Business Today Aug-28-16

On August 3, a Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha finally passed the Goods & Services Tax Constitutional Amendment Bill, clearing the path to implement the most ambitious tax reform in the country. GST has been talked about since 2006, and was introduced as a bill in the Lok Sabha in 2011, but it was stalled by the opposition parties. Even after the Modi government came to power in 2014, it has taken over two years of negotiations for the GST Constitutional Bill to clear both Houses of Parliament. If it works exactly as it is envisaged, it will bring in enormous tax transparency, cut out the plethora of tax rates, bring down tax disputes dramatically and, in the long run, make a host of goods cheaper because the overall tax burden…

Ajay Piramal – the Trendsetter This refers to your cover story on Piramal Enterprises (The Contrarian, August 14). It was an interesting study of the history of the Piramal Group under the leadership of Ajay Piramal. In the present complex business environment – making it difficult for entrepreneurs to flourish – Ajay Piramal has become a trendsetter. His reading of the ground situation is perfect and he doesn’t have a herd mentality. Piramal’s contrarian strategies have yielded rich dividends and he has hit pay dirt in his various business ventures. His focus on financial services once again shows his business acumen. The creation of a resurgent fund is timely and the stressed asset market has potential. The formation of an information management board is a unique initiative to manage their…

3.6 billion is the number of Internet users, globally, as of June 2016, according to a report by internetworldstats.com. That's more than 49 per cent of the world population. QUOTE “People in villages are chanting a new slogan: Arhar Modi, Arhar Modi, Arhar Modi” – Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi took a break from his power naps to attack PM Narendra Modi on rising prices of pulses in Lok Sabha. “In June 2014 CPI was 6.77 and WPI was 5.66. Did FM add the two numbers? Voodoo statistics!” – Congress leader P. Chidambaram tweeted, rejecting Arun Jaitley’s contention in Lok Sabha that the UPA government left behind double digit inflation. SBI LOSES WEIGHT, FAST State Bank of India is considering relocating or shutting down 30 per cent of its 24,000 branches…

10 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WHAT: Roundtable on Implementation of National IPR Policy WHEN: 10 August, Kochi WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The objective of the event by CII will be to discuss the highlights of the National IP Policy 2016 and chart a road map for effective implementation by discussing it with all stakeholders and understanding their expectations. 10 - 11 LEADING CHANGE WHAT: National Leadership Conference 2016 WHEN: 10-11 August, Kolkata WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Leading and managing change has emerged as the biggest challenge for new-generation businesses. The CII event will help leaders visualise a response strategy and to think fast and think different in this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world. 12-13 SPICE IT UP WHAT: 9th International FAD 2016 Summit WHEN: 12-13 August, Ahmedabad WHAT TO…

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) may be a reality by next year with the Rajya Sabha passing the GST Constitution Amendment Bill on August 3. Though this is a big development considering that the country’s biggest tax reform till date was in the works for close to a decade, the nod to the Constitution Amendment Bill is just the first step and several big challenges await the Central government – finalisation and passage of the GST Bill (the Amendment Bill just changes the Constitution to empower the Centre and states to levy GST; the actual implementation will require the passage of the GST Bill), ratification of the Amendment Bill by two-thirds majority by half the state assemblies, ironing out of flaws in the Model GST law released a few…

2003 Kelkar Task Force on indirect taxes suggests a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax (GST) based on VAT principle 2006 > Finance Minister P. Chidambaram proposes introduction of GST from April 1, 2010, in Budget speech for 2006/07 > Phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST) begins with reduction in the rate from 4 per cent to 3 per cent 2007 Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (EC) entrusted with the responsibility of preparing a design and road map for GST 2008 > EC finalises views on broad GST structure – agreement on dual GST (Central and State GST), separate legislation, levy and administration > CST rate reduced further from 3 per cent to 2 per cent 2009 > Joint working group of officers from Central and state governments constituted…