Editorial and sourcing policy
Almost nothing here is our own opinion. A tax rate comes from an Act, a charge from an exchange circular, a pass mark from an examiner. This policy says which document wins when two disagree. It says how often each figure is re-checked, and what happens when a rate changes. It also says how mistakes are published.
Which document wins
Every figure here comes from somebody else's document. When two documents disagree, this is the order, from strongest to weakest:
- The law or rule itself. The Act, the rule or the notification that actually sets the number.
- The circular that puts it into effect. An NSE, BSE or SEBI circular, or a depository's fee list. It carries the date the change starts.
- The exam body's own syllabus, for anything about a certification. The edition is named.
- A trusted summary, only when nothing above exists. The page then says it is a summary.
A Budget speech, a press release and a broker's help page are all summaries. However official they sound, they come fourth.
Every figure has a re-check date
An old tax article keeps its year. Changing the title does not update its rules. A new year needs fresh sources.
Every kind of figure here has a date by which a person must read its source again. 18 kinds of fact are tracked this way. Each one is re-checked every 14 to 91 days, depending on how often it changes.
When that date passes, the page with the figure shows a notice that it is due for a check.
A rate is never overwritten
When a charge changes, the old rate is closed on its last day. The new rate starts on the day it took effect. Both stay on record.
So a sum for a past date uses the rates that applied on that date.
When a figure disagrees with its source
If a figure here disagrees with the document it cites, the document is right. Follow the document.
How the Hinglish pages were written
The Hinglish pages were written with machine help. They have not yet been checked against the English pages by someone who reads both languages.
A new date alone does not show that a translation was checked.
Learning and its limits
See what you can learn here and where practice stops short of trading.