25 Amendments in Income Tax Act applicable for FY 2018-19

1) Standard deduction to salaried individuals and pensioners (Section 16)

Transport allowance and Medical Reimbursement are two tax deductions which almost every salaried taxpayer easily claims. The Finance Act, 2018 eliminated these two tax benefits. The tax benefit from transport allowance is Rs 19,200 p.a. (Rs 1,600 p.m.), while from reimbursement of medical expenses, it is Rs 15,000 p.a. At first, it may appear to be a loss of Rs 34,200 to you (Rs 19,200 + Rs 15,000). But, you don’t need to worry as a standard deduction of Rs 40,000 has been brought in their place. This is, in fact, a good news for you since the overall tax benefit has increased by Rs 5,800 (Rs 40,000 – Rs 34,200).

This tax benefit has also been extended to the pensioners. Pensioners were not allowed any tax benefit of transport allowance and medical reimbursement. Therefore, they can gain Rs 40,000 as tax-free income.

2) Enhanced deduction under section 80D

You must be familiar with this deduction under section 80D that you can claim when you pay a premium for medical insurance giving coverage to you or your family. The tax deduction currently allowed is up to Rs 30,000 of the insurance covers you, your spouse or your children. You can get additional deduction of Rs 30,000 on premium paid if you have a medical cover for your parents aged 60 years and above. If they are aged below 60 years, then the tax deduction cannot exceed Rs 25,000.

However, if anyone of you, your spouse or your parents is not covered under any insurance policy, then you can claim a tax deduction up to Rs 30,000 for the medical expenses incurred on them. Union budget 2018 has extended this benefit to senior citizens as well and increased the deduction limit from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.

3) Increase in the deduction limit under section 80DDB

The tax deduction given to taxpayers for expenses incurred on treatment of his own or any family member’s critical illness has also been raised. Currently, the tax deduction is Rs 80,000 for super senior citizen, Rs 60,000 for senior citizen and Rs 40,000 in any other case.

The upper limit of deduction has been increased to Rs 1,00,000 for both senior as well as super senior citizens but the limit remains the same for the taxpayers up to 60 years of age.

4) Increase in exemption limit on bank interest for senior citizens

In the AY 2019-20, senior citizens will be able to claim deduction up to Rs 50,000 on interest earned from bank deposits, post offices or co-operative banks as per the provisions of a new section 80TTB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Any senior citizen who claims the tax deduction under section 80TTB will not be allowed to claim the benefits of section 80TTA from AY 2019-20. Section 194A has also been amended to disallow banks from deducting tax from payment of interest up to Rs 50,000 made to a senior citizen.

5) Enhanced tax benefit on gratuity [Section 10(10)]

The tax exemption allowed on gratuity has also been increased in the Union budget 2018. The taxpayers currently get a tax exemption of Rs 10 lakh which will be raised to Rs 20 lakh. The taxpayers receiving gratuity on or after 1st April 2018 will be able to enjoy the increased tax benefit on gratuity.

6) NPS withdrawal exemption extended to non-employees

Employees investing in NPS get exemption up to 40% of the total accumulated balance in their NPS account at the time of withdrawal when they opt out or close the scheme. The budget 2018 has extended this tax benefit to everyone investing in NPS.

7) Long Term Capital Gains(Sec 112A) 
    
LTCG on transfer of Equity Share in a company, unit of an equity oriented fund and unit of business trust is 10% if LTCG is more than Rs 1 lakhs. If LTCG is upto Rs 1 lakhs then it is exempt.

8) Health & Education Cess @ 4%

From Finance Act 2018, Health & Education Cess @ 4% is charged on Net Income Tax Payable in place of Education & Secondary Higher Education Cess of 3%.

9) Rate of Tax in case of Companies 

  In case of turnover is more than Rs 50 crores in FY 2015-16 and Rs 250 crores or less in FY 2016-17, then rate of tax is increased to 30% from 25%.  
In case of turnover is less than Rs 50 crores in FY 2015-16 and more than Rs 250 crores in FY 2016-17, then rate of tax is increased to 30% from 25%.

10) Amendment in Sec 80 DDB

     Sec 80 DDB provides deduction to a resident individual and HUF for medical treatment or specified disease of dependent amounting to Rs 60,000/- in case of Senior Citizen (60 years or more) and Rs 80,000/- (80 years or more) in case of Very Senior Citizen. From Finance Act 2018, the deduction which can be allowed under this section increased to Rs 1,00,000/- in case of any type of Senior Citizen.

11) Applicability of Section 40A(3), 40A(3A) and 40(a)(ia) in case of Trusts

      From Finance Act 2018, section 40A(3), 40A(3A) and 40(a)(ia) is applicable to religious or charitable trusts.

Accordingly, no deduction is allowable for any expenditure:
a) In case of expenditure exceeding Rs 10,000/- made to a person in a day in cash as per sec 40(A)(3).
b) In case of payment of outstanding Balance exceeding Rs 10,000/- to a person in a day by cash mode as per sec 40(A)(3A).
c) 30% of the amount of expense will be disallowed in case such trust do not deduct any TDS on payments being made to residents as per sec 40(a)(ia).

12) Amendment under presumptive taxation in case of Goods Carriage - Section 44 AE

Section 44 AE of the Act provides a presumptive taxation scheme for the transporters having upto 10 vehicles at any time during the previous year. It provides that such transporters have an option to pay tax on presumptive basis by declaring income @ Rs 7,500/- per month or part thereof per vehicle.
As per Finance Act 2018, vehicles having more than 12 MT gross weight, then instead of Rs 7,500 per month per vehicle, Rs 1,000 per tonne capacity per month per vehicle shall be deemed as Income.

13) Deduction under Sec 80-IAC of the Income Tax Act

Section 80-IAC of the Income Tax Act provides that 100% deduction of profits to start-ups for 3 consecutive years out of 7 years if it is incorporated between 01/04/2016 to 31/03/2018 and the turnover is upto Rs 25 crores per year between 01/04/2016 to 31/03/2021.

As per Finance Act 2018, startups incorporated between 01/04/2019 to 31/03/2021 can also avail the benefit of this section.  


14) Mandatory Quoting of PAN in certain cases

From Finance Act 2018, Section 139A of the Act provides that 
a) PAN is mandatory for such non-individual entities which enters into financial transaction valuing more than Rs 2,50,000/-.
b) PAN is also mandatory for the authorized signatories like managing director, director, partner, trustee, author, founder, karta, chief executive officer, principal officer of such entities irrespective of their financial transactions and income.

15) Trading in Agricultural Commodities

a) Amendment has been made in Sec 43(5) of the Act in order to provide that trading in agricultural commodities is now considered as non-speculative transaction, previously it was considered as speculative transaction.
b) After the Amendment, loss from trading in agricultural commodities can also be set off from other non-speculative business losses.
c) Further, such losses can now be carried forward for 8 Assessment Years instead of 4 Assessment Years.

16) Prosecution relating to failure to furnish Return of Income

Section 276CC of the Act provides that in case assessee fails to furnish Return of Income upto the end of assessment year, then he shall be liable to following:
a) Imprisonment of 6 months to 7 years with fine, if tax evaded exceeds Rs 25 lakhs.
b) Imprisonment of 3 months to 2 years with fine, if tax evaded is upto Rs 25 lakhs.
The above provisions are not applicable if tax amount is less than Rs 3,000/-.
As per Finance Act 2018, limit of Rs 3,000/- is not applicable to a Company in order to mandate all companies to file Return of Income.

17) Amendment in Section 54 EC (Exemption related to Long Term Capital Gains)

a) Long term capital asset for making any investment under this section means -
i) on or after 01/04/2007 but before 01/04/2018 means any bond issued by NHAI, RECL, redeemable after 3 years and issued on or after 01/04/2007 but before 01/04/2018.
ii) on or after 01/04/2018, means any bond issued by NHAI, RECL redeemable after 5 years and issued on or after 01/04/2018.

b) Long term capital asset means land or building or both.

18) Amendment in Section 43

Explanation 1A - Where a capital asset referred to in clause (via) of section 28 (where inventory is converted or treated as capital asset) is used for the purposes of business or profession, the actual cost of such asset to the assessee shall be the fair market value which has been taken into account for the purposes of the said clause.

19) New Section Inserted Sec 43 AA

 1) Subject to the provisions of section 43A, any gain or loss arising on account of any change in foreign exchange rates shall be treated as income or loss, as the case may be, and such gain or loss shall be computed in accordance with the income computation and disclosure standards (ICDS) notified under sub-section (2) of section 145. 

2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), gain or loss arising on account of the effects of change in foreign exchange rates shall be in respect of all foreign currency transactions, including those relating to— 
(i) monetary items and non-monetary items; 
(ii) translation of financial statements of foreign operations; 
(iii) forward exchange contracts; 
(iv) foreign currency translation reserves.”.

20) Sec - 43CA(Special provision for full value of consideration for transfer of assets other than capital assets in certain cases)

Following proviso shall be inserted in sub-section (1) by Finance Act 2018:
Provided that where the value adopted or assessed or assessable by the authority for the purpose of payment of stamp duty does not exceed 105% of the consideration received or accruing as a result of the transfer, the consideration so received or accruing as a result of the transfer shall, for the purposes of computing profits and gains from transfer of such asset, be deemed to be the full value of the consideration.

21) Amendment in Section 47

Following clause (viiab) shall be inserted
any transfer of a capital asset, being-
a) bond or Global Depository Receipt referred to in sec 115AC (1), or
b) rupee denominated bond of an Indian company, or
c) derivative,
made by a non-resident on a recognised stock exchange located in any International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and where the consideration for such transaction is paid or payable in foreign currency.

22) Amendment in Section 49(Cost with reference to certain mode of acquisition)

Where the capital gain arises from the transfer of a capital asset referred to in clause (via) of section 28, the cost of acquisition of such asset shall be deemed to be the fair market value which has been taken into account for the purposes of the said clause.

23) Amendment in Section 80 JJA (Deductions in respect of employment of new employees) 

Provided that in the case of an assessee who is engaged in the business of manufacturing of apparel [or footwear or leather products], the provisions of sub-clause (c) shall have effect as if for the words "240 days", the words "150 days" had been substituted.

Provided further that where an employee is employed during the previous year for a period of less than 240 days or 150 days, as the case may be, but is employed for a period of 240 days or 150 days, as the case may be, in the immediately succeeding year, he shall be deemed to have been employed in the succeeding year and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

24) Amendment in Sec 115 JB (Minimum Alternate Tax) 

(a) in Explanation 1,— 
(A) after clause (iig), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:–– 
‘(iih) the aggregate amount of unabsorbed depreciation and loss brought forward in case of a company against whom an application for corporate insolvency resolution process has been admitted by the Adjudicating Authority under section 7 or section 9 or section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

25) Substitution of new sections 145A & 145B in place of section 145A

Section 145A For the purpose of determining the income chargeable under the head “Profits and gains of business or profession”,–– 

(i) the valuation of inventory shall be made at lower of actual cost or net realisable value computed in accordance with the income computation and disclosure standards notified under sub-section (2) of section 145; 
(ii) the valuation of purchase and sale of goods or services and of inventory shall be adjusted to include the amount of any tax, duty, cess or fee (by whatever name called) actually paid or incurred by the assessee to bring the goods or services to the place of its location and condition as on the date of valuation; 
(iii) the inventory being securities not listed on a recognised stock exchange, or listed but not quoted on a recognised stock exchange with regularity from time to time, shall be valued at actual cost initially recognised in accordance with the income computation and disclosure standards notified under sub-section (2) of section 145; 
(iv) the inventory being securities other than those referred to in clause (iii), shall be valued at lower of actual cost or net realisable value in accordance with the income computation and disclosure standards notified under sub-section (2) of section 145: 

Provided that the inventory being securities held by a scheduled bank or public financial institution shall be valued in accordance with the income computation and disclosure standards notified under sub-section (2) of section 145 after taking into account the extant guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India in this regard: 
Provided further that the comparison of actual cost and net realisable value of securities shall be made category-wise.

Section 145B

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section 145, the interest received by an assessee on any compensation or on enhanced compensation, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the income of the previous year in which it is received.

(2) Any claim for escalation of price in a contract or export incentives shall be deemed to be the income of the previous year in which reasonable certainty of its realisation is achieved.

(3) The income referred to in sub-clause (xviii) of clause (24) of section 2 shall be deemed to be the income of the previous year in which it is received, if not charged to income-tax in any earlier previous year.’

Do Read - 
1. How to Determine Residential Status under Income Tax Act
2. Classification of Financial Markets


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Various Limits under Companies Act 2013

1. CSR Applicability (Sec 135)
a) Applicable to all companies included public, private, foreign, government companies having:
Turnover more than or equal to Rs 1,000 crore or
Net Worth more than or equal to Rs 500 crore or
Net Profit more than or equal to Rs 5 crore during any Financial Year.

b) At least more than or equal to 2% of average net profits of last 3 years must be spend on CSR activities.

2. Internal Audit (Sec 138)
a) Mandatory for Listed Companies.
b) Unlisted Public Companies has to appoint the Internal Auditor if:
Turnover more than or equal to Rs 200 crores or
Outstanding Loans or Borrowings from Banks or Public Financial Institutions more than or equal to Rs 100 crores or
Paid up Share Capital more than or equal to Rs 50 crores or
Outstanding Deposits more than or equal to Rs 25 crores.
c) Private Companies has to appoint Internal Auditor if:
Turnover more than or equal to Rs 200 crores or
Outstanding Loans or Borrowings from Banks or Public Financial Institutions more than or equal to Rs 100 crores. 

3. CARO (Companies Auditor Report Order), 2016 Applicability
a) Applicable to Foreign Companies also.
b) Not Applicable to 
Banking Company, 
Insurance Company, 
Section 8 Company,
One Person Company (OPC),  
Small Company,
Private Company if:
i) Its not subsidiary or holding of a Public Companies and
ii) Paid up Share Capital and Reserve & Surplus is equal to or less than Rs 1 crore as on Balance Sheet Date and
iii) Outstanding loans from Banks or Financial Institutions is equal to or less than Rs 1 crore at any point of time during the financial year and
iv) Total Revenue (including Revenue from Discontinuing Operations) is equal to or less than Rs 10 crores during the financial year.


4. Secretarial Audit [Sec 204(1)] 
a) Every Listed Company
b) Every Public Company having a paid up share capital more than or equal to Rs 50 crores or
c) Every Public Company having a turnover more than or equal to Rs 250 crores.

5. Term of Auditor [Sec 139(2)]
a) This section provides that listed companies and other class of companies prescribed except one person companies and small companies shall not appoint or re-appoint -
i) an individual as auditor for more than one term of 5 consecutive years. and 
ii) an audit firm as auditor for more than two terms of 5 consecutive years.

b) Rule 5 of Companies (Audit & Auditors Rules), 2014 has prescribed the following class of companies for the purpose of section 139(2) :
i) all unlisted public companies having paid up share capital of Rs 10 crore or more,
ii) all private limited companies having paid up share capital of Rs 20 crore or more,
iii) all companies having paid up share capital of below threshold limit mentioned in (ii) & (iii) above, but having borrowings from financial institutions, banks or public deposits of Rs 50 crores or more.

6. Number of Directors [Sec 149]
a) Minimum No. of Directors
i) Private Companies - 2
ii) Public Companies - 3
iii) One Person Company (OPC) - 1

b) Maximum No. of Directors - 15
If the company wants to appoint more than 15 Directors, then they can do so by passing Special Resolution.

7. Meetings of Board [Sec 173]
a) Frequency of Board Meetings 
i) First Board Meeting - Every company shall hold the first meeting of the Board of Directors within 30 days of the date of its incorporation.
ii) Subsequent Board Meeting - Every company shall hold minimum 4 meetings every year provided that the gap between 2 consecutive board meetings shall not more than 120 days.
iii) Exceptions 
- A dormant company, OPC, small company shall be deemed to have complied with the provisions of sec 173 if at least 1 meeting of the Board of Directors have been conducted in each half of a calender year and the gap between 2 meetings is not less than 90 days.

8. Audit Committee [Sec 177]
Audit Committee shall be constituted by the BOD of 
a) every listed company,
b) all public companies with paid up share capital of Rs 10 crores or more,
c) all public companies having turnover of Rs 100 crores or more,
d) all public companies having in aggregate, outstanding loans/ borrowings/ debentures/ deposits exceeding Rs 50 crores or more.

9. Vigil Mechanism [Sec 177(9)]
a) Every listed company,
b) Companies which accept deposits from public,
c) Companies which have borrowed money from banks and public financial institutions in excess of Rs 50 crores.

10. Nomination & Remuneration Committee [Sec 178]
a) Every listed company
b) Unlisted public company with paid up share capital of Rs 10 crore or more or
c) Unlisted public company having turnover of Rs 100 crore or more or
d) Unlisted public company having in aggregate outstanding loans or borrowings or debentures or deposits exceeding Rs 50 crores or more.

11. Company to Contribute to bona fide and charitable funds etc [ Sec 181]
Prior permission of the company in general meeting is required for such contribution in case any amount in aggregate of which, in any financial year, exceed 5 percent, of its average net profits for the 3 immediately preceding financial year.

12. XBRL [General Circular No. 16/2012 Dated 06.07.2014]
a) Applicable to
i) All Companies listed with stock exchanges in India.
ii) Subsidiaries of any company listed with stock exchanges in India.
iii) All Companies having paid up share capital of Rs 5 crores and above
iv) All Companies having turnover of Rs 100 crores and above

b) Not Applicable to
i) Banking Companies 
ii) Insurance Companies
iii) Power Companies 
iv) Non-Banking Financial Companies
v) Housing Finance Companies

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All About Startups in India - Benefits, Registration etc

Benefits for Recognized Startups under the Startups India Scheme
1. Self Certification - The Startups may self certify compliance in respect of following 6 Labour Laws:
a) Other Constructions Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
b) The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1979
c) The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
d) The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970
e) The Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
f) The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
In order to self certify compliance, you may log on to "Shram Suvidha Portal" - https://shramsuvidha.gov.in/startUp.action

2. Tax Exemption - The Inter Ministerial Board setup shall validate Startups for the following 2 exemptions:
a) Income Tax Exemption on profits under sec 80- IAC of Income Tax Act - Provided following conditions are satisfied:
i) A private limited company or limited liability partnership,
ii) Incorporated on or after 1st April 2016 but before 1st April 2021 and
iii) Products or services or processes are undifferentiated, have potential for commercialization and have significant incremental value for customers or workflow.
The deduction is for any 3 years out of 7 years from the year of incorporation of startup.    

b) Income Tax Exemption on Investments above fair market value received under section 56 of Income Tax Act
A DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) recognised startup being a private limited company shall be eligible to apply to the Inter-Ministerial Board for exemption from the Income Tax on investments above fair market value by angel investors.
Provided following conditions are satisfied:
i) The aggregate amount of paid up share capital and share premium of the Startup after the proposed issue of shares does not exceed 10 crore rupees,
ii) The investor/proposed investor, who proposed to subscribe to the issue of shares of the Startup has - 
a) The average returned income of Rs 25 lakhs or more for the preceding 3 financial years, or
b) The net worth of Rs 2 crore or more as on the last date of the preceding financial year.
c) The startup has obtained a report from merchant banker specifying the fair market value of shares.

3. Easy winding up of Company - Startups can be windup within 90 days on a fast track basis under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,2016. Link - http://www.mca.gov.in/MinistryV2/closecompany.html

4. Startup Patent Application and IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) Protection - Fast track process and upto 80 % rebate in filing patents.

5. Easier Public Procurement Norms - Exemption on EMD(Earnest Money Deposit) for filing government tenders and minimum requirements. Get listed on GeM (Government e-Marketplace) as seller. Link - https://gem.gov.in

6. SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) Fund of Funds - Funds for investment into startups through AlF (Alternative Investment Funds). Link - https://venturefund.sidbi.in/Home.php

Startup India Scheme - In this scheme, Government of India has provided a fund of Rs 2500 crore for startups as well as a credit guarantee fund of Rs 500 crore rupees.

Startup Registration 
i) The Company must be formed as a private limited company or limited liability partnership.
ii) It should be a new firm or not older than five years and the total turnover of a company does not exceed Rs 25 crores.
iii) The firms should have obtained the approval of DIPP.
iv) To get approval from DIPP, startup should be funded by an Incubation fund, Angel fund or Private Equity fund.
v) The startups should obtain a patron guarantee from the Indian patent and Trademark office.
vi) It must have recommendation letter by an incubation.
vii) The startup must provide innovative schemes or products.
viii) Angel fund, Incubation fund, Accelerators, Private Equity fund, Angel network must be registered with SEBI.

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18 Ratios to Analyse a Company

Meaning - Ratio Analysis is a study of relationship among various financial factors in a business.

Objective - The objective of ratio analysis is to judge the earning capacity, financial soundness and operating efficiency of a business organisation.

Classification 
i) Income Statement Ratios - These ratios are calculated on the basis of the amounts of income statement (Profit & Loss Account) only. Ex - gross profit ratio, net profit ratio, stock turnover ratio etc.

ii) Position Statement Ratios - These ratios are calculated on the basis of the amounts of position statement (Balance Sheet) only. Ex - current ratio, debt equity ratio etc.

iii) Inter-Statement Ratios or composite Ratios - These ratios are based on amounts of income statement as well as position statement. Ex - fixed assets turnover ratio, net profit to capital employed ratio etc.

iv) Liquidity Ratios - These ratios measure the short term solvency i.e the firm's ability to pay current dues.

v) Solvency Ratios - The term solvency implies ability of an enterprise to meet its long term indebtedness and thus solvency ratios convey an enterprises ability to meet its long term obligations.

vi) Activity Ratios - Activity Ratios also termed as Performance or Turnover Ratios, judge how well the facilities at the disposal of enterprise are being utilised. In other words, these ratios measures the effectiveness with which a concern uses resources at its disposal.

1. Current Ratio - Current Ratio is a relationship of current assets to current liabilities and is computed to assess the short-term financial position of the enterprise. It means current ratio is an indicator of the enterprise's ability to meet its short terms provisions since the ratio assumes that current assets can be converted into cash to meet its current liabilities.
A lower ratio indicated that the enterprise may not be able to meet its current liabilities on time and inadequate working capital. On the other hand a high ratio indicates funds are not used efficiently and are lying idle.
Current Ratios is calculated on a particular day not for a particular period.

2. Liquidity Ratio - Liquidity Ratio is a relationship of liquid assets with current liabilities and is computed to assess the short term liquidity of the enterprise in its correct form.
Liquid assets are those assets which are either in the form of cash or cash equivalents or can be converted into cash within a very short period. Liquid assets can be computed by deducting stock and prepaid expenses from current assets. Stock is excluded because it takes some time to be converted into cash and prepaid expenses are also not included because they do not provide cash at all.
This ratio is an indicator of short term debt paying capacity of an enterprise and thus better indicator of liquidity. This ratio is very important for banks and financial institutions but not for manufacturing concerns. The comparison of current ratio and liquidity ratio indicate the degree of inventory held.

3. Debt Equity Ratio - Debt Equity ratio is computed to ascertain the soundness of the long-term financial position of the firm. This ratio expresses a relationship between debt (external equities) and the equity (internal equities). Debt means long term debt i.e debentures, loan from financial institutions. Equity means shareholders funds i.e preference share capital, equity share capital, reserves less losses and fictitious assets like preliminary expenses.
A high debt equity ratio indicates a risky financial position while a lower ration indicates safer financial position. A lower debt equity ratio indicates use of more equity than debt which means a larger margin of safety by creditors and vice versa. 
It also indicates the extent to which the enterprise depends upon outsiders for its existence. 

4. Total Assets to Debt Ratio - Total Assets to Debt Ratio establishes a relationship between total assets and total long term debts.
Total Assets includes fixed as well as current assets. However, it does not include fictitious assets like preliminary expenses, underwriting commission, share issue expenses, debit balance of profit & loss account etc.
Long term Debts refers to debts that will mature after one year. It includes debentures, bonds, loans from financial institutions.
It measures the safety margin available to the providers of long term debts. It measures the extent to which debt is covered by assets. A higher ratio represents higher security to lenders for extending long term loans to the business. On the other hand, a low ratio represents a risky financial position as it means that the business depends heavily on outside loans for its existence.

5. Proprietary Ratio - Proprietary Ratio establishes the relationship between proprietor's funds and total assets. Proprietor's funds means share capital plus reserves and surplus, both of capital and revenue nature. Loss and fictitious assets are to be deducted. This ratio shows the extent to which shareholders own the business. The difference between this ratio and 100 represents the ratio of total liabilities to total assets.
It highlights the general financial position of the enterprise. This ratio is of particular importance to the creditors who can ascertain the proportion of shareholders funds in the total assets employed in the firm.
A high ratio indicates adequate safety for creditors. But a very high ratio indicates improper mix of proprietors funds and loan funds, which results in lower return on investment. A low ratio indicates inadequate or low safety cover for the creditors. It may lead to unwillingness of creditors to extend credit to the enterprise. It is so because in case of liquidation creditors being unsecured are likely to loose their money. 

6. Inventory Turnover Ratio - Inventory Turnover Ratio establishes the relationship between the cost of goods sold during a given period and the average amount of inventory carried during that period. It indicates whether the investment in stock has been efficiently used or not, the purpose being to check whether only the required minimum amount is invested in stocks.
The objective of computing inventory turnover ratio is to ascertain whether investment in stock has been judicious or not i.e that only the required amount is invested  in stock. A high ratio indicates that more sales are being produced by a rupee of investment in stocks. A very high inventory turnover ratio indicates overtrading and it may lead to working capital shortage. A low inventory turnover ratio indicates inefficient use of investment, over investment in stocks, accumulation of stocks at the end of period in anticipation of higher prices or unsaleable goods etc. A reasonable inventory turnover ratio ensures working capital and also enables the business to earn a reasonable margin of profits.

7. Debtor Turnover Ratio or Receivables Turnover Ratio -  Debtor Turnover Ratio establishes the relationship between net credit sales and average debtors of the year. While calculating debtor turnover of a company, it is important to remember that doubtful debts are not to be deducted from total debtors, since here is the purpose to calculate number of days for which sales are tied up in debtors and not the realizable value of debtors.
This ratio indicates the number of times the receivables are turned over in a year in relation to sales. It shows how quickly debtors are converted into cash and thus indicates the efficiency of the staff entrusted with collection of amounts due from debtors.  
A high ratio is better since it would indicate that debts are being collected more promptly. Prompt collection of book debts means more available funds which can be put to some other use. A lower ratio would indicate inefficiency in collection and more investment in debtors than required.

8. Creditors or Payables Turnover Ratio - Creditors Turnover Ratio shows the relationship between net credit purchases and total payable or average payable, whereas average payment period or creditors velocity signifies the credit period enjoyed by the enterprise in paying creditors.
Average payment period is calculated by dividing Total or Average Payable by Net Credit Purchases and multiplied by number of months/ days in a year.
The objective of calculating creditors turnover ratio is to establish the the number of times the creditors are turned over in relation to purchases.A high turnover ratio or shorter payment period represents the availability of less credit or early payments. A high ratio also indicates that enterprise is not availing the full credit period. This boosts up the credit worthiness of the firm. A very low turnover ratio or longer payment period implies availability of more credit or delayed payments. Thus, the lower the ratio, the better is the liquidity position of the firm and higher the ratio, the lesser is the liquid position of the firm.  

9. Working Capital Turnover Ratio - This ratio establishes the relationship between working capital and sales. It indicates the number of times a unit invested in working capital  produces sales. This ratio indicates whether working capital has been effectively utilised or not.
The objective of computing the ratio is to ascertain whether or not working capital has been effectively utilised in making sales. In other words, it measures the effective utilisation of working capital. It also shows the number of times a unit is invested in working capital produces sales.

10. Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio - This ratio establishes the relationship between Net Sales and Fixed Assets indicating how efficiently they have been used in achieving the sale.
The objective of computing fixed assets turnover ratio is to establish whether the investment in fixed assets is justified in relation to the sales achieved. A high ratio indicates efficient utilisation of fixed assets. On the other hand, a low ratio indicates inefficient utilisation of fixed assets. If there is a fall in the ratio, it indicates that fixed assets remained idle and therefore, the management should investigate and determine the reason for decline.

11. Gross Profit Ratio - This ratio establishes the relationship between gross profit and nest sales (both cash and credit sales) minus sales returns.
The gross profit is what is revealed by the Trading Account. It results from the difference between net sales and cost of goods sold without taking into account the expenses charged to profit and loss account. A decline in gross profit ratio is a major concern and it may be due to following reasons:
a) The prices of materials may have gone up or wages may have increased and the selling price may not have increased in proportion to it.
b) The selling price may have fallen without there being a relative fall in the prices of material or wages.
c) The closing stock may have taken wrongly or wrongly valued. The gross profit and the gross profit ratio will fall if the stock is undervalued.
d) Misappropriation of goods, so that the firm pays for them but someone else takes them away.
GP Ratio is a reliable guide to the adequacy of selling prices and efficiency of trading activities.
The objective of working gross profit ratio are:
a) To determine the selling prices so that there is adequate gross profit to cover the operating expenses, fixed charges, dividends and building up reserves.
b) To determine, how much the selling price per unit may decline without resulting in losses on operations of the firms.

12. Operating Ratio - The Operating Ratio is computed to establish the relationship between operating costs and net sales. This ratio indicates the proportion that the cost of sales or operating cost bears to sales. Cost of sales includes direct cost of goods sold as well as other operating expenses, administration, selling and distribution expenses which have matching relationship with sales.
Operating Costs = Cost of Goods Sold + Operating Expenses
Cost of Goods Sold = Opening Stock + Purchases + Direct Expenses + Manufacturing Expenses - Closing Stock
Operating Expenses = Administrative Expenses + Selling & Distribution Expenses
This ratio shows the percentage of sales absorbed by the cost of sales and operating expenses. Lower the operating ratio, the better it is because it would leave higher margin to meet interest, dividend etc.

13. Net Profit Ratio - Net Profit Ratio establishes the relationship between net profit and sales. Net profit is computed by deducting all direct costs i.e, cost of goods sold and indirect costs i.e, administrative and marketing expenses, finance charges and making adjustments for non-operating expenses from net sales and adding non-operating incomes.
The Net Profit Ratio is an indicator of overall efficiency of the business. Higher the net profit ratio better the business. This ratio helps in determining the operational efficiency of the business. An increase in the ratio over the previous period shows improvement in the operational efficiency and decline means otherwise.

14. Return on Investment (ROI) or Return on Capital Employed Ratio - Return on Capital Employed establishes the relationship of profit (profit means profit before interest and tax) with capital employed. The net result of operation of a business is either profit or loss. The sources, i.e, funds used by the business to earn this are proprietor's (shareholders) funds and loans. The overall performance of enterprise can be judged by this ratio when compared with the previous periods to judge improvement in performance.
This ratio is computed by dividing the net profit before interest, tax and dividends by capital employed.
Capital Employed can be calculated by any of the following methods:
I. Share Capital (Both Equity and Preference) + Reserves + Long term Loans - Fictitious Assets (like preliminary expenses) - Non Operating Assets like investments
II. Fixed Assets (net of depreciation) + Working Capital
This ratio measures the overall performance of the enterprise. It measures how efficiently the sources entrusted to the business are used. The return on capital employed is a fair measure of the profitability of any concern with the result that the performance of different industries can be compared.

15. Earning Per Share (EPS) - It is the earning of a company attributable to the equity shareholders divided by the number of equity shares.
This ratio helps in evaluating the prevailing market price of share in the light of profit earning capacity. The more the earning per share, better is the performance and prospects of the company.

16. Dividend Per Share (DPS) - DPS is calculated by dividing the profit distributed as equity dividend by the number of equity shares. The objective of computing this ratio is to measure the dividend distributed per equity share.

17. Price Earning Ratio - This Ratio establishes the relationship between the market price of the share and earning per share. It indicates how many times is the market price of share to its earnings.

18. Return on Equity (ROE) - ROE is the amount of net income returned as percentage of shareholder's equity.
Net Income is for the full financial year calculated before dividend paid to equity shareholders but after dividends paid to preference shareholders.
ROE is useful in comparing the profitability of company to that of other companies in the same industry.
It is different from ROCE  as ROE only considers net return on the equity of the company while ROCE considers the return to all stakeholders in the company including equity, preference and debt.

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Types of Directors under Companies Act 2013

1. Women Director - As per second proviso to section 149(1), at least one women director shall be on board of such class or classes of companies as may be prescribed.

Rule 3 of Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 provides that following class of companies shall appoint at least one woman director - 
a) Every Listed Company
b) Every other public company having - 
     i) paid up share capital of Rs 100 crore or more or
     ii) turnover of Rs 300 crore or more

2. Resident Director - As per section 149(3), every company shall have at least one director who stayed in India for a total period of not less than 182 days in the previous calender year.

3. Independent Director - As per section 149(4), every listed public company shall have at least one-third of the total number of directors as independent directors.

According to Rule 4 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014, following class of companies shall have at least 2 Independent Directors:
a) Public Companies having paid up share capital of Rs 10 crore or more or
b) Public Companies having turnover of Rs 100 crore or more or
c) Public Companies having in aggregate outstanding loans, debentures and deposits exceeding Rs 50 crore.

4. Small Shareholders Director - According to section 151, a listed company may have one director elected by such small shareholders.
Here Small Shareholders means a shareholder holding shares of nominal value of not more than Rs 20,000 or such other sum prescribed.

The Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 provides for the procedure for appointment of small shareholders director according to which:
i) A Listed company may upon notice from not less than
a) 1000 small shareholders or
b) 1/10th of the total number of such shareholders
whichever is lower
have a small shareholders director elected by small shareholders.

5. Additional Director - As per section 161(1),
a) The articles of a company may confer its Board of Directors the power to appoint any person as an additional director at any time.
b) A person, who fails to get appointed as a director in a general meeting, cannot be appointed as additional director.
c) Additional director shall hold office upto next Annual General Meeting (AGM) or the last date on which AGM should have been held whichever is earlier.

6. Alternate Director - As per section 161(2),
i) The Board of Directors of a company may, if so authorised by its articles or by a resolution passed by the company in general meeting, appoint a person to act as alternate director in place of another director (original director) during his absence for a period of not less than 3 months from India.
ii) A person who is holding any alternate directorship for any other director in the company cannot be considered for appointment as above.
iii) No person can be appointed as alternate director for independent director until he is qualified to be appointed as independent director.
iv) An alternate director shall not hold office for a period longer than that permissible to the original director in whose place he is appointed and shall vacate the office if and when the original director returns to India.
v) If the term of office of the original director is determined before he returns to India, any provision for the automatic re-appointment of retiring directors in default of another appointment shall apply to original, and not to the alternate director.

7. Nominee Director - As per section 161(3), subject to articles of a company, the Board may appoint any person as a director nominated by an institution in pursuance of the provisions of any law for the time being in force or of any agreement or by the Central Government or the State Government by virtue of its shareholding in a Government company.

8. Executive Director - As per Rule 2(1)(k) of the Companies (Specification of definitions details) Rules 2014, Executive Director means a whole time director as defined in section 2(94) of Companies Act 2013.
As per section 2(94) of Companies Act 2013, whole time director includes a director in the whole time employment of the company.

9. Managing Director - As per section 2(54), managing director means a director who, by virtue of the articles of a company or an agreement passed with the company or a resolution passed in its general meeting or by its Board of Directors, is entrusted with substantial powers of management of the affairs of the company and includes a director occupying the position of managing director, by whatever name called.    

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How to Determine Residential Status under Income Tax Act

1. Residential Status of Individual
As per section 6(1) of Income Tax Act, if an Individual satisfies any of the following conditions, then he is said to be Resident in India.
Condition 1 - He has been in India during the previous year for a total period of 182 days or more, or

Condition 2 - He has been in India during the 4 years immediately preceding the previous year for a total period of 365 days or more and has been in India for at least 60 days in the previous year. 

If both conditions are not satisfied, then he is a non-resident.

Exceptions
The following category of Individuals will be treated as resident in India only if the period of their stay during the relevant previous year amounts to 182 days. It means the condition of 60 days or more in previous year and total period of 365 days in preceding 4 years is not applicable to following type of persons:
(i) Indian citizens, who leave India during the previous year as a member of the crew of an Indian Ship or for purposes of employment outside India, or
(ii) Indian citizens or person of Indian origin engaged outside India in an employment or a business or profession or in any other vocation, who comes on a visit to India in any previous year.

According to Rule 126 of Income Tax Rules, 1962, for the purposes of section 6(1), in case of Individual, being a citizen of India and a member of the crew of a ship, the period or periods of stay in India shall, in respect of eligible voyage, not include the following period:
Period commencing from the date entered into the Continuous Discharge Certificate in respect of joining the ship by the said individual for the eligible voyage and the period ending on the date entered into the Continuous Discharge Certificate in respect of signing off by that individual from the ship in respect of such voyage.  
Eligible Voyage means a voyage undertaken by a ship engaged in the carriage of passengers or freight in International Traffic where 
i) for the voyage having originated from any port in India, has its destination any port outside India and
ii) for the voyage having originated from any port outside India, has its destination any port in India.

Resident and Ordinarily Resident/ Resident but not Ordinarily Resident
Only Individual and HUF can be resident but not ordinarily resident in India. All other classes of assessee can be either resident or non-resident.
If any of the following conditions is satisfied, then such person is deemed to be Not Ordinarily Resident:
i) If such Individual has been non-resident for 9 years out of previous 10 years preceding the relevant previous year. or
ii) If such Individual has during the 7 previous years preceding the relevant previous year been in India for a period of 729 days or less.

2. Residential Status of HUF
If Karta of resident  HUF satisfies both the following additional conditions, then resident HUF will be Resident and Not Ordinarily Resident:
i) If such Individual has been non-resident for 9 years out of previous 10 years preceding the relevant previous year. or

ii) If such Individual has during the 7 previous years preceding the relevant previous year been in India for a period of 729 days or less.

3. Residential Status of Firms and Association of Persons (AOP)
i) A firm or AOP is resident in India if control or management of its affairs is situated wholly or partially in India.
ii) A firm or AOP is non-resident if control or management of its affairs is situated wholly outside India.

4. Residential Status of Companies
A company would be resident in India in any previous year, if-
(i) it is an Indian Company or
(ii) its place of effective management (POEM), in that year, is in India.
POEM - to mean a place where key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for the conduct of business of an entity as a whole are, in substance made.

5. Residential Status of Local Authorities and Artificial Judicial Persons
i) Local authorities and artificial judicial persons would be resident in India if the control and management of its affairs is situated wholly or partly in India.
ii) Local authorities and artificial judicial persons would be non-resident if the control and management of its affairs is situated wholly outside India.

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Economic Reforms Introduced in 1991

Introduction
In 1991, India met with an economic crises relating to its external debt - the government was not able to make repayments on its borrowings from abroad, foreign exchange reserves, which we generally maintain to import petrol and other important items, dropped to levels that were not sufficient for even a fortnight. The crisis was further compounded by rising prices of essential goods. All these led the government to introduce new set of policy measures which changed the direction of our developmental strategies.

Background
The origin of financial crisis can be traced from the inefficient management of the Indian Economy in the mid 1980s. We know that for implementing various policies and its general administration, the government generate funds from various sources such as taxation, running of public enterprises etc. When Expenditure is more than Income, the government borrows to finance the deficit from banks and also from public and also from international financial institutions.   
The continuing spending on development programmes of the government did not generate additional revenue. Moreover the government was not able to generate sufficiently from internal sources such as taxation. When the government was spending a large share of its income on areas which do not provide immediate returns such as social sector and defence, there was a need to utilise rest of the revenue in highly efficient manner. At times, our foreign exchange, borrowed from other countries and international financial institutions were spent on meeting consumption needs. 
In the late 1980s, government expenditure began to exceed its revenue by such large margins that meeting the expenditure through borrowings become unsustainable.
India approached the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), popularly known as World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and received $7 billion as loan to manage the crisis. For availing the loan, these international agencies expected India to liberalise and open the economy by removing restrictions on the private sector, reduce the role of government in many areas and remove trade restrictions between India and other countries.
India agreed the conditionalities of World Bank and IMF and announced the New Economic Policy (NEP). The NEP consisted of wide ranging economic reforms. The set of policies can be broadly classified into two groups: the stabilisation measures and the structural reform measures. Stabilisation Measures are short term measures, intended to correct some of the weaknesses that have developed in the balance of payments and to bring inflation under control. On the other hand, Structural Reforms are long term measures, aimed at improving efficiency of the economy and increasing its international competitiveness by removing the rigidities in various segments of Indian Economy.    

Liberalisation
Liberalisation was introduced to put an end to these restrictions and open various sectors of the economy. Though a few liberalisation measures were introduced in 1980s in areas of industrial licensing, export-import policy, technology upgradation, fiscal policy and foreign investment, reform policies initiated in 1991 were comprehensive. 
Reforms Introduced in 1991 under Liberlisation:
i) Deregulation of Industrial Sector
ii) Financial Sector Reforms
iii) Tax Reforms
iv) Foreign Exchange Reforms
v) Trade and Investment Policy Reforms


Privatisation
It implies shedding of the ownership or management of a government owned enterprise. Government Companies are owned in two ways (i) by withdrawal of the government from ownership and management of the public sector companies and or (ii) by outright sale of public sector companies.
Privatisation of  public sector enterprises by selling off part of the equity of PSEs to the public is known as disinvestment. The government has also made attempts to improve the efficiency of PSUs by giving them autonomy in taking managerial decisions. For instance some PSUs have been granted special status as maharatnas, navratnas and miniratnas.  


Globalisation
Although Globalisation is generally understood to mean integration of the economy of the country with the world economy, it is a complex phenomenon. It is an outcome of the set of various policies that are aimed at transforming the world towards greater integration and interdependence. Globalisation attempts to establish links in such a way that happenings in India can be influenced by events happening miles away. It is turning the world into one whole or creating a borderless world.

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Legal Protection To Consumers

The Indian legal framework consists of a number of regulations which provide protection to consumers. Some of these regulations are as under:

1. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 - The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 seeks to protect and promote the interests of consumers. The Act provides safeguards to consumers against defective goods, deficient services, unfair trade practices, and other forms of their exploitation. The Act provides for the setting up of a three tier machinery, consisting of District forums, State Commissions and the National Commission. It also provides for the formation of consumer protection councils in every District and State and at the apex level. 
Website - https://consumerhelpline.gov.in

2. The Contract Act, 1982 - The Act lays down the conditions in which the promises made by parties to a contract will be binding on each other. The Act also specifies the remedies available to parties in case of breach of contract.

3. The Sale of Goods Act, 1930 - The Act provides some safeguards and reliefs to the buyers of the goods in case the goods purchased do not comply with express or implied conditions or warranties.

4. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 - The Act aims at controlling production, supply and distribution of essential commodities, checking inflationary trend in their prices and ensuring equal distribution of essential commodities. The Act also provides for action against anti-social activities of profiteers, hoarders and black-marketers.

5. The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 - The Act prescribes grade standards for agricultural commodities and livestock products. The Act stipulates the conditions which govern the use of standards and lays down the procedure for grading, marking and packing of agricultural produce. The quality mark provided under the Act is known as AGMARK, an acronym for Agricultural Marketing. 

6. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 - The Act aims to check adulteration of food articles and ensure their purity so as to maintain public health.

7. The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 - The provisions of this Act are applicable in case of those goods which are sold or distributes by weight, measure or number. It provides protection to consumers against malpractice of under-weight or under-measure.

8. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 - This Act has repealed and replaces the Trade and Merchandise Act, 1958. The Act prevents the use of fraudulent marks on products and thus, provides protection to the consumers against such products.

9. The Competition Act, 2002 - This Act has repeated and replaces the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969. The Act provides protection to the consumers in case of practices adopted by business firms which hamper competition in the market.

10. The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 - The Bureau of Indian Standards has been set up under the Act. The Bureau has two major activities: formulation of quality standards for goods and their certification through the BIS certification scheme. Manufacturers are permitted to use the ISI mark on their products only after ensuring that the goods conform to the prescribed quality standards. 

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