1. Number of ITR Filings for 2016-17 Jumps 24.7% to 28.2 Million
Tax compliance has improved. More than 28.2 million income tax payers filed their income tax returns (ITR) for the 2016-17 financial year before the extended deadline of 5 August, a 24.7 percent increase over the previous year, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on Monday.
In April-August of last year, relating to FY16, there was a 9.9 percent increase in ITRs filed, the statement said. More than 22.6 million returns were filed in that period. While the deadline for filing returns may be over, taxpayers can still do so for FY17 till 31 December, after paying a penalty of Rs 5,000.
By the end of March, the number of people who file returns for FY17 is expected to show a similar jump on an annual basis. Besides a penalty, late filers cannot carry forward losses except in the case of house property.
Source: Livemint
2. Slow Start To RERA As 11 States Yet To Notify Final Rules
Mumbai and Pune have the maximum number of projects registered under the Real Estate Regulatory Authority even as implementation of the new law remains slow with 11 states yet to notify final rules.
The new housing law seeks to improve transparency and accountability in India's cash-driven real estate sector. The law makes it mandatory for developers to register projects and get approvals before starting sales. It also mandates that 70 percent of the funds raised from sales should be kept in a separate account as builders used to divert funds raised from one project to another.
Source: BloombergQuint
3. Hike in GST Cess on Luxury Cars Will Dent ‘Make in India’: Carmakers
Makers of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and luxury cars are protesting the GST Council’s plan to raise the cess on such products from 15 percent to as much as 25 percent, warning that the move will lead to production cuts and job losses and dent the “Make in India” initiative.
If the cess is indeed increased, prices of some of the top luxury cars are expected to go up by between Rs72,000 and Rs2.58 lakh.
“This move will impact production and jobs. I am surprised. I have no face to show to our principals in Japan,” Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd, said in a phone interview. “This move will end up favouring one set of players vs another set of players.”
An official statement from the finance ministry said that after GST was introduced on 1 July, the total tax incidence on motor vehicles, comprising the tax rate and cess, came down compared with the total tax incidence under the pre-GST regime.
Source: Livemint
4. Respect Snapdeal Founders' Move, Talking to Flipkart Now: SoftBank
SoftBank Group Corp chief executive officer (CEO) Masayoshi Son on Monday said he respected the decision of Snapdeal founders to call off sale to Flipkart, and the Japanese firm is now pursuing separate discussions with India’s largest e-commerce firm.
SoftBank, which announced its June quarter financials on Monday, has been reported to be in talks with Snapdeal’s rival and India’s largest e-commerce platform Flipkart for investing up to $2 billion. “We respect the decision of Snapdeal founders and we are engaged with Flipkart,” Son said after the results were announced.
However, Son did not specify the details of the discussions with Flipkart.
Source: PTI
5. PSU Banks Wrote off Rs 2.49 Trillion of Loans in 5 Years: Finance Ministry
Public sector banks have “written off” nearly Rs2.5 trillion loans in the last five financial years, the finance ministry said quoting Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. As many as 27 public sector banks, including SBI and its five associates, in 2016-17 have written off Rs 81,683 crore, the highest in the last five fiscals. The amount was 41 percent higher than that in the previous fiscal.
SBI and its erstwhile associates alone have written off Rs 27,574 crore in 2016-17, according to the RBI data on “write offs” done by public sector banks. SBI merged its five associate banks with itself from 1 April 2017. The written off amount by PSU banks soared from Rs 27,231 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 57,586 in 2015-16 and further to Rs 81,683 crore in 2016-17.
Source: PTI
6. Bank Unions Call For All-India Strike On August 22 Against Privatisation
Bank employee unions have called for a nation-wide strike on 22 August to protest privatisation and merger of public sector banks, among other demands, a union leader said on Monday.
The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), which represents nine bank unions and employees of public and private sector banks, has called for a nation-wide strike on 22 August to press for various demands, its General Secretary CH Venkatachalam said.
Nearly 10 lakh employees will participate in the strike to protest plans to privatise public sector banks, merger and consolidation of banks and other demands including not to write-off non-performing assets (NPAs) in banks, Venkatachalam said in a statement.
Source: BloombergQuint
7. SEBI Asks Exchanges To Act Against 331 Suspected Shell Companies
SEBI on Monday directed exchanges to initiate action against 331 suspected shell companies that are listed and these shares will not be available for trading this month, according to a communication.
The regulator’s directive came after the corporate affairs ministry shared a list of 331 listed companies that are suspected to be shell entities and could even face “compulsory delisting”. Stepping up the surveillance measures, these entities would be subject to independent audit and if required, forensic audits could also be initiated to check their credentials.
Source: BloombergQuint
8. Mismatch Between External, Internal Rupee Values Detrimental to Exporters, Notes ASSOCHAM
With the external value of the Indian rupee superseding its internal strength despite lower inflation, the resultant mismatch and the continuing trend is hurting exporters, whose competitive edge gets directly hit with the declining value of the dollar against the domestic currency, an ASSOCHAM paper noted.
Witnessing a decline of six percent over the last one year, the rupee is now trading at 63.63-70 against 66.93 to a dollar in August 2016. Therefore, it is evident that the external value of rupee has strengthened.
On the other hand, despite a falling inflation, now ruling at a five-year low, the rupee has weakened at least in reverse proportion to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that is inching up all the same.
While inflation has been low, there has been no disinflation or deceleration in the prices, implying that the rupee is able to purchase around 1.58 percent lesser commodities, but when it comes to its value measured against the dollar, it has gained by about six percent.
Source: Financial Express
9. Idea-Vodafone Merger Gets SEBI’s Conditional Approval
The Securities and Exchange Board of India and stock exchanges have given a conditional approval to the $23-billion merger deal between Idea Cellular Ltd and Vodafone India, which would be subject to the outcome of an ongoing probe by the regulator and other necessary approvals.
The multi-layered deal announced in March had recently got clearance from the fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India.
In their ‘no-objection’ letters on the scheme of merger between Vodafone and Idea, BSE Ltd and NSE Ltd said that all the conditions put forth by the regulator need to be placed before the NCLT while seeking its approval. The ‘no-objection’ as per SEBI’s regulations will enable the companies to file the draft scheme with the National Company Law Tribunal.
Source: BloombergQuint
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