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Exporters are not impressed by the Centres' decision to increase duty drawback rates for merchandise exports of certain products. Terming the move a 'temporary measure', exporters have demanded the government should take more concrete measures to stem the fall in exports. Exports stood at $21.35 billion in October 2015 - a 17.53 per cent fall on a year-on-year basis. On Monday, the government had raised the duty drawback rates by two per cent for many sectors including engineering, marine and textiles. Besides, two weeks ago, the government had announced a revamped merchandise exports from India scheme (MEIS) for 110 additional products. Reacting to these developments, Ajay Sahai, director-general, Federation of Indian Exports Organisation, said more should have been done to lift exports. The drawback rates are reimbursement of certain customs and excise duties, and service tax on imports of input materials, which go into the manufacture of goods that are exported. ...

Taxman sends letters to new-age cos such as Foodpanda, Oyo Rooms and Airbnb to check if they are paying tax Aggregators such as Foodpanda, Oyo Rooms and Airbnb have been asked whether they are paying service tax. “Letters were sent to ascertain if these entities are registered with the department and paying due tax,“ said a department official. This seems to be part of a `friendlier' approach to alert service providers of their potential liability, in line with the Centre's desire for a non-adversarial tax regime that's more welcoming to investors. The official said most entities had registered them selves and some had sought fur ther clarifica tions on proceprocesses as the dures and processes as the provision dealing with this particular area is fairly new. While the rapidly expanding sharing economy offers vast potential for tax revenue, the task can be challenging as in some cases there is no brick-and-mortar presence for these firms. Foodpanda, which aggr...

You may soon not need an automatic teller machine (ATM) to withdraw money using a debit card. A retailer would be able to give you your money. Electronic processing platform Payworld has launched Payworld Cash Point — a service that would help a user withdraw cash from selected retail establishments. An authorised shopkeeper (say, a grocer or a pharmacist) would be able to use a Payworld app on his smartphone to swipe a user’s debit card. Up to Rs 2,000 can be withdrawn from an account using this facility. Payworld has tied up with State Bank of India to operate this. Payworld plans to install these cash-out facilities at all retail outlets under its coverage. It would provide the technology and hardware for the retailers. Payworld is targeting Tier-III & -IV cities and rural areas. Praveen Dhabhai, COO of Payworld, said: “Our initial plan is to launch the scheme with 500 retailers and gradually scale it up to over 5,000 by March 2016.” Business Standard, New Delhi, 18t...

Industry experts expect wider adoption of algorithms from April 2016 when new rules come into effect Algorithms, the software programs that are increasingly replacing humans in many complex jobs where precision and speed decide the winner, are becoming an essential tool for auditors as well. Algorithms, or algos, help auditors identify unusual patterns in the books of account for further analysis.While algorithm-based auditing isn't new globally, audit firms have just started introducing these software systems to India, at a time when local regulations are becoming increasingly stringent. Starting April 2016, failing to raise red flags or mentioning the exact problems they found during auditing of companies could even land the auditors in jail. Auditors rely on technology mostly in risk-based auditing. These algorithms could pinpoint the problem ar eas. The Big Four auditors -Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, EY and KPMG -which have invested millions of dollars to build in-...

India’s economic growth is expected to exceed 7.3 per cent in the current financial year and the government would try to convince opposition parties to pass a blocked tax reform, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday. “The Indian economy is expected to grow better than 7.3 percent — the level achieved last fiscal year — and even at a higher level next year,” Jaitley told investors at an Arab- India Economic Forum meeting in Dubai. Economic growth, Jaitley said, would come despite weakness in rural demand due to poor rainfall in the last two years. A drought has also caused shortages that have led to a spike in prices of pulses and vegetables. India’s retail inflation surged to a four- month high in October and industrial production grew at a slower- thanexpected pace in September, latest government data shows. In a bid to speed up growth, India last week eased foreign direct investment norms in 15 major sectors, including mining, defence and civil aviation. But foreign...

Lukewarm retail participation in recent public floats of InterGlobe Aviation and Coffee Day Enterprises has caught the eye of the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi), the stock markets regulator. Retail investors are those who invest less than Rs.2 lakh each. According to sources, it plans to ask investment bankers of the two transactions why this had happened. The retail quotas in both were under- subscribed. The regulator is also likely to take up the issue at the annual conference of the Association of Investment Bankers in India (AIBI) next month. An e- mail to Sebi wasn’t answered. “The regulator wants to know if the issues were marketed properly,” said a source. Sources said Sebi will also raise other issues on primary markets at AIBI conference. Merchant bankers are likely to raise issue of the start- up listing platform. Theyre looking for clarity on how the proposed Institutional Trading Platform for start- ups will be different from the one available for ...

Indicates willingness to discuss opposition- sponsored motions on intolerance; Jaitley shows willingness to accommodate concerns on GST The coming winter session of Parliament would see an opposition bloc, emboldened after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Partys defeat in Bihar, more combative and united in raising the issue of “ intolerance”. The loss, however, has also strengthened the voice of reformers within the government. The session, starting November 26, could see a government more open to discussing contentious issues. And, more purposeful in pushing its reform agenda by reaching out to the principal opposition party, the Congress, to ensure passage of the goods and services tax ( GST) constitutional amendment. Recently, finance minister Arun Jaitley went to the residence of Congress leader and opposition head in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, inviting him to a family wedding. The two also discussed the coming session, sources said. Earlier in the day, the finance mi...

Updates Of the Day 1.Swachh Bharat Cess of 0.5% to be levied on all taxable services w.e.f. 15.11.2015. Notification no. 22/2015 dated 06.11.15. 2.Donations received by a wholly religious trust cannot be taxed under section 115BBC merely because trust also involved in charitable/spiritual activity (Delhi High Court) [CIT vs. Bhagwan Shree Laxmi Nariandham Trust] 3.Arrears of revenue under Central Excises and Salt Act cannot be recovered from legal heirs of a dead assessee. [Shabina Abraham and Ors. vs. CCEC] (Supreme Court of India). 4.The union finance minister Shri Arun Jaitley launches the “E-Sahyog” pilot project of the income tax department to facilitate taxpayers. 5.We wish you and your family a happy dhanteras. May Godess Maa Laxmi bless you with prosperity and peace. Regards Ujjwal Thakur Team Webecreator. For more News Like us on https://www.facebook.com/caonlineofficial Or Subscribe on mail visit : www.caonline.in

Updates Of the Day 1.RBI has relaxed the conditions of facilities for residents for hedging of foreign currency borrowings. 2.W.e.f. 15th November, 2015 ‘Swachh Bharat Cess’ @ 0.5% will apply on value of all taxable services and effective rate of service tax will be 14.5%. 3.No TDS liability u/s 194A on interest paid which is compensatory in nature. [ITAT Chennai held In the case of The ACIT vs. M/s. Trimex Industries (P) Ltd.]. 4.CIT not authorized to verify charitable activities of trust while granting registration u/s 12AA: [Jaipal Singh Sharma Trust vs. CIT (ITAT Delhi)]. 5.Government approved for amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) signed between India and Turkmenistan. For more News Like us on https://www.facebook.com/caonlineofficial Or Subscribe on mail visit : www.caonline.in

The government on Friday did not rule out the possibility of bringing in a legislation to give legal sanctity to Aadhaar cards. This would enable use of Aadhaar cards in government schemes and other areas including for taxation purposes. A case in this respect is already pending in the Supreme Court, with petitioners alleging breach of privacy if the Aadhaar card is made mandatory in various government schemes since it uses biometric data like fingerprint and iris scans. In concluding remarks in Delhi Economics Conclave here, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “... probably the government would try to place its stand before the court, and I think both options of being in court and before the legislature would always be open for any executive government.” “Aadhaar and JAM Trinity are here to say,” the finance minister said. JAM refers to use of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhar and transfers through mobile. He said a draft legislation on the issue is already there. He was refe...

Government might get Rs.400 cr in financial year 2016 via this levy The government will impose a Swachh Bharat Cess of 0.5 per cent on all services presently liable for service tax, with effect from November 15, the finance ministry stated on Friday. The proceeds are exclusively for its Swachh Bharat initiatives. The funds would go to the Centre’s kitty and would not be shared with the states. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced the cess in his 2015- 16 Budget, at two per cent or less on services which attracted service tax. “Swachh Bharat Cess is not another tax but a step towards involving each and every citizen in making a contribution to Swachh Bharat...( The cess) will translate into a tax of 50 paise only on every Rs.100 worth of taxable services,” the notification said. The budgeted estimate for total service tax collections in 2015- 16 is Rs.2.1 lakh crore. Had the 0.5 per cent cess been imposed for the full year, the proceeds would have been Rs.1,049 crore. How...