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Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said there is scope to rationalise goods and services  tax (GST) and rolling 12 per cent and 18 per cent slabs into one as implementation of the  country’s most comprehensive indirect tax reforms progresses.  “I do concede that as it (GST) moves forward, there will be scope for rationalising the rates.  There, probably, will be scope that the two standard rates of 12% and 18 per cent, after some  time, could be clubbed into one. That is a fair possibility and a suggestion,” Jaitley said  replying to debate on the two bills related to GST in J&K.  Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 and the Integrated  Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 were later passed by a voice  vote.  The current GST has 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent rates, plus one for  luxury and sin goods. There are some that...

Failure to do so will lead to cancellation of the provisional ID after the statutory three  months As many as 2.7 million of the 7.1 million who were assessed under the pre-goods and services tax  (GST) system and have activated their accounts on the latter portal, are yet to complete the  entire enrollment process. As a result, they are yet to file returns, said GST Network, the body handling the system's  information technology backbone. "If you have activated your provisional ID for migrating to GST but not completed all the  enrolment formalities, you might be heading for a dead end at the time of filing GST returns,"  GSTN said. After the initial process of activation of the provisional ID, a taxpayer has to fill Part-B of  the enrolment form at the GST portal, providing relevant information regarding the business,  including the authorised signatory. Submission of the completed form with digital signature  certificate or ele...

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is looking into a complaint that some  professional service firms were acting as insolvency resolution professionals (IRPs) to help banks  manage and restructure insolvent companies.  Under law, professional entities can't enrol themselves as an insolvency professional or become a  member of another agency registered with the IBBI to do the job. According to an official aware of  the matter, an independent IRP had written to the board accusing some firms of breaking this rule.  The complainant alleged that invoices were raised by these firms and not the insolvency  professionals, who in most cases were employees of the firms, the official said.  There are about 800 individuals who are registered as IRPs. While professional service firms are  barred from becoming an IRP, their executives can do so in their individual capacity. Most banks  stay away from appointing people with n...

The integrated goods and services tax (IGST) would not be levied on sale of goods on high seas  but would be charged when they are brought for customs clearance, authorities have clarified,  much to the relief of oil and gas, power and telecom companies.  The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued a circular to this effect after  receiving references on the issue as all inter-state transactions are subject to IGST.  'High sea sale' is a common trade practice where in original importer sells goods to a third  person before they are customs cleared. Final customs clearance is filed by the final owner. CBEC  has said IGST would be required to be levied only once at the time of importation of goods, which  is when goods are cleared by customs.  It also clarified that value addition accruing in each high sea sale transaction shall form part  of the value on which IGST would be levied at the time of clearance.  ...

Finance minister said if the two rates had been merged into one, its inflationary effect would  have been high & thus govt didn’t get into this exercise  Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said there is scope to rationalise goods and services  tax (GST) and rolling 12% and 18% slabs into one as implementation of the country’s most  comprehensive indirect tax reforms progresses. “I do concede that as it (GST) moves forward, there will be scope for rationalising the rates.  There, probably, will be scope that the two standard rates of 12% and 18%, after some time, could  be clubbed into one. That is a fair possibility and a suggestion,” Jaitley said replying to  debate on the two bills related to GST in J&K. Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 and the Integrated  Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 were later passed by a voice  vote. The current GST ...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered its policy interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) and  said the future course of inflation would depend uponacombination of factors, including states  implementing farm debt waivers. The sixmember Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) observed the inflation rate had fallen toahistoric  low but “aconclusive segregation of transitory and structural factors driving the disinflation is  still elusive”. After the latest policy review, the repo rate, at which the central bank lends to banks, stands  at 6 per cent. The RBI maintained its neutral monetary stance. The rate cut was part of its calibrated approach based on the data available, RBI Governor Urjit  Patel said inapostpolicy conference. “We could have stronger growth by removing infrastructure bottlenecks, finding measures to  reinvigorate private investments and providingathrust to government´s affordable housing  initiative, which hasapotential fo...

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has constituted a committee on ´fair market  conduct´, which will be headed by former Lok Sabha secretary and law secretaryTK Viswanathan. The  panel will have representations from Sebi, mutual funds, brokers, audit firms, stock exchanges,  data analytics firms and legal firms. The committee has been tasked with suggesting improvements to the existing Sebi norms, including  on insider trading and fraudulent and unfair trade practices (FUTP). It has been specifically  asked to look at trading plans, handling of pricesensitive information during takeovers and  aligning of insidertrading rules with provisions of the Companies Act. Legal experts said as new means of communications emerge, Sebi has to stay ahead to prevent  fraudulent activity. Ensuring fair access and regulating the flow of price sensitive information to prevent insider  trading is one of the core areas for the markets regula...

Even as creditors are going ahead with the insolvency proceedings initiated against 12 companies  under the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the latter are raising concerns on the  procedures for appointment of Interim Resolution Professionals (IRPs). It appears some of the companies have approached the Securities and Exchange  Board of India and other authorities for clarity on whether the current securities law, especially on  insider trading and the takeover code, would apply. “Some contentions have been raised over the insolvency proceedings. We are studying the feedback received,” said a regulatory official. Under the IBC, if a borrower is unable to pay the debt inagiven time,acreditor can initiate  insolvency resolution proceedings. Either a creditor or debtor company has to file an application, with proof of default, to the  National Company Law Tribunal for initiating the process of resolution. The IRP, within seven days of ...

FM Jaitley said it would be mandatory for manufacturers to pass on benefits to consumers The much-awaited mechanism for anti-profiteering will be decided upon by the GST Council on  Saturday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. He also expressed the hope  that other sectors would follow suit of the auto sector to cut prices due to the effective lower  rates under the goods and services tax (GST). Referring to concerns raised by members with regard to impact of GST on prices, Jaitley said it  would be mandatory for manufacturers to pass on the benefits of reduction in taxes to consumers. He hoped that the decision of price cut by automobile sector on account of benefit of input tax  credit would be followed by others manufacturers. "What if input tax benefit is not transferred to consumers?...we are meeting a few days from  now...In a short while, we are going to finalise the entire mechanism as far as anti-profiteering...

After demonetisation, which almost brought house sales to a halt, real estate developers are  grappling with the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (Rera) and the goods and services  tax (GST). “Real estate has gone through many down cycles since 1991. But I have never seen three  tsunamis together,” said Niranjan Hiranandani, managing director of the Hiranandani group, one of  the country’s oldest and largest property developers. “This is the worst time in the careers of many developers. If you have rental income, you can  stay. Otherwise, it will be very difficult,” added Vijay Wadhwa, chairman of the Wadhwa group, a  Mumbai-based developer. “The law is very strict and developers cannot be lackadaisical in their  dealings anymore,” said Wadhwa. Life for developers, which are often criticised for opaque practices, has turned topsy turvy  after Rera came into force from May 1. Most developers in Maharashtra are focusing on completi...

   The government has collected over Rs 1.80 lakh crore in direct tax till July 15 in the current  fiscal, an increase of 21.4 pre cent year-on-year, "belying" fears of slowdown in economic  activities.  "The current growth rate is higher than the target rate of 15.32 required to achieve the Budget  Estimate," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply in the  Rajya Sabha.  The government aims to collect Rs 9.8 lakh crore through direct taxes in 2017-18.  The minister further said the current growth rate in direct tax collections is "quite healthy,  belying any apprehension of reduction" in the level of economic or commercial activities.  He said the government has taken several initiatives to boost economic activity in the country  and several measures were announced in the Budget 2017-18.  Replying to another question, Gangwar said the number of cyber crimes pertaining to cr...