The government has not extended the due date for ling of GSTR-3B for April 2021 for traders who have more than Rs ve crore turnover, instead relief has been given to the taxpayers by way of nil or reduced interest for certain period of delay in discharging the tax liability, the Chamber said in a letter to the minister. The local chapter of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday requested Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to extend the time limit for ling the GSTR 3B till June 26 as it would give great relief to tax-payers. The government has not extended the due date for ling of GSTR-3B for April 2021 for traders who have more than Rs ve crore turnover, instead relief has been given to the tax-payers by way of nil or reduced interest for certain period of delay in discharging the tax liability, the Chamber said in a letter to the minister. There was partial lockdown in Tamil Nadu from May 10 to 24 and the state is under 100 per cent lockdown till May 31 and traders could not attend their routine oice work, chamber president C Balasubramanian said. Stating that the entire trade and industry are facing a huge crisis due to the unprecedented times, Balasubramanian said due to the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the GST assessees are facing a lot of challenges and are put to great hardship. Considering the situation, he appealed to the minister to issue a favourable order.
Source: Economic Times
GST Council may green-light entry given disappointing progress The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday will discuss bringing in private financial technology companies to set up four more invoice generation portals (IRPs) in view of the unsatisfactory progress in e-invoicing. These will be in addition to the existing one being operated by the government’s National Informatics Centre (NIC). Seven months since the launch of the e-invoicing facility under the GST regime to facilitate compliance and plug revenue leakages, only about half the eligible GST identification numbers (GSTINs) are generating these invoices, the government data …………….
Source: Business Standard
The decision to challenge the high court's verdict has been taken as the notication providing for the reduced levy stands quashed, thereby implying that all imports would face the higher IGST rate of 28% and legal issues thrown up by the judgement, said the ofcial, who did not wish to be identied. The Centre will appeal against the Delhi High Court decision striking down the reduced integrated goods and services tax (IGST) levied on oxygen concentrators received as a gift from outside India by individuals, said a senior government oicial. The court called the levy unconstitutional. The oicial said the government has an open mind on removing IGST on such a gift, but the nal call rested with the GST Council. The decision to challenge the high court's verdict has been taken as the notication providing for the reduced levy stands quashed, thereby implying that all imports would face the higher IGST rate of 28% and legal issues thrown up by the judgement, said the oicial, who did not wish to be identied. “Judgement is being examined... There is legal merit in appeal,” the oicial said, adding that the nance ministry is open to complete duty exemption on such imported gifts. A proposal to this eect, as suggested by various industry bodies, will be taken by the GST Council, which is the key decision-making body for the indirect tax. In fact, the government would move the high court even if the GST council provides an exemption because of the precedent this verdict would set in respect to certain key issues, said the oicial. Last Friday, the Delhi High Court had held the levy of IGST on oxygen concentrators imported by individuals as gifts unconstitutional and quashed the notication issued by the government on May 1, which had reduced the IGST rate to 12% from 28% till June 30 on such imports. The oicial also highlighted reliance placed on Article 21 of the Constitution, which could create future issues in respect to any tax proposal. Article 21 guarantees the right to life to citizens.
Source: Economic Times
GST Council meets this Friday to discuss issues flagged by states A plan to merge goods and services tax (GST) slabs of 12% and 18% into a single rate that will apply to most goods is expected to get delayed, while the GST compensation cess levied on items like cars may be extended, three officials aware of talks between central and state governments said. Friday’s GST Council meeting is expected to discuss a host of issues flagged by states relating to tax rates on medical supplies, in addition to the GST compensation mechanism for FY22. The meeting’s agenda will be ready by Tuesday, a government official, one of the three cited above, said on condition of anonymity. While the plan to merge the two slabs is under consideration for several months, this will imply a change in the design of the GST structure itself and impact some of the goods, said a second official with a state government. While a merged GST rate somewhere in the middle could reduce the number of slabs and lower the tax burden on items in the 18% rate, it could lead to a higher burden on items that fall in the 12% slab, which includes certain medical equipment, medical-grade oxygen and processed food. The GST Council, which meets after seven months, is expected to discuss whether a borrowing scheme put in place last fiscal to meet states’ GST compensation requirement needs to be continued this year as well. The last GST Council meeting in October 2020 made an in-principle decision to extend the GST cess beyond June 2022 to help pay for the borrowing made in FY21 to compensate states. The Council had approved that borrowing arrangement only for FY21. Continuing the same in the current fiscal also means that the cess will stay for a longer period. Experts said tax rate adjustments on medical supplies required in the battle against covid19 are expected to be the priority for discussions in the GST Council meeting. “Rate cut on vaccines and on imported oxygen concentrators meant for personal use, clarity on the availability of input tax credit on medical supplies donated by businesses or given to employees for personal use are among the key issues that many expect to receive attention," said Abhishek Jain, tax partner, EY. States such as Odisha, Punjab and West Bengal have been drawing the Centre’s attention to GST issues that need to be discussed urgently. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik wrote to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this month seeking GST exemption to covid-19 vaccines and fiscal support to states to fight the pandemic. Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal has expressed displeasure at the fact that important rule changes such as restricting input tax credits were being taken by a panel of officers without discussions in the Council. Badal has sought a discussion on how to create an environment of “terror-free GST compliance". Sitharaman earlier this month explained that if full exemption from GST is given, vaccine manufacturers would not be able to offset their input taxes and would pass them on to the end consumer by increasing the retail price. Experts, however, said zero-rating of GST, instead of an outright exemption, will allow vaccine makers to claim refunds for the taxes paid on inputs. With states having a long list of grievances, Friday’s virtual meeting of the Council could be a lengthy affair, said a third official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. An email sent to the Union finance ministry seeking comments for the story remained unanswered till press time.
Source: Live mint
Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur launched the rst phase of MCA21 V3.0, comprising of a revamped website, new email services for ministry ofcials as well as two new electronic modules for books and consultation, according to a release. With a revamped website, electronic consultation module and other features, the third version of the corporate aairs ministry's MCA21 portal was launched on Monday. MCA21 -- which allows electronic lings of various documents under the companies law -- is being redesigned. The rst phase of the MCA21 V3.0 (third version) has now been launched, and the second and nal phase would be launched from October this year. The portal is the key platform for companies to submit the required documents and lings. Besides, it provides public access to corporate information. Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Aairs Anurag Singh Thakur launched the rst phase of MCA21 V3.0, comprising of a revamped website, new email services for ministry oicials as well as two new electronic modules for books and consultation, according to a release. The e-consultation module will facilitate virtual public consultations of proposed amendments and new legislations to be introduced by the ministry. It will also "leverage articial intelligence for compiling, grouping and categorising comments/ inputs received from stakeholders and create analytical reports for quick policy decision making," the release said. The new email service for oicers will provide them with advanced features and capabilities for organised and managed communication with internal as well as external stakeholders, it added. Corporate Aairs Secretary Rajesh Verma said MCA21 V3.0 will reduce the requirements of attachments, make the forms web-based and also strengthen the pre-ll mechanism. The entire MCA V3.0 project -- proposed to be launched in the current scal -- will be driven by data analytics and machine learning. In her Budget speech in February this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that in scal 2021-22, "we will be launching data analytics, articial intelligence, machine learning-driven MCA21 Version 3.0. This Version 3.0 will have additional modules for escrutiny, e-Adjudication, e-Consultation and Compliance Management".
Source: Economic Times
U.K. and India want to double trade between their two countries by 2030, up from about 23 billion pounds ($33 billion) in 2019. he U.K. began formal preparation for a free-trade agreement with India, a postBrexit target for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he seeks to prove the benefit of leaving the European Union. Britain will do a 14-week consultation on the potential accord with the world’s largest democracy with the aim of starting negotiations in the fall, the Department for International Trade said in a statement. The U.K. and India want to double trade between their two countries by 2030, up from about 23 billion pounds ($33 billion) in 2019. Johnson’s government wants to strengthen economic alliances around the world following the EU divorce, which has had a negative impact on trade and soured relations with the U.K.’s largest export market. In April, Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged a “quantum leap” in the relationship, seeking better cooperation on issues such as climate change and shared security threats. A deal with India is one of the high-priority trade deals Johnson is hoping to secure, along with Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Yet the total volume of trade at stake in a U.K.-India agreement is dwarfed by Britain’s commerce with the EU. In 2019, trade with India was equivalent to about 3% of the U.K.’s total trade with the EU. The U.K. government said it hopes to remove tariffs such as a 150% levy on whisky and 125% duty on British-made cars in a deal with India, as well as making it easier for British services companies to operate there. “We want an agreement that pushes new frontiers in industries of the future,” Britain’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said.
Source: Business Standard
Despite Covid shock, equity inflow grows 19%; Gujarat remains top recipient Foreign direct equity investments (FDI) inflows grew by 19 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in financial year 2020-21 (FY21) to a record $59.64 billion, according to data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Monday. Despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in FY21, India attracted the highest ever total FDI inflow, which includes equity capital of unincorporated bodies, reinvested earnings, and other capital. Total FDI stood at $81.72 billion, up 10 per cent YoY. In FY20, India attracted gross inflows of $74.39 billion. “Measures taken by the government on the fronts of FDI policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased inflows. The trends are an endorsement of India’s status as a preferred investment destination amongst global investors,” an official statement said. According to the data shared by the government, Singapore remained the largest source of FDI for the third consecutive year, with a share of 29 per cent. It was followed by the US with 23 per cent share, and Mauritius with 9 per cent. Out of top 10 countries, Saudi Arabia is the top investor in terms of percentage increase during FY21. It invested $2.8 billion in comparison to US$ 89.93 million reported in the previous financial year,” the statement said, adding that there was a 227 per cent and 44 per cent increase recorded in FDI equity inflow from the USA and the UK, respectively. Gujarat was the top recipient of FDI among states, with 37 per cent share of total FDI equity inflows, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka with 27 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. Gujarat attracted the lion’s share of inbound FDI under the computer software and hardware sector at 78 per cent. This was followed by Karnataka and Delhi at 9 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. “Majority of the equity inflow of Gujarat has been reported in the sectors ‘Computer Software & Hardware’ (94 per cent) and Construction (Infrastructure) Activities (2 per cent) during the FY21,” the statement said.Computer software and hardware emerged as the top sector in FY21 with around 44 per cent of the total FDI equity inflow, followed by construction and infrastructure-related activities at 13 per cent, and services sector’s with 8 per cent.
Source: Business Standard
Despite some moderation in the March quarter, the inflows last fiscal remained very encouraging, given the devastation and disruption caused by the pandemic across the globe. A spike in the cases in key states like Maharashtra in the second wave (in March) and some curbs on movement may also have weighed on the inflows. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in equity in India rose 19% year-on-year last fiscal to a record $59.6 billion despite the onslaught of the pandemic. However, such inflows, which had jumped as much as 40% between April and December, seem to have lost some momentum in the March quarter. The gross FDI inflows — which include FDI in equity, reinvested earnings, the equity capital of unincorporated bodies and other capital — rose 10% year-on-year to an all-time high of $81.7 billion in FY21, showed the data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday. The gross FDI, too, had risen by a healthy 22% up to December last fiscal before easing in the March quarter. Despite some moderation in the March quarter, the inflows last fiscal remained very encouraging, given the devastation and disruption caused by the pandemic across the globe. A spike in the cases in key states like Maharashtra in the second wave (in March) and some curbs on movement may also have weighed on the inflows. Going forward, the bigger worry for FDI inflows, especially in the June quarter, would be the severity of the second wave and local lockdowns imposed by certain states to control the Covid-19 surge. Interestingly, inflows last fiscal was greatly boosted by those into the digital sector. Analysts have already pointed out that a sizable chunk of the FDI was drawn by Reliance Jio alone. The FDI inflows take place at a time when domestic private investments have remained elusive in recent years. Investments remain critical to the country’s economic resurgence, as private consumption has been badly bruised by income losses in the aftermath of the pandemic. In fact, according to a report by Unctad in January, India and China were two major “outliers” in a gloomy year for FDI, as global inflows plunged 42% on year in the calendar year 2020 to $859 billion, the lowest level since the 1990s. While India witnessed a 13% year-on-year rise, the highest among key nations, in FDI inflows in 2020, China’s rose 4%. Of course, in absolute term, China remained way ahead, with an inflow of as much as $163 billion, while India’s stood at $57 billion. Singapore remained the top FDI source, accounting for 29% of the inflows last fiscal, followed by the US (23%) and Mauritius (9%). Computer software & hardware emerged as the top sector, with a 44% share in total FDI equity inflows, followed by construction (infrastructure) activities (13%) and services sector (8%). Thanks to Reliance Jio, Gujarat was the top recipient of FDI (78%), while Karnataka and Delhi made up for 9% and 5%, respectively. Sectors, such as construction (infrastructure) activities, computer software & hardware, rubber goods, retail trading, drugs & pharmaceuticals and electrical equipment have recorded more than 100% jump in FDI equity in FY21. Among the top FDI sources, inflows from Saudi Arabia saw the highest jump—from a mere $90 million in FY20 to an impressive $2.8 billion last fiscal. Inflows from the US, too, jumped 227% and those from the UK 44% in FY21.
Source: Financial Express
On April 27, the central bank had issued guidelines for appointment of statutory auditors in commercial banks, non-banking nancial companies and housing nance companies that included a cap on the number of audits by an audit rm, joint audits in some businesses, a cooling off period, non-audit restrictions, and a reduced three-year audit tenure. Top multinational auditing rms in the country are at loggerheads with their Indian peers once again, with the former lobbying to make the Reserve Bank ofIndia to reconsider its latest auditing regulations that open up new opportunities for smaller Indian rms. On April 27, the central bank had issued guidelines for appointment of statutory auditors in commercial banks, non-banking nancial companies and housing nance companies that included a cap on the number of audits by an audit rm joint audits in some…………..
Source: Economic Times
Businesses worldwide have been battered by the Covid-induced economic crisis, but for the garment exporters in Noida and Greater Noida these are the worst of times. They claim to be fast losing business to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam — “over 20% orders have already been diverted to these countries”. With most factories now left with 40-50% workers, the Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC) has claimed that international buyers are placing orders with other Asian countries. Some apparel manufacturers have been making PPE kits as a stopgap measure, but exporters claim they cannot sustain without major international orders. Noida and Greater Noida together have around 3,000 garment manufacturing units. “Most migrant workers left the city during the panchayat polls, while some left during Eid. Now there are more Covid cases in the villages and people want to return. But worker capacity in most factories has gone down to 40-50%. While no one has stopped work, things have slowed down,” NAEC president Lalit Thukral said. “International buyers on whom our exporters are dependent, are diverting orders to other Asian countries. We have already lost around 20% of business to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, we need to regularise the situation fast and bring workers back,” he added. According to NAEC, many exporters are falling back on PPE manufacturing as a stop-gap activity, while some are just left with no orders to service. “This is not a substitute for the core business of garments. We are now finding ways to reassure workers to return to work. As an apparel cluster, we have organised our own oxygen bank. We have distributed oxygen concentrators,” he said. “For our workers, there are isolation wards and oxygen beds at factories. We have also created a facility for Covid-affected workers to borrow concentrators and return them after use. we urge the government to make vaccines available for workers, which would give them the confidence to rejoin,” he added. Thukral claimed that losing business at this time could result in long-term damage. “The western markets have revived and other garment manufacturing Asian countries are not as affected by Covid now as India is, so this year, there is a demand for readymade garments. We are losing out because there is concern among international buyers whether we will be able to deliver,” Thukral said.
Source: Times of India
Loyal Textile Mills Limited and Lambodhara Textiles Limited have closed operations of their mills in Tamil Nadu for one week due to the Covid-19 spread. “Due to the lockdown restrictions of Government of Tamil Nadu for Covid-19 pandemic, our mills located at Kovilpatti, Sattur and Sivagangai shall remain closed from May 24, 2021, to May 31, 2021,” Loyal Textile Mills Limited said in its filing on Monday. “In view of the Covid-19 pandemic and in line with various directives being issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu, the company has been taking measures to ensure safety and health of all its stakeholders including employees." The Management has decided to suspend the operations of the company from Monday, May 24, 2021 until further notice,” Lambodhara Textiles said in its filing on Monday. During early trade on Tuesday, Loyal Textile Mills Ltd was trading at Rs725 per piece up by Rs29.65 or 4.26% from its previous closing of Rs695.35 per piece on the BSE.Lambodhara Textiles Ltd was trading at Rs64.45 up per piece by Rs0.25 or 0.39% from its previous closing of Rs64.20 per piece on the BSE.
Source: India Infoline
The price of viscose staple fibre (VSF), domestic China, is expected to show a slight increase in the coming months as the Chinese spinners are expected to purchase more VSF to fulfil the minimum requirements. It is expected to reach 15.18 thousand yuan per metric ton (thousand yuan/mt) in August 2021, increasing by 9.46 per cent over the price in May 2021.
Source: Fibre2fashion
At the extraordinary meeting of the four founding members—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—of Mercosur this June, Brail is going to seek a 20 per cent reduction in the South American trade block's Common External Tariff, TEC. Brazil wants TEC to be reduced in two rounds—10 per cent immediately, and the other 10 per cent in December. At present, Mercosur’s tariffs are relatively high by world standards. It is 35 per cent for textiles and clothing, and 32 per cent for footwear. A consensus is needed to reduce these tariffs, according to Mercosur rules that date back to early 1990s. There are around 10,300 nomenclature products, and Brazil wants the reduction to apply to all, Brazilian media reports said quoting Lucas Ferraz, foreign trade secretary of the Brazilian ministry of economy. On the other hand, the Argentine government is willing to reduce or eliminate tariffs on only 4,000 items, the same reports said.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
The 2021 Macroeconomic Outlook report by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has urged the federal government to develop industrial policy and sectoral plans for priority areas as well as address the challenge of insecurity in the country. The report disclosed that the manufacturing sector is one of the six sectors that have the potential to create jobs and reduce poverty. The report also noted that for the sector to create jobs and reduce poverty, private investments would play a major role. It further explained that from recent happenings, actual investments in manufacturing are realised when there is an intersection of market opportunities and government support. It maintained that Nigeria's reliance on imports, its large market and the coming into effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement present a huge opportunity for investment in the manufacturing sector, especially in agro-processing and light manufacturing. Also, the report noted that Nigeria's manufacturing sector faced several challenges even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It posited that prior to the pandemic, the sector had suffered mainly from the closure of land borders in September 2019, which reduced informal exports and indirectly affected several manufacturing outfits in Aba, Kano and Lagos. The report stated that perennial problems of power supply, logistics bottlenecks, infrastructure deficits, limited access to credit, foreign exchange scarcity have continuously affected the sector's performance over time. It added: "The growth of the manufacturing sector has been stagnant (average growth of -0.6% from 2015 to 2019) while capacity utilisation has remained low. "The manufacturing sector is made up of 13 subsectors, including oil refining; cement; food, beverage and tobacco; textile, apparel and footwear; wood and wood products; pulp, paper and paper products; chemical and pharmaceutical products; non-metallic products; plastic and rubber products; electrical and electronics; basic metal, iron and steel; motor vehicles and assembly and other manufacturing." According to the report: "The sector is dominated by informal players that are mostly micro, small, and medium enterprises. "Manufacturing is Nigeria's third-largest sector in terms of employment, after agriculture and trade, but the poor quality of infrastructure remains the longest standing problem of the sector in Nigeria and contributes to the high cost of production. "Bad road networks and inadequate electricity supply also make it difficult for businesses to maximise returns and limit operations costs in the sector."However, Nigeria has numerous favourable conditions for investment, especially in its manufacturing sector. "Some of these conditions include large arable land, strategic location in Africa and large market and opportunities presented by the AfCFTA. "Developing Nigeria's manufacturing sector is the solution to Nigeria's foreign exchange problems as the sector has the potential to create jobs and lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty if the government addresses the current challenges. "Already, there are several initiatives and interventions in the manufacturing sector, ranging from import restrictions to the establishment of 43 export processing zones which are currently at different stages of development, according to the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority
Source: All Africa
The National Consumer Commission (NCC), in collaboration with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) Customs Special Operations, issued 88 compliance notices between July 2020 and March 31, this year, for imported goods that did not meet the labelling requirements under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The goods in question, valued at R18-million, include footwear, leather, clothing and textiles. Sars officials, upon inspection of consignments, suspected that the goods did not meet the labelling requirements and detained the goods and informed the NCC. The NCC’s investigation revealed that the goods did not comply with the standards set out in Section 24 and Regulation 6 of the CPA, which requires that all footwear, leather, clothing and textiles imported into South Africa must have a label permanently affixed and clearly indicating a country of origin, care instructions and fibre content. The NCC will continue to interject imports and, where goods do not comply with the provisions of the CPA, the importer is required to either return the goods to the country of origin or destroy them at their own cost, NCC acting commissioner Joseph Selolo says. The NCC enforces this requirement by either issuing a compliance notice or referring the contravention to the National Consumer Tribunal for prosecution, in which case the tribunal may also impose an administrative fine. The NCC is working with other agencies to ensure that importers do not try to circumvent these legislative requirements, Selolo says.
Source: Engineering News
Tanzanian government will mobilise the development of the textile and garment industries as it works towards improving the ease of doing business in the country. The ministry of industry and trade is in the process of consulting stakeholders from various industries to review 22 laws and implement regulatory reforms for improving the business environment. In the budget for financial year 2021-22 announced last week, Tanzanian government amended two laws through the Finance Act of 2020 and is in the process of introducing the Trade Remedies Act of 2021 to protect local businesses, control importation of products and market distortion by subsidised products which come to the local market at lower prices. The proposed law has already been submitted to the government for further action, Tanzanian media reports said quoting industry and trade minister Kitila Mkumbo. The government of the country is looking to improve the policies and laws to create a conducive business environment. It will also cooperate with businesses to create a market for the local products, Mkumbo said. Tanzania has also scrapped over 232 taxes, fees, levies to reduce the time and costs for securing licenses and permits to do business in the country, the minister added. The news comes on the heels of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s suggestions to ministers and government officials to improve the ease of doing business in Tanzania and amend laws that hindered investments.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
A new Regional Yarn Production and Innovation Center (RYPIC) will be set up in the Cagayan Valley in Philippines at an investment of PHP 40 million ($832,117). It is a microscale yarn spinning facility for producing yarns from blends of natural fibres like banana, pineapple leaf and abaca with cotton. It will also offer technical support to textile MSMEs. The project approved by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is part of the Inclusive Innovation Textiles Empowering Lives Anew (i2TELA) programme, led by the DOST-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI). The facility aims to serve as a pipeline to spur development of the local textile industry in the Northern Luzon corridor, said the country’s media reports. It will be established in the Isabela State University (ISU) Ilagan. The innovation facility has environmental, cultural and economic significance for the country, said DOST-PTRI director Celia B. Elumba. The Cagayan State University Gonzaga campus will provide bamboo raw materials to the RYPIC. Along with promoting yarn production in Cagayan Valley, the centre will benefit the region’s disaster risk reduction management as the bamboo plantation will control erosion and flooding in the area, according to DOST.
Source: Fibre2fashion
