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  A mixed set of data points for some high-frequency indicators have pointed to the challenges the economy may face as it looks to quickly regain normalcy from the ravages of the pandemic amid fears over a fresh wave of infections. A key index of manufacturing has dipped to a to 3-month low, while GST collections grew for the third month in a row. Diesel sales fell 7 per cent on an annual basis, while the country's top car maker also reported a dip in sales a possible sign of the festive season fizzling out. The Telegrahp 04.12.2020 Manufacturing activity failed to pick up pace and dropped to a three-month low of 56.3 in November because of slower increases in factory orders, exports and buying levels, prompting firms to cut jobs for the eighth month in a row, a survey showed. The IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell from over a decade high of 58.9 in October to a three-month low of 56.3 in November. GST collections crossed the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark fo...

 The Indian Express Sep 25, 2020 Harikishan Sharma Citing the opinion of the Attorney General of India, Finance Minister  Nirmala Sitharaman  told Parliament last week that there was no provision in the law to compensate states for loss of GST revenue out of the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI). However, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found that the government itself violated the law by retaining Rs 47,272 crore of GST compensation cess in the CFI during 2017-18 and 2018-19, and used the money for other purposes, which “led to overstatement of revenue receipts and understatement of fiscal deficit for the year”. “Audit examination of information in Statements 8, 9 and 13 with regard to collection of the cess and its transfer to the GST Compensation Cess Fund, shows that there was short crediting to the Fund of the GST Compensation Cess collections totalling to Rs 47,272 crore during 2017-18 and 2018-19,” the CAG has said. “The short-crediting was a ...

 Business Standard Sep 22, 2020 In the goods and services tax (GST) regime, India levies one of the highest taxes on vehicles among key world markets when compared with the GST equivalent value-added tax (VAT) levied in other countries. Cars and two-wheelers attract a GST rate of 28 per cent in India and a cess that ranges from 3 to 22 per cent, taking the effective tax rate to up to 50 per cent. The GST was implemented in July 2017 and subsumed a host of indirect taxes, including excise duty, VAT and entertainment tax. Reference:  https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/at-up-to-50-cars-in-india-suffer-among-the-highest-tax-rates-globally-120092101207_1.html

The Financial Express February 24, 2020 Digital loans: It’s a UPI moment for India’s credit market India’s credit market could soon have its UPI moment. Just as UPI transformed the digital payments market, a new digital system that facilitates lending to small firms, based on their cash flows, is on its way. And it is tipped to see business worth an estimated Rs 20 lakh crore being transacted in the next six to seven years. That’s about a fifth of the total outstanding loans of banks at Rs 100 lakh crore. The infrastructure would enable lenders of all hues — banks, NBFCs and fintechs — to disburse loans. They would be aided by the GST network, giving them reliable information on invoices filled by these MSMEs. The beauty of the system, experts say, lies in that any entity with access to a large number of MSME vendors can be loan service providers. It could be a PhonePe, an Amazon or even a SEWA; at the back-end, existing lenders like banks can do the lending. Also, the...

Hindustan Times December 02, 2019 Published By: Rajeev Jayaswal In order to have a comfortable fiscal position, government needs an average monthly collection of at least Rs 1 lakh crore, and November’s receipts – at Rs 1,03,492 crore – is a sign of a recovery. Collections from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rebounded above the Rs 1 lakh crore benchmark in November, government officials said on Sunday, attributing an increase in voluntary compliance and a government stimulus package for an increase in receipts that had contracted for two consecutive months. According to experts, in order to have a comfortable fiscal position, the government needs an average monthly collection of at least Rs 1 lakh crore, and officials said November’s receipts – at Rs 1,03,492 crore – is a sign of a recovery in the country’s economy, which logged its worst quarter of growth in six years in the three-month period ending September. “This is the eighth time since the inception of GST...

Hindustan Times HT Correspondent October 11, 2019 The government on Thursday appointed a committee to recommend measures to augment  Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections , check evasion and make the new regime simpler for ease of compliance that would eventually help in expanding the tax base. “With the approval of the competent authority, it has been decided that a committee of officers be constituted to suggest measures to augment GST revenue,” an order issued by the GST Council secretariat said. The  GST collection  in September fell 2.67% to Rs 91,916 crore compared to the same period last year, driven by the ongoing consumption slowdown. September’s GST collections are the lowest since February 2018. The tax collection in August 2019 was Rs 98,202 crore. “The committee should consider a wide range of reforms so that a comprehensive list of suggestions may emerge,” the order said. The committee has also been asked to look into systemic changes, inc...

Indian Express Express News service October 06, 2019 The Pune office of the Central GST commissionerate has unearthed an alleged ‘Rs 700 crore racket’ that provided fraudulent GST invoices to companies to claim input credit. Advertising A press release issued by the headquarters, preventive wing Pune II of the commissionerate, stated that two people have been arrested in this connection. Companies avail input tax credit for goods purchased or services rendered by them. However, according to the commissionerate, the racket in question involved issuance of fake invoices that helped companies claim such credit without doing either of the two. The press release named two Pune-based companies in this connection. These firms, the press release alleged, had obtained GST registrations and issued invoices worth Rs 700 crore, of which the GST component alone came to about Rs 54 crore. Bogus Eway bills and LRs, the press release stated, were issued to sustain the claims....

Written by Aanchal Magazine | New Delhi | Updated: February 20, 2019 Ahead of the 33rd Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting Wednesday, close to half a dozen states including Kerala, Delhi and Puducherry have sent notes to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asking for deferment of the meeting. The finance ministers of these Opposition-ruled states have expressed concerns about the discussion on lowering tax rate on residential housing at Wednesday’s meeting which is slated to be held through videoconferencing and have sought a detailed discussion by way of a regular meeting at a later date. Kerala’s Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said he has written to Jaitley asking for a regular meeting to discuss the real estate issue and the proposed reduction in lottery rates. “It will be more appropriate to discuss (these) in a regular meeting. I had also asked for deferment of the meeting of GoM on lottery (on Monday) on medical grounds but they went ahead with it and ha...

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 12 The 2019 general elections seem to have cast a shadow over the much-talked-about new scrapping policy for commercial vehicles. The proposal, which was to be sent to the Union Cabinet, is seeing fresh round of discussions. The Road Ministry is engaging with States to make the policy more effective, sources in the know said adding that the Ministry is also considering offering interest rate subvention for buying new vehicles. “Bringing such a policy in an election year is difficult,” a senior official told BusinessLine. The government can ill afford to face the wrath of transporters at this juncture as the policy involves fresh investments in buying lakhs of trucks and other heavy vehicles, which will lead to higher expenditure for transporters. Earlier, in April-May, the Road Ministry did prepare the Cabinet note. However, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) advised the Ministry to hold further discussions with the States to make the draft more...

The Indian Express, PTI, February 11, 2018  With the real estate market beginning to adjust to various reforms like demonetisation, GST and RERA, most Indian metros witnessed recovery with sales improving, while property prices corrected or maintained status-quo, a survey said. According to the survey by property portal 99acres.com, most of the metros saw average property prices either dipping or remaining flat, while overall sales improved in a few markets. The sales volume witnessed growth in cities such as Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru on the back of price corrections. While Hyderabad and Kolkata saw rentals increasing by 4 per cent each during the October-December 2017 quarter as compared to the same period in 2016, Bengaluru and Mumbai recorded 3 per cent hike. The report said the inventory-heavy markets of Delhi NCR and Mumbai witnessed corrections in some popular housing pockets of Gurgaon, Noida and Navi Mumbai. “The real estate industry underwen...