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Government Tightens Norms for Import of Pulses A quota system has been introduced only for millers and refiners for the import of tur, moong and urad, says DGFT The government has tightened norms for the import of pulses to ensure that its domestic prices don’t fall below the minimum support price. The prices of most pulses have been below the minimum support price levels, leading to farmer unrest in the main pulses-growing areas. The government has also introduced a quota system only for millers and refiners for the import of tur, moong and urad, according to a notification by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). To avail this quota, dal millers have to submit applications between May 15 and 25. The allocation of quota for each beneficiary will be notified on June 1 and millers have to complete their imports by August 31, the DGFT said Suresh Aggarwal, president of the All India Dal Mill Association based out of Indore, said the move will benefit Indian farmers as ...

15th Finance Commission to meet advisory council on May 17 Sources said the council might be asked to do research and study on terms of reference The 15th Finance Commission (FFC) will hold a meeting on next Thursday and it will be attended by members of the newly constituted advisory council on the contentious terms of reference (ToRs). Under pressure from states not ruled by the BJP to withdraw or amend some vexed ToRs, the FFC on Wednesday announced the setting up of the council. Its members include Arvind Virmani, former chief economic advisor; Surjit Bhalla, part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister; J P Morgan Chief India Economist Sajjid Chinoy; and Credit Suisse India Economist Neelkanth Mishra. Sources said the council might be asked to do research and study on ToRs. This is probably the first time that a Finance Commission has set up a council on ToRs. Meanwhile, former finance minister P Chidambaram tweeted that the council could not a...

Banks under taxman scanner for GST refund on ATM transactions   The indirect tax department’s investigation arm is scrutinising the GST credit availed by banks on taxes paid by their ATM vendors and could soon ask banks to cut the credit availed by them, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.  The taxmen are examining whether banks are eligible to avail 100% of Goods & Services Tax (GST) credit on services provided by vendors such as ATM withdrawal when a majority of such transactions are not charged to consumers.  The scrutiny started after banks claimed 100% input tax credit on the amount paid to ATM vendors who are responsible for maintenance and cash supply to the machines.  The vendors charge per withdrawal and add GST on the bills submitted to banks. Now, the banks have claimed input tax credit on the amount paid to vendors but this practice has come under the scanner.  The tax officials believe that since banks don’t charge on ma...

Falling rupee to take FY19 trade deficit to 4-year high of 6.4 percent: Report  Continuing fall in the rupee will push trade deficit up to a four-year high of USD 178.1 billion or 6.4 per cent of GDP this fiscal year, says a report.  "Trade deficit will widen to a four-year high of 6.4 per cent of GDP in FY19," India Ratings said in a report today and blamed higher crude and gold imports.  In FY18, trade deficit had stood at USD 156.8 billion or 6 per cent of GDP.  The estimate comes amid a depreciation in the rupee against the dollar, wherein it has shed over 5 per cent to breach the Rs 67-mark to the dollar.  The agency said apart from the risk of wider trade deficit, escalation in commodity prices, particularly crude, coupled with expectation of the US Fed raising its rates further, is exerting pressure on the rupee.  The agency said contribution of trade as a percentage of GDP has slid to 40.6 per cent in FY18 from a high of 55.8 per cent in FY1...

Panel interviews 9 for RBI Deputy Governor's post  The Cabinet Secretary-headed panel today interviewed three senior bureaucrats and six bankers for the post of RBI Deputy Governor which fell vacant in July last after S S Mundra retired on completion of his three-year term.  Some of the bankers who appeared for the interview included IDBI Bank managing director M K Jain, UCO Bank executive director Charan Singh and SBI managing directors B Sriram and P K Gupta  Besides, K P Krishnan, Secretary Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Yaduvendra Mathur Additional Secretary NITI Aayog and T V Somanathan, Principal Secretary in Tamil Nadu also appeared for the interview before Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC), sources said.  Selected name from the interview will be sent to Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister for final approval, sources added.  Besides Cabinet Secretary, other members of the panel ...

India, China contribute 45% of global growth: IMF IMF has projected India’s GDP to recover to 7.4% in FY2018-19 from an estimated 6.7% in FY2017-18, a tad higher than 6.6% estimated by CSO China and India—Asia’s first and third largest economies, respectively—should aim for “growth-friendly” fiscal consolidation to promote sustainable, inclusive growth while enhancing resilience as the two countries together contribute 45% to global growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. “Asia continues to be both the fastest-growing region in the world and the main engine of the world’s economy, contributing more than 60% of global growth (three-quarters of which comes from China and India),” IMF said in its Asia Pacific Regional Economic Outlook. Finance minister Arun Jaitley paused fiscal consolidation in 2017-18 as the economy recovered from disruptions related to demonetization and the roll out of the new national goods and service tax (GST). The government has ...

India merges anti-dumping, import safeguard bodies The commerce ministry said the government has amended the rules on allocation of business, shifting work pertaining to safeguard measures to the ministry India has finally merged the two separate bodies handling anti-dumping and import safeguards to form the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), in line with US International Trade Commission (USITC), for providing comprehensive and swift trade defence mechanism under one umbrella. Mint on 14 April 2016 had first reported about the proposal made by the commerce ministry. However, the finance ministry, which had administrative control over the Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS), rejected the commerce ministry’s proposal, Mint reported on 7 September 2016. The commerce ministry, however, went ahead and renamed the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) under its control as DGTR. In a press statement on Wednesday, the commerce ministry said the ...

Govt considering 100% FDI in insurance intermediaries to attract more funds The FDI policy, at present, allows 49 per cent foreign investment in the insurance sector The government is considering allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance intermediaries with a view to give a boost to the sector and attracting more funds, sources said.Intermediary services include insurance broking, third party administrators, surveyors and loss assessors.The FDI policy, at present, allows 49 per cent foreign investment in the insurance sector, which includes insurance intermediaries. Sources said that there is a need to de-link the FDI cap in insurance intermediaries from insurance companies.Representations have been made to the government that these intermediary services should be treated at par with other financial services intermediaries, where 100 per cent foreign investment is permitted.Further, industry experts stated that the insurance sector is being impacted due...

Half of EPFO board likely to be replaced At least half of the long term representatives on the central board of trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will make way for new members when the board is reconstituted by the end of this month, marking a shift from the past model that had no cap on tenure. This follows a decision last year that no board member will hold the post for more than two terms. Earlier, members could be re-appointed any number of times. The CBT, the apex decision-making body of the EPFO, is reconstituted every five years. The induction of new members is expected to help the organisation push through the modernisation agenda. The CBT, the apex decision-making body of the EPFO, is reconstituted every five years. The induction of new members is expected to help the organisation push through the modernisation agenda. The CBT comprises 10 members of trade unions or employees’ representatives, 10 members of employers’ representatives, and 20 ...

Government likely to withdraw tax notice on free banking services Every bank offers a different slab of minimum balance to customers, based on which 'free services' are provided The tax department will likely withdraw a show-cause notice issued to several banks asking them to pay the service tax on ‘free services’ provided to customers, following the finance ministry’s intervention .The department of financial services (DFS) has presented the views of the banks that have opposed the tax to the revenue department. “We have spoken to the revenue department and requested them not to pursue the case. The matter will be settled and the case might not be pursued further,” said a senior finance ministry official. Some of the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGSTI) offices had issued the notice to some private banks, including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, and a few public sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), asking them to pay...

Economy under recovery after dual shock of demonetisation and GST: Research On the monetary side, areas of concern are rising bond yields which indicate potential slippages on the fiscal front The Indian economy is gradually coming out of the twin shock of demonetisation and GST which temporarily derailed growth, India Ratings said.The ratings agency, however, cautioned on the possible widening of the current account deficit (CAD) due to rising oil prices which was creating pressure on the currency. "Our research has shown that major macro parameters like manufacturing, capital goods production, non-food credit and consumption are showing signs of recovery," India Ratings chief economist Devendra Pant told PTI.On the monetary side, areas of concern are rising bond yields which indicate potential slippages on the fiscal front, he said."Things are improving now. If things behave as they are now and the policy remains conducive, growth in current fiscal is expected ...