ET NEWS

XED Executive Development, the first company ​from India's low-tax ​GIFT City to launch an initial ​public offering, has withdrawn the IPO after delays with customer verification and weak market sentiments due to ‌the U.S.-Israeli ⁠war ⁠on Iran, it said on Monday.The global executive ​education platform said it hopes to tap the market ​at an appropriate time in the future.The withdrawal marks a setback for efforts to build ​India's Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, ⁠or GIFT ‌City, into a global ​capital markets ​hub competing with centres such as ⁠Singapore and Dubai.The roughly $12 million IPO ​of XED had received subscriptions for ​only about 5% of the shares on offer as of 7:15 p.m. on Monday, according to data from exchanges. The shares were to be listed on NSE International Exchange ‌and India International Exchange at GIFT City.The company had earlier extended the ​bidding ​deadline to Monday, ⁠citing delays in completing mandatory video-based customer verification for non-resident Indians and foreign investors amid disruptions ​linked to the conflict in the Middle East.The withdrawal also comes amid a global risk-off mood due to the widening conflict.($1 = 94.7150 Indian rupees)

New Delhi: The income tax department on Monday said "banking company" governed by the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, will deduct TDS on interest income beyond the prescribed threshold.Under the Income Tax law, the tax is to be deducted at source if the interest income from bank/post office deposits exceeds Rs 50,000 for ordinary citizens, or Rs 1 lakh for senior citizens, in a financial year.In a post on X, the income tax department said under Section 402 of the new Income Tax Act, 2025, a "banking company" refers to a company to which the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, apply.As per the Income-tax Act, 1961, the scope of "banking company" included not only banking companies to which the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, applies, but also "any bank or banking institution referred to in section 51 of that Act.The income tax department said by virtue of the extant Section 51 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, such banks and banking institutions fall within the meaning of "banking company" under Section 402 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, even without explicit mention."Thus, such banks or banking institutions will not be required to deduct income-tax on the amount below the threshold provided in Section 393 (1)," the I-T department said.