CII Communique - December, 2010

leadership
Inventory Management & Supply Chain
Money is tied up in every stage, starting from the
management of suppliers delivering raw materials, to
goods in various levels of completion in the production
process as well as management and delivery of finished
goods in the distribution channel. Inventory and supply
chain optimization thus becomes imperative for any
organization as it can make or mar businesses.
A workshop on ‘Inventory Management and Supply
Chain Optimization’ was organized on 18-19 November
with the focus on understanding the methodologies
and practices to improve inventory processes, improve
customer service, reduce inventory investment and
increase productivity. It also deliberated upon the
analysis and improvement of inventory performance
and the use of modeling of Inventory System Changes
before Change Implementation.
Workshop on Direct Taxes Code
The revised Direct Tax Code Bill, which would replace the
current Income Tax Act of 1961 and the Wealth Tax Act
of 1957 is proposed to be effected from 1 April 2012 if
enacted. It will be an important milestone in the history
of the Indian Taxation System, and is certain to alter the
tenets of the game particularly the way businesses are
structured. It will also address the existing complexity
in the Direct Tax System. An understanding of the Code
will help companies plan the impact of direct taxes on
their businesses.
The workshop on ‘Direct Taxes Code’ on 23 November
deliberated on the proposed provisions of the DTC,
the tax incentives and transition provisions for better
planning of impact on future incomes, International
tax issues and also Transfer Pricing issues, which will
be required to achieve operational efficiencies. The
workshop also helped to understand the Personal Tax
scenario under the DTC, to plan forward and also for
employers to remain compliant with the new withholding
tax provisions on salaries. Understanding submission
of returns, payment of taxes and assessments under
DTC was also covered.
Goods and Service Tax
The Goods and Service Tax, proposed to be introduced
in India from 1 April 2011, would replace a host of current
regulations under the Indirect Taxes regime and is an
attempt to simplify understanding and implementation,
with resultant compliance. It is a step towards unification
of all existing taxes which are applicable on production
and consumption of goods and services, in order to
remove the cascading effect on tax.
A workshop on ‘Goods & Services Tax’ organized on 24
November provided a comprehensive understanding of
the new indirect taxation structure to enable redesigning
the logistics requirements in manufacturing, supply
and distribution of goods and services. The workshop
helped understand the Goods and Service Tax vis-à-vis
the current Indirect Tax regime, the transition provisions
for better planning of impact on businesses especially
of impact on supply chain costs and procedures. The
workshop also increased awareness on complications
relating to registration, threshold limits, interstate transfer
of goods and services and treatment of exemption/
incentives.
36 | December 2010 Communiqué