The demand for extension of the GST cess regime among others was made by several state finance ministers at a pre-budget consultation called by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. Besides, many states also demanded raising the share of the Union government in the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). Currently, the central government and state government share in some CSS is 60:40 while in others it is 75:25.
Funds raised by banks through certificates of deposit in December clocked the highest in the financial year 2023-24 as liquidity remained tight in the system with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) infusing Rs 2.01 trillion on Monday, the highest in the current financial year. The liquidity deficit in the banking system widened to more than Rs 2 trillion on Monday on the back of advance tax outflows, market participants said. Around Rs 4 trillion worth of outflows are expected because of advanced tax and goods and services tax (GST) payments in December.
An article on 'State of the Economy' in the monthly Bulletin also said the improvement in the outlook for agriculture and the revival of rural spending have turned out to be the bright spots in the evolution of demand conditions. Consumer price inflation ticked up in June 2024 after three consecutive months of moderation as a broad flare-up in vegetable prices halted the overall disinflation that had been underway, it said.
The Bill provides comprehensive legislation to prohibit unregulated deposits, with punishment for those promoting such schemes or defaulting on repayment.
The need for money among banks, especially for short-term funds, may turn more intense in the last month of the financial year to feed the demand for capital for tax payments and meet year-end targets. The mobilisation of funds via the certificate of deposits (CDs) has seen a threefold increase to over Rs 60,000 crore in the fortnight that ended February 23 from around Rs 20,000 crore in the fortnight of January 26, 2024, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
The all-powerful GST Council on Friday decided to charge food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato a tax even as it extended concessional tax rates on certain COVID-19 drugs by three months till December 31. The Council, which comprises the Union finance minister and her state counterparts, decided to continue keeping petrol and diesel out of the GST purview as subsuming the current excise duty and VAT into one national rate would impact revenues. Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Council at a meeting here, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said GST has been exempted on muscular atrophy drugs like Zolgensma and Viltepso, which cost crores of rupees.
Private sector lender Bandhan Bank on Friday said its founder, managing director and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh has tendered his resignation. Ghosh would retire from the services of the bank as MD and CEO upon completion of his current tenure on July 9, 2024, the bank said in a regulatory filing. "After leading the bank for almost a decade, including three consecutive tenures as MD & CEO, I feel that the time has now come for me to assume a larger strategic role at Bandhan group level," Ghosh said in a letter addressed to the board.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
At present, bank depositors get an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh on their amount by the Deposit Insurance and credit Guarantee Corporation.
This provision is a very smart rule against fraudster and would not affect any genuine business entities or Ease of Doing Business in any manner, said a source.
GST Council extends anti-profiteering authority's tenure, sends rate cut on EVs to fitment panel and also extended the date for filing annual returns under the GST by two months to August 30.
The panel decided to omit the reverse charge mechanism (RCM) clause from the GST law under which registered taxpayers buying from unregistered taxpayers have to deposit the GST.
Is the curated and limited data put out by the central government sufficient enough to pass a judgement on the trend in GST collections, particularly that of the Centre?
Banks submitted bids amounting to Rs 4.75 trillion, around 2.5 times of the notified amount of Rs 1.75 trillion, at the Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRR) auction conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 22, a day after the liquidity deficit in the banking system widened to Rs 2.5 trillion. In the most recent VRR auction held by the RBI on December 15, bids totaling 2.7 times the notified amount were received. Banks secured Rs 1 trillion at a weighted average rate of 6.63 per cent.
There have been complaints from consumers that the firm has increased the base price of products and then charged the lower GST rate, thereby keeping the MRP of products the same in pre and post tax rate cut.
'The government should come back as a job creator as it did in the 1960s and the 1970s.'
Barely 10% of small businesses are in a GST-ready position, say experts
The ambiguity arose after notices were sent to lenders for non-payment of service tax under the pre-GST regime
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday clarified that any deposit in the form of bonus or incentives credited in a user account will be considered net winnings, and subject to tax deduction, in case of withdrawal. If these are used only for playing, then it's not liable for tax deducted at source (TDS). Further, in case net winnings do not exceed Rs 100 a month, the applicable tax need not be deducted.
The states which achieved "extraordinary growth" in total taxes collected include Kerala (44 per cent), Jharkhand (20 per cent), Rajasthan (14 per cent), Uttarakhand (13 per cent) and Maharashtra (11 per cent), an official statement said.
Tax experts said historically in July and August indirect tax collections remain subdued and pick up with the onset of the festive season post Ganesh Chaturthi.
Anti-profiteering authority puts Baba Ramdev-led company in the dock for allegedly not passing on benefits received from the reduced rate of taxation under the GST regime. Patanjali to respond to notice at January 28 hearing.
Income tax collection, by way of advance tax and TDS, in the April-June quarter was about 80 per cent of what was collected in the same period last year.
From a commercial standpoint, reducing the price of each SKU, particularly with a small MRP (Rs 5 or below) is often a challenge, including availability of legal tender below Re 1
The tax department has deployed about 40 large and small machines to count currency notes and brought in more department and bank staffers to finish the counting process, which began on December 6 following raids against Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd and others, they said.
Monish Malhotra, the superintendent, and Manas Patra, the alleged middleman, were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday, an official said.
The liquidity in the banking system could ease in the coming week due to an increase in government spending - a development that would be the key for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to decide whether to extend the incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) mandate for banks. There are signs of improvement in the liquidity scenario as banks parked Rs 25, 833 crore with the RBI on Thursday. Market participants expect liquidity to gradually improve by the end of the month or during the first week of September, aided by government spending.
'If because of El Nino, the monsoon is affected adversely in the current year, naturally it will affect income projections and consequently Budget numbers.'
The new tax rates will come into effect from January 1, 2019.
Whether it was the MGNREGS or the NFSA or the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme for cash transfer, the Modi government has built on the basic architecture created by the Singh government. Policy makers in the Modi government, instead of discarding them as products of the previous political regime, worked on them, expanded their scope and reach, and used new tools to improve their performance, explains A K Bhattacharya.
The announcement came after the chief minister held a high level meeting with senior government officials on Thursday to discuss the implementation of both schemes, which are part of five poll guarantees of the Congress.
'Who has given how much money to which party, the people of India must know this fact.'
Hasmukh Adhia to present revenue dept's performance over past year & plan for current financial year
The Delhi high court on Friday held as "unconstitutional", the imposition of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) by the Centre on import of oxygen concentrators by individuals for personal use. A bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh quashed the May 1 notification issued by the ministry of finance which says that such oxygen concentrators imported for personal use, irrespective of whether they are a gift or otherwise, will be charged with an IGST of 12 per cent. The court said the individuals will have to give an undertaking to the authorities that the oxygen concentrator is being imported for personal use and not commercial use.
Their favourite alternatives: Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Note, India is missing from that list. And this is despite an attractive financial incentive scheme for OSAT players. The reason, said a senior executive of a US chip company who had a meeting in Taiwan just a few weeks ago, is that "they want more predictability in government policy because they plan to put in big money."
Mihir Tanna, Associate Director, S K Patodia & Associates, answers your personal income tax queries.
'They are not tom-tomming what a great thing the Supreme Court decision is.' 'If they say it was a great thing, the public will react because people suffered and are still suffering.'
Liquidity in the banking system has slipped into a deficit for the first time in three weeks, prompting banks to borrow the largest quantum of funds from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in around a month and a half. The key catalyst for the sudden tightening in liquidity was due to outflows on account of advance tax payments, which occur towards the end of a quarter. Analysts also cited other factors such as a currency leakage and possible interventions by the RBI in the foreign exchange market, which contributed to the tighter liquidity conditions.
Jewellers in India, the world's second largest gold consuming country after China, have started receiving more inquiries for purchase of gold or silver immediately after the Reserve Bank's announcement to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation. However, there is no panic buying of the precious metal unlike the situation witnessed in 2016 during demonetisation, jewellers body GJC said on Sunday. In fact in the last two days, the actual gold purchase has been less in exchange of Rs 2,000 notes due to strict Know your Customer (KYC) norms although sources said some jewellers have started charging a 5-10 per cent premium, taking the gold prices to Rs 66,000 per 10 grams level.
The searches since December 22, which resulted in Jain's arrest, also included searches at the trader's residential/factory premises in Kannauj, wherein about Rs 17 crore in cash, 23 kg of gold and 600 kg sandalwood oil having a market value of about Rs 6 crore have been recovered, the ministry said in a release.