Established in the year 2016, we are an emerging chartered accountancy firm based in Bengaluru rendering comprehensive professional services which include audit, management consultancy, tax consultancy, accounting services and secretarial services.

Quote of the Day: "Greatness comes by doing a few small and smart things each and every day... it comes from taking little steps, consistently"

Tuesday 26 December 2017

Internet of Things & Big Data


Disruptive Technologies
Internet of Things
By 2020, it is expected that 40 billion devices across the globe will be connected. The new mantra will be "Anything that can be connected will be connected".
When this happens, what will life look like?
Say, for example you have a meeting on Monday morning at 10:30 am at a downtown location. Your calendar will notify your alarm clock. Based on the past data of the time required for you to wake up and get ready, the alarm clock will automatically wake you up at 8:00 am and notify the coffee maker. Once you have picked up the coffee, it will notify the geyser. After you are ready to leave, the navigation map will guide the car by the fastest route. In case you are getting late for the meeting, the person you have to meet will be notified that you are late. At your office, your equipment will know when it is running low and will automatically re-order supplies.
IoT allows for virtually endless opportunities and connections to take place. It is almost impossible to fully understand the impact of IoT today. However, one thing is for sure -it will impact our lives in a significant manner.

Blockchain Technology 
Simply put is a huge, secure distributed ledger that can record transactions between parties in a verifiable manner. Once a record is entered, it is permanent and cannot be erased. As the records ("blocks") keep growing, its utility keeps multiplying. A blockchain database is managed autonomously using a peer-to-peer network and a distributed time stamping server. Blockchain technology has widespread applications in the field of finance -speeding and simplifying cross border payments, improving online identity management, executing commercial contracts automatically, reducing frauds, etc. As this technology proliferates and gets adopted by more people, its utility will grow dramatically.

Big Data
Big Data is large volume of data, structured and unstructured, which is difficult to process using traditional databases and software. A lot of technology investment in the corporate sector is going into Big Data computing, which reveals patterns, trends and associations. There is an enormous amount of data, which gets generated in any institution and the time is ripe to use Big Data techniques to mine this information and come up with meaningful patterns and trends.

As an example, in a firm of Chartered Accountants, Big Data can create customized reports for all the stakeholders -personalized assistance to clients, dashboards to the partners, reports to the directors and compliance charts to the regulators. The broad goals and targets of the firm can be measured and analysed periodically. Importantly, analytics of a client's historical performance can enable intervention at an early stage.

Saturday 23 December 2017

What is a Benami Transaction?

Benami Transaction means a
1.    transaction or an arrangement—
where a property is transferred to, or is held by, a person, and the consideration for such property has been provided, or paid by, another person; and
the property is held for the immediate or future benefit, direct or indirect, of the person who has provided the consideration,
except when the property is held by—
                      i.        a Karta , or a member of a Hindu undivided family, as the case may be, and the property is held for his benefit or benefit of other members in the family and the consideration for such property has been provided or paid out of the known sources of the Hindu undivided family;
a.    a person standing in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person towards whom he stands in such capacity and includes a trustee, executor, partner, director of a company, a depository or a participant as an agent of a depository under the Depositories Act, 1996 and any other person as may be notified by the Central Government for this purpose;
b.    any person being an individual in the name of his spouse or in the name of any child of such individual and the consideration for such property has been provided or paid out of the known sources of the individual;
c.     any person in the name of his brother or sister or lineal ascendant or descendant, where the names of brother or sister or lineal ascendant or descendant and the individual appear as joint-owners in any document, and the consideration for such property has been provided or paid out of the known sources of the individual; or
2.    a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property carried out or made in a fictitious name; or
3.    a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property where the owner of the property is not aware of, or, denies knowledge of, such ownership;
4.    a transaction or an arrangement in respect of a property where the person providing the consideration is not traceable or is fictitious;
Explanation.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that benami transaction shall not include any transaction involving the allowing of possession of any property to be taken or retained in part performance of a contract referred to in section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, if, under any law for the time being in force,—
                  i.        consideration for such property has been provided by the person to whom possession of property has been allowed but the person who has granted possession thereof continues to hold ownership of such property;
                 ii.        Stamp Duty on such transaction or arrangement has been paid and
                iii.        The Contract has been registered.


Thursday 21 December 2017

Quick Insights to Condonation of Delay Scheme 2018

The Central Government has decided to introduce a Scheme namely “Condonation of Delay Scheme 2018” [CODS-2018] as follows.
The scheme shall come into force with effect from 01.01.2018 and shall remain in force up to 31.03.2018
Applicability
This scheme is applicable to all defaulting companies (other than the companies which have been stuck off/whose names have been removed from the register of companies under section 248(5) of the Act). A defaulting company is permitted to file its overdue documents which were due for filing till 30.06.2017 in accordance with the provisions of this Scheme.

Procedure to be followed for the purposes of the scheme:
1.    In the case of defaulting companies whose names have not been removed from register of companies:
              i.        The DINs of the disqualified directors de-activated at present shall be temporarily activated during the validity of the scheme to enable them to file the overdue documents.
             ii.        The defaulting company shall file the overdue documents in the respective prescribed eForms paying the statutory filing fee and additional fee payable as per section 403 of the Act read with Companies (Registration Offices and fee) Rules, 2014 for filing these overdue documents.
           iii.        The defaulting company after filing documents under this scheme, shall seek condonation of delay by filing form e-CODS 2018 attached to this scheme along with a fee of Rs. 30,000/- (Rs.Thirty Thousand only) as prescribed under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fee) Rules, 2014 well before the last date of the scheme.
           iv.        The DINs of the Directors associated with the defaulting companies that have not filed their overdue documents and the eform CODS, and these are not taken on record in the MCA21 registry and are still found to be disqualified on the conclusion of the scheme in terms of section 164(2)(a) r/w 167(1)(a) of the Act shall be liable to be deactivated on expiry of the scheme period.

2.    In the event of defaulting companies whose names have been removed from the register of companies under section 248 of the Act and which have filed applications for revival under section 252 of the Act up to the date of this scheme, the Director’s DIN shall be re-activated only NCLT order of revival subject to the company having filing of all overdue documents.
For Expert assistance in RoC Filing contact us at 91 9900397777 mail us at info@preethamandco.com

Monday 18 December 2017

Restoration of Struck-Off Companies


Effect of Strike off of Companies
On dissolution u/s 248, it shall on & from date mentioned in notice of dissolution, cease to operate as company except for purpose of realizing amount due to co. & for payment or discharge of liabilities or obligations of company.
Liabilities of directors, managers, officers and members to be continue as if the company had not been dissolved.

Restoration:
On appeal by any person
Any person aggrieved by removal order may file appeal before NCLT within 3 yrs of order NCLT may pass order for restoration if it is of opinion that removal of name of co is not justified in view of absence of any of the ground on which order was passed by ROC.
NCLT to give reasonable opportunity of making representations and of being heard to ROC, company and all persons concerned.
On Application by ROC
ROC may, within a period of 3 yrs from the date of passing of the order dissolving the company u/s 248, file an application before NCLT seeking restoration of name of such company if it is satisfied that the name of the company has been struck off from the register of companies either inadvertently or on the basis of incorrect information furnished by the company or its directors.
On Application by others
An application to NCLT for restoration may be made by co., member, creditor or workmen before expiry of 20 yrs from publication in Official Gazette of notice of dissolution of the company, if:
Company was, at the time of its name being struck off, carrying on business or in operation; or
Otherwise it is just that the name of the company be restored

Monday 11 December 2017

Quick Insights to Blockchain Technology

A blockchain is just a database for recording transactions-and the same database is copied to all the computers in a participating network. In short, blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value. It’s a distributed database.
Picture a spreadsheet that is duplicated thousands of times across a network of computers. Then imagine that this network is designed to regularly update this spreadsheet and you have a basic understanding of the blockchain. Information held on a blockchain exists as a shared- and continually reconciled database. This is a way of using the network that has obvious benefits. The blockchain database isn’t stored in any single location, meaning the records it keeps are truly public and easily verifiable. No centralized version of this information exists for a hacker to corrupt. Hosted by millions of computers simultaneously, its data is accessible to anyone on the internet.A blockchain is thus called to as a ‘distributed ledger’. Data in a blockchain is stored in fixed structures called ‘blocks’. The important parts of a block are:
its header, which includes metadata, such as a unique block reference number, the time the block was created and a link back to the previous block
its content, usually a validated list of digital assets and instruction statements, such as transactions made, their amounts and the addresses of the parties to those transactions.

Here's How Bitcoin Blockchain Works

“blockchain enables two entities that do not know each other to agree that something is true without the need of a third party. As opposed to writing entries into a single sheet of paper, a blockchain is a distributed database that takes a number of inputs and places them into a block. Each block is then 'chained' to the next block using a cryptographic signature. This allows blockchains to be used as a ledger which is accessible by anyone with permission to do so.  If everyone in the process is pre-selected, the ledger is termed 'permissioned'.”- Sunny Ray, Unocoin.

The USP of blockchain is that it allows two parties to execute a transaction without any intermediary. Blockchain allows financial institutions to execute and verify transactions discretely without any human intervention. The electronic ledger of transactions is continuously maintained and verified in 'blocks' of records. With the help of cryptography, the tamper-proof ledger is shared between parties on computer servers.

Source: Deloitte, Business Today, VCCircle. Compliled and presented by:  Preetham Shetty & Co. Chartered Accountants

Friday 8 December 2017

How to get your Aadhaar Linked?

As per the provisions of Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961, all taxpayers having Aadhaar Number or Enrolment Number are required to link the same with PAN. The government on Friday extended the deadline for linking the same to 31st March 2017. This is the third extension given by the government to individuals to link the PAN with the biometric ID.
Linking Aadhaar with Bank Account
Offline: Fill up the Aadhaar application form and carry it along to your bank.
Online: Can be done via net banking.
Steps to check the linking status:
1. Go to the UIDAI website.
2. Click on Check Aadhaar & Bank Account Linking Status
3. Enter your Aadhaar number and security code. An OTP will be generated and sent to your registered mobile number. Enter the OTP and login.
4. You can now see the status of your Aadhaar linking.
You can also check the status through your mobile phone. Just dial *99*99*1# > enter your Aadhaar number> confirm. You will now be able to see the status. Please note that this is only possible if your mobile number is linked to Aadhaar.
Linking Aadhaar with PAN
1. Visit Income Tax department's e-filing portal -- www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.
2. Click on "Link Aadhaar" shown left hand side of the page. Key in the required details. Your PAN card is now linked to Aadhaar.
Linking Aadhaar with Mobile Number
1. Visit your nearest Aadhaar centre or download the Aadhaar update form.
2. Fill up the form with the phone number you want to link.
3. Submit the form along with photocopy of your Aadhaar and a id proof document such as PAN card, Voter ID card etc.
4. Your form submission will be verified after which you will be given an acknowledgement slip. Your phone number will be linked within 10 days.

Monday 4 December 2017

Quick Insight to FCTRS Filing

Introduction
RBI had launched a module for reporting, under Foreign Direct Investment through eBiz portal of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. This has enabled the online filing of the following returns with the RBI:
Advance Remittance Form (ARF) which is used by the companies to report the FDI inflows to RBI;
FCGPR Form which a company submits to RBI for reporting the issue of eligible instruments to the overseas investor against the above mentioned FDI inflow; and
FCTRS Form which is submitted to RBI for transfer of securities between resident and person outside India.
The RBI, vide its circular no. 40/RBI, dated February 1, 2016, has issued the directions that from February 8, 2016 onwards, the physical filing of forms ARF, FCGPR and FCTRS will be discontinued and forms submitted in online mode, only through e-Biz portal, will be accepted.

FCTRS?
Foreign investors can invest in Indian companies by purchasing/acquiring existing shares from Indian shareholders or from other non-resident shareholders.
General permission has been granted to non-residents / NRIs for acquisition of shares by way of transfer in the following manner.
Transfer of shares by a Person resident outside India
Non-Resident to Non-Resident (Sale / Gift)
Note: Transfer of shares from or by erstwhile OCBs would require prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
NRI to NRI (Sale / Gift)
Non-Resident to Resident (Sale / Gift)
Note: Transfer of shares from a Non-Resident to Resident other than under SEBI regulations and where the FEMA pricing guidelines are not met would require the prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.
Transfer of shares/convertible debentures from Resident to Person Resident outside India
Transfer of Shares by Resident which requires Government approval
Prior permission of the Reserve Bank in certain cases for acquisition / transfer of security
Escrow account for transfer of shares

Reporting of FDI for Transfer of shares route
1.    Form FCTRS shall be filed for transfer of capital instruments between:
person resident outside India holding capital instruments in an Indian company on a repatriable basis and person resident outside India holding capital instruments on a non-repatriable basis; and
person resident outside India holding capital instruments in an Indian company on a repatriable basis and a person resident in India,
2.    The onus of reporting shall be on the resident transferor/ transferee or the person resident outside India holding capital instruments on a non-repatriable basis, as the case may be.
Note: Transfer of capital instruments in accordance with these Regulations by way of sale between a person resident outside India holding capital instruments on a non-repatriable basis and person resident in India is not required to be reported in Form FC-TRS.
3.    Transfer of capital instruments on a recognised stock exchange by a person resident outside India shall be reported by such person in Form FC-TRS to the Authorised Dealer bank.
4.    Transfer of capital instruments prescribed in regulation 10(9) of FEMA 20(R), shall be reported in Form FC-TRS to the Authorised Dealer on receipt of every tranche of payment. The onus of reporting shall be on the resident transferor/ transferee. Transfer of ‘participating interest/ rights’ in oil fields shall be reported Form FC-TRS.
5.    The form FCTRS shall be filed with the Authorised Dealer bank within sixty days of transfer of capital instruments or receipt/ remittance of funds whichever is earlier.imageOfDesc
*In terms of Section 2 (ze) of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 "Transfer" includes sale, purchase, exchange, mortgage, pledge, gift, loan or any other form of transfer of right, title, possession or lien.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Expert advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. For assistance in filing FCTRS and FCGPR Forms and related compliances contact us at +91 9900397777 drop a mail at info@preethamandco.com.

Sunday 3 December 2017

All about NBFCs

A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business but does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.

List of popular NBFCs

Difference between NBFC and PSBs:
NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to that of banks; however there are a few differences as given below:
Provides Banking services to People without holding a Bank license,
An NBFC cannot accept Demand Deposits (demand deposits are funds deposited at a depository institution that are payable on demand-immediately or within a very short period-like your current or savings accounts.),
An NBFC is not a part of the payment and settlement system and as such,
An NBFC cannot issue Cheques drawn on itself, and
Deposit insurance facility of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available for NBFC depositors, unlike banks,
An NBFC is not required to maintain Reserve Ratios (CRR, SLR etc.)
An NBFC cannot indulge Primarily in Agricultural, Industrial Activity, Sale-Purchase, Construction of Immovable Property
Foreign Investment allowed up to 100%.
What are the requirements for registration with RBI?
A company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 and desirous of commencing business of non-banking financial institution as defined under Section 45 I(a) of the RBI Act, 1934 should comply with the following:
it should be a company registered under the companies Act, 2013
it should have a minimum net owned fund of ₹200 lakh. (The minimum net owned fund (NOF))
You should have minimum one director from NBFC background or senior Bankers as full-time director in the company
Clean CBIL records
Understanding of NBFC / Finance business
Industry Stucture
Can all NBFCs accept deposits and what are the requirements for accepting public deposits?
All NBFCs are not entitled to accept public deposits. Only those NBFCs holding a valid certificate of registration with authorisation to accept public deposits can accept/hold public deposits. The NBFCs accepting public deposits should have minimum stipulated net owned fund and comply with the directions issued by the bank.
NBFCs cannot receive deposits repayable on demand;
Public deposits for a minimum period of 12 months and a maximum period of 60 months can be received/renewed;
The interest rates on deposits cannot be higher than the ceiling rate as prescribed by RBI;
The deposits are not insured and their repayment is not guaranteed by RBI.
Source: Wiki, RBI, Economic Times. Investopedia. Compliled and presented by:  Preetham Shetty & Co. Chartered Accountants

LLP Compliance Checklist

There are 3 major compliances:
a) Annual Return in Form 11
b) Statement of the Accounts or you can say Financial Statements of the LLP in Form 8
c) Income Tax Returns Filings.
Whether Mandatory for all?
Every LLP have to maintain the compliance even if they are doing the business or not, the reason is simple you know that you are not doing the business but government of India don’t know that, so through the annual statements or filings you are giving information to the government about your organisation.
Annual Return in Form 11
Annual Returns or you can say Form 11 is a Summary of LLP's Partners like whether there is any changes in the management of the LLP. Every LLP is required to file Annual Return in Form 11 to the Registrar within 60 days from the closure of financial year i.e the Annual Returns has to be filed on or before 30th May every year. i,e 30-05-2017 is the last date for filing annual Returns this year.
Statement of the Accounts in Form 8
Every LLP or any other legal entity from Solo firm to Private limited company have to prepare their accounts so even you got the information regarding your business that how much profit is earn by your LLP. Every LLP have to close their accounts till the 31st march 2017 on this year. All LLPs are required to maintain the Books of Accounts in Double Entry System and has to prepare a Statement of Solvency (Accounts) every year ending on 31st March. LLP Form 8 to be filed with the Registrar of LLPs on or before 30th October every year. i.e 30-10-2017 is the last date for filing annual accounts this year.
Income Tax Returns Filings.
Every LLP have to file the Income Tax Returns for the year 2017. In simple words LLP is a separate legal entity so with the partner's income tax return you have to always file the LLP Income tax return is a form where you show your LLP Income and calculate the tax liability & pay the taxes to government of India. LLP have to calculated their tax liability from their financial statements for the year 2017. Mostly Income Tax Return Last date is 31st July 2017 in this year for the Individual and legal entities. but In case where Audit is required, the last date for filing Income Tax returns is 30th September 2017. If the LLP has not carried any business during the year ended 31.03.2016, the LLP has to file a NIL IT RETURN with Income Tax Authorities.
Audit/ Certifications:
Audit Requirement under LLP Act:
Only those LLP whose annual turnover exceeds Rs. 40 lakhs or whose contribution exceeds Rs. 25 lakhs are required to get their accounts audited by a qualified Chartered Accountant. means your all the statements is certified by the CA.
Audit requirement under Income Tax Act:
Audit of accounts is mandatory requirement under Income Tax Act when the annual turnover of LLP is more than one hundred lakhs rupees.
Certifications from PCS:
In case of LLPs with turnover more than five crore rupees in a financial year or contribution more than fifty lakh rupees, the annual return shall be certified by a Company Secretary in Practice.

Be Informed!
Penalty: "If filing is not done within stipulated time, there is penalty of Rs.100 per day till it is complied. You cannot close or wind up your LLP without filing Annual Accounts. So if you don’t file on time, your LLP turns into unlimited statutory liability till the day it is complied."

For expert assistance in Drafting LLP Agreement, Registration, Filing of Annual Returns and IT Filing and hassle free compliance contact us at +91 9900397777 or mail us at info@preethamandco.com