Sunday, November 19

DIVINE INDIA INFRASTRUCTURE PVT LTD STILL CHARGING GST ON MAINTENANCE DESPITE BEING EXEMPT

LEFT IN LURCH  - RESIDENTS OF DIVINE MEADOWS PAYING 18% GST ON MAINTENANCE AND ELECTRICITY  


Residents of DIVINE MEADOWS a project of Divine India Infrastructure in SECTOR 108 NOIDA are being charged 18% GST on their maintenance and electricity bills. They have approached the builder on numerous occasions after a notification which says that GST is exempt for maintenance bills less than 5000 but their requests have gone into the deaf ears. The builder has clearly said that he would continue to charge 18% GST. Hence the residents are feeling helpless and are forced to pay the GST in order to get the uninterrupted services. The monthly maintenance charges in Divine Meadows range from Rs 1500 to 3000 rupees a month.
As per the Goods and Services Tax law, maintenance charges upto Rs 5000 a month are exempt from GST. Although the Finance Ministry has issued a clarification, this arbitrary calculation of GST done by the builder has left home owners of Divine Meadows confused.
The residents are worried as they have no clue where to go and to whom they should raise this issue. They wanted clear guidelines regarding GST on maintenance bills but are confused whom to approach

According to Divine India if a builder or its appointed company is taking care of the maintenance of the project then they have to charge GST irrespective of the amount

The notification has the following language

As per guidelines on maintenance charges upto Rs. 5000/- no GST is applicable. Maintenance charges means only maintenance or collection of all charges

This is applicable to only the reimbursements of charges or share of up to an amount of five thousand rupees per month per member for sourcing of goods or services from a third person for the common use of its members. Here, charges mean the indivisual contributions made by members of the society to avail services or goods by the society from a third party for common use. [*Entry 77(c) of notification no 12/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.6.2017 refers]

Monthly maintenance (all above charges) are below Rs.5000/-but yearly total collection exceeds Rs. 20 lakhs limit whether GST is applicable

Reimbursement of charges or share of contribution up to an amount of Rs. 5000/- per month per member for sourcing of goods or services from a third person for the common use is not liable to GST. However, if the Cooperative society/ RWAs provide specific services of its own to its members or to any third party (e.g. use of community hall for social function by a non-member) cumulatively exceeds the threshold limit as per GST, then GST is leviable on such supply of services.

“We need clarity from the GST Council or Ministry of Finance regarding GST ON MAINTENANCE” said a resident
“The builder is also charging GST on electricity bills and as per our understanding he is only supposed to charge GST on power backup but we have no clarity as yet” said another resident of same society

There are other societies in NOIDA and Greater Noida where the residents have raised the same issue of GST on maintenance and electricity bills but everyone is confused and there are no proper guidelines from the government. The confusion regarding GST rates remains unresolved. 
When we explored the official GST websites the following email IDs were found where we can raise the issues 

When we wrote to them the following automated message was received. The residents can try raising webtickets and see if they get any help
Thank you for writing to us at CBEC Mitra Helpdesk.
We received your support request, and we understand that you want to know the steps for reporting any instance of tax evasion or fraud to the concerned authority.
To go to the specific information webpage, please follow the steps listed below:
1. Go to the CBEC-GST website at www.cbec-gst.gov.in.
2. On the homepage, click Raise a Webticket at the bottom of the screen.
3. On the left pane, select Report Tax Fraud / Avoidance.
4. Fill all fields on this form, and then click Submit.
Note: To report any tax evasion or fraudulent activity, you can also click the link: https://www.cbec-gst.gov.in/report-tax-fraud.html.
If you have any information regarding Central Excise fraud or evasion, you can also call on 011-26174191 or email to add-dgcei@nic.in.
Thanks and Regards,


Friday, November 10

Start-Up India – STARTUPS – Heads-up for mid-sized or small enterprises with stagnant or no growth??

Start-Up India – STARTUPS – Heads-up for mid-sized or small enterprises with stagnant or no growth??

Ever wondered a new idea culminating into a business, successful implementation of the idea and finally a company doing a business of Rupees 200-300 million in a short span of 2 years? Yes this is happening all around and all across India now with not only young but also experienced professionals venturing into Start Ups. We hear the success stories of Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Housing.com and more recently about OYO rooms, Hiree.com. These are only very few of the success stories which people know and are aware of but there are hundreds and thousands others who are doing their job successfully and quietly and not only once but twice or thrice have been successful with Startups. Their modus operandi is very simple, come up with a brilliant idea, start that business with great zeal and passion, establish the business in 2-3 years, make it a 100 million, 200 million or 500 million entity and sell it to the big player.
There are hundreds and thousands of other Start-up players running their business successfully and side-lining so many old mid-sized and small companies who are not able to match with today’s pace.
I am very surprised and wonder that how could they do it. When these people have nothing in terms of finances and could establish an empire of millions in 2-3 years why most of the old companies who have a financial backup can’t do the same. Why a company which is 20, 30 or 40 years old still not been able to touch the magic figure of Rupees 1 Billion. Leave apart 1 billion many such companies are still complacent and happy with revenue of rupees 100- 300 million.
What can be the reason that they are not able to make it big in this huge market which has an enormous potential and scope?
Is this due to the market they are in to or is it due to lack of ideas?
Is it due to lack of clear vision of management or is it due to lack of motivation within the employees?
Is it due to the same old management thought and processes or is it due to non-availability of right staff within the organization?
Is it due to lack of passion and enthusiasm of management or is it due to lack of productivity within the employees?
Is it due to reluctance in accepting new challenges or lack of clear directions of management or is it due to lack of skilled employees?
Is it due to lack of organized structure or is it due to lack of effective internal control of management?
There may be N number of reasons but yes these companies now need to wake up and need to match with the pace in order to survive. Future of the employees of these companies is also associated with their growth and future. The new mantra of Start-up India, Stand-up India by the present government has boosted the morale of many IDEAPREUNEURS and with the assistance from the government we will see more and more success stories in the coming months and years.
It is not very far when it will be very difficult for these midsized and small companies, in this market for so many decades to match the pace of this new India. This is the final Heads-up for these organizations and now if they don’t take corrective measures the game will be over for most of them leaving them red-faced and hundreds and thousands of their employees unemployed
Is it necessary that you need to be an IIT or IIM for making it big in the Start Up business?
In my opinion such companies which have not grown beyond certain revenue and still struggling to make rupees 100-200 million which they were making 5-10 years ago need to seriously think about their business plans. Why can’t they have the passion and enthusiasm of a Start-Up Entrepreneur and come up with a different idea? The good part is that unlike the Start-Up Entrepreneur who has taken a risk and invested his entire savings on his business, these companies have a financial backup and a setup which can be used to their advantage. The need of the hour is to revisit and rethink the strategies and they should do away with the outdated structure and policies forthwith.
Moreover these companies also need to identify the talent within the organization, employees who are passionate, ideapreneurs and who can think out of the box to assist the organization. Make them a shareholder of the company; give them more responsibilities and accountability. The important question here is how you will identify such talent. Take suggestions from everyone no matter which role he is in. An employee at the senior position may or may not have an idea or that calibre in this day and age, but a junior employee who is full of passion may come up with an excellent idea. Don’t rely only on the top posts. It is a very common practice in such companies which I am talking about. The management need to come out of this hierarchical culture so prevalent in many companies who have not make it big even after in the business for over 20, 30, 40 years. The culture must change now as you cannot survive with a standard basic phone in today’s age of smart phones.
According to NASSCOM India will have a large number of super successful small companies (Start-ups), as against the global trend of having a small number of mega successful companies that command high valuations.
This is a Food for thought for such companies, have a SWOT analysis and get into the act right now otherwise it will be too late
Contributed by Rajesh Rana in Linkedin

Wednesday, November 1

HOLIDAY CALENDAR AND LONG WEEKENDS IN 2018

CHECK THE LIST OF LONG WEEKENDS AND LIST OF HOLIDAYS IN 2018 

                       PLAN YOUR HOLIDAYS  

                       HOLIDAY CALENDAR 2018


2018





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India Holidays and Observances
Jan 01
New Year's Day
Jan 14
Makar Sankranti / Pongal
Jan 26
Republic Day
Feb 14
Maha Shivaratri
Mar 02
Holi
Mar 18
Ugadi / Gudi Padwa
Mar 25
Ram Navami
Mar 29
Mahavir Jayanti
Mar 30
Good Friday
Apr 30
Budhha Purnima
May 01
Labor Day
Jun 16
Eid-ul-Fitar
Jul 14
Rath Yatra
Aug 15
Independence Day
Aug 22
Bakri Id / Eid ul-Adha
Aug 25
Onam
Aug 26
Raksha Bandhan
Sep 03
Janmashtami
Sep 13
Vinayaka Chaturthi
Sep 21
Muharram
Oct 02
Mathatma Gandhi Jayanti
Oct 19
Dussehra / Dasara
Nov 07
Diwali / Deepavali
Nov 21
Milad un Nabi
Nov 23
Guru Nanak's Birthday
Dec 25
Christmas



Source – Calandar Labs