1. First Signs of Revival in Demand for Consumer Goods After GST Bump
Supermarkets and general stores are seeing the first signs of revival in demand after fears of losses on inventory led distributors to pare stock in the run-up to the Goods and Services Tax rollout.
New purchases have started but are still slow. July was dull as old stock was still in the trade channel.Dhairyashil Patil, National president, Distributors’ Federation
The situation should start improving in the next one week as wholesalers and stockists will get on to the GST network. Bulk dealers cut inventory before the new nationwide tax rolled out on 1 July fearing losses on existing stock for two reasons: uncertainty over prices of items on which tax rates fell and loss of tax credits.
Source: BloombergQuint
2. File Your ITR Today as Tax Dept Rules out Any Extension
The last date for filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the financial year 2016-17 will not be extended beyond today's 31 July deadline, a top official said on Sunday.
The last date for filing of ITRs remains 31 July. There are no plans to extend this deadline. The department has already received over 2 crore returns filed electronically. The department requests taxpayers to file their return in time.Official
Source: PTI
3. Delhi Court to Pass Order on Plea Against Ola, Uber Today
A Delhi court on Saturday said it would pronounce on Monday its order on a plea seeking prosecution of app-based cab service providers, including Ola and Uber, for allegedly violating the fare rules.
The matter would come up on 31 July as Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra, who was scheduled to pass the order on Saturday, was on leave.
The court had earlier recorded pre-summoning evidence advanced by complainant NGO, Nyayabhoomi, through its secretary Rakesh Agarwal, in support of the complaint which also sought to summon of the three firms as accused.
Source: PTI
4. Over 12 Lakh Businesses Apply for New GST Registration: Hasmukh Adhia
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said that over 12 lakh businesses have applied for fresh registration under the Goods and Services Tax regime. Of these, while 10 lakh applications for registration have been approved, 2 lakh are still pending approval.
The figure of new registrations approved in GST crosses 10 lakhs today. About 2 lakh applications are pending in process.Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary
Businesses had time till 30 July to register under the GST. During the course of the year, if a business becomes liable to register under GST, it needs to apply for registration within 30 days from becoming liable for it.
Source: BloombergQuint
5. Snapdeal Sale to Flipkart May Be Called Off
The proposed Snapdeal sale to Flipkart has been put on hold and may be called off as the founders and shareholders of the struggling online marketplace have not yet agreed on the terms of the deal, three people familiar with the matter said.
Snapdeal and Flipkart didn’t respond to emails seeking comment. A SoftBank Group Corp spokeswoman said it was premature to comment on the Snapdeal sale and SoftBank’s investment in Flipkart. “There will be a decision by tonight (31 July),” the spokeswoman said.
Over the weekend, Snapdeal (run by Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd) and Flipkart Ltd cancelled a key meeting that had been scheduled for Monday to continue negotiations over the deal, the people said.
Source: Livemint
6. Leverage 'One Tata': Chandra to Group CEOs
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has asked group chief executive officers to collaborate, so that the group can leverage ‘one Tata’.
Chandra, as he is known, was speaking to the top leadership of over 100 companies at the Tata Annual Group Leadership Conference on Saturday.
“Chandra emphasised the need for the group to leverage ‘one Tata’ to achieve full potential for group companies,” said one of the attendees.
Chandra reportedly asked the companies to simplify their structure, to become more agile and develop a culture of accountability. He asked them to put customers first and develop a digital strategy to ward off competition. He also spoke on leadership development through attracting and grooming quality talent.
Source: Business Standard
7. Jaitley Urges Private Equity Players to Hasten Resolution of Insolvency Cases
Finance minister Arun Jaitley has urged private equity players and asset reconstruction companies to act swiftly towards resolution of stressed assets, hoping that this will inspire confidence among investors as well as boost the economy.
Jaitley conveyed this in a closed-door meeting which was attended by senior of finance ministry officials, select private equity firms such as KKR, Aion Capital that have tied up with ICICI Bank.
Senior officials present at the meeting said that Jaitley asked participants why a resolution wasn’t coming through despite lenders being armed with a new time-bound recovery law – Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code – since January this year.
Source: Economic Times
8. Infosys Sees Another Senior-Level Exit, in Blow to Vishal Sikka
A top executive at Infosys Ltd’s products and platforms unit EdgeVerve has quit, three executives familiar with the development said. This is the fourth senior-level exit in 40 days at India’s second-largest software services exporter.
Anirban Dey, global head and chief business officer of the Edge line of products at EdgeVerve, resigned last week and is serving his notice period, the executives cited above said on the condition of anonymity.
Dey, who joined Infosys in March 2015 was heading sales, marketing, services and operations for EdgeVerve products. The EdgeVerve business, which includes its core banking platform Finacle, accounted for $143.1 million or 5.4 percent of Infosys’s $2.65 billion revenue for the quarter ended June 2017.
Source: Livemint
9. ONGC Seeks Market Freedom
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd. (ONGC) has sought pricing and marketing freedom to help bring to production a one-trillion cubic feet gas discovery that will open up a new sedimentary basin after over three decades.
ONGC, which has opened for commercial production six out of India’s seven producing basins, has made a significant natural gas discovery in the Gulf of Kutch of Gujarat coast that can produce about three million standard cubic meters per day, a senior company official said.
This will open up the country’s eighth sedimentary basin – the first in over three decades – for oil and gas production in two years.
Source: BloombergQuint
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