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Plans to prune offer documents to 10 pages The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) has indicated it will not allow wordy or incomprehensible Initial Public Offering ( IPO) documents. (IPO is the act of offering the stock of a company on a public stock exchange for the first time.) "Very soon, we will come out with ( rules for an) abridged prospectus... It will be really understandable for investors. Whatever ( information) is required to take well informed decisions will be available in 10 pages," said P K Nagpal, executive director, Sebi. He was speaking at an event here, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As a rule, IPO documents run into hundreds of pages and investors often find it difficult to comprehend the key information. What Sebi appears to be planning is to have a rule that the entire offer document only be available on a soft copy format on the websites of Sebi, the company in question and the investment bankers to an IPO

The Centre and states have completed the drafting of model Goods and Services Tax ( GST) law as well as an integrated- GST ( iGST) law, which will be put up in public domain by early November. According to a government official, the Empowered Committee of state Finance Ministers is likely to meet this month to discuss the legislations —Central GST ( CGST), State GST ( SGST) and iGST. “The model GST law and iGST law has been circulated among the states. The Empowered Committee would meet soon to discuss them,” a senior official told PTI. The CGST will be framed based on the model GST law. Also the states will draft their own SGST based on the draft model law with minor variation incorporating state based exemption. “Trade and Industry should also be a part of the law because ultimately they would pay the tax. Hence their views are essential. The drafts will be put up on website by first week of November,” the official added. The drafts of the proposed legislations are based

Allegedly illegal foreign exchange transactions at a Bank of Baroda (BoB) branch in New Delhi are likely to prompt the central bank to tighten anti-money laundering norms. Sources at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) say systemic implications have been ruled out. The government-owned lender has already suspended two officials, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is carrying out searches at many other branches of the bank. The allegedly illegal transactions came to light after BoB noticed its Ashok Vihar branch in the national capital had unusually heavy foreign exchange transactions. Between May 2014 and August 2015, 5,853 outward foreign remittances, amounting to Rs 3,500 crore, primarily for “advance remittances for import” were recorded. In a communication to stock exchanges, the bank said the funds were transferred through 38 current accounts to foreign parties, numbering 400, primarily based in Hong Kong, and one in the UAE. BoB: Anti-money laundering norms may

Updates Of the Day 1.Finance ministers from India and other G- 20 countries have endorsed the final detailed plan for putting in place a coherent and transparent global tax regime. 2.The dealers are entitled to ITC on the purchase of DEPB which is used in making payment of custom duty. Jagriti Plastics Limited and N.F. Impex Private Limited. Dated 01.10.2015. 3.Delhi Government announces award scheme named as 'Bill Banvao, Inaam Pao'. Government is of opinion that it is expedient in the interest of revenue to introduce an award scheme. 4.Difference between stamp duty value and sale price being lesser than 10%, section 50C will not applicable. [ITAT Kolkatta vs LGW limited.] 5.No penalty on additions sustained on alleged Bogus purchase for mere non-production of parties. ITAT Ahmedabad in the case of [M/s Ruchi Developers vs. ITO.] 6.Losses cannot be set-off against Bogus /unexplained cash credit Income. Kerala High Court in the case of [M/s Kerala Sponge Iron Ltd. vs. CI

Some of the key recommendations include fixation of wages for domestic workers as per the Minimum Wages Act, which could be divided on hourly basis, keeping in view the number of hours of duty performed by them. Minimum wages, weekly offs, medical leave, mater nity benefits and other social security measures are some of the key recommendations of an expert committee formed to improve the working conditions of domestic workers in the Capital. The panel has also suggested insurance cover for domestic workers and their families. The special committee under the chair manship of Delhi assembly deputy speaker Baadana Kumari submitted its report to labour minister Gopal Rai on Friday. The committee has recommended that the gover nment should decide on immediately formulating a legislation and/or rules and regulations for domestic workers. It should contain exhaustive provisions on the working conditions, wages and other social security steps as well as punitive measures for employer

First- of- its- kind move where I- T dept will offer informal view on contentious tax issues The income tax department has issued letters to industry asking them to provide their top five contentious tax issues. The department will, in turn, send across its informal position on these matters to avoid litigation in future. This view will be uniformly held — right from the chief of the Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT) to the assessing officer. This is the first instance where the government is being proactive in offering its position in accordance with the Income Tax Act to resolve contentious tax issues. “We have asked industry associations (to flag five taxation issues they would want clarity on),” said Anita Kapur, chairperson, CBDT in an email response to Business Standard’s queries. This is in line with the efforts to bring in transparency and predictability in the taxation regime of the country, Kapur added. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had met representatives of

The clause on mandatory sourcing from India, part of the single- brand retail policy, might be tweaked again. About three years after 100 per cent foreign direct investment ( FDI) was permitted in single- brand retail by the United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) government, there are indications that the sector might get more time to implement the contentious sourcing norm. Currently, a company with more than 51 per cent FDI and seeking to operate under asingle- brand banner has to start complying with the 30 per cent sourcing norm within five years of the entity getting incorporated in the country. The sector wants the sourcing clause to kick in five years after a company sets up its first store. It is learnt the government is considering relaxing the rulebook in a bid to implement “ease of doing business”. If the clause is changed, major foreign brands such as Ikea, H& M, Adidas, Nike and even Apple would benefit. Ikea, the biggest FDI proposal so far in single- brand retail