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RBI asks banks to share info with information utilities The Reserve Bank today asked banks and other financial institutions to share information about assets of creditors with information utilities registered under the insolvency law. The directive from the apex bank clears the air over sharing of information about creditors as required under the insolvency law as many banks reportedly had reservations in parting with such details. It also comes at a time when lenders are set to initiate insolvency proceedings against more than 20 borrowers in addition to over 10 cases where proceedings are underway.Information utilities store financial information to help establish defaults and verify claims expeditiously in order to complete transactions under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in a time-bound manner. "All financial creditors regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are advised to adhere to the relevant provisions of IBC, 2016 and IBBI (IUs) Regulations, 2017

Disclose consolidated stake of shareholders: Sebi to bourses To avoid multiple disclosures, the Securities and Exchange Board of India(Sebi) asked on Tuesday exchanges and depositories to disclose consolidated holding of each shareholder, including promoters and public on the basis of the PAN and folio number. This will help avoid multiple disclosures of share holding of the same person, Sebi said in a circular.According to Sebi, holding disclosures of the promoter and promoter group, publics hare holder and others must be accompanied with PAN (first holder in the case of joint holding). "Further, the shareholding of the promoter and promoter group, public shareholder and nonpublic, nonpromoter shareholder is to be consolidated on the basis of the PAN and folio number to avoid multiple disclosures of shareholding of the same person," the regulator noted.Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts, though one investor can have multiple accounts. The B

Sebi may ease FPI norms, compliance rules for firms facing bankruptcy At least 400 companies are undergoing resolution under insolvency and bankruptcy code, FPIs account for 18% of India’s market capitalization The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) board is likely to further ease norms for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and come out with easier compliance rules for companies undergoing bankruptcy, said two people with direct knowledge. The board is scheduled to meet on 28 December The board will expand the list of eligible jurisdictions to grant registration to FPIs, rationalize “fit and proper” criteria and simplify regulatory requirements, these people said. The move is aimed at easing direct registration for FPIs and avoiding so-called participatory notes (P-notes), said one of the people cited earlier. On 28 June, the regulator had issued a discussion paper to ease FPI entry. FPIs had holdings worth Rs 418.81 billion in Indian stocks at the end of 30th S

GSTN brings in option for monthly, quarterly filing of forms Taxpayers with annual aggregate turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore in the previous financial year or anticipated in the current financial year can avail the option of filing quarterly returns. Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the IT backbone of the new tax regime, today said it has put a new function on its portal to allow taxpayers choose the frequency of filing GSTR 1 form on quarterly or monthly basis. Taxpayers with annual aggregate turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore in the previous financial year or anticipated in the current financial year can avail the option of filing quarterly returns. Form GSTR 1 summarises all the sales of a taxpayer.This has been done as per decision taken in the 23rd GST Council Meeting. After giving their option, taxpayers can file GSTR 1 for the relevant return periods, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Networks said in a statement. It further said that taxpayers who opt for quarterly filing

FRDI Bill unlikely to be tabled in Budget session  TheFinancial Resolution and Deposit Insurance(FRDI) Bill may not be introduced in Parliament even during the Budget session, as the joint committee looking into it on Monday got an extension for submitting its   report. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan informed the House that the extension had been granted for the joint panel on the FRDI Bill“upto the last day of Budget Session, 2018”. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 19th December 2017

Firms buying stressed assets may get tax relief The government is considering giving tax relief to companies that acquire stressed assets under the insolvency process.Some of such steps like carrying forward tax holidays may come up in the Budget, while the government may approach the goods and services tax (GST) Council for giving relief on the GST. For tax relief on the stamp duty, states’ cooperation might be sought, sources said. Companies going through the insolvency procedure face tax-related road blocks, making the resolution process tedious. For example, they pay the GST on sales of assets as well as brands, royalty, etc. Earlier, under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, companies were given exemptions from the central sales tax (CST). With the advent of the GST, the CST is no longer there. Exemption from the GST will help companies bid for assets at higher prices, resulting in more funds for lenders. “If GST exemption is granted for assets sold pur

Insolvency Board proposes,  Reserve Bank disposes Central bank says  info utilities can source all information only from credit bureaus Central bank says info utilities can source all information only from credit bureau.Even as the insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has issued standards for public information utilities to make the bankruptcy process work smoother,the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has thrown a spannner  in the works . Unless resolved  soon, the dispute could prolong bankruptcy litigation and hurt the recovery of capital from companies that face sell-off or liquidation. The dispute is simple,Should anuy entity other cedit bureaus (Cilbil,etc) have independent access to a company's financial information as sourced from banks. The IBBI feels it is necessary,but the RBI differs.The bankruptcy law requires banks to provide legally verified copies of their relevant documents to informaton utilities. Section 215 of the insolvency and Bankruptcy code (I