EducatorIAS

  T he Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 15(2) of the Constitution in its 2011 judgment in the case of  Indian Medical Association vs. Union of India  provides recourse, mandating the private sector must conduct its affairs in a non-discriminatory manner. Does the Constitution provide protection against private discrimination? Private discrimination in India is pervasive. The Indian Constitution contains various provisions to address discrimination under its  chapter  on fundamental rights. In this scheme,  Article 15(2)  of the Constitution is unique. While most other fundamental rights concern the actions of the State, this provision is addressed to private individuals. This provision reads: No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to: (a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertai...

  Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) Schem e has been to incentivize creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during COVID-19 pandemic. This scheme being implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries including MSMEs and encourages them to hire more workers. Under ABRY, Government of India is crediting for a period of two years   both the employees’ share (12% of wages) and employers share’ (12% of wages) of contribution payable or only the employees’ share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments.   Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), Government of India has  contributed both 12% employer’s share and 12% employee’s share under Employees Provident Fund (EPF), totaling 24% of the wage for the wage month from March to August, 2020 for  the establishmen...

 Enhanced limit of borrowing for FY2020-21 under Atma Nirbhar Bharat package :  Under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, additional borrowing limit of up to 2 percent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was allowed to the States, which was equivalent to ` 4.27 lakh crore. Of the additional 2 per cent borrowing allowed to the States, the first instalment of 0.5 per cent borrowing was untied for all the states.  The second part amounting to 1 per cent of GSDP was subject to implementation of following four specific State level reforms, where weightage of each reform is 0.25 per cent of GSDP:-  a) Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System;  b) Ease of doing business reform;  c) Urban Local body/ utility reforms; and  d) Power Sector reforms. Compensation to the States for loss in GST revenue: In order to compensate the states for the loss of GST revenue during FY 2020-21, Central Government had given the states an option to either borrow the sh...

 The Government has consistently adopted reform measures aimed at the long term benefits of a more transparent, efficient and tax-payer friendly tax administration.. A major step in this direction is the introduction of ‘Honoring the Honest’ platform. Reforms in Taxation : 1) Honoring the Honest’ The platform for ‘ Transparent taxation- Honoring the Honest’ was launched in August 2020 with an objective to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability, and to eliminate physical interface between taxpayers and tax officers. The key features of the platform are  (i) Usage of technology, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence and  (ii) Recognizing taxpayers as partners in nation-building. The Platform stands on 3 pillars of tax administration reforms namely, Faceless assessment, Faceless appeal, and Taxpayers’ charter.  1 ) Faceless assessment: It was was based on the idea that automated random allocation of cases across Income Tax teams with dyna...

  Rationalization of GST Rates of Goods and Services: The GST rates on goods and services were fitted into 5 slabs i.e. Nil, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, largely based on the pre- GST cumulative indirect tax incidence both of Central and State taxes, including the embedded taxes, which are subsumed in GST, so as to ensure revenue neutrality. The changes in the GST rate structure and policy have been   recommended by the GST Council keeping in view the representations received from trade and industry and the interests of consumers and the same are expected to benefit the overall economy and consumers. A plan to merge goods and services tax (GST) slabs of 12% and 18% into a single rate. Amalgamation of GST rates: Benefit s  Easing of procedural complications and less litigation, leading to greater revenue collection. A revenue-neutral exercise; meaning, it wouldn’t lead to any changes in the actual tax revenue for states and the Centre.  tax on items in 18% slab will come dow...

  What are the major features of the Constitution (122 nd  Amendment) Bill, 2014?   Answer  :The salient features of the Bill are as follows: g.        Conferring simultaneous power upon Parliament and the State Legislatures to make laws governing goods and services tax; h.        Subsuming of various Central indirect taxes and levies such as Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duties, Service Tax, Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty, and Special Additional Duty of Customs; i.          Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax, Entertainment Tax (other than the tax levied by the local bodies), Central Sales Tax (levied by the Centre and collected by the States), Octroi and Entry tax, Purchase Tax, Luxury tax, and Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling; j.          Dispensing with the concept of ‘de...

  What are the benefits of GST?How would GST be administered in India?   Answer :The benefits of GST can be summarized as under: ·           For business and industry o     Easy compliance : A robust and comprehensive IT system would be the foundation of the GST regime in India. Therefore, all tax payer services such as registrations, returns, payments, etc. would be available to the taxpayers online, which would make compliance easy and transparent.  o     Uniformity of tax rates and structures : GST will ensure that indirect tax rates and structures are common across the country, thereby increasing certainty and ease of doing business. In other words, GST would make doing business in the country tax neutral, irrespective of the choice of place of doing business. o     Removal of cascading : A system of seamless tax-credits throughout the value-chain, and across boundaries of States...