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Direct tax collections surge 18% to cross Rs 10-trn mark in FY18: Jaitley Of the total ITRs filed, 67.4 million returns were e-filed Direct tax collection has grown by 18 per cent to cross Rs 10.02 trillion in the financial year ended on March 31, 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday He said demonetisation and GST implementation have resulted in higher formalisation of the economy which is evident from additional 10 million IT returns being filed in the previous financial year. "Direct tax collections for FY2017-18 has been Rs 10.02 trillion (18 per cent higher than previous year). The data reveals the efficiency of the tax department and rise in no. of honest taxpayers. This historical revenue receipt is a factual testimony of accountable governance under PM @narendramodi ji," Jaitley tweeted. He said the number of income tax returns filed rose to 68.4 million during 2017-18, compared to 54.3 million filed in 2016-17. This represents a 26 per cent ...

Sebi's F&O restrictions likely to boost dabba trading in Indian markets Regulator has proposed physical settlement of contracts in place of cash settlements The decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to tighten the derivatives framework could provide an impetus to ‘dabba trading’ — an unofficial parallel market. According to market participants, the concept of ‘product suitability’ and physical settlement can see many proprietary traders and wealthy investors shift to dabba trading. The move could revive the activity in the grey market, adversely hit after demonetisation. Dabba trading occurs in a manner similar to a stock exchange, without any regulatory oversight or tax burden. As these are unofficial trades, investors don’t have to pay the securities transaction tax or capital gains. Also, there is no need to provide know your customer (KYC) documentation. The platform was misused for money laundering and tax evasion purposes, prompting the g...

E-way bill may fail to deliver the goods, fear etail firms  With days left for the rollout of the intra-state e-way bill on February 1, several logistics and ecommerce companies are seeking clarifications on the new system, fearing operational inefficiencies and supply-chain disruptions.  These companies have written to GST Council, particularly seeking clarity on a notification regarding a second layer of e-way bill generation for goods valued at less than Rs 50,000 — a range that accounts for abulk of all ecommerce shipments.  The e-way bill is an electronic permit with detailed information on the goods being transported.  “In such cases where the consignor has not generated the e-way bill, and the value of that shipment exceeds Rs 50,000, the transporter is obligated to generate e-way bill based on invoice, bill of supply, or delivery challan provided by the consignor,” the companies have said in their letter, which EThas reviewed.  Ecommerce firms fe...

Govt levies 10% import duty on key smartphone parts to push Make in India A 10% customs tax was also imposed on the imports of camera modules for phones and connectors India has imposed a 10 per cent tax on imports of key smartphone components including populated printed circuit boards, which are at the heart of smartphones, according to a government document. The government's move on Monday confirmed a Reuters report from last week that the country was exploring new duties on the imports of populated printed circuit boards that include components such as processors, memory and wireless chips. A 10 per cent customs tax was also imposed on the imports of camera modules for phones and connectors. The move, part of a phased manufacturing plan for lifting local production of mobile devices, is aimed at boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship 'Make In India' drive to turn the country into a manufacturing hub, like neighbouring China. The Business Standard,...

  Commerce ministry seeks views on industrial policy The commerce ministry has circulated a draft cabinet note seeking views of different departments on the proposed industrial policy that aims to promote emerging sectors, Union minister Suresh Prabhu said. "We have circulated (the draft policy) to all the ministries for their views," the commerce and industry minister told . He said that the policy aims at modernising the existing industries, reducing regulatory hurdles and encourage adoption of frontier technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence. The proposed policy will completely revamp the Industrial Policy of 1991. After receiving comments from various ministries and departments, the commerce and industry ministry will finalise the note and move it to the Cabinet for the final approval. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in August last year floated a draft industrial policy with the aim to create jobs for the next two decades...

Govt rules out excise duty cut to cushion petrol prices  The government today ruled out any immediate reduction in excise duty to cushion relentless rise in international oil prices that have sent retail diesel rates in India to record high and petrol to four-year high. The BJP-led government had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre. Asked if a second round of excise duty cut was in offing, Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said: "Not as of now. Whenever we review it, we will let you know". Earlier in the day, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is keeping a close eye on international prices but said there is no going back on free market pricing. He said consumers will benefit if petrol and diesel are brought under Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime at the earliest. Petrol price today hit a four-year high ...

SEBI  bans First Financial Services, 28 others for 3 years  Sebi today barred First Financial ServicesBSE -4.89 % and 28 others from the markets for three years for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme involving preferential allotment route, which ultimately benefited a few allottees.  The move follows Securities Appellate Tribunal's (SAT) directive to Sebi for passing the final orders in the matter by March this year.  The markets regulator had conducted an investigation into the dealings of the First Financial Services LtdBSE -4.89 % (FFSL) stock as it observed abnormal movement in the price and trading volume of the scrip on BSE from May 15, 2012 to March 31, 2014.  Besides, Sebi had received references from the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation).  The probe found that FFSL and its connected entities perpetrated a fraudulent scheme which included the two tranches of preferential allotment, manipulative trades jacking up the price of the ...

 RBI allows banks to spread bond trading losses over four quarters  The Reserve Bank of India took a U-turn in its rigid position on provisioning norms for banks suffering losses from bonds trading by permitting the lenders to spread out their trading losses over four quarters that would save them from scrambling for funds to meet provisioning norms on bankrupt cases.  To avoid returning to similar position in future, the central bank has said that banks should create Investment Fluctuation Reserve that could be dipped into in case there is a need to provide for bond losses in the years ahead.  “With a view to addressing the systemic impact of sharp increase in the yields on government securities, it has been decided to grant banks the option to spread provisioning for mark-to-market (MTM) losses on investments held in Available for Sales and Held for Trading,’’ RBI said in a statement. “The provisioning for each of these quarters may be spread equally over u...

  Legacy of exemptions: Court issues notices to Centre, GSTC Under the erstwhile tax regime, capital goods that went into production of goods in the states which used to give area-based exemptions were not given input tax credit Lacunae related to removal of area-based exemptions under the goods and services tax (GST) have become a bone of contention between companies and the government. In one of such cases, the Uttarakhand High Court has issued notices to the Centre, the GST Council, the state government and tax officials over the absence of transitional credit for capital goods after area-based exemptions were stopped under GST. Under the erstwhile tax regime, capital goods that went into production of goods in the states which used to give area-based exemptions were not given input tax credit. However, now these goods have moved to the taxable category under GST. The capital goods bought before July one, 2017, but used for goods sold after the GST roll-out are also not ...

Intra-state rollout of E-way bills soon The government may soon announce the rollout schedule for electronic way bills in intra-state sales under the goods and services tax regime, buoyed by the smooth implementation of the system for inter-state movement on April 1. The government is also confident of meeting the revised fiscal deficit target for FY18 following improved direct and indirect tax collections. February GST collections rose to over Rs 89,264 crore, up from Rs 88,047 crore in January. It ruled out any cut in excise duty to ease the recent spike in fuel prices. “E-way rollout has been successful —there is no glitch so far,” finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia said on Monday. A total of 28.9 million eway bills were generated on Monday against 25.9 million on Sunday, the first day of the nationwide rollout of the framework that’s expected to help check tax evasion. The e-way bill system had collapsed when it was first introduced in trials in February, forcing the governmen...

Inclusion of petrol and diesel in the GST will help consumers pay a rational price: Dharmendra Pradhan An inclusion of petrol and diesel in the Goods and Services Tax framework will help consumers pay a rational price for the fuel, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said after fuel prices rose to record level prompting demand for tax cuts. Following a rapid rise in the international rates to which local prices are linked, diesel is selling at record rates in the country and petrol at four-year peak. On Monday, diesel was sold for Rs 64.69 per litre and petrol for Rs 73.83 a litre at Indian Oil outlets in Delhi. Petrol and diesel prices have gained Rs 10.74 and Rs 11.36 per litre respectively in the last nine months in which crude oil has gained $21.87 per barrel to about $70/barrel. Heavy duties imposed by the Centre and states is key to petrol and diesel being so expensive in the country. In Delhi, petrol bear about 100% and diesel 69% levies comprising excise duty and VAT, a...