New Delhi : Rationalisation of tax rules and introduction of uniform KYC were some of the steps which were suggested by the domestic financial institutions (FIs) to promote ease of doing business and encourage retail participation in the securities market.
In a meeting with Finance Ministry, Sebi and RBI, the domestic brokerage firms, mutual funds and stock exchanges also suggested that the government should consider digital Know Your Customer (KYC) for faster approvals. “We have made a note of… CBDT and CBEC officials were present. They will examine it… Let us see what can be done,” Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said.
The discussions also focused on increasing retail participation, widening of investor base, deepening of corporate bond market, bigger and wider retail participation in the bond market and development of market infrastructure.
“The idea was to get their suggestions and inputs about what needs to be done to improve ease of doing business… to carry about some policy reforms in the area of financial markets,” Das added.
The domestic players also suggested that government should restore the tax exemption with regard to Securities Transaction Tax (STT). It was withdrawn in 2008.
About 40 market participants including country’s largest life insurer LIC, UTI Mutual Fund, Birla Sun Life, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, participated in the meeting.
