In Part I, the concept of recognized provident fund (‘RPF’) has been discussed. In this part, concepts of approved superannuation fund (‘ASF’) and gratuity fund will be discussed.

Approved Superannuation Fund [ASF]:

The term ASF is defined under section 2(6) to mean a superannuation fund which is recognized by the PCCIT/CCIT/PCIT/CIT in accordance with the rules contained in Part B of Fourth Schedule to the ITA[1]. The procedure for obtaining registration has been provided in the rules contained in Part B of Fourth Schedule.

Read more: All about Recognized Provident Fund, Approved Superannuation Fund and Gratuity Fund - Part II

1. High Court of Karnataka in the case of M/s. Wipro Limited[1] - Benefit of Circular 183[2] should be extended in case of bonafide error (quoting of wrong GSTIN):                                                                                                            

In this case, petitioner has preferred the writ petition to allow him to access the GST portal to rectify the error in Form GSTR-1 that has been uploaded during FY 2017-18, FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20, so as to enable the recipient to take the credit of the tax paid by the petitioner.

The petitioner has invited attention of the Court to the circular that has been issued to prescribe the procedure for allowing the recipient to take credit, where there were bonafide errors which got crept in while filing the returns for the period FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19.

Read more: Summary of GST Decisions

1. Madras High Court in BNY Mellon Technology Private Limited[1] - The time limit prescribed for TPO to complete assessment before 60 days prior to the last date to complete assessment under section 153 is mandatory in nature and the word ‘prior to’ should be interpreted differently from the word ‘to’:

The facts in the case were that the last date for completion of assessment in the said case is 31.12.19 after extending the time limit by 12 months on account of referring the case to TPO. Accordingly, as per section 92CA(3A), the TPO had to pass the order before 60 days prior to the last date on which the time limit for assessment expires. TPO actually passed the order in 01.11.19. To determine the validity of the TPO’s order, the question has arisen whether the last date on which the time limit for assessment expires is 31.12.19 or 01.01.20 thereby deciding whether last date for passing order by TPO is 01.11.19 or 31.10.19.

The revenue has drawn attention to the General Clauses Act, 1897 and contended that where the word ‘to’ is used in an act for determining the time limit, it shall be interpreted as ‘up to that date’ and such date shall be included. Therefore ‘the date before 60 days prior to the last date of assessment ‘would mean 60 days calculated by including 31.12.19 also and hence the last date for TPO’s order would be 01.11.19 by leaving the AO a period of 60 days to complete his assessment.

Read more: Summary of IT Decisions

In this 103 edition, we have authored articles around interesting issues. The article on GST implications on issues arising from arbitration award is a must read. This article deals with the GST implications based on the nature of amount that is involved in the awards. For ease of understanding, we have framed the article dealing with five different issues.

The next article is Part II of the series dealing with ‘All About Recognized Provident Fund, Approved Superannuation Fund and Gratuity Fund’. We cover the ASF and Gratuity Funds aspects in this part. Hope you will find it interesting.

We have also collated certain important judgments under direct tax and indirect tax laws, provided our comments wherever necessary.

Read more: SBS Wiki E Journal February 2023