Delay raises doubts about govt's tax reform plans.
The procurement has already touched 19.8 million tonnes and government agencies continue to procure 200,000-250,000 tonnes daily.
Cement companies' latest quarterly performance shows that they have begun to feel the pinch of the government's anti-inflationary measures. The latest price cut of 1.5 to 3 per cent at the government's persuasion and a decision to hold prices for the next three months could impact earnings even more.
Central tax return processing centres being set up in five major cities.
Liquor companies are set to raise prices, thanks to the hike in the cost of molasses, a by-product of sugar used to make potable alcohol. "Alcohol prices may rise as much as 20 per cent due to lower molasses production," said Abhishek Khaitan, managing director, Radico Khaitan, the country's second largest liquor producer.
Net direct tax collections rose 132 per cent to Rs 12,642 crore (Rs 126.42 billion) in the first month of the current fiscal, as against Rs 5,441 crore (Rs 54.41 billion) in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal.
A nation-wide housing price index may be a reality soon. The National Housing Bank, in collaboration with the National Council of Applied Economic Research, is close to finalising the methodology to be adopted for the index, named NHB Residex.
The commodities transaction tax is likely to come into force within the next two months as the details, including the collection, payment and the procedures for filing returns, will take some more time to be firmed up. The CTT, which will be administered by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, will be levied at the rate of 0.017 per cent on sellers of commodity futures as well as options. Purchasers of options, who exercise them, will pay 0.125 per cent
Stockbroker Harish Bhasin has got Rs 22 crore stuck in the bid to take over DCM Shriram Industries, the Delhi-based sugar company. He invested the money to raise his stake in DSIL from 12.87 per cent to 25.05 per cent over the last five-and-a-half months. He bought DSIL shares from the open market. However, his open offer to buy 22.88 per cent stake has not taken off, pending an approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
US President George W Bush and his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may have their numbers wrong when they accuse China and India of contributing to the global food crisis as a result of growing prosperity-led consumption.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has passed strictures against the finance ministry for the delay in introducing the draft direct tax code for legislation to replace the voluminous Income Tax Act, 1961.
Public sector bank chiefs will have a lot to discuss when they meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram on May 1 to get a broad direction from the government, the majority shareholder in 28 PSBs, for the strategy they should adopt in 2008-09. High on the agenda will be a discussion on implementation of the Rs 60,314-crore.
Interestingly, it is the long products that have witnessed the steepest price increase (between 50 per cent and 62 per cent), clearly reflecting the booming demand from construction activities. However, the flat products, by comparison, have seen a price increase of 17-24 per cent, almost half compared with the long products. Driven by demand, the share of the long products in the total steel production has been steadily increasing.
To check the status of their refund, taxpayers can log in at https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/oltas/refundstatuslogin.html.
Numbers collated by the Business Standard Research Bureau show that in the last three years, leading cement manufacturers have multiplied their nine-month profits manifold and mining and paper companies have more than doubled it.
The country's leading steel producers have devised a new strategy to pass on rising raw material costs to the end users without raising prices. Companies are now levying raw material surcharges while keeping the base price unchanged.
The Income Tax department will soon start training the second batch of 5,000 tax return preparers (TRPs) across the country. Launched in 2007, the programme aims at assisting tax payers file returns. The TRPs have also been asked to bring in more people under the tax net. They charge existing tax payers Rs 250 for each return, while the department pays them 3 per cent, 2 per cent, and 1 per cent of the tax paid by a new assessee in the first three years, respectively.
The mandatory 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol may not happen for the existing 101 million vehicles on the Indian roads without introducing technical changes in them. The central government plans to make 10 per cent blending compulsory from October from the current 5 per cent. Existing vehicles are not capable of running on 10 per cent ethanol-blended petrol as ethanol releases more heat and can corrode vehicle engines, experts say. It will lead to a 3% drop in mileage.
On Tuesday, in the midst of the government's multi-pronged crackdown on inflation, the cement producers had announced a rise in prices. The export ban will augment domestic availability while the cheap imports from Pakistan will soften prices.
The price rise in individual key food commodities over the last one year is significantly higher than what is conveyed by the wholesale price index. While the latest government data show inflation at 6.68 per cent for the week ended March 15, the price change in most food items is in double digits.
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