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WPI Inflation Eases to 2.47% in March IN THE BALANCE Food prices decline 0.29% and are likely to remain moderate in the coming months Wholesale inflation remained almost unchanged in March from the month before as a decline in food inflation offset a rise in fuel and power cost.Inflation as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) slowed to an eight-month low of 2.47% in March, compared with 2.48% in February and 5.11% a year earlier.Data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday showed deflation in food articles after nine months — prices shrank 0.29% in March, against 0.88% inflation in the preceding month. CARE Ratings expects food prices to remain moderate in the coming months. “Inflationary threats, however, could emerge from: increase in international oil prices, unseasonal weather patterns and minimum support prices for select crops,” it said in a noteWholesale inflation for January was revised upwards to 3.02% from the provisional estimate of 2.84%.Ret

GoM to meet businesses, experts on GST return simplification tomorrow The ministerial panel, under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, on GST return simplification will meet tax experts and representatives from industry tomorrow. As it looks to finalise a single-page return form for businesses under GST, the Group of Ministers (GoM) will seek views of the experts and representatives from businesses as to how they expect the return form to be. As per the structure being worked out by the Centre and state officials as well as Nandan Nilekani, businesses having zero tax liability for six consecutive months may get to file returns only twice a year. The return filing date will be spread out and businesses having annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore will have to file return by 10th of next month, while others can file return by 20th The Business Standard New Delhi, 17th April 2018  

India's apparel exports decline by nearly 4% in year of GST Backed by its duty-free access to the EU market, Bangladesh retains its status as the second-largest apparel exporter after China In the first year of implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), India’s apparel or readymade garment (RMG) exports have declined by nearly four per cent in dollar terms in FY18. In rupee terms, the decline is higher at 7.6 per cent. RMG exports fell from Rs 17.4 billion in FY17 to Rs 16.71 billion in FY18, a 3.8 per cent decline. Fall in RMG exports happened due to continual month-on-month (MoM) decline in dollar terms, beginning from a 39.30 per cent fall in October 2017 and ending at 17.8 per cent in March 2018. In the latter month alone, India’s RMG export was Rs1.49 billion, against Rs 1.81 billion for the corresponding month last year. H K L Magu, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council, said, “The export figures show apparel export is not only stagnating but heading t

PM Modi may launch second phase of Digital India programme on June 15 The programme was launched by Modi in 2015 with an aim to make all government services available to citizens electronically Keeping an eye at the target of a Rs 1 trillion digital economy by 2022, the government could soon announce the second phase of its Digital India programme, with about 30 policy initiatives. According to sources, this is likely to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi around June 15. The electronics and information technology ministry is working on the boost to the existing programme, the sources added. The programme was launched by Modi in 2015 with an aim to make all government services available to citizens electronically. "The proposal is to launch the programme immediately after the Modi government completes four years in office,” an official in the ministry said. The focus would be on services such as health, education, rural development, agriculture, energy and next-gen

 Intra-state e-way bill rolled out in five states from Sunday From midnight till 5 pm on Sunday, about 0.24 million e-way bill (both inter state and intra-state) was generated on the portal, an official said E-way bill requirement for intra-state movement of goods has been rolled out in five states from Sunday. The bill for inter-state movement of goods valued over Rs 50,000 was rolled out on April 1. The Goods and Services Council had decided on a staggered roll out of intra-state e-way bill starting with five states — Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. From midnight till 5 pm on Sunday, about 0.24 million e-way bill (both inter state and intra-state) was generated on the portal, an official said. The official said there was not much increase in the generation of bill on Sunday on account of intra-state roll out. On the day of inter-state roll out of e-way bill on April 1, about 0.28 million such bills were generated in 24 hours The official said o

Cos may have to Rework salary Packages to reduce GST Impact The next tweak to GST could end up pinching your pockets on salary day  India Inc may have to start restructuring compensation packages or human resource benefits of their employees to ensure they don’t face taxing times under the goods and services tax (GST).  Reimbursements on home rentals, telephone charges beyond a certain limit, medical premiums for extra coverage, health check-ups, transportation, gym use, uniforms or even re-issue of identity cards could face GST.  Tax experts have started advising companies to ask HR departments to examine these issues closely, especially in the wake of a recent decision by the Authority for Advance Rulings in a case concerning canteen charges. Though AAR rulings are case specific, they can be taken as precedent. AAR had ruled that canteen charges recovered from an employee would be liable to GST. GST on employer to-employee supplies could cause employers to stop charging for

RBI may loosen NPA norms to let banks breathe easy  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may relax some of the stringent norms for treatment of bad loans that it announced in February without diluting their spirit, said two officials aware of the development.  The finance ministry has made a case for providing some relief, especially for small and medium enterprises, given that the tighter rules could force defaulters into rapid bankruptcy, which could dent jobs generation, they said.  The one-day, non-performing asset (NPA) classification norm may be extended to 30 days and the requirement that a resolution plan has to be approved by all lenders could be lowered to 75%, they said. This will mean that only if any amount is due for more than 30 days will it be considered a default.  Under new rules announced by RBI in February, even a one-day delay would be considered a default. “The RBI is having a relook — we expect some relief without diluting the spirit of the norms, which is to