The central government has given banks and credit card entities six to eight months to put in place the requisite reporting mechanism and related features to collect tax at source on international credit card transactions, a senior bureaucrat told Business Standard. According to the bureaucrat, the plan to bring overseas credit cards under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) has not been mothballed and is simply being deferred so that banks get adequate time to get the system up and running. The official expects the reporting mechanism to be ready in the given time, and the rule could be implemented in the next financial year (2024-25, or FY25).
Walmart-owned Flipkart on Thursday said the company is in compliance with Indian laws, including FDI regulations, and will cooperate with the Enforcement Directorate on the notice sent to the e-commerce major. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show cause notice of Rs 10,600 crore to Flipkart and its promoters for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law, official sources said on Thursday. When contacted, Flipkart said it is in compliance with Indian laws and regulations, including FDI regulations.
'One good outcome of Operation Sindoor -- perhaps, its best outcome -- could be that India has resumed meaningful contact directly with Pakistan at the military-to-military level,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The agency has also summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot for questioning in a case related to alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law, official sources said on Thursday.
Searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the anti-money laundering law rose by 86 times while arrests and attachment of assets jumped by around 25 times in the 10 years since 2014 compared to the preceding nine-year period, according to official data.
The searches are in connection with alleged violation of foreign direct investment norms that is linked to an earlier case of revocation of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act licence of the NGO by the Union home ministry in 2010, the ED said.
Seasoned bureaucrat and a stickler for rules Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey will be at the helm of capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for three years. The 1987-batch Odisha-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Pandey, would replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year term ends on Friday.
Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, once hailed as rising stars in India's clean energy sector, are now facing serious regulatory action.
The foreign agency has claimed four accounts held by the Jindals.
Those who consider the rupee as a proxy for virility have started thumping their chests and dreaming of dethroning the dollar from its coveted position, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'He will be remembered more for what he did as finance minister -- as someone who functioned well when the political fallout was taken care of.'
NRIs can repatriate the proceeds from the sale of a residential property in India, provided they meet a few conditions.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) may allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) greater exposure to domestic equities if their investments are sent through foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) registered at the GIFT City International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The proposal will be taken during Sebi's board meeting on Saturday along with other key agenda items such as easing of voluntary delisting mechanism and introduction of a regulatory framework for real estate fractional ownership platforms, said people in the know. At present, the combined holdings of NRIs and OCIs in a global fund have to be less than 50 per cent, while that of a single NRI or OCI is capped at 25 per cent.
'While the current pause offers temporary reprieve and alleviates any immediate legal pressure, the long-term implications remain uncertain.'
The government will initiate fresh action against Walmart if an ongoing 'foreign corrupt practices' probe by US authorities reveals any violation in India by the global retail giant.
"The DMK is not worried a wee bit," he said on the ED searches. Such an action by the ED was 'usual, ordinary and a drama' enacted to divert attention.
Amid domestic traders continuously complaining alleged violations of FDI norms by foreign online players, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the ministry will "very shortly" come out with certain clarifications on the e-commerce sector. Goyal said the ministry is not changing any policy on e-commerce for foreign direct investment as the policy is crystal clear. "We will also come out with the e-commerce policy and whatever clarifications... Certain instances have come to our notice where the policy is not being followed in letter and spirit, we will obviously be clarifying that very shortly," he told reporters in New Delhi.
In her statement given to the police on Friday, Shetty said she did not know about the content of the app, nor did she interfere in her husband's business, police sources said.
The Enforcement Directorate has stepped up its probe into a foreign exchange violation case against former Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi.
'If it doesn't, it will continue with measures to infuse liquidity, signalling a new cycle,' predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'Which fund manager in the world will put money into a company that hasn't filed its annual account?'
If the actor agrees to come and convey his confirmation to the ED officials, than it would be his second round of questioning in FEMA case.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday debarred Ketan Parekh, the stock market operator involved in the stock market scam of 2000, Singapore-based trader Rohit Salgaocar, and one other individual from the securities market for alleged front-running of trades of a United States (US)-based foreign portfolio investor (FPI). The FPI manages around $2.5 trillion worth of funds globally.
Neither the foreign exchange, nor the gold, and certainly not the revaluation reserve should be available for spending by anyone. he revaluation account is simply not money. It is simply an accounting entry, says Rashmin C Sanghvi.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at 44 places across the country in a money laundering investigation against Chinese smartphone manufacturing company Vivo and related firms, officials said. The searches are being carried out under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at locations in several states including in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and others. The agency is conducting searches at 44 places related to Vivo and associated companies, they said.
Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company (IHC), one of the largest sovereign funds that manages assets close to $100 billion, has reaffirmed its support to the Adani Group, saying its outlook on investments in the group remains unchanged despite the US indictment of the conglomerate's founder chairman Gautam Adani. "Our partnership with the Adani Group reflects our confidence in their contributions to the green energy and sustainability sectors," IHC, one of Adani group's key foreign investors, said in a statement.
Front-running is a fraudulent practice where traders exploit advance knowledge of large client orders for personal profit.
As per procedure, the headquarters of the agency have been sealed for 48 hours and are expected to resume operations on Monday, the officials said.
Of the 700-odd Indians having foreign bank accounts, not all can be deemed to be operating these illegally.
Purchase of three plots of land in Haryana in 2005-06 by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra from a real estate agent is being probed along with a land deal made by his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed in a recently filed money laundering case charge sheet.
With a sole mandate of inflation targeting, RBI wears many hats.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in public sector refiners, expanding the scope for FDI in the privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). The approval by the Cabinet will enable the sale of the government's 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL to a foreign buyer, and, at the same time, will open the door for FDI in other public sector companies in the oil sector put up for privatisation.
A potential risk to the rupee's appreciation trajectory lies in the event of a delay in the Federal Reserve's rate cut cycle, particularly if core inflation in the US remains elevated.
India's flexible (flex) office segment, having breached pre-pandemic levels, is thriving as corporates, startups, multinational corporations, and global capability centres (GCCs) expand in India, seeking low-capital yet Grade A plug-and-play facilities. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, the flex office segment continued to grow, with flex space leasing rising by 22 per cent to 2.2 million square feet (msf), according to Colliers.
Delhi-based electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing firm Evera Cabs, which grabbed headlines after acquiring 500 cars from the now-defunct cab service BluSmart, is stepping up its presence in the EV cab segment. The company is aiming for revenue of Rs 100 crore in the ongoing financial year (2025-26), up from Rs 18 crore in 2024-25.
Traders' body CAIT on Wednesday accused e-commerce major Amazon of indulging in serious contraventions of FDI policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act. The body also blamed the online firm for not seeking the government's approval for conducting multi-brand retail activities in India.
The notice, under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, has been issued by the Mumbai office of the agency after its probe found that the group has 'contravened' the law as it failed to comply with Reserve Bank of India norms by not declaring funds generated by some wholly owned subsidiaries the group had raised overseas few years back, according to ED sources.
Days after he became famous after pictures of him with Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi were released, the Enforcement Directorate has filed a fresh First Information Report against Afroz Fatta, who was arrested last month in Surat in connection with an alleged hawala racket to the tune of Rs 700 crore, on money laundering charges.
Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and few others have been booked by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case even as the agency is conducting searches at his premises, officials said on Thursday. They said a criminal case against the former chairman of the airlines has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after taking cognisance of a recent Mumbai Police FIR filed against him.
The Reserve Bank is working on a phased implementation strategy for its own digital currency and is in the process of launching it in wholesale and retail segments in the near future, RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said on Thursday. He said the idea of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is ripe, and many central banks in the world are working towards it. Sankar further said CBDC is needed to protect consumers from the "frightening level of volatility" seen in some of the virtual currencies which have no sovereign backing.