IT : It is production of flour/rice through flour mill/rice mill which is barrred from entitlement under section 80-IC, and, it is immaterial whether flour mill producing flour is an ordinary chakki or a roller flour mill
Wednesday 15 May 2013
No ST on architect’s services if evidences are not produced to establish registration of assessee as
ST : There cannot be any charge of service tax under 'Architect's services' unless Department proves that assessee was a registered architect under Architect Act, 1962
Fbr Agrees To Review Sales Tax On Smartphones
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is learnt to have agreed to a proposal of mobile phone importers to review sales tax of Rs 1000 on all new sets of smart cellular phone or satellite phone. Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that representatives of mobile phone industry met FBR senior officials to discuss the SRO.280(I)/2013 here at the FBR House.
Under the said notification, the Board had increased sales tax from Rs 250 per set to Rs 1000 per set on smart cellular phones or satellite phones and Rs 250 per set to Rs 500 per set on other mobile phones. During the day-long meeting, the FBR agreed to seriously examine the proposal of reducing sales tax on the said smart cellular phones or satellite phones. The FBR will examine the whole issue in the light of presentations made by the concerned industry. "We will review the proposal however no final decision has been taken in this regard", sources added.
The FBR has further informed the industry that the views being presented in the proposal that imposition of sales tax under SRO 280(I)/2013 will ruin the businesses or lead to smuggling of mobile phones is also not correct as the present notification only brings the tax structure in line with the current cellular technology and it is aimed at safeguarding the interests of the exchequer which were being hurt due to the existence of a notification based on an obsolete technology.
According to the SRO.280(I)/2013, the fixed amount of sales tax would be collected at import stage, and would not be collected at the time of activation of mobile phone as specified in the rescinded SRO.542(I)/2008. The FBR will collect sales tax of Rs 1000 per cellular mobile phone in case of smart phones or satellite phones. The FBR will collect fixed amount of Rs 500 per cellular mobile phone in case of other than smart phone or satellite phone.
The FBR informed the participants of the meeting that the Board has collected a very negligible amount of sales tax at the time of activation of new mobile phones. Now, the charge of levy at the import stage would ensure sales tax collection on each set. SRO 280(I)/2013 does not impose any new tax, rather it only aligns the law with the latest mobile technology.
The FBR said that the fixed amount of sales tax on activation stage was first introduced through SRO 390(I)/2001 dated 18th June, 2001, with a rate of Rs 2000 per cell phone and on the request of cellular company operators to encourage the sector, the rate was reduced from time to time. Under SRO 542(I)/2008 dated 11 June, 2008 the fixed rate was Rs 500 per mobile phone, which was subsequently reduced Rs 250 per mobile phone.
The collection mechanism in all these notifications was based on the old CDMA technology, which required activation/energization of mobile phones by the cellular company operators before they could be operated. The CDMA technology is no longer prevalent on any mobile network in Pakistan as all mobile networks in the country are presently operating on GSM technology and under this technology only a SIM card is inserted in mobile phone which is ready for usage, FBR said.
The GSM technology-based mobile phones do not require activation/energization by the cellular mobile network. Due to this technology change from CDMA to GSM, SRO 542(I)/2008 dated 11 June, 2008 had become redundant and the government exchequer was not getting the proper revenue from this sector as pre-activated cell phones were being imported, resulting in a steep fall in revenue despite tremendous increase in volume of import.
SRO 280(I)/2013 necessitated removal of the anomalies due to change in technology and it has shifted the time and mode of payment of tax from activation stage to import stage.
The FBR said that the standard rate of sales tax under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 is 16 percent and prices of new mobile phones go as high as around Rs 80,000 or more. At the standard rate of sales tax, the amount of sales tax payable on a mobile phone costing Rs 50,000 would be Rs 8,000, but under SRO 280(I)/2013 the fixed sales tax is only Rs 1000 which comes to around 2 percent.
Thus the fixed rate of sales tax under SRO 280(I)/2013 is still much lower than the standard rate of 16% chargeable on all other goods. This reduced fixed rate of sales tax has been retained on the request of cell phone operating companies to help and encourage the sector, sources said.
Source:-www.brecorder.com
Soybean Imports Expected To Reach Record High Level
15-May-2013
China's soybean imports are expected to reach record highs in the coming year, according to forecasts released on Wednesday by the China National Grain and Oils Information Center.
Already the world's largest soybean importing country, imports are expected to hit 66 million metric tons during the 2013-14 market year (September 2013 to August 2014).
In 2012, China's soybean imports jumped by 11.2 percent from the previous year to 58.4 million tons. The US Department of Agriculture recently predicted China's imports of the beans will jump to 69 million tons during the period, while putting import volumes for the current market year at 59 million tons.
Chinese agricultural experts and industry analysts suggest those estimates are overblown, but agree there is strong upward pressure on the country's soybean imports, caused by reduced domestic output and price discrepancies between domestic and imported beans.
According to the center's figures, the country's soybean production this year is likely to drop by 3.9 percent from a year ago to 12.3 million tons, which would mark the third year running of reduced output.
The amount of area dedicated to growing the beans is also expected to decline, by 3.7 percent, the center said, after the area shrank by 14.4 percent the previous year.
"Reduced output would induce more imports to China," the center concluded.
Chinese farmers currently plant non-genetically modified varieties, whose production per hectare is no more than half of the genetically modified ones grown in the United States, Brazil and Argentina.
At the same time, domestically grown beans are not as productive as imported ones, in terms of the amount of oil produced.
High soybean prices in the domestic market have also made imported beans more attractive to grain traders.
"Given the price discrepancy between domestic and global markets, international imports can be very lucrative," said Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Ltd.
Source:-usa.chinadaily.com.cn
‘Apsez Becomes Country’S Top Coal Handling Port’
The Adani Port and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has become the biggest coal handling port in India by overtaking Pardip port during 2012-13. This private port developer that operates the Mundra port in Gulf of Kutch (Gujarat) is now within sniffing distance of overtaking Kandla as the country's top-most port in terms of cargo volumes.
APSEZ overtook Paradip port — a major port located in Orissa — in the beginning of the fourth quarter to emerge as the biggest coal handler in the country. Over 26 million metric tonnes (MMT) of coal was handled during the just ended fiscal, 2012-13, a company spokesperson said. The Adani Group has coal mining rights in Australia and Indonesia.
APSEZ's Mundra port in total handled over 82 MMT of cargo during 2012-13, which is a growth of 21% compared to the volumes handled a year ago. APSEZ is now close to overtaking Kandla which has handled over 89 MMT of cargo.
"Adani Ports is indeed India's foremost port and it is a matter of pride that it continues its march towards becoming the biggest commercial port in India. Disinvestment of the port at Abbot Point, Australia will further give fillip to its growth plans," Gautam Adani, chairman of APSEZ stated in a release here on Wednesday.
The company's net profit for the 2012-13 increased by 49% to Rs 1,754 crore as compared to Rs 1,177 crore in the previous year.
The company's port at Dahej has also performed well during the year. There is a four-fold increase in cargo handled at Dahej port of 7.56 MMT as against 2.14 MMT cargo handled a year ago.
Source:-www.indianexpress.com
Reassessment to tax so called accommodation entries not justified if reasons didn’t purport assessee
IT : Where notice under section 148 was issued beyond period of four years and reasons recorded for reopening assessment were that assessee had received sum from certain companies, which were in nature of accommodation entries
Gold Premiums Jump After Import Curbs
15-May-2013
Premiums for physical gold in India, the world's biggest gold buyer, have jumped sharply this week due to limited supply after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restricted imports to rein in a record current account deficit.
On May 13, the cental bank banned gold shipments by banks on a consignment basis except to meet genuine demand from jewellery exporters. That followed moves by the Finance Ministry in January to increase the import duty by 50 percent to 6 percent of value.
The majority of bullion wholesalers quoted a premium of 750-1,200 rupees per 10 grams over local spot gold on Wednesday as against 500-600 rupees last week, said Haresh Soni, chairman of All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation.
"Premiums have increased sharply ... and the market is in a dilemma now over what will happen if banks are not accepting new orders. Then what will be the supply channel?" Soni said.
On the physical front, most banks and jewellers awaited further guidelines on ways to import gold.
"People are just exhausting their old stocks, and even the market is slow," said Ketan Shroff, a director with Penta Gold, a wholesaler in Mumbai. Traders were in a wait-and-watch mode for new guidelines from the RBI, Shroff said.
Gold ranks second only to crude oil in India's spending on imports. In April, gold and silver imports more than doubled from the year before, regardless of the higher duty, as customers took advantage of lower prices.
That increased pressure on the current account balance and limited the central bank's room for monetary easing.
The bank said the import restriction was designed to moderate domestic demand but that banks could supply jewellery exporters.
"We have good volumes in export business, we will concentrate on that now," said a dealer with a state-run bullion importing bank in Mumbai.
The actively traded contract for gold for June delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) fell to as low as 26,237 rupees on Wednesday, a level last seen on March 24, partially due to a stronger rupee.
Source:-in.reuters.com/article
Sec. 158BD notice to wife solely on basis of her husband’s block assessment concluded thereafter was
IT : Where noting was made in block assessment order of assessee's husband on whom search was conducted and notice was issued to wife under section 158BD prior to such block assessment, said noting could not be treated as recording of satisfaction in case of wife
Provisions of sec. 68 aren’t restricted to cash credit only; it covers unexplained credit as well
IT : Addition under section 68 can be made even for an unexplained credit amount on account of supply of goods, and not necessarily only for a cash credit
Erection of sluice gates in agricultural dams isn’t ‘Erection, Commissioning and Installation’ servi
ST : Erection of sluice gates in agricultural dams constructed by various corporations cannot, prima facie, be regarded as "Erection, Commissioning and Installation Services", as agricultural dam or sluice gates thereto cannot be considered as a plant and machinery or equipment or structures thereof
Canteen facilities provided to employees for private use is provision of service
ST/ECJ : Provision, free of charge, of meals by a company to its staff on its premises for private use of such employees is to be regarded as provision of service to them
Extensive fluctuation in forex rates to be considered while making TP adjustment - Delhi ITAT
IT/ILT : Where revenue authorities while making adjustment to ALP determined by assessee, failed to consider element of abnormal and huge fluctuation in foreign exchange rate favouring foreign currency and against Indian currency, impugned adjustment was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh
Customs Notification No.27/ 2013 dated 10-05-2013
Indian Customs : Amends Notification No. 12/2012-Customs dated 17.03.2012 to reduce Customs Duty on Cashew nuts.
Click Here:http://www.eximguru.com/Notifications/amends-notification-no-12-2012-customs-28788.aspx
Click Here:http://www.eximguru.com/Notifications/amends-notification-no-12-2012-customs-28788.aspx
Aid received by assessee for undergoing research in a field of national importance is a capital rece
IT : Grant-in-aid received for research in field of telecommunications, which in turn would benefit nation and public at large is capital receipt
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