Record equity divestment by the Reliance Group in its telecom and retail businesses garnering around $23 billion revved up the deal street in 2020, which otherwise would have gone down as one of the dullest on record, and dealmakers are seeing sunnier days in 2021 given the large scope for consolidation in a slew of sectors ravaged by the pandemic. With Jio Platforms alone garnering over $16 billion (Rs 1,18,318 crore) by selling 25.24 per cent stake and Reliance Retail notching up $6.4 billion (Rs 47,265 crore) by divesting around 9 per cent shareholding, the deal street signed off with $85 billion in the deal kitty across 1,270 transactions. This is higher by about 10 per cent over 2019. What is significant is that over a third of the total deal value came from Reliance transactions, say investment bankers.
The e-invoicing system will be rolled out in a phased manner from January 1 on a voluntary and trial basis, beginning with firms with a turnover of Rs 500 crore, while businesses with a turnover of Rs 100 crore or more will be required to do it from February 1.
Investors say they see large companies going through the grind, as their promoters struggle with liquidity because they are levered up at the holding company level and are starting to get margin calls thanks to the crashes in the stock market, and in the next six months, the targets that will come up for PE companies will make for a harvest season like never before.
Increase in surcharge will adversely impact fund managers planning to shift to India. As a matter of fact several fund professionals based in India could also relocate to other jurisdictions, resulting in a brain drain.
This may mean easier access, simplified KYC and documentation requirements, and fewer investment restrictions for a majority of FPIs, especially broad-based funds and pooled vehicles that were earlier part of Category-II.
Experts said the rate hike would improve working capital position of the manufactures as it would correct the inverted duty structure but may lead to increase in price of the finished goods.
RBI had on February 12, 2018 issued a circular saying that lenders have to provide for resolution plan within 180 days in case of large account of Rs 2,000 crore and above.
The states which achieved "extraordinary growth" in total taxes collected include Kerala (44 per cent), Jharkhand (20 per cent), Rajasthan (14 per cent), Uttarakhand (13 per cent) and Maharashtra (11 per cent), an official statement said.
The Centre managed to collect only Rs 990 crore as compensation cess in April 2020-21, almost one-ninth of the figure of Rs 8,874 crore mopped up a year ago. The subdued collection would further increase states' problems unless the GST Council, which meets next week, decides to borrow from the market.
"There is no deletion from the list of other backward classes. It goes on increasing... is it that backwardness has increased instead of decreasing? If the answer is yes, as contended by the respondents (Centre and other pro-quota parties), then one is bound to raise eyebrows as to the effectiveness of providing reservations or quotas," Justices Arijit Pasayat and C K Thakker said.
Tax experts said historically in July and August indirect tax collections remain subdued and pick up with the onset of the festive season post Ganesh Chaturthi.
'Since the government will not hold any significant stake in the airline this time, such restrictions are not required anymore.'
The collections stood at Rs 98,202 crore in the month, against Rs 1.02 trillion in July. The figures indicate continuation of economic slow down which was reflected in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth which plummeted to a 25-quarter low of 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019-20, experts said.
Prices of two-wheelers, passenger and commercial vehicles are set to rise 15-25%
Gangwal said he will not vote in favour of resolutions that intend to expand the size of the board to 10 members. Gangwal wants a seven-member board.
Such cold-shoulder by banks also indicates a credit freeze that is hard to overcome, unless the government comes out with credit guarantee schemes for loans given by banks. Since that is not happening, and there is no indication of that too, banks are not willing to listen to RBI prodding.
The total revenue earned by central government and state governments after regular settlement in December was Rs 43,851 crore for CGST and Rs 46,252 crore for SGST.
Since its rollout 13 months ago, the new indirect tax has yielded Rs 1 trillion only in in April 2018
Apple unveils four iPod products for India: the iPod Shuffle, the iPod Nano, the iPod Classic and the iPod Touch.
The auditors also said that the company is in the process of monetising its assets and has submitted a draft resolution plan to the consortium of bankers for restructuring its borrowings and also there have been discussions for stake sale by the promoters to a strategic partner with further equity infusion.
The interest offered is mostly 0.5 to 1 per cent more than what other banks offer. Moreover, customer service and long-term association spanning generations are also other reasons for the popularity.
Amendment to the Act, sovereign guarantees, investment portfolio, realty holdings, and governance issues to shape valuation.
India is often viewed as an aggressive tax jurisdiction by domestic and overseas taxpayers, and making the charter as part of the Act may help restore confidence among taxpayers.
This is due to the newly formed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which will get funds from the Centre's share, which means devolution will be for 28 states compared to 29 earlier.
The recent ruling by the Authority of Advance Rulings making back-office services provided by a company to global firms taxable under GST, has sent shockwaves through the information technology and business process outsourcing industry.
The aim is to replace nearly 40 per cent of its existing last mile fleet of delivery vans with EVs by March 2020. o start with, the company is looking at deploying nearly 160 e-vans by the end of 2019.
A robust dispute settlement system would help the government unlock tax revenues, and also aid ease of doing business.
If a house is sold and the proceeds are used to buy another, whoever contributed to the purchase of the first house can claim exemption on capital gains tax
Despite a steady collection rate, the government faces a steep Budget target of Rs 6.1 trillion for CGST for 2019-20.
Nandan Nilekani said one board member had received two anonymous complaints on September 30, 2019 - one dated September 20, 2019, titled 'Disturbing unethical practices' and an undated note with the title, 'Whistleblower Complaint'.
In the age of robots and automation, skills such as people management, coordination and negotiations will be relevant, says Babita Shekhar.
'Malicious files can silently sit in your phone and relay data to hackers without your knowledge.'
The first half of 2019-20 will be under pressure, since prices are expected to go up by Rs 7,000-8,000 at a time when sentiment is poor.
Plans to offer up to 10% of project cost as bonus to highway contractors, compared to 5% at present
Axis Bank recently informed the Reserve Bank of India that it had experienced a cyber attack, while the State Bank of India said it was re-issuing over 600,000 debit cards because of a potential security breach.
The lockdown that crippled the entire logistics, delivery and supply chain network to near zero, was enough to deal a body blow to India's fastest growing unicorn whose very business model saw a severe disruption, like several other firms and sectors.
The immediate concern for all companies is to prepare themselves - and their vendors and suppliers - for the new GST return filing mechanism, being test piloted from April 1.
Apart from the main company, five of Air India's subsidiaries and a joint venture firm have been included in the strategic sale plan.
In the last couple of months, the IT and BPO space has seen a big uptick in M&A activities, with companies merging with other entities to become bigger players.
