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Sebi has launched a probe against some brokers for alleged mis-selling of products with promise of assured returns in connection with the Rs 5,600-crore NSEL payment fiasco. Details are being sought from five to six leading brokers, having high exposure to NSEL, sources said. Business Standard New Delhi,20th April 2016

Ravi Chopra holds securities of several companies, but doesn’t keep a track of the cash benefits, including dividends, accruing from his investments. He also isn’t certain if all the dividends and interests earned by him get credited to his bank account. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)'s proposal to distribute cash benefits through depositories, such as Central Depository Services (CDSL) and National Securities Depository (NSDL), could make the stock market journey a little simpler for investors like Chopra. Sebi has proposed a model where benefits, including dividend, interest and redemption proceeds, may be distributed for securities held in demat form. Currently, the process is handled by issuer companies either directly or through registrars. Sebi’s proposal will require issuers to transfer the total amount due to investors to a depository, which will then distribute these to beneficial owners. Depositories, which send investors a statement of their hold

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has virtually rebutted RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s remarks that India is ‘one-eyed king in the land of blind’ saying compared to the rest of the world, the Indian economy was growing much faster and, in fact, the fastest. At 7.5 per cent growth rate any other country in the world would be celebrating but it is a tribute to India’s growth story that at this rate “we are still impatient because we know that our potential is to do distinctively better”, he said. Jaitley was reacting to a question by CNBC TV18 on Rajan’s remarks last week that at 7.5 per cent growth rate India seemed to be ‘one eyed king in the land of blind’. “Compared to the rest of the world we are growing much faster, in fact the fastest. Compared to our own potential, we can do better,” he said. On the potential to do distinctively better, Jaitley said, “I see a couple of variables (like good monsoon and reforms) — if they work to our advantage, we can do much better.” “Assumi

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will strive to develop government bond market domestically and will open up the market to foreign investors in a calibrated manner, said H R Khan, RBI's deputy governor. The central bank will also try to provide "better communication of the debt management policy to avoid uncertainty in the minds of investors," Khan said. "Based on experience, the feasibility of gradually opening up certain segments/tenors fully in order to enable inclusion of Indian G-Sec in global bond indices could be a possibility," Khan said. With incremental opening up of the capital account and the increasing internationalisation of Indian rupee, "greater play by global investors in onshore markets would become inevitable," he added. Business Standard New Delhi,20th April 2016

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will continue to intervene in the currency market, as volatility in exchange rate can impact some of the country’s institutions, which might not be as robust as those in developed markets. “There is a school of thought that says: Let the exchange rate move wherever it will,” RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said at the Inaugural Kotak Family Distinguished Lecture held at Columbia Law School in New York. “That’s something we could do,” Rajan said. “But in emerging markets, with institutions not as strong as industrialised countries, you find there are collateral effects of both the capital moving in and going out.” To prevent such collateral damage, the central bank will intervene in the currency market when there is a sustainable risk in global markets and the country sees a flood of capital coming in, he said. The exchange value should reflect the country’s underlying fundamentals of trade and services. “We really don’t want the currency to move

If you bought property worth more than Rs.50 lakh and did not deduct tax at source (TDS) or failed to deposit the amount with the income tax department on time, you may have to pay a penalty of up to Rs.1 lakh. Several taxpayers recently received notices from the department for not doing so. Anyone buying real estate worth more than Rs.50 lakh has to deduct 1% of the price of the property before paying the seller. That 1% TDS has to be deposited with the tax department using Form 26QB. “The income tax department recently matched the TDS data with the data they received from the property registrar for property transac tions over Rs.50 lakh. Wherever there was a discrepancy , either the buyers failed to deduct or deposit the TDS, a notice has been sent,“ said Vaibhav Sankla, director, H&R Block. While the rule has been in effect since June 1, 2013, many buyers are unaware or often confused about how to calculate the tax. TDS has to be calculated on the total sale price and no

The government has identified 7,500 cases related to service tax and Customs it plans to withdraw from tribunals and high courts. These cases are where the disputed tax is below the threshold set in December at Rs 10 lakh for the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) and Rs 15 lakh for high courts. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has started filing applications with the tribunals and high courts seeking withdrawal of the cases. The step was taken to make the tax regime non-adversarial, with a focus on quality rather than meeting collection targets, officials said. "We have begun the process of withdrawing cases. We have identified approximately 7,500 cases in the CESTAT and the high courts. Now, it is up to the judicial bodies to allow the withdrawal," said an official. The CESTAT is an independent appeals forum against orders passed by commissioners of customs and excise relating to service tax, customs and central excise. Th