TIOL-DDT 2866
13 06 2016
Monday

- Annual Conference of Tax Administrators 2016- Taxmen to submit suggestions to the Prime Minister

AS is now well known, the first joint conference of tax administrators of CBDT and CBEC is scheduled to be held on 16th & 17th June, 2016. The Prime Minister will be inaugurating the Conference.

On this occasion, the Revenue Department proposes to present to the Prime Minister some suggestions for the improvement of tax administration/tax policy.

In this regard both the Boards seek suggestions from the Field Officers. The suggestions should be precise, raising issues of significance which require intervention at the highest level.

The suggestions to CBDT are to be sent by email to at anand.jha@nic.in so as to reach by 1:30 PM on Monday the 13th of June, 2016. 

CBEC wants the suggestions to be emailed at commrcoord-cbec@nic.in or hema.priya@nic.in so as to reach by Monday 13th June, 2016 at least by 1600 hrs.

The top 10 suggestions would be selected by a committee of officers and presented in the form of a booklet for the consideration of the PM, mentioning the name of the officer who gave the suggestion. 

It is really intriguing as to what the officers can suggest to the Prime Minister for the improvement of tax administration/tax policy. Is there anything which the CBEC/CBDT or the Revenue Department or the Finance Minister cannot do to improve tax administration/policy which the Prime Minister can do.?

If they want higher salaries for the tax officers, the PM cannot really give them and the 7th Pay Commission recommended,

It has been pointed out that the world over, governments have begun to differentiate between tax organizations and the rest of government. It is important for tax organizations to provide a salary structure comparable to professional agencies with whom the tax officials deal.

Analysis and Recommendations

11.18.33 The Commission feels that the Central Government deals with a vast array of subjects. Many department specific services, accordingly, have been constituted to handle these varied sectors. No doubt, revenue generation is an important segment of the government functioning. However, in the government system, working in a particular segment does not become the basis for determining pay. The Commission does not consider this demand justified.

If they want the Boards to be independent and report directly to the Finance Minister, the 7th Pay Commission reported,

The Commission observes that the two separate boards of CBDT and CBEC were constituted by Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963. According to this Act, each such Board shall be subject to the control of Central Government, exercise such powers and perform duties as may be entrusted to that Board by the Central Government. The Commission consulted the Department of Revenue who have stated that this matter has already been examined earlier in the ministry. It was felt that the two Revenue Boards deal with separate areas of taxation, the policies in respect of which need to be properly coordinated and that central tax system has to be viewed, fashioned and organised as a harmonious whole, the work of coordination has to be performed by the Secretary (Revenue) who is in a position to give independent and objective advice from a broader administrative and economic perspective. Since the need to coordinate the policies and the work of the two Boards continue to be essential for strengthening the central tax system, there appears to be no justification to reopen the proposal for making any changes in present hierarchical structure of reporting.

If they want to be fair, honest, judicial, impartial, obedient and above all treat the taxpayer with respect, they need not tell the Prime Minister.

Taxing with Love: Eminent guest speakers will be addressing the Conference. Author, Columnist, Screenplay writer & TV personality Chetan Bhagat will speak on “Taxing with Love”.There will be a panel discussion on “Initiatives to improve Taxpayer Services, leveraging social media and Brand building”.

CBDT mail in F.No.401/ 5 /2016-ITCC., Dated June 12, 2016

Import of Gold by Nominated Agencies - Warehousing - Board Clarifies

CBEC has clarified that warehousing is a facility for duty deferment. As per section 2 (14) of the Customs Act, Dutiable goods are defined as "any goods which are chargeable to duty and on which duty has not been paid". Chapter IX provides that only dutiable goods may be deposited in a warehouse. Therefore, any exempted goods are not to be warehoused within the meaning of chapter IX of the Customs Act. Accordingly, any gold/silver/platinum imported under the notification57/2000-Cus dated 8th May 2000 must be cleared on a bill of entry for home consumption and not a bill of entry for warehousing.

Consignments of Gold/Silver/Platinum imported under notification no. 57/2000-Cus. do not require to be warehoused.

The procedure regarding warehousing of dutiable precious metals under Section 58A is under consideration of the Board.

Board has reviewed the procedure for duty free import of gold/silver/platinum by nominated agencies for supply to exporters and specified a simplified procedure.

1. The Nominated Agencies shall execute a bond to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs.

2. The Nominated Agencies may execute a bond for an amount equivalent to the duty involved on the import of a particular consignment, or, a general bond for an amount equivalent to the duty involved on quantity of precious metal likely to be imported over a specified period as declared by the importer;

3. The Nominated Agency shall, along with the bond, furnish a bank guarantee equal to 25% of the estimated amount of duty involved.

4. However, the designated banks nominated by RBI as well as public sector undertakings shall be exempt from the condition of furnishing bank guarantee, provided they fulfill certain conditions;

5. The exporters intending to receive precious metal from the Nominated Agencies will register themselves with their jurisdictional Asst. Commissioners who will issue them a one-time certificate specifying therein the details of their units.

6. EOUs may submit a self-declaration to the Nominated Agencies stating therein the details of their unit; As per para 6.01 (h) of FTP 2015-20, EOUs shall have to provide proof of export within a period of 90 days from the date on which they are issued the gold imported by nominated agencies.

CBEC Circular No. 27/2016-Cus., Dated June 10, 2016

Procedure for registration of duty credit scrips issued under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Service Exports from India Scheme (SFIS) - Mumbai Customs PN

THE Mumbai Customs has prescribed the procedure for the registration of Duty Credit Scrips issued under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS):

1. The License holder / Authorised representative will present the original Scrip including its Annexure along with their photocopy to the license section with a request letter for registration of license / scrip.

2. ACAO / EA shall check the Alert Register and if there is no alert, shall endorse "No Alert" with his / her signature and stamp on the original license / scrip.

3. Appraising Officer License will confirm the genuineness of the License on the ICES 1.5 system. Discrepancies, if any will be brought to the notice of concerned DGFT as well as license holder after approval of AC/License otherwise; the License shall be registered in the EDI system.

4. However, in case of manual registration of FMS/FPS/VKGUY, the procedures laid down vide P.No.45/2012 dated 22.06.2012 will be followed.

COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (EXPORT- I) PUBLIC NOTICE No. 49/2016., Dated June 06, 2016

Until Tomorrow with more DDT

Have a nice day.

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