THE FINANCE ACT, 2019
The provisions of section
2 of, and the First Schedule to, the Finance Act, 2018, shall apply in relation
to income-tax for the assessment year or, as the case may be, the financial
year commencing on the 1st day of April, 2019 The interim budget 2019 finance
bill has been assented to by the President on February 21 thereby making it an
Act. This means that the proposals in the Finance bill 2019 including the tax
changes now become law The interim budget had proposed to increase standard
deduction for salaried employees to Rs 50,000 for FY19-20 from Rs 40,000 in
FY18-19 and provide full rebate of tax payable to all those earning upto Rs 5
lakh taxable income starting FY19-20.
To read Act, visit below
link
http://www.egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/198304.pdf
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CBDT SETS UP PANEL TO HELP BRING DOWN TAX LITIGATION
The government is looking
to address taxation-related pain points and cut down the number of tax
litigations while focusing on some of the major issues that may lead to revenue
generation, people familiar with the development said. The Central Board of
Direct Taxes (CBDT) has formed a four-member committee headed by income tax
commissioner Sanjeev Sharma, to look into the matter and submit its final
report and recommendations by mid-March. The committee is looking to tackle the
issue in a two-prong way — addressing some current pain points and recommending
some steps borrowed from international best practices, people in the know said.
Its recommendations could include applying a filter for tax officer before a
notice is issued and setting a time limit for concluding an investigation, they
said. The panel has started inviting recommendations for best international
practices on litigation management. As per government figures, 465,349 cases
related to taxation are pending at various forums Of this, about 1% cases are
high value cases and constitute about 90% of the total tax demand.
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GUEST HOUSE FOR EMPLOYEES A PERK, CANNOT CLAIM GST INPUT
CREDIT RULES ODISHA AAAR
A new ruling by the
Appellate Authority of Advance Ruling (AAAR) can open a Pandora's Box when it
comes to an employer, employee relationship and the nature of perquisites being
provided. The case came up when the National Aluminum Company Limited (NACL), a
manufacturer of aluminum metal, decided to appeal against the ruling pronounced
by the Odisha Authority for Advance Ruling. NACL has townships at Angul,
Damonjodi and Bhubaneswar for its employees and also runs hospitals at
Damanjodi and Angul for its employees along with guest houses for touring
employees and guests. The bone of contention was that NACL wanted to claim
input credit in maintaining hospitals, residential colonies and guest house and
also the upkeep of garden in the residential colonies, mine and office
premises. When the case went to the Odisha Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR),
input credit was disallowed for some activities According to the AAR, inward
supplies received by way of management, repair, renovation for furnishing the
residential colony does not qualify for input tax credit as residential
accommodation is an exempted supply. Input tax credit is also not admissible in
respect of services and goods procured for maintenance of hospitals and
pharmacy outlet as such services, being nil rated also fall under exempt
supplies. Similarly, the service availed in relation to plant & garden in
the residential colony will also not qualify for input tax credit NACL was,
however, entitled to input tax credit of the tax paid on inward supply of input
and input service for maintenance of the guest house, transit house &
training hostel. Also, services availed in relation to plantation and gardening
within the plant area including mining area and the premises of other business
establishments will also qualify for input tax credit. Following the order by
the AAR, the Commissioner (CX &GST, Bhubaneswar) interestingly also
preferred to appeal against the order challenging that the order is not legal
and proper to the extent it has allowed credit for maintenance of guest house,
hostel and service utilized for plantation and gardening within the plant area,
administrative building.
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GST CUT: STATES WARN OF LARGE-SCALE TAX EVASION BY BUILDERS
While there is a general
consensus in the GST Council about the need to give tax relief for the housing
sector to boost demand, a section of it is concerned about large scale tax
evasion by builders and so it wants to ensure that relief should be structured
in such a way that revenue leakage is plugged. The proposed GST rate cut with
denial of input tax credit to builders would come with a condition that
builders must ensure 80% of the inputs are procured from GST-registered
dealers. Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac feels that including capital
goods as inputs would enable developers to meet the condition easily and
opening up a window for them to procure other building materials from
unregistered dealers. This, Isaac argues, could result in lower revenue
collection for the government, and facilitate more evasion. Punjab feels the
fixed formula of taking one-third of the cost of the residential unit as
abatement for the value of land is skewed, as it could deprive some states of
their legitimate revenue. State’s finance minister Manpreet Badal is leant to
have argued that instead of a blanket abatement, a formula could be evolved
linking it to prevailing circle rates.
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END OF ARBITRAGE: UTTAR PRADESH ELIMINATES GST DEFICIT AS
BUSINESSES SHIFT FROM DELHI
While the states’ overall
GST ‘revenue shortfall’ against the assured level has come down from 20% last
year (July-March) to about 10% in April-December period this fiscal, a curious
picture has emerged of neighbouring Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi needed Rs
2,971 crore as GST compensation from the Centre during April-December this
fiscal, more than nine times the amount it received in 2017-18 (July-March);
UP, on the other hand, has totally eliminated its GST shortfall this fiscal
while the deficit was as high as Rs 2,432 crore last year. The stark contrast
between the two states is believed to have resulted from businesses in large
numbers shifting back their offices and warehouses from Delhi to UP as the GST
ended the arbitrage opportunity that existed in the pre-GST period when the tax
(VAT) rates were much lower in Delhi. In pre-GST regime, many companies would
transfer stocks from neighbouring states with 12% VAT to Delhi with typically
5% VAT. This transfer would be shown as inter-branch transaction, and the sale
of the stock from Delhi would attract lower tax. However, with GST making
single tax rate across the country a reality, firms are abandoning the
practice, Vishal Raheja, said. A government official said UP’s success in
eliminating the GST deficit was also due to efficient enforcement measures
especially in rolling out the e-way bill system. Several reports suggested that
the state machinery has been strict in imposing fines on transporters who tried
to evade tax in the state, he added. The northern state was also the first to
implement mandatory radio frequency identification device (RFID) tag for the
e-way bill. Another source said Delhi’s GST revenue slowed down due to
shrinking of the tax base consisting of wholesale dealers. Under the GST
compensation mechanism (which guarantees 14% annual growth over 2015-16 base),
the total revenue to be protected of states and Union territories for FY18 and
FY19 are 42,979 crore and 48,999 crore, respectively.
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VIDEOCON LOAN ROW: CBI LOOKOUT CIRCULARS AGAINST CHANDA
KOCHHAR AND HUSBAND
The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) has issued lookout circulars (LOC) against former ICICI
Bank chief executive and managing director Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak
Kochhar, and Videocon Group's Venugopal Dhoot. The development comes weeks
after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a criminal case against them
for alleged money laundering. At the behest of the CBI, lookout circulars were
issued against Kochhar's husband and Dhoot for all airports last year. They
said the central probe agency had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report
(ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, taking cognizance of a CBI
complaint filed on the matter last month. An ECIR is the ED's equivalent of a
police FIR.
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MAMATA BANERJEE'S GOVT CREATES OWN DRI AND ED
In another case where the
state government has created an institution parallel to a central
government-run one, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has created her
own Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Enforcement (DRI&E). This will
run parallel to the Centre’s DRI and Enforcement Directorate and probe tax
evasion cases, according to a government order. A government notification,
dated February 12, stated that the government had, for long, been considering a
rejig of the indirect tax administration of the state to counter revenue
leakage and tax evasion through intensive and broadbased investigation. The
government also wants to focus on enforcement with a multi-faceted approach. The
state government has created a new Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and
Enforcement (DRI&E) under the Finance Department for comprehensive approach
for investigation and enforcement of tax laws for tackling the menace of tax
evasion and leakage of state revenue in a more efficient and effective manner,
the notification states. Its functions include investigation of cases of tax
evasion and undertaking enforcement measures for the Acts administered mainly
by the Directorate of Commercial Taxes, Directorate of Excise, Directorate of
Registration and Stamp Revenue and Directorate of State Lotteries. The state
DRI&E can investigate cases based on its own information and also cases
referred to it by other revenue directorates or by the state government.
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COMMERCE MINISTRY SETS $50-BN BILATERAL TRADE TARGET WITH
RUSSIA BY 2025
Junior commerce and
industry ministry CR Chaudhary has set an ambitious $50 billion target for
bilateral trade between India and Russia over the next seven years. As of
end-2018, trade between the two countries stood at $30 billion. Our two-way
trade have already crossed the $30- billion mark, which we had set for 2025.
We, therefore, propose that we enhance this to $50 billion by 2025, Chaudhary
said. He also said both the countries are confident of achieving the target. The
minister said by 2030, the country is expected to become the third largest
economy in the world with a huge middleclass. But to reach that position, we
need more and better infrastructure, access to energy, more goods and services
and a modern agriculture sector, he added. Russia is well placed to meet our
needs in these areas as well as others, he said, adding beside businesses,
there is a need for collaboration between the two countries on the education
sector as well. Nearly 22 percent of Russian GDP is coming from SMEs and the
target is to take this to 40 percent. The Indo-Russian collaboration will play
a major role in achieving this, Manturov said. There is a need to curate a
digital bridge between the two economies so that SMEs can benefit from it and
to create awareness about the two nations to promote more technology and
capital transfers, he said.
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SARADA CHIT FUND SCAM: SC JUDGE RECUSES FROM CBI PLEA ALLEGING
OBSTRUCTION BY WB AUTHORITIES
Supreme Court judge,
Justice L Nageswara Rao, Wednesday recused himself from hearing the plea of the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging obstruction in its probe into
the multi-crore Sarada chit fund scam probe by West Bengal authorities. A
three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Rao and
Sanjiv Khanna adjourned the hearing on pleas of the CBI, saying that one of the
judges was not inclined to be part of the bench to hear the matter. Justice Rao
said he had appeared for the state as a lawyer and therefore cannot hear the
case. The bench has now posted the matter for hearing on February 27 before an
appropriate bench of which Justice Rao is not a part.
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JAWANS DON'T GET 'MARTYR STATUS', ANIL AMBANI GETS RS 30,000
CRORE IN MODI'S NEW INDIA: RAHUL GANDHI
Rahul Gandhi on Thursday
said 40 jawans killed in the Pulwama attack are denied the status of martyrs
but the PM gifts Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani for him to live happily ever
after. The Congress led by Gandhi has been accusing the Modi government of
helping the industrialist make a profit of Rs 30,000 crore by helping him get
an offset contract under the Rafale fighter jet deal. The government as well as
Ambani have denied all allegations. He tagged a media report on the Supreme
Court holding Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Communication (RCom), guilty of
contempt of court.
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PAK BANS MUMBAI ATTACK MASTERMIND HAFIZ SAEED'S JUD, ITS
CHARITY WING FIF
Pakistan on Thursday
banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa and its
charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. A spokesman of the Interior Ministry
said that the decision to ban these groups was taken during a meeting of the
National Security Committee (NSC) held at the Prime Minister's Office on
Thursday. It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against
proscribed organisations, the spokesperson said in a statement. It was further
decided that Jamat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation be notified as
proscribed organizations by the Ministry of Interior, he added. The meeting,
chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, reviewed the National Action Plan against
terrorism in detail. Services chiefs and key ministers were in attendance.
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PULWAMA ATTACK: IMPORT DUTY HIKE ON PAKISTANI GOODS HITS
INDIAN TRADERS
The sharp increase in
import duties on all goods from Pakistan last week by India in response to the
Pulwama terror attack has claimed an unintended victim — the Indian importer
Truck loads of cement, dates and some other items from Pakistan are languishing
at the Attari border since February 16 when import duties increased to 200 per
cent by India. Indian importers have paid for these goods mostly, but they find
it impossible to take delivery because of the duty hike. The ban is a welcome
step and in the interest of the nation. But importers should not be made to
suffer. The consignments that are already in India belong here. At least the
ones where the bills-of-entry have been filed should be released without
imposition of 200 per cent duty said Suneed Kochhar,.The 70 trucks that are
parked at Attari, with goods estimated at ₹25 crore, have already
been paid for by importers. The exporters are not willing to take back the
goods and at 200 per cent duty it is not possible for traders to claim it. If
customs officials do not sort out the matter, the Supreme Court will have to decide
on it. The local vendors have filed a case, Kochhar said. The vendors want all
goods that are at Attari and have been paid for to be cleared at the older
rates of duties without imposition of the additional duties. The Federation of
Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has also raised the matter with the Land
Port Authority. In case of many of the consignments, the bill-of-entry was
filed before customs duty was raised. So, ideally the higher customs duties
should not be imposed on it. FIEO has raised the matter with the authorities
and hopefully it should be sorted out soon, Ajay Sahai, FIEO, told.
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PULWAMA ATTACK: IOC WANTS INDIA ISOLATED AFTER PAK SPORTSMEN
DENIED VISA
The International Olympic
Committee (IOC) has suspended all Indian applications to host future events for
denying two Pakistani athletes visas to compete in New Delhi. IOC has also
urged other international sports federations not to stage any competition in
India. The Olympic committee also revoked the Olympic qualification status for
the men's 25m rapid fire event from the New Delhi World Cup due to denial of
visas to the Pakistani shooters in the wake of last week's Pulwama terrorist
attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. This happened in the interest
of the other 500 athletes from 61 countries participating in the other events
who are already in India for their competition. The IOC said the refusal of
visas for competitors went against the principles of the Olympic charter
relating to discrimination and political interference from the host country.
The IOC restricted the withdrawal of recognition as an Olympic qualification
event to the 25m rapid fire pistol competition in which the two Pakistani
athletes were supposed to participate. This happened in the interest of the
other 500 athletes from 61 countries participating in the other events who are
already in India for their competition, the IOC said in a statement after its
executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland Thursday.
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SC DIRECTS CHIEF SECRETARIES, DGPS OF 11 STATES TO TAKE ACTION
AGAINST THE ASSAULT ON KASHMIRIS POST PULWAMA
The Supreme Court Friday
directed chief secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take prompt and necessary
action to prevent incidents of threat, assault and social boycott of Kashmiris
in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. A bench headed by Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi also directed that police officers, who were earlier appointed as
nodal officers to deal with incidents of mob lynching, would be now responsible
to deal with cases of alleged assault on Kashmiris. The bench asked the Union
Ministry of Home Affairs to give wide publicity to nodal officers so that they
can be approached by those facing such incidents. The chief secretaries, the
DGPs and the Delhi Police Commissioner are directed to take prompt and necessary
action to prevent incidents of threat, assault, social boycott etc. against
Kashmiris and other minorities, the bench also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna
said.
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PULWAMA AFTERMATH: CHINA SIGNS OFF ON UNSC STATEMENT NAMING
JAISH-E-MOHAMMED FOR ‘COWARDLY’ ACT
In a clear departure from
its earlier stand, China on Thursday signed off on a United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) statement condemning the Pulwama terror attack. It also named
Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad for the heinous and cowardly
suicide bombing. The changing shift by China is significant as the country
single-handedly blocked the listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global
terrorist at the UN. It blocked three attempts at Pakistan’s behest in 2009,
2016 and 2017. Beijing, however, is yet to yield on Azhar’s listing. France,
which earlier promised India to move a resolution in the UN to put a ban on the
JeM chief, took the lead in issuing the statement, that also included US, UK
and Russia apart from China. It urged all States, in accordance with their
obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions,
to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant
authorities in this regard. While JeM is already a UN-proscribed terrorist
outfit since 2002, it is yet to decide on Azhar’s listing.
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INDIA, SOUTH KOREA SIGN 7 PACTS; TO STEP-UP COOPERATION IN
INFRASTRUCTURE, COMBATING GLOBAL CRIME
India and South Korea
signed seven agreements on Friday to enhance cooperation in key areas,
including infrastructure development, media, start-ups and combating
trans-border and international crime, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
visit to the country. Modi, who is on a two-day visit to South Korea to
strengthen India's strategic ties with the country, was accorded an official
reception at the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the
South Korean President Moon Jae-in here. He also met First lady Kim Jung-sook.
The memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were signed after the two leaders held
constructive talks on enhancing bilateral cooperation in a number of areas
including trade, investment, defence and security.
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PAKISTAN NOT CONCERNED IF INDIA DIVERTS WATER
In response to India's
decision to stop the flow of its share of water from the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej
to Pakistan, Islamabad said that it was not concerned if New Delhi diverted
water of the three eastern rivers Indian's announcement on Thursday comes in
addition to other actions like withdrawal of the most favoured nation (MFN) to
Pakistan and slapping of a 200 per cent duty on all imports from Islamabad in
the wake of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers.
The carnage was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror
outfit. Khawaja Shumail said: We have neither concern nor objection if India
diverts water of eastern rivers and supplies it to its people or uses it for
other purposes, as the IWT (Indus Waters Treaty) allows it do so.
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J&K GOVERNMENT MOVES SC SEEKING TRANSFER OF 7 PAKISTANI
TERRORISTS FROM JAMMU JAIL TO TIHAR
The Jammu and Kashmir
government on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of seven
Pakistani terrorists from Jammu jail to Tihar prison here on grounds that they
were allegedly indoctrinating local prisoners A bench of Justices L N Rao and M
R Shah sought a response from Centre and the Delhi government on the plea.
Jammu and Kashmir government's standing counsel Shoaib Alam said terrorists
belonging to various organisations need to be shifted out of Jammu jail as they
were involved in the indoctrination of local prisoners. If not Tihar, they can
be shifted to other high security prisons in Haryana and Punjab, he said. To
this, the bench said it will hear the matter and asked Alam to ensure that a
copy of the notice is served to the seven terrorists also.
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PAKISTAN ARMY BEGINS PREPARATIONS FOR CONFLICT, TELLS
HOSPITALS TO BE READY
Pakistan has begun
planning its war logistics on its frontiers amid fears of retaliation from
India after the Pulwama terror strike, even as Jaish-e-Muhammed chief Masood
Azhar asked the Imran Khan regime not to make any concessions under pressure
from India. Pakistan army based in Headquarters Quetta Logistics Area (HQLA) in
Quetta Cantonment wrote to Jilani Hospital on February 20 to arrange and plan
for medical support in view of the possibility of a war with India It adds: The
Logistics Area has a comprehensive medical support plan encompassing all
military and civil hospitals in the province. In case of an eventuality besides
bed expansion of military hospital, civil hospitals have already been assigned
the responsibility to reserve and earmark 25% of their bedding capacity for the
injured soldiers.
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NO IMPACT OF SANCTIONS ON S 400 DELIVERY TO INDIA, ARE WORKING
OUT PAYMENT OPTIONS: RUSSIA
There will be no impact of
American financial sanctions on the delivery of the S 400 air defence systems
to India and alternate payment options are being worked out including a
national currency swap, Russia has said. The game changing air defence system
that can take down targets from as far as 300 km is set for delivery by October
next year, a top Russian official said, adding that the sanctions have no
impact on the technical aspects of the deal. However, US sanctions that prevent
financial institutions from dealing with Russian military companies still come
in the way for payments given that banks are unwilling to take a risk. The
Russian side however says that US dollars are no longer the universal currency
for foreign exchange, indicating that other channels are being worked out. We
do not see how the contract will be impacted by the sanctions. The most
important thing is that the transactions systems should start operations as
soon as possible so that we can fulfil our obligations. We are establishing our
own systems for money transaction and there are options like the trade
counterbalance. Also, both Russia and India have solid national currencies,
Anatoly G Punchuk, said.
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FINANCIAL CONDITION OF HAL IS VERY STABLE, SAYS IT IS NOT
INTERESTED IN RAFALE OFFSETS
Asserting that its
financial condition is very stable and that it is not being `ignored’ when it
comes to orders as alleged by the opposition, HAL has said that it is not interested
in the offsets for the Rafale deal and would like to be kept away from the
political controversy around it. R Madhavan said that the profitability of the
company has been growing and the perception that it is being rejected in favour
of private companies is incorrect. We are not ignored. If we were being ignored
we would not be getting the orders, the CMD said in response to a direct
question on allegations by Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Madhavan added that
the company does not want to get into the Rafale fight and we will focus on our
work. Madhavan shared that a proposal for 18 more Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter jets
has been mooted in addition to the 272 already on order and that this would
give additional work to its production lines.
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SUPREME COURT ASKS COA CHIEF RAI, EDULJI TO NOT GO PUBLIC OVER
DIFFERENCES
The Supreme Court Thursday
expressed displeasure over pubic sparring between Committee of Administrators
(CoA) chief Vinod Rai and its member Diana Edulji over certain issues
concerning Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and told them not to go
public over their differences A bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and A M
Sapre also said that they will appoint three more members to the CoA and the
orders to this effect would be passed in chambers. CoA had four members but
after the resignation of historian Ramchandra Guha and banker Bikram Limaye
only two members are now left in CoA. The two-member CoA has been divided on
several matters including the recent controversy involving cricketers Hardik
Pandya and KL Rahul. The top court Thursday appointed retired apex court judge
Justice D K Jain as BCCI's first ombudsman.
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SUNANDA PUSHKAR DEATH CASE: SHASHI THAROOR SEEKS COURT’S
PERMISSION TO TRAVEL ABROAD, HEARING ADJOURNED TO MARCH 7
A Delhi court Thursday
adjourned to March 7 the hearing in Sunanda Pushkar death case against Congress
leader Shashi Tharoor. Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj deferred the matter. During
the hearing, Tharoor moved an application to travel to Behrain and Qatar. The
court directed Delhi police to file reply on his plea. The court had on
February 4 sent the case to Sessions Court for further proceedings since the
offence under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
was triable by a sessions judge.
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UPPSC: CBI REGISTERS PRELIMINARY ENQUIRY TO PROBE NEPOTISM
ALLEGATIONS DURING MAYAWATI RULE
The CBI has registered a
preliminary enquiry against unidentified officials to probe allegations of
nepotism and other irregularities in selections by the Uttar Pradesh Public
Service Commission when Mayawati was chief minister in 2010, officials said.
The selection of officials were at the rank of additional private secretary, they
said. The agency had taken up this enquiry on a complaint by the Uttar Pradesh
government which was referred to it in January. One of the allegations states
that a relative of a public servant was preferred over other eligible
candidates, the officials said.
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JAISH-E-MOHAMMED TO STRIKE AGAIN? INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES ALERT
SECURITY FORCES
Intelligence agencies, on
Thursday, alerted security forces about fresh intercepts on terrorist
organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed planning more attacks like the one on CRPF
(Central Reserve Police Force) convoy in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.
One green colored Scorpio vehicle has been readied by the terrorist
organisation to carry out a fidayeen attack, sources told. Inputs also indicate
of infiltration from across the LoC by terrorists who are likely to get local
Kashmiri youth ready to carry out terror strikes. Tanzeem sources, according to
Zee Media, are presently in receipt of information that a group of five to six
terrorists are ready to infiltrate and is awaiting clearance at locations
across Gurez. Moreover, the intelligence agency has decoded a message on JeM's
social media. The message talks about a 'Khelona' of some kilograms. This
message has been interpreted as an explosive (khelona) which weighs 500
kilograms and shall be used for the attack. According to sources, the message
states that there will be more attacks if the security forces did not stop
targeting the Kashmiris The fight is between you and us. Come and fight. We are
ready. This is just the beginning, the message further states, as quoted by the
media house.
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RCEP: INDIA MOVES TO NARROW DIFFERENCES WITH CHINA ON TARIFF
ELIMINATION IN BALI ROUND
Facing pressure to
finalise its market opening commitments under the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact being negotiated between 16 countries, India
will hold intense bilateral discussions with China on the sidelines of the
ongoing round in Bali to narrow differences on import duty cuts and the
implementation period that both seek under the trade pact. There is a lot of
pressure on India to come to an agreement with China on its offer in goods as
the round will immediately be followed by a trade ministers meet in Cambodia
where RCEP members are keen to come to a resolution on market access. The
Indonesian Minister, who is chairing the round, has already said that
negotiations will be stretched through the night in Bali if needed, a goverment
official told. RCEP, being negotiated between India, China, the 10-member
ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, can potentially result in
the largest free trade bloc in the world covering about 3.5 billion people and
30 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. Apart from goods, the areas
being negotiated include services, investments, intellectual property and
government procurement. India has been holding discussions with China since
January to come to an understanding on the level of import duty cuts it can
promise but differences remain. New Delhi has tried to argue that it will not
be possible for it to offer tariff elimination on more that 72 per cent of the
traded items as apart from agriculture there were a lot of sensitive industrial
goods that needed some protection. China is proving to be a very tough country
to negotiate with as it is unwilling to settle for a figure which is
substantially lower than what India is ready to offer to the ASEAN countries.
This is not possible as India already has a free trade pact with the ASEAN
under which it would anyway be eliminating duties on more than 80 per cent
items. More over, the Indian industry faces stiffer competition from the
Chinese, the official explained. One option that is being discussed is that of
a much longer implementation period for elimination of tariffs for China, but
that may not be enough to give confidence to the Indian industry. Longer
implementation periods are fine but time flies, as we are already experiencing
in terms of our free trade pacts with South Korea, Japan and the ASEAN. In just
about a couple of years, we will have to eliminate duties of all items that we
promised, the official added.
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JEM'S HAND IN PULWAMA ATTACK, PAKISTAN NOT INVOLVED: PERVEZ
MUSHARRAF
Pervez Musharraf has
accepted Jaish-e-Mohammed's role in the terror attack in Pulwama district of
Jammu and Kashmir that claimed lives of over 40 jawans. On Wednesday, Musharraf
expressed grief over the attack and condemned it. He said, It is terrible. We
regret and we condemn it. There is no sympathy that I will have. I was attacked
by a Jaish cadre. I don't think even Imran Khan would have sympathy for
(Jaish). However, Musharraf, firmly maintained that Pakistan had no role in the
attack. Maulana did it, Jaish did it but let us not blame the (Pakistan)
government. There should be a joint investigation team to get the details. And
if the government is involved it will be regrettable, he added. The former PM
while referring to the country's economic crisis also said that The condition
in which Pakistan is, I don't think the government will get into such a
situation. Pervez Musharraf further added that action should be taken against
the banned terror outfit JeM. They should be banned, he said.
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ON TRUMP'S DESK: US VISA REGULATIONS THAT WOULD AFFECT 90,000
H1-B SPOUSES
The White House has
formally received the proposed changes in the existing regulations to end the
work authorisation for certain categories of H-1B foreign work visas. The move
that would impact over 90,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders an overwhelming number
of whom are Indians, was sent by the Department of Homeland Security to the
White House Office of management for Budget on Wednesday, officials said. It's
now for the White House to take a final call on it, before a formal regulation
in this regard could be issued and the Department of Homeland Security can
inform a federal court, where a lawsuit on this issue is pending. Now White
House would carry out its review of the proposed regulation, take inputs from
various agencies, before taking a final call. The entire process could take
from a few weeks to several months. US Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) which manages the programme said the proposed regulation was not final
until the review and comment process was complete. As per the existing process,
once White House gives its nod, the regulation would be published in federal
register with a 30-day comment period. It is only after that the new changes
can come into effect. The Trump administration is moving ahead with its
proposed regulation, despite strong resistance from a group of US lawmakers
including Senator Kamala Harris, and Silicon Valley companies who argue that
this is not only anti-women, but also prevents talented spouses of H-1B visa
holders from working in the United States. Meanwhile, the US Court of Appeals,
District of Columbia has extended the time for various stakeholders, including
the Department of Homeland Security to submit its responses on the lawsuit
against it filed by the organisation Save Jobs USA.
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UNEASE OVER US’ AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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