Preparing your India Business for End of Year Audit

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CDE Op-Ed Commentary

March signifies the last fiscal month of the Indian financial year, meaning this is a good time to get into preparation for your annual Indian audit. Books for the period commencing April 1st 2014 to date now need to be finalized and closed off on March 31st for your audit to then commence. Being prepared is always a good idea when it comes to financial management of foreign invested entities in India, and here we provide keys points for your financial administration team to be aware of in the lead up to audit.

  • TDS/ TCS (a certain percentage of amounts are deducted by a person at the time of making/crediting certain specific nature of payment to the other person and deducted amount is remitted to the Government account)
    Payment due: March 7th (for the month of Feb 2015)
  • Issuing of TDS Certificate for tax deducted under Section 194-IA (deduction of tax at source from payment on transfer of certain immovable property).
    Due: March 22nd. 
  • Advance Tax Payment (the income tax payable if your tax liability is more than Rs. 10,000 in a financial year)
    Due: March 15th (for 4th and the last quarter for the FY 2014-15)
  • Excise (an inland tax on the sale, or production for sale, of specific goods or a tax on a good produced for sale, or sold, within a country or licenses for specific activities)
    Due: March 6th for sales made and goods shipped in February 2015.
    Due: March 31st for all sales and goods shipped in March 2015. 
RELATED: Internal Audit in India: A Proactive Initiative 
  • Service Tax Payment (imposed by Government of India on services provided in India), and Service Tax (Corporate, Trust, Societies)
    Due: March 6th for revenue in February 2015
    Due: March 31st for revenue in the month of March 2015
  • Service Tax (Individual, LLP,firm, proprietorship)
    Due: March 31st for revenues January 1st to March 31st 2015
  • Provident Fund (an investment fund contributed to by employees, employers, and (sometimes) the state, out of which a lump sum is provided to each employee on retirement)
    Due: March 15th (for the month of February 2015)
  • Employees’ State Insurance (a self-financing social security and health insurance scheme for Indian workers)
    Due: March 21st (for the month of Feb 2015)
  • VAT/ CST (tax assessed on the supply of goods and services)
    Due: March 21st
  • Professional Tax (tax on earnings from salary or from any profession)
    Due: March 31st

It is important during March to get on top of all filings due this month in order to maintain books correctly and prepare for the annual audit process. Failure to do so can result in late filing surcharges as well as delay audited accounts. Dezan Shira & Associates India can assist with your monthly tax and financial filing obligations. Please contact the practice at india@dezshira.com for further assistance.

 

Chris Devonshire-Ellis is the Founding Partner of Dezan Shira & Associates – a specialist foreign direct investment practice providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia. Since its establishment in 1992, the firm has grown into one of Asia’s most versatile full-service consultancies with operational offices across China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Vietnam, in addition to alliances in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, as well as liaison offices in Italy, Germany and the United States. For further information, please email india@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com.

Chris can be followed on Twitter at @CDE_Asia.

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