| HOW INDIA'S LEADING LISTED CORPORATIONS FARE IN MANDATORY & VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE |
|
Source: FTI Consulting: India Disclosure Index COMPOSITE DISCLOSURE SCORES CORPORATE INDIAS SCORE CARD Average composite disclosure score 6.7/ 10 Median mandatory disclosure score 2.5/ 4 Median voluntary disclosure score 3.5/ 6 Top 5 Infosys ICICI Bank Bharti Airtel Sun Pharma Reliance Communications Bottom 5 Coal India Canara Bank Divis Lab Hindustan Zinc HPCL DISCLOSURE PARAMETERS CONSIDERED Mandatory disclosures |Quarterly financial information |Annual report |Shareholding information |Management & board team information |Investor contact information |Analyst transcripts/ updates Voluntary disclosures |Profitability & margin improvement information |Operating metrics |Business strategy information/ presentation |Debt- related info/ updates |Key corporate developments HIGHLIGHTS | Only 41% of the companies meet full mandatory disclosure requirements |More than half of all BSE 100 index companies have mandatory disclosure scores of less than 2.5, reflecting poor mandated information disclosure |51% companies did not provide analyst transcripts on their websites |1/ 3rd companies have voluntary disclosure scores of three or less. Six of the lowest scorers were government- owned enterprises |68% companies did not provide adequate information on debt- related information |Just 43% companies were able to articulate business strategy clearly |Only 8 out of the 100 companies scored full on voluntary disclosure, reflecting the low priority placed by a majority of the companies |
| Sebi to revamp disclosure standards |
|
Mumbai, 20 April Companies are required to inform shareholders of their annual general meetings 21 days before the event. However, shareholders who watch stock exchange websites for this information might not always get this three- week notice, according to Shriram Subramanian, managing director of InGovern Research Services. Reason: only some companies make an exchange disclosure; many don't. This problem related to non- uniform disclosure standards by companies on issues such as the important dates ( as above) and material developments such as getting large orders or trading in securities by insiders is likely to be addressed with finality by the regulator. This year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) is planning to revamp its disclosure requirements to apply a uniform standard to all companies, reduce the number of times certain disclosures are made, as well as introduce systems for ' automatically gathering and integrating' information from companies. In fact, disclosures form one of the key areas of focus for the regulator, with arevamped regime likely to be introduced in the current financial year, according to Sebi's last board meeting minutes. "The focus during the year 2015- 16 will be on implementation of corporate governance standards by listed entities… and system- based disclosures," it said. "What is material information is liberally interpreted. Some companies will disclose a$ 10- million deal ( or)… if they are raising debt… others don't," said Subramanian. "We talk to companies and… there is a great deal of ambiguity. There needs to be abetter understanding of what is expected. ( If there is an) M& A ( mergers and acquisitions transaction)… when do you disclose it? It is an area where companies would like some clarity," said Amit Tandon, founder and managing director of proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Limited ( IiAS). Greater use of technology is expected to be used for the same. "To make use of technology, the concept of system- driven disclosures seeks to disclose the changes in shareholding in a listed company by automatically gathering and integrating information from available sources in atimely and accurate manner," said Sebi's board meeting minutes. The regulator noted that different regulations sometimes require the disclosure of the same information multiple times. This can be integrated in such a way that this need be done only once. Also, this would help real- time monitoring of compliance as well as reduce the compliance burden. Sebi is also working on revising the disclosure requirements for companies, which are coming to raise money from the public for the first time. The other areas of focus mentioned for the year include the introduction of initial public offerings in electronic form, cyber security and a better environment for capital- raising by Indian start- ups. New disclosure regime to be in place in the current financial year |Regulator says disclosures one of the key areas of focus for FY16 |Plans to introduce systems for 'automatically gathering and integrating' company information |Many companies apply disclosure requirements differently |For example, some disclose orders of a certain size, others dont |Sebi plans a uniform regime |Disclosures for public issues will be revamped, too GREATER DISCLOSURE |
| E- filing of tax returns to get easier |
|
A new Aadhaar- based electronic verification code will be given to such taxpayers to authenticate their transaction. The electronic verification code consists of a string of characters in the form of a locator number that gives a unique identifier to electronic documents. A new row has been provided in the Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for assessment year 2015- 16 to enable someone filing e- returns to provide his Aadhaar card number. Aadhaar is a 12- digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI). Once the card number is punched in, the tax- payer will get a one- time password, or OTP, number on his or her mobile phone for verification. This verification number, then, has to be entered on the relevant ITR form to complete the process of e- filing. The new process will do away with the need for sending physical copies for verification to the Centralised Processing Centre ( CPC), Bengaluru. As of now, the copy of ITR- V, an acknowledgment slip generated on filing the income tax return online, has to be sent either by regular Indian postal service/ ordinary post or speed post. Copies sent through courier are not accepted. The ITR- V has to reach CPC within 120 days of filing the return. It generally takes about three weeks to get acknowledgment of ITR- V receipt from CPC from the date of posting. "There is always a possibility of non- receipt of ITR- V at CPC or acknowledgment of receipt getting delayed, in which case the copy has to be sent again," said Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader - personal tax, PwC India, adding that the new system will do away with the need for tracking and resending forms for verification. The new system will also do away with the need to digitally sign the ITR- V form. Creating digital signatures can cost up to ₹ 1,500. " The cost for digital signatures can be prohibitive for small tax payers," said Divakar Vijayasarthy, cofounder, MeetUrPro. According to Kumar, it would have probably been better if the government had linked the verification code to the PAN instead of Aadhaar, because all investment records are backed by PAN. Last month, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre and the states to stick to its earlier order that no person should be denied any benefits or made to suffer for not having Aadhaar. "The said motive for enabling an Aadhaar card verification is to do away with the need for digital signatures or sending physical copies for verification. The real motive, however, seems to be to track the tax payers income to the subsidy they avail," said Vijayasarthy. The flip side of the new system, according to Vijayasarthy, is that it will now be technically possible for anyone who has your Aadhaar and PAN card number to file returns without your knowledge. The PAN serves as the user ID for tax payers. Tax- payers should remember that the new system is just an alternative to the existing system. This means, those e- filing returns can continue to send their ITR- V forms in physical form to the Bengaluru centre or use digital signatures. Those who do not have an Aadhaar card will also have to use the existing system. The due date for filing tax returns, either physical or online, is July 31. Individuals earning an income of ₹ 10 lakh a year have to compulsorily e- file their returns. ASHLEY COUTINHO Aadhaar- based electronic verification code will do away with the need to send physical ITR- V copies to Bengaluru >YOUR MONEY |
Source Business Line
Soon get a PAN card in just 48 hours
SHISHIR SINHA
Government to adopt Jan Dhan approach to expand base
NEW DELHI, APRIL 21:
You will no longer have to wait 15 days or so to get the Permanent Account Number (PAN), as the government aims to deliver it within 48 hours.
"Our effort will be to allot PAN within 48 hours from the time an application is made online," a senior government official said here on Tuesday. This will be the next reform move after the April 10 notification when tax authorities simplified the procedures for obtaining PAN. Now, a voter identity card or Aadhaar number will be sufficient for establishing identity, date of birth and address.
Earlier, three different documents for the three purposes were required. The official also said that a 'Jan-Dhan' kind of approach will be adopted to expand the PAN base.
"Camps will be organised at district levels," he said, adding that preparatory work is on for the new initiative, which will be announced soon.
It may be noted that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records for opening 1.80 crore bank accounts in one week (August 23-29, 2014), which was possible because of a camp-based approach.
The effort to ease the process and increase the PAN base is part of the government's strategy to tackle the menace of black money.
According to the official, when the Budget proposed mandatory quoting of PAN for any cash purchase or sale exceeding the value of ₹1 lakh (from ₹5 lakh at present), many trade groups, especially bullion merchants, said the PAN base is low, especially in rural areas, adding that the move will hurt their business.
According to a Parliament question, over 20.95 crore PANs have allotted till July 25, 2014. The official said a greater number of PANs will help in tracking high-end expenditure and thus curb domestic black money generation. The Income-Tax Department has a mechanism called Annual Information Returns (AIR) that tracks high-value transaction with the help of PAN.
Tax base
Meanwhile, the official said that the number of income tax assesses had crossed four crore for 2013-14. With the department conducting a vigorous drive against non-filers of the income tax and with the use of more and more AIR data, the number of people filing returns has gone up. However, the official claimed that the effort is not to harass return filers through scrutiny.
"Out of 4.70 crore returns for 2013-14, just around six lakh were taken up for scrutiny," the official added.
(This article was published on April 21, 20
Practising Company Secretary
Chennai
Mobile 93810 11200
__._,_.___
No comments:
Post a Comment