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Sitharaman had in the Budget proposed to increase the surcharge, charged on top of the applicable income tax rate for the super-rich Budget news : Amid a backlash from foreign portfolio investors over the new tax, the government Tuesday said it is not targeting FPIs by raising tax on super-rich individuals, and foreign investors have an option to convert into a corporate entity to avail of lower rates available to such category. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden budget hiked the surcharge on income tax paid by super-rich individuals. However, some 40 per cent of the FPIs automatically come under the higher tax rate as they have been investing as a non-corporate entity such as trust or... read more

Experts say the govt missed the bus on ITC benefit under GST, industry status and single-window project clearance Budget news : Union Budget 2019-20 has evoked mixed reactions from the real estate sector, with the push for affordable housing and infrastructure, along with the promotion of rental housing, being lauded. However, builders and developers are miffed that the Budget failed to address long-standing expectations regarding industry status for the sector, single-window clearance and reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST). ANAROCK Property Consultants Chairman Anuj Puri said, "As far as real estate is concerned, the Budget had a few hits and several misses." Puri said that from the real estate perspective, the Budget did not meet many expectations, as it failed to address the sector's most pressing concerns. He added that the sector might not see consumers and investors return to the market in sufficient numbers, barring in... read more

The government on Friday raised income tax surcharge on people with an annual income of more than 20 million Indian rupees Budget 2019 : Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday there was no need for any clarification on the additional tax burden that could apply to foreign portfolio investors due to higher surcharges introduced by her budget last week. The government on Friday raised income tax surcharge on people with an annual income of more than 20 million Indian rupees ($291,248.00) who make up the top end of Indian society. Indian markets crashed due to a sell off led by foreign portfolio investors, who now may have to pay higher tax on their income due to the new rules.

Budget documents give break-up of the jobs that were created in central govt departments in last two years Budget 2019 : The central government has generated over 3.81 lakh jobs in the last two fiscals in its different organisations, according to Budget 2019-20 documents. The strength of government establishments was 32,38,397 as on March 1, 2017, which increased to 36,19,596 by the same date in 2019 —an increase of 3,81,199, according to the Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday. The Congress and other opposition parties have accused the BJP-led NDA government of rising unemployment in the country. They had stepped up their attack on the Narendra Modi government over job creation after it... read more

Figures hoisted by housing, gas connection schemes Budget 2019 : Nirmala Sitharaman has earmarked more money to women-specific schemes in the Budget, the first by a full-time woman finance minister. The spending declared under the so-called gender Budget has risen to Rs 1.37 trillion for 2019-20 (FY20), up by over a tenth from the Rs 1.22 trillion in 2018-19 (FY19). However, as a share of the total budget, there is actually a marginal decline. The allocations work out to 4.91 per cent share of the overall budget. This is lower than the 4.99 per cent in FY19 and 5.28 per cent in 2017-18. The average share of such spending was 5 per cent during the past five years. The highest was 5.5 per cent in 2014-15. The share has... read more

Plan to build 19.5 mn rural houses over next three years will also strengthen steel consumption, ratings agency says in its Budget analysis Budget 2019 : The Union Budget's aspirational investment of Rs 100 trillion over 2024 is expected to catalyse domestic steel consumption. Besides the massive investment on infrastructure, the plan to construct 19.5 million rural houses over the next three years will strengthen steel consumption, ratings agency Icra Research said in its Budget analysis. Icra's review is predicated on the fact that construction and infrastructure sectors account for 50-60 per cent of the domestic steel consumption. “Additionally, increased tax incentives for affordable house purchases are a positive for long steel demand. The Government has set itself a target to provide drinking water to all households by 2024 under the flagship Har Ghar Jal Mission... read more

The move would adversely affect leather value chain from tanning to finished goods, especially at a time when finished leather exports were already down, it says Budget 2019 : The domestic leather industry has rued the proposal to impose a sharp export duty cut on raw leather and hide from 60 per cent to 40 per cent in the Union Budget 2019 tabled in Parliament last week. Fifteen per cent export duty on EI (Eastern India) tanned leather was also abolished on July 5. At present, the share of these items is not big in the leather export basket, but an increase in their export after budget incentives is expected to create a supply crunch. Industry players, including leather goods manufacturers and tanneries, are apprehensive the cut proposal would create acute raw material squeeze in the domestic market and ultimately lead to uncompetitive pricing of Indian finished products in the global arena. Currently, the share of raw hide and leather skin in India’s net leather and leather...

Das said the central bank will provide a backup "if individual banks require additional liquidity" Nirmala Sitharaman with Shaktikanta Das and Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg (right) in New Delhi on Monday Budget 2019 : The financial system’s liquidity is in “huge” surplus and the Union Budget’s announcements related to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are adequate to take care of the liquidity needs of the sector, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday. “Overall, the system liquidity is in huge surplus since June 1. We have also announced a liquidity back stock for banks to implement the NBFC package announced by the FM in the Budget. We have also decided to frontload the FALLCR, which will infuse additional liquidity,” Das said in a press conference after chairing the customary post-Budget board meeting of the central bank. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the central board of directors. In the Budget, the FM...

At present, a draft bill has been moved to give primacy to aircraft repossession rules over all other existing laws Budget 2019 : The government will need to amend regulations, waive duties and alter double tax avoidance treaties with other countries to make aircraft leasing business in India a reality, aviation sector experts have said. In her maiden Budget on Friday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will create a regulatory framework to make India a hub for aircraft leasing and maintenance units for planes. At present, Ireland serves as a base for top aircraft lessors because of its favourable tax laws. Last year, the Civil Aviation Ministry set up a working group to formulate policies to encourage domestic aircraft leasing industry. The group proposed amendments in rules and tax breaks to... read more  

Sovereign bonds in India rallied on Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech that the government would borrow in foreign currency to finance the budget deficit Budget 2019 : India plans to raise as much as $10 billion from its first overseas sovereign bond because there’s huge appetite for its debt in the foreign market, according to a top finance ministry official. "It’s a cautious beginning, which we need to make," Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg said in an interview on Saturday. "In terms of risk management I don’t see it exceeding 10-15% of the total borrowing, which makes it roughly about $10 billion." Sovereign bonds in India rallied on Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech that the government would borrow in foreign currency to finance the budget deficit, a move that will ease pressure on... read more

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman had stated that startups and their investors who file requisite declarations and provide information in their returns will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny Budget 2019 : IT industry body Nasscom has said the slew of incentives announced for startups in the Budget will help facilitate funding and reduce the regulatory and tax compliance burden on these fledgling enterprises. As part of the Budget, the government has proposed a host of incentives, including a special arrangement for resolution of pending assessments of income tax cases, with a view to encouraging startups. "Doing away with the scrutiny of valuation of documentation on angel tax is an excellent step that will help facilitate funding... With this Budget, startups can expect lesser regulatory requirement, besides reducing their tax compliance burden," Nasscom Executive Council member... read more

The Finance Minister would apprise the board of various other announcements made in the Budget to spur growth Budget 2019 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to address the post-budget meeting of the RBI's central board on Monday and highlight the key points of the Budget, including the fiscal consolidation roadmap. The government has lowered the fiscal deficit target to 3.3 per cent of the GDP as it is expecting net additional revenue of Rs 6,000 crore over the interim Budget estimates. The government in the interim Budget in February had projected a fiscal deficit of 3.4 per cent of the GDP for the current fiscal. The Centre also came out with a roadmap to reduce the... read more

Following the increase in surcharge, the effective income tax rate for individuals with taxable income of Rs 2-5 crore will go up from 35.88 per cent to 39 per cent Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey sought to justify the Budget proposal to increase surcharge on super-rich   Budget 2019 : Justifying raising of tax incidence on super rich, the finance ministry said the highest tax rate in India was still lower than many countries, including the US and China, and it was a worldwide phenomenon to ask the super rich to pay extra tax. Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey sought to justify the Budget proposal to increase surcharge on super-rich saying that the highest tax individual tax rate is 45 per cent in China and South Africa, and 50.3 per cent in the US. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget for 2019-20 presented last week proposed to increase surcharge from 15 per cent to 25 per cent on taxable income between... read more

Icra maintains a stable outlook for the domestic CV industry, expecting it to grow in the range of 7-9% during FY2020 Budget 2019 : Belying the hopes of commercial vehicle (CV) makers, the much-awaited policy of scrapping old vehicles was missing in the Budget. The industry said if the policy was announced, it would have taken 28 million vehicles bought before March 2005 off the road. The vehicle-scrapping policy was given “in-principle” approval at a high-level inter-ministerial meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office to pave the way for scrapping commercial vehicles (CVs) from April 1, 2020. Rajan Wadhera, president, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), and president, automotive sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, said “The industry had expected that a... read more

Standard Chartered Bank is setting up an international banking unit primarily to look after Indian company requirements Budget 2019 : Thanks to several incentives announced in the Budget, the country’s first international financial services centre, the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or GIFT City, is poised to take off. . The government announced a 100 per cent tax holiday for 10 out of 15 years, no dividend distribution tax out of current and accumulated profits, long-term capital gains exemptions to Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) for international financial services centre-listed securities, exemption from withholding tax on interest paid on debt securities issued in GIFT, and exemption for mutual funds set up in GIFT City. Two large foreign banks, including Standard Chartered of the UK and a US-based bank, are opening there. Another American bank is setting up a global delivery centre. Two foreign reinsurance companies and several alternative or... read more

After Bhutan, which has been allocated Rs 2,802 crore this year, tiny Mauritius will be the second-largest recipient of Indian aid Budget 2019 : To backstop India’s influence in its extended neighbourhood, Friday’s Budget has raised the allocation for providing financial aid to friendly regional countries by over 26 per cent. Last year’s revised allocation of Rs 6,667 crore has been upped to Rs 8,415 crore in 2019-20. The aid Budget has not just been raised, but redirected as well. While Bhutan retains its slot as India’s largest aid recipient, Indian Ocean island countries and littoral states feature high on the list of large aid recipients. After Bhutan, which has been allocated Rs 2,802 crore this year, tiny Mauritius will be the second-largest recipient of Indian aid, with Rs 1,100 crore allocated. Another island nation, the Maldives, is in the fourth place with... read more

Sitharaman said Aadhaar card for NRIs with Indian passports will be issued after their arrival in India, without waiting for the mandatory 180 days Budget 2019 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said PAN and Aadhaar have been made interchangeable, allowing those who do not have PAN to file income tax returns. Presenting the first budget of the Modi government in its second term, Sitharaman said Aadhaar card for NRIs with Indian passports will be issued after their arrival in India, without waiting for the mandatory 180 days. Sitharaman said with a view to incentivising investment in GIFT City, the government proposes several tax benefits.

Corporate tax on companies with turnover of up to Rs 400 crore has been slashed to 25 per cent from current 30 per cent Budget 2019 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday hiked tax on petrol and diesel, raised import duty on gold, levied additional surcharge on super rich and brought a tax on high value cash withdrawals as she sought to spur growth with reduction in corporate tax and sops to housing sector, startups and electric vehicles. Presenting the maiden budget of Modi 2.0 government in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman, the first full-time woman Finance Minister, proposed measures to ease liquidity crisis facing shadow banking sector (NBFCs) and providing Rs 70,000 crore capital to public sector banks while seeking to raise additional resources through privatisation of some PSUs. In relief to tax payers, she provided for an additional deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loans borrowed up to... read more

Experts added that the interest exemption upto Rs 3.5 lakh for affordable housing would help boost residential sales Budget 2019 : The Finance Minister's budget proposals, such as a model tenancy code, making government land available for affordable housing, interest exemption on affordable housing could give a big push to affordable housing and help developers who are hit by credit crunch. "Lack of land availability and rental housing policy have been big bottlenecks for affordable housing. Both (freeing up land and establishing model tenancy code) will help push affordable housing," said Ramesh Nair, chief executive at JLL, a property consultant. Nair said that government could come out with tax incentives for developers doing rental housing. "The new model tenancy, which is likely to be re-introduced, is expected to... read more

The government has been receiving grievances from various quarters for grant of dual family pension including special or liberalised family pension for armed forces personnel on lines of government Budget 2019 : The government has decided to give special or liberalised family pension to the families of armed forces pensioners who get re-employed after retiring from military service and receive military pension till death. According to a Defence Ministry statement, the families shall be allowed to draw family pension from the military side besides any other authorised from the re-employed civil department. The government has been receiving grievances from various quarters for grant of dual family pension including special or liberalised family pension for armed forces personnel on... read more