New Delhi Ministry of Finance, Government of India today issued clarification about Changes made in the Tax Treatment for Recognised Provident Fund & National Pension System (NPS). Following is full text of the statement released by the government: There seems to be some amount of lack of understanding about the changes made in the General Budget 2016-17 in the tax treatment for recognised Provident Fund & NPS. The following clarifications are given in this matter:- (i) The purpose...Read More

New Delhi The government today promised to consider demands for a rollback of the proposal to tax 60 per cent of withdrawals from provident fund and a ceiling on employers contribution but made it clear that PPF will continue to be exempt from tax. Revenue Secretary Hashmukh Adhia went a step further to say that only 60 per cent of interest on contributions made after April 1 will be taxed and that the principal amount of contribution will remain untouched at the time of withdrawal. Ho...Read More

New Delhi Clearing the air on taxing provident fund withdrawals, the government on Tuesday said PPF withdrawals will continue to be fully exempt from tax and only interest accruing after April 1 on 60 per cent of the contributions made to Employee PF will be taxed. All contributions and interest accrued to employee provident fund (EPF) before April 1, 2016, will not attract any tax on withdrawal. Withdrawal of principal amount contributed to EPF after April 1 would also remain exempt from...Read More

New Delhi Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, Shri Ahmed Patel today in a statement criticized the annual budget presented in parliament by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley today. Following is the statement of Shri Ahmed Patel: Budget 2016-17 has been presented in the midst of an intense economic gloom. But rather than providing hope the budget raises more concerns - particularly on the government's ability to bring back the economy's animal spirits. After t...Read More

New Delhi Government is set to introduce the Aadhar Bill in Parliament in the next couple of days to give the platform a statutory backing, a move that will expand its range of utility in providing government benefits. "I will introduce in one or two days. It is ready. I have also given notice," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said while talking about his announcement on Aadhar. "We will undertake significant reforms, such as the enactment of a law to ensure that all government bene...Read More

New Delhi The travel and other expenses of Union Ministers have been slashed by a whopping 54 per cent in the 2016-17 budget presented today. According to the budget estimates, the amount allocated under the head of 'Tour Expenses' has been fixed at Rs 259 crore. The expenditure under this head, which covers salaries, sumptuary and other allowances and travel of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and ex-Prime Ministers, was pegged at Rs 269 crore for 2015-16. However, the bud...Read More

Ahmedabad Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), western region wing of CII and most of the state based Industries have by and large welcomed the union budged presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today. Reactions of the presidents of GCCI and Gujarat Chapter of CII and other prominent state based Industrialists is as following- Achal Bakeri, CMD, Symphony Ltd “The Finance Minister has set the direction for a balanced and inclusive growth emphasising ...Read More

New Delhi Marginal tax relief of upto Rs 6,600 for small tax payers, a 3 per cent hike in surcharge on super-rich, new levies on cars and SUVs and a compliance window to domestic black money holders were unveiled in the Budget for 2016-17 that envisages a huge spending of Rs 1.77 lakh crore in rural areas to address the agrarian distress. Presenting his third Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made no changes in the personal or corporate income- tax slabs but made costlier several ite...Read More

New Delhi The government today allocated about Rs 7,296 crore for two central schemes -- Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and 'Smart Cities' Mission. The general budget 2016-17 earmarked an amount of Rs 3,205 cr for the development of 100 smart cities across the country by 2020, while nearly Rs 4,091 crore for AMRUT. Under the smart cities projects, names of the first 20 cities, including Bhubaneswar, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bhopal, were announced lat...Read More

New Delhi Cars, locally made mobiles, branded garments, air travel, aerated drinks, cigarettes and smart watches are the among items that will be costlier while footwear, solar lamps and routers are slated to cost less following changes in tax structure in the Budget 2016-17. As a result of a new levy, Krishi Kalyan cess, on all services, activities including eating out, watching movies in theaters and payment of bills, will also become more expensive. Continuing the trend set by his p...Read More