India has decided to peg the peak goods and services tax (GST) rate at 40% in the legislation instead of 28%, giving it the flexibility to raise rates without having to reach out to Parliament.

Nodal jewellery trade body, All India Gem & Jewellery Federation (GJF), has met a dozen state finance ministers over the past three weeks, starting with Kerala’s Thomas Isaac, to “impress upon them” the need for goods and services tax (GST) of 1.25% on gold ornaments and bullion. He said the Federation had “fruitful” discussions with … Continue reading “GJF raise voice for lower GST on Jewellery”

Central government vide notification no. 07/2017-Customs dated 1st March 2017 hereby makes the following further amendments in earlier notification. In the said notification-after the proviso to condition (v), the following paragraph shall be inserted, namely:- after the proviso to condition (v), the following paragraph shall be inserted, namely:- Notwithstanding anything contained herein above, the exemption … Continue reading “Amendment in Notification no. 9/2012-Customs dated 9th March 2012”

According to a practice that was generally prevalent, there was non levy of service tax, on the services by way of admission to a museum and this service was liable to service tax, for period commencing on and from the 1st day of July, 2012 and ending with the 31st day of March, 2015, which … Continue reading “Service Tax payable by way of admission to a museum”

Private-sector employees will soon be able to withdraw up to Rs.20 lakh in tax-free gratuity after the Centre decided to amend a law and bring them at par with central government staff.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed 10 more unilateral advance pricing agreements (APAs) with Indian taxpayers as it looks to reduce litigation by providing certainty in transfer pricing.

Central Government is satisfied that in the period commencing on and from the 1st  day of July 2012 and ending with the 31st March, 2015 according to the practice that was generally prevalent, there was non levy of service tax, on the services by the operators of common effluent treatment plant by way of treatment … Continue reading “Notification No. 08/2017-Service Tax, dated 20th of February, 2017”

Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has launched a mobile application for Goods and Services Tax (GST). This app enables taxpayers to get latest updates of GST. With this Government also launched feedback and 27×7 helpdesk which named as “CBEC Mitra” where taxpayers can connect and enquire anytime. With this app taxpayers can access information … Continue reading “Voila! CBEC launched GST mobile app”

The government and its advisers may have initially underestimated the so-called twin balance sheet (TBS) problem faced by the banks and Corporate India, chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian said on Wednesday. He said even though the TBS problem found mention in the December 2014 mid-year economic review, even it did not fully gauge the seriousness … Continue reading “Government underestimated twin-balancesheet problem faced by banks, corporates”

If you received an email or SMS from Income tax department between November 9 and December 30, 2016 and not replied yet, will let you in trouble as Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to crack the whip  on those who fail to verify cash deposits of Rs 5 lakh or more during the … Continue reading “Failed to reply of cash transaction above Rs 5 Lakh during demonetization may lend you in trouble”

Submitted by business_centrik on 20/02/2017 Cash purchase of jewellery will attract 1% TCS (Tax Collected at source) from April 1 if the amount exceeds Rs. 2 Lakhs, as against the current threshold of 5 Lakh. The bill seeks to do away with the threshold of Rs. 5 lakh on jewellery purchases of applicability of TCS … Continue reading “From April 1st buying Jewellery over Rs. 2 lakh cash to attract 1% TCS”

Submitted by Tax_centrik on 21/02/2017 The Government is striving hard to meet its ambitious target to roll out a pan  India Goods and Service tax from July, 2017. One of the biggest challenges in implementation of GST is the migration of existing taxpayers to GST system to ensure the smooth transition to GST regime. About … Continue reading “Don’t Miss GST Deadline: You May Loose Some Benefits”

Restaurants associations are advising their members across India to sensitise customers about service charges after the Department of Consumer Affairs said the payment was not mandatory. Service charges billed by restaurants are optional and it is up to the customers to pay it, the department said on Monday. The department cited complaints that hotels and … Continue reading “Now, pay service charge in restaurants at your discretion”

The rollout of GST is likely to be delayed by two or three months, the government is yet to finalise a date, but its likely to settle for either 1st  June or 1st  July. Non Consensus of Central and State government over the sharing of powers is major reason that all provision of GST is … Continue reading “GST delayed, rollout now likely on 1st June”

Submitted by Tax_centrik on 17/02/2017 States have been given the leeway to tweak the criteria for division of taxpayers after “consultation with Centre” in respect of cross empowerment under the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST). The minutes of the ninth meeting of the GST Council, held on January 16, record that the states have been given … Continue reading “GST- Major issues of cross-empowerment going to sorted out”