The government on Monday introduced new set of rules for domestic entities, including companies and large family offices and start-ups, opting for overseas direct investment route (ODI), which could impact their acquisition decisions in a big way. The new rules, effective from Monday, made explicit distinction between ODI (all investments in unlisted foreign entities and more than 10 per cent in listed foreign entities) and OPI (investment by listed companies in foreign listed securities). The rules state that all transactions of ODI must happen at fair value.

About 300 fintech firms are under investigation by the ED for allegedly partnering 38 non-banking financial companies for predatory lending practices to charge borrowers high interest rates.

The income-tax department may make a permanent account number (PAN) mandatory for cryptocurrency investors, in line with the demat account rules for stock market transactions, according to two people privy to the discussion. At present, disclosure of crypto holdings and related gains is voluntary. If tax authorities go ahead with the PAN mandate, crypto exchanges will have to furnish a statement of financial transactions (SFT) before the income-tax department.

Having observed variations in capital gains tax computation, the revenue department is working on a mechanism to analyse futures and options (F&O) trade data and pre-initial public offering (IPO) transactions. "The directorate of I-T systems is working on certain risk-assessment parameters to access the data, which could be on the basis of buying and selling prices of shares in F&Os, variations in margins, fair market value versus IPO prices, etc. "The idea is to segregate and process the voluminous data on equity derivatives for effective use," said a senior government official privy to the plan.

An additional criterion in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) may require digital businesses to secure approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the anti-trust regulator. The government is set to introduce a minimum threshold "transaction value" of Rs 2,000 crore (around $250 million) for any deal as a criterion for notification to the anti-trust regulator if the entity being acquired has substantial operations in India. The new criterion is learnt to be part of the proposed amendments to the two-decade-old Competition law, which is expected to be tabled in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

The faceless authority has suggested a host of changes in the assessment process following conflicts and practical difficulties raised by taxpayers since the new regime was introduced. On August 3, the National Faceless Assessment Centre issued a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to address several anomalies in the regime. The faceless centre, constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, is the nodal authority and works as an interface for the faceless regime.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the mass consumption items such as pulses, wheat, rice, flour, and curd will not attract the 5 per cent goods and services tax (GST) when sold loose, and not pre-packed or pre-labelled. The clarification came amid protests and widespread criticism by Opposition Members of Parliament over foisting GST on daily-use essentials and subsequent price rise. The all-powerful GST Council, chaired by the Union minister, had last month decided to impose GST on some mass consumption items to simplify the rate structure, which came into effect on Monday.

'We revolutionised the system in a manner so that the chances of leakage will be much lower than it was in the beginning.'

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued detailed guidelines on facilitating tax deducted at source (TDS) on virtual digital assets (VDA) or crypto assets, under which date of transfer and mode of payment will have to be specified. From July 1, TDS of 1 per cent will be levied on payments towards virtual digital assets or cryptocurrencies beyond Rs 10,000 in a year, as the Finance Act 2022 has introduced Section 194S in the income tax (I-T) Act. The department has explained different scenarios through six questions to remove difficulties.

Authorities will allow the country's taxpayers to access the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) for cross-border disputes. This is even if they had settled the case under the direct tax dispute resolution scheme - Vivad se Vishwas - without deviating from the outcome of the scheme, said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday. However, non-resident taxpayers, who opted for the resolution scheme, cannot go for MAP on the same issue, it clarified. MAP is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism under the tax treaties where competent authorities of two countries enter into discussions to resolve tax-related disputes.

The GoM is likely to submit an interim report to the Council on pruning the list of items that at present do not attract the levy.

According to the CBDT, if a social media influencer retains a product from the manufacturing company after using for the purpose of rendering service, then it will be treated as a benefit/perquisite under newly-introduced Section 194R of the IT Act.

Ahead of the first due date of advance tax payment on June 15, the government is likely to release guidelines on what will be covered within the ambit of virtual digital assets (VDA). To remove any ambiguity in the recently established tax framework for asset holders, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is currently preparing guidelines, said government officials in the know. The apex direct tax body will define non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and whether or not they fall within the purview of VDA.

Ashok Kumar Gupta, chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has never minced words while talking about the giant technology companies, referring to them on multiple occasions as "centres for entrenched and unchecked dominance". The anti-trust regulator has, in fact, been cracking down on big technology companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and others, after they were hauled up by regulators and lawmakers in Europe and Australia. However, in several instances, existing regulations have prevented the CCI from going all out against these companies for anti-competitive activities.

According to sources, the two fund managers allegedly made illicit gains worth Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore through front-running.

Tax consultants and chartered accountants have started receiving a flurry of calls from their clients - both corporate and individuals - seeking clarity over changes in the reassessment regime made during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament. Tax experts apprehend the amendments may lead to the income-tax (I-T) department sending out more notices. The new provisions, effective from April 1, have extended the scope for tax sleuths to reopen the past assessments.

The new amendment, which came into force on April 21, has been introduced to detect discrepancies between the expenses and incomes of people who do not have to file tax returns.

The finance ministry (FinMin) has asked Infosys to work on ways to extract and access taxpayers' real-time data faster and accurately as it is crucial for taking decisions on policy changes. While reviewing progress of the income tax portal 2.0, which had faced glitches, the officials also told the Infosys team to increase the scope of pre-filled data in the ITR forms. Senior officials in the ministry held a review meeting last month with the Infosys team and officials of the Central Processing Centre (CPC).

Indians having undisclosed income in the United States (US) may face proceedings under Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, this financial year. Also, those named in global leaks may be searched, show-caused, and prosecuted, according to the FY23 internal action plan of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The CBDT has rolled out an aggressive target and timeline to investigate tax evasion matters, especially those involving undisclosed foreign assets.

Companies planning merger and acquisition (M&A) will have to disclose the extent of "complementary linkages" among them and their impact on the market. This comes under the revised reporting requirements of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The changes will take effect on May 1. Entities may also have to provide market-facing data of the past five years with respect to their market size, the market share of the parties, and also that of the competitors, along with customers and suppliers.