Benefits of Filing your Income Tax Return on time

Under Income Tax Law if your total income exceeds the basic exemption limit: You have to file the Income Tax Return within the prescribed time, i.e. by the due date.

 The due dates of filing returns for Assessment Year 2012-13 are the following:

Category	Due Date
Most people fall in this category – Salaried employees, pensioners and other persons whose accounts are not required to be audited	31st July 2012
Companies and other persons whose accounts are to be audited	30th September 2012

What happens if a person does not file the Income Tax Return by the due date 

You have to Pay Interest on Income Tax Due if you don’t file on time  If you do not file the Income Tax Return by the due date:

You are liable to pay interest at the rate of one percent for every month after the due date till the date of filing the return.

If No Tax is due: Interest is calculated on the amount of tax payable after adjustment of pre-paid taxes like advance tax, TDS etc. So, if there is no tax payable on the basis of the Income declared in the Tax Return, there is no liability for the payment of interest.

You don’t get the benefit of Carry Forward of Losses if you don’t file on time Under income tax law, if you have sustained a Business loss or loss under the head “Capital Gains”, you can carry forward the loss ONLY if you file the Income Tax Return by the due date.

Therefore, if you have sustained a loss, you must file your Income Tax Return in time if you want to carry forward the loss for future adjustment with your Income.

Possibility of Penalty or Prosecution by the Income Tax Department

Say you could not file the Income Tax Return by the due date: To avoid any penalty by the Income Tax Department, you must file your Income Tax Return before the end of the relevant assessment year that is 31st March 2013.

Possibility of Penalty and Prosecution: If you do not file your Income Tax Return by 31st March 2013, the Income Tax Department may impose a penalty of Rs. 5000, even though the tax payable by you may be Zero.

Further, if a person has failed to file the Income Tax Return by 31st March 2013 and the tax payable after adjustment of advance tax and TDS exceeds Rs. 3000, he may be prosecuted for imprisonment also. However, this law is used in practice very rarely.

Other reasons for filing the returns of income within time If a refund is due after adjustment ofprepaid taxes, it is necessary to file the Income Tax Return to get the refund from the Income Tax Department.

Bank Loans: Further, the return is a declaration of your income and it will be extremely helpful when you are applying for a loan from bank. Before granting the loan, banks want to know your financial capacity and your income details as shown by you in income tax returns.

Visas of foreign countries: Many countries want to know if you are financially sound before they issue you a visa and for this purpose they will rely on your income tax returns.

 

Is filing the Income Tax Return compulsory?

As an Individual you are required by law to file your Income Tax Returns, if your total income without allowing deductions (such as Section 80C etc) exceeds the basic exemption limit.

For Assessment Year 2012-13, the basic exemption limits are the following:

•   For Men below the age of 60, the exemption limit is Rs. 1,80,000.

•   For Women, below the age of 60, the exemption limit is Rs. 1,90,000.

•   For Senior Citizens, whose age is between 60 years to 80 years, the exemption limit is Rs. 2,50,000. This is identical for men and women.

•   For Super Senior Citizens, of the age of 80 years or more, the exemption limit is Rs. 5,00,000.

What does Total Income without allowing deductions (such as Section 80C etc) actually mean?

Let’s say, your gross total Income is Rs. 2,00,000. You have paid Rs. 50,000 in LIC premium for claiming deduction under Section 80C. Your Taxable Income is Rs. 1,50,000 (Rs. 2,00,000 - Rs. 50,000). The tax payable on Rs. 1,50,000 is Zero.

However, even in this situation, you are required to file your Income Tax Return as your gross total Income exceeds the basic exemption limit of Rs. 1,80,000. (assuming you are not a senior citizen).

Exemption for filing Income Tax Return for Salaried Employees

For the Assessment Year 2012-13, there is an exemption from filing the Income Tax Return for Salaried employees, subject to the following conditions. 

•   Your Total Income after deductions (such as Section 80C etc) is upto Rs. 5,00,000.

•   Income other than Salary should be only from Saving Bank Interest, upto Rs. 10,000. If you have any other source of Income like House Property, Capital Gain, or even interest from fixed deposits, you will have to file your Income Tax Return.

•   You must declare this Interest Income from the Saving Bank to the Employer. The employer then has to deduct the TDS taking into account your Interest Income.

•   If you have a refund due, you need to your file your Income Tax Return to claim this refund.

This exemption is difficult to get in actual practice. You will most likely have to file your Income Tax Return.

This is because, you must declare your Interest Income to your employer before 31st March of the Financial Year. But in most cases, the Bank issues the Interest statement after 31st March. So it is virtually impossible to report the Bank Interest to the employer in time.

Compulsory filing of Income Tax Returns if you have foreign assets.

For the Assessment 2012-13, it is mandatory to file your Income Tax Return if you have any foreign assets. Even though you may not have any taxable Income.

When is e-filing your Income Tax Return compulsory?

For the Assessment year 2012-13, e-filing of the Income Tax Return has become compulsory for the following cases:

•   If your Total Income exceeds Rs. 10 Lakhs, then you must e-file your Income Tax Return.

•   If you own foreign assets, you must e-file.

I have paid all my taxes, do I still need to file my Income Tax Return?

As explained above, the law has placed an obligation on you to file the Income Tax Return even if you have no tax due

refrence:yahoofinance

STEPS INVOLVED IN STARTING A BUSINESS

The current economic climate of India is ripe with opportunity for individuals ready to strike out on their own with a business idea. Of course, a lot of groundwork has to come before the actual act of starting a venture.

This includes creating a business plan, market research, funding sources and the business model. Once you have validated your idea with these steps, it is time to delve into the legalities and paperwork involved in launching a business in India. We have listed the main parts of the process below based on a few reliable published sources.

Company Incorporation

1. File the desired company name with the Registrar of Companies and make sure it is available for use.
2. Submit the main objectives of the company to the Registrar of Companies (ROC) for scrutiny. You will be informed of approval or any objections within 10 days.
3. Obtain a Director Identification Number (DIN) online from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal. This process calls for submitting attested support documents as proof of identity and address.
4. Obtain a Digital Signature Certificate – a requirement for all those who have to sign ROC forms and related documents. The certificate can be obtained from one of the private agencies authorized by MCA 21.

Stamping of Documents:

Pay stamp duties and submit various incorporation forms and documents, including unsigned copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association for stamping.


1. Memorandum of association – This lists the main, ancillary, subsidiary and other parts of the company. It also lists the authorized share capital of the company and the names of its first directors.

2. Article of Association – describes the rules and procedures for the routine conduct of the company.


These documents have to be executed by the promoters in their own hand and in the presence of witnesses.

Certificate of Incorporation:

• Submit digital and physical copies of the following documents to the ROC in order to obtain your Certificate of Incorporation:

o Forms e-form 1 (stating that all requirements of the incorporation process have been completed), e-form 18 (informing the ROC of the location of the registered office of the company) and e-form 32 (stating the appointment of proposed directors) have to be filed electronically;
o Signed and stamped forms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association
o Initial consent of directors
o Original approval of name letter
o Stamped Power of Attorney documents

Tax-related Procedures

• Permanent Account Number (PAN) – A PAN card can be obtained by filing an application with the Income Tax department using Form 49A along with supporting documents. In recent years, the government has tried to simplify this process through service centres such as UTI Investor Services Ltd or TIN Facilitation Centers.

• Tax Account Number (TAN) – This is required for anyone responsible for deducting or collecting tax. Use Form 49B for this and submit it at any TIN Facilitation Centre authorized to receive e-TDS returns

• There is a mandatory registration process for Value-Added Tax (VAT) and other tax requirements such as professional tax and service tax

Labour Law Procedures

• Registration with the Office of Inspector, Shops, and Establishment Act: the steps involved in this may vary by state.

• Registration with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization: This is required only if the number of employees is 20 or more.

• Registration with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation – a social security scheme to provide protection to workers in the organized sector and their dependents in contingencies such as sickness, maternity, death, disablement or occupational disease

The steps and procedures described above may vary depending on the state and type of business. Tackle these in a proactive and systematic manner to ensure you don’t get caught in a legal tangle that will delay the launch of your business or hamper its operation.

For more information, refer to:

http://www.mca.gov.in/

http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/

Success Keys for People Working from Home

We all want to do something extra, something of our own and some of us work on weekends or late night hours back. Working on your own hours in your pajamas whenever you feel like it and never having to leave your house but unfortunately, working from home is not necessarily all that simple. Sure, there is the advantage of forever avoiding rush hour traffic, but there is also the much more difficult than expected task of dividing at-home time with working-at-home time.

 “I am starving; I’ll just run out for a quick bite and get right back to work.”  The reasons are endless for procrastinating on getting work done. The key to successfully working from home is being able to differentiate when it’s time to work and when it’s time to simply be at home.

Okay, this was not intended to dash your hopes of successfully working from home; it can most certainly be done. For the doers, here are some of the suggestions from the experts :

1. Dress for work

Successfully working from home requires a disciplined mindset, and you need to take yourself seriously. This might seem silly. You may ask, “Why can’t I work in my underwear,no one will know.”  Well, you will know. If you went to the office in your underwear, there’s no way anyone there would take you seriously, and deep down you know you won’t either.

2. Be truly accountable for your time

Seriously write down and track your time spent working. This is a great way to begin to hold yourself accountable for your valuable time spent. Journal what you did throughout the day, and be honest if you find yourself chatting on the phone when you really should be calling in those orders.

3. Work with a buddy

Peer pressure is a fantastic source of accountability. If you are lucky enough to know another person who works from home, set up days to work together to be sure each other is keeping up with work-at-home best practices. Doing this may also help you catch on to techniques that work for your fellow at-home worker or even smart house/work division ideas.

4. Know when to get away

No one is perfect, and sometimes prioritizing your work when you’d rather be doing the laundry (hard to believe) might mean that you need to get out of the house. Heading out to the library or a coffee shop is a great idea to avoid those distractions as well as making a nice change of scenery. Working at home and living at home means you might not be getting out much!

5. Avoid multi-tasking

Blending your work to-do list, your home to-do list, and your things-I-just-want-to-do list can become a work-at-home nightmare. Getting a few things done for work, then unloading and then checking Facebook before getting back to work may seem harmless, (it’s all stuff you need to get done anyway!) but it’s not the way to maximize your productivity.

6. Stay focused

Like I mentioned above, staying on task is vital to successfully working from home. You may find it easier to follow through if you’re able to have a separate work computer from your at-home computer. Ideally, a completely separate workspace would be perfect, but physically delineating between work and home is immensely helpful however you can do it.

7. Center your concentration

You don’t just need to hold your time accountable – you’ll also need to hold yourself mentally accountable. Being physically present doesn’t matter when you work from home if you’re not mentally present for your work.

8. Don’t self-destruct

It’s all about time management. If you’re looking into working from home, the concept of working 9 to 5, Monday through Friday at the office probably sounds dreadful. To succeed at home you’ll need to set your own “office” hours, though they may not be the same as conventional hours. Poor time management can mean you’ll find yourself working here-and-there seven days a week, and that’s the fast track to a major burn out.

The great perks of working from home can all too often become the downfall of many work-from-home hopefuls. The key to succeeding in this unsuspectingly difficult line of work is, and always will be, personal accountability.

MUST FOR A BUSINESS WEBSITE

With Internet Penetration rate rapid increase, every small business requires an effective website.  Even the smallest business is expected to have at least some sort of web presence.  Companies like Hostgator India with Google providing free websites or simply paying the kid down the street to set up a run-of-the-mill boring website is more than likely not worth your money.  Being a smart small business owner, your website should be a money maker, not a money-taker.

Every business website worth your money should have the following 6 essential features:

1.  Information Capture Form

Having an Information capture form can be priceless. Often, viewers of your site will be visiting at off-business hours, and though they may want to contact you with questions or business, but probably due to some reason they don’t,  for e.g.: No time to contact you or they forget till morning.  Even the best website may not be able to convert a looker into a customer but allowing your website visitors to give you their information, will make 24X7 Open Hour service.

2. Social Links

Today with most of people are connected using Facebook, Twitter, and linked in, etc. and spend more times in reading every article online. You know, very social website has its own tiny icons offering, “Share this,” “email this,” or “like this.”  These little icons are a great way for word to be spread about your website or information on your website.  Allowing your readers to share your information is essentially a customer testimonial that they like what you have to say and want to share it with their friends.

A website is likely not enough for most business’ web presence these days.   Creating these social media links on your webpage will create a sort of circular rope of connectivity, which is fantastic for search engine optimization.

3. Contact Information

An emboldened “Contact Us” page, as well as reiterated near the top of the homepage, and contact information at the bottom of each page are a great idea even if they are ever so tiny. This gives confidence to your customers about your presence and creates a trust on you. This one seems really obvious to have the basic business contact information on the site, but it happens!  Also there’s no reason to hide this information.  A lot of the time, for whatever reason, it’s difficult to find a basic phone number and address for a given company.  Having a phone number, address, and email address in more than one location isn’t a bad idea, either.

 

4. Customer Reviews and Testimonials

Well, there is an old saying - No better marketing than word of mouth marketing.  Well, in this day and age, customer reviews and testimonials on your website are just as close as we can get. Of course your own website content will scream from the rooftops how great of a company you are, but having the word of satisfied customers makes your claims slightly more believable.

 5. A Blog

To optimize your search engine blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your website.  Blogs are like a more personable voice for your company.  Blogs are great to upload new information and exciting news about your company more frequently than you would for your webpage.

Simply put, blogs help make Google happy, and search engine optimization is all about making Google happy.  The best way to make the almighty Google happy is to refresh new information frequently, have a lot of it, and include a lot of key words.  The happier Google is with these simple factors, the higher your website will appear on a Google search list. A blog is the surefire easiest way to go about doing so.

6. Newsletter Sign Up

Similarly to a blog, a newsletter allows viewers of your site to sample your product or services without yet having to buy into anything.  A newsletter can help build up those tentative but interested prospects into actual customers or clients through constant contact.  The content of your newsletter can be similar to that of your blog, but sending a newsletter is actively and consistently contacting your database with your unique information.

It may seem that this is an awful lot of work for a product we can’t physically touch, but investing in your website may be one of the smartest moves you’ll make to really launch your small business to new levels.

MARKETING STRATEGIES START UPS MUST USE AT INCEPTION

The very things that are considered drawbacks of owning and running a small business can be easily leveraged to become your company’s greatest strengths. By simply building that close, one-on-one rapport with your contact list, you’ll inevitably be ahead of the multitude of faceless mega-chains. Sure, adding that personal touch takes a bit more time and effort than may sound like fun, but in reality, by building these relationships you are also building and marketing a friendly company brand.

There are a few different ways to market a small business with little or no money. A modest marketing budget doesn’t mean that a smaller company can’t get off the ground. Here are seven free or inexpensive marketing ideas perfect for any small business:

1. Email

These days, it seems more common for people to have an email account than a home phone number. Take the opportunity to gather the email addresses of all of your contacts and compile a few different categories (example: vendor, past client, prospective client, etc.) to blast out a few different marketing pieces on occasion. Creating a consistent marketing plan for each of these categories and sticking to a timeline will ensure that your contacts are keeping your business in mind.

2. Freebies

Sure, this may put a dent into the company bank account, but offering free samples or related freebies is a tactic proven to convert prospects into clients. If you have a business that offers a unique product, consider providing smaller samples of the product to interested but hesitant prospects. Giving a taste of the product demonstrates high confidence in the merchandise and will build consumer trust.

If your small business is a service-based company, offering something as simple as a custom pen with the businesses contact information or slogan may do the trick. Offering these types of freebies isn’t necessarily demonstrating the abilities of your business, but it is offering a token, however small, as a gift. Plus, who doesn’t love free stuff?

3. Business Cards

Having a business card to hand out to customers or new acquaintances with your name, title, and contact information is great. But why not make the most of that business card and add a little something extra? Utilize of the blank back of that card and add a unique web address to access further information about your product or services or even extend a special offer.

4. Thank You Notes

This is a personal touch that every small business can afford. Take 10 to 20 minutes out of a day, once a week, to thank a few special regular clients or individuals who sent a referral your way. Finding a piece of personal mail that isn’t a bill in your mailbox these days is, sadly, quite a unique occurrence. Pleasantly surprise your customers with quick thanks that will undoubtedly build a positive connection to your business.

5. Invoices

This is a piece of regular correspondence between many small businesses and their clients. It costs nothing extra to add a little more to that necessary billing process. It could be as simple as adding a branded signature in those blank spaces in the invoice to thank clients for their business or offer bit of helpful information related to your industry. If you’re feeling really personable, get out the pen while stuffing the envelopes to handwrite a quick personal thank you, complete with their name and your signature.

 

6. Online Offers

An offer doesn’t necessarily have to cost the business much money – or any. Enticing clients via email, social media or on conventional marketing pieces to visit your website to print out a coupon for 10% off or a special new customer incentive can be just the thing. If you’re feeling adventurous, you may want to check out online discount sites such as Groupon to build your business by extending a special offer to a completely new pool of prospects. Just be aware that these sites are far from inexpensive.

7. Referral Encouragement

For many small businesses, a strong referral base can make or break their bottom line. By providing that extra level of customer service to make your company stand above the norm, you’ll inevitably build a strong customer base, happy to promote your company; sometimes you might just need to ask! This could be as simple as reminding pleased clients that your company is strongly referral-driven.