As India marks a decade of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the focus is shifting towards enhancing efficiency through artificial intelligence, data sharing, and process simplification. The reform, which unified India's indirect tax system, has significantly broadened the tax base and boosted revenues, with future plans including a streamlined two-tier rate structure and continued technological integration to reduce compliance costs and combat evasion.
India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections saw a significant 14 per cent increase in June, reaching approximately Rs 1.95 lakh crore. This surge was primarily driven by a substantial 34.6 per cent growth in tax mop-up from imports, alongside a 6.5 per cent rise in domestic supplies, reflecting the country's economic resilience despite global uncertainties.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries
From the financial year 2025-2026, the government has introduced a new column in the tax return form for presumptive taxpayers, requiring them to disclose their year-end investments. This requirement was not present last year.
Salaried taxpayers should not use these forms blindly to file their income-tax returns.
Election-related freebies and populist measures are other factors crimping the revenue profile of these states.
Gujarat ATS intercepts a large silver consignment worth 5 crore at Rajkot Airport, suspecting tax evasion.
Taxpayers should reconcile returns with AIS, Form 26AS and maintain all supporting records.
Recent changes to tax exemptions and allowances, including increased education, hostel, and HRA limits, have made the old tax regime more competitive against the new regime, prompting salaried employees to re-evaluate their choice for the current financial year.
India's gross GST collections increased by 3.2 per cent to over Rs 1.94 lakh crore in May, driven by improved supplies of goods and services and a continued expansion in collections from imports.
The remarkable rise of smallcaps reflects the emergence of a broad set of specialised businesses operating in industries where the sectoral tailwinds remain considerably stronger than macroeconomic headwinds, points out Debashis Basu.
Businesses may eventually have to file returns largely based on invoices uploaded by suppliers, with limited scope for manual changes.
IDFC First Bank has integrated with ICEGATE 2.0 to enable digital payment of customs duty, central excise, and service tax for its customers.
Prism, the parent company of OYO, has filed updated draft papers with Sebi for a Rs 6,650 crore initial public offering (IPO) consisting entirely of a fresh issue of shares, with no offer-for-sale component from existing investors.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly refuted a media report suggesting the government is considering levying a tax, cess, or surcharge on foreign travel, calling the news "totally false".
Despite the Centre's GST 2.0 guidelines aiming to facilitate provisional refunds within seven days for low-risk cases, many large taxpayers are still encountering significant delays in obtaining Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds under the inverted duty structure (IDS), with experts citing inconsistent state-level scrutiny and subjective interpretations.
India's like-for-like gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue growth slowed to a five-year low of 5.57 per cent in FY26, reaching Rs 23.32 trillion, primarily driven by a significant surge in import revenues.
DBS Bank India has launched a direct tax payment facility after authorisation from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Utkarsh Small Finance Bank partners with Mumbai Indians as banking partner for T20 League 2026.
India's gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection reached an unprecedented Rs 2.43 lakh crore in April, marking an 8.7 per cent increase and surpassing the previous record set last year.
Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava is pushing for increased government incentives for biogas-powered vehicles over hybrids, emphasising their net-zero carbon emissions and the valuable organic manure they produce, while also advocating for continued GST benefits for electric vehicles.
162 officials of the Trade and Taxes department in Delhi, including three assistant commissioners, were transferred after Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta discovered 'serious irregularities' during a surprise visit.
A farmer in Budaun, Uttar Pradesh, received tax notices for Rs 14.66 crore due to a fraudulent firm operating in his name in Delhi, prompting an official investigation.
Non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the Gulf region are increasingly purchasing term life insurance policies from India, driven by geopolitical uncertainties in West Asia and the significant cost advantages offered by Indian products, with the GCC region now contributing over half of the total NRI demand.
The World Bank has increased India's economic growth projection for FY27 to 6.6 per cent, citing resilient domestic demand, while simultaneously cutting its global economic growth outlook due to the conflict in West Asia.
A farmer in Uttar Pradesh, India, was shocked to receive tax notices for millions of rupees due to a fraudulent firm operating under his name in Delhi. An investigation has been launched to address the identity theft and tax evasion.
Passenger vehicle sales in India are estimated to have surged by nearly 25 per cent in June 2024, reaching approximately 4 lakh units, with Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors PV, and Mahindra & Mahindra leading the growth, despite concerns over geopolitical tensions and monsoon impact.
The Indian government has marginally exceeded its indirect tax collection target for fiscal year 2025-26, with strong performances in customs, excise, and GST revenues.
ServiceNow Vice Chairman Nick Tzitzon highlights India's potential to develop an AI-native government model, emphasising enhanced public services, data privacy, and economic growth.
Uttarakhand GST officials conducted an elaborate undercover operation, creating fake firms to expose a company evading over Rs 150 crore in taxes.
"Taxpayers with income from shares, mutual funds, crypto, ESOPs, or derivatives often incorrectly use ITR-1 instead of ITR-2 or ITR-3."
Of course, NOT! Here's why. And here's how you can increase your Rs 1 crore retirement corpus.
The Indian central government has reduced its total expenditure by approximately 60,000 crore in FY26, below its revised estimate, to successfully achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the latest data from the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
The Reserve Bank of India's Financial Stability Report indicates that the interim peace deal between the US and Iran has favourably shifted the balance of risks, reducing headwinds from the West Asia conflict. However, it cautions that exchange rate volatility could increase if crude oil prices spike due to delayed normalisation of supply chain disruptions.
Pakistan has increased its defence budget by 17.6 per cent to PKRs 3,000 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, as announced by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. The federal budget, estimated at PKRs 18,771 billion, targets 4 per cent GDP growth, with significant allocations for debt service and pensions. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted economic stability and ongoing discussions with the IMF, while the opposition protested Imran Khan's incarceration during the budget session.
Tata Motors' commercial vehicle (CV) business is strategically repositioning itself from a traditional truck manufacturer to a comprehensive logistics and mobility platform, aiming to reduce dependence on cyclical vehicle demand by accelerating growth in digital, international, and services segments.
'There has to be a safe harbour for licensed entities, which have followed all the norms prescribed by the RBI.'
The investigation pertains to alleged irregularities in CMRL's financial transactions and its links with Veena's now-defunct company Exalogic Solutions Private Limited.
Major life insurers in India reported close to double-digit growth in the value of new business (VNB) last financial year, primarily driven by increased sales of high-margin protection and non-participating (non-par) products.
Kumar Mangalam Birla urged young people to 'build in India, build for India and build for the world'.
