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EPFO makes online claims must for PF withdrawals above Rs 10 lakh Retirement fund body EPFO has made it mandatory to file online claims for provident fund withdrawals above Rs 10 lakh, taking another step towards becoming a  paperless organisation. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has also made it mandatory to file online claims for withdrawals of above Rs 5 lakh under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995. Under the pension scheme, there is a provision of part withdrawal of pension, commonly known as commutation of pension money. At present, EPFO subscribers have the  option of filing online as well as manual claims for provident fund withdrawal as also for pension.The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Central Provident Fund Commissioner on January 17, 2018, an official said. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 28th February 2018

India Inc's avg salary hike to be 9.4% this yr: Survey Employees in India are likely to get an average salary hike of just 9.4 per cent this year, same as last year, while key talent are expected to get appraisals of as much as 15.4 per cent as companies increase focus on performanceHR consultancy Aon Hewitt's annual Salary Increase Survey, that analysed data across more than 1,000 companies from over 20 industries, said the average salary for India Inc stands at 9.4 per cent this year. A on believes average pay increases in India will remain between 9.4-9.6 per cent. As per the survey, companies in India gave an average pay increase of 9.3 per cent during 2017, marking a departure from the double digit increments given by organisations since the inception of this study.Even as salary hike remained at the same level on a year-on-year basis, India continues to lead the Asia-Pacific region.China is expected to dole out a salary raise of 6.7 per cent, Philippines 5.8 per cen

Single GST rate can't work at the moment; compliance to be made simpler: FM He said that being the reason, the government started with multiple rates and was now moving towards rationalisation Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that India being a "significantly tax non-compliant" country, with wide socio-economic diversities, it cannot have a single GST rate in near future. However, he said, the government was moving towards rationalisation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure, which would pick up more pace once tax compliance improves."India has been a significantly tax non-compliant country.And therefore, the compliance standards in India have to be first improved."Also, in a society like India where you still have a significant population which is deprived or below the poverty line, a single (GST) rate can't work," Jaitley said at "India-Korea Business Summit" here. He said that being the reason, the government

GST collection dips marginally in January to Rs 86,318 crore The collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) slipped marginally to Rs 86,318 crore in January, from Rs 86,703 crore in December. "The total revenue received under GST for the month of January 2018 (received in January/February up to February 25, 2018) has been Rs 86,318 crores," the finance  ministry said in a statement Total collections under the GST had registered an increase in December 2017 after declining in the two previous months of November and October following the decision  of the GST Council to cut rates on more than 200 items.The ministry said that 1.03 crore taxpayers have been registered under GST till February 25, of which 17.65 lakh are composition dealers who are required to file returns every quarter.  Of the total, 1.23 lakh composition dealers have opted out of scheme and have thus become regular taxpayers, it said, adding that "till February 25 there are 16.42 lakh composition d

I-T e-assessment: CBDT notifies new central scheme The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified a new centralised communication scheme for serving e-notices to income tax-payers as part of the government's  ambitious plan to usher in a countrywide paperless system of interface between the taxman and the assessee. The scheme stipulates that an internet-based independent centralised communication centre (CCC) will be established in the Income Tax department that will "issue notice" to any person (under section 133C of the Income Tax Act), who is required to furnish information or documents, for the purpose of verification, to the taxman. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 28th February 2018

GST revenues: Growing uncertainty Sluggish GST revenues would mean higher government borrowing and consequently a worsening fiscal deficit position A delayed implementation of the e-way bill will allow more preparation time to businesses already fed up with the government’s ad hoc decisions on the subject. On the other hand, it leaves one wondering how long it will take for GST (goods and services tax) revenue collections to finally stabilize. Wary of declining GST revenue collections, the GST Council in December last year advanced e-way bill implementation from its originally scheduled date of 1 April to 1 February 2018. Trial runs that began on 15 January were fairly successful, say tax experts, who were hopeful that unlike GST returns filing, history would not repeat itself with the e-way bill website. But the e-way bill portal failed the litmus test and yet again, the roll-out had to be deferred. Last week, the group of ministers overseeing GST-related developments recomm

Govt to ease FPI rules in bid to attract foreign investment The government will reduce time required for FPIs to register in India, introduce a single-window clearance for them and allow foreign banks to trade on behalf of their clients without registeringThe government plans to cut red tape and ease rules for foreign portfolio investors (FPI), as it seeks to attract more investments into Asia’s third-largest economy, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. As part of the plan, the government will reduce the time required for FPIs to register in India, introduce a single-window clearance for them and allow foreign banks to trade on behalf of their clients without registering, the people said, requesting anonymity.The steps come at a time when Indian exchanges have decided to stop sharing market data feeds with overseas exchanges to prevent a flight of liquidity from the country. That decision has been criticized by market participants, including index provider MS