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Anti profiteering authority to be ready in a fortnight, says CBEC chief The proposed anti-profiteering authority, which will monitor pricing behaviour of  businesses under GST, will be up in a fortnight, says CBEC chief Vanaja N. Sarna  Businesses will shortly have a new regulator taking a penetrating gaze over their affairs. The proposed anti-profiteering authority that will monitor pricing behaviour of businesses  will be up and running in a fortnight, said Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)  chairperson Vanaja N. Sarna‎. A selection panel led by Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha has asked states to suggest  candidates for the five-member authority, including the chairperson, while the Union  government has sent a list of its nominees to states for state-level screening panels that  are part of the authority’s ecosystem, said the CBEC chairperson.  State-level panels will watch out for instances of businesses not passing on benefits...

FMCG dealers seek to recover GST cost from companies  Companies in FMCG and consumer durable space are facing a surprise bouncer from their  dealers experiencing goods and services tax (GST) transition blues.  Dealers have sought compensation from companies as they are unable to claim credit on the  past stock and therefore, have to shell out extra tax from their pocket for now. This has  raised their working capital costs.  “There is a minor working capital cash shock for the dealers in the month,” said a source,  adding that industry is still grappling with the fine print of this major tax reform.  “There is a lot of fine print within the GST that is yet to be clarified. There is  confusion in the trade on issues such as input credit which are still persisting. We are  awaiting clarity on the same,” said an official with a leading FMCG company.  Trade partners of most consumer goods and durables firms had destocked in ...

Around 100 brokers under lens for helping shell companies Sebi, tax department investigation brokers who may have helped shell companies launder  Rs 16,000 crore by compromising KYC norms The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the income-tax department are  investigating the role of about 100 brokerages which they believe may have helped shell  companies launder as much as Rs16,000 crore by compromising so-called know-your-customer  (KYC) norms, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. This is part of an ongoing probe into shell companies by the ministry of corporate  affairs, which has identified some 16,000 potentially bogus firms after drawing inputs  from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, Central Bureau of Investigation and  Enforcement Directorate, these people said. The 331 firms that Sebi branded as suspected  shell companies on 8 August were part of this list. Out of the 16,000 firms, some 10,000...

BSE brings provision to stem expiry day losses on options The BSE will introduce a facility on index and stock options contracts wherein trading  members can opt for a `do not exercise' instruction on certain in-the-money contracts on  expiry day.  The facility will be a relief for brokers and traders as the letting the profit-making  options positions expire could potentially lead to enormous losses for options traders.  In the case of options trading, the securities transaction tax (STT) is around 0.05 per  cent on the premium and STT on exercising an option is 0.125 per cent. When an option is  exercised, STT is paid on the entire value of the option and would imply massive liability  for an unsuspecting trader.  NSE, which is the market leader in equity derivatives, is yet to announce this facility,  but brokers say they expect the exchange to announce a similar system soon.  Currently, all open long positions across...

First filing under GST yields Rs 42,000 crore As much as Rs 42,000 crore has as taxes so far in the under the new services tax (GST)  regime, are expected to swell further cycle closes later this week. Asenior official said that crore has come in as Integrated is levied on interstate  movement and another Rs 5,000 crore demerit goods like cars and The remaining Rs 22,000 in  as Central GST and State would be split equally between and state governments. "Tax deposited till this Rs 42,000 crore," the official far, one million taxpayers filed  returns and another two have logged in and return forms. "We are seeing good compliance and estimation is that 9095 cent of the assesses will  returns and pay taxes," he Under the GST regime, which was implemented from July 1,  businesses are expected to file the monthly tax return. Tax for the first month is to be filed by an extended deadline of August 25. The deadline  was extended as the tax return f...

Banks to pay 3% IGST on gold imports: CBEC Banks importing gold and precious metals will have to pay 3 percent tax under the goods and services tax (GST), which can be  claimed as input tax credit. Clarifying issues on the GST on gems and jewellery through frequently asked questions, the Central Board of Excise and  Customs said banks did not pay any value added taxon import of precious metals previously. They only paid Customs duty.  However, under the GST, “3 percent Integrated GST, or IGST, is payable on all imports of precious metals in addition to the  basic Customs duty. IGST paid can be taken as input tax credit by the banks.” It also said banks would be liable to pay IGST on such imports and  not any over seas supplier in which ownership is vested during movement of gold or silver. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 22th August 2017

Composition scheme picks up pace after deadline leeway About 1 mn traders opt for window under GST regime About a million taxpayers have opted for a scheme that will benefit small businesses in the goods and services tax (GST) regime by allowing easier compliance and a flat rate of tax.  After a muted response initially, interest in the composition scheme has increased. As of August 16, the last date to apply for the scheme, 938,165 entities had  registered, against about 100,000 as of July 21, the earlier deadline. In other words, about 11 per cent of GST taxpayers have opted for the composition scheme.  Those with an annual turnover of up to Rs 75 lakh are eligible to apply for the scheme, which allows them to pay one per cent tax if they are traders, two per cent if they are manufacturers and five per cent if they are in the restaurant business. “Response picked up after we extended the deadline as it gave time for businesses to plan better and take a ...

Govt all set to hike GST cess on luxury cars, via ordinance The ordinance will allow the government to hike GST cess on luxury cars and SUVs to restore tax revenue from the auto industry The government is set to promulgate an ordinance within weeks, allowing an increase in goods and services tax (GST) cess on luxury cars and SUVs, as it seeks to restore tax revenue from the automobile industry that unintentionally got affected in the transition to the new indirect tax regime. A person aware of the discussions in the finance ministry said on condition of anonymity that a cabinet note is being moved proposing changes to the schedule of cess levied under the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017, to correct the reduction in tax burden on cars due to GST rollout. The GST Council, however, has taken the view that tax rate revisions during the transition to the new indirect tax system that kicked in from 1 July will be limited only to correcting unintentional effects...

Income tax scrutiny to remain limited despite ITR filings surge Enforcement action by the income tax department will be reserved for cases where specific tip-offs regarding large-scale tax evasions have been received   The income tax department will maintain the number of income tax returns (ITRs) chosen for scrutiny at the current level of less than 1% of all returns, in spite of a surge in individual tax filings to keep the process non-intrusive and taxpayer-friendly.   Gentle persuasion through text messages, emails and advertisements will remain the department’s main ways of interacting with taxpayers, while enforcement action will be reserved for cases where specific tip-offs regarding large-scale evasions have been received.   Out of the 52.8 million income-tax returns filed for the 2015-16 fiscal year, only about 300,000 cases, or around 0.6%, were scrutinized, a person privy to the deliberations within the tax department said on cond...

Haryana Tax Dept Turns Lens on Shell Cos Experts warn that intrusive methods of GST verification may hurt smaller cos Haryana excise and taxation department has asked its officers to find out whether premises companies from the state have mentioned in goods and services tax network  registration are authentic, a move that seems to be aimed at identifying shell companies. Experts, however, warn that this could create problems for several genuine companies, mainly smaller ones, and may even prompt them to deregister from the GST network. “Success of GST depends on smaller entities as their non-inclusion in the GST value chain will significantly impair the reform,“ said MS Mani, partner at Deloitte India. “Usage of intrusive methods for verification of their registration would, at this initial stage, impact their acceptance of the reform. It is expected that all tax authorities would go all out to encourage smaller businesses to embrace GST without any concerns of ...

Sebi Takes Stock of Aadhaar Linkage Seeks feedback from exchanges on brokers' preparedness to get clients' IDs by December 31 The Securities and Exchange Board of India has set the ball rolling for making Aadhaar compulsory for stock trading. The markets regulator has asked exchanges for their feedback on brokers' preparedness to get their clients to submit the biometric IDs before December 31. ET reported first on August 10 that Aadhaar would become mandatory for buying shares and mutual funds. The BSE, in a recent circular, asked brokers for their comments on the matter by August 23.It said existing clients will have to submit Aadhaar numbers to their brokers by December 31. New clients should do so within six months of opening demat account. “In case of failure to submit the documents within the aforesaid time limit, the account shall cease to be operational till the time Aadhaar number is submitted by the client,“ the circular said. The government and...