The Finance Bill, 2011 (the Bill) was introduced by the Finance Minister (FM) in the Lok Sabha yesterday. The FM has proposed certain amendments to the Bill in the Lok Sabha. Here we are giveing a snapshot of the key amendments proposed to the provisions of the Bill as passed by the Lok Sabha. It may be noted that these proposals will become law only after they are passed by the Rajya Sabha and thereafter receive assent of the President of India.
Auditors have rushed to respond to the Big Four bank clause investigation, which could see the Office of Fair Trading come down hard on lending restrictions linked to audit. RESTRICTIVE BANK clauses that force customers to use Big Four firms are to be investigated, and auditors have scrambled to respond. Martyn Jones, senior audit partner at Deloitte, professed no shock at the announcement, saying his firm welcomes the removal of restrictive agreements.
THE GOVERNMENT has asked regulators to investigate whether banks help to entrench the Big Four auditing firms’ dominance through restrictive lending agreements with companies. The Budget included a call to the Office of Fair Trading to probe whether bank covenants lock out smaller auditors.
Taking forward financial sector reforms, the government today introduced a long-pending PFRDA Bill in the Lok Sabha to give statutory status to interim pension regulator and promoting old age income security. The Bill, introduced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, provides for establishing a statutory regulatory body to be called the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which will undertake promotional, developmental and regulatory functions in respect to pension funds.
Concerned over growing corporate fraud, the government is considering to tighten its Early Warning System (EWS) to scrutinise activities of companies with same addresses and common directors. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) plans to add two more parameters to its software-based fraud detecting system, called Early Warning System (EWS), which scans unusual developments in companies and alerts the Ministry of any possible wrongdoing.
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal consisting of the President and two senior-most Vice-Presidents, the following Members of the Tribunal are hereby transferred in public interest, in the same capacity, to the Bench/es of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal as shown against their names with effect from the forenoon of 1st April 2011. Shri. O. K. Narayanan, VP. Shri. N. Barathvaja Sankar, VP.
The regulator SEBI today announced a new set of Code of Conduct, including restricting access to Internet forums for employees, for market intermediaries to ensure that unsubstantiated news, which could distort normal functioning and prices of stocks, are not circulated. This comes in the wake of observations by the Securities and Exchange Board of India that unauthenticated news related to various scrips are circulated in blogs, chat forums or e-mails by employees of broking houses and other intermediaries in violation of rules.
The Reserve Bank of India asked banks to have extended working hours on March 30 and 31, 2011, to facilitate receipt of government revenue from members of public even at late hours. It has been decided in consultation with the Controller General of Accounts that all regional offices of RBI and branches of agency banks conducting government business will suitably extend the banking hours to conduct government business by keeping their counters open for the purpose on March 30 and 31, 2011, the central bank said in a statement.
The Company Law Board (CLB) today declared the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) convened by IFCI for the appointment of an additional director on the board of Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) invalid. The CLB bench of Justice D R Deshmukh, while declaring the EGM null and void, said, “The meeting was convened in the violation of its earlier order.”
It’s a great victory for Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Finally Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cleared the extension of CBDT Chairman Sudhir Chandra for two months beginning April 1.Earlier the PM had rejected the extension proposal.
