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It adds, Bengaluru and Jaipur are collecting no more than 5 to 20% of the potential India’s urban local bodies, or municipalities, have a huge potential to raise resources through taxation such as property tax, the Economic Survey said. It said a low level of per capita expenditure of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) against state per capita expenditure shows either states are not devolving adequate financial resources for these bodies or ULBs are not raising resources on their own. The Survey’s assessment of property tax collection potential of Bengaluru and Jaipur shows that currently both these cities are collecting no more than 5 to 20 per cent of the potential. The study on municipal finances conducted by the 14th Finance Commission indicated per capita revenue from property taxes was ~1,677 at most, with a low of just Rs 42. The Survey said with higher devolution of taxes to the states and grants to ULBs after the 14th Finance Commission, overall public funds available for urban rejuve...

Initiating stringent action against black money holders after note ban, the income-tax (I-T) department on Monday said it has issued 87 notices and frozen bank deposits worth crores in 42 cases nationwide under the newly enforced benami (nameless)Act, which attracts a heavy penalty and rigorous jail term of a maximum seven years. After demonetisation order of the government on November 8 last year, the department had carried out public advertisements and had warned people against depositing their unaccounted old currency in someone elses bank account saying such an act would attract criminal charges under the Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, applicable on both movable and immovable property, that has been enforced from November 1, 2016. The I-T department is the nodal department to enforce the Act in the country. The taxman has issued numerous summons under the Act and is in the process of issuing more. The decision, officials said, to slap the stringent provisions of the ...

Facing criticism from the Election Commission (EC) for not allowing candidates contesting the coming Assembly polls to withdraw cash up to their legal limit, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday removed withdrawal restrictions on current, cash credit and overdraft accounts with immediate effect. ATM withdrawal restrictions will also be eased from Wednesday, RBI said. A savings account holder may now withdraw up to Rs 24,000 at one go from ATMs. Earlier, the limit on such accounts was Rs 10,000 per day, with a weekly cap of Rs 24,000. The overall limit on savings accounts will, however, continue. The cap for savings account holders is Rs 24,000 per week.“The limits on saving bank accounts will continue for the present and are under consideration for withdrawal in the near future,” RBI added. RBI also said banks may, at their discretion, have their own operating limits as was the case before November 8, when note ban was imposed. The reason behind the move was the “pace of...

Purchases from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh may require details from next FYThe next time you visit your neighbourhood gold or silver jewellery store you might have to quote your PAN or Aadhaar card number for purchases aboveRs. 50,000-1 lakh. Currently ` , only purchases above Rs. 2 lakh require know-your-customer-compliance in the gold market. Chartered accountant Bhargav Vaidya, who provides consultancy services to the gems and jewellery sector, and the secretary of one of the country's largest bullion association, expects the KYC requirements for bullion and jewellery to be revised lower from the present Rs.2 lakh in Budget FY18, to be presented on Wednesday . “I think the KYC (compliance) will be cut to Rs. 50,000 from Rs.2 lakh at present in the Budget for FY18,“ said Vaidya, proprietor of BN Vaidya & Associates. Apart from the trade, financial regulators take feedback while drafting policy for gold trade from Vaidya. Any such move would come amid the government's crack...

Concerned over a large number of companies indulging in illegal money pooling activities, markets regulator Sebi today cautioned investors and general public against dealing with such entities -- 256 as per the latest update. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has cautioned investors against unlisted firms issuing securities without complying with the market norms. It advised investors to ensure that the companies seeking to raise funds have filed offer documents or applications with stock exchanges for listing. Some unlisted companies are luring retail investors by issuing securities, including non-convertible and convertible debentures, non-convertible and convertible preference shares, equity shares in the garb of private placement without complying with requisite provisions of the law, Sebi said in a statement. It has taken several prohibitory actions against these 256 firms. Among such firms are Sunshine Agro Infra, Greater Kolkata Infracon, Megasys Healthcare...

Wants TDS to be cut from 10% to 2%, and applied on commission earned, not on gross invoice value The staffing industry, representing companies such as Team Lease and Quess, wants finance minister Arun Jaitley to resolve the tax anomalies it faces, in the upcoming Budget. The Indian Staffing Federation says that its demand assumes significance since post-demonetisation it is the formal sector which will grow and the staffing industry will play a crucial role in that. The industry represents contract hiring in organised industry done through tri-partite agreements -- between the company that is hiring, the person hired and the staffing industry. The Federation said tax deducted at source (TDS) is imposed on the gross invoices received by its members from its client companies, whereas it should be on just the commission received by the staffing companies. While this amount is adjusted later, it takes about a year to happen, creating cash flow problems for staffing companies, s...

The right to plan tax affairs is a fundamental right of every taxpayer. However, there are times when tax planning results in tax avoidance. To prevent this, rules have been introduced, both globally as well as in India, to ensure that appropriate taxes are levied. Though there were Specific Anti-Avoidance Rules (SAAR) in India through provisions in the Income-Tax Act, there were no codified General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) until they were introduced in the Finance Act, 2012, only to be deferred and then made applicable from April 1, 2017. Under the GAAR provisions, the tax authorities have the powers to regard an arrangement as an impermissible avoidance one if its main purpose is to obtain a tax benefit by taking recourse to arm’s length pricing, or if it results in abuse of provisions of tax laws, lacks commercial substance, or is carried out in a manner not ordinarily employed for bona fide purposes. In such cases the tax authorities can re-characterise and determine the tax...

After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned down its request to increase the weekly cash withdrawal limit for candidates contesting in the coming Assembly polls, the Election Commission (EC) of India has written back to RBI Governor Urjit Patel, expressing “serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with”. In a letter on Sunday, EC asked RBI to realise the ‘gravity of the situation’, virtually charging the central bank with impeding the democratic process. One letter by the EC was in the context of the low withdrawal limits for candidates and asked these be relaxed. There are several bills that candidates in the election can only pay by cash. The EC has received a large number of complaints where candidates are facing constraints. This effectively means curtailing the candidate’s right to campaigning in a free and fair election, the poll body had indicated. Right to withdraw cash should not hamper the democratic process, it had said and asked RBI to a...

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  may hike service tax rate to 16-18 percent from the current 15 percent in the Budget, due on Wednesday,asaprecursortothe GoodsandServicesTax(GST)rollout. The move,that will make flying,eating out,phone bills and a host of other services expensive, would be an attempt to take the rates closer to the proposed tax slabs for GST. GST,which will subsume central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, is scheduled to be rolled outfrom July 1. The tax slabs decided for the GST are 5,12,18and28 percent and taking service tax closer to one of the slabs is a logical move in the Budget,tax experts said. Tax experts say,Jaitley,who had in his previous budgethiked service tax rate by 0.5 percent to 15 percent,may raise the levy by at least one percent age point to 16 percent. Some others feel there could be different service tax rates with a lower 12 percent for basic services and a higher 18 percent for the rest. Business Standard...

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  may hike service tax rate to 16-18 percent from the current 15 percent in the Budget, due on Wednesday,asaprecursortothe GoodsandServicesTax(GST)rollout. The move,that will make flying,eating out,phone bills and a host of other services expensive, would be an attempt to take the rates closer to the proposed tax slabs for GST. GST,which will subsume central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, is scheduled to be rolled outfrom July 1. The tax slabs decided for the GST are 5,12,18and28 percent and taking service tax closer to one of the slabs is a logical move in the Budget,tax experts said. Tax experts say,Jaitley,who had in his previous budgethiked service tax rate by 0.5 percent to 15 percent,may raise the levy by at least one percent age point to 16 percent. Some others feel there could be different service tax rates with a lower 12 percent for basic services and a higher 18 percent for the rest. Business Standard Ne...

In service and maintenance contracts, cost of parts and materials used are excluded for evaluating service tax, the Supreme Court has held in a batch of appeals from different states referring to companies retreading tyres. It reversed the finding of the excise appellate tribunal that it is the entire of the gross value of the service rendered that is liable to service tax. The tribunal had maintained that there is no sale or deemed sale of the parts or other materials used in the execution of the contract of repairs and maintenance. The court stated that several government notifications like those in 2003 and 2004 have made it clear that goods and materials sold by the service provider to the recipient of service are exempted. The only condition is that there should be documentary proof specifically indicating the value of the goods and materials, the court stated in its judgment in the leading case, Safety Retreading Co vs Commissioner of Central Excise. An assessee is liable to pa...