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Companies unlikely to get transition credit for cesses paid earlier The government is set to amend the goods and services tax (GST) law to explicitly state that no transition credit can be availed in lieu of cesses paid under the previous tax regime, a move that comes after companies claimed hundreds of crores of rupees as transition credit in lieu of Swachh Bharat Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess. Although the government had made it clear at the outset that no transition credit would be available after implementation of the GST regime, some companies took refuge in lack of clarity in law to claim credit against cesses. The GST Council had at its meeting last week approved changes to the GST law suggested by the law review committee. These will now be vetted by the legislative department, approved by the GST Council and brought in as amendment bill in the second half of the budget session, the official said. The GST regime, which kicked in on July 1, 2017, replaced 43 central and st

Forensic audit biz soars as firms head for bankruptcy Forensic departments of large audit firms and independent investigation agencies have been inundated with requests for forensic work following the push to clean up the bad debt mess under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). According to some estimates, the forensic business linked to the IBC has more than doubled in the past few months, and experts believe it will only increase. The work primarily includes doing background checks on promoters, asset searches, verification of creditors, and forensic monitoring of cash flows. For big accounting firms, this is the icing on the cake as they are already working on bankruptcy cases as insolvency professionals. Checks on promoters Background checks on promoters have surged after the recent amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). This stems from concerns that promoters or their allies might try to buy back the companies at a discounted value through proxy inve

IMF forecasts 7.4% growth for India in FY19 On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's keynote address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said India's growth will pick up in FY19. That will see the country regain the tag of fastest-growing major economy, backing the government's revival theme. The IMF also said 2017 saw the best global growth in seven years. India is forecast to grow 7.4% in FY19 against 6.7% this year, gaining pace to 7.8% in FY20, the IMF said in its January update of the World Economic Outlook: Brighter Prospects, Optimistic Markets, Challenges Ahead that was released simultaneously in Davos and Washington. Modi will address the WEF opening plenary session on Tuesday. The global economy is expected to grow 3.9% this year, faster than 3.7% forecast earlier in October. India's growth remains unchanged from the October forecast. "Some 120 economies, accounting for three quarters of world GDP,

Sebi outlines role of oversight committee for product design To bring uniformity with respect to the role of the oversight committee on 'product design', Sebi today said the panel will be responsible for introduction of new contracts, modifications of existing product and reviewing the design of the already approved and running contracts. The move comes after Sebi observed that the commodity derivatives exchanges have been adopting varied approach both in terms of constitution as well as the functioning of such oversight committees, the regulator said in a circular.Sebi, in November 2015, had asked all national commodity derivatives exchanges to constitute an oversight committee for 'product design', chaired by a Public Interest Director, within three months. To bring uniformity with respect to the role of the committee on product design, Sebi has decided that the functions of the panel will be to oversee the regulator's inspection observation on product des

Budget 2018: Government may hike agri-credit target to Rs 11 lakh crore The farm credit target is likely to be raised by a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore to a record Rs 11 lakh crore in the Budget 2018-19 to improve credit flow in the agriculture sector, according to sources.In the current fiscal, the government has kept a credit target of Rs 10 lakh crore. Of which, Rs 6.25 lakh crore has already been disbursed in the first six months till September 2017, the government data showed. "The government's priority is agriculture. There is a possibility that the credit disbursal target for the agriculture sector will further be increased to Rs 11 lakh crore for the next fiscal," sources said.Since credit is a critical input in achieving higher farm output, the institutional credit will help delink farmers from non-institutional sources of credit where they are compelled to borrow at usurious rates of interest, they said. Normally, farm loan attracts an interest rate of 9 per

Budget 2018: Increase tax exemption limit to Rs 300,000, says SBI report The government has periodically increased the income tax slabs from Rs 22,000 in 1990-91 to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2014-15 The rise in personal disposable income post 7th Pay Commission, the income tax exemption limit needs to be raised by Rs 50,000 to Rs 300,000 a SBI report said today.The move will benefit around 75 lakh people, it said. The SBI's Ecowrap report further said that if the exemption limit of interest payments under housing loan is increased to Rs 250,000 for existing home loan buyers, from Rs 200,000 now, it will benefit 75 lakh home loan buyers and cost the government just about Rs 75 billion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is set to present the fifth and final full budget of the current government on February 1.The government has periodically increased the income tax slabs from Rs 22,000 in 1990-91 to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2014-15."Due to 7th pay commission, the personal disposable income has b

IMF Report says India Stays Ahead of China in FY17 Growth Rate World Economic Outlook has revised upwards India’s growth forecast to 6.8% from 6.6%, just ahead of China’s 6.7% India will not have to surrender its fastest growing major economy tag to China in the near future and will record slightly higher growth rate than its bigger neighbour for last year despite a slowdown due to demonetisation, International Monetary Fund says. World Economic Outlook (WEO), the fund’s flagship publication, has revised upwards India’s growth forecast for FY17 to 6.8%, just ahead of China’s 6.7% for 2016 calendar. IMF has retained its India growth forecast for FY18 at 7.2% and FY19 at 7.7%, well ahead of its forecast for China. In its January review, the Fund had slashed India’s growth estimate to 6.6% for FY17, below China’s growth rate for 2016, citing demonetisation disruptions. GLOBAL RECOVERY According to WEO, the global economy is expected to do better with 3.5% growth in 2017 agains