Sidhartha: The Economic Times Reporter

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Sidhartha

- Should RBI get search, surveillance powers?Government sources said several regulators in other countries enjoyed such powers, which allowed them to tap phones and maintain a tighter vigil with an enforcement wing being part of the organisation set up.
- Govt hopes SBI will exit YES Bank before three-year lock-in period“There is massive interest from investors and SBI will get some very good names," said an official.
- Suspecting ‘sabotage’ of rescue plan, government played cat & mouse game to corner Rana KapoorThe govt got suspicious of Kapoor after three potential investors walked away from YES Bank within months.
- Amendments to Companies Act may get nod todayThe proposal, which has already been approved by a group of ministers looking into the Companies Act, will be part of a bill that seeks to decriminalise over 40 sections of the law to ease the compliance burden on the corporate sector.
- Sovereign wealth funds look at infrastructure sectorNirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech had offered incentives for sovereign wealth funds of foreign governments in the priority sectors. The government said it will grant 100% tax exemption to their interest, dividend and capital gains income on investment made in infrastructure and other 36 notified sectors before March 2024 and with a minimum lock-in period of 3 years.
- Relief for Bandhan Bank promoters?RBI froze lender’s expansion as owners could not cut 61% stake further.
- Bargain-hunting President to press Delhi hardWhile imports from the US have grown faster than Indian exports to the US, President Donald Trump is not satisfied. He has slammed India, seeking to drive a better bargain to push American goods, while seeking to restrict the entry of goods and software professionals into the US.
- Govt to seek NPA relief for companies hit by coronavirusThe move follows a petition from some industry representatives to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to not just relax the norms but also ensure access to funds to tide over payment issues that may arise due to problems in accessing inputs and critical raw material.
- To deal with coronavirus outbreak, companies seek easier labour norms, faster green approvalThese were some of the measures suggested by the representatives of India Inc in a meeting on Tuesday with the FM to address concerns regarding supply disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak in China. At the meeting, the quarantine period as well as the paperwork for goods being shipped into the country was also flagged.
- India's GST collections are below potential: IMF teamMultiple rates, exemptions and implementation challenges are affecting goods and services tax (GST) collections in India, an analysis by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has said.
- Ficci: Some drugs may not last beyond Feb because of virus crisisIndia depends on China for around 70% of its bulk drugs and drug intermediates, according to industry estimates. This is the first-of-its-kind study based on feedback from the industry.
- States must amend laws for fiscal breachIn the Budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed an option that will do away with exemptions, while lowering the liability for those who have few allowances or do not claim tax breaks, but comes with multiple slabs. While the scheme has been criticised, the tax department has defended the proposal.
- Government may look at division of shares for retail pushThe tyre maker’s shares with a face value of Rs 10 closed at Rs 71,730 on the BSE on Friday.
- Delayed GST payments face Rs 46k cr interestApart from a late payment fee of Rs 100 a day for central GST and a matching amount for state GST, the law also provides for a levy of 18% penal interest.
- Finance Commission may suggest a Rs 15,000 crore welfare fund for jawans The 15th Finance Commission is likely to recommend setting up of a Rs 10,000-15,000 crore fund for the welfare of jawans killed or injured in combat. The move is part of the panel's discussions on a separate allocation for defence, a task that was given to it later. The panel has set up a task force under 15th Finance Commission chairman NK Singh for the same.
- You may get pre-filled income tax return form with capital gains dataWhile the government has introduced amendments to the Income Tax Act through the Finance Bill, sources said work has already begun on implementing the changes in the next few months itself.
- 80% may switch income tax regimes: GovernmentUnder the new regime proposed in the Budget, allowances such as HRA and LTA will be added to the income and taxed. Currently, these allowances are not counted. Individuals are also allowed claim a deduction for home loans if living in the property.
- Government ready with e-bidding platform for disinvestmentThe government is ready with an electronic bidding system to make the public sector strategic sale process more transparent and will do away with paper bids that have been the norm.
- Budget-like moves that were not part of BudgetInstead of waiting for the Budget, the government chose to unveil steps including one of the sharpest ever corporation tax reductions months after Nirmala Sitharaman presented her first Budget in July 2019.
- Manufacturing companies may need up to 2,000 compliances under lawsThe compliances, including approvals and filings, are required under 122 central and state laws.
- India Inc should avoid pushback on corporate governance, says SinhaSinha said there are too many members at the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), headed by the finance minister, which is preventing decisions to be taken.
- To boost desi companies, curbs likely on tyre, furniture importsThe government is all set to clamp down on import of furniture and certain types of tyres in order to give a fillip to domestic manufacturing. Separately, certain types of gems are also on the radar for import curbs.
- Government may get Rs 45,000 crore cushion on corporate tax cutThe govt is estimating a Rs 1 lakh cr loss due to a reduction in corporate tax, lower than what was expected.
- Capital call: Government set to allow firms to directly list overseasWhile detailed discussions on the proposal have taken place, a formal decision is awaited, sources said.
- Tax dept conducts survey on Air India's engineering armIncome tax officials have recently turned towards the government-owned airline Air India, to check in on its subsidiary AIESL (Air India Engineering Services). The airline, which has been delaying salary payments and even GST, however, said nothing was amiss. The TDS survey was done to ensure that it was depositing the taxes deducted at source.
- Three years after notebandi, ‘corrupt’ jewellers face heatArmed with data, tax authorities have cracked the whip on jewellers who made huge cash deposits post demonetisation in 2016 but could not explain how they generated so much money when they were showing low income in their tax returns.
- Too small for own code, 'others' 20% of importsCollectively others are over a quarter of non-oil imports. A bulk of these relate to chemicals, steel and machinery.
- Medium scale companies may be given credit risk coverThe Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises, run by the government and financial institution Sidbi, has floated a consultation paper to banks, where it has estimated that it will get business of around Rs 4,000 crore during the first year.
- Govt to revamp official data for clearer picture of economyThe focus is to capture economic activity more accurately, particularly in the unorganised sector.
- Government eyes curbs on toys, TV set importsSources said there have been suggestions to restrict toy imports, for which several steps such as a quality control order as well as stringent standards have been worked out. Similarly, there have been issues with white goods, especially TV sets, with several domestic players, too, relying on cheap imports from China and Southeast Asian countries.
- Small businesses may see tweaks in resolution model The insolvency related concern in the real estate sector is seen to have been largely addressed through amendments to the law.
- No duty cuts to soften fuel spike: Oil Minister Dharmendra PradhanBrent prices crossed the $71-a-barrel mark early Wednesday morning after Iran launched a missile attack, but softened later in the day. Since last year, Brent prices have jumped nearly 15% and were trading around $68 a barrel. Over the past year, the increase in pump prices of diesel and petrol has been around 10%.
- GST evaders set to face stricter scansThe idea is to improve upon the red flags, which have helped the government improve compliance, resulting in filing of the GSTR-3B forms rising over 12% to 81 lakh returns by the December 20 deadline.
- GST evaders set to face stricter scans Weak compliance, which resulted in less than 70 lakh returns being filed by the deadline just over a year ago, was seen to be one of the reasons for leakages.
- Import of wines, cars from EU may get cheaperIndia has made a pitch after it decided to stay away from the RCEP agreement — the mega trade block comprising China, Japan, Korea, the Asean countries, Australia and New Zealand. After Brexit, India also proposes to push for a trade deal with the UK as it seeks greater market access for textiles and some farm products in European markets.
- Large unlisted companies face quicker disclosure ruleThe idea is to track the systemically important companies, which pose a risk to the entire system.
- Budget 2020 may see spending stimulus instead of income tax reliefAmid the slowdown, the government may opt for a spending stimulus in the Budget, with more funds allocated to infrastructure development and direct benefit transfer, instead of one through income tax concessions that will benefit a smaller section.
- Govt talking to 25 large corporates in bid to resolve problems, boost investmentThe consultations began a few weeks ago and come at a time when the govt is trying to boost investment and spur economic activity. While capacity constraints are often cited as the reason holding back investments, officials said, in a number of cases investments that have already been announced have not taken off due to delays in clearances.
- Government mulls new duty on importsAhead of the Budget, the commerce department has asked the finance ministry to levy border adjustment tax (BAT) on imported goods to offset the impact of levies such as electricity duty, clean energy cess, levies on fuel and royalty that are not part of goods and services tax (GST).
- Government readies plan to push India into top 50 ease of business rankingsThe government on Tuesday set out the roadmap to get India to break into the top 50 countries in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi brainstorming with ministries.
- RBI urges government to cut rates on small savings schemesThe RBI has urged the government to move forward on reducing interest rates on small savings schemes such as public provident fund (PPF) and post office deposits, to help banks pare rates on deposits and loans and lead to a better transmission of the central bank’s rate cuts.
- GST rates set to increase as council eyes major revampMove will increase burden on consumers but may generate close to Rs 1 lakh crore in revenue.
- State governments not keen to levy GST on exempted goods“Goods on the exempted list are mass-consumption items. No state will agree to include them,” said the finance minister of a BJP-ruled state. West Bengal FM Amit Mitra also dismissed the GST Council secretariat’s suggestion for a review of the exempted items. The secretariat had shot off a letter to states seeking a revision of exempted items.
- Government set to close loss-making PSUs“There are several cases where the disinvestment process has been going for years. There is very little interest in some of the companies. Keeping all these factors in mind, it has been decided that wherever buyer interest is muted we will recommend for closure of the unit,” said an official, who did not wish to be quoted.
- Import curbs likely on over 350 items to boost ‘Make in India’Departments are looking into suggestions of waiving the requirement for global tender for government procurement in sectors where it thinks there is sufficient domestic capacity to execute a contract. The moves are part of the government’s thrust to ‘Make-in-India’ scheme, for which it has been working on ways to discourage imports.
- Govt mulls curbs on foreign firms in ‘strategic areas’While the idea is to look at all overseas players, the focus is on firms from countries such as China, which are seen to be sensitive. The talks for a set of possible restrictions come at a time when the Centre is weighing the option of allowing Chinese telecom major Huawei to participate in 5G trials.
- Purchase without bill may be big GST leakage sourceB2C sales have been the key source of leakage of GST as consumers are often cajoled into paying in cash without taking a bill. The issue was discussed in detail at the first national GST conference, which was attended by senior officers from across the country, with officials suggesting that a check on this channel of leakage could bolster revenue by 15-20%.
- Govt set to infuse ₹1,000 crore equity in IIFCLThe recent churn in the financial sector has seen private players such as ICICI Bank and Axis Bank shun the term loan business, while even public sector players — including State Bank of India — are reluctant to lend to infrastructure projects, which not only have a long-gestation but also carry massive implementation risks.
- People from many industries are coming to us and saying they are out of distress: Nirmala SitharamanCommenting on her decision to slash corporate tax, the finance minister said that the industry has told her that the decision was taken at the right time and that it has made a big difference to their books. She said that the decision was announced on September 20 and industry will take time in announcing major investment decisions.
- Air India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation to be sold by March: FM Nirmala SitharamanSitharaman says the strategic sale of Air India and BPCL will be wrapped up by March
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