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Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday said 8.65 per cent interest on employees provident fund deposits for this financial year will be okayed by finance ministry and there is no difference of opinion. Business Standard New Delhi,15th February 2017

Private equity (PE) investors want capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to relax the lockin requirement on pre-initial public offer (IPO) shareholding. The current regulations clash with their fund philosophy and often prevent them from getting time-bound exits. Under the current Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements (ICDR) regulations, pre-IPO shares are locked in for a period of one year and the minimum contribution of promoters is locked for three years. Sources said PEs and venture capitalists (VCs) recently met Sebi seeking relaxation in the lock-in criteria, particularly in companies where they are construed as promoters by virtue of their rights and shareholding in the company. Legal experts say the issue is more relevant in the new-age companies and start-ups, which don’t have promoters in the true sense and are largely incubated by various funds. They add the wide definition of “promoter” is creating difficulties for some inves...

BANKS LIKELY TO MISS THEIR TARGETS AS BAD LOANS CONTINUE TO PILE UP TOUGH TIMES For the top 8 lenders, recoveries have fallen nearly a quarter between Q2 and Q3 Demonetisation has not only dampened banks' core business of lending, it has also hit them where it hurts -loan recovery. Recoveries from bad assets have fallen nearly a quarter among the top 8 lenders. Banks, which had set lofty targets for loan recoveries at the start of the year after the Asset Quality Review exercise, are likely to miss their targets as bad loans continue to pile up. Top banks recovered . 7,909 crore from such loans at just ` the end of the December quarter against Rs.10,177 crore at the end of the September quarter. These numbers are dismal, especially when compared with the quantum of dodgy loans banks have accumulated since December last year. Data compiled by ETIG shows that at the end of September 2015, banks' absolute gross non-performing assets stood at Rs. 3.50 lakh crore, which clim...

Income Tax Dept to scrutinise paintings, antique jewellery and vintage cars bought at lower price A recent tweak in tax rules is worrying a billionaire Indian promoter who purchased four expensive paintings from a private seller earlier this year. The buyer had paid about 80% of the price in cash and the remaining through one of his companies, according to a person in the know. This was convenient for both, the buyer and the seller. The promoter had been advised by a tax expert that paying for expensive art through a company would help avoid tax scrutiny on that amount. The seller, on the other hand, showed only 20% of the actual income and paid tax on that. Such maneuvers, however, will no longer escape taxation. From the next financial year, such deals will start coming under income tax scrutiny -expensive paintings, antique jewellery, vintage cars, real estate or any other art bought by companies will now face income tax scrutiny and tax will be demanded if real price or fai...

The Income Tax Department has issued refunds amounting to Rs.1.42 lakh crore in the current fiscal so far, 41.5% higher than a year ago, after processing 4.19 core income tax returns. The department said in a statement that 92% of the refunds issued are below Rs.50,000 due to the high priority given to expeditious issue of refunds to small taxpayers. Only 2% of refunds less than Rs.50,000 remain to be issued, the department said. Many of these pertain to returns filed recently or cases where the taxpayer's response to the department is awaited, it said. The department advised taxpayers to verify and update their email address and mobile number on the e-filing portal to receive electronic communication.The Centralised Processing Centre processed 92% of all returns within 60 days. As many as 4.01 crore returns were e-filed till February 10, marking a 20% increase over FY16. The Economic Times New Delhi,14th February 2017

Up to 18 lakh people asked to provide info about source of cash deposited after note ban, but no notices sent out yet Over 2 lakh people logged on to the website of the income tax department, which has sought clarifications from 18 lakh people who deposited large sums of cash after demonetisation. As many as 60,000 have responded and some have even agreed to pay tax, said Sushil Chandra, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, clarifying that no notice has been sent to anyone as yet. “It's a request for e-verification of their accounts and an explanation,“ said Chandra. The department expects to hear from most of the people who have been sent the requests by March 31, failing which formal notices under the income tax law will be sent to them. “The department will have to issue notices and make assessments,“ said Chandra.More requests for information are likely to go out soon as deeper data mining starts, he said. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION The 18 lakh people have ...

Taxman not to question FPIs for bringing money via Mauritius, Singapore till March 31 India-focused offshore funds are asking clients to advance their planned investments into them before April 1 -the deadline for foreign portfolio investors to avail treaty tax benefits. From the new financial year, foreign investors using countries such as Mauritius and Singapore to route their investments into India will have to start paying capital gains, though at a reduced rate for the time being. Also, the tax department will not question investors for bringing money through this route till March 31. “Foreign investors may upfront their planned purchase of Indian stocks to before March 31 to take advantage of the grandfathering window so they don't have to pay any extra capital gains tax,“ said Samir Arora, fund manager, Helios Capital. Last year, India amended its tax treaty with Mauritius and Singapore, from where close to 80% of foreign portfolio money flows into the country . The am...

The government has decided that all future foreign atomic reactors in India will have a capacity to generate 1,200 Mw and above, in a bid to augment nuclear power generation. "We already have foreign power plants with a capacity of 1,000 Mw (Kudankulam). The technology too has advanced that we have reactors with such a capacity. If we are installing them, then might as well have reactors that can generate more power and make optimum use of it," a senior government official said. According to sources, the second site to be allocated to the Russians at Kavali in Andhra Pradesh for its proposed nuclear power park will also have atomic reactors with an enhanced capacity of 1,200 Mw. Business Standard New Delhi,13th Febuary 2017

With sophisticated technology now at their disposal, tax authorities are trying to be one step ahead of evaders. The income tax (IT) department always had information at their disposal, using which they sent out notices to taxpayers. But, most of these were looked at in silos. They are now using technology like big data analytics to combine all the information and geta360degree income profile. Earlier, if you purchasedahouse that didn´t match the returns filed, they would call for you to explain how you funded it. All you had to do then was show the assessing officer loan documents and statement of savings. The same verification is now done withadeeper understanding of your income profile. Now, the officer can look at your purchases and spending —likeacar, gold or credit card bills —and check if the savings you showed are justified or not. Beyond deposits: The deposits made during demonetisation is only the starting point for investigations. “The tax authorities are a...

1 Usually, the Union Budget generates excitement among tax payers, as many amendments to the laws here are made. This time, hardly any changes were made in the excise and service tax laws, to be phased out when the goods and services tax laws will replace these in the next few months. However, the Finance Bill proposes a few changes in the Customs law, which is set to continue. Sub-section (3) of Section 46 of the Customs Act is being substituted, to make it mandatory to file a bill of entry before the end of the next day after the one (excluding holidays) on which a vessel or aircraft or vehicle with the goods arrives at a Customs station at which such goods are to be cleared, for home consumption or warehousing. At present, this section does not prescribe any time period within which the bill of entry has to be filed. Once the proposed change takes effect, an importer will get only one day from arrival of the vessel to file the bill of entry. If he fails to do so, he will have ...

Government is hopeful of getting the supporting legisla tions of Goods and Services Tax (GST) passed by Parliament in the second phase of the Budget session for rolling out the new indirect tax regime by July. Replying to a question on GST Bill, Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar today said, “That is on the plate. GST Council is meeting on 18th and it will be decided after that, but we are hopeful that supporting GST bills will be passed in the next phase of the session. “ The government is hopeful of getting Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) draft legislations approved at the next GST Council meeting on February 18 and bring them in the second half of the ongoing Budget Session along with GST Compensation Act. 10TH FEBRUARY, 2017, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, NEW-DELHI