Corporate Affairs Ministry again extends statutory filing deadline amid MCA21 woes

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Extending the deadline for the third time, Corporate Affairs Ministry has now given time till July 7 for companies to submit their statutory filings as issues related to MCA21 portal are yet to be fully resolved.

MCA21 is used for making electronic filings under the Companies Act and is managed by Infosys  for the ministry.

The upgraded system went live in the last week of March and stakeholders have been facing issues in using the portal.

The Ministry has extended the filing deadline for the third time in less than two months.

Initially, the extension was till May 10 and later the deadline was fixed for June 10.

Giving more time, the Ministry has extended the time limit for making the requisite filings under the companies law to July 10.

“…keeping in view, requests received from various stakeholders, it has been decided to extend the period for which the one time waiver of additional fees is applicable to all e-forms which are due for filing by companies between March 25 to June 30, 2016 as well as extend the last date for filing such documents and availing the benefit of waiver to July 7, 2016,” it said in a communication dated May 31.

While the communication does not mention anything about MCA21, Ministry officials expect to resolve the issues related to the portal soon.

On April 6, an Infosys spokesperson had said it was working with the Ministry to resolve the “minor teething problems” related to MCA21.

The portal is designed to fully automate all processes related to enforcement and compliance of legal requirements under the Companies Act.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has also extended the time limit for submitting Form 11 of LLP in respect of 2015-16 financial year without any additional fees to June 30.

Form 11 is for filing annual returns LLPs.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52556624.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

Rs 3,770-cr nod for Chennai Metro project

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The union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved an investment of Rs 3,770 crore for development of the first phase of the Chennai Metro Rail project.

The 9.051 km corridor between Washermanpet and Wimconagar will be executed by Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL), the existing special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the centre and the state government with equal share of equity.

“The project is scheduled to be completed by March 2018. This extension will provide improved access to public transport for dense population comprising predominantly industrial workers to move towards the central business district of the city for work,” said an official statement.

The centre will have a share of Rs 713 crore in the total project cost while the state government’s share would stand at Rs 916 crore.The state’s share includes Rs 203 crore as cost of land acquisition and resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R).

The balance amount of Rs 2,141 crore for the project would be sourced as loan from domestic or multi-lateral funding agencies. The project is estimated to have a ridership of 160,000 passengers per day in the first year of operation.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/rs-3-770-cr-nod-for-chennai-metro-project-116060101427_1.html

 

To de-stress banks, Modi govt plans ‘significant’ stressed assets fund

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Given the need for large chunks of equity capital to infuse new life into banks’ stressed assets, the government plans a new fund of “significant size” with this mandate, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday. A variety of other funds including the proposed National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) could help bolster the planned stressed assets fund, he added.

“We need an efficient resolution (of the issue of rising stressed assets) and recovery process for our banks,” Sinha said on the sidelines of a conference organised by rating agency Crisil on the deepening of corporate bond markets. He said a committee might be set up to take a look at what kind of haircuts would need to be taken by banks and what their sustainable levels of debt could be. While these could be commercial decisions taken by banks, the government would ensure the process is carried out with integrity, he emphasised.

Many state-owned lenders are facing a tough situation, having reported large losses owing to assets turning sour. Gross non-performing assets in the banking system at the end of March are estimated at Rs 5.7 lakh crore while the provisions set aside by banks in FY16 was Rs 1.43 lakh crore. Total losses of PSBs in FY16 was Rs 17,022 crore.

“We expect a variety of funds — distressed debt funds, special situations fund and NIIF — to participate in the equity investments in these stressed assets,” the minister said. The NIIF, intended to give a leg-up to the country’s efforts to find the elusive equity capital for its huge plans for infrastructure creation, is being set up with an initial corpus of Rs 40,000 crore, half of that from the government, which will remain a minority partner.

The NIIF, which will have several sector-specific sub-funds, is expected to catalyse financing of infrastructure projects by leveraging the corpus multiple times. Many global sovereign wealth funds including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Singapore’s Temasek and Russian Direct Investment Fund have evinced interest in investing in the NIIF. The search for the CEO of the fund has reached the final stage, the minister indicated.

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Sinha said: “There are also many other players who are looking to invest in the stressed assets of Indian banks. So we expect that there will be a vibrant market to be able to take these assets that are in need of equity capital right now.” On Tuesday, finance minister Arun Jaitley, on a visit to Japan, pitched for investments in the NIIF to Japanese investors.

While Sinha has indicated the NIIF’s participation in the proposed stressed assets fund, the former’s stated objective has been to maximise economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects, both greenfield and brownfield, including stalled projects. It could also consider other nationally important projects if commercially viable.

 

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/banking-finance/bank-npas-centre-turns-to-stressed-assets-fund-to-cap-crisis/270598/

Danish companies keen to take part in Make in India

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Denmark-based companies such as Danfoss, Grunfdfoss, sRamboll, Novo Nordisk and Novozymes are eyeing the benefits of Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India programme to set up their base in the country.

 

Indian ambasssador to Copenhagen Rajeev Shahare said Denmark has embarked on a number of steps to be ahead of the curve in doing business with India. “The Danish Confederation of Industries (DI) has an office in Mumbai; the Danish Trade Council (part of its Ministry of Foreign Office) has a strong representative office in Bangalore; Asia House in Copenhagen has commissioned a study on how to effectively participate in the Smart Cities project in India,” the ambassador told FE.

 

While many big companies like Danfoss and Carlsberg already have their units, some others are in the process of doing so. “One company is setting up a unit in Hyderabad for manufacturing of ocean cleaning pumps and equipment; another consulting company is exploring Mumbai for its regional office,” he said.

 

The Scandinavian country is keen on setting up production facilities in India taking advantage of India’s low cost of production, availability of technical and English speaking manpower and a compatible working environment, he added.

 

India can also partner Denmark and learn from its best practices in areas like health services, food technology, dairy management, agro services, solid waste management and waste water management.

 

There are around 125 Danish companies in India and probably all top companies have a strong presence — the shipping giant Maersk (AP Moller) which also developed the Pipavav port and is now looking for investments in ports on the eastern coast; Danfoss, Grunfdfoss, Ramboll, leading pharma company Novo Nordisk etc. The Danish companies operating in India are directly or indirectly providing around two lakh jobs to locals here.

 

According to Statistics Denmark, the Danish FDI in India was $854 million in 2014, $731 million in 2013 compared to $931 million in 2012 (up from $877 million in 2011). Major Danish investments in India have been made in sectors such as manufacturing, trade and transport, financial and business services.

 

On the other hand, the Indian investment in Denmark were $71 million in 2014, $89 million in 2013 compared to $103 million in 2012 (up from $112 million in 2011) (Source: Statistics Denmark). Around 30 Indian companies have a presence in Denmark. Of them, 24 are IT companies, two belong to life sciences field and four are diversified mainly in the renewable space.

 

There are some major success stories of companies from Denmark that need to be highlighted. “The largest Danish bank- Danske Bank has all its back end operations in India; the entire Kommune (municipal) operations of KMD are handled by an Indian software company,” according to Shahare.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/danish-companies-keen-to-take-part-in-make-in-india/269514/

Japanese investors keen on India’s infra growth story: Arun Jaitley

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TOKYO: Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and a number of investors here have shown keen interest in investing in India’s “infrastructure growth story”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today as he kicked off his 6-day visit to Japan aimed at attracting investments from Asia’s second biggest economy.

After a meeting with Jaitley, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said he is also interested in Internet companies as well as solar energy sector, where he has already announced $20 billion investment through a joint venture.

“There are people who want to participate in infrastructure growth story. For example, at the SoftBank meeting we just had, they are looking at one of the biggest investments in solar power already,” Jaitley said after meeting Son.

“There are people who want to participate in infrastructure growth story. For example, at the SoftBank meeting we just had, they are looking at one of the biggest investments in solar power already,” Jaitley said after meeting Son.

In June last year, SoftBank announced that the group was forming a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group to invest about $20 billion in renewable energy in India. The JV would aim to generate 20 gigawatts of electricity.

“They have made considerable headway and have identified location. It will probably be one of the largest investment in those areas,” Jaitley said.

The Japanese telecom and Internet giant has made a string of tech investments in India, amounting to $2 billion in the past two year. SoftBank is looking at accelerating the pace of investments in the future.

“India has a great future… We are interested in investing for Internet companies, also for solar energy. We would make a strong commitment,” Son said.

He had previously said that India’s market is poised for massive growth, making it an important destination for investors.

SoftBank’s investments in the past two years include $627 million in online-retailing marketplace Snapdeal and leading a $210 million funding round in taxi-hailing app Ola Cabs.

It paid $200 million for a 35 per cent stake in InMobi, an Indian mobile-advertising network, starting in 2011.

SoftBank also has a JV with Bharti Group, Bharti SoftBank, the investments of which include the mobile application Hike Messenger. Its other investments include real-estate website Housing.com, hotel-booking app Oyo Rooms and Grofers.

Son had previously predicted that India’s e-commerce industry would become a $500 billion business in the next 10 years.

SoftBank, which owns one of Japan’s biggest mobile carriers and a controlling stake in US-based Sprint Corp, has been moving quickly to expand its Internet and media holdings.

As the largest shareholder in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the Chinese e-commerce company, SoftBank has ample resources to deploy for acquisitions.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52491788.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Filing tax returns on time has benefits

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With the income tax department allowing ample time for filing returns, many taxpayers take it easy.

For the income earned in the past financial year (FY16), a taxpayer can file returns up to March 2018. However, sticking to the first deadline of July 31 has its benefits.

Say, you make a mistake while filing returns – it can be a wrong computation or incorrect bank account details.

If you file returns on time, the income tax (I-T) department will allow you to revise it as many times as you wish until the end of the assessment year.

In case of belated filing, the taxpayer loses this advantage.

“Not being able to revise returns can lead to problems. For example, in case of wrong computation, the department can send a notice. Incorrect bank account details can delay refunds,” says Vikram Ramchand, founder, Makemyreturns.com.

Missing the first deadline also means that the taxpayer cannot carry forward certain losses.

The Income Tax Act allows individuals to carry forward losses under the ‘capital gains’ head and also business losses for professionals and businesspersons.

These can be adjusted against the future gains for up to eight years.

Due to the correction in stock market in the last financial year, many investors would have suffered a loss in their equity trade.

Filing returns on time can help them utilise these losses in the coming years.

“The only loss that’s allowed to be carry forward for latecomers is the loss from house property,” says Ramchand.

This is the deduction that a person gets on the interest portion of a home loan under Section 24.

Though the deduction can be claimed in the subsequent year, the total limit for deduction will remain Rs 2 lakh for first-time home buyers. In case of a house property that’s not self-occupied, the entire interest can be claimed as deduction.

For those filing belated returns, they will also need to shell out a penalty.

There will be a one per cent penalty every month under Section 234A on the liability if the return is not filed on time, according to Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader (personal tax) at PwC India.

Professionals and businesspersons will also need to pay one per cent penal interest per month under Section 234B, if 90 per cent of the tax is not paid by March 31.

If you don’t file returns at all, there are provisions in the I-T Act that say if the tax due is more than Rs 3,000, the taxpayer can be prosecuted and jailed.

Ramchand says that in his experience, he has also seen that those who file returns on time get faster refunds and their filing is processed quickly, too.

Last year, many taxpayers who filed before the deadline got refunds within a fortnight, according to Ramchand.

However, in case of belated filing, the processing and returns are both delayed – it can easily take six to eight months.

Also, those filing belated returns usually see that their refund amount is adjusted against some pending tax demand of the past, according to tax experts.

Although this is not a rule, tax experts say such cases of adjustments are higher for those filing belated returns.

PwC’s Kumar points out that in the recent Union Budget, the period of filing returns has been reduced from two years to one year.

Taxpayers will need to file returns before the end of the relevant assessment year.

This will apply from the next assessment year.

Therefore, it’s beneficial, one should start filing returns on time to avoid hassles later.

Read Source: Rediff.com

MUDRA disburses Rs. 1.43 lakh cr to small, micro entrepreneurs

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The entrepreneurship streak appears to be stronger in the small retail business space, going by the pattern of loans disbursed by the Micro Units Development and Refinance (MUDRA) Bank.

Small retailers, shopkeepers and those running micro units have utilised almost half of the loans disbursed under the MUDRA scheme launched by the Centre in April 2015.

As of May 20, the total loan disbursement was about Rs. 1.43 lakh crore and new entrepreneurs accounted for much of it.

MUDRA offers three categories of loans, Shishu (covering loans up to  Rs. 50,000), Kishor (loans above  Rs. 50,000 and up to Rs. 5 lakh) and Tarun (above  Rs. 5 lakh and up to  Rs. 10 lakh).

The objective of the scheme is to encourage new small businesses and ensure that at least 60 per cent of the credit flows to Shishu category units and the balance to the Kishor and Tarun categories. This has been realised as loans sanctioned/disbursed under the first category have so far have been higher than those under the other two categories.

According to a senior official at the State Bank of India, the demand for loans has been more from those taking up , among others, transport and community/personal service businesses.

In terms of States’ performance, Karnataka topped last year with Rs. 16,469 crore disbursements, followed by Tamil Nadu ( Rs. 15,496 crore) and Maharashtra ( Rs. 13,372 crore).

In disbursals, State Bank of India and its associate banks accounted for the biggest share of Rs. 16,999 crore. The disbursals by the 39 NBFC-Microfinance Institutions were also significant at Rs. 44,026 crore.

MUDRA loans are cheaper than those offered by other agencies, such as banks and MFIs. The cost of MUDRA funds, on an average, is 150-200 basis points lower than the benchmark repo rate.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-money-banking/mudra-disburses-rs-143-lakh-cr-to-small-micro-entrepreneurs/article8651795.ece