The Knowledge to Decide

Eco-friendly, organic and vegan are now common themes in the cosmetics industry – but Halal products are the latest trend . Halal cosmetics sales are estimated at over USD 50 billion globally and forecasted to grow at 14.6 per cent a year from 2017 to 2021 . A quarter of the world’s population is Muslim, at 1.6 billion people in 2016 . Will Halal products become a pillar of the global beauty products industry? What are Halal beauty products? The word ‘Halal’ means ‘permissible’ in Islamic teaching. So such beauty products may not contain any alcohol ingredients, pork or animal blood. Food products prohibited under the Islamic Sharia Law need to be avoided during manufacture. Moreover, manufacturers of such products need to adhere to strict standards throughout the supply chain. This means right from the packaging to the storage; these products must qualify as Halal. Aside from their religious appeal, Halal beauty products have also become known for quality assurance an

India’s government hopes that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be a game changing reform for the Indian economy, creating a common Indian market and reducing confusing multiple taxes . It is forecasted to raise India’s GDP growth rate by over one percentage point . Will the GST really live up to these expectations? Demystifying the GST bill Hailed as one of the biggest taxation reforms in India, the Indian GST is a comprehensive indirect tax structure, to be levied at all points in the supply chain – manufacturing and sale of goods and services at a national level. At present, India is home to multiple taxes separately managed by Central and State governments, such as the Central Excise duty and Custom duties. Moreover, Value-added Tax (VAT), entry tax, luxury tax and entertainment tax come under the State level. Once the GST is implemented, all these taxes will come under a single tax structure, leading to a common market with the removal of fiscal barriers betwee