CA Online

Vehicle scrap policy to go for Cabinet's nod in a month: Nitin Gadkari    The proposed vehicle scrap policy for mandatory disposal of more than 20 years old commercial vehicles will go for the Cabinet nod in a month and once brought in, will result in additional flow of Rs 10,000 crore into government coffers, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said.    The much-awaited policy was given 'in-principle' approval at a high-level inter-ministerial meeting at the PMO to pave way for scrapping of 20 years old commercial vehicles (CVs) from April 1, 2020.    "Old commercial vehicles are responsible for 65 per cent of the vehicular pollution. The policy to scrap these has got nod at a Secretary-level meeting at the PMO. Now stakeholders consultation will be done in a fortnight and it will go to the Cabinet in about a month's time," Road Transport, Highways, Shipping, Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari told PTI in an interview....

Service tax can't be imposed in J&K, says tribunal of pre-GST levy The case was from the earlier service tax regime, prior to rollout of the current goods and services tax A tribunal has rejected indirect tax authorities’ demand to levy service tax for goods transported to Jammu and Kashmir on the reverse charge mechanism. The case was from the earlier service tax regime, prior to rollout of the current goods and services tax (GST). Experts say such a dispute would not arise in the GST regime. A company supplying petroleum products had got a notice for services given by a goods transport agency in J&K between April 2011 and September 2014. The company contended that service tax, imposed since 1994, excluded the state of J&K; hence, no such levy was possible. To which, the authorities said the tax should have been deducted by the company on the reverse charge mechanism. Generally, the seller of a service was liable to pay tax after deducting it from the service...

Telangana slashes VAT on aviation fuel by 15% In a move likely to increase air traffic at the Hyderabad airport, Telangana industries minister KT Rama Rao on Friday announced a slash in Value Added Tax (VAT) on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). The minister said VAT had been cut down to 1% from 16%. He was speaking at an event marking 10 years of the airport’s functioning.The airport already handles 50% more traffic than its designed capacity, according to its CEO SGK Kishore. Kishore also announced plans for the airport’s expansion at the event. He said the capacity of the airport is 12 million per annum while it handled 18 million passengers last year. “We will incentivise the airlines which operate during off-peak hours and operate wide-body aircraft. The issue with Hyderabad airport is that traffic is bunched during the morning and evening hours. The issue is pending with the regulator and if approved, it will help us in utilising the infrastructure better,” said Kishor. He ad...

India must lead in defusing possibilities of a global trade war: Ficci  India should play a proactive role in defusing the emerging possibilities of a global trade war that can derail the positive outlook in the world trade, Ficci said today.  The industry body observed that protectionist measures by the US have raised serious concerns about a global trade war, highlighting the importance of keeping the World Trade Organisation (WTO) process intact and also making the multilateral institution stronger.  Moreover, with the WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo raising alarm on the issue at the two-day mini-ministerial in New Delhi early this week, it is high time countries across the world think beyond retaliatory measures to counter the challenges posed by the targeting of the WTO by the US and unilateral increase in tariffs, Ficci said.  India can play a significant role in guiding this exercise to defuse the emerging possibilities of a global trade war tha...

 MCA files Prosecution against 780 listed Companies for Non-Filing of Financial Statements and Annual Returns The corporate affairs ministry has filed prosecution against 780 listed firms for non- filing financial statements and annual returns, parliament wea told on friday. Chaudhary said there wre only 7,720 active lsted firms out of 1.7 million rgisteed as of december The Business Standard, New Delhi, 24th March2018

CBEC member holds meeting with exporters on GST refunds  At least ten export promotion councils and industry chambers on Friday discussed with the government solutions for expediting the process to clear pending dues to exporters on account of Goods and Services Tax (GST).  In a bid to expedite GST refund clearances to exporters, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) took up issues like invoice mismatch and procedure to expedite shipments at Integrated Container Depots and asked the councils to share their issues.  “They want everyone to speak to members and know their issues,” said an industry representative who was present at the meeting.  The Centre and states have sanctioned more than Rs 10,000 crore as GST refunds to exporters.  Export promotion councils from engineering, chemical, pharmaceutical and leather sectors, among items took part in the meeting where initiatives under the ‘GST refund fortnight' were discussed.  The CBEC fi...

Fixed-term contract staff to get gratuity benefits like permanent employees Under the Gratuity Act of 1972, employees completing five years of continuous service are eligible to get a gratuity payment when they leave the organisation In a first, workers hired under fixed-term contracts will be entitled to gratuity at any time of leaving the job. Till now, no one hired on a contract for a fixed period was entitled to any gratuity. Those in permanent employment were entitled to it only after they had completed five years. Under recently notified rules, workers hired through a fixed-term contract will get all the statutory benefits that permanent workers in the same establishment are entitled to. This includes employees’ provident fund and employees’ state insurance benefits, bonus, gratuity and other compensation in case of accidents or death while at work. Under the Gratuity Act of 1972, employees completing five years of continuous service are eligible to get a gratuity payme...

US Fed rate hike: Indian exports may take small hit in long-term While high global demand may sustain export growth, continued investments into India can make trade uncompetitive India’s export earnings are expected to remain stable or at the most take a small hit in the wake of the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Experts and exporters alike say this will happen as global demand continues to remain high, thereby cementing the rise of exports. However, at the same time, India continues to attract global investments, thereby strengthening the Indian rupee, which may lead to exports becoming more expensive and thereby less competitive in the global market. Hopes on high demand The US Fed on Wednesday raised interest rates by 0.25 per cent, the sixth time since December 2015. Even as fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the US was revised downwards to 2.5 per cent, US policymakers now believe that economic growth will remain steady in 2018. As a resu...

SEBI to focus on big bang market reforms at board meeting Sebi to consider proposals such as making algorithmic trading cheaper and more accessible, and reducing fees charged by mutual funds to unit holders Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will consider closely supervising the work of auditors, independent valuers and compliance secretaries and penalize them for lapses at its board meeting on 28 March, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Sebi board will also consider proposals such as making algorithmic trading cheaper and more accessible, and reducing fees charged by mutual funds to unit holders. Norms for companies admitted to bankruptcy court related to their trading, delisting, and disclosures will also be discussed, the people said, requesting anonymity. The proposal to increase auditor oversight comes amid a move by the government to set up the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) as an independent r...

Govt asks NBFCs to report details of clients to FIU-IND NBFCs have been asked to register with the financial intelligence unit FIU-IND and report details of clients under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act The government on Thursday asked non banking financial companies (NBFCs) to register with the country’s financial intelligence unit (FIU-IND) and report details of clients as per the requirements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. As unregistered NBFCs remain outside the reporting ambit of FIU-IND, they pose a risk to the integrity of the country’s financial system, the government said. Last month, FIU-IND had put out a list of nearly 9,500 NBFCs who were non-compliant. The list has been published by FIU-IND to enable the bankers to conduct enhanced due diligence of the transactions carried out by such NBFCs, the statement said, adding that the companies’ names would be deleted from the list once they register with the agency. The Mint, New Delhi, 23rd March ...

  Market volatility seen affecting IPO plans of smaller companies With small-cap and mid-cap stocks declining in recent months, IPOs of small companies may attract lower valuations, say analysts The volatility in Indian stocks in the past few weeks is expected to impact the valuations of small and medium-sized companies that are preparing to launch their initial public offerings (IPOs). Since 2015, a majority of the 94 companies that have launched IPOs for listing of their stocks on the main boards of exchanges are small and medium-sized companies, data from stock exchanges shows.I n the secondary markets, small-caps and mid-caps have been the biggest losers in the recent months, resulting in depressed sentiment for IPOs from these segments, industry experts said. Year-to-date, the BSE Midcap index has lost 10.73% and the BSE Smallcap index 11.27%, underperforming the 3.08% loss in the benchmark Sensex. “The mood has been down in the last couple of weeks in the secondary ...