Monthly Archives: February 2012

India Sees Record FII Investment

Feb. 29 – Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) invested Rs. 7,598 crore net into India’s equity markets on February 24, 2012 – making it the largest ever fund flow on a single day in rupee terms.

Information released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) showed that the FII investments seen on February 24 were considerably higher than the previous high of Rs. 6,906 crore registered on November 4, 2010. On that same day in 2012, the Sensex closed at 20,893 and a day later closed at an all-time high of 21,004. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting | Tagged FII Inflows, Foreign Institutional Investors, India Finance, India Investment, Sensex | Leave a comment

Greater Scrutiny for Foreign-Owned Liaison Offices in India

Feb. 28 – On February 6, India’s Central Board for Direct Taxes introduced a new regulation 114DA, notification 5/2012, as part of Section 285 of the Finance Act governing foreign-operated liaison offices in India. It states that additional reporting is required, including the submission of Form 49C – which will be applicable from the current fiscal year ending on March 31, 2012. The newly notified Form 49C seeks extensive details of the operations of liaison offices (LOs) and has far-reaching implications for such entities. With the data that the tax department gathers through such annual statements, it is likely that the activities carried on by LOs in India will come under additional scrutiny. It would therefore be advisable for foreign entities operating LOs in India to take a closer look at whether a permanent establishment (PE) exposure exists for them in India. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged Finance Act, India Legal, India Regulatoyr, Liaison Offices, Limited Liability, Permanent Establishment | Leave a comment

RBI Eases Payment System for Exporters

Feb. 22 – The RBI has permitted banks to allow exporters to accept advance payment for shipment of goods which would take more than one year to manufacture, a stride which will decrease transaction time. The RBI stated that to liberalize the process, AD Category-I banks would be able to allow exporters to receive advance payment for the export of goods which would take more than one year to manufacture and ship.

According to the previous rule under the Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, prior approval of the apex bank was required to be obtained by an exporter for receipt of an advance in case the agreement provided for shipment of goods extending beyond the period of one year from the date of receipt of advance payment. Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory | Tagged India Banking, India Manufacturing, India Regulatory, India Trade, Reserve Bank of India | Leave a comment

2012 FII Inflows into the Indian Market

Feb. 21 – Overseas investors have invested about Rs. 14,000 crore into the Indian equity market so far this month and experts expect this positive trend to continue in the future as well.

Since the beginning of 2012, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have infused a total of Rs. 24,225 crore (US$4 billion) into Indian stocks, after taking into account Rs. 10,358 crore of net inflows during January 2012. Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting, Markets | Tagged Foreign Institutional Investors, India Equity, India Investment, India Markets, Sensex | Leave a comment

Reserve Bank of India Issues New ATM Policies

Feb. 17 – To speed up the growth and penetration of ATMs across the country, the Reserve Bank of India has issued draft guiding principles for permitting non-banking entities to set up, own and operate such money dispensing machines. Non-banking entities proposing to establish such service will have a minimum net worth of Rs. 100 crore and they must apply to the RBI for authorization under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (2007). Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting | Tagged India Banking, India Finance, India Personal Finance | Leave a comment

Electronics Manufacturing in India

By Dezan Shira & Associates

Feb. 16 – Electronics and strategic electronics are at a similar point of inflection as the information technology IT/ITES industry was a decade ago, according to the draft National Policy on Electronics, 2011.

The global electronics industry, valued at US$1.75 trillion, is the largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry in the world, according to the Indian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the industry is expected to reach US$2.4 trillion by 2020. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade | Tagged India Electronics, India FDI, India Industry Report, India Manufacturing, India Policy | Leave a comment

Income Tax Returns in India

Feb. 15 – The full form of ITR-V is “Income Tax Return – Verification form.” This form is expected when you E-file without using a digital signature. India’s Income Tax Department needs to validate the authenticity of income tax returns when filed online without using a digital signature. Upon receipt of ITR-V, an individual has to sign the copy and submit to the Income Tax Department to complete the filing process.

Process for E-filing without using a Digital Signature
When an individual E-files without using a Digital Signature, he/she obtains ITR-V as an attachment in the E-mail sent by the Income Tax Department. Since the return you filed was not signed, your filing is still incomplete. To complete the return filing process, one has to go through the following steps: Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged India Individual Income Tax, India ITR-V, India Tax, India Tax Return | 1 Comment

India’s Supreme Court Sets Corruption Bill Deadline

Feb. 6 – India’s Supreme Court has put pressure on the government to commit to making a decision within four months on whether a public official can be prosecuted for corruption. If a consensus has not been reached by then, prosecution will be considered sanctioned by India’s highest court, the BBC reported.

The announcement comes after a long and highly publicized corruption scandal involving former Telecommunications Minister A. Raja. The Janata Party Leader Subramanian Swamy sought prosecution of Raja, who was one of 14 people charged over allegations of mis-selling telecom licenses, which auditors have said cost the country an estimated US$40 billion. Continue reading →