Friday, 1 January 2016

Daily Updates and News


Direct Tax

Tax appeal before Commissioners must be e-filed: CBDT 

Aiming to reduce the compliance burden, revenue department today said appeals before Income Tax Commissioner should be filed in electronic format by those assessees who e-file their returns. Electronic filing of appeals along with documents, before the CIT (Appeals), will remove human interface, cut paperwork and decrease transaction costs for taxpayers, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said. "It would ensure consistent and error free service as validations will be inbuilt resulting in few   [….] Read more at:



Scrutiny notice to seek specific details from taxpayers: Central Board of Direct Taxes

In order to bring down instances of harassment of taxpayers, CBDT has asked its field offices to make sure the assessment notice should contain details of specific information or documents to be furnished by the assessee. Issuing the instruction, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that while issuing the first notice, the Assessment Officers (AOs) do not convey to assessees the specific compliance requirement like production of accounts and furnishing of documents. "In cases selected for scruti   [….] Read more at:



Company Law
 
CLB can't interfere with enforcement of security interest by secured creditor under SARFAESI Act

Company court has no jurisdiction to issue directions to a securitization co or a secured creditor who has opted to stay outside winding up and invoke its power u/s 13 of SARFAESI ACT to enforce its security interest by sale without intervention of court or tribunal. In Vedica Procon’s case (supra) the aforesaid view was noticed and after considering many judgments in Paragraph 39, the Court approved the view taken in Navalkha and Sons vs. Sri Ramanya Das & Ors., 1969 (3) SCC 537    [….] Read more at:

 
SEBI

Sebi might allow mutual funds sale on e-commerce platforms in a month

Sebi chairman U K Sinha toSebi chairman U K Sinha said sale of mutual funds on e-commerce platforms could become effective in a month, a move which will help deepen the respective market.day said sale of mutual funds on e-commerce platforms could become effective in a month, a move which will help deepen the respective market. The markets regulator has set up a committee under Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to deliberate ways in which electronic means can be used better for s    [….] Read more at:



Sebi turns down Sahara AMC plea to renew portfolio management services

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday rejected Sahara Asset Management Company's plea to renew the portfolio manager licence of the company. Sebi rejected this plea on the grounds that it was not "fit and proper" for this business. The market watchdog in February had cancelled the registration of Sahara Asset Management Company (AMC) as portfolio manager. Subsequently in March Sahara had requested Sebi to reconsider the decision through an    [….] Read more at:



Gold ETFs can invest 20% assets in monetisation scheme: Sebi

Markets regulator Sebi today allowed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to invest up to 20 per cent of their assets in the government's ambitious Gold Monetisation Scheme.  The government, in November, launched gold monetisation scheme to rein in demand for physical gold and contain its import.  Through the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS), gold in any form can be deposited with banks for a period of 1-15 years that will earn interest while redemption will be at the prevailing value at the   [….] Read more at:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/gold-etfs-can-invest-20-assets-in-monetisation-scheme-sebi-115123100816_1.html
 
Sebi issues consultation paper for public issue of REITs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India following the guidelines for public issue of Infrastructure Investment Trusts on Thursday issued similar guidelines for the Real Estate Investment Trusts.   In the consultation paper Sebi has proposed that disclosures in the offer documents and draft papers be kept in the public domain for at least 21 days. The allocation in the public issue to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) is proposed to be capped at 75 per cent. An investment manager can allocate up to    [….] Read more at:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/sebi-issues-consultation-paper-for-public-issue-of-reits-115123100656_1.html
 
RBI

RBI releases Report of the Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion

The Reserve Bank of India has today placed on its website, the Report of the Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion (Chairman: Shri Deepak Mohanty). Comments may please be emailed or sent by post to the Principal Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, Financial Inclusion and Development Department, 10th Floor, Central Office Building, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai- 400001 by January 29, 2016. Background It may be recalled that, taking    [….] Read more at:



SLBC convenor banks to identify below 5,000 population villages for bank branch opening: RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) Convenor banks to identify villages with population above 5,000 without a bank branch of a scheduled commercial bank in their state. RBI said identified villages may be allotted among scheduled commercial banks for opening of branches, whose opening should be completed by March 31, 2017. State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) came into existence under Lead Bank Scheme as per RBI guidelines   [….] Read more at:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/slbc-convenor-banks-to-identify-below-5-000-population-villages-for-bank-branch-opening-rbi-115123100972_1.html
 
RBI modifies norms for credit to overseas subsidiaries of cos

The RBI today modified norms for banks to extend credit facilities to overseas step-down subsidiaries of Indian corporates to finance the projects undertaken abroad.  The Reserve Bank has reviewed its 2007 instructions permitting banks in India to extend funded and/or non-funded credit facilities to step-down subsidiaries of the overseas arms of Indian companies and come out with modified norms.  "Banks may extend funded and/or non-funded credit facilities to the step-down    [….] Read more at:



Miscellaneous Laws/News

HDFC Standard’s FDI proposal among 4 approved

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared four foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals, including ones made by HDFC Standard Life Insurance and Firefly Networks Ltd, worth about Rs. 1,810 crore.Of the four proposals, HDFC Standard Life alone accounted for FDI worth Rs. 1,700 crore, an official who attended the meeting said.The company had approached the FIPB for transfer of its shares currently held by HDFC to Standard Life (Mauritius Holdings)   [….] Read more at:



FDI flow grows by 35% in last 17 months: official

Foreign direct investment into India has grown by 35 per cent in the last 17 months even as across the world it has fallen by 16 per cent, a top Union government official said today. "FDI in India has grown by 35 per cent at a point of time when FDI across the world has fallen by 16 per cent," Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretary Amitabh Kant told reporters here. He said 'Make in India' was launched in end-September last year and since then FDI has grown by 40 per    [….] Read more at:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/fdi-flow-grows-by-35-in-last-17-months-official-115122900639_1.html
 
IRDA allows insurers to continue existing non-compliant Micro-Insurance products till March 31, 2016

The Authority hereby draws attention to Regulation VI under Schedule III of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Micro Insurance) Regulations, 2015; wherein it is mandated that "All the existing Micro Insurance Products that are not in compliance to these regulations shall be withdrawn with effect from 1st January, 2016."
It is observed that since the date of notification only a few products have been filed by the insurance companies till date. Hence to ensure availability of    [….] Read more at:



Govt. notifies Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015

—For the purposes of this section, the expressions "asymmetric crypto system", "computer resource", "digital signature", "electronic form" and "electronic signature" shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in the Information Technology Act, 2000.'. 3. In the principal Act, section 142 shall be numbered as sub-section (1) thereof and after sub-section (1) as so numbered, the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:— "(2) The offence under section 138 sl    [….] Read more at:

http://www.egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2015/167327.pdf
 
Economy & News

Government lays out medium-term debt management strategy 

The government has laid out a medium-term debt management plan aimed at lowering cost of borrowings and expanding the list of eligible investors which would deepen the local sovereign bond market. In a 28-page report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), also the government's debt manager, said the objective of the debt management strategy is to secure government's funding at all times at a lower cost over the medium and long-term while avoiding excessive risks. The central bank said its stress    [….] Read more at:



Core sector shrinks 1.3%, dragged down by sharp decline in steel production 

India's core sector contracted 1.3% in November after expanding for six consecutive months, dragged down by a sharp decline in steel production due to weak demand and imports. The fall in core sector output may curb industrial growth, which reached a five-year high of 9.8% in October. The eight infrastructure sectors that make up the core sector index - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - together have a 38% weightage in the Index of Industri   [….] Read more at:



Government may ask cash-rich PSUs to buy into peers to make up for disinvestment shortfall 

The government, staring at a massive shortfall in its disinvestment target for the year, could ask cash-rich state-run firms to pick up stakes in other public sector companies, a tactic that attracted a lot of flak when it was first employed during the Vajpayee era. Another idea being considered to compensate for the yawning gap in disinvestment receipts is to lean on cash-rich companies to explore share buybacks in which the government could consider tendering its shares, officials familiar    [….] Read more at:

 

Foreign-owned assets in India declines to $886.1 bn in Q2 

Foreign-owned assets in India declined by $11.4 billion to $886.1 billion in the July-September quarter of this fiscal as compared to the second quarter of 2014-15, according to RBI data. This is mainly due to decline in portfolio investments and loans by $13.6 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively. Net claims of non-residents on India slipped by $5.6 billion over the previous quarter to $357.8 billion for the quarter ended September, according to Reserve Bank data on International Investment Positi    [….] Read more at:



September-end scenario: India’s external debt rises 1.7% to $483.2 billion on commercial loans 

India's external debt rose 1.7% to $483.2 billion at the end of September from the level in March due to long-term liabilities, especially commercial borrowings and non-resident Indian deposits. The increase would have been higher than $8 billion if not for valuation gains from the appreciation of the US dollar against the rupee and most major currencies, estimated at $5.7 billion. "Excluding the valuation effect, the increase in debt would have been higher by $13.7 billion at end-September 2015 o   [….] Read more at:


 
 
Wish You a Very Happy New Year,
 Meetesh Shiroya
 
   

 

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