Page 35 - Finance Ministry

No GST dues pending, some states have not submitted AG's report: Sitharaman

The Centre on Tuesday said no GST dues of any state are pending before it and that some state governments have not submitted AG's authenticated certificate for release of their share of funds. The narrative that GST dues are pending from the Centre is not correct and is a "misnomer" as states have not submitted AG's report, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said replying to a supplementary question in Rajya Sabha. "It is important to understand that if the AG's (accountant general) certification is (mandatory)... If the AG's certificate does not reach us, we can not clear," she said. Some states, even after sending AG's certificate, tell us to hold on till they clear it finally, she said. The finance minister was responding to a question from Trinamool Congress member Saket Gokhale, who asked about the GST dues of states, especially to West Bengal. He also sought a reason for which the GST dues of the states were withheld. Replying to it, the finance minister said she wou

Govt says 10 PSBs transferred NPAs of over Rs 11k cr to NARCL from Jan-Nov

A total of 10 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have transferred Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of over Rs 11,617 crore to NARCL between January and November this year, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) has recovered Rs 16.64 crore as on November 30, 2023. He said recovery in NPA accounts is an ongoing process, and security receipts issued to lenders by NARCL, backed by government guarantee, provide a five-year time window for effecting the recovery in such accounts. "Further, corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is going on in some of the accounts acquired by NARCL. Recovery will be effected in these accounts after the resolution plans get approved by the National Company Law Tribunal. In remaining accounts, NARCL has recovered Rs 16.64 crore, as on 30.11.2023," Karad said. NARCL is bad ba

LS gives nod for additional cash outgo of Rs 58,378 cr in current fiscal

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday cleared a net additional spending of Rs 58,378 crore in the current fiscal ending March 2024, with a large chunk going towards MGNREGA and subsidy on fertiliser. The gross additional spending sought by the government was over Rs 1.29 lakh crore, of which Rs 70,968 crore would be matched by savings and receipts. Replying to a debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that fiscal prudence is the top priority of the government without compromising on social welfare. She also said that the net additional spending by the government would be Rs 58,378.21 crore in the current fiscal. The additional expenditure includes Rs 13,351 crore towards fertiliser subsidy and about Rs 7,000 crore towards spending by the Department of Food and Public Distribution. The House also approved an additional outgo of Rs 9,200 crore spending by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Rs 14,524 crore by the Ministry of Rural Developmen

Govt to stick to Rs 34 trillion tax collection goal in revised estimate

The government is likely to stick to the budgeted estimate of total tax collection target of Rs 33.61 lakh crore for current fiscal in the revised estimates, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday. "So far, direct tax collection is up by about 20 per cent and indirect tax is higher by 5 per cent. We have data till the eight months of the fiscal and usually the collections are better in the first half. So, at the moment, we will stick to the Budget numbers in our Revised Estimates (RE)," an official said. For 2023-24 (April-March), the Union Budget had pegged total tax collections at Rs 33.61 lakh crore, up 10.1 per cent from Rs 30.54 lakh crore in the previous year. In the current fiscal, Rs 18.23 lakh crore is expected to be collected in direct taxes (personal income tax and corporate tax), and Rs 15.38 lakh crore from indirect taxes (GST, Customs, excise). The revised estimates for current fiscal's revenue numbers would be presented as part of the vote on account or ..

Over 679,500 central govt pensioners as of Mar 2023: Finance Minsitry

There are over 67.95 lakh central government pensioners, including defence pensioners, as of March 31, 2023, the finance ministry said on Monday. As per the data compiled and furnished by Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare on the basis of database maintained by Central Pension Accounting Office, Controller General of Defence Accounts, Ministry of Railways, Department of Telecommunication and Department of Posts, the total number of central government pensioners as on March 31, 2023, is 67,95,449, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in the Lok Sabha. The number of civil and defence pensioners stood at close to 11.42 lakh and over 33.87 lakh, respectively. The number of telecom and postal pensioners stood at over 4.38 lakh and 3.01 lakh, respectively. Railway pensioners stood at over 15.25 lakh as of March 2023. To a question on whether the government proposes to restore the old pension scheme (OPS) for central government employees, Chaudhary said, "No such

GST evasion of Rs 345 cr detected against lottery distributors till Nov '23

A total of 12 cases of GST evasion involving Rs 345 crore have been detected against lottery distributors since July 2017, Parliament was informed on Monday. Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said Rs 622 crore, including interest and penalty, have been recovered from lottery distributors from July 2017 till November 2023. "Twelve cases involving GST evasion of Rs 344.57 crore have been detected against lottery distributors and Rs 621.56 crore (including interest and penalty) has been recovered/realized from July 2017 to till November 2023," Karad said. Karad further said the Finance Ministry had received a reference from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for comments regarding disbursement of prize amount of lotteries through formal banking channel. "Comments in this regard have been sent to MHA. Using formal banking channel for any kind of transaction, including disbursement of lottery prize, is helpful in mitigating the associated mo

FinMin to empanel bankers, law firms for OFS disinvestment, dribbling

The Finance Ministry has invited bids for the empanelment of merchant bankers and legal advisors for assisting the government in CPSE disinvestment transactions undertaken through OFS and stock market dribbling. The bids have been invited in four categories -- A++, A+, A and B, based on the size of the transaction. To be eligible for empanelment in the A++ category, which is an OFS transaction size of more than Rs 2,000 crore, interested merchant bankers would be required to have completed at least one equity market transaction of the size of Rs 2,000 crore. For empanelment for managing OFS transaction size of Rs 750 crore to Rs 2,000 crore (A+), and less than Rs 750 crore (A), the interested merchant banker would be required to have managed at least one capital market transaction of Rs 750 crore and Rs 500 crore respectively between April 2020 and till now. In the fourth category, which is B, interested merchant bankers would be involved in the sale of CPSE shares on the stock ...

Winter session: Sitharaman tears into Opposition's job-less growth claims

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday slammed Congress for launching 'Naam-ke-Vaste' schemes as she enumerated how meticulous implementation of the same new avataar under Modi government reached benefits to the needy and helped catapult India as the fastest-growing major economy. Replying to a discussion on the state of economy in the Rajya Sabha, she called out former finance minister P Chidambaram for "whimsical calculations" to show job-less growth, saying under Modi government working population ratio has increased, schemes like Mudra loan created self-employment, and 13.5 crore lifted out of "multidimensional poverty". Dismissing the North-South divide theory, she said profits and the resulting taxes by big companies in states like Tamil Nadu were a result of sales they make all over the country and not just the state where they are registered. And so it was wrong to say they contribute more to the taxes but get a lesser share than states in the North which do not have

Govt limits additional spending to Rs 58,378 crore, eyes fiscal prudence

The government has set a fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of GDP for FY24

Expecting direct listing of cos in GIFT City by April 2024: IFSCA chief

The industry players say that the new avenue will help startups and unlisted companies access global capital

71 show cause notices issued to online gaming firms involving GST: FinMin

As many as 71 show cause notices have been issued to online gaming companies for alleged GST evasion of over Rs 1.12 lakh crore during financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The total Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion detected by central GST officers in the current fiscal (till October, 2023) was Rs 1.51 lakh crore, while 154 persons have been arrested. A recovery of Rs 18,541 crore was made so far this fiscal. Giving details of detection of GST evasion, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in 2022-23 fiscal, evasion to the tune of over Rs 1.31 lakh crore was detected and 190 persons were arrested. A total of Rs 33,226 crore was recovered during the fiscal. In 2021-22, 2020-21 and 2019-20, GST evasion stood at Rs 73,238 crore, Rs 49,384 crore and Rs 40,853 crore, respectively. To a question in the Rajya Sabha on the amount of tax evasion and number of show cause notices issued to online gaming companies, Chaudhary said: "71 show

FinMin gave Rs 10,000 crore advance for MGNREGS from contingency fund: Govt

The finance ministry has provided Rs 10,000 crore as advance for the rural employment guarantee scheme from Contingency Fund of India, over and above the budgetary allocation of Rs 60,000 crore, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. In reply to a question on the MGNREGS funds being exhausted, Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said the Union government has released Rs 66,629 crore to states for wage, material and administrative components under the scheme till November 29. Financial allocation of Rs 60,000 crore was made for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for the financial year 2023-24 at budget estimate stage. "Further, an amount of Rs 10,000 crore has been provided by the Ministry of Finance as an advance from Contingency Fund of India. The (rural development) ministry seeks additional funds from the Ministry of Finance as and when required for meeting the demand for work on the ground," the minister said in her

2,623 wilful defaulters owe Rs 1.96 trillion to Indian banks: Bhagwat Karad

Karad also informed the Lok Sabha that the Centre has written off loans worth over Rs 10 trillion, in the last five years

Nearly 80 mn tax returns filed till Dec 2: MoS Finance informs Parliament

As many as 7.76 crore tax returns for income earned in 2022-23 have been filed till December 2 and more are expected to be filed by this month end, Parliament was informed on Monday. In 2022-23 financial year, 10.09 crore PAN holders paid taxes for income earned in 2021-22. "For the corresponding period, 7.76 crore returns have been filed till December 2, 2023, and more returns are expected to be filed till the last date, i.e. December 31, 2023," Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The last date for filing income tax returns (ITRs) for income earned in 2022-23 was July 31, 2023. Assessees who wish to file return after the due date can do so by December 31 upon payment of a penalty. The total net direct tax collection during 2022-23 is Rs 16.63 lakh crore out of which income tax collection is Rs 8.08 lakh crore.

India to become $5 trillion economy early in Amrit Kaal: MoS Finance

India will become a USD 5 trillion economy early in the 'Amrit Kaal' on the path to achieve the goal of becoming an advanced economy by 2047, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India to become a USD 5 trillion economy with the third largest GDP in 2027-28. The USD 5 trillion milestone will be crossed with the help of a strong rupee which will result from macroeconomic stability, he said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. "The government has set the goal of becoming an advanced economy by 2047. In the process, it will become a USD 5 trillion economy early in the Amrit Kaal," Chaudhary said. At the end of 2022-23, the Indian GDP stood at USD 3.7 trillion. In 1980-81, size of the Indian economy was USD 189 billion, which increased to USD 326 billion after a decade. In 2000-01, the size of the GDP rose to USD 476 billion. In 2010-11, India's GDP jumped to USD 1.71 trillion, and further increased to USD

GST collections jump 15% to Rs 1.68 trillion in Nov: Finance Ministry

GST collections jumped 15 per cent to nearly Rs 1.68 lakh crore in November, the finance ministry said on Friday. Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up was over Rs 1.45 lakh crore in November 2022. "The gross GST revenue collected in the month of November 2023 is Rs 1,67,929 crore, out of which CGST is Rs 30,420 crore, SGST is Rs 38,226 crore, IGST is Rs 87,009 crore (including Rs 39,198 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 12,274 crore (including Rs 1,036 crore collected on import of goods)," the ministry said in a statement. The November 2023 collections are, however, lower than Rs 1.72 lakh crore mopped up in October -- the second-highest collection ever since the GST rollout. Revenues for November 2023 are 15 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year and the highest for any month year-on-year during 2023-24, up to November 2023, the ministry said.

No legal bar on member's reappointment: Finance secy T V Somanathan

No further ToRs to come, says Somanathan

India's GDP expected to grow by 6.5% in FY24, says finance ministry

Growth projections for Financial Year 2024 indicate that India will grow by 6.5 per cent. Growth prospects appear bright, though external factors pose a downside risk, the Finance Ministry said

Finance Commission terms of reference takes a conservative stance

Press release on terms of reference doesn't name people who will be part of the commission

Sitharaman demands concrete action on climate funding, not words at COP 28

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday called for concrete action on climate funding and transfer of technology at the upcoming global climate summit, saying that India will be pushing forward to showcase what it has achieved with its own funds. The 28th round of the annual UN climate talks to be held from Nov 03 to December 12 in the UAE and is anticipated to involve intense negotiations on compensation from rich countries to developing ones for climate impacts, fossil fuel usage, methane emissions, and financial aid for reducing planet-warming emissions and adapting to climate change. Speaking during a virtual session at the inaugural event of India Global Forum Middle East and Africa 2023 (IGF ME&A), Sitharaman said that cOP 28 should show the direction to countries. "There is a need for concrete action on climate funding and transfer of technology at the upcoming global climate summit," she said. She said that India will certainly be pushing forward to showcase what it .