The All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP) (West Zone) organized a virtual National tax conference where one of the subjects for discussion was,“Admission and Retraction in Income-tax survey and search, and relevancy of electronic evidence”  The session was chaired by Dr. K. Shivaram, Senior Advocate, and the paper was presented by Advocate Narayan Jain, Kolkata.  For the benefit of the tax professionals a brief summary is prepared by Advocate Shashi Bekal

The All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP Western zone) had organized a Webinar on June 14, 2020 on the subject of “Principles of Natural justice as applicable to Tax proceedings and Writs in taxation”. The speaker was Advocate Mr. Manish J.Shah, Ahmedabad and Chairman was Dr K. Shivaram, Senior Advocate, Mumbai. For the benefit of the readers, a brief summary of the proceedings has been prepared by Advocate Shashi Bekal

Advocate Aditya Ajgaonkar has described the Faceless Assessment Scheme & the Faceless Appeal Scheme as a big tax reform and game-changer because they seek to streamline, and bring greater transparency and accountability into, the tax administration. He has, however, cautioned that the non-grant of a personal hearing via video conference as a default choice vested in the assessee may be a violation of the principles of natural justice and may put the schemes into jeopardy. He has given convincing reasons for his views

Advocate Shashi Ashok Bekal has explained the applicability of the Scheme of TCS, its compliance procedure and the consequences of non-compliance. He has also highlighted the concerns of taxpayers regarding the levy of TCS on sale of goods above specified limits. He has also identified certain lacuna and ambiguities in the law and requested that these be addressed at the earliest so as to avoid unwanted litigation

The disruption caused by Covid-19 has compelled the Government to extend from time to time the due dates for various compliances. Advocate V. P. Gupta has methodically set out in a tabular format all the extended due dates. This will help avoid confusion and prevent unintended breaches of the law by taxpayers. The ld. author has also identified a few important issues which need the attention of CBDT and suggested the action required to be taken by it

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) conducted a performance audit on search and seizure assessments of the Income Tax Department. The report has several interesting insights and makes valuable recommendations. CA Mohit Gupta has summarized the key points of the report in a succinct and clear manner

CA Pratik Sandbhor has highlighted the important aspects of the newly introduced Faceless Appeals Scheme and also explained its implications. He has dwelt upon the consequences of non-grant of a personal hearing and also the concept of “review” of the draft appellate order. The ld. author has also pointed out that there are several issues that need clarification from the CBDT for the smooth implementation of the scheme

Advocate Fenil Bhatt has submitted that the prevalent judicial view that ‘education cess’ is not affected by the bar in section 40(a)(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and is allowable as a deduction requires reconsideration. He has argued that education cess is nothing but the State’s right in the profits of the Assessee, akin to income tax, is in the nature of distribution of income, and is not eligible for deduction

Advocate V. P. Gupta has argued that sub-section (1H) of section 206C of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which comes into effect on 1st October 2020, will not serve any purpose but will instead raise a number of difficulties in implementation. The ld. author has requested the CBDT to either withdraw the statutory provision or to at least clarify the issues identified by him

Advocate Arjun Gupta has prepared a comprehensive guide in which the entire law relating to the grant of stay of demand has been explained. All possible scenarios have been visualized by the ld. author. He has referred to all the CBDT Circulars and judicial pronouncements and also provided valuable comments to explain the law clearly