Morning Brief: Robert Vadra’s Firm Gets I-T Notice For Tax Evasion; Amarnath, Chardham Yatras May See Highest Footfall This Year; Trump Plans Curbs On Chinese Investment In US

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

Robert Vadra’s Firm Gets I-T Notice For Tax Evasion

A firm linked to Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra has been served a notice by the Income Tax department for tax evasion. Sky Light Hospitality has been asked to pay Rs 25.8 crore in tax for the assessment year 2010-11. A report prepared by the I-T Department says the assessment of the 2010-11 income of the firm shows that the actual income of the company for that year was nearly Rs 43 crore. The firm, however, had shown Rs 37 lakh in the books. Tax payable on this revised income has been determined to be Rs 25.8 crore. Earlier this year, a petition filed by the firm challenging the re-assessment was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The Delhi High Court had also dismissed a similar petition filed by the firm earlier. The re-assessment notice was issued against the firm in connection with DLF-Sky Light Hospitality land deal. According to the report, the DLF group gave Vadra’s firm loans to procure land, and eventually procured the same piece of land. The firm is accused in a number of land scam cases in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Amarnath, Chardham Yatras May See Highest Footfall This Year

The highest-ever number of pilgrims are expected to take part in the Amarnath and Chardham Yatras this year, The Economic Times has said in a report. The number of advance registrations for the Amarnath Yatra, which is starting on 28 June, has already crossed 2 lakh. With the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in Jammu and Kashmir, services such as helicopter taxi have become cheaper. The pilgrim count at the ongoing Chardham Yatra (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri), the season for which lasts from April till October, has already crossed 20 lakh. The record of nearly 22 lakh pilgrims, who visited the four shrines in Uttarakhand in the entire 2017, may soon break. However, the number of pilgrims visiting the char dhams comes down drastically during the monsoon season due to the difficult terrain. To deal with this issue, the Modi government is currently working on an all-weather road, called the Char Dham Highway, to link all the four shrines.

Trump Plans Curbs On Chinese Investment In US Tech Firm

Amid an ongoing trade war with Beijing, the Trump administration has decided to cap investments by Chinese companies in US technology firms and to block important technology exports to China. These measures, which are likely to escalate the trade war between the two countries, could be announced this week. When implemented, companies with at least 25 per cent Chinese ownership will be blocked from buying US companies which are considered to possess "industrially significant technology." The decision on the percentage of Chinese ownership is pending and may come down from the now proposed limit of 25 per cent. The US National Security Council and the Department of Commerce are also working on introducing measures to prevent the export of sensitive technology to China. On 15 June, the Trump administration had announced a new 25 per cent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.

GST Council May Reduce Rates On Construction Material

During its meeting on 19 July, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) council will consider a proposal to reduce GST rates to 18 per cent from 28 per cent on items used in construction. The move, which comes ahead of the 2019 election, appears to be part of a larger plan to increase benefits for both homebuyers and builders. Not long ago, the government had, for the second time, relaxed rules to enable more homebuyers to access the interest subsidy scheme. Lowering the GST rate will bring down the input cost. While many items used in construction are already in the 18 per cent tax slab, raw material such as cement and paints come under the 28 per cent tax slab. Construction contributes 8 per cent to India’s gross domestic product. In the fourth quarter of 2017-18, construction sector grew at 11.5 per cent.

Kerala Priests Accused Of Blackmailing, Sexually Abusing Woman

Five priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala have been accused of blackmailing and sexually abusing a married woman, from Thiruvalla in Kottayam district, for years. The issue came to light when the woman’s husband wrote to the Church saying a number of priests had used his wife’s confession, supposed to be kept a secret, to blackmail her. In an audio clip, which has now gone viral on social media, the woman’s husband is heard saying he has been facing pressure from within the church to withdraw the complaint. After the husband’s complaint, the Church has sent five priests accused of blackmailing and sexually abusing the woman on leave. A church spokesman has confirmed that the five priests named in the complaint have been suspended pending an inquiry. Police are yet to file a case.

51 Lakhs Houses Sanctioned Under PMAY (Urban) In Three Years

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has sanctioned more than 51 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in the last three years. This is a major achievement in comparison to old housing schemes as only 12.4 Lakh houses were approved in around nine years. The total project cost of the scheme now stands at Rs. 2.81 lakh crore, with Central Assistance estimated at Rs. 77,000 crore. While 7.60 lakh houses have already been completed, another 28 lakh have been grounded. Over 2 lakh beneficiaries have been given subsidy.

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