A robust dispute settlement system would help the government unlock tax revenues, and also aid ease of doing business.
The instruction is that audit of large units be completed within seven working days, of medium units in five working days and of small ones in three.
In fact, India's investment activity growth is also estimated to touch a 17-year low in FY20. With overall demand not showing signs of revival, investment activity may take longer to recover, economists said.
The department notified ITR 1-Sahaj and ITR 4-Sugam in January against the usual practice of notifying returns in April, with disclosure requirements related to cash deposits, spending on foreign travel, and electricity. The notification of the returns followed Budget announcements making income-tax return filing mandatory for certain persons even if their income was below the taxable limit.
In 2009, the UPA government, had announced a slew of measures to boost liquidity in NBFCs. These included a scheme for providing liquidity support to NBFCs having assets size of over Rs 100 crore through a SPV.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, a hike in GST rates would have hampered consumption amid the economic slowdown. The revenue augmentation panel in the Council meeting recently recommended revisiting and restructuring the GST rate slabs, besides correcting the inverted duty structure. The panel listed 24 items, including mobile phones, footwear, fabrics, LED light, medical equipment, utensils, agri machinery, pharma, and renewable components, which have an inverted duty structure, resulting in refunds of close to Rs 20,000 crore annually.
The new restriction will be challenging for businesses, as they will have to do regular follow-ups with their suppliers.
Proposals from the Centre's side include raising the 5 per cent slab to anywhere between 6 and 8 per cent, and doing away with the 12 per cent slab. A few states may oppose such a move because it involves hiking tax on items consumed by the poor. They have instead proposed raising the 18 per cent slab.
To improve compliance, govt may introduce lottery reward for filing GST. The Consumer Welfare Fund, where anti-profiteering proceeds are deposited, will be used to reward the lucky winners on monthly and annual bases. The prize money, yet to be fixed, may run into several lakhs of rupees for the annual draw, and about Rs 50,000 for monthly draws.
'The corporate tax cuts will obviously result in lower tax payments by companies,' says Central Board of Direct Taxes member Akhilesh Ranjan who retires after 37 years in government service.
States are planning to pass resolutions in their legislative assemblies; however, such tactics will be used as the last resort if the Centre continues to stall allocations.
Opposition parties, though resigned to the fact that they lack the numbers to defeat or stall the bill in the two Houses, have decided upon different tactics that they would employ to highlight their reasons for opposing it.
Unsure about having the numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and other parties have decided they will create awareness about the "divisive" nature of the proposed legislation, reports Archis Mohan.
In a resolution passed at its national assembly in Haridwar, the SJM said the Modi government's proposed strategic divestment of PSEs was an "imprudent business decision" and "against national interest".
Though the NITI Aayog did not give its estimates for the required GDP growth at constant prices, economists pegged it at 9 per cent, a feat not seen since the GDP series was revised with 2011-12 as the base year.
The e-invoicing system will be rolled out in a phased manner from January 1 on a voluntary and trial basis, beginning with firms with a turnover of Rs 500 crore, while businesses with a turnover of Rs 100 crore or more will be required to do it from February 1.
As the Congress party prepares to launch protests against the economic slowdown, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel tells Archis Mohan that his state has escaped its effects as his government has pursued policies that have put money in the pockets of workers, farmers, housewives and tribals, which has helped spur demand.
The government is planning to extend the electronic modes of tax payment to its own payments platform, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), credit cards of banks, or even a mobile wallet like Paytm.
The reduced growth is largely because of consumption slowdown and tax rate cuts.
The aim of the exercise was to further simplify GST forms and make the filing process more user-friendly, the finance ministry said in a tweet, reports Dilasha Seth.