DIRECT TAX V/S INDIRECT TAX

In India, all individuals and corporate entities are required to pay taxes, regardless of their income or the goods or services they purchase. Taxes are a type of regular, obligatory payment made to the federal and state governments. It is also regarded as the government’s main source of income, aiding in the development of the nation’s economy.

India’s taxes can be broadly divided into two types: direct taxes and indirect taxes.

What is Direct Tax? 

A direct tax is one that the taxpayer pays directly to the entity responsible for collecting it. In this case, the taxpayer must pay the tax and cannot assign this obligation to another party. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is in charge of collecting and overseeing direct taxes in India. The Department of Revenue, which advises the government on the application of direct taxes, oversees CBDT.

 

indirect tax

Types of Direct Taxes in India

Income tax is the most typical type of direct tax because it is paid to the government directly. The income that is earned during a fiscal year is subject to income tax. The tax is paid based on the IT department’s income tax slabs.

Tax on Capital Gains:

Any person who has capital gains must pay tax to the government on those gains. Land or investments like stocks can result in capital gains. The capital gains tax is assessed as long-term capital gains (LTCG) or short-term capital gains (STCG) depending on how long the investor held the investments (STCG).

STT: Securities Transaction Tax

Whether or not there are profits to be had from the trading of securities, anyone who engages in it must pay securities transactions tax.

 

indirect tax

 

Please note that Estate and Wealth taxes have now been abolished.

Pros:

  • Helps in curbing inflation.
  • Considered equitable for all classes of people.
  • Directly increase the revenue of the government.

Cons:

  • The documentation process is cumbersome.
  • The collection of direct taxes is complex.
  • Evasion is quite possible.
  • Restricts investments.

Types of Indirect Taxes in India

GST (Goods and Services Tax)

In India, a variety of other indirect taxes, including value-added tax, service tax, excise duty, purchase tax, and more, have been replaced by the GST, the most prevalent example of an indirect tax. GST, which is imposed on goods and services based on the tax slabs established by the GST Council of India, is the single, unified, and most comprehensive indirect tax.

 

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Duty on Customs:

You will be charged customs duty if you buy any goods or services from abroad. Whether the product arrived to you by air, sea, or land, you must still pay this duty. Therefore, customs duty is an indirect tax that is imposed to ensure that all goods entering India are taxed.

The country’s entire tax system has undergone a significant transformation since the implementation of the GST. The various indirect taxes that were previously required, including the VAT, service tax, sales tax, and others, have all been eliminated. The GST really lives up to its tagline, “One Nation, One Tax, One Market.”

Pros:

  • Every individual contributes.
  • Payment is very convenient for taxpayers.
  • The collection of taxes is quite easy.

Cons:

  • Regressive in nature.
  • Makes the goods and services expensive.
  • Less transparent for end-consumers

What Are the Key Differences Between Direct And Indirect Taxes?

Now that we are aware of what direct and indirect taxes in India are and what they are used for. Let’s examine how indirect and direct taxes differ from one another. The differences between direct and indirect taxes are detailed in the table below.

 

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To sum up

The primary distinction between direct and indirect taxes in India has already been covered. Therefore, as a responsible Indian citizen, pay your taxes on time rather than viewing them as a burden. Utilize tax deductions to their fullest extent at all times, but don’t forget to pay your annual tax obligations as taxes, whether direct or indirect, are vital to the advancement of our economy.

 

Read More: Say No to Cash Transactions

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I determine whether a tax is direct or indirect?

In every way, direct and indirect taxes are diametrically opposed. Direct taxes are imposed on one’s income and profits and are paid directly to the government. Indirect taxes, on the other hand, operate completely differently and are paid to the government whenever one makes any purchases of goods or services.

 

indirect tax

 

Are direct and indirect taxes paid at different rates?

Yes, rates for direct taxes are determined by income and profits, but rates for indirect taxes are uniform for all taxpayers.

What kinds of direct taxes are there?

Direct taxes include, among others, capital gains tax, securities and transaction tax (STT), and income tax.

FAQs regarding the filing of Form 27C

1: Who is required to file Form 27C on the E-filing portal, buyer or seller?

Resolution: The Seller is required to file Form 27C on the E-filing portal.

 

2: How can the buyer furnish the declaration to the seller under section 206C(1A) for obtaining goods without collection of tax?

Resolution: The Buyer is required to manually fill out Part-I of form 27C and submit it to the seller.

3: What are the prerequisites for filing Form 27C?

Resolution: The following are the prerequisites for filing Form 27C-

  • The seller should have TAN
  • The TAN of a seller should be active and registered on the e-Filing portal.

 

itr filing

 

4: What is the process to file Form 27C on the E-filing portal?

Resolution: Following are the steps to file online Form 27C

  • Step 1: Seller to log in on Income Tax Portal i.e. www.incometax.gov.in using TAN as User ID.
  • Step 2: Navigate to e-file —–> Income Tax Forms —-> File Income Tax Forms —-> Persons not dependent on any Source of Income (Source of Income not relevant) —-> Form 27C.
  • Step 3: Fill in the details in “Part I- Details of the buyers” and “Part II- Details of the seller, Attachments and Verification”.
  • Step 4: The seller shall scan and upload part I of the form, received from buyers as attachments under “Part IIDetails of the seller, Attachments and Verification” of the online form and proceed for filing Form 27C.

Read More: Key GST changes to take effect from 1 October

5: Which documents/details are required to file Form 27C on the e-filing portal?

Resolution: Following documents/ details are required-

  • Details of the buyers (Name, PAN/Aadhar, Address, Status, email id, Mobile no, Nature of Business, Nature of goods, and Purpose of utilizing the goods shall be provided for each Buyer).
  • The date on which the declaration is furnished.
  • Date of debiting of the amount payable by the buyer to the account of the buyer or receipt of the amount payable from the buyer in cash or by the issue of a cheque or draft or by any other mode.
  • Self-certified copies of the declaration made by the buyers stating that the goods purchased are not to be utilized for trading purposes.

 

 

FAQs @ Tax Audit – Filing of Form 3CA-3CD/3CB-3CD- CBDT

1: What are the prerequisites for filing Form 3CA-3CD/3CB-3CD?

Resolution: The following are the prerequisites for filing Form 3CA-3CD/3CB-3CD

  • Taxpayer and CA are registered on the e-Filing portal with valid user ID and password
  • Status of PAN of the taxpayer and CA is active Taxpayer has assigned CA for form 3CA-CD CA and
  • Taxpayers have a valid and active Digital Signature Certificate
2: What is the process to submit a tax audit report?

Resolution: Following are the steps to file tax audit report 3CA-3CD/3CB-3CD:

  • Step 1: The taxpayer needs to add Chartered Account to whom he/she wants to assign the form. The taxpayer may add CA by navigating through Authorised Partners —–> My Chartered Accountant —–> Add CA. Alternatively, taxpayer may navigate through e-File —–> Income Tax Forms —–> File Income Tax Forms —–> Form 3CA- 3CD/Form3CB-3CD.
  • Step 2: After successfully adding CA, the taxpayer needs to assign the tax audit. Taxpayer is requested to navigate to e-File —–> Income Tax Forms —–> File Income Tax Forms and select Form 3CA-3CD/3CB-3CD, as applicable under category “Persons with Business / Professional Income”. The form can be assigned to CA by selecting CA Name, AY, and Filing Type. If CA is not added, you can navigate to Authorised Partners —–> My Chartered Accountant to add CA.

 

FAQ

 

  • Step 3: After the successful assignment of the form to CA, the form shall be available in the CA’s worklist —–> For Your Action. CA can either reject or accept the assignment. In case CA rejects the assignment, the form needs to reassign from the taxpayer’s end.
  • Step 4: In case CA accepts the assignment, CA is required to fill in all the necessary details in the offline utility and generate JSON.
  • Step 5: CA needs to upload the JSON under Worklist —–> For Your Action—–> Pending for Upload and verify the same using DSC.
  • Step 6: Form uploaded by CA shall be available under Taxpayer’s worklist —–> For Your Action —–> Pending for Acceptance. A taxpayer may either approve or reject the tax audit report. Form submission will be completed after the taxpayer’s approval.
3: How can I assign Form 3CA-3CD/3CB-3CD to CA?

Resolution: Taxpayer is requested to navigate to e-File —–> Income Tax Forms —–> File Income Tax Forms and select Form 3CA- 3CD/3CB-3CD, as applicable under category “Persons with Business / Professional Income”. The form can be assigned to CA by selecting CA Name, AY, and Filing Type. If CA is not added, you can navigate to Authorised Partners —–> My Chartered Accountant to add CA.

4: What is the procedure to approve a Tax audit report?

Resolution: The form uploaded by CA shall be available under the “For your action” tab in Taxpayer’s Worklist. The taxpayer may either approve or reject the tax audit report. Once the taxpayer approves the form and verifies the same, the filing of the form is considered Completed.

 

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5: I have multiple business units/branches having multiple GSTIN numbers under a single PAN. Do I need to get separate forms filed for each unit/branch?

Resolution: No, only one original audit report is required to be filed for a PAN and AY combination.

 

6: How can I generate UDIN and update the same for the tax audit report?

Resolution: Practicing chartered accountants can generate UDIN through the udin.icai.org website. After logging in with valid credentials on the Income tax portal, the user must click ‘View/Update UDIN details’ under the “e-file—–> Income tax Forms” tab to update UDIN.

7: While filing the Tax audit report I am getting an error as “INVALID JSON”. How can I correct my JSON?

Resolution: Please ensure that you are using the latest utility available under the “Downloads” tab in the e-Filing Portal. If you have generated JSON through the old utility, some may be imported in the latest utility or you may resume filing under “Draft version” using the latest utility. You are requested to confirm all the panels and download JSON.

 

8: While uploading JSON for filing a tax audit report, I am getting an error of “INVALID METADATA”

Resolution: Please ensure that the below details should be correct in the Utility/JSON for which the form is being submitted :

  • PAN of Taxpayer
  • Assessment Year for which tax audit report is being filed
  • Filing Type i.e., Original or Revised
  • Form Code 3CA-3CD or 3CB-3CD
  • CA Membership Number
9: While filing form 3CA-3CD or 3CB-3CD, I am getting an error message “SOMETHING WENT WRONG PLEASE TRY AFTER SOME TIME” or “SUBMISSION FAILED NO RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM SERVER” How to resolve the issue?

Resolution: Taxpayer and CA must ensure:

  • Profile of CA and Taxpayer should be complete and updated.
  • Status of CA is “Active” under Taxpayer Login —–> Authorised Partners —–> My Chartered Accountant
  • CA and taxpayers should have a valid DSC and be registered on the portal.

 

faq
10: What should be done while getting the error “INVALID UDIN” at the time of updating the UDIN?

Resolution: Before updating the UDIN, CA must ensure:

  • UDIN must be valid as per the UDIN portal
  • UDIN should belong to the given MRN
  • UDIN must not be revoked at the UDIN portal
  • UDIN should be generated for the same AY for which the form is filed
  • UDIN must be generated for form 3CA-3CD/3CB-3CD
11: I ‘am unable to upload the tax audit report due to the error “INVALID DSC”

Resolution: Taxpayers and CA’s must ensure: DSC should be valid and not expired.

  • DSC management utility (emBridge) should be updated to generate the signature files.
  • DSC should be registered on the income tax portal in the personal login of the user.

Read More: ITR in Form ITR-A by a successor company – Extended to March 31, 2023, by CBDT

12: While assigning the form to CA, I am getting an error “PLEASE SELECT CORRECT FILING TYPE”. What should I do?

Resolution: Taxpayers to ensure that they choose the correct Filing Type (Original/Revised) and Assessment year combination. Please note that only one original is allowed for a particular PAN and AY combination.