Page 55 - ELT_15th July 2020_Vol 373_Part 2

2020 ] TIT-BITS A61

has turned India into a country of small businesses as nearly 99% of the entities
now fall under the category based on the twin parameters of investment and
turnover, reports Sidhartha.
An entity can be classified as a micro enterprise if investment is up to ` 1
crore and turnover does not exceed ` 5 crore.
The corresponding figures are ` 10 crore and ` 50 crore for small and ` 50
crore and ` 250 crore for medium enterprises.
Government to use I-T, GST data to plug gaps
Investment in plant and machinery has been the traditional parameter on
which MSMEs have been classified, enabling them access to various sops such as
concessional finance, though the main benefit of excise duty relief has been lost
ever since the GST regime was implemented.
Government sources told TOI that numbers with the GST authorities
show that 99% of the entities have a turnover that fits into the MSME definition.
More than half the businesses registered with GST Network have less than ` 20
lakh turnover, the earlier registration threshold.
As an added relief, export turnover has been excluded to enable more
units to get the benefit. Similarly Income Tax Department’s analysis showed that
when it comes to investment, the written down value of assets, that is after de-
preciation, there are a few thousand entities in India that have investments in
plant and machinery or equipment that exceed ` 50 crore, the ceiling for medium
enterprises.
The numbers have come as a surprise to policymakers as the definition
was finalized before looking at them in detail.
It is only now that the MSME Ministry has sought to plug the gaps as it
detected that by using one Aadhaar number, five Udyog Aadhaar Numbers
could be generated, encouraging businesses to split their units into five separate
entities and claim all the benefits. It has now decided to tap the Income Tax and
GST database to get a better picture of enterprises claiming benefits.
[Source : The Times of India, New Delhi, dated 8-7-2020]

Undercover operation helps Customs strike contraband
gold
Protracted action spanning international borders busts well-entrenched
racket
A protracted undercover operation that spanned international borders
has led to the seizure of 30 kg of contraband gold from an air cargo shipment
addressed to the consulate of the UAE here.
The consulate has denied any wrong doing even as the fast-unfolding
investigation focussed on at least two former employees of the diplomatic mis-
sion and laid bare a hitherto undetected method of gold smuggling.
Commissioner of Customs Sumit Kumar, who led the operation, told The
Hindu that the enforcers had noticed a surge in the availability of smuggled gold
in trade quantities in the domestic market. However, they could not pinpoint the
source or conduit for the precious metal.

EXCISE LAW TIMES  15th July 2020  55