Thursday, March 31, 2011

Notification No.19-21/2011-Service Tax

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
(Department of Revenue)

New Delhi, 30th March, 2011

Notification No.19/2011-Service Tax

G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994) (hereinafter referred to as the Finance Act), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No.07/2010-Service Tax, dated the 27th February, 2010, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, section 3, sub-section(i), vide number G.S.R. 151 (E), dated the 27th February, 2010, namely:-

2. In para 2 of the said notification, for the word ‘April’, the word ‘July’, shall be substituted.

[F. No. B-1/2/2010-TRU]

(SAMAR NANDA)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note.- The principal notification No. 07/2010-Service Tax, dated the 27th February, 2010, was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 151(E), dated the 27th February, 2010 and last amended vide Notification No.55/2010-Service Tax, dated the 21st December,2010 was published vide number G.S.R. 993(E) dated 21st December,2010.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
(Department of Revenue)

New Delhi, 30th March, 2011

Notification No.20/2011-Service Tax

G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994) (hereinafter referred to as the Finance Act), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No.08/2010-Service Tax, dated the 27th February, 2010, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, section 3, sub-section(i), vide number G.S.R. 152 (E), dated the 27th February, 2010, namely:-

2. In para 2 of the said notification in, for the word ‘April’, the word ‘July’, shall be substituted.

[F. No. B-1/2/2010-TRU]

(SAMAR NANDA)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note.- The principal notification No. 08/2010-Service Tax, dated the 27th February, 2010, was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 152(E), dated the 27th February, 2010 and last amended vide Notification No.56/2010-Service Tax, dated the 21st December,2010 was published vide number G.S.R. 994(E) dated 21st December,2010.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
(Department of Revenue)

Notification No.21/2011-Service Tax

New Delhi, 30th March, 2011

G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994) (hereinafter referred to as the Finance Act), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No.09/2010-Service Tax, dated the 27th February, 2010, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, section 3, sub-section(i), vide number G.S.R. 153 (E), dated the 27th February, 2010, namely:-

2. In para 3 of the said notification in, for the word ‘April’, the word ‘July’, shall be substituted.

[F. No. B-1/2/2010-TRU]

(SAMAR NANDA)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note.- The principal notification No. 09/2010-Service Tax, dated the 27th February, 2010, was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 153(E), dated the 27th February, 2010 and last amended vide Notification No.57/2010-Service Tax, dated the 21st December,2010 was published vide number G.S.R. 995(E) dated 21st December, 2010.

Consolidated FDI Policy - circular 1 0f 2011 applicable from April 1, 2011

New Schedule VI to be applicable from FY commencing on or after 1.4.2011

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY,
PART II, SECTION3, SUB-SECTION (ii)]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, dated the            2011

G.S.R (E)- In exercise of the powers conferred by clause(a) of sub-section(1) of section 642 read with sub-section(1) of section 210A and sub-section (3C) of section 211 of the Companies Act,1956, (1 of 1956), the Central Government hereby makes the following amendment to paragraph 2 of the notification No.447(E) dated the 28th February,2011.:-

“ The notification shall come into force for the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account to be prepared for the financial year commencing on or after 1.4.2011”.

[F. No. 2/6/2008-C.L-V]

Avinash K. Srivastava
Joint Secretary

Note: - The principal notification was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide G.S.R. No.414, dated the 21st March, 1961 last amended vide S.O. No.447 (E) dated the 28th February,2011.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Finance Minister’s Reply to the Discussion on the Finance Bill 2011-12 in Lok Sabha

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Finance

                                                                                           22-March-2011 19:53 IST

Finance Minister’s Reply to the Discussion on the Finance Bill 2011-12 in Lok Sabha

Madam Speaker,

1.It is unfortunate that the colleagues from across the House chose not participate in the discussion on the Finance Bill 2011-12. In a democratic polity the Government stands to benefit from inputs from colleagues from both sides of the House. In turn, they have an opportunity to lend their voice and expertise to influence public policy in the larger national interest. When this does not happen, it does not bode well for the institution or the society at large.

2. I would like to thank all the speakers who chose to spoke on the Finance Bill 2011-12. A number of valuable suggestions have been made. I have already responded to some of these suggestions while replying to the General Discussion on the Budget and I also addressed a few concerns while introducing the Bill earlier today. I propose to address some more suggestions in the course of my reply.

Madam Speaker,

3. In my proposals for the Direct Taxes, for the year 2011-12, I had proposed to provide lower tax rate of 15 per cent on dividends received by Indian companies from foreign subsidiary companies in which the Indian company holds more than 50 per cent share capital. Several representations have been made requesting further relaxation in the ownership pattern of the foreign subsidiaries. I, therefore, propose to lower the holding requirement in the foreign company from 50 per cent to 26 per cent. This will enable overseas joint ventures with Indian partnership, to also avail this benefit.

4. In order to provide for deduction to employer’s contribution to a pension scheme on account of an employee, I propose a consequential amendment in section 40 A (9) so that the deduction to the employer for his contribution is not barred under this section.

5. As no deduction for export profits is allowed after April 1, 2005, I propose that such export profits should also not be allowed as a deduction while computing book profit for the purpose of levy of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) after the said date.

6. Suitable amendments have been proposed to the Finance Bill to give effect to these changes.

Madam Speaker

7. In respect of my Indirect Tax proposals, among the Government amendments to the Finance Bill, I propose to insert a new provision in the Customs Tariff Act to enable the Central Government to extend anti-dumping duty imposed on an article in cases of circumvention. The other amendments are technical in nature and do not involve any substantive change.
8. The House would recall that one of the considerations that guided the formulation of my proposals on indirect taxes was to prepare the ground for the transition to GST, beginning with a reduction in the number of exemptions. It was in this background that a mandatory levy of 10 per cent was proposed on branded ready-made garments and made-ups of textiles. I have received a large number of representations seeking a review of this proposal on the ground that this industry is still quite fragmented with a pre-dominance of unorganised units. While moving the Finance Bill for consideration earlier today, I have already announced an increase in the level of abatement on these products so that the overall burden of tax comes down and small manufacturers benefit. I would take this opportunity to re-emphasize that this would enable an SSI unit to continue to enjoy the exemption even if it had a turnover based on Retail Sale Price (RSP) of Rs.8.9 crore in 2010-11. I shall now take up some additional measures to provide relief to this sector.

9. It has been pointed out by the garment industry that often brand owners who outsource production to small units do not disclose the RSP to them. Since the duty is payable on a value linked to the RSP, this poses a problem for small manufacturers. A deeming provision is being made to enable such manufacturers to pay duty on the wholesale price at which they make a sale to the brand owner. As and when the brand-owner affixes the RSP on the garment or made-up, he would pay the additional duty, if any.

10. The garment and made-up industry has a high incidence of return of unsold stock. In order to obviate the burden of double payment on such goods, I propose to exempt from excise duty, returned goods not exceeding 10 per cent of the value of clearances of the unit in the preceding financial year. Physical verification of stock of such returned goods by Central Excise officers would not be necessary.

11. The doubts and queries raised by the industry have also been examined. A detailed clarification is being issued on these. I would also like to recapitulate to the Hon’ble Members that –

i) The levy does not apply to unbranded goods;
ii) It does not apply to goods made to order for a retail customer;
iii) The benefit of SSI exemption is available to goods bearing or sold under the brand name of the small manufacturer himself
iv) Simplified Export procedure is available to units that predominantly export and sell unbranded goods or goods bearing their own brand name in the domestic market.

12. One issue that Hon’ble Members have persistently raised relates to the reduction of import duty on raw silk (not thrown) from 30 per cent ad valorem to 5 per cent ad valorem. Shri Deve Gowda ji also mentioned it in his intervention today. The annual requirement of raw silk for the weaving industry is around 30,000 metric tonnes. The domestic sericulture industry is able to produce two-thirds of this requirement and around 10,000 metric tonnes needs to be imported. In reducing the duty Government have tried to balance the interests of the sericulture sector and silk weavers. As I have already stated earlier today, Government will keep close watch on import volumes and domestic prices and respond, if required, in the interests of domestic sericulture.

13. Some suggestions have been received in respect of the levy of 1 per cent Central Excise duty on 130 items. I propose to extend RSP based assessment with an abatement of 35 per cent to many of these items so that disputes with regard to valuation are avoided. I also propose to exempt any waste, scrap or parings arising in the course of manufacture of these items as a measure of relief.

14. To provide a simplified regime for taxpayers exclusively manufacturing these items, the following procedural relaxations are being made:

i) Physical verification of premises would not be necessary for new registrants;
ii) Visits to such units by Central Excise officers would be permitted only with due authorisation as in the case of SSI units;
iii) They would be required to file only quarterly returns; and
iv) A simplified return format will be prescribed.

15. Based on the feedback from domestic industry, I am proposing the following reliefs in customs and central excise duties with a view to encourage domestic manufacture:

i) To extend the concessional rate of 5 per cent CVD and Nil SAD to parts of all computer printers imported by actual users;
ii) To exempt seven specified parts of personal computers from levy of special additional duty of customs;
iii) To restore full exemption from excise duty (and CVD) on silicon wafers imported for manufacture of solar cells/modules;
iv) To exempt certain types of coking coal imported for the manufacture of iron or steel from customs duty;
v) To prescribe an unconditional 1 per cent excise duty (and CVD) on mobile handsets including cellular phones in addition to 1 per cent NCCD already leviable; and
vi) To reduce the basic customs duty from 60 to 30 per cent on CKD kits containing a pre-assembled engine, gear box or transmission assembly, imported for the manufacture of vehicles.

16. Notifications to give effect to these changes would be issued in due course and laid on the table of the House.

17. As for Service Tax, I have already announced earlier today our decision to exempt the new levy on health services in entirety both in respect of services provided by hospitals as well as by way of diagnostic tests.

18. Point of taxation Rules are due to come into force from April 1, 2011 and are meant to shift the payment of service tax from only cash basis towards accrual basis. The changes are essential to align the system of payment of taxes between goods and services. Many taxpayers have expressed concerns about some provisions and also sought some time for the switchover on account of changes required in their software. Accordingly, certain changes in the relevant provisions are being worked out and an additional period of three months up to June 30, 2011 is being provided to make the transition. These changes shall be notified shortly after completing the process of consultation.

D.S.M

Post Budget (2011-12) Notifications

New Amended Sch VI effective from 28.2.11

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

FEM (Establishment in India of Branch or Office or other Place of Business) (Amendment) Regulations, 2011 - Amendment in regulations 2 & 5

FEM (Remittance of Assets) (Amendment) Regulations, 2011 - Amendment in regulation 6

NOTIFICATION NO. G.S.R. 199(E) [NO. FEMA 217/2011-RB], DATED 19-1-2011


In exercise of the powers conferred by section 47 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999), the Reserve Bank of India hereby makes the following amendments in the Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) Regulations, 2000, Notification No. FEMA 13/2000-RB dated 3rd May, 2000, namely:—

Short title and Commencement

1.(i) These Regulations may be called the ‘Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) (Amendment) Regulations, 2011’.
(ii) They shall be deemed to have come into force from February 1, 2010.@

Amendment to the Regulations

2. In the Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) Regulations, 2000 (Notification No. FEMA 13/2000-RB dated 3rd May, 2000),
(i) in regulation 6,
(a) in sub-regulation (1), clause (iii) shall be substituted by the following :

“Authorised Dealer shall act as per regulation (7) as regards closure of Branch/Liaison Office”.

(b) after regulation 6, the following regulation shall be inserted, namely:—
“7. Permission to remit winding up proceeds of branch/office (Other than Project Office)—

(1) A branch or office established in India by a person resident outside India may, for making remittance of its winding up proceeds, apply to the Authorised Dealer concerned supported by the following documents, namely :

(A) copy of the Reserve Bank’s permission for establishing the branch/office in India;
(B) Auditors certificate :—
(i) indicating the manner in which the remittable amount has been arrived and supported by a statement of assets and liabilities of the applicant, and indicating the manner of disposal of assets;
(ii) confirming that all liabilities in India including arrears of gratuity and other benefits to employees etc. of the branch/office have been either fully met or adequately provided for;
(iii) confirming that no income accruing from sources outside India (including proceeds of exports) has remained unrepatriated to India; and
(iv) confirming that the branch/office has complied with all regulatory requirements stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time regarding functioning of such offices in India.
(C) no-objection or Tax clearance certificate from the Income-tax authority for the remittance;
(D) confirmation from the applicant that no legal proceedings in any Court in India are pending and there is no legal impediment to the remittance; and
(E) a report from the Registrar of Companies regarding compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, in case of winding up of the office in India.

(2) On consideration of the application made under sub-regulation (1), the authorised dealer concerned may permit the remittance subject to the directions issued by the Reserve Bank in this regard, from time to time.”
.......................................................................
@It is clarified that no person will be adversely affected as a result of retrospective effect being given to these regulations.



Saturday, March 19, 2011

NBFCs- Amendment to Definition of Infrastructure Loan

RBI/2010-11/432
DNBS (PD) CC. No.213/03.10.001/2010-2011

March 16, 2011

All NBFCs

Dear Sir

Amendment to Definition of Infrastructure Loan

1.The term “Infrastructure Loan” has been defined in Para 2(viii) of Non-Banking Financial (Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007 and Non-Banking Financial (Non - Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007, respectively. It has now been decided to include “Telecom Towers” also as an infrastructure facility for availing credit facility.

2. It may further be clarified that only Credit Rating Agencies(CRAs) approved by the Reserve Bank can give the rating to Infrastructure Finance Companies(IFCs) in terms of DNBS.PD.CC.No.168/03.02.089/2009-10 dated February 12, 2010. Accordingly it has been decided to substitute “credit rating agency accredited by RBI” in place of “accredited CRAs” in Paragraph19A (iii) of the Non-Banking Financial (Non- Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007, issued vide Notification No. DNBS.193/DG (VL)-2007 dated February 22, 2007 and amended from time to time.

3. Amending Notifications No.DNBS(PD)226/CGM(US)2011 amending Non-Banking Financial (Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007 and No.DNBS(PD)225/CGM(US)2011 amending Non-Banking Financial (Non- Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies

Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007 are enclosed for meticulous compliance.



Yours faithfully

(Uma Subramaniam)
Chief General Manager-In-Charge

---------------------------------------------------------------

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
DEPARTMENT OF NON-BANKING SUPERVISION
CENTRAL OFFICE
CENTRE I, WORLD TRADE CENTRE,
CUFFE PARADE, COLABA,
MUMBAI 400 005.

Notification No.DNBS(PD).225/CGM(US)-2011 dated March 16, 2011

The Reserve Bank of India, having considered it necessary in public interest and being satisfied that, for the purpose of enabling the Bank to regulate the credit system to the advantage of the country, it is necessary to amend the Non-Banking Financial (Non-Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007(hereinafter referred to as the said Directions), contained in Notification No. DNBS. 193/DG(VL)-2007 dated February 22, 2007, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 45JA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934) and of all the powers enabling it in this behalf, hereby directs that the said Directions shall be amended with immediate effect as follows, namely -

1. Amendment of paragraph 2 –
In sub-clause (e) of clause (viii) in sub-paragraph (1) of the said Directions, the term “Telecom Towers” shall be inserted before the term “network of trunking”.

2. Amendment of paragraph 19A –

The existing clause (iii) shall be substituted with the following viz.,

“ (iii) have obtained a minimum credit rating 'A' or equivalent of CRISIL, FITCH, CARE, ICRA or equivalent rating by any other credit rating agency accredited by RBI ';

(Uma Subramaniam)
Chief General Manager-in-Charge

---------------------------------------------------------------

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
DEPARTMENT OF NON-BANKING SUPERVISION
CENTRAL OFFICE
CENTRE I, WORLD TRADE CENTRE,
CUFFE PARADE, COLABA,
MUMBAI 400 005.

Notification No. DNBS(PD).226/ CGM(US)-2011 dated March 16, 2011


The Reserve Bank of India, having considered it necessary in public interest and being satisfied that, for the purpose of enabling the Bank to regulate the credit system to the advantage of the country, it is necessary to amend the Non-Banking Financial (Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007 (here in after referred to as the said Directions), contained in Notification No. DNBS.192/DG(VL)-2007 dated February 22, 2007, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 45JA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934) and of all the powers enabling it in this behalf, hereby directs that the said Directions shall be amended with immediate effect as follows, namely -

1. Amendment of paragraph 2 –

i) In sub-clause (e) of clause (viii) in sub-paragraph (1) of the said Directions, the term “Telecom Towers” shall be inserted before the term “network of trunking”.

ii) The sub-clause (k) of clause (viii) in sub-paragraph (1) of the said Directions viz; 'construction of educational institutions and hospitals'; shall be omitted.

(Uma Subramaniam)
Chief General Manager-in-Charge



Thursday, March 17, 2011

Listing Agreement for Securitized Debt Instruments

Listing Agreement for Securitized Debt Instruments. Circular no. Cir. /IMD/DF/5/2011

EAC Compendium of opinions

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Companies (Name Availability) Rules, 2011

Companies (Name Availability) Rules, 2011


In exercise of the power conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 642 read with sections 20 and 21 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules:

1(i)These Rules may be called “Companies (Name Availability) Rules, 2011”;

(ii) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2.As per provisions contained in Section 20 of the Companies Act, 1956, no company is to be registered with undesirable name. A proposed name is considered to be undesirable if it is identical with or too nearly resembling with:

(i)Name of a company in existence; or

(ii)A registered trade-mark or a trade mark which is subject of an application for registration, of any other person under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

3.After notification of these Rules, while applying for a name in the prescribed e-form-1A, using Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), the applicant shall be required to furnish a declaration to the effect that:

(i)he has used the search facilities available on the portal of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) i.e., www.mca.gov.in/MCA21 for checking the resemblance of the proposed name(s) with the companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) already registered or the names already approved.

(ii)the proposed name(s) is/are not infringing the registered trademarks or a trademark which is subject of an application for registration, of any other person under the Trade Marks Act, 1999;

(iii)the proposed name(s) is/are not in violation of the provisions of Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 as amended from time to time;

(iv)The proposed name is not offensive to any section of people, e.g., proposed name does not contain profanity or words or phrases that are generally considered a slur against an ethnic group, religion, gender or heredity;

(v)he has gone through all the prescribed guidelines, given in these Rules, understood the meaning thereof and the proposed name(s) is/are in conformity thereof;

(vi)he undertakes to be fully responsible for the consequences, in case the name is subsequently found to be in contravention of the prescribed guidelines.

4.Where, the proposed name is containing more than one word, there will be an option in the e-form 1A for certification by the practicing Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries and Cost Accountants, who will certify that he has used the search facilities available on the portal of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) i.e., www.mca.gov.in/MCA21 for checking the resemblance of the proposed name(s) with the companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) already registered or the names already approved and the search report is attached with the application form. The professional will also certify that the proposed name is not an undesirable name under the provisions of section 20 of the Companies Act, 1956 and also is in conformity with Companies (Name Availability) Rules, 2011 and Guidelines made therein.

5(i).Where e-form 1A has been certified by the professional in the manner stated at ‘4’ above, the name will be made available by the system online to the applicant without backend processing by the Registrar of Companies (ROC). This facility is not available for applications for change of name of existing companies.

(ii)Where a name has been made available online on the basis of certification of practicing professional in the manner stated above, if it is found later on that the name ought not to have been allowed under provisions of section 20 of the Companies Act read with these Rules, the professional shall also be liable for penal action under provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 in addition to the penal action under Regulations of respective professional Institutes.

(iii)Where e-form 1A has not been certified by the professional, the proposed name will be processed at the back end office of ROC and availability or non availability of name will be communicated to the applicant.

6.The name if made available, is liable to be withdrawn anytime before registration of the company, if it is found later on that the name ought not to have been allowed. However, ROC will pass an specific order giving reasons for withdrawal of name, with an opportunity to the applicant of being heard, before withdrawal of such name.

7.The name if made available to the applicant, shall be reserved for sixty days from the date of approval and further extension of thirty days with revalidation application and fees. If, the proposed company has not been incorporated within such period, the name shall be lapsed and will be available for other applicants.

8.Even after incorporation of the company, the Central Government has the power to direct the company to change the name under section 22 of the Companies Act, 1956, if it comes to his notice or is brought to his notice through an application that the name too nearly resembles that of another existing company or a registered trademark.

9.In determining whether a proposed name is identical with another, the following shall be disregarded:

(i)The words Private, Pvt, Pvt., (P), Limited, Ltd, Ltd., LLP, Limited Liability Partnership;

(ii)The words appearing at the end of the names – company, and company, co., co, corporation, corp, corpn, corp.;

(iii)The plural version of any of the words appearing in the name;

(iv)The type and case of letters, spacing between letters and punctuation marks;

(v)Joining words together or separating the words does not make a name distinguishable from a name that uses the similar, separated or joined words;

(vi)The use of a different tense or number of the same word does not distinguish one name from another;

(vii)Using different phonetic spellings or spelling variations does not distinguish one name from another. For example, J.K. Industries limited is existing then J and K Industries or Jay Kay Industries or J n K Industries or J & K Industries will not be allowed. Similarly if a name contains numeric character like 3, resemblance shall be checked with ‘Three’ also;

(viii)Misspelled words, whether intentionally misspelled or not, do not conflict with the similar, properly spelled words;

(ix)The addition of an internet related designation, such as .COM, .NET, .EDU, .GOV, .ORG, .IN does not make a name distinguishable from another, even where (.) is written as ‘dot’;

(x)The addition of words like New, Modern, Nav, Shri, Sri, Shree, Sree, Om, Jai, Sai, The, etc. does not make a name distinguishable from an existing name such as New Bata Shoe Company, Nav Bharat Electronic etc. Similarly, if it is different from the name of the existing company only to the extent of adding the name of the place, the same shall not be allowed. For example, ‘Unique Marbles Delhi Limited’ can not be allowed if ‘Unique Marbles Limited’ is already existing;

Such names may be allowed only if no objection from the existing company by way of Board resolution is produced/ submitted;

(xi)Different combination of the same words does not make a name distinguishable from an existing name, e.g., if there is a company in existence by the name of “Builders and Contractors Limited”, the name “Contractors and Builders Limited” should not be allowed;

(xii)If the proposed name is an exact Hindi translation of the name of an existing company in English especially an existing company with a reputation, e.g., Hindustan Steel Industries Ltd. will not be allowed if there exists a company with name ‘Hindustan Ispat Udyog Limited’;

10.Guidelines for availability of name

In supercession of all the previous circulars and instructions regarding name availability, the applicants and Registrar of Companies are also advised to adhere following guidelines while applying or approving the proposed name:

(i)It is not necessary that the proposed name should be indicative of the main object. However, in case the proposed name is indicative of any activity, the same will be appropriately reflected in the main object clause of the Memorandum of Association;

(ii)If the Company’s main business is finance, housing finance, chit fund, leasing, investments, securities or combination thereof, such name shall not be allowed unless the name is indicative of such related financial activities, viz., Chit Fund/ Investment/ Loan, etc.;

(iii)If it includes the words indicative of a separate type of business constitution or legal person or any connotation thereof, the same shall not be allowed. For eg: co-operative, sehkari, trust, LLP, partnership, society, proprietor, HUF, firm, Inc., PLC, GmbH, SA, PTE, Sdn, AG etc.;

(iv)Abbreviated name such as ‘ABC limited’ or ‘23K limited’ cannot be given to a new company. However the companies well known in their respective field by abbreviated names are allowed to change their names to abbreviation of their existing name (for Delhi Cloth Mills limited to DCM Limited, Hindustan Machine Tools limited to HMT limited) after following the requirement of Section 21 of the Companies Act, 1956;

(v)If the proposed name is identical to the name of a company dissolved as a result of liquidation proceeding should not be allowed for a period of 2 years from the date of such dissolution since the dissolution of the company could be declared void within the period aforesaid by an order of the Court under section 559 of the Act. Moreover, if the proposed name is identical with the name of a company which is struck off in pursuance of action under section 560 of the Act, then the same shall not be allowed before the expiry of 20 years from the publication in the Official Gazette being so struck off since the company can be restored anytime within such period by the competent authority;

(vi)If the proposed names include words such as ‘Insurance’, ‘Bank’, ‘Stock Exchange’, ‘Venture Capital’, ‘Asset Management’, ‘Nidhi’, ‘Mutual fund’ etc., the name may be allowed with a declaration by the applicant that the requirements mandated by the respective regulator, such as IRDA, RBI, SEBI, MCA etc. have been complied with by the applicant;

(vii)If the proposed name includes the word “State”, the same shall be allowed only in case the company is a government company. Also, if the proposed name is containing only the name of a continent, country, state, city such as Asia limited, Germany Limited, Haryana Limited, Mysore Limited, the same shall not be allowed;

(viii)If a foreign company is incorporating its subsidiary company, then the original name of the holding company as it is may be allowed with the addition of word India or name of any Indian state or city, if otherwise available;

(ix)Change of name shall not be allowed to a company which is defaulting in filing its due Annual Returns or Balance Sheets or which has defaulted in repayment of matured deposits and debentures and/or interest thereon;

(x)With a view to maintain uniformity, the following guidelines may be followed in the use of keywords, as part of name, while making available the proposed names under section 20 and 21 of the Companies Act, 1956:



* * * * * *

Introduction of Annual return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets reporting by Indian Companies and discontinuation of the Part B of form FC-GPR

In order to capture the statistics relating to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), both inward and outward in a more comprehensive manner as also to align it with international best practices, it has been decided to replace Part B of the Form FC-GPR by a separate ‘Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets’. The return should be submitted by July 15 of every year to the Director, Balance of Payment Statistics Division, Department of Statistics and Information Management (DSIM), Reserve Bank of India.

Click here for the text of the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 45.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Streamlining procedure for scrutiny of income-tax returns

No.402/92/2006-MC (07 of 2011)
Government of India / Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes

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New Delhi dated the 14th March 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Streamlining procedure for scrutiny of income-tax returns

Scrutiny of income tax returns is an important mechanism for ensuring taxpayer compliance and to counter tax-evasion. However, it has evoked some concern from small taxpayers and senior citizens about prolonged enquiries. Concerns have also been raised about selection of the same cases in scrutiny year after year.

Appreciating the concern of these taxpayers and with a view to mitigate their hardships,Central Board of Direct Taxes has reviewed its scrutiny selection procedure. In order to redress the grievance, it has been decided that during the financial year 2011-12, cases of senior citizens and small taxpayers, filing income-tax returns in ITR-1 and ITR-2 will be subjected to scrutiny only where the Income Tax department is in possession of credible information.

Senior citizens for this purpose would be individual taxpayers who are 60 years of age or more. Small taxpayers would be individual and HUF taxpayers whose gross total income, before availing deductions under Chapter VIA, does not exceed Rupees ten lakh.

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Monday, March 14, 2011

Payment of MCA fees –electronic mode-regarding

No. HQ/9/2002-Computerization
Government of India
Ministry of Corporate Affairs

5th Floor, A Wing, Shastri Bhavan
Dr. R.P. Road, New Delhi-110001
Dated 9th March, 2011

CIRCULAR

Sub: Payment of MCA fees –electronic mode-regarding

1. Ministry has reviewed the processes involved in delivery of important services to stakeholders, with a view to identify and improve the components causing delay in disposal of applications. Payment confirmation is found to be a major bottleneck in delivery of services in respect of offline payment made by physical challans .It was found that often there was a delay in confirmation of payments by physical challans, as banks have been given a reporting time of ‘T’+3 days, as per payment procedure approved by C&AG,‘T’ being the transaction date. This leads to delay in creation of work item for disposal of an application/e-form, leading to inconvenience of stakeholders. On the other hand, it was found that wherever fees were paid online in the system, the work item was created faster and the approvals were speedier as banks are following’ T’+1 for reporting online payments.

2. In the interest of stakeholders, with a view to improving service delivery time, Ministry has decided to accept payments of value upto Rs.50,000, for MCA 21 services ,only in electronic mode w.e.f 27th March, 2011.

3. For the payments of value above Rs. 50,000, stakeholders would have the option to either make the payment in electronic mode, or paper challan. However such payments would also be made in electronic mode w.e.f .1st October’2011.

Yours faithfully,

( Nirupama Kotru)
Director

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Process of incorporation of Companies (Form-1) and establishment of principal place of business in India by Foreign Companies (Form-44) – Procedure simplified

General Circular No. 6/2011


F.No. 17/56/2011-CL-V
Government of India
Ministry of Corporate Affairs

5th Floor, A Wing, Shastri Bhavan
Dr. R.P. Road, New Delhi-110001
Dated 8th March, 2011

To
All Regional Directors
All Registrar of Companies
All Official Liquidators

Sub: Process of incorporation of Companies ( Form-1) and establishment of principal place of business in India by Foreign Companies ( Form-44) – Procedure simplified.

Sir,

I am directed to inform that Ministry has received various representations regarding time taken by the Registrar of Companies for registration of Form-1 and Form-44.

The Ministry has got the issue examined by Business Process Re-engineering Group under MCA-21 and in order to speed up and simplify the process of incorporation of Companies and establishment of principal place of business in India by Foreign Companies for reduction in time taken by Registrar of Companies, the below mentioned procedure have been recommended :

1.Only Form-1 shall be approved by the RoC Office. Form 18 and 32 shall be processed by the system online.

2.There shall be one more category, i.e., Incorporation Forms ( Form 1A, Form 37, 39, 44 and 68) which will have the highest priority for approval.

3.Average time taken for incorporation of company should be reduced to one (1) day only.

4.A Notification to notify minor changes in e-forms 18 and 32 to enable them to be taken on record through STP mode for aforesaid procedure is being issued separately.

Yours faithfully,
( Seema Rath )
Assistant Director (Inspection)
Tele : 011-23387263

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Notified Converged Indian Accounting Standards with IFRS

MCA has notified 35 Converged Accounting Standards with IFRS. The date of implementation will be notified at a later date. 


  

Revised Schedule VI

This revised Schedule VI has been framed as per the existing non-converged Indian Accounting Standards notified under the Companies (Accounting Standards), Rules, 2006 and has nothing to do with the converged Indian Accounting Standards. This will apply to all the companies uniformly for the financial statements to be prepared for the financial year 2010-11 and onwards.


Indirect Tax Budget Notifications

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