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  Representations received to withdraw LTCG: FinMin In his Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed introduction LTCG tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh. Finance ministry today said it has received representations for withdrawal of the long term capital gains (LTCG) tax on listed securities proposed in the Union Budget 2018-19. In his Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed introduction LTCG tax of 10 per cent on stock market gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said "representations" have been received requesting for withdrawal of the proposal to introduce tax on LTCG on listed securities through the Finance Bill, 2018. "The decision will be reflected in the official amendment, if any, to the Finance Bill, 2018, at the time of consideration and passing by the Parliament," the minister said. Meanwhile, the Finance Bill 2018 could not b

  Income Tax department attaches benami properties worth Rs 39 billion Show cause notices for provisional attachment of benami properties were issued in over 1,500 cases Income tax department has provisionally attached benami properties of over Rs 39 billion in more than 1,200 cases, the Finance Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha today. In a written reply, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla also said the tax department has identified more than 1,600 benami transactions till end-February. "Show cause notices for provisional attachment of benami properties were issued in over 1,500 cases and provisional attachment has been made in over 1,200 cases. The value of properties under attachment is over Rs 39 billion," he said. In another reply, Shukla said till date, in three phases of 'operation clean money', the income tax department has identified around 22.69 lakh persons whose tax profile was found to be inconsistent with the case deposits made by

Trai Chief hits back at telcos; says allegations of bias uncalled for  Trai Chairman RS Sharma today slammed incumbent telecom operators for trying to dent the sectoral regulator's impartiality and credibility, saying that their allegations of bias or favour in regulation are absolutely "inappropriate and uncalled for".  He said the regulator has framed the rules including that on predatory pricing following the principles of fairness, transparency and consultation.  "We are in an unenviable position... We are not here running a popularity contest," he told PTI in an interview here.  His comments came just days after British telecom giant Vodafone termed Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai's) new rule on predatory pricing as "unfair", and said the company was fighting the competition "with hands tied at the back".  Sunil Mittal, who heads the country's biggest mobile phone firm Bharti Airtel had also recently stated th

SEBI to relax start-up net worth norms, allow listing on SME platform Move follows failure of ITP to attract start-ups; many have raised money from PE investors and have much higher networth to qualify for the platform Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to allow start-ups to list on the small and medium enterprises (SME) platform of the stock exchanges. Sources say start-ups will be given special relaxations on the SME platform in terms of net worth requirements and profitability. The move comes after Indian stock exchanges in coordination with Sebi held several discussions with both the industry participants and to come up with a new framework for start-up listing. The move comes after Institutional trading platform (ITP), a special segment for listing of new-age companies, failed to take-off. Sources say the idea behind the move is to provide capital raising opportunities to small and mid level start-ups who cannot list on the main boar

SEBIputs more safeguards for FPI investors Sebi has also allowed category-II FPIs to act as participatory notes (p-notes) issuers Market regulator Sebi has further amended the “Easing of access norms for investment by FPIs” circular by providing further safeguards. In the new circular, Sebi has asked private banks who invest on behalf of their clients to collect proper KYC details from investors. The regulator has said this route cannot be used by Indian citizens or non-resident Indians. Also, the collective investment a private bank makes on behalf its clients should be broad-based.A collective investment by the bank should have more than 20 investors with no single one owning more than 49 per cent. Sebi has also allowed category-II FPIs to act as participatory notes (p-notes) issuers. But, such funds should apply for a separate registration and would also have to fulfil the broad-basing criteria along with the requirement of a common portfolio. This clarification from Sebi

  CBDT to conduct nationwide review of tax collection for FY18 today In December, the CBDT had revised the target for direct tax collection to Rs 10 trillion, which includes personal income tax and corporate tax, up from the budgeted Rs 9.8 trillion The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will conduct on Wednesday a countrywide review of tax collection, especially for advance tax, tax deduction at source (TDS), arrears, and black money cases in a bid to shore up the direct tax revenue kitty for the financial year ending March 31. In December, the CBDT had revised the target for direct tax collection to Rs 10 trillion, which includes personal income tax and corporate tax, up from the budgeted Rs 9.8 trillion. Sources said the agency was confident of achieving the ambitious target as it was receiving a overwhelming response from India Inc. “We are looking at better advance tax collection for the January-March quarter. Up to December, Rs 3.8 trillion advance tax had been collecte