PPF Investment to be Raised to one Lakh, KVP discontinued, Increase in interest rate of PPF, NSC, MIS, POSA

Benefit of House Rent Payment for Salaried receiving HRA Posted: 11 Nov 2011 06:02 PM PST How is the exemption on HRA calculated? When can you claim exemption on HRA? Is your landlord an NRI? When can you enjoy the twin benefits of home loan and HRA? Rent-free accommodation vs HRA Lesser Known tax saving tips for Individual Taxpayers Posted: 11 Nov 2011 05:29 PM PST For most of the people 'tax savings' brings to mind life insurance, PPF, NSC, and equity-linked savings scheme, among others, that qualify for tax deduction under Section 80 C of the Income-Tax Act. An individual can claim tax deductions of up to... Income tax Planning in respect of Salary Perquisites Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:20 PM PST For employees of large Indian and multinational companies, benefits go beyond salaries to include lifestyle perks such as company accommodation or club membership. Growth in business operations and competition for talent are now prompting even... Tax Planning- Save tax through your family Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PST Its a fact that Your own parents as well as your own in-laws can become legal tools of tax planning for you and your family. If you want to achieve this dictum then all you are need to do is just to give away a portion of your funds, either as a...  Deduction under section 80C and tax planning Posted: 11 Nov 2011 03:58 PM PST Section 80C replaced the existing Section 88 with more or less the same investment mix available in Section 88. The new section 80C has become effective w.e.f. 1st April, 2006. Even the section 80CCC on pension scheme contributions was merged with... Deduction under section 80G of the Income Tax Act on donation Posted: 11 Nov 2011 03:22 PM PST The amount donated towards charity attracts deduction under section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Section 80G has been in the law book since financial year 1967-68 and it seems it's here to stay. Several deductions have been swept away but the tax sop... PPF Investment to be Raised to one Lakh, KVP discontinued, Increase in interest rate of PPF, NSC, MIS, POSA Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:56 AM PST The maturity period for Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will be reduced from 6 years to 5 years.A new NSC instrument, with maturity period of 10 years, would be introduced. Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) will be... Railway Minister Announces Fresh Measures to Prevent Misuse of Tatkal Travel Scheme Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:32 AM PST The advance reservation period of Tatkal scheme should be reduced from two days at present to one day excluding the day of journey from the train originating station. For example, if train is to depart from the originating station on the second of... New Notification for Movies, TV Programmes Displaying Tobacco Products Comes into Effect from 14.11.2011 Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:26 AM PST The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified the rules for Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) [second amendment rules] 2011. These... MCA Initiatives to Simplify Procedures under Companies Act,1956 & LLP Act, 2008 Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:23 AM PST The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has in order to improve service delivery to the Corporate Sector recently taken initiatives for further simplifying procedures under the Companies Act, 1965 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. These... Over 15000 Tax Disputes Involving Over 1.35 Lakhs Tax Proceedings Settled by Income Tax Settlement Commission Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:22 AM PST The Income Tax Settlement Commission, Ministry of Finance , has settled over 15000 tax disputes involving over 1.35 lakhs tax proceedings in its life time since 1976. In 2010-11, it passed 400 orders, in which it settled income amounting to 595... Master Circular on Cost Accounting Records and Cost Audit Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:16 AM PST As per provisions of the Cost Audit Report Rules that are in force from time-to‑time, a cost auditor is required to comment on the scope and performance of internal audit of cost records. Hence it would tend to mitigate against the proper and... Section 263 – CIT is empowered to modify the assessment order passed by AO in case, the order is found to be erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of revenue Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST SBS Clothing (P) Ltd. Vs. DCIT (ITAT Mumbai) - In this case, there was 5-fold increase on account of payment of salary when there was no substantial increase in the turnover. The AO vide note dated 25.10.2007 had asked for reasons for exorbitant... How to interpret Export of Services? Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:43 AM PST This article is written to set 5 principal steps for calling a service falling under export of services. 1. Is it a service? 2. Is it a taxable service? 3. Under which criteria of 'export of services' the service is falling? 4. Is the payment... Interest Rates on Post office Saving Account, Deposit, RD, SCSS, MIS, NSC and PPF to increase soon Posted: 11 Nov 2011 06:38 AM PST Interest Rates on Small Savings Instruments (i) The rate of interest paid under Post Office Savings Account (POSA) will be increased from 3.5% to 4% p.a. (ii) The rate of interest on small savings schemes will be aligned... Commission to Post Office Agents – No Commission on PPF, SCSS and reduced in other Schemes Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:33 AM PST Commission to Post Office Agents (i) Payment of commission on PPF schemes (1%) and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (0.5%) will be discontinued. (ii) Agency commission under all other schemes (except MPKBY agents) will be... ICAI to conduct Computer based Mock Common Proficiency Test (CPT) Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:14 AM PST 11th November 2011 Computer based Mock Common Proficiency Test (CPT) ICAI has been working on a cost effective scalable model, for quite some time, for conducting an on-line/computer based Common Proficiency Test (CPT), to cater to a large number of... Last Date for Filing Financial Statements in XBRL Format for F.Y. 2010-11 Posted: 11 Nov 2011 04:10 AM PST Last date for filling of financial statements in XBRL formats in respect of specified companies is approaching (30th November 2011 or 60 days from the due date of filing, whichever is later). You are all advised to ensure the filings of your client... Bangalore Income Tax department, Central Processing Center (CPC) Helpline Number Posted: 10 Nov 2011 10:31 PM PST To assist taxpayers, a limited call center service with two agents has been established at ITD-CPC, Bangalore. Taxpayer queries on status of ITR-V receipt at CPC, Bangalore will be answered on 080-22546500 aand on toll Free no. 1800-425- 2229... Customs – Regarding Location of Foreign Exchange Counters at International airport Posted: 10 Nov 2011 09:40 PM PST Circular No. 51/2011-Customs It is reported that, Foreign Exchange Counters located after immigration and before Customs (green / red channel) in the arrival hall and after Customs in the departure hall, are posing problems in enforcement of FEMA... OECD releases a discussion draft on the definition of 'permanent establishment' in the OECD Model Tax Convention; CBDT invite Comments Posted: 10 Nov 2011 09:02 PM PST The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs has proposed important and far-reaching changes to the Commentary on Article 5 (Permanent Establishment) of the OECD Model Tax Convention. As these changes will have an impact on India, the CBDT has, vide letter... Convergence of Mobile Banking, Financial Inclusion and Consumer Protection-Trend Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:50 PM PST We were confronted with the question "which model of mobile banking should India go for – a bank led model or a non-bank led one?" Protagonists of the non-bank led model referred to the success of such models in a few countries like Kenya and... SEBI allows Mutual Funds to participate in repo corporate debt securities Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:50 PM PST It has been decided that mutual funds can participate in repos in corporate debt securities as per the guidelines issued by RBI from time to time, subject to the following conditions: a. The gross exposure of any mutual fund scheme to repo... Customs duty exemption extended to least developed countries amongst the SAARC countries Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:47 PM PST Notification No. 99/2011-Customs the importer proves to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, that the goods, in respect of which the benefit of this exemption is claimed,... The Search-Cum-Selection committee for the post of Director General and Chief Executive Officer (DG&CEO) in the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:36 PM PST onsequent upon acceptance of recommendations of the Search-Cum-Selection committee for the post of Director General and Chief Executive Officer (DG&CEO) in the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) by the Appointments Committee of the... Railway Minister Announces Implementation of 26 New Trains Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:34 PM PST The Minister of Railways Shri Dinesh Trivedi at a press conference here today announced the implementation of 26 new trains, extension of 8 trains and increase in frequency of 5 trains. The 26 new trains will be flagged off within a week or so by... RRBs – Collection of Account Payee Cheques – Prohibition on Crediting Proceeds to Third Party Account Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:32 PM PST With a view to mitigating the difficulties faced by the members of co-operative credit societies in collection of account payee cheques, relaxation was extended vide our circular RPCD.CO.RRB.BC.No.25/03.05.33/2010-11 dated October 19, 2010. In terms... No Proposal to Relax Ban on Sex Determination Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:32 PM PST There is no such proposal under consideration of the Planning Commission for relaxing ban on sex determination tests. Recently a news item appeared in media suggesting that there is a proposal under consideration in the Planning Commission to relax... DGFT – Modification of ANF2A of Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I, 2009-2014 – Application form for IEC Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:23 PM PST Complete PAN details, Telephone Numbers, Email IDs, and Mobile Number (of the Signatory of the ANF2A) have been made mandatory fields; while Alternate Email ID, Website Address are optional. This is required to facilitate updating the IEC records.... IRDA issues guidelines for pension products Posted: 10 Nov 2011 08:16 PM PST Pension products offered by life insurance companies have a special role to play in promoting and protecting the social security by provision of stable and adequate retirement income. The regulatory framework for pension business of life insurance...