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Aims to clear products within a month; advisory panels constituted for promoting e- commerce The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) plans to make the approval process for online products simpler and faster. With a separate process for filing applications on these, it says it is trying to ensure they do not undergo the same rigorous process as offline products to get approved, and are approved within 30- 40 days. An insurance product first goes to the regulator, which approves the features and pricing, after which it can be brought to the market for sale. “Offline products take at least four to six months to be approved. The same process might not be viable for an online insurance market, where customers look for new products and riders on a regular basis. Hence, the portfolio requires to be updated every few months,” said the head of products in a mid- size life insurance company. For customers, too, the proposal form would get simpler, with few

The government appears resigned to the fact that it will not be able to push through labour reforms critical to generating millions of jobs in the remaining five days of the Parliament session. “I am hopeful of tabling the child labour bill only,” labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said. “I don’t think anything else is possible.” Several opposition parties led by the Congress stayed away from the Lok Sabha for the third day on Thursday after their demands that a central minister and two chief ministers resign ended in the suspension of 25 Congress members on 3 August. The logjam in Parliament has set back one of the top priorities of the government: reforming India’s archaic labour laws to create a better business environment that encourages hiring and improves employment prospects for about 12 million youngsters entering the job market every year. “Employment generation is a priority and our government believes in boosting job creation for country’s youth,” Dattatreya said,

1.  Today 07.08.2015 is last day for payment of TDS/TCS deducted/collected in the month of July. 2.  Penalty u/s 271(1)(C) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be levied merely because the claim of the assessee is found to be incorrect unless it is confirmed that the assessee had any mala fide intention. [CIT vs. Dalmia Dyechem Industries, High Court of Bombay]. 3.  Input credit not reversible in case of remission of duty on destroyed goods. [Joy Foam Pvt. Ltd. vs. CCE, Madras High Court] 4.  CLB allowed petition u/s 74(2) of Companies Act 2013 in CP No. 76/ 2015 in the case of Billcare Limited Pune granting deferment of payment of Public Deposit of Rs 168 Crores by 15 Month. 5.  Today is last extended date of filing of online / hard copy of first quarter return for the financial year 2015-16, in Form DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 along with required annexure / enclosures.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) on Wednesday asked listed companies and their promoters to make more disclosures about pledging of shares, including the purpose of the encumbrance, and also disclose name of the lender. So far, companies and their promoters were only disclosing the names of trustees holding the pledged shares, rather than making the disclosure about the real lender. Under the revised disclosure requirements, which Sebi said are aimed at helping investors take " an informed decision" about the state of affairs at the concerned company, the listed firm and its promoters would need to specifically disclose “ the purpose of collateral for loans taken by the company, personal borrowing, third party pledge, etc.” Business Standard, New Delhi,6th August 2015

MOVE TO ENABLE smooth transition to new accounting standards (Ind-AS) The Securities and Exchange Board of India may relax disclosure rules for companies planning to go for initial public offering in order to enable a smooth transition to the new accounting standards (Ind-AS), which will kick in next financial year. The market regulator has recently written to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) seeking its views on the matter. ICAI and audit firms are holding discussions with the regulator on the implications of the new standards, said a person familiar with the matter. The new standards are in line with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Current Sebi rules mandate firms to disclose the previous five years' financial statements in IPO document. There is no clarity under the new standards whether a company needs to restate its accounts for the previous years if it goes in for IPOs immediately after the new rules come into effect. Because

All central government ministries have been asked to ensure employees Aadhaar numbers are recorded in their service books. An action taken report has been sought from ministries in this regard, a senior official in the Department of Personnel and Training said. Business Standard, New Delhi, 6th August 2015

The Lok Sabha passed the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2014 on Tuesday, replacing the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance, 2014. The Bill aims to prohibit the commission of certain offences against members of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (SCs and STs) and establishes special courts for the trial of such offences and rehabilitation of victims. The move came on a day when most opposition parties boycotted the House, after Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday suspended 25 Congress MPs for five days for repeatedly causing “grave disorder” in the House. Several parties, including Janata Dal (United), Left parties, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party expressed solidarity with the Congress and decided not to attend the Lok Sabha proceedings for the next five days. “Several steps have been taken by the National Democratic Alliance government in