Stung by mounting criticism, the Centre is considering a revamp of the stressed asset guarantee scheme for small businesses a year after it was announced as part of the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat package. As part of the government’s Rs 20-trillion economic stimulus package in May last year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt, under which personal loans are given to promoters of stressed micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The money is infused by the promoter as equity into the business ...
Source: Business Standard
In a recent notice to members of trade and industry, Directorate General of Foreign Trade Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has announced the introduction of an online e-EPCG Committee module on their website http://dgft.gov.in// where in members of trade can file applications for seeking relaxation in policy/procedure in terms of para 2.58 of FTP 2015-20.
Source: Tourism breaking news
In view of hardships faced by taxpayers because of the pandemic, the government on Thursday extended several income tax (I-T) compliance timelines, including 2020-21 income tax returns (ITR), for individuals by two months to September 30.“The Centre, in continuation of its commitment to address the hardships being faced by various stakeholders on account of the severe Covid-19 pandemic, has, on consideration of representations received from various stakeholders, decided to extend timelines for compliances under the Income-tax Act,1961,” said CBDT in a statement on Thursday. The I-T department also extended the ITR filing deadline for companies by a month till November 30. The due date for filing Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) returns and the Statement of Financial Transaction statements, has been extended by one month to June 30, whereas corresponding due dates for issuance of TDS certificates has also been extended by 1 month to July 15. Besides, for corporate taxpayers and individual taxpayers liable to tax audit, the due date has been extended by a month, from October 31 to November 30. The due dates for filing of Tax Audit Report and Transfer Pricing Certificate have also been extended by a month from their respective due dates. The last date for filing belated or revised returns for all categories of taxpayers has been extended by a month, from existing December 31, 2021 to January 31, 2022. Shailesh Kumar, Partner, Nangia & Co LLP said that the proactive step by the government by extending due dates for various Income tax compliances well in advance, instead of waiting for the last minute will provide some relief to taxpayers. “However, for taxpayers, whose entire income tax liability is not discharged by TDS and advance tax and such shortfall is more than Rs 1 lakh, they should endeavor to file their ITR within respective original due date to avoid charge of interest… which is charged on filing ITR beyond the original due date at the rate of 1 per cent per month for every month/ part thereof after original due date of filing ITR,” said Kumar. CBDT has also extended the deadline for issuing Form 16 by employers to employees by a month till July 15. Meanwhile, the income tax department will launch its new e-filing portal on June 7, hence the existing portal will not be available for 6 days, between June 1 and June 6. Amit Maheshwari, Tax Partner, AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm said that it was critical to support businesses by providing relief on tax compliances front as the second wave of Covid has affected every part of India at large. “These due date relaxations will surely reduce compliance burden for businesses. However, the government has not given any relaxation in payment of taxes as it needs money to support the economy and provide healthcare infrastructure,” said Maheshwari. Saraswathi Kasturirangan, Partner, Deloitte India said that the tax withholding on salary for FY 20-21 had added complexities in terms of determining taxable employer contributions to PF, NPS and Superannuation, identifying and reporting interest accretions on the same, enabling employees to avail the deemed Leave Travel Concessions etc. “The extension of timeline to file the quarterly e-TDS returns from 31 May to 30 June and the issue of Form 16 from 15 June to 15 July is therefore a welcome reprieve,” said Kasturirangan.
Source: Business Standard
Addressing a virtual event to commemorate the 12th annual day of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the minister also appreciated the efforts taken by the regulator over the years and urged it to continue with a pro-active approach. The Competition Commission ofIndia should take "extra care" and ensure that no "omission or commission" result in undermining of market processes as businesses look for revival after the pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Addressing a virtual event to commemorate the 12th annual day of the Competition Commission of India ( ), the minister also appreciated the eorts taken by the regulator over the years and urged it to continue with a pro-active approach. The CCI has the mandate to ensure fair competition in the market across sectors and also has powers to clamp down on anti-competitive practices. "I would also want to just mention, not in a left-handed way but certainly mention that knowingly or unknowingly, no omission or commission should result in the market process getting undermined.”... Competition Commission will ensure that market process should never get undermined because it is very critical considering the post-pandemic revival. It is going to meet with so many challenges even otherwise," Sitharaman said. Noting that the year 2020 was extraordinary and challenging, 2021 is proving to be equally challenging, the nance minister said that after the pandemic, companies are going to be scrambling to somehow stimulate themselves and try to grow. "So, extra care should be (taken). I am sure you are doing that, I am only reminding you because getting into your teens now is going to have new challenges as any teenager would have. You as a Competition Commission have very wise heads... wisdom will overcome the challenges of teenage growth pangs," she noted. The comments also come at a time when businesses are facing challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, which has also signicantly hit overall economic growth. Sitharaman, who is also at the helm of the corporate aairs ministry, stressed that the CCI should be pro-actively taking up a lot of things in order to be "ahead of the curve" as well as make sure that market conditions are kept sacrosanct. "I think it is important that legitimate claims of companies even as they try to recover are heard patiently and the Commission rises from its usual role of keeping the letter and spirit of the (Competition) Act intact," she said. Sitharaman added that it is also important that the Commission "sees how proactively it can engage with companies so that stimulus is also given by virtue of the way in which you will look at revival of companies". Appreciating efforts of the CCI to draw best global practices, she said about 1,100 cases have been undertaken, particularly focusing on mergers and aquisitions (M&As). "All over the globe, you'll nd there is an inclination towards greater merging and also acquiring companies, all driven towards scaling up of operations. "So, it is good that you're going through rigorously M&As (of) so many dierent companies because it tells so many experiences which will be important to see how they align with the Competition Act itself," she said. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur urged the CCI to be nimble and change itself with the changing market dynamics. In these uncertain times, Thakur said the challenge is not only to accelerate economic growth but also to ensure that the steps towards recovery do not irreversibly alter market dynamics. The stimulus package has provided strong impetus to various crucial sectors of the Indian economy, he added. CCI Chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta said the Commission has reviewed more than 1,100 cases of anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position across diverse sectors. "Pragmatic application of competition law is of particular importance in moments of crisis to ensure that market failures are avoided and economic recovery is fast and sustained," he noted. According to him, the regulator also took a balanced approach in its enforcement decisions focusing on faster market corrections and a nuanced view in levying penalties, particularly for MSMEs, considering their financial distress.
Source: Economic Times
The International Monetary Fund stands ready to strengthen its dialogue and scale-up its technical collaboration with India, spokesperson Gerry Rice has said The International Monetary Fund stands ready to strengthen its dialogue and scale-up its technical collaboration with India, spokesperson Gerry Rice has said, observing that the human tragedy is a stark reminder that the pandemic continues to be a grave threat globally. Our great sympathies and support to the people of India, and what is happening there relative to the pandemic, to those who have lost their lives and are suffering as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Rice, who is the director of the communications department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told reporters during a news conference here on Thursday. We are following the events in India very closely. And we hope that the number of new infections will continue to decline, Rice added. India has been jolted by the second wave of coronavirus which has crippled its healthcare system. Till Thursday, India's total of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,57,72,440 after reporting 2,76,110 new cases in the last 24 hours while the daily deaths were recorded below 4,000 after four days, taking the toll to 2,87,122, according to the Union Health Ministry data update. Responding to a question, Rice said that the IMF continues to engage closely with the Indian authorities. We stand ready to strengthen our dialogue and scale-up our technical collaboration. The human tragedy in India is a stark reminder that the pandemic continues to be a grave threat globally. At the IMF we are redoubling our effort to foster global collaboration, Rice said. The IMF welcomes the announcements by several countries to provide immediate support to India, he said reiterating that a multilateral response is critical to overcome the pandemic in India and globally. On the economic impact, India is an important economy globally. We will be revisiting our growth forecast for India and for the global economy in July, he said, adding that the IMF will update it in its July World Economic Outlook Update. For India, on the economy, it will be critical to continue with a coordinated policy response to fight the pandemic including through accelerating the vaccination campaign, providing fiscal resources to the health sector, and social support to the most vulnerable. We see these as the immediate policy priorities, Rice said.
Source: Business Standard
“The domestic industry has suffered material injury. There is a causal link between dumping of product under consideration and injury to the domestic industry,” DGTR said in a notication. India may impose anti-dumping duty on Phthalic Anhydride imported from China, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand, based on an application led by IG Petrochemicals Limited, SI Group India Private Limited and Thirumalai Chemicals. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies under the commerce and industry ministry, has recommended duty between $40.08- 140.17 per MT on the imports of the chemical intermediate used in the plastic industry. “The domestic industry has suered material injury. There is a causal link between dumping of product under consideration and injury to the domestic industry,” DGTR said in a notication. While DGTR recommends the duty, the nal call to impose it is taken by the nance ministry. It said that factors such as no quantication of adverse impact of duties by the interested parties, signicant capacity expansions in the country which will ensure no demand and supply gap, inter-se competition between Indian producers, and absence of any evidence of adverse impact of anti-dumping duties imposed in the past on the subject goods reasonably demonstrates that imposition of duties will not be against public interest. “The Authority thus concludes that the anti-dumping duties will not be against the public interest at large,” DGTR said, adding that imposition of duties will be in the interest of the domestic industry which has suered injury due to dumped imports. The duties will ensure that domestic industry can compete in the market and will ensure wider availability of options to the users which will be in large public interest, according to the notification.
Source: Economic Times
The fall in investment was expected since the government appeared to be the main driver and private sector contribution was limited, it said. While government companies dominated GFCF at 58% till FY17, their share saw a continuous downtrend, settling at 32% in the last scal year New investment projects announced during the previous financial year fell by 68% on account of the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant nationwide lockdowns, Care Ratings said in a report. The announced projects, which represent an intention to invest, amounted to Rs 5.18 lakh crore in FY21, the lowest since 2004-05 and down from the Rs 16.28 lakh crore announced in………..
Source: Economic Times
With the spread of COVID-19 exports as well as domestic trade have taken a huge hit, the Council said The Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) has appealed to the Union Government to suspend Goods and Services Tax (GST) on fabrics for three months, from May to July………………
Source: The Hindu
The government needs to support the industries like cement and auto that are recovering from last year’s lows as the covid-19 is playing havoc. These industries along with textile can help revive the economy. It is worth mentioning here that the cement sector was badly hit last year amid lockdowns due to covid-19, posting losses of billions of rupees. However, the industry has posted growth of 19.03 percent as the dispatches increased to 48.274 million tonnes in the first 10 months of this fiscal as compared to 40.555 million tonnes during the same period last year. These dispatches are already the highest ever for a year, with two months still remaining in the financial year. Auto industry is also showing a massive turnaround as during the first 3 quarters of this financial year. According to Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), the industry has sold 112,244 passenger cars as compared to 85,330 in the same period of last year, an increase of over 31.5 percent. The sales of two and three wheelers also picked up significantly from 1,181,685 units in July19-Mar20 to 1,438,194 units in July20-Mar21, an increase of 21.7 percent. However, the growth may take a hit any time with the sharp and unprecedented rise in raw material prices globally, as the manufacturers have been put under increasingly unbearable cost pressure which is being passed on to the consumers. If the trend continues, it may lead to lower sales with shrinking buying power of the consumers, especially in an inflation-hit country like Pakistan, undoing all the progress made by these sectors. “The government should step in to arrest the sharp rise in prices of vehicles and cement among other products, and the only way to do that amid global surge in raw material prices is to cut the duties and taxes, to keep the prices in consumers’ range,” said SM Ishtiaq, CEO SM Engineering. “Currently government levies account for almost 40 percent of car retail price, and almost 30 percent of cement bag prices. Tax discounts on cement and vehicles according to different categories for a few years will help these industries to carry on the growth momentum with little or no impact on the overall revenue collection by the government as the revenues may automatically grow with more sales despite reduction in tax rate,” he added. “However, what the government needs is a mechanism to keep a strict check on prices to ensure that the tax benefit is passed on to the consumers,” said Ishtiaq, adding that it will be a win-win situation for industries, consumers and government alike.
Source: Daily Times
In the first four months of this year, export turnover to the US market had continuously seen sharp increases, maintaining the growth of over 20 percent over the same period. This is not beyond the expectation of enterprises. Besides the advantages that Vietnamese enterprises have got in their hands, the commercial counselor of the Vietnam Trade Office in the US also warned that this market is containing many great risks. Analyzing the export market structure, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the US is a potential export market and also a key market that Vietnamese exporters are heading for. In the first four months of this year, the export turnover of Vietnamese goods to China reached US$16.8 billion, up 32.4 percent. Exports to the EU market, after prolonging the downward trend in 2020, jumped to $12.6 billion, up 18.1 percent, at the beginning of this year. In addition, in other markets, such as the ASEAN, South Korea, and Japan, exports also posted good growth rates, up 13.3 percent, 12.1 percent, and 1.5 percent respectively. However, for the US market, export turnover hit $30.3 billion, up 50.1 percent year-on-year, helping the US become the largest export market of Vietnamese enterprises. The Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association also affirmed that last year, despite the complicated development of the pandemic, wood export turnover still exceeded $12 billion, up more than 15 percent over the same period. Of which, export turnover to the US accounted for more than $7 billion. In the first four months of this year alone, wood export turnover continued to grow strongly, reaching $4.99 billion, up 50 percent over the same period. According to Ms. Julie Hundersmarck, US Forest Service, among wood products imported from other countries, wood products imported from Vietnam are favored most by US consumers, focusing on products, such as sofas, beds, furniture for children's rooms, entertainment rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens. In 2018, the export turnover of kitchen cabinets to the US market merely reached $140 million. Meanwhile, in 2020, the export turnover topped $1 billion. Ms. Julie Hundersmarck said that although Vietnam's wood export turnover to the US market has climbed sharply, in comparison with the demand of this market, it remains modest. In 2020, the revenue of furniture products in the US reached $115 billion. This figure will surge to $143 billion in about the next five years. Regarding the above matter, the Vietnam Trade Office in the US shared that the structure of Vietnam's export goods in recent years has changed remarkably. Besides the traditional commodities, such as textiles, footwear, and seafood, manufactured goods, such as electronics, components, and furniture, have also risen to the top position. Currently, more than 10 groups of goods exported to this market have seen export turnover exceeding $1 billion. Facing many risks However, along with the impressive export turnover, domestic enterprises also have to face many risks of trade remedies and barriers to food safety and product quality. The most significant technical barrier is the rules of origin. Depending on each group of products, the origin of production materials will be different. For instance, for wood products, wood must be derived from plantation forests. Or for the textile industry, garment products must ensure the “yarn forward” rule of origin to enjoy preferential tariffs. As for the group of agricultural, aquatic products, and processed foods, they must comply with the regulations on food safety and hygiene prescribed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Currently, the rate of goods inspection applied by US authorities is 1-2 percent per the total order. However, if violations are detected, not only will the total order of the enterprise be returned, but it might also affect the entire manufacturing industry. Not only that, the standards and technical barriers of the US market often change, requiring enterprises to constantly change to adapt. Therefore, if enterprises do not have modern production technology and strong enough internal resources, it is very difficult to keep this market in the long run. According to Mr. Do Xuan Lap, Chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, the increase in exports to the US market also means that the government of this country will increase trade remedy measures. Currently, most wood manufacturing and processing enterprises in Vietnam are not pure Vietnamese enterprises but FDI enterprises. Many of these enterprises come from countries and territories that have been imposed safeguard duties by the US. Therefore, the risk of domestic enterprises being involved in the misfortune of the imposition of safeguard duties is extremely high. In fact, this has happened to the steel industry. Accordingly, when countries, such as Canada, Australia, and the US, importing steel from Vietnam, discovered that many Korean enterprises which were previously levied duties in South Korea, moved their plants to Vietnam to avoid being punished. Immediately, the governments of these countries imposed anti-dumping duties of up to more than 400 percent on the entire Vietnamese steel industry. This also means that the doors of Vietnam's steel industry in these potential markets are officially closed. Moreover, the protection of enterprises' trademarks in the US market has not been given due attention by Vietnamese enterprises. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Vietnam currently has only 1,938 out of nearly 7,000 trademarks, which have been exporting to this market, registered for trademark protection with the USPTO. Of these, only 1,090 trademarks currently exist. As a result, several disputes on Vietnamese trademarks have occurred, and the disadvantaged ones are Vietnamese enterprises. Obviously, the US has always been the largest import market in the world and will continue to hold the leading position for many more years. Vietnamese enterprises will have to compete with rivals from all over the world. “Therefore, domestic enterprises need to diversify export markets and should focus more on the markets of Europe, Australia, and Canada. It is estimated that Vietnamese goods only account for about 2 percent of the import market share of these above markets. Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises should not “put their eggs in one basket" to avoid the risks of trade remedies, as well as the disruption of export orders when there is a trade dispute,” said Mr. Bui Vuong Anh, Commercial Counselor of Vietnam in Germany, commented.
Source: SGGP news
The latest development represents a new blow to the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) that European leaders reached during a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping Brussels [Belgium], May 21 (ANI): Members of the European Parliament on Thursday voted to freeze the legislative process for ratifying the EU's investment pact with China, until Beijing lifts sanctions against EU lawmakers, in retaliation for the condemnation of human rights abuses in Xinjiang province. The motion was passed by 599 MEPs, with 30 votes against and 58 abstentions, hurting the prospect of the major economic pact, officially known as the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), Politico reported. "The European Parliament has adopted the resolution on the Chinese sanctions with 599 yes, 30 no, 58 abstentions. Very substantial. CAI is definitely in the freezer. China miscalculated and shot themselves in the foot," Reinhard Butikofer, chair of the Parliament's delegation for relations with China, said on Twitter. According to the motion, "any consideration of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, as well as any discussion on ratification by the European Parliament, has justifiably been frozen because the Chinese sanctions are in place." The motion also demands that "China lift the sanctions before dealing with CAI, without prejudice to the final outcome of the CAI ratification process." It also says that MEPs expect the European Commission "to consult with Parliament before taking any steps towards the conclusion and signature of the CAI." The sanctions imposed by the EU on China in March marked the EU's first punitive measures on Beijing since it imposed an arms embargo after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. In retaliation to the bloc's sanctions, China introduced sanctions against ten European Union officials and four European organizations after accusing them of spreading lies and false information about the Xinjiang region. Since the signing of the deal by Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, there is growing concern in Europe over China's human rights record on issues, including alleged forced labour camps and a crackdown in Hong Kong against anti-government protestors.
Source: Business Standard
