CA Online

  The Crypto market remains volatile, and cryptocurrencies form "an unstable ecosystem", the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report (FSR) released on Thursday. To address financial stability risks and protect investors, it is important to arrive at a "common approach to crypto assets", the report added.  "Although the crypto assets market remains volatile, there have not yet been any spillovers onto the stability of the formal financial system. The accumulated experience, however, suggests that they form an unstable ecosystem and there is growing evidence that they remain highly concentrated and interconnected," it said. The FTX turmoil, RBI said, revealed that crypto is highly volatile and exhibits "high correlations" with equities. It has also not served as a hedge against inflation. "Contrary to claims that they are an alternative source of value due to inflation hedging benefits, crypto assets value has fallen

The GST collections for December 2022 stood at Rs 1,49,507 crore -- 2.5 per cent more than Rs 1,45,867 crore collected in November 2022, according to figures released by the Finance Ministry on Sunday.   However, on year-on-year basis, GST revenue collected for December 2022 was 15 per cent higher than collections of December 2021, which was Rs 1,29,780 crore.   Monthly GST revenues more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore for 10 straight months in a row, the figures mentioned.   The gross GST revenue collected during December 2022 is Rs 1,49,507 crore, of which CGST is Rs 26,711 crore, SGST is Rs 33,357 crore, IGST is Rs 78,434 crore (including Rs 40,263 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,005 crore (including Rs 850 crore collected on import of goods).   The government has settled Rs 36,669 crore to CGST and Rs 31,094 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement.   The total revenue of the Centre and the states after regular settlements in December 2022 is Rs 63,380 crore for C

  Gross goods and services tax (GST) collection for December rang up over Rs 1.49 trillion, the data released by the finance ministry showed. This is a surge of 15 per cent year-on-year, mainly driven by increase in retail prices of consumption items, high inflation, and action taken to ensure compliance. This was the third-highest monthly collection since the tax was introduced in July 2017. GST collection touched a record high of Rs 1.68 trillion in April and touched over Rs 1.51 trillion in October. “This is the tenth month in a row — that monthly GST revenue has been more than Rs 1.4 trillion,” the ministry said on Sunday while releasing the data. If the trend continues, overall GST collection may exceed the budgetary estimate by Rs 1.3-1.4 trillion, experts estimate. The Budget 2022 set the Central GST (CGST) target at Rs 6.6 trillion, excluding the compensation cess. Between April and December, CGST collection stood at more than Rs 5.5 trillion. “The headline GST numbers remain r

  On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India announced a 35-basis-point increase in the repo rate to 6.25 per cent. The RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to raise the rate to bring elevated inflation back towards its target of 4 per cent, governor Shaktikanta Das said. The six-member MPC, which held its bi-monthly policy meeting from December 5 to 7, remained focused on withdrawing accommodation. The MPC’s rate action was not unanimous, with 5 out of 6 members voting for the rate hike. The decision on the stance was also not unanimous, with 4 out of six members voting for the retention of the stance. The Standing Deposit Facility rate – which represents the floor of the interest rate corridor, is now 35 bps higher at 6 per cent. The Marginal Standing Facility rate, which is the upper band of the interest rate corridor, has also been increased by 35 bps to 6.50 per cent The rate hike was in line with market expectations – A Business Standard poll of 10 respondents had predicted a r

  Shares of rate sensitive sectors such as financials, automobiles and real estate traded on a mixed note after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday hiked the repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 6.25 per cent.   RBI also lowered its GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent earlier. The policy rate is now at the highest level since August 2018. The RBI continued to keep the rate hike stance unchanged at “withdrawal of accommodation”.   At 10:35 AM, the Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank indices were up in the range of 0.10 per cent to 0.90 per cent. While, Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty indices were down 0.22 per cent and 0.15 per cent, respectively. In comparison, the Nifty 50 was up marginally 0.06 per cent at 18,653.   Central Bank of India, UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra from the PSU space were up between 3 per cent and 8 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Power Fin

  A search and seizure action was initiated by the Income Tax Department on few business groups engaged in coal trading/ transportation, execution of civil contracts, extraction of iron ore and production of sponge iron, on 04.11.2022. Those searched include two politically exposed persons and their associates. The searches were carried out at more than 50 premises spread over Ranchi, Godda, Bermo, Dumka, Jamshedpur, Chaibasa, Patna, Gurugram, and Kolkata.   The search operation has led to the seizure of large number of incriminating documents and digital evidences. A preliminary analysis of these evidences indicates that these groups have resorted to various modus-operandi of tax evasion including inflation of expenses, transactions of loans in cash, payments/receipts in cash and suppression of production. During the search, it has also been found that investments have been made in immovable properties, the source of which could not be fully explained.   The search operation also reve

  Centre and state GST officers are working with online gaming sector experts to define 'games of skill' and 'games of chance' with a view to design different taxation structures for them, sources said.  The vexed issue of levying Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online games has been hanging fire for over a year now with many states pitching for a lower tax rate on those online games which require skill. They are of the opinion that games of skill should not be treated at par with games of chance. The absence of a clear definition often leads to tax notices being sent to online game portals and subsequent litigations. ccording to sources, the GST Council's Law Committee, which met in Bengaluru on Saturday, discussed the issues concerning definition for 'games of skill' and 'games of chance' with technical domain experts.   As all states are not part of the law committee, the draft report on definition would be shared with all states for their views.