The government must remove or limit the 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on mental health services, and allocate resources strategically to help India become a mentally resilient society, experts said on the eve of the Union Budget presentation on Monday. Read more...

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that new tax regime slabs will be changed and standard tax deduction increased from 50,000 to 75,000. The deduction, however, will remain unchanged at ?50,000 under the old tax regime. For family pensioners, the deduction will go up from ?15,000 to ?25,000 under the new regime, Nirmala Sitharaman said. Read more...

The overall expectations from the inaugural budget of the new government, on their third consecutive term, is high. It is expected that this Budget could unveil initiatives aimed at driving key sectoral growth, building infrastructure to the last mile and encouraging new age technology manufacturing. Read more...

The consumer durables sector outlines important expectations for policy considerations as the budget draws near. The industry is pushing for a 5 or 12 per cent GST cut on both entry-level and luxury appliances in order to increase affordability and spur growth for all income brackets. Read more...

The Ministry of Finance has issued an update on Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration processes, which will impact businesses across India. Read more...

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) via a social media post on July 19, 2024, said that the biometric-based Aadhaar authentication process for Goods and Services Tax (GST) Registration has been made compulsory for those taxpayers who have been identified based on data analytics and risk parameters. Read more...

Nazara Technologies subsidiary Openplay Technologies Pvt Ltd has received a show cause notice on July 16, 2024 from the Director General of GST Intelligence, Kolkata, for a proposed liability of ?845.72 crore for the period from 2017-18 to 2022-23. Read more...

The latest GST council meeting, held on 22 June 2024 set the stage for the announcements in the upcoming budget. The Council delved into multiple industry issues and addressed many matters, largely in favour of the industry. Read more...

In line with the goods and services tax (GST) Councils decision, the government on Wednesday announced that accommodation services less than or equal to Rs 20,000 per person per month and services provided by the ministry of railways to the general public have been exempted from GST with effect from July 15. Read more...

Giving an impetus to the stalled projects of the 44-km-long Ernakulam bypass, a greenfield national highway (NH) corridor linking Kundannoor on NH-66 bypass with Angamaly on NH-544, and the Kollam-Sengottai stretch on NH-744, the Kerala government has issued a government order waiving the State’s share of goods and service tax (GST) and royalty on raw materials for the construction of the two road projects. Read more...

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget for the current financial year on July 23, stakeholders in the education sector have expressed high hopes for reforms and increased financial support. Read more...

Companies delaying payments by more than 45 days to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) for goods or services purchased from them will have to provide additional information in a revised MSME form 1, according to a July 15 notification by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Read more...

The nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST), managed through a 100 percent data-driven digital and real-time tax network (GSTN), was launched on 1 July 2017. In line with yearly practice, monthly receipts and allocation data for June were due for release by the Government of India on 1 July 2024, the seventh anniversary of the GST system. Read more...

While Union Budget 2024 is eagerly awaited by various sectors of the economy, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector stands at the forefront for these expectations. MSMEs constitute the backbone of the Indian economy, contributing significantly to the GDP, to overall employment, and for exports. Read more...

Ahead of the Union Budget, the ministry of skills development and entrepreneurship has proposed amendments in direct and indirect tax rules and Companies Act 2013, with a view to creating a larger pool of employable workforce, and harnessing the demographic dividend. Read more...

Tax experts said the rules notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) following the decision on corporate guarantees in the GST Council meeting on June 22 were draconian and results into significantly higher cost and are detrimental to taxpayers. Read more...

Acting on specific intelligence, officials of the Preventive Unit of Central GST, Belagavi Commissionerate, busted a fake GST invoice racket of Rs 132 crore, involving fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs 23.82 crore, and arrested one accused. Read more...

India’s leading luxury car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz, continues to support the government’s sustainability goals as it launched its most affordable electric vehicle (EV), the EQA. In a conversation with Santosh Iyer, the Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, he revealed that the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) market has expanded by 60 per cent. Read more...

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is preparing to present the first Budget in the third term of the BJP-led NDA government on July 23, 2024. Read more...

The National Restaurant Association of India has raised the issue of the lack of input tax credit for the restaurant industry with the Union finance ministry. Read more...

Speaking in the Lower House of the state legislature during a debate on the budgetary demands, he said the land concerned is located in Kandati Valley in Satara. Read more...

India’s insurance sector has some key expectations for the upcoming Union Budget 2024, primarily focused on tax benefits and regulatory changes to make insurance products more attractive and accessible to a wider audience. Read more...

Governments and regulators rarely face the ramifications of being too successful, yet that is precisely the situation unfolding in India’s banking sector, stock market, and indirect tax revenues. Read more...

The cumulative impact of macroeconomic shocks between 2016 and 2023 led to an estimated loss of Rs 11.3 lakh crore for the Indian economy, the ratings agency India Ratings and Research has said, reported The Hindu on Wednesday. Read more...

The Indian healthcare sector has high expectations for the upcoming budget on July 23rd, 2024. Experts anticipate a significant rise in healthcare spending. Investments in rural healthcare facilities and primary care are also expected to receive a boost. Read more...

Travel agents body TAAI on Monday sought a slew of measures, including simple visa requirements and encouraging visa-free entry for tourists visiting India, rationalisation of GST rates and GST credit, and industry status for all stakeholders in the segment, among others, for the domestic travel and tourism sector, which contributes 5.8 per cent to the Indias economy. Read more...

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the first Budget in the third term of the BJP-led NDA government on July 23, policymakers are pushing for a revision in indirect tax rates to give a fillip to flagging consumption. Read more...

Minister for Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME), NRI Affairs Kondapalli Srinivas on Saturday said that financial literacy among the rural people was the need of the hour, as all of them were brought under the ambit of banking transactions. Read more...

Many sectors including shipping, insurance, firms with overseas parents, and food-delivery platforms have received relief from the government. Read more...

In a major relief for the industry and GST taxpayers in the country, the government has decided to send any GST demand notices to the taxpayers, only once there is approval from the North Block. Read more...

Sources have revealed to CNBC-TV18 that foreign shipping companies, airlines, and multinational corporations (MNCs) are set to receive significant relief following a recent GST notification. Read more...

Collection from Goods & Services Tax (GST) in June touched ?1.74 lakh crore, registering around 8 per cent growth of June of last fiscal, official sources said on Monday. Read more...

The Indian real estate industry has experienced significant growth in recent quarters. With Budget 2024 on the horizon, there is a sense of optimism and anticipation for possible reforms. Read more...

In our piece yesterday, we reviewed the performance of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) over the past seven years, emphasising that the states did well but at the cost of a revenue sacrifice by the Centre. In this piece, we look ahead to consider the fate of the compensation cess. Read more...

It has now been seven years since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced. The transitional compensation mechanism has expired; the loans taken during Covid will soon be repaid; and the fate of the compensation cess needs to be decided. Read more...

India’s top 18 states are expected to post a revenue growth of 8-10 per cent this fiscal to approximately Rs 38 lakh crore, said a report by CRISIL Ratings. Last year, the growth was recorded at 7.5 per cent. Read more...

The health insurance sector in India has high hopes for the upcoming Union Budget 2024. The industry hopes that by implementing some of the measures, the government could significantly boost health insurance penetration and promote financial security for citizens. Read more...

A bunch of petitions challenging central and state government orders extending the time limits for filing the GST return for the financial year 2017-18 and its scrutiny and audit by the tax officials has been dismissed by the Allahabad High Court. Read more...

Zomato said it does not expect any significant financial impact and believes it has a strong case to defend before the appellate authority. Read more...