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The <keyword id="19994390" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="GST-Council" source="keywords">GST Council</keyword> on Monday is expected to deliberate on a host of issues, including <keyword id="20118944" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="taxation" source="keywords">taxation</keyword> of insurance premiums, GoM's suggestions on rate rationalisation, and a status report on <keyword id="19939772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-gaming" source="keywords">online gaming</keyword>, sources said. Sources said the fitment committee, comprising Centre and state tax officials, will present a report on GST levied on life, health and reinsurance premiums and the revenue implications. The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, will decide on whether to reduce the tax burden on <keyword id="19894985" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-insurance" source="keywords">health insurance</keyword> from the current 18% or exempt certain categories of individuals, like senior citizens. The deliberations will also happen with regard to the goods and services tax (GST) cut on <keyword id="23083492" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="life-insurance-premium" source="keywords">life insurance premium</keyword>. In 2023-24, the Centre and states collected Rs 8,262.94 crore through GST on health <keyword id="22612491" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance-premium" source="keywords">insurance premium</keyword>, while Rs 1,484.36 crore was collected on account of GST on health reinsurance premium. The issue of taxation on insurance premium figured in Parliament discussions with opposition members demanding that health and life insurance premiums be exempt from GST. Even Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari wrote to Sitharaman on the issue. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her reply to discussion on the Finance Bill had said 75% of the GST collected goes to states and opposition members should ask their state finance ministers to bring the proposal at the GST Council. West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya had raised the issue in the meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation last month and the matter was referred to the fitment committee for further data analysis. The GoM had opined against any tinkering of four-tier GST slab of 5, 12, 18, and 28 % for the time being. The panel, however, had asked the fitment committee to look into any scope for rationalisation of rates of goods and services. With regard to online gaming, Centre and state tax officers will present a "status report" before the GST Council. The report would include <keyword id="20053837" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST-revenue" source="keywords">GST revenue</keyword> collection from the online gaming sector before and after October 1, 2023. From October 1, 2023, entry-level bets placed on online gaming platforms and casinos were subject to 28% GST. Prior to that, many online gaming companies were not paying 28% GST, arguing that there were differential tax rates for games of skill and games of chance. The GST Council in its meeting in August 2023 had clarified that online gaming platforms were required to pay 28% tax and subsequently, Central GST law was amended to make the taxation provision clear. Offshore gaming platforms were also mandated to register with GST authorities and pay taxes, failing which the government would block those sites. The council had then decided that the taxation on online gaming sector would be reviewed after six months of its implementation. Sources said the Council would deliberate on the status of taxation on the sector, and any change in tax rates is unlikely. Besides, the Council is likely to be apprised about the ongoing drive against fake registration, the success of the drive and action taken against such entities. The total amount of suspected GST evasion would also be presented before the Council. The drive, from August 16, 2024, to October 15, 2024, is aimed at detecting suspicious/fake GSTINs and to conduct requisite verification and further remedial action to weed out these fake billers. In the first drive between May 16, 2023 to July 15, 2023, against fake registration, 21,791 entities (11,392 pertaining to state tax jurisdiction and 10,399 pertaining to CBIC jurisdiction) having GST registration were discovered to be non-existent. An amount of Rs 24,010 crore (state - Rs 8,805 crore + centre - Rs 15,205 crore) of suspected tax evasion was detected during the special drive. Also, the Council would approve notifications, including that of the amnesty scheme, announced in the last council meeting. The council in June meeting took a host of taxpayer-friendly measures, including waiver of interest and penalty for demand notices issued in the first three years of GST -- 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 -- if the full tax demanded is paid by March 31, 2025. To reduce litigation, a monetary limit for tax officers, to file appeals before the GST Appellate Tribunal, the High Court and the Supreme Court was fixed at Rs 20 lakh, Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively, by the Council. It also recommended a reduction of the quantum of pre-deposit required to be paid by taxpayers for filing of appeals under goods and services tax (GST).

GST Council to deliberate on taxation of insurance premium, report on online gaming tomorrow

New Delhi, The central government on Friday will seek the introduction and passage of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and <keyword id="4742340" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="integrated-goods-and-services-tax" source="Orion">Integrated Goods and Services Tax</keyword> (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha. The union cabinet earlier this week had cleared the two bills. The amendment in the <keyword id="4797043" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="central-goods-and-services-tax-act" source="Orion">Central Goods and Services Tax Act</keyword> will allow introduction of a 28 per cent goods and services tax rate on horse racing, online gaming and casinos. Similarly, states too will have to amend their individual GST legislations separately. If the bill is passed in the day, the new tax system will become applicable from October 1, as was decided in the <keyword id="6355040" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gst-council" source="Orion">GST council</keyword> meeting held earlier this month. It was decided in that meeting that 28 per cent levy on online gaming, casinos and horse racing will become applicable from October 1 onwards and will be reviewed for six months, and if need arises, changes could bemade in the tax structure after that. Friday being the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament, <keyword id="25455" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="finance" source="Orion">Finance</keyword> Minister <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> will introduce the two bills and if the House business continues, then it will also seek to get the two bills passed. Considering the fact that the GST council had to meet twice within a month owing to continuous representations from the gaming industry, seeking to ease the 28 per cent tax slab on gaming, the bills are likely to be pushed for passing as the applicability of the new tax slab is October 1. --IANSans/dpb

Centre seeks to amend GST Act to levy 28% tax on online gaming, casinos

Major indices failed to capitalise on Thursday's strong start, post the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, as traders pressed sales on front line shares and investors refused to park fresh funds into equities trading near 16-month highs. 
 
Sentiment was supposed to take a major fillip after last night's overwhelming clearance of the amendment allowing the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in India's business lexicon. The bitterly debated legislation, in works for over a decade, will result in a unified market across the country. However, the market remained as a sell on rallies. 
 
The Nifty rose 3 points at 8,547 in the first half hour of trade, retreating from an opening high of 8,600. Bharti Infratel, Lupin, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank dropped between 1-1.8 percent. They were among 24 shares that dipped on the Nifty. Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, ONGC and Power Grid rose 1.1-2.8 percent and were among 27 stocks that gained ground on the index. 
 
Maruti, Tata Motors, and Bajaj Finance were the top three traded stocks by value. ICICI Bank, Jindal Steel &amp; Power, Ashok Leyland and GATI figured on the list of most active securities on the NSE. 
 
The Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices slipped marginally in trade, down 0.1 percent each. The mood was mostly weak in the sectoral segment will all four banking benchmarks trading in the red. Mild profit booking continued in the FMCG, Realty and the Media sectors as well while modest upticks were seen on pharma stocks, metal shares and auto companies. 
 
The Sensex fell 39 points to 27,658 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange with Maruti, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank being the top traded shares on the index. Sun Pharma, ONGC and NTPC were the top gainers along with Bajaj Auto and Maruti. Stocks that slipped in trade were Cipla, HDFC, Asian Paints and State Bank. 
 
The trend was mostly positive in the wider market with 812 shares rising compared with 588 stocks that fell. The mood was bullish in the derivatives market where 110 futures gained ground versus 61 that dropped lower. 
 
Pricol, Bata India, Kewal Kiran clothing and Welspun India were present on the list of volume buzzers. 
 
Blue Star, Asian Paints, Yes Bank and Dhampur Sugar Mills hit fresh highs in the first half hour of trade on the National Stock Exchange.

GST
fails to bring cheer to the market

The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=GST&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">GST Bill</a> has been passed in the Rajya Sabha and now it will go to the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=gst+council&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">GST council</a> for setting down the <keyword id="6412918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST-rate">GST rate</keyword> in consultations with the states. 
 
The Council will now have to tread carefully after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=arun+jaitley&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,</a> while presenting the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, said the GST rate is likely to be between 18 and 20 per cent, as advised by the chief economic adviser. 
 
As per economists, the GST rate of 18-20 per cent will cause mild <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=inflation&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">inflation</a> and if it is kept higher than 20 per cent, it will lead to high inflation. 
"The more you move away from the standard rate of 20%, the inflationary pressures will rise. Inflationary pressures will depend on how the RNR (revenue-neutral rate, or the rate at which tax revenues will remain the same for Centre and states) is split between standard and low rate," Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank, told ET. 
 
"There will be mild inflation...services would become expensive," DK Joshi, chief economist at ratings agency Crisil, told ET, adding “the inflationary pressures will reduce in the medium term because of efficiency gains. 
 
During the GST debate in the Rajya Sabha, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said if the service tax rate is increased to 23-24%, it will lead to huge inflation and will lead to a backlash. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

GST Council to walk a tightrope while deciding GST rate between 18-20%

<keyword id="6354679" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gst" source="Orion">GST</keyword> collection in July stood at Rs 1,48,995 crore, second highest since introduction of GST. The collection for July is 28 per cent higher than the GST revenues recorded in the same month last year of Rs 1,16,393 crore. "Of the tolal GST collection, Central GST is Rs 25,751 crore, State GST is Rs 32,807 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 79,518 crore and cess is Rs 10,920 crore," the <keyword id="47209" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="finance-ministry" source="Orion">Finance Ministry</keyword> said in a statement. For five months in a row, the monthly GST revenues have been more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore "During the month, revenues from import of goods was 48% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 22% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year," the ministry said. The government has settled Rs 32,365 crore to Central GST and Rs 26,774 crore to State GST from Integrated GST. The total <keyword id="45663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="revenue" source="Orion">revenue</keyword> of Centre and the states in July after regular settlement is Rs 58,116 crore for CGST and Rs 59,581 crore for the <keyword id="6373967" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sgst" source="Orion">SGST</keyword>. "The growth in GST revenue till July 2022 over the same period last year is 35% and displays a very high buoyancy. This is a clear impact of various measures taken by the <keyword id="14607471" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="council-in-the-past" source="Orion">Council in the past</keyword> to ensure better compliance. Better reporting coupled with economic recovery has been having positive impact on the GST revenues on a consistent basis. During the month of June 2022, 7.45 crore e-way bills were generated, which was marginally higher than 7.36 crore in May 2022," the statement added. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/5g-spectrum-auctions-fetch-1-5-lakh-crore-more-than-half-of-it-comes-from-reliance-jio/articleshow/93274946.cms">5G spectrum auctions fetch ₹1.5 lakh crore – more than half of it comes from Reliance Jio</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/123456-if-this-is-your-password-you-couldve-password-fatigue-its-a-serious-problem-/articleshow/93274584.cms">123456: If this is your password, you could’ve password fatigue. It’s a serious problem.</a>

GST collections in July, at Rs 1.48 lakh crore, is the second highest ever

Pre-packed and <keyword id="14314091" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="labelled-food-items" source="Orion">labelled food items</keyword> like meat, fish, curd, paneer and honey will now attract GST, a tax that will also be levied on the fee that banks charge for the issue of cheques. This after the <keyword id="6355040" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="gst-council" source="Orion">GST Council</keyword> - the highest decision-making body on the levy of goods and services tax - accepted most of the recommendations of a group of ministers from states on withdrawing exemptions with a view to rationalising the levy, officials said. The panel headed by <keyword id="161813" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Finance-Minister" source="Orion">Union Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> and comprising representatives of all states and UTs, on the first day of the two-day meeting accepted the GoM's recommendation for reviewing the exemption from GST that packed and labelled food items currently get. So pre-packed and labelled meat (except frozen), fish, curd, paneer, honey, dried leguminous vegetables, dried makhana, wheat and other cereals, wheat or meslin flour, jaggery, puffed rice (muri), all goods and organic manure and coir pith compost will not be exempted from GST and will now attract a 5 per cent tax. Similarly, an 18 per cent GST will be levied on fee charged by banks for the issue of cheques (loose or in book form). Maps and charts including atlases will attract a 12 per cent levy. Goods that are unpacked, unlabelled and unbranded will continue to remain exempt from GST. Besides, a 12 per cent tax on hotel rooms below Rs 1,000/day will be levied, as against a tax exemption currently. GST rate rationalisation is important to boost the weighted average GST rate that has fallen to 11.6 per cent, against 14.4 per cent at the time of launch. The GST Council also recommended a correction in the inverted duty structure for a host of items, including edible oil, coal, LED lamps, printing/drawing ink, finished leather and solar water heater. The Council is likely to discuss on Wednesday the demand for an extension of compensation paid to states for revenue lost from their taxes such as sales tax (VAT) being subsumed into a national GST, besides a 28 per cent tax on casinos, online gaming and horse racing. Non-BJP ruled states such as Chhattisgarh want the compensation regime to be extended or the share of states in the GST revenues be increased to 70-80 per cent from the current 50 per cent. And to drive their point, they cited a recent <keyword id="6354977" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="supreme-court" source="Orion">Supreme Court</keyword> ruling that decisions made by the Council are not binding on states and any decision not taken unanimously could potentially lead to unraveling of the landmark economic reform. The report of the state finance ministers on GST systems reforms, which recommended biometric authentication of high risk taxpayers and real-time validation of bank accounts too was cleared by the Council. As per data on revenue growth collated for the Council meeting, only five out of 31 states/UTs, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim, registered a revenue growth higher than the protected revenue rate for states under GST in financial year 2021-22. With regard to e-way bill on intra-state movement of gold, gold jewellery and precious stones to check evasion, the Council recommended that states can decide on the threshold above which the electronic bill is to be made mandatory. A panel of state ministers had recommended the threshold to be Rs 2 lakh and above.

Pre-packed meats, curds, paneer and puffed rice will now attract GST

<ul><li><keyword id="404121" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="clear">Clear</keyword>, formerly known as <keyword id="2763190" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cleartax">ClearTax</keyword>, is planning to hire across verticals like tech, product and marketing.</li><li>The company is reportedly in talks with Tiger Global to raise $100 million, at a valuation of $800 million.</li><li>The company claims to facilitate 10% of India’s B2B invoices, with a trade value of $300 billion, annually.</li></ul>Fintech software-as-a-service (<keyword id="6395918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SAAS">SaaS</keyword>) company Clear, formerly known as ClearTax, has been going aggressive about its growth plans since the start of 2021. It started with the rebranding, to launching of new products, to the recent acquisition of yBANQ. But this plan does not end here. In order to accelerate growth and become a full stack financial services provider, Clear would be focusing on two core strategies — hiring and acquisition. The company plans to hire more than 100 employees across verticals to aid its organic growth, the company’s cofounder Srivatsan Chari told Business Insider in an exclusive interaction. The hiring would range across leadership roles, mid-senior positions to junior roles. According to the company’s website, there are vacancies in marketing, finance, sales, human resources, engineering, design, product, strategy, category, support and legal roles. Earlier in January, Clear on-boarded former MedLife executive <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paranth-thiruvengadam-2567719/?originalSubdomain=in">Paranth Thiruvengadam </a>as chief technology officer (CTO) of the company. Since then, the company has made several changes across product and technology teams. Key changes at Clear in the last six months: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Paranth Thiruvengadam </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CTO </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Akhil Bansal </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Product </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Naveen Kumar Jain </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director of Engineering </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pranesh Vittal </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director of Engineering </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Vinish Varghese </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Design </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ankit Saxena </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Head of Operations </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amit Gupta </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">National Sales Head, Enterprise </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sandeep Singh </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Senior Director of Product </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Esha Savla </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Customer Experience </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ankur Agrawal </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Strategy </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Mayank Parihar </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Business Finance </td></tr></tbody></table> On the acquisition side of the plan, it has already acquired Y Combinator-backed business-to-business (B2B) payments startup yBANQ to enter the B2B payments and credit market. There is more to come in the near future. Chari told Business Insider that they are currently building several products, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SME) domain and enterprises, in-house. However, they will be relying on acquisitions to enter more niches and segments. “There are capabilities or certain industries, like payments, where you want a lot of experience or technologies. So that's basically where acquisitions come in, so it is going to be a multi-pronged strategy. We are going to build and we will be acquiring also to just leapfrog our growth.” — Clear cofounder Srivatsan Chari told Business Insider in an exclusive interaction. Clear’s product journey from e-filling to full stack payments system Clear was founded by Archit Gupta, Ankit Solanki and Srivatsan Chari in 2011 as ClearTax. The company started its journey as a fintech startup that offers solutions for income tax filing online. The company witnessed its first surge in 2016, when the Indian government made e-filing mandatory. This was also the year the Indian government introduced the Goods and Service Tax (GST) that came into force on July 1 of 2017. Clear made the decision to expand their business offering, by providing tax-filing services to enterprises. The company offers solutions, including GST and e-filing bill software, along with business incorporation and compliance services for enterprises. It had also launched a wealth management platform for tax saving and mutual funds in January 2020. The Bengluru-based startup, across its verticals, caters to four groups — consumer, small medium business (SMB), enterprises and tax experts such as chartered accountants (CA) or accountants. "We have evolved from income tax compliance to full-stack compliance, invoicing, and financial serices firm. We cater to not only individual taxpayers, but also businesses, tax experts, and accountants. Today, we process about 10% of India's B2B invoices, over $300 billion of trade value every year, and contribute to 10% of India's e-invoice generation," Clear founder and chief executive (CEO) Archit Gupta told news agency PTI in a previous conversation. Upcoming fundraise still on the table The company currently has a customer base of 5 million Indian taxpayers, over one lakh tax practitioners, six lakh small businesses and 2,000 large businesses as well as brands. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Round </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Investors </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2014 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Undisclosed </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sumon Sadhu </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2016 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.3 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Max Levchin, Scott Banister </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2016 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2016 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$12 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Elevation Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2018 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$50 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Composite Capital Management </td></tr></tbody></table> The company has raised $65 million of equity funding from marquee investors like PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Max Levchin, Composite Capital, <keyword id="122716" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-Capital">Sequoia Capital</keyword>, and <keyword id="161314" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SAIF-Partners">SAIF Partners</keyword>. It was the first Indian startup to have raised funding from Y Combinator. Clear is now said to be in talks with Tiger Global to raise a <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/funding/tiger-global-may-lead-cleartax-funding-round-at-750-850-million-valuation/articleshow/81620600.cms">$100 million </a>funding round, at a valuation of $750 million-$800 million. The company’s co-founder Chari referred to these reports as media speculations, however, he also added that the company is in talks with certain undisclosed investors. Chari did not share any more information on the potential fundraising or valuation. "Conversation with people happen, but we don't have any news to share at this point," Chari told Business Insider. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/rolex-rings-ipo-last-day-for-subscription-allotment-on-august-4/articleshow/84864899.cms">Today is the last day of Rolex Rings’ ₹731 crore IPO with a price band of ₹880-900</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/nasa-has-delayed-boeings-spaceship-flight-after-a-russian-module-pushed-the-space-station-out-of-position/articleshow/84876573.cms">NASA has delayed Boeing's spaceship flight after a Russian module pushed the space station out of position</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/googles-sundar-pichai-has-teased-the-whitechapel-chipset/articleshow/84853916.cms">Google teases Whitechapel chipset that may power Google Pixel 6 devices</a>

Clear(Tax) is planning for major acquisitions as it looks to 'leapfrog' its growth

The crucial constitutional amendment bill preparing the ground for the Goods and Services Tax has been passed by the <keyword id="48510" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajya-Sabha">Rajya Sabha</keyword> today with 187 votes in favour of the amendment, paving the way for the most far-reaching tax reform in India to be brought into power. 
 
Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the 122nd constitutional amendment with a total of 187 votes in favour, with 9 votes against it. 
 
This will end a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Indian-companies-unprepared-for-GST/articleshow/53519404.cms">cumbersome regime of multiple taxes on goods and services </a>and bring them under one rate. This one-stop tax move will cover 17 taxes like central excise duty, state-level taxes like, VAT or sales tax, entertainment tax, entry tax, purchase tax, luxury tax and octroi. The move will create uniformity in taxes across states, increasing efficiency &amp; compliance and also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/GST-will-bring-new-era-of-development-economic-reforms-Amit-Shah/articleshow/53527851.cms">boost Modi government's big push</a> towards ease of doing business. 
 Following the passage of the amendment today, the draft legislations for the Central GST and IGST will be tabled in the <keyword id="6354721" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliament">Parliament</keyword> in November. The CGST and the IGST bills will have the details of the GST including key provisions like what the standard rate of tax will be, what the compensation mechanism will be as well as what the dispute redressal mechanism will be. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/GST-bill-amended/articleshow/53428298.cms">The Centre had earlier managed to iron out some differences </a>with the states over<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/GST-decoded-Heres-how-common-man-corporate-are-going-to-benefit-from-GST/articleshow/53521455.cms"> GST's implementation</a>. It dropped 1% manufacturing tax to ensure GST does not lead to revenue loss for the states, decided to provide a guarantee to compensate states for any revenue loss in the first 5 years of GST rollout, promised to work on a GST rate that cushions blow to the common man and also protect the revenue generating capacity of the states, agreed on dual control which means Centre will not have control to tax businesses with a turnover below Rs 1.5 crore, and promised to create space for a dispute redressal system for the states. 
 However, there were three demands in particular being debated by the Opposition today. Focus was on the tax rates. While GST rate was not be capped in the Constitution Amendment Bill, the <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> had sought “legal ring-fencing” of the rates to insulate common citizens and small businesses from possible adverse impact from the high indirect tax rates. States also wanted a provision to ensure that their revenue is not hurt. <keyword id="43940" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="P-Chidambaram">P Chidambaram</keyword> asked Arun Jaitley to include 18 per cent GST rate in the amendments itself and the Opposition parties demanded the <keyword id="387846" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST-Bill">GST Bill</keyword> to be brought as a Money Bill that would give Rajya Sabha the power to debate it. 
 
Arun Jaitley assured the House that the rate would be fixed with consensus, but failed to assure that the GST Bill would be introduced as a Money Bill. Even as Opposition expressed displeasure arguing the Finance Minister was not under any obligation to introduce it as a Money Bill and could assure, however, despite no assurance it passed the 122nd constitutional amendment as agreed, thereby clearing the biggest hurdle for GST to come into force. 
 
(Image credit: Reuters)

Breaking News: Parliament clears India's biggest tax reform since Independence, GST finally a reality

The ‘Buy One, Get One’ offer that lured you to buy most of the products may no longer attract you as the Indian government is thinking of levying <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=GST&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Good and Services Tax</a> (GST) on the free product. 
 
Yes, this means your free product will also be <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=tax&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">taxed</a>. 
 
Under the Section 3 of the proposed GST bill, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=government&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">government</a> has stated that the supplies specified in Schedule I, made without a consideration, are also liable to GST. 
 
Meanwhile, tax experts have called for some clarity on the same. 
 
"Any form of direct or indirect GST on free supplies could have a significant impact on the sales &amp; marketing spend of companies, specifically those dealing in consumer products," Pratik Jain, national indirect tax leader at PwC, told ET. 
 
Tax experts say the Entry 5 of Schedule I states "supply of goods and/or services by a taxable person to another taxable or non-taxable person in the course or furtherance of business". 
 
"While the GST law clearly lays down that supplies for business promotion without a consideration would be a supply, yet it fails to provide a clarity whether it would be treated as an exempt supply for reversal of credits," Bipin Sapra, partner at EY, told ET. 
 
The Indian government has been doing everything to get the GST bill passed, which will bring state and central taxes with a single GST. However, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Congress&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Congress</a> has opposed the move.

You Searched For "GST bill cleared" and got 9 results

GST Council to deliberate on taxation of insurance premium, report on online gaming tomorrow

PTI

Centre seeks to amend GST Act to levy 28% tax on online gaming, casinos

IANS

GST fails to bring cheer to the market

Shailendra Bhatnagar

GST Council to walk a tightrope while deciding GST rate between 18-20%

BI India Bureau

GST collections in July, at Rs 1.48 lakh crore, is the second highest ever

IANS

Pre-packed meats, curds, paneer and puffed rice will now attract GST

PTI

Clear(Tax) is planning for major acquisitions as it looks to 'leapfrog' its growth

Kritti Bhalla

Breaking News: Parliament clears India's biggest tax reform since Independence, GST finally a reality

Anushree Singh

Nothing is going to come for free after GST is implemented. Here’s why

BI India Bureau

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