ITV

Tag: Income tax

  • IT dept raids Dainik Bhaskar offices in several cities

    IT dept raids Dainik Bhaskar offices in several cities

    New Delhi: The Income Tax (IT) department conducted multiple raids in various offices of the media group Dainik Bhaskar on Thursday. The DB group has been accused of tax evasion, sources said.

    According to media reports, the searches are being conducted in Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and some other locations in the country.

    While there was no official statement from the department or the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), sources said the action also involves the promoters of the major Hindi media group with operations across multiple states.

    One of the largest newspaper groups in the country, Dainik Bhaskar was at the forefront of reporting on the scale of devastation in the second wave of Covid in April-May. The newspaper had published a series of reports that scrutinised the official claims made during the pandemic as patients gasped for oxygen and death toll mounted across states.

    An Uttar Pradesh television channel, Bharat Samachar has also been raided.

  • No plans to regulate TV industry or IPL: Piyush Goyal

    No plans to regulate TV industry or IPL: Piyush Goyal

    MUMBAI: Finance minister Piyush Goyal informed the Rajya Sabha that the government is not planning any law to regulate the television industry with regard to fund irregularities in the Indian Premier league (IPL) according to a report by Economic Times.

    The Revenue Intelligence authorities had not made any assessment regarding flow of unaccounted money into entertainment industry, including cinema production and distribution. The matters regarding tax evasion and unaccounted black money are under investigation and appropriate actions are taken under the Income Tax Act, Goyal informed.

    On a question on flow of unaccounted/black money into entertainment industry, the minister said, “There is no such assessment that unaccounted/ blackmoney has been found to specifically flow into entertainment industries, including cinema production and distribution, television and IPL cricket by the revenue intelligence agencies under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).”

    “There is no proposal as of now to bring out any new legislation to regulate cinema and television industries as well as IPL cricket,” Goyal said. 

    The action as per the I-T Act, he added, is taken against companies which may be engaged in diversified activities across various sectors, including entertainment industries as well as IPL cricket.

  • NDTV gets slapped with higher tax dues notice

    NDTV gets slapped with higher tax dues notice

    MUMBAI: NDTV India’s tax woes continue. The news network which has been under the taxman’s scanner, received another order from the department raising the alleged tax dues from it. The income tax department had issued an order earlier this year claiming Rs 47.27 crore in unpaid taxes on an investment by Fuse + Media Holding (in the assessment year 2007-2008), calling it a sham transaction. On 20 September, NDTV received a revised order from the tax folks saying that it had mistakenly under-computed tax to the tune of Rs 12.71 crore under section 234 B for a lesser period for the same financial year and transaction.

    Hence, the dues claimable by the tax department stand enhanced by that amount, it says.

    NDTV today informed the Bombay stock exchange about this development but added that it strongly believes that the Order under section 147/143(3) is untenable and misconceived and it has already filed an appeal against it before Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).

    Moreover, the company says it believes that even the tax demand after the revised order will go down substantially since it had already won the appeal in the ITAT against the original assessment order (“original prder”), effect of which is yet to be given by the department, pending official receipt of the original order from the ITAT.

  • NDTV gets slapped with higher tax dues notice

    NDTV gets slapped with higher tax dues notice

    MUMBAI: NDTV India’s tax woes continue. The news network which has been under the taxman’s scanner, received another order from the department raising the alleged tax dues from it. The income tax department had issued an order earlier this year claiming Rs 47.27 crore in unpaid taxes on an investment by Fuse + Media Holding (in the assessment year 2007-2008), calling it a sham transaction. On 20 September, NDTV received a revised order from the tax folks saying that it had mistakenly under-computed tax to the tune of Rs 12.71 crore under section 234 B for a lesser period for the same financial year and transaction.

    Hence, the dues claimable by the tax department stand enhanced by that amount, it says.

    NDTV today informed the Bombay stock exchange about this development but added that it strongly believes that the Order under section 147/143(3) is untenable and misconceived and it has already filed an appeal against it before Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).

    Moreover, the company says it believes that even the tax demand after the revised order will go down substantially since it had already won the appeal in the ITAT against the original assessment order (“original prder”), effect of which is yet to be given by the department, pending official receipt of the original order from the ITAT.

  • The strange case of NDTV and the taxman

    The strange case of NDTV and the taxman

    MUMBAI: The share price rise, a comment about it always being open to potential partnership, has got the income tax department running to news network NDTV’s doors again. And a war of letters has broken out between the two with the taxman once again reiterating his demand for alleged unpaid taxes from the broadcaster, promoters Prannoy and his wife Radhika Roy, which they have disputed for a long time.

     

    What got the IT department’s attention was the sharp 20 per cent rise in the NDTV share price last month. Speculative reports appeared in the media which hinted that the broadcaster was a takeover target and the stalker was allegedly the Adani group. The company issued a clarification to the Bombay stock exchange stating that it is regularly in discussions with various potential partners to further its business interests. And that it would make the appropriate disclosure when the talks reach a concrete stage or a transaction is happening.

     

    The circle 13 deputy commissioner of income tax (D-CIT) in New Delhi responded to this announcement a few days later by writing to the company,  Prannoy and Radhika Roy, forbidding them from selling or taking a charge against their shareholding in NDTV without taking permission from the assessing IT officer during the pendency of assessment/reassessment of tax demands  proceedings.  He said that section 281 of The Income Tax Act (which prescribes this) is applicable in the broadcaster’s case as it had not met the department’s tax demands against it for the assessment years 2003-2004 (Rs 9.16 crore), 2006-2007 (Rs 4.21 crore), 2007-2008 (Rs 6.80 crore), 2008-2009 (Rs 22.99 crore) and 2009-2010 (Rs 449.24 crore). 

     

    The D-CIT also wrote to Prannoy and Radhika Roy claiming unpaid taxes of Rs 69 lakh (2009-2010) and Rs 22.81 crore (2010-2011) and Rs 68 lakh (2009-2010)and Rs 22.61 crore (2010-2011), respectively.  

     

    NDTV responded to the D-CIT’s order through a notice to the Bombay stock exchange yesterday by stating that section 281 does not have a bearing on NDTV shares held by individual shareholders and could only apply on assets of the company.  The company also stated that the claims by the Tax department prima facie don’t exist or are unsustainable or are stayed by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. In fact, it has argued in the stock exchange notice that the department owes it Rs 40.84 crore in tax refunds. Hence, there is no case of section 281 being applied in NDTV’s case.

     

    It has “further  prayed that  the records of the department  may kindly be rectified to reflect the correct position of the  amount  of  refunds  due  to  the  company.”

     

    The chartered accountancy firm of RKACA & Associate which is advising both Prannoy and Radhika Roy later informed the tax authorities and the stock exchange that both are aware of the provision of the law referred in D-CIT’s letter and that both will comply with the same in both “letter and spirit.” 

     

    Ever since the media reports about the NDTV takeover broke last month, the company’s shares have been climbing northwards. NDTV got listed on May 2004 at an issue price of Rs 70, and hit an all time high of Rs 511.75 in 2008 and all time low of Rs 24.75 in 2011.  The share closed today at Rs 91.55. It was trading at Rs 66.25 a share on 16 May, the day Narendra Modi was elected prime minister but then recovered to hit Rs 82.95 on 26 May and Rs 89.05 on 6 June 2014.

  • CASBAA asks FM, I&B to roll back increased royalty on foreign satellite operators

    CASBAA asks FM, I&B to roll back increased royalty on foreign satellite operators

    NEW DELHI: The Cable and Satellite Broadcasters Association of Asia (CASBAA) has urged Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to withdraw the royalties imposed on foreign satellite operators (FSO) by the Finance Act 2012 and 2013 and let the matter be settled by the Supreme Court which is presently hearing a matter in this regard.

     

    The Delhi High Court had in January 2011 held in the case of Asia Satellite Telecommunications company Limited (AsiaSat) that the charges received by the Hong Kong based FSO from its customers for provision of transponder capacity cannot be characterised as ‘royalties’ under the Income Tax Act as it stood prior to the amendment in 20l2. It was held by the court that the equipment was used by the FSOs to provide a service to their customers and so the question of royalty taxation did not arise.

     

    The memorandum by CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter says that this view of the High Court was in conformity with the international jurisprudence and model commentaries issued by international tax bodies and renowned jurists / authors and was also followed in case of other FSOs by the High Court and Income Tax Appellate Tribunals.

     

    However, the memorandum sent to Jaitley with a copy to Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar points out that the matter has become sub judice as Income Tax authorities have filed an appeal against this judgment in the Supreme Court.

     

    I&B Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that CASBAA has also protested the rise in royalty under the Finance Act 2013 from 10 per cent to 25 per cent as it is not reasonable in view of the competitive margins earned by the industry players. The Association wants the Minister to roll back this increase so that the tax rates are made ‘friendlier’ and both the operators and consumers can benefit from a rational tax regime.

     

    It is stated that a majority of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) that India has entered into provide for a tax rate (on gross basis) on royalties and fees or technical services of 10 per cent.

     

    Thus, taking a holistic view from the point of alignment with the DTAAs and internationally accepted tax rates, the rate of 25 per cent is highly unjust and implies that FSOs are earning high revenues from India which is not the case.

     

    Furthermore, any such step to increase tax rates is not right as the matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court. It not only makes the services ‘cost ineffective’ but hits the ultimate Indian end consumers.

     

    Slaughter points out that India’s participation in the global network of satellite communication is growing and any such move by the Indian Government to tax FSOs may also drive policy-makers of other nations to adopt similar measures for taxing payments flowing into India from foreign jurisdictions.