MM TAX CLUB

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (vi) of clause (sa) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003) (hereinafter referred to the as the Act), the Central Government hereby makes the following amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, No.F.No.P-12011/10/2023-ES Cell-DOR, published vide number S.O. 2135 (E) dated 9th May, 2023 in Part II, Section 3, sub-section (ii) in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary dated the 9^th May, 2023, namely:-

In the said notification, the Explanation shall be renumbered as Explanation 1 thereof, and after the Explanation 1 as so renumbered, the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely:-

“Explanation 2.- For the purposes of activities specified in this notification, the Regulator within the meaning of clause (fa) of sub-rule (1) of rule 2 of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, shall be the Director, Financial Intelligence Unit, India appointed under sub-section (1) of section 49 of the said Act.”.

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 24 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, namely: -

1. Short title and commencement: — (1) These rules may be called the Insurance Ombudsman (Amendment) Rules, 2023.

(2) They shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the principal rules), in rule 7, in sub-rule 2, —

(i) in clauses (b) and clause (c), for the words „Bank Board Bureau‟, the words „Financial Services Institutions Bureau‟ shall be substituted;

(ii) for explanation, the following Explanation shall be substituted, namely: —

Explanation. —In this sub-rule, the expression “Financial Services Institutions Bureau” means the body constituted by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services vide Resolution F. No. 14/1/2022-BO-I, dated the 1st July, 2022.‟.

3. In the principal rules, in rule 8, after the provisos, the following provisos shall be inserted, namely: —

“Provided further that the Insurance Ombudsman may resign by giving prior notice in writing of not less than ninety days in lieu of three months‟ salary, to the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen, informing his intention to resign;

in case the last date of notice period falls on Saturday or Sunday or holiday, the Insurance Ombudsman shall be relieved on the next working day.

Provided also that the Council for Insurance Ombudsmen reserves the right to waive the notice in part or in full at its discretion.”

4. In the principal rules, in rule 10, in sub-rule (1), the words “and any pension to which he is entitled from the Central Government or a State Government shall be deducted from his salary” shall be omitted.

5. In the principal rules, in rule 16, for the marginal heading, the following marginal heading shall be substituted, namely: —

“Complaint settled through mediation by Insurance Ombudsman.”.

6. In the principal rules, in rule 17, -

(i) for sub-rule (2), the following sub-rule shall be substituted, namely: —

“(2) The award passed under sub-rule (1) shall be in writing, duly signed in person or digitally by the Insurance Ombudsman with reasons for passing such award.”.

(ii) in sub-rule (3), in the proviso, in clause (ii), for the word „thirty‟, the word „fifty‟ shall be substituted.

Notification No. 98/2023 dated 6th November, 2023

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (46) of section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby notifies for the purposes of the said clause, ‘Press Council of India’ (PAN AAABP0351P), a body established under Para 1 of Chapter II of the Press Council of India Act, 1978 (Central Act), in respect of the following specified income arising to that body, namely:-

(a) Levy of fees on publishers and news papers; and

(b) Interest earned on FDRs and Savings bank accounts of Press Council of India.

2. This notification shall be effective subject to the conditions that Press Council of India,-

(a) shall not engage in any commercial activity;

(b) activities and the nature of the specified income shall remain unchanged throughout the financial years; and

(c) shall file return of income in accordance with the provision of clause (g) of sub-section (4C) of section 139 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

3. This notification shall be deemed to have been applied for the assessment year 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 relevant to financial years 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 respectively.

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 55 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (28 of 2005), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, namely: -

1. Short Title and Commencement

(1) These rules may be called the Special Economic Zones (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2023.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, for rule 43A, the following rule shall be substituted, namely : -

‘43A. Hybrid working.- (1) A Unit may, as per its requirements, permit its employees, specified in sub-rule (2), to work from any place outside the Special Economic Zone in accordance with this rule.

(2) The following employees are covered under sub-rule (1), -

(i) employees of Information Technology Units and Information Technology enabled services;

 (ii) employees, who are temporarily incapacitated;

 (iii) employees, who are travelling; and

 (iv) employees, who are working offsite.

(3) The permission granted under sub-rule (1) shall be applicable up to the 31st December, 2024.

(4) The facility for hybrid work may cover all the employees of the Unit.

(5) Where a Unit permits its employees for hybrid work under this rule, it shall intimate the same to the Development Commissioner through an e-mail on or before the date on which the facility for hybrid work is permitted.

(6) The Unit shall not be required to submit the lists of employees who are allowed hybrid work but shall maintain the lists of employees who have been permitted hybrid work in the Unit and it shall be submitted for verification whenever is required by the Development Commissioner.

(7) The hybrid work facility shall be admissible if the Unit continues to operate from the premises as per their letter of approval.

(8) The work to be performed by the employee permitted hybrid work under this rule shall be as per the services approved for the Unit, and the work is related to a project of the Unit.

(9) The Unit shall ensure export revenue of the resultant products or services to be accounted for by the Unit to which the employee is permitted for hybrid work.

(10) Where an employee ceases to be part of the project of the Unit, the employee shall be relived from the Unit and the Unit shall surrender the identity card as per the provisions of sub-rule (2) of rule 70.

(11) The Unit may provide to an employee duty-free goods, including laptop, desktop, and other electronic equipment needed by the employee for hybrid work and the same shall be allowed to be taken outside the Special Economic Zone without payment of duty or integrated goods and services tax on temporary basis:

Provided that the Units while opting for hybrid work facility shall ensure that such duty-free goods are duly accounted for in the appropriate records as per the extant rules and are available for verification, if necessary.

(12) Notwithstanding anything in sub-rule (1) of rule 50, the temporary removal of such duty-free goods shall be allowed for a period commensurate with the validity of the facility for hybrid work:

Provided that if a Unit fails to bring back the duty-free goods into the Special Economic Zone within the period specified in this sub-rule, the duty applicable on such goods shall be paid by the Unit.

(13) In this rule, -

(a) the expression “employees” shall include all persons employed on the rolls of the Unit or under a direct contract or where the Unit is the principal employer under a contract with another organisation where such persons are expected to report on a day-to-day basis for work to the Unit and the Unit administers the control on their attendance;

(b) the expression "Hybrid working" refers to a flexible work model whereby an employer may permit its employees to work from office or from any location outside the employer's office from time to time.’.

In a significant breakthrough, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Meerut Zonal Unit, has accomplished a major feat by cracking down on a large-scale fake invoicing syndicate that issued invoices with a taxable turnover of Rs. 1,481 crore, resulting in passing on of fraudulent Input Tax Credit of Rs. 275 crore through 102 fake firms to over 1,000 beneficiary companies

Through meticulous data mining and application of mind, the DGGI Meerut Zonal Unit has successfully dismantled a major syndicate operated by four masterminds. One of them, working in a placement consultancy firm, was responsible for arranging PAN, Aadhaar, electricity bill, address proof, and other documents required for GST registration. To achieve this, the mastermind enticed candidates with modest financial perks in exchange for surrendering their KYC documents. These KYC documents were then passed on to the other two masterminds, who used them to create fictitious companies. These individuals were also in charge of opening bank accounts, managing cash flow, and overseeing all financial transactions of these sham enterprises. The fourth accused mastermind covertly managed a secret office where crucial operational activities, such as invoice generation, e-way bill creation, GST returns filing, and maintaining sale-purchase ledgers of the fraudulent firms, took place. To aid in their operations, the syndicate recruited several assistants. Further, the syndicate maintained connections with numerous middlemen who provided essential information for generating counterfeit invoices to benefit the ultimate beneficiaries. As the investigation unfolds, it has also revealed the involvement of bank officials in the establishment of bank accounts under the names of fictitious firms.

During the operation, DGGI officers conducted coordinated raids at multiple locations and seized a vast cache of incriminating evidence, including Laptops, desktops, Electronic Storage Devices, PAN Card, Aadhar Card, Cheque-Books, more than 25 mobiles, SIM Cards used for receiving OTPs, rubber Stamps of shell entities.

All four accused individuals were presented before the Economic Offence Court in Meerut on 04.11.2023 and have been remanded in judicial custody until 17.11.2023.