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E-commerce firms may get 6-month tax breather The provision of tax collected at source (TCS) imposed on suppliers selling products on e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon in the goods and services tax (GST) regime is likely to be deferred by six months.The recommendation by the law review committee may come as a breather for e-commerce players, which have been strongly opposing the additional levy. The TCS of 1 per cent to be charged collectively by the Centre and states was kept in abeyance till April 1, 2018, by the GST Council in October along with the reverse charge mechanism and the e-way bill. However, in light of revenue leakage concerns, the e-way bill to track movement of inter-state supply of goods will be implemented from February 1, while reverse charge mechanism on composition dealers may be implemented any time now. “The provision pertaining to TDS and TCS can be kept in abeyance for at least six more months, is the view taken by the law committee,” said a

India shaking off GST roll-out woes, but oil price a risk: S&P S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday said the Indian economy is shaking off its post-GST implementation woes but risks from higher oil prices have reappeared. In its report S&P said overall economic risks in India remain low with pick up in industrial output and bank credit. International oil prices have been rising, which has also led to increased prices of petrol and diesel. A majority of India’s import bill stem from crude oil purchases. Last year, during the July-September quarter, the Indian economy expanded by 6.3 per cent as manufacturing picked up and businesses adjusted to the new tax regime. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 24th January 2018

SEBI GDR crackdown runs into foreign hurdles Market regulator gets little help from overseas counterparts The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) investigation of money laundering by Indian nationals through foreign capital markets seems to have hit a hurdle. According to sources, Sebi has sought several key pieces of evidence from foreign agencies, but a majority of these requests have been pending for months. The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) investigation into money laundering by Indian nationals through foreign capital markets appears to have hit a hurdle. According to sources, the Indian regulator has sought several key pieces of evidence from foreign agencies, but a majority of these requests have been pending for months, stalling further investigations. In many of the cases, foreign regulators are also reluctant to share information, especially bank account details. Legal experts say Sebi has agreements with market regulators of 30 cou

Companies unlikely to get transition credit for cesses paid earlier The government is set to amend the goods and services tax (GST) law to explicitly state that no transition credit can be availed in lieu of cesses paid under the previous tax regime, a move that comes after companies claimed hundreds of crores of rupees as transition credit in lieu of Swachh Bharat Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess. Although the government had made it clear at the outset that no transition credit would be available after implementation of the GST regime, some companies took refuge in lack of clarity in law to claim credit against cesses. The GST Council had at its meeting last week approved changes to the GST law suggested by the law review committee. These will now be vetted by the legislative department, approved by the GST Council and brought in as amendment bill in the second half of the budget session, the official said. The GST regime, which kicked in on July 1, 2017, replaced 43 central and st