Month: September 2020

Govt defers implementation of QR Code on B2C invoices till Dec 1

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The government on Wednesday deferred by two months the requirement of printing dynamic QR code on B2C invoices till December 1. Quick Response Code or QR Code help users verify the details in the digitally signed e-invoice.

“Implementation of requirement of Dynamic QR Code on B2C invoices deferred to 1st December 2020,” the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) tweeted. Under Goods and Services Tax (GST), companies with a turnover of over Rs 500 crore will have to generate e-invoice for B2B (business-to-business) transactions from October 1.

However, for B2C (business-to-consumer) transactions, e-invoice is not yet mandatory. EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said with there being quite a lot of ambiguity on this compliance for B2C invoices, the industry was awaiting an explicit clarification on this requirement along with with a deferment.

“This deferment would be quite a welcome one and now businesses would be looking for both a detailed clarification on this compliance for B2C invoices and a relaxation on B2B e-invoicing compliances; which are effective from October 1,” Jain added. AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said the government has deferred the implementation of the requirement of Dynamic QR Code on B2C invoices by two months just hours before its nationwide implementation.

“This kind of last-minute extensions are not helpful to a compliant taxpayer, who would have by now changed over to new systems with great difficulty,” Mohan added. Under e-invoicing, taxpayers have to generate invoices on their internal systems (ERP/accounting/billing software) and then report it online to the ‘Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). The IRP will validate the information provided in the invoices and return the digitally signed e-Invoices with a unique ‘Invoice Reference Number (IRN)’ along with a QR Code to the taxpayer.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Meet Shilpashree AS, one of the seven unsung heroes of the pandemic who Bill Gates has appreciated

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic challenges for everyone across the globe. Frontline workers the world over are doing their best to ensure help reaches vulnerable people on time.

In a recent blog post, Bill Gates highlighted seven unsung heroes of the pandemic who are fighting this virus collectively with those lesser who are equipped. One such hero that the billionaire mentioned is Shilpashree AS from Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Shilpashree is a COVID-19 tester in Bangalore and despite her job being extremely risky, she says, “I love this job. It brings me happiness.”

Her day starts with a fixed routine — don her PPE suit with a protective gown, goggles, latex gloves and mask, and head to the testing booth.

“It is hot and uncomfortable,” she says as she spends hours wearing the protective gear and keeps herself locked in the booth, but it is one of the many hardships she is rather happy to bear.

Inside her booth, which has two openings to let her arms reach out to patients, she performs nasal swab tests. With COVID-19 cases rising (about 70,589 until Tuesday), the queue is getting longer in the city.

When testing times are over, she inputs the test results into a centralised database.

The challenges don’t end for her despite a lengthy work day. She is not allowed to maintain any contact with her family, since the risk of others contracting the virus is high.

“I haven’t yet seen my children or hugged them. It is like seeing a fruit from up-close but not eating it,” she says. The only point of contact between her and her family is regular video calls.

Apart from Shilpashree, others mentioned by Bill Gates for their assistance in the fight against COVID-19 are Basira Popul from Afghanistan, Thabang Seleke from South Africa, Sikander Bizenjo from Pakistan, Astridah Banda from Zambia, Ethel Branch from Arizona, and Laxmi Rayamajhi from Nepal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sebi levies Rs 12 lakh fine on Ganganagar Commodity for misusing clients’ fund

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Market regulator Sebi on Wednesday slapped a penalty of Rs 12 lakh on commodity broker Ganganagar Commodity Ltd for misusing clients’ funds. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had carried out an inspection of the broking operations of Ganganagar Commodity for the period from April 2017 to October 2018.

During the inspection, it was found that Ganganagar Commodity misutilised funds of credit balance clients for margin obligations of debit balance clients and proprietary trading. Besides, it had not settled accounts of 73 clients within the prescribed time frame, Sebi said in an order.

“…though the noticee (Ganganagar Commodity) has attempted to be compliant to various norms, there have been gaps in the compliance levels, and the noticee has made efforts to meet with the compliance gaps post the inspection,” Sebi said while imposing the fine. Through a separate order, the regulator levied a fine of Rs 7 lakh on Sanchay Fincom Ltd for non-segregation of clients’ fund as well as non-settlement of running accounts of few clients.

In addition, Sanchay Fincom had funded seven clients beyond the stipulated period. it violated the provision of Securities Contract Regulation (Act), the regulator said.

Separately, Sebi imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on Devendra Gupta for violating insider trading norms in the matter of NIIT Technologies. The regulator found that Gupta, who was a Senior Vice President of NIIT Technologies, failed to obtain requisite pre-clearance for trading 1,743 shares of the company.

Besides, he entered into an opposite transaction in the shares of the company within the restricted period of six months, thereby violating the model code of conduct for Prevention of Insider Trading. Through another order, Sebi disposed of a case of alleged violation of takeover norms against late Bhadrashyam Harshad Kothari in the matter of Reliance Industries Ltd.

It was alleged that promoters and PACs (persons acting in concert), including Kothari, had not made any public announcement for acquiring over 5 per cent of RIL shares, thereby, contravening the provisions of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) norms.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Govt receives eligible bids for only 19 coal mines, Adani places maximum bids

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The coal ministry has received two or more eligible bids for only 19 coal mines for its first-ever auction of coal mine for commercial end-use. The ministry began the auction process starting June 18 this year and offered 38 coal mines for auction. It received 76 bids in total for only 23 coal mines as against 38 mines.

Adani Enterprises has placed bids for 7 coal mines and Adani Power Resources for 1 coal mine, making it the bidder for the maximum number of coal mines. This is followed by 5 bids placed by Hindalco, 4 bids by JSPL, 3 bid from Vedanta, and 1 bid from JSW. Rungta Mines, which had offered to place bids for coal mines, withdrew in the technical bid opening round.

However, Tata Group did not participate in the first commercial coal auction.

Maximum bids are placed for the Gare Palma IV/7 block and Goititora (East & West), which saw 8 bids for each of these mines. Gare Palma IV/7 coal mine in the state of Chhattisgarh and has geological reserves of 239.045 million tonnes (MT). The Goititora (East & West) is located in Madhya Pradesh and has geological reserves of 5.2 MT.

Another coal mine that is up for auction is Gare Palma IV/1 where companies interested in bidding are Adani Enterprises, Hindalco, and JSPL. This particular mine was earlier allotted to JSPL prior to de-allocation by the Supreme Court and the company has failed to acquire it back in the previous coal mines auction. Fierce bidding is expected for these two mines.

The bids will be evaluated by an evaluation committee and qualified bidders will be shortlisted for the auction starting October 19.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Silver Lake co-investors to invest additional Rs 1,875 crore in Reliance Retail

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Reliance Industries said in a filing to the stock exchanges that co-investors of Silver Lake will invest an additional Rs 1,875 crore into Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. This brings the aggregate investment by Silver Lake and its co-investors in RRVL to Rs 9,375 crore, which will translate into a 2.13 percent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.

This is the second investment by the private equity firm in Reliance Retail, having already bought 1.75 percent stake. Along with this, Silver Lake has also invested 2.08 percent in Jio Platforms, having invested Rs 10,202 crore in two tranches.

Earlier in the day, General Atlantic invested Rs 3,675 crore in Reliance Retail.

Reliance Retail Venture’s subsidiary Reliance Retail operates India’s largest retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000-odd stores nationwide in 7000 cities.

Oil-to-telecom conglomerate RIL is expanding its retail business and lining up a posse of global investors to take on rivals such as Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart in India’s huge market.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

Disclosure: RIL, the promoter of Reliance Jio, also controls Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

RBI excludes 6 PSBs from Second Schedule of RBI Act

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The RBI has excluded six public sector banks, including OBC and Allahabad Bank, from the Second Schedule of the RBI Act following their merger with other banks. The six banks are Syndicate Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), United Bank of India, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, and Allahabad Bank. “We advise that Syndicate Bank has been excluded from the Second Schedule to the RBI Act, 1934 with effect from April 01, 2020 since it has ceased to carry on banking business with effect from April 01, 2020 vide Notification of March 27 which is published in the Gazette of India…dated September 26 October 02, 2020,” RBI said in a notification on Wednesday.

It has issued similar notifications regarding the other five state-owned banks. A bank mentioned in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act is known as ‘Scheduled Commercial Bank’. These six banks merged with other public sector banks (PSBs) with effect from April 1.

OBC and United Bank of India merged into Punjab National Bank; Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank; Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of India; and Allahabad Bank into Indian Bank. After the consolidation , there are now seven large PSBs, and five smaller ones.

There were as many as 27 PSBs in 2017. The total number of PSBs in the country has now come down to 12.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow