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Assets acquired as a result of gift or a will should be supported by proper certificates.

A visiting American certified public accountant (CPA) from Florida, while on a local Indian flight, met a Commissioner of Income Tax.

Their conversation veered to this topic of mutual interest: The commissioner's poser to the American CPA was regarding the search and seizure provisions under Income Tax regulations in the US.

The CPA was surprised to hear about the concept of search and seizure which is known to US taxpayers but is part of a criminal investigation and conducted a little differently.

In India, the Income tax raid sends jitters down the spine and makes the high income group dread tax authorities. Technically called a Search & Seizure, it is a plan of action devised by Tax officials with care and secrecy based on authentic information rather than rumour and gossip.

If the tax officials firmly believe that a person is in possession of money, jewellery or undisclosed assets that would necessitate a search operation, they may issue a search warrant after confirming the veracity of information.

It may be noted that merely living in posh houses or conducting lavish marriages or an expensive lifestyle may not be the basis for a search, information is the essential factor.

While the operations invade the privacy and freedom of the tax payer, they are exercised under statutory requirements and principles of natural justice.

During the course of the search, the taxpayer's rights include examining the search warrant, having two or more respectable citizens as witnesses, verifying the identity of the search officials, allowing children to attend school, calling a doctor for any emergency, having a copy of panchanama which is the first list of evidence and findings, and copies of the seized books of account, data and documents.

However, these rights do not include the right to call the auditor during the course of search or attend any phone calls.

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India, US systems of ‘search & seizure'

A rapidly falling rupee has sent hundreds of Indian expatriates in the Kingdom to the nearest remittance centers to make the most of the fabulous conversion rates. One Saudi riyal is now fetching more than 14 Indian rupees This means SR10,000 can fetch me more than 143,000 rupees Wow, I am delighted beyond words, said Basit Abdul Faheem, a middle-ranking executive at a construction firm in Jubail. Abdul Faheem is least bothered about the implications of a falling currency on the Indian economy. I am not an economist, and I dont pretend to be one. My life revolves around the exchange rate. I have been holding my money for a long time in the hope of getting a good rate. Now is my time. I see it as a kind of an unexpected increment and bonus, he told Arab News. According to news agencies, the Indian rupee sank to a record low yesterday, breaking the key level of 55 to the dollar. It fell to 55.05 in late afternoon trade, below its previous low of 54.91 on Friday. It later clawed back marginally to 54.97. Money-watchers say the rupee is expected to fall further. If you ask me, it will fall further, and, therefore, I would advice my fellow Indians to hold onto their riyals, said Gyan Prakash Agarwal, group chief business development officer at Al-Suwaidi Holding Co. Obviously, a falling rupee is good news for expatriates but certainly not for the economy back home; it will fuel inflation to record levels, he said. He explained that for those who are importing goods or raw materials into India, a weak rupee is certainly not good news. Because they are being forced to pay more, he said. And for those who are exporting their goods to the outside world, a weak rupee is like a bonanza, because they are getting more money. According to Agarwal, importers are the ones who will face the heat of a weakening rupee and exporters are ones who will reap a rich harvest. While Europes debt crisis has weighed on the Indian rupee, it has also been hit by a plethora of domestic problems including the countrys widening trade and current account deficits and slowing foreign fund inflows. There has also been pressure from oil importers, who exchange rupees for dollars when they buy crude for energy-scarce India, which imports four-fifths of its crude oil needs. My children are studying in India and we have to remit a huge sum toward their lodging, boarding and tuition fees every month. A good conversion rate means we pay less here and get more in India; Therefore, I am very happy, said Zeba Haider, a mother of four college- and university-going children. Abdullah F. Sharif, an operations manager at a Riyadh-based firm, feel that a good and robust conversion rate at the remittance centers will encourage middle-income Indian expatriates to take the legal route. Many Indian expatriates send money through the illegal and informal route, which is popularly known in sub-continental parlance as hundi. There, the rate remains fixed. A good and attractive conversion rate at the banks will propel them to send their money via the legal route, he said. So, yes, all this is great news for most Indian expatriates, said Abdullah. Provided you have the riyals to convert them. Danish Abdul Ghafoor, managing director of a Jeddah-based advertising agency, said a weak rupee will, as always, induce a false sense of increment among the Indian expatriates. They will be able to send more ... So, yes, this is good news (for the expatriates) in the short-term but it certainly is not good for India ... a 100-rupee bill is in essence equal to 10 rupees in value now, he added. The rupee was Asias worst performing currency in 2011, losing more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar compared to the previous year.

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Falling rupee a blessing in disguise for Indian expats

Foreign property owners in continental Europe could face a devaluation of 50 percent on their homes if Greece was to leave the Euro, according to new figures from HiFX.

Martin Barraud | Getty Images

Data released today from a survey of British foreign property owners showed that 39 percent were trying to sell up in Greece, 34 percent in Spain and 23 percent in Portugal.

James Price, Head of International Residential Development at Knight Frank, told CNBCs Squawk Box Europe that the numbers of people wanting to sell up and the drop in value of foreign property reflects the pressure on the housing market by the euro zone debt crisis.

There are different levels in the market and I think that for the mass market of home owners overseas that there may well be issues for them around needing to sell and get out and I think there is quite a lot of pressure on them and they are having to reflect that in the asking prices that they are offering.

Home owners now had to be more realistic about where the buyers actually are versus where the property might be he said.

Price added that there was still room for investment in property abroad, with prime destinations around Europe still offering firm prices but that there was much more caution.

What people are looking at now is the security of their asset in the long term. In the prime areas people are now looking at properties that they are going to use themselves, its about their own enjoyment.

2012 CNBC.com

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British Expats Rush to Sell Euro Properties

by Amy Davenport

Lloyds TSB is pleased to announce the appointment of May Hooper to the position of Senior Relationship Manager of Corporate Banking, Financial Institutions and Foreign Exchange. Ms Hooper has over 25 years experience in the offshore finance sector, having previously worked predominantly within treasury and business development roles in the banking and insurance industry.

Ms Hooper joined the ever expanding Lloyds TSB corporate banking team at Victory House on Prospect Hill six months ago after spending seven years with AIB International Savings, formerly Anglo Irish Bank. There she was responsible for both the establishment and running of the foreign exchange desk coupled with corporate relationship management. Her previous role at Lloyds TSB saw Ms Hoopers role develop to entail the management of financial institutional clients within the life assurance industry, captive insurance market and the funds sector, amongst others.

In addition to her practical experience, Ms Hooper also holds a number of professional qualifications including the ACI Dealing Certificate; a qualification which allows candidates to acquire a working knowledge of the structure and operation of the major foreign exchange and money markets, including the application of the fundamental mathematics used in these markets, and their core products. She is currently studying for the full ACI Diploma, which she hopes to complete this year.

Commenting on her new position, Ms Hooper stated: I would just like to say that I am extremely pleased with my promotion and that I am looking forward to the challenges that this new position brings with it. I am very fortunate to work within a very friendly team who work very hard and aim to deliver excellent rates and service to existing clients and new clients alike.

Lloyds TSB Isle of Mans Head of Corporate Banking, Mr Simon Prescott, also commented on Ms Hoopers appointment: We are delighted to offer May the position of Senior Relationship Manager at Lloyds TSBs corporate banking team. The promotion reflects the drive, energy and considerable expertise she has brought to the team since joining us six months ago and will significantly enhance our offering to the Islands Financial Institutions and larger companies. On behalf of our team and Lloyds TSB as a whole, I would like to take this opportunity to once again welcome May and wish her every success with us in the future.

- Ends -

I would just like to say that I am extremely pleased with my promotion and that I am looking forward to the challenges that this new position brings with it."

May Hooper, Senior Relationship Manager of Corporate Banking, Financial Institutions and Foreign Exchange

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Lloyds TSB Appoints May Hooper to Senior Relationship Manager

Stocks closed mixed Wednesday after a late rally erased steep losses. The Dow lost seven points to close at 12496

By Matthew Craft,AP Business writer, Pallavi Gogoi,AP Business writer / May 23, 2012

A big final-hour comeback pulled the Dow Jones industrial average nearly back to where it started Wednesday.

The Dow was down as much as 191 points earlier as the threat of a financial crisis spreading from Europe shook markets. The euro dropped to a nearly two-year low against the dollar, and oil prices sank to their lowest this year.

A late surge of buying erased nearly all of the Dow's deficit, leaving it down just 6.66 points at 12,496.15 by the end of the day. Other indexes ended slightly higher.

In the last hour of trading, news crossed that the leaders of France and Italy favored using region-wide bonds to support Europe's economy. That gave traders hope that a summit of European leaders might produce concrete steps to tackle the economic morass there. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned Tuesday that the 17 countries that use the euro risk falling into a "severe recession."

Analysts and investors have turned increasingly skeptical this month that European leaders will prevent Greece from dropping the euro or agree on ways to jump-start the region's economy. The Dow has lost 5 percent this month, nearly wiping away its gains for the year. It has risen only three days in May.

Plenty of good ideas to buttress Europe's financial system have been floated in recent weeks, said Paul Zemsky, global head of asset allocation at ING Investment Management. Eurobonds could be sold by countries in the currency union to raise money for bailouts and banks. Some have proposed insuring bank deposits across countries that use the euro, a program modeled on the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

"There are all these great ideas," Zemsky said. "But there's nothing yet. There's a lot of talk and no follow through."

Benchmark stock indexes dropped more than 2 percent in Germany and France and 3 percent in Spain and Italy.

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Stocks rally to erase steep losses