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The income tax (I-T) department has rejected two sets of suspicious high value declarations under the income disclosure scheme (IDS) which ended in September, including one made by Mahesh Shah, the Ahmedabad-based property dealer who was detained by the income tax department on Saturday. In the first instance, declarations were made by a family of four based in Mumbai, named Abdul Razzaque Mohammed Sayed, Mohammed Aarif Abdul Razzaque Sayed, Rukhsana Abdul Razzaque Sayed, and Noorjahan Mohammed Sayed, amounting to a total of Rs2 trillion and in the other instance, the declaration was made by Shah, an Ahmedabad-based individual amounting to Rs13,860 crore. In both instances, after investigations, it was established that these people were of ‘small means’ and these declarations could have been misused, the tax department said in a statement. These numbers were also not included while arriving at the final numbers under the income disclosure scheme, it added. The total declaration...

In a bid to bring more workers from unorganised sector under the health insurance scheme,the Employees State Insurance Corporation has increased the monthly wage limit to  Rs.21,000,Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya( pictured )said on Sunday.“Coverage under ESIC scheme was enhanced to Rs.15,000 in 2010.Now,government has taken a decision to hike the coverage from Rs.15,000 to Rs.21,000,”he said.He said the government was also strengthening the health infrastructure for the benefit of workers.The upward increase in revision would add about 3.5 million new members to the ESIC pool. The  government is keeping a close watch on temperature-sensitive wheat cropas the Met Department has predicted warmer winter this year, Agriculture Secretary ShobhanaK Pattanayak  said  on Sunday. He also said the ongoing rabisowing has not been impacted much due to demonetisation.A central team sent to rural areas has found no significant impact on so wings of ar.Sowing of wheat,the m...

The Reserve Bank of India on Suday said it will issue new currency notes Rs.20 and  of Rs. 50 denominations with numerals in ascending size in the number panels and without intaglio printing. The old notes of Rs. 50 will Rs.20 and ` remain legal tender. These new notes come against the backdrop of government last month scrapping  Rs.1000 . 500.currency notes to crack down on black money. “The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs.20 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, with inset letter `L' in both the number panels, bearing signature of Dr Urjit R Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing `2016' printed on the reverse of the banknote,“ the RBI said in a statement. The Economic Times New Delhi,05th December 2016

The six-member monetary policy committee headed by Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel is likely to cut the policy rate by at least 25 basis points in the December 6-7 policy review. But, the case for a pause is equally strong, say economists. However, the central bank is unlikely to pause, given a demonetisation-induced slowdown. "Demonetisation and its impact would justify a rate cut," says Upasna Bharadwaj, economist at the Kotak Mahindra Bank. "The market has largely factored in a 25-basis-point rate cut. If the central bank sounds dovish and realistic about future rate cuts, the market would take comfort from that," she added. Two out of the 12 economists, bond market dealers and rating agency officials polled by Business Standard say the RBI will go for at least a 25 basis-point cut. The economic slowdown due to demonetisation is expected to shave off a percentage point from the gross domestic product growth and so a rate cut at this point t...

Measures may include taxs lab & rate revisions for individuals,companies To soften the “pain” of demonetisation,the central government might announce a number of direct taxs ops for individuals as well as the corporate sector in the Union Budget for 2017-18,which is likely to be presented on February 1— earlier than usual. The Budget might have revisions of the taxs labs,reductions in the corporate tax rate,and more tax exemptions or  rebates in certain cases.While a clearer picture is emerging,nothing is likely to befinalised till mid-January. Policy makers have stated—publicly and off there cord—that the Prime Minister’s Office and Union finance ministry are working on certain “populist” measures on taxes.This would fit in with the now expected “feel-good” Budget. Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal had told Business Standard earlier that there was scope for reduction in direct taxes in the Budget.“There is a likelihood of reduction indirect taxes next f...

RBI restricts withdrawal limits on Jan Dhan accounts to Rs 10,000; cites ‘farmer protection’ The Reserve Bank of India has put withdrawal limits on bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) which are funded through deposits of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs) after November 9. The notification issued by RBI stated that the limits are being imposed to protect “innocent farmers from activities of money launders and legal consequences under the Benami Property Transaction & Money Laundering laws”. As per the notification, banks can allow fully KYC compliant account holders to withdraw only Rs 10,000 in a month. However, the bank managers can also allow withdrawal of more than Rs 10,000 within ‘current applicable limits’ after ‘ascertaining the genuineness of such withdrawals’. On the other hand, non KYC compliant account holders are entitled to withdraw only half the amount, ie Rs 5,000, in a month within the ceiling of Rs 10,000. After the central government annou...

Kolkata: Our Bureau Feedback sought on consumer problems in case of termination of telecom services The telecom regulator has floated a new discussion paper seeking clarity on issues faced by consumers, typically, when operators need to switch off networks due to changes in licencing rules, discontinuation of a particular mobile technology or even the advent of spectrum trading. In a consultation paper issued Wednesday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought views from stakeholders on whether the notice period to subscribers in case of a services closure needs to be enhanced from 30 days to 60 days to give customers enough time to use up their talktime balance. It has also sought views on whether a telco needs to give such 60 days advance notice to customers, the telecom department (DoT) and Trai if it is selling airwaves in a particular circle and shutting down operations. The regulator has also sought industry feedback on whether a telco migrating customers to a...

NEW DELHI: The financial systems of the country have to be made Aadhaar-enabled to make the transition to a digital economy. This is one of the decisions taken by a group of ministers which is charting out a strategy for digital payments. The Aadhaar link should be made even at the existing Point of Sale (PoS) level and at the internet banking level to “formalise cashless banking in the country,” it was felt The group, led by minister for Electronics and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, which met for the second time in a week, also suggested that public sector banks should make the initial push towards digitalisation. One government official who attended the meeting said the idea was to make bankers focus more on digital payment modes instead of across the counter mode of operations. Aadhaar is being pushed because it doesn’t require people to remember their PINs or password, which can be an issue with the poor and the illiterate. Through Aadhaar, only biometric based authentication is needed...

Taxmen seized 55% more cash and jewellery during April-October 2016, compared to the same period last year, while income-tax raids increased by 46% during the period, a top officer in the tax department told HT. (PTI) Taxmen seized 55% more cash and jewellery during April-October 2016, compared to the same period last year, while income-tax raids increased by 46% during the period, a top officer in the tax department told HT on the condition of anonymity . The result: R7,700 crore worth of black money has been unearthed since April, against R5,030 crore during the whole of 2015-16. The surge is mainly because of the government’s stepped-up efforts to contain black money, sources said. “Given the government’s schemes for disclosing black money, the tax department wants more people to use them. Increased vigil will ensure more people opt for the black money disclosure schemes,” said the official quoted above. Bengaluru tops the list of cities, where black money has been unearthed (R1,85...

With insolvency professional agencies getting registered, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code will become operational from tomorrow. The Code will help quicker resolution of cases and unlock value of assets, Mamta Binani, President, ICSI, the apex body of company secretaries, told reporters here today. "The entire Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code will be functional from tomorrow," she said. Both ICSI (Institute of Company Secretaries of India) and ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) have registered not-for-profit companies under the Code to act as insolvency professional agencies. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has been set up under the Code that seeks to consolidate and amend laws relating to reorganisation as well as insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time-bound manner. 1ST DECEMBER 2016, THE BUSINESS STANDARD , NEW-DELHI

Amended law provides those with unaccounted cash or deposits of cancelled .? 500 and .? 1,000 notes to pay 50% tax; plan to use funds from deposit scheme for pro-poor programmes New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Taxation Laws (second) Amendment Bill, which provides another chance for people with unaccounted cash to come clean. The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by a voice vote in a complete din without any debate. The amended law provides those with unaccounted cash or deposits of cancelled 500 and 1,000 notes to pay 50% tax and come clean, or else, if caught, face a much harsher penalty and possible prosecution. A quarter of the amount declared will be locked up for four years in interest free deposits, leaving such declarant with only 25% of funds for immediate use. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the government had made these changes after it was seen that people were trying to launder the demonetised currency. “It was seen after November 8 t...