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Punters could soon get to trade in cross-currency futures pairs at a much cheaper cost on local bourses. Capital market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), which regulates currency derivatives jointly with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is mulling a proposal by stock exchanges to offer these pairs in addition to dollarand eurorupee futures they currently offer. “We are considering the proposal as we want to introduce new products and are in discussions with the RBI,“ said a regulatory official aware of the development. “Once the central bank approves it, exchanges could launch cross-currency pairs like dollar-euro, dollar-pound and dollar-yen.“ Currency derivatives were launched first on NSE and the erstwhile MCX Stock Exchange, now MSEI, in 2008.Currently , punters can take a view on how the rupee will move against the dollar, euro, yen and pound on bours es like NSE, BSE and MSEI. Currency brokers like Suresh Nair, director at Admisi Forex, said,

Owners of freehold properties in Delhi will soon be able to maintain their records with the Delhi Development Authority. The authority generally stops keeping ownership records of properties once they are converted from leasehold to freehold. This ‘obligatory’ service being offered by the DDA would simplify the sale and purchase process of properties because it would prevent any buyer from running pillar to post in registrar offices for checking property records, sources said. Property owners can avail of this facility, which will be launched soon, by paying a onetime nominal fee. “In prevailing circumstances, people at times have to pay thousands of rupees to touts in the registrar offices just to verify the title of any property, besides getting a hand on entire trail when the property changed hands. With this facility, the owner will be able to maintain the progeny of property in de-materialized form. Anybody willing to check the property records can get it verified with t

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow resident importers to raise trade credit in rupees, with riders. It can be raised after entering into a loan agreement with a foreign lender. “Trade credit can be raised for import of all items, except gold, permissible under the extant Foreign Trade Policy,” said the regulator on Thursday. The credit period for import of non- capital goods can be up to a year from the date of shipment or up to the operating cycle, whichever is lower. RBI says the trade credit period for import of capital goods can be up to five years from the date of shipment. No roll- over or extension can be permitted by a bank beyond the permissible period. Banks can permit trade credit up to $ 20 million equivalent per import transaction. They may give a guarantee, letter of undertaking or letter of comfort in respect of trade credit for a maximum period of three years from the date of shipment. RBI said the all- in- cost of such rupee- denominated tra

The service tax issue has returned to upset the 90,000strong mutual fund ( MF) distributor community. In a note sent on Tuesday, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) asked fund houses to continue the current practice in collection and payment of service tax, and continue deducting the 14 per cent tax from the commission paid to distributors. Last month, the Central Board of Excise & Customs ( CBEC) had put out advertisements that asset management companies ( AMCs) would have to bear the service tax burden. Distributors took this to mean they would be exempt from paying the tax from their own pockets. However, in a recent meeting between Amfi and CBEC, the latter clarified it was not concerned about who bore the tax, as long as it was collected. “ The loading of service tax in the commission amount is a subject matter of commercials between two parties and service tax authorities have nothing to do with it,” it said. In a note to its members, Amfi asked fund hou

Special economic zone developers and units on Thursday asked the government to remove minimum alternate tax, saying the levy was hurting investment in the zones. The issue was raised during a stakeholders meeting convened by the commerce ministry here. The meeting was chaired by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia. Business Standard, New Delhi, 11th Sept. 2015

Taking forward its efforts to ensure healthy competition in the market place, the Competition Commission of India has come out with guidelines for competition assessment of economic legislations and bills. The watchdog would soon set up a panel of five to seven institutions to carry out an initial competition assessment of economic legislations. Business Standard, New Delhi, 11th Sept. 2015

The government on Thursday indicated that it was reworking the goods and services tax ( GST) rollout deadline to October 1, 2016, and might advance the winter session of Parliament to achieve this objective. A day after the government dropped plans to call an extended monsoon session of Parliament to pass the GST Constitution amendment, NITI Aayog ViceChairman Arvind Panagariya told abusiness news channel that he was still hopeful of the GST rollout by middle of the financial year of 2016- 17, that is by October 1, if not the proposed deadline of April 1, 2016. On whether the April deadline can still be achieved, Panagariya said: “ In politics you can never say anything is over. Things can change, turn around. I would not rule out that as a possibility,” Panagariya said. He, however, added: “ On the other hand, if it delays… it’s okay. It is a process. It started 10 years ago. If not in April, may be six months later it can be rolled out,” he said. Parliamentary Affairs Ministe