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Last month, the tax department had written to Walmart saying that the US company can seek guidance about the tax liability under Section 195 (2) of the I-T Act E-commerce major Flipkart has shared 'some details' with the I-T authorities on its USD 16 billion deal with US-based Walmart, but the tax department will act only after regulatory approvals have been obtained, an official said. The department is currently studying the details received from the company, the official said, adding that they can issue notices seeking details of taxes withheld once the transactions are completed. Last month, the tax department had written to Bentonville -Arkansas based Walmart saying that the US company can seek guidance about the tax liability under Section 195 (2) of the I-T Act. Under Section 195 of the Act, anyone making payment to non-residents is required to deduct tax (commonly known as withholding tax). The official said Flipkart has filed "some details...

Two-day G7 summit starts in Japan A two-day Group of Seven (G7) summit started at Ise-Shima in Japan on Thursday. The meeting is being attended by   G7   country heads – US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, public broadcaster NHK reported. Abe is chairing the summit. The group will first visit Ise Jingu, a huge shrine of Japan's Shintoism. The leaders are expected to discuss the values of the   Japan G7 , solidarity and the global economy. Other subjects will be discussed at five subsequent sessions, including how to sustain global economic growth, the response to terrorism, the refugee crisis and climate change. The leaders will aim to clearly express their solidarity on policy in their summit declaration on Friday.

Like his father before him, Dattatatraya Kshirsagar, 80, has been looking forward for years to the day when a $65 million dam will be completed in his village, an hour-and-a-half drive southeast of Mumbai. The dam would supply enough water to irrigate 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of parched land around it, including Kshirsagar's 2.5-hectare family farm in Kondhane village. A steady water supply, instead of reliance on seasonal monsoon rains, would allow him to switch to cash crops and reap three harvests a year, instead of one now, Kshirsagar said. Read our full coverage on Union   Budget   2016 Read more from our special coverage on "NARENDRA MODI" Prime Minister to inaugurate agri fair Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar bonhomie is reflection of Team India: BJP Narendra Modi  slams Congress in Bihar, lauds Nitish Kumar Using technology will improve court judgements: Modi Narendra Modi pitches for further quota reforms at IMF Kshirsagar's family ha...

In the three days since the Union Budget, at least 70 companies have called board meetings to declare interim dividends — in a bid to get the money to the shareholders before the tax on promoters’ dividends kicks in on April 1. The Budget, presented on Monday, had proposed a 10 per cent tax on the dividends for those promoters with annual dividend income of Rs 10 lakh or more. Show full article

In a boost to firms like  ONGC   and Reliance Industries, the government plans to raise natural  gas price   by about 60% for their undeveloped gas discoveries in difficult areas. While domestically-produced gas is currently priced at an average of rates in gas-surplus countries like the US, Canada and Russia, for deep-sea discoveries yet to be developed, the government plans to price them at an average cost of alternative fuels -- naphtha and fuel oil as well as imported LNG. Show full article

The next financial year will be a tightrope walk for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, with the mounted challenge of narrowing the fiscal deficit and enhancing tax revenue collections to compensate for higher salaries and pensions and capital spending. Besides raising tax revenue, Jaitley will have to deliver on the promise of a fair, transparent and non-adversarial tax regime in light of multinational companies such as Vodafone receiving fresh notices for payment of tax dues based on retrospective provisions. Though the government has been assuring investors that it will not invoke the retrospective tax clause, there has been no attempt to remove it from the statute. Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News Read our full coverage on  Union Budget 2016

Finance Minister  Arun Jaitley   is likely to announce a relatively realistic  disinvestment  target of Rs 50,000-55,000 crore in the  Union Budget   for 2016-17, much lower than the current financial year's target of Rs 69,500 crore. However, at least half of that amount - Rs 25,000-30,000 crore - could be the target for sale of the Centre's stake in loss-making state-owned companies. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016

The finance ministry said today that tax collections stood at Rs 10.66 lakh crore in the first eleven months of the current financial year, which was 73.5% of the Budget target of Rs 14.49 lakh crore. However, direct taxcollections might slightly fall short of the budget target, but it would be offset by robust indirect tax collections, it said.  The revenue department expects additional about Rs 40,000 crore to come from indirect taxes, which will offset shortfall in direct tax mop up. Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said the government has fulfilled its promise of ‘One Rank, One Pension’ to ex-servicemen to a large extent and it would refer “minor issues”, if any, to a one-man commission for redressal. ALSO READ:  Rs 1.1 lakh cr allocation in FY17 for Orop, Pay Commission: Jaitley   As promised by BJP, the government has already issued tables of various pensions as per the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) Scheme, which involves an annual fund requirement of approximately Rs 7,500 crore and Rs 10,980 crore of arrears which would be paid in four instalments, he said.  Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News  

Growth in India’s services activity rose at its fastest pace in 19 months in January as demand picked up, a business survey showed today. The Nikkei/Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 54.3 in January from December’s 53.6, marking a seventh month above the 50-level that separates growth from contraction. Growth was noted in four of the six monitored categories, the exceptions being Hotels & Restaurants and Transport & Storage. “The  Indian economy  shifted into a higher gear in January, supported by a quick rebound in manufacturing production following last month’s floods. Concurrently, the service sector gained traction and posted its strongest monthly gain in activity for over one-and-a-half years,” said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at Markit.  Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News

After contracting in the previous month, manufacturing registered a four-month high growth in January following inflows of new business from both domestic and export sources, showed a widely tracked Nikkei purchasing managers'index (PMI) survey. However, investment goods output and new orders fell which may have impact on future growth of manufacturing. However, inflationary pressures remained on upside because of which a commentator associated with PMI does not expect the Reserve Bank of India to cut the policy rate on Tuesday.  Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News  

The Bank of Japan today introduced negative interest rater egime at its first policy review for the year. The Japanese central bank decided to keep an interest rate of -0.1% from its current level of 0.1%. The rate will apply to current accounts that financial institutions hold at the bank. The policy was decided by a 5-4 majority vote. A negative interest rate means the central bank and perhaps private banks will charge negative interest; instead of receiving money on deposits, depositors must pay regularly to keep their money with the bank. This is intended to incentivise banks to lend money more freely and businesses and individuals to invest, lend, and spend money rather than pay a fee to keep it safe.  Read Articles

India’s fiscal deficit was Rs 4,88,000 crore ($71.90 billion) during April-December, or 87.9% of the full-year target, data from the government has revealed. The deficit was 100.2% of the full-year target during the same period a year ago. This means that the governnment will have to keep the excess of its expenditure over income  at  12.1% of budget estimates in the remaining three months of the fiscal.  Read Articles

The government on Thursday announced a list of 20 places that will be developed as smart cities.  Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and said it was “closely monitoring” global economic and financial developments, but maintained an otherwise upbeat view of the US economy. The central bank’s decision was widely expected after a month-long plunge in US and world equities raised concerns that an abrupt global slowdown could act as a drag on US economic growth. ALSO READ:  Wall Street turns red after Fed statement “The committee is closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and is assessing their implications for the labor market and inflation,” the Fed’s policy-setting committee said in a statement that diminished the chances of a rate hike at its next meeting in March. Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News