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Banks without Aadhaar centres to face Rs 20,000 fine The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has given banks one more month to open Aadhaar enrolment centres inastipulated 10 per cent of branches. UIDAI will imposea Rs 20,000 fine per uncovered branch after September 30, chief executive officer Ajay Bhushan Pandey said. UIDAI, in July, had asked private and public banks to open Aadhaar enrolment and updation facility in one out of the every 10 branches by Augustend. The reprieve of one month has now been granted as many banks sought additional time from the authority for setting up such facility on their premises. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 06th September 2017

Exporters demand total exemption from GST Exporters have petitioned the government for an outright exemption on payment of goods and services tax, saying that the time it takes to get reimbursements under the current mechanism was causing a working capital crunch. According to industry claims, about Rs 1.85 lakh crore of working capital will get stuck annually due to the implementation GST. Several exporters said they are already facing a capital shortage and have begun to turn away orders. Prior to the implementation of GST on July 1, exporters were exempted from paying duties. Now, they have to pay the tax first and then seek a refund, a process that ties up a portion of their working capital and pushes up manufacturing costs as they have to pay duties on inputs. This has particularly hit small exporters, who work on meagre resources and for whom getting bank financing is tough. Moradabad-based brass handicraft manufacturer and exporter Paragon Metals has Rs 6 lakh of drawback bl

Over 2 lakh companies' bank accounts frozen The Finance Ministry has imposed restrictions on the operation of bank accounts of more than 2 lakh companies which have been "struck off" from the Register of Companies.The bank accounts of these companies will remain frozen unless they are legally restored by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). All banks have been asked to take immediate and appropriate action. The Finance Ministry's official statement These individuals will not be able to operate bank accounts till such companies are legally restored by an order of the NCLT.Struck-off companies failed to respond to show-cause notices Most of these companies have been removed from the RoC due to issues with filing of returns and other formalities related to compliance. This was done after notices had been served to 2.97 lakh companies which had failed to respond to show-cause notices sent earlier. The existing directors and authorized signatories of these compani

House panel to meet on bankruptcy resolution Wednesday will see the first meeting of Parliament´s joint committee to study the government´s Bill to put in place a resolution framework to deal with bankruptcy situations at banks, insurance companies and entities such as nonbanking financial companies. The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill was referred to the joint committee on August 10, during the monsoon session, and the panel was constituted on August 19. It has 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. Bhupender Yadav, the latter´s member from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, heads it.The report is supposed to come in the winter session of Parliament. This, with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code enacted last year, is aimed to provide a comprehensive resolution mechanism. It is to put in place the process for designation of systemically important financial institutions, establishment of a Resolution Corporation for protection of consumers of spec

GST takes the sheen off services in August, too Introduction of the nationwide goods and services tax (GST) continued to be a drag on activity in the services sector in August, for a second month, with companies having to handle higher input prices and slow demand. The widely tracked Nikkei Purchasing Managers´ Index (PMI) showed a reading for the services sector of 47.5 in August.The 50 point mark separates expansion from contraction. However, the decline was softer than in the previous month of July, when the PMI had plunged toanearly fouryear low of 45.9. Last week, the latest gross domestic product (GDP) data showed a three year plunge in economic growth at 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year. While PMI data for manufacturing rebounded in August, rising to 51.2 points from 47.9 in July, services´ providers continued to grapple with a slow down in new businesses.The entities surveyed blame this on sub dued demand and rising competitive pressures emana