Congress leader and ex-finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the Union Budget was the "most capitalist" with nothing for the poor and farmers while sops were being provided to big industrialists turning India into a very "unequal country". At a press conference after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a Rs 39.45 lakh crore Budget, he said because of the ruling party's "brute majority" the Lok Sabha pass the Budget but people will reject it. He claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was going to elections, scheduled in five states, not with their performance or with the promises and assurances to the people, but solely "with the agenda of dividing the country and bringing Hindutva back to power".
Only luxury and 'sin' items could be left in highest slab. 12 and 18 per cent slabs could be merged in the future
The government may be staring at a modest slippage in fiscal deficit for 2022-23 (FY23), with the Ministry of Finance seeking parliamentary approval for additional spending through a second and final tranche of supplementary demands for grants. On Monday, as the Budget session of Parliament resumed, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought Parliament approval for additional gross spending of Rs 2.7 trillion in FY23 (which ends on March 31). While net cash outgo is pegged at Rs 1.48 trillion, the rest will be matched by savings or enhanced receipts, the finance ministry said.
Expressing concern over the rise in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the use of face masks will have to be made mandatory if the spike continues.
The GST's significance for the BJP's politics is as important as its implications for the Indian economy, says A K Bhattacharya.
The government now ends its mandate with reaffirmation in the vote-on-account of the same goals, for which it claims to have a clear line of sight.
No mention of cab aggregators in GST bills
The GST rates for all but six items were finalised at the first day of the two-day meeting of the GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state representatives.
A corpus of Rs 20,000-30,000 crore is under consideration, to narrow the input tax credit cycle and facilitate their working capital requirements.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, has said that helming the NCP away from the shadows of his uncle and founder Sharad Pawar after the split is a huge responsibility.
"This is completely untrue. Please do not re-circulate such message without checking it with authority," Adhia said.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
The Centre is against giving any shock in the first year of the rollout by bringing in new services.
The change in the peak rate will not alter the 4-slab rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent agreed upon last year, but is only a provision being built into the model law to take care of contingencies in future, two officials in the know told PTI.
Jaitley, 66, has become 'very weak' as his health has deteriorated over the past few weeks, sources said, adding that he has developed some throat condition as well that prevents him from speaking for long.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday said it is not possible to bring petrol and diesel under the GST regime for the next eight to 10 years as it would cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 2 lakh crore to all states. Centre and states collectively collect over Rs 5 lakh crore tax on petroleum products, Modi told the Rajya Sabha while participating in a discussion on the Finance Bill 2021. The statement assumes significance in view of the rise in petrol price for the past over one year which even touched Rs 100 per litre in some states. In the first reduction in rates in over a year, petrol price on Wednesday was cut by 18 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise a litre as international oil prices tumbled to the lowest since early February.
The government is going all out to spread awareness about the new indirect tax regime, and training lawmakers is being seen as a necessary first step.
'GST gives a huge relief to small businesses of India and West Bengal.'
We have only three differences with the Bharatiya Janata Party on the GST, said the Congress vice president.
GSTN said those who do not want to give their Aadhaar numbers would have to undergo physical verification.
Falling private sector investment and farm distress are problems that call for immediate attention, says T N C Rajagopalan.
The government has given up plans to reconvene a parliament session to secure approval for a common goods and services tax.
For supply rules, the location decides where goods or services will be taxed.
Deadline ends, after two extensions and only 70% file detailed return for July
'I'm very much against petrol and diesel....'' 'I travel in an electric car.' 'I have had a really good experience with it.'
The Bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
Accusing the Congress of creating obstacles in the path of growth and economy, he declared that the government would try to get the bill passed with the help of parties
The government on Tuesday raised the deposit threshold limit to Rs 5 lakh per annum in provident fund for which interest would continue to be tax-exempt.
GST is levied on every transaction in the supply of goods and services, barring certain exempted items
The opposition parties vehemently criticised the new 'one nation, one tax' system having four different rates instead of a single rate adopted in some countries including the UK and Singapore.
The central bank is the money manager of the government, and not a guarantor of any debt.
After the April-July fiscal deficit data was released on August 31, several analysts hinted that the government may need to go for cuts in capital expenditure to meet the fiscal deficit target.
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The Direct Taxes Code bill was introduced in Lok Sabha in 2010 and Standing Committee on Finance has given a report after its scrutiny.
Swamy now wants Arvind Subramanian, one of the front runners for the post of the new RBI governor to be sacked.
The government on Friday announced several relief measures including deferring one-time registration fee, lifting the ban on purchase of petrol/diesel vehicles by its departments and allowing higher depreciation, but it remained non-committal on the demand for a reduction in GST rates.
Electricity has also been kept out of the GST ambit.
It's an undeniable fact that after enactment of GST, buying insurance will become a little expensive impacting your term plans, health plans and motor insurance plans the most. But you should not ignore the importance of insuring your life, health, vehicle, says Harjot Singh Narula
Rationalisation of rates will be taken up for smaller items that do not have major revenue implications but are commonly consumed at the GST Council meet on Saturday
Select committees of the House have already submitted their reports
Aimed at creating a single tax for goods and services across the country, government on Friday introduced the long-pending GST Bill in the Lok Sabha for roll-out of the new regime from April 2016 subsuming various levies like entry tax and octroi.
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