In an attempt to get states to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by next April, the Centre has softened its stance on most proposals in the draft Constitutional Amendment Bill that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hopes to pilot in the monsoon session.
Service companies such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Airtel, among others, would be particularly hit.
They are now scaling or shutting down their businesses because they can't compete with untaxed grey market gold. India's gold smuggling has increased significantly since the import duty was increased in the Union Budget 2019 in contravention with the broader market expectations of a cut.
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.
Many states are open to the idea of petrol and diesel being brought under the goods and services tax (GST) regime - contrary to the perception that they are averse to it - but they want a concrete proposal, including a compensation mechanism, from the Centre. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra says while the issue can be discussed, the Centre may not be keen to bring the change because it earns "much more" from taxes on petrol and diesel. "(The peak rate of) GST is 28 per cent. Under the regime, the Centre would only get 14 per cent. "So, definitely, the Union government does not want GST on fuel. It is all lies. Currently, they are in a very cozy place," Mitra said.
Assembly elections coming up in November and December could offer a window of opportunity to the government to make GST attractive through rate cuts.
Bihar became the first non-NDA state and overall second after the BJP-ruled Assam to pass GST bill.
It is high time the Indian government signalled discomfort with the UK providing refuge to those accused of financial crimes in India, states Jaimini Bhagwati.
The instructions cite service rules that bar any government servant from making any adverse criticism of any policy or action of the government.
The object of the government policy cannot be such that luxury items become cheaper, pointed out Jaitley.
In a first, Opposition-ruled states on Saturday got the Centre to delete from the records three minutes of the last GST Council meeting that provided for tweaking of agreed criteria for division of taxpayers under the Goods and Service Tax regime.
The council also cut GST rates on affordable housing to 1 per cent from the current 8 per cent.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday by 35 paise per litre, pushing the total increase in rates on petrol to Rs 36 per litre and on diesel to Rs 26.58 since early May 2020 when taxes on the two fuels were raised to record levels. Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 107.24 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 95.97, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The latest increase that follows the unrelenting hike in international oil prices has pushed pump rates across the country to their highest-ever levels.
Shadow of elections may overshadow political consensus at GST Council meetings.
The cess collected on cars as also tobacco and coal will be used to compensate the revenue loss of states by implementing GST.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said despite the electronic way or E-way bill mechanism there has been rampant evasion and there is a need to increase compliance.
Under the GST regime, most manufactured goods will turn cheaper.
Simplifying the processes will lead to greater efficiencies. Bad processes will not help even if implemented well, says T N C Rajagopalan
Small and medium enterprises had complained of tedious compliance burden under the Goods and Services Tax
Rs 14.5 lakh crore of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have been deposited as of 30/12.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked his Council of Ministers to make extra efforts for effective implementation of public welfare schemes at the ground level and work on new ideas in their ministries ahead of the budget.
If the new regime is introduced in 2017, the govt may lose out on cess, surcharge
Jaitley promised the states that they would be fully compensated for any loss of revenue arising from implementation of GST.
The revenue collection in the same month a year ago stood at Rs 94,442 crore.
Pulse oximeters, hand sanitisers, temperature check equipment and ambulances too will attract lower 5 per cent tax.
The USIBC has encouraged a streamlined implementation of the GST.
Elections may be a few months away, but the government may get into election mode much earlier than that, predicts A K Bhattacharya.
However, the government is readying a relief package and it could include a cut in the licence fee to 5 per cent, two years' moratorium on paying spectrum charges with interest, and referring the GST tax refund issue to the Council.
This is the third time in current fiscal that GST collections have crossed the Rs one lakh crore-mark.
The bidding for the two new Indian Premier League teams is set to take place on October 17. Interestingly, while the last day for queries in regards to bidding for the teams is September 21, the bids can be picked till October 5.
GST Council has also reached consensus on the definition of revenue to compensate states for revenue loss
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.
The broader NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,649.25 and 10,782.30 points, finally settled 90.50 points, or 0.84 per cent lower at 10,663.50.
'Considering Pai is putting his own personal money in Byju's, stakeholders in the company can look forward to more governance and transparency.'
The new restriction will be challenging for businesses, as they will have to do regular follow-ups with their suppliers.
According to government sources, frozen parota (layered flatbread) does not qualify as a staple item and is not eaten by the poor. It is consumed by a class that can afford to pay taxes, hence falls in the 18 per cent category with the likes of biscuits, pastries, and cakes.
The governor's approval came a day after the AAP government informed him about the issues to be taken up during the session.
Investors must be prepared to believe that things will get better eventually, no matter how bad the current situation may look. If you don't possess this optimism, you will not possess the courage to invest and if you don't invest, you don't give yourself any chance to get wealthy, says Devangshu Datta.
Rates may be raised from 5 per cent to 8 per cent and 12 per cent to 15 per cent. The Council can explore possibility of merger of slabs to bring down the number of slabs to three. The Central GST collection fell short of the Budget Estimate by nearly 40 per cent during the April-November period of 2019-20
For the government to meet its GST roll-out deadline of April 1, 2017, the states will have to ratify the Bill before Parliament's winter session, starting November.
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