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Pitching for a major over haul in the tax regime, the Economic Survey said India needs to increase its taxto-GDP ratio while spending more on health and education. The report flagged steps to broaden India’s narrow tax base, arguing that 20% of individuals should pay tax on their earnings compared to just 5.5% now. The easiest way to do this would be to not raise thresholds on tax breaks, and review and phase out such exemptions. The survey called for higher property tax rates to check speculation in real estate, along with “a reasonable taxation on the betteroff individuals in the country” irrespective of their sources of income — industry, services, real estate and agriculture. The survey expressed “disappointment” over the delay in the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, saying that once implemented, GST will usher in “unprecedented reform” in modern global tax history. “India’s overall tax-to-GDP is about 5.4 percentage points less than that of comparable co...

New bankruptcy law, kick-starting stalled projects, JAM to help address challenges Equating the Indian economy in the 21st century to the ‘Chakravyuha’ legend of the Mahabharata — which Abhimanyu could enter but not exit — in the opening chapter of the Economic Survey for 2015-16, the government on Friday cautioned that the country is facing adverse consequences due to the lack of a way out for failed ventures. The Survey, tabled in Parliament by finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday, said the government is looking to facilitate exit through a host of initiatives, including the new bankruptcy law, rehabilitation of stalled projects, proposed changes to the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as the broader JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile governance) agenda. “The Chakravyuha legend from the Mahabharata describes the ability to enter but not exit, with seriously adverse consequences. It is a metaphor for the workings of the Indian economy in the 21st century, the legacy of s...

Retirement fund body EPFO has tightened the norms on withdrawal of provident fund and its investment in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana for its over 50 million subscribers. “Now, subscribers won’t be able to claim withdrawal of their PF after attaining the age of 54. They will have to wait till they are 57. The ministry has notified new rules,” a senior official said. Under earlier rules, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation subscribers could claim 90% of the accumulation in their PF account at the age of 54 and their claims were settled just one year before retirement. The official said the earlier clause was relevant when establishments had a retirement age of 55 or 56 years. “But in today’s scenario, when retirement age is 58 years across organisations, the clause is not relevant. But the big change is that now, under this facility, the subscriber will be able to withdraw his contribution and the interest earned on it, unlike 90% of the total accumulation earlier,” he explai...

www.caonline.in News... 1.Mutual Funds to trace owner of unclaimed redemption & dividend amounts. Circular No. SEBI/HO/IMD/DF2/CIR/P/2016/37 -(25/02/2016) 2.Single Window Project-Problems in clearance of Ex-Bond Bills of entry in online clearance facility.F.No.450/147/2015-CUS-IV -(26/02/2016) 3.MVAT: Changes in automation processes & other procedures. Trade Circular No. 7T of 2016 -(25/02/2016) 4.CBDT Mechanism to Identify of Duplicate PANs. ITBA-PAN Instruction No. 3 - (24/02/2016) 5.Reopening on incoherent reasons not valid u/s 147. [Sabharwal Properties Industries Pvt. Ltd. vs. ITO (Delhi High Court)]. 6.Expenses not generating capital asset are revenue in nature. [CIT vs. M/s Manganese Ore India Limited (Bombay High Court)]. 7.Business set up expenses deductible despite of no business income. [Multi Act Realty Enterprises Pvt. Ltd vs. ACIT (ITAT Mumbai)]. 8.Extension of due date to file returns in form GE-II for 1st three quarters of F.Y.2015-16 to 07.03.2016. No...

In a bid to make revival of bad loans easier for banks, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday revised the guidelines for Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) and Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF). Banks should consider using SDRs only in cases where change in ownership is likely to improve the economic value of the stressed asset and the prospects of recovering dues. RBI also said banks going in for SDR should make provisions to the tune of 15% of the loan’s value, to tide over possible erosion in the value of the equity they acquire in lieu of debt and residual loans. It reduced the minimum percentage of shareholding to be initially divested by the lenders to 26% of the shares of the company and not necessarily 51%. This will give banks the option of exiting their remaining holdings gradually as the company turns around, keeping the ‘right of first refusal’ for the subsequent divestment of their remaining stake with the new promoter. To ease participation of lenders under JLF, the prop...

It’s just got easier for women to face childbirth. A woman from the family can now accompany them in the labour room in government hospitals. In hospitals where privacy protocols are followed, even the husband can be with the woman, essentially to provide the emotional support. The directive by the Union ministry of health and family welfare doesn’t allow relatives, particularly men, inside the labour room. In a release issued on Thursday, the ministry said the innovative move was aimed at reducing maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and infant mortality ratio (IMR). “While several measures have been taken up by the ministry over the years aimed in reduction in MMR and IMR, this step signifies India’s commitment under sustainable development goals to further accelerate initiatives with specific focus on quality parameters of the interventions,” said JP Nadda, health minister. While pregnant women may rejoice at the idea, gynaecologists in government hospitals see it as trouble in ...

Govt plans to stretch period for applicability of long-term capital gains tax to three years  The Finance Ministry has sought suggestions from leading tax experts and market participants on the implications of scrapping security transaction tax (STT)--a levy on transactions done on stock exchanges. Tax consultants said the government wants to understand the impact of doing away with STT as it mulls stretching the pe riod for applicability of longterm capital gains tax from one year to three years. STT is collected by the broker in addition to the brokerage soon after a trade is completed. A section of the market--shortterm traders and arbitrageurs--have been asking for a removal of STT because it squeezed their margins. The government in the budget of 2013-14 cut STT on equities and mutual fund units. In the last few days, top tax experts have been sounded out by the Finance Ministry on the matter. “There have been various representations to the government on various aspects ...

Move follows fears expressed by security officials; raises hackles of civil society, industry The government is ready with what it believes is the draft of a fool-proof replacement for a portion of the Information Technology Act which was trashed by the Supreme Court about a year ago as vague, unconstitutional and violative of the freedom of speech. Spurred by the country's police and intelligence agencies, which claim that they are struggling to deal with cases where social media is being used to undermine peace and national security, the government is poised to revive Section 66A of the IT law in a new avatar, which claims to be milder and more specific, according to people aware of the plan. A government committee has recommended fresh provisions to be included in the IT law through an amendment, and it has already drafted the clause aimed at filling the vacuum left by Section 66A. The clause is being vetted by the home ministry. Once this is done, the communications and...

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday said it had included the National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC ( NBAD) in the Second Schedule to the RBI Act. NBAD is the leading bank in the West Asia. Business Standard, New Delhi,26th February 2016

Simplifying norms for domestic funds to manage offshore pooled assets, the capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has dropped the ‘20-25 rule’, which required a minimum of 20 investors and a cap of 25 per cent on investment by an individual, for funds from low-risk foreign investors. According to the existing norms, a fund manager managing a domestic scheme is allowed to manage an offshore fund, subject to three specific conditions. The first requires the investment objective and asset allocation of the domestic scheme and of the offshore fund to be the same. The second condition requires at least 70 per cent of the portfolio to be replicated across both the domestic scheme and offshore fund. ALSO READ: Mutual funds' holding in BSE 500 stocks at over four-year high The third condition, being considered most stringent by the industry, requires the offshore fund should be broad-based with at least 20 investors with no single investor holding ...

www.caonline.in News... 1.Rail Budget 2016 : No hikes in fare; Sub-quota of 33% for women; increased quota of lower berths for senior citizens & women; enhanced capacity of eticketing system. 2.Service charge, user charge, convenience fee paid by gateways & vendors on online or card payments will be waived once steps approved by the Cabinet. 3.TP: Turnover is a relevant factor to consider comparability. [CIT vs. Pentair Water India Pvt. Ltd (Bombay High Court)]. 4.Mere change in head of income not attracts concealment penalty. [CIT vs. Shri. Hiralal Doshi (Bombay High Court)]. 5.Section 12AA Deemed registration effective after 6 month from application. [CIT vs. Society for the Promn. Of Edn (Supreme Court) Civil Appeal No. 1478 of 2016]. 6.Section 154 : AO cannot refuse rectification for mistake attributed to assessee. [ACIT vs Rupam Impex (ITAT Ahmedabad)]. For more News Like us on https://www.facebook.com/caonlineofficial Or Subscribe on mail visit : www.caonline.in...