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2020 ] NEWS DESK J19
There has been a clamour from taxpayers to provide relief from compli-
ances and especially GST. Today’s announcement is likely to provide some relief.
“Some key filing and payment relaxations that should bring rejoice to the indus-
try. One hopes this is the first tranche and there are other tranches to follow,
wherein benefits like GST rate reductions, exemption from import duties, re-
duced compliances etc. are announced.” said Harpreet Singh, Partner, KPMG
India.
The Government has also decided that the due date for issue of notice,
notification, approval order, sanction order, filing of appeal, furnishing of return,
statements, applications, reports, any other documents, time-limit for any com-
pliance under the GST laws where the time-limit is expiring between 20th March,
2020 to 29th June, 2020 will be extended to 30th June, 2020.
According to Rajat Bose, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.,
given the current State of disruption in business, the extension of deadline for
filing of GST returns is a much needed relief for the industry.
“It is heartening to see that the Government is looking after the interests
of small businesses by waiving off interest, penalty and late fee. The Government
should also consider exempting essential commodities from GST as a temporary
measure to ensure that basic necessities are available at reasonable prices during
this time,” says Bose.
[Source : http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, dated 25-3-2020]
Parliament passes amendments to Finance Act
Parliament on 23-3-2020 passed amendments to the Finance Act, with the
introduction of a monetary threshold of ` 15 lakh for taxing Non-Resident Indi-
ans (NRIs), an equalisation levy for e-commerce operators, increased TDS com-
pliance for cash withdrawals by those who haven’t filed Income Tax returns for
three years, and a lower rate of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) for remitting edu-
cation loan money overseas as some of the amendments introduced.
The amendments introduced a ` 15 lakh threshold for taxing NRIs’ Indi-
an income if the person qualified as a deemed resident by staying in India for 120
days or more as against no monetary limit earlier in the Budget.
The Government also expanded the ambit of the equalisation levy for
non-resident e-commerce operators involved in supply of services, including
online sale of goods and provision of services, with the levy at the rate of 2 per
cent. Equalisation levy at 6 per cent has been in force since 2016 on payment ex-
ceeding ` 1 lakh a year to a non-resident service provider for online advertise-
ments.
The amendments also lowered TCS rate to 0.5 per cent from 5 per cent
for transfer of money overseas through Liberalised Remittance Scheme if the
fund is borrowed from banks and specified institutions to fund education.
[Source : The Indian express, New Delhi, dated 24-3-2020]

Separate GST Registrations confuse IRPs
Interim resolution professionals managing various companies under the
insolvency process have flagged several issues in a recent notification requiring
separate GST registration for such companies to file fresh returns from the time
the insolvency proceedings began.
IRPs appointed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have
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