Page 10 - Banking Finance July 2025

ROUNDUP

He added that India must continue le-
veraging its robust tech ecosystem and
workforce to retain its leadership role
in delivering global AI-powered ser-
vices.

GST Returns to be time-
Ò»©­ barred after three years

from July 2025
Starting from the July 2025 tax period,
Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns
will become time-barred three years
after their original filing due date, the
GST Network (GSTN) has announced.
Starlink Receives Licence to Launch Satellite Services This new restriction, enabled through

in India the Finance Act, 2023, applies to re-
turns such as GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-
Elon Musk's Starlink has received the Global Mobile Personal Communica-
4, GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, GSTR-6, GSTR-7,
tion by Satellite (GMPCS) licence from the Indian government, clearing the
GSTR-8, and GSTR-9.
path for launching commercial satellite communication services in the coun-
try. This makes Starlink the third company to get the GMPCS licence, join- The update aims to enhance compli-
ing Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications. ance and discipline by closing the win-
dow for indefinitely delayed filings.
Starlink executives have already held discussions with senior Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) officials and are expected to apply for trial spec- GSTN has advised taxpayers to recon-
trum soon, which will be allotted within 15-20 days. The licence was granted cile and submit any pending returns
promptly. Experts, however, warn of
after Starlink accepted India's strict security norms, including mandatory
legal interception capabilities and a prohibition on linking users to foreign consequences for businesses affected
by litigation, system glitches, or over-
servers or processing data abroad.
sight, with no current redress mecha-
The move marks a significant milestone in India's satellite broadband mar- nism in place.
ket, where competition is intensifying. Amazon's Kuiper project remains in
the approval pipeline. Starlink's entry is expected to boost internet connec- "The absence of exceptions could re-
tivity in remote regions across the country. sult in permanent loss of Input Tax
Credit (ITC) and financial strain," said
Rajat Mohan, Senior Partner at AMRG
India Set to Become Glo- innovation to enterprise-grade solu- & Associates. The time-bar provision
tions. was first flagged by GSTN in October
bal AI Back Office, Says
He noted that over the past two de- 2024, with full implementation now
Cognizant India Head cades, India's GDP growth has been confirmed for mid-2025.
India is positioning itself as the AI of- heavily driven by technology adoption
fice of the world, according to Rajesh and the internet economy. "Every For- ECB Cuts Key Interest Rate
Varrier, President of Operations at tune 2000 company depends on Indian by 25 Basis Points Amid
Cognizant and MD of Cognizant India. firms for technology support," he said,
Speaking during a businessline webinar pointing out that AI is now touching Trade Tensions
titled "Is AI taking away IT jobs?", every industry. While some stakehold- The European Central Bank (ECB) has
Varrier emphasized India's potential to ers remain concerned about its impli- lowered its benchmark interest rate by
add value across the artificial intelli- cations, Varrier sees it as a natural 25 basis points to 2%, marking its
gence (AI) spectrum-from R&D and evolution of tech-led growth. eighth consecutive rate cut. The deci-

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