Granting less than 24 hours to reply to show-cause notice is a flaw in decision making process; asse

IT : Justice must not only be done but appear to be done. Allowing assesses less than 24 hours to respond to show cause notice calling upon assessee to show cause as to why claim for deduction under section 80-IA shouldn't be disallowed particularly when there is no fear of the assessment getting time barred in the near future is a flaw in the decision making process and therefore amenable to judicial review. In such circumstances, it is incumbent upon the notice issuing authority to grant reaso

Invocation of extended period would be justified even if revenue had knowledge of suppression made b

Central Excise : Whenever there is non-levy or short-levy of duty with an intention to evade payment of duty, invocation of extended period of limitation would be justified; it cannot be said that since Revenue has knowledge of suppression, extended period of limitation cannot be legitimately invoked

AO's order couldn't be labelled as erroneous if it was concluded after thorough scrutiny of assessee

IT : Where assessment proceedings allowing deduction under section 80-IB(10) were concluded after thorough scrutiny of details furnished by assessee that too under section 147, read with section 143(3), Assessing Officer's order could not be termed as erroneous

HC upholds CESTAT's order for predeposit of duty as it was passed after considering judicial precede

ST : Where pre-deposit order of Tribunal was passed taking into consideration all relevant factors including precedent orders of High Court and Supreme Court in respect of assessee's own case for earlier period, such order could not be faulted with

RBI allows bullet repayment of loans extended against pledge of gold up to Rs 1 lakh

BANKING : Non-Agriculture Loans Against Gold Ornaments and Jewellery

HC upholds sec. 40A(3) disallowance on assessee's failure to prove that suppliers insisted on cash p

IT: Where assessee's claim that suppliers of goods invariably insisted on spot payment of cash to lorry drivers was not supported with any evidence, cash payments attracted provisions of section 40A(3)

HC slams CIT(A) for seeking huge demand from assessee without hearing its request on merits

IT: Where Commissioner (Appeals) did not deal with submission of assessee that on reconstruction, benefit arose on capital account, and directed assessee to deposit major part of demand, same could not be complied till application be heard on merits

Tribunal had power to restore appeal which was dismissed for default of pre-deposit requirement

Customs : Tribunal has power to restore appeal dismissed for default of pre-deposit, if ends of justice require such course of action

A not so elaborate order couldn't be a valid excuse for CIT to tag erroneous label to AO's order

IT: An assessment order could not be said to be erroneous by Commissioner merely because, according to him, Assessing Officer should make adequate - enquiry and its order be written more elaborately

Review petition not admissible as HC founded its verdict on a judgment delivered by Apex Court

Service Tax : Where a High Court follows an order of other High Court, any order passed by Supreme Court against judgment of that other High Court will automatically govern assessees involved in judgment of first High Court and no review would lie even if Supreme Court itself passed a different judgment in any other case

Sec. 264 revision was not to be allowed automatically even if it was not decided by CIT within stipu

IT: If a revision has not been decided by Commissioner with in stipulated period, it does not mean that revision stands allowed

Operating leases weren't liable to ST under 'Banking and other Financial Services' even prior to 1-6

Service Tax : For period prior to 1-6-2007, term 'financial leasing' in definition of 'Banking and other Financial Services' did not cover operating lease agreements in which there is no option to own or entitlement to own leased asset at end of lease period; such agreements could not be charged to service tax

Taxpayers be aware; late filing of VAT return due to accountant's illness can't avoid penalty

UK VAT : In case of unforeseen circumstances, assessee should take reasonable/prudent steps to try to comply with his obligations (including contacting local tax office); a delay of 28 days in furnishing returns cannot be explained merely by sudden illness of accountant and cannot, therefore, go unpenalized

LIBOR to be used as benchmark rate for fixing ALP of loan given by Indian co. to their foreign AEs

IT/ILT: Where loan was given in foreign currency to foreign subsidiary, international rate fixed being LIBOR should be taken as benchmarked rate for computing arm's length price

Cong Poll Push May Lead To Gas Cylinder Cap Being Raised

The government is set to relax the limit on subsidized cooking gas for homes as the Congress party looks for ways in which it can retrieve ground ahead of the general election after heavy defeats in recent assembly polls, a move that will mean a further retreat from the few reforms that the United Progressive Alliance put in place in its second term.



Households may be entitled to 12 gas cylinders per year at subsidized prices, up from nine now, if the government allows itself to be persuaded by Congress party leaders including chief ministers, according to people close to the development. Such a move may help the UPA recoup some of the political capital it has lost due to the rise in prices amid a slump in growth.



"Yes, there are some discussions about re-looking at the current annual cap on the supply of subsidized LPG cylinders," said a government official.



The UPA government had, in the face of economic difficulties brought on by sluggish growth and rising fuel prices, imposed a limit of six subsidized cylinders per household last year that was revised to nine early this year. The move aimed at slashing the subsidy burden was criticized by political parties and consumers, who said it would add to the burden of rising inflation.



The move to raise the cylinder limit fits in with what party president Sonia Gandhi identified as a key reason for the state poll debacle - rising prices.



The demand for a revision in the limit emerged at meetings on Friday held by party vice president Rahul Gandhi with chief ministers of states run by the Congress. Also in attendance were senior cabinet ministers and All India Congress Committee officials. They wanted an "immediate revision" of the gas cap and said it was a major source of "popular resentment" against the Congress and the UPA, according to a person who a person who was present at the meeting.



Implementation of the limit has created "economic problems for the consumers" and "social chaos", the person said.



The Congress leadership, including Gandhi, were sympathetic and understood the political reasoning of the party's regional satraps, according to this person.



However, any largesse in the final few months of the government's term will need to be balanced by finance minister P Chidambaram's determination to hold the "red line" on the fiscal deficit at 4.8% of gross domestic product, given that global rating agencies are watching for any slipups on this front.



A worried government is also looking to squeeze spending and maximize revenue collections in the last three months of the fiscal year amid uncertainty over whether the economy has bottomed out. Still, as ET reported on Monday, this may also mean refunds to exporters getting delayed to next year, along with subsidy payments to fertiliser and oil companies. So the bill for any increase in subsidized gas supplies may not come due this year.



Along with the cap on cylinders, the oil ministry had embarked on a campaign to identify genuine users and plug leakages through the direct transfer of subsidies, which has also led to substantial savings.



"We have blocked 67 lakh bogus connections, thereby reducing the annual subsidy burden by Rs 2,000 crore," oil ministry spokesman RC Joshi said on Friday.



The oil ministry, which aims to roll the plan out to more than 9 crore customers by January, has covered 6.57 crore customers in 184 districts since June. India has more than 14 crore cooking gas customers who are entitled to subsidized prices for home use. Those who exceed the nine-cylinder limit need to be buy gas at the market rate. In Delhi, the market price is Rs 1,021, while the subsidized rate is Rs 414.



The Friday meeting, which took place in the wake of the assembly elections, debated ways in which the party could tackle corruption and the price rise and drew up steps that India's 12 Congress-run states would adopt in this regard.



These include keeping fruits and vegetables out of the Agricultural Produce Markets Committee system to lower prices; invoking the Essential Commodities Act to deal with hoarding, black marketing and profiteering; reforming the public distribution system to eliminate leakages as stipulated in the Food Security Act; and setting up fair price shops to sell fruit, vegetables and eggs at reasonable prices.



These decisions "amounted to the leadership backing the governments effectively intervening" to deal with inflation, which amounts "to distancing itself from the economic theory of letting market factors decide prices," said the person cited above.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Cotton May Bloom Further On Higher Offtake

Cotton prices moved up on the back of higher export as well as domestic mills’ demand.Moreover, short supply also supported the price rise.Traders said that price may continue to go up as exporters are buying to complete their shipments.



Gujarat Sankar-6 gained Rs 200 to Rs 40,600-40,700 a candy of 356 kg. Kapas or raw cotton was traded up by Rs 7-10 to Rs 920-1,028 for a maund of 20 kg.



About 65,000 bales (of 170 kg) arrived in Gujarat and 2.03 lakh bales arrived in India. According to brokers, exporters are buying aggressively so that this week cotton price may gain more than Rs 500 a candy.



Till date nearly 1 crore bales have arrived in the market and approximately 2.75 crore bales are yet to arrive.



Mills and exporters are cautiously procuring cotton considering the financial tightness in the market.



The falling rupee has motivated the exporters and the textile mills to continue buying cotton cautiously as the international markets are sluggish.



The most-active March cotton contract on the ICE Futures US was up 0.29 per cent at 84.36 cents/pound.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Gorgeous Gift; Gift can't be treated as unexplained if assessee hasn't filed return which he isn't l

IT: Where assessee had submitted balance-sheet before Assessing Officer and in balance-sheet closing balance or cash in hand was disclosed and entries in balance-sheet had not been disputed by Assessing Officer, opening balance could not be regarded to be undisclosed income

Cargo handling services out of purview of 'Port Services'; not liable to service tax

Service Tax : Since handling of cargo is excluded from scope of Cargo Handling Agency Services, it cannot come within purview of Port Service and cannot be charged to service tax

Cbi Ordered To Probe Export Of Ore From Nine Ports

The Karnataka Government has issued an order for conducting a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into illegal export of iron ore from nine ports, including Karnataka.



The CBI would conduct the probe into export of iron ore from Karwar, New Mangalore Port Trust, Mangalore, Krishna Pattanam, Kakinada, and Vishakapattanam, all in Andhra Pradesh, Ennore and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Panaji and Mormugoa in Goa.



The State Cabinet meeting held October 17, 2013 has decided to hand over probe into illegal export of iron ore to the CBI.



The order said probe would determine the extent of illegal ore which has been exported, and to find out whether any criminal prosecution against any person or persons involved was necessary based on the findings of the Karnataka Lokayukta report chapters I, II and III and other relevant chapters of its second report submitted to the Government on July 27, 2011.



The CBI has already been probing Belikere missing iron ore case.



Former Karnataka Lokayutka Santosh Hegde’s final report estimated the loss of revenue to the State exchequer due to illegal mining in the State between 2006 and 2010 at more than Rs 16,000 crore.



The report had also named 797 officials. Following his indictment in the report, the then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had to resign following the direction of the BJP’s central leadership.

Source:- thehindu.com

India Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures And Other Products Of The Printing Industry Exports Rise To Us$ 340.26 M In November- 2013

InfodriveIndia.com, India's premier research company in export import market research, announced today that India's Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other products of the Printing Industry exports in November- 2013 has grew to US$ 340.26 M, a increase of 27.75% compared to October 2013.



This finding is based on India Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other products of the Printing Industry export data of InfodriveIndia.com and is based on export shipping bills filed at Indian customs by exporters from India through November- 2013 at more than 110 ports in India like JNPT, Bombay Air and Sea , Chennai Air & Sea , Delhi IGI Air, Delhi Tughlakhabad ICD, Delhi Patparganj, Kolkata Air and Sea, Bangalore Air and many more. InfodriveIndia.com India Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other products of the Printing Industry Export database is considered to be the most comprehensive, up-to-date and authentic information on India's foreign trade of Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other products of the Printing Industry.



According to Pradeep, Chief Research Associate of InfodriveIndia.com, compared to October 2013, a increase of USD 340.26 M in November- 2013 has been noticed. He further gives a analysis and break up of major product categories , major countries and major Indian ports under Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other products of the Printing Industry as follows :



A. Exports of Unused Postage Revenue or similar Stamps of Current or New issue in the Country has grew month on month basis by 36.99%.



Total value of exports in November- 2013 was 315.45 M, compared to October 2013 , there is a increase of 85.17 M in November- 2013, growth rate in percentage terms is 36.99%, the major destination countries were United Kingdom, Switzerland, United arab Emirates, Bahrain and austria and major Indian ports were Delhi Air, Bombay Air, Cochin Air, Madras Air and Madras Sea.



B. Exports of Printed Books, Brochures, Leaflets and similar Printed Matter has fallen month on month basis by -25.39%.



Total value of exports in November- 2013 was 21.54 M, compared to October 2013 , there is a decrease of -7.33 M in November- 2013, growth rate in percentage terms is -25.39%, the major destination countries were Djibouti, United States, Mozambique, Nigeria and United Kingdom and major Indian ports were JNPT, Dadri-ACPL CFS, Delhi TKD ICD, Mundra and Delhi Air.



C. Exports of Printed Products including Printed Pictures and Photographs has fallen month on month basis by -35.05%.



Total value of exports in November- 2013 was 1.5 M, compared to October 2013 , there is a decrease of -0.81 M in November- 2013, growth rate in percentage terms is -35.05%, the major destination countries were Burkina Faso, Belgium, Madagascar, australia and Tanzania and major Indian ports were Madras Sea, Delhi Air, JNPT, Bombay Air and Bangalore Air.



D. Exports of Calendars of any kind Printed has fallen month on month basis by -39.39%.



Total value of exports in November- 2013 was 0.43 M, compared to October 2013 , there is a decrease of -0.28 M in November- 2013, growth rate in percentage terms is -39.39%, the major destination countries were Ghana, United States, United arab Emirates, Oman and Kenya and major Indian ports were JNPT, Bombay Air, Delhi TKD ICD, Madras Sea and Delhi PPG ICD.



Pradeep says that the above information is on major product categories, and users requiring detailed analysis and reports on their specific products can contact Sales team at InfodriveIndia.com with detailed description of their product, brand names and its uses.



According to Pradeep, usually InfodriveIndia.com team delivers most of the projects within 3 working days.



InfodriveIndia.com analysis and research is done from export statistics from Indian customs which is based on export shipping bills filed at various ports, InfodriveIndia reporters collect this data from every Indian port, and InfodriveIndia database yields the most timely, accurate, comprehensive information available on trade through India Ports. Recently after a long and persistent lobbying with Indian Govt, InfodriveIndia.com has been able to release export import data almost on realtime basis, bringing the backlog time to just 3 days, compared to Govt sources which are around 6 months old. Another unique feature of InfodriveIndia.com database is unparalleled coverage of 110 ports in India.

InfodriveIndia.com is 16 year old market leader and primary source of India Export data in India. The India Import Export data bank, which is at the core of InfodriveIndia.com trade information services is unique and has been categorized by Harmonized system in over 25,000 product codes. InfodriveIndia researchers provide expert data analysis and interpretation tools, Charts, Pivot reports in MS Excel and detailed item wise records to support decision-marking for International Trade, understanding India export market, competitive intelligence and brand protection.



World's top market research companies, Export promotion councils, trade associations, domestic and foreign governments, and over 15,000 corporates from more than 30 countries rely on InfodriveIndia.com for meaningful export import trade intelligence to guide their International business strategies.

Source:-indiaprwire.com

China Gold Imports From Hong Kong Fall 53 Percent As Price Drops

Gold shipments to China from Hong Kong declined by more than 50 percent in November as demand from investors weakened after prices slid for a third month.



Net imports, after deducting flows from China into Hong Kong, were 60.9 metric tons in November, from 129.9 tons in October, according to data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. Still, the amount in the first 11 months of the year has more than doubled to 1,017 tons, the data show.



Bullion fell 28 percent this year, set for the worst slump in three decades, as the Federal Reserve said it would taper stimulus. The price is set for the first annual drop in 13 years as some investors lose faith in the precious metal as a store of value amid a record rally in U.S. equities. Gold holdings in exchange-traded products slumped 33 percent this year.



“As bets on higher prices diminish, Chinese investors’ appetite for bullion seemed to be waning,” said Jiang Shu, a senior analyst at Industrial Bank Co. in Shanghai. “Anecdotal evidence from retailers here also presented the same picture that sales in the second half of this year weren’t as brisk as in the first half.”



The metal for immediate delivery in London traded at $1,198.76 an ounce at 11:48 a.m. Shanghai time, down 4.4 percent this month after a 5.3 percent drop in November. The price tumbled to a 34-month low of $1,180.50 on June 28. Bullion of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange fell 6.7 percent last month, declining for a third month.



Gold, iron ore, soybeans and copper may drop at least 15 percent next year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said last month. Bullion has fallen 38 percent from a record $1,921.15 in 2011.

Overtaking India



Still, China is on course to overtake India as the world’s biggest bullion consumer as demand reaches 1,000 tons this year, according to the World Gold Council.



China’s demand for jewelry, bars and coins rose 30 percent to 996.3 tons in the 12 months through September, while usage in India gained 24 percent to 977.6 tons, according to the London-based WGC. While analysts in a Bloomberg News survey see consumption easing 2.4 percent in 2014 from a record 1,000 tons in 2013, purchases will still exceed those of any other nation and the U.S., Europe and the Middle East combined.



The mainland bought 107.4 tons last month, including scrap, compared with 147.9 tons a month earlier, such figures from the Hong Kong government showed. China’s purchases in November were 18 percent higher than the 90.8 tons a year earlier, according to the Hong Kong data. Mainland China doesn’t publish such data.



Exports to Hong Kong from China were 46.4 tons in November, according to a separate statement from the Statistics Department. That compares with 18 tons in October and 29 tons in November 2012.

Source:- bloomberg.com

Dollar On Track For Best Annual Gain Vs. Yen In 34 Years

The dollar held near a five-year high against the yen on Tuesday to be on track to end 2013 up nearly 21 percent, with efforts to revive the Japanese economy expected to see the trend of broad yen weakness extend into 2014.



The dollar eased 0.3 percent to 104.89 yen, inching away from Monday's peak of 105.41 yen, which was its highest since October 2008. It has risen 20.9 percent against the yen this year, its biggest annual gain since 1979 when it climbed 23.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.



Differing outlooks for monetary policy in the United States and Japan have been key to the dollar's surge against the yen, and the start of the U.S. Federal Reserve's taper of its stimulus could lead to further gains for the dollar in 2014.



By contrast, markets expect the Bank of Japan to maintain or even increase its massive stimulus to beat deflation.



The yen has also retreated as sentiment on the U.S. and European economies improved, and as investors looked to borrow funds cheaply and then invest them in riskier assets.



Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore, saw the dollar rising to 110 yen in the first half of next year, before retreating below 100 yen mid-year and then re-testing 110 yen again in late 2014.



Crucial to that outlook would be whether the Fed keeps reducing its bond-buying stimulus through 2014, he said.



In another sign of the yen's weakness, the euro has jumped 26.4 percent against it in 2013, the single currency's biggest such rise since its launch in 1999.



The euro was quoted at 144.71 yen, down 0.3 percent from late U.S. trade, after having set a five-year high of 145.67 yen last Friday.The Swiss franc hovered near a three-decade peak against the yen, fetching 118.08 yen. The franc touched 119.17 yen on Friday, its highest level since January 1983.



Against the dollar, the euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.3797, holding below a two-year high of $1.3894 set last Friday on trading platform EBS.



The euro has risen 4.6 percent against the dollar this year, putting it on track for its best annual gain versus the greenback since 2007.



The euro's strength this year has baffled many commentators and investors, who had expected tough economic conditions in some member states to weigh on the single currency.



But the euro has been boosted as banks in the region repatriate funds to shore up their capital bases before an Asset Quality Review by the European Central Bank, and as banks repay cheap crisis loans to the central bank, which tightens liquidity.



In addition, ECB President Mario Draghi has said he saw no urgent need to cut the euro zone's main interest rate further and saw no signs of deflation.

Source:- reuters.com

Presence of other players in relevant market proves competitions; no abuse of dominant position by o

Competition Act: Presence of other traders of repute of truck and trailer parts and accessories in Rajasthan showed prevalence of competition and, therefore, OP not being a dominant player in market could not abuse its dominance

Order passed by Commissioner under sec. 73C isn't appealable before Tribunal

Service Tax : Since section 86 provides for appeal only against orders passed by Commissioner under section 73 or 83A, order passed by Commissioner under section 73C is not appealable to Tribunal

HC allows deduction of sales tax liability on its conversion into a loan

IT: Where sales tax liability was converted into a loan within relevant previous year, assessee was entitled to claim deduction for same

Computer accessories and peripherals are integral parts of computer; eligible for depreciation at 60

IT: Computer accessories and peripherals being an integral part of computer systems are eligible for depreciation at higher rate of 60 per cent

Import of goods at higher value doesn't imply acceptance of such higher value by importer

Customs : Merely because importer has cleared goods at enhanced value to save demurrage charges or otherwise, by itself, does not mean that importer is consenting to enhance value; it is right of importer to contest enhancement and fact of clearance of goods, cannot preclude importer from exercising right of appeal

No concealment penalty if income was voluntarily disclosed by assessee before its detection by AO, r

IT: Where amount of duty drawback and dividend income from foreign companies was offered to tax by assessee voluntarily, penalty under section 271(1)(c) could not be imposed

Services to exporters against FMS Scrips - Meat, cotton liable to export-duty not to be counted for

GST : Section 93 of The Finance Act, 1994 - Exemptions - Service Tax - Exemption to Services Provided to Exporters Against Debit to Focus Market Scheme Duty Credit Scrip (FMS Scrip) - Meat, Cotton/Yarn and Exports Subject to Minimum Price or Export Duty Not to be Counted for Export Performance/Entitlement

No place for mutual compromises in I-T appeals; revenue can’t lure assessee to ignore other grounds

IT/ILT: Where safe harbour margin of +/- 5 per cent was allowed on condition of not adjudicating other contentions of assessee, matter required readjudication

HC aims to avoid prolonged litigation; directs authorities to settle refund claims after disposing o

Central Excise : Where, in remand order, all relevant issues were kept open by Tribunal for adjudication before Assessing Officer such order did not give rise to any substantial question of law so as to be appealable before High Court

No ST leviable on designs and drawings which are subject to customs duty on import

Service Tax : Sum paid for import of designs and drawings from foreign collaborator, which is classifiable as goods under Customs Tariff, is not leviable to service tax

Diagnostic service isn't akin to rescue service for purpose of grant of VAT exemption

UK VAT : Diagnostic services are different from rescue services; hence, goods purchased for diagnostics are not eligible for VAT exemption, which is available only to goods purchased for 'rescue'

No recovery proceedings would continue until assessee's request under ST amnesty scheme was decided

ST : Unless assessee's application under Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme is considered and decided, no proceedings under section 87 of Finance Act, 1994 may be allowed to continue, otherwise very object of said scheme would be defeated that entitles assessee to make payments in installments

Proviso to sec. 69C has retro effect, rules HC

IT: Where assessee was unable to justify part of expenditure, same was rightly treated as unexplained expenditure

Capital assets would retain their status quo even on conversion of agricultural land into non-agricu

IT: Merely because co-owners applied for conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural land and land was sold within 2½ years, it could not be said that land was for business purpose because in case of investment also, same could equally happen

Delay not condonable if assessee is negligent towards pursuing appeal, CESTAT says

Service Tax : Though there cannot be presumption of deliberate delay on account of culpable negligence or mala fide, but reasons of delay explained must be acceptable to law and where assessee is negligent in pursuing appeal remedy, delay caused thereby cannot be condoned

SEBI had to respond to petitioner's request for mobilization of public funds without much delay, HC

CL: SEBI should not delay in giving approval to company for mobilization of funds from public

Exp. on development of acquired software is scientific research exp.; deductible under section 35

IT : Expenditure in respect of scientific research even if capital in nature was incurred in relation to the business carried on by the assessee. Hence, the said expenditure is to be deducted under section 35(1)(iv)

Shares held in fiduciary capacity to be excluded in determining holding-subsidiary relationship unde

COMPANIES ACT, 1956/ COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 2(87) of The Companies Act, 2013, Read With Section 4(3) of The Companies Act, 1956 - Subsidiary Company or Subsidiary - Clarification as to Whether Shares Held or Power Exercisable by A Company in A Fiduciary Capacity Will be Excluded While Determining If A Particular Company is A Subsidiary of Another Company

SEBI modifies KYC Form, does away with requirement to mention details of investor’s income and occup

SEBI : Know Your Client Requirements

India Needs Ftas, Can't Have Wall Around Itself

Defending the policy of inking FTAs with different countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said India needs to connect and integrate with the world and can't have a "wall around" itself."When we look at our FTAs, we are a beneficiary, we are not a loser," Sharma told PTI in an interview.



He said that India's share in the global trade is low and to enhance the overall economic growth, the country has to increase its share by boosting exports."When we are talking of the larger economic integration of Asia and going right up to the Pacific... Can India keep itself out? India cannot insulate itself. You can not grow by having a wall around ourselves. We live in a globalised world, we have to connect and integrate," he added.



The minister said several countries are integrating with each other to enhance trade and investments between them.

"Let's not forget what is happening in the world," he said, citing examples of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); Mercosur (an alliance of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay); Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) (involving nine countries including Australia, New Zealand and the US); and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).



"We are neither Pacific nor Atlantic, we are an Indian ocean country, so we also have to look at how we have our own fair share or how we have regional mechanisms and arrangements for trade and investments," Sharma said.



Besides several experts, apex body of exporters, FIEO, has said that exports to several countries with which India had signed FTAs have shown a declining trend.



According to media reports, the finance ministry too had raised concerns over the impact of these pacts on the Indian economy.



However, Sharma said: "When it comes to trade agreements, there is always a balance and then there is an inbuilt review mechanism. Let's not forget that India's share in global trade is still very low. It is little over 2 per cent.



"We need to double it at the earliest, because of economy of India's size cannot grow unless and until our share in global trade, including exports, increases."



India has so far implemented FTAs with countries like Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Asean. The country is negotiating similar pacts with several nations include Australia, Canada, European Union and New Zealand.



In 2012-13, India's exports to South Korea stood at $4.20 billion but imports have jumped to $13.10 billion, leaving a trade deficit of about $9 billion.



Similarly, India's exports to Japan stood at $6.10 billion during the period and imports were aggregated at $12.41 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $6.31 billion.



Under these pacts, tariffs have been reduced or eliminated on about 95 per cent of goods traded between two regions.

Source:- business-standard.com

Coffee Exports Rise 2.3% In 2013

India's coffee exports increased marginally by 2.33% to 312,382 tonne for the calendar year ended December 2013 as against 305,247 tonne exported in the previous year.



In value terms, the exporters earned $835.02 million, a decline of 8.20% over the previous year. Last year, the value was $909.66 million. In rupee terms, however, the exporters earned Rs 4,692.58 crore as against Rs 4,637.87 crore.



The unit value realisation was lower at Rs 1,50,219 per tonne as against Rs 1,51,938 per tonne in the previous year.



The exports were especially higher during the last quarter of 2013. Bean exports during the period (October to December 2013) went up 34.44% to 58,413 tonne as against 43,448 tonne in the corresponding period last year.



While the value in rupee terms went up due to rupee depreciation to touch Rs 902.27 crore as against Rs 706.99 crore a year ago, the unit value realisation was lower at Rs 1,54,463 per tonne as against Rs 1,62,720 per tonne in the same period last year because of decline in the prices globally.



The depreciation of rupee and rush to clear off carry forward stocks were seen as the main reasons for the jump in exports during the last quarter of 2013. Growers, especially small and medium, rushed their stocks as they were in need of money to meet the harvesting expenses for the current crop year. The harvest for Arabica and Robusta is progressing in major growing regions of South India, exporters said.



Ramesh Rajah, President, Coffee Exporters’ Association of India said that while the rupee depreciation helped exporters earn higher dollar revenues during the year, the lower prices in the international markets offset the gain. Over the last year, Arabica prices have declined as much as 45% to 110 cents per lb in the international markets. Huge off-year crop harvested by Brazil triggered the price crash during the last one year.



Of the total exports, Arabica beans accounted for 17.4% at 54,378 tonne, while the majority came from Robusta variety at 258,004 tonne.



Italy continued to be the main market for Indian coffee in 2013, accounting for 24.56% of the total exports. It was followed by Germany (9.76%), Russian Federation (6.58%) and Belgium (5.55%).



CCL Products (India) Ltd, Allanasons Limited, NKG Jayanti Coffee Pvt Ltd, Nestle India Ltd and Tata Coffee Ltd were the top exporters of coffee during the year.

Source:- business-standard.com

Ski lifting facilities are exempt from service tax

UK VAT: Ski lifting facilities, which involve lifting people to achieve sufficient height to ski, amount to provision of services and may be exempt from service tax under Entry 23 of Notification No. 25/2012-ST under 'transport of passengers by ropeway, cable car or aerial tramway'

Merchandise Exports Revived India's Growth In 2Nd Half Of 2013

Indian shipments logged double-digit growth in the second half of 2013, lowering substantially the current account deficit, a big worry for the Indian policymakers, and boosted hopes of revival in the economy.



Due to sluggishness in the global economy, notably Europe and the US, India's merchandise exports growth was mostly in the negative zone in The first half the year.



However, since July it has seen a significant turnaround and registered a healthy double-digit growth, except in November, when the shipments were affected by strikes at ports.



In July, exports jumped 11.64 percent after declining by 4.56 percent In the previous month year-on-year.



The good show continued and the growth surged to a two-year high of 13.47 percent in October. A sharp depreciation in the value of the rupee during that time helped in growth in shipments, which helped the sluggish economy.



The country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 4.8 per cent in The July-September quarter as compared to 4.4 percent growth posted in the previous quarter.



"Indian exports is leading the economy from the front contributing to 70 percent of the growth of GDP in the July-September quarter," Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) president M. Rafeeque Ahmed said.



Also, the country's trade deficit came down significantly in the second half of the year helped by higher exports and lower imports.



The trade deficit, difference between exports and imports, declined to $6.8 billion in September from the high of $20.1 billion registered in May.



For the first eight months of the current financial year, the deficit declined to $99.9 billion from $129.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year.



Ahmed said the deficit is expected to remain in the range of $140-150 billion for the financial year ending March 2014 as compared to $190.90 billion registered in the previous year.



"The first eight months of this fiscal has witnessed a nearly 23 percent decline in the cumulative trade deficit, which will considerably ease the pressure on the current account deficit and in turn make the rupee more stable," said FICCI President Naina Lal Kidwai.



The value of India's merchandise exports was $203.98 billion in the April-November period of 2013, as compared to $191.95 billion in the corresponding period last year, registering a year-on-year growth of 6.27 per cent.



However, imports in the first eight months of the current fiscal declined by 5.39 per cent to $303.89 billion as compared to $321.19 billion recorded in the same period last year.



The lower trade deficit has helped curb the current account deficit that had spiralled to a record high of $88.2 billion or 4.8 percent of the country's GDP in the financial year ended March 2013.



The current account deficit dropped to $5.2 billion or 1.2 per cent of GDP in the July-September quarter of the current year, 75 percent lower From $21 billion or five percent of GDP, recorded in the corresponding quarter of last year.



Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic adviser at the State Bank of India, said India's current account deficit is expected to come down to $40 billion or 2.2 percent of the GDP in the financial year 2013-14.



"The momentum in export growth is an encouraging sign, and we believe that this trend will be maintained, going forward, partly aided by a lower base and seasonal impact in the last quarter," Ghosh said.



Anupam Shah, head of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), Said while the fall in trade deficit is a good development for the Indian economy, it is largely a result of a steep import compression rather than a smart rise in exports. Going forward, he said, the focus should be on boosting exports, instead of putting a curb on imports.



"We must reverse this trend and focus more on export growth than import compression. The India story should be led by export drive, and not reduced consumption at home," the engineering export body chief said.



Imports have come down largely due to a series of steps taken by the government to lower gold and oil demands.



Highlights of 2013:Exports declined in the first six months of 2013 due to sluggish global demands .A sharp depreciation in the value of the rupee led to turnaround in India's exports from JulyIndia's exports posted double-digit growth in the July-October period Imports declined due to a sharp drop in gold demands Trade deficit narrowed on the back of lower imports and healthy exports Exports rose by 6.27 percent to $203.98 billion in the April-November period Imports declined by 5.39 percent to $303.89 billion first eight months of 2013-14 Trade deficit narrowed to $99.9 billion in the April-November period from $129.2 billion in the corresponding period of last year.

Source:- indiatoday.intoday.in

Cotton Imports From India On The Rise

With the fresh import of about 300,000 to 400,000 bales of cotton from India during the outgoing week, Pakistan has imported 1.1 million cotton bales from the neighboring country so far during the fiscal year, traders said on Saturday. “Pakistan is expected to import a total of 2.5 million bales from India this year,” Naseem Usman, a cotton trader, said, adding that the price of imported cotton was coming at 81 cents to 86 cents per pound.



He said that imports rose during the outgoing week because of the two factors: the recovery seen in rupee value and production of lower volume of prime quality cotton this year. Indian cotton is of high quality on the other hand.He said the recovery in rupee has made cotton import viable again. Spinning mill owners did not miss the opportunity of cheaper import and speeded the process of import from the neighboring country.



According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the rupee recovered by 3.28 percent in the last one month to date, as its value improved to Rs105.53 per dollar (closing rate of Friday) from historic high of Rs109 per dollar on September 26 in the interbank market.

Pakistan also imports high quality cotton from US and Brazil every year to produce export quality cotton yarn. Spinning mill owners, however, import higher quantity of cotton from India, as its cost and transportation time are lower than US and Brazil, Usman said.



Taqi Abbas, another cotton trader, said that import from India might slow down in the days and weeks to come due to increase in the rate of cotton.“India has increased rate of cotton to 86 cents per pound after New York cotton market (a benchmark market for cotton traders worldwide) strengthened in the last couple of days,” he said.He said Pakistan imported cotton from India at the landed cost of Rs7,200 to Rs7,300 per maund (37.324 kilogrammes) in the recent past, while the rate surged to Rs7,500 to Rs7,600 per maund since India raised the rate to 86 cents in dollar term.

He said that India, however, was not a reliable country for the import of the commodity, as it usually cancels import orders from Pakistan whenever the price of the commodity goes up at New York cotton market.



Shakeel Ahmed, another cotton broker, said that a few of Pakistani importers did not take delivery of cotton from India, when it raised its export rate, and opted to settle the deal in cash.The data by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed the country imported 52,098 tonnes of cotton in the first five months (July-November) of ongoing fiscal year, 42 percent lower than 90,285 tonnes imported in the same period last year.In rupee term, the imports fell approximately 33 percent to Rs12.37 billion this year from Rs18.45 billion last year, while in dollar term it plunged about 39 percent to $118.76 million from $194.61 million, it said.

Source:- thenews.com.pk

Coal India Sticks To Import Plan

Coal India will issue another tender for import after the first one floated on November 15 failed to attract a single participant.A senior official of Coal India said the state-run miner had not scrapped the idea of importing for domestic consumers after the disappointing outcome of the first tender.



“We have not scrapped the idea. The tender will be floated once again shortly,” said the official, adding that the process is likely to be initiated within a month.



Coal India’s first tender was worth Rs 3,000 crore for importing 5 million tonnes.



The imported coal was aimed to bridge the demand-supply gap. Domestic demand is over 600 million tonnes a year, while CIL has set a production target of 482 million tonnes in the current fiscal. CIL produces over 80 per cent of the country’s coal.



However, the miner is likely to fall short of the target as production was affected by cyclone Phailin in October and mining activities in Odisha were disrupted in November.



Overall, in April-November the PSU missed its production target by 5 per cent.



CIL official said the restriction of participants to only public sector companies such as MMTC Ltd and State Trading Corp was one of the primary reasons for the failure of the first tender, besides issues relating to upfront payment to importers.



On whether the fresh tender will allow private players, the official said the option was being considered.



Meanwhile the trade unions of the PSU said they had just deferred and not backed off from a strike against a plan to offload a 5 per cent stake in the miner.



Trade union sources said the divestment was unlikely to take place before the general elections in the first half of 2014.



The preparations to divest a stake have been an ongoing exercise for almost a year, with roadshows held abroad to garner foreign interest in the offering.

Source:- telegraphindia.com

Some Advances Quite A Few Negatives

Looking back at 2013, the major achievement of the international trade community was the modest agreement to streamline it - allow developing countries more options for providing food security, boost least developed countries' trade and help development, at the Bali meet of member-states of the World Trade Organisation.



More important than the agreement was the commitment it signalled, however faint, to the relevance of WTO and the Doha Development Round. The estimated benefits from the agreement might be exaggerated. However, a step forward has been taken to make trade easier and eliminate some distortions.



At home, the major story was rupee depreciation, helping exports and growth revive. The customs exchange rate for exports was Rs 54.30 to a dollar at the end of last year. This year-, it is Rs 61.90 a dollar. The falling rupee helped exporters regain the ground lost when it had remained relatively steady but inflation had pushed up their costs. Towards the year end, exports were losing steam again as inflation continued to remain high. Luckily, however, the global economy started showing signs of revival. Domestic producers also got some respite as imports became costlier.



On foreign trade policy, the commerce ministry significantly simplified the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme, by merging the three per cent and zero duty schemes. The Status Holder-I Scheme gave way to an annual Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme. Coverage under the Focus Market Scheme and Focus Product Scheme were widened. However, the curtailment of drawback rates took away any gains the exporters could get from these.



The ambiguities relating to net foreign exchange earning criteria under the Served from India Scheme, the narrow interpretation of the meaning of 'group company', payment in rupees from Special Economic Zones (SEZs) all remained unresolved. The measures to revive SEZs through easier norms for developers failed miserably, in the absence of remedial measures to address the concerns of entrepreneurs or investors who want to set up units in these.



On its part, the Reserve Bank re-wrote the rules for write-off of export proceeds and formally allowed third-party payments for imports and exports but with some unrealistic conditions. The interest subvention for exporters was restricted during the year. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) introduced a Risk Management System for exports, tried to encourage stakeholder participation and gave some clarifications on classification. The useful clarification that exemption from excise duty by way of debit to duty credit scrips will not necessitate reversal of Cenvat credit helped avoid a lot of unnecessary litigation.



The revisionary authority dealing with drawback and excise rebate appeals continued to surprise exporters, with many decisions adverse to them. The procedure for service tax exemption/refund for services provided to SEZ units and developers was simplified. Overall, CBEC seemed bereft of ideas and short of energy to improve its administration.



Looking ahead, exporters face the prospect of getting priced out of markets due to increasing costs in the domestic economy. Their best hope is a strong revival of growth, especially in developed countries.

Source:- business-standard.com

Indian Rupee Down 17 Paise Against Dollar In Early Trade

The rupee today lost 17 paise to 62.02 against the dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to month-end demand of the US currency from importers.



Forex dealers said dollar strengthening against other currencies in the global market also put pressure on the rupee but sustained rise in domestic equities capped the fall.



The domestic currency had closed higher by 31 paise at 61.85 on Friday after a rally in local equities and fresh sales of the US currency by exporters.



Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose by 100.86 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 21,294.44 in early trade today.

Source:- financialexpress.com

ITAT's order couldn't be reviewed due to fresh arguments raised by assessee unless there was apparen

IT : Where Tribunal had considered entire facts and case laws relied and by speaking order, rejected assessee's claim in respect of cash credit, no review could be made

Statement given freely during search puts an estoppel against assessee from retracting; HC affirms a

IT: Where assessee had freely given statement that deposited amount belonged to him and authority had acted on same, assessee could not retract his statement

Presence of other builders offering residential flats in same area rules out dominance of opposite p

Competition Law : Presence of other builders of repute having similar projects in area as launched by OP rules out dominance of OP in relevant market

ST leviable on activity of preparation of place to hold event by erection of pandal and shamiana, CB

ST : Section 66E(f) of the Finance Act, 1994 - Declared Services - Hiring of Goods Services - Hiring/Erection of Pandal or Shamiana for Events doesn't Amount to Transfer of Right to use Goods and is Liable to Service Tax

Mere denial of sec. 11 relief won’t invalidates trust registration, rules HC

IT : Mere fact that an income is not exempt under section 11 would not by itself render Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's registration under section 12AA liable to be cancelled

Revenue couldn't object to interest on refund on pretext of assessee's fault if CIT(A) allowed it as

IT: Where Commissioner (Appeals) observed that interest under section 244A was allowed on refund and same was affirmed by Tribunal, it could not be apprehended that they had not verified fact as to whether assessee was in default

Income from shares admitted as capital assets in previous year returns can't be taxed as business in

IT: Where shares were shown as capital balance in Income-tax return of previous year as such on sale of shares, sale proceed would be long/short-term capital gain of assessee and not income from business

Population of Municipality and not of village Panchayat decides whether asset is a capital asset or

IT : Population of Municipality and not of village Panchayat decides whether asset is a capital asset or not

No extended period against assessee if exemption was withdrawn due to buyer's fault without assessee

Excise & Customs: In case an exemption availed by assessee is withdrawn due to an act of buyer, mere allegation that assessee should have taken necessary steps to ensure non-violation of condition of exemption by buyer, is not sufficient for invocation of extended period, except where violation took place by consent/knowledge of assessee

Reassessment to deny sec. 10B relief confirmed as assessee didn't repatriate export revenue in time

IT: Where assessee did not realize sale proceeds of exported goods within stipulated period, reopening of assessment on issue of section 10B deduction was valid

Cooling zone isn't includible in determining number of chambers to compute production capacity based

Excise & Customs : Cooling zone, which is neither installed in nor attached to stenter and did not aiding in process of heat setting or drying of fabrics but merely cooled fabrics which came out of stenter, cannot be counted as chamber for determining annual capacity of production for levy of excise duty

AO to give a chance to assessee to cross-examine witness prior to sec. 68 addition if he has letter

IT : Where assessee-trust claimed that amount in question was given as loan by a party but such party before Assessing Officer denied such transaction, assessee should not be denied an opportunity to cross examine said party

Govt. could object to share exchange ratio in proposed scheme even if scheme was approved in shareho

CL: In a proposed scheme of compromise and arrangement, Central Government can raise objection in relation to share exchange ratio even though in shareholders' meeting entire scheme has been approved unanimously

Parts and components of capital goods are eligible 'capital goods', irrespective of their tariff cla

Cenvat Credit: Parts and components of specified capital goods (falling under Chapters 82, 84, 85 and 90 as well as tariff headings 6804 and 6805) are eligible as capital goods even if such parts/components are not classifiable under Chapters 82, 84, 85 and 90 as well as tariff headings 6804 and 6805

Initiating re-assessment to verify certain known facts would be 'change of opinion'; re-assessment q

IT : Re-opening of assessment for purpose of "verifying" or "verification" will be necessarily an action based on a mere change of opinion

No denial of sec. 80-IB relief on DEPB discount in search proceedings if same was allowed in scrutin

IT: Where deduction under section 80-IB was allowed on DEPB premiums and discount in scrutiny assessment under section 143(3), same could not be disallowed in proceedings under section 153A

No reassessment to deal with an accommodation entry if AO has such info during assessment as well

IT : Where all information relating to alleged accommodation entry providers were available with Assessing Officer at time of assessment proceedings and Assessing Officer also applied his mind on such information, reassessment proceedings were not valid

Quotation price isn’t analogous to actual price paid; former can’t be used for benchmarking under CU

IT/ILT : Under CUP method, a quotation which hasn't fructified into a transaction cant be used for benchmarking

Services in relation to aircraft used for business visit of Managing director of co. are eligible fo

Cenvat Credit : Maintenance of aircraft owned by assessee and used by its Managing Director in course of its business activity is eligible for input service credit

ITAT allows sec. 11 relief to a trust investing in shares of Co-op. bank as collateral for raising o

IT: Where impugned shares in co-operative banks had been acquired by assessee-trust as a pre-condition for raising loans from co-operative banks to be used for furtherance of its objects, acquisition of shares cannot be considered as an 'investment' within meaning of section 13(1)(d) read with section 11(5) to disallow exemption under section 11

Demand can't be confirmed on basis of evidences not relied upon while issuing show cause notice

Excise & Customs : All materials which are relied for adjudication of demand/imposing of penalty must be supplied to assessee; demand confirmed on basis of material not relied upon at time of issuing show cause notice was set aside

Starting production before seeking registration as software park won't nullify sec. 10A claim

IT: Where mere fact that assessee initiated production in 1999 prior to its registration as STPI in 2002, would not disentitle it from claiming benefit under section 10A

Discount paid by telecom co's on sale of recharge coupons would constitute commission liable for sec

IT : Discount paid to distributor by cellular operator for selling mobile recharge coupons constitutes commission payment liable for TDS

Value of domestic clearance may differ from value of export clearances for excise purposes

Excise & Customs : Every assessment is a separate assessment; therefore, value of domestic clearances may differ from value of export clearances for excise purposes

Bid to buy at lower price isn't a crime; buying listed shares as per market mechanism isn't against

SEBI: Where appellant group placed bids, bought and sold in scrip of a company as per market mechanism, rules and regulations at par with other group which had been exonerated, appellant should not be held guilty of violating SEBI Act and Regulations

Department couldn't seek reversal of credit if duty was paid bona fidely on activity not amounting t

CENVAT : If duty is paid bona fide on an activity not amounting to manufacture and said assessment has been accepted (being neither reversed by Department nor claimed as refund by assessee), availment of Cenvat credit by assessee cannot be faulted and Department cannot seek reversal of credit

ITAT remanded the matter as DRP affirmed order of TPO without dealing with assessee's objections

IT/ILT : Order passed by DRP affirming order of TPO without dealing with assessee's objections, details and documents should be readjudicated

No addition on ex-parte basis under sec. 145 if AO failed to find defects either in books or in acco

IT : Where Assessing Officer did not point out any specific defect in books of account or method of accounting consistently followed by assessee and no inflated purchases or suppressed sales or expenses not incurred for business purposes were found, provisions of section 145(3) were not applicable

Sinopec Engineering To Build $3.1 Bln Coal-To-Chemical Plant

Sinopec Engineering Group said it has entered into a deal to build a $3.1 billion plant in northern China to turn coal into petrochemicals, as China seeks to reduce its reliance on petrochemical imports.



Sinopec Engineering will be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction of the 18.67 billion-yuan project in Inner Mongolia, which it said would be the largest of its kind in the world.



The plant will produce 3.6 million tonnes a year of olefins - mostly ethyelene which is a building block for petrochemicals that are widely used in construction, textiles and automobiles.



China, the world's biggest net importer of oil, is a leading buyer of petrochemicals, and imports about 45 percent of its ethylene.



Sinopec Engineering, a newly listed unit of state-run Sinopec Group, said it would deploy a self-developed technology to make olefins from methanol, which can be extracted from coal.



The coal-based process is cost competitive versus China's conventional way of making petrochemicals from more costly naphtha, a refinery product processed from crude oil.



"Sinopec has long realized that it needs to diversify feedstocks for making ethylene," said Yan Kefeng, an analyst with consultancy IHS CERA.



The plant, at Uxin county of Inner Mongolia's Ordos city, is owned by Zhong Tian He Chuang Co. Ltd, a joint venture which has Sinopec Corp and China Coal Energy Company among its main investors.



"It is a significant milestone for SEG to establish an integrated new coal chemical industrial chain," the company said in a statement released late on Tuesday.



Key facilities of the investment include a 3.6 million tpy synthetic methanol unit, two 1.8 million-tpy methanol to olefin units and two polypropylene units. Sinopec Engineering will hand over the project by Oct 30, 2015.

Source:- reuters.com

Awful intention: ITAT denies sec. 54 relief as assessee intended to sell plot even if he ultimately

IT : Where intention of assessee was to develop land/plot and not to sell building on plot, assessee was not entitled to section 54 exemption

Vietnam Automobile Market With 2018 Forecasts

Vietnam auto industry starts late and the development base is weak. After the reform in 1986, Vietnam auto industry started. In 1991, Vietnam government introduce foreign funds to develop automobile manufacture and assemble industry. After 20-year development, Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM, etc. entered Vietnam through sole proprietorship or joint-investment. They established automobile assemble enterprises in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnam established domestic auto enterprises. Currently, the production capacity of complete vehicles in Vietnam is estimated to over 100,000 per year.



There are hundreds of auto part manufacture enterprises, most of which are SMEs featured with low production capacity and low technology. Major products are simple parts, e.g. seats, auto storage batteries. Generally, auto parts in Vietnam depend on import.

In 2012, the sales volume of domestic automobiles in Vietnam was about 93,000, decrease by 33% YOY. In 2012, the import volume of imported complete vehicles in Vietnam was 27,400, decrease by 49.8% YOY. The decrease in import was caused by the gloomy national economy as well as the increase in the automobile registration tax and the import tariff. In 2012, the largest import origin of autos in Vietnam was Korea, with the import volume of 11,800; The second largest was China, with the import volume of 3,900. From the data in 2013, Vietnam automobile market grew up over 2012.



With the economic development, the growth of income per capita and infrastructure construction, Vietnam market demands more for passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. Vietnam auto manufacture enjoys low labor, land and energy cost but also faces imperfect auto industry chain.



Vietnam auto industry competes with Thailand, Indonesia and those ASEAN countries as well as China, Korea, Japan and those assigned with ASEAN agreement. By 2018, the import tariff for China, Korea and Japan will be 5%. Vietnam government will release a series of supportive polices to promote domestic automobile industry.



CRI forecasts Vietnam market will be the fastest-growing auto market in the globe by 2020. For auto manufacture enterprises, auto parts manufacturers and auto trader and distributors, Vietnam market is growing and attractive.



Through this report, the readers can acquire the following information:supply and demand of Vietnam automobile industry



Major auto manufacturers in VietnamImport and Export of automobiles in VietnamCompetition status of Vietnam automobile market



Prospect of Vietnam auto industry.The Following Enterprises and People Are Recommended to Purchase This Report.



auto manufacturers and auto parts manufacturers automobile trade enterprises transportation enterprises



investors and research institutes concerned about Vietnam automobile industry

Source:- international.to

Indian Rupee Falls Below 62 Level, Down 37 Paise To 3-Week Low Vs Us Dollar

The Indian rupee today fell for the first time in four sessions and lost 37 paise to close at a more than three-week low against the dollar on month-end demand for the US currency from importers and banks.



A slowdown in capital inflows on account of the Christmas holiday also weighed in on the rupee amid a rise in local stocks, a forex dealer said.



At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 61.85 a dollar, also the day's high, from the previous close of 61.79.



It declined to a low of 62.17 before ending at 62.16, a fall of 37 paise or 0.60 per cent. In the previous three sessions, the rupee had risen by 35 paise.



The local currency is at the lowest level since closing at 62.36 on December 3.



Dealers attributed the fall in the rupee to dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, to meet month-end requirements.



"After witnessing gains for the last three consecutive sessions, rupee was seen erasing the gains and weakening against the US dollar," said Abhishek Goenka, CEO of India Forex Advisors. "Fresh dollar demand seemed to have put pressure on the rupee."



The benchmark 30-share Sensex closed up 41.88 points or 0.20 per cent today. Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 40.67 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional data with the stock exchanges.



The dollar index was down 0.03 per cent in thin Christmas holiday trade.



"Today rupee traded weak against the dollar, with dollar buying pressure from oil companies," said Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO of Alpari Financial Services (India).



Forward dollar premiums fell on fresh receipts by exporters.



The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in May dropped to 227-1/2 to 229-1/2 paise from Tuesday's close of 232-234 paise. Far-forward contracts maturing in November dipped to 469-471 paise from 474-476 paise.



The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 61.9755 and for the euro at 84.7925.



The rupee turned negative to end at 101.81 against the pound from 101.13 previously and tumbled to 85.12 against the euro from 84.49.

Source:- financialexpress.com

SC: State Govt. is empowered to transfer FERA prosecution cases to Special Court

FERA: State Government was empowered to transfer FERA prosecution cases of illegal gifts in foreign exchange to Special Court hearing fodder scam that is alleged to have given rise to actual monetary gains in question

Violation of RBI norms won’t debar revenue from allowing valuation loss on investment treated as sto

IT: Tribunal was correct in allowing the depreciation claim on 'held on maturity' investments by treating it as stock-in-trade despite the same not being traded on a regular basis by the assessee in accordance with the RBI and the Central Board of Direct Taxes Circulars

RBI permits Indian entities to raise funds via issue of tax free bonds to NRs

FEMA/ILT : Borrowing and Lending in Rupees - Investments by Persons Resident Outside India in The Tax Free, Secured, Redeemable, Non-Convertible Bonds

Assessee can't be regarded as dealer of coal and coke on their usage as raw materials in manufacture

VAT : Assessee being manufacturer of ferro alloys and using Coal and Coke as raw material cannot be regarded as 'dealer of coal/coke' and is, therefore, not eligible for input VAT credit on coal/coke under West Bengal VAT Act during year 2008-09

HC affirms ITAT's value of rent free accommodation as revenue failed to prove high value of flats in

IT: Where Tribunal on basis of national salary payable to assessee, determined value of rent free accmmodation under section 17(2), in view of fact that annual letting value of houses in neighbourhood was not higher than said value, amount so determined by Tribunal was to be confirmed

Case remanded as fresh proceedings were initiated by Mandi board holding assessee liable for suppres

IT : In view of fact that fresh proceedings were initiated by Mandi Board holding assessee liable for payment of additional fee and interest, matter needed readjudication

Sum paid by TPAs to hospitals for health insurance services would be liable for tax deduction under

IT : TDS provisions are applicable on payment made to hospital by TPA in respect of health insurance claim

ITAT upholds sec. 40A(3) disallowance on assessee's failure to make out his case under exceptions of

IT: Where assessee failed to show that payment of lorry charges made by it in violation of provisions of section 40A(3) were covered by exceptions provided under rule 6DD, disallowance under section 40A(3) was valid

No addition under sec. 68 by doubting genuineness of shareholders if their returns were accepted by

IT : Where department had accepted returns of income filed by ostensible shareholders, department could not go back while making assessment of assessee-company to hold that those shareholders were money lenders and investments were unexplained

HC slams revenue for recovery of customs duty even prior to dispatch of adjudication order

Customs : When assessee had a right of appeal against Order-in-Original finalizing provisional assessment and when interest of revenue was already secured by bank guarantees having been furnished earlier, sending recovery letters even prior to dispatch of adjudication order to assessee and consequent recovery was invalid

Loss incurred by sub-account holder of FIIs to be treated as short-term capital loss and not as a bu

IT/ILT : Loss incurred from transaction in derivative by assessee, being sub-account FII, could not be treated as business loss rather it was to be considered as short-term capital loss which was eligible for adjustment against short-term capital gain arising from sale of shares

Trading receipt for outright purchase and export of granite would also qualify for sec. 10B relief

IT: Where assessee-company was engaged in manufacture and export of granite monuments, trading receipt on account of export of granite would qualify for exemption under section 10B

Pay It Forward Is Literally On The Menu At Local Coffee Shop

It’s no secret Windsorites like to pay it forward, and a new café in the city has put that option right on its menu.“There is a need for people to be kind to each other,” said Nancy Tessier, owner of Mashup Kaffe in Walkerville’s Windsor Business Networks hub.

Here, customers can order a caffe sospeso – which literally translates from Italian as “suspended coffee” – and leave it on the café’s tab for a person in need.



“All we need is someone to get it started, someone to see it,” Tessier said. “It doesn’t work if a community doesn’t get behind you.”



The tradition of the caffe sospeso is said to come from Naples, Italy, where someone who has a particularly lucky day orders two coffees at their local bar but receives only one, essentially paying one coffee forward in return for their good fortune. A person in need who visits the bar can then ask if there’s a sospeso available.



Tessier said she wanted to include the option in the café in the hopes of helping people develop more compassion.



It’s not uncommon to have customers walk in who can’t afford a full cup of tea or coffee, Tessier said. There’s the Windsor Youth Centre and Street Help/Unit 7 nearby.



Mashup’s caffe sospeso is a different spin on the pay-it-forward phenomena that happens periodically at some of Windsor’s busy drive-through coffee joints for events like Random Act of Kindness Day.



Employees at the Coffee Exchange in downtown Windsor said it happens occasionally that a customer pays it forward, though not in quite the same way as a caffe sospeso. A few months back, they said, a young man offered to pay for the coffees of three strangers behind him.



Customers at Mashup Kaffe, which is housed in the Windsor Business Networks hub, can order anything off the menu – coffee, tea or a specialty drink – and leave it on the café’s tab for someone in need.



According to Wikipedia, Naples launched an official caffe sospeso day in 2011, and according to the online magazine L’Altra Agrigento Online, the city of Lampedusa in Sicily did something similar to promote community involvement and support people in need.There’s even a non-profit organization in Italy called 1 Caffe working to bring back the tradition into Neapolitain bars and coffee shops.

Source:- blogs.windsorstar.com

Tea Exports To Iran Double

Tea exports to Iran have doubled to 16.47 million kg between January and September from about 8.48 million kg during the same period last year.



The near doubling of exports signifies a turnaround in business, which had taken a hit after the payment crisis in the wake of the US sanctions on Tehran. A memorandum of understanding with the Iran Tea Association in March also seems to be paying rich dividends. India and Iran had agreed on an export target of 30 million kg in two years as part of the MoU.



Iran is considered a quality market for high value orthodox and Assam tea. The Assam valley contributes about 550 million kg to the total domestic production of which about 50-60 million kg comprise orthodox tea. These have fetched remunerative prices.



“Iran is a quality market and buys tea from Sri Lanka and India. Trade with India suffered for a while because of the payment crisis in 2011. But the Tea Board helped and several delegations were exchanged,” said Sujit Patra, joint secretary of the Indian Tea Association (ITA).



“The ITA and the Iran Tea Association entered into an MoU in March. As a reciprocal measure, a delegation from Iran came to India in August. Iran exports have jumped up to September. The market is giving us directions that there is good acceptance of Indian tea,” he added.



Meanwhile, producers are focusing more on the orthodox variety. Shifting away from the production of crush, tear, curl (CTC) variety has proved lucrative.



The Tea Board is conducting stringent quality checks on export consignments to ensure standards. Tea councils have been set up for the purpose, one each in north and south India.



“A big change has happened and the situation improved with the rupee trade opening up. Overall, in the first 7-8 months of the year, orthodox tea prices have been 10-15 per cent higher over last year. Bigger demand has come in from Iran,” said Kamal Baheti, wholetime director at McLeod Russel India Ltd.



Iran seems to have made up for the loss suffered in Pakistan. Shipments to the neighbouring country stood at about 12.35 million kg during the period under consideration, a shortfall of 2.66 million kg over last year.



Pakistan buys a good amount of the CTC variety from Kenya, which recorded a bumper crop this year. Moreover, increased attention is being paid on shoring up shipments to the US, the UAE and maintaining momentum in Russia.

Source:- telegraphindia.com

Coal Demand May Not Exceed Over 60,000 Mw Capacity

Requirement of coal under the fuel supply agreements would not be for more than 60,000 Mw by 2015 due to various reasons, including slippages in the schedule for commissioning of projects, the Coal Ministry has informed state-owned CIL.



"The coal drawl would not be more than 60,000 Mw by March 2015 due to slippage in commissioning schedule, constraints in evacuation of power and due to not having long-term PPA," the Coal Ministry has said in a letter to CIL Chairman and Managing Director S Narsing Rao.



"The actual lifting of coal by power projects of 78,000 Mw capacity approved by the CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) has not exceeded 37,695 MW so far," it said.



"It may also be confirmed whether as per commissioning schedules/PPA (power purchase agreement) provided so far, the total supplies would not exceed (the power projects' capacity of) 60,000 Mw up to March 31, 2015," it added.



As on date, the total commissioned capacity is 41,461 Mw (38,821 Mw long term linkage + 4,640 mw tapering linkage) out of the 78,000 Mw capacity approved by Cabinet for signing of FSA (Fuel Supply Agreements), the letter said.



Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had earlier said that 85 percent fuel supply pacts have been signed and the remaining would also be done once technical glitches are addressed.



Amid continuous delays, the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) had earlier said that timelines for signing of fuel supply pacts for power projects of 78,000 Mw capacity should be met.



Two deadlines set recently for signing of the fuel supply agreements by CIL with the power producers could not be adhered to. CCI had even directed the Power Minister to review the progress of the power projects on a daily basis with the secretaries of both Power and Coal Ministries.



Coal India has to sign 173 FSAs with power companies for a total capacity of 78,000 Mw as directed by the Coal Ministry.

Source:- business-standard.com

ITAT accepts insurance value of cars instead of its WDV for wealth tax purposes

WT: Where assessee-company owned several motor cars, 80 per cent of insurance value of motor cars to be accepted for wealth tax purpose instead of written down value of motor cars

Investors Accumulate Textile Stocks In Wake Of Getting Gsp Plus Status

Ironically, despite the security and energy problems, investors on the Karachi bourse have been busy accumulating stocks of textile companies.The buying spree started more than one and a half month ago when it became clear that the country would win the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus status from the European Union (EU).



Analysts observed that the investors pumped money into the textile sector mainly in anticipation of the GSP Plus status that was expected to give a significant boost to textile exports. After a long wait, the country eventually got the GSP Plus status on December 12 for three years, starting from January 2014.



http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/etwebdesk/Giganticprice_zpsb02db761.jpg



According to Invest Capital research house, “a gigantic price appreciation (in shares of textile companies) ranging from 16% to 67% has been recorded from November 1 to December 17 on expectations of higher textile exports in coming months.”



The brokerage house took a sample of 10 volume leaders (ignoring loss-making companies) of the textile sector listed on the Karachi bourse and analysed them on the basis of key variables.



In most of the five trading sessions on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) from December 18-24, the textile sector continued to support the market, according to reports prepared by Sherman Securities.



http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/etwebdesk/150_zpsee077c0a.jpg



Investors got the decisive signal about GSP Plus in the first week of November, when the country won majority vote in the European Union’s International Trade Committee.



“The anticipation and initial reaction to GSP Plus has been positive for the textile sector,” JS Global Capital analyst Atif Zafar said. “It seems that the buying spree in textile stocks will continue in the near future.”



In fiscal year 2012-13, the textile sector outperformed the benchmark KSE 100-Share Index by a big margin.



According to a sample of Topline Securities based on selected 55 textile companies including spinners, weavers and composites, the textile sector gave a huge return of 94% against the benchmark KSE-100 index return of 49% in 2012-13.



Profits of these listed textile firms increased by 150% to Rs30.6 billion in FY13 compared to just Rs12.3 billion in FY12.



With strong fundamentals like stable cotton prices and depreciation of the rupee, margins of the textile sector have grown strongly. Now that the country has secured the GSP Plus status, its exports are expected to grow by $1 billion a year over the next three years.



http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/etwebdesk/Inmost_zpsd930cf29.jpg



Pakistan exported over $13 billion of textile products in FY13, almost half the total exports of $24.6 billion in the same year.



Threats to portfolio investment



With positive sentiments about the textile industry, almost all analysts appear upbeat on the portfolio investment in this sector. However, some say incoming portfolio investments may slow down if export-oriented industries fail to meet orders owing to the energy crisis.



“One of the biggest concerns is that whether the country would be able to meet textile orders that are expected to come after the GSP Plus status,” asked Zafar. “The energy crisis, especially gas shortages, is going to hit textile exports in the near future.”

Source:- tribune.com.pk

Walt Disney May Stop Sourcing Goods From Pakistan

This strategy was being prepared in consultation with the stakeholders to address concerns of US companies, he said, adding Pakistan, on its part, was striving to get its World­wide Governance Index (WGI) ranking upgraded by 2014.

Speaking to members of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) here on Wednesday, Qureshi pointed out that the US was a major export destination for Pakistan and elimination of Pakistan from the Permitted Sourcing Countries list would lead to a huge loss of export earnings.



Walt Disney Company claims to be the world’s largest provider of licences, since consumer products of Disney brand are being produced by thousands of independent vendors working in thousands of manufacturing facilities around the world.



As part of an ongoing review of its policies and procedures, Walt Disney Company has made changes to its sourcing guidelines that will improve management to meet the challenges associated with a complex global supply chain.



Underlining the adverse impact of such a move, PTEA Chairman Sheikh Ilyas Mahmood said the revision in Disney’s policies would have implications for textile exports from Pakistan.



“This decision has the potential of triggering a snowball effect as Marvel, the subsidiary of Walt Disney, will follow suit,” he cautioned.



Likewise, other major retailers such as WalMart, Target, Sears, Kmart, Macys and Gap may also be forced to stop sourcing their products from Pakistan.



The loss to textile business could run into millions of dollars, thousands of workers would be unemployed and small and medium-sized enterprises would shut down, Mahmood said. “If European textile brands follow suit, the loss will be exponential.”



Textile exporters are estimated to lose export orders worth $150-200 million per year and 25,000 people may lose their jobs.



Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Vice President Azhar Majeed Sheikh said Pakistan had been fighting the war on terror since 2001 as a frontline ally of the US and had continued to pay a heavy price in terms of both economy and security.

Source:- tribune.com.pk

Commerce Ministry For Scrapping Onion Export Floor Price

The Commerce Ministry is in favour of removing the minimum export price for onions and allowing exports without any restriction as its prices have softened across the country.



Responding positively to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s suggestion of doing away with the floor price, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has sought a quick review of the situation from the inter-Ministerial committee on onions.



“The Minister (Anand Sharma) is comfortable with the Agriculture Minister’s suggestion of removing restrictions. He has asked for a quick review following which the necessary action would be taken,” Director-General of Foreign Trade Anup Pujari told Business Line. Last week, the Government lowered the MEP on onions to $350 a tonne from $800.



Exporters have been complaining that exports at the current floor price are not feasible as global prices are much lower.



The minimum export price was raised twice between September and November this year to curb spiralling price of onions.



It was fixed at $1,150 in early November when domestic onion prices touched Rs 100 a kg in some retail outlets.retail prices



With retail prices now at comfortable Rs 20-30 a kg, the Commerce Department has been lowering the floor price.



The inter-Ministerial group on onions, headed by Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Asit Tripathy and comprising senior officials from Agriculture, Finance and Consumer Affairs Ministries, is likely to meet soon.



“The inter-Ministerial group will also see if there is a need for tinkering with the minimum export price at all. If domestic prices are higher than global prices, then removing the floor price may not be of any consequence to traders,” another official said.



The Commerce Ministry had earlier pointed out that the spiralling domestic prices of onions were not due to exports but due to hoarding.It had asked States to crackdown on hoarders so that they release onions in the market.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Centre To Help Import Grape Varieties For Good Quality Wine

The central government has decided to provide financial assistance for the import of grape varieties to help domestic wineries produce good quality wine as well as table-grapes.



This was disclosed by the Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday at a programme, organised by the Indian Grape Processing Board (IGBP), to announce the wine festival 'Indian grape harvesting festival : 2014' to be held next month.



He said, "Some wine grape varieties were imported in the past and they are being used to make wine. The grape-growers associations are also importing some more varieties. We have decided to provide all financial assistance for research and import of wine grape varieties."



Pawar added, "The grape growers are producing good quality grapes in the district. Apart from that, we need to increase the export of both grapes and wine, with major focus on quality. This was the main objective behind setting up of the Indian Grape Processing Board (IGPB). The government is ready to provide any help required for the development of the wine industry."



Ashok Gaikwad, president of Maharashtra Draksha Bagaitdar Sangh, said "The Indian (table-grape) varieties take around four months to 120 days to develop and they also require lot of pruning, which is generally done in September or October. Most times, monsoon affects the vineyards in September. Hence, we were in search of those varieties that can be developed in less than three months and require little pruning. We recently visited South Africa to study the table-grape varieties planted there. We have selected some varieties and are in talks with some nurseries there."

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Gold-Hungry Traders Tap Indians Living Abroad

Non-resident Indians are bringing gold into the country by taking advantage of rules that allow each individual to carry 1 kg of the metal, helping traders cope with restrictions on imports during the peak wedding season.



India, vying with China to be the top buyer of gold, has choked imports to narrow its trade gap and curb the outflow of dollars. The measures included raising the import duty to a record 10 percent and making it mandatory to export as jewellery 20 percent of all gold imports.



But non-residents who have stayed abroad for more than six months can bring in gold on payment of the import duty, irrespective of end use. Such is the demand that some traders are paying passengers' air fares if they agree to carry gold.



About 80 kg of gold was brought in by non-resident Indians (NRIs) this month on a flight from Dubai to Calicut in the southern state of Kerala, said an airport official who did not want to be identified.



Travel agents typically book about 20-30 tickets on a flight on behalf of NRIs, who are accompanied by people working for traders, said Bachhraj Bamalwa, director of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, an umbrella body of more than 300,000 jewellers.



"These NRIs pay the duty, so there is nothing illegal about it," Bamalwa said. "These people are mainly labourers from Tamil Nadu or Kerala, who are given a free ticket."



Government officials estimate NRIs have imported a tonne of gold since mid-November, compared to nearly nothing in previous months. That's a boon for jewellers, many of which have been operating at half capacity due to a lack of stock.



Official gold imports fell to about 21 tonnes in November, less than half the monthly requirement, data from metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS showed.



Gold premiums in India rose to a record $160 per ounce on London prices earlier in December.



"To take advantage of high premiums, agents have been increasingly successful in scouting for NRIs, and pay for their partial or full air fare," said Sudheesh Nambiath, an analyst with Thomson Reuters GFMS.



NRIs can save 125,000 to 150,000 rupees per kg on premiums even after paying the import duty, industry officials said.



The import curbs are also encouraging smuggling, with customs officials between April and September seizing nearly double the amount of smuggled gold nabbed in all of 2012, according to the customs department.

Source:- in.reuters.com

No interference with CLB's interim order unless it was passed in irrational or untenable manner, rul

CL: Where interim order was passed by CLB with a view to protect interest of parties, unless it was shown that discretion was improperly or irrationally exercised or was exercised in a wholly untenable manner, there was little scope for interference with such an order under section 10F

Investment In Iran’S Oil And Gas Will Benefit India And Iran

India and Iran have had economic relations for centuries. However, their relations entered into a new era after the partition of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan, the Iranian Islamic republic revolution and the Iranian nuclear issue.



Following the partition of the Indian subcontinent, India lost its adjacency with Iran and the two countries followed divergent foreign policies arising out of the post-partition political developments ([i]). On the other hand, Iranian Islamic revolution changed Iran’s relation with the world including India. In the recent years and after the international sanctions against Iran’s economy, Iran and India are experiencing a new and complicated political and commercial relationship.



India-Iran commercial ties are mostly related to Indian import of Iranian crude oil. On one hand, India is the second largest buyer of Iranian crude oil. On the other, Iran is the sixth biggest supplier of crude oil to India ([ii]). Iran is also a major source for India’s imports of petrochemical substances.



Even after the sanctions imposed on Iranian crude exports, India and Iran have put in place a rupee payment mechanism for continuing oil trade, because foreign banks had refused to deal with Iran fearing penalties by the US.



India and Iran hold regular bilateral talks on economic and trade issues at the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) ([iii]). Recently, in the JCM, the opportunities for India to participate in various projects in Iran including in oil and gas sector is discussed ([iv]).



The two countries have held talks on various projects, including the IPI gas pipeline project, A long term annual supply of 5 million tons of LNG, development of the Farsi oil and gas blocks, South Pars gas field and LNG project, Chahbahar port project (Chabahar port is often referred to as the ‘Golden Gate’ to the landlocked Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and Afghanistan).



The two countries have also signed a Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement (BIPPA) and are in the process of finalizing a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).



Indian companies which had or have a presence in Iran include ESSAR, ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) and TATA. Joint ventures between India and Iran include the Irano-Hind Shipping Company, the Madras Fertilizer Company and the Chennai Refinery.



Benefits for Iran



According to the OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin published on 2013, Iran has 157.30 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 33,780 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves ([v]). It ranks third in the world in oil reserves and second in gas reserves ([vi]).



Iran’s economy is heavily reliant on oil and gas as its main source of foreign currency earnings. In fact, Iran’s hydrocarbon sector is the main pillar of the country’s economy. Revenues from oil and gas exports account for about 42.5% of government revenues and are Iran's chief source of foreign exchange ([vii]).



But the lack of foreign investment had already dragged down production of oil and gas in Iran. The foreign investment which results in transfer of technology and funds is an important element for the development of hydrocarbon sector which Iran lacked in the recent years.



Meanwhile Iran needs to increase its production and its position in the OPEC and to play a chief role in the petroleum market.



Iran shares several joint oil fields with its neighbors. Iraq, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Iran’s other neighbors by entering in to contracts with powerful oil companies have increased their production in their joint oil fields with Iran. But due to the international sanctions, Iran is not able to cooperate with those companies to develop its joint fields.



Therefore and since Indian companies have the technology and funds, Iran needs Indian investment in its hydrocarbon sector to increase the amount of oil and gas production. In fact, the Indian’s investment in Iran’s oil sector would have the following main results for Iran:



Benefits for India



In today’s world, the high ratio of the energy consumption reflects the development of countries and those without enough energy resources face many economic and political difficulties and have to prepare their required energy at any costs.



Because of its large population and the need for fast economic growth, India’s share in world energy demand is projected to increase from 5.5% in 2009 to 8.6% in 2035 ([viii]).



With high rates of economic growth and over 17 per cent of the world’s population, India has become a significant consumer of energy resources. The government hopes to maintain an annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of about 8–10 per cent over the next quarter century to meet its goals for poverty eradication. This level of growth will require India to at least triple its primary energy supply.



The Indian refinery possessed the capacity of 177 million metric tons by 2012. Therefore, India is getting to be a regional refinery center, so India needs safe and secure imports. It seems Iran is one of the best choices of India due to its geographical situation.



Although India’s natural gas production has consistently increased, demand has already exceeded supply and the country has been a net importer of natural gas since 2004. Iran has an enormous reserve of natural gas, which according to a 2008 estimate stands second only to Russia.



Already India imports more than two-thirds of its hydrocarbon requirements and any further escalation would adversely affect its energy security ([ix]).



Therefore India has to diversify its manner of energy supply. It seems that investing in other countries to explore and exploit their oil fields is the best way to supply more petroleum to India. Iran is close to India geographically and has good political ties with it. Furthermore the two countries have many cultural affinities that facilitate the India’s investment in Iran.



Yet, India has expressed its determination to continue to pursue its energy cooperation with Tehran ([x]). ,



View to the Future



After the Geneva agreement between Iran and P5+1 (UN Security Council permanent members Britain, France, Russia, USA and China as well as Germany), experts are so optimistic about the lifting of sanctions against Iranian oil and gas industry. Now many companies are waiting for the green light from the sanction-imposers to invest in Iran’s vast oil and gas fields.



According to Reuters, on December 4, the Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanegeneh named seven western oil companies which Iran wants back to Iran’s oil and gas sector which is a bright sign to oil companies.



After the lifting of sanctions, Indian companies by establishing joint-ventures, consortiums and other kinds of co-operations with those oil giants or even independently can participate in Iran’s oil and gas industry and increase the energy security for their country.



Iran can benefit itself from Indian’s companies’ participation in its hydrocarbon sector to promote its relation with India and increase its crude production. *Erfan Ghassempour is doing Masters in International Law at the Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, with focus on ‘Indirect Expropriation in the International Oil and Gas Arbitration’. As Bachelor in Law he wrote thesis on ‘The Role of United Nations on Prevention of Wars’.

Source:- indepthnews.info

Four Weeks In, Locals Feel The Pain Of China’S Shellfish Import Ban

China and Hong Kong have closed their doors to all shellfish imports from an area that stretches from northern California to Alaska. The move is costing the shellfish industry in Washington State hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ashley Ahearn reports.



The Chinese government instituted the ban in early December after finding two bad clams. One from Alaska had high levels of the biotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. The other came from Puget Sound and tested high for inorganic arsenic. Washington does not test for arsenic in shellfish. 90 percent of the geoduck harvested in Washington are sold to China and Hong Kong. And the ban is having real impacts here.



Lydia Sigo: “We dive right out here in this area. That’s where we get the majority of our pounds is off this tract right here.”



Lydia Sigo stands on a dock on the Suquamish Tribe’s reservation near Seattle. It’s quiet on the water. No boats anywhere to be seen. The tribe is losing $20,000 dollars each day that the ban is in place.



“That’s been really frustrating because there’s about 25 divers in our tribe, that’s 25 families that really need to buy their kids Christmas presents or pay their mortgage, pay their rent. For me, I can’t keep going on like this for very long.”



To make matters worse, Sigo says, 40 percent of the money the tribal divers get from selling their geoduck goes to support the tribal elders.



"So this is affecting the entire tribe and other state divers, geoduck farms, people all over the state. It’s a huge industry and we spend that money in our local economies."



The shellfish industry in Washington is worth 270 million dollars annually, and China is the biggest market for exports. This is the broadest shellfish ban the Chinese have ever put in place. But it’s not the first time China has banned a major import from the U.S. Beef imports from the U.S. have been banned for the past ten years. More recently, China rejected about half a million tons of U.S. corn because it contained a genetically modified strain.



Chinese officials have been slow to reveal details of their shellfish testing methods. That’s prompted some to raise concerns about political motivations behind the shellfish ban. Tabitha Mallory is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program.



“It is possible that it could be retaliation for something. That has happened in the past.”



In 2010 China banned salmon imports from Norway after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the political activist Liu Xiaobo. Mallory says it’s unclear what kind of larger political statement China could be making with the shellfish ban.



“I think it’s good to consider all the possible motivations for this, but I don’t think that we should write off the possibility that it is a legitimate accusation.”



The contaminated clam was harvested near the former site of a copper smelter in Tacoma, which had leached arsenic into the surrounding area. Washington state officials have now closed the area and are testing shellfish for arsenic. Results are expected in the coming days. The state is losing 5-$600,000 dollars each week the ban persists, according to state officials.

Source:- nwpr.org