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After making larger pictorial warnings on cigarette packets mandatory, the govern ment is now working on a proposal to completely ban foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tobacco sector. At present, FDI is allowed in technology collaboration in any form, including licensing for franchise, trademark and brand name in the sector. However, t is prohibited in manufacturing of cigars, cigarettes of tobacco and tobacco substitutes.According to sources, the commerce ministry is proposing to ban FDI in licensing for franchise, trademark, brand name and management contract in the sector. The Economic Times New Delhi,26th April 2016

The minimum wage for contract workers has been in . 10,000 per month, creased to ` Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya said on Monday. The minister of state for abour and employment informed Lok Sabha that the wage hike has been done based on a Supreme Court verdict. “Recently, we have ncreased minimum wage to ` . 10,000 at the national level taking into consideration the Consumer Price Index and dearness allowance.This was based on the verdict of the Supreme Court,“ he said during Question Hour. The Economic Times New Delhi,26th April 2016

FACELIFT Retirement fund body's initiative seen as effort to rebuild image dented by protests against government move to tax withdrawal of PF money Retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is getting a brand makeover, a move seen as an exercise to rebuild its image in the wake of some controversial decisions related to the organisation including some that triggered violent protests. To begin with, EPFO will soon get a tagline to brand itself and this is likely to be followed by a brand ambassador who would be the face of the organisation. A senior labour mini stry official said the idea is to ensure EPFO becomes a household name and people sho uld make use of it in a big way. “Many of our subscribers who are poor workers are not aware of the benefits like the pension, provident fund and even the deposit-linked insurance scheme under EPFO besides several new initiatives undertaken in the last two years.Hence we aim to reach out to the last mile

Finance ministry overrules trustees, settles for 8.7% interest The finance minister has overruled a decision of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and cut the interest rate to 8.7 per cent for the financial year 2015-16. The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had approved an 8.8 per cent interest rate. For financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15, the interest rate was 8.75 per cent. However, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday, said: "The CBT, at its meeting held in February, had proposed an interim rate of interest at 8.8 per cent to be credited to the accounts of Employees' Provident Fund subscribers for 2015-16. The ministry of finance has, however, ratified an interest rate of 8.7 per cent." Trade unions were, naturally, unhappy with the decision, and accused the finance ministry of disrespecting the CBT - the supreme decision-making body of the

Growth and potential of e-commerce in India have been extensively commented upon, and unfortunately, this has led to state governments yearning for a share of this pie. The initial forays of state governments to tax e-commerce through the VAT route met with stern opposition in Karnataka and judicial censure from the High Court in Kerala. In the last year or so, state governments seem to have changed strategy and decided to extract their pound of flesh from e-commerce by making a variety of hasty amendments to their entry tax legislations (and in the process, often leaving the said amendments vulnerable to challenge on various legal/constitutional grounds). To illustrate: > West Bengal mandated courier/logistics companies making such deliveries in the state to register themselves and generate waybills through an official portal only after making a mandatory pre-deposit of entry tax, even though the entry tax legislation there was stayed earlier by the Calcutta high court. Thi

From the beginning of this month, services provided by a government or local authority to a business entity became liable to service tax, with some exemptions. Till enactment of the Finance Act, 2015, these services provided by a government or a local authority (with specific exclusion) were covered by a 'negative list'. Service tax applied only on the 'support service' provided by the government or local authority to a business entity. In the 2015 Act, an enabling provision was made to exclude any services provided by a government or local authority to a business entity from the negative list. This amendment was given effect from April 1 this year, through a notification issued on March 1. Clarifying the effect, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has said any activity undertaken by a government or local authority for any consideration (amount) constitutes a service. The amount charged for this is liable for service tax. It does not matter if such activi

CRITICISES MARKET REGULATOR  for passing conflicting orders on similar securities law violations The Securities Appellate Tribunal took the capital market regulator to task for passing conflicting orders on similar securities law violations. In an unusually strong rebuke to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the tribunal said the regulator was “blindly supporting“ adjudicating officers, terming its conduct in a case as “disgraceful.“ The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) was hearing the case between Sebi on the one side and Krishna Enterprises and Rajesh Service Centre on the other. The entities had appealed to SAT against Sebi fining them `20 lakh on two securities law violation charges each. The regulator had alleged that the two entities aided Edserve Softsystems in siphoning off proceeds from its initial public offer, thereby causing loss to shareholders. SAT observed that Sebi had charged the entities with two separate violations and accordingly imposed two