Reserve Bank and the finance ministry on Wednesday asked top management of banks and representative of trade bodies to push exports and import transactions in rupee. It was stressed during a meeting that banks should connect with their foreign counterparts for opening special rupee vastro accounts to facilitate cross-border trade in Indian currency rather than popular mode dollar, sources said. Trade associations and their foreign trading partners should explore opportunities to make use of the framework, sources added.
India's unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end. The time has come for Indian refiners to navigate, creatively, the choppy waters of the post-honeymoon period, and for Indian policymakers to take cognisance of the broader impact on India from the spillover of the Russian crisis - after Washington's warning to transgressors last week. Shipments from Russia to India have averaged over 1.8 million barrels a day since February, according to data from Paris-based market analytics firm Kpler. But much of the crude shipped to India was non-sanctioned because it traded below a price cap set by the US led G-7 nations in December.
This meeting has led to the deferment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting by a day.
The 47th GST Council meeting that is currently underway is slated to discuss a host of issues, including a mechanism for compensating states for revenue loss, tax rate tweaks in some items and relaxed registration norms for small online suppliers. Further, the meeting of the Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, will also clear levying the highest tax of 28 per cent on online games, casinos and horse racing, besides, measures to curb tax evasion, especially devising ways to tackle high-risk taxpayers in GST. "The meeting is being chaired by Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance @nsitharaman and many important decisions are expected to be taken at the meet," PIB Chandigarh tweeted.
The Centre's revenue from GST registered a decline of 10 per cent in 2017-18 compared to revenue of subsumed taxes in 2016-17.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said many countries have evinced interest for bilateral trade in the rupee after the RBI announced a mechanism recently. Speaking at Mindmine Summit 2022, she said this along with other steps taken by the government is towards full capital account convertibility. "It isn't the rouble-rupee which was in the old format. "Now this (bilateral rupee trade) formulation, which I am glad the RBI has come up at a time which was so critical," she said when asked if India is ready for capital account convertibility.
The Madras high court has ordered the winding up of private carrier SpiceJet Limited and directed the official Liquidator attached to the high court to take over its assets, in a plea filed by a Swiss company over unpaid dues. The court was allowing a company petition from Credit Suisse AG, a stock corporation registered under the laws of Switzerland, which prayed for winding up of the Indian firm under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and appoint the Official Liquidator of the high court as the liquidator with all powers under Section 448 of the Companies Act to take charge of SpiceJet's assets, properties, stock in trade and books of accounts. The "respondent company (SpiceJet) has miserably failed to satisfy the three pronged test suggested by the Supreme Court in Mathusudan Govardhandas & Co v Madhu Woollen Industries (P) Ltd, and hence had rendered itself liable to be wound up for its inability to pay its debts under Section 433 (e) of the Companies Act 1956," Justice R Subramanian said in his order on Monday and directed the private carrier be wound up and the official liquidator take over its assets.
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.
Nirmala Sitharaman is proving to be a better finance minister than her initial rookie status might have led people to expect, observes T N Ninan.
The new restriction will be challenging for businesses, as they will have to do regular follow-ups with their suppliers.
Central government employees availing the LTC cash voucher scheme can purchase goods or services in the name of spouse or other family members eligible for LTC fare. The second set of FAQ issued by the Department of Expenditure also clarified that an employee can claim reimbursement for the purchase of goods and services, attracting GST of 12 per cent or more, on or after October 12 even if he/she has not formally exercised the option of availing the scheme.
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.
Can this growth in GST collection be sustained in the coming years? asks A K Bhattacharya.
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.
GST Council extends anti-profiteering authority's tenure, sends rate cut on EVs to fitment panel and also extended the date for filing annual returns under the GST by two months to August 30.
The SET's findings have now been taken on record by the Central Bureau of Investigation which recently raided the 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service officer after it filed an FIR against him for corruption and alleged violation of rules in the raids that took place at the Cordelia cruise berthed at the Mumbai coast on October 2, 2021.
The protocol aims to "democratise" lending, reduce costs of credit, and ensure accessibility of credit to small companies and street vendors, according to Nandan Nilekani.
Lata Ramgobin, who is the daughter of noted rights activists Ela Gandhi and late Mewa Ramgobind, was also refused leave to appeal both the conviction and the sentence by the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
"As on 31.12.2020, the total Air India dues against various Government Departments on account of airfare including dues towards VVIP Operations were Rs 498.17 crore," the GoI said in a written reply in Lok Sabha
The government on October 12 announced the LTC cash voucher scheme under which central government employees can purchase any goods or services with GST rate of 12 per cent or above to avail the benefit.
The Budget emphasises on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers.
Besides urging the Centre for extension of loan moratorium, the hotel and travel industries have also demanded deferment of GST and advance tax payments and waiver of fees for all forthcoming licences and permits.
Banks have been demanding a single centralised registration system, like at present, as they feel multiple registrations would create procedural and compliance problems.
Companies that do not know why they are doing good also do not know why they are failing when they are on a downward slide, notes Baqar Iftikhar Naqvi, founder and CEO, Upriver, a sales accelerator firm.
Experts warn of over-interpreting the numbers and said their sustainability needed to be watched beyond November, says Indivjal Dhasmana.
About 11 entities may be charged in the first charge sheet in the case, the sources said without elaborating on the issue.
E-commerce giant Amazon on Thursday announced a $250 million (about Rs 1,873 crore) fund that will focus on digitising small and medium businesses, and driving innovation in the areas of agri-tech and health-tech in India. "Small and medium sized businesses are often the engine and the lifeblood of economies and I think it's true in India as well. "And we are very passionate about trying to enable acceleration of SMBs in fuelling innovation and the economy in India," Amazon Web Services CEO Andrew Jassy said.
The aim of the exercise was to further simplify GST forms and make the filing process more user-friendly, the finance ministry said in a tweet, reports Dilasha Seth.
GST rate for petrol and diesel cars and hybrid vehicles is already at the highest bracket of 28 per cent plus cess.
The statements of the Mukerjeas were recorded by the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money laundering angle in the case, while the CBI had only recorded Indrani's statement before a magistrate as per section 164 of the CrPC, they said.
A Delhi court Wednesday issued summons to former Union minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in the INX Media money-laundering case on taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against them.
'It is entering growth territory on a month-on-month basis.'
The modus operandi highlighted by CBI says that while the corporate strikes a deal for imports with a company in one country, the billing is done at inflated prices in other country by the group's front company.
All stakeholders in the diamond industry chain from mines to retailers have to follow a system of warranty under which they have to individually declare in the invoices they issue that what they have sold are not conflict diamonds.
"This is completely untrue. Please do not re-circulate such message without checking it with authority," Adhia said.
A government report revealed that fake companies floated with fake addresses, issued fake GST invoices and generated fake e-way bills, with fake vehicle registration details without supplying any goods causing huge loss to the exchequer.
Some states are taking a legal view on the state GST rate and the compensation rules ahead of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting, which is likely to be held in mid-June, said people in the know. While the agenda is still being finalised, several states are likely to take up the matter related to GST compensation and may pitch for its continuation beyond the June 30 deadline. States would like to know how they would divide the compensation collected after June 2022 for payment of principal and interest of compensation shortfall borrowing and arrears to states, sources said.
PSBs have been requested to reach out to MSMEs to provide bill discounting to them against their dues since they suffer the most from shortage of cash.
India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection surged to Rs 1.30 lakh crore in October, the second highest since its implementation in July 2017, indicating economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and impact of festive demand, a finance ministry statement said on Monday. The highest GST collection of Rs 1.41 lakh crore was recorded in April 2021. This is the fourth time in a row when the GST collection was upwards of Rs 1 lakh crore. The collection from GST was Rs 1.17 lakh crore in September, 2021.
The sentence could go up to three years if the evasion exceeds Rs 50 lakh (5 million).