Listed below are some of the major news of the startup sector, take a look to stay updated:
Flipkart dodges Rs 110 crore as ITAT rules in favour of the e-commerce portal
In what would be a big relief to e-commerce major Flipkart, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has allowed the e-tailer’s appeal to not re-characterise its marketing and discounting expenses as capital expenditure.
The ruling was pronounced early on Wednesday by the ITAT bench of N V Vasudevan and Jason P. Boaz, as per media reports.
This comes after Flipkart had appealed to ITAT challenging the demand made by the tax department, which had asked for Rs 110 crore from Flipkart for the financial year 2015-16. The e-tailer was asked to treat the discounts and marketing expenses as capital expenditure by the revenue department. Flipkart had argued it cannot pay taxes on what it calls ‘fictional income’.
India’s first e-commerce meet to be convened by Suresh Prabhu
Suresh Prabhu, the commerce and industry minister, will be holding the first e-commerce think tank meeting today. The minister will chair the meeting which will aim at framing a national policy on e-commerce.
The minister will be taking up many key issues for discussion during the meeting. Some of the issues that will be discussed are: physical and digital infrastructure, regulatory regime, taxation policy, data flows, server localisation, intellectual property rights protection, FDI, technology flows, responding to disruptions in industrial organisation, need for skill development and trade-related aspects.
This initiative by the government might be understood as their attempt to gauge the potential of the booming e-commerce industry in India.
Emotix raises $2million from IDG Ventures India, YourNest
Robotics startup Emotix has raised $2 million in a funding round led by venture capital firms IDG Ventures India and YourNest.
The startup, which was founded by three IIT-Bombay graduates, has created India’s first personal companion robot, Miko, which is focused on educating and entertaining children. The funds will be used for new product development and research in the area of consumer robotics focussed on emotional and artificial intelligence.
Mahindra Electric ties up with Zoomcar to offer 100 EVs in Delhi
Mahindra Electric has joined hands with self-drive rental platform Zoomcar, as part of which the auto major will offer its 100 electric vehicles ‘e20 plus’ on the latter’s platform in Delhi.
Mahindra Electric, the electric mobility portfolio of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), said the tie-up is aimed at promoting shared and cleaner mobility.
The vehicles under the deal are financed as part of an agreement between Zoomcar and LeasePlan which will see Zoomcar obtain customised EV financing.
Today’s Take Away:
Entrepreneurship means that one has to keep one’s eyes and ears open always and be prepared for any adversity. It also means that one should never overestimate one’s own capabilities or underestimate their opponents without any reasons.
Mark Cuban, co-founder of HDNet, has rightfully pointed out that,
“Always look for the fool in the deal. If you don’t find one, it’s you.”
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