Corporate and Professional Updates on 14th May 2019

Indirect Tax Updates:

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has added flexibility into the way a company can utilize the available input tax credit. Any company would now be eligible to use credit available against paid integrated GST (IGST) to set off tax liabilities of state GST (SGST) and central GST (CGST) in any proportion and in any order, the GST Council said in a circular sent to field formations on Tuesday. Previously, the order of using the IGST credit was kept flexible — it was the company’s choice to set off CGST or SGST first — in a notification dated March 29. However, it was not clear whether a company would be able to use IGST credit to set off SGST liability and CGST liability partially at the same time. It was construed that if a company chooses to set off SGST liability first, it would have to exhaust the entire SGST liability before using the IGST credit to set off CGST liability.

RBI Updates:

• The beginning of the financial year 2019-20 saw a bit of rising inflationary pressures, but the rate of price rise was still below the average of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) mandate of 2-6 per cent.
• Experts are divided whether the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the RBI will cut the policy rate in June. The retail price inflation rose to a six-month high of 2.92 per cent in April, pushed up by costlier food items. However, food inflation was still 1.1 per cent in the month against 0.3 per cent in the previous month. It was in March that food inflation broke the five-month trend of deflation. This may augur well for farmers who faced rural distress.
• Inflation in urban areas rose to 4.64 per cent in April from 3.47 per cent in the previous month, which may not go down well with the middle class, if the trend persists. Much of the inflation in food items is generally attributed to the government’s recent move to give higher minimum support price (MSP) to farmers.

Other Updates:

• Disclose exposure to IL&FS, RBI tells banks
• Customer plaints against banks surge 25% in FY18
• RBI sells entire stake in NHB, Nabard to govt
• FinMin may raise cap on 59-minute loans to Rs 3-5 cr
• CBI’s Look Out Circulars against Bhushan steel boss
• SFIO quizzes Deloitte ex-CEO over alleged audit lapses in books of IL&FS
• No change in Bharti Infratel’s Q4 net amid merger with Indus Towers
• ONGC arm delays plan to invest in Iran gas field after US sanctions
• Jalan panel on RBI’s capital size to submit report by June
• Approach SBI, Jet tells UK entrepreneur who evinced interest in buying the airline
• Data on jobs, GDP being analysed with a new set of proxies: CEA
• Govt procures 55.17 lakh tons of wheat so far this year
• Forensic auditors indicate IGIDR used data shared by MCX to develop an ‘algo-trading strategy’
• VRS package may save Rs 1,080 cr in annual salary tab: MTNL chief
• Voda Idea rights issue receives bids for 1109 crore shares: NSE data
• Nasdaq hits record, S&P nears all-time high on upbeat earnings
• Delhi HC allows Alembic, Natco to export Bayer drug for specific purposes
• SBI gets board approval to raise up to $2.5 billion in bonds.
• RBI deputy governor B P Kanungo bats for capital account liberalization.
• Maruti signals tough road, gives weakest growth forecast in the past 5 yrs.
• Major lapses in Deloitte audit of IL&FS Financial Services, says SFIO.
• Insolvency process: NCLT asks bank officials to appear in Sterling SEZ.
• Ruchi Soya case: Lenders to meet on Friday to consider Patanjali’s offer.
• US official insists on zero oil imports from Iran.
• ‘High fuel prices may have led to a slowdown in auto sales’.
• India sets a record foodgrains target of 291 million tonnes.
• Wendt India’s PAT up 10% in FY19.
• Hind Copper approves raising up to Rs 1,400 cr through QIP.
• Glenmark gets nod to market nasal spray as OTC product in Russia.
• Microsoft edges toward $1 trillion valuation on results beat.

Key Due Dates:

• GSTR-3B for the month of April 2019 is 20th May 2019.