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Continued lack of consensus at next meeting could cast shadow on GST rollout by April 1 Most issues related to the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) taken up by the GST Council have been resolved. But administrative control over assessees has become a  prickly matter, dividing the Centre and states. Even an informal meeting between Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and state finance ministers failed to resolve the matter on Sunday, five days ahead of when the GST Council is slated to take up the issue. While the states and central finance officials are set to meet on Monday, the lack of consensus has the potential to cast a shadow on the planned GST rollout by April 1, 2017. States, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, also took the opportunity to raise the issue of demonetisation and its impact on their treasuries with the finance minister. After Sunday’s three-hour meeting, Jaitley said: “The meeting has remained incomplete. Discussions will continue on November ...

The taxman has initiated a country-wide operation to identify suspect bank accounts where huge cash deposits have been made post Nov 8 Warning people against depositing their unaccounted old currency in someone else's bank account, the tax department has decided to slap charges under the newly enforced Benami Transactions Act against violators that carries a penalty, prosecution and rigorous jail term of a maximum seven years. In a related development, official sources said that the department has detected over Rs 200 crore in undisclosed income after it conducted over 80 surveys and about 30 searches in cases of suspicious usage of the scrapped currency. About Rs 50 crore has also been seized in these operations since November 8, they said, across various states. The sources said the taxman has initiated a country-wide operation to identify suspect bank accounts where huge cash deposits have been made post November 8, when government demonetised the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currenc...

Modi says govt 'flexible' to provide relief to the poor as demonetisation is enforced Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed banks had received deposits worth Rs 5 lakh crore since he announced the demonetisation scheme on November 8, and would  soon give loans at cheaper interest rates.  Modi said his government wasn’t “obstinate” about implementing the scheme, and has shown “flexibility” to provide relief to the poor.  The PM also seemed to suggest that the money recovered because of “note ban” will help government provide housing to the poor in rural areas by 2022.  He also advised the poor to not let their Jan Dhan bank accounts be misused. Modi asked people not to allow others to deposit Rs 2.5 lakh in their accounts, with promises of getting a cut. “The law is strict. The account owner will get punished,” he said.  Addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party election rally in Agra, the PM came across less combative than his speeches in Goa and Belgaum, Ka...

Small businesses, self-employed professionals have to gear up for higher scrutiny of their income, expenses As the initial frenzy over de-legalising of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes ebbs, many small business owners and self-employed professionals are learning to live with a new reality — there will be more scrutiny of their incomes, expenses and tax compliance. Many tax consultants and chartered accountants say there have been several enquiries from clients seeking guidance on how to rework their businesses to remain tax compliant. “Bulk of these enquiries are from traders and self-employed professionals who have a fairly large cash component in their business dealings that usually escaped the book of accounts,” says Paras Mehra, a Delhi-based chartered accountant.   Pavan Kumar Vijay, founder and managing director, Corporate Professionals, says: “We have received at least 50 requests from clients looking to restructure their businesses or register new companies.” Expert...