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Govt Mulls New Category to Tax Hi-tech Items Move to allow Centre to impose import duties without violating global pact The government is exploring the possibility of creating new categories in its tariff structure that will allow it to impose import duties on hi-tech products without violating a global agreement that mandates nil duties.The government has already imposed customs duties on mobile phones to encourage manufacturing in India.The finance and commerce ministries and the department of electronics are in discussions on the issue to give a ‘Make in India’ push to hi-tech products. Officials say some countries have already used the flexibility available in the Harmonised System of Nomenclature of goods to raise duties without running afoul of the Information Technology Agreement 1, or ITA1.Violations of the agreement are challenged at the World Trade Organization (WTO).The government has also sounded out the industry on the idea, said a person privy to the move. New Delhi ha...

NSE, MCX in merger talks, could submit proposal to Sebi this month The merger will help NSE and MCX cement their leadership position both in the equities and commodity derivatives space The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) entered into merger talks ahead of the implementation of the universal exchange framework in October, said a top official. The two entities are planning to approach market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as early as this month, according to the official.Both the exchanges have readied a blueprint for the merger proposal which will be discussed with Sebi. Sources say NSE entered talks with the commodity bourse soon after the market regulator allowed exchanges to dabble both in the equities and commodities space. The decision was taken by the Sebi board at its December 2017 meet. NSE spokesperson said, “We will not comment on market speculations.” An query sent to MCX did not elicit immediate response.Sourc...

Taxman Disallows AMP Deductions Sought by MNCs Says ad money spent not for India business uses hitherto unused provision of I-T Act The income-tax department has started issuing notices to several multinational consumer firms, disallowing deductions on expenses of advertising, marketing and sales promotion under a hitherto unused provision of the Income Tax Act. Notices have been issued to consumer companies such as Hindustan Unilever, P&G, L’Oreal, LG and Maruti Suzuki. Industry experts peg the total demand raised by the tax department on this count at about Rs.10,000 crore. As AMP (advertising, marketing and promotional) expenses is a cost head, disallowing the deduction would inflate pre-tax accounting profits, translating into increased tax outgo for a company if tax claims are upheld. The government claims that these expenses are not relevant for the India business and are mostly related to overseas brand building. Hence, they are sought to be disallowed under Section 37 of...

Tower Cos Brought Under Regulatory Net Tower providers will be considered licensees under right-of-way rules The telecom department has clarified that tower providers will be considered as licensees under rightof-way rules, addressing a major demand of the industry that had been kept out of the purview of these rules so far. The industry welcomed the move, which it said would help infrastructure providers to set up the base for future technologies including 5G. The right-of-way rules allow online filing of applications in a bid to ease the pain that the sector faces in building infrastructure. They are expected to help companies get land from state governments and local bodies within a stipulated timeframe, with standard procedures set for telecom companies and government authorities to follow. The Department of Telecommunications had issued rules on setting up of telecom towers and laying of cables in November 2016, providing a framework for granting approvals and settling d...

Govt Proposes Rates for Treatment Under Health Protection Scheme Scheme likely to be rolled out by Aug, registration for hospitals expected to begin by June 15 The government has proposed rates for over 1,350 treatment packages ranging from Rs 1,000 to over Rs 1.50 lakh, for the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission. The government issued a 205-page model tender document on Wednesday, taking the Prime Minister’s ambitious health protection scheme a step closer to implementation. The rates proposed depend on the type of therapy and procedure. The document is expected to help states select insurance companies for the scheme, which promises up to Rs 5 lakh cover for 100 million poor families in the country. Over 20 specialties like cardiology, cancer care, neurosurgery and neo-natal care have been covered in the draft. For instance, the rate for an orthopaedic procedure like application of skin traction has been set at Rs 1,000, while aortic arch replacement under car...

  PMO Advances Completion Dates for Rural Schemes The Prime Minister’s Office is aiming for completion of key rural schemes ahead of the next general election, bringing forward their deadlines in keeping with a campaign pitch of ‘Har ghareeb ko ghar, usmein toilet, bijli aur gas’ (House for every poor person, with toilet, electricity and cooking gas), senior government officials told ET. The latest such scheme is the Swachh Bharat (Grameen), aimed at turning rural India open defecation-free (ODF), which had a deadline of October 2, 2019 but may now be completed six months ahead of schedule. “We are trying to complete this mission by March 2019. We will either be there by that date or almost there,” said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. So far, 84% ODF coverage has been achieved under the scheme. The Centre is also aiming to give out five crore cooking gas or LPG connections under the PM Ujjwala Yojana by December 2018 – this was the original scope ...

Cabinet approves ordinance to give homebuyers creditor status under IBC Special provisions planned for MSMEs, panel wants CoC to have power to withdraw application for insolvency resolution. The Union Cabinet approved, via an Ordinance, amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), giving homebuyers the status of creditors in the insolvency process. Also in the Ordinance, it appears (Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad would not give details) are provisions for micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs), easing some conditions for the segment. Assent of the President is required for the Ordinance to take effect. These changes were part of the recommendations of a committee to review and suggest changes in the IBC . Earlier, on the panel’s suggestion, the government got amended Section 29A clause of the IBC - it lists entities barred from bidding for companies under insolvency. The changes were to ensure wilful defaulters and those whose accounts had been classifie...

  Rupee nears its all-time low on global cues; Sensex drops 306 points The rupee dropped 0.6 per cent to a 17-month low of 68.42 against the dollar. The rupee and stocks tumbled along with other global markets on Wednesday after the US dollar strengthened, as events across Italy, Turkey and North Korea triggered risk-off bets. Investors pulled out money out of risky assets on fears of Italy exiting the eurozone. The sentiment was hurt as prospects of trade talks between the US and China and a summit with North Korea faded. Most emerging market currencies tumbled after a slide in the Turkish lira sparked fears of contagion. The dollar index, a gauge for the greenback’s performance against major global currencies, breached 94 for the first time in 2018. The euro and the British pound fell to their 2018 lows of 1.17 and 1.33, respectively, against the dollar. The rupee dropped 0.6 per cent to a 17-month low of 68.42 against the dollar. The rupee is inching towards its record l...

Two Held for Fraud Under GST Act in Delhi Posted On: 24 MAY 2018 10:44AM by PIB Delhi Central Tax, GST Delhi East Commissionerate arrested a Shahdara based father son-duo on 22.05.2018 in case of fraudulent issuance of Input Tax Credit invoices involving evasion of approximately Rs. 28 Crores relating to Copper industry. It is the first case of arrest in Delhi, under the new tax regime that came into force on 1st July, 2017. Searches were conducted at several places during which various incriminating documents and evidence were found. Investigation that followed revealed involvement of the father and son. Both were arrested under Section 69 (1) of CGST Act and Hon’ble CMM, Patiala House remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days. As per Section 132 of the CGST Act, issuance of an invoice or bill without supply of goods and wrongful availment or utilization of input tax credit is a  cognizable and non-bailable  offence if the amount involved is over Rs 5 Crores. ...

Task force to review I-T laws gets 3 months more The task force rewriting the income-tax laws has been granted three months more till August to submit its report to the government, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The finance ministry had in november last year set up the task force to draft direct tax laws in line with laws prevalent in other countries, incorporating international best practices, and keeping in mind the economic needs of the country. The panel, under Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) member arbind  modi, set up to draft a law to replace the income Tax Act, which has beene in force since 1961, was to submit its repport by this month-end "The Government has extended the term of said Task force by a period of three month," the CBDT said in a statement. In March this year, the task force had sought stakeholders' feedback oon their experienc of filing income returns on the I-T portal as well as scrutiny procedure and levy of penalty. In sought t...

NSE sues Singapore Exchange in the Bombay HC over India product launch The NSE is trying to stop SGX from launching derivatives that could replace the Nifty 50 contracts that have traded in the city-state for 18 years. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has sued the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in the Bombay High Court, escalating a dispute that threatens to leave international investors without one of the world’s most widely used offshore futures contracts. The NSE is trying to stop SGX from launching derivatives that could replace the Nifty 50 contracts that have traded in the city-state for 18 years. Global funds use these instruments to hedge their positions in one of Asia’s biggest equity markets. Indian exchanges ended agreements that allowed offshore derivatives in February, leaving SGX and others scrambling This is a big mess. I can’t see how SGX would go through with the launch when this is in the air. There’s a lot of gray here, because if investors do trade the new contra...