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 The finance ministry said on Wednesday that tax collections stood at Rs.10.7 lakh crore in the first 10 months of FY16. This constituted 73.5 per cent of the Budget estimates ( BE) of Rs.14.5 lakh crore. According to the ministry, direct tax collections might fall short of the Budget target of about Rs.8 lakh crore in FY16 but it would be offset by robust indirect tax collections. As such, direct tax collections might have alower figure in the revised estimates of 2015- 16, compared to BE, while the indirect tax mop- up would have ahigher figure than BE of Rs.6.5 lakh crore. The ministry hoped it would meet tax collections target in FY16. Amid critics doubting the latest gross domestic product ( GDP) numbers, which showed the economy growing 7.6 per cent in FY16, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the latest tax figures supported the GDP data. On the first upload on YouTube by the finance ministry, Adhia said direct tax collections were up 10.9 per cent at Rs.5.2 lakh crore till Ja

HELPFUL MODE Move may translate into double-digit returns for subscribers; earlier the ministry was planning to hike interest rate to 8.95% The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation is considering doling out a Rs 750 crore bonus to its subscribers for 2015-16 instead of raising the interest rate, a first of its kind move that could translate into double-digit returns for crores of workers on their retirement funds. EPFO had earlier proposed raising the interest rate to 8.95% in the current fiscal year, compared with 8.75% in 2013-15 and 2014-15, based on its earnings estimate for the year. The proposal had met with some resistance from the finance ministry as it would put pressure on it to raise interest rates on small savings schemes and would not be sustainable go ing forward. Therefore, the retirement fund body that manages the savings of more than 5 crore organized sector workers is considering a onetime bonus payment. “We are considering the option of bonus for the first tim

FALL YEAR Indian unit has given a negative return of 1.71% since Jan 1, analysts don't rule out further weakness The rupee seems to have lost some steam, that is, if you go by data on total investment returns, or even on the basis of pure fundamentals. Unlike the previous year, the Indian currency has clearly lost the top slot among emerging markets so far in 2016, as concerns over growth push investors to park their money in safer places, like the US. The local unit is now one of the three worst performing EM currencies, yielding a negative return of 1.71% against 2-5% positive returns by the Malaysian Ringgit, Indonesian Rupiah, Thai Bhat and the Brazilian Real, show data from Bloomberg. “The rupee has underperformed some of its emerging markets peers in 2016, but over a longer horizon (2014 or 2015), it had remained comparatively much stronger,“ said Saugata Bhattacharya, chief economist at Axis Bank. “This needs to be balanced with incentivising capital inflows, since the curr

Updates Of the Day 1.MCA invite comments on Revised schedule III for a co. whose financial statements are drawn up as per IND AS Rules,2015 & Draft CARO,2016 latest by 23.02.16. 2.Sec 80P: Principle of mutuality applies to transfer fees, non- occupancy / car parking charges. [Lands End Co-operavtive Housing Society Limited vs ITO (ITAT Mumbai), ITA NO. 3566/Mum/2014] 3.Interest on TDS deduction default is not sustainable, where tax liability of deductor is NIL. [M/s Anusha Investment Ltd. Vs. ITO ( Madras High Court), TCA No. 398 of 2007, A.Y. 2002-2003]. 4.Brokerage expenses not allowed against income from House Property. [M/s Radiant Premises Pvt. Ltd. vs. ACIT (ITAT Mumbai), ITA No. 5494/MUM/2013, A.Y. 2010-2011]. 5.Computation of income u/s 115JB : unabsorbed depreciation and book loss furnished by the assessee for computation of Book Profit u/s 115JB , adjudicating authorities can always consider and decide on merits, any claim which the taxpayer has raised before the A