Notifications & Circulars

Press Information Bureau

19.04.2017

Civil

Central Government amends Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme through a Notification

MANU/PIBU/0422/2017

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (c) of Section 199B of the Finance Act, 2016 (28 of 2016), the Central Government has amended through a Notification the conditions specified in clause 5 of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme. Following is the amended Clause 5:

Now the effective date of opening of the Bonds Ledger Account shall be the date of receipt of deposits by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from the authorized banks; wherein the due tax, surcharge and penalty has been received till 31st March, 2017; Provided further that the date of deposit shall in no case be extended beyond 30th April, 2017.

Tags : Notification Scheme Amendment

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Press Information Bureau

19.04.2017

Direct Taxation

Cabinet approves signing of the Protocol amending the Convention between India and Portugal for avoidance of Double Taxation

MANU/PIBU/0423/2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Protocol amending the Convention between India and Portugal for avoidance of double taxation. The Protocol will also ensure prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. Once the Protocol enters into force, both India and Portugal would be able to exchange tax related information, which will help tax authorities of both countries to curb tax evasion.

Tags : Convention Amendment Approval

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Ministry of Commerce and Industry

19.04.2017

Commercial

Exemption from application of quantitative ceiling and export bans and enhancement of quantitative ceiling

MANU/DGFT/0033/2017

In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (No.22 of 1992), as amended, read with paragraph 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020, the Central Government hereby makes following amendments in export policy of organic agricultural products (wheat, non Basmati rice and pulses & lentils) and organic processed products (edible oils and sugar) duly certified by Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) as organic under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP):

(a) Export of following items from Custom EDI ports have been exempted from all quantitative ceilings with immediate effect irrespective of any existing or future restriction/ prohibition on export of their basic product (non-organic), with due certification by APEDA as organic under the NPOP:

(i) organic wheat
(ii) organic non-Basmati Rice (excluding rice in husk - paddy or rough)
(iii) organic edible oils
(iv) organic sugar

(b) The quantitative ceiling in respect of export of organic pulses and lentils has been increased from 10,000 MT per annum to 50,000 MT per annum, duly certified by APEDA as organic pulses and lentils, with immediate effect, subject to following conditions:

(i) Export contracts should be registered with APEDA, New Delhi prior to shipment
(ii) Export shall be allowed only from Custom EDI ports.

2. Effect of this Notification:

Export of organic agricultural and organic processed products i.e. wheat, non-Basmati rice, edible oils, sugar have been exempted from existing quantitative ceilings and any existing or future restriction / prohibition on export of their basic product (non-organic). Annual quantitative ceiling on export of organic pulses & lentils has been enhanced from existing 10,000 MTs to 50,000 MTs per annum.

Tags : Exemption Ceiling Export

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Reserve Bank of India

18.04.2017

Banking

Additional Provisions For Standard Advances At Higher Than The Prescribed Rates

MANU/RMIC/0045/2017

Please refer to paragraph 5 of the Master Circular - Prudential norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances dated July 1, 2015.

2. It is advised that the provisioning rates prescribed in the abovementioned circular are the regulatory minimum and banks are encouraged to make provisions at higher rates in respect of advances to stressed sectors of the economy. With a view to ensure that banks have adequate provisions for loans and advances at all times, it is advised as under:

i) Banks shall put in place a Board-approved policy for making provisions for standard assets at rates higher than the regulatory minimum, based on evaluation of risk and stress in various sectors.
ii) The policy shall require a review, at least on a quarterly basis, of the performance of various sectors of the economy to which the bank has an exposure to evaluate the present and emerging risks and stress therein. The review may include quantitative and qualitative aspects like debt-equity ratio, interest coverage ratio, profit margins, ratings upgrade to downgrade ratio, sectoral non-performing assets/stressed assets, industry performance and outlook, legal/ regulatory issues faced by the sector, etc. The reviews may also include sector specific parameters.
iii) More immediately, as the telecom sector is reporting stressed financial conditions, and presently interest coverage ratio for the sector is less than one, Board of Directors of the banks may review the telecom sector latest by June 30, 2017, and consider making provisions for standard assets in this sector at higher rates so that necessary resilience is built in the balance sheets should the stress reflect on the quality of exposure to the sector at a future date. Besides, banks should also subject the exposure to the sector to closer monitoring.

Tags : Additional provisions Rates High

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Reserve Bank of India

18.04.2017

Banking

Disclosure in "Notes to Accounts" to the Financial Statements- Divergence in the asset classification and provisioning

MANU/RMIC/0046/2017

1. Please refer to paragraph 22 of the Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2015-16 announced on September 29, 2015 on the captioned subject.

2. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) assesses compliance by banks with extant prudential norms on income recognition, asset classification and provisioning (IRACP) as part of its supervisory processes. There have been instances of material divergences in banks' asset classification and provisioning from the RBI norms, thereby leading to the published financial statements not depicting a true and fair view of the financial position of the bank.

3. In order to ensure greater transparency and promote better discipline with respect to compliance with IRACP norms, it has been decided that banks shall make suitable disclosures as per Annex, wherever either (a) the additional provisioning requirements assessed by RBI exceed 15 percent of the published net profits after tax for the reference period or (b) the additional Gross NPAs identified by RBI exceed 15 percent of the published incremental Gross NPAs1 for the reference period, or both.

4. The disclosures, as above, shall be made in the Notes to Accounts in the ensuing Annual Financial Statements published immediately following communication of such divergence by RBI to the bank.

5. The disclosures in the Notes to Accounts to the Annual Financial Statements may be included under the sub-head Asset Quality (Non-Performing Assets) as referred to in paragraph 3.4 of Master Circular - Disclosure in Financial Statements - Notes to Accounts Ref. DBR.BP.BC No.23 /21.04.018/2015-16 dated July 1, 2015.

6. The first such disclosure with respect to the divergences observed by RBI for the financial year 2015-16 shall be made in the Notes to Accounts of Financial Statements for the year ended March 31, 2017.

7. These instructions are issued under the provisions of Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It may be noted that any contravention / non-compliance of the above instructions shall attract penalties under the Act, ibid.

Tags : Statements Disclosure Asset classification

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Reserve Bank of India

18.04.2017

Banking

Prudential Guidelines - Banks' investment in units of REITs and InvITs

MANU/RMIC/0048/2017

Please refer to the paragraph 12 of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies issued by RBI on April 06, 2017. As indicated therein, it has been decided to allow banks to participate in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) within the overall ceiling of 20 per cent of their net worth permitted for direct investments in shares, convertible bonds/ debentures, units of equity-oriented mutual funds and exposures to Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) [both registered and unregistered], subject to the following conditions:

i. Banks should put in place a Board approved policy on exposures to REITs/ InvITs which lays down an internal limit on such investments within the overall exposure limits in respect of the real estate sector and infrastructure sector.

ii. Banks shall not invest more than 10 per cent of the unit capital of an REIT/ InvIT.

iii. Banks should ensure adherence to the prudential guidelines issued by RBI from time to time on Equity investments by Banks, Classification and Valuation of Investment Portfolio, Basel III Capital requirements for Commercial Real Estate Exposures and Large Exposure Framework, as applicable.

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Reserve Bank of India

17.04.2017

Banking

RBI opens the Office of the Banking Ombudsman at Raipur

MANU/RPRL/0065/2017

Considering the significant increase in banking network during the recent past and the large jurisdiction being covered by the current Office of the Banking Ombudsman, Bhopal, the Reserve Bank has set up an Office of the Banking Ombudsman for the State of Chhattisgarh at Reserve Bank of India, Raipur. The Office of the Banking Ombudsman at Reserve Bank of India, Raipur will have the jurisdiction over the entire State of Chhattisgarh which, hitherto was under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Banking Ombudsman, Bhopal.

Tags : Ombudsman Opening Raipur

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Reserve Bank of India

17.04.2017

Banking

Award Scheme For Outstanding Writings In The Field Of Banking Hindi Declaration Of Result For The Year 2015-16

MANU/RPRL/0066/2017

Reserve Bank of India had invited entries under the captioned scheme vide press release dated 14 July 2016. On evaluation of the entries received, it has been decided to award Professor J. P. Yadav, Rajasthan University, Jaipur under this scheme for his book for the year 2015-16.

Tags : Scheme Award Banking hindi

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Press Information Bureau

14.04.2017

Civil

(MoU) Signed Between NSFDC and Development Commissioner (Handlooms)

MANU/PIBU/0417/2017

The CMD, National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Development Commissioner (Handlooms) under Ministry of Textiles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment and Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister of Textiles here today. Senior Officers of both the Ministries, DC (Handlooms) and NSFDC were also present on the occasion. The objective of signing this MoU is to help Scheduled Caste weavers and their families by promoting production and marketing of high value quality Handlooms products at Block level Cluster in various States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha etc.

Handlooms Sector is a part of Textile Industry, the second largest economic activity after agriculture. There are around 44 lakh Handloom weavers in the country out of which 3.90 lakh are Scheduled Caste Weavers. Under the cluster approach, new strategy for promoting production and marketing of high value quality handloom products shall be adopted to ensure more earnings of the Scheduled Caste Handloom Weavers.

In this endeavor, both the MoU signing parties shall popularize the schemes of DC (Handlooms) amongst the SC weavers through Awareness Programmes and advertisements in electronic/print media in SC weavers concentrated areas and collaborate for capacity building including skill up-gradation and economic development of SC weavers and their families for achieving the desired outcome. Exhibitions/Fairs shall be organized by both the parties for providing marketing assistance to SC weavers for enhancing their earnings.

Both the parties shall also organize relevant skill development programmes for up-gradation of skills of the scheduled caste weavers in clusters and also for sharing knowledge and experience. This endeavour shall enable scheduled caste weavers to sharpen their skills for production and marketing of high value quality handloom products and better marketing linkages and therefore to have more income.

Tags : MOU Signing of Handlooms

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