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Over 3.6 million businesses file GST returns Those who wish to claim transitional input tax credit could file returns by August 28 As many as 36,32,279 businesses filed their returns for the month of July till Monday  morning under the goods and services tax (GST) regime. However, there were problems with  the filing of forms required for claiming input tax credit for pre-GST stocks. Those who have filed the returns constitute about 42 per cent of total number of assessees  of 8.7 million under the GST regime. However, 2.2 million of these assessees are yet to  complete the migration process. A last-minute rush had led to the GST Network portal, the  information technology backbone of the new indirect tax system, crashing last week,  forcing the government to postpone the tax filing deadline by five days to August 25. Those who wish to claim transitional input tax credit could file returns by August 28.  However, there were certain issues with TRAN-1 forms, needed for claim

FDI consolidated policy includes startups, allows 100% FVCI India unveiled a new foreign direct investment policy framework that for the first time  comprises provisions specific to startups, a sector that is top on the government’s  agenda.  The 2017 FDI policy circular lists startups as a separate section and spells out  provisions that allow them to raise foreign money from venture capital funds and other  investors through instruments such as convertible notes.  They can issue equity or equitylinked instruments to foreign venture capital (VC)  investors, says the circular, the first issued after the abolition of the Foreign  Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).  The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) released the rules on Monday with  immediate effect.  Foreign residents, except those in Pakistan and Bangladesh, will be permitted to purchase  convertible notes issued by an Indian startup for Rs 25 lakh or more in a single tranche,  it said.  Startups w

Cos Fear Losing Credit Over GST Filing Errors Industry bats for extension of filing deadline citing delay in getting offline utility A company with Rs.100 crore credit in lieu of taxes paid in the past regime, risks losing it now under the goods and services tax (GST) reign simply because of the `fat finger,' as it is popularly called. With the August 28 (Monday) deadline looming for filing returns and ensuring GST compliance, corporates are a deeply concerned lot. The offline utility for GST TRAN 1 form to be used to claim input tax credit for the pre-GST regime -was not available till Sunday , leaving just a day for filing returns and causing a weekend rush. In absence of the utility, details had to be filed online with higher chances of error. Tax practioners struggled to meet the deadline, having had to deploy additional manpower to manually key in invoices, some running into thousands. What has compounded the industry's worry is that there is no clarity on whet

Sebi May Bring Rules for Merger of MF Schemes Move expected to improve transparency and reduce confusion for MF investors India's capital markets regulator intends to introduce rules that will force mutual funds to merge schemes in the same investment categories, driving long-pending consolidation in an industry that has hitherto ignored informal requests for ending the surfeit of plans.   Broadly put, if a mutual fund has two equity schemes with mandates to invest in large-cap stocks, the asset manager will have to merge the investment products once the new rules proposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) kick in. The step is aimed at improving transparency and reducing the clutter for investors.   The Sebi-appointed mutual fund advisory panel, scheduled to meet September 1, will discuss the matter, said three people familiar with the development. Exact details of the proposed rules could not be ascertained, but one official said the norms will req

Government notifies changes in Banking Regulation Act   The government has notified the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act under which it can authorise the RBI to issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process to recover bad loans.    The banking sector is saddled with non-performing assets (NPAs) of over Rs 8 lakh crore, of which Rs 6 lakh crore is with public sector banks (PSBs).    Earlier this month, Parliament had approved the Act, which replaced an ordinance in this regard.    The government in May had promulgated an ordinance authorising the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.    Following the ordinance, the RBI had identified 12 accounts each having more than Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans and accounting for 25 per cent of total NPAs of banks for immediate referral for resolution under the bankruptcy law.    The Econo

Insurance firms tap blockchain for ease of transaction 13 companies to create pool of policyholder data; to lower cost for insurers Thirteen Indian insurance companies have come together to use a blockchain-like technology to create a central repository of policyholder data, so that insurers need not repeat the registration procedure for multiple policies. “When the same records are available to a number of life insurance companies in a chain, the cost incurred by them is lower compared to what it is when they were all separately conducting tests and storing records,” said Akshay Dhanak, vice-president, business systems & technology at HDFC Life Insurance. A whole lot of work has to be done in know-your-customer, medical underwriting, financial underwriting, etc, when a customer buys insurance, he said. Duplication of these procedures can be avoided by having the entire data set on blockchain. Blockchain is like a digital ledger used to store information of all cryptocu

Now, SFIO has powers to arrest people for violations of companies law While the Companies Act, 2013 provides powers of arrest to the SFIO, which comes under the corporate affairs ministry, the provision has been notified only now. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) now has powers to arrest people for violations of companies law, with the government notifying relevant provisions amid the crackdown on illicit fund flows. The shot in the arm for the probe agency also comes at a time when the government is cracking the whip on suspected shell companies being used for illegal activities, including money laundering and tax evasion. While the Companies Act, 2013 provides powers of arrest to the SFIO, which comes under the corporate affairs ministry, the provision has been notified only now. Most provisions of the Act came into force on April 1, 2014. The SFIO is a multi-disciplinary organisation having experts for prosecution of white-collar crimes and frauds under th