Recent years have been turbulent for the insurance industry due to direct and indirect tax reforms, regulatory overhaul and other external pressures. The events cumulatively slowed growth rate to single digits from the high teens seen earlier.
The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
'Earnings growth will be the main driver of India's market in 2026, with profits expected to rise 9% to 10% in H2 FY26 and accelerate to 12% to 15% in FY27.'
Excise duty collections rose 9.7 per cent to touch Rs 1.05 lakh crore.
Festive buying spree unleashed by lower tax rates pushed gross GST collection to about Rs 1.96 lakh crore in October, registering a 4.6 per cent year-on-year growth -- the slowest rate so far this fiscal.
Nearly 96 per cent of new applicants will benefit from this simplified approval route.
The revenue from customs, excise and service tax, which make up the indirect taxes, during the April-June quarter of 2010-11 fiscal stood at Rs 56,930.15 crore (Rs 569.3 billion), up from Rs 39,693.78 crore (Rs 396.93 billion) in the year-ago period, a finance ministry official told PTI.
Service tax accounts for one-third of the total indirect tax collection in the country and the government expects to raise Rs 1.8 lakh crore (Rs 1.8 trillion) through the levy this fiscal.
Indirect tax collections increased by 8.82 per cent to Rs 75,655 crore during the first seven months of this fiscal from Rs 69,521 crore in April-October 2002.
The central government has proposed just two tax rates of 5 per cent and 18 per cent in the revamped Goods and Services Tax (GST), slated to replace the current indirect tax regime by Diwali this year, highly placed sources said.
The government is likely to revise downwards indirect tax collections target for the current financial year by at least Rs 20,000 crore.
Total collection of indirect taxes -- excise, customs and service tax -- stood at about Rs 3,55,003 crore (Rs 3,550.03 billion) during the first nine months of 2013-14 as against Rs 3,34,309 crore (Rs 3,343.09 billion) in the year-ago period, sources in the Finance Ministry said.
Actor Sonu Sood was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the online betting app 1xBet. The investigation involves several celebrities and focuses on alleged tax evasion and the duping of individuals.
The Enforcement Directorate questioned Robin Uthappa for over eight hours and recorded his statement in a money laundering case linked to online betting app.
With inflation under control, the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC's) job is to support growth because the economy had recovered well from the lows in the initial months of the pandemic, according to the panel's members, who met in the first week of this month. The minutes of the meeting show the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor in his statement said: "Given the sharp moderation in inflation along with a stable near-term outlook, monetary policy needs to continue with the accommodative stance to ensure that the recovery gains greater traction and becomes broad-based." Ashima Goyal, external member of the MPC, said: "The current macroeconomic configuration and its expected future evolution imply there is space for the MPC to continue to support the revival of the economy with inflation remaining in the target band."
Banks are receiving requests for cancellation of approved car loans, in view of the implementation of GST rate cut, which will lower the price of passenger vehicles and also lead to subsequent reduction in the amount needed to purchase them. It is to be noted that the 56th GST Council meeting earlier this month, approved substantial reduction in the GST rate for cars for up to 1,200 cc to 18 per cent from the existing 28 per cent.
Yuvraj Singh on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money laundering case linked to an online betting app named 1xBet.
Amid US-China trade tensions and economic vulnerabilities, India must seize the 'China +1' opportunity, deepen reforms, secure FTAs, and globalise its firms for long-term growth, suggests Ajay Shah.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday described the reduction in GST rates as "game-changing" and the "biggest reform" since independence, as he asked the industry to pass on the full benefit to consumers.
Recalling or relabelling medicines already in the supply chain before September 22 will not be mandatory, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, issuing a fresh set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to address industry concerns following the announcement of goods and services tax (GST) revisions.
Centre likely to miss collection target for '09-10
A recent data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) confirm that both the manufacturing and mining sectors shrunk in 2013-14 with fall in output.
The next many decades belong to India as the global economic powerhouse, and it will be essential to continue demonstrating policy stability, as the country aspires to be the world's manufacturing hub, Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said on Friday.
India's brittle energy security is inextricably linked to two opposing paradigms - fossil fuels, and the transition to green energy. The first powers the present; the second paves the way for Viksit Bharat in 2047.
CPGRAMS -- an online platform available to citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to public authorities on service delivery -- has existed for close to two decades. But it has never been this active, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Kapil Raj, a former Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer who supervised the arrests of two chief ministers under the anti-money laundering law, has resigned from government service after serving for about 16 years, citing personal reasons.
Gross GST collections increased by 6.2 per cent to over Rs 1.84 lakh crore in June but slipped below the Rs 2 lakh crore mark recorded in the previous two months. Gross GST collections stood at Rs 173,813 crore a year ago, as per government data released on Tuesday.
GST Reform 2.0, which trims tax slabs from four to two, signals a push for demand-led growth, and together with recent income tax cuts, sets the stage for sustained economic growth, experts said. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on September 3 approved an overhaul of the indirect tax regime by taxing essentials at 5 per cent and other goods at 18 per cent. A new 40 per cent tax will be applicable on luxury and sin items.
For every rupee in the government coffer, the biggest pie of 66 paise will come from direct and indirect taxes, according to the Union Budget 2025-26 documents. Around 24 paise will come from borrowings and other liabilities, 9 paise from non-tax revenue like divestment, and 1 paise from non-debt capital receipts, the Budget documents said.
Central GST (CGST) field offices will remain open on March 29-31, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said on Friday. The CBIC directive came days after a similar directive from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) regarding income tax department offices "to facilitate completion of pending departmental work.
'Ek baar aap GST dekh lo!' - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gentle nudge to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December last year sparked the beginning of a mammoth exercise to overhaul the tangled goods and services tax regime. And the final outcome is a significantly simplified system with lower tax rates and easier compliance for businesses.
Foreign companies now pay less tax relative to their earnings than at any time in more than three decades. Foreign private companies paid 24.36 per cent of their pre-tax profit as tax in 2023-24, show numbers from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
The Centre mopped up Rs 2.46 lakh crore from indirect taxes in the last fiscal, as much as Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) more than the revised target, despite stimulus packages.
'That is going to have an impact on literally every one, whether you buy a toothpaste, a safety pin, a car, shoes or medicines or you go to a diagnostic centre.'
The Indian government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban online games played with money, aiming to curb addiction, money laundering, and financial fraud. The bill also targets advertisements and financial transactions related to such games.
Ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group saw a 29 per cent rise in tax outgo across portfolio companies to nearly Rs 75,000 crore, it said on Thursday. This includes both direct and indirect taxes paid, as well as payments towards employee social security.
Simplifying GST rates, removing exemptions, easing disputes, and speeding up refunds can boost investment in India and offer the best reply to Trump's tariffs, observes V S Krishnan, former member, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
During negotiations, the officer allegedly agreed to reduce the amount to Rs 2 crore, with the condition that the first installment of Rs 50 lakh had to be paid to the middleman by Thursday evening, the complaint said.
The Centre's indirect tax collections grew by 16.2 per cent at Rs 1,53,988 crore (Rs 1539.88 billion) till January this fiscal from Rs 1,32,501 crore (Rs 1325.01 billion) during same period of 2004-05.
