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Government is hopeful of getting the supporting legisla tions of Goods and Services Tax (GST) passed by Parliament in the second phase of the Budget session for rolling out the new indirect tax regime by July. Replying to a question on GST Bill, Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar today said, “That is on the plate. GST Council is meeting on 18th and it will be decided after that, but we are hopeful that supporting GST bills will be passed in the next phase of the session. “ The government is hopeful of getting Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) draft legislations approved at the next GST Council meeting on February 18 and bring them in the second half of the ongoing Budget Session along with GST Compensation Act. 10TH FEBRUARY, 2017, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, NEW-DELHI

The bigwigs of ecommerce, including Amazon India Head Amit Agarwal, Flipkart Cofounder Sachin Bansal and Snapdeal Cofounder Kunal Bahl joined hands to seek modifications in the draft version of the GST (goods and services tax) law. Ecommerce companies are worried about the tax collection at source (TCS) provision in the GST. The proposed GST model makes these companies responsible for the collection of taxes on behalf of its sellers and merchants. With GST expected to be finalised by this month, ecommerce rivals for the first time presented a joint front to put pressure on the government. “The proposal of tax collection at source, directed only at ecommerce marketplaces, in the Draft Model GST Law, will hurt lakhs of small sellers by making online sales expensive and cumbersome for them,“ said Bahl of Snapdeal. “The proposal, while adding needless complexity for the sellers, provides no benefit to the tax authorities and will lead to duplication of information followed by the need for

The Centre on Thursday said it had made no final recommendations on auctioning benami properties to fund houses for the poor amid reports that a Group of Secretaries had suggested it to the government. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Rao Inderjit Singh said various Groups of Secretaries had been constituted to suggest new initiatives in the sector and make recommendations for job creation, harnessing the demographic dividend and meeting rising aspirations of weaker sections. 10TH FEBRUARY, 2017, BUSINESS STANDARD, NEW-DELHI

Capital markets regulator Sebi is planning to initiate a public consultation process for changes to the Debenture Trustee regulations, wherein an entity will not be prohibited from acting as a trustee if the government provides guarantees for the debenture issued. Capital markets regulator Sebi is planning to initiate a public consultation process for changes to the Debenture Trustee regulations, wherein an entity will not be prohibited from acting as a trustee if the government provides guarantees for the debenture issued. The proposed changes follow recommendations from a Sebi - appointed task force for examining the “challenges in performing the obligations and duties as Debenture Trustees (DTs) to protect the interests of the debenture holders”. The amendments seek to fortify the existing provisions to enable the DTs to perform the task of securing the interest of investors and also harmonise the existing provisions with those of the Companies Act, 2013. Several existing provision

Capital markets regulator Sebi is planning to initiate a public consultation process for changes to the Debenture Trustee regulations, wherein an entity will not be prohibited from acting as a trustee if the government provides guarantees for the debenture issued. Capital markets regulator Sebi is planning to initiate a public consultation process for changes to the Debenture Trustee regulations, wherein an entity will not be prohibited from acting as a trustee if the government provides guarantees for the debenture issued. The proposed changes follow recommendations from a Sebi - appointed task force for examining the “challenges in performing the obligations and duties as Debenture Trustees (DTs) to protect the interests of the debenture holders”. The amendments seek to fortify the existing provisions to enable the DTs to perform the task of securing the interest of investors and also harmonise the existing provisions with those of the Companies Act, 2013. Several existing provision

Rejecting arguments that fiscal deficit target of 3.2% is optimistic, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das said it is realistic and there is all possibility that revenues will exceed the target as Budget has not taken into account the demonetisation windfall. “Revenue, if at all, can exceed because people are pointing out that you have not taken into account windfall you will get from RBI because of demonetisation,“ he said in an interview. Besides, he said, there would be collection taxes next fiscal from those who fail to avail Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). “Excess cash which has come into the banking system, income tax department has already analysed those data and there are large number of bank accounts where deposits made are totally disproportionate to the income of the individuals. It does not tally with their income tax returns. “So it is far in excess of what income tax re turns reflect for the previous years. So there is a strong po tential in those cases

Chandra says authorities will need to submit before HC `satisfaction note' defending search  Income tax authorities will need to submit `satisfaction note' before a high court on why a search was carried out, CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra has said, allaying fears that income-tax officers have been given arbitrary powers to conduct raids. “There will be no arbitrary searches...no additional powers have been given for searches or seizure,“ Chandra told ET, refuting reports that the budget proposal to allow I-T authorities to initiate a search without disclosing the “reason to believe“ will lead to more intrusive tax administration. A proper procedure including permission from principal director general has been laid out for a search and no junior officer has powers to conduct one on his own, he said. Satisfaction note prepared for the search is shown in the court and it is provided to the court whenever it seeks it in a sealed cover, Chandra said. The note provides the justificat