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Labourmin Seeks Cabinet Nod for Code on Wages

The labour ministry has sought Cabinet approval for the new labour code on wages, a move which is seen as a first step towards labour reforms. Once approved, it will be laid in Parliament during the upcoming monsoon session. It is expected to significantly improve the ease of doing business as well as ensure minimum wage to all. “The final bill on labour code on wages, after being cleared by the inter-ministerial group, has been sent to the Cabinet yesterday (Monday). The effort will be to introduce it in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament,” labour minister Dattatreya told ET. The Code on Wages Bill, which will ensure universal minimum wage for all industries and workers, has already been approved by the finance minister Arun Jaitley-led inter-ministerial panel on labour. The Code on Wages Bill also seeks to empower the Centre to set a minimum wage across sectors, and states will have to follow that. However, states will be able to provide higher minimum wage in

Government to keep an eye on price rise & GST glitches

Keep an eye on price rise and shortage of any commodity, report immediately in case of software glitches and complaints from traders, and file weekly reports by Sunday  – this is a fresh directive to all central ministries from cabinet secretary PK Sinha, who has initiated a mechanism to keep ground level checks on the implementation  of the goods and services tax regime. Sinha has written to secretaries of all ministries to put in place a grassroots mechanism to report price rise post-GST, software glitches, trader complaints, shortage  of commodities and stakeholders who still have not switched to the new taxation regime. “To make the transition smooth and painless for the general public as well as  for the traders, it is essential that all the government functionaries constantly obtain and analyse feedback from ground level and take corrective steps wherever  necessary,” the letter said.  Earlier, the revenue department had asked all ministries to set up a GST cell in the mi

Spoiler Alert: State Levies & Actions may Crash GST Party

Items outside GST’s purview can offset gains of this momentous reform Auto companies cut prices after the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) on July 1, but Maharashtra raised the onetime registration levy for new private vehicles by two percentage points. Meanwhile, cinema theatres across Tamil Nadu stopped screenings for four days to protest against a 30% local tax levied over and above 28% GST. The strike States could ramp up these taxes while GST settles Municipalities could impose entry taxes to take cities out of single market was called off on Friday. Elsewhere across India, transport department officials have emerged as enforcers of a new inspector raj on the roads after sales tax checkposts disappeared, undermining the beneficial, common-market effects of GST by imposing new barriers and levying penalties in the name of rules they have ignored for years. More such levies and actions by state authorities could spoil the State borders disappear but other inspec

MRP, other details must for items sold online from 2018 Tightening Norm for online sellers

To protect online consumers, the government has made it mandatory for e-commerce companies from January 2018 to print not only the MRP (maximum retail price) on goods but also information such ad expiry date and customer care details. An amendment in this regard has been made to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, by the consumer affairs ministry last month. A six-month deadline has been given to the companies to comply with the new rule. “Consumers deserve the same protection online as offline. A six-month deadline has been given to the companies to comply with the new rule At present, only MRP is printed on the goods sold online Govt has asked the companies to declare additional details on the label If an online seller does not comply from printed on the goods sold online. We have asked the companies to declare additional details on the label,” a senior official in the consumer affairs ministry said. Along with MRP, the companies January 2018 it will face st

RBI’s steps on frauds will help customers

By limiting the liability, the apex bank is trying to enhance customer confidence in digital transactions ‘Guilty until proven innocent’ — this was the situation that bank customers found themselves in when they reported any fraud. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its latest circular, seems to changing the rules to ‘Innocent until proven guilty’. And, this is a good news for customers. “The RBI’s latest provisions favour customers. Earlier, if your card was used somewhere; you had to prove you didn’t use it. Now, the onus is on the bank to prove that you used it,” says Navin Chandani, chief business development officer, Bankbazaar.com. The growing number of customer complaints regarding unauthorised debits from their accounts and cards seems to have impacted the apex bank’s decision. According to experts the new norms will go a long way towards enhancing customer confidence in digital transactions. The new norms include ‘zero liability’ and ‘limited liability’ for customers. The

More complications in Filling I-T returns

Until recently, a person didn’t need to file a return if his taxable income was below Rs 2.5 lakh. But this year onwards, it doesn’t solely depend on the taxable income. Now, if the taxpayer has exempted income like long-term capital gains that crosses the basic exemption limit of Rs 2.5 lakh, he needs to file returns mandatorily. For example, if an individual redeems equity mutual funds (MFs) worth Rs 3 lakh held for over a year and has no other income. The gains from the investment are tax-free. The entire income, therefore, is exempted from tax. But even in such cases, the taxpayer needs to file return mandatorily. “Taxpayers may not be aware of such minor changes in the regulation but these can lead the authorities to issue a notice,” says Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader personal tax, PwC India. The government latest norms to capture details of your income and assets have made things more tedious. And, a small error or omission of information can prove costly in the future. Li

GST exemption limit set at Rs20 lakh; tax rate to be decided in October

GST Council says states will get exclusive control over all dealers up to a revenue of Rs1.5 crore—addressing the issue of dual control over small traders In a big step towards the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), the centre and the states on Friday reached a consensus on most contentious issues under the new indirect tax regime, raising hope that they would be able to agree on the last remaining issue, the tax rates, by next month. The GST council, at its first meeting, agreed on a revenue threshold of Rs20 lakh below which the traders will be exempted from GST. This limit will be Rs10 lakh for the north-eastern and hill states. The council also managed to reach middle ground on sharing of administrative powers between the centre and the states. It decided that states will get exclusive control over all dealers up to a revenue threshold of Rs1.5 crore—thus addressing the issue of dual control over small traders. Given the lack of expertise among states to levy s