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SEBI gets more teeth to check frauds, money-pooling schemes
M’rashtra offers sops on VAT, bags auto projects worth
Rs 11,500 crore
HC quashes PNB notice against Kingfisher
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Minimum pension of Rs
1,000 to be a reality from Sept 1
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SEBI gets more teeth to check frauds, money-pooling schemes
New Delhi, August 28 The Securities Laws Amendment Act, which was cleared by Parliament earlier this month and amends all legislations governing capital markets, would also facilitate setting up of a special SEBI court to fast-track the investigation and prosecution process, including by granting approval for search and seizure operations in suspected cases of frauds. The Act, which has come into force through a gazette notification dated August 25, is part of the government and regulators' efforts to tighten the noose around fraudsters in the wake of several cases of illicit money-pooling activities including by ponzi operators in various parts of the country. The new Act has as many as 57 clauses to amend various sections of the SEBI Act and two other related legislations. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 6 and in the Rajya Sabha on August 12. The notification comes more than one year after the first ordinance was promulgated in July 2013 to grant these additional powers to SEBI. The ordinance was promulgated for the second time in September last year, followed by a third ordinance in January, as a Bill could not be passed in Parliament at that time to grant permanent powers to SEBI. With the new powers, SEBI can now act against all illegal money-pooling schemes involving Rs 100 crore or more, launch recovery proceedings, pass disgorgement orders for ill-gotten money and facilitate its return to identifiable investors, among others. The market watchdog would have powers to seek call data records and other information from any person, company, bank, authority or organisation during its probes. However, these powers do not include authority to tap phones and other electronic data directly. Under the amended law, there is a dilution from the direct powers granted to SEBI chairman through as many as three ordinances in the past one year to authorise search and seizure operations and is being seen as a safeguard against any possible misuse of such powers by the regulator. Now, SEBI would need to take permission from the special court for search and seizure operations. — PTI Tightening the noose
* Now, SEBI can pass orders for attachment of properties, arrest of defaulters and to access call data records *
The new law would also facilitate setting up of a special SEBI court to fast-track the investigation and prosecution process *
With the new powers, SEBI can act against all illegal money-pooling schemes involving Rs 100 crore or more, launch recovery proceedings, pass disgorgement orders for ill-gotten money and facilitate its return to investors.
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M’rashtra offers sops on VAT, bags auto projects worth
Rs 11,500 crore
Mumbai, August 28 Under the new policy, which came into effect today, auto projects worth more than Rs 1,500 crore would be granted the special category of ultra mega project. These projects would be eligible for concessions in VAT under which the set-off claim will be on gross sales basis instead of net sales basis. The new ultra mega project category was put into motion after Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s trade show in Mumbai last year got the attention of top industrialists in Maharashtra. State government officials say, even Madhya Pradesh was offering additional incentives to auto industries based in Maharashtra in order to get them to invest in that state. According to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the state government so far had only mega project categories for investments above Rs 500 crore. MIDC officials say, the ultra mega project category aimed to bring in large scale projects in the state. Automobile companies have been demanding this concession from Maharashtra as a condition for staying on and expanding operations in the state. After granting this facility, Maharashtra today signed memoranda of understanding with major companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Volkswagen and Bajaj Auto to bring in investments worth Rs 11,500 crore. While Tata Motors and Mahindras will invest Rs 4,000 crore each, VW has announced expansion of facilities worth Rs 1500 crore. All these projects will be at Chakan near Pune. Bajaj Auto will spend Rs 2,000 crore at its Aurangabad facilities. According to sources, all major auto companies were in touch with the Punjab Government to set up projects in that state. Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal had met several top executives from top auto firms during a trade show last year. However, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan asked these companies to pause a while before moving elsewhere while Maharashtra tweaked the VAT policy to draw really big-ticket investments in the state. New policy
* Under the new policy, which came into effect on Thursday, auto projects worth more than Rs 1,500 crore would be granted the special category of ultra mega project *
These projects would be eligible for concessions in VAT under which the set-off claim will be on gross sales basis instead of net sales basis *
While Tata Motors and M&M will invest Rs 4,000 crore each, Volkswagen has announced expansion of facilities worth Rs 1,500 crore *
Bajaj Auto will spend Rs 2,000 crore at its Aurangabad facility |
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HC quashes PNB notice against Kingfisher
New Delhi, August 28 Justice Vibhu Bakhru asked PNB to first give the documents, relied upon by the bank to issue the notice, within a week and granted two weeks’ time to the airlines for filing its response thereafter. The HC also rejected the bank’s reasons for not allowing the company to have a lawyer for putting forth its views in the proceedings initiated by PNB to decide if the airline was a wilful defaulter. Kingfisher could now have two advocates to argue its case before the committee that would hold the proceedings on September 22, it said. It asked the committee to conclude the proceedings within six hours as the bank expressed the apprehension that the airline was trying to delay the case. PNB had initiated the proceedings on the directive of RBI to public sector banks on July 1, 2013 for dealing with bad debts, known as non-performing assets. |
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Minimum pension of Rs 1,000 to be a reality from Sept 1
New Delhi, August 28 It will benefit 28 lakh pensioners who get less than this amount at present. The move to enhance the minimum wage ceiling for becoming a subscriber of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation to Rs 15,000 per month is expected to bring 50 lakh additional formal sector workers under the ambit of the body. “The government has notified enhancement of wage ceiling to Rs 15,000 per month, fixed minimum monthly pension at Rs 1,000 under EPS-95 and enhanced the maximum sum assured under the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme to Rs 3 lakh,” EPFO’s Central Provident Fund Commission KK Jalan said. — PTI 28 lakh to benefit
* The govt’s decision to fix pension entitlement of Rs 1,000 under the Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 will benefit 28 lakh pensioners who get less than this amount at present *
In case an EPFO subscriber dies, his family will be entitled to maximum sum assured of Rs 3.6 lakh instead of existing Rs 1.56 lakh |
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