In various Union Budgets since 2005, the &ldquo;progress&rdquo; on the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been limited to the finance minister announcing he was happy with the progress being made by the empowered committee. It seems unlikely that the Budget speech this year will have anything more substantial than this.

Going beyond progress made by Empowered Committee

Business Standard

The earlier articles in this series have discussed several reform measures taken by CBEC to strengthen the service tax regime. However, one aspect that needs some re-design is the aspect of works contracts.

Vivek Mishra: Works contract: Still a work in progress

A typical Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract in any field requires a number of specialised areas of expertise. As a result most of the EPC contracts are executed by an un-incorporated association of companies. Driven by the requirement of different skill sets, there is usually an equipment supplier and a turnkey construction contractor in the consortium. These consortiums are neither partnership firms nor joint ventures.

Vivek Mishra: Is revenue/cost sharing a service liable to tax?

Valuation of excisable goods is one of the most important aspects of excise law. Since the 1980s, there have been a large number of amendments in excise law and the related rules to reduce the scope for ambiguity and disputes on the issue of valuation. One of the important amendments was to change the value on which excise duty is levied, from &lsquo;normal price&rsquo; to &lsquo;transaction value&rsquo;.

Vivek Mishra: Fiat on Fiat Uno valuation

An earlier article in this series on Negative list regime discussed the definition of &lsquo;service&rsquo; as applicable in the new service tax regime. We would like to further explore one of the detailed aspects of this definition. This is covered by the third explanation to the definition. This explanation creates the legal fiction that two establishments of a person located each in the taxable and non-taxable territory should be treated and taxed as two separate persons. The deeming provision intends to tax the transactions between two branches or between head office and branch office, where one of either is located in the non-taxable territory and the other is located in the taxable territory.

Vivek Mishra: Service tax on branches overseas: Incomplete fiction

Tax reforms are an integral part of any fiscal reform process. The objectives of such reforms are to establish a tax system which is simple, economic and certain. The structure of excise duty, which emerged in the early 1980s could not be described in these terms. The reasons were; multiple rates, numerous exemptions, complex administration procedures.

Vivek Mishra: Central Excise should focus on modern financial audit

An earlier article in this column had already discussed the negative list of services and the impact of new definition of &lsquo;Service&rsquo; applicable from 1 July 2012. Now that the first payment of service tax under new regime has already been deposited, most of us must have derived a fair idea of new provisions and compliance requirements respective to our businesses.

Vivek Mishra: Reverse charge: Has it been cracked?

In continuation of our discussion in the previous articles on the Negative List regime, this article seeks to highlight the different &ldquo;declared services&rdquo; which are deemed to be services for the purpose of service tax. The concept of declared services, which supplements the definition of service as introduced under the Negative List regime has received limited attention, which might be a mistake.

Vivek Mishra: Declared services: Scope for overlaps

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was originally to be implemented in 2010. Until 2009, no one took much notice, even though everyone agrees that the implementation of GST is an extremely momentous and far reaching tax reform. Then, in 2009, everyone &ndash; the media, industry and consultants of every stripe &ndash; got extremely excited about this reform that was just a few months away, at the time. However, GST was not implemented in 2010, or in the next two years.

Vivek Mishra: Will GST ever happen?

An examination of the tax reforms by the government over the past decade which comprise fundamental tax reforms like introduction of Value-Added Tax (VAT) and alignment of the Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) and Service tax regimes, indicates that the focus of the government has been to move towards a tax regime that is simple and economical.

Vivek Mishra: Indirect tax: Need to align law with administration  

Developing countries like India face several challenges in managing their tax collections, particularly due to the lack of sophisticated and comprehensive IT systems in the economy. A IT systems-driven economy tends to produce reliable data in real time, through which informed tax collection decision can be taken. The previous article in this column had discussed briefly the challenges faced by the business community right from obtaining registrations, to complying with the tax compliances such as tax payment, refund claims etc due to the huge gap between the law that exists on paper and the manner in which it is implemented. This article will discuss in detail the priority areas for further action to achieve good tax governance.

Vivek Mishra: Need to align law with administration

The company initially sold the notes, which had a maturity of three years and six months, in January, raising $325 million

IIFL Finance

Beverage major Coca-Cola is selling its bottling plant in the North Gujarat region to Kandhari Global Beverages.
Though the company has not shared financial details, industry insiders have pegged the deal to be around Rs 2,000 crore, where Coca-Cola will transfer business from HCCBL, its bottling arm in India, to its bottling partner Kandhari Global Beverages.
The Atlanta-headquartered beverage major is divesting assets globally by franchising regional operations to local partners as part of its asset-light business model.
"We have reached an agreement to transfer the North Gujarat bottling operations currently being operated by Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCBL). Subject to regulatory approvals, the North Gujarat business will be owned and operated by Kandhari Global Beverages Private Ltd," said an HCCBL spokesperson.
This transfer will ensure that the right level of investments can be undertaken in all parts of the business while bringing scale and contiguity to the ..

Coca Cola coke

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 4: ACT Fibernet, one of India's leading internet service providers, is excited to share early results of its ACT SmartWi-Fi® launch, powered by its proprietary router OS, ACT Zippy. Developed in partnership with Aprecomm, this cutting-edge AI technology has demonstrated its ability to deliver a superior Wi-Fi experience, resulting in significantly higher Wi-Fi performance across all device types and fulfilling the company's promise to transform in-home connectivity for its customers.


Aprecomm AI-Powered ACT Fibernet\'s SmartWi-Fi® Triples Internet Speeds for 250,000 Homes in Just 15 Days

New Delhi [India], March 4: The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry is highly competitive, requiring businesses to manage field sales teams efficiently, track orders, and optimize deliveries. Many companies still rely on manual reporting and outdated tracking methods, leading to delays and operational inefficiencies. Outlet Trail, an advanced Field Force Management Software by Dial ERP Technologies Limited, is changing the game by automating sales tracking, streamlining order management, and providing real-time business insights.

Transforming FMCG Sales: How Outlet Trail by Dial ERP Technologies Limited is Making Business Easier and More Profitable

Real estate services firm SILA on Tuesday said it has received a strategic investment from Mahendra Singh Dhoni family office.
The company did not disclose the amount invested.
Founded in 2010 by Rushabh and Sahil Vora, SILA, backed by Norwest Venture Partners, is into facility management and real estate advisory services across India.
SILA manages over 200 million square feet of real estate across 125+ cities in India, with over 25,000 employees.
"SILA is a dynamic real estate platform that has stood out in a highly competitive industry. Their ability to scale rapidly while maintaining a strong culture and sharp execution sets them apart," MS Dhoni family office said.
SILA said the investment will help accelerate  growth, further strengthening its network and expanding its presence across India's evolving real estate landscape.

MS Dhoni

Sensex Today | Stock Market Highlights, March 4: Among the broader markets, the Nifty Smallcap100, and Nifty Midcap100 indices settled higher by 0.69 per cent, and 0.05 per cent respectively

Stock Market, BSE, Nifty, Capital

US President Donald Trump sparked speculation with a cryptic social media post on Monday, saying, 'Tomorrow night will be big. I will tell it like it is'

Donald Trump, Trump

The US is pausing all current military aid to Ukraine until Trump determines the country's leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace

Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Blackstone, an American private-equity firm, has backed off, citing a high valuation, according to bankers

Haldiram's

Stock market today: The Centre has elevated IRCTC and IRFC from Miniratna I to Navratna status

stock market, Indian stock market, National stock exchange, NSE

Mohammed Shami's participation in India's upcoming Champions Trophy match against New Zealand remains uncertain as he continues to manage a slight calf issue

Mohd Shami

Global tech giant Google is building a digital agri-stack using satellite imagery and has started with a base layer that will help identify farm boundaries, a senior official said on Saturday.
Data and analysis of this base layer of the stack can be used in a slew of applications like bettering the subsidy payments, farm insurance or farm loans, Manish Gupta, a senior director at Google DeepMind said.
".. we have built the first such model that using satellite imagery analysis can now start to identify field boundaries based on usage pattern start to identify what crops are being grown and so on," Gupta said, speaking at the Mumbai Tech Week here.
The model has taken inspiration from UIDAI's Aadhar, ascribing a unique ID to each farm and is intended to act as a base layer of the "digital agri stack", he said.
Gupta said it is upon the startups and other agri-tech players to build solutions which will provide loan crop insurance and also subsidies using the data churned out by the .

Farmers, Farmer, agriculture

Jake Fraser-McGurk, an inexperienced top-order batter, is one potential replacement for Short, should Australia need to adjust their side.

Matthew Short

Tesla signs lease agreement for first India showroom in Mumbai's BKC, paying Rs 35 lakh per month for a 4,000 sq ft space; Delhi showroom also planned amid hiring spree

Tesla

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said the  provision of special leave petition was supposed to be a "narrow slit" but is now hurting the arbitral process due to its wide use.
He also stressed on the need to have domain experts in arbitration cases, saying experts in varied areas can be utilised in handling complex matters involving commercial disputes.
Addressing a conference on arbitration here, Dhankhar drew the attention towards the use of Article 136 and its impact on the arbitral process.
"... Article 136 intervention was supposed to be a narrow-slit. The wall has been demolished with anything and everything under the sun, including what a magistrate has to do, what a session judge has to do, what a district judge has to do, what a high court judge has to do," he said.
Article 136 of the Constitution allows the Supreme Court to grant "special leave" to appeal from any judgment or order. It is called as a special leave petition (SLP).
Dhankhar said the "wall demolit

Jagdeep Dhankhar, Jagdeep, Dhankhar, VP

The order was passed by a single bench of Justice Shivkumar Dige, who noted that the special court's order of March 1 was passed mechanically, without going into the details

Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch (Photo: PTI)

Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch

India's exporters are already under dire threat from the US. That only makes it more important that they should not be attacked from the domestic side. QCOs must be eliminated immediately

Quality Control Orders

At Business Standard Manthan 2025, Samir Arora set the cat among the pigeons when he argued for the abolition of capital gains tax to bring back FIIs to Indian markets

Samir Arora at BS Manthan

The father of an Indian woman on death row in Abu Dhabi has approached the Delhi High Court, seeking to know her well-being.
In his petition, which is likely to come up for hearing on Monday, Shabbir Khan -- a? resident of Banda in Uttar Pradesh --? said there was "profound uncertainty" with respect to his daughter Shahzadi's condition, and his repeated applications to the Ministry of External Affairs for clarification were "fruitless".
The plea further alleged that Shahzadi was inadequately represented before the local courts in a case pertaining to the alleged murder of her employer's four-month-old child and she was pressured into "confessing", leading to the imposition of death penalty on July 31, 2023.
"On February 14, 2025, the petitioner's daughter telephoned him from detention, informing him that she had been relocated within the facility and prior to her potential execution, her final wish was to speak with her parents," the petition said.
"The petitioner, with considerabl

Vivek Mishra

Vivek Mishra

Page 2 - Vivek Mishra

Going beyond progress made by Empowered Committee

Vivek Mishra: Works contract: Still a work in progress

Vivek Mishra: Is revenue/cost sharing a service liable to tax?

Vivek Mishra: Fiat on Fiat Uno valuation

Vivek Mishra: Service tax on branches overseas: Incomplete fiction

Vivek Mishra: Central Excise should focus on modern financial audit

Vivek Mishra: Reverse charge: Has it been cracked?

Vivek Mishra: Declared services: Scope for overlaps

Vivek Mishra: Will GST ever happen?

Vivek Mishra: Indirect tax: Need to align law with administration

Vivek Mishra: Need to align law with administration

Latest News

In this Section

All

India's IIFL Finance accepts $100 million in 2028 dollar bond reissue

Coca-Cola to sell North Gujarat bottling plant to Kandhari for Rs 2,000 cr

Aprecomm AI-Powered ACT Fibernet's SmartWi-Fi® Triples Internet Speeds for 250,000 Homes in Just 15 Days

Transforming FMCG Sales: How Outlet Trail by Dial ERP Technologies Limited is Making Business Easier and More Profitable

MS Dhoni family office invests in real estate firm SILA for growth

Most Popular

Read

Shared

Commented

Stock market close highlights: Sensex sheds 96pts, Nifty at 22,083; Auto, IT fall; banks shine

'Tomorrow night will be big,' hints Trump before joint Congress address

Donald Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after clash with Zelenskyy

High valuation amid mkt fall delays Haldiram deal; Blackstone exits race

Stocks to Watch, Mar 4: IRCTC, IRFC, Adani Green, Metropolis, AGS Transact