Amendment proposed in Charitable trust, assessment proceedings by Finance Bill, 2023

PDFPrint

Proposed amendments w.r.t. Charitable & Religious Trusts:

• The utilization of corpus, loans or borrowings by a charitable or religious trust prior to 01-04-2021 will not be considered an application for charitable or religious purposes if the amount is subsequently deposited back into the corpus or the loan is repaid.

• The repayment of a loan or investment into the corpus will only be considered an application for charitable or religious purposes if it occurs within 5 years of the initial utilization.

• The donations made by one trust or institution to another trust or institution shall be deemed to be an application of up to 85% of the donated amount.

• The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation have been excluded from the list of eligible funds for deductions under Section 80G.

• Trusts and institutions that have initiated their activities must apply directly for regular registration, rather than provisional registration.

• The submission of an application for registration containing false, inaccurate, or incomplete information is considered a designated violation and may result in the revocation of the registration of trusts or institutions by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax/Commissioner of Income Tax.

• The provisions for tax on accreted income as specified in Section 115TD have been extended to trusts or institutions, if they fail to apply for re-registration.

• In order to claim the accumulation of income, trusts or institutions must file Form 9A and Form 10 at least two months prior to the deadline for filing the return of income.

• Time provided for furnishing a return of income for claiming exemption by trusts or institutions under Section 10(23C) or Section 11 or Section 12 shall not include the time provided for furnishing an updated return. In other words, the exemption shall be allowed if the return of income is furnished within the time allowed under Section 139(1) or Section 139(4) and not Section 139(8A).

• The second, third and fourth proviso to Section 12A(2) allows trusts and institutions to claim an exemption under sections 11 and 12 for the previous year in which application for registration is made even though registration is granted in the subsequent year. However, under the new registration rules proposed by the Finance Bill 2023, provisional registration must be applied before the commencement of the activities. So, these rollback provisions are removed.

Proposed amendments w.r.t. Assessment & Appeals:

• Assessee can file an appeal against the penalty orders imposed by the Commissioner (Appeals) under Sections 271AAB, 271AAC, and 271AAD and revision orders passed by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner under Section 263. The amendment also allows for the filing of a memorandum of cross-objections in all cases that are appealable to the Appellate Tribunal.

• A new appellate authority, the Joint Commissioner (Appeal), has been introduced for specific categories of taxpayers, such as individuals and HUFs, to speed up the resolution process in appeal proceedings.

• Where any direction has been issued to give the effect to faceless schemes and e-proceedings before the expiry of the limitation period, the relevant provisions are proposed to be amended to empower Central Government to make amendments in such directions at any time by notification in the Official Gazette.

• Time limit for disposing of pending rectification applications by “Interim Board for Settlement” has been extended. If the time-limit for amending an order by it or for making an application to it expires on or after 01.02.2021 but before 01.02.2022, such time-limit shall stand extended to 30.09.2023.

• The deadline for completing the scrutiny and best judgment assessment has been extended from 9 months to 12 months, starting from Assessment Year 2022-23.

• A provision has been proposed to empower the Assessing Officer to require a cost audit for inventory valuation before assessment.

• Return in response to a notice under Section 148 shall be furnished within 3 months from the end of the month in which such notice is issued or within such further time as may be allowed by the Assessing Officer on a request made in this behalf by the assessee.

• Specified authority for granting approval for issuance of notice under Section 148 and Section 148A shall be Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or Chief Commissioner or Director General, where more than three years have elapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year.

• Where search related information is available after 15th March of any financial year, an additional period of fifteen days shall be allowed for the issuance of the notice, for assessment/reassessments etc., under section 148 of the Act.

• The time limit for completion of any pending assessment or reassessment is proposed to be extended by 12 months, where a search is initiated under Section 132 or requisition is made under Section 132A. The extension shall be applicable for the assessee being searched and to whom any seized or requisitioned items (money, bullion, jewellery, valuable articles, books of account, documents) belong or pertain.

• The amendment proposed to Section 132 allows the authorized Officer to receive assistance from approved professionals, such as digital forensic experts and registered valuers, during the search and seizure process.

• The timelines for completing assessment or reassessment in search cases are linked to the execution of the last of the authorizations during such procedure. It is proposed to provide the meaning of execution of the last authorization under section 132 itself.

To read more amendments for Individual and Business owners covered by us CLICK ME.

To Read more from Income Tax Department CLICK ME.

You can book phone consultation/ assistance online with expert as mentioned below:

Connect with us on: LinkedIn, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube for regular Updates.

PDFPrint