The Department of Commerce and Management, School of Arts and Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri campus, organized a one-day lecture workshop on “Kerala Budget-2019, Union Budget- 2019 and Recent Changes under Income Tax and GST” on March 11, 2019. Jayashree S. (Asst. Professor, Commerce and Management, School of Arts and Sciences, Amritapuri) was the coordinator of the workshop. The workshop was conducted to make students gain deep insights into the State and Union Budget 2019.
Resource Person: Mr. P. J. Johney B. Sc. FCA, a Chartered Accountant
Venue: Amriteshwari Hall, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kollam
Participants: Around 400 students from the campus( 1st,2nd,3rd year BCom students, 2nd and 3rd-year students of BBA, 1st and 2nd-year students of MCom and MBA ) and teachers of Department of Commerce and Management.
The workshop was formally inaugurated by Mr. Nandakumaran (Principal, Amrita School of Arts and Sciences), P. J. Johney, Mr. Manoharan (Head of the Department, Commerce and Management, School of Arts and Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri campus) and Ms. Jayasree S. by lighting of the lamp followed by prayer. The one day workshop had two lecture sessions ( i.e pre-lunch and post-lunch session). Mr. P. J. Johney delivered the lectures through which the basic concepts of budgets and the details of the State and Union budget 2019 were presented. The first session was all about the Kerala Budget 2019 and GST. The second one was about the Union budget 2019 and Income Tax. Employment possibilities of Commerce and Management students were also discussed in the second session.
In the pre-lunch session, the speaker covered all the basic concepts and keywords related to budget. The term meaning of budget was explained in simple terms as ” the policy document allocating taxes and expenditures” with the help of appropriate examples. Constituents of budget (planned sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities and cash flows) were also discussed. After the general concepts of the budget were covered, the discussion moved on to the Kerala budget -2019.
The highlights and analysis of the Kerala Budget 2019 were also clearly discussed in this session. It focused mainly on fiscal laws and taxation matters. Issues discussed include rubber crisis and other agricultural produce, reduction of remittance by NRI, the trend of decrease in remittance from Gulf countries, real estate issues, and other issues related to telecom industries.
GST (tax on outward supply of goods and services – tax on inward supply of goods and services), methods of increasing 30% increase in tax collection, Input tax credit, VAT ( tax of output- tax of input ), difference between VAT and GST ( VAT only for goods), amnesty scheme,e-way bill verification, compounding provisions, cascading effect (tax on tax ) were explained to us in simple terms with examples.
This session was followed by a one hour question and answer session where Mr. Johney Sir answered our questions and cleared all our doubts. This session was very informative and many of the participants actively interacted with the resource person. the session came to an end at 1.00 P.M.This was followed by a one-hour lunch break.
Union Budget-2019 and its details were discussed in the post-lunch session. Recent changes under the Income Tax Act,1961, major highlights in the union budget 2019 (such as individual taxpayers with taxable income up to rupees 5 lakh will get full tax rebate, those earning rupees 6.5 lakh will not have to pay tax if they invested in specified savings such as PF, PPF, etc., for salaried persons, Standard Deduction is being raised from the current rupees 40000 to rupees 50000, TDS on fixed deposits and postal deposits will be exempted for interest earned up to rupees 40000 from rupees 10000 currently, rent up to Rs. 2.4 lakh will be exempted from TDS, benefit of capital gains of up to Rs. 2 crore will be increased to investment on two residential houses, the benefit of section 80 IBA of Income Tax Act,1961 will be extended for one more year for availing of the affordable housing,100% deduction for the builders promoting affordable housing schemes, reduced GST, most items of daily use for poor and middle class are now in 0%-5% tax, fiscal deficit has been brought down to 3.4%, and so on), other concepts ( like TDS -Tax deducted at source, capital gain-income arising out of capital assets and so on) related to income tax, were covered in this session. Employment requirements for Commerce and Management students and various employment opportunities were also discussed. A question-and-answer session was also held.
The lecture workshop was equally beneficial to all the students and teachers who attended, especially the final year students of BCOM and BBA and PG students. The feedback from the students who participated in the workshop reflected that they were equipped with a deep understanding of the basic concepts and key messages covered. It was highly interactive and all the participants enjoyed the sessions.
About the Speaker
CA P. J. Johney is a practicing Chartered Accountant. He was the Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Ernakulam Branch in 1999-2000. He has been a senior faculty and member in the advisory boards of various professional Institutions in Kerala. He is a visiting faculty for Management Institutes, Professional bodies and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India on Finance and Taxation. He is a corporate trainer and has presented papers in various seminars and workshops organized by ICAI and other professional bodies on Goods and Services Tax and other Taxes. He is a consultant of various multinational companies, Govt. Companies and other corporates on Finance and Taxation in India and abroad. He is a member of the All India Management Association and Kerala Management Association. He has written various articles in newspapers periodicals and journals on Finance and Taxation.
