- IDEA PAYMENTS BANK BEGINS OPERATIONS: Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank became the fourth such entity to begin its operations since issuance of licenses to 11 firms by Reserve Bank of India to form payment banks. Telecom major Airtel was the first to begin payments bank operations in November 2016 followed by Paytm. Department of Posts has started the payments bank operations on a pilot basis and has plans to start operations pan India by April 2018.
- NIRAV MODI FRAUD CASE MAY TRIGGER PCA ON PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK: The Rs. 11,400 crore Nirav Modi scam detected by Punjab National Bank may trigger Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) by RBI, which may lead to stoppage of lending by it for some time. The bank may consider selling some stake in some of its subsidiaries and joint ventures to raise money but since they are contractual agreements it may take some time.
- CAs (AUDITORS) CANNOT GET AWAY JUST BY CITING RED FLAGS: Auditors may not be able to get away by citing “Red Flags” raised by them in fraud hit companies as the government is set to crack down on errant entities. Report says that Companies Act puts enough responsibility on auditors to ensure that corporate accounts are in order, while the auditors have full option not to sign the accounts if the management does not address their concern.
- PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS TO TRANSFER OFFICERS COMPLETING 3 YEARS: In the wake of Punjab National Bank fraud case, the Central Vigilance Commission has issued an advisory to all the public sector banks ordering them to transfer all officers who have completed 3 years term in their present respective posts as on December 31 2017. The advisory also says that all the clerical staff who have completed 5 years term as on December 31 2017 also should be transferred immediately. However, as per the Bank’s transfer policy for officers, this rule (no officer shall be retained in the same post for 3 years and in the same station {same municipal limits} for a period in excess of 5 years) is already prevailing in banks but not strictly followed in all cases.
- DEADLINE FOR FILING REVISED OR BELATED INCOME TAX RETURNS FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS IS MARCH 31st: The last date for filing revised and belated Income Tax returns (ITR) for assessment years 2016-17 and 2017-18 is March 31, 2018. And there will be interest on late filing. The dead line for filing ITR for the current year (AY 2018-19) is July 31, 2018.
- KYC MANDATE WILL SHAVE OFF A BIG CHUNK OF MOBILE WALLET USERS BY MARCH 2018: As per the directions issued by RBI under the master direction on issuance and operation of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI), all the wallet users must submit their KYC (Know Your Customer) documents. Since less than half of wallet users have opted for KYC process, the mobile wallet issuers (service providers) may lose over half of their customer base once the February 28, 2018 deadline for completing KYC norms for all wallet users expires.
- PNB APPOINTS PwC TO PROBE Rs. 11,400 CRORE FRAUD: Punjab National Bank has appointed Price waterhouse Coopers (PwC), one of the big 4 accounting firms to conduct an investigation into the alleged Rs. 11,400 crore fraud case involving jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and their companies. PwC has been asked by PNB to identify how the mechanism was misused and track down the money and its end use so that it can be used as evidence in the court of law.
This post first appeared on IMPACT OF DEMONITIZATION OF CURRENCY IN INDIA IN 2016, please read the originial post: here
