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6 June 2011

I am a director of a public limited company in India. Two directors from England are to be appointed as directors. Is it necessary for them to come to Delhi where the company has its registered office to attend Board meetings?
—P K Luthra, Abu Dhabi

It is now possible to have Board Meetings through video conferencing (VC). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issued certain guidelines in this regard. The notice of meeting should inform the directors regarding availability of participation through VC and provide necessary information to enable directors to access the VC facility.
Every director should attend personally at least one meeting in a financial year. The Chairman or the Secretary should arrange for effective communication between the directors and ensure that none other than the directors attend the meeting through VC. The directors’ participation through VC would be counted for the purpose of quorum for the meeting.
The situs of the meeting would be the place where the Chairman or the Secretary would be present and the recordings would be made. Further, the statutory registers would be kept before the Chairman in compliance with the provisions of the Act in such place. The video recording of the meetings should be preserved by the company for a minimum of one year from the conclusion of each meeting.





6 June 2011

A company, which has been incorporated in the Netherlands has shares in an Indian company. These shares are to be sold to a company which is a resident of Singapore. Will there be a tax liability on the capital gains made on sale of the shares of the Indian company?
—B A Patnaik, Dubai

Under the Income-tax Act, 1961, capital gains would arise in India under section 9(1) of the Act since the situs of the shares is in India. However, India has entered into a Double Tax Avoidance Agreement with the Netherlands. A tax payer can take advantage of the provisions of the DTAA if these provisions are more favourable than the provisions of the Income-tax Act.
Article 13(5) of the DTAA between India and the Netherlands stipulates that where a company is a resident of the Netherlands and it transfers shares of an Indian company, the capital gains would be liable to tax in the Netherlands.
The exception to this rule is where the shares are sold to a resident of India and such shares of the Indian company form part of at least ten percent of the capital of that company. In your case, this exception would not be applicable because the shares are being sold to a company in Singapore and not to an Indian resident.





6 June 2011

There are several press reports in India that the Indian Government is cracking down on tax evasion specially for those who have stashed money outside India. Can you throw some light on this development?
—R C Dongre, Bahrai

By a notification dated 30th May, 2011, a Directorate of Income-tax (Criminal Investigation) has been constituted. The DCI has been mandated to seek and collect information about persons and transactions suspected to be involved in criminal matters which involve cross-border or international ramifications. The DCI has been empowered to investigate the source and use of funds involved in criminal activities.
Wide powers have been given to the DCI to file complaints in a competent Court under the provisions of the Income-tax Act and the Wealth-tax Act. The DCI has been given explicit powers to coordinate and provide technical and logistical support to any other enforcement agency in India which is investigating economic offences. The DCI would also provide co-operation to foreign agencies in countries with which India has entered into an agreement or treaty for exchange of information.




Money Times adviser H.P. Ranina answers questions from our readers. Write to: Money Times, P.O. Box 11243, Dubai, UAE or CLICK HERE

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