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The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), an apex body that works on the principle of self- regulation in the sector, could soon have powers to check misleading ads across media and segments under the proposed new Consumer Protection Act, 2016. The parliamentary committee, which looked into the Bill, had recommended this earlier. Sources told Business Standard the government is considering the proposal before the Bill is presented in Parliament in the winter session. At present, ASCI has powers only for television advertisements. In case an advertiser violates its code — detailed guidelines on advertising — it is asked to modify the aberrant advertisement. If the advertiser does not comply, the matter is referred to the Union information and broadcasting ministry, which takes penal action. Under the changes proposed in the Bill, ASCI will be a partner of the Consumer Protection Authority ( CPA), a nodal body. ASCI will keep track of advertisements in all media and as

FM rules out privatisation of public sector banks New Delhi, 7 September Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the April 1, 2017, deadline to roll out the goods and services tax ( GST) was stiff, as there were a few hurdles ahead. He added the Centre and states were “ running against time”, and there were issues, which the proposed GST Council needed to address. “After the notification and constitution of the GST council, there are obviously some pending issues, which the council will have to resolve. So we have September and October, and, parts of November to do that,” said Jaitley at the Economist India Summit in the national capital. Later, a senior finance ministry official said there were three issues — GST rates, dual control over assessment and scrutiny of assessees, and geographical or area- based exemptions. “If we are able to successfully transact those issues, the pieces of legislation would be introduced in Parliament in the winter session. Loo

States can only opt for another structure, but experts say that might not be sustainable, once the Constitution amendment Bill becomes a law States opposing the goods and services tax (GST), such as Tamil Nadu, would not be able to avoid the indirect tax regime after the Constitution amendment Bill becomes law. The states would, however, be able to adopt a GST structure than is different from the one recommended by the proposed GST Council. The recommendations of the council would not be binding on the states. It should be noted that GST is targeted to be rolled out from April one, 2017 and for the purpose the Centre would have to pass the Central GST and Integrated GST Bills and the states their respective pieces of GST legislation. "The Constitution applies to the entire country, so each state has to impose GST once the new tax system is introduced," constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said. There could only be GST on sale of goods and services from the date the

The government has decided to include internet broadcasting under the purview of the copyright Act. Business Standard New Delhi,07th September 2016

Spell It Out A Hong Kong-based grouping of FPIs, banks has sought a meeting with India's revenue secretary to clear up fears of additional taxation due to ambiguity on India-Singapore treaty, GAAR Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are lobbying the government to resolve problems related to the India-Singapore tax treaty and general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR), worried about their investment in equities. FPIs fear after April 1, 2017, when both the renegotiated India-Singapore treaty and GAAR come into force, they will face challenges. One relates to double taxation in India and their home country . The Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), a Hong Kong-based grouping of FPIs and global banks, has written to the government and sought a meeting with the revenue secretary .They say there is ambiguity on the tax treaty and lack of clarity on how FPIs would be taxed under GAAR. One of the suggestions they've made is radical -abolish capital

Industrial workers drawing a salary of up to 21,000 will be eligible for healthcare at clinics run by ESIC ESIC: wage ceiling hikes over 20 years The government on Tuesday overruled opposition from employers to allow an increase in the number of people eligible for Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), which provides medical care to industrial workers and their dependents, by raising the salary cap of beneficiaries to Rs.21,000 per month from Rs.15,000. This means all industrial workers drawing a salary of up to Rs.21,000 will be eligible for health care—from primary to tertiary— at more than 1,500 clinics and hospitals run by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) directly or indirectly. The move will add three million workers to the ESIC pool, benefiting 12 million more people when their dependents are taken into account. Tuesday’s decision will add nearly Rs.3,000 crore to the labour ministry-run ESIC’s corpus annually. The pro-worker step comes days after a natio

States will foot the bill of Rs50-60 as they try to shield traders from high costs, ensure a smooth transition to new tax regime Every tax payment and return filing under the goods and services tax (GST) regime will cost around Rs.50-60, but traders will not have to bear this cost. Instead, the states will bear this cost as they try to protect the trader base from higher costs and ensure a smooth transition to the GST regime. Under GST, the entire dealer registration, tax payment, tax return filing and refund will be online and administered by the GST Network (GSTN). GSTN was set up in 2013 as a not-for-profit firm and was envisaged as the technology backbone for GST. As part of its revenue model and to sustain its operations, GSTN will recover these costs by levying a fee for transactions undertaken on the network. Under GST, every trader will be required to file a monthly return as well as an annual return. Separately, they will need to file a return each for purchases an