Page 36 - Finance Ministry

Railway capex budget rules encourage finance ministry to expand model

National transporter is managing its expenditure better after Ministry brought in a new model

FinMin calls meeting of bankers to deal with digital payment fraud

The Finance Ministry has called a meeting of senior bankers and RBI representatives on Tuesday to discuss steps to deal with increasing digital payment fraud and cyber security issue. The meeting to be chaired by Financial Services Secretary will discuss issues related to financial cyber security and increasing digital payment fraud, sources said. During the meeting Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Centre will make a presentation on the latest statistics of digital payment frauds as reported in National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), including challenges and issues faced in countering such issues. The meeting is expected to be attended by senior official of Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Revenue, Department of Telecom, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and National Payments Corporation of India. The meeting assumes significance in view of digital fraud witnessed by UCO Bank and Bank of Baroda in th

Govt may ask 16th Finance Commission to include HDI, SDG in formula

Article 280 of the Constitution says that the President of India can constitute a Finance Commission to make recommendations regarding the distribution of tax proceeds between the Centre and states

Rein in enthusiasm to lend: FM Sitharaman to NBFCs, small finance banks

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the central bank's tougher stance on unsecured loans is a "preemptive" move aimed at ensuring financial stability

UCO fraud fallout: FinMin to meet PSB chiefs next week on cyber security

Sources said that such frauds occurred a couple of times before involving some other public sector banks but went largely unnoticed as the amount involved was small

89% individuals say income tax refund faster now, finds CII survey

As many as 89 per cent of individuals and 88 per cent of firms are of the view that there has been a greater reduction in waiting time to get an income tax refund in the last five years between 2018-2023, a CII survey has said. The CII Income Tax Refund Survey presented to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also found that 75.5 per cent of the individuals and 22.4 per cent of the firm-level respondents did not pay TDS over and above their estimated tax liability. The survey respondents (84 per cent of individuals and 77 per cent of firms) also felt the process of checking refund status was now smooth. "The extensive measures, which have been introduced by the government in the recent years to streamline, simplify and automate the taxation regime have borne rich dividends as is evident from the upbeat survey results on assessing speed and efficiency of income tax refunds conducted by CII," the industry body's President R Dinesh said. A staggering 87 per cent of the individuals and

FY24 to end with strong growth performance, macroeconomic stability: FinMin

The current financial year should conclude as projected with a strong growth performance and macroeconomic stability as more than half of this fiscal has witnessed positive developments in the economy, a finance ministry report said on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected a 6.5 per cent GDP growth in the current financial year ending March 2024. In the Monthly Economic Review for October, the ministry also said the downside risk will continue to be inflation that should keep both the government and the RBI on high alert. Financial flows in the external sector need constant monitoring as they impact the value of rupee and the balance of payments, the report said, adding that a fuller transmission of the monetary policy may also temper domestic demand. On the inflation front, it said the decline in international crude oil prices and continued moderation in core inflation are likely to control inflationary pressures going forward. Recognising this trend, the report

FY24 should conclude as projected with strong growth: Finance ministry

The government is also confident of achieving the budgeted deficit target for the current fiscal year

Finance ministry asks PSU banks to take measures to bolster cybersecurity

The Finance Ministry has asked state-owned banks to review systems and processes related to their digital operation in view of the recent UCO Bank incident. According to sources, the banks have been advised to check their cybersecurity robustness and take measures to strengthen them. Banks should keep a tight vigil, and there should be readiness for future cyber threats, sources said. The Finance Ministry and RBI have been sensitising banks on this aspect at regular intervals amid the growing digitisation in the financial sector. Last week, Kolkata-based public sector lender UCO Bank reported erroneous credit of Rs 820 crore to account holders of the bank via Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). During November 10-13, the bank had observed, due to technical issues in IMPS, certain transaction(s) initiated by holders of other banks have resulted in credit to the account holders in UCO Bank without actual receipt of money from these banks. IMPS is a real-time interbank electronic fund

FinMin organises workshop on PPP project structuring toolkit for highways

The Finance Ministry on Friday organised a two-day workshop to sensitise project sponsoring authorities (PSAs) of the roads and highways sector on how to structure PPP projects using a web-based toolkit. The workshop organised by the Infrastructure Finance Secretariat (IFS) in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) was attended by more than 70 representatives of Centre and state/UT governments, the finance ministry said in a statement. Recognising the challenges inherent in PPP projects, IFS has developed the PPP Structuring Toolkits, offering web-based tools to assist project sponsoring authorities in evaluating project viability for PPP mode. The workshop, which is the first in a series of workshops for dissemination of the toolkits, was inaugurated by Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth. He highlighted the importance of infrastructure and the need to create a shelf of viable infrastructure projects to take India on a higher growth trajectory. Seth further emphasised that PSA

Centre cuts windfall tax on crude oil to Rs 6,300/tonne, halves for diesel

Windfall tax: The levy on the export of jet fuel and petrol will continue to be zero

Rural housing construction may be driving up MGNREGS costs, says ministry

Rs 35,000-40,000 crore of MGNREGS wages have already gone towards the construction of houses under PMAY-Gramin since it was revamped in November 2016

FinMin directs ministries to adhere to mobile, laptop issuance guidelines

The finance ministry has asked various departments and ministries to follow the guidelines with regard to issuance of mobiles, laptops and similar devices to officers and withdraw any policy which is at variance with the Department of Expenditure's guidelines. The Department of Expenditure under the finance ministry had in July issued guidelines for issue of mobile, laptop, tablet, phablet, notebook, notepad, ultra-book, net-book or devices of similar categories to eligible officers of Government of India for official work. Issuing a fresh office memorandum, the Department of Expenditure said it has come to its notice that various ministries/departments have issued their own policies regarding this which are not in line with the spirit of the finance ministry's guidelines. "Ministries/Departments are hereby directed to stop/withdraw their own policies on the subject and strictly adhere to the instructions issued by this Department in letter and spirit," the Department of Expenditure

Govt extends date for submitting claims under Vivad se Vishwas to Dec 31

The finance ministry on Thursday extended the deadline by two months till December 31 for submitting claims to settle pending disputes relating to government contracts. The Vivad se Vishwas II scheme was launched on July 15 to settle disputes in government contracts and the last date for submitting claims by contractors was October 31. In an office memorandum, the Department of Expenditure said lt has been decided that the claims under the Vivad se Vishwas II scheme can now be submitted till December 31, 2023. The scheme is applicable to all domestic contractual disputes where one of the parties is either the government of India or government undertakings. Under the scheme, for court awards passed on or before April 30, 2023 the settlement amount offered to the contractor will be up to 85 per cent of the net amount awarded/upheld by the court. For arbitral awards passed on or before January 31, 2023, the settlement amount offered is up to 65 per cent of the net amount ...

Centre releases tax devolution to states early citing festive season

The lowest devolution for the month of November is to Goa and Sikkim at Rs 281 crore and Rs 283.10 crore

Fiscal impact of free food grain extension unlikely for next 2 years

An analysis by Nomura said the extension reflects the difficulty in withdrawing populist policies, especially ahead of elections but the near-term macro implications should be muted

FinMin launches amnesty scheme for filing appeals against GST demand orders

The finance ministry has come out with an amnesty scheme for filing appeals against Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand orders. The scheme, which will be open till January 31, 2024, will be available for entities that were unable to submit their appeals against orders issued by the tax officer on or before March 31, 2023, according to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The CBIC issued a notification with respect to the scheme on Thursday. So far, the GST law allowed an assessee to file an appeal against an assessment order seeking taxes within three months of the tax officer passing such a demand order. This can be extended by one more month. In its last meeting on October 7, the GST Council had approved this amnesty scheme for filing appeals. The entities willing to avail of the scheme will have to pre-deposit 12.5 per cent of the tax demand, against 10 per cent currently. The move will facilitate a large number of taxpayers, who could not file an appeal in t

India abstained from Pakistan's loan request to IMF: Finance ministry

The arrangement provides short-term financial assistance to countries facing balance of payments problems

Finmin questions rationale for extending FAME scheme beyond current fiscal

The Heavy Industries Ministry proposed an extension to subsidies for EVs under FAME III with a higher allocation for five more years to support the growth of electric and alternate fuel vehicles

Finance ministry notifies prospective levy of GST on corporate guarantees

The finance ministry has issued a notification stating goods and services tax will be levied on guarantees provided by corporates to their subsidiaries prospectively. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) council, comprising central and state finance ministers, had earlier this month clarified on the taxability of corporate guarantee, saying it would be subject to 18 per cent GST. Tax experts had then sought clarity on GST levy on past transactions as many companies might not be able to recover the tax from subsidiaries or group companies. The finance ministry on Thursday notified amendments to Central GST rules, saying that the corporate guarantee would be taxable from the date of the notification. GST at 18 per cent will be levied on 1 per cent of the total amount guaranteed by the parent company or the actual consideration, whichever is higher, the notification said. "This prospective modification shall have no bearing on transactions executed prior to October 26, consequently ...