CA Online

Shortage of Rs 2,000 notes after supply from Reserve Bank dips in recent weeks A shortage of Rs 2,000 notes in recent weeks and months has stumped bankers and ATM operators who are already grappling with cash shortage in some parts of the country  due to heavy usage and hoarding. Bankers and ATM service providers say that there has been a sharp drop in number of ` . 2,000 notes in circulation. Supply of new notes from the central bank has  plummeted in recent weeks leading to speculation that it could be a deliberate strategy to restrict the flow of high-value notes in the economy . “Presently we are receiving currency notes from the Reserve Bank in denomination of Rs 500 in high-va lue currency,“ said Neeraj Vyas, chief operating officer of State  Bank of India. “The 2,000 denomination notes are coming over the counters by way of recirculation.“ There are around 58,000 ATMs of SBI out of the 2.2 lakh deployed in  the country. The country's biggest bank has also moved a s

The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, asked the Centre to clarify the “legal sanctity” of the Press Release  issued by it earlier this week, wherein the Ministry of Finance had clarified that legal services  provided by an individual Advocate, including a Senior Advocate and a Firm of Advocates, is liable for  payment of GST under reverse charge(RCM) by the business entity. The question was posed by a Bench comprising Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Pratibha M. Singh, after  Mr. Sanjeev Narula, Central Government’s Standing Counsel presented before it the Press Release issued  by the Ministry of Finance.  Several queries on the release cropped up during the hearing, pursuant to which, Mr. Narula sought time  to seek instructions on the following questions in particular: (i) Whether there were any further  recommendations of the GST Council on ‘legal services'after the recommendations made at the 14th Meeting  of the GST Council held on 19th May, 2017. (ii) What is the legal

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to clamp down on depository receipts (DRs) as part of efforts to check the flow of black money into the  stock market. Sources said Sebi planned to make it mandatory for foreign depositories to reveal details of endbeneficiaries holding DRs issued by Indian companies. The new framework will align knowyourcustomer (KYC) requirements for DRs with provisions to prevent money laundering. Many Indian companies issue DRs to raise capital abroad. DRs have shares as an underlying asset and are typically issued byabank, known as the depository bank, on behalf of a company. Sebi has proposed DRs can be exercised by the issuer only if information on beneficial ownership is available. Further, all acquisitions made through DRs resulting inachange in control inalisted company are expected to be governed by Sebi´s takeover rules. For unlisted companies, DRs are permitted only in sectors eligible for investment by registe

The Cabinet today approved a draft bill to replace ordinances that were promulgated to introduce the  Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior government official said.  The Central government had earlier this month promulgated ordinances to make the Central GST (CGST) and  Integrated GST (IGST), which deals with inter-state commerce, applicable to the state.  The Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the bill, which will be introduced in  Parliament during the current monsoon session.  The Economis Times, New Delhi, 20th July 2017

A recent National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order has sent corporate lawyers and promoters intoatizzy. The NCLT´s Mumbai Bench has asked for the personal properties  of promoters to be auctioned off even when the process of insolvency is pending before the insolvency professional. The petition was filed by Schweitzer Systemtek India, invoking the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) with the NCLT, after it defaulted onaloan of Rs 4.5 crore given  by Dhanlaxmi Bank. The suit was initiated by the promoter himself against the asset reconstruction company (ARC) after Dhanlaxmi Bank sold the loan to Phoenix ARC. The NCLT Mumbai Bench said the promoters cannot be granted any relaxation under the IBC and appointed an insolvency professional to go ahead with the auction of the  property. “This Code of 2016 has prescribed certain limitations, which are inbuilt and must not be over looked. The ´moratorium´ indeed is an effective tool, sometimes being used by the corporate debtor

Tax departments across the country are keeping a close watch on prices following the July 1 rollout of the goods and services tax (GST).  Makers of consumer goods and handsets, as well as some restaurant chains, have all got calls from local tax authorities seeking details of invoices before and after  GST as part of the exercise.  “In order to study prices under the GST, you are requested to send selling price of your top commodity in the relevant format,” read a notice sent to a company by  local tax authorities in Tamil Nadu.  Similar messages have been sent to companies in states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry. Some have even got phone calls seeking price information,  said a person aware of the development.  The government is keen to prevent any spike in inflation due to GST as happened in some countries that implemented the levy. India has opted for a two-pronged solution  to make sure this doesn’t happen — a multi-rate GST structure and a proposed

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) on Tuesday allayed fears of mixing up of data of taxpayers or showing details of one tax payer to another on GST portal. GSTN, the company behind building information technology backbone of the portal, has clarified that its software has enough safeguards against any overlapping of data of taxpayers.The Central Board of Excise and Customs has issued several clarifications in this regard. Business Standard, New Delhi, 19th July 2017