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GST Council meet today: Covid relief, bringing oil and gas indirect tax regime on agenda

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Finance Minister

 The GST Council will meet in Lucknow on Friday to take decisions on issues related to duty revision that were put on the back burner in earlier meetings to focus on the Covid relief measures amid rising cases during the second wave of the pandemic.

The meeting, however, is expected to announce a few more Covid relief measures particularly on compliance matters.

It will also announce a few measures to correct the inverted duty while discussing the compensation cess dues arising in 2021-22.

Two other important items, including lowering of GST rates for two-wheelers and bringing natural gas into the indirect tax fold may also be included in the agenda for discussion.

“Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman will chair the 45th GST Council meeting at 11 AM in Lucknow today. The meeting will be attended by MOS Shri @mppchaudhary besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs and Senior officers from Union Government & States,” the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.

The GST Council has already met twice this year when the panel of finance ministers discussed GST compensation and the borrowing formula offered by the Centre towards compensating states for GST shortfall while also announcing a series of duty relief and easing of compliance measures towards Covid relief.

The 45th meeting of the council is expected to again discuss the compensation issue for the current year, but sources said it may also take a few steps to correct inverted duty structure without pursuing any increase in the GST rates or move towards converging GST to three rate structure.

Sources also said that the council at the meeting may also take up two other important items, including lowering of GST rates for two-wheelers and bringing natural gas into the indirect tax fold.

A top source in the finance ministry said that inverted duty correction, GST cut on two-wheelers and inclusion of natural gas into GST fold are on the agenda and hopefully the council will offer some solution that is in the best interest of all stakeholders.

Correction of inverted duty structure, especially in sectors such as fertilizer, steel utelsils, solar modules, tractors, tyres, electrical transformers, pharma, textile, fabric, railway locomotives among other goods is required.

Inverted duty refers to tax rates on inputs being higher than those levied on finished products. This results in higher input credit claims by goods besides several administrative and compliance issues.

Currently, while duty on imported tyres is 10 per cent, its inputs i.e. rubber attracts 20 per cent duty. Similarly, solar modules do not attract any duty while its components attract 5-10 per cent duty.

Similarly, the council may also consider lowering the GST rate of 28 per cent on two-wheelers to give a boost to its sales affected during the pandemic.

The Council has in principle agreed to include five petroleum products under GST, but has so far deferred its actual inclusion into the indirect as states fear a big loss of revenue. But now, the government is considering bringing natural gas under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to begin with as it would be difficult to bring the entire oil and gas sector immediately under it.

Sources said that natural gas may be included under a three-tier GST structure where rates would vary depending on the usage. So, while piped natural gas (PNG) for homes may be kept at a lower rate of 5 per cent, commercial piped gas may attract the median 18 per cent GST rate and automobile fuel CNG may be kept in the highest bracket of 28 per cent.

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Nifty, Sensex surge over 2 pc this week amid renewed hopes of US-India trade deal

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Mumbai, Oct 18: The Indian equity benchmarks ended the week decisively higher amid short covering from foreign institutional investor (FII) participants and resilient domestic cues.

Market optimism was bolstered by clarity in the India–US trade relations, with both sides tentatively agreeing to conclude the first phase of the deal by November.

The sentiment remained upbeat as Bank Nifty achieved a new milestone, driven by robust buying interest in leading banking stocks. Investor confidence was buoyed by easing concerns around asset quality in the financial sector and expectations of improved volume growth in the festive quarter.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex rose 2.10 and 2.04 per cent during the week, with FMCG, pharma, and auto indices being the major contributors to the rally.

Analysts said that consumption-driven sectors also saw a surge along with a broad-based recovery across realty, healthcare, and banking.

IT stocks remained under pressure due to global discretionary spending concerns and mounting asset quality stress in the US banking system.

Profit booking was also seen in media, and metal stocks, which capped the overall upside of the indices.

The broader market, however, took a breather after a strong run-up, with Nifty Midcap 100 slipping 0.57 per cent and Nifty Small-cap 100 marginally down by 0.05 per cent, indicating selective profit taking by investors.

“Nifty on the weekly chart has formed a sizable bull candle with a higher high and higher low, signalling continuation of the up move. The index broke out above a three-month symmetrical triangle consolidation pattern, indicating a positive bias,” analysts from Bajaj Broking Research said.

They expect the index to head towards 25,900 and then towards 26,200 levels in the coming weeks.

In the holiday-led truncated Diwali week, investors are likely to remain cautious in view of the release of key economic data, such as US inflation, employment, and India’s PMI figures.

Investors are also keen on the cues from the ongoing earnings season and policy signals from major global central banks.

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Navi Mumbai: NMMC Urges Advertisers To Obtain Mandatory Permissions Before Displaying Hoardings, Banners And LED Signage

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Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has appealed to all advertisers, businesses, and citizens to secure mandatory permissions before displaying any form of advertisement within city limits, in accordance with the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations (Regulation and Control of Display of Sky-Signs and Advertisements) Rules, 2022.

As per the Urban Development Department’s notification dated May 9, 2022, the rules are applicable to all municipal corporations in Maharashtra except the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Under Sections 244 and 245 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, no advertisement can be displayed without prior written permission from the Municipal Commissioner.

The term “advertisement” covers all forms of displays visible from public roads, including hoardings, banners, name boards, neon and glow signs, LED and digital screens, video or laser displays, and other illuminated publicity material.

To ensure compliance, NMMC has appointed M/s Ornate Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to conduct a citywide survey of all advertisement hoardings and signage. The agency will use a mobile application to gather data, contact advertisers through a call centre for guidance, and issue notices to those operating without valid permissions.

NMMC officials have urged citizens and advertisers to extend full cooperation to representatives of Ornate Technologies during the survey. “Our goal is to ensure transparency, safety, and orderly display of advertisements across Navi Mumbai,” said a senior civic official.

“We request all advertisers to regularize their displays by applying for permissions online to avoid penalties and ensure compliance.”

The civic body has directed advertisers to apply through its official website https://app.nmmconline.in, submit the required documents, and pay the prescribed advertisement fees to obtain valid permits before putting up any form of advertisement.

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Markets open lower as investors react to Q2 results; IT stocks drag

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Mumbai, Oct 17: Indian stock markets opened lower on Friday as investors reacted to the second-quarter (Q2) earnings of major companies, including Infosys, Wipro, and Eternal.

Weak cues from Asian markets and renewed US-China tensions also weighed on investor sentiment.

At the same time, gold prices hit a record high, adding to the cautious mood in the market. However, a sharp drop in crude oil prices — with Brent crude falling to around $60 per barrel — may help limit losses for Indian equities.

At 9:20 AM, the Sensex was trading at 83,365, down 103 points or 0.12 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 33 points or 0.13 per cent to 25,552.

“The Nifty managed to hold its gains and ended near the day’s high, closing above the 25,550 mark with a strong bullish candle. This positive momentum suggests continued strength in the near term,” analysts said.

“On the downside, immediate support is placed at 25,500, followed by 25,400, while on the upside, resistance is seen at 25,700 and 25,800 levels,” market experts added.

Eternal, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, Tata Steel, Ultratech Cement, and ICICI Bank were among the major losers, declining up to 3.5 per cent.

On the other hand, gains in Asian Paints, Tata Motors, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki helped trim some of the losses. These stocks rose between 0.3 per cent and 3 per cent.

In the broader market, the Nifty MidCap index slipped 0.28 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index edged up 0.10 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, IT was the biggest drag, with the Nifty IT index down 1.13 per cent. The Nifty Pharma and PSU Bank indices also declined by 0.3 per cent each.

“The market is resilient and technically strong. Price action in the leading stocks indicate short covering. Even now there is big shorts in the system and the strength in the market might keep the bears on the back foot, facilitating further short covering,” market experts said.

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