1. PAN-Aadhaar Linking Deadline Extended
The government Sunday extended the deadline for linking PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar by 6 months till 30 September, as per an official statement.
However, quoting of Aadhaar will remain mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs), following the Supreme Court order.
This is the sixth time the government has extended the deadline for individuals to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar.
In June last year, the government had said that PAN has to be linked with the biometric ID by 31 March.
(Source: PTI)
2. Important Changes to Income Tax, GST Kicks In Today
As announced in the interim Budget, the new morms related to rebate in income tax for the assessment year 2020-21 will kick in on Monday, 1 April. The rebate is available for those with a taxable income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.
Other changes related to the Standard Deduction and TDS threshold for interest and rent income will also come into effect.
On the GST front, the new rates on under-construction flats will be applicable from 1 April. The new rates are 1 percent for affordable houses and 5 percent for others. This reduced rate will also be applicable to projects that have allocated up to 15 percent of the carpet area for commercial purposes (shops, offices, etc). There will be no input tax credit.
(Source: Hindu Business Line)
3. SBI Charts New Plan for Jet Without Goyal, Etihad
The State Bank of India (SBI) has proposed a new resolution plan for the cash-strapped Jet Airways.
The plan includes an equity infusion of Rs 3,800 crore by two unidentified investors and a Rs 850 crore equity infusion by state-run lenders led by SBI, Rs 485 crore on behalf of public shareholders that will be achieved through banks underwriting a rights issue, additional debt of Rs 2,400 crore and non-fund based facilities of Rs 2,000 crore.
The plan also involves the exit of the airline's founder Naresh Goyal and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. Both Goyal and Etihad will transfer all their shares, 51 percent and 24 percent stakes, respectively, in the airline to an independent trust managed by trustees, who will be appointed by the lenders, according to the plan.
(Source: Mint)
4. Fully Vindicated by PM Modi's Statement: Mallya
Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya claimed on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in a recent interview confirming the recovery of Rs 14,000 crores worth of his assets has fully vindicated him in his assertion of being a "poster boy" for the BJP-led government.
In his characteristic style of issuing statements through social media, the 62-year-old asserted that by Modi's own assertion the recovery of assets was higher than the alleged Rs 9,000 crores he faces extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges.
"I humbly submit that my assertion that I am a poster boy is fully vindicated by the PM's own statement about me (by name) that his Govt has recovered more than what I allegedly owe the banks," Mallya said in his latest Twitter outburst..
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Dena, Vijaya Banks’ Merger With Bank of Baroda Comes Into Effect Today
State-run Bank of Baroda is catapulting itself for a larger play in the system with the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with itself from Monday.
The government-forced merger, announced last in September, creates the third largest bank in the country after State Bank of India and HDFC Bank.
This is second merger of state-run banks in the recent years in the banking sector after State Bank had merged five of its associate banks- State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Hyderabad and also Bhartiya Mahila effective April 2017.
The Reserve Bank had Saturday said branches of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank would function as BoB outlets from April following the amalgamation.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Satish Magar Takes Over as New President of Credai
Satish Magar Sunday took over as the new national president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), the apex body of private real estate developers in India.
CREDAI announced this change of guard in a press release issued here.
Magar, who is the managing director of Magarpatta City, took over the baton from Jaxay Shah to become the new president of the 20-year-old body, it said.
Magar, who was earlier the president of CREDAI's Pune as well as Maharashtra chapters, said he aims to expand CREDAI's footprint to 100 more cities over the next two years with a robust focus on tier two, three and four cities.
(Source: PTI)
7. Airlines Responsible for Financial Performance: Suresh Prabhu
Efficient operations and financial performance are individual responsibilities of carriers, and the government cannot interfere in their day-to-day operations, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said amid Jet Airways crisis and turbulent times of the domestic airlines industry.
In view of intense competition, rising costs, shortage of pilots and grounding of planes hurting many domestic carriers, the minister also said the government has been constantly responding to industry conditions and cited measures taken, including reduction in central excise duty on jet fuel to 11 percent from 14 percent.
Cash-strapped Jet Airways has been forced to ground planes, cancel flights and delay payments, including salaries to pilots, while Air India continues to grapple with financial woes.
(Source: PTI)
8. Roll-Out of New, Simplified GST Return Forms Deferred
The pilot project envisaged for rolling out simplified monthly GST return forms from April 1 has been deferred and the new forms would be made available once they the notified and the software is ready.
The GST Council had in July last year decided that the simplified GST return forms -- Sahaj and Sugam -- would be rolled out on a pilot basis from April 1, 2019, while mandatory filing across the country would kick in from July.
In July last year, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had come out with the draft GST returns forms and sought comments from stakeholders.
Under the new return filing format, taxpayers who have no purchases, no output tax liability and no input tax credit in any quarter of the financial year would have to file one 'Nil' return for the entire quarter. Facility for filing quarterly return shall also be available by an SMS.
(Source: PTI)
9. Market Sees Foreign Fund Outflow Worth Rs 44,500 Crore in 2018-19
Despite heavy fund infusion by FPIs over the past two month, the domestic financial market suffered a foreign fund outflow of over Rs 44,500 crore on net basis in the fiscal 2018-19 as macroeconomic headwinds weighed on investor sentiment through the year.
Hike in rates by the US Federal Reserve, depreciating rupee, rise in crude oil prices, worsening current account deficit, concerns over fiscal deficit and current account deficit target, coupled with trade tiff between the US and China dampened the mood in emerging markets, experts said.
In financial year 2018-19, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out a net sum of Rs 1,629 crore from equities and Rs 42,951 crore from the bonds market, taking the total net outflow to Rs 44,580 crore, the depositories data showed.
In comparison, FPIs had infused a net amount of Rs 25,634 crore in the equities and over Rs 1,19,035 crore in the debt market, a total net investment of Rs 1,44,669 crore in the previous fiscal.
(Source: PTI)
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