Higher tax for tobacco: Centre mulls new bill for Parliament’s winter session; compensation cess stays for now

The central government is likely to propose legislation during Parliament’s winter session to implement a tax on tobacco and related products, potentially replacing the existing GST compensation cess levied on these items.The present compensation cess, applied alongside the 28% GST, is expected to remain for a minimum of three months, allowing the government to complete…

Read More

Rupee slips to a fresh low of 88.27 against $

MUMBAI: The rupee bucked the trend among Asian peers on Friday, slipping to a record low even as most emerging market currencies strengthened against the dollar. It closed at 88.27 after touching an intra-day low of 88.36, weaker than Thursday’s close of 88.15.The fall came amid concerns over US tariffs, while intervention by Reserve Bank…

Read More

UPI limits hiked to Rs 5 lakh for major categories

MUMBAI: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has raised transaction ceilings on the UPI for use in capital market and other merchant categories, widening the platform’s usage from small-value transfers to higher-value commerce.Peer-to-peer transfers remain capped at Rs 1 lakh, but payments to merchants now carry far higher limits. For capital markets, insurers, government…

Read More

GST relief for gems sector: Small diamond imports exempted from IGST; jewellery box tax cut to 5%

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Friday said that recent GST reforms have delivered significant relief to the diamonds and jewellery sector, easing costs for both exporters and consumers.The government’s move to exempt imports of natural cut and polished diamonds up to 25 cents under the Diamond Imprest Authorisation Scheme (DIAS) from…

Read More