Test legality of cess by the Centre: Rajeev Dimri

Rajeev Dimri

The ideology behind GST is to reduce the multiplicity of existing indirect taxes and implement a uniform taxation structure across the nation. A perfect GST would have been wherein all the goods and services are taxed at a single tax rate, subject to minimal or no exceptions. However, for a country like India, tiered tax rate structure becomes inevitable to take into account the larger social agenda. That said, stretching the deviations to the extent of imposing cesses over and above GST for certain products would effectively turn GST into a common umbrella hosting several other taxes and cesses, which is against its primary intent. Such a proposition might take the GST structure back to the rigours of the existing system.If consensus is reached on additional cesses for luxury items and sin goods, it is critical to ensure that credit of these cesses is not restricted to flow through the value chain and should be kept fungible with other taxes such as CGST (central GST) and IGST (integr

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Avoid cess, increase GST peak rate: Harishanker Subramaniam

Harishanker Subramaniam

India's goods and services tax (GST) journey is in its critical phase with the GST Council debating important issues such as rate structure, administrative ease and the GST law. Multiple rate structure is the pragmatic way forward, and aligned to the report by the committee headed by the chief economic advisor. While the debate around what will fall in which rate basket continues, it is important we have consistent classification across states to avoid issues.The emerging rate structure is four per cent, six per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 26 per cent, and the principle appears to be such that goods that currently have an effective indirect tax rate structure (value added tax, excise, central sales tax included) equal to or closer to these rate buckets will tend to fall in those rate buckets. The idea is to maintain the current effective indirect rate in the new GST rate structure with some upside in GST chain due to lower cascading. The 26 per cent peak rate basket means goods

Aged but connected

Seniors are an important market segment for all industries. Latest trend reports have revealed that senior citizens yearn for independence and assisted living has become their preferred lifestyle. SeniorWorld, one of India's largest community of seniors, undertook a nationwide survey of the aged, to understand how this "often-ignored" demography is embracing technology and enhancing quality of life. Almost 800 people participated in the survey.A snapshot:

Getting the RTI right

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan said if Narendra Modi could become prime minister, so could he. "I have all the qualities of becoming prime minister," he said at a function in Saharanpur. "I can make tea, play the drum, cook food and I wear proper clothes. Besides, I am not all that bad looking, nor am I corrupt." Khan went on to say that if he became PM, "I assure you, I will deposit Rs 20 lakh in the accounts of 130 crore people within six months. I am not like those who don't keep their promises". "At a time when tension rages at the border and our poor are going hungry, he (Modi) sends shawls to Pakistan and gets in return boxes of mangoes," Khan said. "The king is happy, so is Pakistan. He will take advantage of this in the 2017 polls (in UP)."

Azam Khan's PM ambitions

Come November, all roads will lead to Uttar Pradesh. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning four yatras that will culminate in Lucknow with a rally on December 25, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday. The rally will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the yatras will be led by BJP President Amit Shah and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has been roped in to address the public meetings - a significant move in the light of the BJP repeatedly saying it would not put the "surgical strikes" against Pakistani terror camps to political use. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi completed his Kisan Yatra some days back. In November, his sister Priyanka will hit the campaign trail in the state.

UP campaign trail to heat up in November

On the solution suggested by Das, I do not think ceasing all economic dealings with Pakistan will fetch India anything

Letters: Change with the times

GST, which aimed at providing moderate rates of tax with only a couple of tax slabs, is now destined to become a complicated and multi-faceted taxation regime like the one at present

Letters: Back to square one?

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee might not have been able to attract big-ticket investments to the state, but no industrialist can deny that she is a good host

Mamata, the good host

At an IIT Bombay event, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, an alumnus of the institute, became nostalgic

Treading carefully

Journalist and Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, the special invitee at the event, said Jaitley is more than a politician

Penchant for jokes

But it is disturbing so many Americans have turned insular

Trump bandwagon trips

The MPC minutes need to be more detailed to be useful

Very few answers

Equity Fund Managers' Investment Calls*

With UK-based energy firm BP selling 8.5 per cent stake in Castrol India in September, fund managers bought the shares

Multiple, progressive rates defy fiscal logic

A compromised GST

India must follow up on its promises to Myanmar

Eastern promise

My daughter has received a scholarship of Rs 5 lakh. Will she be taxed for this amount? Since she has never filed taxes, she does not have a PAN card. Should I make a PAN card for her?'As per section 10(16) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, scholarships granted to meet the cost of education are exempt from income tax. The term scholarship is not defined under the Act. However, the dictionary meaning of scholarship is anything which makes education free of charge at a concessional rate of fees. Also, in general parlance, the cost of education may include not only the tuition fees but all expenses incidental to obtaining education. Considering this, scholarship received by your daughter to meet the cost of education may be claimed as exempt u/s 10(16) of the Act.In case you are claiming an exemption of the scholarship received by your daughter u/s 10(16) and she does not have any other income for which a return is required to be filed in India, she is not mandatorily required to obtain a PAN

Taxation: Kuldip Kumar

First an educational cess might be be levied. Then copra and tea cess will follow

Letters: Cess in disaster

It turned out that the cess was only for ultra-luxury items and products such as tobacco

Tweet-untweet

Real estate firms in Mumbai and Delhi are looking at projects in Bengaluru after facing slowdown in their home markets

Tyranny of choice

These signs also carried the name of the security in-charge, one Mr Pereira, who should be informed if anybody flouted the restriction

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