สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 18 พฤศจิกายน 2556

Import Duty triggers rise in crime

As the 10 per cent import duty on gold spurs unprecedented smuggling and authorities crack the whip, smugglers are skipping the traditional airport route and tapping into fake currency networks across the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Nepal border to push in the yellow metal. Investigations and seizures by financial intelligence agencies in the recent past have revealed that smugglers are now flying consignments of gold to Bangladesh and Nepal and then using couriers to carry them across the border. In the past few months, over 50kg of gold worth more than Rs 150,000,000 has been smuggled across the Indo-Bangladesh border alone. Sources in Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said Nepal too has come up on the radar with some recent seizures on the border. Sources said this was only a fraction of what was being smuggled through these borders. Increase in import duty on gold to 10 per cent has created a gap in prices with places such as Dubai and Thailand, where duty is only 1 per cent. This year (up to October), close to 800 kg of smuggled gold has been seized. This is more than double of last year's haul of 350 kg. Revenue intelligence sources said the increase in seizures was also due to customs authorities keeping a strict vigil on airports. Sources said gold was bought in places like Dubai and Thailand and flown to Dhaka or Kathmandu, where authorities are not as vigilant. The consignment is then brought to the border and stored in safe houses.

(Source: Economic Times)

Centre, states for unified GST authority to ease burden on traders and companies

The Centre and state governments are considering a single authority to administer the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) to avoid traders and businesses from being subjected to control at both central and state levels with regard to the same transaction. The proposed authority may be modelled on the Canada Revenue Agency and the Australian Taxation Office that administer GST in their countries. To ease compliance burden for taxpayers, the Centre also wants the GST administration to be entirely based on self-assessment by taxpayers without state scrutiny. It reckons that businesses at successive points in a product's entire value chain claiming input tax credit will ensue that all businesses would file the correct return and pay due taxes. These plans are part of a indirect tax administration rejig at both the levels necessary to implement GST that would replace central taxes -- excise and customs taxes (except basic customs duty) and service tax -- and state and local levies, including the Value Added Tax (VAT).

(Source: Financial Express)

Ministries differ over gold imports

The two government ministries of finance and communications and IT have taken diametrically opposite positions on one of the most controversial import items for the country-gold. In August, the finance ministry had banned banks from selling gold coins, which are mostly imported into India, in order to contain the country's burgeoning current account deficit (CAD). But on November 6, the department of posts, which is under the ministry of communications and IT, floated a tender for the supply of gold coins, which is to be sold to the department for onward selling through post offices. The tender closes on November 27, according to the central government's Central Public Procurement Portal. On October 22, finance minister P Chidambaram had said that the ban on the import of gold coins and medallions would continue. He had also said that banks were directed to follow the ban strictly.

(Source: Economic Times)

India eyeing economic corridor with Mekong

As part of India’s Look-East Policy and its economic integration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the government is promoting India-Mekong economic cooperation. Both sides are also planning a Mekong-India economic corridor, which will form an integral part of India-Asean connectivity. For long, India has been promoting the Mekong-Ganga cooperation initiative, which includes India, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Initially, this was part of the Bay of Bengal initiative for multisectoral, technical and economic cooperation. India is preparing to sign the much-awaited free trade agreement on services and investment with Asean in December. This would pave the way to an India-Asean comprehensive economic partnership agreement. The Mekong-India economic corridor will be a network of land and sea infrastructure. Currently, the proposal is being studied by the Ministry of External Affairs. The corridor envisages the linking of vibrant emerging economies in the Asean region with India. Mekong-India connectivity is currently being addressed as part of the Asian Highway Network and Trans-Asian Railways being promoted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

(Source: Business Standard)

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