Agra has long been known for the Taj Mahal, but it is also a manufacturing hub filled with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that make everything from electronic components to metal products, from paints and chemicals to footwear. And five years after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the MSMEs here complain that while the indirect tax regime has been transformative, cutting out the need to file multiple taxes, its biggest drawback has been the delay in credit refunds. Whoever you speak to - MSME owners, tax lawyers, or industry bodies like the National Chambers of Industries and Commerce (NCIC), Agra Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber (AFMEC) and Agra Shoe Manufacturers Association (ASMA) - they all emphasise that the GST continues to face some key challenges.
Chanda Kochhar, managing director of ICICI Bank, says the new government must take effective action bringing clarity around tax laws.
Nirmala Sitharaman's messaging was clear when she presented a well-balanced Budget with an eye on state elections in nine states followed by a general election next year, observes Ramesh Menon.
Whether it was the MGNREGS or the NFSA or the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme for cash transfer, the Modi government has built on the basic architecture created by the Singh government. Policy makers in the Modi government, instead of discarding them as products of the previous political regime, worked on them, expanded their scope and reach, and used new tools to improve their performance, explains A K Bhattacharya.
Revenue dept says changes in I-T Act require Parliament nod; new regime to wait till Budget in June-July 2014.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
The tax department will remain a source of endless nightmares for citizens and 'transparent taxation' will remain an empty slogan and a cruel joke, observes Debashis Basu.
Mahesh Padmanabhan, principal advsior, RelaxWithTax, will answer all your tax-related queries in an online chat on February 5, between 2 pm and 3 pm
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
'Investors don't have to worry about underperformance in passive funds, which earn market-equivalent returns.'
'It is necessary to have a person at the top who can make strict decisions without hesitation. Modiji has done that.'
The climate for 'doing business' remains forbidding, taxtortion is still rife, corruption at state and district levels has increased, oil prices remain extortive with high taxation, and the continued red tape has kept the enterprise system as stifled as before, points out Debashis Basu.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
India's economic image is not affected due to Adani Group's recent decision to pull out Rs 20,000 crore FPO (follow-on public offers) amid allegations of financial wrongdoings, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.
Work has to be done on a war footing from now to implement the GST regime.
'That is the one headline the world is reading about India this week, and it is a potentially damaging story...' 'I don't think a panic mentality has set in, but this story is one that investors and market watchers are absolutely seized with.'
New simplified law should be put in place to replace the over four-decade old Income Tax Act and streamline the direct taxation structure, the Economic Survey said.
'The BJP's real weapons are Hindutva, organisation and finance.'
The exemption from MAT does not apply retroactively.
'The promises of netas and babus and new laws, however well-meaning, mean little.' 'What matters is implementation on the ground.' 'Every law is finally implemented by a vast army of offici
Ironically, rival Tamil Nadu governments expend the most on social welfare schemes, especially targeting women and youth and children, but that money comes only by selling more liquor. There is always the specious plea, which has been peddled very many times in the past, that without licensed liquor, drinkers would go after hooch and there could be more hooch tragedies and hooch deaths. No one is convinced, but no one can dispute it either, comments N Sathiya Moorthy.
An analysis of S&P BSE 500 companies suggests that promoters of Indian private-sector companies in particular could end up paying at least 20 per cent more as additional tax on the same dividend income.
Digital commerce operators advertising on global social media, which earlier did not pay Google tax on their operations in Jammu & Kashmir, may now have to cough it up at 6 per cent.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
rediffGURU Hemant Bokil answers your personal finance queries
The Income Tax Department on Wednesday raided the homes and offices of Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap as well as his partners who launched the now shuttered production house Phantom Films, officials said.
Jaitley has managed the difficult feat of sticking to the fiscal correction.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the government decides to go back to the old regime where the EPF was not taxed but the NPS was, the latter will become an unattractive product.
The amendment would help check round-tripping of funds and boost the domestic consumption, Jaitley added
Online companies would look forward to an integrated and uniform approach for tax laws and regulatory policies
India's existing web of federal and state sales taxes is levied at different stages of the supply chain and often results in double taxation, while forcing trucks to spend nearly a quarter of their road time in border checks or other inspections.
Some of the policy measures announced are expected to go a long way in removing current challenges on financing faced by businesses and also increasing economic activity, especially in areas of construction and manufacturing.
The 48-year-old Indian Income Tax Act is set to be replaced by a new Direct Tax Code from April 1, 2011.
The GST Council might on Friday consider taxing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products under the single national GST regime, a move that may require huge compromises by both central and state governments on the revenues they collect from taxing these products. The Council, which comprises central and state finance ministers, in its meeting scheduled in Lucknow on Friday, is also likely to consider extending the time for duty relief on COVID-19 essentials, according to sources in the know of the development. GST is being thought to be a solution for the problem of near-record high petrol and diesel rates in the country, as it would end the cascading effect of tax on tax (state VAT being levied not just on the cost of production but also on the excise duty charged by the Centre on such output).
The compensation would be met through levy of a cess called 'GST Compensation Cess' on luxury items and sin goods like tobacco, for the first five years.
Whatever its apprehensions and concerns about the regime of the Rajapaksa clan, India must be ready with unconditional assistance when Colombo asks for it. Because it will, observes Aditi Phadnis.
As corporate India gears up to be GST-ready, the ongoing litigation and tax dispute cases are something most businesses are cagey about.
The Budget should overall seek to announce tax measures and policies which boost consumption in the economy and facilitate a low interest rate regime. This would certainly have a positive impact on the automobile industry.
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