Parliament on Monday approved the Finance Bill 2023 after the Lok Sabha approved an amendment recommended by the Rajya Sabha to correct a typographical error that had crept into the Bill on Friday, as regards the hike in securities transaction tax (STT) on options contracts put through stock exchanges.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the amendment for consideration of the Lok Sabha after the Upper House, earlier in the day, recommended an amendment to pave the way for an increase in the STT rate to ₹6,250 for every ₹ 1 crore turnover of options contracts, from the earlier rate of ₹5,000 for every ₹1 crore turnover.
The Bill,which was passed by Parliament amidst sloganeering by the Opposition on the Adani issue and Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, would now be sent to the President Droupadi Murmu for her assent.
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The amended Finance Bill had, on Friday, inadvertently mentioned the new STT rate on the sale of options at ₹1,700 for every ₹1 crore turnover. The Finance Ministry, which realised this typographical error, sought to put the record straight through the latest amendment on Monday.
On Friday last, the Finance Minister moved as many as 64 amendments to the Finance Bill 2023, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 1. This is the fifth consecutive budget of Sitharaman.