INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 10 COMPANIES| PAGE 4 Trumpofficialstextwar plantoscribebymistake ECONOMY | PAGE 2 More demergers likely by India Inc in FY26 MUMBAI, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2025 Delhi CM Rekha Gupta presents `1L-cr budget FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LXV NO. 71, 18 PAGES, `12.00 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 78,017.19▲ 32.81 NIFTY: 23,668.65 ▲ 10.30 NIKKEI 225: 37,780.54 ▲ 172.05 HANG SENG: 23,344.25 ▼ 561.31 `/$: 85.76 ▼ 0.13 `/€: 92.64 ▲ 0.18 BRENT: $73.52 ▲ $0.52 GOLD: `87,438 ▼ `9 FE MOVETO SHIELD $66 BN OFEXPORTS FROM RECIPROCALTARIFFS Govt open to tariff cut on 55% of US imports ● Trade deal may Even as India's high streets wait anxiously for the footfalls to come back, corporate India's leading lights think it's just a matter of time before the buzz returns. Read what they have to say in the cover story of the FE 1000 magazine. Also, find out how brands are attempting to use technology to interact with consumers, in the 188-page magazine being distributed free with today's edition. There's a lot more, including a definitive listing of India's top 1,000 companies and their financials. see lowerlevy on $23 bn imports SARITA CHAGANTI SINGH, AFTAB AHMED & MANOJ KUMAR New Delhi, March 25 MIDDLE PATH ■ India is also ■ US President Donald Trump's reciprocal worldwide tariffs come into effect from April 2 ■ New Delhi estimates THE GOVERNMENT IS open to cuttingtariffsonmorethanhalf of US importsworth $23 billion in the first phase of a trade deal thetwonationsarenegotiating, twosourcessaid,thebiggestcut inyears,aimedatfendingoffreciprocaltariffs. The country wants to mitigate the impact of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal worldwide tariffs set to take effect fromApril 2,a threat that has disrupted markets and sent reciprocal tariffs would hit 87% of its total exports to United States ■ The United States has a trade deficit of considering wider tariff reform to lower barriers uniformly ■ The US President continues to call India a ‘tariff abuser’ and ‘tariff king’ $45.6 billion with India ■ Assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch is in India for trade talks »INSIDE« TRADE TALKS WITH US BEGIN TODAY; FOCUS ON MARKETACCESS PAGE 2 policymakers scrambling,even amongWesternallies. In an internal analysis,New Delhi estimated such reciprocal tariffswouldhit87%ofitstotal exports to the United States worth $66 billion,two governmentsourceswithknowledgeof the matter told Reuters. Under the deal,India is open to reducingtariffson55%ofUSgoodsit imports that are now subject to tariffsrangingfrom5-30%,said the sources,seeking anonymity as they were not authorised to speaktothemedia. Continued on Page 11 H1borrowing RBI OMO gets Topexecutives RBImovetohit IN THE NEWS decisiontoday `67.5K cr bids quitBluSmart gold-loanfirms S&P cuts India’s FY26 growth forecast to 6.5% INDIA’S GDP GROWTH may slow to 6.5% in the next financial year as economies in the AsiaPacific region will feel the strain of rising US tariffs and pushback on globalisation, S&P Global Ratings said on Tuesday. ■ PAGE 2 Ola Electric unit settles dues with Rosmerta Group OLA ELECTRIC ON Tuesday said Rosmerta Group has withdrawn its insolvency petition against Ola Electric Technologies after the company settled pending dues of `26.75 crore. ■ PAGE 4 US consumer confidence hits 12-yr low in March US CONSUMER CONFIDENCE dropped for a fourth straight month in March, with households the most pessimistic about the future in 12 years, a survey showed on Tuesday, reports Reuters. THE FINANCE MINISTRY and the Reserve Bank of India officials will meet on Wednesday to decide on the borrowing plan for the first half of 2025-26, sources said, reports Prasanta Sahu. The gross borrowings is pegged at `14.82 lakh crore for next fiscal. ■ PAGE 2 THE RESERVE BANK of India got a strong response to its open market operation purchase, attracting bids worth over `67,540 crore against the notified amount of `50,000 crore, reports Sachin Kumar. The liquidity deficit reached `1.94 lakh crore as on March 24. ■ PAGE 7 BLUSMART MOBILITY, WHICH is restructuring its operations to streamline its financials, has seen multiple exits at the top level, reports Anees Hussain. CEO Anirudh Arun and chief business officer Tushar Garg are among those who have stepped down from their positions. ■ PAGE 4 Samsunggets$601-mntax demandforevadingtariffs ADITYA KALRA & ADITI SHAH New Delhi, March 25 THE CENTRE HAS ordered Samsung and its executives in the country to pay $601 millioninbacktaxesandpenalties for dodging tariffs on import of key telecom equipment, a government order showed,for one of the biggest such demands in recent years. The demand represents a substantial chunk of lastyear's net profit of $955 million for Samsung in India, where it is one of the largest players in the consumer electronics and smartphones market.It can be challenged in a tax tribunal or the courts. The company, which also imports telecoms equipment through its network division, received awarning in 2023 for misclassifying imports to evadetariffsof10%or20%on a critical transmission compo- SET FOR LEGAL BATTLE ■ Samsung had received a warning in 2023 for misclassifying imports to evade tariffs of 10% or 20% on critical telecom equipment ■ Samsung pushed the tax authority to drop the scrutiny but customs authorities disagreed in a January 8 order ■ The demand represents a substantial chunk of last year's net profit of 955 mn $ for Samsung in India ■ It can be challenged in a tax tribunal or the courts nent used in mobile towers. It imported and sold these items to Reliance Jio. Samsung pushed the tax authority to drop the scrutiny, saying the component did not attract tariffs and officials had known its classification practice foryears. But customs authorities disagreedinaconfidential Jan- uary 8 order that is not public but was reviewed by Reuters. Samsung ‘violated’ Indian laws and ‘knowingly and intentionally presented false documentsbeforethecustoms authority for clearance’, Sonal Bajaj, the customs commissioner,said in the order. Continued on Page 11 Move aimed at freeing up seats for customers in premium economy, business class AIstafftoflyeconomyfromApril SWARAJ BAGGONKAR Mumbai, March 25 AIR INDIA’S EMPLOYEES, includingtopmanagementled by Campbell Wilson, would traveleconomyclassondomesticflightsfromApril1tofreeup seats for paying customers in business and premium economysegments. The airline employees will be considered for upgrade only ifthereareanyunsoldseatsin this categories."With this, we want to ensure that our premium seats, both business and premium economy – forwhich we are seeing huge demand – are availableforbookingtoourcustomers first," said an Air India spokesperson. “We want to ensure that more premium seats are available for customers who are ready to pay for them. Like all customers,AirIndiaemployees are free to choose their seats when theywould be paying for ALL-IN-ONE CLASS ■ All Air India employees, including MD and CEO Campbell Wilson will travel economy on domestic flights for official trips starting April 1 ■ The company ■ Since the takeover of the airline in January 2022, there has been a two-fold increase in demand for premium seats ■ The carrier wants to ensure that more premium seats are available for customers who are ready to pay for them it,”said an Air India source.The directive,fornow,is not applicable on international flights. The move comes at a time when the Tata group airline is preparing to spruce up its total supply of premium class seats (business and premium economy combined). Efforts are underway to improve the air- is retrofitting 27 narrowbody planes and upgrading 40 widebody aircraft under a $400-mn ■ Due to global supply chain issues, the pace of Air India’s retrofitment programme has slowed down revamp exercise line’s capacity through retrofitment of planes. While business class seatswill see a slight moderation, premium economy class seats will increase significantlyby30%to65,000 seats per week from 50,000 seats perweek. Sincethetakeoveroftheairline in January 2022, there has been a two-fold increase in demandforpremiumseats,the AirIndia source added. The company is retrofitting 27 narrowbody planes and upgrading40widebodyaircraft under a $400-million revamp exercise. Continued on Page 11 RBI’S DECISION TO exclude gold loans originating from non-banking financial companies and acquired by banks from being classified as priority sector lending is expected to dent the growth of such NBFCs and increase their cost of funds, reports Sachin Kumar. ■ PAGE 7 New tax Bill pushed to monsoon session ● Finance Bill gets Lok Sabha’s nod I-T BILL WITH SELECT COMMITTEE ■ The I-T Bill is noted for its language that is ‘easier to understand’ and regrouping of some of the sections for easy reference FE BUREAU New Delhi, March 25 THE NEW INCOME Tax Bill, whichseekstosimplifytheover six-decade-oldprincipallegislation on direct tax laws, will be taken up for discussion in the monsoonsessionofParliament, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said onTuesday. This indicates that the Bill may be pushed for considerationandpassinginthenextsession, which typically commences in July. Introduced in the House on February 13, the Billiscurrentlybeingvettedbya select committee. “Wewilltakeit(newIncome TaxBill)upinthemonsoonsession,” Sitharaman said. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday approved the Finance Bill 2025 along with amendments, including one thatabolishesa6%equalisation levyon online advertisements. Lastweek,theCentralBoard of Direct Taxes (CBDT) asked stakeholders to continue submittingtheirsuggestionsonthe Bill.Theboardhadsaidaneffort was underway to collect inputs and work on simplification of the associated income tax rules and forms. The I-T Bill is noted for its language that is ‘easier to understand’ and re-grouping of some of the sections foreasy reference. However, no change ■ No change has been proposed in tax rates or key tax provisions like residency rules, capital gains tax etc ■ With the passage ■ FM Nirmala Sitharaman said the Finance Bill has offered ‘unprecedented tax relief’ to honour taxpayers has been proposed in tax rates or key tax provisions like residency rules,capital gains taxation, general anti-avoidance rules,transferpricing,TDS/TCS rates etc. The proposed law seeks to replacestheterm‘previousyear’ as mentioned in the extant law with ‘tax year’ that is aligned with the financial year (AprilMarch).The concept of assessment year will be done away with.Further,allsectionsrelated to tax deducted at source (TDS) have been combined under a single clause,alongwith a charter that seeks to buttress taxpayers’rights. of the Finance Bill 2025, the Lok Sabha completed its part of the Budgetary approval process. The Rajya Sabha will now consider the Bill The select committee has invited the suggestions from stakeholders in the following categories:simplificationoflanguage, reduction of litigation, reductionofcomplianceburden and identification of redundant/obsolete rules and forms. Experts say that the committee’sefforttoengagewithstakeholderswillhelpidentifypractical challenges and ensure that the rules effectively serve their purpose.Well-structured rules andformsshouldsimplifycompliance while staying aligned with legislative intent,theysay. Continued on Page 11