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Sebi Attaches UBHL Bank Accounts, MF Units and Securities Says Mallya-owned co defaulted on ?15 L penalty imposed by regulator in 2015 The Securities and Exchange Board of India has attached all bank accounts, securities and mutual fund units held by Vijay Mallya-owned United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL).The regulator said UBHL has defaulted on the payment of a penalty imposed by it in 2015. It has directed banks, depositories and mutual funds not to allow any debit in their accounts. However, credits have been allowed. Sebi had imposed a penalty of ?15 lakh in 2015 for disclosure lapses by United Breweries Holdings. The regulator said United Breweries is liable to pay the amount along with an interest of 12% per annum (from Nov 27, 2015 to Nov 13, 2017), which adds up to ?3.5 lakh, and a recovery cost of ?1,000, a total of ?18.5 lakh. “There is sufficient reason to believe that the defaulter may dispose of the amounts in the bank accounts/securities in the demat accounts held...

Govt finds 130,000 firms without PAN An investigation the Ministry Affairs (MCA) more than 130,000 out of 224,000 taken did not have a permanent account number (PAN) even as they transacted crores of rupees.Sources said the probe indicated only 93,000 firms off by the Registrar of Companies had PAN, which is mandatory transaction above Rs 50,000. The findings showed these firms did not pay taxes and made it difficult for the authorities to track their transactions, sources said. Absence of statutory filings was cited as a reason for deregistering the firms. It is learnt that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is now likely to examine whether all active companies have PAN or not. After the recent rounds of deregistration by RoC, 1.13 million companies remain active.The PAN issue adds to the concerns of the ministry over many banks failing to submit post demonetisation transaction details of companies which were deregistered recently. State Bank of India (SBI), for instance, has not p...

Surat is the new shell firm capital Surat has replaced Kolkata as the new capital of shell firms that evade taxes.According to the income tax (IT) department,a majority of the companies featuring on the new list of firms provided by the government are based in Kolkata had topped the first list. The tax department began tightening the noose shell firms earlier this year, as more details such companies to light after In the new list, tax have found over 80 per cent of the 2,138 shell firms, which deposited unaccounted cash of at least Rs 5,000 crore during the note ban, were from Surat. The tax department expects this number to go up.This list featured 5,800 shell companies, shortlisted by the finance ministry, which had deposits of Rs17,000 crore in near zero balance accounts after demonetisation and nearly an equal amount of withdrawal thereafter. Earlier, the tax department had identified 16,000 shell firms floated in Kolkata between 2011 and 2015, to launder money.The probe...

No GST on Advance Taken by FMCG Cos Cos say amount taken from dealers was not against a specified product and so tax rate was not clear In a big relief to all FMCG companies and others that take advance from dealers before they supply goods, no goods and services tax (GST) would be levied on such advance.The department of revenue has issued a notification allowing the relaxation after the same was approved in the GST Council meeting last week in Guwahati. The notification exempts all taxpayers from payment of tax on advances received in case of supply of goods. The companies were having trouble levying GST on such advance as it was not against a specific product and so it was not clear what rate had to be applied.Besides, some funds were blocked because of this payment of tax on advances. “Under VAT regime, there was no tax on advances for goods but was introduced under GST. Since the input credit was only available after receipt of goods, this led to working capital blockage f...

India set to be 'attractive' place for business FM With greater digitisation and formalisation of financial activities and businesses, India is set to become an “extremely attractive” country to do business, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.Speaking at the Singapore Fintech Festival, Jaitley said the ongoing process of digitisation was a result of Aaadhar scheme coupled with financial inclusion, improvement in the digital eco-payment system as well as the introduction of the GST. PTI The Business Standard, New Delhi, 16th November 2017

200 items cheaper as GST cuts notified Eating out and a  little over 200 products of mass consumption, including detergents and ceiling fans, became cheaper from Wednesday with the lower goods and services tax (GST) rates taking effect. The finance ministry has told citizens to remember this while purchasing these.The government formally notified the lower rates, including on chocolates, waffles, furniture, wristwatches, cutlery, suitcases, ceramic tiles and articles of cement. The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had on Friday in Guwahati decided to cut rates on these items to provide relief to consumers and businesses, amid an economic slowdown. The Council pruned the list of items in the top 28 per cent GST slab to 50, from the earlier 228. Another 176 had the rate cut from 28 per cent to 18 per cent —chewing gum, chocolates, coffee, custard powder, marble and granite, dental hygiene products, polishes and creams, sanitary ware, leather clothing, ...

Bring realty under GST with stamp duty: Assocham If the real estate sector is brought with in the ambit of the goods and services tax (GST), it should be along with the stamp duty and moderate rate, and should not add to the cost of housing and construction, according to an industry body. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India(Assocham) said the Centre is certainly in favour of realty under the GST, but the states have to be brought on board because there are revenue implications. There are reports that the realty sector may be brought under the GST without stamp duty and other levies like property tax.That will serve no purpose and instead would lead to more confusion, Assocham Secretary General DS Rawat said. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 15th November 2017

New GST rates may lower CPI inflation by 20 bps: Nomura The decision to lower the goods and services tax(GST) rates on over 200 items could help pull down retail inflation by 20 basis points from the current levels driven by lower food and beverage prices,  says a report. According to global financial services major Nomura, the recent decision by the Centre to lower tax rates for 213 items, including 178 items of daily consumer use, is likely to lower CPI inflation by about 20 basis points (0.2percent). “The government expects these(GST) measures to be disinflationary. Our quantitative analysis suggests that if (a big if) the GST tax changes are fully passed on to consumers, they would lower CPI inflation by estimated 20 basis points,” Nomura said. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 15th November 2017

Registered properties worth over Rs 30 lakh on scanner as CBDT turns up heat on black money The I-T department will comb through the tax history of all people who have registered property valued above Rs 30 lakh to check if any tax evaders own such properties by proxy, CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra said. The government’s continuing crackdown on black money will now see tax officials sift through details of property ownership to ascertain cases of tax evasion and benami transactions.According to Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sushil Chandra, the Income Tax department will comb through the tax history of all people who have registered property valued above Rs 30 lakh to check if any tax evaders own such properties by proxy. Mismatches between asset ownership and reported income enable the department to identify cases of tax evasion. In benami ownership, the beneficial owner of the asset will be different from its legal owner.The exercise follows the enactment of the...

Anti-Profiteering Guidelines Under GST Likely by Next Mth Methodology to ascertain if rate cut benefits are passed on to consumers Days after tax rates of about 178 products under goods & services Tax (GST) were changed, the government could be looking to come out with detailed anti-profiteering guidelines, according to three people close to the development.The broad idea is to prescribe a methodology to ascertain whether companies are passing on the tax reduction under GST and benefits derived from input tax credits to consumers. The guidelines could come by December first week, according to the people in the know. Several experts — in the government and tax advisors — have been raising several hypothetical questions around the anti-profiteering clause of the GST. Can a company pass benefits of the recent GST rate reduction on one brand of bodywash to another brand of bodywash? Can the company cross subsidise reduction in GST rates in bodywash to something else it sells, s...

I-T Dept to Soon Issue Notices to Suspicious Cash Depositors The Income Tax Department will soon issue notices to those who have deposited “suspicious” amounts of money in banks post-demonetisation and have not responded to taxman's preliminary communication, CBDT said on Tuesday. Sushil Chandra, chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), said despite closing of I-T returns filing time period, a number of entities and individuals failed to file their tax returns, as required under the ‘Operation Clean Money’ (OCM) initiated by the government to check black money post demonetisation. “The government has already taken all measures under the Operation Clean Money. We have given enough time to people to file their returns and come out clean,” he said. “But we have found that even after the last date of returns, a large number of persons have not filed the same,” Chandra said. LENS ON PROFILES OF PROPERTIES The Income Tax Department is matching the “tax profiles” of all...