Finance Facts: July 2017

8 Reasons to make a financial plan

July 18, 2017

Why should you make a financial plan?

There are many advantages of financial planning which can have far reaching positive effects on one's life.

Here are some reasons why a comprehensive financial plan is important:

Safety net for the future: Financial planning helps give a direction to your financial decisions. It helps you decide various investments that can bail you out of your financial problems.

For example, investing in various funds may help you repay the loan or save enough for your retirement. Once your financial goals are set, it helps make your life more secure and flexible for any financial emergency situation that may arise. Financial planning thus acts as a safety net for the future.

Always be prepared: Suppose you save 5% of your salary or Rs 10,000 every month. Suppose your after-tax savings consist of Rs 1 lakh. You are saving this to buy your own car three years later. What if a sudden medical emergency crops you, and wipes out your savings? Not only does it affect your wealth, but it could also fall short in an extreme case. Marriage plans of your only daughter?

Let's borrow some money from the retirement fund. There goes the trip to Egypt you have been planning all those years! Financial planning will come to your rescue here. It takes into account all your needs and goals, and helps you be ready for any eventuality.

Helps decision-making: Financial planning takes stock of your present as well as your future. It thus facilitates decision-making. Take the above example, if you had a proper financial plan in place, you would never be short of funds for your daughter’s marriage or for buying your car.

Thus, you would not take any wrong decisions that would affect your financial well-being. This is why financial planning is the key to success, as it provides a direction for your decisions.

Optimum use of resources: A financial plan also helps you form a strategy. This helps you allocate your resources to different assets.

Thus, you use your money more wisely, leading to optimization of resources.

Better standard of living: With a realistic financial plan in place, you will never be short of funds. Liquidity will rarely be tight. All those month-end woes? Forget about them.

Thus, you can achieve your goals without compromising your standard of living.

Disciplined life: It is very common to spend more than what you earn. Many facilities like credit cards, ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes, installment services and so on, compel you to overlook finances or spend more than necessary. At the end of the month, when the bills keep pouring in your mail boxes, you find yourselves in a sticky situation.

The mounting bills only take you further away from your long-term dream of owning your own house. If you start planning early, you can get out of whole a lot of financial mess arising later in life. Financial planning thus helps infuse discipline in your life.

Expert advice: Financial planning if often undertaken with the help of an expert. It is wise to seek expert advice from professionals. If not, you could end up with poor financial information and decisions that can prove disastrous. In the case of the working individual, insufficient or random saving for retirement can lead to a poorer lifestyle later.

Similarly, in the case of the businessman, poorly managed tax preparation could culminate in unexpected debt and a loss of carefully accumulated wealth.

[Must READ] Important changes in ITR Forms for AY 2017-18

July 16, 2017

July 31, 2017 is the last date for filing income tax returns for FY 2016-17. It’s important to know what has changed in ITR compared to last year. The biggest change is the number of ITR forms have reduced from 9 to 7. Other than that all the tax returns have to filed electronically except for people who are more than 80 years of age and have income less than Rs 5 lakhs and have no claim for refund.
.
1. Less number of ITR Forms
.
The numbers of ITR Forms have been reduced from 9 to 7.
.
The previous ITR 2A, ITR 2 and ITR 3 forms have been rationalized to single ITR 2 Form.The previous ITR 4 Form has been re-numbered as ITR 3.ITR 4S (Sugam) is now ITR 4 (Sugam).
.
2. One pager form for Salaried Tax payer [ITR 1 Sahaj]
.
As promised the government has come out with simple, one pager ITR 1 Sahaj form which can be filled by tax payers who have income from salary/pension, one house property and income from other sources like interest income. However to fill this form the total income should be less than Rs 50 Lakhs.
.
The form has done away with the long list of deductions and only included the most common deductions under section 80C, 80D, 80G and 80TTA. If the tax payer wants to claim tax benefit under other sections he can do so by mentioning relevant section in column titled “Any Other”.
.
Some new columns have been introduced to report dividend income (u/s Section 10(34)) and exempted long term capital gains (u/s Section 10(38)).
.
3. Disclose Cash Deposited during Demonetization [ITR 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
.
A new field has been inserted in all ITR Forms to report the amount of cash deposited during the demonetization period of November 9 to December 30, 2016. However you need to report this if the cash deposit during the period exceeds Rs 2 Lakhs.
.
4. New Field for quoting Aadhar Number [ITR 1, 2, 3, 4]
.
The finance bill was amended to make it compulsory for tax payers to quote their aadhar number while filing income tax return. The ITR Forms have introduced column for either entering aadhar number or the Enrolment ID in case the aadhar is not received but has been applied for.
.
5. Fields for Income Taxable at special rates [ITR 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
.
Some incomes are taxed at special rates. The ITR forms have introduced columns to declare these.
.
Unexplained Income:
.
As per Section 115BB, any unexplained income or investment attracts special tax of 60% (plus surcharge and cess, as applicable) irrespective of the tax slab. This can now be shown in the newly inserted column under ‘Schedule OS’ .
.
6. Deduction under section 80EE [ITR 2, 3, 4]
.
Section 80EE gives additional tax exemption of Rs 50,000 for payment of interest on housing loan to first time home buyers. This is over and above the tax exemption of Rs 2 lakhs u/s 24(b). A new field has been introduced in Schedule VI-A to claim this deduction.
.
In case you are filling ITR 1 you can mention Section 80EE in “Any Other” deductions to avail this tax benefit.
.
7. More detailed declaration of assets/liabilities by Individuals earning above Rs 50 lakhs [ITR 2, 3, 4]
.
Last year the income tax department had introduced new section to declare the values of assets and liabilities of individuals with income of more than Rs 50 lakhs. This year the ITR form asks for more detailed information like address of immovable property.
.

Accounts

WEALTH MANAGEMENT VS. FINANCIAL PLANNING

July 16, 2017

What should a financial plan include?

how to actually make a financial plan. Depending upon an individual's needs and wants, a financial plan should include various components.

It should include everything, which helps in the attainment of your financial goals in the most efficient manner. Some things might have precedence over the others, but anything that even remotely affects your goals should be considered.

A financial plan differs from individual to individual, as something important for one may not be important for others.

However, broadly, we can say that it should include the following activities:

Assessing present: This part of the planning has to deal with taking stock of all the assets and resources you own currently. This helps you understand your current financial situation. It is the most important thing to do while doing financial planning.

As this is the starting point, utmost care should care should be taken while assessing the present situation.

Setting objectives or goals: Now that you have your starting point, figure out your ending point – set your goals and objectives. This should be both in terms of the return you expect on your strategies and investments as well as the risk you are willing to take. That said, remember that a financial plan can consist of multiple goals of varying durations.

For example, your short-term goal may be buying a car or going on a month-long Europe trip, while your long-term goal may be to have a retirement corpus of Rs 100 crore. However, be realistic. Do not have a goal that is too far-fetched.

Design your goals on the basis of your current situation and desired future conditions. Since there can be multiple goals, prioritization is also important. This can be done on the basis of time, urgency and sheer importance.

Determining constraints: Everyone has some limitation or the other. These could be because of familial responsibilities, lack of access, government regulation and so on.

These need to be taken into consideration while forming your financial plan. Determine constraints in financial planning areas like taxes, legalities, time horizon, liquidity, risk appetite and obligations. There may also be unique circumstances that differ from person to person that should be taken into consideration.

For example, you may want to avoid companies making tobacco or alcohol for ethical reasons. This is a unique constraint. Nonetheless, it should be taken into account before designing a plan.

Determining appropriate plan and strategy: After analyzing the goals and constraints, various alternative strategies are designed. Compare these and find out the pros and cons of each plan.

The best plan – which achieves the goals in the most efficient manner – should be chosen.

Adjusting and modifying the plan: After evaluating the plan, if a change is required, the plan should be altered keeping in mind your current situation.

Appropriate modifications are an absolute must.

Evaluating the plan regularly: A financial planning is a dynamic process and not a static one. This is because individual circumstances keep on changing. For example, 10 years ago when you made the plan, you had no monthly loan liabilities. Today, you have to spend almost Rs 40,000 in installments alone.

This changes your liquidity constraints and requirements. For this reason, your financial plan should be evaluated on a timely basis.

Education

10 Best Money Management Tips

July 12, 2017

Hectic jobs, busy schedules through the week and no time for self, means that our personal finances take a back seat.

To ensure that you have the essentials covered, we have designed a 10-week action plan for you. Just one task every week for 10 weeks (most of them do-able in just an hour on the weekend) will ensure that you are feeling at the top of your finances.

Start with automating your bill payments: Rent, electricity, WiFi, cable bills are monthly affairs. Do away with manually paying off each by setting an automatic debit instruction. This one task takes this mundane monthly activity off your plate and you can focus on the more important or interesting things.
Reduce the number of bank accounts that you have because one bank account is all you need: Your task for week 2, is to consolidate all your bank accounts into one and make your life easier. This will help you see all of your savings in one place and know exactly how liquid your money is.
Third week task is to reduce your credit cards to one. This exercise helps you use only one credit card for all your bill payments and other expenses. This removes the task of keeping tabs on multiple card statements. Besides, having only one credit card helps you pay off the debt every month on time and avoid falling prey to the vicious debt cycle.
Your next task is to calculate how much do you owe in terms of loans and debts to other institutions, to arrive at your personal net worth. This will indicate how financially sound you are. Outstanding credit card bills, student loans, car loans, home loans or any other personal loans - make a list of how much do you owe and how much time do you have remaining to pay it off.
Once you know how financially sound you are, you need to check if you have the right health insurance plan in place. You need to get this for your family (dependents) as well. Along with safety from health hazards, getting insured also gives you tax benefits.
Once your health is secure, get on with financially cushioning yourself with Rs. 1 lakh. Make this your SOS fund that you invest in debt funds and do not disturb, for random expenditure. Strive towards creating this fund, in your week 6. This amount will give you the peace of mind you didn’t have earlier.
After safeguarding your loved ones and yourself, you now need to communicate the same to them. Make sure your family always knows where all your money is. This will help them assist you, should you be in a difficult situation and do not have access to important documents.
In week 8, start with insuring your life. Understand the difference between term insurance and life insurance. A good rule of thumb is to insure for 300 times the monthly amount you need. Stay insured, stay safe.
After most of your familial responsibilities are taken care of, you need to focus on getting the optimal usage of your income. Start saving taxes by investing in ELSS funds to get maximum benefit from your investments, as compared to other tax-saving instruments.
You have a pretty much taken care of all your responsibilities at present. It’s time to plan ahead and think of retirement. If you haven’t started already, you’ve got to start right away and start putting money aside for your old age, when you would be retired and your money would be facing inflation.
These tasks will get your finances in order for a long time to come. The time you then save and the money you invest well, will help you enjoy the finer things in life and attain peace of mind, along with financial security.

Business

GST : F.A.Q on GST Registration and Migration

July 10, 2017

Which businesses are categorised as existing taxpayers?

Any legal entity registered under any tax laws as prescribed by the state or central government is considered an existing taxpayer. These include like Value Added Tax Act, Central Excise Act and Service Tax Act. Others include entry tax, luxury tax, and entertainment tax, except for those levied by local bodies.

How must one enroll into GST?
All existing taxpayers will be moved to GST. A GST portal has been created for taxpayers; there is no paper-based enrollment. Enrollment is free of charge

Can you use your existing login for the GST portal?
When you first login to the GST Common Portal, you need to provide the username and password that you received from the State VAT or Centre Tax Department. However, for the subsequent login, you need to create a username and password during the enrolment procedure at the GST Common Portal. You can then use the username and password that you created to login at the GST Common Portal.

What to do when you haven’t received the provisional ID?
One must contact the helpdesk, who will in turn let you know what went wrong with your application. If the problem of issuance still persists, then you must get in touch with the state VAT department. It is also possible that you have received the id, but it’s not working. This may happen if you’ve changed your PAN after December 2015. If that is the case then you must contact the commercial tax or VAT officer and ask them to communicate your new PAN along with VAT-TIN to GSTN. Say if you haven’t changed your PAN, then immediately get in touch with the help desk.

What to do in case of a forgotten password?
Clicking on the ‘Forgot password’ link will give you an OTP, which will be sent to your registered email address and phone number. Use it to reset your password. If you don’t get your OTP on time, hit ‘resend’ and you can get it again. Please note that the OTP you receive is valid for 10 minutes.

Should I give my tax professional’s email address and contact number during GST enrolment?
No, it is not but you have to give out the details of your authorized signatory appointed by you. It is imperative to know who can be an authorized signatory. It depends on which type of business it is. Say if it’s a proprietor type, then the proprietor or anyone appointed by the latter; if it’s a partnership, any authorized partner or anyone authorized by them. If it’s a LLP, company, society or a trust, the person authorized by the board or governing body can act as an authorized signatory.

What are the details that need to be prefilled in the enrolment application?
PAN of the business, legal name of the business, name of the state, reason of liability to obtain registration. You can find your state jurisdiction, ward, circle, sector number, and centre jurisdiction on the VAT registration certificate.

What is DIN?
Director Identification Number given to the directors of a company by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

What is the principal place of business and additional place of business?
It’s the primary location within the state where the business is done from. An additional place of business is the place of business where taxpayer carries out business other than the principal place of business.

What is HSN and SAC code?
HSN stands for Harmonized System of Nomenclature that is an internationally accepted product coding system used to maintain uniformity in classification of goods.

SAC stands for Service Accounting Codes which are adopted by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) for identification of the services.

Which bank should I provide in the enrolment application?
Submit details of the bank used for carrying out business transactions.

Can I submit my enrolment application at GST common portal without electronically signing the application?
Yes you can, but you’ll have to sign the application at some point as allowed under the GST Act. Electronically signing the application is mandatory for enrolment by companies, foreign companies, LLPs, FLLPs. However, for others is not mandatory.

What to do when your DSC is not registered with GST common portal?
You cannot submit your application if your DSC is not registered with the portal. So the first step would be to get it registered.

What does one mean by ARN?
An Application Reference Number is a unique number assigned to each transaction completed at the GST Common Portal. If you don’t get your ARN within fifteen minutes of your enrolment step, you will get an email detailing out instructions to how to go about it.

In case of losing the internet connection, can one retrieve the saved application?
Go to Dashboard > My Saved Application menu. Click the Edit button to retrieve the saved Enrolment Application.

What if there’s a mismatch with the PAN validation?
You need to resubmit your application with valid details.

My DSC has expired or revoked?
One needs to re-register his/her valid DSC with GST. Login to the portal with valid credentials. Go to Dashboard > Register/ Update DSC menu.

What does e-signature and how does it work?
It’s an online signature to facilitate an Aadhar holder to digitally sign a document. Firstly, the applicant selects the ‘submit the e-signature’ on the verification page. Post that, one validates the Aadhar number and one receives an OTP that needs to be entered in the common portal. Once all that is done, the e-signature process is done with.

How mandatory is Aadhar number?
While it is optional to mention your Aadhar number, but in case you want to use your e-sign, it is imperative to fill in your Aadhar number.

Can an enrolment application be rejected?
Yes, it can rejected in case details submitted are not in tandem with what exist on certain documents. The taxpayer, however, will be given a good chance to explain his/her spot.

Can you make changes post submitting the application?
Yes, you can. The amendments include mobile number and email address, which can be changed after the appointed date.

When will the provisional registration certificate be issued?
It will be available for viewing and download at the Dashboard of the GST Common Portal on the appointed date. However, it is imperative to note that the certificate will be available only if the application is submitted successfully.

The final registration certificate will be issued within six months of the documents being verified by central and state officials.

Accounts

GST -Treatment of Closing stock as on 30june

July 05, 2017

GST has been implemented from 1st July. Many taxpayers have huge stock lying. So what should be done for stock lying on 30th June?

Up to 30 June, there are VAT, Excise, Service Tax laws but from 1st July GST has been implemented so what about the stock as on 30th June is the biggest question which everybody facing and it has created confusion among many. The goods on which VAT is levied as per existing law, in GST-VAT will be transformed to SGST. Similarly, now excise duty is levied on the manufacture, in GST excise duty will be transformed to CGST. Whether taxpayer will get a credit of stock lying on 30th June 2017 in GST or not let's discuss in detail!. The Following Question emerges in every mind???????????

Q1.If the taxpayer is registered under VAT Act, then how he will get set-off of the stock in GST?

Ans: - The following two things should be considered to avail the credit of stock.

1. If VAT is payable in the VAT return of 30th June 2017 i.e. taxpayer has taken the credit of inputs, then there is no question of taking credit.

2. If VAT is carry forward in the VAT return of 30th June 2017 i.e. excess tax credit is available, then the taxpayer will get the credit of that carry forwarded amount in SGST. Ex. If the taxpayer has a credit of Rs. 10,500 then it can be adjusted against SGST liability.

Q2. If any taxable person is registered under excise law, then how can he take set-off of stock in GST?

Ans: - It is also similar like VAT. If the taxpayer is registered under Excise Law then if in the Excise return of 30th June 2017, excise duty is payable then no question of set-off. But if excise duty is carrying forward then the taxpayer will get set-off against CGST. The taxpayer can also take the credit of not availed excise duty on capital goods in GST.

Q3. if any taxable person is not registered under excise law, then can he get set-off of stock in GST?

Ans: - If a taxpayer is not registered under Excise law but he is registered in VAT law, then the credit of VAT can be taken against SGST but what about CGST. In this case, if the taxpayer has the excise invoice which is in stock, then in GST 100% credit is available. But if no excise duty charged on that bill, then credit will be given as per GST rates in the following manner:

1. If that stock covered in 18% or 28% in GST, then 60% of CGST can be availed as a credit of stock. Ex. If there is 18% rate of GST on Spare parts, then 5.4% credit (60% of 9% of CGST) is available against the stock held on 30th June.

2. If that stock covered in 5% or 12% in GST, then 40% of CGST can be availed as the credit of stock. Ex. If there is 12% rate of GST on any commodity, then 2.4% credit (40% of 6% of CGST) is available against the stock held on 30th June.
In GST taxpayer can use the above credit at the time of sale of goods. Further, the taxpayer will have to use this credit within six months.

Q4. What the taxpayer should do if he has to take credit of stock in GST?

Ans: - Taxpayer will have to file TRAN 1 & TRAN 2 form for claiming the credit of stock. In this form HSN wise details, its quantity, its rate, total value will have to be given. This information should be given to the government within 90 days. The credit of previous stock i.e. more than one-year-old stock is not available. It means if goods are purchased after 30th June 2016 then only credit can be taken.

Conclusion: - Every trader should carefully understand these provisions of stock. Everyone should file revised return of VAT for the financial year 2016-17 if necessary after checking all books of accounts and then return of April to June to be filed. Taxpayer should reconcile the VAT, Excise returns with books of accounts and then only file the above form to the government⁠⁠⁠⁠

Finance Facts

8 Reasons to make a financial plan

[Must READ] Important changes in ITR Forms for AY 2017-18

WEALTH MANAGEMENT VS. FINANCIAL PLANNING

10 Best Money Management Tips

GST : F.A.Q on GST Registration and Migration

GST -Treatment of Closing stock as on 30june

GST has been implemented from 1st July. Many taxpayers have huge stock lying. So what should be done for stock lying on 30th June?

Q1.If the taxpayer is registered under VAT Act, then how he will get set-off of the stock in GST?

1. If VAT is payable in the VAT return of 30th June 2017 i.e. taxpayer has taken the credit of inputs, then there is no question of taking credit.

2. If VAT is carry forward in the VAT return of 30th June 2017 i.e. excess tax credit is available, then the taxpayer will get the credit of that carry forwarded amount in SGST. Ex. If the taxpayer has a credit of Rs. 10,500 then it can be adjusted against SGST liability.

Q2. If any taxable person is registered under excise law, then how can he take set-off of stock in GST?

Q3. if any taxable person is not registered under excise law, then can he get set-off of stock in GST?

1. If that stock covered in 18% or 28% in GST, then 60% of CGST can be availed as a credit of stock. Ex. If there is 18% rate of GST on Spare parts, then 5.4% credit (60% of 9% of CGST) is available against the stock held on 30th June.

Q4. What the taxpayer should do if he has to take credit of stock in GST?

About me

Follow Us

Blog Archive

Follow Us

Tags

Popular Posts

Like us on Facebook

Twitter