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About 1,800 businesses have migrated to GST regime availing the latest migration window. The number could go up as the state tax officers are still compiling data,” an official said.
About 1,800 businesses that were registered under the earlier VAT and service tax regime have applied for migrating to the GST regime. The GST Council, in its meeting in July, had allowed businesses with provisional GST ID to migrate to the new GST regime.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had then asked these taxpayers to approach the jurisdictional nodal officer of the Central or state government on or before the August 31, 2018, along with provisional ID, registration number under the earlier law, reason for not migrating in the system, along with the contact details.
“About 1,800 businesses have migrated to GST regime availing the latest migration window. The number could go up as the state tax officers are still compiling data,” an official said.
Currently, over 1.15 crore businesses are registered under the GST regime, of which 63.76 lakh have migrated from the erstwhile service tax and VAT regime, and over 51 lakh are new registrants.
The migration window since November 2016 and closed after roll out of GST on July, 2017. Many taxpayers would have migrated when the window was open initially before GST roll-out. Hence the turnout for migration would have been less this time,” the official added.
The process of migration of existing assessees to the GSTN had started in a phased manner from November 2016.
Once a business migrates to GST regime, it is given a provisional ID. After that, in the second stage, the business has to log in to the GSTN portal and give details of its business, such as the main place of business, additional place of business, directors and bank account details.
Thereafter, the business has to verify its registration through digital signature, or by generating an electronic verification code (EVC). Many businesses, who were earlier registered with excise, service tax, VAT regime, had not completed the second stage of migration process.
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BSE is planning to soon launch cotton futures contract. This will benefit the entire cotton sector in the country.
Cotton Association of India on Monday said it will sign an agreement with the BSE to develop the futures trading platform for cotton.
To jointly develop a vibrant and user-friendly cotton exchange to cater to the hedging needs of the entire cotton value chain in India, both the BSE and the CAI have decided to sign an Memorandum of understanding (MoU), which will be effective for the next five years, said a release.
BSE is planning to soon launch cotton futures contract. This will benefit the entire cotton sector in the country.
Pakistan has put off the signing of a revised free trade agreement with China at the last moment due to strong reservations about the final offer list shared by Beijing, said Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal on Thursday.
“The agreement was almost ready for signing when we conveyed our reservations to the prime minister about the final list of concessions that Beijing shared at 11pm,” said the deputy finance minister.
He was briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance on the status of negotiations on second phase of the free trade agreement (FTA) with China.
The committee expressed concern over what it said was the secret nature of FTA-II talks. Over the past few weeks, the Chinese ambassador has held meetings with the commerce secretary and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in order to push the deal.
It was almost a mature agreement and was about to be signed by both countries, Afzal said, revealing the decision to delay the endorsement was taken after the business community of Faisalabad – Pakistan’s textile hub – voiced serious reservations about the Chinese final offer list.
Both countries have so far held 10 rounds of negotiations for finalisation of the FTA-II. However, the industry and Federal Board of Revenue put up fierce resistance after the commerce ministry revealed in an internal meeting that Pakistan would offer zero duties on 75% of imported tariff lines.
Under first phase of the FTA, Pakistan gave duty concessions on 35% of tariff lines, which led to a huge influx of Chinese goods and many local industries could not survive.
Under the second phase, China was seeking certain concessions which the Pakistan industry was not ready to give, said Afzal.
“Bureaucracy thinks that it knows all, but this approach has put the country’s economic future at stake,” said Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance.
He regretted that the commerce ministry did not take all the stakeholders into confidence before offering huge concessions to Beijing. Trade with China was already one-sided and if further concessions were given, no industry would survive in Pakistan, he warned.
Trade volume between China and Pakistan, which stood at $4 billion a year before the FTA signing in 2008, peaked to $15.6 billion in 2016-17. Pakistan’s exports to China were only $1.5 billion in the last fiscal year while imports amounted to $14 billion, according to Chinese statistics.
It was a wrong perception that the commerce ministry did not take the stakeholders into confidence as it had held meetings with 85 associations, claimed Javed Akbar, Additional Commerce Secretary.
He revealed that 40% of imports from China were not entitled for duty concessions and most of the imports comprised either capital goods or raw material. However, committee members did not accept the ministry’s explanation.
Akbar revealed that the 11th round of talks with China would now be held only after taking into confidence all the stakeholders on China’s final offer.
The commerce ministry did not hold meaningful consultations with parliament before holding talks with China, said Asad Umar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
He underlined the need for a review of the trade figures to determine how much of imports from China was the outcome of change in destination from Europe and the west to China.
Umar said free trade agreements should not be constructed on theory rather they must be based on ground realities. “The ground reality is that Pakistan’s industry is not competitive.”
“FTA-II is being finalised in haste as it serves vested interests of a few people,” remarked Qaiser Sheikh.
A joint meeting of the National Assembly standing committees on finance and commerce will now be held to finalise parliament’s response to the FTA-II.
There is apprehension that Beijing’s push for further trade liberalisation under second phase of the FTA may dampen prospects of Chinese investment in prioritised special economic zones being set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It would be convenient and cheaper for Chinese companies to manufacture in China and supply products to Pakistan at zero duties, which would render the SEZs useless.
According to the central bank, Ghana’s oil production leapt to nearly 60 million barrels in 2017, resulting in export revenues 124 per cent above the previous year
Ghana could have one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in 2018, according to institutions such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Brookings Institution.
Financial authorities have also concluded that Ghana’s 2018 growth, projected at 8.6 per cent, might outpace that of tech-led India and also Ethiopia, which since 2008 has been one of Africa’s most successful economies, thanks to improved agricultural production and substantial coffee exports. According to an IMF expert, only tiny Bhutan and post-civil war Libya are expected to see a higher rate of growth.
Last January, Bloomberg reported that Ghana’s benchmark stock index achieved the world’s highest rate of growth, an astonishing 19 per cent.
As oil prices have increased, the nation has also boosted its production, helped by two new major offshore oilfields over the past two years. According to the central bank, Ghana’s oil production leapt to nearly 60 million barrels in 2017, resulting in export revenues 124 per cent above the previous year.
Ghana enjoys an enviable location on the Atlantic Ocean, bordering Togo, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Its population of just under 30 million has seen the government strengthen in the past two decades as it flourished under a multi-party system, with the independent judiciary winning a high degree of public trust.
When it comes to freedom of speech and press freedom, Ghana consistently ranks in the top three countries in Africa, with a strong broadcast culture that favours radio, although the internet is fast gaining in popularity.
In the months since he was elected, President Nana Akufo-Addo has made steady progress in fulfilling his election pledges, including setting up a factory in each of the nation’s 216 districts; building one dam for every village and providing free high school education.
Other projects include wide-scale planting that will provide both food and jobs.
Cocoa is Ghana’s other great resource, and farmers are riding on the oil boom with alacrity. Other Ghanaian industries are performing creditably. The country’s industrial base is relatively advanced and import-substitution industries include electronics manufacturing.
RLG Communications was one of the first indigenous African companies to assemble laptops, desktops and mobile phones, and ranks among the largest West African information and communications technology companies.
Ghana’s automotive manufacturing is bolstered by investment from the Indian firm Mahindra while the textile industry is championed by a long-running quartet, namely Akosombo Textiles, Tex Styles Ghana, Printex Ghana and the Ghana Textile Manufacturing Company. Ghana also has an eye on the future of renewable energy, with a number a farsighted projects aimed at lessening its dependence on fossil fuels and taking advantage of Africa’s natural bounty.
The nation was one of the first in the region to initiate the construction of solar plants with the aim of getting 6 per cent of its energy from solar generation. As one of the biggest photovoltaic (PV) and largest solar energy plants in Africa, the Nzema solar power project has the potential to provide electricity to more than 100,000 homes.
Unlike many other solar projects that use concentrated solar power, the solar plant’s PV technology converts sunlight directly into electricity.
The installation of more than 630,000 solar PV modules started in 2013, with the first electricity being generated early in 2014. Similar projects are under consideration in other parts of the country. In a similar vein, the government is capitalising on the potential of wind energy. Ghana has high-wind locations, such as Nkwanta, the Accra Plains, and the Kwahu and Gambaga mountains, and the maximum energy that could be tapped from Ghana’s available wind resource for electricity has been estimated to be about 500-600 GWh/year.
One of the first wind energy projects is due to go into operation next year – the 50MW Ada station, which is being built in the Greater Accra region at a cost of US$120 million. Developed by global energy company Engie together with South Africa’s eleQtra, Ada station will contribute to the Ghanaian government’s objective of generating 10 per cent of its electricity from renewable resources.
The project is also in line with Ghana’s ambition to become a regional power generation hub and export power to its neighbours in the West African Power Pool. Finally, Ghana is aiming to attract investment to its biomass and bio-energy sectors, which should stimulate rural development, create jobs and preserve foreign exchange.
Ghana’s vast arable land mass could be used to cultivate crops and plants that could be converted to solid and liquid bio-fuels, as the development of alternative transport fuels could assist the nation to diversify and secure its future energy supplies. The main opportunities in the sector exist in areas such as transport, storage, distribution, sales, marketing and export.
This year, in terms of size, we have overtaken France. Next year we are likely to overtake Britain. Therefore, we will be the fifth largest [economy],” he said in New Delhi.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said India was expected to surpass Britain next year to become world’s fifth largest economy.
“This year, in terms of size, we have overtaken France. Next year we are likely to overtake Britain. Therefore, we will be the fifth largest [economy],” he said in New Delhi.
Other economies in the world were growing at much lesser rate but India had the potential to be among the top three economies of the world in the next 10-20 years, he said.
In an interview with The Hindu in July last ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.K., Jules Chappell, OBE, managing director, business at London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s economic development agency , said the Indian economy was growing very fast and Britain was making efforts to forge closer relations with India in very practical ways.
https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-to-become-worlds-5th-largest-economy-in-2019-jaitley/article24817343.ece
In a boost for the mega powerloom cluster in Bhiwandi, the textile department has initiated steps for the project. It has demanded 150 acres of land for it.
If the government’s plan materialises, the crumbling and neglected infrastructure in Bhiwandi would be upgraded.
In a boost for the mega powerloom cluster in Bhiwandi, the textile department has initiated steps for the project. It has demanded 150 acres of land for it.
District information officer Aniruddha Ashtaputre said, “The textile department will need at least 150-acre land, with a good connectivity to the upcoming Mumbai Nagpur Samruddhi Corridor, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Delhi Mumbai Freight Corridor to boost business to be set up in the cluster.”
The cluster, claimed the department, will ensure that the Bhiwandi looms do not have to depend on anyone for raw materials and to export finished goods.
Apart from proving employment to locals, the logistic hub will also bring about planned development in Bhiwandi with better roads, education and transport facilities.
The Comprehensive Powerloom Cluster Development Scheme was first proposed by the central government for Bhiwandi in November 2008. The detailed project report was approved in March 2009.
However, the project could not be implemented due to several constraints under the Comprehensive Powerloom Cluster Development Scheme. The idea was refloated last year when textile minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the PowerTex India Schemes in 43 cities through video-conferencing in Bhiwandi.
A meeting with the secretary of the state textile department, Atul Patane, district collector Rajesh Narvekar and other stakeholders was held recently to take the project ahead.
The cluster will have a common facility centre, powerloom processing unit, yarn market, workshop spaces and skill development centres.
Patane said the project should be implemented by making MIDC the special purpose vehicle. “The MIDC authorities will be responsible for coordinating between electricity board, pollution department, municipal corporation and revenue department among others. A special cell to encourage export of textiles from Bhiwandi will be formed under the district collector,” Ashtaputre added.
Former MLA Rashid Tahir Momin said the government should solve the electricity problems. “The loom industry is dependent on power, but the supply is irregular. Many looms are losing business as the issue is continuing for years.”
The Maharashtra government has declared 115 tehsils as ‘cotton growing’ areas in the state, a decision aimed at boosting the textile industry, an official said on Thursday.
This will bring a focused attention on cotton cultivation and issues like the crop’s growth, supply and processing, the government official said.
The state government announced earlier this week that 115 tehsils in 18 districts of Marathwada, North Maharashtra and Vidarbha regions have been identified as cotton growing
Following the identification of tehsils, the state will collect data on how much cotton is produced and locally used by textile units. If less than 50 percent of cotton produced in a tehsil is locally used, the government will promote setting up a textile unit there,” the official said.
“This will benefit farmers, who would get a local buyer for their cotton produce. The cost of transportation will also be less as most of the cotton required by the textile unit would be available locally,” he said.
An average textile mill needs around 4,896 tonnes of cotton per annum to sustain itself. This means a textile mill can be set up in a tehsil where around 9,600 tonne of cotton is produced in a year, the official said.
At present, the state’s textile mills are not located in areas where cotton is grown. In such a situation, traders reap more benefits as farmers are unaware of buyers’ demands, he said.
Traders buy cotton at a lower price but sell it at a higher rate to the mill, the official pointed out.
The cotton growing tehsils have been identified in Aurangabad, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Beed, Buldhana, Amravati, Nagpur, Akola, Yavatmal, Wardha, Chandrapur, Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon and Ahmednagar districts of the state, he added.
It is a tedious job for knitwear industries to fill the complicated forms and forces industrialists to undergo severe pressure every month.
Knitwear industries in the hosiery hub of Tirupur have demand further simplification of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) filing and refund procedures, since the existing system is still a tedious one for small scale units.
Speaking on the issues, general secretary of the South India collar shirts and Inner wear Small scale Manufacturers Association (SISMA), K S Babuji said, “even after repeated representations to the Centre on problems in adapting to the GST system, the knitwear industry is yet to get a solution. Following introduction of GST, industries have to submit three different forms for monthly procurement, sales and net tax.
It is a tedious job for knitwear industries to fill the complicated forms and forces industrialists to undergo severe pressure every month.”
He requested that the three forms be welded into a single and simplified procedure to file tax on time. He also said, “the central government should consider providing such forms in Tamil too. It would be helpful for small scale manufacturers to understand it easily and also to file such forms properly.”
Similarly, garment manufacturers and exporters are still experiencing inordinate delay for getting GST refund due to complex procedures.
M P Muthu Rathinam, president of the Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers Association (TEAMA), said, “though the state government has made a series of efforts to get GST refund for beneficiaries, crediting the refund to the beneficiaries bank account is getting delayed.”
Mr. Muthu Rathinam rued that refund procedures are taking more than 30 days and many exporters have not received refunds even after getting refund orders. He also said, “the Tax department officials in Coimbatore have simplified the procedure without form 49 and also by coordinating with the treasury directly. A similar procedure should be implemented for the garment exporters in Tirupur also, as a solution to the issue.”
U.S. President Donald Trump is prepared to quickly ramp up a trade war with China and has told aides he is ready to impose tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese imports as soon as a public comment period on the plan ends next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
The White House declined comment on the Bloomberg report, which cited six unidentified sources, and deflated markets. The S&P hit session lows, and the U.S. dollar, Chinese yuan and U.S. Treasury yields also fell.
Trump has credited his electoral success to his hard line on trade, which he has argued hurts U.S. workers and favors foreign competitors. Washington is demanding Beijing improve market access and intellectual property protections for U.S. companies, cut industrial subsidies and slash a $375 billion trade gap.
The world’s two largest economies have already applied tariffs to $50 billion of each other’s goods in a tit-for-tat trade war. Talks aimed at easing tensions ended last week without major breakthroughs.
The new proposed 25 percent tariffs would affect consumer products including home building supplies, technology products, bicycles and apparel.
A public comment period on the proposal is set to end on Sept. 6, and Trump plans to impose the tariffs after that deadline, Bloomberg said.
Some sources said Trump had not made his final decision, the Bloomberg report said. Trump administration officials have been divided over how hard to push Beijing. Trump, who has threatened to impose duties on virtually all of the more than $500 billion of Chinese goods exported to the United States each year, told Reuters in an interview earlier this month that resolving the trade war with China would “take time” and that he had “no time frame” for ending it.
The report on Trump’s China stance coincides with U.S. negotiators pushing to hammer out a deal with Canadian counterparts to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Chamber of commerce of nearly 20 states and about 26 from abroad will participate in conclaves during the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January 2019. The move is expected to result in the formation of a consortium of business bodies from across the country, to effectively represent their cases with state and central governments.
Chamber of Commerce from states will participate in a National Conclave while those from abroad will participate in a Global Conclave, being held as a part of MSME Conclave, said Jaimin Vasa, president of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), which is given the task of organizing MSME Conclave by the state government.
“The conclave will try to address three major challenges faced by the MSMEs across the country. These are upgrading the technology as well as bottlenecks in marketing and in getting finance,” Vasa told media persons in the city.
The National Conclave may also result in the formation of a national consortium of all the apex chamber of commerce in respective states. “It will enable the exchange of ideas among businessmen of different states and even sharing of business opportunities,” said Vasa.
The MSME Conclave will showcase capabilities of different sectors of Gujarat and enable businessmen to get orders from within the country and even export orders. It will have Buyer-Seller Meets, B2B meeting, opportunities for vendor development for MSMEs as well as interaction with academia of the premier institutes for higher education in and around Ahmedabad.
GCCI has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with close to 40 business bodies abroad. It has invited all of them for the Global Conclave.
“We have received confirmation from 26 organizations and hope that all the 40-odd bodies will participate in the conclave,” said Vasa. GCCI will also have at least one of its representative in all the delegation by the state government that will conduct roadshows in different states as well as in different countries as a part of Vibrant Gujarat Summit.
A Vibrant Gujarat Shopping Festival is also being planned to showcase the expertise of players in textile as well as gems and jewelry sector.
