DIPP to set up India’s first TISC in Punjab

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, signed an Institutional agreement with the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology in New Delhi today to establish India’s first Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) at Patent Information Centre, Punjab, under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program.

The objective of the TISC is to stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and innovation, thereby promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing social, economic and cultural development by establishing a network of TISCs in India.

WIPO’s Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) program provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect, and manage their Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).

Services offered by TISCs include:
•    Access to online patent and non-patent (scientific and technical) resources and IP-related publications;
•    Assistance in searching and retrieving technology information;
•    Training in database search;
•    On-demand searches (novelty, state-of-the-art and infringement);
•    Monitoring technology and competitors;
•    Basic information on industrial property laws, management and strategy, and technology commercialization and marketing.

The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) is designated as the National Focal Point for the TISC national network. As the national focal point, CIPAM shall identify potential host institutions, assess their capacities and support them in joining the TISC program. CIPAM will also act as the main intermediary between WIPO and TISC host institutions and coordinate all the activities of the national TISC network.

Over 500 TISCs operate worldwide and establishing TISC in India will give the host institutions an access to the global network. In upcoming years, CIPAM is planning to establish TISCs in Universities, State Science Councils, R&D institutions etc. TISC will give an impetus to knowledge sharing, sharing of best practices among the TISCs, capacity building, generation and commercialization of IPs.   

Kelkar for hike in PDS price

In its report on the road map to fiscal consolidation, the three-member committee headed by the former Finance Secretary and 13th Finance Commission Chairman, Vijay L. Kelkar, has suggested a host of “bold reform” measures on ways of slashing the subsidy bill which, it admitted, would result in some short term pain and hardships.

The committee’s recommendations also include sale of surplus land with public sector undertakings (PSUs), fast-tracking of the Centre’s disinvestment programme, expansion of the service tax net to raise revenue as also an overhaul of the Direct Taxes Code (DTC).

Reading out from a prepared statement at the briefing, Dr. Mayaram said: “The committee has reached certain conclusions and has made a number of recommendations. The main conclusion of the report is that ‘We cannot over-emphasise the need and the urgency of fiscal consolidation.’”

The government has reiterated its intention to implement the promise of food security for all. While taking a final view on the various recommendations, “the government will bear in mind that the goal is to achieve high growth, inclusive development, and economic and social justice for all.”

In its report, the committee suggested phased elimination of subsidy on diesel and LPG in the next four years and reduction in kerosene subsidy by one-third by 2014-15. As for food and fertilizer subsidies, it has sought an increase in the urea price and a hike in the issue price of foodgrains at ration shops.

Alongside, it cautioned that without these measures, the fiscal deficit of the government could shoot up to 6.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current financial year.

It can be contained to 5.2 per cent with the proposed reforms.

The committee also recommended that over the next two-three years the government should raise resources by selling unutilised and under-utilised land of the PSUs, Port Trusts, and the Railways, to fund infrastructure sector.

As for disinvestment, it said that in the absence of adequate steps the government will be able to raise around Rs. 10,000 crore, as against the target of Rs. 30,000 crore.

With regard to petroleum subsidy, it suggested that the government should seek to eliminate diesel subsidy by 2013-14 and “our policy goal should be to eliminate the LPG subsidy by 2014-15 by reducing it by 25 per cent this year, with the remaining 75 per cent reduction over the next 2 years.”

‘Increase diesel, kerosene, LPG prices’

“For kerosene, the objective should be to reduce the subsidy by one-third by 2014-15. Our recommendation is to immediately increase the price of diesel by Rs. 4 per litre, of kerosene by Rs. 2 per litre and of LPG by Rs. 50 per cylinder… Overall, we feel that if no steps are taken the subsidy expenditure would go up from 1.9 per cent of the budgeted levels to 2.6 per cent of the re-assessed GDP,” it said.

Shome Committee GAAR Report submitted by the to Finanace Ministry

The GAAR report was submitted on 1 September 2012 to the finance minister of India by the Shome Committee constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, after the approval of Prime Minister of India. The committee in its report has tried to create a balance in between the investors being invited to the country and protection of the tax base from tax avoidance and evasion, using aggressive tax planning. The major findings of the GAAR’s committee to create a balance in between the investors and chances of tax avoidance and evasion includes:
1. Tax Evasion, Tax Mitigation and Tax Avoidance
2. Overcharging Principle Applicability of GAAR
3. Monetary Threshold
4. Arm’s Length Test
5. Test to Misuse or Abuse the Provisions of Act
6. Factors for determination of Commercial Substance
7. Grandfathering of existing Investments
8. GAAR will not override the CBDT circular 789 of 2000 with respect to the tax-treaty in between India and Mauritius
9. GAAR will not be applicable at places where so ever anti-avoidance provisions are in existence in the treaty of tax and any type of anti-avoidance rule exists in the Act
10. Impermissible Avoidance arrangements
11. Tax abolition in cases of gains that rises out by the transfer of listed securities
12. Foreign Institutional Investors
13. Corresponding adjustments
14. Implementation of the Onus on the revenue authority
15. Tax Withholding
16. Definition of the term Connected Person
17. Constitution of approval panel
18. Time limit for GAAR provisions
19. AAR to pass ruling within 6 months
20. Prescription of Statutory forms
21. Implementation issue
22. Reporting requirements

The committee in its findings has stated that the GAAR guidelines should be introduced in the country at the time of economic stability. Hence, it has recommended the postponement of its implementation by 3 years. Committee’s recommendation also states about the implementation of the findings with complete spirit and has laid emphasis on transition period of the taxpayers and preparedness of the administrators. To provide clarity on GAAR’s applicability provisions in different situations 27 illustrations were made and are mentioned under different conditions like:
1. Tax Mitigation- GAAR can’t be invoked
2. Tax Avoidance- SAAR is applicable hence GAAR is not invoked
3. Court Approved Amalgamations or demergers
4. Tax Avoidance- GAAR invoked
5. Tax Evasion can directly be dealt of law without invoking the GAAR
Following the Finance Act 2012, the introduction of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) was done into the Income Tax Act, 1961. The committee briefly analysed the provisions of GAAR as per the inputs available from stakeholders and following the recommendations made the amendments in the Act were made for finalization of the guidelines for the Income Tax Rules, 1962.

Shome’s Committee:

The expert committee on GAAR (General Anti-Avoidance Rules) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Parthasarsthi Shome with members, namely Shri N. Rangachary (Former Chairman of IRDA and CBDT), Dr. Ajay Shah (Prof. NIPFP) and Shri Sunil Gupta (Joint Secretary-Tax Policy and Legislation, Department of Revenue) for undertaking the consultations of stakeholders and finalization of guidelines for GAAR. The main objective of the committee was to get feedbacks from the stakeholders and prepare new guidelines or to amend the previous guidelines after examining the things finely.The committee was constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes after being approved by the Prime Minister of India.

The committee formed referred to following terms:

• To receive feedback from both public and stakeholders on the Guideline of GAAR mentioned on the website of Government of India.
• To rework on the guidelines following the feedback received and examining the same and then publish the same in form of second draft
• To find out and finalise, guidelines along with an road-map for implementation of GAAR and submit it to the government

Analysis of the GAAR provisions 

The provisions for the GAAR are mention in Chapter X-A (Section 95 to 102) of the Act. Presented provisions allow the authority of tax, despite of containing anything in the Act with clear declaration on the arrangements made for assesses (estimated value, nature or extent of amount of the fine) that has entered into the impermissible avoidance arrangement to face the consequences with regard to the tax liability determined by the arrangement.

Recommendation of the K.C. Chakrabarty Committee on Recapitalisation of RRBs

The Government of India had constituted a committee in September 2009 (Chairman Dr K. C. Chakrabarty) to study the current levels of capital-to-risk-waited asset ratio (CRAR) of RRBs and to suggest a road map for achieving a CRAR of 9% by March 2012. The committee was also required to suggest the acquired capital structure for RRBs given their business level, so that their CRAR is sustainable and provides for future growth and compliance with regulatory requirements. The committee submitted its report to the Government of India on April 30, 2010.

The following are the main recommendations of the committee on reacpitalisation of RRBs:

• The Committee carried out an assessment of capital requirement for all 82 RRBs to enable them to have CRAR of at least 7% as on March 31, 2011 and at least 9% from March 31, 2012 onward. The recapitalisation requirement would be Rs. 2200 crore for 40 out of 82 RRBs. This amount may be released in two installments i.e., Rs. 1338 crore in 2010-11 and Rs. 863 crore 2011-12. The remaining 42 RRBs will not acquire any capital and will be able to maintain CRR of at least 9% as on March 31, 2012 and thereafter on their own.
• The committee noted that some of the weak RRBs, particularly in North-Eastern and Eastern regions, might not be able to fully meet all the projected business parameters despite generally achieving acceptable growth. The committee, therefore suggest that an additional amount of Rs. 700 crore may be kept to meet such contingencies and need based additional capitalisation provided to such RRBs once their draft balance sheets are prepared.
• The recapitalisation of Rs. 2200 crore to 40 RRBs should be one time measure, and released subject to signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) by the chairman of the RRB and on achieving the performance parameters specified in MoU. As per section 5 of the RRB Act, the authorized capital of RRB is Rs. 5 Crore. As a result recapitalisation amount are kept as share capital deposit. The committee has recommended that the accumulated losses on March 31, 2010 may be written off against the available share capital deposits and the balance amount of share capital deposit may be appropriated as paid-up capital further, in view of expanding business of the RRB, the committee recommended to increase in the authorized capital RRBs to Rs. 500 crore.
• In order to build public confidence, in due course, RRB with higher net worth may be allowed to access capital from the market.
• For improving the functioning of the RRB, change of sponsor banks may be considered, where ever required.
• RRB with a net worth of Rs. 100 crore or more as on March 2009 may be permitted to pay dividend on April 1, 2013 onward. RRBs to be recapitalised in the current phase may be allowed to pay dividend only after achieving a sustainable CRAR of at least 9%.
• RBI may prescribe "Fit and Proper" criteria for chairman of RRB. The sponsor may depute officer conforming to such criteria as Chairman on a tenure basis and wherever needed, such officers may be recruited by them from open market and the deputed to RRBs. The compensation of chairman may be de-linked from existing salary structure of commercial banks and be more market oriented and a system of incentives and disincentives linked to performance benchmarks approved by the board may be built in the compensation package.
• The board as a body as well as individual board members may be made accountable for the banks performance and individual board need to be assigned specific responsibilities as per their expertise.
• Wherever required, sponsor banks may recruit suitable person from the market, including staff of the RRB in their own service and then depute them as general managers in RRBs.

Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure September 30 approved the implementation of the project of four laning of Lucknow Sultanpur section from Km 11.500 to Km 134.700 (total 125.900 km) on National Highway-56 in Uttar Pradesh under NHDP Phase-IV A to be executed in BOT (Toll) mode on DBFOT basis. The total cost of the project will Rs.1092.60 crore inclusive of Rs.49.09 crore as approximate cost of land acquisition, relief and rehabilitation and pre-construction activities.

The main object of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in the State of Uttar Pradesh and also in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Lucknow and Sultanpur. The NH-56 is an important link connecting Lucknow, Sultanpur and other towns in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. It will also increase the employment potential for the local labourers.

The project will be covered in the districts of Lucknow, Barabanki, Raibareilly and Sultanpur.

Committees On Taxation Reforms In India

1. Taxation Enquiry Committee:

i) It was established in 1953 chaired by Dr.John Mathal.

ii) To examine the incidents of Central, State and Local taxation on various classes of people.

iii) To examine the suitability of tax system to remove inequalities.

iv) To examine the effect of taxation on income and capital formation.

v) To explore fresh avenues of taxation

2. Indian Tax Reforms Committee:

i) Made in 1956

ii) Chaired by Prof.Kaldor

iii) Measures to widen the basis of Taxation on the following items.,

* Wealth Tax
* Capital Gains Tax
* Gift Tax
* Expenditure Tax
* Reforming
* Commercial Tax
* Tax Evasion

3. Boothalingam Committee:

i) main report was on " Rationalization and Simplification of Direct Taxation in India.

ii) Recommended 10% advalorem on all products.

iii) Simplification of Customs rates.

iv) Raising of exemption limit to the Income tax.

v) Abolition of Dividend Tax.

4. Direct Taxes Enquiry Committee:

i) Made in 1970 and Chaired by Mr.K.N.Wanchoo.

ii) Main concern of the committee was on Black Money.

iii) Extent of Black Money

iv) Causes of Tax Evasion

v) Measures to unearth Black Money

vi) Fighting Tax Evasion.

Committee on Natural Resources Allocation called for Creation of National Coal Market

A committee on natural resources allocation on 6 June 2011 called for the creation of a national coal market to ensure greater transparency in the allocation of the dry fuel and reduce the demand-supply mismatch.

The committee pointed out the drawbacks of the existing allocation mechanism for the dry fuel. The committee headed by former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla recommended establishing a national coal market by creating a platform for commercial trading of coal by suppliers and buyers. The committee suggested use of experience gained through the e-auction platform to create a common one for all buyers and suppliers, including the captive allotees that are permitted to sell.

The committee highlighted that introduction of both captive mining and e-auctions were right steps taken in the direction of moving toward market-based allocation, the committee.
The committee is of the opinion that it should be mandatory for all sales in coal by the permitted entities to be registered with the platform and pay a standard fee, with details of price and mature of contract and grade of coal transacted.

The formation of a platform like the national coal market will facilitate a gradual evolution of established prices and terms of contract. The platform would ensure lower prices of the fossil fuel, since competition from imported coal would always act as an overall check.

The operation of the platform, which would be owned by Coal India and register all approved users, could be regulated by the proposed coal regulator.

According to the committee the current mismatch between supply and demand of coal in India can be attributed to lack of sufficient interfaces between consumers and producers.

Committee set up to strengthen ways to curb black money

The Government has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the chief of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to examine ways for strengthening laws to curb generation of black money and prevent its transfer abroad, besides recovering such illegal assets. 
 

The committee will consult various stakeholders and submit its report within six months, a statement from the Finance Ministry said on May28.

It will be headed by chairman of central board of direct taxes, CBDT.

"The Government has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Chairman, CBDT, to examine ways to strengthen laws to curb the generation of black money in the country, its illegal transfer abroad and its recovery," it said.

The committee will examine the existing legal and administrative framework to deal with generation of black money through illegal means.

Among the likely measures are to declare wealth generated illegally as national asset, enact or amend laws to allow confiscation and recovery of such assets and providing for exemplary punishment against its perpetrators.

Besides the CBDT Chairman, other members of the committee would include CBDT Member, Legislation and Computerisation (L&C), Director of the Enforcement Directorate, Director General of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Director General (Currency), CBDT Joint Secretary (FT&TR) and Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) Joint Secretary.

CBDT's Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT)(Investigation) would be the committee's Member Secretary

Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission

The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSRLC) has been set up by the Union government to re-write and clean-up financial laws of India. It is headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna