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Taxation
Income Tax
Income tax in India is governed by Entry 82 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, empowering the central government to tax non-agricultural income; agricultural income is defined in Section 10(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.[2] Income-tax law consists of the 1961 act, Income Tax Rules 1962, Notifications and Circulars issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), annual Finance Acts, and judicial pronouncements by the Supreme and high courts.
The government taxes certain income of individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUF's), companies, firms, LLPs, associations, bodies, local authorities and any other juridical person. Personal tax depends on residential status. The CBDT administers the Income Tax Department, which is part of the Ministry of Finance's Department of Revenue. Income tax is a key source of government funding.
The government taxes certain income of individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUF's), companies, firms, LLPs, associations, bodies, local authorities and any other juridical person. Personal tax depends on residential status. The CBDT administers the Income Tax Department, which is part of the Ministry of Finance's Department of Revenue. Income tax is a key source of government funding.
International Taxation
International taxation is the study or determination of tax on a person or business subject to the tax laws of different countries or the international aspects of an individual country’s tax laws as the case may be. Governments usually limit the scope of their income taxation in some manner territorially or provide for offsets to taxation relating to extraterritorial income. The manner of limitation generally takes the form of a territorial, residential, or exclusionary system. Some governments have attempted to mitigate the differing limitations of each of these three broad systems by enacting a hybrid system with characteristics of two or more.
Many governments tax individuals and/or enterprises on income. Such systems of taxation vary widely, and there are no broad general rules. These variations create the potential for double taxation (where the same income is taxed by different countries) and no taxation (where income is not taxed by any country). Income tax systems may impose tax on local income only or on worldwide income. Generally, where worldwide income is taxed, reductions of tax or foreign credits are provided for taxes paid to other jurisdictions. Limits are almost universally imposed on such credits. Multinational corporations usually employ international tax specialists, a specialty among both lawyers and accountants, to decrease their worldwide tax liabilities.
With any system of taxation, it is possible to shift or recharacterize income in a manner that reduces taxation. Jurisdictions often impose rules relating to shifting income among commonly controlled parties, often referred to as transfer pricing rules. Residency-based systems are subject to taxpayer attempts to defer recognition of income through use of related parties. A few jurisdictions impose rules limiting such deferral (“anti-deferral” regimes). Deferral is also specifically authorized by some governments for particular social purposes or other grounds. Agreements among governments (treaties) often attempt to determine who should be entitled to tax what. Most tax treaties provide for at least a skeleton mechanism for resolution of disputes between the parties.
Countries that tax income generally use one of two systems: territorial or residential. In the territorial system, only local income – income from a source inside the country – is taxed. In the residential system, residents of the country are taxed on their worldwide (local and foreign) income, while nonresidents are taxed only on their local income. In addition, a very small number of countries, notably the United States, also tax their nonresident citizens on worldwide income.
Countries with a residential system of taxation usually allow deductions or credits for the tax that residents already pay to other countries on their foreign income. Many countries also sign tax treaties with each other to eliminate or reduce double taxation. In the case of corporate income tax, some countries allow an exclusion or deferment of specific items of foreign income from the base of taxation.
Central Excise Law
An excise or excise tax (sometimes called a special excise duty) is an inland tax on the sale, or production for sale, of specific goods or a tax on a good produced for sale, or sold, within a country or licenses for specific activities. Excises are distinguished from customs duties, which are taxes on importation. Excises are inland taxes, whereas customs duties are border taxes.
An excise is considered an indirect tax, meaning that the producer or seller who pays the tax to the government is expected to try to recover or shift the tax by raising the price paid by the buyer. Excises are typically imposed in addition to another indirect tax such as a sales tax or value added tax (VAT). In common terminology (but not necessarily in law), an excise is distinguished from a sales tax or VAT in three ways:
an excise typically applies to a narrower range of products;
an excise is typically heavier, accounting for a higher fraction of the retail price of the targeted products; and an excise is typically a per unit tax, costing a specific amount for a volume or unit of the item purchased, whereas a sales tax or VAT is an ad valorem tax and proportional to the price of the good.
Typical examples of excise duties are taxes on gasoline and other fuels, and taxes on tobacco and alcohol (sometimes referred to as sin tax).
Custom Duty
Custom Duty is imposed under the Indian Customs Act formulated in 1962 by the Constitution of India under the Article 265, which states that “no tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law. So, the Indian Custom Act was introduced that allow the Central Government to collect the taxes under the name of Custom Duty.
Custom Duties are usually levied with ad valorem rates and their base is determined by the domestic value ‘the imported goods calculated at the official exchange rate. Similarly, export duties are imposed on export values expressed in domestic currency.
Export duties are levied occasionally to clear up excess profitability in international price of goods in respect of which domestic prices may be low at given time. But the concept of import duty is wide and almost universal, except for a few goods like food grains, fertilizer, life saving drugs and equipment etc.
The Indian Customs Duties are major source of revenue for the Union Government and constitute around 30% of its tax revenues. Together with Central Excise duties, the contribution amount to nearly three-fourth of total tax revenue of the Union Government.
Custom duty not only raises money for the Central Government but also helps the government to prevent the illegal imports and illegal exports of goods from India. The Central government has emergency powers to increase import or export duties whenever necessary after a notification in the session of Parliament.
Service Tax
Service tax is a tax levied by Central Government of India on services provided or to be provided excluding services covered under negative list and considering the Place of Provision of Services Rules, 2012 and collected as per Point of Taxation Rules, 2011 from the person liable to pay service tax. Person liable to pay service tax is governed by Service Tax Rules, 1994 he may be service provider or service receiver or any other person made so liable. It is an indirect tax wherein the service provider collects the tax on services from service receiver and pays the same to government of India. Few services are presently exempt in public interest via Mega Exemption Notification 25/2012-ST as amended up to date and few services are charged service tax at abated rate as per Notification No. 26/2012-ST as amended up to date. Presently from 1 June 2016, service tax rate has been increased to consolidated rate at 15% of value of services provided or to be provided. The service tax rate now is consolidated rate as education cess and secondary higher education cess are subsumed with 2% of “Swach Bharat Cess(0.50%)” has been notified by the Government.
From 15 November 2015, the effective rate of service tax plus Swachh Bharat Cess, post introduction of Swachh Bharat Cess, was 14.5%. Currently, Swachh Bharat Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess would also be levied on all services on which Service Tax is being levied and therefore, the Service Tax (including Swachh Bharat Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess) applicable from 1 June 2016 has become 15%.
GST
In 2000, the Vajpayee Government started discussion on GST by setting up an empowered committee. The committee was headed by Asim Dasgupta, (Finance Minister,Government of West Bengal). It was given the task of designing the GST model and overseeing the IT back-end preparedness for its rollout.It is considered to be a major improvement over the pre-existing central excise duty at the national level and the sales tax system at the state level, the new tax will be a further significant breakthrough and the next logical step towards a comprehensive indirect tax reform in the country.
The Kelkar Task Force on implementation of the FRBM Act, 2003 had pointed out that although the indirect tax policy in India has been steadily progressing in the direction of VAT principle since 1986, the existing system of taxation of goods and services still suffers from many problems and had suggested a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax (GST) based on VAT principle. GST system is targeted to be a simple, transparent and efficient system of indirect taxation as has been adopted by over 130 countries around the world. This involves taxation of goods and services in an integrated manner as the blurring of line of demarcation between goods and services has made separate taxation of goods and services untenable.
Introduction of an Goods and Services Tax (GST) to replace the existing multiple tax structures of Centre and State taxes is not only desirable but imperative in the emerging economic environment. Increasingly, services are used or consumed in production and distribution of goods and vice versa. Separate taxation of goods and services often requires splitting of transactions value into value of goods and services for taxation, which leads to greater complexities, administration and compliances costs. Integration of various Central and State taxes into a GST system would make it possible to give full credit for inputs taxes collected. GST, being a destination-based consumption tax based on VAT principle, would also greatly help in removing economic distortions caused by present complex tax structure and will help in development of a common national market.
A proposal to introduce a national level Goods and Services Tax (GST) by April 1, 2010 was first mooted in the Budget Speech for the financial year 2006-07. Since the proposal involved reform/ restructuring of not only indirect taxes levied by the Centre but also the States, the responsibility of preparing a Design and Road Map for the implementation of GST was assigned to the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (EC). In April, 2008, the EC a report to the titled “A Model and Roadmap for Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India” containing broad recommendations about the structure and design of GST. In response to the report, the Department of Revenue made some suggestions to be incorporated in the design and structure of proposed GST. Based on inputs from GoI and States, The EC released its First Discussion Paper on Goods and Services Tax in India on the 10th of November, 2009 with the objective of generating a debate and obtaining inputs from all stakeholders.
A dual GST module for the country has been proposed by the EC. This dual GST model has been accepted by centre. Under this model GST have two components viz. the Central GST to be levied and collected by the Centre and the State GST to be levied and collected by the respective States. Central Excise duty, additional excise duty, Service Tax, and additional duty of customs (equivalent to excise), State VAT, entertainment tax, taxes on lotteries, betting and gambling and entry tax (not levied by local bodies) would be subsumed within GST.
In order to take the GST related work further, a Joint Working Group consisting of officers from Central as well as State Government was constituted. This was further trifurcated into three Sub-Working Groups to work separately on draft legislations required for GST, process/forms to be followed in GST regime and IT infrastructure development needed for smooth functioning of proposed GST. In addition, an Empowered Group for development of IT Systems required for Goods and Services Tax regime has been set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Nandan Nilekani.
Finally in the year 2017 GST law enacted with four Acts.
Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017
Respective State Goods and Service Tax Act 2017
Union Territory Goods and Service Tax Act 2017
Integrated Goods and Service Tax Act 2017