Category: Business

As per a statement, it has also been clarified in the Budget that the tax will be applicable for consideration of sale of goods, irrespective of whether the provider owns the portal, and consideration of provisions of services irrespective of whether services are provided or facilitated by e-commerce operators….reports Asian Lite News

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has welcomed the Budget proposal to impose 2 per cent extra tax on foreign e-commerce companies whether engaged in business of sale of goods or providing services, acceptance of offer for sale, placing of purchase order, acceptance of purchase order, payment of consideration or supply of goods and services partly or wholly.

As per a statement, it has also been clarified in the Budget that the tax will be applicable for consideration of sale of goods, irrespective of whether the provider owns the portal, and consideration of provisions of services irrespective of whether services are provided or facilitated by e-commerce operators.

The provision has been made in the Budget by proposing amendments to Section 163 sub clause (3), Section 164 clause (cb), Section 165 sub section (3) and clause (b) of The Finance Act, 2016.

The provision will be applicable retrospectively with effect from April 1, 2020. All such foreign companies which are engaged in sale of goods or providing services through any online mode will come under the purview of this provision and will have to pay 2 per cent extra w.e.f. from April 1, 2020.

It’s a bold step taken by the government which has been heartily welcomed by the traders across the country, CAIT said.

National president of CAIT, B.C. Bhartia, and secretary general, Praveen Khandelwal, while appreciating the move, said that the proposal expands the definition of “online sale of goods” and “online provision of services”, thereby eliminating all confusions regarding what could be the true definition of e-commerce in India.

CAIT has welcomed the conceptual construct of this provision even as it studies its fine print. The provision amply reflects the intent of the government to crackdown on the the unholy business practices of global e-trailers to monopolise and control Indian e-commerce and retail trade, CAIt said .

Bhartia and Khandelwal informed that the introduction of equalisation levy is meant to create a level playing field and to prevent circumvention of tax laws on the digital transactions.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations are also9 working on the issue, as there is a global consensus on bringing a mechanism to tax the digital economy adequately.

Though equalisation levy in India has undergone changes in 2020 from its introduction in 2016, certain changes have been introduced vide the Finance Bill, 2021

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While the full year 2020 declined 5.9 per cent compared to 2019, the progress toward market recovery has been impressive, said the IDC, adding that the momentum heading into 2021 will remain strong…reports Asian Lite News

Vendors shipped a total of 385.9 million devices during the festive quarter as the worldwide smartphone market continued to improve, returning to positive 4.3 per cent (on-year) growth, an IDC report said on Thursday.

Apple delivered a phenomenal performance in the December quarter, returning to the top position with 90.1 million devices shipped, driven by the success of the iPhone 12 series, according to preliminary data from the IDC’s ‘Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker’.

While the full year 2020 declined 5.9 per cent compared to 2019, the progress toward market recovery has been impressive, said the IDC, adding that the momentum heading into 2021 will remain strong.

“There are a lot of elements at play that are fueling the smartphone market recovery – pent-up demand, continued supply push on 5G, aggressive promotions, and the popularity of low to mid-priced phones,” said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.

“Vendors also seem to be better prepared for the second lockdown, ensuring they have the right channel set up ready to fulfill orders and reach the end consumer,” Popal added.

For Apple, the festive quarter represents the highest shipment volume from a vendor in a single quarter and resulted in 23.4 per cent market share and 22.2 per cent (YoY) growth.

Samsung moved to number 2 in Q4 with 73.9 million device shipments and 19.1 per cent market share.

With the continued success of the A series and growth in nearly every region, Samsung saw year-over-year growth of 6.2 per cent.

“As the world progresses towards a post-pandemic environment, IDC believes demand will grow and the market recovery will accelerate,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.

Xiaomi finished the quarter in the third position with shipments of 43.3 million and 11.2 per cent market share while OPPO was fourth with shipments of 33.8 million and 8.8 per cent market share.

Huawei fell to the fifth spot with shipments of 32.3 million and 8.4 per cent market share, the IDC said.

Also read:IndiGo logs Rs 620cr loss in Q3 FY21

The airline had reported a net profit of Rs 496 crore during the Q3FY20. Besides, the company said the capacity for the quarter was down by 40.8 per cent compared to the same period last year…reports Asian Lite News

Airline major IndiGo’s net loss narrowed during the third quarter of FY21 on a sequential basis.

Accordingly, InterGlobe Aviation, which runs the airline, reported a quarterly net loss of Rs 620.1 crore from a net loss of Rs 1,194.8 crore posted during the second quarter of 2020-21.

The airline had reported a net profit of Rs 496 crore during the Q3FY20. Besides, the company said the capacity for the quarter was down by 40.8 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The ‘Revenue from Operations’ declined by 50.6 per cent to Rs 4,910 crore for the quarter compared to the same period last year.

“We look forward to a gradual opening up of international scheduled flights during the next few months because increased capacity and aircraft utilisation are so very critical for our return to profitability,” IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said.

The company added that it maintained a string balance sheet with a total cash of Rs 18,365.3 crore including free cash of Rs 7,444.5 crore.

Also read:Maruti Suzuki’s Q3 net profit jumps 24%

“During the quarter, the company registered net sales of Rs 222,367 million, an increase of 13.2 per cent compared to the same period previous year,” the company said in a statement…reports Asian Lite News

Automobile major Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday reported a rise of 24.1 per cent in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, owing to higher sales and non-operating income.

According to the automobile manufacturer, the net profit during the quarter under review rose to Rs 1,941.4 crore from Rs 1,564.8 crore during the corresponding period of previous fiscal.

“During the quarter, the company registered net sales of Rs 222,367 million, an increase of 13.2 per cent compared to the same period previous year,” the company said in a statement.

“The ‘Operating Profit for the Quarter’ was at Rs 14,848 million, a growth of 19.3 per cent over the same period previous year on account of higher sales volume and cost reduction efforts partially offset by increase in commodity prices and adverse foreign exchange movement.”

Besides, the company sold a total of 495,897 vehicles during the quarter, higher by 13.4 per cent compared to the same period previous year.

“Sales in the domestic market stood at 467,369 units, growing by 13 per cent. Exports were at 28,528 units, higher by 20.6 per cent.”

Furthermore, the company’s sales fell by 18 per cent during the first nine months of FY21 to 965,626 vehicles.

“Sales in the domestic market stood at 905,015 units, lower by 17.8 per cent. Exports were at 60,611 units, declining by 21.9 per cent.”

“During the period, the company registered net sales of Rs 436,035 million, lower by 20 per cent compared to that in the same period previous year.”

However, net profit for the period stood at Rs 3,063.6 crore decreasing by 29.7 per cent compared to that in the same period previous year.

The company’s stock at the BSE fell by 3.41 per cent or Rs 267.85 to Rs 7,598.20 from its previous close.

Also read:Axis Bank’s Q3FY21 net profit down 36%

The bank said profit after tax for the quarter was adversely impacted to the extent of Rs 1,050 crore on account of prudent expenses and provisioning charges…reports Asian Lite News

Lending major Axis Bank’s net profit for the third quarter of 2020-21 fell 36 per cent due to higher provisioning.

Accordingly, the bank’s net profit fell to Rs 1,116.6 crore from Rs 1,757 crore reported during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The bank said profit after tax for the quarter was adversely impacted to the extent of Rs 1,050 crore on account of prudent expenses and provisioning charges.

However, the banking major’s net interest income grew by 14 per cent to Rs 7,373 crore from Rs 6,453 crore reported during the like period of the previous fiscal.

“Net interest margin (NIM) for Q3FY21 was 3.59 per cent as against 3.57 per cent for Q3FY20,” the bank said in a statement.

As per the statement, specific loan loss provisions for Q3FY21 were Rs 1,053 crore, compared to Rs 2,962 crore in Q3 last year.

“The bank has made provisions on “90+ DPD” accounts not classified as NPA pursuant to the Supreme Court judgment, at rates that would have applied to these accounts per extant provisioning rules for NPA in the banks, amounting to Rs 3,899 crore during the quarter.”

“The bank holds cumulative provisions of Rs 11,856 crore at the end of Q3FY21. It is pertinent to note that this is over and above the NPA provisioning included in our PCR calculations.”

Notably, these cumulative provisions translate to a standard asset coverage of 2.08 per cent as on December 31, 2020.

“As on 31st December 2020, the bank’s reported Gross NPA and Net NPA levels were 3.44 per cent and 0.74 per cent respectively as against 4.18 per cent and 0.98 per cent as on 30th September 2020.”

“Absent the standstill to asset classification post August 31, 2020 pursuant to the Supreme Court judgment, the bank would have been required to report GNPA per RBI’s extant IRAC norms for asset classification.”

Accordingly, the GNPA ratio as per said IRAC norms as on Dec 31 would have been 4.55 per cent and Net NPA ratio would have been 1.19 per cent.

“This reflects decline of 45 bps and 90 bps respectively on a YoY basis and an increase of 27 bps and 16 bps on GNPA and NNPA respectively on a sequential basis.”

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