Hi Folks At an event recently, a senior professional introduced the woman speaker, a True Woman Leader, as below : She is so Strong that she can be Gentle; She is so Educated that she can be Humble; She is so Fierce that she can be Compassionate; She is so Passionate that she can be Rational; She is so Disciplined that she can be Flexible I found these contrasting attributes the best description of a woman ever ! Contemporary and reflective of the times we are in. Not that our mothers and grandmothers were any less. It was just unfortunate that many of them did not get the opportunity and freedom that we are enjoying today. As a society we have lost several academicians, artists, professionals, administrators, doctors, sportswomen etc. in them. Their contribution as ‘homemakers’ holding fort solidly come what may, completely ignored and unsung. But, you will agree a Woman, THEN, NOW or in FUTURE is a leader with the above unique qualities. Talking of our current times, I was extremely delighted to see scores of beautiful young women walking away with multiple gold medals and awards at my son’s Law University convocation a couple of weeks back. It was a 99.99% clean sweep by the gutsy girls. While all of them are firmly entrenched in their respective careers, I wish they continue for long. Long enough to make an impact on their families, society, profession and their juniors who would look upto them. I am saying this after being a career woman for 25+ years with a family. The most important thing is to create and nurture a good support system to be able to continue the professional journey along with a family life, which is tough and demanding. A woman (for that matter a man too !) cant get to the top alone. She will be foolhardy if she thinks she can. It is her responsibility to spend time and identify early in life, what she wants to do, where she wants to go, how she wants to go and what she needs for it. Critical – create the required bandwidth. She must make this New Beginning as she begins her professional life. The Maternity Benefit Act, 2017 is a welcome legislation in this regard. A long outstanding ‘Beginning’ has been made around Ugadi, our New Year. So also the Finance Bill, 2017 which has brought in several first-time provisions that will impact in the long run. You will find a few such nuggets in this 165th issue. Should you wish to refer to any of our older issues of Lexspeak, do visit our Resource Centre at  sharadasc.com. Warm regards Several tax related changes announced in the Budget for FY 17-18 will take effect from 1st April, 2017. Here is a quick rundown: Decrease in tax rate for Individuals Tax rebate reduced Introduction of simplified one page tax return for individuals with taxable income upto Rs. 5 lakhs (including business income) Penalty to be imposed for delay in filing tax return for the year 2017-18 Cash transaction capped at Rs 2 lakhs Adhaar Card mandatory for filing IT returns Corporate tax reduced from 30% to 25% for small firms with an annual turnover of up to Rs 50 crore. Impact is analysed briefly in the note attached. Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017 has been passed and shall come into effect on a date as notified by the Central Government. Major Highlights of the Amendment Act: Maternity leave increased from 12 to 26 weeks Commissioning Mother recognised – A biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in any other woman. 12 weeks maternity leave for adopting and commissioning mothers Option to work from home to be made available Crèche facility if there are 50 or more employees – woman can make 4 visits a day to the crèche, including the interval for rest allowed to her.

Contribution can be made in an LLP either by way of Capital or by way of acquisition / transfer of profit shares by a Person or an Entity (Other than a Citizen or a Registered entity of/in Pakistan and Bangladesh and not being a Foreign Portfolio Investor or Foreign Institutional Investor or Foreign Venture Capital Investor as per SEBI guidelines). In terms of Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2017, the contribution will be subject to the terms and conditions as specified in Schedule 9 i.e. FDI-LLP.

FDI is permitted under automatic route in LLPs operating in sectors / activities where 100% FDI is allowed through automatic route. The said Schedule covers the eligibility of the investors, eligible investment, eligibility of an LLP, pricing mechanism, mode of payment and reporting of foreign investment in such LLPs.

Vide Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2017, effective from 9th March, 2017, RBI has defined E-Commerce and models of E-Commerce. 100% FDI under Automatic Route is permitted in B2B E-Commerce and Market place model of E-Commerce. FDI is not permitted in inventory based model of E-Commerce.

The Trade Mark Rules 2017 have been notified and have come into effect from 6th March, 2017 with several changes to the existing trademark practice. These Rules, which replace the erstwhile Trade Mark Rules 2002, will streamline and simplify the processing of Trade Mark applications and have brought about significant amendments to the rules and procedure governing trademark prosecutions in India.

W.e.f. 28th February, 2017, the above Rules have been notified. The said Rules lay down the manner of transfer of shares to the fund and also for refunding to the claimants from the Fund.

In the case of Transfer of pending proceedings of winding up on the ground of inability to pay debts, the petitioner shall submit all additional information, required for admission of the petition under the Insolvency Code, including details of the proposed insolvency professional to the NCLT. The time available for such submission has been extended from 60 days to 6 months.

The Hon’ble NCLT has authorised the Benches of New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai to exercise functions of the Tribunal to dispose of the matters received under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and under Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations of Companies Act, 2013.

W.e.f. 1st April, 2017 Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) (Amendment) Rules, 2017 will come into effect relating to share-based payment transactions (Ind AS 102) & Cash Flow Statements – changes in liabilities arising from financing activities (Ind AS 7).

Clarifications on Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS) have been issued as FAQ’s by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

Guidelines for waiver of interest charged U/s 201(1A)(i) of the Income Tax Act have been issued. For more details, please click on circular.

Services provided to an educational institution such as transport, catering, house keeping, security, cleaning and conduct of examinations are exempt from service tax. The list of educational institutions eligible for such exemption has been curtailed to the following 2 types only:

Institution providing services by way of pre-school education Institutions providing education up to higher secondary school or equivalent.

Institutions offering vocational courses, undergrad courses and above are out of the above exemption list.

Note: The contents of this Newsletter are only a summary and has not dealt with any issue in detail. Any action taken or proposed to be taken must be in consultation with professionals and not merely based on the articles / news updates. Lex Valorem disclaims all liability on action taken without professional advice.

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