New Issue of India Briefing: India’s Goods & Service Tax and Retail Sector
In this new issue of India Briefing Magazine – titled India’s Goods & Service Tax and Retail Sector – we focus on two dramatic, ongoing initiatives by the Indian government to fuel economic activity in the country: the introduction of a dual goods and service tax and further opening in the retail sector.
No Mandatory Clause for Companies to Keep Two Books of Accounts
Oct. 21 – Organizations aspiring to move around to international auditing norms, the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) may be spared from preserving two books of accounts — one under the Companies Act and the other for taxation purposes – if a Finance Ministry proposal gets implemented. The application, which was drafted in a discussion […]
Hike in India PayPal Payments Ceiling to US$3,000 per Transaction
Oct. 20 – Users of online payment web site PayPal in India can now accept up to US$3,000 per export-related transaction in their accounts, with the RBI raising this limit from US$500 per transaction earlier. The payment has to be withdrawn within seven days irrespective of the currency risk. Also, RBI has barred purchases abroad […]
India Announces Special Incentives for Exporters
Oct. 19 – The government of India announced a Rs. 900-crore package for exporters to assist them to fight with the slowdown in developed markets and rising input costs. The Reserve Bank of India has already declared an interest subsidy of 2 percent on rupee export credit for handicrafts, handlooms, carpets and small and medium […]
India Grants Approval to Buy Assets Overseas for Public Sector Units
Oct. 14 – The government of India has permitted a policy to facilitate profit-making state-run firms to obtain assets overseas. The new policy also seeks to augment the power of Maharatna and Navratna companies and provide greater autonomy for acquiring raw material assets abroad. The government will also mull over setting up a dedicated Sovereign […]
Taxability of Leave Travel Allowance
Oct. 3 – Leave travel allowance (LTA) is the one of the most common cases of reimbursement adopted by employers to compensate employees due to the tax benefits attached to it. Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act (1961) read with Rule 2B, provides for the exemption and outlines the conditions subject to which LTA […]
External Commercial Borrowings in Chinese Renminbi
Sept. 29 – Taking into consideration the particular needs of the infrastructure sector, the existing external commercial borrowing (ECB) policy has been reviewed in discussions with the Government of India and it has been decided to permit Indian companies which are in the infrastructure sector – where “infrastructure” is defined under the existing guidelines on […]
RBI relaxes Forex Facilities for Individuals
The Reserve Bank of India has further liberalized foreign exchange services for individuals under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999. The services are as follows…