Tax Audit Report (Form 3CD)

In order to get the various amendments made to Income-tax Act, 1961 and other laws (indirect taxes) within the format of tax audit report (TAR), the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued notification No. 33/2018  on 20 July 2018 amending the report format of tax audit. These amendments to TAR will come in force from 20 August 2018, which implies that the tax audits filed with the Income-tax on or after 20 August 2018 will have to be in the amended TAR. The point wise changes have been discussed in the ensuing paragraphs:

1. Clause no. 4 of Form 3CD – Registration details of indirect taxesDetails regarding the registration number of Goods & Service Tax (GST) have been added.

2. Clause no. 19 and 24 of Form 3CD – Deduction for investment in new plant or machineryDisclosure with regard to section 32AD has been added in these clauses to Form 3CD. This section allows deduction in respect of investment made in new plant or machinery in notified backward areas.

3. Clause no. 26 – Section 43B Certain deductions on actual payment basisClause f of section 43B has been added for reporting under this clause which pertains to allowing of liability outstanding towards Indian Railways for use of their assets, on actual payment basis.

4. Serial no 29A – New clause introduced for section 56(2) (ix) of the ActThis section was introduced in Finance Act 2014 primarily to tax the advance amounts initially received against the capital asset in the course of negotiation and later forfeited and no transfer effected. Reporting under this section has been got under the TAR

5. Serial no. 29B – New clause introduced for section 56(2) (x)of the ActThis section of the Act widened the scope of taxability of any sum of money, immovable property or any other property received by one person from another person for no consideration or inadequate consideration.

6. Serial no. 30A – New clause introduced for section 92CE of the Act (‘Secondary adjustment’)Section 92CE was introduced by the Finance Act, 2017 which brought in the concept of secondary adjustment in the Act. According to this section, where there has been any primary transfer pricing adjustments made in the case of an assesse, under various circumstances, the assesse is required to make a secondary adjustment.

7. Serial no. 30B – New clause introduced for section 94B of the Act (‘Thin Capitalization’)Section 94B was introduced in Finance Act 2017 to limit the interest deduction in certain cases and to bring in the concept of Thin Capitalization. It is a situation where an entity is financed at a relatively high level of debt compared to equity. Some multinational companies engage in aggressive tax planning techniques such as placing higher levels of third party debt in high tax countries, using intragroup loans to generate interest deductions in excess of their actual third party interest expense, using third party or intragroup financing to fund the generation of tax exempt income. Certain relaxations are also provided under this section

8. Serial no. 30C – New clause introduced for section 96 of the Act (‘GAAR’)Section 96 (impermissible avoidance agreement) falls under the Chapter X-A (General Anti Avoidance Rule). This section was inserted to curb such arrangements where an agreement creates such rights between the parties to the agreement, by misuse of the provisions of the Act, which would not have been created in normal course between parties dealing at arm’s length. Under this clause, where the tax auditor is of the view that a particular arrangement falls under this provisions of the act then they are supposed to state the nature of such arrangement and the tax benefit created in the previous year to all parties in aggregate. Reporting under clause 30C has been deferred till 31^st March 2020 vide circular no. 9/2019 dated 14^th May 2019.

9. Serial no. 31 – Clause (ba), (bb), (bc) and (bd) introduced after clause (b) to serial no. 31 of TAR pertaining to section 269ST of the ActPursuant to introduction of section 269ST by Finance Act 2017, the TAR has been amended to include disclosure under this provision whereby there is a restriction on receiving by any person of an amount exceeding INR two lakh in aggregate from a person in a day; or in respect of a single transaction; or in respect of one event otherwise than by account payee cheque or account payee bank draft or use of electronic clearing system (ECS). Where this section of the act is applicable only to the recipient, the disclosure requirements even mandate the payer to make the relevant disclosures along with the name, address and PAN of the party involved.

10. Amendments have been made to the language of clause 31 (c), (d) and (e) of the TAR with regard to the provision of section 269T of the Act

11. Serial no. 34 – Clause (b) Details of eTDS returnsEarlier this provision required only reporting of the fact as to whether the eTDS statement submitted contains all details/ transactions (Yes/ No). Now with the amendment to this clause, the TAR requires reporting of such details/ transactions which have not been reported in the eTDS return. This will be a task for the assesse with huge volumes of transactions which will require reporting of all such entries.

12. Serial no. 36A – New clause for details regarding deemed dividend u/s 2(22) (e) of the ActUnder the provisions of this section where any company, in which public are not substantially interested, makes any payment by way of loan or advance, to any person who holds not less than 10 percent voting power or to any other person in which such shareholder has substantial interest, then such payment to the extent of accumulated profits, will be treated as deemed dividend.

13. Serial no. 42 – New clause for details regards Form no. 61, 61A and 61BThis requires reporting of details of submission and due date of the respective forms with the income-tax. It also requires the auditor to ensure if all the required details have been submitted and if not, then the unreported details/ transactions are required to be reported in Form 3CD. The details required to be submitted in respective forms have been given hereunder:

• Form 61 – this form requires details of all Form 60 to be submitted. Where transactions specified under Rule 114B of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 (‘the Rules’) have been undertaken by the assesse and document with that regard has been collected by the assesse without the PAN of the person giving the document, then the assesse is required to collect declaration in Form 60.
• Form 61A – Statement of specified financial transactions as given in Rule 114E of the Rules which mandates reporting of certain financial transactions undertaken during a particular financial year, before due date (31 May).
• Form 61B – Statement of reportable accounts in accordance with FATCA and CRS for a calendar year.

14. Serial no. 43 – New clause with regard to Country by Country Reporting (CbCR) u/s 286 of the ActSection 286 r.w.r 10DB specifies the Companies liable to comply with CbCR requirements. Entities to which CbCR is applicable need to comply with reporting requirements of Form 3CEAC and 3CEAD, wherever applicable. The details of parent entity, alternate reporting entity and date of furnishing of these reports are to be mentioned under this clause of TAR.

15. Serial no. 44 – New clause of expenditure with respect to registered / unregistered entities under GSTThis clause requires breakdown of entire expenditure debited to Profit & Loss a /c into the following heads:

• Relating to goods or services exempt under GST
• Relating to entities falling under composition scheme
• Relating to other registered entities
• Relating to entities not registered under GST
  Reporting under clause 44 has been deferred till 31^st March 2020 vide circular no. 9/2019 dated 14^th May 2019.

If you are looking forward for more updates about tax amendment or require assistance in filing of tax returns, tax assessments and tax audits, our team of experts can assist you in complying with the tax regime.

Tax saving investments routes

Tax saving is the strategy by which one saves taxes by using the provisions specified under law. At the time of filing your return, you can seamlessly claim these exemptions and deductions from the income tax department. Such provisions are provided by the government to incentivize savings and investments in the economy. The process of tax saving is completely legal and encouraged by the government. It is a compulsory contribution to state revenue levied by the government on workers income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services and transaction. Taxes paid by public are used by the government for carrying out various welfare schemes including employment programs. Under section 80 of Income Tax Act, 1961 (“Act”) there are various deductions a taxpayer can claim from his total income which would bring down his taxable income and thereby reduce his tax outgo.

Every year most of us struggle to save our tax and it might be challenging for the new earners or newly recruited employees as well. Most commonly used option to save income tax is section 80C. According to this section, if an individual or hindu undivided family (HUF) invests in or spends on specified sources, then up to INR 1.5 lakhs of such investment can be claimed as a deduction from gross total income before calculating tax payable on it in financial year. Such deduction made can be claimed only from the income in the financial year in which such investment was made.

Tax saving investment is an essential part of tax planning we do to save our tax and also an activity which every tax payer should undergo. So, here is all the information and analysis we need in order to choose the tax saving investment scheme under section 80C:

1. Public provident fund (PPF): Investment in PPF is the best option under section 80C of Income Tax Act.  It is worthiest for the ones who need to keep aside funds for their retirement. It declares to allow the return on par with the inflation generally. Contribution amounting INR 150,000 is allowed under PPF. Rate of interest is determined by Ministry of Finance from time to time. Interest earned is tax-free. The lock-in period for PPF is 15 years. After five years amount can be withdrawn subject to certain conditions. It is amongst the best strategies for tax saving.
2. 5 year bank fixed deposits (FDs): Any term deposit with the tenure of at least 5 years with the scheduled bank also qualifies for the deductions under section 80C and the interest earned on it is taxable. The investment made in FDI cannot be withdrawn in between.
3. Equity Linked Saving Schemes (ELSS): ELSS funds have the shortest mandatory lock-in period of three years among the tax-saving investment options available under section 80C. The investment is made in equity, directing more prominent returns and gives about 15% in the long term. The deduction can be claimed u / s 80C easily. ELSS is an overall financial plan and is perfect to assemble one’s long-term fiscal goals.
4. National Savings Certificate (NSC): The best thing about this instrument is that unlike an insurance policy or a pension plan NSC does not require a multi-year commitment. So, it is a good option for those who don’t have time to study the features of the plan or look up to the promising ELSS funds. It is issued in the post offices. The income tax deduction for this investment can be claimed under section 80C of the Act.
5. Unit Linked Investment Plan (ULIP): ULIP came into focus from last year after the budget introduced tax on long-term capital gains from stocks and equity funds. It is the combination of investment and insurance which is eligible for tax exemption. It covers the return but there are no guaranteed returns.
6. Premium of life insurance: The scheme is covered under section 80 of the Act. The schemes of life insurance help a person to protect itself and its dependents from any risk occurring in future.
7. Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS): SCSS was already the best tax-saving option for those above 60 years of age, but last year’s budget made it more attractive by offering senior citizens an additional INR 50,000 exemption on interest income. This means that the overall tax exemption for senior citizens above 60 is now INR 3.5 lakhs and for very senior citizens above 80 is INR 5.5 lakhs. Maximum limit for the above mentioned investment is INR 15 Lakhs. The lock-in period of 5 years. The deduction is allowed under section 80C.

Above stated are the investments which provide deductions that can be claimed under section 80C for saving the tax, considering various provisions. The last quarter of every financial year that is January to March is the time when most of us rush to settle our tax saving exercise by submitting the documents to our employers and also making various investments. Doing this we should keep in mind some important points or measures which we should take for exercising the tax saving benefit. The same will be discussed in our next segment.

We have a team of skilled professionals who can help you with making appropriate investment decisions, tax planning, computation and payment of advance taxes, etc. Still confused and have questions regarding Income tax saving or planning, get assistance from our team of experts click here.