ICAI opposes Sebi proposal on categorizing CAs as market fiduciaries
The ICAI has opposed Sebi’s proposal to categories chartered accountants as fiduciaries in the securities market, saying there is no specific statutory provision under the Sebi Act to take action against auditors of listed companies. The chartered accountants’ apex institute, which has more than 2.7 lakh members, has opposed the regulator’s proposal to classify chartered accountants as fiduciaries along with other professionals. In July, the regulator issued a consultative paper on the proposed Sebi (Fiduciaries in the Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations for public consultations.
Rs 4.5 lakh crore infrastructure projects stuck in Mumbai region after SC order on solid waste management
Close to Rs 2 lakh crore worth of infrastructure projects could come to a standstill in the Mumbai region alone after a ban imposed by the Supreme Court on all construction activity due to what it said was the absence of a solid waste management policy in the state. The ban, imposed on a couple of other states including Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, threatens to jeopardize more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore worth of projects, analysts estimated. Analysts observed that cash collections for real estate projects are linked to construction activity, and accordingly a prolonged blanket ban on construction activity will impact players such as Oberoi, Sunteck and Godrej Properties.
Taxing times: Bombay HC pulls up Income Tax Department, says taxman losing cases deliberately
The Bombay High Court has pulled up the income tax department (ITD) saying that its approach to litigation in the higher courts was responsible for consistently losing cases, and that this “could be then termed as a deliberate or intentional act”. It has asked the department of revenue to bring the guilty officers to book. The taxman has a very poor track record in adjudication and, in FY16; it won just 15% and 26% of the cases in the high court’s and the Supreme Court, according to a recent report by the CAG. The taxman did slightly better at the appellate tribunal and got 18% decisions in its favour and 17% partially in its favour; the assessee, however, won 65% of the cases outright.
Banks may face 60% haircut on power loans
Banks may have to take a haircut of as much as 60% from the close to Rs 1.8 lakh crore of loans to the power sector after the Allahabad High Court denied power companies interim relief from Reserve Bank of India’s tightened NPA regulations, further impacting banking profitability, US-based brokerage Jefferies has stated in a note. “The extent of power sector stress at the systemic level is well known. But the concern lies in the dearth of possible solutions to resolve these stressed assets. This, coupled with the urgency of lenders to find bidders, will lead to low realization value and high haircuts for banks,” it said.
Road to resolution: Almost all Lanco units to land in insolvency courts
Almost all the operational and under-construction power assets of debt-laden Lanco group are expected to land in insolvency tribunals as the lenders were not able to conclude resolution for any of the remaining three large projects of the company before the August 27 deadline set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “Going by the RBI’s February 12, Circular, which gave 180 days time till August 27 to resolve large debt accounts of the size of over Rs 200 billion, Lanco Kondapalli (Rs 33 billion), Lanco Anpara (Rs 60 billion), and Lanco Vidarbha (Rs 45 billion) should also be referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in the coming days,” a senior company official told Business Standard.
NSE in talks with Sebi, seeks inspection of documents in co-location case
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has requested the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to provide access to documents based on which charges are being framed in the co-location case. On July 4, Sebi had served fresh show cause notices to NSE and over 20 others for alleged violation of the Securities Contract Regulation Act and the Prevention of Unfair Trading Practices norms. Among the individuals served the notices, three are key managerial personnel currently serving at the NSE.
FPIs ring alarm bells on Sebi ownership notice; $75 bn assets could be hit
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have upped their ante against a circular issued by the market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on beneficial ownership of offshore funds. At least a dozen FPIs, including Amansa Capital, Helios and Morgan Stanley Asset Management — which operate from outside India but have links to the county — wrote to the prime minister, finance minister and Sebi, saying that the move will hit a third of the overseas assets in the country. According to Asset Managers Roundtable of India (Amri), such funds account for assets worth $75 billion in India.
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