Page 6 - Tax

Commercial LPG cylinder to become costlier by Rs 25 in India from today

Last month, before Budget 2024, the price of commercial LPG cylinders was hiked by Rs 14 in Delhi to Rs 1,770

Centre releases third instalment of Rs 1.42 trillion to states in February

The Centre generally releases 14 instalments to the states in a year, one each in 11 months and three in March. The latest release is yet another additional devolution

Hong Kong ups salaries tax for high earners to 16% to tackle fiscal deficit

A two-tier tax system will be introduced from April, with income of up to HK$5 million ($640,000) taxed at a maximum of 15%, and anything higher than that being taxed at 16%

Bengaluru tax payers are giving us buoyancy: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hailed Bengaluru tax payers for their contributions in building a strong and 'Viksit Bharat', and said the Department of Revenue is running its entire national faceless income tax assessment scheme from Karnataka's capital city. Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the upcoming complex HONGIRANA for Income Tax officers and staff here, she said the tax payers of Bengaluru have been absolutely giving us the buoyancy, and thanked all individual and corporate taxpayers in this region for making sure for building a strong and 'Viksit Bharat'. "Your contribution is relentless. There has never been a dip. So thank you very much Bengaluru for keeping that momentum up", she said. Sitharaman also emphasised the investments that the Central government is making in Bengaluru. She noted that the Government has brought about the entire faceless system for income tax assessment and ease of doing business to ensure that tax assessee

Govt cuts import duty on turkeys; exempts extra long staple cotton from tax

The government has fully exempted customs duty on import of extra long staple cotton, and has cut duties on specified varieties of imported blueberries, cranberries and frozen turkeys. In a notification, the Finance Ministry has slashed import duty on certain items of blueberries and cranberries from 30 per cent to 10 per cent in some cases and 5 per cent in other cases. Similarly, import duty pertaining to meat and edible offal of turkeys, were also reduced from 30 per cent to 5 per cent effective Tuesday. According to officials, the duty rate changes on frozen turkey, specified cranberries and blueberries and their processed products is to implement the recommendation of the Department of Commerce following a mutually agreed solution between India and the US. Nangia Andersen India Associate Director- Indirect Tax, Khushbu Trivedi, said, in pursuance of the bilateral agreement that took place in the recent G20 Leaders' Summit between India and USA intended at addressing the past .

'Tax rich, spend on poor to uplift them' is our economics: Karnataka CM

Strongly defending his government's guarantee schemes, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said there was nothing called "Siddanomics" and he and his government believed in "good economics", which means taxing the rich in accordance with law and spending the money on the poor for their uplift. He also asserted that his government is working towards protecting the Constitution and making Karnataka "Sarva Janangada Shantiya Tota" (the peaceful garden of all communities) and alleged that the BJP believes in "Manuwad" and not the Constitution. The CM was replying to the motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint sitting of Karnataka Legislature, in the Legislative Assembly. The motion was later passed by the Lower House, even as opposition BJP and JD(S) staged a walkout, alleging that the Chief Minister was making a political speech ahead of Lok Sabha polls, instead of replying to issues raised, while no developmental work has taken place in nine months since .

Rationalise high excise duties on alcohol beverages: Iswai to state govts

ISWAI, which represents the imported premium portfolio of spirits and wine brands in India, on Monday urged state governments to rationalise high excise duties. The International Spirits & Wines Association of India (ISWAI) said manufacturers of alcohol beverages (Alco-Bev) are facing shrinking margins due to high discriminatory taxes, along with soaring inflation and import tariffs. It has urged regulators to consider an "inflation-linked model that will bring much-needed transparency and a consistent approach to state supplier pricing", said a statement from ISWAI. In some states, excise duties account for 70-80 per cent of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), it said, adding that inflation is putting additional pressure on the industry. "As inflation rates rise in the country, the Alco-Bev sector faces significant challenges due to escalating costs of production, transportation, raw materials, and exorbitant import duties. This combination poses a dire threat to the industry's ...

CBDT sets Rs 1 lakh limit for withdrawal of pending tax demands till AY16

The Income Tax department has prescribed a ceiling of Rs 1 lakh per assessee for withdrawal of small tax demands till Assessment Year 2015-16, in accordance with a scheme announced in Budget. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued an order giving effect to the 2024-25 Budget announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Budget had announced that tax demands for AY 2010-11 of up to Rs 25,000 and for AY 2011-12 to 2015-16 of up to Rs 10,000 will be withdrawn. Tax demands totalling about Rs 3,500 crore will be withdrawn following the announcement. The CBDT order said that such outstanding tax demands pertaining to income tax, wealth tax and gift tax as on January 31, 2024, shall be remitted and extinguished "subject to the maximum ceiling of Rs 1 lakh for any specific taxpayer/assessee". The limit of Rs 1 lakh would include principal component of tax demand, interest, penalty or fee, cess, surcharge. However, the remission shall not be applicable on the demand

Singapore to impose green fuel levy on flights, passengers to bear costs

Under the European model, the carrier pays for the blended fuel and decides whether the cost will be passed on to passengers in ticket prices

Govt hikes windfall tax on petroleum crude to Rs 3,300 a tonne from Feb 16

It will also increase a windfall tax on diesel, that had been reduced to zero, to 1.50 rupees a litre, the order showed

DGGI summons officials of foreign airlines over tax evasion: Report

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) was seeking clarification over payment of crew salaries and staff expenses at the offices of the international airlines, the report said

CBIC cautions against fake GST summons, asks to check communications

The CBIC on Saturday cautioned against fraudsters issuing fake GST summons and asked taxpayers to check the veracity of any communication received from GST authorities. In a statement, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has recently noticed that some individuals with fraudulent intent are creating and sending fake summons to taxpayers who may or may not be under investigation by the DGGI. "The fake summons that are being sent out might look real because they have a Document Identification Number (DIN), but these DIN numbers are not issued by DGGI in the case of these entities. To deal with this issue, DGGI has been taking serious steps by informing and filing complaints with the Police against those involved in creating and sending fake and fraudulent summons," an official statement said. Taxpayers can verify the genuineness of any communication (including summons) from the department by using the 'VERIFY ..

Govt will seek an end to WTO's 1998 tariff freeze on trade of digital goods

The WTO has had a moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions since 1998, and members have extended the rule every two years

Over Rs 15 trillion in direct tax mop-up comes in 'automatically'

Proportion of TDS, advance taxes in total collections inching closer to 80%

FinMin's DGGI busts 1,700 fake Input Tax Credit cases, nabs 98 fraudsters

GST intelligence officers have detected fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) cases worth Rs 18,000 crore from April to December in the current fiscal and arrested 98 people, the finance ministry said on Saturday. In the current financial year, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has laid special emphasis to identify and apprehend the masterminds of fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) and disrupting syndicates, operating across the country. "In the current financial year (up to December 2023), 1,700 fake ITC cases involving Rs 18,000 crore have been detected and 98 fraudsters/masterminds have been apprehended," a statement said. DGGI has unravelled cases using data analysis aided by advanced technical tools, leading to the arrest of tax evaders. These tax syndicates often use gullible persons and enticed them with jobs/commission/bank loan, etc, to extract their Know Your Customers (KYC) documents, which were then used to create fake/shell firms/companies without their knowledge and .

Interim Budget: Tax-GDP ratio projected to be highest in FY25 since 2008-09

Personal income tax is the only tax that was shown to collect more in RE for this financial year

Tax benefits extension to startups till Mar 2025 progressive move: Industry

The interim Budget announcement related to the extension of tax benefits to startups by one more year till March 2025 underlines the government's commitment towards creating a conducive environment for startup development and sustainable investments, the industry said on Thursday, terming it a progressive and encouraging move. "...the extension of tax benefits until March 2025 for startups, sovereign wealth, and pension funds signify a government committed to supporting growth and resilience. The prolonged tax benefits indicate a steady commitment to creating a conducive environment for startup development and sustainable investments," MobiKwik Founder and CEO Bipin Preet Singh said. CEO and Co-Founder of magicpin Anshoo Sharma lauded the move saying it would provide much-needed continuity and inflows to the Indian startup ecosystem. "We also appreciate the extension of tax benefits to startups on investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds to 31.03.2025, this will provide

Govt pegs non-tax revenue from communications at Rs 1.20 trillion for FY25

The government has pegged non-tax revenue collection estimates from the communications sector at about Rs 1.20 lakh crore for 2024-25 and expects to exceed the budget estimates for the current fiscal. As per the interim budget document, the government has revised the revenue estimate from other communication services' for the current fiscal to Rs 93,541.01 crore from the earlier projection of Rs 89,469.17 crore mentioned in the previous budget. The revenue collections for 2024-25 are seen at Rs 1,20,267.31 crore. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim Budget on Thursday. The full Budget will be presented by the new government after the Lok Sabha elections. The actual revenue receipts of the government in 2022-23 were Rs 64,835.17 crore. The non-tax revenue receipts from the other communication services mainly relate to licence fees from telecom operators and receipts on account of spectrum usage charges. The Department of Telecom collects recurring licence fees

GST collections to drive FY25 gross tax revenue to Rs 38.31 trillion

The government's gross tax revenue is projected to grow 11.46 per cent to Rs 38.31 lakh crore in the next fiscal, buoyed by 11.6 per cent growth in GST collections. Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in 2024-25 is estimated to rise to Rs 10.68 lakh crore, an increase of Rs 1.1 lakh crore or 11.6 per cent. Of the total tax collections, Rs 21.99 lakh crore is estimated to come from direct taxes (personal income tax + corporate tax), and Rs 16.22 lakh crore from indirect taxes (customs + excise duty +GST). In the current fiscal, the government estimates gross tax revenue to exceed the budget estimated by about Rs 76,000 crore. The budgeted tax revenue for current fiscal was Rs 33.61 lakh crore, while the revised estimate pegs it at Rs 34.37 lakh crore, as per the Interim Budget 2024-25. Even though the corporate tax collections remained as per the FY24 budget estimates, the personal income tax collection is expected to overshoot budget estimates by over Rs 1.20 lakh crore in cur

Decoding budget documents: How to zero in on tax changes that affect you

Wait for full budget to be presented before incorporating relevant changes into your financial and tax planning for next year