ITR FORMS FOR FY18-19 NOTIFIED: ASK FOR DAYS OF RESIDENCY,
UNLISTED SHARES HOLDING
New income tax return
forms for the last financial year 2018-19 have been notified The return forms
ask for more information from the tax payer as compared to previous year.
Number of days of
residency in India, holding of unlisted shares and mandatory quoting of PAN of
tenant in case of TDS are among the new details required to be filled in by tax
payers.
NEW DETAILS IN REQUIRED IN ITR-1
ITR-1 form will be
applicable to resident individuals only having total income up to Rs 50 lakh
from salary, one house property and sources such as interest income etc. This
ITR form cannot be used by an individual who is either a director of a company
or has invested in unlisted equity shares, as per the notified form. As per the
forms notified by the CBDT, ITR -1 comes with an option of Standard deduction
While filing ITR, the maximum amount of standard deduction that can be claimed
by you is Rs 40,000 for FY 2018-19. In the ITR-1, if you are having a house,
you are required to specify if it is self-occupied, let-out or deemed to
let-out. You will also be required to provide details of income from other
sources this year. This is a departure from the previous year where you were
only required to provide just the income from other sources. Usually, income
from other sources include, interest income from bank account, fixed deposits
etc.
NEW DETAILS REQUIRED IN ITR-2
ITR-2 will be applicable
to individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) not having income from
profits and gains of business or profession. In ITR-2 you will be required to
provide details of your residency status i.e. whether in FY 2018-19 you were
resident, resident but not ordinarily resident or non-resident individual. You
will be required to specify you were in India for 182 days or more during the
previous year [section 6(1)(a)] or You were in India for 60 days or more during
the previous year, and have been in India for 365 days or more within the 4
preceding years [section (6)(1)(c)] [where Explanation 1 is not applicable] If
you were holding shares of an unlisted company, then you will be required to
provide details in ITR-2. The information includes name of the company, PAN,
number of shares held or acquired by you, shares sold by you etc. ITR-4 is
applicable for individuals having total income up to Rs 50 lakhs and having
income from business and profession whose income is computed under section
44AD, 44ADA or 44AE. ITR-4 cannot be used by the individual who is either
director of a company or has invested in unlisted shares.
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CBIC ANALYSIS OF ITR/TDS DATA RECEIVED FROM CBDT SHOWS
POSSIBLE LEAKAGE OF SERVICE TAX REVENUE
As per Central Board of
Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), DG (Systems) has undertaken an analysis of
the Income Tax Returns (ITR)/Tax deducted at Source (TDS) data for FY 2015-16
received from the CBDT with a view to identify possible leakage of Service Tax
revenue and the results were intimated to DGGI and field formations for further
follow up action. Similar exercise has been completed for the ITR/TDS data for
FY 2016-17. As per the analysis it was seen that there is a considerable gap between
the turnover on account of services as per the ITR/TDS data and the value of
services declared in the corresponding Service Tax returns (above threshold of
Rs. 1o lakhs). For FY 2015-16 alone, the mismatch is to the tune of of approx.
Rs. 12 Lakh Crores. The reasons for the mismatch are Permanent Account Numbers
(PANs) that are either not at all registered in Service Tax or PAN’s that are
so registered but have not filed the Service Tax returns. Also there is
mismatch between the turnover declared in the ITR/TDS and the Service Tax
returns which can be attributed to a number of valid reasons such as exempted
or exported services not being declared in the Service Tax returns, missing
Service Tax returns, RCM, services outside the scope of service tax etc. The
CBIC has advised all field units to not to ignore high magnitude of the
mismatch as it could indicate the possibility of revenue leakage which cannot
be ignored.
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WITH ₹3.52 LAKH CR, MUMBAI TOPS IN TAX COLLECTION
FOR FY19
Mumbai has once again
emerged as the top contributor to the exchequer and accounted for 32 per cent
of the overall tax collection in the financial year ended March. Shrugging
aside concern over slower economic growth, the cumulative tax remittance under
various heads, including corporate tax, income tax, fringe benefit tax and
securities transaction tax, was up 17 per cent in FY19 at ₹10.95
lakh crore against ₹9.36 lakh crore logged in FY18. But this is lower than the
targeted amount. Incidentally, Mumbai chipped in close to one-third of the
overall tax collection and its remittance was up 17 per cent in FY19 at ₹3.52
lakh crore (₹3 lakh crore). Delhi ranked a poor second with overall tax
collection of ₹1.60 lakh crore (₹1.29 lakh crore), though
it registered a growth of 25 per cent while Bengaluru’s
contribution was up 18 per cent at ₹1.19 lakh crore (₹1.02
lakh crore). Chennai paid tax of ₹74,000 crore (₹66,000
crore), an increase of 12 per cent. The top four cities’ collection at ₹7.05
lakh crore (₹5.94 lakh crore) last fiscal accounted for 64 per cent of the
overall remittance across India. Despite export growth slowing due to the
ongoing global trade war, the buoyant domestic demand and low inflation have
helped corporates post better financial performance and pay more tax. The tax
paid by corporates in Mumbai at ₹2.36 lakh crore accounted
for 36 per cent of overall corporate tax collection of ₹6.50
lakh crore. Remittance of tax by Delhi corporates more than doubled to ₹1.07
lakh crore (₹52,700 crore) while that of Bengaluru and Chennai was up at ₹64,100
crore (₹55,200 crore) and ₹43,100 crore (₹30,900
crore). Income tax remitted in Mumbai at ₹1.04 lakh crore accounted
for a major chunk of overall collection at ₹4.32 lakh crore.
Similarly, the securities transaction tax paid in the city at ₹11,500
crore was almost equivalent to overall tax collected under this head at ₹11,525
crore.
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TAXMEN USE RARE LAW TO COLLECT DUES DIRECTLY FROM BANK
ACCOUNTS OF EVADERS
Revenue officials, chasing
huge tax collection deficit, are moving into top gear to maximise collections
by year end even if that means deducting money directly from your bank account
to fill a gap of thousands of crores. Combined direct tax and indirect tax
collections of the government may fall short by around Rs 60,000 crore this
year. Insiders point out that the collection pressure is more on the direct tax
department, as the government wants to have a benevolent approach with Goods
and Services collections as most small and medium companies are facing teething
troubles. The taxman is evoking a special provision in the law that allows it
to directly collect dues from banks and debtors of taxpayers. Till now, the
provision was sparingly used and primarily on wilful tax evaders, people in the
know said. In last one month, several letters and notices have been issued to
banks and debtors with a hope of collecting tax dues.;Tax officials are using a
two pronged strategy — freezing and directly deducting money from bank accounts
and collecting money from the taxpayer’s debtors. In the last one month,
several letters have been written to banks and debtors, four people in the know
said. Letters have also been written to banks where individuals suspected of
evading tax, hold bank accounts In most cases, the banks will have to deduct
the money from the holder’s account and pay directly to the income tax
department’s bank account, sources said. Letters have also been written to
debtors of companies and they have been asked to directly deposit the money in
taxman's bank account rather than paying dues to the companies. While there are
provisions in the income tax framework to attach the bank account and ask the
banks to directly pay the money to the tax department, this was rarely used.
These provisions are now being enforced in cases where tax demand has been
raised and the taxpayer has either not appealed against it or has not deposited
the 20% amount required to be deposited if he wants to challenge tax
department's levy in appeals, said Amit Maheshwari. People in the know point
out that in several cases, the dispute with the tax department is ongoing, but
such letters have been issued by the tax department to banks and notices issued
to companies and individuals. However, this is the first time that letters have
been sent to debtors and that has resulted in several companies facing risk to
reputation. Garnishee proceedings mainly refer to a situation where income tax
officer gets a right to attach or collect money from anyone who owes money to
the taxpayer. This means money can be collected from banks where the taxpayer
has an account or a debtor who is set to pay a company for materials or
services. Please note that if you discharge any liability to the assesse after
the receipt of this notice you will personally be liable to me as assessing
officer/ tax recovery officer to the extent of the liability discharged, or to
the extent of the liability of the of the assessee for tax/penalty /interest/
fine whichever is less, a notice issued to one of the debtors of the companies
read. Notices of garnishee proceedings have been issued under section 226 (3)
of the income tax act. The section empowers the tax officer to direct any
person or company, that owes money to the defaulting taxpayer, to pay the
amount directly to the tax department.
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KARNATAKA TO PHYSICALLY VERIFY GST PAYERS
Karnataka commercial taxes
department has directed physical verification of registered taxpayers under
goods and services tax (GST) to ascertain their credentials, potentially
starting ‘inspector raj’ in the new tax regime. This directive could set a
precedence and other states may follow Karnataka’s footsteps. This is being
done to check tax evasion in sensitive commodities. Some of the sectors in
focus include arecanut, cashew, rubber, auto parts, electrical goods,
electronic goods, edible oil, readymade garments, timber, cement and
construction material. Those entities that have generated electronic way
(e-way) bills despite being a non-filer of returns could face such checks.
Entities that have generated a large number of e-way bills compared to average
e-way bills generated during previous periods and those with gap between inward
and outward supply e-way bill should expect such a visit by a tax officer.
There is a need to verify the credentials of the newly registered person by
visiting the business premises to verify the documents uploaded and to record
the geo coordinates of the business concern along with other details, the
directive said. A special IT module has been developed for this.
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GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS CHECK AGAINST CHINESE E-COMM PLAYERS
ESCAPING TAXES
India has started a major
crackdown on online purchases of goods from Chinese e-commerce platforms that
were escaping customs duty and goods and services tax, two people with direct
knowledge of the matter said. After shooting letters to the tax officers and
customs officers, the government is now asking the post office and courier
companies to monitor shipments from China. Up until now, customs department was
asked to undertake strict action, now even post office would be asked to
scrutinise such purchases, said a person aware of the development. The
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) through a
written communication had directed that all ports across India to see if the shipments
were genuine gifts. The government had stopped import of goods through Mumbai
and is now looking to start similar crackdown across India and other ports
including Chennai and Kolkata, said people aware of the development. According
to the people in the know, many Chinese e-commerce platforms were shipping
goods ordered by Indians to various cities claiming these were gifts. As per
the domestic laws, any gifts received by Indians up to Rs 5,000 don’t attract
any taxes. People in the know say that the Chinese retailers such as Club
Factory, AliExpress and Shein were allegedly taking undue advantage of the
exemption from customs duties on gifts of up to Rs 5,000. It is often brought
to the notice that authorised registered couriers are outsourcing activities
without prior permission from or intimation to customs.. and without exercising
necessary due diligence and checks, an official communication by customs
department reads. Investigations revealed that at its peak anywhere around
2,00,000 orders were placed every day through Chinese e-commerce platforms in
India which escaped any form of taxes, which are otherwise applicable on
imports. After a major crackdown, this has now come down to around 1,20,000
orders per day but that too is high and the government wants that all major
ports across India intensify their checks to stop such practices, said a person
with direct knowledge of the matter. Compared to orders delivered by the
Chinese e-commerce players, companies like Flipkart and Amazon record an average
of around 1 million shipments every day.
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GST ON LIQUOR: TWO CONTRADICTORY RULINGS RAISE SCOPE OF
LITIGATION
In a move which could
raise the scope of litigation for alcohol manufacturers, Maharashtra and
Karnataka advance ruling authorities have delivered contradictory ruling on the
levy of goods and services tax (GST) on payments made by breweries to the brand
owners. While the Karnataka Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) has
said such a payment would attract the GST at 18% the Maharashtra Authority for
Advance Ruling (AAR) has ruled just the opposite, saying that this does not
qualify as consideration for any supply and hence, is exempt from GST. The
issue came up with United Breweries filing an application before the Karnataka
AAAR late last year. Around the same time, another brand owner, Allied Blenders
& Distillers approached the Maharashtra AAR. Both the firms wanted clarity
on the applicability of GST on proceeds received from contract bottling units
(CBUs). Sale of alcohol for human consumption is outside GST purview, and only
state-specific taxes are levied on its sale. In the liquor industry, companies
holding registered brands typically enter into licensing agreements with CBUs —
who hold requisite licences under state excise laws — to manufacture liquor for
brand owners. In return, CBUs are paid bottling charges and certain agreed upon
reimbursements such as taxes and expenses. The CBUs sell alcohol at prices
fixed by the brand owner. Further, after reimbursing the CBUs for its expenses
along with a fixed cost, the ‘surplus profit’ is then recovered by the brand
owner. The Karnataka AAR held that the brand owner was providing services to
the CBUs in terms of deploying resources to ensure CBUs manufacture alcohol as
per its specifications. Thus, the ‘surplus profit’ constituted a consideration
for the services which was taxable under the GST at 18%. On the other hand, the
Maharashtra AAR ruled that the brand owner wasn’t engaged in any activity that
can be classified as supply of goods or services to CBUs, which meant that the
proceeds of ‘surplus profit’ wouldn’t attract GST. The entire process can be
seen as the applicant (brand owner) is contracting with the CBUs to get the IMFL
manufactured under their brand name. There is no service rendered by the
applicant in this case, the Maharashtra AAR said.
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WILL CONTINUE TO LOWER TAX RATES, IF VOTED TO POWER: JAITLEY
Arun Jaitley on Thursday
made it clear that if the Modi Government is voted back to power, it will
continue to lower the tax rates He also indicated that GST on cement will be
reduced in the very next round of rate revision I’m quite clear in my mind that
on two issues: at least we had a lot of good fiscal prudence and we brought the
rates down. If we are in power we will continue the same glide path, Jaitley
told. The Narendra Modi-led government has maintained that it did not increase
tax rates even once during its tenure. Also, it claims that fiscal deficit,
despite a small increase, is still manageable. The Finance Minister said
barring one, all other inputs in the real estate sector now have GST at 12 or
18 per cent, while under-construction flats under affordable and other
categories have GST at 1 and 5 per cent respectively. He said the only item
left, that is cement, will soon have lower GST rate. In the last 20-odd months
of the GST, except for cement, that is because of affordability it is only a
matter of time that the last one also comes down, he said. We have come to
7-7.5 per cent (growth rate) range despite the fact that there is no global
boom or support of any kind, and we have stabilised at that, you need to
graduate further, he said. Considering the election season, the Minister also
used the opportunity to answer political queries. When industry wanted to know
what steps would be taken to boost manufacturing if the government is voted
back to power, he said, Wait for a couple of days, when our manifesto comes
out, you may find some of the views expressed in that. Criticising the Congress
over alleged remarks about funding of NYAY (Minimum Income Scheme) through
‘Chor businessman’ he said with this mindset, India can’t work. Our growth
model is that we have to have reforms that are market based, we have to allow
the economy to grow further, expand economy and use the enrichment for poverty
alleviation for providing rural infrastructure and support to poor and
vulnerable. It's only an economy which can afford this is able to provide
relief to poor, he said.
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NOT IN MY NYAY: RAHUL GANDHI DISOWNS SAM PITRODA’S SELFISH
MIDDLE CLASS REMARK
Rahul Gandhi Friday said
that the money wouldn’t be raised from the middle class by increasing taxes for
NYAY scheme, news agency PTI reported. On Thursday, Sam Pitroda had said that
the middle class must not be selfish and prepared to pay more taxes to fund
Congress’ minimum income guarantee scheme. Following his remarks, Congress
appeared to be in major damage control mode, with senior leaders such as P
Chidambaram and Surjewala saying that that is not the party’s stand. I have
already said in a press conference and various interviews: there will be no increase
in the tax burden of the middle class This is our promise, Chidamabram tweeted.
Pitroda had also said that the middle class will have more opportunities and
more jobs and the taxes may go up a little bit if NYAY comes into being. The
middle class should not be selfish and have a big heart, he added. ASam Pitroda
already has been receiving flak on social media for his remarks. Rahul Gandhi
also said that the money would be generated by cutting down on wasteful
government expenditure as also by mobilising additional resources. On raising
funds for NYAY, former finance minister P Chidambaram had recently said that
the scheme would not affect Centre’s fiscal balance. The minimum guaranteed
income scheme announced will be rolled out in phases and will cost about 1.8
per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at any given time subsidies which are
granted to address specific social economic objectives will not be affected, he
also said. Rahul Gandhi had said that 5 crore poor families will be given Rs
72,000 each a year under the scheme if his party is voted to power. As many as
20 per cent of families that are poor and 25 crore people will benefit from the
scheme, he added.
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NIRAV MODI SCAM: GOVERNMENT SEEKS MORE TIME TO FILE PROGRESS
REPORT
The corporate affairs
ministry Thursday sought more time from the NCLT to file the progress report on
the ongoing investigations into Gitanjali Gems along with Nirav Modi companies
involving the Rs 14,000 crore PNB scam case by central law enforcement
agencies. The ministry asked for more time from the National Company Law
Tribunal (NCLT) to submit the progress report on the investigations by the
Enforcement Directorate and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) into
largest financial fraud in the country to date. A two-member bench of VP Singh
and Ravikumar Duraisamy, allowing more time, fixed the matter for further
hearing to April 25. Both Gitanjali Gems' Mehul Choksi and his nephew
diamantaire Nirav Modi are absconding and are facing extradition now. They are
being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light in
February 2018. Modi and Choksi and their families own or control as many as
around 114 companies. He had further said, government was seeking an ex- parte
relief in extraordinary circumstances as most assets owned by Modi and Choksi
are in liquid form and the investigation cannot be taken forward without
attaching and freezing them to prevent alienating as well as creating any third-party
interest on them. Sebi is also looking into the matter and the ministry is also
seeking the help of the Central Board of Direct Taxes to ascertain the assets
of the prime accused and other related parties.
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INDIA MADE AN OFFER TO US TO RESOLVE TRADE ISSUES: SURESH
PRABHU
The commerce ministry,
after consulting various departments like IT and agriculture, has made an offer
to the US to resolve trade issues between the two countries, Suresh Prabhu said
on Wednesday. The US is demanding greater market access for its agricultural,
dairy products and medical devices. Besides, they are seeking reduction in
import duties on certain IT products and increasing their exports to bridge
trade deficit with India. Prabhu said that whatever the US is asking from India
is concerned with different ministries, including IT and agriculture. We have
consulted all the ministries and we have given them an offer the commerce and
industry minister told when asked about the steps being taken to resolve trade
issues with America. However, he did not disclose the details of the offer.
Prabhu said that in the last one year, the US exports to India have increased
by about 48 per cent and it does not include defence purchases made. He also
said that India would like to buy about 1,000 aircraft from the world and the
US could be one of the potential suppliers. Defence purchases and this kind of
procurement is going to change the things dramatically with regard to trade balance,
he added. When asked about the government's plan to send an official delegation
to the US for holding consultations, the minister said: we have not yet
decided.
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REALTORS WANT BANKS TO PASS ON RATE CUT BENEFITS TO BORROWERS
The RBI's decision to cut
the key interest rate will boost housing sales and lift market sentiment,
property developers and consultants said Thursday, even as they urged banks to
pass on the benefits to developers as well as buyers. We expect that banks
(will) further pass down the benefit of the rate cut to the home buyers which
shall further trigger the home buying into actual sales, Niranjan Hiranandani
said. Realtors' apex body CREDAI President Satish Magar said the RBI's rate cut
is a hugely positive sign for the real estate sector. The rate cut is expected
to substantially enhance home buyer sentiments and add further impetus to the
industry's revival, which needed a boost especially post the NBFC crisis. The
EMI burden on homebuyers will also reduce and improve the purchasing power
which is expected to provide a huge stimulus to Indian realty, he added. Jaxay
Shah said the 25 basis points cut in repo rate is on anticipated lines. On the
other hand, lowering of growth forecast is a matter of concern and a wake-up
call to step up capital formation. Anuj Puri said, The RBI has done its part by
slashing the repo rate. The onus is now on the banks to concurrently reduce
home loan rates further, thereby encouraging more fence-sitters to take
purchase decisions and giving another boost to the real estate sector. Shishir
Baijal, hoped that the reduction in rate is passed on by the banks to the home
buyers. Lower interest rates, along with the recent reduction in GST rates for under-construction
properties, should provide the fillip to end user demand. It will generate a
positive consumer sentiment as home loan EMIs are expected to become cheaper.
We hope that the banks pass on the repo rate benefit to consumers and to the
developers to help revive the real estate sector, said Rahul Shah. Sarojini
Ahuja - said the declining interest rates along with new reduced GST rates will
encourage the buyers to buy their dream home.
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COMMERCE MINISTRY FOR ANTI-DUMPING DUTY EXTENSION ON ALUMINUM
ALLOY WHEELS FROM 3 NATIONS
The commerce ministry has
recommended extension of anti-dumping duty on aluminum alloy wheels from China,
Korea and Thailand for another five years to guard domestic manufacturers from
cheap imports. Concluding its second sunset review of anti-dumping probe on
imports of these wheels being exported by these nations, the ministry’s
investigation arm DGTR stated that there is a likelihood of dumping if the
existing anti-dumping duties are allowed to cease. The authority is of the view
that continuation of the duty is required against all these countries on the
tyres, used in motor vehicles, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR)
has said in a notification. It has recommended imposition of definitive
anti-dumping duties on the imports of the subject goods (wheels), originating
in or exported from China, Korea and Thailand for a period of five years.
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TAMIL NADU BYPOLL CONTESTANT DECLARES RS 1.76 LAKH CRORE CASH,
RS 4 LAKH CRORE DEBT
Cash on hand Rs 1.76 lakh
crore and debt of Rs four lakh crore may sound outlandish, but the deliberate
false declaration was made in his affidavit by a candidate for the by-election
to the Perambur assembly segment in Tamil Nadu. The figures, which
sarcastically refer to the notional value of 2G spectrum scam and the debt
burden of the Tamil Nadu government, were mentioned by the son of a freedom
fighter in a bid to expose chinks in the Election Commission's screening
process of the mandatory declaration. The affidavit, a copy of which has been
uploaded in the Election Commission's website, was filed by Jebamani Janata
Party's J Mohanraj, a retired police inspector, along with his nomination for
the by election on April 18. If taken at face value, he would have been the
richest candidate in the entire country. Asked why he made the false
declaration, Mohanraj, son of freedom fighter Jebamani, alleged the 2G Spectrum
case was not properly probed and it was his attempt to draw the attention to
this aspect. On the Rs four lakh crore debt he declared he owed to the World
Bank in the dues column, the 67-year old retired police inspector told PTI it
was a pointer to the Tamil Nadu government's administrative inefficiency, which
resulted in a huge debt burden to the tune of about Rs four lakh crore. In the
2019-20 budget, the Tamil Nadu government had said the outstanding debt by the
end of March 2020 will be Rs 3,97,495.96 crore. Mohanraj, who had declared Rs
1,977 crore as his deposits in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections when he filed his
papers to contest from south Chennai, said he chose to present a fake
declaration for one more purpose. This was done to protect a political bigwig
who had concealed information about his assets while filing nomination from a
Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu, he claimed. Mohanraj said he was tired of
writing to several authorities, including the Election Commission, seeking to
make false declarations a criminal offence. This (by making a false declaration
to draw attention) is my way of working for the betterment of the nation, he
said. The only truth about his declaration was that his spouse had 13
sovereigns gold worth about Rs 2.50 lakh and Rs 20,000 cash on hand. I
mentioned Rs three lakh as jewel loan. But these jewels were auctioned.
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RS 1.80 CRORE CASH SEIZED FROM BJP CANDIDATE'S SON, EX-MLA IN
ARUNACHAL PRADESH
Authorities have seized Rs
1.80 crore in cash from the son of a BJP candidate in Arunchal Pradesh and a
former legislator at a government guest house in East Siang district's Pasighat
town, officials said Wednesday. The money was seized from two vehicles parked
at the guest house, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kanki Darang said,
adding that it was the largest seizure of cash in the state.
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SUBMIT DETAILS OF POLL EXPENSES ON DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, EC
DIRECTS ALL 10 MUZAFFARNAGAR CANDIDATES
Notices have been issued
to all 10 candidates from the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat to provide details
election expenses from April 1, a poll official said Thursday. The notices were
issued by the assistant returning officer in Muzaffarnagar district, Observer
OP Choudhry said. SP-BSP-RLD alliance nominee Ajit Singh and BJP’s Sanjiv
Balyan are among the 10 candidates in the fray in Muzaffarnagar, which goes to
polls in the first-phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 11.
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PM NARENDRA MODI RELEASE POSTPONED
The release of PM Narendra
Modi, a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been postponed. PM Narendra
Modi producer Sandip Ssingh took to Twitter and wrote, This is to confirm, our
film ‘PM Narendra Modi’ is not releasing on 5th April. Will update soon. The
lawyer of the makers told that the release has been delayed because they did
not get the clearance from Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). EC had
sent a letter to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in which it
clarified that the Censor Board has the last word on such matters.
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AKHILESH RIDICULES BJP, ASKS IF MANIFESTO OF ‘ACHHE DIN’ WILL
COME AFTER LOK SABHA POLLS
Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday
poked fun at the BJP by asking if it will release its manifesto of achhe din
after the elections. Vikas puch raha hai Pradhanji ka acche din wala ghoshna
patra kya chunav baad ayega? Is baar toh BJP wale ek-dusre se bhi nahi keh pa
rahe ‘acche din aane wale hain’ toh janata se kya kahenge? (‘Vikas’ is asking
if the prime minister’s manifesto of ‘achhe din’ will come after the polls?
This time even the BJP supporters are not able to say among themselves that
‘acche din’ is coming, so how will they say this to people?) Akhilesh said in a
tweet. The SP chief also said that countdown of the BJP has started. Akhilesh
is using hashtag #VikasPoochhRahaHai in his tweets to attack Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on his development claims.
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AG'S CONTEMPT PLEA AGAINST PRASHANT BHUSHAN: SC TO HEAR MATTER
IN JULY
The Supreme Court Thursday
said it will hear in July a contempt plea against lawyer Prashant Bhushan for
tweeting that the government had perhaps submitted to the apex court fabricated
documents of the high-powered selection panel on the appointment of interim CBI
chief. The plea was filed by Attorney General (AG) K K Venugopal against the
lawyer activist for his February 1 tweets. The matter came up for hearing
before a bench of justices Arun Mishra and Navin Sinha and the court said it
would hear the case in July since both Venugopal and Bhushan were arguing in
another matter before a Constitution bench. On March 7, Bhushan had admitted in
the apex court his genuine mistake in his tweets, but had refused to tender an
unconditional apology for seeking recusal of Justice Mishra from hearing the
matter. Bhushan in his tweets had said that the Centre appeared to have misled
the top court and perhaps submitted fabricated minutes of the meeting of the
high-powered selection committee, headed by the prime minister, in a matter
related to the appointment of M Nageswara Rao as then interim CBI director. He
had also reiterated that he does not want any punishment for Bhushan in the
case and the court should deal with the larger issue of whether lawyers and
litigants can criticise the court proceedings in a matter, which is sub-judice,
to influence public opinion. However, the bench had told Venugopal, You may or
may not withdraw the petition against him (Bhushan) but you have raised a
question and we will decide it.
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IF VOTED TO POWER, NC WILL REVIEW CASES AGAINST J&K YOUTH:
OMAR ABDULLAH
Omar Abdullah Thursday
said cases registered against Jammu and Kashmir youth since 2015, after the
PDP-BJP alliance came to power in the state, would be reviewed and the FIRs
cancelled if his party is voted to power. Abdullah said he wanted to create an
atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir where people could talk freely. There are cases
against our youth under which they are called to police stations even today.
The NC government will review each case, one by one, registered against our
youth right since 2015 and especially of 2016 (unrest) and afterwards and
cancel their FIRs so that our youth are set free, he said. He said the NC is
the only party which can safeguard Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
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DELHI GOVT APPROVES POLICY ON REMOVAL OF UNAUTHORISED
ADVERTISEMENTS, HOARDINGS
Delhi's Urban Development
Department has prepared a policy on the removal of unauthorised advertisements
and hoardings under the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007,
according to an official statement. Under the policy, defacement is of four
types -- posters, banners, wall graffiti and illegal hoardings/flexes/digital
banners. In compliance of the orders of the Delhi High Court, a committee of
the officers was constituted to frame a policy with the object of ensuring
cleanliness of public places and especially to maintain public property as the
provisions of Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007, the
statement stated. The competent authority has also given compounding powers to
the five urban local bodies. Existing defacements as per the Act are to be
removed in a special drive by the urban local bodies within 24 hours.
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OVER 1.25 LAKH IN AHMEDABAD AWAITING INCLUSION IN VOTERS LIST:
PIL
A public interest
litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Gujarat High Court seeking a direction
to the Election Commission (EC) and state's chief electoral officer to ensure
inclusion of names of persons in the electoral roll who have completed the
formalities for registration as a voter, as well as of those whose names have
been deleted from the voters list of their relevant constituencies. The petitioner,
advocate KR Koshti, has claimed before the court that there are more than 1.25
lakh voters awaiting registration of their names in the electoral rolls in
Ahmedabad city alone. Koshti claimed that EC announced the general elections on
March 10 and in its announcement clarified that the process of continuous
updation of electoral rolls will continue till the last date of filing
nominations, which is April 4. When the PIL came up for hearing on Wednesday,
the division bench of Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav
directed the petitioner to serve a copy of the petition to the election
commission. Further hearing in the case has been scheduled on Thursday by the
division bench.
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‘LEADERSHIP WILL NOT COME FROM BEING BORN IN A PARTICULAR
FAMILY’
If Rahul Gandhi wants to
contest from Wayanad or somewhere else, he is free to do so, said SM Krishna. He
said, For example, I requested Sonia Gandhi to come and contest from Ballari.
Now in what voice can I say Rahul Gandhi should not do that? Krishna said,
Leadership will not come from being born into a particular family and I was not
supportive of dynastic politics. This drove me away from this party. After
Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi was a different breed who learned from his mistakes
quickly and delivered for the country many good policies, Krishna said. Thanks
to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the dynastic culture may come to
an end in India. Modi does not support this family rule and neither do I, he
said. The former Karnataka Chief Minister claimed that the country did not hear
about any corruption at the national level in the last five years. Modi has
provided a corruption-free and scam-free government at the Centre, he said.
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HIGH COURT IMPOSES PENALTY ON I T DEPTT. FOR HARASSING
ASSESSEE BY ILLEGALLY ATTACHING BANK
International Ltd. Vs.
B.R. Balkrishnan, 251 ITR 158
MMRDA Vs. Deputy DIT
(Exemption) (2015) 230 Taxman 178
In the instant case, a
Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India was filed by the
assessee seeking inter alia quashing of order of provisional attachment u/s
281B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 Act (the Act) passed by the Assessing Officer
(AO) setting aside of notice issued under section 226(3) of the Act, attaching
Petitioner’s bank accounts. The Petitioner was a trust established under the
Indian Trusts Act, 1882. The Petitioner had been granted a certificate of
registration by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as Venture
Capital Fund making the Petitioner eligible for exemption u/s 10 (23FB) of the
Act while computing its taxable income. For the subject Assessment Year, the
Petitioner filed its return of income claiming exemption under Section 10(23FB)
of the Act and also exemption of dividend income earned from mutual funds under
Section 10(35) of the Act. This return of income was accepted under Section
143(1) of the Act. Later, the Assessing Officer issued a notice u/s 148 of the
Act and the Petitioner’s assessment was taken up for scrutiny, to examine the
Petitioner’s claim for exemption under Section 10(23FB) of the Act; However,
during the course of the scrutiny assessment proceedings, the AO passed an order
u/s 281B without notice to the Petitioner for provisional attachment u/s of the
Act, attaching the Petitioner’s Bank Account. Subsequently, the AO issued
notices under Section 226(3) of the Act to the Petitioner’s Bankers requesting
to pay the amounts available towards income tax demands. On objection by the
Petitioner that there was no amount due from the Petitioner when the notice was
issued, the AO issued a corrigendum substituting the words ‘demand has fallen
due’ with the words ‘demand is to be fallen due’; The Petitioner immediately
preferred an appeal to the CIT(A) and also applied to AO u/s 220(6) of the Act,
seeking a stay of the demand. However, the Assessing Officer rejected the
Petitioner’s application for stay pending disposal of its appeal by the CIT(A).
The Petitioner then made a representation to the Pr. CIT, seeking a complete
stay of the outstanding demand. After that, the Petitioner received an
order/notice from the Assessing Officer seeking to adjust the refund against
the demand. It was at this stage that the Petitioner had filed the aid Petition
before the Hon’ble High Court. The Hon’ble court opined that on the above
ground itself, the impugned order of the AO and that of Pr. CIT were
unsustainable. The Hon’ble High Court noted that the eligibility of the
Petitioner for claim under Section 10(23FB) stood concluded in its favour by
orders of the CIT(A) and ITAT for different Assessment years. However the AO
refused to follow the same on the ground that the orders were subject matters
of further appeal before a higher forum by the Department. The Hon’ble High
Court expressed that normally, on setting aside the orders under Section 220(6)
of the Act, it restore the application to the Authorities for fresh
consideration in accordance with law. However, looking at the conduct of the
Assessing Officer and Pr. CIT, restoring the stay application to them for fresh
disposal would not serve any purpose. The Hon’ble High Court strongly expressed
its dismay at the conduct of the Officers of the Revenue in the matter. The
Hon’ble High Court stated that the least that is expected of the Officers of
the State is to apply the law equally to all and not be over zealous in seeking
to collect the revenue ignoring the statutory provisions as well as the binding
decisions of this Court. The Hon’ble High Court opined that the action of the
AO and Pr. CIT indicated that they applied a separate set of rules in the case
of the Petitioner and the Petitioner was being singled out for this unfair
treatment.
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SC TO HEAR LALU YADAV'S BAIL PLEA ON APRIL 10, ASKS CBI TO
FILE REPLY
The Supreme Court Friday
said it will hear on April 10 a plea of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav seeking
bail in three cases related to the multi-crore-rupee fodder scam, in which he
has been convicted. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the CBI to file
reply by April 9 and said Yadav's bail plea will be taken up for hearing next
Wednesday.
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SETTLEMENT SCHEME IS BOON FOR TAXPAYERS: CA SHAILENDRA JAIN
CA Shailendra Jain, an
eminent faculty on the subject while addressing the gathering said that
Government of Maharashtra has brought in the settlement scheme to clear all the
unresolved disputes during pre-GST era right since BST and MVAT Act. He
elaborated the various benefits covered in the scheme. To understand salient
features of Maharashtra Settlement of Arrears of Tax, Interest, Penalty or Late
Fee Ordinance, 2019 and its procedural aspects related to various Acts
administered by the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Department, the seminar
has been organized by Nagpur Branch of WIRC of ICAI for its members. He
mentioned that: Soul of the settlement scheme is disputed taxes Jain informed
that Government had brought in the scheme for two different periods. One is for
disputes arising prior to March 31, 2010 and other is for disputes arising
after March 31, 2010. Time limit for payment and duration of submission of application
under first phase of the scheme is between April 1, 2019 and June 30, 2019.
Under, the second phase, it is from July 1, 2019 and July 31, 2019. Taxes to be
paid under the scheme is 100 per cent of undisputed amount and for disputed
amount it varies according to phases and period of dispute. Jain further shared
that application should be made to designated authority in prescribed format,
in Form 1, if dispute is arising against any statutory order and in Form 1A, in
any other case. To meet the challenges of GST and focus on its implementation,
the Department is planning to complete the pending work under the existing laws
at earliest. For this, the Government, has taken series of legislative steps
like risk based criteria for selection of cases for assessment, criteria for
dropping of certain pending assessment proceedings, allowing rectification of
the assessment order where set off is disallowed due to non-confirmation etc.,
he said. CA Suren Duragkar, Chairman of Nagpur Branch welcomed all the delegates
and assured all the members that representation would be made to the concerned
authority for easing out the ordinance to pass on the benefits of the scheme to
masses. He requested all the members to propagate the scheme to the fullest,
being last opportunity to clear old cases. CA Abhijit Kelkar, Regional Council
Member said, the Ordinance can be successful with the help of professionals and
elaborated the need for such schemes by the Government from time to time.
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PAKISTAN YET TO RESPOND TO INDIA’S CONCERNS ON KARTARPUR
PROJECT: GOVT
India is awaiting
clarifications from Islamabad on the opening up of a land crossing to allow
Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Narowal district
of Pakistan’s Punjab province, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday.
Indian Sikh pilgrims have been asking for the opening of the corridor for
decades, given that the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is the place where Guru Nanak
spent the last years of his life. While India and Pakistan held one round of
talks in Attari on 14 March, a second round to be held on 2 April was called
off last Friday. There are several points of divergence, including the number
of pilgrims that each side aims to accommodate, whether they would travel as
individuals or in groups, the number of days the corridor would remain open in
a week, and the documents that could be used for travel. On Thursday, Indian
foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said: We are yet to get a response
from Pakistan on the association of the Khalistan supporters in the Kartarpur
committee, as well as on the other clarifications sought.
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NATIONAL HERALD CASE: SC STAYS DELHI HIGH COURT'S ORDER ON
HERALD HOUSE EVICTION
In a relief to Gandhis in
the National Herald case, Supreme Court stayed Delhi High Court order of
February 28 which ordered vacation of 'Herald House' in Delhi that has National
Herald office. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has also issued
notice to Land and Development Office on an appeal of Associated Journal (AJL)
against the High Court order. AJL is owned by Young India (YI), in which
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are majority
shareholders. On December 21 last year, the Delhi High Court’s single bench had
dismissed the petition filed by the AJL, challenging the Centre’s decision to
cancel its lease and vacate the Herald House. The Centre, in its eviction order
passed on October 30 last year, had mentioned the violation of lease conditions
by the AJL and had said that the Herald House’s 56-year-old lease to the AJL
had ended.
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INDIA SUFFERED IMMENSELY UNDER CONGRESS' EMERGENCY, BJP'S
UNDECLARED EMERGENCY: BSP CHIEF
BSP supremo Mayawati on
Friday accused both the Congress and the BJP of making the life of the people
in the country miserable. India suffered immensely under the Emergency imposed
by the Cong govt of Indira Gandhi but the undeclared political & economic
emergency of NOTEBANDI has made the lives of 130 crore people miserable causing
huge unemployment. They now eagerly await to get rid of this BJP govt (sic),
she said in a tweet. With the tweet, Mayawati is understood to have given a
message to party cadre to maintain equal distance from both the Congress and
the BJP.
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KERALA FLOODS: STATE GOVERNMENT FAILED IN USING DAMS FOR FLOOD
CONTROL, NORMS FLOUTED, AMICUS CURIAE INFORMS HIGH COURT
The Kerala floods are now
back in the spotlight after the amicus curiae Jacob P Alex submitted a detailed
report on the impact of floods to the Kerala High Court on Wednesday. In the
49-page-report, amicus curiae Jacob P Alex, raised a serious concern that none
of the 79 dams in Kerala were used or operated for the purpose of flood control
or moderation despite the obligation to do so as per the National Water Policy,
National Disaster Management Authority guidelines related to floods. It may be
noted that the state has 79 dams and reservoirs that come under the control of
the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Irrigation Department of the
state. Also, the amicus curiae report indicates that the dams did not have any
Emergency Action Plans as required Even basic safety alerts had not been issued
as per norms, the report conveyed. Whether follow up action was taken in a
timely manner needs to be probed, the amicus curiae report stated. Further, the
amicus curiae report states the details given in the counter affidavits
indicate clearly that dams in Kerala had not maintained Effective Flood Control
zone and the flood cushion as maintained is not as per the norms that are meant
to be followed. Had the proper flood cushion or flood control zone been
maintained, to what extent the floods could have been mitigated or whether the
water release could not have avoided the flood event, is a matter of enquiry,
the amicus curiae report stated. On its part, the state government’s counter
affidavit stated that such ‘extremely heavy rain’ had not been predicted by IMD
for the months June, July and August. The counter affidavit further states that
though the dams in the state are not flood control dams, flood cushions are
provided to regulate the flood water in the reservoir. This term ‘flood
cushion’ refers to the difference between the FRL and final warning level.
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ETHIOPIAN CREW FOLLOWED BOEING PROCEDURES, SAYS FIRST OFFICIAL
CRASH REPORT
The crew of the Ethiopian
Airlines plane that crashed last month killing 157 people, repeatedly followed
procedures recommended by Boeing, but were unable to regain control of the jet,
the Ethiopian transport minister said Thursday. The crew performed all the
procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control
the aircraft, said Dagmawit Moges, unveiling results of the preliminiary probe
into the crash. She said the report recommends the aircraft flight control
system shall be reviewed by the manufacturer.
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UAE CONFERS HIGHEST HONOUR ON PM MODI
The United Arab Emirates
has decided to confer the Zayed Medal on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his
pivotal role in transforming the India-UAE relationship. We have historical and
comprehensive strategic ties with India, reinforced by the pivotal role of my
dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave these relations a big
boost. According to a report, the Zayed Medal is the UAE's highest decoration,
awarded to kings, presidents and heads of states. The award comes in
appreciation of Modi's role in consolidating the long-standing friendship and
joint strategic cooperation between the two countries, according to the report.
By granting our dear friend the Indian Prime Minister the Zayed Medal, we
express our appreciation for his role and efforts in developing friendly
relations and extending bridges of cooperation between the UAE and the Republic
of India in various fields, the paper quoted Sheikh Mohamed as saying.
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NEW ZEALAND POLICE SAY CHRISTCHURCH ACCUSED TO FACE 50 MURDER
CHARGES
The Australian man accused
of killing 50 Muslim worshippers in gun attacks on two mosques in Christchurch
will face 50 murder charges and 39 attempted murder charges when he appears in
court on Friday, New Zealand police said. Other charges are still under
consideration, police said in a statement. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a
suspected white supremacist, was previously charged with only one murder
following the attack and has been remanded without a plea. A High Court judge
said in court minutes this week that the appearance would largely be procedural
and that Tarrant would not be required to enter a plea to the charges he faced.
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CARLOS GHOSN ARRESTED AGAIN ON NEW CHARGES, SAYS HE 'WILL NOT
BE BROKEN'
The drama surrounding
fallen auto executive Carlos Ghosn erupted again, with Japanese prosecutors
rearresting him on fresh allegations that he used millions of dollars from
Nissan Motor Co. for his own purposes. Authorities showed up at Ghosn’s Tokyo
apartment shortly before 6 a.m. on Thursday to detain him on suspicion of
aggravated breach of trust, using company money funneled through an
intermediary for personal purposes, prosecutors said in a statement. They’re
the most serious charges yet against Ghosn, who had been free on bail for less
than a month. My arrest this morning is outrageous and arbitrary, Ghosn said in
a statement. It is part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to
silence me by misleading the prosecutors. Why arrest me except to try to break
me? I will not be broken. Ghosn was arrested because of the risk of flight and
destruction of evidence, Shin Kukimoto, said at a briefing. Ghosn was released
on March 6 on bail of 1 billion yen ($9 million) and on condition that he
remain in Japan and be monitored.
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15TH FINANCE COMMISSION HOLDS HIGH LEVEL DISCUSSIONS ON
‘FISCAL RELATIONS ACROSS LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT’
The 15th Finance
Commission held a high level roundtable on ‘Fiscal Relations across levels of government’.
The roundtable is being organised in partnership with the World Bank, OECD and
ADB. The Chairman set the tone of the discussions by briefly elaborating on the
four technical sessions of the meeting:
o Sub-national debt
o Transfer design incentives
and fiscal equalization.
o Sub-national budget and
Public financial management system, and
o Finances of third-tier
of Government.
The discussions were about
the findings coming out of the research work and analysis done by their teams
Sub-national debt, fiscal
rules and sustainability
· One of the Terms of
Reference made to this Finance Commission is to review the current level of
debt of the Union and the States and recommend a fiscal consolidation roadmap
for sound fiscal management.
· As per the amended FRBM
Act, the Central Government shall take appropriate steps to ensure that:
o The general government
debt does not exceed 60%;
o The Central Government
debt does not exceed 40% of GDP by the end of FY 2024-25.
· The Central Government
debt is estimated at 48.9 per cent as a percentage of GDP for 2018-19. It is
expected that Central Government liabilities will come down to 47.3 per cent of
GDP in 2019-20 (As per Budget 2019-2020).
· The outstanding
liabilities of the State Governments stands at 23.4 per cent of GSDP at
end-March 2017, with a range of 46.3 per cent in Punjab and 15.1 per cent in
Chhattisgarh (as the RBI Study on State Budgets).
· These developments have
posed an important and challenging task for the Commission to arrive at a roadmap
for Commission’s award period from 2020 to 2025.
Public Financial Management
· Reforms in PFM systems
are a continuous process. Previous Finance Commissions recommended on various
aspects of PFM systems of both Union and States with focus on budgetary and
accounting processes, financial reporting, etc.
· Pace of implementation
of such reforms have been slow. Possible causes may be lack of institutional
framework to operationalize and implement these recommendations either at Union
level or State level, and others likely reasons were discussed.
Revenue generation in
third-tier of government
The discussions centered around how to make
the 3rd tier self sufficient specially now when the GST has subsumed many taxes
which earlier used to generate revenue for them.
· Raising own revenue by
the third tier of the government is a serious concern for India’s decentralised
administrative structure.
· One of the major sources
of raising revenue is property taxation by local bodies.
· Some local bodies have
attempted different models to streamline and systematize property collection
within their jurisdiction. However, very few have been successful in improving
revenue collection through property taxes.
· The reforms required in
this field, global practices, ways to help local governments to raise their own
revenue through the scheme of devolution, grants, and others were discussed.
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ANNUAL INDO-RUSSIAN FORUM FOR MEDIA COOPERATION PROPOSED
It was mutually agreed
during the meeting that an Annual Indo-Russian Forum for Media Cooperation be
organized alternately in India and Russia in order to institutionalize the
process of cooperation between the two countries in the media and entertainment
sector. Television, news agencies, digital distribution platforms, new media,
news gathering, co-production of programmes, sharing of content and exchange of
professionals were identified as possible areas of collaboration. The need to
forge strong connections between the young journalists of the two countries was
also highlighted in the meeting.
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FTA IS KEY TO RESOLVING INDIA-US TRADE DISPUTES, SAYS ADVOCACY
GROUP
A free trade agreement
between India and the US is a key to resolving their trade disputes as it will
cover biggest irritants in ties including tariffs and mobility of Indian
professionals, a top American business advocacy group has said. Observing that
the relationship between India and the US in the last five years has progressed
tremendously the advocacy group said the interest of the two largest
democracies of the world are much more aligned than ever. The challenge which
we have is that we need to work out a trade deal And when you look forward next
five years, I believe India should sign an FTA with the US. Once you have FTA,
all this issue of tariffs will go away, Mukesh Aghi, told. An India-US FTA, he
observed, would be able to address the Indian concerns over import of Chinese
goods. Because we are concerned about Chinese goods coming to India, that under
WTO guidelines, everything with the FTA, India can put as much tariff, it has
no impact on US tariffs itself, he said. The FTA once signed should have what I
call mobility on H-1B. You give FTA partner more exception, he said adding that
going forward the two countries need to be creative and bold and drive this
relationship on a path where there's much more better understanding on the
trade side. It provides mobility to Indian professionals who could come into US
and work. It provides almost zero tariff for US goods coming into India. I
think this has to be a bold move on part of the new government whoever comes
in, Aghi said.
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US MAGAZINE REPORT 'CONTRADICTS' INDIA'S CLAIM OF SHOOTING
DOWN PAK'S F-16
A US count of the F-16s
with Pakistan has found that none of them are missing and all the fighter
planes were present and accounted for, according to a report in a prominent
American magazine. The finding by the US on the ground in Pakistan directly
contradicts India's claim that its air force shot down an F-16 fighter jet
during an aerial dogfight on February 27. The Indian Air Force on February 28
displayed pieces of the AMRAAM missile, fired by a Pakistani F-16, as evidence
to conclusively prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets
during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir.
Pakistan had categorically said that no F-16 fighter jets were used and denied
that one of its planes had been downed by the IAF. According to the Foreign
Policy magazine, Pakistan invited the United States to physically count its
F-16 planes after the incident as part of an end-user agreement signed when the
foreign military sale was finalised. As details come out, it looks worse and
worse for the Indians, MIT professor Vipin Narang told Foreign Policy magazine.
It looks increasingly like India failed to impose significant costs on
Pakistan, but lost a plane and a helicopter of its own in the process, he said.
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IT’S HCL’S TURN TO FACE A SUIT FOR ALLEGED HIRING BIAS IN US
Technologies alleging
discrimination in its hiring practices, the latest in a series of such legal
action against Indian IT companies and just months after it filed another case
on behalf of a former HCL employee. The suit, filed by Kotchen & Low,
alleges the company failed to hire Gregory Handloser due to its ‘systematic and
continuous discriminatory scheme’, although he was considered for employment
with HCL Tech five times between 2017 and 2018. On October 19, 2017, Mr
Handloser spoke with former colleague Ralph Billington, associate
vice-president at HCL, about a sales position with HCL’s UTC Aerospace Systems
account, for which he was the hiring manager, according to the suit, filed in
the Northern District of California - San Jose division, last month. According
to the lawsuit, while the exact number of class members is unknown to the
plaintiff, it is believed to be in the thousands and that class members are
readily identifiable from information and records in HCL’s possession. In
August, Kotchen & Low had filed a case against HCL Tech on behalf of Reese
Voll, a former employee, but the IT major won its motion to compel arbitration
in the case in January. This is the first case that Kotchen & Low has filed
against an Indian IT company since that loss, a review of US federal cases
showed.
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GOVT MAY CAP EXPORT OF ANTI-RABIES VACCINE
The health ministry is
considering a move to restrict the export of anti-rabies vaccines following
concerns over dwindling supplies. India accounts for 36% of rabies deaths in
the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which has set a
target of eliminating rabies from South-East Asia by 2020. The ministry of
health and family welfare is likely to tell firms that they can export a
maximum of 30% of the anti-rabies vaccines they produce, according to two
people aware of the matter. Indian firms supply rabies vaccine to Bangladesh,
Myanmar, Turkey and some African nations, among others. The government also
plans to ask states to bring the vaccine under the list of essential medicines
to ensure its availability in adequate quantity and assured quality.
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CHINA IS 'THREAT TO WORLD' SAYS DISSIDENT WRITER
A dissident writer dubbed
the Chinese Solzhenitsyn said Friday that his homeland is a threat for the
whole world Liao Yiwu, who was jailed for writing a poem called Massacre about
the Tiananmen Square protests, told AFP that it would be better for mankind if
the economic superpower splits up. My dream is that China splits up into 10 or
so countries. Because China as it is today is a threat for the whole world, he
said as his latest book, Balls of Opium, was published in France. The book,
which has been banned in China, recounts the stories of dozens of victims of
the Tiananmen massacre, when troops killed thousands of pro-democracy
protesters in Beijing in 1989. He told AFP that he was very pessimistic about
his country under the increasing authoritarian rule of President Xi Jinping.
Thirty years ago we thought we might develop towards democracy. Today it is all
about making money. Every one of the Western countries which criticised China
after the (Tiananmen) massacre fight with each other now to do business with
the executioners even as they continue to arrest and kill people, Liao added.
He poured scorn on the fact that Xi Jinping's daughter studied at Harvard along
with the children of other Communist Party leaders. Even the leaders'
mistresses are getting grants to study at the US university, he claimed.
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CHINA HAILS ‘NEW CONSENSUS’ ON TRADE DEAL; TRUMP HINTS A
'MONUMENTAL' AGREEMENT
China and US claimed
progress in talks to end their trade war with President Xi Jinping pushing for
a rapid conclusion and President Donald Trump talking up prospects for a
monumental agreement. Through a message passed to Trump via Vice Premier Liu
He, Xi called for an early conclusion to negotiations and said that strategic
leadership is needed to ensure healthy and stable US-China relations. Liu, who
took part in talks this week in Washington, himself said a new consensus had
emerged, according to the Xinhua News Agency Friday morning. Trump said any
trade deal with China is probably still weeks away, though both sides are
making progress on an accord that could be very monumental. If we have a deal,
then we’ll have a summit, Trump said. It may take four weeks to put together a
framework for the deal and two weeks more to put the details on paper, he said.
Trump’s remarks prolong the uncertainty over whether the world’s two-biggest
economies can end their nine-month trade war, which has disrupted supply
chains, whipsawed markets, and weighed on the world economy. IMF Managing
Director Christine Lagarde this week warned both sides to avoid the
self-inflicted wound of a protracted trade conflict. An administration
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that talks would
continue in Washington on Friday. There’s no timetable for further negotiations
after that, the official said.
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Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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