News digest: GST collections, GES 2017, data privacy, and more

I-T dept moves against hoarders: Unsold realty inventory may be taxed

In a bid to curb hoarding of unsold inventories by real estate developers, the income-tax (I-T) department is set to tax unsold flats that have been lying with developers for more than a year. According to a senior I-T official, the fresh tax would be applicable on such inventories from the next financial year. The move would reduce developers’ strategy of hoarding constructed property in anticipation of price escalation in future. Read more

Best year for IPOs leaves investors high and dry

Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala prefers picking shares from the secondary market rather than applying in initial public offerings (IPOs). The rationale behind this investment thesis is that IPOs often come at lofty valuations when the market sentiment is buoyant, leaving little gains on the table for investors. Read more

GST collection lowest for October at Rs 83,346 crore

Collection under the goods and services tax (GST) slowed to Rs 83,346 crore for October, as the Integrated GST was utilised for credits and rates were revised downward. It was the lowest monthly collection since the GST roll-out in July. Read more

Former Planning Commission member N K Singh to head 15th Finance Commission

The government has announced the 15th Finance Commission and it will be chaired by former parliamentarian and revenue and expenditure secretary N K Singh. Its tenure will be till October 30, 2019, by when it will have to give its final report on distributing divisible funds between the Centre and the states for a five-year period starting April 1, 2020. Read more

GES 2017: For global majors, all roads lead to Telangana

Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, is all dressed up to welcome Ivanka Trump, who’s leading the US delegation for the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

From Taj Falaknuma, venue for state dinner to be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to Hitec City, where the summit is being organised for the next three days, Ivanka is the theme. But that’s not the only global attention that the city has been getting. Read more

Srikrishna panel moots data privacy authority

The Justice B N Srikrishna Committee, formed to draft a data protection and privacy Bill, in a white paper on Monday suggested setting up a data protection authority, data audit, registration of data collectors, enacting provisions for protecting children’s personal data, defining penalties and compensation in the case of a data breach. Read more