rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries.
In a relief for foreign firms giving loans to Indian subsidiaries, tax authorities have said goods and services tax (GST) will not be imposed on them, subject to some caveats. Additional fees, commissions, or related payments - over and above the amount charged as interest - on these loans will attract GST at 18 per cent, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said.
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers your mutual fund queries.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday approved a Rs 2.11 lakh crore dividend payout to the central government for 2023-24, more than double the amount it paid for the previous 2022-23 financial year. The decision was taken at the 608th meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India held under the chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked life insurance companies not to advertise unit-linked plans as investment products in a recent circular.
'Health and motor insurance will continue to be our two most important segments'
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday said the FY25 Budget demonstrated the government's ongoing commitment to reducing fiscal deficit and ensured policy continuity during the NDA government's new term. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the first Budget of the Modi 3.0 government in which she revised the deficit target for current fiscal lower to 4.9 per cent of the GDP, from 5.1 per cent projected in the interim Budget.
Foreign investors continued their relentless selling in the Indian equity markets in August, offloading shares worth Rs 21,201 crore due to the unwinding of the yen carry trade, recession fears in the US and ongoing geopolitical conflicts. This came after an inflow of Rs 32,365 crore in July and Rs 26,565 crore in June, data with the depositories showed.
The upper market capitalisation (mcap) threshold for midcap and smallcap stocks in the mutual fund (MF) industry's revised list of stocks, to be announced this month, is set to see the second-highest yearly rise in the past five years. The list was first announced in 2018, and it has been revised every six months since then. According to estimates released by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, the upper threshold for the midcap and smallcap universes could come in at Rs 66,700 crore and Rs 21,900 crore in the next list.
The combined market valuation of all listed companies on the leading stock exchange BSE reached the $4-trillion milestone for the first time ever on Wednesday. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 305.44 points to 66,479.64 in early trade after beginning the day on a positive note. Thanks to the optimism in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies reached Rs 3,33,26,881.49 crore in morning trade, translating into $4 trillion at the exchange rate of 83.31.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, inflows minus outflows, declined sharply in April-August this year to $2.99 billion from $18.03 billion in the same period last year on moderation in global activities and a rise in repatriation. The Reserve Bank of India's data (October 2023 bulletin) said FDI in India was $7.28 billion and FDI by India, that is money invested abroad from the country, was $4.28 billion in April-August 2023. As for 2022, FDI in India was $22.79 billion and FDI by India was $4.76 billion in April-August.
Net inflows were $18.4 billion for the rolling 12-month period ended January 2024 compared to $32.7 billion for the rolling 12-month period ended January 2023.
The Group of Ministers (GoM) on goods and services tax (GST) rate rationalisation, which convened in Goa on Wednesday, reviewed the GST rates for over 100 items, including textiles, handloom goods, agricultural products, fertilisers, and educational materials. However, no consensus was reached on any of the items, with further discussions scheduled for next month in Delhi.
Corporate India's struggle with subdued revenue and earnings growth persisted in the October-December quarter of 2024-25 (Q3FY25). The combined net sales (gross interest earnings for lenders) of listed companies grew in single digits for the seventh consecutive quarter, while their combined net profit rose by a single digit for the third straight quarter.
Stock markets would take cues from the upcoming macroeconomic data announcements and global trends besides keeping a watch on the trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. The last batch of the ongoing earnings calendar would trigger stock-specific action, traders said. "This week, we have to deal with macroeconomic data on both the domestic and global front.
Movement in the stock market this week will largely be driven by global trends, macroeconomic data announcements and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said. Equity benchmark indices, which are on a dream run for the past several days, will also track trading in global oil benchmark Brent crude and movement of rupee against the US dollar. "The next FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting is scheduled for mid-September, but before that, the market will be closely watching upcoming US economic data.
The Union Budget 2025-26, while promising a new framework for smoother mergers and acquisitions (M&As), has plugged a major loophole on carry-forward losses for a total of eight assessment years between amalgamating company and amalgamated company from the date of loss instead of date of the merger. For all mergers effected on or after April 1, 2025, the losses can be carried forward only for the residuary period (counting from the date of loss).
The net direct tax collection increased by 21.82 per cent to over Rs 9.57 lakh crore till October 9, helped by good inflow from corporates and individuals, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The net collections have reached 52.5 per cent of the full-year budget estimates (BE) of Rs 18.23 lakh crore. The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to October 9, 2023, continue to register steady growth, the statement said.
Persons and entities who have faced search or survey proceedings by the income tax department "in any previous year" will no longer be allowed to file updated tax returns. Earlier, it was proposed that an updated tax return cannot be filed, in case of search or survey proceedings in the relevant financial year and the preceding one.
rediffGURU Yogendra Arora answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Why try to time the market when time in the market works better? History shows that patient investors who stay the course often walk away with the real rewards, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Stock markets would be driven by global trends and foreign investors' trading activity in the holiday-shortened week, analysts said adding that key equity indices may face volatile trends amid the monthly derivatives expiry on Thursday. This week markets will have just three trading sessions. Equity markets will remain closed on Monday for Holi and on Friday for Good Friday. "This week will be shorter due to market closure on both Monday for Holi and Friday for Good Friday.
GST collections rose 28 per cent to Rs 1.49 lakh crore on an annual basis in July on the back of economic recovery and measures taken to curb tax evasion, the government said on Monday. In July, 2021, Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections stood at Rs 116,393 crore. The collections in July this year is the second highest since the introduction of GST in July 2017, the ministry said in a statement.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
There is a need to incentivise R&D investments, offer corporate tax concessions and establish an effective intellectual property rights regime in order to push the growth of domestic pharmaceutical industry, as per the industry bodies. Outlining the sector's wish list for the upcoming Union Budget, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) Director General Anil Matai urged the government to explore methods to incentivise R&D investments, such as deductions on R&D expenses, research-linked incentives for MNCs, and corporate tax concessions.
Towards the end of February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the risk weighting on banks loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs; including to microfinance institutions, or MFIs) to 100 - back to its November 2023 position - from 125. It is only a partial relief though. "Higher risk weighting on unsecured lending continues to be in place while the same on bank funding to NBFCs has been done away with. "This is a positive step by RBI," says Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Capital.
'The committee has been constituted. Different government departments and FSDC members are part of it.'
A reading of the reports suggests that there is no standard practice for reporting political contributions and it is left to the company's discretion to report them as they find fit.
Finance ministers of states demanded an increase in allocation under 50-year interest-free loan scheme, while fiscally stressed states like Punjab and Kerala pitched for a special package and borrowing flexibility, sources said on Friday. In a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states have also urged for higher borrowing limits to support fiscal activities, besides additional funds for Jal Jeevan Mission.
Private credit is fast emerging as a major source of finance for projects in India as several entrepreneurs are looking for short-term debt to bridge the funding gap due to difference in pricing for equity dilution, top officials at PwC India said. They said while new private equity (PE) investments during the past two years have declined, several public market exits by PEs were observed during that period. Several companies are likely to approach capital markets in the near future to provide liquidity to PE fund investors.
Flipkart-backed super.money is on an expansion spree and plans to expand its range of offerings in credit and wealth management after launching its operations in July this year. The Bengaluru-based fintech company is on track to roll out credit products such as credit on Unified Payments Interface (UPI), unsecured credit cards, and personal loans within the first half of the next calendar year (2025).
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
With India's inclusion in global bond indices starting next financial year, the central government believes there will be greater scope for shifting to borrowings via long-term government securities (G-sec) from short-term instruments. This change may be factored into the FY25 interim Budget. "While this has been our focus, the inclusion of India in global bond indices gives us the opportunity to accelerate the shift towards longer tenure G-secs," an official said, requesting anonymity.
The Reserve Bank on Friday retained its inflation projection for current fiscal year at 6.7 per cent amid global geopolitical developments triggered by Russia-Ukraine war. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the impact of inflation globally is weighing heavily on the domestic market. For September quarter of 2022-23, RBI projected retail inflation at 7.1 per cent.
The net credit card additions in the banking sector nearly halved to 2 million in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25) from the previous quarter due to seasonal and regulatory factors. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the net credit card additions during the April-June quarter of FY25 stood at 2 million, 48 per cent lower than 3.9 million in the December-March quarter of FY24.
After subdued earnings in the first half amid global headwinds, India Inc is taking a cautious approach on their capital expenditure (capex) for the second half of the financial year ending March 2025, according to management commentary. Minutes from the October monetary policy meeting show the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) optimism about private investments picking up.
As regards mid-caps and small-caps, analysts suggest investors buy only those stocks of those companies where there is earnings visibility for at least a few quarters and where the valuations have become reasonable.
A 55-year-old man was beaten to death by a mob allegedly over suspicion that he was carrying beef in Bihar's Saran district, the police said on Friday.
State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties.
