TaxTMI Updates e-Newsletter
Jan 06,2012

Summary: The document emphasises regulatory and operational measures to achieve financial inclusion by extending affordable banking services - savings, credit, remittance and insurance - to excluded groups through tools such as no-frills accounts, simplified KYC, GCCs, technology adoption, financial literacy and Business Correspondents. It recommends convergence of Electronic Benefit Transfer with Financial Inclusion Plans and adoption of a One District-Many Banks-One Leader Bank model involving leader-bank MOUs, beneficiary enrolment by BCs/CSPs, electronic inter-bank credit flows, same-day beneficiary credit confirmation, MIS reporting and periodic reconciliation to create a scalable, sustainable outreach model.

Summary: Proposed amendments provide for online filing and fee payment, make consumer forum orders enforceable as a Decree of a Civil Court with daily penalties for non compliance, expand District Forum powers including sitting outside district headquarters and awarding interest, empower commissions to enlist experts in large interest cases, permit governments to seek periodic reports on pending cases, and tighten selection, age and experience criteria for appointment of Members to improve forum functionality and expedite consumer redressal.

Summary: Focus on investment and joint ventures to enhance bilateral trade and services and to elevate the buyer-seller relationship into strategic energy cooperation, with emphasis on participation in petroleum and gas sectors both upstream and downstream, and mutual investment in petroleum, gas-based industrial estates, fertilizers, petrochemical plants and refineries; principal trade items include petroleum, chemicals, machinery, rice, and metal ores.

Summary: Interest rates on small savings schemes are aligned annually with Government securities but for individual investments (other than Public Provident Fund) the rate prevailing at the time of investment is fixed and remains unchanged until maturity; revisions apply only to investments made after the revision, whereas PPF receives the annually fixed rate applied across all PPF accounts.

Summary: Central government, under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, amends Notification No. 03/2006 and No. 06/2006 by inserting new tariff table entries specifying particular tariff headings and assigning a nil rate of duty for all goods under those headings, thereby extending duty exemption to those entries.

Summary: Central government notifies specified charitable institutions and approves identified projects and estimated costs, specifying the maximum amount of such costs that may be allowed as a deduction under section 35AC. The notification lists thirty one institutions with project descriptions and cost caps, includes corpus fund specifications where applicable, and states that the approvals apply for a three year period commencing with the 2011-12 financial year; later substitutions to certain amounts are recorded.