New Delhi, August 4
Market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India indicated on Saturday that listed companies would not be provided additional time to comply with minimum public shareholding norms, whose deadline is expiring in August next year.

SEBI first talked about minimum public float for listed companies in 2001.

"It’s a completely wrong assumption and arguments that the three-year period given is too short a time frame," SEBI chairman U.K. Sinha said here. He pointed out the timeframe had "already crossed 11 years, definitely 6 years". "What have we done? I don't think it’s anybody's case that the markets weren’t good in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010."

Based on July valuations, Sinha said, listed companies would have to sell shares worth Rs 32,000 crore to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms. Of the total, public sector companies' share would be about Rs 11,000 crore, while the rest would be from private entities.

In late 2010, SEBI came out with norms saying government firms should have a minimum public shareholding of 10 per cent and the private companies 25 per cent. These guidelines were to be complied within three years. While the private firms had to meet the norms by June 2013, for public sector undertakings the deadline is August 2013.

Asked whether the regulator would impose penalty for non-compliance, Sinha said provisions are already in place if the company violates SEBI norms.

"...I would like to clarify that violation of listing agreement or violation of the Securities Contract Regulation Rules, the consequences of that is already provided in various sections," he said.

As on March this year, 193 firms were noncompliant with minimum public shareholding norms while 125 private entities had less than 20% public shareholding, Sinha said, noting 1,259 firms did not submit their shareholding pattern as on March 2012.

"We’ve been receiving many representations. We’ve been telling them to follow the SEBI norms in letter and spirit”, Sinha stated. — PTI

New Delhi, August 4
Cellular operators are far from pleased with the government’s decision on Friday to peg the 2G spectrum auction base price at Rs 14,000 crore, which they feel does not auger well for the telecom industry.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), a body of GSM cellular operators including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, said mobile tariffs may go up by 30 paise per minute. It added the decision affords no tangible relief to the problem of tariffs and affordability, industry health or national development.

“The decision on the reserve price for auction of 1800 MHz spectrum being set at Rs 14,000 crore for 5 MHz does not present a viable business model for the industry and will gravely impact its sustainability and future expansion plans”, COAI said.

It added: “The reserve price is unreasonable and still very high and will adversely impact the business viability of the operators. It will pose a formidable impediment towards raising funds from banks for expansion of services, adding to the already existing funding woes of the sector. Moreover, it will lead to increased tariffs, thereby hurting the government’s ambitious targets of affordability rural penetration”.

COAI also said the cabinet’s decision on continuing the slabwise system for spectrum usage was “unfair” and would lead to continuation of the “non-level playing field” within the industry.

“COAI would again like to highlight that for dual spectrum cellular operators are paying separate spectrum charges for 800 MHz and 1800 MHz, despite the TRAI recommendations in 2007, thereby enjoying a lower charge and causing significant losses to the exchequer”, the association stated.

Q: An employee has taken a housing loan from his employer i.e. he has pledged his property for which he has taken the loan and is claiming tax rebate as per the Income Tax Act on loan interest and principal. At the same time he also says he has taken out another housing loan for the same property from a cooperative bank and wants the tax rebate on this loan also. Further, he declares he is living in a rented house at his place of posting, for which he also wants HRA rebate. Can this employee claim all these three benefits at the same time?
— Jatin

A: There is no restriction on the number of housing loans that one can secure. The limit of Rs 150,000 will apply to all the loans taken together, which is applicable only on interest related with a self-occupied house. If a tax assessee has two or more residential houses, only one of these of his choice shall be treated as self-occupied. Others will be considered as deemed let out. In the case of interest related with a let out (or deemed let out) house and commercial property the entire interest is tax deductible.

Deduction under Sec. 80C of the IT Act is allowed only if the loan is taken from some certain specified sources. It is assumed the employer belongs to this category. There is no such restriction on interest on housing loans. Exemption under Sec. 10(13A) of the IT Act dealing with HRA is independent of deduction u/s 24 dealing with interest on housing loan. The assessee can claim all the concessions simultaneously.

Q: I emigrated to the United States in 2002 and got American citizenship as well as Overseas Citizenship of India. I am operating a PPF account in India since 2001. What is the right course of action? What kind of obligation will come if I have operated without knowing so long?
— Krishnakumar

A: You should have given the exact date when you opened the account in 2001. Luckily, you are within the time limit to operate it so far. You can continue to contribute to the PPF account till its maturity. If you have opened the account in FY 2001 it will mature on April 1, 2016. After the end of its tenure (i.e., on maturity), you are not allowed to continue the account and will have to close it. 

New Delhi, August 4
The government said Saturday it expects to come out with first public offer as part of Rs 30,000 crore disinvestment programme next month.

"I think you can look at those situations, if not early, certainly in September...I think that’s the best case," disinvestment secretary Haleem Khan said, replying to a query on when the first issue would come out in the view of the current market conditions.

He, however, did not specify on the first public sector firm to go for disinvestment.

Last month the government deferred Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd’s Rs 2,500 crore IPO, originally proposed for July, in view of the weak market conditions.

Asked whether the divestment target of Rs 30,000 crore for the current fiscal would be met, Khan said: "I’m as confident as I was on April 1. So, there’s no problem about the target. The process has to go through and is taking a little while," he said on the sidelines of a PHDCCI event here.

In FY12 the government missed the disinvestment target, managing to raise only about Rs 14,000 crore against the Rs 40,000 cr target. — PTI