CA Online

 Day 1 sees no major glitch for e-way bill, says GSTN chief executive An official said it would take a week or two for flying squads to get into regular operation, since the mechanism is not fully final One has to wait a bit longer to assess the robustness of the e-way bill portal. Just over 171,000 of these had been generated till 5 pm on Sunday, the first day of its mandatory nation-wide introduction for inter-state movement of goods worth over Rs 50,000 under the goods and services tax (GST) system.  The numbers were less than half of those generated on February 1, the earlier date of its roll-out, when the portal had crashed. At the time, 480,000 bills were generated. At present, the portal — ewaybill.nic.in — has a capacity to handle 7.5 million bills a day. Formally the electronic way bill for movement of goods, it is an invoice or delivery challan, generated only on the designated portal. Transport of goods more than Rs 50,000 in value in any vehicle cannot be m...

  RBI likely to stay put on rates, flag concerns on food inflation, oil’s surge The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to keep benchmark rates unchanged while signposting concerns over oil prices and food inflation at its first bimonthly policy review in the new financial year.  An ET poll conducted among 23 market participants suggests that the central bank may be headed into an extended pause on rate action even though the US Federal Reserve is penciling in higher borrowing costs in the world’s biggest economy toward the latter half of the year. Should the Monetary Police Committee (MPC) of the RBI hold rates at what they now are at its conclave beginning April 4, it would be the fourth such consecutive policy decision.  The MPC is expected to strike a balanced approach as inflation in the January-March quarter (Q1-2018) has undershot its target,” said Anubhuti Sahay, chief India economist at Standard Chartered Bank. “Additionally, growth recovery… in a nasce...

MCA plans 'intensive review' of companies law administration The government plans to carry out an "intensive review" of the administration of companies law as part of efforts to prevent instances of corporate frauds, according to a senior official. The government plans to carry out an "intensive review" of the administration of companies law as part of efforts to prevent instances of corporate frauds, according to a senior official. In the wake of over Rs 13,000 crore scam at Punjab National Bank (PNB), involving diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, various authorities, including Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), have initiated stringent measures. The ministry, which is implementing the companies law, is working to "tighten the screws" in order to prevent instances of corporate frauds, a senior official said. The Economic Times, New Delhi, 02nd April 2018

 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code set for major overhaul The corporate affairs ministry is finalizing a series of IBC amendments as the government wants to decisively deal with business failures that slow down the Indian economy India’s bankruptcy law, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), is set for a major overhaul as policymakers seek to decisively deal with business failures that slow down expansion in Asia’s third-largest economy. The ministry of corporate affairs is finalizing a series of IBC amendments based on a panel’s recommendations to remove difficulties in turning around businesses and to strike a balance between the interests of lenders, customers of failed businesses and their promoters, according to the insolvency law panel’s report which was submitted to the government last week. The IBC amendments proposed by the panel, led by corporate affairs secretary Injeti Srinivas, make a strong case for treating homebuyers as financial creditors, enabling them t...