Government probing 53 cases of profiteering in GST regime
New Delhi: The Directorate General of Safeguards, which probes complaints of profiteering by businesses under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, has initiated an investigation in 53 cases, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. In a written reply, minister of state for finance Shiv Pratap Shukla informed Rajya Sabha that out of 354 petitions received, a standing committee attached to the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) has forwarded 65 to the Directorate General of Safeguards for investigation. The NAA’s task is to ensure that businesses do not pocket the benefit of tax cuts meant for consumers.
NCLT approves Burn Standard resolution plan; ex-officers to appeal to NCLAT
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday approved the resolution plan on Tuesday for Burn Standard Company, which comprises a Rs 4.17 billion package. However, around 160 former officers of the state-owned wagon maker have decided to move the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) contesting the decision. Sources said the resolution plan includes clearing off the dues of the financial and operational creditors as well as offer voluntary retirement scheme to around 500 employees. United Bank of India is the sole financial lender to Burn Standard Company besides 196 other operational creditors whose consolidated exposure to Martin Burn Company is Rs 620 million.
Nirav Modi bankruptcy files may help decode PNB scam
The bankruptcy declarations by jeweller Nirav Modi’s companies — Firestar Diamond Inc, A Jaffe Inc and Fantasy Inc — may offer some clues to where the money went in the ₹12,622-crore Punjab National Bank fraud when compared with the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, this also raises several key questions, investigative officials and experts told ET, primarily about little-known entities possibly being used as fronts for routing money back to the alleged fraudsters.
NFRA to have the power to impose a penalty on erring audit firms
The newly set up National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) is empowered to impose penalties on erring audit firms, said PP Chaudhary, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Law and Justice.
The power to impose penalties on audit firms has been conferred on NFRA under the Companies Act 2013, Chaudhary said in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question on Tuesday. It may be recalled that the Union Cabinet had on March 1 approved the setting up of NFRA as an independent regulator for the auditing profession. It was also specified that the jurisdiction of NFRA for investigation of CAs and their firms would extend to all listed companies and large unlisted companies, the thresholds for which shall be prescribed in the rules.
Sebi directs Tata Motors to hold an inquiry into the leak of financial earnings data on WhatsApp
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday directed Tata Motors Ltd to conduct an internal probe into an alleged leak of certain sensitive data revealing the auto maker’s financial results through the popular instant messaging application WhatsApp, ahead of their formal release. The market regulator ordered the company to strengthen its existing processes and controls to prevent any leakage of unpublished price sensitive information or (UPSI) in future so that no entity is able to take undue advantage of the privileged information and trade in the company’s shares to make unfair market gains, breaching Sebi’s insider trading norms.
What should Modi government do to stop Nirav’s and Mallya?
The spate of financial scams coming to light every second day has heightened the need, as never before, to tackle the financial crimes on a war footing. As these scams have a direct and adverse impact on the depositors’ and taxpayers’ monies, there is a compelling need to have a relook at the current structure of criminal law to make the “offences” relating to the financial market more deterrent in nature. While the government and regulators have introduced very robust legislation and policy initiatives, the unabated shenanigans of those who game the system pose a serious challenge to the spirit of these reforms.
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