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Capping GST at 18 Percent a stupid thought PM On a day that crackled with political barbs and allegations between the two principal rivals in poll bound Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was not a Hindu. The Congress accused the BJP of indulging in gutter politics. The Congress leader started his two day election campaign in Gujarat by visiting the Somnath Temple.The BJP termed Rahul Gandhi´s visits to various temples in the state, including Somnath,acharade.The BJP social media team circulated photographs of the visitor´s register at the Somnath Temple to claim that Rahul Gandhi, along with Congress leader Ahmed Patel, had signed in the temple´s visitor´s book kept for “nonHindus” The Congress responded by accusing the BJP of forgery.It said the Congress vice president wasn´t just a Hindu, buta ´janeudhari´ Hindu, somebody who wears the sacred thread.It also circulated photocopies of the temple visitor´s book where Rahul Gandhi

Realty contractors move court over discrepancy in GST rates If a real estate developer or an infrastructure contractor is incurring more cost due to the goods and services tax, should the consumer pay him for that? Why not, ask developers.In what is exactly opposite of anti-profiteering, real estate contractors have dragged the government of India and the GST Council to Delhi High Court, demanding that their losses due to GST be made good. The problem is due to what they call a discrepancy in GST rates for contractors and subcontractors.While the government has fixed 18% GST for under-construction properties, it has allowed deduction of land value by the developer, making his effective tax rate 12%. But the subcontractor has to pay full 18%. Now, this difference in tax rate cannot be passed on to the developer and thereby to the final consumer, the contractors said in a writ petition filed in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.So they want the government and GST Council to fix t

NSE top brass discusses IPO colocation with shareholders The National Stock Exchange (NSE) held a meeting with top shareholders to update them on the status of its much a waited initial public offering (IPO) and the pending regulatory issue with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).The meeting, which took place on Tuesday, was addressed by the exchange´s top management, including Chairman Ashok Chawla and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vikram Limaye. Most of the domestic and foreign shareholders were other attendees, said sources in the know.The NSE´s Rs 10,000crore maiden offer to provide partial or full exit to 27 shareholders has got delayed by nearly a year due to a probe against it for giving unfair access to its colocation (colo) servers to some brokers. In the past, certain shareholders had mounted pressure on the bourse´s management over the delay.A source present at the meeting said most stakeholders acknowledged that there was nothing much

Note ban proves a big gain for wholesalers Metro Cash Walmart Two of the country’s biggest wholesalers — Metro Cash and Carry and Walmart — saw double digit sales growth, helped by demonetisation which saw sellers’ dependency on traditional retail channels drop significantly and a greater number of small grocers rushing in to buy daily essentials from the big box formats after November Metro, the first global firm to enter India, is the largest cash and carry operator here, and posted higher growth than Walmart. Both saw significant jump in revenue growth compared to previous years. Metro, the Düsseldorf-based retail and wholesale group posted a 22% rise in sales during FY17 to Rs 5,632 crore, compared to 16% growth a year ago. Walmart India, that runs Best Price Modern Wholesale stores saw revenue growth nearly double to 13% at Rs 3,609 crore, versus a 7% growth in FY16 The Düsseldorf-based retail and wholesale group said it had split its India operations into two divisions to

Parliament panel seeks GST relief for exporter A parliamentary panel has asked the finance ministry to allow exporters to use the old system of refunds to mitigate the compliance burden incurred in transitioning to GST Lawmakers have pitched for fresh concessions to labour-intensive exporting sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery to mitigate the compliance burden incurred in transitioning to the goods and services tax (GST) regime that was rolled out on 1 July. Accordingly, a parliamentary panel has asked the finance ministry to allow exporters to use the old system of refunds through the so-called duty drawback scheme.The parliamentary standing committee on commerce sought the intervention, claiming that the GST compliance burden was causing job losses in labour-intensive export sectors. Under the duty drawback scheme in the pre-GST era, exporters could claim rebates on taxes such as service tax and excise duty. After GST was introduced, the government pared