Important Policy Updates from Finance Minister

Akash Dubey

26 Aug, 2019

The Finance Minister notified critical policy updates of India in a recently held press conference. The press conference held as on Friday, August 23, 2019, announced some Important Policy Updates to boost the economy.

The key highlights of the press conference are as follows;

1) Withdraw of Capital Gains Surcharge on FPI

The finance minister announced the withdrawal of surcharge levied on tax paid by foreign portfolio investors and domestic investors on capital gains. The surcharge was levied on short term and long term capital gains from the sale of equity shares, equity-based funds, and business trust. The notification will come into effect from the current financial year.

2) Abolition of Angel Tax on Recognized Startup

The main highlight of the speech for the startup community was the exemptions of Angel Tax for the startup, which are recognized by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DPIIT)^[1]. The issue came in a situation where startups were continuously demanding exemption from angel tax. However, it is not clear that the effect of this announcement will apply to pending proceedings against startups or not.

3) Separate Unit to Address Startup Problems

A new department to address the issues of startups will be constituted by the government under CBDT. Startups having income tax-related issues will be offered quick resolution from this cell.

4) Timely Disposal of Notices

Another important announcement for taxpayers came as a change in the disposal time of notices. From October 1, 2019, all the income tax notices will be disposed within three months from the date of reply by the concerned taxpayer. Additionally, all the old tax notices should be settled by the given period.

5) Additional Depreciation on Vehicles Purchased till March 2020.

Additional depreciation of 15% has been proposed to be charged on all vehicles purchased till March 31, 2020. The total depreciation to be charged on the same now stands at 30%.

6) GST Refunds Shall be Processed within 60 Days

In a beneficial move for the MSME, the deadline for GST returns has been established at 60 days. The GST refunds that are due to be paid till date to MSME must be refunded within 30 days. All the refunds of GST for the MSME units will be refunded within 60 days of intimation.

7) FM Assures to Remove the GST Compliance Difficulties

The Finance Minister mentioned taking strong initiatives to make GST more taxpayer-friendly. The minster instated on eliminating the complications associated with GST payment.

8) Aadhaar Based KYC for Banks

The Minister announced that the use of Aadhar base KYC could be used for NBFCs, commercial banks, and Demat accounts. The use of KYC will be executed with the consent of the KYC holder by way of OTP verification. This KYC based verification will help commercial banks in speedy bank account openings, NBFCs for verification and in the opening of Demat accounts.

9) CSR Violations now counts as Civil Wrong

The much-debated CSR violations norms were also addressed in the press meet. The Violations of CSR norms will now be treated as a civil wrong. This prevents the concerned business from being prosecuted under criminal proceedings.

Also, Read: Budget 2019: Key Highlights of Interim Budget at a Glance.