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Scope of insolvency rules to be extended to individual businesses The government on Tuesday expanded the scope of the new insolvency rules to bring individual businesses under its purview.On Tuesday, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) published the draft rules dealing with insolvency resolution process of individuals and firms on its website(www.ibbi.gov.in); public comments can be submitted till 31 October. Once notified, even individual businesses such as proprietorships will come under the bankruptcy regime. This will enable an orderly bankruptcy resolution within the purview of a transparent rules-based regime. Currently, the existing code applies only to corporate defaulters.“These rules shall apply to matters relating to the insolvency resolution process for individuals and firms under Part III of the code,” said the draft rules issued by IBBI. Part III of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, deals with insolvency and bankruptcy of individuals and pa...

MPS norms Non compliant companies to face stiff penalties Stock exchanges will impose a fine of up to Rs 10,000 on companies for each day of non- compliance with the minimum public shareholding requirements, according to a Sebi circular.Names of the non-compliant entities would also be disclosed on the websites of the exchanges concerned.Under the Sebi norms, listed entities are required to have a Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) of 25 per cent. Listing out the procedures to be followed by stock exchanges, Sebi in a circular today said that in case they find companies are not in compliance with MPS requirements, then notices should be issued to them within 15 days.In cases where the listed entity has failed to meet the MPS norms for more than a year, the bourse would slap a fine of "Rs 10,000 per day of non-compliance" and the penalty would continue to be imposed till the date of compliance. For other non-compliant entities, the fine would be Rs 5,000 per day."T...

Attempts to derail GST have failed: FM India´s transition to the goods and services tax (GST) regime has been “fairly smooth” despite attempts by “illinformed” Opposition leaders to derail its implementation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said. Jaitley, who is on a week long visit to the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, said under the GST, the government has unveiled attractive schemes to ensure that the noncompliant in India become compliant. “Many attempts have been made by political groups to derail the GST, butIam glad that their own state governments are not listening to them because they know 80 per cent of the money is going to come to them.They don´t have to appease an illinformed central leader of the party and let the revenues of their own state suffer,” Jaitley said. “So, the state governments are being wiser,” he said in response to a question during an event titled India´s market Reforms: The Way Forward. The o...

More penalties on firms not complying with MPS The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed stringent penalties on companies which don´t comply with the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms.On Tuesday, Sebi has asked the stock exchanges to imposeafine of Rs 5,000 per day on such companies.Depositories will also freeze the entire shareholding of the promoter group in such cases. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 11th October 2017

Three states cut VAT on fuels Maharashtra, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday reduced valueadded tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.The move follows the Centre cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre last week.Petrol in Maharashtra will be cheaper by Rs 2 and diesel by Rs 1 per litre from Wednesday. Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the decision would cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 2,000 crore to the state exchequer but “the government is ready to bear the additional financial burden despite Maharashtra´s economy not being in a good shape.” Gujarat cut VAT on petrol and diesel by 4 per cent. The effective price of petrol in Gujarat will be Rs 67.53alitre and that of diesel Rs 60.77 per litre, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said. “We have taken this decision in the interest of the people. The decision should not be considered to have any links with the polls.This is only aimed at giving relief to the people and it is a permanent decision.” The Himacha...

Transition To GST Fairly Smooth Despite Attempts To Derail It: Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley, who is on a week-long visit to the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, said under the GST the government has unveiled attractive schemes to ensure that the non-compliant in India become compliant. India's transition to the Goods and Services Tax regime has been "fairly smooth" despite attempts by "ill-informed" Opposition leaders to derail its implementation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented from July 1 this year. It brings the economy under a uniform tax regime. Mr Jaitley, who is on a week-long visit to the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, said under the GST the government has unveiled attractive schemes to ensure that the non-compliant in India become compliant. "Many attempts have been made by political grou...