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Cash of over Rs 2 lakh can be used to pay credit card bills, with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) relaxing norms that barred such transactions exceeding this amount. The limit will also not apply to business correspondents appointed by banks, issuers of pre-paid instruments and some loans. The Finance Act of 2017 had banned cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh or above with effect from April 1, 2017, in respect of a single transaction or transactions related to one event or occasion by an individual. The restriction was another measure to curb black money and violation would invite a penalty of 100% of the amount involved on the receiver of cash. However, the apex direct taxes body has notified five carve-outs to address genuine difficulties, providing relief to banks and rural borrowers.Cash payments to wards loan repayments shall not be aggregated for the purpose of determining applicability of this norm. This would be for loan repayments to non-banking financial companies and...

Manufacturers and retailers can sell old stock for 3 months after stamping new prices Manufacturers and retailers can stamp new prices on their preGST stock of goods and sell them till end September, the government has said, ending the confusion over the stock that was left unsold on July 1, and checking potential malpractices. But a section of industry was upset that the government had not issued this clarification earlier. “If we would have known this earlier, the industry could have planned the transition better. Retailers would have not have been under pressure to liquidate old stock at almost cost price and primary sales from companies to trade would not have declined the way it did in June,” said Videocon chief operating officer CM Singh. Any increase in maximum retail price (MRP) due to GST on the older inventory will have to be advertised in two national papers, but there is no such requirement if the new MRP is lower, said a notification issued on Tuesday. The government h...

After making the insolvency process easier for companies After making the insolvency process easier for companies, the focus is now turning to proprietary firms.The NITI Aayog will have a meeting, in this regard, with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board (IBB), the ministry of small and medium enterprises and insolvency professionals on Wednesday. An official said, “NITI Aayog wants to expedite this process as the current provisions only allow companies and limited liability partnerships to file for insolvency.” IBB plans to notify the bankruptcy provisions in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). At least 90 per cent of small firms are proprietary firms, said insolvency professionals. Once the bankruptcy provisions are notified, these proprietary firms will benefit, as IBB plans to consider them as individuals. The IBB plans to notify the bankruptcy code in three phases. The first will be of corporate guarantors. In the second phase, an individual with proprietary business will...

Application Reference Number (ARN) should not be considered mandatory by businesses for buying goods from vendors, GST Network Chairman Navin Kumar said on Tuesday. ARN is an acknowledgement issued by GSTN system portal to the tax payers who have successfully submitted their application after completing the full process. Business Standard New Delhi, 05th July 2017

Not all is well with the unorganised transportation segment, mainly truck owners, post implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Three days into the new tax regime, truck owners across India are struggling to smoothen the flow of cargo amid lack of clarity on procedures. "We cannot understand whom to ask for the GST number. Every day we are getting to know something new," said P Sukeshan, president of the Cochin Goods Transport Association. The association operates mainly in Kerala and has 120 truck owner members with about 3,000 trucks. "We are also taking consignments without GST numbers as there is no clarity on what is needed. Cargo movement is affected as we are unable to understand how the GST works," he added.Transportation in the north zone of the country is also impacted. With Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) still to accept the new tax regime, cargo flow has come to a stand still. "Movement is halted as there are no dispatches to J&K. C...

The Centre on Tuesday warned that legal action would be initiated against manufacturers for not printing the revised MRP after GST roll-out. Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the government had given time till September to reprint the revised maximum retail price(MRP) with the implementation of the land mark goods and services tax(GST). He said the prices of some commodities have fallen, while prices of some have increased with the implementation of GST.“Fallin prices due to lower GST should be passed on to consumers....The government will take legal action against vendors not declaring revised MRP after GST,” he said. Business Standard New Delhi, 05th July 2017

In a recent notification, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs erased the requirement to apprise the Competition Commission of India (CCI) within 30 days of the signing ofadeal foramerger and acquisition (M&A). However, an M & A deal can´t be implemented without CCI clearance. So, competition lawyers say the rule change would end the practice of sending ´half baked filings´ to avoid heavy penalties. Earlier, they say, in the rush to comply with the deadline, these filings would contain little substantive information.The penalty used to be one per cent of annual turnover or the relevant assets for delayed filings. Hence, the experts believe the change would result in companies trying to send all the requisite documents at one go to the CCI, which could result in wrapping up of M & A cases within stipulated 210 days. Till now, the CCI would approach companies every now and then after getting their M & A filings for clarifications.When a clarification is sought, the 210 d...

The government is closely monitoring the price and supply situation in the markets and has deployed 175 senior officers to ensure a smooth transition  to the goods and services tax (GST), Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told the media on Tuesday. “We are keeping an eye on the prices and supply of essential and daily-use items, in particular,” he said, adding, “Not a single incident of hindrance in the implementation of the GST has been reported since its roll-out.” As many as 175 officers of the ranks of joint secretary and additional secretary have been given the charge of four-to-five districts each to oversee the GST implementation. These officers will not be in the field but will receive feedback from link officers posted in the respective districts on the availability of essential commodities and retail price movement. They will subsequently submit reports to a central monitoring group, chaired by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha and comprising 15 other secretaries who will mee...