CA Online

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is finalising norms for allowing options trade in commodities. The decision is expected to be announced in a couple of weeks. To finalise basic issues, one more meeting of committee of its commodity market advisory committee is likely. Sources say Sebi wishes to have options shall be in sync with futures trade, and as futures contract sellers have a choice of giving delivery on settlement, this should also apply for commodity options. Recently, some stock market participant members had suggested cash settlement in options. Sources say this has not found favour with many members at committee meetings. Many in the Sebi committee fell that in the absence of traditional institutional players in commodity derivatives, such as banks, financial institutions and specially foreign portfolio investors (who usually act as options sellers and take the most risks), commodity options should have delivery-based settlement. As with stocks, opti

About Rs.4,313 crore of stashed income has been detected by the Income Tax department after conducting over 1,000 raids and survey operations as part of its country-wide operations against black money hoarders post demonetisation. Official sources said the taxman has detected a total of Rs.4,313.79 crore undisclosed income and seized cash and jewellery worth Rs.554.6 crore as part of these operations, as per the data updated till Thursday. Business Standard New Delhi,31st December 2016

The government signed a pact with its Singapore counterpart on Friday, amending their decade-old tax treaty, gaining taxation rights over capital gains. This is the third double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) amended so far this financial year with a zero or low tax jurisdiction. The other two were with Mauritius and Cyprus. According to tax consultants, Mauritius would be the most attractive source of investments into India for debt funds and Singapore for equity investments. Mirroring the revised IndiaMauritius DTAA, the government has some grandfathering provisions (having the old rule continuing to apply for some existing situations, with the new one for all future cases) and a two-year transition benefit to investments from Singapore. The revised pact will take effect from April 1, 2017. For two years from that date, capital gains tax will be imposed at 50 per cent of the prevailing domestic rate. The short-term rate is 15 per cent at present. The full rate will apply fro

With the validity date ended on Friday for normal exchange of old currency notes, the income tax (I-T) department is working on ‘property index cards’ featuring high value realty transactions in the past three years. They’ve also outlined stringent action against those reportedly having deposited unaccounted old currency in someone else’s bank account. Officials are believed to have directed property dealers and registration authorities to give lists of top property deals in descending order of valuation over three years. “Tackling benami (property officially in someone else’s name, to avoid tax) properties and transactions is one of our key items. On the basis of information on property transactions and bank deposits, we have decided to probe such cases under the newly enforced Benami Transactions Act,” said an I-T official. The Act allows violators to be sentenced to a term of up to seven years in jail. “Benami amounts in a bank account will be confiscated and the violator

Wheat acreage has risen by 8 per cent to 292.39 lakh hectares, while sowing area of pulses is up 13 per cent at 148.11 lakh hectares so far in the current Rabi (winter-sown) season, helped by good monsoon and higher support price. However, the area under coverage under paddy and coarse cereals is lower than last year. Business Standard New Delhi,31st December 2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation may have thrown economic activity out of gear, but the Reserve Bank of India says that it could lead to far-reaching changes in the economy that would help foster a new digital age. “The withdrawal of specified bank notes will impart far-reaching changes going forward,“ RBI Governor Urjit Patel has said in the foreword to the Financial Stability Report, a half-yearly report that diagnoses the health of the financial system and examines t .. “It is expected to significantly transform the domestic economy in due course in terms of greater intermediation, efficiency gains, accountability and transparency through increasing adoption of digital modes of payments, notwithstanding the short -term disruptions in certain segments of the economy and public hardship,“ he said. Although the RBI is the prime actor behind the demonetisation exercise, it is now aggressively batting for the success of the programme. On November 8, Modi had decl

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed the setting up of an ombudsman specifically for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). This is part of a series of reforms the regulator is planning, it said in its Trends and Progress of Banking in India report released on Thursday. An ombudsman could allow customers to lodge complaints against NBFCs for levying charges without prior notice, non-observance of RBI directives on interest rates, non-acceptance of applications for loans without valid reasons or non-compliance of guidelines on engaging recovery agents. For banks, the ombudsman was appointed two decades ago. According to data available in the report, the 15 regional offices of the banking ombudsman received 95,377 complaints in fiscal 2016 compared to 85,131 the previous year. “We welcome an external mechanism for looking into customer complaints against NBFCs. Currently, each company has a grievance redressal mechanism under the fair practices code,” said Raman Agarwal,