TRAI fines telcos for not meeting service quality norms
Keeping its vigil on service quality in the sector, TRAI has imposed penalties on leading operators, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, for failing to meet various Quality of Service benchmarks in the December quarter, according to a source. Around Rs 31 lakh fine has been imposed on Reliance Jio, the newest entrant in the telecom sector whose aggressive offerings have led to a bruising tariff war in the market. The penalty on Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio for December quarter is on account of Trai-defined service quality parameters including Point of Interconnect congestion, accessibility of call centre’s and customer care, and also those pertaining to termination or closure of service complied to within the stipulated seven days, according to the source.
Arun Jaitley hints at rationalizing GST rates as revenues surge
India may soon be looking at rationalizing goods and services tax (GST) rates as the year-old indirect tax regime stabilizes, finance minister Arun Jaitley said, even as he dismissed the idea of a single rate that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has called for. Jaitley added that GST has helped expand the tax base, including that of direct taxes. India implemented GST on July 1last year. “We will be busy in the process of shifting a large number of items from (the top rate of) 28% to the lower rate,” said Jaitley, who was addressing an event to mark one year of GST on Sunday via video link. “The weighted average of the total taxation basket has significantly come down and therefore we are in the process of rationalizing the rates itself.”
Sebi directs HDFC AMC to call off pre-IPO placement
The capital markets regulator has directed HDFC Asset Management, the country’s second-largest fund house, to scrap a share placement to top financial advisers and distributors ahead of its initial public offering. Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked the fund house to return the money it had collected from these advisers and distributors at 12 per cent, said three people privy to the development. According to sources, HDFC AMC could get the final approval for the IPO once this refund is completed.
Money in Swiss banks: India moves to 73rd place, UK remains on top
India has moved up to 73rd place in terms of money parked by its citizens and companies with Swiss banks, while the UK remains on the top. India had slipped to 88th place with a 44 per cent plunge in such funds during 2016, but the latest data from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) shows an increase of over 50 per cent during 2017 to CHF 1.01 billion (about Rs 7,000 crore). Pakistan is now placed one place higher than India at 72nd position, down one slot, after 21 per cent dips in funds from that country in Swiss banks during 2017.
Govt to soon come out with definition for shell companies
The government will “very soon” come out with a definition for shell companies, union minister P.P. Chaudhary said Sunday, amid a crackdown on such entities indulging in financial irregularities. Obscure ownership, excessive leveraging and disproportionate investment in shares of other companies are among the possible criteria being looked at for defining shell companies. While a multipronged action plan is being implemented in the fight against the black money menace, absence of a proper and uniform definition for shell companies under the legal framework is hampering investigations.
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