Since no insurance companies share data on their claims with each other, the finance ministry and Irdai suspect that a lot of the resultant claims are duplicates.
A day after joining the OECD-G20 framework for global minimum tax, the finance ministry on Friday said some significant issues including share of profit allocation and scope of subject to tax rules are yet to be addressed and a 'consensus agreement' is expected by October after working out the technical details of the proposal. Total 130 countries on Thursday agreed to a overhaul of global tax norms to ensure that multinationals pay taxes wherever they operate and at a minimum 15 per cent rate. India is in favour of a consensus solution which is simple to implement and simple to comply.
Modi campaigned on the issue of national security, which cannot be ensured without a strong economy.
'There should be total transparency in the system.'
The differences revolved around the two topics of how much reserves the RBI should carry and whether the finance ministry had precipitated matters by invoking Section 7 of the RBI Act, that allows it to give directions to the RBI in public interest.
Fitch Ratings on Monday cautioned that the Indian government has little fiscal headroom at its disposal to respond to possible shocks to growth given the country's lowest investment grade credit rating with a negative outlook. "India's public debt/GDP ratio, at about 87 per cent in FY21, is well above the median of around 60% for 'BBB' rated sovereigns. "We revised the Outlook on India's rating to Negative, from Stable, in June 2020, partly owing to our assumptions about the impact of the pandemic on public finance metrics. "The government has little fiscal headroom at its current rating level to respond to possible shocks to growth," it said in a report.
Vodafone further said it has "always been confident" that no tax is due on the company. The government in August enacted a law to end all retrospective taxation imposed on indirect transfer of Indian assets. The rules under the law seek to withdraw tax demands made using a 2012 retrospective legislation to tax the indirect transfer of Indian assets and also refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest. Asked if the company has filed an application with the Indian government to settle the retrospective tax dispute, a Vodafone spokesperson said, "We can confirm we have filed an application".
The guild, in a statement, said it has no dispute with the ministry that journalists should behave with restraint and responsibility while enjoying their access to the finance ministry, but a blanket order is not the answer.
Democratic Left Front politician Nanayakkara was among the 42 members who declared independence in Parliament from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition.
India's wholesale price-based inflation is at a 30-year high, leading to a "very alarming" situation for the country, former World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu said on Thursday. He, however, doesn't see any risk of hyperinflation, but cautioned that if retail inflation follows wholesale prices, it might lead to "inflationary crisis". Participating in a virtual event organised by the Asia Society, India, Basu said the inflationary situation in India is at a "very risky bend".
When the first flight arrived at Kushinagar airport on Wednesday, it was not Gota or Mahinda who stepped out, but another Rajapaksa. Namal Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's minister of sports.
The net indirect tax collection in 2020-21 grew 12.3 per cent annually to Rs 10.71 lakh crore, thereby exceeding the target set in revised estimates, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The mop-up through indirect taxes, which include GST, Customs and excise duties, was Rs 9.54 lakh crore in 2019-20. In the Revised Estimates (RE) for 2020-21, the target was set at Rs 9.89 lakh crore. Net collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST) stood at Rs 5.48 lakh crore during 2020-21, an eight per cent drop compared to Rs 5.99 lakh crore in the previous fiscal year.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the federal economic snoop agency under the Union finance ministry, sent 289 legal requests to its counterparts across the globe during 2018-19 as compared to 177 in 2017-18 and 138 in 2016-17.
Kumar said the Commission will follow the time-tested methods of consultations and consensus building in bringing about any reforms and will not shy away from tough decisions, according to an Election Commission (EC) statement.
The finance ministry on Monday said the recent raid on perfume trader Peeyush Jain's house in Kanpur, from where more than Rs 177 cr unaccounted cash was unearthed, was the "biggest ever seizure of cash" by an enforcement agency. The December 26 raid, which resulted in Jain's arrest, included searches at Jain's residential/factory premises in Kannauj, where about Rs 17 crore in cash have been recovered, the ministry said in a release. Further searches are underway at Jain's residential/factory premises in Kannauj.
Subhash Chandra Garg, the former finance secretary who was shunted out of the finance ministry within three weeks of Modi-2.0 government's first budget last year, on Saturday alleged that new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman got him transferred out.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's apex decision making body, the Central Board of Trustees, had decided to provide 8.65 per cent rate of interest on EPF deposits last December.
In a relief to savers, the government on Wednesday kept interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the second quarter of 2021-22 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to carry an annual interest rate of 7.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively, in the second quarter as well. "The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the second quarter of the financial year 2021-22 starting from July 1, 2021, and ending on September 30, 2021, shall remain unchanged from the current rates applicable for the first quarter (April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021) for FY 2021-22," the finance ministry said in a notification.
Expressing the government's commitment to continue with reforms, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday assured India Inc that it is ready to do everything required to revive and support economic growth hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stressing that there is a need to promote growth as it helps bring down poverty, she however said it would not be at the cost of inflation. RBI has been mandated to keep inflation at 4 per cent, with tolerance level of 2 per cent on either side.
Credit to priority sectors as well as small and medium industries will be discussed to find ways to accelerate economic growth.
When Nirmala Sitharaman announced her new privatisation policy, there were serious doubts if the move had the BJP's full political backing. All those doubts were dispelled when her initiatives were endorsed by Modi in Parliament, observes A K Bhattacharya.
The finance ministry on Friday said advance tax collection increased by 53.50 per cent to Rs 4.60 lakh crore so far this fiscal year, indicating recovery in the economy. Direct tax collections for 2021-22, as on December 16, show that net collections are at Rs 9.45 lakh crore compared to Rs 5.88 lakh crore over the year-ago period, representing an increase of 60.8 per cent, the ministry said in a statement. "The net collection (as on December 16) in FY22 has registered a growth of 40 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year when the net collection was Rs 6,75,409.5 crore, and a growth of 40.93 per cent over the corresponding period of 2018-19 when the net collection was Rs 6,70,739.1 crore," it said.
The Centre and states are looking to further tighten the GST registration process and legal measures to deal with the rising cases of fake invoicing. A meeting of the law committee of the GST Council has been convened on Wednesday to discuss these issues, finance ministry sources said. The committee, comprising senior central and state tax officers, would also discuss the GST fake invoice frauds, further tightening of the GST registration process and work out other legal measures including necessary law amendment required in the GST Act to curb the menace of fake invoicing, they added. Also the provisions related to deemed registration under Goods and Services Tax (GST) law may be tightened to prevent the misuse of such provisions by fake dealers and the provisions related to suspension of registration may also be streamlined to make the procedure of suspension and cancellation of registration more efficient and faster, so that such fraud operators can be prevented in time from continuing to pass on fake credit down the chain.
The rot is is not limited to Chitra Ramkrishna and the yogi, observed Debashis Basu.
The Central government will borrow up to Rs 1.1 lakh crore on behalf of the states to bridge the shortfall in GST collections, the finance ministry said on Thursday. A slowdown in the economy since last fiscal has resulted in a drop in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, upsetting the budgets of states which had given up their right to levy local taxes such as sales tax or VAT when GST was introduced in July 2017. To make up for the shortfall, borrowing from the market was proposed.
The government had in May extended the date for filing ITR for FY2019-20 from July 31 to November 30, to give compliance relief to taxpayers.
There was speculation that a one-time special Covid-19 cess would be imposed and that it would raise an estimated Rs 18,000 crore.
The searches since December 22, which resulted in Jain's arrest, also included searches at the trader's residential/factory premises in Kannauj, wherein about Rs 17 crore in cash, 23 kg of gold and 600 kg sandalwood oil having a market value of about Rs 6 crore have been recovered, the ministry said in a release.
Extending the deadline for the third time, the government on Wednesday allowed individuals to file income tax returns for 2019-20 fiscal till January 10. The deadline for companies and individuals who need to get their accounts audited too have been extended by 15 days till February 15, the finance ministry said in a statement. The due date for filing income tax return (ITR) by individuals and companies was December 31, 2020, and January 31, 2021, respectively.
The Centre is considering a gradual phasing out of certain direct tax exemptions meant for corporate and personal tax payers. This is among the tax proposals being discussed for the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23. A top policymaker said that according to the government's internal assessment, the percentage of corporates and individuals shifting to the new exemption-less tax regime has been very encouraging, and the Budget-makers expect many more to make the switch in the coming years. The person also said the finance ministry is exploring the option of rationalising the capital gains tax rates.
Amid surging coronavirus cases in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday made it clear that the government would not go for lockdowns in a big way and only resort to local containment. In a virtual meeting with World Bank Group president David Malpass, Sitharaman appreciated the initiatives of the World Bank to increase the lending space for India to enhance availability of finance for development.
The government would be ironing out issues related to the controversial 'bail-in' clause in the earlier Bill, explore hiking the deposit insurance cover of customers, and decide whether the resolution framework should apply to public sector banks.
There will be no second term for President Kovind and no elevation for Vice President Naidu.
This provision is a very smart rule against fraudster and would not affect any genuine business entities or Ease of Doing Business in any manner, said a source.
Revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj along with senior finance ministry officials on Thursday held a meeting with Infosys managing director Salil Parekh to review the performance of the new income tax portal. More than 3.5 crore Income Tax Returns (ITR) have been filed so far for the financial year 2020-21 through the portal, which had faced glitches following which the ministry had directed Infosys to urgently address the issues. Infosys has developed the new income tax e-filing portal 'www.incometax.gov.in'.
Funds parked by Indian individuals and firms in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches and other financial institutions, jumped to a 14-year-high of 3.83 billion Swiss francs (over Rs 30,500 crore) in 2021 on a sharp surge in holdings via securities and similar instruments while customer deposits rose as well, annual data from Switzerland's central bank showed on Thursday.
The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, paving the way for privatisation of government-owned insurers. The amendments, approved by Cabinet, will remove the clause for the Centre to hold at least 51 per cent in public sector insurance companies at any given time. It will also have an enabling provision for the transfer of management control from the government to the potential buyer of the public sector insurance company. The finance ministry will move amendments to the insurance Act in the ongoing Parliament session.
The first tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds 2021-22 will be open for subscription for five days from Monday, the finance ministry said in a statement. The bonds will be issued in six tranches from May 2021 to September 2021, it said on Wednesday. The subscription period for 2021-22 Series I will be May 17-21, and bonds will be issued on May 25.
The finance ministry has set up two committees of state finance ministers which would rework rate slabs, review GST exempt items and identify potential evasion sources. Four years after the roll out of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST), which replaced the complex indirect tax structure, the centre and states have started work on moving towards a "simpler rate structure in GST" by reviewing the current rate slabs, including special rates and merger of rate slabs. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation would also review items under inverted duty structure to help minimise refund payout, and review the supply of goods and services exempt under GST with an objective to expand the tax base and eliminate breaking of input tax credit (ITC) chain.
According to the EPFO estimates, there would be a surplus of Rs 151.67 crore after providing 8.65 per cent rate of interest for 2018-19 on EPF.
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