INR recovery supported by firm domestic equities and easing international oil prices

The Indian rupee rose 8 paise to 86.03 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday amid a strong show at the domestic equity markets, weakening dollar, and easing of global crude oil prices. Indian shares rose notably on Monday as oil prices stabilized after settling 7 percent higher on Friday, and data showed India's wholesale price inflation eased further in May to a 14-month low amid cheaper costs for primary articles, fuel, and power. Provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry revealed that India's wholesale price index, or WPI, rose 0.39 percent year-over-year in May, slower than the 0.85 percent increase in April. This was the lowest inflation rate since March 2024. The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex jumped 677.55 points, or 0.84 percent, to 81,796.15 while the broader NSE Nifty index closed up 227.90 points, or 0.92 percent, at 24,946.50. However, decline in exports, along with foreign fund outflows, capped further gains in the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 86.16 against the greenback and traded in the range of 85.94-86.24 before closing at 86.03. On the NSE, USDINR futures slipped 0.08% to settle at 86.08.

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Economic Times

an hour ago

• Economic Times

UAE rule, wary I-T to deter dodgy crypto deals

Mumbai: In the lane to launder money, the skill to move cryptos to control companies and properties in Dubai has been honed over the past few years. But treading that alley would soon become tougher. Dual, albeit unrelated, developments in India and the UAE would force money movers to devise new tricks. First, Income tax (I-T) officials, hunting for illicit homes of Indians over the past six months, now strongly suspect that some property purchases were made with cryptocurrencies; second, a new regulatory regime in the Middle East country, would soon end payment in cryptos, other than stable coins, to freely buy goods and services. "When Indian residents use crypto to purchase real estate, they bypass Indian banking channels and FEMA scrutiny. But, under the new UAE regulations (expected from August), merchants would no longer accept crypto directly. Only entities licensed by the UAE Central Bank would be allowed to convert stablecoins to AED after collecting full KYC. While this framework ensures the buyer's identity is recorded, it remains unclear whether such data would be shared under the India-UAE tax treaty," said Purushottam Anand, founder of the law firm Crypto raiding a leading UAE developer having roots in Mumbai and clients across India, a northern office of the I-T department found that more than 460 buyers in the 650-odd property deals have no record of having remitted money through banks to acquire the properties. According to findings which were shared with other I-T centres two months ago, the arm of the UAE realtor which brokered the deals was aided by a network of 86 sub-brokers who later shared details with the tax office. According to tax circles, some of the clients had paid in cryptos, probably under the belief it would go untraced. Earlier this year, the department had found that hundreds of mule accounts were opened by a few persons in Kerala to deposit cash, use the money to buy cryptos -either on local platforms or through peer-to-peer transactions-and then move the coins to other wallets before encashing the them in UAE, or buying assets like properties, or transferring them to third parties. "When digital assets move from exchanges to P2P platforms or private wallets, monitoring becomes difficult, creating opportunities for illegal activities such as ransomware attacks, laundering, tax evasion, and potentially terrorist financing. Although the exchanges are required to report 'suspicious transactions', including withdrawals, with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India, such risks can be further addressed through stricter enforcement of TDS provisions, i.e. Sections 194S or 195, ensuring tax compliance for all crypto transactions, whether conducted on or off exchanges. Additionally, specifying the reporting entities and the format for disclosures under Section 285BAA will improve traceability," said Ashish Karundia, founder of the CA firm Ashish Karundia & Co. 'PAYMENT TOKEN REGULATIONS' The new 'Payment Token Services Regulation' lays down the rules and conditions established by the UAE Central Bank for granting a licence or registration for payment token services-which include payment token issuance, token conversion, and token custody and transfer. Under the rules no merchant or anyone in the UAE selling goods or services can accept a virtual asset unless it's a dirham payment token issued by a licensed issuer. Also, a bank cannot act as a payment token issuer. UAE is working on Dirham-linked stable coin (like USDT or Tether which is pegged to the dollar)."This would have implications for India which has close economic and financial ties with the UAE. By bringing digital assets such as payment tokens under a structured licensing and anti-money laundering framework, the regulation adds a layer of safety and transparency to cross-border digital financial flows. For Indian individuals and businesses engaging in the UAE's digital economy, on one hand this means greater clarity, reduced risk of fraud, and alignment with global best practices; on the other hand, the clear prohibition on anonymous crypto instruments like privacy tokens reinforces the global trend toward traceable and regulated digital transactions. This is something India is also actively pursuing through its own financial intelligence mechanisms. This would deter transactions in property, high value luxury products bought by Indians in UAE using crypto tokens," said Siddharth Banwat, partner at CA firm Banwat & Associates dealers said the UAE rules are not entirely fool-proof as coins can be routed through platforms in multiple jurisdictions whose cooperation would be vital to spot the trail. But the very presence of licensed intermediaries collecting and storing information would deter money movers.

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

1% stamp duty hike likely to overcome Q1 property revenue shortfall

Bengaluru: Revenue shortfall from property registration in the first quarter of this fiscal has prompted the Karnataka govt to actively consider increasing stamp duty by 1%. The stamp duty was last revised in 2013. At present, the govt levies 5% stamp duty on the guidance value (minimum selling price of property fixed by the govt), 1% registration fee, 0.5% cess, and 0.1% surcharge. In all, property buyers pay 6.6% in cess and duty. They might end up 7.6% if the govt clears the hike proposal. Chief minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, convened a meeting on June 18 to review the performance of the department of stamps & registration. Taking a serious note of the shortfall, he reportedly directed both finance and stamps & registration departments to take measures to improve revenues. Finance officials suggested upward revision in stamp duty. Sources said the CM will take a final call once there is consensus between revenue and S&R departments. Karnataka has the lowest stamp duty among its neighbours, barring Andhra Pradesh. Tamil Nadu levies 11% that includes stamp duty and registration fee, and Maharashtra imposes 7%. Underwhelming revenues from property registration have been a cause of concern, as it potentially implies a sluggish real estate sector. While Siddaramaiah fixed a target of Rs 26,000 crore for 2024-25, he was forced to downscale it to Rs 24,000 crore. But the department could collect only Rs 22,500 crore by the end of the year. This fiscal, the CM fixed a target of Rs 28,000 crore. Going by this, the department was to have collected Rs 7,000 crore on average in the first quarter that ends on June 30. It collected Rs 5,556 crore, logging a 35% shortfall. "The govt is obviously worried about the revenue shortfall, but a stamp-duty hike is not the solution. It should realise that the shortfall is mainly due to the ill-implementation of the policy mandating e-khata for registration and tech glitches in the Kaveri portal. The govt does well to rectify this instead of hiking stamp duty," said T Bhaskar Nagendrappa, state president of Credai (Real Estate Developers' Associations of India). He said the govt increased its guidance value by 39% in 2023, and any hike in stamp duty would make property purchase costlier and negatively impact the sector. "The irony is the govt decided to keep sub-registrar offices open on weekends. But what's the use if the portal is glitch-ridden and e-khatas are not issued," said one sub-registrar. Ends GFX Sagging S&R Revenues 2024-25 Original target: Rs 26,000 crore Revised target: Rs 24,000 crore Achieved: Rs 22,500 crore 2025-26 Annual target: Rs 28,000 crore Target till June 30: Rs 7,000 crore Achieved till June 19: Rs 5,556 crore Source: GoK

Mint

an hour ago

• Mint

TSX ends largely flat for the week as market shows resilience

TSX ends down 0.03% at 26,497.57 Advance estimate shows retail sales down 1.1% in May Technology sector declines 0.5% Two sectors end higher, including financials June 20 - Canada's main stock index was barely changed on Friday, holding near its recent record high, as investors assessed developments in the Middle East conflict and domestic data that showed signs of an economic slowdown. The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 8.43 points, or 0.03%, at 26,497.57, extending its sideways pattern since notching a record closing high on June 12. For the week, the index was also down 0.03%. "The fundamental theme is one of market resilience," said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth. "We have a lot of moving parts. You've got geopolitical risk, you've got trade talks, you've got central bank action - a host of elements which make it difficult to predict where we'll be in the second half of the year and yet investor sentiment is still leaning towards risk-on, still concerned about the fear of missing out rather than encountering a sudden downside." Canada's retail sales were up in April on a monthly basis but were below estimates, while advanced data showed a drop of 1.1% in May. "The advance estimate sets a somber tone for the second quarter," Maria Solovieva, an economist at TD Economics, said in a note. "In addition, our internal credit and debit card spending data shows a meaningful softening in spending through May, suggesting that consumers tightened their purse strings." The technology sector fell 0.5%, with technology consulting company CGI Inc down 2.1%. Consumer staples was also a drag, losing 0.5%. Ltd is weighing options to expand production of germanium, a strategic metal key to chipmaking, and is currently talking with governments, including Canada and the United States, on available funding, the company told Reuters. Shares of Teck were down 1.2%. Just two of the 10 major sectors ended higher but they included financials, the most heavily weighted sector. It added 0.1%. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.