Seema Sindhu &Amp; Vrishti Beniwal

Stories by Seema Sindhu &Amp; Vrishti Beniwal

Donors to pay full tax on holy grants

Donors to pay full tax on holy grants

Rediff.com   24 Jun 2010

The donations you make to religious bodies is not going to earn any tax exemptions, but the income of these entities will continue to get tax breaks, subject to certain exemptions.

Change in personal I-T rates unlikely

Change in personal I-T rates unlikely

Rediff.com   21 Jun 2010

Senior officials in the ministry told Business Standard the rate of taxation would remain the same in the final version of DTC.

GST: Centre, states may agree on common threshold

GST: Centre, states may agree on common threshold

Rediff.com   21 Jun 2010

At present, the threshold prescribed for imposition of Value Added Tax -- which will be abolished when GST comes into effect -- differs from state to state.

Big companies keep away from mega food parks

Big companies keep away from mega food parks

Rediff.com   18 Jun 2010

The concern is that the scheme may not take off, like its precursor in the previous five-year plan.

Govt tweaks bank chief selection rules again

Govt tweaks bank chief selection rules again

Rediff.com   15 Jun 2010

The government has once again tweaked the rules for selection of public sector banks chiefs.

Buoyant Pepsi to take farming to troubled states

Buoyant Pepsi to take farming to troubled states

Rediff.com   11 Jun 2010

The region witnessed a bumper potato crop of 9.5 million tonnes -- 73 per cent higher than last year's production. Wholesale prices in Kolkata crashed to Rs 300 a quintal. Retail prices, too, dropped to Rs 6-8 a kg. Farmers were forced to sell their produce at Rs 3-3.50 a kg, almost half of last year's price.

'RBI shouldn't touch key rates now'

'RBI shouldn't touch key rates now'

Rediff.com   7 Jun 2010

CRR is the proportion of deposits each bank must keep in the form of cash.

FinMin flooded with comments on tax code

FinMin flooded with comments on tax code

Rediff.com   26 May 2010

Redrafting the Direct Taxes Code is proving to be an uphill task for the finance ministry, bombarded with comments from various stakeholders. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has received about 10,000 suggestions on the code, which seeks to replace the Income Tax Act of 1961.

FinMin suggests forming an FM-headed council

FinMin suggests forming an FM-headed council

Rediff.com   18 May 2010

The finance ministry has suggested forming a GST council, headed by the Union finance minister, to address disputes between the Centre and the states in the proposed GST regime.

States raising VAT to drive a hard bargain on GST

States raising VAT to drive a hard bargain on GST

Rediff.com   15 May 2010

With less than a year left for the scheduled introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), most states have increased their VAT (value-added tax) rates. The move is seen as an attempt to extract better compensation from the Centre for loss on account of GST rollout

GST, code may lessen Finance Bill's fame

GST, code may lessen Finance Bill's fame

Rediff.com   12 May 2010

The annual Finance Bill may soon become far less exciting as the government plans to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding tax proposals in Budget. Once the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) are in place, the finance ministry will adopt a public discussion approach for most future decisions, while confining the annual exercise to a few procedural changes.

IPL sponsors contest service tax notices

IPL sponsors contest service tax notices

Rediff.com   4 May 2010

The Union finance ministry may have to battle it out in court with the sponsors of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to make them comply with its service tax payment demands.

UIDAI may finalise ad agency today

UIDAI may finalise ad agency today

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2010

While Lintas and Percept have given their applications, Rediffusion is understood to have asked for more time.

Poor show forces govt to scale down PSU stake sale

Poor show forces govt to scale down PSU stake sale

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2010

With recent issues from state-run companies receiving lukewarm response from the markets, the government has downscaled its divestment programme this year, restricting it to a maximum of eight companies.

Petroleum to be kept out of GST

Petroleum to be kept out of GST

Rediff.com   14 Apr 2010

After failing to convince states to keep petroleum products within the ambit of the proposed goods and services tax (GST), the Centre has finally relented. It has agreed to the proposal of the empowered committee of state finance ministers to keep petroleum products like crude, motor spirit, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and high-speed diesel out of GST.

Direct taxes code to get a makeover

Direct taxes code to get a makeover

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2010

A senior official in the finance ministry said the Central Board of Direct Taxes addressed the nine areas of concern in the Code identified by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Food authority to review ban on Chinese milk

Food authority to review ban on Chinese milk

Rediff.com   7 Apr 2010

Chinese milk and milk products were found to have high content of melamine.

Government takes first step towards GST

Government takes first step towards GST

Rediff.com   6 Apr 2010

The government has taken the first concrete step towards the introduction of the goods and services tax.

Service tax on rail freight deferred till July 1

Service tax on rail freight deferred till July 1

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2010

The levy had to come into effect from April 1. It would now be in force from July 1.

Government to woo retail investors

Government to woo retail investors

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2010

Discounts for retail investors may become a part of the government's disinvestment policy, instead of being offered on a case-to-case basis. The discount offered could be up to 10 per cent of the issue price.