MM TAX CLUB

Notification No. 26/2022-Customs (ADD) dated 31st August, 2022

Whereas, the designated authority vide initiation notification No. 7/9/2021-DGTR dated 28th June, 2021, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I, Section 1, dated the 28th June, 2021, has initiated review in terms of sub-section (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) (hereinafter referred to as the Customs Tariff Act) read with rule 23 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in the matter of continuation of anti-dumping duty on imports of “Jute products” namely, Jute Yarn/Twine (multiple folded/cabled and single), Hessian fabric, and Jute sacking bags (hereinafter referred to as the subject goods) falling under Tariff Headings 5307, 5310, 5607 or 6305 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, originating in or exported from Bangladesh and Nepal (hereinafter referred to as the subject countries), imposed vide notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 01/2017-Customs(ADD), dated 5th January, 2017, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 11(E), dated the 5th January, 2017, and has requested for extension of the said anti-dumping duty in terms of sub-section (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act

                Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, read with rules 18 and 23 of the said rules, the Central Government hereby makes the following further amendment in the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 01/2017-Customs(ADD), dated the 5th January, 2017, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 11(E), dated the 5th January, 2017, namely :

In the said notification, for paragraph 3, the following paragraph shall be substituted, namely –

Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, the anti-dumping duty shall remain in force up to and inclusive of the 31 st December, 2022, unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier.”.

Earlier in matter of UOI & Anr. V/s Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. Hon’ble Supreme Court issued order dated 22/07/2022 to allow taxpayer to file Tran 1 and Tran 2 for transitional credit.

The GSTN had filed application before Hon’ble Supreme Court seeking extension in time to open common portal for filing Tran 1 & Tran 2.

Now supreme court has granted 4 week extension to the GSTN to open common portal for Tran 1 & Tran 2.

Hon’ble Supreme Court while hearing an application from GSTN, has allowed extension of 4 weeks time to comply with their order dated 22/07/2022 issued in the matter of UOI & Anr. V/s Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. bearing SLP (C) nos. 32709-32710/2018. Accordingly, GSTN would open the common portal for filing transitional credit through Tran 1 and Tran 2 w.e.f 01/10/2022.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is reviewing the operation of its faceless tax assessment procedures to ensure field officers do not make aggressive tax demands and allow natural justice to take its course, a person informed about the discussions in the government said. The review follows an 11 August order by the Allahabad High Court giving instructions about instituting safeguards amid complaints over the system’s alleged over-reliance on data rather than human interaction.

The faceless system was introduced in 2019 in order to bring automation in the system, do away with random individual discretion by tax officials and check corruption. However, many taxpayers have complained about aggressive tax demands and about being denied a hearing to address such problems.

Hearings were an area of concern initially under the faceless system but after legal cases mounted, the government made it compulsory to grant a hearing if a taxpayer asked for one.

The court order came in a case involving Kanpur-based SR Cold Storage dating back to a disputed income for assessment year 2017-18. The person cited above said several changes have already been implemented in the assessment proceedings this year, and the faceless operation is constantly being monitored for further refining. 

Listing some of these changes, the person said that e-verification of information has been made available to assessment officers, standard operating procedures have been introduced earlier this month, and an apex committee at CBDT is closely watching the performance of 20 committees set up across the country to look into taxpayer grievances over aggressive made far beyond returned income. “The faceless assessment system is continuously being monitored for any glitch or loopholes to be fixed," the person said.

The court told the government to put in place systems to ensure that cross-checking of facts on its Insight data portal is not an empty formality and that field officers are held accountable if they breach the principle of natural justice. The court order highlighted a flaw in the reassessment order issued by the National Faceless Assessment Centre based on data available in the Insight portal, the tax department’s taxpayer profiling portal, about bank deposits allegedly made by the assessee. The court, which favoured the petitioner and quashed the reassessment order, is set to hear about the imposition of a cost of â‚¹50 lakh on the central government in the case.

An email sent to the finance ministry and CBDT on Wednesday seeking comments on the story remained unanswered at the time of publishing.