Traders plan countrywide stir against festive e-commerce discounts

At least 15 trader and retail organisations are planning to launch a countrywide agitation if e-commerce companies continue with mega sales and keep offering deep discounts in the upcoming festive season.
Alarmed by advertisements and ongoing sales organised by major e-commerce players, trader bodies have decided to approach Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to stop the online firms from resorting to predatory pricing.

According to traders, they will meet the ministers over the next few days and chart out instances of violations of various rules by the e-commerce firms.
Trader associations, including Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), Laghu Udyog Bharati (LUB), hawker unions, farmer bodies, and retailers are planning to approach the government to take immediate steps to thwart this year’s online sales.
“CAIT has taken a serious note of the declarations by several e-commerce companies to hold festival sales, thereby offering deep discounts, which will be against the foreign direct investment policy,” said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of CAIT.
Traders plan countrywide stir against festive e-commerce discounts
The CAIT has said it has informed the government several times about these e-commerce companies allegedly involved in malpractices such as predatory pricing, deep discounting, and loss funding, creating an uneven level playing field in the market.
CAIT is planning to hold a joint conference of leaders of trade associations, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, and other sectors, to discuss the issue.
Traders are also planning to launch a taskforce to highlight all the instances of deep discounting by ecommerce companies.
Last week, CAIT got into a spat with a representative from Amazon India at an open panel discussion organised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The Amazon representative had tried to point out that offline retailers were also offering similar discounts as online players.
The government is keen to ensure that offline retailers get a fair chance against online companies, sources said. Under the upcoming e-commerce policy, platforms might have to give a proof with every discounted product that the slash in prices is funded by the seller or brand and not the e-commerce portal itself.
The new policy might not only have a new set of rules limiting the maximum discount given on a product but also ensure it is the seller giving the discount.
The government might also heavily regulate cashbacks given on the various platforms, especially by mobile wallets.
Online marketplaces, however, maintained that they were following all guidelines around discounting and it was the seller offering the discounts.

Piyush Goyal to attend crucial RCEP meet in Bangkok on Saturday

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will head to Bangkok on Saturday to meet trade ministers from countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Goyal will attend the 7th RCEP ministerial meeting at a time when deep divisions have formed within the government as key ministries such as agriculture, steel and animal husbandry, etc. have opposed the plan, arguing it will lead to an influx of cheap Chinese imports.

The RCEP is India’s most ambitious trade pact, currently under negotiation. Based on India’s existing free-trade agreement (FTA) with the 10-nation Asean bloc, the RCEP will include all the nations with which Asean has trade deals — New Zealand, Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea.
The meet, between September 8 and 10, is expected to see a push from Asean that has been adamant on deciding the key outline of the pact by 2019- end.
So far, 26 rounds of talks have been held, apart from six minister-level meets. The last meet in Beijing saw positions on tariff reduction, services trade and investment facilitation harden as India and China refused to agree on key issues. Goyal had skipped the ministerial meet. Sources said 13 of the 25 topics of discussion within the RCEP remained unfinished after the technical negotiations were over.
These include the crucial trade in services, movement of professionals across borders, investments, dispute resolution and rules of origin. As a result, the ministers are expected to have significantly less material to go forward on, at a time when the third RCEP summit is planned for early-November, they added.
The government has also been under pressure to review existing FTAs with South Korea and Japan, which haven’t been able to reduce India’s trade deficit with these nations.
New Delhi has consistently focused on services trade norms, such as those allowing the free movement of trained professionals across national boundaries. This would allow Indian professionals — such as chartered accountants, teachers and nurses — to work in other RCEP nations without the need for bilateral mutual recognition agreements.
Goyal will also attend the 16th Asean India Economic Ministers meeting and the 7th East Asia Economic Ministers Summit in Bangkok.
The government on Friday said Asean is the gateway to the Indian Ocean region and as close partners, there is convergence of views in India’s and Asean outlook in the region.
India’s bilateral trade with Asean jumped threefold from $21 billion in 2005-06 to $96.7 billion in 2018-19. Asean countries together have emerged as the largest trading partner of India in 2018-19 (followed by the US), with a share of 11.47 per cent in India’s overall trade, while India was Asean’s sixth largest trading partner in 2018.
Goyal is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Japan, Singapore, China, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and Russia.

Piyush Goyal takes 12 major decisions to boost exports, industrial growth

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, a week after taking charge, has taken more than 12 major decisions to boost exports and boost industrial growth.
Work on some of these decisions, ranging from fast-tracking anti-dumping investigations into goods in the micro, small and medium (MSME) category to initiating research on reducing import dependence, will begin as early as next week, officials say. Most of the decisions received the minister's nod after Goyal held a 10-hour meeting with export promotion councils, industry bodies and officials from the Centre and state governments.

Non-essential imports
The government has decided to initiate investigation into the top 50 tariff lines, constituting 60 per cent of India’s imports, to find ways to reduce import dependence.
After the rupee saw a free fall and high global crude oil prices pushed up petrol and diesel prices to near record levels across the country, the Prime Minister’s Office asked the commerce ministry to prepare a list of “non-essential” imports in September last year.
While the list is yet to be prepared, a high-level advisory group nominated to control the ballooning trade deficit has recommended analysing tariff lines. A similar move was adopted last year to reduce inbound shipments from India's largest import source, China.
Goyal has pushed expediting anti-dumping investigations into MSME products, complaints against which have shot up from domestic manufacturers. Goyal, who is also minister for Railways, has suggested leveraging railways real estate. "The commerce department has been asked by the minister to use less utilised railway stations, and plan warehousing facilities that may act as logistics nodes,” a source said.
In a move to raise ease of doing business, the concept of deemed approval for establishments may also see changes after consultation with states, he added. It currently requires renewing licences annually.
Potential manufacturing clusters
The minister has asked officials to work with state governments to identify 50 manufacturing clusters across the country. “Priority will be given to micro, small and medium enterprises and most clusters will have a mix of various industries, catering to a complete value chain in a particular geography,” a Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) official said.
Many of these clusters will focus on import substitution, especially for goods in the engineering, textiles and electronics sectors.
“Considering that electronics imports are the largest category of inbound goods after crude oil and gold, we plan to dovetail the new manufacturing clusters with the electronics manufacturing cluster scheme of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology,” the official added.
There are more than 3,361 industrial clusters mapped by the DPIIT under the industrial information system database. These are spread across various categories such as industrial parks, special economic zones, national investment and manufacturing zones, and industrial corridor nodes, with varying degrees of financial and industrial benefits being offered by the government for entrepreneurs in each. Officials plan to reassess and streamline the categorisations.
Ideas galore
The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation will now fast-track the disposal of claims and, for the first time, put in the public domain all pending claims for export loans.
According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, only 1 per cent of all loans disbursed by commercial banks go towards export financing.
The minister has pushed for merging the decade-old Board of Trade, a body which comprises representatives of private industry and advises the government on foreign trade policy, and the Council of Trade Development & Promotion, a forum of state governments, central agencies and industry bodies, set up in 2015 to ensure a continuous dialogue between government bodies.
“There is a need to look at issues more holistically and synergise export promotion with industrial growth,” Goyal told a gathering on Thursday.
The DPIIT has been asked to work with industry bodies to organise a national investor promotion event in the next six to nine months. Sources said while investment summits had mostly focused on foreign investors, the summit would focus on domestic investors equally.
Attention shifts to export credit
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has directed export credit agencies to shift focus from subsidies to facilitating a cheaper availability of loan in foreign currencies to exporters, by 30th June 2019.
In a similar meeting on Friday, Goyal pushed both the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) and the Exim Bank to speedily raises their loan disbursals for exporters. ECGC will enable a credit guarantee cover foreign currency lending to MSMEs while the EXIM bank will provide refinance in foreign currency to commercial banks to support all exporters. MSMEs have remained squarely in focus for Goyal, who has also directed ECGC to extend export factoring for MSMEs.
Officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), present at the meeting, has been asked to look into $ 25 billion line of credit from its foreign currency reserves for swap to well performing banks, and to also look into priority sector lending norms for export credit. Concerned departments have also been asked to provide details for improving gold card scheme.

Interim Budget 2019: Income support scheme leaves farmers unhappy

Having lost three key state elections in the Hindi heartland on account of farmers’ anger over falling prices, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the government would transfer Rs 6,000 a year into the bank accounts of all eligible small and marginal farmers to meet their investment needs.
Titled PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi), the support will be provided in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each in a year.
“There is a need for providing structured income support to the poor land-holder farmer families in the country for procuring inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, equipment, labour, etc, and to meet other needs. Such support will help them in avoiding indebtedness as well and falling into clutches of money lenders,” Goyal said while presenting the interim Budget of 2019-20.
The scheme is expected to benefit around 86.21 per cent of landholding farmers who own less than two hectares of land as in 2015-16 according to the provisional data of 10th agricultural census. In 2010-11, this number was around 84.97 per cent of total operational holdings, defined as all land used wholly or partly for agricultural production and is operated as one technical unit by one person alone or with others without regard to the title, legal form, size or location. The scheme will not cover tenant or landless farmers or labourers, which number almost 140 million.
chart Since the support works out to Rs 500 a month, farmers are unhappy. “This is a pittance. How can the government even imagine that farmers will benefit with a support of Rs 16.44 per day. It also remains to be seen how this scheme will be implemented on ground as that is the key,” said Ram Inaniya, a core member of Aam Kisan Union, a Madhya Pradesh-based farmers’ association.
“The major problem facing the farmers today is falling price of their produce…. I don’t know how an income support of Rs 6,000 per year will compensate for those losses. Also, how will the farmers be identified? Barring a few states, land records in most parts of the country are shabbily maintained,” Mahendra Dev, director of Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), pointed out.
Government estimates say around 120 million farmers will be benefitted from the scheme.
chart To enhance the programme’s appeal ahead of the 2019 general elections, the scheme has been started with retrospective effect from December 1, 2018, and the first instalment of Rs 2,000 per farmer is expected to be transferred in their bank accounts before March 31, 2019.
Goyal allocated Rs 20,000 crore for the scheme in the Revised Estimate (RE) of 2018-19 to be spent this year, and he has budgeted Rs 75,000 crore for the scheme for 2019-20.
On account of the income support scheme, the total allocation for the farm sector rose to Rs 140,763.97 crore in 2019-20 (Budget Estimates), up almost 78 per cent from the RE of 2018-19.
According to the NABARD's All India Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) released in August 2018, in 2015-16, the average annual income of an agricultural household was Rs 107,172 compared to Rs 87,228 for families engaged only in non-agricultural activities. This will now go up by Rs 6,000 approximately.
chart The same data also showed that a significant chunk of this income of a farmer household, that is almost 57 per cent, comes from non-farm sources, which the interim Budget fails to support.
The NABARD survey defines farm households as families having over Rs 5,000 as value of produce from agricultural operations in the year preceding the survey.
Apart from income support, the interim Budget also created a separate department for fisheries, which had been proposed by the United Progressive Alliance.
chart The interim Budget also announced the creation of a commission for welfare of cows, titled Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog.
That apart, it also announced restructuring of crop loans in the event of a natural calamity, and an extension on the interest subvention on timely loan repayment to the entire period of resettlement of such loans.
The interest subvention on short-term crop loans of 2 per cent, on which an additional 3 per cent was given on timely repayment, will now be extended to farmers pursuing animal husbandry who take loans through Kisan Credit Cards.

Tax benefits for above Rs 5 lakh income group may be considered next: Goyal

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal expressed confidence that the Narendra Modi government would return to power in the upcoming general elections, and that it might look at tax relaxations for individuals earning more than Rs 5 lakh annually in the full Budget for 2019-20. Edited excerpts from Goyal’s post-Budget press conference:
You said that in the main Budget, you would further look at the income tax rate slabs.
I hope that the next government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will look at other tax proposals in the main Budget. That would be the job of the finance minister then. I have been constrained by the nature of interim Budget. However, there are many things that could not have waited till the final Budget, particularly relief for small taxpayers, which I have passed on. The rest is for the next FM to decide in July. Anyway, if you see the track record of this government, for five years consistently, we have passed on many benefits to taxpayers.
If a person’s taxable income is Rs 8 lakh, would tax benefits be according to the present slabs?
Yes. Keeping the convention of interim Budget in mind, we have not touched the tax slabs, and the existing slabs will continue. For only those with taxable income below Rs 5 lakh, we have announced a measure in the interim Budget.
Do we have a new fiscal road map in place?
A lot of economic growth has not been captured in the GDP numbers that came out earlier. As the nation is moving towards formalisation, the tax base and revenues are also increasing. Probably that has taken some time to reflect in the (GDP) numbers. As the calculation is getting robust and given the new numbers just came out, fiscal consolidation may not change much. When we calculate with the new estimates, we have done better than the original road map.
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What do you have to say on the revised fiscal deficit numbers?
You would appreciate that this government, for four years consistently, has given Budgets in which we have met (the fiscal target). Our figures for actuals are close to the revised estimates. And it’s actually 3.36 per cent (for 2018-19) – it could have become 3.30 per cent. Whatever figures come by working from the bottom, we have maintained the sanctity of the Budget process, which is reflected in the actual figures.
That has been the strength of this government’s fiscal consolidation – the integrity in making Budgets.
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Have you completely provided for fertiliser and petroleum subsidy in the revised estimates?
We have provided for all that is required. In fact, what we inherited as unpaid subsidy was the worst form of fiscal indiscipline in 2014. Almost Rs 1.60 trillion unpaid bill was left behind by the UPA government, which this government paid.
Will the income support scheme go along with subsidy to farmers?
This is an income support scheme which has no co-relation with subsidy. Land holdings have kept on getting divided. Over 70 million farmers have land holding of less than half hectare. So you can imagine the impact this income support of Rs 6,000 will have on the farmers living in villages.

Piyush Goyal calls for better, accurate data on jobs at CII event

There is a disconnect between the demand and supply of jobs in the country, and skill development and robust data are needed, according to Railways and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal. The minister was spearheading a discussion on job creation, along with the Confederation for Indian Industry (CII).
"We have been engaging with the industry to understand the disconnect between the available data and the real situation that we hear from various places versus the dialogue over the lack of job opportunities," Goyal said, while addressing the media post the CII event. He added entrepreneurs have jobs but finding skilled talent is difficult for them.
Goyal also added the government is working on better ways to capture job data. "We are having a dialogue with the CII to help us evolve with a better way," the minister said.
His discussion with various working groups in Mumbai on Saturday also highlighted the need for a robust data on jobs, he said. "Entrepreneurship does not get recognised in the data," he said.
"The data available is not very inclusive and does not cover many new-age industries, point made was the example of the taxi aggregators which are engaging a million people today," he said referring to household help being another segment which is not accounted for. "The absence of these will exaggerate the demand and supply situation for employment," he said.
The latest data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) indicates the unemployment rate in the country shot up to 7.4 per cent in December 2018, the highest in 15 months.
The data also revealed about 11 million jobs were lost in 2018 alone. The CMIE blamed Note ban (November 2016) and the goods and services roll-out (July 2017) for the job losses.
"Employment opportunities have gainfully increased, though the data sources are unable to adequately capture this increasing trend. Youth should also be encouraged to develop skills for the future and focus on becoming job creators rather than job seekers, Goyal said.
Referring to the ongoing infrastructure development in Maharashtra, Goyal added, "Maharashtra leads the way in terms of example of job creation and the opportunities the state offers." The state at present is developing a robust metro system in Mumbai entailing an investment of more than ~80,000 crore.

'Ask for a bill': FM Goyal's suggestion to consumers to check GST evasion

Seeking consumers’ participation in curbing tax evasion, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on the eve of the completion of one year of the goods and services tax (GST) rollout on Saturday, appealed to consumers to insist on a bill for every purchase. He said it would help the government check evasion and reduce tax rate on each item by as much as 4-5 per cent.

He further said the government would start a three-digit consumer helpline number to enable them to lodge complaint against erring traders or any other kind of tax evasion.

Touted as the biggest indirect tax reform since Independence, the GST was rolled out last year on July 1.

“I want to appeal to the people that they should demand a bill whenever they go to purchase any goods. If you start asking for a bill...if there's awareness about this, then we can reduce rates by 4-5 per cent for every item (under GST),” Goyal said.

If any shop says that they will sell at a lower price if the consumer does not demand a bill, then the consumer should immediately file a complaint, he said.

“We will soon provide a three-digit simple number which will work as a call centre where customers can complain. We will ensure full confidentiality of the complainant,” Goyal said.

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The endeavour will be to start the helpline number within 15-20 days, he said. A nationwide campaign could be launched for creating consumer awareness about demanding bills for purchases made.

“If everyone starts giving bill then competition will be on quality and customer service and not on ability to cheat the system,” Goyal said.

He further said the government wants to reduce the burden of taxation on consumers but revenue needs to increase and support of states is also needed to cut rates where it is essential.

With formalisation of economy, the government will have more elbow room to reduce rates, he said.

Goyal also assured small businesses if they face any trouble, then they can write to him and it would be resolved.

He said amendments would be introduced to the GST law in monsoon session to increase composition scheme threshold from the current Rs 10 million.

The GST Council had last year decided to increase the threshold to Rs 15 million and also decided to amend the law to increase the statutory threshold to Rs 20 million.
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'Bad bank' back on table: Piyush Goyal says panel will decide on ARCs

The proposal on transferring non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks (PSBs) to special purpose vehicles — asset reconstruction companies or asset management firms — is back on the agenda.The proposal on transferring non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks (PSBs) to special purpose vehicles — asset reconstruction companies or asset management firms — is back on the agenda.
A panel headed by Sunil Mehta, non-executive chairman, Punjab National Bank, would give recommendations in two weeks on forming asset reconstruction companies/asset management companies (ARCs/AMCs) to resolve the problem, Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after discussions with public sector bank heads in Mumbai.
The panel will study whether such a suggestion is good for Indian banking. If it was found useful, it would suggest ways of setting up such entities, Goyal said.
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The idea of a ‘bad bank’ has been one of the most debated ones for stressed asset resolution. A ‘bad bank’ helps banks clear their balance sheets by transferring the NPAs. In January 2017, the Economic Survey had suggested that a centralised Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency (PARA) could be established.
In a speech in February 2017, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Viral Acharya had suggested two structures – a private asset management company and a national asset management company. The former could be set up with equity participation from banks and global funds and would invest in sectors where there is economic viability in the short term. The latter could be set up with some form of government support and could look at stressed assets in sectors that are facing short-term stress but are of long-term economic value.
'Bad bank' back on table: Piyush Goyal says panel will decide on ARCs Replying to a question whether the government could provide capital for SPVs, Goyal said it was too early to say anything on this. There is an option of roping in the National Infrastructure Investment Fund for such initiatives. The government does not interfere in the decisions of the NIIF, he said.Also, banks will consider having oversight committees with external experts to help faster decision-making and resolving stressed accounts in a transparent and speedy manner.
The Economic Survey for 2016-17 had broached the idea of a centralised bad bank to take over large bad loans. The Survey had pointed out the Indian economy was hobbled by the “twin balance sheet”, which is composed of over-leveraged companies and banks troubled by the weight of bad loans.
Goyal said discussions during the meeting focused on credit flows and banks that devised a mechanism to ensure loans to good borrowers should not face difficulties.
Risks needed to be mitigated, he said, adding that all bankers wished to set up a mechanism to enable a faster resolution of stressed accounts.
The finance minister said most of the stressed assets that could fit into the ARC or AMC structure had been identified.
According to rating agency CRISIL, gross NPAs (GNPAs) in the banking system, which stood at 11.2 per cent in 2017-18, are likely to touch 11.5 per cent this fiscal year.
In 2017-18, GNPAs increased to around Rs 10.3 trillion, or 11.2 per cent of advances compared with Rs 8 trillion, or 9.5 per cent of advances, as of March 31, 2017.
The public sector banks, which control over 70 per cent of banking system loans, also have a predominant share in bad loans.
About a fifth of the slippages in 2017-18 was due to the withdrawal of various structuring schemes by the Reserve Bank of India in February, after the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) came into force, the report said.
The rating agency, however, said the tide was turning and it expected moderation in slippages, better recoveries from NPAs, and improved provision coverage. After meeting the heads of state-owned banks, Goyal said the government "stands solidly behind each of the 21 public sector banks (PSBs)".
He said all vacant positions of PSB heads would be filled in the next 30 days. Suggestions about strengthening governance processes and honest recognition of NPAs were discussed at the meeting, he said.
‘ICICI a good bank with robust processes’
Goyal said private sector lender ICICI Bank was a good bank with very robust internal processes internally.
There was "no cause for concern for any of the stakeholders" of ICICI Bank, Goyal said in response to a media query.
Media persons asked Goyal about the government’s almost total silence over governance issues at ICICI Bank, and why the government's nominee to the bank's board had not attended a recent board meeting.
He said the law would take its own course in the matter and that processes were already underway both internally and externally.

Panel to take a call on asset reconstruction company for tackling bad loans

Indian bankers wish to set up a mechanism for faster resolution of stressed accounts, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, emphasising the government was committed to giving full support to all 21 public sector banks.
A panel under Punjab National Bank chief Sunil Mehta will give recommendations in two weeks on the formation of asset reconstruction companies/asset management companies (ARCs/AMCs) to resolve the problem, he said in Mumbai after discussions with public sector bank heads.

Most stressed assets could fit into the ARC or AMC structure, he said, according to news agency PTI.
In the next 30 days, executive positions in public sector banks will be filled up, Goyal said at a press conference that came against the backdrop of several lenders reporting a jump in net losses earlier this month.
Goyal said there was a proposal that banks may consider having committees comprising retired judges, vigilance officials, regulators to bring in external expertise that will help faster decision-making, ANI reported.
The Indian banking sector is reeling due to the problem of bad loans, which are putting an extra burden on the world's sixth largest economy. Non-performing assets touched Rs 8.31 trillion at the end of December 2017.
Banks reported a further rise in bad loans in the March quarter after the Reserve Bank of India withdrew half a dozen loan-restructuring schemes and tightened some rules in February.
Risks need to be mitigated to support the economy, Goyal said, adding suggestions about strengthening the governance process and the honest recognition of NPAs or bad loans were discussed in Friday's meeting.
He assured that processes will be streamlined and customer interest protected.
Goyal said his discussions with the bankers also focused on a mechanism to ensure credit flow to good borrowers.

Piyush Goyal hopes PSU banks will overcome 'legacy issues'

Newly-appointed finance minister Piyush Goyal has expressed confidence that public sector banks, particularly those placed under the prompt corrective action (PCA) by the Reserve Bank of India, would come out of the "legacy issues" quickly and promised all Central support to them.
Goyal, who was given additional charge of the finance ministry because of Arun Jaitley's ill health, was talking to reporters after meeting the representatives of eleven PCA banks. The meeting is still on.

"Today, we have called all banks which are placed under PCA. Eleven bankers are representing these banks to share what had happened in their banks," he said.
Goyal said he was confident that public sector banks which have played a very important role in the country's development will be able to overcome these legacy issues in a very short period of time.
"The banks will be able to continue to serve the common man through more aggressive banking, maintaining the highest standards of ethics and integrity," he said.
He said it will be ensured in the next few days that the Centre will give every possible support to further strengthen the resolve of these banks to come out of this situation as quickly as possible.