Budget bonanza: Govt likely to do away with dividend distribution tax

The finance ministry is likely to do away with the dividend distribution tax (DDT) in the upcoming Union Budget 2018. Sources in the know have said there have been considerable discussions on the topic among various stakeholders.

At present, if a company gives dividend to its shareholders, it has to pay DDT of 20.36 per cent (15 per cent plus surcharge and cess).

Two stakeholders, who met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia separately for pre-Budget consultations, told Business Standard that the issue of DDT came up in the meetings that took place between industry representatives and Adhia.

This move, experts say, would help the government in more ways than one — it would boost India Inc’s ease of doing business, encourage firms to give more dividends, and improve returns for retail investors in the lower income tax bracket.

“It is expected that Budget 2018 may propose a withdrawal of DDT and return to the classic system of dividend taxation, that is, dividend income to be taxed at the hands of the recipient shareholders,” said Sonu Iyer, partner and leader, India region people advisory services, EY.

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Indiabulls Real Estate extends gains on acquisition of commercial building

Indiabulls Real Estate was up 3% to Rs 263 on BSE after the company entered into a binding and definitive agreement to acquire a prime and newly constructed commercial building in Gurugram. The stock is trading close to its 52-week high of Rs 270 touched on August 7, 2017 in intra-day deal.
“The company through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Yashita Buildcon, has on January 11, 2018, entered into a binding and definitive agreement to acquire a prime and newly constructed commercial building, having leasable area of approx 2.5 lac sq ft in Gurugram,” Indiabulls Real Estate said in a statement.

The deal is expected to get completed in 3 to 4 months when the occupation certificate of the building is expected to be received.

With this additional leasable area, the company expects to enhance its annuity revenue to Rs 14,500 million in FY 20-21 from the rental properties portfolio of Indiabulls Real Estate, it added.
In past eight trading sessions, the stock has outperformed the market by gaining 22% against 2.3% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

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Lamborghini launches its first super SUV 'Urus' in India for Rs 30 mn

Italian super sports car maker Lamborghini on Thursday launched its first super sports utility vehicle 'Urus' in the country, priced at Rs 30 million.

With the launch of a new model, Lamborghini expects its volumes to surge 2.5-3 times, it said.

"India as a market is playing a very interesting role step by step into the overall sales globally. Urus will change the game for Lamborghini in India in terms of volumes and we expect to grow our volumes 2.5-3 times," Lamborghini General Manager for Asia Pacific Andrea Baldi said.

Stating that India is a strategic market for the company's further growth, Lamborghini India head Sharad Agarwal said given the preference for SUV cars among Indians, "we believe that Urus is going to be an exciting and important product and will open up a completely new segment of customers for us in India.

UIDAI introduces 16-digit 'Virtual ID', limited KYC for Aadhaar holders

As it looks to address concerns regarding privacy of Aadhaar data, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has introduced a concept of ‘Virtual ID’, which is a temporary number that can be generated by users for the purpose of verification and authentication.

The UIDAI has taken a slew of measures to safeguard the privacy of citizens, primarily after reports emerged that Aadhaar data can be accessed by unauthorised means.
The 'Virtual ID', which will be mapped with the Aadhaar number, can be shared with authorities to authenticate identity for availing various services and it will provide users an option of not sharing their Aadhaar number.

The ID will be a temporary, revocable 16-digit number that can be shared with agencies like a telecom operator, for verification of identity. The 'Virtual ID' along with biometrics will furnish limited details like names, addresses, and photographs to the agency concerned for verification.
However, experts feel that though the intention of the government is good, it has to be seen what security parameters are put in place to safeguard the 'Virtual ID'.

According to senior cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal, cybersecurity was not introduced at the start by the UIDAI and that is why there have been so many cases regarding data breach. Also, he said people have become increasingly concerned about privacy and consequently, the UIDAI had come up with the concept of a 'Virtual ID'.

Kamala Mills fire: Two '1 Above' pub owners nabbed, one still absconding

Jigar Sanghvi and Kripesh Sanghvi, '1 Above' pub co-owners wanted in connection with the December 29 Kamala Mills fire that claimed 14 lives, were arrested on Wednesday, police said.
The Sanghvi brothers, who were on the run since the incident, were arrested from the Andheri area here, additional commissioner of police S Jaikumar told PTI.

The police had on Tuesday arrested Vishal Kariya, a hotelier, for allegedly giving shelter to the Sanghvi brothers and Abhijeet Mankar -- owners of the '1 Above' pub.

The trio has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other offences under the Indian Penal Code.

Police had also announced a reward of Rs 100,000 for information about their whereabouts.
Mankar was still absconding.

On December 29, a fire had swept through the '1 Above' and adjacent Mojo's Bistro resto pub in Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai, resulting in the death of 14 people.