Notifications & Circulars

Reserve Bank of India

13.07.2017

Banking

Financial Literacy by FLCs (Financial Literacy Centres) and rural branches - Revision in funding limits, Audio-visual content and provision of hand held projectors

MANU/RMIC/0096/2017

1. Please refer to our circular FIDD.FLC.BC.No.22/12.01.018/2016-17 dated March 2, 2017 on policy review of guidelines for FLCs and rural branches of banks. In terms of this circular, banks were advised that FLCs and rural branches are eligible for funding support from the Financial Inclusion Fund for the financial literacy camps to the extent of 60% of the expenditure of the camp subject to a maximum of Rs. 15,000/- per camp.

2. On a review, the FIF Advisory Board has revised the funding support available to banks to the extent of 60% of the expenditure of the camp subject to a maximum of Rs. 5,000/- per camp. For details on funding, banks may refer to circular No. 107/DFIBT-24/2017 dated May 4, 2017 issued by NABARD.

3. Audio visual content and provision of handheld projectors: In order to improve the effectiveness of the financial literacy camps, it has been decided to encourage FLCs and rural branches of banks to use hand held projectors to show Audio-visuals and posters on financial awareness messages. Funding for handheld projectors and speakers would be provided from FIF to the extent of 50% of the cost incurred on purchase of hand held projector and portable speaker (both put together) subject to a maximum of Rs. 5000 per rural branch / FLC on a reimbursement basis. For details on funding, banks may refer to circular No. 105/DFIBT-22/2017 dated May 4, 2017 issued by NABARD.

4. Further, the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) supported by the financial sector regulators has prepared audio visuals on the Financial Awareness Messages provided by RBI. The First Audio-visual covers the basic financial awareness messages such as address proof declaration under KYC norms, Use of Business correspondents, Electronic payment systems NEFT/RTGS and not falling prey to fictitious emails/calls and Ponzi schemes. The Second Audio-visual explains the process of using the Unified Payment Interface through BHIM and the third audio visual explains the various ways of going digital and cashless. FLCs and rural branches of banks are advised to use the audiovisuals while conducting financial literacy camps.

Tags : Financial Literacy Funding limits Revision

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Press Information Bureau

13.07.2017

Indirect Taxation

Further clarification on tax in reverse charge on gold ornaments

MANU/PIBU/0760/2017

In the GST Ki Master Class held yesterday, in one of the replies given to an on-the-spot-question, it was informed that purchase of old gold jewellery by a jeweller from a consumer will be subject to GST @ 3% under reverse charge mechanism in terms of the provisions contained in Section 9(4) of the CGST Act, 2017. On further examination, it is felt that the issue needs to be clarified.

Section 9(4) of the said Act mandates that tax on supply of taxable goods (gold in this case) by an unregistered supplier (an individual in this case) to a registered person (the jeweller in this case) will be paid by the registered person (the jeweller in this case) under reverse charge mechanism. This provision, however, has to be read in conjunction with section 2(105) read with section 7 of the said Act. Section 2 (105) defines supplier as a person supplying the goods or services. Section 7 provides that a supply is a transaction for a consideration by a person in the course or furtherance of business.

Even though the sale of old gold by an individual is for a consideration, it cannot be said to be in the course or furtherance of his business (as selling old gold jewellery is not the business of the said individual), and hence does not qualify to be a supply per se. Accordingly, the sale of old jewellery by an individual to a jeweller will not attract the provisions of Section 9(4) and jeweller will not be liable to pay tax under reverse charge mechanism on such purchases. However, if an unregistered supplier of gold ornaments sells it to registered supplier, the tax under RCM will apply.

Tags : Reverse charge Gold ornaments Tax Clarification

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Press Information Bureau

13.07.2017

Indirect Taxation

Rolling out of GST presents great opportunities : Kalraj Mishra

MANU/PIBU/0759/2017

Ministry of MSME along with FICCI organized National Workshop on GST and Digital MSME here today. Speaking on the occasion Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSME said that Ministry of MSME is giving special focus to the development of MSMEs all over the country and to effectively implement different Schemes and Programmes. It has also directed the banks to accelerate the pace of solving the loan related problems of the entrepreneurs.

He also informed the gathering that by rolling out GST, cascading of taxes will be overcome and this will significantly reduce the tax burden. Furthermore, this will pave the way for a formal economy hence will give a fillip to growth and employment generation. Therefore, MSMEs should see this as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

Minister also informed that the Ministry has taken up various efforts to popularize GST. Under office of Development Commissioner (MSME), GST cells have been established in Headquarter office , all MSME-DIs and Tool Rooms. NSIC has also set up a Facilitation Cell with a toll free number - 1800-111-955. Till now more than 12000 entrepreneurs have been trained for GST by various MSME field offices and training institutes.

He reiterated that that he himself has given information on GST at Guwahati and Agartala in North East. Minister has directed all officials to use social media i.e. Facebook and Twitter to provide information, to publish notification and to answer questions related to GST. Furthermore, more than 200 Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary level officers have been told to monitor the implementation of GST at district level. In this effort two Joint Secretaries of M/o MSME are involved.

Shri Mishra informed that a special issue of Laghu Udyog Samachar has been published by his Ministry focusing on GST. Furthermore, Secretary (MSME) has been included in the reviewing committee the Cabinet Secretary level. Central MSME Minister informed that along with GST, M/o MSME has taken effort to simplify the guidelines for implementation of its various schemes. E-initiatives have been taken in simplification of guidelines wherein PMEGP has been made online. Online Grievance Redressal and Monitoring Systems(CPGRAMS and IGMS) have been established. E-office and Mobile friendly website have been initiated and 'My-MSME' Mobile App, MSME-Data Bank Portal and Digital-MSME portal have been started.

He informed that Digital MSME Scheme has been launched to sensitize and encourage MSMEs towards new approach i.e., Cloud computing for ICT adoption in their production and business processes with a view to improve their competitiveness in National and International Market. Minister of State Shri Giriraj Singh informed the gathering that by rolling out GST, the Government has opened new opportunities for the hitherto unorganized rural entrepreneurs predominantly in the micro and small segment.

Minister of State Shri Haribhai Parthibhai mentioned that a huge parallel economy which has been existing till now will subsequently come in the formal fold, with the emergence of GST. He appealed to entrepreneurs to choose their vendors judiciously so as to take benefit of the input tax credit being offered by the new system.

Shri Arun Kumar Panda, Secretary (MSME) welcomed all participants and put light on the various possible problems which could be faced by the MSMEs in the new GST regime. He emphasized upon the utility of ICT Schemes like Digital MSME which could help in handholding the MSME entrepreneurs. The representative of CBEC was present in the occasion and he addressed to the common queries put forward by MSME entrepreneurs.

Tags : GST Rolling out Opportunities

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Press Information Bureau

12.07.2017

Commercial

Cabinet approves Joint Interpretative Notes on the Agreement between India and Bangladesh for Promotion and Protection of Investments

MANU/PIBU/0754/2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the Joint Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the Agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments. The JIN would impart clarity to the interpretation of the existing Agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (BIPA). The JIN includes interpretative notes to be jointly adopted for many clauses, including, the definition of investor, definition of investment, exclusion of taxation measures, Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET), National Treatment (NT) and Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment, expropriation, essential security interests and Settlement of Disputes between an Investor-and a Contracting Party.

Joint Interpretative Statements in general play an important supplementary role in strengthening the investment treaty regime. With increasing Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) disputes, issuance of such statements is likely to have strong persuasive value before tribunals. Such pro-active approach by States can foster a more predictable and coherent reading of treaty terms by arbitration tribunals.

Tags : Interpretative Notes Investment Approval

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Press Information Bureau

12.07.2017

Miscellaneous

Cabinet approves Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between India and Germany on cooperation in the field of Health

MANU/PIBU/0753/2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for signing a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between India and Germany on cooperation in the field of Health. The JDI was signed on 1st June, 2017.

The JDI covers the following areas of cooperation :-

a) postgraduate education;

b) training of medical personnel;

c) pharmaceuticals and pharmacoeconomics; and

d) health economics.

A Working Group will be set up to further elaborate the details of cooperation and to oversee the implementation of this JDI.

Tags : Joint Declaration Co-operation Health

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Press Information Bureau

11.07.2017

Civil

Ministry of Civil Aviation seeks to upgrade its AirSewa web portal; consults stakeholders for designing AirSewa 2.0

MANU/PIBU/0747/2017

The Ministry of Civil Aviation held a meeting of all stakeholders last week to invite suggestions for designing AirSewa 2.0, the upgraded version of the AirSewa web portal and mobile app that was launched in November last year to make air travel convenient and hassle-free. Nodal Officers of all stakeholders like Airlines, Airports, Immigration, Customs, DGCA, etc attended the meeting. Valuable suggestions for service improvement, enhancing user comfort and quick redressal of complaints were received and will be considered for incorporation in the design of AirSewa 2.0.

This follows the success of AirSewa1.0 which has been received well, with around 19,000 app downloads so far and over 65,000 web portal hits since its launch. More than 92% of grievances have been resolved and most of them within the stipulated time limits.

The Ministry is committed to providing a safe, and comfortable air travel experience to users. Flight delays, problem in refunds, long queues, inadequate facilities at airports and complaints of lost baggage are the most common problems that air travelers face. There was a need to respond to these problems in a systematic manner rather than on ad-hoc basis. The Ministry had launched AirSewa web portal and mobile app on 26.11.2016 to address this need.

AirSewa is operated through an interactive web portal and a mobile app for both Android and iOS platforms. e-portal includes a mechanism for grievance redressal, back office operations for grievance handling, flight status/schedule information, airport Information and FAQs.

Users can now check live flight status for all inbound and outbound flights in a single click. Information regarding weather conditions and services for some selected airports is also available on this portal. Flights can be searched by flight number or for all flights to or from a particular airport. Information such as airport services like wheel chair, transport/parking, rest and relax, Wifi services etc. can also be easily accessed. Timely and satisfactory grievance redressal was an important priority as users had to approach several stakeholders to get their grievances redressed. AirSewa is a one-stop solution for grievance redressal as passengers can now register any grievance on the mobile app or web portal. They can also upload voice or video along with an elaborate description of their issues.

The portal has helped make the grievance redressal system responsive, transparent, accountable and efficient by using technology. Users can now track the status and response through reference number provided. There are stipulated timelines in place to address the issue. The portal is closely monitored by control room to ensure timely and effective redressal. A message is sent to the concerned nodal officer if any grievance remains unattended or unresolved. To improve the user experience an option to provide feedback and rate the overall experience and satisfaction has been provided.

Tags : Upgrade Web portal Consultation Designing

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Press Information Bureau

11.07.2017

Indirect Taxation

No GST is applicable on free food supplied in anna kshetras run by religious institutions

MANU/PIBU/0748/2017

There are media reports suggesting that GST applies on free food supplied in anna kshetras run by religious institutions. This is completely untrue. No GST is applicable on such food supplied free. Further, prasadam supplied by religious places like temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, dargahs, etc. attracts Nil CGST and SGST or IGST, as the case may be.

However, some of the inputs and input services required for making prasadam would be subject to GST. These include sugar, vegetable edible oils, ghee, butter, service for transportation of these goods etc. Most of these inputs or input services have multiple uses. Under GST regime, it is difficult to prescribe a separate rate of tax for sugar, etc. when supplied for a particular purpose.

Further, GST being a multi-stage tax, end use based exemptions or concessions are difficult to administer. Therefore, GST does not envisage end use based exemptions. It would, therefore, not be desirable to provide end use based exemption for inputs or input services for making prasadam or food for free distribution by religious institutions.

Tags : Free food Religious institutions Non-applicability GST

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Press Information Bureau

10.07.2017

Civil

Declaration of Historic City of Ahmadabad as a UNESCO's World Heritage Property

MANU/PIBU/0742/2017

It is under the dynamic and visionary leadership of the Prime Minister of India that India has been successful in securing the nomination of the "Historic City of Ahmadabad" on UNESCO's World Heritage list on 8th July, 2017 during the 41st Session of World Heritage Committee. This makes the walled city of Ahmedabad the first city in India and the third in Asia to be inscribed to the World Heritage List. In the past 3 years alone, India has managed to put five built heritage sites on the world heritage list of UNESCO.

India now has overall 36 World Heritage Inscriptions with 28 Cultural, 07 Natural and 01 Mixed site. While India stands second largest in number after China in terms of number of world heritage properties in ASPAC (Asia and Pacific) region, it is overall seventh in the world.

Founded in 15th century, the walled city of Ahmadabad, on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati river, presents a rich architectural heritage. Within this complex are 28 ASI Centrally Protected Monuments. The urban structures of the historic city of Ahmedabad are distinctive due to their puras (neighbourhoods), pols (residential streets), and khadki (inner entrances to pols) largely made of timber. The historic architecture reflects symbols and myths connected with its inhabitants. The urban fabric is made up of densely-packed traditional houses (pols) in gated traditional streets (puras) with characteristic features such as bird feeders, public wells and religious institutions. It is a unique example of multi-religious and multicultural coexistence.

The inscription has been done under Criteria (ii) and (v) as defined in the UNESCO's Operational Guidelines, 2016. Criterion (ii) refers to the important interchange of human values, over a span of time on development of architecture, monumental arts, town planning and landscape while Criterion (v) refers to being an outstanding example of human settlement and land use. Thus, the acceptance of the proposal highlights historic city of Ahmedabad's exemplary settlement architecture and town planning. This achievement is especially remarkable in the view of the fact that the proposal had earlier been deferred. The Culture Minister Dr. Mahesh Sharma has congratulated the residents of Ahmedabad and indeed the entire country on this landmark achievement.

The international recognition to the city is a matter of pride. It will boost the local economy in a number of ways. It is expected to give a tremendous fillip to domestic and international tourism leading to increased employment generation, creation of world-class infrastructure and augmentation of sale of local handicrafts, handlooms and heritage memorabilia.

Tags : Declaration Historic City Ahmadabad UNESCO's

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Press Information Bureau

10.07.2017

Indirect Taxation

Gifts up to a value of Rs. 50,000/- per year by an employer to his employee are outside the ambit of GST

MANU/PIBU/0745/2017

It is being reported that gifts and perquisites supplied by companies to their employees will be taxed under GST. Gifts upto a value of Rs. 50,000/- per year by an employer to his employee are outside the ambit of GST. However, gifts of value more than Rs. 50,000/- made without consideration are subject to GST, when made in the course or furtherance of business.

The question arises as to what constitutes a gift. Gift has not been defined in the GST law. In common parlance, gift is made without consideration, is voluntary in nature and is made occasionally. It cannot be demanded as a matter of right by the employee and the employee cannot move a court of law for obtaining a gift.

Another issue is the taxation of perquisites. It is pertinent to point out here that the services by an employee to the employer in the course of or in relation to his employment is outside the scope of GST (neither supply of goods or supply of services). It follows therefrom that supply by the employer to the employee in terms of contractual agreement entered into between the employer and the employee, will not be subjected to GST. Further, the Input Tax Credit (ITC) Scheme under GST does not allow ITC of membership of a club, health and fitness centre [section 17 (5) (b) (ii)]. It follows, therefore, that if such services are provided free of charge to all the employees by the employer then the same will not be subjected to GST, provided appropriate GST was paid when procured by the employer. The same would hold true for free housing to the employees, when the same is provided in terms of the contract between the employer and employee and is part and parcel of the cost-to-company (C2C).

Tags : Gifts Ambit GST

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