The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : `Exempt SMEs from paying FBT'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 15, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

`Exempt SMEs from paying FBT'

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, to exempt small and medium enterprises (SME) with an annual turnover of less than Rs.5 crores from paying fringe benefit tax (FBT).

Demanding the exemption of partnership firms from the purview of service tax on goods transport agencies, the chamber, in a memorandum, also insisted upon waiver of conditions for availing abatement up to 75 per cent on service tax.

According to a release, a delegation of office-bearers led by the chamber president, S. Rethinavelu, handed over the memorandum to the Union Minister in New Delhi on May 10.

Pointing out that officials were demanding remittance of service tax while taking delivery of consignments irrespective of the payment made to the goods transport agency under the lorry receipt, the chamber said there was a risk of being taxed twice and hence the Ministry should take efforts to ensure transparent and tax-payer-friendly procedures.

The Chamber hailed the minister for enhancing the upper limit for imposition of banking transaction tax (BTT) and appealed to him to bring down the age limit for recognition as senior citizens from the present 65 to 60 years.

SEBI examination centre

In another release, the Chamber has urged the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to consider it as one of the centres for conducting SEBI examinations. In a memorandum to the Chairman of the Board, M. Damodaran, it has pointed out that students in southern districts find it very difficult to travel to Chennai to write the examinations.

Requesting the Board to direct all listed companies to declare their financial results only after the close of trading hours in order to avoid speculations in the market, the Chamber suggested that the companies should be brought under the purview of both National Securities Depository Limited and Central Depository Securities Limited.

The memorandum stated that circuit filters could be introduced for initial public offers (IPO) to control fluctuation of price on the day of listing.

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