India, Mauritius to amend tax treaty

India will levy capital gains tax on investments routed through Mauritius from April 1 next year, bringing down the curtains on a contentious three decade-old rule that allowed companies to bring in billions of dollars by paying negligible taxes.

The taxes on capital gains will apply to investments made from April 1, 2017 and will be imposed at 50% or half of the domestic rate until March 31, 2019, and at the full rate thereafter.

How do people use tax havens to avoid paying taxes?

Through “round tripping” or “treaty shopping”.

How does round tripping work?

Round tripping refers to routing of investments by a resident of one country through another country back to his own country.

You get money out of India and transmit it to a tax haven with whom India has a bilateral tax avoidance treaty such as the double-taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA). In the tax haven, this money is treated as capital of a registered corporate entity. You now invest this money back in an Indian company as foreign direct investment (FDI) by buying stakes or invest it in Indian equity markets.

How does this help in avoiding taxes?

The entire purpose of this exercise is to window-dress as foreign capital your original money that you had taken out from India.

In the entire process, you end up paying zero or negligible taxes. In India, you can claim tax exemption citing the DTAA arguing that you have paid taxes in the source country. In the source country, taxes are negligible since it is a tax haven.

What is DTAA?

These are bilateral treaties signed between governments to prevent companies from being taxed twice over.

So, what was the problem with Mauritius?

Mauritius, and other tax havens, has almost negligible taxes. This was encouraging companies to route their investments in India through “shell” companies (those that exist only on paper) in Mauritius and avoid paying taxes.

How big was the problem?

At $94 billion, Mauritius has been the largest FDI source for India, accounting for 34% of total FDI in India between 2000 and 2015.

What are the changes that will plug this gap?

The changed DTAA will make it mandatory to pay capital gains tax on sale of shares in India by companies registered in Mauritius

When will the new rules kick-in?

Share sales in Indian companies by Mauritius-registered firms will be taxed at half of the applicable rate between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2019.

If the capital gains tax in India is 10% currently, Mauritius-registered companies will be taxed at 5% during the first two years beginning April 2017. Full capital gains tax will apply from April 1, 2019.

What about previous investments?

The new rules will not apply only to investments made before April 1, 2017, meaning share sale of investments made before this date will be exempt from capital gains tax.

Which companies will benefit from the reduced tax rates during the first two years?

The benefit of 50% reduction in tax rate during the transition period from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2019 shall be subject to a limitation of benefit (LOB) Article.

A Mauritius-registered company (including a shell or conduit company) will not be entitled to lower tax rate, if it doesn’t spend at least Rs 27 lakh in Mauritius in the previous 12 months. This is called ‘purpose and bonafide business test’.

How will impact investors?

Many foreign investors will have to redraw their strategies. The incentive to route investments through Mauritius will cease to exist once the new rule kicks-in. This could raise their tax outgo.

What about markets?

It could hurt short-term foreign investor inflows into India, particularly from companies whose investment strategies are guided by minimising taxes. This could pull down markets initially.

Are these rules related to the general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR)?

GAAR are aimed at curbing tax avoidance and aim to give tax authorities the right to scrutinise transactions that they feel have been done to avoid taxes.

Under GAAR corporations may be forced to restructure salaries of employees if taxmen conclude that these were structured only to avoid taxes. Similarly, if a foreign investment transaction from Mauritius has taken place with an intent to exploit DTAA, it will come under GAAR.

Implementation of GAAR will take place from April, 2017.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/business/india-mauritius-tax-treaty-all-you-need-to-know/story-QSOlvKyt6rrN7E00S7wp9K.html

IRDAI gives approval to 23 cross-border reinsurers

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has granted special approval to 23 Cross Border Reinsurers (CBR) for the year 2016-17.

This will allow Indian insurers to make reinsurance placements with a large number of reinsurers. Cross-border reinsurers are those who do not have a physical presence in India but carry on reinsurance business with Indian insurance companies.

According to PJ Joseph, Member (Non-Life), IRDAI, approvals were given on the basis of submissions made by CBRs and the recommendations made by the insurers and GIC Re in line with the guidelines issued by the authority last month. The approved CBRs include Ingosstrakh Joint Stock Insurance Company (Russia), Asian Reinsurance Corporation (Thailand), Trust Re (Bahrain), United Overseas Insurance Company (Singapore), Equator Reinsurances Ltd (Bermuda), East Africa Reinsurance Company Ltd (Nairobi), Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (Vietnam), CICA Re (Kenya), Arab Insurance Group (Labuan) and Union Insurance Company (UAE), among others.

Reinsurance assumes significance as it is important to maintain solvency of the insurer and to ensure that the claims/other clauses are honoured as and when they arise.

Past approvals

In the year 2015-16, the regulator had recognised 244 reinsurers and 90 Lloyds Syndicates. In 2014-15, 238 reinsurers and 87 Lloyds Syndicates were recognised. It is likely that the authority may give more approvals in future.

The onus of placing reinsurance business with registered CBRs is on the Indian insurers or reinsurers and they will have to ensure that the cross-border reinsurer meets the requirements as specified by the regulator. Within the country, the General Insurance Corporation of India is designated as the ‘Indian Reinsurer’ which entitles it to receive obligatory cessions of 5 per cent from all the direct non-life insurers.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/irdai-gives-approval-to-23-crossborder-reinsurers/article8581417.ece

Projects worth Rs. 80,000 cr coming Tamil Nadu’s way

Tamil Nadu State’s ports will also benefit hugely fromRs. 4-lakh-cr Sagarmala programme: Gadkari

“We need cooperation from State governments for infrastructure development. In Tamil Nadu, unfortunately, we had to terminate two projects,” said Nitin Gadkari, Road Transport, Shipping & Highways Minister. “We never mix politics with development and development with politics,” claimed Gadkari, speaking at ‘Breakfast with BusinessLine ’, an interactive session with senior executives from the corporate sector. But in Tamil Nadu, he said, his Ministry had to give up on the Maduravoyal-Chennai Port elevated road project as there was no progress. Gadkari said he had “written many letters to the State government” to no avail.

Another road project, by L&T, also had to be shelved, said Gadkari, who is touring the State to campaign for the BJP in the Assembly elections, which will be held on May 16.

“We need an atmosphere in the country for development of infrastructure. Our government and my ministry look for ways to help develop infrastructure in different States with different political parties but sometimes we are helpless,” he shrugged.

“I am not speaking politically, but I am talking of practical issues such as forest and environment clearances,” claimed Gadkari.

There is strong political will at the Centre and speedy decision making. Positive cooperation from stake holders will help achieve goals, he said.

Sagarmala programme

Tamil Nadu will be a huge beneficiary under Sagarmala, a Rs. 4-lakh-crore flagship programme of the Centre envisaging port-led development. Conceived as a 10-year project, he hopes to complete it in five years.

Gadkari listed out projects totalling more than Rs. 80,000 crore relating to port and industrial investments in Tamil Nadu. Under Sagarmala, the State will get an LNG terminal at Ennore at a cost of about Rs. 3,000 crore; at Tuticorin Port, a North Cargo Berth, a foodgrain berth, an additional container berth and a coal jetty are planned.

Also in the pipeline is the development of ports at Sirkali and Colachel. Work on all of these will start within two years, he said.

Huge investments are also planned in developing inland waterways using the major rivers in the State, including the Tamiraparani, Manimuttar, Cauvery, Palar, Vaigai and the Bhavani. These present a huge opportunity for private sector investments, he said.

 

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/projects-worth-rs-80000-cr-coming-tns-way/article8597545.ece

Silicon Valley venture capitalists raise more money, give less away

Venture capitalists are raising money at the fastest rate in a decade, raking in about $13 billion in the first quarter of 2016.

But much of that cash won’t flow into new startups anytime soon. Rather, venture firms are bracing for a downturn and boosting reserves to keep companies they have already backed from going bust, said venture capitalists and limited partners.

“They are squirrels trying to pack their cheeks full of nuts,” said Ben Narasin, a partner at Canvas Ventures. “Everyone has been waiting for winter to start for a long time.”

The paradox of rising venture fundraising and falling venture investing is the latest sign of a tectonic shift in the tech startup realm. The extraordinary growth of so-called “unicorn” companies such as Uber and Airbnb – now valued at tens of billions of dollars, based on venture investments – has left many high-value startups with no “exit strategy,” in Silicon Valley parlance.

Burned by previous busts, Wall Street has lost its appetite for initial public offerings from money-losing companies. No venture-backed tech startup has gone public this year, and the few that did last year – including enterprise storage company Pure Storage, and cloud storage and file-sharing firm Box – have seen their share prices steadily sink. High valuations have also scared off potential acquirers.

Scale Venture Partners exemplifies the cautious approach taking hold in the VC industry. It chose to do one fewer investment from its last fundraising round and to increase its reserves by more than 10 percent.

“We will have to support our companies longer,” said Rory O’Driscoll, a partner at the firm, which raised a $335 million fund in January.

Accel Partners has reduced its pace of new investments since the middle of last year, while increasing its follow-on funding for portfolio companies, according to an analysis by venture capital database CB Insights.

The venture firm raised $2 billion in March, but it won’t tap into the new fund until late fall, said managing director Richard Wong.

Total U.S. venture investment fell to $12.1 billion in the first quarter – down 30 percent from the most recent peak of $17.3 billion in the second quarter of last year.

Chris Douvos, managing director of Venture Investment Associates, an investor in early-stage venture funds, says the funds he backs are increasing their reserves by 10 percent to 25 percent over what they had in previous funds.

The $13 billion raised by VCs is the third-largest quarter for fundraising since the dot-com peak in 2000, according to Thomson Reuters data. There is now $382 billion of dry powder – cash available to spend – held by both venture capital and private equity firms that invest in technology companies, according to investment banking and consulting firm Bulger Partners.

“It’s fast, and it’s a lot of dollars this year,” said Beezer Clarkson, managing director at Sapphire Ventures, which invests in early-stage venture funds.

Many VCs believe that more reserves will be needed for the big cash infusions that startups often need after establishing themselves but before turning a profit.

VCs are also seeing mutual funds retreat from late-stage startup financing deals. Mutual funds led just eight deals in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 26 in the second quarter, according to the research firm CB Insights.

The confluence of trends means that money-losing startups likely will struggle more for venture capital. That, in turn, could lead to more companies failing or cutting staff, cooling the red-hot market for tech talent. It could also strengthen the hand of dominant tech companies, who may face fewer disruptive rivals and attract employees tired of volatile startup life, according to tech recruiters.

CASH BURN

Until recently, many venture capitalists have had a land-grab mentality, even with more obscure startups such as Magic Leap – an augmented reality company that raised about $800 million in February – or Social Finance, a startup in the highly scrutinized fintech sector that raised $1 billion in September.

Investors competed fiercely to finance hot companies they believed could be the next Google or Facebook. Higher prices for smaller stakes drove up valuations in companies, including many who burned cash quickly in a quest for growth. Many venture capitalists say they overpaid by 20 to 30 percent, and now have to keep those companies afloat.

Over the past six months, however, nervous whispers about a tech bubble have sparked rising skepticism of venture-dependent startups with stratospheric price tags.

The same venture capitalists who jousted in bidding wars for the next great deal just six months ago are now fending off appeals.

Canvas Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Accel Partners – among Silicon Valley’s more prominent firms – say they are getting more calls from peers asking them to join a late-stage round for companies running out of cash.

“We get a lot more ‘special opportunities, just for you,'” said Wong, of Accel Partners. “We get the phone calls, along with everyone else.”

PAPER GAINS

For now, venture capitalists have little problem raising money, despite their new hesitance to spend it and the inability of many startups to turn profits or go public.

That’s in part because many VC firms are currently showing huge paper gains in the value of their portfolios. Many firms are raising as much as possible now, in case valuations drop in so-called “down rounds,” when later stage investors pay less for company stakes than earlier ones, and the returns on their investments plummet, according to limited partners.

Signs of falling returns are already emerging. Cambridge Associates, an investment advisor, measured a -0.4 percent return on the U.S. Venture Capital Index for the third quarter of last year, the first down quarter since 2011.

First Round Capital, an early-stage venture firm, warned its limited partners in a letter a year ago that the seed-stage venture capital deals will see much lower returns in the next several years.

But that warning didn’t scare Douvos, an investor in First Round, which was an early backer of Uber and made a bundle on the IPOs of Square and OnDeck Capital.

“Fund performance will soften,” Douvos said. But, he said, “The returns from First Round are so good that nothing else really matters.”

Read Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venture-fundraising-idUSKCN0Y41DQ

 

Bandhan Bank mops up Rs. 13,000-crore deposits

Bandhan BankBandhan Bank has been able to rope in nearly seven lakh new customers, after its transformation from a microfinance entity to a universal bank in August last year.

According to Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Founder, MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank, “Customer addition through the banking network was nearly seven lakh. But, there will be new additions in the micro-banking segment too. Hence, the actual number of new customers will be higher.”

He was speaking on the sidelines of the opening of the bank’s flagship branch here in the city.

This is the bank’s 670th branch. Bandhan’s customer base across micro and general banking stands at over 85 lakh.

With 501 branches, 2,022 door-step service centres and 50 ATMs, Bandhan has been able to mobilise deposits to the tune of Rs. 13,000 crore. Its loan book stands at over Rs. 15,200 crore. According to Ghosh, the bank will soon have branches with dedicated services for high net-worth individuals. The modalities of the services on offer are being discussed, he said.

“Let’s assume we are offering personal wealth management services. Such services will be more on a one-to-one level rather than through bank branches. But, we need to build the scale first for that to happen,” he said.

Extending its service offerings, Bandhan kicked off NRI banking facility. NRI accounts will mostly be for remittances from abroad. The bank also entered the retail lending segment through small ticket home loans and financing of small vehicles in suburbs, semi-urban and rural areas.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-money-banking/bandhan-bank-mops-up-rs-13000crore-deposits/article8597526.ece

E-comm, tech start-ups seen creating 23% more jobs by Sept

The e-commerce and tech start-ups domain will see 23.6 per cent growth in jobs between April and September this year, according to the Teamlease Employment Outlook Report.

This is followed by the retail sector, which is set to generate 14.4 per cent more jobs over six months.

The e-commerce sector has created a huge number of jobs in two categories: drivers, who are in demand by taxi aggregator apps/companies; and delivery personnel, hired in large numbers by online shopping websites and apps, the report says.

Blue-collar boost

Other sectors that will ramp up hiring the next six months include healthcare and pharma (14 per cent); telecom (10.13 per cent); FMCG (11.4 per cent), and IT (14.2 per cent).

Core sectors such as manufacturing and engineering, infrastructure, and financial services may, on the other hand, slow down hiring.

While lowering expectations from the Make in India campaign have bogged down the former two industries, the increased use of mobile banking apps and payment apps has had a dwindling effect on job creation in the financial services sector, suggests the report.

Functional front

On the functional front, sales, IT, and blue collar profiles will benefit substantially from the net positive sentiment.

The rush to acquire driving and delivery skills seems to be boosting the blue-collar jobs tremendously. The profile is likely to witness a 9 percentage point increase in demand.

Except Kolkata and Ahmedabad, most of the cities will experience a boost in hiring, says the TeamLease report.

With a 3 percentage point increase in outlook, Pune and Chennai top the hiring projections.

Though hiring is still largely clustered in the metros and Tier 1 cities, tier 2 and 3 cities will also contribute to consumer spending with a boost in organised retail chains and e-commerce.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-news/ecomm-tech-startups-seen-creating-23-more-jobs-by-sept/article8597590.ece