Ruchika Chitravanshi &Amp; Shrimi Choudhary

Stories by Ruchika Chitravanshi &Amp; Shrimi Choudhary

Are Wealthy Indians Paying Less Tax?

Are Wealthy Indians Paying Less Tax?

Rediff.com   25 Jan 2023

While movie stars like Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan are among the top I-T payers, very few of the wealthiest Indians figure on the list.

Govt Misses Divestment Target

Govt Misses Divestment Target

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2023

Ahead of the Budget, the government has achieved almost half the divestment target of Rs 65,000 crore. FY23 divestment receipts are unlikely to be anywhere close to the budgeted target.

Now, PAN As A Single Business ID

Now, PAN As A Single Business ID

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2023

'Each state and central government body may be asked to update its system to ensure PAN is used as a common identification to access its services.'

I-T Goes After Rs 7.7 Trillion Tax Arrears

I-T Goes After Rs 7.7 Trillion Tax Arrears

Rediff.com   5 Jan 2023

Senior tax officials were told to focus on cash collection from the arrears so that the target for FY23 was achieved and the overall revenue position improved.

Doctors want govt to allow 4th booster

Doctors want govt to allow 4th booster

Rediff.com   4 Jan 2023

'The protective effect of the vaccine lasts for about nine months to a year.' 'For health workers that period is already over. This is the right time to augment their immunity.'

Indians Not Taking Booster Covid Vaccine

Indians Not Taking Booster Covid Vaccine

Rediff.com   30 Dec 2022

Less than 30,000 booster doses daily in December.

Rs 62,000 Crore GST Evasion Detected

Rs 62,000 Crore GST Evasion Detected

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2022

'There are unscrupulous traders who create fake invoices by showing bogus e-way bills, movement of goods.' 'Since the entities registered across different states, and kept on changing their numbers, tracing them was difficult.'

Mask Up, Covid Is Not Over Yet

Mask Up, Covid Is Not Over Yet

Rediff.com   22 Dec 2022

'If there are any symptoms/variants of concern, states can prepare accordingly.'

Centre mulls raising tax-free slab to Rs 5 lakh

Centre mulls raising tax-free slab to Rs 5 lakh

Rediff.com   19 Dec 2022

Policymakers are examining the possibility of increasing the tax-free slab to Rs 5 lakh in the two-year-old alternative personal income tax regime to make it attractive, a government official said. At present, taxpayers don't pay income tax if their taxable income is Rs 2.5 lakh and below. Increasing the threshold will reduce the tax outgo for assessees, thereby leaving more money with them to invest, the official said.

In 'white gold' rush, India starts talks with lithium-rich nations

In 'white gold' rush, India starts talks with lithium-rich nations

Rediff.com   13 Dec 2022

To ramp up domestic battery manufacturing capacity and reduce the dependence on imports, the government has initiated talks with a few lithium-rich countries to supply the mineral to Indian companies, industry sources informed Business Standard. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) held a meeting with the ambassadors of countries, including Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia, among others, to put forth its request.

Crypto Bourses Under The Scanner

Crypto Bourses Under The Scanner

Rediff.com   26 Nov 2022

Crypto exchanges have been asked to furnish details this month itself.

Guidelines to improve quality control at audit firms in place

Guidelines to improve quality control at audit firms in place

Rediff.com   21 Nov 2022

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has issued guidelines to inspect select audit firms to identify areas and opportunities for improvement in the audit firm's system of quality control, a statement said. "Inspections will consist firm-wide review of audit quality and individual file reviews on test-check basis to evaluate the level of compliance with applicable auditing standards and quality control policy and processes," NFRA said. The selection of the audit firm or the auditor for such inspection by NFRA would be based on assessment of risks in the audit environment.

Customs, excise mop-up may see Rs 1-trillion shortfall in FY23

Customs, excise mop-up may see Rs 1-trillion shortfall in FY23

Rediff.com   8 Nov 2022

The Centre is staring at a combined shortfall of up to Rs 1 trillion in excise and Customs revenues in the current financial year (FY23) compared to the Budget estimates (BE), mainly because of duty cuts on edible oil and petroleum products. The government set a target of Rs 3.35 trillion for excise and Rs 2.13 trillion for Customs mop-up for FY23 while presenting the Budget in February. "As excise duty collection is mainly driven by diesel volumes, we might see a clear gap in the level budgeted for FY23, following the reduction in cesses on petrol and diesel in May. We are expecting somewhere between Rs 80,000 crore and Rs 1 trillion dip in excise and customs duty collections," a senior government official told Business Standard.

Why India Inc is moving to Dubai in droves

Why India Inc is moving to Dubai in droves

Rediff.com   7 Nov 2022

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani might have made news for purchasing the most expensive beach-side villa in Dubai recently, but he is not the only Indian eyeing the city for investment. Since Dubai allowed foreign investors full ownership in specific sectors in June 2021, a horde of Indian companies have moved or expanded into the desert city. The list even includes a kindergarten, an elementary and middle school, and a hotel that has sought 100 per cent ownership.

Single ITR form with focus on cryptos likely

Single ITR form with focus on cryptos likely

Rediff.com   2 Nov 2022

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has proposed a new common income-tax return (ITR), with greater focus on disclosing income from virtual digital assets or crypto assets and foreign equity and debt instruments held by resident Indians. For non-resident Indians, the draft ITR seeks exhaustive details ranging from nature of business, permanent establishment (PE), business connection, whether the entity has significant economic presence (SEP) in India, along with the number of users in India. The ITR protocol for NRIs could widen the scope of the SEP principle that was introduced in the Finance Bill 2018-19, and the explicitly defined 'business connection' to include provision of download of data or software, if aggregate payments from such transactions exceed a prescribed amount, or if a multinational's interaction is with a prescribed number of users.

Glitches in MCA portal: CAs, CS seek extension in annual filing deadline

Glitches in MCA portal: CAs, CS seek extension in annual filing deadline

Rediff.com   1 Nov 2022

In a multi-city protest on Monday, a large number of company secretaries (CS) and chartered accountants (CAs) came together to seek extension of the deadline for annual filing due to glitches in the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) portal. According to the Companies Act, firms are supposed to submit Form AOC 4 for filing of the balance sheet within 30 days of holding the annual general meeting (AGM). This deadline was over on October 29.

Over 24 prominent charitable institutions in India may face tax scrutiny

Over 24 prominent charitable institutions in India may face tax scrutiny

Rediff.com   31 Oct 2022

More than 24 prominent charitable institutions in the country - from private trusts, educational societies, statutory authorities, and cricket associations - may soon face tax scrutiny after a Supreme Court (SC) ruling set the limits to which tax exemption can be claimed. Most of these are highly profitable but get tax exemption due to their 'charitable organisation' status. The revenue department is preparing a standard operating procedure to scrutinise their books and evaluate if they can continue to claim tax exemption in the context of the recent SC ruling

GST Council may take up e-game tax in December meet

GST Council may take up e-game tax in December meet

Rediff.com   22 Oct 2022

It will also be new Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra's first GST Council meeting. He will take charge after the incumbent Tarun Bajaj retires on November 30.

CBDT targets resolving about 3,000 taxpayers' grievances by Oct-end

CBDT targets resolving about 3,000 taxpayers' grievances by Oct-end

Rediff.com   10 Oct 2022

The grievances of as many as 2,500-3,000 taxpayers could be addressed and resolved between October 2 and October 31. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked tax officials to dispose of at least 20 per cent of the pending matters during the period. The move comes after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently nudged the income-tax (I-T) department to redress the grievances promptly.

FinMin not in favour of exhausting forex reserves to defend rupee

FinMin not in favour of exhausting forex reserves to defend rupee

Rediff.com   6 Oct 2022

Amid fast-depleting forex reserves, the Finance Ministry on Wednesday signalled that it was not in favour of selling the dollar to defend any particular level of the rupee. "Let it (rupee) reach whatever levels it has to reach. We can't fritter away reserves on defending some artificial, imaginary rate of exchange," a senior finance ministry official told Business Standard. Forex reserves declined to a near two-year low of $545.65 billion as on September 16, down $85.88 billion from the level that existed on February 25, a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.