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Cracking 'bad bank' tough nut, but it's not impossible, say experts The NPA problem and the effect on bank balance sheets has not improved despite the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process The idea of a ‘bad (loans) bank’ is back on the table as loans gone sour at Indian banks near Rs 10 trillion. Details are sketchy yet on whether the asset reconstruction company (ARC) in this regard would be owned by the government or have non-state participants. Either way, say experts, this is not going to be an easy task. In any case, there are precedents in India, albeit much smaller in scale. A direct example can be found in the Stressed Assets Stabilisation Fund (SASF), formed in 2004 by the Government of India, to recover Rs 90 billion bad debt of the erstwhile Industrial Development Bank of India (later converted into IDBI Bank). The government issued bonds against the debt and the balance sheet was cleaned. For some accounts, the fund did recover a substantial amou...

New Accounting Rules may Deal Rs 20kcr Blow to Builder Realtors will have to write back profits retrospectively on all incomplete projects The implementation of a new accounting standard from this fiscal will force listed real estate companies to write back profits made over the past few years from all projects that are not complete. That could hit the balance sheets of companies, many of which are still recovering from their debt-fuelled spending binges of the past decade or so. Developers have written to the government seeking relief. Under IND-AS 115, in line with international norms, listed real estate companies will have to write back about ?20,000 crore from their net worth in the current fiscal itself, said a top industry executive, asking not to be named. The new accounting standard took effect in April. Real estate companies will have to switch to the Project Completion Method from the existing Percentage Completion Method (POC). Under the previous norm, home buyer p...

  CEOs Expect FY19 GDP to Grow More Than 7%: CII Poll Most of the industry leaders also see a pickup in capacity utilisation due to increased demand Investment in the country is likely to get a strong boost with the economy set to grow past the 7% mark in the current fiscal year, a CII poll of CEOs has indicated. A majority of the CEOs polled expect a pickup in capacity utilisation in industry due to increased demand, as well as creation of more jobs. The economy is in a sweet spot right now as the adjustment process regarding major reforms of the past few years is largely stabilised and industry is ready for a fresh phase of investment while capacity utilisation builds up,” said CII president Rakesh Bharti Mittal said. As much as Rs 50,000 crore of investments have recently been announced, noted the CII. “Industry is looking forward to GDP growth rate picking up to close to 8% over the next couple of years. Fiscal prudence, able macroeconomic management and strong reform...

GST, Infrastructure Status Drive PE Investments in Warehousing Government initiatives such as Make in India, implementation of the Goods & Services Tax and infrastructure status for the logistics sector have been pushing both demand for and investment in warehousing and industrial real estate across the country. The infrastructure status to the logistics sector that includes industrial parks, cold chains and warehousing facilities has been helping in attracting private investments in these sectors. While investors eyed opportunities in this sector in anticipation of the reforms to be implemented by the government, the flow of investment has gained further momentum now. “Warehousing and logistics have emerged as one of the biggest growth areas in recent times. We have seen Rs 15,000 crore private equity investments in warehousing space since 2014. While it made up around 10% of total private equity investment in 2017, the share is now expected to grow further, claiming lar...

Amendment to IBC will Help Small Stakeholders but Delay Resolution Revised Act says corporate debtor can file insolvency petition only if its shareholders pass special resolution The recent amendment to the bankruptcy law — that requires shareholder approval before a company files for insolvency and also mandates that the administrator convince the tribunal that the resolution plan is effectively implementable — will benefit small stakeholders but delay resolution. Last week, the Indian president approved to promulgate the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, which was cheered for bringing home loan buyers at par with financial creditors besides other changes. The revised Act says the corporate debtor can file insolvency commencement petition only if its shareholders pass a special resolution. “This restricts access to IBC by corporate debtor which is contrary to global best practices,” said Sumant Batra, insolvency expert and managing partner of Kesar ...

GST amendments in Monsoon Session to make returns simpler The proposed GST changes will do away with filing returns under GSTR2 and GSTR3, modify the composition scheme, and eliminate ambiguities in the laws The government is set to table amendments to goods and service tax laws in the monsoon session of Parliament to simplify GST returns filings, modify the composition scheme under which small traders can pay tax based on their revenue, and eliminate ambiguities in the laws. The proposed GST changes will do away with the need for filing tax returns on purchases made by businesses, called GSTR2, and comprehensive returns called GSTR3. At the moment, these returns have been kept in abeyance and businesses only file sales returns, called GSTR1, and GSTR3B summary returns. The GST Council had in May approved a new system where all taxpayers need to file a single return and small businesses need to file quarterly returns, after a six-month transition period, under the composition...

  Finance Ministry pulls up officers of I-T department for poor GST mop-up GST receipts for the month of May have slipped to Rs 940 billion against a target of Rs 1 trillion set for each month of 2018-19 The finance ministry has pulled up officers of the indirect tax department for their supposedly inadequate performance in collecting the goods and services tax (GST), which is shortly going to complete a year. It has also described as a “mystery” as to how officers, especially in Tamil Nadu and a few other states, have given more refund than the tax collected for April 2018. The assessment comes hot on the heels of the report card on GST collections released by the finance ministry this week. GST receipts for the month of May have slipped to Rs 940 billion against a target of Rs 1 trillion set for each month of 2018-19. That the dip has caused consternation in the government is evident from the unique exercise. With the data from the GSTN platform, the department of revenue...

 Mobile phone handset companies seek rationalisation of GST on batteries  Indian handset makers have asked the government to rationalise taxes levied on batteries and issue a clarification that the goods and services tax (GST) on lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones and feature phones should be levied at 12%, on par with the rate on parts used to make mobile phones.  “… it may be clarified that 12% GST on parts for mobile manufacture covers batteries, which are to be inserted into the mobile. There is no revenue implication on this measure; but it will greatly ease the pain which our manufacturers are being subject to,” the Indian Cellular Association said in a letter to revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia dated June 6. A copy was seen by ET.  The association had said earlier that there is a “tendency” on the part of the revenue administration to deny the 12% rate to batteries for manufacture of mobiles and 18% for sale to the replacement market and put them...

Govt working towards reducing GST rates: Min The GST Council is working towards rationalising GST rates, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said today. A big announcement from the government regarding GST is imminent, he said at an event here. Currently, the GST has four rates of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. The all powerful GST Council had, in its meeting on January, decided to slash the GST rate on 54 services and 29 items. In its November, 2017 meeting, the council had removed 178 items from the highest 28 per cent category while cutting tax on all restaurants outside starred-hotels to 5 per cent. He further said the government is working to promote the growth of SME as it is an important sector to the economy including in output, employment and exports. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 08th June 2018

RBI amends Gold Monetisation Scheme to make it more attractive The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made changes in the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) to make it more attractive.  The revamping of the scheme is aimed at enabling people to open a hassle-free gold deposit account.  The short-term deposits should be treated as bank's on-balance sheet liability, the RBI said in a notification.  "These deposits will be made with the designated banks for a short period of 1-3 years (with a facility of roll over). Deposits can also be allowed for broken periods (e.g. 1 year 3 months; 2 years 4 months 5 days; etc.)," it said.  The interest rate payable in the case of deposits for maturities with broken periods should be calculated as the sum of interest for the completed year plus interest for the number of remaining days, it added.  In 2015, the government launched the GMS with the objective of mobilising the gold held by households and institutions in the count...

Petrol, diesel to be under GST soon, says Dharmendra Pradhan Oil prices are on the decline over last few days during which it has come down by one rupee aggregately With petrol and diesel kept out of the purview of GST, the state owned oil industry is losing Rs 200 billion annually in terms of input credit, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday. However, he said, with the GST regime stabilising and apprehensions over GST collection gradually receding, “it is a matter of time that petrol and diesel are brought under GST”. “Refinery, pipeline, exploration… all are under GST. I am not getting back that money, the input credit. So, I am making it costly. I am losing Rs 200 billion per annum, only by government companies, in input credit. So, it is just a matter of time (before petrol and diesel are brought under GST),” he said. “The current taxes on petrol and diesel are like a cash cow. Nobody wants to lose this revenue. But it is not far away. It has to come to GST...