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DeMon, GST will benefit economy in long run: FM Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that the structural economic reforms undertaken by the Modi government may entail some cost in the short term but would end up benefiting the economy in the medium and long term. Responding to concerns expressed by members during a short-duration discussion on the state of economy, particularly the impact of demonetisation and GST, Jaitley said that “after making such major structural changes it is natural to feel some impact for one, two or three quarters...there may be some criticism for 2-3 months but then benefits shall follow”. “Structural reforms entail some cost...but then it bottoms out and the curve starts moving...such indications are now becoming visible,” he stated. Jaitley mentioned that India was the fastest-growing economy for last three years and even after the structural reforms, the IMF/World Bank foresaw its ranking as second highest. “This has restore...

Securities scanner: CAs, valuers and CSs could come under Sebi ambit  Chartered accountants and company secretaries may soon come under the ambit of the capital markets regulator. The Securities and Exchange Board of India will issue rules that will put the onus on chartered accountants, company secretaries, cost accountants, valuers and monitoring agencies to get companies to comply with securities regulations and act in the interests of public shareholders. Currently, most of them are not regulated by Sebi.  The proposal was taken to the regulator’s board on March 28 and a discussion paper will be issued soon, said a Sebi board member.  “Investor confidence is fundamental to the successful operation of the securities market. That confidence depends on investors having credible and reliable financial information when making decisions about capital allocation,” Sebi said in an internal note to its board.  SEBI has observed that auditors have been negligent wh...

 Rs 7.18 trn: July-Feb GST collections short of Rs 100 bn of original target The mop-up was subdued in October, November and January, and that has led to some shortfall Collections under the goods and services tax (GST) were marginally lower by some Rs 100 billion, compared to the original target set by the government for the first eight months of the roll-out of the new indirect tax.The mop-up was subdued in October, November and January, and that has led to some shortfall. Against the target of Rs 7.28 trillion for the eight months, collections stand at Rs 7.18 trillion. The target was arrived from the monthly run rate of Rs 910 billion. The run rate was, in turn, derived from the Budget Estimates and 14% indirect tax revenue growth for states for 2017-18.Of the collections under the GST, Credit Suisse estimates that collections accruing to the Centre add up to Rs 4.6 trillion. This is roughly 3.3% higher than the Rs 4.44 trillion target in the Revised Estimates for 2017-...

CAG flags lower administrative charges collection by EPFO Government auditor CAG has detected under-realisation of administrative charges worth Rs 6.17 crore from establishments at eight regional offices of retirement fund body EPFO, according to a report.  The under-realisation was detected after test checking of records at the eight EPFO regional offices during January 2015 to March 2017 period.  "Failure of eight regional offices of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to verify dues remitted by the establishments with reference to the revised rate of administrative charges on Employees' Deposit Link Insurance (EDLI) and Employees' Provident Fund resulted in short realisation of Rs 6.17 crore during the period from January 2015 to March 2017," stated a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in Parliament today.  According to the report, the EPFO had revised rate of administrative charges for EDLI and EPF schemes from January 1, 201...

 Risk-based capital framework for industry to benefit Irdai, says IMF The IMF has appreciated Irdai's moves over the past six to seven years, specifically in reforming insurance products The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) must develop a sound risk-based regulatory framework for the industry and modernise its supervision and regulations on investments of insurers and the products they offer, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended. The IMF has appreciated Irdai’s moves over the past six to seven years, specifically in reforming insurance products, raising solvency levels, maintaining the independence of the regulator, cooperating with other regulators, and supervising corporate governance in insurance companies. Both the sector and the regulation of insurance are more integrated with the larger financial system, the IMF report has said, with the regulator adopting a more formal approach to solvency levels and new forms of elig...

Direct tax collections surge 18% to cross Rs 10-trn mark in FY18: Jaitley Of the total ITRs filed, 67.4 million returns were e-filed Direct tax collection has grown by 18 per cent to cross Rs 10.02 trillion in the financial year ended on March 31, 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday He said demonetisation and GST implementation have resulted in higher formalisation of the economy which is evident from additional 10 million IT returns being filed in the previous financial year. "Direct tax collections for FY2017-18 has been Rs 10.02 trillion (18 per cent higher than previous year). The data reveals the efficiency of the tax department and rise in no. of honest taxpayers. This historical revenue receipt is a factual testimony of accountable governance under PM @narendramodi ji," Jaitley tweeted. He said the number of income tax returns filed rose to 68.4 million during 2017-18, compared to 54.3 million filed in 2016-17. This represents a 26 per cent ...

Sebi's F&O restrictions likely to boost dabba trading in Indian markets Regulator has proposed physical settlement of contracts in place of cash settlements The decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to tighten the derivatives framework could provide an impetus to ‘dabba trading’ — an unofficial parallel market. According to market participants, the concept of ‘product suitability’ and physical settlement can see many proprietary traders and wealthy investors shift to dabba trading. The move could revive the activity in the grey market, adversely hit after demonetisation. Dabba trading occurs in a manner similar to a stock exchange, without any regulatory oversight or tax burden. As these are unofficial trades, investors don’t have to pay the securities transaction tax or capital gains. Also, there is no need to provide know your customer (KYC) documentation. The platform was misused for money laundering and tax evasion purposes, prompting the g...