, which are proposed to be frontloaded over the next four quarters. Tax compliance also got a boost in the months following demonetisation. A scrutiny of tax department data available until ...

A multi-agency group (MAG) will probe into the ‘ Paradise Papers ’ on financial holdings abroad that lists a number of 714 Indian individuals and entities, PTI reported on Monday quoting official sources. The Paradise Papers is a cache of 13.4 million documents obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and investigated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in partnership with The Indian Express. It reveals how two firms Bermuda’s Appleby and Singapore’s Asiaciti Trust help the global rich and powerful move their money abroad. The MAG is probing the Panama Papers leak as well. According to the sources the MAG, constituted in April last year to investigate the legality of money stashed in offshore entities by Indians named in the Panama Papers, would probe the latest disclosure made by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The group comprises of officials from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the Income T...

Around 2.24 lakh companies have been struck off till date for remaining inactive for two years or more, the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs said. As the government nears completion of a year after demonetisation, the data shows suspected ‘shell’  companies  deposited and withdrew Rs 17,000 crore in the days after the  note ban.   The data, issued by the government, is from 56  banks  for 35,000 companies, which had around 58,000 bank accounts. One company had a negative balance before  demonetisation  but deposited and withdrew Rs 2,484 crore after November 8, 2016, the government said.  These companies’ bank accounts have been frozen. And, state governments told to restrict sales and transfers of real estate assets owned by these entities.  The statement issued by the Centre gives a summary of recent decisions to check the suspected money laundering via such  companies  — such keeping a check on ‘dummy’ di...