Aanchal Magazine

GST Slabs 2020: The Centre and the states are in a tussle over delayed compensation payments under GST. What led to this, how much is due, and what is being done about it?

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, reduced its employee costs by 14.8% during the quarter, compared with the same period last year, while net revenues from operations fell 92% year-on-year during the quarter.

740 tonnes stored in Chennai since ’15, Customs says disposal being worked out

A key bellwether of activity in the manufacturing sector slipped in July after two months of steady growth reflecting the adverse impact of localised lockdowns by states to fight the surging Covid curve.

The data shows that acute respiratory infection led to 3,740 deaths in 2018 -- the highest in six years (according to these provisional estimates). The highest number of deaths due to acute respiratory infection were reported in West Bengal (732), followed by Uttar Pradesh (699), Andhra Pradesh (587), Delhi (492).

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday stated that Centre had provided “innumerable assurances” in the run-up to GST for “assured and unhindered compensation”.

A legal opinion on the issue offered by the Attorney General of India, specifically on bridging the revenue shortfall by directing states to borrow, is learnt to have put the ball squarely in the Centre’s court.

While the Centre on Monday released Rs 13,806 crore to the states for March 2020, wrapping up the full payout for FY20 at Rs 1.65 lakh crore, compensation payments for this financial year since April remain pending.

The government has been taking a series of measures in recent months to restrict the inflow of Chinese investments and products into the country.

India shares its border with China, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. As per official data, out of these, the government has extended lines of credit to Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, exempting them from the new order.

Lower GST revenues have translated into delayed and pending compensation payments to states, an issue which will be central to the discussions of the GST Council meeting slated to be held later this month.

Income Tax New Form 26AS: It will increase the information flow to the authorities, especially the details of all high-value transactions

About 300 cases have required review in the tax demand, Mody said, adding that the process will happen without the taxpayer required to go to tax offices.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, the second meeting this week, to take stock of the economy.

Some of the members have sought details about the expenditure under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana and whether the expenses have been reimbursed by the government to the EPFO.

In the backdrop of the steep economic contraction expected in the April-June quarter, the government is trying to assess its revenue position, how it can be augmented and what more will be required to support economic activity in these uncertain times, sources familiar with the matter said.

In Mumbai, the tax department searched nine offices of two firms — Mayank Sharma Enterprises and Om Kothari Group, sources in the I-T department said.

That the “unlocking” has been patchy is reinforced by Google footfall data showing that while public mobility has improved in recent weeks across India, states that have higher infection rates are seeing curtailed public movement and economic activity.

The withdrawal of the letter came after the factual inconsistencies of referring to “the US government agencies” instead of Indian agencies were noticed, an official said.

Public sector undertakings (PSUs), with only 0.02 per cent share in the taxpayer base, accounted for 9.12 per cent of the total GST revenue, it showed.

States are guaranteed compensation for any revenue shortfall from the base year of 2015-16 at an annualised growth rate of 14 per cent.

Ajay Bhushan Pandey, who holds charge as Revenue Secretary, said rate rationalisation, correction of inverted duty structure have been discussed in the GST Council and the decisions about these will be taken in the next 8-9 months.

The expenditure rationalisation is being done presumably to allow enough headroom to dovetail the stimulus package announced last month, especially as revenues are expected to be sharply lower than estimates this year.

In a recent note to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has said that Hong Kong and Chinese Customs were holding back export consignments from India over the last few days.