8 financial mistakes to avoid when upgrading your car

 Story by Sanjeev Sinha

When upgrading to a new car, it's tempting to opt for a more expensive model with additional features. However, it's essential to set a realistic budget based on your financial situation and stick to it. (Image: Freepik)
© Provided by The Financial Express

Who does not like a new car with new features? Often when we plan to purchase a new car, the car features and technology are what we look at. However, we usually tend to ignore the financial aspect. If you are also planning to upgrade your car, you must keep in mind the financial factors and the maintenance cost.

Upgrading to a new car is an exciting decision that can enhance your driving experience. However, before diving into the world of car upgrades, it’s crucial to navigate the financial aspects wisely to ensure a smooth transition without burdening your finances.

Here are some financial mistakes to avoid when upgrading your car:

No need to file income tax return if buying property or selling without capital gains

Amit Maheshwari



Should I file income tax return (ITR) if I purchase of property for above Rs 30 lakh; sell a property without any capital gain and give gifts to relatives?

— Pardeep Kapi

For purchase of property for above Rs 30 lakh, no ITR filing is required, as there is no provision mandating filing of ITR only due to purchase of property, assuming that property has been purchased in India. For sale of property without any capital gain, no ITR is required. However if there is loss on sale such property, then you can report these losses and carry forward to next financial year for set-off against any capital gains by filing an ITR. For gifts to relative, no ITR filing is required.

* We have a property in Bangalore which will be acquired by metro BMRCL. We were told that 10% tax will be deducted at source. Can I claim the TDS?

— Syed Khader

Yes, you can claim the refund of TDS by filing ITR for the year in which the tax will be deducted. For filing ITR, you will need to calculate capital gain on such property, i.e., sales price- cost of acquisition (the cost will be indexed as per income tax provisions if the property is held for more than two years). If your total income including this gain would be less than the minimum exemption limit, i.e., Rs 2.5 lakh (Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for senior and super senior citizen respectively), you can claim refund of the entire TDS amount.

* Though I have not got my Form 16, can I start filing ITR for 2018-19 now?

— Ashok Kumar

Yes, you can start filing ITR for FY 2018-19 as the forms have also been notified. However, your company would be filing its TDS return by May 31, 2019 and your TDS for the quarter January-March 2019 would not reflect in your Form 26AS till then. If you still want to proceed, then you can refer to 26AS that will be reflecting TDS till December 2018 and all payslips from April-March 2019 and make a calculation of your taxable salary and file the return.

* On retirement, my father received gratuity, leave encashment and commuted pension . He also got salary income, pension and interest from bank. Which ITR form should he use?

— SM Gopalkrishnan

As your father has salary and interest income and assuming that he is a resident in India, he has to file his return in Form ITR 1. Tax-free amount received on retirement must be reported in ITR.

Infosys results, 10 things you must know

The bellwether software company, Infosys reported a profit of 24 per cent, meeting expectations for the second quarter ended September 30, 2012.
According to data released by Thomson Reuters, Infosys was expected to post a 24.9 per cent rise in profit in the quarter ended September 30 to Rs. 23.8 billion.
While Mr. V. Balakrishnan will be giving up his position as CFO from October 31, 2012. Mr. Rajiv Bansal, currently Vice President - Finance will take over the position from November 1, 2012.
This is a list of the some of the important facts you might want to know from the company’s earnings.
(Images: Reuters, Getty Images and Yahoo!)

Revenue

Not only did the company meet forecasts in terms of revenue based on rupees which summed up to Rs. 9,858 crore but also did well in dollars. With a growth rate of 2.9 %, the dollar revenue is at $1,797 million for the year 2012 when compared to $1,746 million in 2011.

(Images for illustrative purposes only)

Samsung unveils new super size Galaxy Note

Samsung took the wraps off a sequel to its popular Galaxy Note smartphone. The Galaxy Note 10.1, which went on sale in Germany and the United Arab Emirates, will soon be launched in other markets. The new Galaxy Note smartphone comes with a host of new features and is twice as wide as its predecessor and nearly the size of a tablet.

Armed with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM for enhanced performance, Galaxy Note 10.1 is designed to simplify idea capture, information access, and multi-tasking, making each easier and faster.

6 signs that a business is failing

No health deteriorates overnight. Sure we have heard of cancer, liver and kidney failure – but there are always some signals. Ignore them, and you are dead.

Similarly there are some signals that you can pick up from a business that warns you about a possible failure in the near future

1. In ability to pay the statutory dues: this could be Service Tax, Income tax, TDS made from vendor/ employee payments. ….When you are running out of cash to make these payments, see what is going wrong asap.

Can rural India save Indian economy

Rural India is a major part of India's domestic consumption story not just because it has more than 60% of India's population, but because it already has 56% of India's income, 64% of expenditure and 33% of India's savings. The rural share of popular consumer goods and durables ranges from 30% to 60% and sales to rural India are steadily growing. After rural consumption came to the rescue in 2008-09, there is a worrying groundswell of optimism that rural consumers will come to the rescue of Indian economy once again, which is in the midst of a sharp slowdown. However, this optimism may be misplaced.

As the country stares at one of the worst droughts in decades, Indians in rural areas are putting off spending due to concerns about the coming harvest. Already, traders of expensive products like home appliances and two-wheelers are facing the heat of a slowdown. Even dealers of big companies are facing slowdown.

India ranked least business friendly Brics nation

Cape Town, Aug 8 (ANI): A World Bank report has placed India at the last spot among Brics countries for ease of doing business.

India (134) was placed after its fellow Brics nations South Africa (34), China (79), Russia (123) and Brazil (127).

The ranking indicated a country's regulations and procedures for international business practices, News24 reports.

Meanwhile, Nils Flaatten, CEO of Western Cape trade and promotion investment agency Wesgro, has warned that while SA leads the Brics nations in terms of investor trust and corporate governance procedures, job creation is crucial to the country's economic growth.

10 Money Lessons from Billionaires

Billionaires have changed the way our world works. They've altered the way we communicate, travel, and live. And along the way, they have made incredible amounts of money for their efforts.

Learning from the 10 billionaires below is not only a good idea if you want to boost your bank account, but also if you want your work to make a difference.

With that in mind, here are 10 lessons from billionaires on earning money, succeeding in business, and finding happiness in life.

By James Clear | U.S.News & World Report LP

1. "You become what you believe. You are where you are today in your life based on everything you have believed." --Oprah Winfrey, net worth of $2.7 billionFirst and foremost, you have to believe that greatness is possible. Many of the world's billionaires have shifted the way our world works, because they believed that they were capable of doing something that was previously impossible. Change is possible. Greatness is possible. But you can't do anything unless you first believe in yourself.

INSIGHT , A Greek banker, the Shah and the birth of Libor

By Kirstin Ridley and Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Minos Zombanakis, born 86 years ago on a Greek island, remembers the birth of the interest rate benchmark now at the heart of a global rigging scandal well.

"I was, more or less, if you excuse the lack of modesty, the one who started the whole thing," he laughs, speaking by telephone from his village among citrus orchards in Crete.

Zombanakis was running the newly-opened London branch of Manufacturer's Hanover, now part of JPMorgan, when the bank organised one of the first syndicated loans pegged to what he dubbed a London interbank offered rate (Libor) in 1969.

The $80 million loan, for the Shah of Iran, embodied the way cross-border financial markets that had been effectively closed since 1929 were being prised open - sowing the seeds for London to flourish as a global financial centre.

7 most expensive homes in India

Owning a house is every man’s dream. For a select few, just about any house won’t do, as owning the right kind of house that symbolises their wealth, power, and status is elemental. These are the people who lead multinationals, earn big and spend big. They are leaders, decision makers, game changers, and mavericks who inspire. Their house is not just as big as their ego (ahem!); it is as loud and as minimalistic as their persona and is a mirror of their true self. One can be assured that only the very best will be found in their houses – the most expensive drapes, tiles, paintings, gadgets, fittings and so on. While most of us can dream and wish to own a house that big and opulent, what we sure can do is read up on and ogle at the houses of the high and mighty. Get ready for some architectural marvels that can cause some structured orgasms!

1. Antilla

This shouldn’t be a shock. Seriously, Mukesh Ambani has single-handedly changed and captured Mumbai’s skyline. No matter what part of South Mumbai you are in, you will see one column, floor, fixture of Antilla jutting out and mocking at the simple earthling that you are Mr. Reliance is reported to have spent a whopping $2 billion (don’t even bother to change that figure to INR, you will faint) on this 400,000 square feet, 27 floors

Standard Chartered sparks scrutiny of India offshoring

By Sumeet Chatterjee and Dena Aubin

MUMBAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Offshoring of back-office work to India, a trend among banks and accounting firms, came under new scrutiny with allegations that Standard Chartered Plc moved compliance oversight work dealing with Iranian banking transactions to India to avoid U.S. regulators.

Cost savings, not escaping regulatory oversight, are generally assumed to be the primary goal of sending back-office work to India, where employees are paid far less than in the United States and much of Europe.

New York State's bank regulator accused Standard Chartered on Monday of setting up an offshore regulatory compliance system dealing with Iranian banking transactions that was "a sham" meant to escape U.S. Treasury Department oversight.

CRISIL slashes India FY13 growth forecast to 5.5 pct

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Rating agency CRISIL slashed India's growth forecast to 5.5 percent for the fiscal year ending March, one of the lowest estimates on the street, just two months after pruning its projection to 6.5 percent from 7 percent.

Poor monsoon rainfall in India alongside a weakening euro zone outlook contributed to the latest cut in the growth projection, CRISIL said on Tuesday.

"The revised growth forecast assumes that the stretched fiscal situation will limit the ability of the government to give a generous stimulus to the economy," its statement said.

Growth in Asia's third-largest economy faltered to a nine-year low of 5.3 percent in the January-March quarter, due to stalled economic reforms and higher interest rates.

CRISIL slashes India FY13 growth forecast to 5.5 pct

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Rating agency CRISIL slashed India's growth forecast to 5.5 percent for the fiscal year ending March, one of the lowest estimates on the street, just two months after pruning its projection to 6.5 percent from 7 percent.

Poor monsoon rainfall in India alongside a weakening euro zone outlook contributed to the latest cut in the growth projection, CRISIL said on Tuesday.

"The revised growth forecast assumes that the stretched fiscal situation will limit the ability of the government to give a generous stimulus to the economy," its statement said.

Growth in Asia's third-largest economy faltered to a nine-year low of 5.3 percent in the January-March quarter, due to stalled economic reforms and higher interest rates.

Money maniacs will love Italy s new financial museum

The 'Museo Del Risparmio' (Savings Museum) in Turin, Italy aims to simplify many complex financial concepts using interactive and entertaining devices. Click below to enjoy a photo tour.

Learning to manage personal assets intelligently is crucial both for individual savers and the community as a whole. The 'Savings Museum' in Turin, Italy, is designed to help people reflect on savings-related issues, learn basic concepts in order to navigate the investment sector and improve savers’ ability to understand and choose financial products. (Photo by Migliore+Servetto Architetti Associati)

Cognizant quarterly revenue tops Infosys for first time

By Sruthi Ramakrishnan

REUTERS - Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NSQ:CTSH -News) stood by its full-year revenue forecast at a time when its Indian peers have been painting a gloomy picture for the rest of the year on slowing global outsourcing spending.

The company's shares rose as much as 13 percent to $65.48 on Monday on the Nasdaq.

Teaneck, New Jersey-based Cognizant, most of whose employees are in India, has been gaining ground over Infosys Ltd (NSI:INFY.NS - News) (INFY.O) and Wipro Ltd (NSI:WIPRO.NS- News) as it has traditionally worked with relatively lower margins, helping it win more contracts.

"Cognizant reiterating its guidance of at least 20 percent growth in this environment shows that it's in a different league compared to the likes of Infosys and Wipro," Morningstar analyst Swami Shanmugasundaram said.

Apple s Biggest Marketing Secret Just Got Revealed In Federal Court

Apple no longer actually needs to do ANY advertising when it launches new products, marketing chief Phil Schiller testified Friday in the Apple v. Samsung patent trial in a San Jose, Calif., federal court.

Instead, the company relies on these two strategies:

• Rely on the media to create buzz for its products through positive reviews.
• Product placement in TV shows and movies.

The media is so reliably disposed to favor Apple's products that when the iPhone was launched in 2007, the company didn't do any advertising for a period, according to Bloomberg:

MEET THE AVERAGE CHINESE MILLIONAIRE, 39, Plays Golf, And Owns An iPad

Hurun Report and GroupM, a Chinese think tank, just released a report analyzing millionaires across China.

The most interesting findings:

• There are 1.02 millionaires across mainland China, an increase of 6.3 percent over the previous year. The report also estimates that for every "known" millionaire, another two exist under the radar. Beijing is home to the highest number of wealthy individuals, with 179,000 millionaires and 10,500 super-rich (worth $16 million or more).

SIP is it really good or is it hyped

Is this a question that has been uppermost in your minds?

I have been saying put money into an SIP with a good fund and go to sleep’ – and I have been blunt enough to tell you which funds too. Now, is this applicable to all the people who read this blog? No. Of course not.

People who have stock picking skills (or who think they have stock picking skills) surely do not need an SIP. Do I expect a Portfolio Manager or an active fund manager to need this advice? I doubt it. I have a few friends who are CXOs who are happy doing a SIP. At last count there were at least 6 CEOs, 12 COOs, 5-6 CIOs, …who I know are doing SIPs.

I also know it is easy to pick up a period in time and say ‘If you had stopped the SIP in this period you could have saved so much’. I was in the market when there was no index, when the index was at 100, at 2,000, at 4,000, and at 21,000.

House prices seen rising further, Reuters Poll

REUTERS - House prices in India, which have more than doubled in the past five years, will keep rising this year despite a rapidly-slowing economy but prices in its financial capital, Mumbai, look ripe for a fall, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

The poll of 19 property market analysts, consultants, developers and data firms, pointed to a median 7.5 percent rise in house prices this year in Asia's third largest economy.

Following is a summary of the results of the survey.

1. Please provide your forecast for average nationwide house price change in India in 2012 (%)

- A median of 18 responses expects a rise of 7.5 percent

Income tax Dept extends due date for tax return filing

On consideration of the reports of disturbance of general life caused due to failure of power and further in consideration of the fact that the e-filing of returns for a specified category of individuals and HUF has been made mandatory, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the 'due date' of filing of returns of income for the Assessment Year 2012-13 to 31st August 2012 in respect of assessees who are liable to file such returns by 31st July 2012 as per provisions of section 139 of Income Tax Act, 1961.

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