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As part of cashless economy push, Centre to create a framework for payments -inter-ministerial, vendor transactions or payments for govt services -to be made electronically Feeling hassled about making a paltry payment of Rs.10 or Rs.5 through net banking or a credit card for a government service? Fret not -such transactions can soon be done through mobile wallets such as Paytm and Mobikwik. The government is creating a framework for all financial payments -inter-ministerial, vendor transactions or small payments by citizens for government services -to be made electronically. This is part of a larger initiative by the Modi government for a cashless, or less cash, economy. The Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) is spearheading the project, which is on its way to become a major leg of the govern ment's marquee Digital India campaign that is aimed at all-round digitisation in the country. Currently, most government payments and receipts are made by cash or cheque, said

Tax clarity on monetisation likely this week The finance ministry’s revenue department is likely to issue a clarificatory note within this week on the taxation issues of gold monetisation scheme ( GMS) investors. The clarifications will include exemptions on income tax and long- and short- term capital gains tax. Standard has learnt a number of state- owned banks are in talks with some of the country’s largest and richest temple trusts, including those managing Sabarimala, Sree Padmanabhaswamy, Tirumala Tirupati, Guruvayur, and Puri Jagannath, among others, to part with some of their massive reserves of idle gold for GMS. These and other issues surrounding the gold schemes were discussed at a meeting, which the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India officials held with representatives of various banks in Mumbai on Tuesday. The meeting was chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das. “The income tax department may issue clarifications on the tax treatment for

Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) on Wednesday sent an email to mutual fund houses seeking information on the commissions paid to distributors. The market regulator has asked fund houses to give details about their commission payout by 3 pm on Thursday. “ We hear informally from Amfi ( Association of Mutual Funds in India) that certain asset management companies are not following the said guidelines ( best practices guidelines for rationalisation of distributor commissions). You are advised to provide the status with respect to the same. Your reply shall reach us by 3 pm tomorrow (Thursday),” said Sebi’s email. The industry body of the mutual fund industry, Amfi, had issued guidelines under its best practices guidelines on March 26 and another lot on June 26, asking fund houses to rationalise fees that are being paid by them to distributors. In the guidelines issued on March 26, fund houses were asked to limit the payment of commission to 100 basis points in the fi

Updates Of the Day 1.Central Board of Excise and Customs issued Notification No. 135/2015-CUSTOMS (N. T.) Dated 30.11.2015. 2.RBI has reviewed the guidelines for Investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) in Corporate Bonds and has decided to permit FPI to acquire NCDs/bonds, which are under default. 3.RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.75% in monetary policy review. 4.SEBI approves proposal to initiate public consultation process for exit opportunity to dissenting shareholders if variation in terms of contracts of prospectus. 5.Service tax not applicable on distributors of lottery tickets issued by state government and charge created by Finance Act, 2015 is unconstitutional. [Sikkim High Court in the case of Future Gaming and Hotel Services Private Limited]. 6.Re-opening u/s 148 based on of revisiting of existing material is bad in law. [In Mohan Jhangiani vs ACIT, Kolkata Tribunal]. 7.Receipts on account of acquisition and processing of seismic data shall be taxed u/s. 4

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday began the consultation process to provide an exit option to dissenting shareholders in case of changes to the objectives of listed firms for which they had raised money from public. The Sebi board approved the new norms on Monday. The move is aimed at helping shareholders make an exit if they feel dissatisfied with any change in the business plan of the company concerned after fund-raising. Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 2nd Dec. 2015

The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) has proposed aframework for public issuance and trading of convertible securities by both listed and unlisted companies. Such securities are debt instruments that can be converted into equity at a later date. Investors get paid interest from the issuer till these are converted into equity. Indian companies are allowed to raise capital through convertible securities, but the lack of a detailed framework has prevented these from being as popular as Initial Public Offerings ( IPOs) of shares or a rights issue. Following the Sebi board approval on Monday, the regulator issued a consultation paper on Tuesday. Based on feedback from investment bankers, Sebi has proposed an issue of convertible securities, with a maximum tenure of five years. Currently, there is no specific provision on this, except for financing of a group company, where the maximum tenure can be 18 months. Sebi has sought feedback on whether to allow pricing of su

Moving a step closer to online settlement of provident fund (PF) withdrawal claims, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation ( EPFO) on Tuesday allowed its subscribers to apply directly to the body without employers attestation. At present, subscribers submit their claims regarding PF withdrawals manually through their present or former employer. The attestation of forms was mandatory. This facility will be available to all those subscribers whose Universal ( or portable PF) Account Number is activated and seeded with the know your customer details like bank account and Aadhar number. Business Standard, New Delhi, 2nd Dec. 2015