The government has failed to reach a consensus on the issue of setting up plastic reprocessing units in special economic zones and is likely to defer its decision once again in the meeting of the Board of Approval on October 21.
The long-pending issue of seizure of Indian generic drugs by European Union countries has been resolved, with the EU accepting India's position and agreeing to amend the rules to plug the loopholes that led to the seizure of shipments.
A recent decision of the high court in Chennai on the levy of service tax on software sale has made the Union finance ministry hopeful of a similar verdict in the case of copyright services.
The empowered committee of state finance ministers has approved the position paper of the Centre on the information technology network for the proposed indirect tax regime.
India may formally approach the World Trade Organisation's dispute panel against the European Union following the seizure of low-cost generic medicine consignments in European ports meant for other developing countries. The two parties have failed to reach an amicable solution during the consultation process.
Last week, Chandra Shekhar Verma did something rather uncharacteristic for a state-owned company chieftain, especially one reputed to be a stickler for rules. The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) chairman - its youngest ever - openly criticised the government.
Nine years after New Delhi started implementing its Plan B - bilateral trade agreements - to beat the impasse at the World Trade Organisation's Doha Round of liberalisation talks, India seems to be finally rolling.
The income-tax department intends to bring individuals under the ambit of the proposed controlled-foreign companies (CFCs).
In a counter affidavit filed in the court, the department has said that temporary transfer of rights to copy in a limited manner will be chargeable to service tax.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had earlier said the government would not hesitate in assisting sectors that employed huge amount of people if they failed to achieve growth. Some of those sectors were handicrafts, textiles, leather, engineering goods, rice and carpets.
In an attempt to get states to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by next April, the Centre has softened its stance on most proposals in the draft Constitutional Amendment Bill that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hopes to pilot in the monsoon session.
Says banks strong enough to tackle the problem on their own
But contentious areas like special economic zones, capital gains and Ulips may see changes
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had asked officials in his ministry to finalise the draft by August 20 so that it could be in Parliament before the session concluded on August 27, said a finance ministry official.
The developers, including Raheja Ltd, Ascendas, L&T and GMR, among others, are in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Export Promotion Council for export oriented units and special economic zones.
The changes to the original draft of the Direct Taxes Code are going to cost taxpayers, with the government planning to significantly alter the slabs.
The finance ministry introduced the tax for the first time on July 1, 2010. PVR Pictures, in its petition, alleged that copyrights are treated as goods and the transfer of copyrights are treated as sale of goods, which falls within the domain of taxation by states under Article 246, and not the Union.
Ravi Kapoor, head of global banking at Citi India tells that the success of the Centre's divestment programme hinges on attractive valuations
While saying money was due from Suzuki, the HC told the tax department to determine an appropriate arm's-length pricing mechanism in this case.