Important Income Tax (Direct Tax) Amendments (since 2019):

Important  Income Tax Act 1961 (Direct Tax) Amendments (since 2019):

Government has announced several measures to promote growth, investment and create new employment opportunities through the amendments in the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Finance Act (No. 2), 2019.

 Following measures has been measures taken by Ministry of Finance:

 ·         reduction in the corporate tax rate from 30% to 22% provided the company did not avail any exemption or incentive.

·         an option to pay income-tax at the rate of 15% for the new domestic companies incorporated on or after 1st October 2019 and making a fresh investment, subject to their not availing any exemption or incentives and provided they commence production by 31st March 2023.

·         reduction in the Minimum Alternate Tax from the existing rate 18.5% to 15% for existing companies that are availing the exemption/incentives.

·         to stabilize the flow of funds into the capital market it was decided that enhanced surcharge introduced by the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019 shall not apply to on capital gains arising on sale of equity share in a company or a unit of an equity oriented fund or a unit of a business trust liable for securities transaction tax, in the hands of an individual, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), Associations of Persons (AOP), Body of Individuals (BOI) and Artificial Judicial Person (AJP).

·         The enhanced surcharge shall also not apply to capital gains arising on sale of any security including derivatives, in the hands of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).

·         In order to provide relief to listed companies which had already made a public announcement of buy-back before 5th July 2019, it was provided that tax on buy-back of shares in case of such companies shall not be charged.

·         The amendments expanded the scope of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of 2 per cent spending. The CSR 2% fund can be spent on incubators funded by Central or State Government or any agency or Public Sector Undertaking and making contributions to public-funded Universities, IITs, National Laboratories, and Autonomous Bodies engaged in conducting research in science, technology, engineering and medicine aimed at promoting Sustainable Development Goals.

·         rationalisation of tax rates,

·         simplification of income tax return forms,

·         faster processing of refunds,

·         speedy resolution of grievances and

·         introduction of faceless processes to ease the compliance burden on taxpayers 

·         Government has launched ‘Transparent Taxation– Honouring the Honest.

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Daily Current Affairs dated 15th September, 2020

Daily Current Affairs – Top 10

Dated 15^th September, 2020

1.      The country celebrates Engineer's Day on September 15 to appreciate the contributions of eminent engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya who was born on September 15, 1861 in a village called Muddenahalli in Karnataka.

2.      Power and New renewable energy minister has laid foundation stone of Line In Line Out (LILO) Kishenganj –Darbhanga 400kV transmission line in Bihar. It will help to improve power scenario in Saharsa, Khagaria and Begusarai districts. POWERGRID Ltd is the implementing agency for this project.

3.      Japan's ruling party Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has elected Yoshihide Suga as its leader to succeed Shinzo Abe. Yoshihide Suga will be the new Prime Minister of Japan. He is currently the chief Cabinet secretary of Abe's government.

4.      Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)- National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) has recognized Shweta Kapila as a Goan breed. This breed of cow is found in Valpoi, Saakeri and other areas of Goa.

5.      Takeo Konishi has been appointed as Asian Development Bank’s new Country Director for India. He has succeeded Kenichi Yokoyama, who has been appointed as Director-General of ADB’s South Asia Department.

6.      Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020, Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020 and Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill 2020 have been introduced in Lok Sabha. Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020 will replace Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, which was issued by the government on 26 June 2020 to amend Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

7.      The National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill 2020 and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill 2020 have been passed by the Parliament. Both bills aim to ensure an adequate supply of quality medical professionals for homoeopathy and the Indian System of Medicine. National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill 2020 seeks to replace the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973

8.      India has been elected as a member of the United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women, a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

9.      TikTok has chosen Oracle to be its technology partner for its American operations. Microsoft was also in a bid to acquire TikTok in the United States but the Chinese owner of the video-sharing platform “TikTok” chose Oracle over Microsoft to be its technology partner for its American operations.

10.  S&P Global Ratings has projected the GDP of India to contract by 9% in the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21), as against its previous estimate of a 5% contraction, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the FY22 (2021-22), S&P expects GDP growth of 6% and for the FY23 (2022-23), GDP growth is projected at 6.2%.

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Daily Current Affairs dated 14.09.2020

Daily Current Affairs – Top 10

dated 14th September, 2020

1.   The Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 was approved by the Union Cabinet in February this year.  It will replace the Insecticides Act, 1968.

2.      iRAD stands for Integrated Road Accident Database Project. The primary purpose of IRAD is to enhance road safety.

3.      Hindi Divas is celebrated annually on 14 September to commemorate the adoption of Hindi as official language of India. On 14 September, 1949, Constitutional provisions of Official Language were passed by the Constituent Assembly and Hindi in Devanagari became official language of India.

4.      SCTIMST has developed a device to prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) or formation of a blood clot in a vein located deep in body, usually in the legs. The device helps in flow of blood from the veins in the legs and prevents DVT.

5.      Former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has passed away at AIIMS, Delhi. He served as Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development and was elected from Vaishali constituency (Bihar) in 14 Lok Sabha. Currently, 15 AIIMS are functioning in country and government is working on making eight more AIIMS operational by 2025.

6.      Devendra Vijay Darda has been elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2020-2021. He is the managing director of Lokmat Media, one of the largest regional media groups in India.

7.      US Open is one of the Gand Slam tournaments. The other three are- Australia Open, French Open and Wimbledon. US Open 2020 is the 140 edition of tennis’ US Open, fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of a year. Rafael Nadal won the Men’s singles in 2019.

8.      Suguna, one of India”s largest poultry broiler enterprises, has been significantly affected by supply disruptions caused by the nationwide lockdown to contain COVID-19.

9.      Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

10.  Moody’s Investors Service has forecast India’s real GDP to contract by (-)11.5% in fiscal 2020-21, much weaker than its previous estimate of a 4.0 per cent contraction. Moody’s said, growth is expected to rebound to 10.6 per cent in 2021-22, reflecting a strong statistical base effect from the low GDP levels of 2020 as economic activity slowly normalises.

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IBC Weekly Updates (from 05.09.2020 to 12.09.2020)

IBC Weekly Updates
from 05.09.2020 to 12.09.2020

Sl. No.	Particulars	Link
1	Notice Inviting Tender for Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract of IT Equipments	Click Here
2	In the matter of Mr Avishek Gupta, Insolvency Professional	Click Here
3	In the matter of Mr Abhishek Ahuja, Registered Valuer	Click Here
4	Guidelines for Appointment of Insolvency Professionals as Administrators under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Appointment of Administrator and Procedure for Refunding to the Investors) Regulations, 2018	Click Here
5	Invitation of Public comments: Discussion Paper on Governance Issues in Insolvency Professional Agencies	Click Here
6	In the matter of Mr. Ravi Sharma, Insolvency Professional	Click Here

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IN NO EVENT THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGE RESULTING FROM OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION.

Labour Law Updates (from 05.09.2020 to 12.09.2020)

Labour Law Updates 
from 05.09.2020 to 12.09.2020

Sl. No.	Particulars	Link
1	Unlocking Value from Data and AI - The India Opportunity	Click here
2	Monitoring of Welfare Measures	Click here
3	Reimbursement of OPD medicines Special sanction in view of Covid 19	Click here
4	Permission for conducting Personal Hearing in the cases registered u/s 45AA through video conferencing.	Click here
5	Submission of Revised Estimates 2020-2021 and Budget Estimates 2021-2022	Click here
6	From 15th Feb.,2020, new Companies registered through MCA Portal, www.mca.gov.in need not comply with provisions of ESI Act till they reach threshold limit of ESI coverage or initial 6 months whichever is earlier. For further details  login to ' www.esic.in Submission of Mobile Number and Bank Account details(Bank Name, Branch Name & IFSC) shall be mandatory for registration of New employee. Click here
7	Shri Gangwar, inaugurates newly constructed building of Labour Bureau		Click here
8	The Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment Shri Santosh Gangwar has called upon all G-20 members to continue to work together for finding solutions to the common problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.		Click here
9	Amendment approved in Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, to enhance maximum assurance benefit to Rs. 7 lakh from the present benefit of Rs. 6 lakh Central Board recommends the same rate @ 8.50%, comprising of 8.15% from debt income and balance 0.35% (capital gain) from the sale of ETFs subject to  redemption by 31st December, 2020		Click here
10	EPFO settles 94.41 lakh claims during pandemic since 1st April		Click here

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RBI - FEMA Weekly Updates (from 05.09.2020 to 12.09.2020)

Weekly RBI - FEMA Updates
from 05th September 2020 to 12th September, 2020

Sl. No.	Particulars	Link
1	RBI Announces Special Open Market Operations (OMO) Simultaneous Purchase and Sale of Government of India Securities	Click here
2	RBI releases Draft Variation Margin (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2020 under Section 45 W of the RBI Act, 1934	Click here
3	Report of the Expert Committee on Resolution Framework for Covid-19 related Stress	Click Here
4	Result of Yield/Price Based Auction of State Development Loans of State Governments	Click Here
5.	Award scheme for writing books originally in Hindi on Economics/Banking/Financial subjects	Click Here
6.	Directions under Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (As Applicable to Co-operative Societies) – Sikar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Sikar, Rajasthan - Extension of validity	Click Here
7.	Measuring Productivity at the Industry Level – The India KLEMS Database	Click Here
8.	Reserve Bank of India – Bulletin Weekly Statistical Supplement – Extract (Updated)	Click Here
9.	RBI Bulletin - September 2020	Click Here
10.	Resolution Framework for COVID-19-related Stress – Financial Parameters	Click Here

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IN NO EVENT THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGE RESULTING FROM OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION.