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Retirement fund body EPFO has decided to re- examine its plan to launch online provident fund withdrawal facility for its subscribers having Aadhaar- enabled provident fund and bank accounts, in the backdrop of apex court ruling. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is cautious after the apex court ruled earlier this month that " the production of an Aadhaar card will not be a condition for obtaining any benefits otherwise due to a citizen". Business Standard, New Delhi, 19th August 2015 

Long wait by industries for key labour reforms in the country might not be over as the Union government is going slow on their demands. After coming to power, the National Democratic Alliance ( NDA) government had announced a slew of labour reforms such as labour codes on industrial relations and wages, small factories Bill, factories (amendment) Bill, employees provident fund ( amendment) Bill, employees’ state insurance (amendment) Bill, among others. However, these are pending at various stages. One of the factors delaying this reform process is the staunch opposition by the trade unions which have collectively called a nationwide strike on September 2. The industries are desperateforlabourlawreforms. “We are hopeful and positive about the reform process initiated by the government and hope it moves in the right direction. We want the changes as early as possible but there is a consultativeprocesswhichweappreciate the government has to follow and get all the stakeholders on b...

Move to cut minimum working days to one-third may help over 25 million such workers The labour ministry may soon propose to reduce to a third the minimum number of work days a construction worker is required to clock to avail social security benefits under the Building and Other Construction Workers Act. The measure will be a bonanza for over 25 million building and construction workers in the country, most of whom are part of the unorganised sector. A senior government officer told ET that the ministry is revisiting the law to make an enabling provision that will make construction workers eligible for social security benefits under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and the Employee State Insurance Corporation by working for 30 days instead of 90 days as stipulated under the Act. “We are making the necessary changes to the Building and Other Construc tion Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, to widen the scope of its implemen...

Once spectrum trading is allowed, the government might include proceeds from this in telecom operators’ adjusted gross revenue (AGR), which could impact the financials of these companies, already reeling under huge debt. The Department of Telecommunications ( DoT) has written to the finance ministry, seeking its view on the matter. Internally, the department was of the opinion that proceeds from revenue through spectrum trading should be part of telcos’ AGR, said a senior DoT official. Speaking on the issue, Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for communications and information technology, told the Business Standard, “ We have written to the finance ministry on this issue. A final view will be taken only after we receive their inputs. The norms for trading will be announced soon.” In its recommendations, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had said, “The amount received from trading will be part of the AGR for the purpose of licence fee… and spectrum usage charges ( SUC) will b...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to remove a major hurdle that asset reconstruction companies ( ARCs) face while raising funds via initial public offering ( IPO). According to norms, ARCs have to take prior regulatory approval to sell more than 10 per cent stake. Sources said RBI would give exemption to the ARCs on this issue. " The regulator is not saying that ARCs cannot sell more than 10 per cent. If they want to sell more than 10 per cent, they have to take the regulators approval. However, that exemption can be given during an IPO." An entity that holds more than 10 per cent stake in an asset reconstruction company is classified as a sponsor. ARCs also face problems while raising funds as the regulation caps a sponsors stake at 49 per cent. With bad loan sale market gaining momentum following certain regulatory relaxation, ARCs are now looking to raise capital. According to a CrisilAssocham report, capital constraints along with expectation mismatch o...

Even after raising stake to 49%, foreign insurers can’t decide on strategy or products Foreign partners in insurance companies in India will have no final say on decisions pertaining to strategy and products, as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ( Irdai) has decided not to give them any additional rights when their they increase their stake from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. According to regulatory officials, as the Insurance Laws ( Amendment) Act said all insurers would have “ Indian management and control”, there would be “ no exclusivity granted to foreign promoters in areas such as appointment of chief executive officers, or to board positions, or even company decisions on strategy and products”. While the regulator might not bring out guidelines on Indian management and control, it would review individual agreements in detail when foreign insurers seek approval to increase stake from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. Sources said if the regulator found...

1.  CBDT amends IT Rules to notify that computation of period of stay in India of an Indian citizen being member of crew of a ship shall be as per Voyage Discharge Certificate. 2.  Exemption U/s 10(23C) (vi) can be claimed without having registration U/s 12A. CBDT circular no. 14/2015 dated 17.08.2015. 3.  CESTAT has power to extend stay beyond 365 days where delay in disposal of appeal is not attributable to the assessee. Delhi High Court.[CCE vs. Brew Force Machine Pvt. Ltd]. 4.  Extension to 25.08.2015 of last date to file D-VAT return for Q1 of 2015-2016 in Forms DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48.circular no.19 of 2015-2016 dated 17.08.2015. 5.  Vacancy for CA in HDFC bank for the post of Credit Manager- Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan location, Contact:- Raghav Mahajan (7307211397)/ email: Raghav.mahajan1@hdfcbank.com 6.  Invitation to attend a “Talk on GST and Service Tax” at FICCI Auditorium, Mandi House, New Delhi on 20.08.2015 from 6PM to 9PM O...