SEBI has, on 19 July 2010, released the report of Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee (TRAC) constituted under the Chairmanship of Mr. C. Achuthan on the proposed changes to the existing SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997. TRAC has given their recommendations and also issued a draft of proposed takeover regulations which would replace the existing takeover regulations. The report is open for public comments upto 31 August 2010.
The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill 2010, which seeks to give voting rights to NRIs, was moved in the Rajya Sabha Saturday. Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily moved the bill after withdrawing its earlier version, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2006. The older version of the bill was withdrawn on the recommendations of a parliamentary standing committee which examined the legislation.
The Government-appointed panel to look into the problems of the rubber industry has recommended that the Customs duty on natural rubber imports be brought down to either Rs 20.46 for a kg or 20 per cent, whichever is lower. This comes as a major relief to the consuming industry which has seen a widening divide between the Indian and international price of natural rubber.
Companies into hydrocarbon exploration and production business have asked the Government to remove uncertainties over tax and marketing regime before the ninth round of bidding for oil and gas areas is launched later this year.
The government is formulating a comprehensive land acquisition bill that will address concerns about process of acquiring land for purposes such as setting up SEZs and compensation to be paid. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas said a group of ministers (GoM) was considering a bill to reform land acquisition law.
With an aim at faster clearance of trademark cases in the country, the government has sought public comments on amending the relevant rules to make them more significant and user friendly. “The Comptroller General of Patent, Design and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) intends to make a proposal for amendment of the Trade Mark Rules,” the CGPDTM said in a communication.
Customs department today charged Sterlite Industries with evasion of duty to the tune of several crores in export of copper waste. This is the second time in the last one month that Sterlite, the country’s largest non ferrous and mining company, has been accused of duty evasion.
On July 24, 2010, the Finance Minister released Citizen’s Charter — a declaration of Income-Tax Department’s commitment to taxpayers. In this Charter, one of the commitments is to make compliance easy. In this background, one of the members of the CBDT has issued a D.O. letter dated June 18, 2010 to all Chief Commissioners of Income Tax, concerning giving credit for tax deducted at source (TDS). At present, a large number of lower- and middle-income taxpayers face the problem of their refunds being withheld.
Even as America’s new Border Security Act raises hackles in India, government officials said the country will renew efforts to push for exemption of social security tax paid by top tech firms including TCS, Infosys and Wipro in the US. India’s $50-billion software outsourcing industry pays around $1 billion every year towards social security taxes to the US government, according to Nasscom.
The former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Mr T.N. Manoharan, has sought the need for equitable treatment of tax payers and revenue authorities in the Direct Taxes Code (DTC). In his discussion paper on ‘DTC’ at the national conference on Direct Taxes and Allied Laws, organised by the Direct Taxes Committee of the ICAI, Mr Manoharan said the certain provisions in DTC are tilted in favour of revenue.
