The change in the government's engagement with the economy's need for reforms is more nuanced than how analysts have so far perceived it, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Electronic filing of service tax will be made compulsory in the next two months," CBEC member Y G Parande told reporters on the sidelines of a PHD chamber seminar.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
Even as non-life insurers reported muted premium growth in October, standalone health insurers saw a robust 38 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) surge. This growth was driven by pent-up demand in the retail health insurance segment.
Both the life and non-life insurance segment posted over 20 per cent premium growth in November for the first time in this financial year (FY26), supported by the reduction in goods and services tax (GST) on premiums from 18 per cent to zero and a favourable base effect.
Contribution of the service sector in the GDP is 56 per cent but the share of the service tax in the GDP is just 1.1 per cent, Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customes P C Jha said in a interaction meeting organised bythe Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Friday night.
The government is finalising a major GST overhaul with automated refunds, pre-filled returns, and analytics-based scrutiny to simplify compliance and boost liquidity for MSMEs.
Stocks to watch: Container Corp, Snowman Logistics & Transport Corp
'The bigger unknown remains global geopolitics, which is inherently unpredictable, including developments in our neighbourhood.' 'Another concern is the increasing tilt of government finances towards welfare subsidies, especially at the state level.' 'This could constrain capital expenditure, which is critical for long-term growth.'
The reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rates has increased the momentum in India's economic activity both on the supply and demand sides, while robust agricultural activity - reflected in the strong onset of rabi sowing and adequate reservoir levels - has reinforced the outlook for food supply and rural incomes, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
The other two components of indirect tax collections -- excise and customs duties -- were already in negative territory since October 2008. In particular, excise -- a levy on factory production levied at the gates - has started declining from September.
Coforge's planned $2.35 billion all-stock acquisition of US-based Encora has divided the Street, with a few brokerages terming it a "strategically positive" but execution-heavy bet while others raising valuation concerns.
Companies are squeezing more profits from their operations relative to the capital they put to work, the highest now since 2011. Profit after tax relative to capital employed came in at 10.47 per cent in September, shows data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the 8.41 per cent seen in September last year. This is the highest since March 2010.
Quoting an incorrect PAN during property registration can invite penalties and prosecution.
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.
While GST on ICE vehicles was brought down significantly, for electric cars it remained at 5 per cent.
India's net direct tax collections contracted 1.3 per cent to about 5.63 trillion as of July 10, with corporate taxes dropping 3.7 per cent and non-corporate taxes recording a fractional 0.04 per cent contraction, Income Tax department data released on Friday revealed.
Following Axis Max Life Insurance's second-quarter results for 2025-26, Sumit Madan, managing director and chief executive officer of the company, speaks to Aathira Varier and Subrata Panda/Business Standard about growth aspirations, strategies to offset the impact of the input tax credit (ITC) withdrawal, reverse merger plans, and more.
Last week, Railway Minister Mukul Roy had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is now looking after the Finance portfolio, requesting him not to introduce service tax on passenger fare and freight traffic from July 1.
India's manufacturing sector activity strengthened in October, buoyed by Goods and Services Tax relief, productivity gains and tech investment, even as international sales rose at a weaker pace, a monthly survey said on Monday.
India was being evaluated for a potential weight of around 1 per cent in the index, an allocation that could have translated into $25 billion of inflows, spread over roughly 10 months.
The passenger vehicle (PV) business of Tata Motors, which also includes the electric vehicle and Jaguar Land Rover businesses, post-demerger is now valued at Rs 1.45 trillion.
Revenue from service tax, which has become a new focus area for Finance Ministry, has grown up substantially by over 300 times in past about two decades.
Service tax collection is likely to cross the Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) mark this fiscal, far exceeding the target of Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion), a senior Finance Ministry official said on Thursday.
Official sources said such norms form the benchmark of costing, which helps in working out the price of inputs required for manufacturing or producing a certain quantity of output.
Festivals also contribute to the rise in overall automobile retail sales, says dealers association.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are expected to report mid-single-digit revenue growth in the July-September 2025-26 quarter, according to their quarterly updates. Most companies also noted that supply chains were focused on liquidating existing stock ahead of the implementation of new goods and services tax (GST) rates in categories where the tax was lowered.
The Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) has resolved to implement a revenue-sharing model for big-budget films, requiring actors and technicians to share profits and losses. The move aims to address financial pressures from declining theatrical and OTT revenues. The TFPC also mandated staggered OTT release windows and formed a committee to ensure access to theaters for smaller films.
Customs duty cannot be levied on electricity supplied from a special economic zone (SEZ) to the domestic market, ruled the Supreme Court on Monday while upholding Adani Power's appeal against a 2019 judgment of the Gujarat high court. The 2019 judgment had denied relief to Adani Power from Customs duty on electricity supplied from its Mundra SEZ unit to the domestic tariff area (DTA).
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
'Foreign capital will continue to come directly into India, but companies have realised that GIFT City is a more cost-efficient way of channelling funds.'
Besides wrong selection of ITR form, many professionals claim deductions they are ineligible for.
The government may take the first step towards fiscal consolidation in Budget 2010-11 by partially rolling back tax cuts given to the industry last year. The service tax rate may be restored to 12 per cent, while excise duty could be increased marginally.
The government may take the first step towards fiscal consolidation in Budget 2010-11 by partially rolling back tax cuts given to the industry last year. The service tax rate may be restored to 12 per cent, while excise duty could be increased marginally.
The July-September quarter (Q2) performance of consumer electricals and durables major Havells India in 2025-26 (FY26) was broadly in line with Street estimates. While the top line was supported by robust growth in the wire and cable, switchgear, and lighting segments, the consumer durables segment restricted overall gains.
The core dilemma remains: Why provide further stimulus to an economy that is already booming at an 8 per cent growth rate? asks Rajeswari Sengupta.
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