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EPFO makes online claims must for PF withdrawals above Rs 10 lakh Retirement fund body EPFO has made it mandatory to file online claims for provident fund withdrawals above Rs 10 lakh, taking another step towards becoming a  paperless organisation. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has also made it mandatory to file online claims for withdrawals of above Rs 5 lakh under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995. Under the pension scheme, there is a provision of part withdrawal of pension, commonly known as commutation of pension money. At present, EPFO subscribers have the  option of filing online as well as manual claims for provident fund withdrawal as also for pension.The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Central Provident Fund Commissioner on January 17, 2018, an official said. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 28th February 2018

India Inc's avg salary hike to be 9.4% this yr: Survey Employees in India are likely to get an average salary hike of just 9.4 per cent this year, same as last year, while key talent are expected to get appraisals of as much as 15.4 per cent as companies increase focus on performanceHR consultancy Aon Hewitt's annual Salary Increase Survey, that analysed data across more than 1,000 companies from over 20 industries, said the average salary for India Inc stands at 9.4 per cent this year. A on believes average pay increases in India will remain between 9.4-9.6 per cent. As per the survey, companies in India gave an average pay increase of 9.3 per cent during 2017, marking a departure from the double digit increments given by organisations since the inception of this study.Even as salary hike remained at the same level on a year-on-year basis, India continues to lead the Asia-Pacific region.China is expected to dole out a salary raise of 6.7 per cent, Philippines 5.8 per cen...

Single GST rate can't work at the moment; compliance to be made simpler: FM He said that being the reason, the government started with multiple rates and was now moving towards rationalisation Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that India being a "significantly tax non-compliant" country, with wide socio-economic diversities, it cannot have a single GST rate in near future. However, he said, the government was moving towards rationalisation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure, which would pick up more pace once tax compliance improves."India has been a significantly tax non-compliant country.And therefore, the compliance standards in India have to be first improved."Also, in a society like India where you still have a significant population which is deprived or below the poverty line, a single (GST) rate can't work," Jaitley said at "India-Korea Business Summit" here. He said that being the reason, the government...

GST collection dips marginally in January to Rs 86,318 crore The collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) slipped marginally to Rs 86,318 crore in January, from Rs 86,703 crore in December. "The total revenue received under GST for the month of January 2018 (received in January/February up to February 25, 2018) has been Rs 86,318 crores," the finance  ministry said in a statement Total collections under the GST had registered an increase in December 2017 after declining in the two previous months of November and October following the decision  of the GST Council to cut rates on more than 200 items.The ministry said that 1.03 crore taxpayers have been registered under GST till February 25, of which 17.65 lakh are composition dealers who are required to file returns every quarter.  Of the total, 1.23 lakh composition dealers have opted out of scheme and have thus become regular taxpayers, it said, adding that "till February 25 there are 16.42 lakh composition d...

I-T e-assessment: CBDT notifies new central scheme The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified a new centralised communication scheme for serving e-notices to income tax-payers as part of the government's  ambitious plan to usher in a countrywide paperless system of interface between the taxman and the assessee. The scheme stipulates that an internet-based independent centralised communication centre (CCC) will be established in the Income Tax department that will "issue notice" to any person (under section 133C of the Income Tax Act), who is required to furnish information or documents, for the purpose of verification, to the taxman. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 28th February 2018

GST revenues: Growing uncertainty Sluggish GST revenues would mean higher government borrowing and consequently a worsening fiscal deficit position A delayed implementation of the e-way bill will allow more preparation time to businesses already fed up with the government’s ad hoc decisions on the subject. On the other hand, it leaves one wondering how long it will take for GST (goods and services tax) revenue collections to finally stabilize. Wary of declining GST revenue collections, the GST Council in December last year advanced e-way bill implementation from its originally scheduled date of 1 April to 1 February 2018. Trial runs that began on 15 January were fairly successful, say tax experts, who were hopeful that unlike GST returns filing, history would not repeat itself with the e-way bill website. But the e-way bill portal failed the litmus test and yet again, the roll-out had to be deferred. Last week, the group of ministers overseeing GST-related developments recomm...

Govt to ease FPI rules in bid to attract foreign investment The government will reduce time required for FPIs to register in India, introduce a single-window clearance for them and allow foreign banks to trade on behalf of their clients without registeringThe government plans to cut red tape and ease rules for foreign portfolio investors (FPI), as it seeks to attract more investments into Asia’s third-largest economy, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. As part of the plan, the government will reduce the time required for FPIs to register in India, introduce a single-window clearance for them and allow foreign banks to trade on behalf of their clients without registering, the people said, requesting anonymity.The steps come at a time when Indian exchanges have decided to stop sharing market data feeds with overseas exchanges to prevent a flight of liquidity from the country. That decision has been criticized by market participants, including index provider MS...

UPI-based system mulled for retail investors in IPOs The securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is considering introducing a UPI-based payment system for retail investors in initial public offerings (IPOs), a move that will help do away with cheque payments and reduce the time taken between the closing of an IPO and listing of the security to just three days. Sources in the know said Sebi and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages the UPI (unified payments interface) protocol, were studying the feasibility of the proposal. Initial feedback received by the market regulator from stakeholders was that the project could be executed with a few tweaks to teh current payment framework, said a source The UPI system developed  to promote digital payments in the country . enables instant and seamless payments frome one bank account to another through a mobile-based application. The platform is rapidly gaining acceptance, with over 70 banks being empanelle...

Individual angels may get tax relief too The government is considering exempting investments made by individuals in certain startups from the so-called angel tax to provide a level playing field with other angel investors and to nudge high net worth individuals to back innovation.The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is working with the finance ministry on the details of the proposed exemption. The department has held several meetings with angel investor networks and startups to finalise the new framework. “We felt that investments by individuals who may not be part of the angel network also deserve to get the tax benefit since they are also playing a role in building the startup ecosystem in the country,” a senior government official told ET. Angel tax of about 30% is levied on the amount that exceeds the fair market value of shares issued by unlisted companies, which is treated as income from other sources. However, the levy has startups concerned over the possi...

CIC raps GSTN for lack of order, seeks clarity on info disclosure Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the IT backbone of the new tax regime, has attracted the ire of Central Information Commission (CIC), which has directed the company to set its house in order and update information in public domain. CIC has taken a grim view of the functioning of GSTN, a company with 1,200 employees managing the entire network.Hearing an appeal filed by applicant R K Jain, who had sought information under the Right to Information Act (RTI) on GSTN’s HR policy and voluntary disclosure of information, Information Commissioner Bimal Julka said, “It is appalling to learn that an important, significant and critical area concerning the implementation of GST Network still required streamlining and consolidation, which needs to be attended to forthwith in the larger public interest”. The commissioner’s observation follows facts that emerged during hearing of the case. Jain had put forward documents...

Government borrowing cost likely to fall, thanks to EPFO Borrowing costs for the Centre and the states may reduce in FY19 after India allowed the country’s biggest buyer of organized debt to buy less of corporate bonds and increase instead the allocations toward sovereign paper. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which manages more than Rs 10 lakh crore in superannuation funds and is India’s largest domestic buyer of debt, now needs to allocate a minimum of 20 per cent of its portfolio to corporate bonds. That threshold, earlier set at 35 per cent, has been reduced because of the lack of availability of quality corporate paper in the country. “Based on the rates, we will take prudent and meritorious investment decision in the interest of stakeholders,” said VP Joy, the central provident fund commissioner. “We have larger limits now for government bond investments.”Two weeks ago, ET reported that the EPFO requested the Centre to alter investment guidelines applic...