Journal Press India^®

             It is our pleasure to present to our readers the July-December 2018 issue of VISION that is very diverse in its coverage of theoretical as well as practical aspects of taxation and public finance. The papers included in this issue range from focus on tax reforms, fiscal management, trends in States’ own revenues, to areas such as income computation and disclosure standards, public finance, GST, customs and anti-dumping duties.

              The paper by Prof. Narain Sinha examines the concept of fiscal illusion and explore its relationship with the fiscal dimension including revenue receipts and spending of the government. Considering the Indian federal system, the paper examines revenue diversification that has occurred during 1970 and 2016, and it estimates a model that examines the degree of moral hazard which arises due to fiscal illusion within the framework of the principal agent. Another paper by Dr. Ankita Singh and Ms. Akanksha Singh Fouzdar assesses the impact of FRBM Act on fiscal deficit in India from 1991-92 to 2016-17 and observes that the FRBM Act had a significant impact on fiscal deficit discipline in India. The authors offer some valuable suggestions for effective fiscal governance and achieving targets pre-set in FRBM Act.

               An interesting paper by Prof. K. V. Bhanu Murthy takes up a pertinent issue of ‘Special status’ that has been granted to 11 states due to various reasons like backwardness and strategic location. Using semi-log growth equations and a Convergence Index, the paper demonstrates that Special States’ growth story speaks of better performance over the period 1991-2017 as compared to non-Special states.  The author concludes that Special status has proven to be justified despite questions that are raised by other kinds of comparisons. Another paper focusing on an interesting aspect of income computation and disclosure standards (ICDS) is by Abhishek N., Dr. M. L. Ashok and Prof. Divyashree M. S. The paper analyses the impact of ICDS on business transactions and its implementation challenges in India.

                Dr. Rabinarayan Samantara makes a critical appraisal of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in his paper and analyses the impact of GST on certain major industries and sectors in the Indian economy.  The author observes that GST is expected to accelerate economic growth, generate more of employment opportunities, and lead to increased tax base as well as increased revenue generation. Mr. Prasant Kumar Behera and Ms. Rashmita Khatei, in their paper on ‘An Analysis of Public Finance on Education Sector in India’ examine the trend and pattern of expenditure of various levels of government on education sector of India. They also look at the budgetary provision for the education sector by the Central government under different Five year plans in India. Their study reveals that government funding on primary education has become top priority over the years in relation to secondary, higher and technical education. Another paper of contemporary interest is by Ms. Lakshana Radhakrishnan who delves into the issue of transfer pricing regulations. It discusses major Indian case laws to understand the judicial approach towards transfer pricing adjustments made to intragroup service transactions. The paper highlights the shortcomings of the existing regulatory framework and emphasizes the need for a uniform global approach towards transfer pricing.

             This issue also has a section on ‘Perspectives’ which presents viewpoints on important domains of taxation. The paper by Dr. M. M. Sury analyses the trends in import duties since Independence and examines the revenue significance of customs duties among indirect taxes. The author also discusses the legislative framework with regard to customs duties to explain the various categories of customs duties that are in force in India. Another such perspective has been contributed by Mr. Rahul Bhasin on ‘Anti-dumping duties and trade remedial measures’. The author discusses the deluge of Chinese imports in the Indian market which is wiping out many domestic industries and is a cause for serious concern. In this context, he throws light on measures employed such as anti-dumping duties and anti-subsidy duties, and explains how these measures ensure a level playing field for the domestic industry to mitigate the injury caused to them due to unfair practices of dumping.

              We sincerely hope that our readers find this issue of VISION insightful and interesting with diverse domains of taxation system in India being addressed.               Wishing all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2019!

Dr. M. M. Sury

Dr. Prasant Kumar Panda

         Editors