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FM rules out privatisation of public sector banks New Delhi, 7 September Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the April 1, 2017, deadline to roll out the goods and services tax ( GST) was stiff, as there were a few hurdles ahead. He added the Centre and states were “ running against time”, and there were issues, which the proposed GST Council needed to address. “After the notification and constitution of the GST council, there are obviously some pending issues, which the council will have to resolve. So we have September and October, and, parts of November to do that,” said Jaitley at the Economist India Summit in the national capital. Later, a senior finance ministry official said there were three issues — GST rates, dual control over assessment and scrutiny of assessees, and geographical or area- based exemptions. “If we are able to successfully transact those issues, the pieces of legislation would be introduced in Parliament in the winter session. Loo...

States can only opt for another structure, but experts say that might not be sustainable, once the Constitution amendment Bill becomes a law States opposing the goods and services tax (GST), such as Tamil Nadu, would not be able to avoid the indirect tax regime after the Constitution amendment Bill becomes law. The states would, however, be able to adopt a GST structure than is different from the one recommended by the proposed GST Council. The recommendations of the council would not be binding on the states. It should be noted that GST is targeted to be rolled out from April one, 2017 and for the purpose the Centre would have to pass the Central GST and Integrated GST Bills and the states their respective pieces of GST legislation. "The Constitution applies to the entire country, so each state has to impose GST once the new tax system is introduced," constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said. There could only be GST on sale of goods and services from the date the...

The government has decided to include internet broadcasting under the purview of the copyright Act. Business Standard New Delhi,07th September 2016

Spell It Out A Hong Kong-based grouping of FPIs, banks has sought a meeting with India's revenue secretary to clear up fears of additional taxation due to ambiguity on India-Singapore treaty, GAAR Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are lobbying the government to resolve problems related to the India-Singapore tax treaty and general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR), worried about their investment in equities. FPIs fear after April 1, 2017, when both the renegotiated India-Singapore treaty and GAAR come into force, they will face challenges. One relates to double taxation in India and their home country . The Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), a Hong Kong-based grouping of FPIs and global banks, has written to the government and sought a meeting with the revenue secretary .They say there is ambiguity on the tax treaty and lack of clarity on how FPIs would be taxed under GAAR. One of the suggestions they've made is radical -abolish capital ...

Industrial workers drawing a salary of up to 21,000 will be eligible for healthcare at clinics run by ESIC ESIC: wage ceiling hikes over 20 years The government on Tuesday overruled opposition from employers to allow an increase in the number of people eligible for Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), which provides medical care to industrial workers and their dependents, by raising the salary cap of beneficiaries to Rs.21,000 per month from Rs.15,000. This means all industrial workers drawing a salary of up to Rs.21,000 will be eligible for health care—from primary to tertiary— at more than 1,500 clinics and hospitals run by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) directly or indirectly. The move will add three million workers to the ESIC pool, benefiting 12 million more people when their dependents are taken into account. Tuesday’s decision will add nearly Rs.3,000 crore to the labour ministry-run ESIC’s corpus annually. The pro-worker step comes days after a natio...

States will foot the bill of Rs50-60 as they try to shield traders from high costs, ensure a smooth transition to new tax regime Every tax payment and return filing under the goods and services tax (GST) regime will cost around Rs.50-60, but traders will not have to bear this cost. Instead, the states will bear this cost as they try to protect the trader base from higher costs and ensure a smooth transition to the GST regime. Under GST, the entire dealer registration, tax payment, tax return filing and refund will be online and administered by the GST Network (GSTN). GSTN was set up in 2013 as a not-for-profit firm and was envisaged as the technology backbone for GST. As part of its revenue model and to sustain its operations, GSTN will recover these costs by levying a fee for transactions undertaken on the network. Under GST, every trader will be required to file a monthly return as well as an annual return. Separately, they will need to file a return each for purchases an...

An analysis carried in this newspaper about the states that have already ratified the Constitution Amendment Bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST) provides revealing insights into the political possibilities that can arise out of the proposed indirect taxes regime. It also brings out with great clarity the nature of the tough political resistance the new law and its enforcement could face. Of the 18 states that have endorsed the GST Bill, 10 are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. This is not a surprise. After all, the GST proposal in its current form has been spearheaded by the BJP-led government at the Centre. What, however, is a surprise is the fact that so far the expected ratification has not come from quite a few of the states, ruled either by aBJP-led alliance or those parties that had supported the Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament. For instance, the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal had initially planned to ratify the GST Bill at a special A...

More than half the states have already passed the Constitution amendment Bill on GST. Do you think the GST could now be rolled out on April 1, 2017, as targeted by the government? Since the Bill has been passed and ratified by the required number of states, it is for the government to take it forward. It needs to ensure there is strong and broad consensus on the nature of CGST (central GST) and IGST (integrated GST) Bills. The central government also needs to work with the states on an acceptable GST rate. The rate has to be capped since it is going to subsume all present duties and taxes of the Centre and states. The government should keep it at a globally acceptable threshold. Which is what? Anything below 20 per cent. Above 20 per cent would be meaningless. And, don’t forget that they (government) have not been able to persuade some states to allow taxing of petroleum goods. These are there in the Bill but zero rated. Alcohol has been completely kept out; electricity is out. ...

In a first of its kind townhall meet on(GST)goods and services tax Bill,Revenue Secretary Has mukhAdhia and tax officials will address traders and industry on September 17to clear doubts and create awareness on the landmark indirect tax regime set to kick in from April 1 next year. The meeting is part of an out reach programme planned by the Revenue Department in the Finance Ministry. Business Standrard New Delhi,05th September 2016

The National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre wants to change the date of the Union Budget,in sync with the suggestions of an expert panel examining the feasibility of a new financial yearfor the country. At present,the Budget is usually presented on the last day of February.A committee headed by for merchief economic advisor Shankar Acharya was setup to examine whether the April-to-March financial year could be replaced with anewone. With the possibility of an earlier Budget date,the Budget season has already begun this year.Sources said senior officer shavestarted to brain stormonthethemes of the annual exercise. Specifics are yet tobe worked out,but the broad theme would be“development”,according to a highly placed source.The focus will be on achieving eight percent yearly growth and government expenditure with an eye on that goal,he said. Several state elections,including that of Uttar Pradesh,are scheduled nextyear. Prime Minister Narendra Modi,it is lea...

After making the Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for high-value transactions, the government is now considering banning all-cash transactions of more than ~3 lakh. The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigations Team (SIT) on black money has recommended this to the Centre. It has also proposed that holding more than ~15 lakh in cash be made illegal for individuals and for companies. “Domestic black money is a bigger menace than the illegal cash stash abroad. This will allow the tax department to track all high-value transactions and reduce cash in the economy,” says Neha Malhotra, executive director, Nangia & Co. Rise in income-tax (I-T) notices? Once these guidelines are in place, the I-T department will get a better handle on your financial transactions. And, any unexplained highvalue transaction could lead to notices seeking explanation about the source of funds. At present, some transactions where individuals pay cash of more than Rs.3 lakh include propert...