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The consumer affairs ministry has drafted a fresh consumer protection Bill after incorporating suggestions of a parliamentary standing committee and hopes to introduce it in the ongoing session. The ministry has accepted some of the recommendations of the panel and finalised the draft bill,which has been vetted by a group of ministry, headed by Arun jaitely. Business Standard New Delhi,16th March 2017

The government has issued show-cause notices to 1,018 companies for non-compliance of CSR norms even as a parliamentary panel has suggested putting in place a “stricter monitoring and compliance mechanism“.Under the Companies Act, 2013, a certain class of profitable entities is required to shell out at least 2% of their three-year annual average net profit towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in a particular fiscal. As many as 84 companies out of 226 PSUs and 411out of 7,108 private entities have reported no expenditure on CSR in 2014-15. Moreover, companies that have reported CSR have not been spending it as per the guidelines. The Economic Times New Delhi,16th March 2017

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s approval to key Bills on Thursday will play a crucial role for their passage in the current session of Parliament. This would also set the stage for tabling of the state GST (SGST) Bills in the respective state Assemblies, but the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Assembly will need to pass even central GST (CGST) and integrated GST (IGST) Bills as well. According to the Constitution, constitutional amendments do not directly apply to J&K, as it gets a special treatment. Government sources pointed out that CGST and IGST will appear in different forms in the case of J&K. Service tax for instance, which is a central levy, does not apply to J&K. But central excise is applicable. J&K Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu told Business Standard that no Act of the government of India can directly apply to J&K. Hence, it will have to follow a process to implement GST. “Unlike other states, which will need to get just SGST passed by thei...

The securties and exchange board of India (Sebi) on wednesday issued guidelines for mutual fund(MF) advertisements,allowing use of celebrities to increase awareness of the Rs. 17.9 lakh crore industry."Celebrity endoreement shall be allowed only at industry level for the purpose  of incresing awareness of MFs as a financial product category.such endoresement should not promote a scheme of a particular fund or be used as a branding exercise of a MF house,"the regulator said in a circular.Prior Sebi approval Will be needed for MF advertisements featuring celebrities,The circular said. The regulator also tweaked the performance disclosure requirement for MF advertisements. Business Standard New Delhi,16th March 2017

The Centre on Wednesday unveiled a code under which builders can be made liable for the safety of the structure. The code has been prepared by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the consumer affairs ministry. The code is voluntary but states can incorporate them in their building bylaws. "The code contains provisions on use of new/innovative materials and technologies and on prefabricated construction techniques that can give fillip to speedier construction to meet the objectives of housing for all by 2022," consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan said after releasing the code on the occasion of the World Consumer Rights Day in New Delhi. That apart, Paswan said the government has drafted a fresh consumer protection Bill after incorporating suggestions of a parliamentary standing committee and hopes to introduce it in the ongoing session. In August 2015, the Centre had introduced the consumer protection Bill in Lok Sabha to repeal the 30-year consumer pro...