Sunday, 31 January 2016

Daily Updates and News


Direct Taxes

Atulesh Jindal to take over as new CBDT chairman tomorrow 

Senior Indian Revenue Service officer Atulesh Jindal will tomorrow take charge as the new chairman of the CBDT, the controlling body of the Income Tax department. He will succeed incumbent AK Jain who completes his term today. The appointments committee of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the appointment of Jindal as the next Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes on January 22. Jindal, a 1978 batch IRS officer, is currently working      [….] Read more at:



Significant progress in tax cooperation with India: Swiss government 

As the fight against black money continues, Switzerland has said cooperation with India on tax matters has made significant progress with regular contacts between officials from the two sides. India and Switzerland have been working closely on mutual administrative assistance on tax matters and both sides have expressed their willingness to step up the cooperation. Swiss government has said there has been a regular dialogue at various levels since 2014. These dialogues have contributed to     [….] Read more at:



Mauritius to begin automatic tax information exchange from Sept 2018

Mauritius will start automatic exchange of tax information with other nations only from September 2018, as it has postponed by a year implementation of global common reporting standard on tax matters. The delay could impact Indian authorities' efforts to gather more tax-related information from Mauritius, which is allegedly being used by some entities to route illegal funds into India. Once the standard is in force, there would be stringent measures to curb illicit fund flows, including the     [….] Read more at:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/50793167.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst


Indirect Taxes

Govt. releases integrated Central Excise and Service Tax Audit Manual

It gives me immense pleasure to present this new integrated Central Excise and Service Tax Audit Manual (CESTAM, 2015), which has been approved by Board. 2. As you are aware, the existing Central Excise Audit Manual and Service Tax Audit Manual were last updated in 2008 and 2011 respectively. Over the years the Central Excise and Service Tax statutes have undergone many changes and there have been regular feedback from field formation on the shortcomings in the existing audit manuals    [….] Read more at:


FM Arun Jaitley pushes GST, reassures on back taxes

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday he hoped the opposition Congress party will come round to backing a proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) that it has opposed despite being the first to propose the reform. "I hope they are flexible and see the rationale behind passing GST," Jaitley said in an interview at the Economic Times Global Business Summit. Jaitley reiterated a reassurances that India would not pursue foreign companies with new retroactive tax claims, adding that he     [….] Read more at:

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/fm-arun-jaitley-pushes-gst-reassuresback-taxes_5217541.html?utm_source=ref_article
 
Now Rajasthan VAT dealers have discretion to declare business manager

In exercise of the power conferred by section 99 of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (Act No. 4 of 2003), the State Government hereby makes the following Rules further to amend the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Rules, 2006, namely 1. Short title and commencement. --s(1) These Rules may be called the Rajasthan Value Added Tax (Amendment) Rules, 2016. (2) Provisions of rules 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10 of these amendment Rules shall come into force with effect from     [….] Read more at:



RVAT Last date for Filing Return for FY 14-15 is extended to 29 february 2016

Government of Rajasthan Commercial Taxes Department Notification Jaipur, Dated: January 30, 2016 In exercise of the powers conferred by sub sub-section (3) of section 21 of the Rajasthan Value Added Fax Act, 2003 (Act No. 4 of 2003), 1, Vaibhav Galriya, Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Rajasthan, Jaipur, being of the opinion that it is expedient in the public interest so to do, hereby, extend the date of submission of annual return in Form VAT-10A, for the year 2014-15 required to be furni    [….] Read more at:

http://rajtax.gov.in/vatweb//download/cir_noti/NOCC/due_date_extension.pdf 
 
 
Company Law

INC-23, MGT-14 and INC-1 has been modified

Versions of Forms INC-23 and MGT-14 is modified w.e.f 30th Jan 2016. Stakeholders are requested to plan accordingly.    [….] Read more at:

 
Applications for reservation of name redirected to CRC

All applications for reservation of name (INC-01) has been directed to "Central Registration Centre"(CRC) from 26th Jan 2016, as notified vide the Companies (Incorporation) Amendment Rules 2016, dated 22nd Jan 2016. The operations of CRC has been commenced with effect from 27th Jan 2016.    [….] Read more at:



SEBI

Sebi tightens agri futures norms

In continuation of SEBI circular No CIR/CDMRD/DMP/2/2016 dated January 15, 2016, the following directions are hereby issued with respect to provisions of open position limits for futures contracts on agricultural commodities: (I) Client level - a. Overall position limit for a particular commodity shall be restricted to numerical position limits as mandated from time to time. For the present, the numerical position limits as existing shall be continued. It is clarified that client level position     [….] Read more at:

http://www.sebi.gov.in/cms/sebi_data/attachdocs/1454071477614.pdf
 
Sebi tightens agri futures norms

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday imposed further restrictions on agri-commodities futures. Two weeks ago, the commodity market regulator had restricted open positions in near-month contracts. Now, more restrictions on position limits have been announced with effect from March 1. The latest move follows suspension of castor-seed futures by the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange on Wednesday. Client-level position limit (no client sho     [….] Read more at:



Mutual Funds roll out Aadhaar number facility for investors

To make it easier for investors to buy or sell mutual fund products, fund houses are offering the facility of investing in such products by using the Aadhaar number. The investor can invest online in mutual fund products even if the person is not compliant with Know Your Client (KYC) details. The new service will help investors buy or sell mutual fund (MF) products in a simpler and faster way. The move comes after Sebi issued guidelines to change the existing norms for     [….] Read more at:



RBI

RBI policy, Q3 results key for markets this week

RBI policy review meet on Tuesday and the next batch of quarterly earnings from blue-chips like Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel would set the tone for the stock market this week, say experts. "All eyes will be on the outcome of RBI's policy review; macroeconomic data, next batch of December quarter corporate earnings, sentiments in global markets, movement of rupee against the dollar and crude oil price will dictate the trend," said Vijay Singhania, Founder-Director, Trade Smart Online. The count    [….] Read more at:



Electrosteels: a test case of RBI's SDR scheme

The Strategic Debt Restructuring scheme introduced by the Reserve Bank of India is set to change the managements of the companies which have failed to repay bank loans despite repeated extensions. In a 10-part series, we find out what ails these companies and why Kolkata-based Electrosteel Steels, the first company where lenders invoked the strategic debt restructuring after the Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to take management control of defaulting companies last year, is set to get     [….] Read more at:



Miscellaneous Laws/News
 
Major changes proposed in Consumer Protection Act: Ram Vilas Paswan 

There are some major changes proposed in the Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) to make it easy and user friendly, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today. "The COPRA of 1986 had many flaws and was not viable for the era of e-commerce and hence it required tremendous changes," the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution told reporters here. He said the proposed bill had been with (the) standing committee and soon it would be given green signal as nothing is     [….] Read more at:




Labour Min to trim cos' EPFO coverage threshold to 10 workers 
In a bid to provide social security to additional 50 lakh workers under retirement fund body EPFO, the Labour Ministry has decided to halve the threshold for coverage of firms to 10 workers through an executive order. At present, it is mandatory under the Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act for firms having 20 or more workers to subscribe to social security schemes run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) "The Labour Ministry wants to reduce     [….] Read more at:



Ease of doing business: Government reviews over 50-year-old law 

The government has started reviewing an over 50-year-old law dealing with specific fulfilment of a contract as part of its ease of doing business policy, days after commercial courts were established and arbitration law amended for faster disposal of business disputes. The committee set up by the Legislative Department in the Law Ministry will review the Specific Relief Act, 1963, keeping in mind the present scenario involving contract-based infrastructure, public-private partnerships and     [….] Read more at:


Swaraj pushes for separate market for women entrepreneurs

Union Minister Sushma Swaraj today pitched for a separate market for women entrepreneurs to enhance their incomes and advised them to scale up production of commodities they are selling. If the Centre gets a proper blueprint of production of commodities in large volume, such a market could be developed for thousands of women in the financial capital, she said. She was interacting with over 1,000 women entrepreneurs belonging to dozens of Mahila Bachat Guts     [….] Read more at:



Double-digit growth possible if reforms go on: Panagariya

India is expected to get on to a double-digit growth in the next 2-3 years if reform process continues, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya said today. Besides, he expressed hope that GST will be implemented as both parties concerned broadly agree on the comprehensive indirect tax reforms. "The scope of India to expand is quite considerable as long as our reform process moves in right direction. We have reason to expect that we will, as I have been arguing, in next 2-3 years begin     [….] Read more at:



Govt must invest in infrastructure to drive growth: Birla

Stating that there is a slowdown of private sector investments, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said government needs to invest in infrastructure to set off "virtuous circle" of investment and economic growth. "I think we have some issues to deal with. Clearly, there is slowing down of investment in the economy specially in the private sector and I think to kickstart that investment by the government, infrastructure is something that becomes critical    [….] Read more at:



VW halts production at two German plants

Volkswagen is suspending production at its main gearbox plant as the carmaker grapples with reduced demand and the effects of technical problems at another German site. Europe's largest automaker will halt production in some areas of its factory in Kassel on February 1, February 5 and February 8, a spokesman for the factory said on Friday, confirming a report by regional newspaper Hessische Niedersaechsische Allgemeine. Production at Kassel, where Volkswagen (VW)    [….] Read more at:



Obama calls Brazilian counterpart over spread of Zika virus

US President Barack Obama spoke with his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff to discuss shared concerns over the recent spread of the Zika virus in the Western Hemisphere. "The leaders agreed on the importance of collaborative efforts to deepen our knowledge, advance research, and accelerate work to develop better vaccines and other technologies to control the virus," the White House said after Obama's phone call. Obama and Rousseff agreed to continue to prioritise building     [….] Read more at:



Demand for watches weak; sustaining 8% growth tough: Titan

Jewellery and watches major Titan Company   had a reasonably good festive season in the third quarter as its retail sales, particularly in its diamond segment— Tanishq— grew by 35 percent, says S Subramanian, CFO of the company. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Subramanian says gold jewellery segment is doing well and he foresees positive growth from hereon. Absence of Golden Harvest Scheme in the base quarter aided the company's revenue growth, he adds. However, his demand outlook     [….] Read more at:


Tax expenses, Bonus Act weighed on Q3 earnings: PVR

New bonus act impacted earnings in the third quarter of FY15, Ajay Bijli, Chairman & Managing Director of PVR   said. Tax expenses, in the last quarter, increased to Rs 11.92 crore from Rs 32 lakh year-on-year. Multiplex operator PVR reported a 5.29 percent decline in profit to Rs 29.88 crore while the income rose 19.1 percent to Rs 500.5 crore in Q3 against Rs 420.3 crore in the same period a year ago. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Bijli discusses the third quarter results and forecast for comi     [….] Read more at:



Economy & News

India needs $1 trillion for new roads, ports, airports: Nitin Gadkari 

Terming infrastructure building as a "major challenge", Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the country requires $1 trillion for the development of new roads, ports and airports over the next few years. Upgrading infrastructure is a major challenge for policy makers of the Asia's third largest economy and India needs about $1 trillion (about Rs 67,00,000 crore) for new roads, ports and airports over the next few years, Gadkari said at the inaugural edition of Rajya Sabha Television's new flagship     [….] Read more at:



Prime Minister Modi wants 50% farmers to join Crop Insurance Scheme in 2 years 

Highlighting benefits of the just-announced Crop Insurance Scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said awareness about it should be spread across the country so that at least 50 per cent of the farmers join it within two years. In his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', he also pitched for continued efforts to popularise Khadi and awarness to save the girl child, mentioned about the recently launched 'Start-Up India' programme and talked about the upcoming International Fle   [….] Read more at:



Union Minister Harsh Vardhan urges farmers to adopt improved technologies 

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan today urged farmers and entrepreneurs to adopt improved technologies for cultivation of better varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants to raise their income. Speaking at a Kisan Mela (farmers' fair) organized at CSIR-Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants CSIR-CIMAP in Lucknow, he said this would also help in production of quality raw material demanded by user industries. Stating that medicinal and aromatic plants are the "valuable green wealth     [….] Read more at:



Government sets February 15 deadline to put stuck road projects on track 

The government has set a deadline of February 15 to resolve the issues stalling highway projects worth Rs 30,000 crore, including fund crunch, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said. The remark assumes significance as 14 projects worth Rs 30,000 crore are still stuck despite a marathon meeting of bankers and developers last week to arrive at a solution and with some of these facing termination. "We have set a deadline of 15 days to solve all issues of stuck 14 highway projects worth about     [….] Read more at:



India faces challenges in sticking to fiscal roadmap: S&P 

India will face challenges in sticking to the fiscal consolidation roadmap as the expected revenues may not be fully realised and subsidy cuts may be delayed, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said. "Although we expect the administration to pursue its stated fiscal consolidation programme, we foresee that planned revenues may not fully materialise and subsidy cuts may be delayed," S&P Ratings Services India Sovereign Analyst Kyran Curry told PTI. In the Budget 2015-16 government deviated     [….] Read more at:




Budget, 16

Budget 2016: Income Tax Expectations From Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Budget for 2016-17 on February 29. The salaried class has a lot of expectations from the Budget. Increase in the personal income tax exemption limit and a higher deduction limit on home loan interest are among the common ones, say analysts."Considering the increase in cost of living, the current basic exemption limit of 2.5 lakh should be raised to Rs. 3 lakh. Also going forward increase in basic exemption limit could be linked to the rate of inflation and     [….] Read more at:




Thanks & Regards,
Meetesh Shiroya
 
 
 

 

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