Page 37 - Finance Ministry

FinMin notifies rules for appointment of president, members in GSTAT

The finance ministry has notified the rules for the appointment of the president and members of GST appellate tribunals. Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Appointment and Conditions of Service of President and Members) Rules, 2023, defines the rule for appointment and removal of the president and members of the appellate tribunals, their salary, allowances, pension, provident fund, gratuity and leave. The GST council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister and comprising state counterparts, in its 52nd meeting on October 7 decided that the maximum age limit for the president and members of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) would be 70 years and 67 years, respectively. In September, the finance ministry had notified 31 benches of GSTAT, which will be set up in 28 states and 8 Union Territories. Setting up state-level benches of GSTAT would help businesses by way of faster dispute resolution. Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with the ruling of tax authorities are required to

Finance ministry's expenditure management to keep space for global crises

The pre-budget discussions are expected to conclude on November 14

Fiscal position solid, retail inflation to stay within target: FinMin

Retail inflation eased to a three-month low in September on the back of softer vegetable prices, but remained above a 4% target that the central bank has signalled would be key before easing rates

Govt to ensure that debt burden not passed on to future generation: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Friday said the government is mindful of the fiscal deficit management and will ensure the burden of servicing debt is not passed on to next generation. Addressing the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2023 here, she said the government is looking at the ways in which it can bring down the overall debt. "We are conscious of matters related to macro economic stability of the country and responsibility with which we deal with our fiscal and also the fiscal management and so for every decisions that we take today, we are conscious of what burden is going to leave for the next generations," she said. It is very easy to be profligate and burden the coming generations with the debt that you will be sitting with, she said. "We are conscious of the debt of government of India. Compared to many others, it might not be as high as it is, but even then, we are consciously looking at experiments in different parts of the world," she said. She said the government

Capabilities, legal systems needed for arbitration on maritime sector

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called for developing capabilities and legal systems, so that the country can have an international arbitration centre for the maritime sector. Addressing the final day of the three-day global maritime summit here, the minister said, while there are many Indians working in international arbitration centres in London or Singapore or Dubai, they are all just helping the senior lawyers there and not leading a case. This needs to change and can change, she said. But there is a need to improve and strengthen our arbitration processes and laws so that they meet global standards, the minister said, adding that "when we have developed a system for this we can also have an arbitration centre". On the need to improve financing to the maritime sector, she admitted that despite having a strong balance sheet, banks are not very enthused about funding this sector, largely due to higher risks this sector is associated with. Sitharaman said she is i

GST intelligence detects tax evasion of Rs 1.36 trillion so far in FY24

Between Apr 2020- Sep 2023, over 6,000 fake ITC cases reported

Centre grants 30-day non-productivity linked bonus to employees for FY23

Finance ministry sets monthly emolument ceiling at Rs 7,000 for ad-hoc bonus calculation

FinMin holds meet with heads of private general insurers on sector growth

Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi on Tuesday chaired a meeting with CEOs of private sector general insurance companies and discussed issues related to growth and development of the sector. Several critical issues having implications for the general insurance sector were discussed in detail, including awareness building through continuous interaction with states under State Insurance Plans to increase insurance penetration and coverage, the finance ministry said in a statement. Distribution channel rationalisation in opening up of the agency channel for the general insurance industry to increase insurance penetration and coordinating with state governments and the ministry of road transport and highways to initiate a special drive to ensure compliance of Motor Vehicles' Act were also discussed. Besides, collaboration with the ministry of health for increasing cashless facility and standardisation of treatment costs to boost growth of health insurance was also one of the ...

16th Finance Commission's political challenge

There are fundamental issues to harmonious inter-governmental fiscal relations that the Centre must take into account when constituting the Commission

Govt considers easier terms for its PPP contracts with private firms

Central and state governments are expanding funding support for projects, but will need the private sector's support

An insider's tell-all tales

In his revealing memoir, former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg offers a glimpse into what goes on behind closed-door meetings and in the corridors of power

Retail inflation may ease by Dec owing to seasonal factors: Finance secy

Retail inflation remained above the upper end of RBI's 2%-6% tolerance band for a second consecutive month in August, though it eased from a 15-month high of 7.44% in July

FinMin seeks expenditure proposals for supplementary demands for grants

Ahead of the winter session of Parliament, the finance ministry has sought expenditure proposals for the first batch of supplementary demands for grants from various ministries and departments. The first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 is proposed to be placed before Parliament in the ensuing session, the ministry said in an office memorandum. The month-long winter session of Parliament usually begins in the last week of November. The cases that would be eligible to be incorporated under such demands include those where advances from the contingency fund of India have been granted. Besides, payments against court decree would be included as well as cases where the finance ministry has specifically advised moving of the supplementary demand in the winter session, it said. "While processing proposals for supplementary grants, the grant controlling authority must invariably identify savings within the grant so that the infructuous or inflated supplementary deman

Cloudy future

Higher oil prices increase risks for India

'Finmin decided to seek explanation on Acharya's wrath of markets speech'

Achrya later resigned six months ahead of his three-year tenure for 'personal reasons', said the book titled 'We Also Make Policy: An Insider's Account of How the Finance Ministry Functions'

More than 3 million audit report filed for assessment year 2023-24

Deadline for e-filing of income tax for companies was extended to November 30, while the deadline to file of audit reports by companies was extended to October 30

Gross GST collection rises 10% to over Rs 1.62 trillion in September

Gross GST collection rose 10 per cent to over Rs 1.62 lakh crore in September, crossing the Rs 1.6 lakh crore mark for the fourth time during current financial year. Gross GST revenue collected last month was Rs 1,62,712 crore. Of this, Central GST was Rs 29,818 crore, State GST was Rs 37,657 crore, Integrated GST was Rs 83,623 crore (including Rs 41,145 crore collected on import of goods) and cess was Rs 11,613 crore (including Rs 881 crore collected on import of goods). The revenue in September 2023 was 10 per cent higher than the GST revenue of Rs 1.47 lakh crore in the same month last year, the finance ministry said in a statement. "During the month, revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 14 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. It is for the fourth time that gross GST collection has crossed Rs 1.60 lakh crore mark in FY 2023-24," it said.

FinMin notifies Oct 1 date for implementing amended GST law for e-gaming

The Finance Ministry has notified October 1 as the date for implementation of the amended GST law provisions for taxing e-gaming, casinos and horse racing. According to the changes to the Central GST Act, these supplies will henceforth be treated as "actionable claims" similar to lottery, betting and gambling and subject to 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on full face value of bets. The amendments to Integrated GST (IGST) Act makes it mandatory for offshore online gaming platforms to take registration in India and pay taxes in accordance with domestic law. In its meetings in July and August, the GST Council, comprising finance ministers of Centre and states, had approved amendments to the law to include online gaming, casinos and horse racing as taxable actionable claims, and clarified that such supplies would attract 28 per cent tax on full bet value. Parliament last month passed amendments to the Central GST and Integrated GST laws to give effect to the Council's ...

Govt's gross debt rises 2.2% QoQ to Rs 159.53 trn in Q1: Finance Ministry

The government's total gross debt increased by 2.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 159.53 lakh crore in April-June this fiscal, a finance ministry report said on Friday. The liabilities stood at Rs 156.08 lakh crore at March-end. "This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.2 per cent in Q1 2023-24. Public debt accounted for 89.5 per cent of total gross liabilities during the quarter," according to the Public Debt Management report for the April-June 2023 quarter. Nearly 26.6 per cent of the outstanding dated securities had a residual maturity of less than 5 years, it said. Since April-June 2010-11, the Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC), the Budget Division in the finance ministry, has been bringing out a quarterly report on debt management on a regular basis. During the first quarter of 2023-24, the central government on the issuance/settlement basis of dated securities raised the gross amount of Rs 4.08 lakh crore, and Rs 2.71 lakh crore after adjusting for switches.

Decoded: What is the government borrowing programme and calendar?

The Central Government adheres to a semi-annual borrowing calendar, while State Governments follow quarterly calendars