CA Online

  Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday slapped a fine of Rs 48 lakh on eight entities, including promoters of United Polyfab Gujarat Ltd (UPGL), for manipulating the share prices of the company. These entities have to pay the penalty jointly and severally within 45 days, as per an order. The order came after Sebi conducted an investigation of UPGL and trading by certain entities in the scrip of the company, to ascertain whether there was any violation of the provisions of the PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) rules. Based on the findings of the probe in the matter of trading by certain entities in the scrip of UPGL, the regulator initiated adjudication proceedings against these entities. Thereafter, the regulator issued a common show cause notice to the noticees on July 18, 2023. "...UPGL and Gagan Nirmalkumar Mittal in collusion with other Noticees i.e. Shiv Marketing and Trading, Vishwakarma Trading House, Anilkumar Mangalchand Mittal, Amay Spinc...

  India's market regulator has asked money managers to consider restricting one-off investments from clients in small- and mid-cap stock mutual funds and cut commissions offered for their sale, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) communicated this to the money managers in a meeting earlier this month, the sources, who included a regulatory official, said. The regulator did not specify the quantum of flows it wants restricted, they said. SEBI's communication shows heightened regulatory concern on the surging inflows into Indian small- and mid-cap mutual funds and any potential ripple effects on the financial system if investors suddenly started to yank their money from them. In India, small-cap stocks are defined as those with market capitalisation of less than 50 billion rupees ($603.05 million) while mid-cap stocks are those with market values of between 50 billion and 200 billion rupees. Small- and mid-cap st...

  The NDA government in Bihar on Thursday came out with a 'one-time settlement' initiative for the benefit of traders with tax liabilities dating back to the pre-GST era. The Bihar Tax Disputes Settlement Bill, 2024 was tabled in the state assembly by Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, who also holds the finance portfolio. The Bill was passed in the assembly through voice vote, and, according to Choudhary, once notified, "it will bring great relief to traders with pre-GST tax liabilities". "The Bill provides traders with an opportunity to settle their pre-GST tax liabilities through the one-time settlement scheme. It would require traders to pay 10 per cent of the penalty and the remaining 90 per cent will be waived. In addition, traders will have to pay 35 per cent of the disputed tax amount to get a waiver of the remaining 65 per cent," said Choudhary. "Traders will have to pay both 10 per cent of the interest and penalty and 35 per cent of the d...

  No changes in the income tax slabs for the upcoming financial year, 2024-25, have been announced in the interim budget 2024 by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her speech. Under the income tax laws, an individual (not having any business income) is required to choose between the new and old tax regimes every year. Hence, an individual can choose the new tax regime one year and the old tax regime the next. It is important to note that a large number of changes were made in Budget 2023 in the new tax regime. The income tax slab changes announced in Budget 2023 are effective for the financial year between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, and are set to remain unchanged for FY 2024-25 (April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025).   Current income tax slabs under new tax regime Income tax slabs (In Rs) Income tax rate (%) Up to 3,00,000 0 3,00,001-6,00,000 5% 6,00,001-9,00,000 10% 9,00,001-12,00,000 15% 12,00,001-15,00,000 20% Above 15,00,001 30%   Here are the income tax ...

  Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections jumped 10.4 per cent to over Rs 1.72 trillion in January, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. This is the second-highest monthly collection ever and marks the third month in this financial year with a collection of Rs 1.70 trillion or more. "The gross GST revenue collected in the month of January 2024 (till 05:00 PM of 31.01.2024) is Rs 1,72,129 crore, which shows a 10.4 per cent y-o-y growth over the revenue of Rs 1,55,922 crore collected in January 2023 (till 05:00 PM on 31.01.2023)," the ministry said. During the April 2023-January 2024 period, cumulative gross GST collection witnessed 11.6 per cent year-on-year growth (till 05:00 PM of 31.01.2024), reaching Rs 16.69 trillion against Rs 14.96 trillion collected in the same period of the previous year(April 2022-January 2023). The highest-ever monthly GST collection was recorded in April 2023 at Rs 1.87 trillion.   -Business Standard 01 st  Feb, 2024.

  The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Digital Payments Index, a measure of the extent of digitisation of payments across the country, increased to 418.77 in September 2023 from 395.57 in March 2023. “The RBI-DPI index has increased across all parameters and was driven particularly by growth in payment enablers, payment performance, and consumer centricity across the country over the period,” the central bank said in a release. The RBI-DPI has been constructed with March 2018 as the base period, that is, the DPI score for March 2018 is set at 100. In September 2019, the index stood at 173.49, which rose to 217.74 in September 2020, and to 304.06 in September 2021. The RBI-DPI comprises five broad parameters that measure the penetration of digital payments in the country over different time periods. These parameters include Payment Enablers (weight 25 per cent), Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors (10 per cent), Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side factors (15 per cent), Payme...

  Starting from February 29, Paytm Payments Bank won't be able to accept new users. If you're not already using Paytm, you can't create a new account after this date. Existing users won't be able to use Paytm wallets, Fastags, or Mobility Cards after this date. This is because the Reserve Bank of India has barred the listed fintech’s payment bank from offering banking services after February. The action against One 97 Communications, the parent company that runs Paytm, is due to “non-compliance and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank,” RBI said. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) is an associate company of PAYTM and has over 100 million KYC customers. It also has 300 million wallet users, 30 million bank account holders and a 17 per cent market share in FASTag by value.While the regulator had earlier banned new customer on-boarding at PPBL, the latest actions prohibit Paytm from undertaking any credit or deposit transaction after 29 February, 2024. The centr...

  India's markets regulator is looking at whether local mutual fund schemes investing in small and mid-cap stocks would be able to withstand sharp falls in stock prices or sudden outflows, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Such funds have seen heavy inflows over the past year, pushing up the prices of small and mid-cap stocks and raising the risks of a steep correction should market conditions suddenly deteriorate. In talks with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) this month, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) asked for small and mid-cap funds' internal stress tests so it could determine if they would have adequate liquidity to meet any large outflows, the sources said. While SEBI has completed one round of stress test reviews, it wants funds to test for more adverse scenarios, said one of the sources. The sources declined to be identified as discussions with the regulator were confidential.   SEBI and AMFI did not respond...

  State-backed insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has received a goods and services tax (GST) notice of Rs 806.3 crore from the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai. In a regulatory filing, the company said that it would file an appeal against the order. The total includes GST worth Rs 365.02 crore, penalty of Rs 404.7 crore and interest of Rs 36.5 crore. According to the filing, the violations include non-reversal of input tax credit (ITC), reversal of ITC availed of from reinsurance, interest on delayed payment made with GSTR-3B, interest on advance received, and less reverse charge mechanism liability disclosed in GSTR-9/3B than shown by suppliers in GSTR-1. "Corporation shall file an appeal before Commissioner (Appeals), Mumbai, against the said order within the prescribed timelines," LIC said, adding that the demand will not have any material impact on any of its financials, operations or other activities. Earlier in October last year, LIC had received...

  Goods and services tax (GST) collection in December declined to a three-month low due to economic activities winding down after Diwali but remained elevated at Rs 1.65 trillion. The growth rate year-on-year fell to a three-month low of 10.3 per cent over Rs 1.49 trillion in December 2022-23. GST collection in a particular month is on account of production, sales, and purchases in the previous month.Thus, collection in December pertained to transactions in November, which was marked by holidays after Diwali, slowing receipts. The same trend was visible in other data points such as the core sector, which witnessed a six-month low growth rate of 7.8 per cent in November. GST collection has been Rs 1.65 trillion and above for six months of the nine this financial year. It did not fall below Rs 1.57 trillion in any month.Average monthly gross GST collection -- Rs 1.66 trillion in the first nine months -- represents a 12 per cent rise over the Rs 1.49 trillion recorded in the correspon...

  Central and state governments collected ?1,64,882 crore ( ?1.65 trillion) in goods and services tax (GST) revenue in December, a notch below the average so far this year of ?1.66 trillion per month, but still a 10.3% jump from a year ago. The finance ministry said in a statement that in the April-December period of this fiscal, the gross GST collection grew 12% compared to the year-ago period to ?14.97 trillion. The GST receipts in December are the lowest since October witnessed a peak of ?1.72 trillion, which was this fiscal’s second highest after a record ?1.87 trillion in April. This indicates a moderation after businesses replenished supply chains in the pre-festive months, but receipts could see a further increase closer to the fiscal year end. Barring May and August, GST receipts have remained above ?1.6 trillion this fiscal. After settlement of taxes for interstate sales, the central government collected ?70,501 crore, while the states received ?71,587 crore in December, t...