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Do not pay workers the old-age pension until they turn 70 PEOPLE should not get the State pension until they reach the age of 70, the country’s leading economic think-tank says. Moving the statutory retirement age to 70 would counter a fall in the workforce and the rise in the number of pensioners, the Economic and Social Research Institute says.Reform that increases the current statutory retirement age by five years would roughly correspond to the projected increase in life expectancy.Raising the pension age, the study finds, could more than offset the impact of demographic change on the State budgets. It comes after reports this week that Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has been warned of a pensions “time-bomb” that has seen the State’s bill spiralling by €1bn every five years due to our ageing population.The Government has said it hopes to be able to give a rise in the State pension that exceeds the rate of inflation in this year’s Budget, while Fianna Fáil is also...

India adopts reporting rules to crack aggressive corporate tax planning The final country by country reporting rules notified by the CBDT is part of a global reporting regime that more than 100 countries have agreed to implementIndia on Wednesday notified final rules for multinational group companies (MNCs) in India to report specifics of their global parents’ operations as part of a global initiative to end instances of aggressive corporate tax planning. Details filed by the multinational company’s local arm in India, together with the finer details of the parent’s operations in every market which Indian authorities can source from the group’s home country under tax treaties, will help the government know how businesses manage flow of funds across borders to keep tax outgo low. The final country by country reporting rules notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is part of a global reporting regime that more than 100 countries have agreed to implement.The framework...

GST will further boost India’s ranking in ease of doing business, say bankers Bankers and experts express hope that implementation of the GST will strengthen India’s ease of doing business position in the future With the improvement in India’s ranking in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ report to 100th position, bankers and experts on Tuesday expressed hope that implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) will strengthen the country’s position in the future. “Going forward, GST’s incorporation in next year’s assessment will provide another significant leap in doing- business rankings for India,” Yes Bank managing director Rana Kapoor said in a statement.It is to be noted that the latest ease of doing business report by the World Bank released Tuesday did not take into consideration the implementation of GST from 1 July. Passage of the GST Bill was clearly a watershed moment for the economy but even otherwise there has been a sustained effort to simplify licencin...

Doing business is easier  says India Inc Top CEOs have cheered India´s improved position in the World Bank´s ranking of countries on ease of doing business, and said the situation on the ground has improved considerably in the past few years andasuccessful rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) will help the country further improve its rankings in the coming years. In a survey of 20 CEOs from across the nation on Wednesday, 80 per cent of them were of the view that due to a series of reforms undertaken by the Narendra Modi government, it had become easier to do business.According to the World Bank report, India improved its rankings in six of the 10 subcategories used by the institution to judge the business climate. In some categories such as paying taxes, resolving insolvency, getting credit, and protecting minority shareholders, the ranking jumped significantly.India´s overall rank in ease of doing business jumped from 130 last year to 100 this year.Seventy five per...

Govt owned enterprises may soon face the IBC heat For first time, 9 PSBs have taken a state owned enterprise to task Till now, private corporate debtors have been at the receiving end of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.That may soon change with the first state owned enterprise going through the insolvency process.This may set the ball rolling for similar instances of defaulting government owned enterprises being taken to task by financial and operational creditors, said experts. In a case testing the statutory powers vested with creditors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), insolvency resolution proceedings were initiated against West Bengal Essential Commodities Supply Corporation (WBECSC),a state government undertaking that is in the business of procuring and distributing food grains and essential commodities, in May this year.This case is close to getting resolved, with the state enterprise settling its dues with the consortium of creditors (nine public sector...

GST Network Glitches Courtesy Infosys, Say Government Officials Time taken for IT co to come up with solutions irks govt; Infy rejects contention Infosys, for long the face of India's software sector, finds its management of the GST information technology backbone under scrutiny at the highest levels of the government. It had won the . 1,380-crore deal for developing and ` running GST's backend in 2015. Three top government functionaries expressed strong disappointment with the company over frequent glitches that have beset the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), leading to extension of deadlines for returns several times “It has been a disappointing experience,“ said one of the officials, adding that the software provider is now expected to improve service delivery.Infosys rejected the contention that its work had been regarded as unsatisfactory. “The information you have received is completely inaccurate,“ the company said in an email to ET.The government on October 30...

Good Days may Follow Goods in Highest Tax Slab DIPP feels lower rate for select items under 28% slab will boost demand, help MSMEs India could review the application of the highest 28% slab under the goods and services tax (GST) and consider imposing a lower rate on items of frequent use, with policymakers supporting a move along these lines.Such a move will reduce prices of many goods, thus helping to boost demand. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has pitched for such a shift to revive industry, especially small businesses that are regarded as engi nes of employment generation. “There is a need to relook at the 28% slab,“ said a senior government official. “Some of the goods placed in that bracket are manufactured by MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and they are feeling some pressure.“ Items in the 28% slab include washing machines, refrigerators, electrical fittings, cement, ceiling fans, watches, automobiles, tobacco products, nutritional d...

Sebi speeds up adjudicating proceedings to clear backlog of cases Cases expedited after finance bill, 2017 cleasr air over its discretionary powers The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has begun hastening the passing of adjudicating orders to clear the backlog of cases that had piled up over the past couple of years, following uncertainty over its powers to impose discretionary penalties.The market watchdog has also expanded its team of adjudicating officers (AOs) to 11, from five less than a year ago, said a person familiar with the matter “More AOs will help clear the backlog created on account of the Roofit matter. Additional AOs may also expedite the process of passing orders. But, to provide impetus to the whole process of disposal, the regulator needs to lay stress on settlement of proceedings as well," said R S Loona, managing partner, Alliance Law.The Supreme Court (SC), in the matter of Roofit Industries in November 2015, had said Sebi had no discreti...

India Scores a century Jumps 30 spots to 100 in world  Bank's Ease of Doing Biz Rankings India has for the first time broken into the club of the 100 nations easiest to conduct business in, driven by ease of paying taxes, resolving the insolvency problem, access to credit, and protection of minority investors.The World Bank´s ´Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs´ report, released on Tuesday, showed India´s rank in ease of doing business jumped 30 places to 100 among 190 countries. India´s rank was 130ayear ago. India has also been adjudged the fifth bestperforming nation globally in reforming the business environment.The country improved its rankings in six of the 10 subcategories used by the World Bank to judge the climate of business.The report, covering the period from June 2 last year to June 1 this year, ranked India top among the South Asian nations. India´s distance to frontier ratio, which tells how similaracountry´s economic practices are to global best...

GoM suggests making GST inclusion in MRP mandatory Maximum retail price of goods must include the GST component to effectively address consumer  complaints that some retailers charge the new indirect tax on MRP of products, a high-level  panel of state finance ministers has recommended. The group of ministers, headed by Assam  Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has in its recommendation to the GST Council on easing  compliance burden on small and medium enterprises suggested that the government make it  amply clear in the present law that MRP is the maximum price of a product to be sold in  retail and charging anything above this is an offence. The Mint, New Delhi, 31th October 2017 

Customs duty on polyester fabric raised to 20% The central government has decided to increase the basic customs duty on polyester fabric to  20 per cent, from 10 per cent, with effect from last Friday. In the Goods and Services Tax regime, countervailing duty has been replaced with Integrated  GST and Special Additional Duty (SAD) has been scrapped. Polyester fabric attracted 10 per  cent basic customs duty, 12.5 per cent countervailing duty and four per cent SAD in the  pre-GST regime. After scrapping of the SAD and levy of five per cent GST on the fabric, the imported variety  attracted 10 per cent basic customs duty and five per cent IGST. This was a significant drop  and the domestic manufacturing industry had petitioned in alarm, to stop cheaper import,  especially from China. The industry had represented to the government and the GST Council to  increase the basic customs duty. P Nataraj, chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Associa...