Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked Communications Minister Andimuthu Raja to complete the auction of the third generation (3G) spectrum within the agreed deadline (February 15), so that the revenue from it can be reflected in the Union Budget for 2009-10. Mukherjee had earmarked Rs 30,000 crore as revenue from 3G auction, which has already been delayed by a year, in the Budget.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has offered technical information for drafting the rules for valuing employee stock options for calculating the fringe benefit tax.
The Direct Taxes Code is likely to be implemented from 2011-12. Sources said the bill in this respect may be tabled in Parliament in the Budget session.
The committee, headed by Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, has received close to 3,300 suggestions through e-mail and the panel is now selecting the most appropriate ones for circulation among various agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, DRI and Law Ministry.
In what may help beleaguered airlines Kingfisher, the finance ministry has approved a draft Cabinet note floated by the commerce and industry ministry allowing foreign fliers to acquire up to 26 per cent stake in India's aviation companies.
Rupee has depreciated against major international currencies since July 2011.
But commerce ministry works on rules for exemption to contractors.
The finance ministry has tightened the noose around developers of special economic zones by disallowing tax concessions to their contractors involved in the construction work.
The finance ministry has given its consent to the draft Cabinet note on opening the multi-brand retail to foreign investment, an official said.
It not only wants the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to rework the under-recovery figure for the current year but has also decided to look at the issue of oil subsidies only in February 2010, when the next Budget will be announced.
The finance ministry on Wednesday said the surge in foreign capital inflow in the country, powered by initial recovery in the global economy, is not a cause for concern at present and no specific action is required to arrest it.
The Planning Commission and the finance ministry have discordant views on the size of the 2007-08 Plan.
This time, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who attended the first such retreat in 2008, would be present.
The letters contain summary of information about financial transactions along with customised response sheet with a view to know why the person has not filed the income tax return.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved railways' proposal to give 78-day productivity linked bonus to its 12.61 lakh (1.26 million) employees during the festival season.
When FM was that the third-quarter GDP data was not in line with his ministry's optimism, he had said he relied on the advice of his advisors.
The Committee headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had proposed no tax on income of up to Rs 300,000 per annum; 10 per cent for Rs 300,000-10 lakh (Rs 1 million); 20 per cent, for Rs 10-20 lakh (Rs 1-2 million) and 30 per cent on annual income beyond Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million).
Initiating the debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, BJP leader Jaswant Singh said the finance minister should not spend his time in 'accountancy' but 'apply his mind to the reality of economic management of the country." Terming the Finance Bill as the 'child' of the Union Budget, he said it (Finance Bill) should be abolished and if not, then the government should 'break it up'.
As part of its fiscal tightening measures, the finance ministry has asked all government departments not to seek any increase in their allocations for 2009-10 over and above what has already been provided for in the Interim Budget presented on February 16.
FinMin's project will enable tax man to track electronic transactions like RTGS or NEFT.
"We welcome the decision. This will provide adequate impetus to banks to lower their interest rates. Private banks will sooner or later will follow suit," Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday. On Wednesday, the RBI cut short-term lending and borrowing rates -- Repo and Reverse Repo -- by 50 basis points each, while keeping the other key tool -- Cash Reserve Ratio -- intact.
The government on Thursday said it may not be possible to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from April next year, as the proposal needs consent from all the states. "...the (GST) legislation cannot be voted upon until the ratification is completed...there may be problem on the time factor (April 1, 2012)," Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra said at a CII post-Budget conference.
In a move to help quicken the flagging pace of distribution reforms in the power sector, the Union finance ministry has approved the creation of a Rs 50,000-crore National Electricity Fund - first mooted in the 2008-09 Budget - for attracting investment in this area.
On whether the futures trading policy of the government has resulted in the extremely high inflation (as seen some months ago), he said the committee to study the impact of futures trading on the prices of agricultural commodities could not draw any strong conclusion. The latest inflation rate as on December 6, measured by the wholesale price index, stood at 6.84 per cent. The rate of inflation had touched a high of 12.91 per cent on August 2.
The three leading think-tanks-- NCAER, NIFM and NIPFP-- conducting a joint study on the quantum of blackmoney, are likely to submit the report to government by December 2012, Parliament was informed on Thursday.
The finance ministry wants the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation to bypass the central board of trustees when deciding how to invest a portion of the Rs 5-lakh crore (Rs 5 trillion) provident fund corpus in the capital market.
Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has asked the finance ministry to cut duties on branded petrol and diesel that offer better mileage and help cut fuel consumption.
As food inflation surged to 18.32 per cent, a top adviser in the finance ministry on Thursday agreed with Home Minister P Chidambaram that the government does not have all the tools to control food prices since it is an enabling body.
"We are not looking at increasing FII (investment) limit in government securities," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters. Earlier in June, the government raised the FII investment limit in government securities to $5 billion from $3.2 billion.
Having made no headway to amend a 26-year-old double taxation avoidance agreement with Mauritius, the finance ministry has hardened its stance against broadening India's economic engagement with the island nation.
The finance ministry is likely to float a discussion paper next month on the proposed new income tax law, which aims to simplify the existing law and phase out tax exemptions.
If private developers are made to compete with one another, this would lead to the contractors offering projects on most cost-effective terms.
About Rs 2,280 crore (Rs 22.80 billion) unaccounted income being allegedly routed through Private Placement Programme (PPP) has been detected by economic intelligence sleuths.
Under the stipulation, banks with cash deposits of Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) and above in a year in any savings account maintained by a person would have to report under the Annual Information Return.
Responding to a communication from Finance Secretary D Subbarao on Wednesday, Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura shot off a strongly worded letter on Thursday, saying: "It is therefore surprising that the ministry of finance has now decided to express its reservations on procedural aspects."
The finance ministry has rejected a cut in duties to avoid an increase in petro prices even as Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar will begin a consensus-building exercise within the UPA for a fuel price hike.
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