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 Intra-state e-way bill rolled out in five states from Sunday From midnight till 5 pm on Sunday, about 0.24 million e-way bill (both inter state and intra-state) was generated on the portal, an official said E-way bill requirement for intra-state movement of goods has been rolled out in five states from Sunday. The bill for inter-state movement of goods valued over Rs 50,000 was rolled out on April 1. The Goods and Services Council had decided on a staggered roll out of intra-state e-way bill starting with five states — Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. From midnight till 5 pm on Sunday, about 0.24 million e-way bill (both inter state and intra-state) was generated on the portal, an official said. The official said there was not much increase in the generation of bill on Sunday on account of intra-state roll out. On the day of inter-state roll out of e-way bill on April 1, about 0.28 million such bills were generated in 24 hours The official sa...

Cos may have to Rework salary Packages to reduce GST Impact The next tweak to GST could end up pinching your pockets on salary day  India Inc may have to start restructuring compensation packages or human resource benefits of their employees to ensure they don’t face taxing times under the goods and services tax (GST).  Reimbursements on home rentals, telephone charges beyond a certain limit, medical premiums for extra coverage, health check-ups, transportation, gym use, uniforms or even re-issue of identity cards could face GST.  Tax experts have started advising companies to ask HR departments to examine these issues closely, especially in the wake of a recent decision by the Authority for Advance Rulings in a case concerning canteen charges. Though AAR rulings are case specific, they can be taken as precedent. AAR had ruled that canteen charges recovered from an employee would be liable to GST. GST on employer to-employee supplies could cause employers to sto...

RBI may loosen NPA norms to let banks breathe easy  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may relax some of the stringent norms for treatment of bad loans that it announced in February without diluting their spirit, said two officials aware of the development.  The finance ministry has made a case for providing some relief, especially for small and medium enterprises, given that the tighter rules could force defaulters into rapid bankruptcy, which could dent jobs generation, they said.  The one-day, non-performing asset (NPA) classification norm may be extended to 30 days and the requirement that a resolution plan has to be approved by all lenders could be lowered to 75%, they said. This will mean that only if any amount is due for more than 30 days will it be considered a default.  Under new rules announced by RBI in February, even a one-day delay would be considered a default. “The RBI is having a relook — we expect some relief without diluting the spirit of the ...

  Supreme Court’s SC/ST Act ruling has diluted law, done great damage: Govt The govt stressed that the Supreme Court judgement on SC/ST Act had diluted the provisions of the governing act, resulting in great damage to the country A recent Supreme Court ruling preventing automatic arrests in cases of atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes has diluted the SC/ST Act and created great damage, the government said. The ruling was in the “teeth of the provisions of the law”, the government submitted in the Supreme Court. “This case dealing with an issue of very sensitive nature has caused a lot of commotion in the country and is also creating anger, unease and a sense of disharmony”, the centre said. It was also stressed that the judgement had diluted the provisions of the governing act, resulting in great damage to the country. In written submissions to the review petition, the centre, through attorney general K.K. Venugopal, said the court was not filling in ...

RBI tightens monitoring of Liberalised Remittance Scheme for overseas money transferring The Reserve Bank today tightened reporting norms for the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) under which an individual can transfer up to USD 2,50,000 abroad in a year. The LRS transactions are currently permitted by banks based on the declaration made by the remitter. The monitoring of adherence to the limit is confined to obtaining such a declaration without independent verification, in the absence of a reliable source of information. "In order to improve monitoring and also to ensure compliance with the LRS limits, it has been decided to put in place a daily reporting system by AD banks of transactions undertaken by individuals under LRS, which will be accessible to all the other ADs," the RBI said in a notification. Now banks will be required to upload daily transaction-wise information undertaken by them under LRS. Under the LRS, all resident individuals, including minors, ...

Limits notified for tax breaks to angel investors The notification says start-ups may avail of the tax concession only if total investment, including funding from angel investors does not exceed Rs 100 mn The government announced it had exempted investments by individuals in some categories of start-ups from the so-called ‘angel tax’. The notification says start-ups may avail of the tax concession only if total investment, including funding from angel investors (those who make the initial equity investment) does not exceed Rs 100 million. The said tax, under Section 56(2)(viib) of the Income Tax Act, provides that where a closely held company issues its shares at a price more than its fair market value, the amount it gets in excess of this value will be charged to tax as income from other sources, to the tune of 30 per cent. Concerns were expressed over the possibility of investment into the start-up system being discouraged by this; also, of harassment by tax officials. “Gen...

Centre, RBI step in as cash crunch hobbles ATMs across various states Several states are facing cash shortage despite currency flow in the economy going back to the pre-demonetisation level The finance ministry held a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks, and state government officials on Thursday to take stock of cash availability in automated teller machines (ATMs) after receiving complaints of cash crunch in some states. Several states are facing cash shortage despite currency flow in the economy going back to the pre-demonetisation level. A recent analysis by the RBI to the finance ministry found that the rate of cash withdrawal was far more than the cash deposits in banks in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, according to the documents reviewed by Business Standard. “We held a meeting with the RBI officials, banks, and states today (Thursday). There is no apparent cash crun...

SC/ST Act: Dalits view Apex Court verdict as ‘extension of govt policy'  The nation has ensured elected representation of Dalits and Tribals at every level of democracy, yet the communities continue to face denigration and oppression following atrocities heaped on them for centuries by a social system. Dalits and Tribals are absent in the higher judiciary, which enjoys the authority to override and even protect legislative actions. Monday’s protest was due to the perception that the March 20 judgement of the Supreme Court emasculated the protection given in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. In recent memory, this was the largest violent and massive outcry of the oppressed against a court verdict. But the massive agitation contained more than just anger and frustration.  The protests were primarily from Ambedkarite organisations in the Hindi belt. The response in north Indian is easier to analyse. Jatavs dominate the Dalit s...

  RBI governor Urjit Patel rejects easing NPA norms  The Reserve Bank has ruled out any relaxation in bad loan rules, saying the tough norms will discipline borrowers and prevent banks from pushing distressed loans under the carpet, two senior officials, who did not want to be named, said.  This message was conveyed by RBI governor Urjit Patel to parliamentarians in a closed-door meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday. The revised rules of February 12 give banks direction on measures they should take once an account shows initial signs of weakness. Banks termed the changes harsh and feared it would lead to a steep rise in the share of bad loans. According to the new rules, banks must work on a resolution plan from day one of a default and relevant plans must be put in place within 180 days. If they fail to do this the loan has to be referred to the dedicated bankruptcy court. “The RBI is very clear that such measures are needed to clean the banking system and any di...

  Aadhaar cards have not been duplicated: Government  The government and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that no Aadhaar card has been duplicated. They claimed that these cards were the least invasive and most successful way of plugging leaks in the country’s system which prevented government benefits from trickling down to the poor.  “Duplicate Aadhaar cards are virtually non-existent,” additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, said in his submissions before a five-judge bench, led by CJI Dipak Misra, which is hearing challenges to the 2016 Aadhaar Act. Mehta claimed that though duplicate pan cards had flooded the system, Aadhaar cards were yet to be duplicated.  Mehta, who was speaking for both the Centre and UIDAI, said the scheme would help the government mop up Rs 30,000 crore in revenue.  He dismissed the argument that the scheme was based on the presumption that the entire population was he...

SEBI plans to tighten appointment rules for top executives at MIIs The move comes at a time the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is said to have raised objections over Axis Bank's decision to reappoint Shikha Sharma The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to tighten rules governing the appointment process for top executives at market infrastructure institutions (MIIs) such as exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories. According to sources, MIIs might have to appoint managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) afresh after the completion of their tenure. At present, the tenure of MDs and CEOs is extended by the board and is sent for Sebi’s approval without a formal appointment process. The move comes at a time the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is said to have raised objections over Axis Bank’s decision to reappoint Shikha Sharma as MD and CEO for the fourth term. “If an MII decides to reappoint an existing person, the nomination and re...