Government wants to reduce time for registering company

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During the past one year, Corporate Affairs Ministry has taken a number of steps, and is further streamlining processes and regulatory framework, to reduce the overall time taken for incorporating a company as a part of ‘ease of doing business’ effort, Finance Ministry has said.
The Government of India proposes to bring down the average number of days required for incorporating a company to one to two days, a move aimed at further improving ‘ease of doing business’ in the country.

During the past one year, Corporate Affairs Ministry has taken a number of steps, and is further streamlining processes and regulatory framework, to reduce the overall time taken for incorporating a company as a part of ‘ease of doing business’ effort, Finance Ministry said in a statement.
As a result of the many steps, the average number of days taken for incorporation of a company has come down significantly from 9.57 days in December, 2014 to 4.51 days in November, 2015.
“It (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) is targeting that the average number of days would be further reduced to one to two days for approval in normal cases,” the statement said.

Giving details of the step, it said the introduction of an Integrated Incorporation Form INC29 and tighter monitoring of Registrar of Companies’ (ROCs’) performance has resulted in faster approvals and lesser number of clarifications being asked from the stakeholders.
The Corporate Affairs Ministry will soon introduce a new version of Form INC29, incorporating suggestions received from the stakeholders, allowing up to five directors to be appointed and greater flexibility in proposing a name for a company, it said.

“This will allow an even more wider use of this integrated Form, which is already gaining popularity,” the statement added.

Further, the rules with regard to reserving and approving of names for companies are also being simplified, and a centralised new process will be introduced soon for strictly time bound approval of names for companies.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-government-plans-to-reduce-average-time-for-registering-a-company-to-1-2-days-2154784

New boost in ties with Mauritius

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President Pranab with Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-FakimDr (Mrs) Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the President of the Republic of Mauritius called on President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

Welcoming Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim on her first visit to India, President Mukherjee congratulated her on being the first woman President of Mauritius.

President Mukherjee said people of India are delighted that Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has personal, professional and academic linkages with India.

India attaches high importance to its relations with Mauritius which has a very special place in the hearts and minds of the Indian people.

The President expressed confidence that with the achievements of the President of Mauritius in the fields of science and technology, education and innovation, Mauritius will become stronger and a new dynamism will be added to India-Mauritius bilateral relations.

The President of Mauritius conveyed her condolences to people of Chennai who are suffering on account of floods. She described Indians as brothers and sisters and not just friends.

She conveyed gratitude for India’s assistance in the development of Mauritius ever since its independence and called for a continuation of the close ties in the coming days based on institution and capacity building.

Source: http://www.facenfacts.com/NewsDetails/62269/mauritius-president-dr-ameenah-gurib-fakim-calls-on-president-mukherjee.htm

 

India signs 11 more APAs to reduce tax disputes

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The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed 11 more advance pricing agreements (APAs) with MNCs on Tuesday, taking the total number of such deals that would spare them from rigorous tax audits under certain conditions to 31 so far. Of this, 22 were signed this year. The department had earlier set an internal target of about 150 APAs for this year, mostly with US-based companies in the IT and ITeS sector to avoid future tax disputes. So far, it has covered about a fifth of this target. Experts expect that clearing all APA requests, applying their terms to similar past transactions and resolving disputes with foreign tax authorities under the Mutual Agreement Procedure would clear most of the accumulated cross-border tax disputes amounting to Rs 2.7 lakh crore. Till now about 45 tax disputes are resolved under the MAP procedure.

APA is an agreement between the tax authority and companies on the principles of valuation of certain transactions, which if adhered to will exempt the company from tax audits on cross-border deals. The tax disputes which the government may have with the companies on similar transactions in previous years too would be resolved by applying similar agreed upon value to past transactions. The move is part of the government’s efforts to reduce tax litigation.

According to sources, most of the APAs signed on Tuesday relate to service provider companies in the investment advisory and ITeS sectors. “The effort of the APA authorities is impressive. A lot of hard work has gone into analysing these cases and getting them to a closure,” said Vijay Iyer, Partner & National Leader for Transfer Pricing, EY which was involved in five of the 11 pacts on Tuesday.

While an APA between a company and the tax department will resolve a dispute in India, the possibility of double taxation would be fully addressed only when the tax authority in the company’s home country too becomes party to such agreement. America, which is home to many technology firms facing tax disputes in India, has recently started steps to implement such ‘bilateral APAs.’

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/india-signs-11-more-apas-to-reduce-tax-disputes/170136/

Failure to implement reforms may hamper India investment: Moody’s

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A failure to implement reforms in India could hamper investment amid weak global growth, global ratings agency Moody’s Investors Services cautioned on Wednesday.

It said it was highly unlikely that major reforms would be enacted in the upper house of parliament where the ruling coalition is in a minority. The agency said despite overall supportive domestic conditions for the country’s companies, potential headwinds loom from a loss of reform momentum.

The Modi administration so far this year has been unable to enact legislation on key reforms, including a unified goods and services tax and the Land Acquisition Bill, it said.

The government hopes to get the GST Constitution Amendment bill approved in parliament and is keen to push the legislative business. It has reached out to the opposition parties to forge a consensus and ensure the passage of the crucial GST bill. The Narendra Modi government has identified implementation of GST as a key reform initiative. The government has unveiled a flurry of reforms after the rout in Bihar assembly elections and Modi has promised to accelerate the reforms drive.

Moody’s Investors Service says that most non-financial corporates it rates in India (Baa3 positive) will benefit from strong domestic growth and accommodative monetary policy, although weak global growth and a potential US rate hike will weigh on businesses.

“Healthy 7.5% GDP growth for India for the fiscal year ending March 2017 (FY2017) and a pick-up in manufacturing activity will be broadly supportive of business growth,” says Vikas Halan, a Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Officer.

“However, the corporates remain vulnerable to the volatile Indian rupee as against the US dollar and to low commodity prices, which has in turn led to a sharp decline in external trade,” said Halan while releasing the agency’s 2016 outlook presentation for Indian non-financial corporates.

The fall in commodity prices has benefited many Indian corporates given the country’s status as a net important of raw materials and its recent history of high inflation.

The resultant moderating inflation should result in lower borrowing costs for corporates and yields on corporate bonds, said Moody’s.

The ratings agency expects upstream oil and gas companies to benefit from lower fuel subsidy burdens, although low crude and domestic natural gas prices will continue to hurt profitability.

Refining and marketing companies meanwhile should benefit from healthy margins as demand growth outpaces expected capacity additions.

The agency’s negative outlook for the steel industry reflects elevated leverage and an extended period of low prices due to continuing steel imports, while the negative outlook for metals and mining companies reflects bleak global commodity prices.

In the real estate sector the agency expects demand to improve in 2016 on the back of lower interests rates, although approval delays could push back project launches for property developers.

It expects retail auto sales volumes to grow 6% in 2016 on the back of sustained growth in passenger vehicles sales and a recovery in commercial vehicle sales.

The telecom companies that the agency rates in India have reported improving revenue per user (ARPU) and EBITDA margins, however competition remains intense and the regulatory framework continues to evolve.

India 5th on doing biz in clean energy

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Considering India’s notable policy reforms in the renewable energy sector, Bloomberg New Energy Finance has ranked the country at fifth place on a list of 30 countries on ease of doing business in the renewable energy space. The ranking done by Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s annual Climatescope report indicates that clean energy’s centre of gravity is shifting from developed to developing countries. The report ranked China in the first place, followed by Chile, Brazil, South Africa and India.

The report said: “The new policy ambitions from the (Narendra) Modi government signal clean energy opportunities in the country.” The strongest parameter in favour of India was value chain, while lower-than-expected investment continues to be the weak link.

As solar energy became more cost-competitive in emerging markets in 2014, there would be a surge of investment and capacity-building in the Asian countries, especially China and India, the report noted. Last year, India added 5 gigawatt (Gw) of clean energy generation capacity.

CLEAN BREAK IN RENEWABLE SPACE
  • $343.2 billion Total clean energy investments (2009-14) in China
  • $52.5 billion Total clean energy investments (2009-14) in India
  • 262.5 Gw Installed power capacity
  • 38,360 Mw Total renewable energy capacity
  • 5,009 Mw Renewable capacity added in 2014
  • 14.6% Renewable share in total installed capacity
  • Top Indian states: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & Gujarat

“Major reforms in India brought by the Modi administration bring hope of quicker deployment for the country’s eager renewable energy developers,” said Climatescope.

Among the states, Tamil Nadu led the pack with the highest wind energy capacity, followed by Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Madhya Pradesh scored the highest among Indian states on growth rate of clean energy investments. The state’s favourable land policy and easy clearances have resulted in attracting projects. Gujarat, which was once a haven of clean energy investments, slipped from the top slot due to policy uncertainty and litigation over tariff.

Maharashtra’s high feed-in tariff led to a surge in wind capacity.

The report noted: “Maharashtra has done relatively little to encourage private investment in solar; it has held no tenders for power contracts and offers no feed-in tariffs.”

Renewable energy in Rajasthan at 4 Gw represents a high share (32 per cent) of total power capacity of 13 Gw, compared to other states. “The overall renewable energy capacity grew 14 per cent in 2014 in the state, but it has done little policy-wise to encourage solar development through incentives and the state’s distribution utilities are among the financially shakiest in India,” said the report.

At 7.4 Gw, Tamil Nadu has more wind installed than any other state. Since 2012, however, annual new-build rates have fallen and in 2014, only 208 megawatt was commissioned. This is largely due to the poor financial health of state-owned distribution utility companies and occasional payment delays to power project owners.

The Indian government’s goal of providing round-the-clock power to 1.25 billion citizens has triggered huge interest from investors. The report noted that a strong energy minister overseeing coal, power, and new and renewable energy sectors could have a positive influence.

The Modi-led government has revised the targets for renewable energy to 175 Gw by 2022.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-5th-on-doing-biz-in-clean-energy-115112300009_1.html

Govt to further simplify ITR forms, sets up committee

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The government is looking to further simplify income tax return forms to help taxpayers fill them without seeking help from experts and the revenue department has set up a committee in this regard.

The committee, according to sources, will be headed by a joint secretary level officer and would include chartered accountants and tax experts.

“The tax department is trying to further simplify the return form so that no outside help is needed by those who want to file returns on their own,” a source said.

The effort would be to come out with a simple formula for indexation to help assessees compute capital gains on sale of assets, the source added.

“The Committee would also look into the possibility of reducing the number of pages in the return form,” the source said.

The Income Tax department had in June come out with a simplified tax return form for salaried class. Filers now have to disclose the total number of savings and the current bank accounts held by them at any time during the previous year (excluding dormant accounts).

The form also has space to fill up the IFSC code of the bank and in an additional feature, tax filers have been given an option to indicate their bank accounts in which they would want their refund credited. The ITR also has sought the Aadhaar number of filers.

The tax department had come out with simplified ITR after experts raised objections to the 14 page form which was notified earlier in the year.

The earlier form sought details of bank accounts and foreign visits and following controversy, the Revenue Department announced putting them on hold.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/govt-to-further-simplify-itr-forms-sets-up-committee-115112200147_1.html

After 50 years of diplomatic ties, India and Singapore to be strategic partners

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After almost five decades of having diplomatic ties, India and Singapore will become strategic partners for the first time on Monday.

The partnership will encompass all aspects of bilateral ties from expansion of defence cooperation, enhancement of trade and investment and strengthening of regional relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The decision to sign the Strategic Partnership Agreement with Singapore was taken in August 2014 based on a ‘5S Plank’. Since then both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have been continuously discussing the contours of such a pact as they planned to take their relationship beyond just business and trade.

“It is crucial to have such a pact with Singapore considering its strategic location. Not only will it enhance India’s ‘Look East’ policy, but it will also give India a greater voice in the ASEAN region at large,” an official told BusinessLine.

This is also done keeping in mind the increasing presence of China in that region and the escalation of dispute in the South China Sea region, the official added.

As a result, Modi’s visit to Singapore assumes importance. The pact will be signed with both leaders having a summit-level dialogue where all issues are expected to be discussed, with a special focus on India’s overall strategy in the Indian Ocean region.

“Singapore is an integral part of our Look East Policy and it was announced from there by our former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Singapore remains one of our important defence exporters. Besides, they have been trying to act as a bridge between India and China and all these is linked to the entire Indian Ocean strategy that India is now working on,” highlighted Sanjaya Baru, Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).

Recently, at a meeting of the Fourth Joint Commission, which was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, issues such as maritime cooperation, trade ties and cyber security were discussed. While in Singapore, Modi is also expected to deliver the prestigious ‘Singapore Lecture’ at the Institute of South East Asian Studies.

Singapore has emerged as the second largest source of FDI amounting to $35.9 billion as of June 2015, which is 14 per cent of India’s total FDI inflow. India also has a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore with bilateral trade reaching $17.1 billion in 2014-15.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-news/after-50-years-of-diplomatic-ties-india-and-singapore-to-be-strategic-partners/article7906529.ece