CA Online

Three states cut VAT on fuels Maharashtra, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday reduced valueadded tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.The move follows the Centre cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre last week.Petrol in Maharashtra will be cheaper by Rs 2 and diesel by Rs 1 per litre from Wednesday. Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the decision would cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 2,000 crore to the state exchequer but “the government is ready to bear the additional financial burden despite Maharashtra´s economy not being in a good shape.” Gujarat cut VAT on petrol and diesel by 4 per cent. The effective price of petrol in Gujarat will be Rs 67.53alitre and that of diesel Rs 60.77 per litre, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said. “We have taken this decision in the interest of the people. The decision should not be considered to have any links with the polls.This is only aimed at giving relief to the people and it is a permanent decision.” The Himacha

Transition To GST Fairly Smooth Despite Attempts To Derail It: Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley, who is on a week-long visit to the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, said under the GST the government has unveiled attractive schemes to ensure that the non-compliant in India become compliant. India's transition to the Goods and Services Tax regime has been "fairly smooth" despite attempts by "ill-informed" Opposition leaders to derail its implementation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented from July 1 this year. It brings the economy under a uniform tax regime. Mr Jaitley, who is on a week-long visit to the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, said under the GST the government has unveiled attractive schemes to ensure that the non-compliant in India become compliant. "Many attempts have been made by political grou

Taxpayers Told to File Final July GSTR by Today The government on Monday asked businesses to file final GST returns for the month of July by Tuesday as it ruled out any extension to the due date. “An extension of two months has already been given. There will be no further extension given to taxpayers for filing their GSTR-1 return for July. “Taxpayers who have not yet filed their GSTR-1 for July are advised to do so immediately,“ the finance ministry said in a statement. Once a taxpayer files GSTR-1by October 10, the corresponding entries in GSTR-2A of his buyer shall get auto populated. The buyer shall finalise his GSTR-2 after making modifications, if required, in GSTR-2A and avail the Input Tax Credit (ITC). The Economic Times, New Delhi,10th October 2017

RBI Launches 3rd Tranche of Gold Bonds This Year RBI will sell gold bonds -third tranche for this year-at Rs 2,956 a gram, the central bank said in a circular issued to banks on Monday.Online applicants who pay digitally will get a `50 discount per gram, it said. The sale would be open between Monday and Wednesday of every week starting from October 9 to December 27.The 2.5% interest bearing bonds, which will be sold to resident Indians -individuals, trusts as well as charitable institutions and universities, will be capped for different category of buyers.Individuals, jointly with another individual or a minor can buy up to four kgs of gold annually, the ceiling for trusts and charities is 20 kgs.The RBI has clarified that this ceiling will exclude holdings as collateral by banks and other financial institutions. The Economic Times, New Delhi,10th October 2017

No Independent Woman Director at 40% of NSE Cos Uday Kotak panel says cos should have at least one independent woman member on their board.Nearly 40% of the companies listed on the National Stock Exchange will have to appoint a woman independent director if the recommendations of the Uday Kotak-led Sebi panel on corporate governance were to be implemented.Data from Prime Database show that among the 1,670 companies listed on the NSE, as many as 637 do not have a woman independent director on their boards. A Securities and Exchange Board of India panel last week recommended inclusion of at least one “independent“ woman director at all listed companies. Earlier, the Companies Act of 2013 mandated a certain class of companies to have at least one woman director on board. Sebi, in compliance with the Companies Act 2013, made it compulsory to have at least one woman on a board from October 2014. Many companies inducted a woman member from their promoter families to the board to meet the

Director disqualification hits 500 listed companies Exchanges send notices asking firms why their directors were disqualified by MCA Stock exchanges have sent notices to listed companies that share directors who have been disqualified for associating with other firms which haven’t filed their financial statements or annual returns for three years.The notices ask such firms to explain why their directors have been disqualified and when the companies plan to replace them, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. At least 500 publicly traded firms shared directors with suspected shell companies. “The National Stock Exchange of India or NSE has so far sent out 307 notices to listed companies in two tranches seeking explanations on their disqualified directors. The first set of 210 notices were sent in last week of September and 97 notices were sent on Friday,” one of the two people cited above said on condition of anonymity.BSE Ltd has also identified 500 companies so f

Corp Affairs Ministry Objects to Some Suggestions of Sebi Panel Says Companies Act already covers matters related to committee's recommendations The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has opposed some of the recommendations made by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) committee on corporate governance on the grounds that they concern matters already covered by the Companies Act. The committee, which was set up by Sebi to suggest ways in which to enhance corporate governance standards, has called for an increase in the minimum number of directors and the inclusion of at least one independent woman board member -areas under the ambit of the Companies Act and therefore not under the remit of the market regulator. “Committee proposes to make recommendations which seek to empower Sebi to prescribe a number of additional requirements on matters which have been core company law principles and find place, rightly so, under Companies Act,“ MCA joint secretary AK Bhat