10 best tax-saving investments

Multiple options. Contradictory advice. And a deadline that's approaching fast. Many taxpayers find themselves in this situation at the beginning of the year when they have to make tax-saving investments.

Are you also confused? Before you make a choice, go through our cover story to know which the best option for you is. We have ranked 10 of the most common investments under Section 80C on five basic parameters: returns, safety, flexibility, liquidity and taxability. Every investment has its pros and cons. The PPF may not have a very high return, but its tax-free status, flexibility of investment and liquidity by way of loans and withdrawals, gives it the crown in our beauty pageant. Equity-linked saving schemes come in second because of their high returns, flexibility, liquidity and tax-free status. However, traditional insurance policies, an all-time favourite of Indian taxpayers, manage the ninth place because of the low returns they offer and their rigidity. Ruchi Anand & Associates is the prominent Tax advisor in India. We provide Audit and Assurance services in India, Risk advisory services in India, Internal audit services in India for improving your financial efficiency accuracy and stability.

Managing business finances: Zero-based budgeting:

As businesses have to operate in a very volatile and competitive environment, controlling expenditures and managing finances will always be a key priority Audit services in India - some might allude it's a problem-area for most organizations. Simple yet essential things like travel expenses often balloon up over time, wasting money that could otherwise be used to foster innovation and growth. 

Ruchi Anand & Associates, we are all about service. We strive to develop long-term relationships with our clients, approaching each engagement with a focus on bringing value. Our senior professionals are actively involved in each engagement from inception to conclusion with smart sensitive approaches. We are one of top Indian Chartered Accountant

Auditing Firms based in India at New Delhi. We provide Audit and Assurance Services, Risk Advisory and Tax Services for improving your financial efficiency, accuracy & stability.

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The Income Tax department launches a upgraded website for taxpayers:

The Income Tax department has launched an upgraded version of its official web portal featuring better links for taxpayer services and grievance redressal. The new website features a special link for 'taxpayer services' on the main page and it subsequently navigates the user to all important works Tax consultant in India that a person needs to get done from the tax department like getting a new PAN card, filing e-returns, checking refunds and registering grievances.

Ruchi Anand & Associates is the prominent chartered accountant we provide Internal audit services in India. We are all about service. We strive to develop long-term relationships with our clients, approaching each engagement with a focus on bringing value. Our senior professionals are actively involved in each engagement from inception to conclusion with smart sensitive approaches. Certain income and the non-resident between India and various others foreign countries we are one of top Indian Chartered Accountant Auditing Firms based in India at New Delhi. We provide Audit and Assurance Services, Risk Advisory and Tax Services for improving your financial efficiency, accuracy & stability. Provides registering the firm.

New Initiative by Income Tax Department to resolve Complaints

Taxpayers facing unfair scrutiny by the Income Tax Department can have facility to get their grievances redressed in a short period of time. They do not need to take the route of courts and follow other mechanisms.

The Finance Ministry through the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has asked the Income Tax Department to create “local committees” embracing senior officers in each region, and provide solution of all complaint petitions within two months from the end of month in which complaint received.

Income Tax Department is going to set up these committees across the country from next month.

A taxpayer, who feels unsatisfied by an order of a tax assessment officer or thinks it is irrational, can petition the committee which will be publicised in the media by the respective tax regions, the official said.

You can consult any tax consultant in India. They provide support from company registration to filing e-returns.

IT Department: Better monitoring of Taxpayer Email’s

There is another directive to enhance taxpayer services, the IT department asked its customer care centers to manage the email based complaints efficiently and send them to tax officers.

India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitely brought out two taxpayer friendly initiatives which envisage the resolution of complaints on email and easy process to get a PAN card.

Aayakar Sampark kendras (ASK) will forward emails to range in-charge who will subsequently send to jurisdictional Assessing Officers (AOs) henceforth.

The region heads will be responsible for monitoring the emails.

The ASKs or the I-T customer care centres, are meant to answer queries related to the status of Permanent Account Number and Tax deduction Account Number applications, procedure of filing of Income Tax and Wealth Tax returns, refund related grievances and for redressal of other general queries over phone calls or email.

[ Other people are reading: Tax Exemptions for Yoga Gurus]

The taxpayer will also get notifications about processing of his requests and he may do further correspondence with the concerned officer.

Finance Minister inaugurated e-sahyog initiative yesterday is aimed at reducing compliance cost.
It will help in matching the difference in returns of taxpayers whose returns have not been selected for scrutiny. Taxpayers do not need to appear before tax authorities.

In the pilot project, 91,000 tax payers have been identified. They will be notified by SMS and email about the mismatch and then they will have to log in to e-filing portal of the tax department to see the mismatch.

[Other people are reading: Range Concept: Accurate Calculations]

It is very necessary to file e-returns accurately and with in time limit. It is always a good option to consult a tax consultant before filing e-returns. You can save a lot of money in this process. Chartered accountant can assist you in filing e-returns.

Tax Exemptions for Yoga

There’s good news for the Yoga Gurus who carry out their activities via charitable trusts. There are exemptions by the Indian Government on the income generated from the Yoga related activities. We all know that India’s PM Narender Modi has put yoga on the world map; the finance ministry has done something to boost yoga related activities by providing income tax and service tax exemptions. They do not have need to pay service tax of 14 percent. It will boost Yoga promotion activities across the country.

Yoga is very very necessary for the fitness of an individual. It is a great step taken by finance ministry.   

Range Concept: Accurate Calculations

In order to align transfer price calculations with that of international best practices, Government is going to incorporate “range concept”.

The government on Tuesday notified amendments to the transfer pricing rules to incorporate a "range concept" to align transfer price calculations with that of international best practices.

The amended regime will be applicable for computation of arms length pricing (ALP) of international transactions and specified domestic transactions undertaken on or after April 1, 2014, a finance ministry press release states.

It will enhance the reliability of the analysis used for the computation of ALP. It will begin with the 35th percentile and end with the 65th percentile of the comparable prices. 

Ruchi Anand and Associates is prominent tax consultants in India, who provide services that include audit services, company registration, risk advisory services, etc.   

Pilot Project: Ease for tax payers

Pilot project has been started by the Income Tax Department for sending notices, getting replies and to carry out tax assessments with the help of email in order to make an attempt to make sure taxpayers don’t have to visit I-T offices physically.

Five locations including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Chennai has been identified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) and 100 initial cases for e-hearing.

Cases covered under the pilot project would be those which have been selected for scrutiny on the basis of AIR/CIB information or non-matching with 26AS-data.

Consent of taxpayers will be considered and cases of willing taxpayers will be included in this project. Official e-mail Ids will be used by tax officials.


Ruchi Anand and Associates is prominent tax advisor in India, India, who provide services that include audit services, company registration, risk advisory services, etc.   

Benefit to Non- Residents under Income Tax Act,1961

1. Who is a Non-Resident

Section 2(30) defines non-resident as a person who is not a resident. Section 6 lays down the test of residency for different taxpayers as under:

A. Individual

An individual is said to be non-resident in India if he is not a resident in India. An individual shall be deemed to be resident in India if he satisfies any of the following conditions:

1.  If he is in India for a period of 182 days or more during the previous year; or

2.  If he is in India for a period of 60 days or more during the previous year and 365 days or more during 4 years immediately preceding the previous year.

Condition no. 2 is not taken into consideration in cases given below:

a) If an Indian citizen leaves India during the previous year for the purpose of employment outside India;

b)If an Indian citizen leaves India during the previous year as a member of the crew of an Indian ship; 

or c)  If an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin comes on a visit to India during the previous year. [A person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if he or either of his parents or any of his grand-parents, was born in undivided India] Note: With effect from Assessment Year 2015-16, in the case of an individual, being a citizen of India and a member of the crew of a foreign bound ship leaving India, the period or periods of stay in India shall, in respect of such voyage, be determined in the manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

B. Partnership firm : A partnership firm is treated as non-resident in India if control and management of its affairs are situated wholly outside India. C. Company An Indian company is always resident in India. A foreign company is treated as resident if, during the previous year, control and management of its affairs is situated wholly in India. In other words, a foreign company is treated as non-resident if control and management of its affairs is situated wholly or partly outside India.

Read more at: http://taxguru.in/income-tax/benefits-residents-income-tax-act1961.html

You can also contact Ruchi Anand and Associates for any type of information on tax benefits 

IT-Department: Pay Advance Income Tax

In order to widen the tax base, all the traders and businessman were asked to pay advance tax rather than paying at the end of the financial year. The motive is to calculate assesses in the starting and helps in making critical decisions. The Government asked the tax man to bring one crore new tax  payers within the current fiscal year.

Central Board of Direct Taxes asked the taxman to include 5.32 lakh new assesses. With this initiative, income tax department is now holding public sessions called ‘ Seedha samvad’ with the industry and trade bodies in the public places. One session was organized in the kamla market near Delhi University(Delhi), with the North Delhi Traders Federation. Department did Pan mapping in Kamla market, it was disappointing that the tax returns have decreased as compared to last financial years. There can be several reasons for it. Traders were requested by the department to pay advance tax on time and spread this message in friends and community. 

Advance tax is known as ‘pay as you earn tax’ and a person having a  tax liability greater than Rs.10,000 in a fiscal, needs to make the payments in instalment rather than doing it at the end of the year.

It will surely help Indian Government to pre-assess the budget and to apply new techniques in order to make sure that no businessman or trader left who have a tax liability.

Filing tax returns on time helps the government as well as you to improve the economy. These changes occur frequently, but you do not have to worry about these changes. You can consult any chartered accountant firm. Ruchi Anand and Associates, the top tax consultants in India can assist you to understand this process.

Tax benefits of using a car

A person can have several resources at a same time and allowed as a tax deduction in the business income of an individual. It seems easy and lucrative for a lot of people, but it requires a proper understanding of the process to become eligible. There are several conditions that would need to be met to become actually eligible. Now take example of a Car that is purchased and all the expenses for which you sought tax deduction as a business resource.

1. Advantage restricted
It is not applicable to everyone. It is restricted to those who earn income under specific heads. If you are a salaried employee and bought a car and sought tax deduction benefits on this expense then the expenses on this cannot be reduced from the salary you earn. It is applicable only to a businessman because a businessman can use this car for his/her employee’s transportation facility. It means he/she is not using it for his/her personal use.  

2. Purchase
This detail is the most important aspect that is missed by a lot of people. The asset should be in the name of the business not on the person’s name or someone other. It ensures the source of amount.
It will allow the benefit of depreciation to the owner of asset. The asset should not be in the name of other person otherwise business owner will not liable for the benefit of depreciation.
 
 3. For purpose of Profession
The resource should be used for only business purpose, not for personal use. One cannot set off personal expenses with the income incurred on the asset. If the asset is used for personal as well as business purpose then the total amount that has been spent would be separated in a specific ratio depending on the usage for each of these purposes.

4. Other expenses
Several other expenses which are associated with the running of asset would have to be allowed as a deduction. For example, the running and maintenance cost of car comes under tax deduction. The benefit of depreciation is allowed every year depending on the market value of asset since the asset purchased. It is a big relief for the person or the entity that is using this asset.


There are so many tax advisers are available in India and other parts of world that provides audit service. You can get these tax benefits on various resources by getting suitable advice from expert tax consultant of your area.

Author Bio:
Ritu Verma writes on behalf of Ruchi Anand and Associates, Auditor in India and one of the top chartered accountant in Delhi provides services from company registration to filing ITR.        

Connecting The Dots Between Tax Day, Identity Theft And Digital Transformation

It’s probably no surprise to the security professional community that once again, identity theft is among the IRS’s Dirty Dozen tax scams. Criminals use stolen Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information to file tax claims illegally, deposit the tax refunds to rechargeable debit cards, and vanish before the average citizen gets around to filing.

Since the IRS began publishing its “Dirty Dozen” list to alert filers of the worst tax scams, identity theft has continually topped the list since 2011. In 2012, the IRS implemented a preventive measure to catch fraud prior to actually issuing refunds, and issued more than 2,400 enforcement actions against identity thieves. With an aggressive campaign to fight identity theft, the IRS saved over $1.4 billion in 2011 and over $63 billion since October 2014.

That’s great progress – but given that of the 117 million tax payers who filed electronically in 2014, 80 million received on average $2,851 directly deposited into their bank, which is more than $229 billion changing hands electronically. The pessimist in me has to believe that cyber criminals are already plotting how to nab more Social Security numbers and e-filing logins to tap into that big pot of gold.

So where are criminals getting the data to begin with? Any organization that has employees and a human resources department collects and possibly stores Social Security numbers, birthdays, addresses and income either on-premises or in a cloud HR application. This information is everything a criminal would need to fraudulently file taxes. Any time a common business process is digitally transformed, or moved to the cloud, the potential risk of exposure increases.
Ruchi Anand and Associates are one of the top tax consultant in india filing to company formation.
As 31st August is the last date of filing Tax Returns.It is right to contact or take advise from Chartered Accountant becacuse it is complex to file e-returns.

For more information on Article read on Tech Crunch here

How NRI can avoid tax under India DTAA

After the introduction of ‘Project Insight’, India government is progressing in right direction to make taxpaying process more transparent from people point of view.

A new agreement had signed by India with several countries to avoid tax on same income in both countries. DTAA agreement is Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. It is signed between two countries.

The provisions of the Income Tax Act apply only to the extent they are more beneficial to the individual. Provisions of the DTAA prevail over the statutory provisions. Non resident Indians residing in different countries (DTAA approved) can avail the tax benefits of this agreement by submission of following documents on time.

  
1. Tax residency certificate

This certificate is available to the people by the government of the country in which he /she resides. Some columns are mandatory in Tax Residency Certificate (TRC).TRC should be filled accurately before submission to the Indian Tax Deductor. Name, status (individual , company, firm etc), address, nationality, country, tax identification number of the person in that country, tax status, period for which the tax certificate is issued should all be mentioned in the TRC. This form should be duly verified by the government of the country in which NRI reside.

2. Self declaration-cumindemnity form

The format of the form should be according to the prescription of particular bank.The following information should be mentioned in the form:

•  Account number
• Country of residence
•  Period for which TRC is submitted
• Tax rate applicable under DTAA

3. Other documents

• Self attested copy of PAN card
• Self attested copy of passport
• Self attested copy of visa.

Important information

-The documents listed above must be furnished on an annual basis for claiming DTAA tax benefits each year.

-If the TRC is not submitted within the timelines required by the deductor, the deductor (eg. Bank) will deduct tax on NRO deposits at the presently applicable rate of 30.9%.

Ruchi Anand and Associates is a blend of top chartered accountants in India having vast experience in different fields. They can advise you on your financial situation. In order to get maximum deductions and refund, our team of experts understand your financial situation and help you get maximum savings in filing tax returns. Filing ITR is a complex task but RAAAS can get you maximum savings while you can focus on your business.

RAAAS provides services like

• Audit Service in India
• Tax Consultant in India
• Formation of Business organizations in India
• Outsourcing
• Auditing
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Author Bio:

Kanika Arora writes on behalf of Ruchi Anand and Associates, Auditor in India and one of the top chartered accountant in Delhi provides services from company registration to filing ITR. 

How to file Income Tax Returns (ITR)?

There was a time when you wait in long queues and after waiting for five hours file your Returns. Time is considered to be most important in business. With the help of Internet, it is easy to file ITR and there is sharp increase in number of people filing e-returns with the help of Internet.  

You just need to create your account on Income Tax Department website at https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, and then download 26AS form and ITR form. Now fill the form according to the bank account details.

You can find multiple websites on Internet such as Raaas, Neeraj Bhagat, Brooks Consultants etc to assist you to file e-returns. These sites also take care to get the maximum refund on tax possible.

For the people who are confused regarding last date of filing tax returns, there is good news that the last date for filing e returns has been extended to 31^st August, 2015.The process and number of pages in Income Tax Return Form (ITR) has been made simple by reducing number of pages to 3 by removing pages such as dormant bank accounts and foreign travel.

Income from all sources whether it is property, pension, job, gifts etc should be mentioned on ITR form for the year for which the income tax return has to be filed. If you have more than one source of income like property and income from agriculture is greater than 5000, need to file ITR-2A.There are different forms with different sources of income. You do not need to get confused regarding these details. RAAAS, one of the top chartered accountants in Delhi, India is ready to assist you in filing tax returns.

Few years ago, it was a tedious process to file e-returns as after filing the e-return, an acknowledgement was sent to IT department within 120 days of e-filing. It leads to an era of mistakes. You expect something and in return get unexpected results which were annoying. The results were non-processing of returns and missing of important refunds. But it is now easy with the introduction of Electronic Verification Code (EVC).It can be generated via https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, ATM machines and selected banks. The most important and complex task is to calculate your due filing correctly and various sections to claim exemptions.

Ruchi Anand and Associates is a blend of top chartered accountants in India having vast experience in different fields. They can advise you on your financial situation. In order to get maximum deductions and refund, our team of experts understand your financial situation and help you get maximum savings in filing tax returns. Filing ITR is a complex task but RAAAS can get you maximum savings while you can focus on your business.

RAAAS provides services like

Formation of Business organizations in India

Payroll Outsourcing

Audit Service

Reporting

Taxation

Special Areas

Project Insight: Exploring Hidden Incomes

Project Insight is a new project started by Indian Government to capture tax evaders. If you are serial tax evader then shortly finance ministry will look at you and capture you through Project Insight.

 

It is clear by Project Insight that Government dig your accounts and find your transactions from root level.

It is a ministry project, expanding the tax base by grabbing tax evaders using Project Insight. The ministry spent 150 crore to buy data analytics software and the required infrastructure integrated with it. The ministry has also attached a non-disclosure agreement to the tender for security reasons.

 

Instead of using instruments like search and seizures to track the source of hidden funds, income tax department is going to use the big data analytics software to mine information. India is now capable of making sense of collected data using unmatched information Technology. India has giants like Infosys, Exact IT Solutions, HCL, TCS, and Wipro etc. So spending so much money for data analytics software is sensible from my point of view. Now the government should also adopt GST that creates audit of value addition and income thoroughly. Both the technologies lead to a sharp reduction in tax evasion.

 

The most important and interesting point is the government catch tax evaders according to their ranks, it means tax evaders expected to rank according to the amount of tax that could be recovered and government will go after first ranked tax evader first and so on.

 

The challenges under the project insight will be

 

·         Leverage Data Analytics

·         Alert Management

·         Case analytics capabilities to prepare case profiles

·         Select appropriate intervention

 

 

The project track permanent account numbers which are quoted on financial transactions and match them with income tax filling.

 

The ministry automate common tasks which take so much time in past and hope to speed up to resolve the cases of tax evasion.

The tender calling for bids was floated in June. According to advertisement ,bidders can collect it by submitting a letter of authorization, a non-disclosure agreement and a pre-bid integrity pact.

There are also advertisements for recruitment of staff required to run this project by Directorate of Income Tax (Systems).According to the Directorate, the project will integrate

• Enterprise data warehouse
• Data mining
• Web mining
• Predictive modelling
• Data exchange
• Master data management
• Centralised processing
• Compliance management
• Case analytics capabilities

But point of concern is the back ended payment is low which can restrict the bidders to step aside and do not take part in bidding.

So the government is taking serious steps to catch tax evaders and boost Indian Economy. It is beyond our thinking to calculate the benefit India will have. So, it is mandatory to fill tax on time and be a noble person.

Ruchi Anand and Associates, the top tax consultant in India whom you can trust for tax filling and resolution of tax issues. They also provide audit services, set up a new company, Outsourcing, Reporting, Taxation, and Special Areas.

Goods and Service Tax enhance Indian Economy

Industry body Assocham today came out with a set of recommendations on the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST), saying the rollout may lead to around 1 per cent rise in India's GDP growth.

"Goods & Services Tax (GST) will be a game changer for the Indian economy. The new tax regime can lead to efficient resource allocation within the economy, improve tax compliance and positively impact GDP growth.

"More importantly, the projected boost to the manufacturing sector will make the proposed taxes a critical enabler to actualise benefits from 'Make in India' initiatives," Assocham President Rana Kapoor said.

The short-term recommendations include formulation of a clear and unambiguous definition of goods & services, a revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) suitably determined to rationalise tax burden and evolving a consensus on threshold limit for GST application to protect small businesses.

"The implementation of GST would lead to a simplified tax regime and easier compliance norms. This is projected to increase GDP annually by 0.9-1.7 per cent with an accompanying increase in tax revenues of around 0.2 per cent of GDP.

"Twenty per cent reduction in logistics costs of non-bulk goods is expected due to a rationalised tax framework. This would make domestic production of goods and services more cost effective with ensuing 3.2-6.3 per cent annual gains in exports," Kapoor said.

The chamber also recommended formulation of clear 'Place of Supply' rules to avoid ambiguity in tax administration and a mechanism to compensate states for potential revenue loss from GST rollout without major distortion of its structure, etc.

Ruchi Anand and Associates are the top indian audit firm who provide all tax related solutions and internal audit services in India. It is located in Delhi,India.  RAAAS also provide services to set a new company in India.

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Things to do with your child’s summer income

Students do summer jobs usually and here is the things you should know about your child income.
There is W-4 form which is filled out by all taxpayers before starting a job. This form is used by employers to evaluate the sum to be deducted from pay checks as tax. Students with multiple summer jobs wants that their employers withheld sufficient amount to cover their total income tax liability. If you have any doubt regarding your child’s withholding, call chartered accountant in Delhi. 

Your child is working as a manager or waiter, he may receive tips. Al l tip income is subject to taxation.

Whether your child is earning from odd jobs like babysitting. All the income from self employment is also taxable. 

If your child income is more than 24,000 Rs /$400, he or she need to pay self employment tax.
Newspaper carriers or distributors under age 18 are not subject to self –employment tax.

There are so many other types of jobs regarding which you are confused about paying taxes or not. The simple solution is to call tax advisor in India. These taxes are for social security and Medicare facilities. So, there is always scope of doing something meaningful to society. 

Ruchi Anand and Associates, top indian audit firms provide all tax related solutions from tax filing to company formation.

Online tax calculator to file ITR

For assessment year 2015-16, new Income tax forms has been notified, you can check your annual tax liability with great ease on a new computer-based calculator. Online calculator is launched by CBDT.

It is hosted on the online website of Income Tax Department. You can easily access your

• Due Tax

The ITR filing session end in August so that new forms have been released by Income Tax Department.

This new facility can be used by anybody whether it is an individual or any corporate. Tax department make it clear that filers should not depend completely on these calculators as there are critical cases also related to ITR which have different requirements. These requirements are not calculated by this calculator. You can use it for basic tax calculations and does not give right calculations for complicated cases. It should be clear that correct calculations may be made according to Acts and Rules in provisions.

This facility is available at www.incometaxindia.gov. Calculator has been standardized to compute total tax liability under

•          House property
•         Capital gains
•         Profits
•         Agricultural income
•         Profits of Business

 These columns have been removed by government from ITR form-foreign travel history and dormant bank accounts after strict criticism.

For more information visit tax advisor in India.