As per CBDT, a taxpayer is a person who  has filed a return of income for the relevant assessment year (AY) or in  which  case tax has been deducted at source  during  the relevant financial year but the taxpayer has not filed the  return. 

  The direct  tax-to-GDP ratio, which reflects the share of taxes in  total  output generated in the country,  touched  a 15-year high of  6.11%  in  fiscal  2022-23,  according to  time-series data  announced  by the  power plant.

 The Department  of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Ministry of Finance showed  this on  Tuesday. This  comes with  an increase in the  number of Indian taxpayers  to 7.4 crore in FY23, up  6.3% over  FY22, even as  fiscal momentum –  the  pace of taxes compared to  the  nominal  growth rate of  the economy – decreased to 1.18.  in  2022-23, compared with  2.52 in 2021-22 and 1.29 in the pre-Covid year  2018-19. 

  Tax revenue expenditure – which represents the share  of  spending  on tax collection  in  total tax  revenue – fell slightly  to  0.51%  in FY23, the lowest level since 2000-01, but  increased in absolute  terms.  to Rs 8,452 crore, the highest  since 2000-01, the year for which data  was  last available,  according to  CBDT  data.  

  Fiscal momentum  stood at (-)1.21 in 2019-20 and it  has  not  been calculated  for  FY  2020-21  due to fall in  nominal GDP and tax  revenue over  the previous year. Tax  momentum  improved to 2.52 in 2021-22 due to  low base effect. Now,  the  tax  dynamic has declined  to 1.18 in  2022-23, although tax  growth  was recorded at  17.79%  in 2022-23, higher than  the  nominal GDP  growth of 15.11 %.  

 A tax  dynamic  greater than 1 reflects a faster  rate of tax  growth  relative to  the  country’s  national income.  

 Net direct tax collections, which reflect collections after  tax  refunds,  “rose 160.52%  to Rs 16.63  billion  in FY  2022-23, compared to  Rs 6.39  billion  in  2013-14,”  CBDT said in a  report. declare. He said total  direct tax  revenue  stood at Rs 19.7 lakh crore in FY 2022-23,  up  173.3 per cent from Rs 7.21 lakh crore in FY  2013-14.  On a  year-over-year  basis, net direct tax  revenue  increased  17.8%,  while  total  direct tax  revenue increased 20.5%.  

 While the number of  income tax  filers  increased to 7.4 crore in  the  financial year 2022-23,  of which 6.97 crore were individuals,  there is no  corresponding data  on taxpayers.  In the previous financial year 2021-22, while  taxpayers  stood at 6.96 crore (with 6.55 crore individuals),  total  taxpayers stood at 9.37 crore  –  a  difference  of 2.41 crore  crore – this shows  that a significant number of taxpayers are  taxed through  as TDS but  do  not  file  income tax returns.  

 As per CBDT, a taxpayer is a person who  has filed a return of income for the relevant assessment year (AY) or in  which  case tax has been deducted at source  during  the relevant financial year but the taxpayer has not filed the  return. 

  Of  the  government’s total  tax  revenue,  direct tax  revenue  accounted for 54.62 per cent  in  the  financial year 2022-23,  the highest in four years. The  share of  direct  taxes  in total taxes  stood at  52.27%  in FY22,  46.84%  in FY21,  52.42%  in FY20 and  54.83%  in  FY19 .A  higher  ratio of  direct  taxes  to indirect taxes  is considered progressive  because  indirect  taxes hurt  the poor more than direct taxes.  

 Among states and union territories, Maharashtra accounted for 36.4 per cent (Rs 6.05 lakh crore) of the  country’s total  direct tax  revenue  in the financial year 2022-23, followed by Delhi  with 13, 3%  (Rs 2.22 lakh crore),  from Karnataka.  at  12.5% ​​(Rs  2.08 lakh crore) and Tamil Nadu at  6.4%  (Rs 1.07 lakh crore).  Collectively,  these four states accounted for  68.6%  of  total  direct tax  revenue  in FY23. 

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 The world’s  largest buyer of  sunflower oil  usually imports  most of  it  from the Black Sea region  through  the Red Sea. However, recent Houthi attacks have  forced  shipping companies to reroute trade between Europe and Asia  to  Africa, increasing  delays  and costs. 

  India’s  sunflower oil imports are  expected  to  fall  in  the  coming months as  prices rise, as  freight  rates rise,  prompting buyers to  switch  to  vegetable  oils, trading officials at Reuters said. Competitors are  available at  discounted prices.  

 The  world’s largest buyer of  sunflower oil  usually imports  most of  it  from the Black Sea region  through  the Red Sea. However, recent Houthi attacks have  forced  shipping companies to reroute trade between Europe and Asia  to  Africa, increasing  delays  and costs.  Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage, said high  freight rates have  pushed  the  cost of  transporting  sunflower oil above  soybean oil  in India for the first time in nearly a  decade.  a  year.  

 “Sunoil imports  have increased sharply  in  recent  months due to  its  price advantage  over  soybean oil.  However,  the company has  lost this advantage  due to increased shipping costs,”  he said. 

  Traders said crude  sunflower oil imports are currently  priced  at  around $943/tonne,  including  costs,  insurance and freight (CIF),  to  India for  delivery in February,  while  soybean oil Crude oil  is  priced  at  about 935 USD/ton  and crude palm oil  is  at  933 USD.  

 Two months ago, sunflower oil was trading at a  price lower than soybean oil by  $120 per  ton,  which encouraged Indian traders to increase  imports of solar oil.  In December,  India’s solar oil  imports more than doubled from  the previous month, reaching  260,850 tons. 

  Soybean oil  imports in December  increased  1.8% to 152,650  tons,  but remained significantly below the average imports of 306,000 tons in the marketing year  ending  October 2023. 

  Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trading and brokerage firm GGN Research, said in  January, sunflower oil imports could fall to 225,000  tonnes  as  soybean oil  imports are  expected  to  cross  230,000  tonnes. 

 “In the coming  months,  sunflower oil imports  will decline  to around 200,000  tonnes  if the current price trend continues,” Patel said.  

 India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports  soybean oil  and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.  Argentina  currently  offers solar oil  at more competitive prices than  countries in the  Black Sea  region,  said  an agent  with a global  trading company headquartered in Mumbai. He said shipping disruptions in the  Red Sea  will cause  India to buy more  soybean oil  from South America and less  solar oil  from the Black Sea  region.

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 The  United States,  China and Japan are the  major  stock markets in the world.  BSE’s  market  capitalization stood at Rs 366 lakh crore on Tuesday. 

 India’s stock market overtook Hong Kong to become the fourth-largest stock market for the first time, even as domestic indexes fell 1.5% on Tuesday. 

 According to a Bloomberg report, the aggregate value of stocks listed on Indian exchanges stood at $4.33 trillion on Monday, compared with Hong Kong’s $4.29 trillion. The United States, China and Japan are the major stock markets in the world. BSE’s market capitalization stood at  Rs 366 lakh crore on Tuesday. 

  Hong  Kong’s decline is largely  due to  China’s  eroding  attractiveness  and  is down nearly 36% from  its  record high. Analysts say  the  significant trend in global economic growth  today  is  China’s  underperformance  and  India’s superiority.  

 “Since the  collapse of major  Chinese stocks listed in Hong  Kong,  the Hang Seng index is near a 19-year low. This trend is  expected  to continue  as  the  outlook  for the Chinese economy and stock market  now looks bleak.  However, if the Chinese economy  picks up,  Chinese stocks will  recover because  their valuations are very low,”  an  analyst said.  

 On the other hand,  the  Indian stock  market will grow 20%  by  2023 amid  foreign  capital  inflows and  higher  growth prospects. 

  “This  important  milestone  highlights  the resilience and dynamism of  the Indian  economic landscape. As the  country moves forward,  investor confidence and  opportunity  converge,  pushing  the stock market to new  heights,  said Suman Bannerjee,  CIO of  Hedonova, a  Paris-based  hedge fund. 

  “This achievement  not only  marks  a  digital victory  but also  marks India’s  emergence as a key player in the international financial arena.  This  is a testament to the  country’s  economic  strength  and signals a promising trajectory for investors navigating the diverse and  dynamic  landscape of the Indian stock market,” he said.

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 The RoDTEP scheme, announced in January 2021, refunds  general taxes  and  duties,  such as VAT on fuel used in  transport,  mandi tax and  electricity tax.

  It  replaces  the  WTO-inconsistent  Merchandise Exports from India Scheme  (MEIS),  which had faced several challenges from WTO members. 

  The  Union  government  has no plans  to  review the Duty Free  on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme after the United States  and the European Union (EU)  imposed anti-subsidy duties  last year  on four  products.  Indian  products,  citing  violations  of  global trade rules. A  government official said.  

 The US and EU  imposed countervailing duties  (CVD)  on paper  records,  common  aluminum  alloy  plates  and  fake liquid  steel  following  an anti-subsidy investigation. 

 Countervailing duties  are  customs duties  on imported  products  that are imposed to  compensate for  subsidies  provided  by the exporting  country’s government to protect  the domestic industry.  “When US investigators  visit  manufacturing plants,  exporters  must demonstrate that they are receiving discounts, not incentives. They must  be able to  prove  that they  pay their  electricity  bill  and  value added  tax (VAT). But there are  document retention issues on  the  part of  our  exporters.  We are working on a process to  help  exporters  get acquainted  with the entire documentation process,” the official said. 

  “There is no need to  modify  the  project.  It is WTO compliant.  Very  few exporters  cannot present documents. Some  people mentioned  that  it  was  an incentive because there  had been an incentive before. Therefore,  our exporters will have to adapt to the documentation mechanism and the government will  help them  in the process,” the official added. 

  Dhar added that  the  implementation of  this system is of certain importance  as other countries are  likely to  look at it more closely  after the US and EU  imposed countervailing duties on Indian  products.  

He added that RoDTEP is  compatible  with the WTO,  but  the  WTO is  concerned with  transparency and predictability and the government  must  ensure that.  “Another thing is how we  do  it. There is a  monitoring problem.  The industry  has rightly argued  that  this rate is  too low.  Whatever the  policy, it  needs  to be  continuously  reviewed and  monitored  to  ensure proper compliance.  

Because  because of a single  black sheep,  we cannot  let the  entire project  be called into question. The government  needs  to be  cautious in its  implementation because  as  our exports  decline,  we need to count  every penny.  Because we  might  lose,” Dhar added.

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 The  BoJ  maintained  short-term interest rates at  -0.1%  and kept yield curve control parameters  unchanged after  a two-day meeting, according to  a  statement  released on  Tuesday.  

 The Bank of Japan kept  monetary policy  steady and adjusted  economic  forecasts without providing  clear  guidance on a timetable  for  ending  negative interest  rates, pushing  the yen  lower.  

 The  BoJ  maintained  short-term interest rates at  -0.1%  and kept yield curve control parameters  unchanged after  a two-day meeting, according to  a  statement  released on  Tuesday. 

 The bank  lowered  its inflation forecast for the  April  fiscal year  to 2.4% from 2.8% in  its  quarterly outlook report.  This  implies  that  price  increases  will continue to exceed  the  2% target for some time, as has been the case since April 2022.  This political  decision was unanimously expected by  BoJ observers when interviewed  by Bloomberg. A major earthquake on New  Year’s  Day and a deepening  financial  scandal  within  Prime Minister Fumio  Kishida’s  ruling party made this  the wrong  time for  Japan’s  first  interest  rate hike since  then. since  2007.  The  Reserve and European Central Bank  hinted  at  cutting interest rates  later this year.  

 The yen weakened against the dollar immediately after the announcement, briefly  reaching  148.55 per  dollar,  as market  participants expected  the  rate to remain  negative  for some time.  

 The  decision  to hold  is unlikely to change the  widespread  view among economists that the  BoJ  will raise  interest  rates at some point this year. The BOJ said the  level of  certainty  in achieving the interest rate  target  continues  to  increase gradually, showing  that the bank is  increasingly  confident  in  achieving  the target  and is still on track  to raise interest rates.  

  Economists surveyed  see April as the most  favorable time to  end  negative  interest rates,  as  this would give  the central bank  time  to  evaluate  the results of annual  wage  negotiations. Higher  increases  are seen as  key  in ensuring  a positive cycle of  price  and  wage growth drives  economic growth. 

  Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting,  people familiar with the matter said  BoJ  officials  believed  their price  forecast – of about  2% or  more – was  high enough to justify ending  negative  interest rates  and  now  they are focusing  on whether  certainty  about  the outlook  has increased. enough.  

  Gov.  Kazuo Ueda will speak to reporters in the afternoon,  possibly starting at  3:30 p.m. 

 The recent  weakness in  the yen will  likely cause  Ueda to avoid  appearing  too dovish. The yen around 150  is keeping  import costs high and  adding  to  inflationary pressures, raising the risk of another blow to already  weak  consumer spending. 

 Households  facing  rising  living  costs  are  growing impatient with  widespread and  prolonged  monetary easing as  the  key price  gauge remains  above the  BOJ’s  2% target. 

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 In contrast, Venezuelan crude can be bought with effective discounts of around $8-10 per barrel after the US eased sanctions against the country mid-October, people aware of the matter said.  

 Cheaper Venezuelan crude oil may start flowing to India from next month after three years as domestic refiners are moving away from Russia to more economical energy imports after sanction-hit Moscow drastically reduced discounts to around $2 a barrel, three people aware of the development said.  

 In contrast, Venezuelan crude can be bought with effective discounts of around $8-10 per barrel after the US eased sanctions against the country mid-October, they said, requesting anonymity. Discounts are generally with reference to the benchmark Brent crude, which fell about 1% to $78.56 a barrel on Friday. The downward trend continued on Monday as Brent fell by 0.22% at $78.39 in morning trade. 

 To meet India’s  growing energy needs, New Delhi  is  not only  diversifying  its crude oil imports but  is  also  making  efforts to  continue importing  from old suppliers such as Venezuela,  a company  manager said. .  India, the  world’s third-largest  crude oil consumer, imports more than 87% of its  needs. He added that they are ready  to  establish  supply  links  with any  manufacturer  at economical  prices.  

  “Refineries  have  only  purely commercial considerations  when  importing  crude oil. Long  before  US sanctions  hit India in 2020, Venezuela was  one of  the  main  crude oil suppliers. It  became India’s third-largest  crude oil  supplier  in  2012,  with new refineries as  the main supplier, set  to process cheap but low-quality waxy Venezuelan  crude, ”  said the second person, a government official. Reliance  Industries’  Jamnagar  and Essar (now Nayara)  plants  were the two main buyers of Venezuelan crude at  the time,  and  several state-run refineries  later  signed  long-term crude supply contracts with  Venezuela.  PDVSA,Venezuela’s  state oil company. 

  According  to data  presented to  Lok Sabha on July 31,  2017, India’s  imports  from Venezuela increased  to  USD 11,729.89  billion in  2014-15, mainly due to crude oil purchases. sharp decline.  global crude oil prices.  

The average  price of the  country’s crude oil imports (Indian oil  basket), which was $86.14  per  barrel in 2014-15,  fell by over 46%  to $46.17 in  2015-16.  

 Due to the US sanctions, imports from Venezuela (over 90% of crude supplies) saw a sharp fall from $6.05 billion 2019-20 to $714 million in 2020-21. It plunged further to $334 million and $178 million in 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively. Other than crude oil, India imported dye intermediates, iron, copper and lead from the Latin American country. 

  Both public and private sector refiners have started negotiating long-term, large volume contracts with PDVSA. Some have also contracted immediate supplies and they are on the way, the third person said.  

 “With Venezuelan crude available in the market and some Indian refiners expressing interest in purchasing discounted Venezuelan crude to diversify their imports and capitalize on refining margins at the expense of some sour Middle Eastern grades, India’s crude import strategy is at a crucial and intriguing phase,” said Sumit Ritolia, refinery economics analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights, an information provider. 

Due to heavy discounts, refiners will prefer Venezuelan crude compared to Russian crude, which once rose to one-third of the Indian basket from about 0.2% in 2022-23, the people said. Russia contributed over 35% of India’s total crude imports in 2023, amounting to 1.7 million barrels per day, according to S&P Global. 

In December, Indian imports of Russian crude oil averaged 1.43 million barrels per day, reflecting a decrease of 150,000 barrels per day compared with November, and a significant drop of 620,000 barrels per day from the peak in May, which marked India’s highest monthly imports from Russia. 

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