Please refer to paragraph 7.5 of our Master Circular dated July 1, 2009 on Lending to Priority Sector, in terms of which loans granted to Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), approved by National Housing Bank for the purpose of refinance, for on-lending to individuals for purchase/construction of dwelling units, provided the housing loans granted by HFCs do not exceed Rs.20 lakh per dwelling unit per family, are eligible to be classified under priority sector. However, the eligibility under this measure is restricted to five per cent of the individual bank’s total priority sector lending, on an ongoing basis. The above special dispensation is applicable to loans granted by banks to HFCs up to March 31, 2010.
The Finance Act, 2004 introduced section 111A in the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) prescribing a tax rate of 10 percent on Short Term Capital Gains (STCG) arising from sale of shares on or after 1 October 2004 on a stock exchange which are subject to Securities Transaction Tax (STT).
Conflicting decisions of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (the Tribunal) concerning similar payments in the case of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. v. DCIT [2003] 85 ITD 478 (Delhi ITAT) and DCIT v. Pan AmSat International Systems Inc. [2006] 9 SOT 100 (Delhi ITAT) led to the constitution of the Special Bench of the Delhi Tribunal. It was held that payments made by telecasting companies to satellite companies for telecommunication or broadcasting constitutes royalty under provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘the Act’) as well as various tax treaties.
Recently, the Delhi Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (the Tribunal) in the case of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. has held that the difference between the market price and the issue price of the shares offered to employees under the Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOP) is not an allowable expenditure since the loss incurred due to issue of shares at a discount is a notional loss and such notional loss cannot be considered as an allowable expenditure under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act). Though it was mandatory to record it as an expenditure as per the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) guidelines.
Indian companies paying royalty to foreign firms for technology transfer, use of brand name or trademark will no longer require government approval, as such payments have been allowed under the automatic route. “. it has been decided to permit, with immediate effect, payments for royalty, lump sum fee for transfer of technology and payments for use of trademark/brand name on the automatic route.
Bringing relief to the working class of the country facing an unprecedented price rise, the government has decided to hike the minimum wages to Rs 100 from existing Rs 80 per day. “The decision to hike minimum wages to Rs 100 per day would be implemented with retrospective effect from November 1, 2009,” a Labour Ministry source told.
India Inc has informed the ministry of finance that the government can unlock a whopping Rs 50,000 crore in revenue if it fast-tracks cases related to direct and indirect taxes that are pending in various tribunals and courts. The Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII) senior director Marut Sengupta said this constitutes about one- fourth of the Rs 2,00,000 crore that has been held up for a long time in various disputes related to corporate and income tax, excise tax and services tax.
2. With a view to disseminating information on the SLR status of a Government security, it has been decided that: (i) the SLR status of securities issued by the Government of India and the State Governments will be indicated in the Press Release issued by the Reserve Bank of India at the time of issuance of the securities; and (ii) an updated and current list of the SLR securities will be posted on the Reserve Bank’s website (www.rbi.org. in) under the link ” Database on Indian Economy”.
The Parliament has passed the the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2009 which is to replace the Competition (Amendment) Ordinance, 2009 and to further amend section 66 of the Competition Act, 2002. Rajya Sabha passed it today, while the Lok Sabha had already considered and passed it on 14th December, 2009.
In view of the vastness of the subject, the complications and listening at many of my colleagues, I have decided to present a small brief on Companies to be formed under the provisions of Companies Act, 1956, the difference between Private Limited and Public Limited Companies, the applicable law and also the complications. I know the vastness of the subject and I just want to present a small brief as follows:
