The Government of Maharashtra presented the state budget on 11 March 2022. Amongst other proposals the Government of Maharashtra proposes to introduce another amnesty scheme to be called, “Maharashtra Settlement of Arrears of Tax, Interest, Penalty or Late Fee Scheme-2022”.
On 23 February 2022, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) released its ‘Guidelines for advertising of Virtual Digital Assets and linked services’ (Guidelines) to ensure that advertisements pertaining to ‘crypto products’ or Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are not misleading and that consumers who deal in Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) are fully aware of the risks involved. The Guidelines would be applicable to all advertisements released or published on or after 1 April 2022.
Agreeing with their colleagues of the Madras High Court, the judiciary in Karnataka has come to the rescue of the real money gaming sector – giving this industry some much needed impetus by striking down a recent state law that “banned” online games of skill played for cash. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Krishna S.
In a significant development, the Government of India vide its communication dated 11 February 2022 has informed the senior level tax officers that a secretariat has been set up in New Delhi for providing assistance to the approving panel under the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (IT Act). The communication also mentions that the approving panel under the GAAR provisions has been constituted vide office order no 37/2022 dated 24 January 2022 (Approving Panel).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 10 February 2022, vide A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 22 (2022 VRR Circular) has increased the investment limit under the Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) for investment in debt markets in India.
In a significant development, the apex tax administration body of India, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) vide its Circular No. 3 of 2022 dated 3 February 2022 (Circular) has clarified its position with respect to interpretation of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clauses in tax treaties.
On 25 October 2021, the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India (DoT) issued a landmark amendment (Amendment) to the telecom license conditions. The Amendment ushers in a new dawn for the telecom licensing regime in India by redefining the basis of ‘adjusted gross revenue’ (AGR). AGR has been the basis of computing the license fees payable by a telecom licensee and has been a subject of debate for at least the past couple of decades.
The 45th Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) council meeting was concluded on 17 September 2021. Few major issues that were deliberated upon inter alia, inclusion of Petroleum within the ambit of GST, compensation cess, COVID-19 related relief measures and change in rate of tax on multiple goods and services. The council has also suggested a series of steps with a view of streamlining compliance procedures under GST regime. This ERGO intends to summarise some of the key proposals made by the GST council.
The Union Cabinet, after much ado, has announced a slew of major reforms in the telecom sector on 15 September 2021. The reforms are set to address some long pending key issues affecting the telecom industry such as moratorium on payment dues, rationalizing the license fees and bank guarantees, spectrum auctions, increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) limit, etc. With the objective of promoting ease of doing business in this sector, these reforms aim to inter alia infuse liquidity, encourage investment and reduce the regulatory burdens on telecom service providers (TSP).
The Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) is traditionally laid out for a period of five years. The current FTP of 2015-2020 was extended till September 2021 on account of Covid-19 pandemic.
