Top Headlines: Standards for shared economy, dilemma over bank licences

India will soon come up with standards for shared-economy services players owing to the rising number of complaints from consumers. Meanwhile, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has instructed GST commissioners to take stern action against errant officers when complaints about coercive tax payments during search operations or investigations are received. Read more on these in our top headlines.

Standards for shared economy on the cards amid rise in consumer complaints

India will soon come up with standards for shared-economy services players owing to the rising number of complaints from consumers and the increasing reach of digital players across the consumer ecosystem. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which is under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, is taking the initiative in this regard. Read more
 

Dilemma over bank licences: NBFCs struggle to make the cut for RBI's rules

The IL&FS crisis came as a rude shock to those who thought circumventing regulations could be a blueprint for the lending business in India. India is a credit-starved country — banks’ total assets account for less than 70 per cent of GDP — so it’s not difficult to be successful as a non-banking financial company (NBFC). The catch here is accessing funds. Where do NBFCs source their money? Read more

Officers to face strict disciplinary action for coercive GST collection

Amid companies such as Swiggy approaching courts to get relief from forceful GST payments, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has instructed GST commissioners to take stern action against errant officers when complaints about coercive tax payments during search operations or investigations are received. Read more

RBI likely to introduce a comprehensive IT outsourcing framework

A comprehensive information technology (IT) outsourcing framework for all Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-regulated entities may be on the cards and aligned with the new privacy Bill. In a related move, the first baby steps are also said to be underway to set up community Cloud architecture — Indian Banking Community Cloud (IBCC) — for state-run banks. Read more

Markets set to witness biggest May decline since 2012 amid FPI sell-off

The Indian markets look set to witness their biggest May decline since 2012 amid relentless selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). So far this month, the benchmark Sensex and the Nifty indices are down 5 per cent, while the broader market Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 are down 8.5 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. Read more