Dear Readers,

We are delighted to share our 170^th E-Newsletter “Weekly Taxation Newsletter” dated 27^th January, 2025 from 21^st Jan. 2025 to 26^th Jan., 2025 with you. This E – Newsletter is a weekly reference / compilation of interesting and latest news related to tax including upcoming Timelines / Due Dates, Notifications / Press Information, Case Laws, International Taxation etc.                        

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• Due Dates under IT Act 1961

Sl.	Compliance Particulars	Due Dates
1	Quarterly TCS certificate in respect of quarter ending December 31, 2024	30.01.2025
2	Due date for furnishing of challan-cum-statement in respect of tax deducted under section 194-IA in the month of December, 2024	30.01.2025
3	Due date for furnishing of challan-cum-statement in respect of tax deducted under section 194-IB in the month of December, 2024	30.01.2025
4	Due date for furnishing of challan-cum-statement in respect of tax deducted under section 194M in the month of December, 2024	30.01.2025
5	Due date for furnishing of challan-cum-statement in respect of tax deducted under section 194S (by specified person) in the month of December, 2024	30.01.2025
6	Quarterly statement of TDS for the quarter ending December 31, 2024	31.01.2025
7	Quarterly return of non-deduction of tax at source by a banking company from interest on time deposit in respect of the quarter ending December 31, 2024	31.01.2025
8	Intimation by Sovereign Wealth Fund in respect of investment made in India for quarter ending December, 2024	31.01.2025
9	Due date for deposit of Tax deducted/collected for the month of January, 2025. However, all the sum deducted/collected by an office of the government shall be paid to the credit of the Central Government on the same day where tax is paid without the production of a challan	07.02.2025

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• Under the GST, 2017

A. Filing of GSTR –3B / GSTR 3B QRMP

a) Taxpayers having aggregate turnover > Rs. 5 Cr. in preceding FY

Tax period	Due Date	Particulars
Dec., 2024	22nd January, 2025	Due Date for filling GSTR – 3B return for the month of Dec., 2024 for the taxpayer with Aggregate turnover exceeding INR 5 crores during previous year.

b). Taxpayers having aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 crores in preceding FY (Group A)

Tax period	Due Date		Particulars
Dec., 2024	24th January, 2025		Due Date for filling GSTR – 3B return for the month of Dec., 2024 for the taxpayer with Aggregate turnover upto INR 5 crores during previous year and who has opted for Quarterly filing of GSTR-3B
Group A States: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep

c). Taxpayers having aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 crores in preceding FY (Group B)

Tax period	Due Date		Particulars
Dec., 2024	26th January, 2025		Annual Turnover Up to INR 5 Cr in Previous FY But Opted Quarterly Filing
Group B States:  Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Delhi

B. Non Resident Tax Payers, ISD, TDS & TCS Taxpayers

Form No.	Compliance Particulars	Timeline	Due Date
GSTR-5 & 5A	Non-resident ODIAR services provider file Monthly GST Return	20th of succeeding month	20.01.2025

C. GST Refund:

Form No.	Compliance Particulars	Due Date
RFD -10	Refund of Tax to Certain Persons: Application for Refund by any specialized agency of UN or any Multilateral Financial Institution and Organization, Consulate or Embassy of foreign countries, etc.	2 years from the last day of the quarter in which supply was received

D. Monthly Payment of GST – PMT-06:

Compliance Particular	Due Date
Challan for deposit of goods and services tax Due Date of payment of GST for a taxpayer with Aggregate turnover up to INR 5 crores during the previous year and who has opted for Quarterly filing of return under QRMP.	25.01.2025

*As per a notification by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the last date for filing GSTR-1 for December is January 13, while that for taxpayers opting for quarterly payment under the QRMP scheme for the October-December period will be January 15.

E. GSTR 11: Statement of inward supply of goods or services or both received by UIN holders – due date 28.01.2025

GSTR-11 is the return to be filed by the persons who have been issued a Unique Identity Number and claims a refund of the taxes paid on their inward supplies.

Due date: Must be filed by the 28th of the month following the month in which inward supply is received by the UIN holders.

• Weekly Departmental Updates: Income Tax

1. Budget 2025: Will FM Sitharaman remove all exemptions under Old Tax Regime? SBI Research shares possibilities

The Centre may eliminate all exemptions under the Old Tax Regime and transition them to the new tax regime, a report by SBI Research released ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech on February 1, 2025, stated. The report recommends increasing the National Pension System (NPS) limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and raising the medical insurance exemption under section 80D to Rs 50,000 from Rs 25,000.

Additionally, SBI Research proposes lowering the tax rate to 15% for the income range of Rs 10-15 lakh and implementing a flat 15% tax rate on all bank deposits.

Changes proposed by SBI Research

• The report presents several tax-relief measures for the government to consider in the upcoming budget:
• Consolidate all exemptions under the new tax regime while increasing the NPS limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and raising the medical insurance exemption to Rs 50,000 from Rs 25,000.
• Maintain the peak tax rate at 30% for income exceeding Rs 15 lakh, but decrease the rate to 15% from 20% for income in the Rs 10-15 lakh bracket.
• Implement a flat 15% tax on bank deposits across all maturity periods. This income should be added to other earnings and separated from the highest income bracket.
• Raise the tax exemption limit for savings account deposits to Rs 20,000.
• SBI research suggested that this proposal could result in a revenue loss of Rs 50,000 crores, equivalent to 0.14% of the GDP.
• To read more Click Here

2. Tax disputes: India’s struggle with amnesty schemes

India has seen multiple tax amnesty programmes, starting with the “Tyagi scheme” of 1951 and the “sixty-forty scheme” of 1965. There was even a disclosure of wealth scheme (1985). Some of these, notably the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS), 1997, and Vivad se Vishwas, 2020, have shown satisfactory efficacy in persuading the taxpayers to report unreported/under-reported income, and resolve the disputes by paying reduced penalty or tax amount. However, these schemes have also constantly come under flak for the “moral hazard” involved in them and the alleged tacit encouragement they provide for non-compliance.

The legal tenability of such schemes, however, has been upheld by the courts, on the grounds that economic legislation is largely the exclusive domain of the legislature. As the moral and legal debates are thus going in a certain direction, the fact remains that amnesties over decades haven’t really helped reduce pendency of tax disputes and litigation. Also, it seems their utility is increasingly on the wane, partly due to increased frequency of such gestures. The Budget FY24 unveiled Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas 2.0 and a goods and services tax amnesty, both of which apparently haven’t made much headway since. By the way, there has lately been a crescendo of demand for a new Customs amnesty.

The backlog of appeals at various layers of tax litigation/dispute resolution is not only huge, but growing even in proportion to the tax revenues. At last count, over half a million direct tax cases were lying with the first appellate body — the commissioner of I-T appeals (CIT) — itself. It typically takes about five years for a case to proceed further from the CIT level. In a vast number of cases, especially where the stakes involved are more than Rs 5 crore, the disputes escalate to the Supreme Court, and the resolution takes as long as 15 years on average. Direct tax cases locked in disputes jumped from Rs 20.8 lakh crore or 8.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021-22 to Rs 31 lakh crore (9.6%) in 2023-24. In the run-up to Budget FY26, tax experts have therefore put this issue at the forefront of their expectations from it, in the form of policy steps and robust institutional remedies.

• To read more Click Here

3. Start-ups expect simplified tax regime

With the abolition of angel tax in the previous budget, the country’s start-up ecosystem saw a boost in early-stage investments, and now in the upcoming budget, they expect tax reforms, simplification of ESOP (employee stock option plans) taxation and extended tax holidays.

India, which has the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world, boasts over 1.59 lakh start-ups that are recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of January 15, 2025.

Experts call for strengthening SIDBI’s Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS). “The FFS program has been instrumental in catalysing start-up growth, but further enhancements are needed. Renewing SIDBI’s allocation with an additional Rs 10,000 crore will ensure continued support for start-ups,” said Anirudh A Damani, Managing Partner, Artha Venture Fund.

• To read more Click Here

• Important Circulars and Notifications:

Sl	Particulars of the Notification(s)	File No. / Circular No.	Notification Link(s)
1	Guidance for application of the Principal Purpose Test (PPT) under India’s Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements	Circular No. 1/2025	Click Here
2	The Income-tax (First Amendment) Rules, 2025	Notification No. 9 /2025	Click Here

Weekly Departmental updates:

• GST Updates

1. Government waives late fee for delayed GST filings

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Thursday announced a waiver of late fees for delayed filings of reconciliation statements and annual returns for the financial years 2017-18 to 2022-23.

To avail this waiver, taxpayers must file reconciliation statement Form GSTR-9C on or before March 31, 2025, CBIC said in a late night notification.

Additionally, no refund will be provided for any late fees already paid for the delayed furnishing of GSTR-9C for these financial years, the notification said.

This move is expected to bring relief to taxpayers who have delayed filing reconciliation statements in the past. The government’s decision is seen as a step towards easing the compliance burden on taxpayers and promoting voluntary compliance.

• Read more at: Click Here

2. Extending PLI scheme, uniform GST rate key to boost medical devices market: SBI 

New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS) Extending the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and charting a uniform GST rate can be crucial to help boost the medical devices market in India, said a report from the State Bank of India (NSE:SBI), ahead of the Union Budget 2025.In the report, SBI proposed a series of reforms aimed at enhancing India’s healthcare, insurance, and taxation landscape. It noted that although diagnostic services in the country have been upscaled up ensuring continuity is important and chartered measures to reduce the high out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE).

“Ensuring continuity in the availability of a minimum set of diagnostics appropriate to the level of care is imperative for improving the overall quality of healthcare and patient experience,” said the report noting that this is important to cut down the high OOPE incurred by patients on diagnostics.

In FY24, India’s domestic medical devices market was valued at around Rs 75,000 crore.

The report projected that the medical devices segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12-15 per cent over the next five years.

It also urged tax incentives to enhance research and development and for value-added activities in Global Capability Centres (GCCs). This could foster innovation and generate employment.

Further, the report proposed a uniform GST rate of 5 per cent/12 per cent on medical devices. Currently, GST rates range from 5 per cent to 18 per cent.

Urging the government to allocate proceeds from the healthcare cess, the report proposed a 35 per cent GST slab on tobacco and sugar products. This can help strengthen public health programme as well as curb the rising non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cancers in the country.

• (Read more at: Click Here)

3. Budget 2025: Exempt GST, taxes on term, health insurance premiums – SBI’s key suggestions

Union Budget 2025: It is just 7 days to the Budget 2025 presentation in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2025 by FM Nirmala Sitharaman. The State Bank of India in its research report, stated that the Narendra Modi-led government should give significant focus to revitalizing the insurance and healthcare sectors in the country.

In its report, Prelude to Union Budget 2025-26, the SBI recommended that the government should assess the possibility of exempting GST and taxes on term and health insurance premiums, allocate 5 per cent of GDP to the healthcare budget, and standardise GST rates on medical devices to a range between 5 per cent and 12 per cent.

The SBI report noted: “No GST/Tax on Term/Pure Life Insurance and health insurance premiums. In line with NPS, a separate deduction for life/health insurance in the new/old tax regime, say Rs 25,000/50,000. All the government-sponsored pension schemes, APY, PM-SYM, PM-KMY, and NPS-Traders may be brought under one umbrella.”

The 18% GST rate on insurance premiums poses a significant obstacle, especially for low-income individuals. The combination of high premiums and high GST renders insurance products out of reach for a large portion of the population.

• (Read more at: Click Here)

• Important Notifications under

Excise / Custom/ GST:

• GST Updates

Sl. No	Particulars of the Notification(s)	File No. / Circular No.	Notification Link(s)
1	Advisory on Business Continuity for e-Invoice and e-Waybill Systems	GSTN 575	Click Here
2	Implementation of mandatory mentioning of HSN codes in GSTR-1 & GSTR 1A	GSTN 574	Click Here
3	Central Tax Notification to amend CGST Rules, Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Rules, 2025	07/2025-Central Tax	Click Here
4	Central Tax Notification for waiver of the late fee	08/2025-Central Tax	Click Here

Custom / Excise Updates

Links	Notification Particulars
Click Here	Re-assignment of central excise and service tax appeals filled on or after 01.07.2017

• Important Case-laws

• Income Tax

• Smt. Rama Rani Kalia (All. High Court))

Where a leasehold property is purchased and subsequently converted into freehold property and then sold, should the period of holding be reckoned from the date of purchase or from the date of conversion for determining whether the resultant capital gains is short-term or long-term?

Facts of the case:

Conversion of the rights of the lessee from leasehold to freehold is only by way of improvement of her rights over the property, which she enjoyed. It would not have any effect on the taxability of gain from such property, which is related to the period over which the property is held. Since, in this case, the period of holding is more than 36 months, the resultant capital gains would be long-term.

• Important Case-laws

• GST Cases:

 

1. Rapido liable to pay GST for cab services: Karnataka AAR

According to a recent ruling by the Karnataka Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR), Rapido is liable to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) for its cab services.

Key Points:

• Rapido’s Argument: Rapido argued that it doesn’t fall under the definition of an “e-commerce operator” under the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, as it doesn’t collect fare payments on behalf of its suppliers (cab drivers).
• AAR’s Ruling: The AAR ruled that Rapido’s role in facilitating transactions through its platform fulfills the criteria of an e-commerce operator liable for GST on specified services, including cab bookings and ride monitoring features offered to passengers.
• Implications: This ruling means Rapido will be responsible for collecting and paying GST on the fares for its cab services.

The Bengaluru-based company is evaluating challenging the ruling, which opens it up to previous tax dues. Rapido, which originally started as a bike taxi platform, had launched its four-wheeler cab services across cities such as Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad on the subscription model.

This ruling has significant implications for Rapido’s business operations and financial performance. Source: Click Here

• International Taxation   Corner (ITC)

1. Trump’s exit from global tax deal not to hit India from tax collection standpoint: Experts

The decision of the Trump administration to withdraw from the OECD’s global tax deal will not have any impact on India, but it will severely affect the progress made thus far in reaching an international consensus on global minimum tax, experts said on Tuesday. Soon after taking charge, US President Donald Trump in a Presidential memorandum said that the “Global Tax Deal have no force or effect within the United States”, thus nullifying the progress made so far by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to bring 140 countries on the same platform to levy a minimum 15 per cent tax on profits of multinational corporates.

Nangia & Co LLP Managing Partner Rakesh Nangia said the impact of the US pulling out of the global tax deal would have monumental impact on the global tax landscape, especially for countries/jurisdictions which have already adopted/formulated rules in their domestic law for implementing Global anti-Base Erosion Model or GloBE rules (Pillar 2).

Around 50 jurisdictions have already adopted or made significant strides towards adoption of GloBE rules. These jurisdictions will have to now undertake a course correction to adjust to the new realities.

Further, in Union Budget 2024, India also abolished the 2 per cent equalisation levy (which, being a unilateral action, was a bone of contention for the US).

• Read more at: Click Here

2. Freeland plans to scrap carbon tax, replace with system that provinces support: source

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland has not yet confirmed she will be running in the Liberal leadership contest but is already planning to reverse one of the Trudeau government’s key climate policies she has defended for years.

A source close to Freeland confirmed the news first reported by CTV News that she plans to scrap the unpopular consumer carbon tax should she be elected Liberal leader.

With the deadline of Jan. 23 rapidly approaching, Freeland is expected to announce a leadership bid in the coming days. She has already garnered caucus support from Health Minister Mark Holland, Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier and MPs Randy Boissonnault, Ben Carr, Hedy Fry, Kevin Lamoureux and Julie Dabrusin, among others.

Freeland’s news that she would scrap the consumer carbon tax came just as former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney is set to announce on Thursday that he will be running for Liberal leader in a press conference in Edmonton. Read more at: Click Here

• Knowledge Bucket for NRI’s

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has introduced Rule 6GB under the Income Tax Rules, 1962, to outline the conditions for non-residents to avail the presumptive taxation regime for operating cruise ships in India.
• This regime, introduced by the Finance Act, 2024, aims to simplify tax calculations for non-resident cruise ship operators and encourage investment and employment in the Indian cruise tourism sector.
• The introduction of Rule 6GB by the CBDT provides a clear framework for non-resident cruise ship operators to avail the presumptive taxation regime. This move is expected to boost the Indian cruise tourism sector by attracting more international cruise lines and promoting investment and employment opportunities in the country.

• Do you know ??

1. CBDT, vide notification no. 8/2025, makes the following order to remove the difficulty in respect of Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 arisen in situations where,–– (a) an order in case of a person had been passed on or before the specified date i.e. the 22nd day of July, 2024; (b) the time for filing an appeal in respect of such order was available as on the said date; (c) appeal in respect of such order was filed after the said date within the stipulated time as applicable for filing of such appeal; and (d) aforesaid appeal is filed without any application for condonation of delay; Read more Click here

• Ahead of the Union Budget 2025, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has proposed the introduction of joint taxation for married couples. Under joint taxation, a married couple would be treated as a single taxable unit, allowing them to combine their incomes when filing tax returns, similar to systems already in place in countries like the US and the UK.

• Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board has decided to seek tax exemptions on Srivani trust donations before effecting the trust’s merger into the TTD fold.

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes has issued fresh guidelines for applying the Principal Purpose Test (PPT) provisions under Double Tax Avoidance Agreements or DTAAs; deals with Cyprus, Mauritius and Singapore to remain outside for now

•    Disclaimer:

Every effort has been made to avoid errors or omissions in this material. In spite of this, errors may creep in. Any mistake, error or discrepancy noted may be brought to our notice which shall be taken care of in the next edition. In no event the author shall be liable for any direct, indirect, special or incidental damage resulting from or arising out of or in connection with the use of this information. *(We consider various sources including ET, BS, HT, Taxmann etc.)

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27.01.2025 – Vol. 170*

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