President’s Message

IJCCI Chamber Day

Dear Friends,
I am extremely happy
to meet you in thisissue and convey to allof you my warmest
greetings and goodwishes.
The new financial year
has just begun and it
is with a lot of enthusiasm and hope we put in thebest of efforts to scale new heights in our economic
milieu. I am happy to share with you the WorldBank’s prediction that India’s economic activity is
expected to accelerate from 7.5% in FY 2016 to7.7% in FY 2017 based on the expectation ofstrong private investment, a push in infrastructure
spending, an improved investment climate andimproved corporate and financial balance sheets.
According to the report, the GDP growth in India
will be supported by a rebound in agriculture andstimulus from civil service pay reforms.
IJCCI has been actively involving in the cause ofpromoting economic activities between our twocountries. The various Cells formed to facilitate
interaction have now gained momentum. The Legal/Taxation Cell initiated its activities with a programmeon the year’s budget in early March. The Language
School of IJCCI has inaugurated a Club to promote
speaking skills and to understand and appreciate
Japanese arts and culture.
We are lucky to have had the honour of receiving
our Japanese Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Kenji
Hiramatsu, to commemorate our Anniversaryfunction on April 26, 2016. The Chamber will
redouble its efforts to work more intensely forfurther strengthening Indo-Japan bilateral relations.
With warm regards,
N. Kumar

The Japanese Ambassador to India, His Excellency
Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu delivered a Special Address on
the occasion of the IJCCI Chamber Day. Hon’bleMr. Seiji Baba, Consul General, felicitated.

Key Take-aways of the Union Budget 2016-17

A special seminar organised by the Legal Cell Convenor Mr. P.S. Suman, A.K. Mylsamy and Associates.

Union Budget 2016 has announced several policy-related measures to give the Indian economy themuch needed boost.

Change in tax rates
There is no change in slab rates for
personal taxation.
The tax rate for companies with aturnover up to 50 million INR has been
marginally reduced.
Option to avail of reduced tax rate of
25% has been made available tomanufacturing companies set up after
March 1, 2016, if the company does
not claim profit or investment-linked
deductions.
No change in the peak rate of excise
duty, customs duty and the base rateof service tax.
Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) is proposed
to be levied with effect from June 1,2016 at the rate of 0.5%.
Infrastructure cess is to be levied on
the manufacture of motor vehicles at
the following rates, without input tax
credit of the proposed cess:
G Petrol/CNG/LPG vehicles notexceeding 1,200 cc: @ 1%.
G Diesel-driven motor vehicles notexceeding 1,500 cc: @ 2.5%.
G SUVS, sedans and others: @ 4%.

Clean Energy Cess levied on coal,lignite and peat has been renamed
Clean.
Environment Cess increased from 200
INR per tonne to 400 INR per tonne.
1% service charge on purchase ofluxury cars over Rs. 10 lakh and incash purchase of goods and services
over Rs. 2 lakh. 4% high capacity tax
for SUVs.
Companies with revenue less thanRs. 5 crore to be taxed at 29% plus
surcharge.
Limited tax compliance window fromJun 1-Sep 30 for declaring undisclosed
income at 45%.
Excise 1% imposed on articles ofjewellery, excluding silver.
Dividend in excess of Rs. 10 lakh per
annum to be taxed at additional 10%.

Make in India
Investment allowance allowing
acquisition and installation before
March 31, 2017.
To promote ‘Make in India’, various
amendments have been made to therate of customs duty and central excise
duty, in specific sectors like information
technology, hardware, capital goods,
defence production, textiles, chemicals
and petrochemicals, and maintenance,
repair and overhauling of aircraftand ships, etc.
Excise duty on ready-made garmentswith retail price of 1,000 INR or more
will be levied @ 2% (without CENVATcredit) or 12.5% (with CENVAT credit).
Excise duty of 1% (without CENVATcredit) or 12.5% (with CENVAT credit)
will be levied on certain articles ofjewellery and exemption up to 60
million INR per year for preceding
years’ clearance of less than
120 million INR.
100% FDI under approval route in themarketing of food products produced
and manufactured in India.

EnergyRs. 3000 crore earmarked for nuclear
power generation.
Govt to provide incentive for deep
water gas exploration.

Greetings and good wishes toINDO-JAPAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

for success in all its endeavours.
– From a well-wisher

Financial Sector & infrastructureRs. 27,000 crore to be spent onroadways.
65 eligible habitats to be connectedvia 2.23 lakh kms of road.
Shops to be given option to remain
open all seven days in a week acrossmarkets.
Rs. 55,000 crore for roads andhighways. Total allocation for roadconstruction (including PMGSY) –Rs. 97,000 crore.
India’s highest-ever production ofmotor vehicles was recorded in 2015.
Total outlay for infrastructure in Budget
2016 now stands at Rs. 2,21,246
crore.
New greenfield ports to be developedon east and west coasts.
Revival of underserved airports forregional connectivity. Centre to partnerwith States to revive small airports.
MAT will be applicable for startups that
qualify for 100% tax exemption.

withholding tax purposes on thedistribution by alternate investment
funds to non-resident investors.

Proposal to accord residency status toforeign investors in the manufacturingsector.

A higher rate of withholding tax will
not be applicable to a non-resident
without PAN.

The basket of eligible FDI instruments
will be expanded under Foreign
Exchange Management Act (FEMA)
regulations to rationalise the policy
framework for redeemable instruments
such as redeemable preference sharesand optionally convertible debentures.

The threshold limit for presumptive
taxation for businesses increased from10 million INR to 20 million INR, forcontinuity in claiming presumptive
base taxation for five years.
Presumptive taxation @50% forprofessionals with gross receipt notexceeding 5 million INR.
Thirteen returns to be filed by a central
excise assessee (above the prescribedthreshold) i.e. one annual return andtwelve monthly returns.
The revised returns are to be filed by
the end of the calendar month inwhich the original returns are filed.
Interest rates on delayed payment
under service tax, customs and central
excise have been rationalised at 15%
and 24% if tax is not deposited.

Direct tax proposals result in revenue lossof Rs.1060 crore, indirect tax proposals
result in gain of Rs.20,670 crore.

Manufacturers with multiple
manufacturing units have been
allowed to maintain a common
warehouse for inputs.

Ease of doing business

Relevant central excise rules have beenrevised to allow duty exemptions toimporters/manufacturers based on selfdeclaration instead of obtaining
permissions.

Processing of tax returns filed bytaxpayers not to be withheld merely
because the tax assessment has been
initiated for that year.
A legislative framework has been
introduced to create an electronicinterface between taxpayers and tax
authorities.
Introduction of the concept of placeof effective management for thedetermination of residential status offoreign companies has been deferred
to FY 2016-17.
Withholding tax provisions will be
rationalised effective June 1, 2016 toprovide relief to small taxpayers.
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement(DTAA) benefit has been allowed for

The period of warehousing has been
extended for 100% EOU, EHTP, STPI
or any warehouse wherein
manufacture or other operations havebeen permitted:
G Capital goods: Till their clearance
from warehouse (currently five years)
G Other than capital goods: T ill
consumption or clearance from thewarehouse (currently three years)
Power of arrest under the service tax
law is proposed to be restricted only
to situations where tax more than 20
million INR has been collected but not
deposited with the exchequer.

A Bill will be introduced to amend theCompanies Act, 2013, to simplify
creation of startups.
An amendment will be made to theForeign Contribution Regulation Act,
2010, to exclude domestic companies
with more than one-half capital held
by foreign companies.

Agriculture
Total allocation for agriculture andfarmer welfare at Rs. 35984 crore.
28.5 lakh hectares of land will bebrought under irrigation.
5 lakh acres to be brought underorganic farming over a three-year
period.
Rs 60,000 crore for recharging ofground water.
Dedicated irrigation fund of Rs. 20,000
crore in NABARD.
Nominal premium and highest
compensation for crop loss under thePrime Minister Fasal Bima Yojna.

Banking
Banks get a big boost: Rs 25,000 crore
towards recapitalisation of public
sector banks.
Target of disbursement under MUDRA
increased to 1,80,000 crore.
Process of transfer of government
stake in IDBI Bank below 50% started.
General Insurance companies will belisted in the stock exchange.
Government to increase ATMs, microATMs in post offices in the next threeyears.

team an additional four years tomake a prototype of the hardware.
The third HAL prototype,developed in the early 2000s, wasattached to a computer. Its battery
alone weighed nearly 22 kilograms(49 lb) and required two helpers
to put on, making it very
impractical. By contrast, later
HAL-5 model weighs only 10
kilograms (22 lb) and has its battery
and controlling computer strappedaround the waist of the wearer.

Robot SuitThe Hybrid Assistive Limb (alsoknown as HAL) is a powered
exoskeleton suit developed byJapan's Tsukuba University and therobotics company Cyberdyne. It has
been designed to support andexpand the physical capabilities of
its users, particularly people withphysical disabilities. There are two
primary versions of the system: HAL
3, which only provides leg function,and HAL 5, which is a full-body
exoskeleton for the arms, legs, andtorso.
HAL is designed to assist thedisabled and elderly in their dailytasks, and can also be used tosupport workers in disaster rescue
or construction work. Further
scientific studies have shown that
HAL Therapy can be effectively
used for rehabilitation after spinal
cord injury or stroke. In November
2011, HAL was selected to be used
for cleanup work at the site of theFukushima nuclear accident. InMarch 2013, ten Japanesehospitals conducted clinical tests of
the newer legs-only HAL system.
In late 2014, HAL exoskeletonsmodified for construction use
entered service with the Japaneseconstruction contractor Obayashi
Corporation.
The first HAL prototype wasproposed by Yoshiyuki Sankai, aprofessor at Tsukuba University. In1989, after receiving his Ph.D. inrobotics, Sankai spent three years,
from 1990 to 1993, mapping out
the neurons that gover n leg
movement. It took him and hisCyberdyne began renting out theHAL suit out for medical purposesin 2008. By October 2012, over300 HAL suits were in use by 130
medical facilities and nursing
homes across Japan. The suit isavailable for institutional rental, inJapan only, for a monthly fee of
US$2,000.
In December 2012, Cyberdyne wascertified ISO 13485 – aninternational quality standard fordesign and manufacture of medical
devices – by Underwriters
Laboratories. In February 2013, theHAL suit became the first powered
exoskeleton to receive a global
safety certificate.

Inauguration of IJCCI Nihongo Kouryuu Kurabu (Japanese Language Interaction Club)EDITORIAL BOARD: N Kumar, President, IJCCI; N Krishnaswami, Chairman, IJCCI; Krishna Prasad, Managing Director, Mot Juste Communication
Services Pvt. Ltd.; P S Suman, Partner, A K Mylsamy & Associates LLP; Hufriz Wadia, Partner, Kochhar & Co.; Arjun Balakrishnan, Founder, Dharmic Solutions;
Suguna Ramamoorthy, Secretary-General, IJCCI. For Private Circulation Only.
Editor: Suguna Ramamoorthy; Publisher: IJCCI; Designing & Printing: Mot Juste Communication Services Private Limited, 98410 15081.
Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IJCCI): No. 21, Kavignar Bharathidasan Road, Teynampet, Chennai 600 018, Tamil Nadu, India.