The Department of Disinvestment, which is the nodal department for carrying out PSU stake sale, will finalise the cabinet note after appointment of asset management companies to handle PSU ETF.
The finance ministry will set the ball rolling for an early introduction of a nationwide value-added tax with a two-day meeting of state finance ministers starting in New Delhi on Friday.
However, the finance ministry is yet to apply its mind on whether to merge the interim Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority or have two separate regulators for pension and insurance.
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As per the latest data, India's CAD sharply narrowed to 1.7 per cent of the gross domestic product or $32.4 billion in 2013-14 from a record high of 4.7 per cent in FY'13.
In the Budget for 2011-12, the government revised the tax mop-up target for 2010-11 to Rs. 4.46 lakh crore for direct taxes and Rs. 3.36 lakh crore for indirect taxes.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in the Budget, announced facilitating the establishment of dedicated infra debt funds through special purpose vehicles for attracting foreign investment in the infrastructure sector.
Proposal to raise the rate from 8.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent had come from the Central Board of Trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation.
Even as some government departments have raised concerns on the Bill in its present form, the finance ministry has decided not to delay any further and may table it in Parliament next week.
As a step towards the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST), the finance ministry plans to come up with a discussion paper on a negative list for services by the end of the next month.
Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, said, "All I can say is, we are very serious about fiscal consolidation, and intend holding on to our fiscal targets, even if the crude price rises on a sustained basis."
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee says exporters will have to "fight" their own battle.
The finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India have reservations on the computation of inflation data on a monthly basis, a senior government official said on Thursday. Finance Minister P Chidambaram will have to meet the Reserve Bank to reach a consensus on the committee's suggestions to have a new series of WPI on a monthly basis, he said on the sidelines of a function to release the results of the Fifth Economic Census.
This is despite expectations of a stormy session, given the unresolved standoff on the Opposition's insistence on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the telecom spectrum controversy.
Contrary to the finance ministry's initial idea that some large industrial houses could be given bank licences, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not name any big corporate in the first round of licensing.
Even as the rupee plunged to a 10-week low against US dollar on Friday erasing almost the entire gains it made since the recent reform waves, the Finance Ministry on Saturday expressed optimism of a recovery before the fiscal-end and ruled out any intervention by RBI.
The study was ordered in March 2011 when the nation was debating on the amount of unaccounted income with figures projected by politicians and civil society in crores of rupees.
The Commerce Ministry, according to an official, has proposed interest subsidy for different sectors like engineering which are reeling under the impact of global economic slowdown.
Modi govt faces extra spending burden due to policies like 7th Pay Commission and OROP
The finance ministry, in the explanatory memorandum to the Finance Bill 2008-09, proposes to withdraw the tax holiday which has been a window the petroleum ministry has been using to market the oil and gas exploration blocks under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (Nelp) since 1999. The commitment to give a 7-year tax holiday to companies producing gas from Nelp blocks was finalised by the Union Cabinet after consultation with the finance ministry.
The Government today said it has not directed public sector banks to cut exposure in real estate following the housing-finance bribery scam. "No why should we say this," Financial Services Secretary R Gopalan told reporters when asked if the government has given such directions to the state-run banks.
The Finance Ministry is of the opinion that Vodafone might drag its tax dispute to court.
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The Finance Ministry has filed the offer document with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India for the Central Public Sector Enterprises ETF, which could fetch the exchequer about Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion).
Supreme Court ruling on Presidential Reference a booster, it says.
The finance ministry is considering this move on account of better levels of tax compliance and the ongoing buoyancy in direct tax collections, a senior government official told Business Standard. The surcharge, a sort of "tax on tax" is paid by 2-3 million, of the total 31.9 million assessees who are liable to pay tax.
The fiscal deficit was 4.9 per cent of GDP in 2012-13.
After comments from the Parliamentary panel, the bill could have been placed in the winter session, and once passed in that session, GST legislation could have been tabled in the Budget session.
Tax officials are scrutinising other cross-border mergers like the Vodafone-Hutchison deal for possible tax evasion after the Bombay High Court rejected a petition against imposition of tax on the deal, a key Finance Ministry official said.
Even if the GST rate is 18-20 per cent, there would be no average impact on inflation.
Top finance ministry officials and members of Planning Commission on Friday gave a thumbs up to the Union Budget 2003-2004 saying Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had laid out a roadmap for greater flow of investment and industrial growth.
Food inflation came down to 10.35 per cent in the first week of August from over 20 per cent late last year.
Taxpayers may get relief in terms of tax rates in the proposed Direct Taxes Code (DTC), which is likely to replace the 50-year-old Income Tax Act from the next fiscal, a key official indicated on Friday.
Finance Ministry has asked excise and service tax officials to exercise caution while summoning CEOs and top functionaries of large firms or PSUs for probing any revenue cases.
The statement came after a media report saying that the finance ministry had slashed the authority's budget from Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) to Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion).
The government on Monday said it will provide all the funds necessary for the implementation of its unique identification number project, dismissing media reports to the contrary.
In the last fiscal, the government had originally budgeted a dividend income of Rs 27,178 crore (Rs 271.78 billion) from PSUs.
In the wake of the brutal assault on a woman in an unguarded ATM in Bangalore, the Finance Ministry said it has asked all banks to strictly follow the RBI's instructions on security at these outlets and comply with instructions issued by state governments.
Around 75 per cent of total returns are expected to be e-filed in current year.
In the revised Draft Taxes Code, which will replace the 50-year-old Income Tax Act, the finance ministry decided to drop its earlier proposal to tax the Government Provident Fund or the Public Provident Fund withdrawals.
The economic growth fell to a decade low of 5 per cent in 2012-13 fiscal.
Indian economy to grow at 5.5 per cent in near term.
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