Coronavirus impact: FM offers relief measures, says bigger steps to follow

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday prolonged the deadline for filing tax returns by three months over and above March 31. She also announced a slew of regulatory and compliance steps throughout sectors to ease the hardships getting confronted by a variety of firms. This comes as the place enters into an unparalleled lockdown thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The finance minister also announced elimination of rates for three months for debit card holders withdrawing cash from ATMs of other financial institutions and waived the minimal balance fees.

The required necessity of keeping meetings of the board of the corporations was prolonged by sixty days till the subsequent two quarters, whilst applicability of Businesses (Auditor’s Report) Buy, 2020, has been deferred by a year.

It will now be place in location from 2020-2021 as an alternative of from 2019-2020 notified previously.

In a media briefing held by a online video convention, Sitharaman also claimed that a larger sized economic package deal will be announced before long.

The finance minister claimed the Centre was deliberating on the tips from stakeholders, which includes provision of a specific money assistance plan and deferment of loan payments for people and corporations.

She claimed that a COVID-19 Economic Reaction Activity Power had been established up constituting ministers, associates of Parliament, industrialists, economists and experts. It had been divided into sub-teams to deal with a variety of challenges.

“We are near to coming out with an economic package deal which will be announced sooner or later,” Sitharaman claimed.

The minister claimed the last date for money tax returns for FY19 has been prolonged to June 30, and for delayed payments till that time, the desire rate has been reduced to nine for each cent from twelve for each cent.

“This is a reduction for lots of common resident taxpayers who have to have to file revised tax returns in order to assert foreign tax credit history (FTC) dependent on their overseas tax returns,” claimed Alok Agrawal, Partner, Deloitte India.

The transfer has automatically lengthen timelines for all statutory obligations like concluding time-barring assessments, issue of tax recognize, intimations, processing of returns, completion of established-apart assessments penalty proceedings, reopening evaluation and so on.

More, the deadline for proceedings less than Prosperity Tax Act, Benami Assets Act, Black Cash Act, Securities Transaction Tax and Commodity Transaction Act, the place the time restrict expires amongst March twenty and June 29, has been also prolonged to June 30.

The required linking of Aadhaar cards with PAN cards, and the direct tax Vivad Se Vishwas plan has also been prolonged to June 30. The previously requirements in Vivad Se Vishwas, of not paying out a 10 for each cent more amount of money till March 31, was prolonged to June 30.

“For delayed payments of progress tax, self-evaluation tax, normal tax, TDS and equalisation levy, between others, produced amongst March twenty and June 30, the desire rate has been reduced to nine for each cent from twelve-eighteen for each cent previously. No late rate and penalty shall be charged for delay relating to this interval,” she claimed.

Deferring the deadline for availing entire positive aspects of the Vivad Se Vishwas plan evoked favourable response from tax experts.

“This will give more than enough time and opportunity to tax payers to just take benefit of the plan to mitigate litigation,” claimed Vikram Doshi, partner, tax & regulatory, PwC India.

The transfer will absolutely inspire firms to tackle pending litigation in the prolonged interval, claimed Abhishek Rastogi, partner at Khaitan & Co.

Sitharaman also claimed that individuals possessing combination once-a-year turnover of less than Rs five crore can file GST returns for March-May possibly by the last 7 days of June, and no desire, late rate, or penalty will be charged. For the others, a reduced desire rate of nine for each cent will be levied.

Addressing the media, the minister remained non-committal on the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on economic advancement, the Centre’s tax and divestment revenues and no matter whether the government had approximated the dimension of economic losses thanks to the shutdown.

“There have been tips from persons on a universal standard money, on deferring EMIs for people and loans for corporations. We are deliberating on these challenges. You will listen to a little something before long,” she claimed.

(With inputs from Shrimi Choudhary, Dilasha Seth & Ruchika Chitravanshi)