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Capital markets regulator to decide on brokers suspected of selling NSEL contracts as investment vehicles The capital markets regulator will seek a report from Mumbai police’s economic offences wing (EOW) to decide whether it needs to act against brokers who may have engaged in mis-selling contracts in the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam, two persons familiar with the development said. After procuring a report from the police wing, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will examine whether some brokers indeed violated regulations, the two persons said on condition of anonymity. Some brokers are suspected to have sold NSEL contracts as investment vehicles. Around 200 brokers are alleged to have sold NSEL products by promising an assured return to investors. Trading was halted on NSEL in July 2013 after a Rs.5,574 crore settlement scam surfaced at the commodities bourse, which is 99.99% owned by Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL). This month, the ministr...

Govt stares at a weaker revenue mobilization in the next fiscal because of poor performance of Indian companies The government’s fiscal assumptions in the budget appears to be fraught with hurdles. An expenditure rise is on the anvil even as the government stares at a weaker revenue mobilization in the next fiscal year because of poor performance of Indian companies. The downside risks to the global economy, too, have increased. On 29 February, finance minister Arun Jaitley will present his third Union budget. His efforts to boost public investment will come at a time when he also has to significantly increase revenue expenditure for the implementation of One Rank One Pension scheme for defence personnel and Seventh Pay Commission. Direct tax collection, especially corporate tax collections, have remained poor with the government consistently falling short of its budget estimates in the past few years. For 2015-16, the shortfall in direct tax collection is expected to be around...

Corporates nor banks bother to put mandatory UPSI in public domain when a debt deal is signed Many large, highstreet banks and finance houses are nonchalantly flouting insider trading rules while cutting deals to fund corporates that are listed on stock exchanges. Capital market regulatory norms require a company to share with the public all information that it discloses to lenders and financiers -just as numbers of financial performance and ratios are divulged in M&As or placement of stocks once a deal is struck. But, neither corporates bother nor banks insist on putting the unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) in public domain when a debt deal ­ which could be bonds, debentures or plain vanilla loans ­ is signed for financing business. The regulatory concern is simple: such information shared in the course of debt finance can be misused by someone in the financial institution to trade on the shares of the listed company that is being funded.Debt finance deals,...

Indian Patents Office rolls back its guidelines that allowed patenting for software inventions The Patent Office's decision to roll back its guidelines that allowed software patents in India is being hailed as a big win for domestic startups, which will not have to worry about expensive patent litigation that can potentially stifle innovation in the country. Indian law on granting patents for software became a hot issue among startups, in the past year, after the Indian Patent Office in August interpreted the law to mean that if a software had industrial applications, it could be granted a patent. The move was opposed by software product companies, activists and other industry folks who saw the decision as detrimental to startups and existing companies who would get entangled in endless litigation for developing a new product. On February 19, the Patent Office rolled back the decision to allow software patenting for computerrelated inventions (CRI). “The legislature by limiti...

What you should consider before choosing an ELSS Take into account your risk profile while choosing a tax- saver fund, advise experts With the end of the financial year drawing near and offices demanding proof of tax- saving investments, a lot of people will buy products such as tax- saving ( equity- linked saving schemes or ELSS) funds in the coming weeks. Since last- minute purchases are made in a hurry, a lot of misbuying as well as mis- selling happens. Here’s what you should look up before deciding on an ELSS fund. Look at the nature of the fund: whether it is large- cap, multi- cap or mid- cap oriented. “Take into account your risk profile while choosing a tax- saver fund,” says Vidya Bala, head of research at Fundsindia. com. Conservative investors should opt for a large- cap ELSS fund, while those with a higher risk appetite might opt for a multi- cap fund. The style sheet tells you about a fund’s market- cap orientation. Next, look up the fund’s track record. When ...

The white goods sector is seeking succour from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in next week’s Budget. Sales of various categories of home appliances declined in 2015 because of weak demand and abnormal weather, and the industry is expecting lower taxes apart from higher pay to government employees to boost consumption. While the goods and services tax will help the inventory- heavy industry move goods among states easily, it will also gain if the cumulative taxation is brought down to 18- 20 per cent from 23- 24 per cent. “The consumer goods industry will gain significantly under the Goods and Services Tax ( GST). In a competitive market, the ability of dealers to corner the benefit of lower taxes is limited,” said Sachin Menon, partner and national head of indirect tax at KPMG India. “The excise duty should be brought down from 12 per cent to 10 per cent to help reinstate demand,” said Kim- Ki- Wan, managing director, LG Electronics India. “In the last Budget, the finance mi...

www.caonline.in News... 1.When the issue has been decided by the CIT(A) then only CIT(A) can rectify the order u/s 154, AO has no jurisdiction to rectify such order - Tribunal.[M/s. NHPC Ltd. vs Asstt. Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle-II, Faridabad And vica-versa - 2016 (2) TMI 676 - ITAT DELHI] 2.Demand of service tax on management, maintenance or repair service collected from flat owners, in this fact the appellant is not liable for service tax - Tribunal.[M/s Omega Associates vs Commissioner of Service Tax, Mumbai - 2016 (2) TMI 690 - CESTAT MUMBAI] 3.Mandatory recovery of advertising cost should be included in AV. [M/s Rathi Transpower Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise (CESTAT-Mumbai)] 4.Testing cost of returnable durable cylinders not includible in AV. [M/s Bombay Oxygen Corporation Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Excise (CESTAT Mumbai)] 5.No CENVAT reversal under Rule 6 on SEZ supply with effect from 10/09/2004. [Commissioner of Central Excise vs. M/s. Mather...