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An anti-profiteering clause with penal provisions has been proposed under the draft law NEW DELHI: India Inc will have to pass on any benefits derived from the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) to consumers in the form of reduced prices or face penal provisions, according to the draft law, which has proposed an anti-profiteering clause. An authority would be created or empowered under GST law to ensure that companies do not pocket gains in lieu of input tax credits or lower rates, according to the draft law circulated to state governments. “The central government may by law constitute an authority, or entrust an existing authority constituted under any law, to examine whether input tax credits availed by any registered taxable person or the reduction in the price on account of any reduction in the tax rate have actually resulted in a commensurate reduction in price of the said goods and or services supplied by him,” the draft says. The authority will be empowered to impose penalti

Opt for mobile wallets, micro-ATMs, virtual and prepaid cards to deal with the ongoing cash crunch caused by demonetisation The shortage of cash caused by demonetisation has probably forced you to stand in long queues at banks and ATMs. As far as possible, minimise your use of cash and shift to digital modes of payments. Also, make use of other fintech innovation to deal with your cash-starved situation.    Use a mobile wallet: Download a mobile wallet app on your phone, transfer money from your bank account into it and start using it. All you need to do at a shop is to point your phone at the QR code, scan it, enter the amount to be paid and pay. One problem you could face with wallets is that different merchants accept payments from different wallets. An integrator app like Woohoo can help in this respect, as it allows you to make payments at retailers that accept any of these three wallets: Oxigen, Citrus Cash and PayuMoney. You will also be able to pay at all the retail est

New Delhi The urban development ministry on Wednesday finalised rules under the Real Estate Act for Delhi which provides for a regulatory authority to undertake third-party audit of projects to ensure quality of construction. Delhi Development Authority vicechairman Udai Pratap Singh has been designated as interim regulator.   24th NOVEMBER, 2016, THE BUSINESS STANDARD, NEW DELHI

Officials trying for consensus with states on tax, compensation law; PM might speak in Rajya Sabha   The much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting, slated for Friday, has been postponed by a week.   Central and state officials are yet to agree on the Bills to effect the proposed system but there is still hope for meeting the April 1, 2017, target to begin the new indirect taxation system. The government says it is confident of being able to introduce the Bills in the ongoing session of Parliament, despite the indefinite adjournments of the latter on the protests over demonetisation.   Also, the government is yet to decide whether to introduce the GST legislations as money Bills (which would mean Rajya Sabha approval is not needed; the governing alliance is in a minority here) or finance Bills.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi might reply to a debate on demonetisation, if it takes place on Thursday, to try and request opposition parties to not stall Parli

UNDER SCRUTINY: Rs 56,000 crore worth of trades monthly from 2009 to 2011  The case of client code changes in the stock market is set to haunt stock brokers again. The income tax (I-T) department is preparing to send notices to more brokers for the assessment year 2010-2011and 2011-12 when the practice of changing client codes within 30 minutes after market close to rectify punching errors was common. The tax department felt brokers resorted to this practice to avoid paying taxes as client code modifications constituted ` . 56,000 crore worth of trades every month between 2009 and 2011. Gains and losses were transferred from one account to another under the guise of rectifying errors. In the past, tax notices have been served on over 100 brokers at the start of 2016 for assessment year 2009-2010 but the same were pending for the following two assessment years, said a senior IT official in Mumbai. The review for 2009-2010 will be complete by December and another set of notices will be

May tighten compensation pacts between PE players and management of listed firms, after board meeting today Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is likely to relax guidelines governing angel funds in the country. The regulator could also introduce more checks and balances for compensation agreements between private equity (PE) firms and senior management or promoters of a listed company. The announcements are likely after Sebi board meeting on Wednesday in Mumbai. According to sources, Sebi is likely to halve minimum investment by an angel fund in startup from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Sebi is also likely to allow angel funds to invest in five-year-old startups. Current regulations allow an angel fund to invest in a company incorporated during the preceding three years from the date of investment. Also, to diversify risks, angel funds will be allowed to invest in foreign startups. Such investments can only be up to 25% of their corpus. The lock-in per

Service tax has been waived to incentivise cashless transactions through online booking, says official Train tickets booked through the IRCTC website will become cheaper from tomorrow till the end of the year as the government has waived service tax to encourage cashless transactions in the wake of the demonetisation exercise. Service tax will not be levied on tickets booked through the IRCTC website from November 23 to December 31, said a senior Railway Ministry official. Rs 20 is levied as service tax on Sleeper and Rs 40 on AC classes for booking tickets through IRCTC. Service tax has been waived to incentivise cashless transactions through online booking, the official added.  23RD NOVEMBER, 2016, THE BUSINESS STANDARD, NEW DELHI