Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 01,02 and 03 February 2020

1. Earnings of NRIs outside India not to be taxed by government

• The government will only tax earnings of NRIs that are generated in India, such as rental income from property in India.
• Budget 2020-21 has also proposed lowering of the number of days for an NRI to be considered as resident of India to impose tax from current 182 or more days to 120 or more days.
• This proposal needs an amendment to section 6 of the Income Tax Act 1961 and remittances to make up 15 % of GDP of India.

2. WeWork to appoint Sandeep Mathrani as its CEO

• WeWork will appoint Sandeep Mathrani as its CEO from 18 February.
• He is currently senior executive at Brookfield Properties, a real estate company.
• Sandeep Mathrani will take the place of current co-chief executives, Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham.
• WeWork is an American commercial real estate company. It works to provide shared offices. It is currently going through financial problems.

3. Extension of MSMEs loan restructuring scheme proposed

• In Budget 2020-21, the government has proposed the extension of loan restructuring scheme for MSMEs till March 31, 2021.
• The scheme was started on January 1, 2019, and was to continue till March 31, 2020.
• The MSMEs having an account in default and classified as standard assets are eligible for loan restructuring under the scheme.
• MSMEs that are not exempted from GST registration should also have GST registration for becoming eligible under the scheme.
• Rs 350 crore have also been allocated under the interest subvention scheme. The scheme was launched in November 2018. All GST registered MSMEs are given 2 % interest subvention.
• The government will also develop a payment platform for MSMEs. The platform will help them in filing bills and payments.

4. Fifteen percent concessional corporate tax rate to new power producers

• Finance Minister has said that the government will provide 15% concessional corporate tax rate to new power producers.
• Only power producers who will start to produce electricity by March 31, 2023, will get concessional tax rate under Taxation Law Amendment Act, 2019.
• Currently, the concessional corporate tax rate is provided to manufacturing companies formed on or after October 1, 2019.
• In Budget 2020-21, the government has allocated Rs 22,000 crore to the power and renewable energy sector.

5. Fine on Input Tax Credit through fake invoices

• The government may put fine on claiming Input Tax Credit through fake invoicing from 1^st April.
• The penalty will be imposed on all persons involved in issuing fake invoices, and the amount of penalty will be similar to aggregate amount of false entries or omitted transactions from the accounts books.
• Along with penalty, the government may bring one monthly return in place of GSTR 3 B and GSTR-1, use e-way bills, artificial intelligence and data analytics for matching Input Tax Credit with GST returns.
• Some experts say that penalties may lead to harassment of taxpayers by authorities, known as tax terrorism.

6. Separation of NPS Trust from PFRDA

• In Budget 2020-21, the Finance Minister has announced that government will take steps to separate National Pension System (NPS) Trust from Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
• This will be done through amendments in the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Act.
• NPS Trust was set up in February 2008 by PFRDA. It works to protect the interest of subscribers of NPS.
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) was established in October 2003. It regulates NPS.
• The government had launched National Pension System (NPS) on 1^st January 2004.
• In February 2009, NPS was made available to all citizens and unorganized sector workers were included in it.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. As per Budget 2020-21, number of days for an NRI to be considered as resident of India for the purpose of imposing tax will be lowered from current 182 or more days to

1. 120 or more days
2. 130 or more days
3. 140 or more days
4. 150 or more days
5. 160 or more days

2. Who will be appointed as CEO of WeWork, an American commercial real estate company that is currently facing financial problems?

1. Artie Minson
2. Sebastian Gunningham
3. Sandeep Mathrani
4. Adam Neumann
5. Miguel McKelvey

3. Government has proposed the extension of loan restructuring scheme for MSMEs by

1. 1 year
2. 2 year
3. 3 year
4. 4 year
5. 5 year

4. In Budget 2020-21, the government has proposed to provide 15% concessional corporate tax rate to new power producers who will start producing electricity on or after

1. March 31, 2020
2. March 31, 2021
3. March 31, 2022
4. March 31, 2023
5. March 31, 2024

5. Which of the following is proposed date for imposing fine on use of fake invoicing to claim Input Tax Credit?

1. 1st April, 2019
2. 1st April, 2020
3. 1st April, 2021
4. 1st April, 2022
5. 1st April, 2023

6. Government has recently proposed separation of NPS Trust from PFRDA. NPS Trust was set up by PFRDA in

1. 2008
2. 2010
3. 2013
4. 2015
5. 2017

Correct Answers:

1. A
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. B
6. A