Page 21 - Finance Ministry

Over 74 mn ITRs filed in FY23, 50 mn people showed zero tax liability: Govt

Over 7.40 crore persons filed income tax returns in the 2022-23 fiscal, of which 5.16 crore showed zero tax liability, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha there has been an increase in the number of returns filed in the last five years. The number of persons filing ITRs increased from 6.28 crore in fiscal 2018-19, to 6.47 crore in 2019-20, to 6.72 crore in 2020-21. The number of ITRs filed in the 2021-22 fiscal rose to over 6.94 crore and further to over 7.40 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal. The number of persons whose I-T returns amount to zero tax liability during the last four years increased from 2.90 crore in fiscal 2019-20 to 5.16 crore in 2022-23. "There may not be proportionate increase in direct tax collection and number of income tax returns filed because the direct tax collection is dependent upon multiple factors which include tax rate applicable for relevant assessment year, admissible deductions/ ...

Centre, Asian Development Bank sign two loan pacts worth $250 million

Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it has approved two loans, including funding for the construction of an 82-km Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, of USD 250 million each. The other loan of USD 250 million towards continued support to industrial corridor development to make manufacturing more competitive, strengthen national supply chains and links with regional and global value chains, and create more and better jobs. Earlier, ADB approved a USD 1,049 million Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) for the project in 2020 to support the construction of RRTS, the first of three priority rail corridors planned under the NCR Regional Plan 2021, to connect Delhi to other cities in adjoining states, a finance ministry said in a statement. The RRTS will have multi-modal hubs to ensure smooth interchange with other transport modes, it said, adding the first tranche of the ADB loan amounted to USD 500 million with another USD 500 million ...

I-T dept seized Rs 5,095 cr assets in 4 years till FY23, Parliament told

The Income Tax department has seized assets worth Rs 5,095.45 crore through search and seizures actions on 2,980 groups in four years till 2022-23, Parliament was informed on Monday. As per details of the search and seizure actions, including those mounted on business establishments, shared in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in 2019-20, a total of 984 groups were searched and the value of assets seized stood at Rs 1,289 crore. A total of 365 prosecutions were launched during the fiscal. In 2020-21, 569 groups were searched, leading to asset seizures of Rs 881 crore. Prosecution was launched in 145 cases. In 2021-22, 686 groups were searched and Rs 1,159.59 crore worth assets were seized, and 115 prosecution cases were launched. During 2022-23, 741 groups were searched, Rs 1765.56 crore assets were seized, and 97 prosecution were launched. "On the basis of the evidence gathered during search operation and subsequent investigation, tax-assessments ar

RBI imposed monetary penalties worth Rs 40 crore on 211 entities in 2022-23

Out of 211, 176 penalties worth Rs 14.04 crore were alone imposed on cooperative banks, Bhagwat Karad told Lok Sabha on Monday

Govt considering termination of FAME subsidy for electric two-wheelers

Earlier, the finance ministry expressed its concerns about the continuation of the scheme, now, other government departments have also agreed to North Block's views

Budget 2024: Budget preparation, its purpose, halwa ceremony, presentation

Union Budget 2024: Preparing the Budget is a long-drawn process which involves multiple steps and consultations. Read on to find out how it is done

Budget Speech: All you need to know about the FM's address to Parliament

Here is everything you need to know about what a Budget speech ahead of the Union Budget 2024, the different parts it has, Budget at a Glance, Finance Bill, and more

No GST dues pending, some states have not submitted AG's report: Sitharaman

The Centre on Tuesday said no GST dues of any state are pending before it and that some state governments have not submitted AG's authenticated certificate for release of their share of funds. The narrative that GST dues are pending from the Centre is not correct and is a "misnomer" as states have not submitted AG's report, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said replying to a supplementary question in Rajya Sabha. "It is important to understand that if the AG's (accountant general) certification is (mandatory)... If the AG's certificate does not reach us, we can not clear," she said. Some states, even after sending AG's certificate, tell us to hold on till they clear it finally, she said. The finance minister was responding to a question from Trinamool Congress member Saket Gokhale, who asked about the GST dues of states, especially to West Bengal. He also sought a reason for which the GST dues of the states were withheld. Replying to it, the finance minister said she wou

Govt says 10 PSBs transferred NPAs of over Rs 11k cr to NARCL from Jan-Nov

A total of 10 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have transferred Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of over Rs 11,617 crore to NARCL between January and November this year, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) has recovered Rs 16.64 crore as on November 30, 2023. He said recovery in NPA accounts is an ongoing process, and security receipts issued to lenders by NARCL, backed by government guarantee, provide a five-year time window for effecting the recovery in such accounts. "Further, corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is going on in some of the accounts acquired by NARCL. Recovery will be effected in these accounts after the resolution plans get approved by the National Company Law Tribunal. In remaining accounts, NARCL has recovered Rs 16.64 crore, as on 30.11.2023," Karad said. NARCL is bad ba

LS gives nod for additional cash outgo of Rs 58,378 cr in current fiscal

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday cleared a net additional spending of Rs 58,378 crore in the current fiscal ending March 2024, with a large chunk going towards MGNREGA and subsidy on fertiliser. The gross additional spending sought by the government was over Rs 1.29 lakh crore, of which Rs 70,968 crore would be matched by savings and receipts. Replying to a debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that fiscal prudence is the top priority of the government without compromising on social welfare. She also said that the net additional spending by the government would be Rs 58,378.21 crore in the current fiscal. The additional expenditure includes Rs 13,351 crore towards fertiliser subsidy and about Rs 7,000 crore towards spending by the Department of Food and Public Distribution. The House also approved an additional outgo of Rs 9,200 crore spending by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Rs 14,524 crore by the Ministry of Rural Developmen

Govt to stick to Rs 34 trillion tax collection goal in revised estimate

The government is likely to stick to the budgeted estimate of total tax collection target of Rs 33.61 lakh crore for current fiscal in the revised estimates, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday. "So far, direct tax collection is up by about 20 per cent and indirect tax is higher by 5 per cent. We have data till the eight months of the fiscal and usually the collections are better in the first half. So, at the moment, we will stick to the Budget numbers in our Revised Estimates (RE)," an official said. For 2023-24 (April-March), the Union Budget had pegged total tax collections at Rs 33.61 lakh crore, up 10.1 per cent from Rs 30.54 lakh crore in the previous year. In the current fiscal, Rs 18.23 lakh crore is expected to be collected in direct taxes (personal income tax and corporate tax), and Rs 15.38 lakh crore from indirect taxes (GST, Customs, excise). The revised estimates for current fiscal's revenue numbers would be presented as part of the vote on account or ..

Over 679,500 central govt pensioners as of Mar 2023: Finance Minsitry

There are over 67.95 lakh central government pensioners, including defence pensioners, as of March 31, 2023, the finance ministry said on Monday. As per the data compiled and furnished by Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare on the basis of database maintained by Central Pension Accounting Office, Controller General of Defence Accounts, Ministry of Railways, Department of Telecommunication and Department of Posts, the total number of central government pensioners as on March 31, 2023, is 67,95,449, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in the Lok Sabha. The number of civil and defence pensioners stood at close to 11.42 lakh and over 33.87 lakh, respectively. The number of telecom and postal pensioners stood at over 4.38 lakh and 3.01 lakh, respectively. Railway pensioners stood at over 15.25 lakh as of March 2023. To a question on whether the government proposes to restore the old pension scheme (OPS) for central government employees, Chaudhary said, "No such

GST evasion of Rs 345 cr detected against lottery distributors till Nov '23

A total of 12 cases of GST evasion involving Rs 345 crore have been detected against lottery distributors since July 2017, Parliament was informed on Monday. Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said Rs 622 crore, including interest and penalty, have been recovered from lottery distributors from July 2017 till November 2023. "Twelve cases involving GST evasion of Rs 344.57 crore have been detected against lottery distributors and Rs 621.56 crore (including interest and penalty) has been recovered/realized from July 2017 to till November 2023," Karad said. Karad further said the Finance Ministry had received a reference from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for comments regarding disbursement of prize amount of lotteries through formal banking channel. "Comments in this regard have been sent to MHA. Using formal banking channel for any kind of transaction, including disbursement of lottery prize, is helpful in mitigating the associated mo

FinMin to empanel bankers, law firms for OFS disinvestment, dribbling

The Finance Ministry has invited bids for the empanelment of merchant bankers and legal advisors for assisting the government in CPSE disinvestment transactions undertaken through OFS and stock market dribbling. The bids have been invited in four categories -- A++, A+, A and B, based on the size of the transaction. To be eligible for empanelment in the A++ category, which is an OFS transaction size of more than Rs 2,000 crore, interested merchant bankers would be required to have completed at least one equity market transaction of the size of Rs 2,000 crore. For empanelment for managing OFS transaction size of Rs 750 crore to Rs 2,000 crore (A+), and less than Rs 750 crore (A), the interested merchant banker would be required to have managed at least one capital market transaction of Rs 750 crore and Rs 500 crore respectively between April 2020 and till now. In the fourth category, which is B, interested merchant bankers would be involved in the sale of CPSE shares on the stock ...

Winter session: Sitharaman tears into Opposition's job-less growth claims

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday slammed Congress for launching 'Naam-ke-Vaste' schemes as she enumerated how meticulous implementation of the same new avataar under Modi government reached benefits to the needy and helped catapult India as the fastest-growing major economy. Replying to a discussion on the state of economy in the Rajya Sabha, she called out former finance minister P Chidambaram for "whimsical calculations" to show job-less growth, saying under Modi government working population ratio has increased, schemes like Mudra loan created self-employment, and 13.5 crore lifted out of "multidimensional poverty". Dismissing the North-South divide theory, she said profits and the resulting taxes by big companies in states like Tamil Nadu were a result of sales they make all over the country and not just the state where they are registered. And so it was wrong to say they contribute more to the taxes but get a lesser share than states in the North which do not have

Govt limits additional spending to Rs 58,378 crore, eyes fiscal prudence

The government has set a fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of GDP for FY24

Expecting direct listing of cos in GIFT City by April 2024: IFSCA chief

The industry players say that the new avenue will help startups and unlisted companies access global capital

71 show cause notices issued to online gaming firms involving GST: FinMin

As many as 71 show cause notices have been issued to online gaming companies for alleged GST evasion of over Rs 1.12 lakh crore during financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The total Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion detected by central GST officers in the current fiscal (till October, 2023) was Rs 1.51 lakh crore, while 154 persons have been arrested. A recovery of Rs 18,541 crore was made so far this fiscal. Giving details of detection of GST evasion, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in 2022-23 fiscal, evasion to the tune of over Rs 1.31 lakh crore was detected and 190 persons were arrested. A total of Rs 33,226 crore was recovered during the fiscal. In 2021-22, 2020-21 and 2019-20, GST evasion stood at Rs 73,238 crore, Rs 49,384 crore and Rs 40,853 crore, respectively. To a question in the Rajya Sabha on the amount of tax evasion and number of show cause notices issued to online gaming companies, Chaudhary said: "71 show

FinMin gave Rs 10,000 crore advance for MGNREGS from contingency fund: Govt

The finance ministry has provided Rs 10,000 crore as advance for the rural employment guarantee scheme from Contingency Fund of India, over and above the budgetary allocation of Rs 60,000 crore, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. In reply to a question on the MGNREGS funds being exhausted, Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said the Union government has released Rs 66,629 crore to states for wage, material and administrative components under the scheme till November 29. Financial allocation of Rs 60,000 crore was made for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for the financial year 2023-24 at budget estimate stage. "Further, an amount of Rs 10,000 crore has been provided by the Ministry of Finance as an advance from Contingency Fund of India. The (rural development) ministry seeks additional funds from the Ministry of Finance as and when required for meeting the demand for work on the ground," the minister said in her

2,623 wilful defaulters owe Rs 1.96 trillion to Indian banks: Bhagwat Karad

Karad also informed the Lok Sabha that the Centre has written off loans worth over Rs 10 trillion, in the last five years