Karnataka govt to step up audit & inspection of e-commerce players
Bengaluru (PTI): Asserting that the government will take measures to plug leakages with respect to GST collection in the state, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on Friday said audit and inspection of e-commerce players will be increased.
The Minister said this while piloting the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, for the consideration of the Legislative Assembly. It was subsequently passed.
"Tax payers in Karnataka during VAT era were 5,80,000, today during GST period it has increased to 10 lakh, so about 4.2 lakh taxpayers have come under the tax net. Karnataka has displayed an increasing trend in GST collection from Rs 44,816 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 81,848 crore in 2022-23. GST has immensely contributed towards an increase in our budget size and revenues," Patil said.
He said, "there is a perception that tax evasion is more in the service sector, but 56 per cent of our contribution is from the service sector."
BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Congress MLA Shivalinge Gowda, JD(S)' H D Revanna among others highlighted about instances of GST/tax evasion, and urged government take measures in this regard.
The Minister said, the government will take all necessary measures to plug GST leakages.
"11,733 cases were inspected last year (2022-23) Rs 1,320 crore has been collected in the form of tax penalty. This is not a small amount, but still more measures have to be taken," he said, adding that honest efforts have to be made by officials in tax collection.
Pointing out that a drive had been conducted in the state against "bogus dealers", the Minister said, 1,600 cases were detected and about Rs 90 crore ITC (input tax credit) were blocked.
There is a need to take more such measures, and the government will do it, he said, adding, "also, audit and inspection of e-commerce operators will be increased."
The Karnataka Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was introduced with an aim to overcome difficulties in the levy and collection of tax on intra-State supply of goods or services or both by the State government.
Piloting the bill for the consideration of the House, Patil said, the amendment bill will bring in 22 amendments to GST law out of which six are dealer-friendly measures and 16 are for ease for tax compliance and administrative measures.
The bill intends to include penal provisions applicable to e-commerce players in case of contravention of provisions relating to supply of goods and services made through them by unregistered persons or composition of tax payers.
The Bill also aims to decriminalise offenses by increasing the monetary threshold from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore except for offenses related to issuance of invoices without supply of goods or services or both.
The Assembly today also passed Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The bill is to amend the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act, 1999 (Karnataka Act 29 of 2000) to enhance the amount of construction works undertaken by the persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore.
Karnataka Legislature (Prevention Of Disqualification) (Amendment) bill, 2023 was also passed by the Assembly today.
This bill is to make provisions to exempt the office of Legal Advisor to the Chief Minister and office of the Special Representative of Karnataka State at New Delhi from incurring disqualification for being an MLA or MLC on such appointment.
The bill stated that the amendments shall be deemed to have been inserted with effect from May 20.
The amendment has been made following the appointment of Virajpet Congress MLA and Senior Advocate A S Ponnanna, a legal advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and senior MLA T B Jayachandra as Special Representative of Karnataka State at New Delhi.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
