Page 12 - Banking Finance October 2024

ROUNDUP

on Anil Ambani, Chairman of the Anil Government Launches The amendments follow a board pro-
D. Ambani Group (ADAG), and 24 as- posal last month and are part of SEBI's
sociates for their involvement in divert- Simplified Pension Applica- broader efforts to safeguard market
ing funds from Reliance Home Finance tion Form participants and ensure proper regula-
Ltd. (RHFL). Ambani and key execu- The Ministry of Personnel, Public Griev- tory oversight amid the growing popu-
tives, including Amit Bapna, Ravindra ances, and Pensions has introduced a larity of financial advice on social me-
Sudhalkar, and Pinkesh R Shah, have single, streamlined pension application dia platforms.
also been barred from the securities form, Form 6-A, which consolidates
market for five years. nine separate forms required for retir- GST Taxpayers Without
SEBI's investigation revealed that ing government officials. This new form Bank Accounts Barred
Ambani and the former executives will simplify the pension application
loaned large sums to entities con- process and can be accessed through from Filing GSTR-1
nected to ADAG, which were never the e-HRMS and Bhavishya govern- Starting September 1, GST taxpayers
repaid. The regulator's 222-page re- ment portals. who fail to provide valid bank account
port described Ambani as the master- Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, details will be barred from filing their
mind behind the fraudulent scheme. outward supply return, GSTR-1, as per
said the initiative aims to reduce the
This marks the completion of regula- time and effort required for govern- a new advisory issued by the GST Net-
tory action following SEBI's interim di- ment employees to apply for pensions, work (GSTN). The rule, based on GST
rections in February 2022. making the process more efficient. Rule 10A, mandates taxpayers to fur-
nish bank account details within 30
SMEs Raise Rs. 11,000 SEBI Tightens Rules to days of receiving GST registration or
Crore in a Decade Regulate Financial Influen- before submitting their GSTR-1 form.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) This rule will apply to returns for the
have raised Rs. 11,000 crore over the cers tax period starting in August 2024,
past decade, according to Shekhar SEBI has amended regulations to ensuring stricter compliance from reg-
Chaudhary, Director of the Financial tackle the rising influence of unregis- istered taxpayers.
Markets Division at the Department of tered financial influencers, also known
Economic Affairs. Speaking at the 10th as "finfluencers." The amendments Government to Launch
Capital Markets Conclave organized by restrict associations between regu- Aadhaar-Style IDs for
CII Eastern Region, Chaudhary empha- lated entities and unregistered indi-
sized the growing trend of SMEs get- viduals in the financial markets, ad- Farmers in October
ting listed on the NSE and BSE, with dressing concerns about potential risks The Indian government is set to begin
780 SMEs listed as of June 2023. posed by such individuals. registering farmers nationwide from
Chaudhary also highlighted the
government's initiative to create a so- RBI Clarifies Education Loan Rules for OCI
cial stock exchange (SSE), through Cardholders
which nine NGOs have raised Rs. 12 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has clarified that Overseas Citizens of India
crore so far. Around 100 NGOs have (OCI) cardholders residing in India are eligible for education loans to study
registered with the NSE and BSE and abroad. However, OCI cardholders living outside India can only avail loans
are preparing fundraising documents
from Indian banks for studying within India. This clarification came after banks
for future listings. Additionally, SEBI
sought guidance on the applicability of the Model Education Loan Scheme
member Amarjeet Singh noted that
to OCIs.
mutual funds' assets under manage-
ment (AUM) from smaller cities (B30) There was initial confusion about whether loans to OCI residents in India
increased from 15% to 18% over the should fall under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which allows
last five years, with Bengal contribut- remittances of up to $250,000 per year. The RBI's clarification resolves
ing 5% to the total AUM. doubts and ensures proper treatment of loans for education purposes.

BANKING FINANCE | OCTOBER | 2024 | 11