The post India-Australia strengthens with economic cooperation & new Free Trade Agreement first appeared on Corp India News.
]]>As per the agreement, the Australian capital of Canberra would provide duty-free access to 95 per cent of Indian goods such as textiles, leather, sports products and jewellery in its markets.
In a virtual ceremony, the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was signed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “We’ve cordial relations with Australia. They’ve raw material while we produce finished goods, both the countries complement each other. Their raw material helps in manufacturing goods in India while they get affordable and quality products from us.”
PM Modi shared a video with the caption, “Strengthening India-Australia economic and trade relations.” on Twitter.
Commenting on the new development under Indo-Australian relations, Prime Minister Modi said,” This is truly a watershed moment for India-Australia relations.”
The Australian PM Scott Morrison added that the pact would further deepen Australia’s close ties with India.
Australia is offering zero duty access to India for about 96.4 per cent of exports (by value) from day one. It covers many products which currently attract 4-5 per cent customs duty in Australia.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the agreement would take the bilateral trade between countries from $27 billion to $45-50 billion in the next five years.
He tweeted, “A historic day for India-Australia ties. We are grateful to our leaders, PM Narendra Modiji and PM Scott Morrison for their constant guidance & motivation. The #IndAusECTA will open a plethora of opportunities in goods & services for both the nations.”
A historic day for India-Australia ties.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 2, 2022
We are grateful to our leaders, PM @NarendraModi ji and PM @ScottMorrisonMP for their constant guidance & motivation.
The #IndAusECTA will open a plethora of opportunities in goods & services for both the nations. pic.twitter.com/KBo7vK0bbq
What does the deal mean for India?
About 96.4 per cent of exports (by value) that currently attract 4-5 per cent customs duty will have zero duty access in the Australian Markets.
Labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and apparel, few agricultural and fish products, leather, footwear, jewellery, machinery, electrical goods, furniture, sports goods, and railway wagons would grow.
India-Australia Bilateral Trade:
Australia is India’s 17th largest trading partner, while New Delhi is Canberra’s 9th largest partner.
In 2021, Bilateral trade in goods and services between both countries stood at USD 27.5 billion. India’s goods exports were worth USD 6.9 billion, and imports aggregated to USD 15.1 billion in 2021.
Major exports by India to Australia include petroleum products, textiles and apparel, engineering goods, leather, chemicals, gems, and jewellery, while imports mainly include raw materials, coal, minerals and intermediate goods.
The post India-Australia strengthens with economic cooperation & new Free Trade Agreement first appeared on Corp India News.
]]>The post CCEA amends Mega Power Policy 2009 for power projects first appeared on Corp India News.
]]>The Committee came to this decision as the time concession for furnishing the final mega certificate will enable developers to competitively bid for future PPAs and get tax exemptions as per Policy terms. Hence, the increased liquidity will boost the country’s overall growth and ensure the revival of various stressed power assets.
The Committee also extended the duration to provide the final Mega Certificates for the ten commissioned/ partly commissioned Provisional Mega projects from 120 months to 156 months from the date of import.
During this extended period, bids for firm power (combination of intermittent renewable energy, storage and conventional power) will be invited in co-ordination with Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) and these Mega projects will be expected to participate in such bids to secure PPAs.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power will work on developing an alternative based on present electricity markets to assure that its benefits are passed on to consumers in a competitive manner.
About Mega Power Projects
Ultra Mega Power Projects are a series of ambitious power stations planned by the Government of India. The government had aimed to create an additional capacity of at least 100,000 MW by 2022.
The Ministry had earlier stated that the projects with the capacity of 1000 MW and more and catering power to more than one state should be considered Mega Projects.
The post CCEA amends Mega Power Policy 2009 for power projects first appeared on Corp India News.
]]>The post Crypto Transactions may attract GST for Indian and foreign Exchanges first appeared on Corp India News.
]]>As per the report, the tax department is currently scrutinising how exchanges that allow trading in India manage their cryptocurrency float and whether there is any element or any transaction where GST could apply.
Why is the government eager to levy tax on exchanges?
Only the big crypto exchanges in India have actual cryptocurrencies on their books. In contrast, most others buy from foreign entities that primarily hold a large chunk of cryptocurrencies.
Hence, such crypto exchanges that depend on foreign entities get these digital assets transferred to their accounts before offering them to traders and investors.
Some other exchanges tend to match trades between buyer and seller, while either the buyer or seller is based outside of India.
Lastly, many crypto exchanges that fall short of assets exchange crypto assets individually and record such transactions as transfers.
Therefore, the tax department is considering putting such transactions under GST.
“Various exchanges have different mechanisms to procure cryptocurrencies that are traded in India. So the government could look to define all the transactions even involving exchanges that could attract GST,” said Gaurav Mehta, founder of Catax, a cryptocurrency tax consultancy firm.
In a similar pattern, in 2017, the government had investigated top executives and promotors of crypto exchanges on their business model. The authorities wanted to understand how to tax the revenues from the exchanges.
This development also comes when there is regulatory ambiguity around cryptocurrency. The government had levied a 30 per cent tax on gains from selling cryptocurrencies and one per cent TDS on every transaction.
Hence, the government has been scrutinising whether to regulate these digital currencies and develop a regulatory framework over the past years.
The post Crypto Transactions may attract GST for Indian and foreign Exchanges first appeared on Corp India News.
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