finance ministry

Come next financial year, the PAN card is likely to become the most potent tool for the Income Tax Department to unearth black money, tax evasion and instances of criminal financing in the country.A recent directive of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to the I-T Dept has asked its officials to launch a special drive against those who have "not furnished their PAN (Permanent Account Number)" while entering into high value transactions. Full Article

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has said a committee constituted to suggest ways to check and bring back black money stashed in banks abroad will submit its report to the Finance Ministry within a fortnight. Full Article

The Finance Ministry is working on savings banks account number portability, which will allow a customer to retain his account number while changing his bank. Full Article

Move aimed at unearthing black money stashed in bank accounts abroad. The income-tax department, which is facing a number of cases of denial of secret foreign bank account holdings, has decided to re-open past tax returns of some individuals in Mumbai and Delhi, among others, to unearth black money stashed abroad. Full Article

The revenue department is opposed to abolition of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) as the levy helps keep a tab on investments in markets and track flow of unaccounted funds. STT helps in overall regulation and keep a check on cost involved. The stock exchanges have been asking the Finance Ministry to abolish STT arguing that such a step would help in boosting investments in stock markets and promote equity culture in the country. Full Article

The Finance Ministry has set up a Directorate of Income Tax (Criminal Investigation) to investigate criminal offences under direct tax laws, the Parliament was informed today. The Directorate of Income Tax (Criminal Investigation) is mandated to perform functions in respect of criminal matters having any financial implication punishable as an offence under any direct tax law, Minister of State for Finance SS Palanimanickam said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Full Article

The Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, who is also Chairperson of the National Implementation Committee to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, today launched a new Audio-Visual presentation of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ poem in full five stanzas by various artists as a salutation to the great poet who gave us India’s National Anthem. Full Article

The Finance Ministry plans to bring more professions in the services sector under the tax net, a senior bureaucrat said here on Monday. He was speaking at a service tax-related event organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. Full Article