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CIC raps GSTN for lack of order, seeks clarity on info disclosure Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the IT backbone of the new tax regime, has attracted the ire of Central Information Commission (CIC), which has directed the company to set its house in order and update information in public domain. CIC has taken a grim view of the functioning of GSTN, a company with 1,200 employees managing the entire network.Hearing an appeal filed by applicant R K Jain, who had sought information under the Right to Information Act (RTI) on GSTN’s HR policy and voluntary disclosure of information, Information Commissioner Bimal Julka said, “It is appalling to learn that an important, significant and critical area concerning the implementation of GST Network still required streamlining and consolidation, which needs to be attended to forthwith in the larger public interest”. The commissioner’s observation follows facts that emerged during hearing of the case. Jain had put forward documents...

Government borrowing cost likely to fall, thanks to EPFO Borrowing costs for the Centre and the states may reduce in FY19 after India allowed the country’s biggest buyer of organized debt to buy less of corporate bonds and increase instead the allocations toward sovereign paper. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which manages more than Rs 10 lakh crore in superannuation funds and is India’s largest domestic buyer of debt, now needs to allocate a minimum of 20 per cent of its portfolio to corporate bonds. That threshold, earlier set at 35 per cent, has been reduced because of the lack of availability of quality corporate paper in the country. “Based on the rates, we will take prudent and meritorious investment decision in the interest of stakeholders,” said VP Joy, the central provident fund commissioner. “We have larger limits now for government bond investments.”Two weeks ago, ET reported that the EPFO requested the Centre to alter investment guidelines applic...

Taxmen asked to step up collections to meet higher target Faced with a daunting target of Rs 10.05 lakh crore, the apex decision-making body for direct taxes, CBDT, has asked its field officers to step up efforts and put more focus on better performing zones. In the 2018-19 Budget, the government hiked the direct tax, which includes personal income tax and corporate tax, collection target to Rs 10.05 lakh crore from Rs 9.80 lakh crore budgeted initially.In a review meeting earlier this month, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) set higher target for zones which are performing well. “We are looking at better advance tax collection for January-March quarter. If the trend of October-December quarter continues, we will be able to achieve the landmark Rs 10 lakh crore target,” an official said. The focus areas of the department for stepping up tax collection will be to follow up with entities which are currently giving taxes on the basis of self-assessment. “We will check if th...

Govt ropes in IIFT, ICAI to improve ease of doing business ranking Commerce and industry ministry has appointed four institutes, including IIFT and ICAI, to interact with stakeholders and suggest measures to push India’s ranking in World Bank’s ease of doing business index Commerce and industry ministry has appointed four institutes, including IIFT and ICAI, to interact with stakeholders and suggest measures to push India’s ranking in ease of doing business index, an official said.The National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR), the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) are the four institutes that have been roped in for the exercise. As per the latest World bank’s Doing Business ranking, India’s position improved by 30 places to 100th. The government wants India to figure within top 50 in the coming years.“We have appointed these four obse...

70% IGST refund stuck due to flawed claims filed by exporters: CBEC As about 70 per cent of GST refunds stuck due to flawed information, the CBEC has asked exporters to amend the details in the final returns of subsequent month to enable the department to process the refund claims by March. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has sanctioned Rs 4,000 crore worth refunds to exporters in 4 months since October. Still about Rs 10,000 crore worth claims are stuck due to discrepancies in the information furnished by exporters to GST Network (GSTN) in filing GSTR 1 or Table 6A or GSTR 3B and shipping bill filed with Customs. "The analysis of data indicates that only about 32 per cent records of GSTR 1 / Table 6A have been transmitted from GSTN to Customs. In other words, a majority (about 70 per cent) of refund claims are held up either due to insufficient information or lack of due diligence on the part of exporter while filing GST returns," the CBEC said in a co...

E-way bill may be relaxed for e-commerce players if orders are small It is not clear if separate e-way bills for multiple orders are required if the same vehicle carries the consignments E-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart may get exemption from having to generate an electronic-way bill (e-way bill) under the goods and services tax (GST) if there are multiple deliveries on the same trip. The e-way bill is set to be introduced on April 1 for interstate movements of goods worth at least Rs 50,000, and in a phased manner for intrastate movements subsequently. This is one of the proposals to be tabled before the GST Council on March 10. The Council will also take up other measures to simplify the e-way. “A slew of changes in the e-way bill are being deliberated in line with the industry demand. The idea is to remove difficulties faced by companies. These will be put before the Council in the next meeting,” said an official. E-way bills will help the central and state t...