India

New Delhi, Feb 2: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on Thursday said that political parties will have to file audited returns by December every year or risk losing tax exemptions. Donations to political parties via electoral bonds will be confidential, donor's identity not to be disclosed, Adhia said. "They (political parties) will lose the exemption status if they do not file ITR by December-end

Srinagar, Feb 2: Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital here after he complained of chest pain late last night, a close aide of the separatist leader said today. The 87-year-old complained of uneasiness and chest pain and was admitted to SKIMS Hospital for treatment, he said. Doctors at the hospital said Geelani has been

New Delhi, Feb 1: Giving a major thrust to rural India in the Union Budget, the government today announced bringing one crore households out of poverty and making 50,000 gram panchayats poverty free by 2019, besides allocating highest ever funds to rural job scheme MGNRGEA. Stating that improving the life of people in rural areas is "a non-negotiable agenda for the government", Finance Minister

New Delhi, Feb 1: Smokers and tobacco consumers will have to pay more for their indulgence as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley continued with the crackdown on cigarettes, bidis and tobacco products by increasing taxes in the Budget 2017-18. Besides, mobile phones and LED lights assembled in India will also become dearer with the finance minister increasing duties on imported printed circuit boards

New Delhi, Feb 1: Union Finance Minister run Jaitley on Wednesday said that the tax collection is not commensurate with the income and expenditure patterns. Presenting the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley hit out at tax evaders and said "over decades tax evasion had become a way of life. We are largely a tax non-compliant society. When too many evade tax, the burden falls on those

New Delhi, Feb 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today described the Budget as "futuristic" with an aim on fulfilling the "dreams" of every section, including the poor, the farmers and the under-privileged while focussing on job creation, transparency, urban rejuvenation and rural development. He said the Budget is a key link between the work done by his government over the last two-and-a-half and

New Delhi, Feb 1: Softening the demonetisation blow, the Budget for 2017-18 today halved the tax to 5 per cent on incomes upto Rs 5 lakh but proposed a new surcharge of 10 per cent on incomes between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore and raised duties on cigarettes and pan masala while stepping up allocations for infrastructure, rural, agriculture and social sectors. Breaking from the past, Finance

New Delhi, Feb 1: In a move to push digital payments, the government today removed all duties on devices used in the process of cashless transactions like point of sales machines, finger print readers etc. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech, "To promote cashless transactions, I propose to exempt BCD (basic custom duties), excise duties, CVD (countervailing duties), SAD

New Delhi, Feb 1: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the focus of his Budget for 2017-18 will be on 10 important sectors, including farmers, infrastructure, digital economy and tax administration to transform, energise and clean India. The other areas of focus include rural India, the youth, poor and under-privileged, the financial sector, public service and prudent fiscal management. "The

New Delhi, Feb 1: Terming demonetisation as "bold and decisive" measure, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it will have a multiplier effect on the economy and will create bigger, cleaner and real GDP. "We are moving from informal to formal economy and the government is now seen as a trusted custodian of public money," he said while delivering the Union Budget 2017-18. Demonetisation was a