Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Issue of show cause notice and adherence to principle of natural justice are a must for rejecting re
Exp. on renovation of rented premises used by assessee for its business is a revenue exp.
PF set to cover all pay, not just basic pay
Currently, employers get away by contributing only 12% of the basic salary and dearness allowance, which is not paid by most companies, towards their share of "matching" provident fund and the Employees Pension Scheme contribution. So, for several thousand employees, the basic salary remains constant, while increments are passed by way of enhanced or new allowances. In most cases, the tax liability for the employee goes up due to the salary hike — and companies earn tax credits on salary-related expenses — but the statutory provident fund contribution remains unchanged.
As a result, EPFO notified the changes last year but had to withdraw the circular in the wake of protests from employers and the perception that take-home salaries would come down. Even now, industry is resisting the move but EPFO is expected to go ahead with the plan as a panel set up by the labour ministry to vet the proposal has endorsed it.
The report is currently pending with the labour ministry but sources said the government will go ahead and notify the norms. To ensure that the proposal goes through without facing legal glitches, the EPFO board may also discuss and ratify it.
Industry chambers have, however, not given up the fight against the move. Confederation of India Industry (CII) has already dashed off a four-page letter to labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge arguing that the plan should be deferred, while other industry bodies are expected to step up lobbying against the move.
It has suggested that the matter is pending before the Supreme Court after a series of orders by high courts. When contacted, a CII executive said the move will reduce the investment options before an employee. "Someone may want to invest in a mutual fund scheme or buy shares. Besides, employees are happy getting allowances and if the move goes through, take-home salaries may come down," the executive said. Then, he argued for the corporate sector, saying some of the small and medium enterprises will face a higher financial burden.
The lobby group is, however, backing another proposal that seeks to restrict reopening of cases beyond seven years, as it is meant to reduce harassment.
Government officials, however, countered the industry argument on the new compensation definition, saying EPFO membership was mandatory only for employees earning Rs 6,500 a month. Anyone beyond that level could opt out. Although it may be difficult for several employers to give the opt-out option, reworking of the salary structure to ensure that the wage bill doesn't shoot up can be on the cards.
Segmental profits of comparables to be preferred over margins of entity taken as a whole
India Starts Issuing Wc For Export Of Apis To Eu Ahead Of Deadline
Well ahead of the deadline to implement the European Union (EU)’s 'Directive on Falsified Medicines', India has put the mechanism in effect by issuing the first written confirmation (WC) certificate in line with the requirements set by the EU.
Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), who was made the competent authority by the Union health ministry to issue the WC, granted the certificate to global leader Teva API India, thus pitching India on the track well in time before the EU directive comes into effect from July 2, this year.
The certificate was issued to the API manufacturing plant of Teva Pharmaceuticals, based at Ghinrongi in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh, for nine active ingredients for manufacturing and packing. Clopidogrel bisulphate USP, olmesartan medoxomil, clarithromycin Ph. EP, losartan potassium EP, atorvastatin calcium USP, Irbesartan EP, quetiapine fumarate, sitagliptin phosphate and sitagliptin malate are the products that will now have smooth landing in EU.
“The issuing regulatory authority hereby confirms that the standards of good manufacturing practice applicable to this manufacturing plant are at least equivalent to those laid down in the EU (GMP of WHO/ICH Q7). The manufacturing plant is subject to regular, strict and transparent controls and to the effective enforcement of good manufacturing practice, including repeated and unannounced inspections, so as to ensure protection of public health at least equivalent to that in the EU,” according to the Certificate which will be valid till May 2016.
As per the certificate, issued on May 15, inspection of the plant was carried out on 13 and 14 of June 2011. The letter to the company by the DCGI also made it clear that the WC will be withdrawn in the events of non-compliance of standards.
The certificate was made necessary for import of active substances into EU for medicinal products for human use in accordance with the Article 46(2)(b) of EU Directives No. 2001/83/EC, which is aimed to prevent falsified medicinal products from entering EU from other countries. Each API unit requires WC by the enforcement authorities of the exporting countries confirming compliance with GMP standards/ rules 'equivalent to the rules applied in the EU', such as WHO GMP, 'International Conference for Harmonization' Q7 (ICH Q7), etc. effective from July 2, 2013.
The DCGI had recently issued detailed guidelines for issuing WC. It had specified that the first WC would be issued based on valid Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) issued as per WHO guidelines or US FDA or EDQM/ TGA certificates (not more than 24 months old). If the company does not have any of these, then inspection will be conducted.
Earlier in November last year, the union health ministry had made the CDSCO (DCGI office) as the competent authority for issuing WC certificate for each of its consignments ensuring compliance of the product with the good manufacturing practices (GMP) requirements of EU.
Source:-www.pharmabiz.com
Foundry Units Face Rs 11K-Cr Export Loss
28-May-2013
Indian foundry units are facing a severe threat of losing Rs 11,000 crore of exports business to competing countries like China and Taiwan due to the recent levy of import duty on metal scrap - the only raw material for producing critical equipment for the heavy-engineering sector.
Effective May 8, the government levied 2.5 per cent of import duty on all types of scrap imports, including aluminium, stainless steel, iron and steel. Also, four per cent of special additional duty (SAD) was levied on brass scrap -used for manufacturing brass artifacts, popular in developed countries.
Since, India does not generate adequate metal scrap to meet the annual requirements to produce 10 tonnes of castings, it imports it from development countries.
"The import duty on scraps of iron and steel, stainless steel and aluminium in most other competing countries is also 'nil'. Hence, the levy by the Indian government will make the Indian Industry incompetitive. This will also lead to inverted duty structure, since metal produced from scrap by free trade agreement (FTA) countries is allowed duty-free, whereas imports of scrap by manufacturers are being subject to duty," said A K Anand, Foundry Informatics Centre (FIC), a premier body of 4,500 foundry units in India.
Foundry units manufacture critical cast equipment from both ferrous and non-ferrous metal for use in automobiles, railways, heavy machinery, textile, cement, agro, power, oil and natural gas. There is no substitute of the critical cast component manufactured in foundry.
The Indian foundry industry has been facing a severe demand slowdown due to the unfavourable economic situation in the West - the major destination for India's casting exports. On the domestic front also, demand from the consumer industry has been lower since the beginning of the last financial year. While the sentiment revived for a short period early this calendar year, demand of castings started gradually waning in the last couple of months.
Primary metal being costlier by $300-350 a tonne, metal alloys are produced through scrap to make the finished products cost-effective.
Interestingly, the findings of Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development & Design Centre (JNARDDC) appointed by the Ministry of Mines also highlighted the fact there was no alternative to imports of aluminium scrap, since the availability of aluminium scrap in domestic market for producing auto components was almost negligible. The said report recommended the imports of aluminium waste and scrap at "nil" duty.
"India imported 45,405 tonnes of aluminium alloy in 2010-11 from Thailand. These countries enjoy the advantage of not only duty-free imports of aluminium scrap, but also the advantage of lower energy and finance cost than India. With the present levy of 2.5 per cent duty on the imports of metal scrap, coupled with duty-free imports of aluminium alloy and other components from Thailand and other Asean FTA countries, the foundry industry in India will be quickly driven out of business, which will adversely affect the employment of millions in this industry," said Anand.
Similarly scrap of stainless steel, iron and steel is used as key input by metallurgical industries such as foundries and other steel producers to produce components for use by the manufacturing industry. They will also be hit badly.
"The levy of import duty on scrap is a counter-productive step. It will not only dissuade the usage and trade of scrap but also add immensely to carbon emissions, scrap recycling being 40 per cent less energy-intensive," said Zain Nathani, Vice President of Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI).
MRAI urged the government to abolish the import duty levy to protect the metal recycling industry from closure.
Meanwhile, the government's $60-61 billion engineering exports target would be difficult to achieve in 2013-14 through such counter-productive steps, an analyst said.
Engineering exports are estimated to be 56 billion in 2012-13.
Source:-www.business-standard.com
Indian Rupee Opens At 11-Month Low, Above 56/Usd
The Indian rupee opened weak at 56.16 per dollar versus 55.96 Tuesday. The rupee was trading at its lowest level since June 28, 2012 on strong buying in US dollar.
The dollar gained broadly in early Asian trade on Wednesday after robust economic data boosted Treasury yields and raised expectations that the Fed may make an early exit from its easing scheme, making the greenback more attractive, reported Reuters.
Brent crude gained more than 1 dollar on Tuesday as US consumer optimism and signs of easier monetary policy from central banks pushed stock markets higher, while increasing Middle East tension also supported oil.
Pramit Brahmbhatt, Alpari said, "The rupee is likely to be rangebound with a slight negative bias as positive US data strengthened the dollar. Also month-end dollar demand by oil importers along with likely slower growth, which may be seen in Friday's Q4 GDP report could add more pressure on the rupee. The range for the day is seen between 55.72-56.28/USD."
The euro is still trading below 1.29 to the dollar. The dollar index is strong above the 84 mark.
Source:-www.moneycontrol.com
Krishnapatnam Port To Be Part Of Industrial Zone
GUNTUR: In a boost to industrial development in the state, the Centre has agreed to include Krishnapatnam port in the international industrial zone planned along the Chennai-Bangalore railway corridor.
Stating that the inclusion of the port would attract more industries to the state, industries commissioner Rajath Kumar said the central government has also granted a third National Investment Manufacturing Zone ( Nimz), which would be located in Prakasam district.
Speaking at a meeting organised here on Tuesday by the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), Rajath Kumar said a major superspecialty hospital is being set up in Guntur under the aegis of the DICCI. The hospital would become a major asset to the region as it would support medical cluster for the benefit of Dalit entrepreneurs
He added that a syringe-making plant would be set up at Kollur.
Guntur district collector S Suresh Kumar, Karunya Foundation chief Manjula and senior officials were present at the meeting.
Source:-timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Leather Exports Jump 11.6% In April
28-May-2013
NEW DELHI: India's leather exports jump 11.6 per cent to USD 367 million in the first month of the current fiscal compared to the same period previous year, on account of rising demand from western markets like the US and EU.
In April, 2012, these exports stood at USD 328 million, according to the data provided by the Council for Leather Exports (CLE).
"In April, the exporters have got good number of orders owing to growing demand for leather items in the US market. Also, the European market is picking up now," a CLE official said.
"We expect leather exports to grow up to 20 per cent in the current fiscal," he added.
The major markets for leather and its products are the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain.
Among the items which witnessed growth in April 2013, leather garments saw maximum jump of 23 per cent, followed by leather goods 21 per cent, saddlery and harness 17.4 per cent, leather footwear 13 per cent and footwear components 9.3 per cent.
Besides, the official said, there is a good demand for leather products in emerging markets like China, Japan, Africa and Latin America.
During 2012-13, leather exports grew over 4 per cent year-on-year to USD 5 billion in 2012-13.
Source:-economictimes.indiatimes.com
Foundry Units Face Rs 11K-Cr Export Loss
28-May-2013
Indian foundry units are facing a severe threat of losing Rs 11,000 crore of exports business to competing countries like China and Taiwan due to the recent levy of import duty on metal scrap - the only raw material for producing critical equipment for the heavy-engineering sector.
Effective May 8, the government levied 2.5 per cent of import duty on all types of scrap imports, including aluminium, stainless steel, iron and steel. Also, four per cent of special additional duty (SAD) was levied on brass scrap -used for manufacturing brass artifacts, popular in developed countries.
Since, India does not generate adequate metal scrap to meet the annual requirements to produce 10 tonnes of castings, it imports it from development countries.
"The import duty on scraps of iron and steel, stainless steel and aluminium in most other competing countries is also 'nil'. Hence, the levy by the Indian government will make the Indian Industry incompetitive. This will also lead to inverted duty structure, since metal produced from scrap by free trade agreement (FTA) countries is allowed duty-free, whereas imports of scrap by manufacturers are being subject to duty," said A K Anand, Foundry Informatics Centre (FIC), a premier body of 4,500 foundry units in India.
Foundry units manufacture critical cast equipment from both ferrous and non-ferrous metal for use in automobiles, railways, heavy machinery, textile, cement, agro, power, oil and natural gas. There is no substitute of the critical cast component manufactured in foundry.
The Indian foundry industry has been facing a severe demand slowdown due to the unfavourable economic situation in the West - the major destination for India's casting exports. On the domestic front also, demand from the consumer industry has been lower since the beginning of the last financial year. While the sentiment revived for a short period early this calendar year, demand of castings started gradually waning in the last couple of months.
Primary metal being costlier by $300-350 a tonne, metal alloys are produced through scrap to make the finished products cost-effective.
Interestingly, the findings of Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development & Design Centre (JNARDDC) appointed by the Ministry of Mines also highlighted the fact there was no alternative to imports of aluminium scrap, since the availability of aluminium scrap in domestic market for producing auto components was almost negligible. The said report recommended the imports of aluminium waste and scrap at "nil" duty.
"India imported 45,405 tonnes of aluminium alloy in 2010-11 from Thailand. These countries enjoy the advantage of not only duty-free imports of aluminium scrap, but also the advantage of lower energy and finance cost than India. With the present levy of 2.5 per cent duty on the imports of metal scrap, coupled with duty-free imports of aluminium alloy and other components from Thailand and other Asean FTA countries, the foundry industry in India will be quickly driven out of business, which will adversely affect the employment of millions in this industry," said Anand.
Similarly scrap of stainless steel, iron and steel is used as key input by metallurgical industries such as foundries and other steel producers to produce components for use by the manufacturing industry. They will also be hit badly.
"The levy of import duty on scrap is a counter-productive step. It will not only dissuade the usage and trade of scrap but also add immensely to carbon emissions, scrap recycling being 40 per cent less energy-intensive," said Zain Nathani, Vice President of Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI).
MRAI urged the government to abolish the import duty levy to protect the metal recycling industry from closure.
Meanwhile, the government's $60-61 billion engineering exports target would be difficult to achieve in 2013-14 through such counter-productive steps, an analyst said.
Engineering exports are estimated to be 56 billion in 2012-13.
Source:-www.business-standard.com
State Industries Dept Staff To Get Training From Apex Export Body
28-May-2013
The Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO), the apex export promotion council of India, will train at least 15 officials from Gujarat's industries department and another 15 entrepreneurs in a two-day capacity-building programme starting on Friday.
This comes after the FIEO prepared an overall report called "Gujarat Export Competitiveness Vision 2020" in January. It had cited that Gujarat contributed 25 per cent to the country's total exports. This percentage is expected to see a five-fold rise in the next seven years.
"Gujarat should take the lead in exports, considering it has a buoyant manufacturing sector. It must focus on overseas markets with more finished goods. We will host a series of training programmes to sensitise and train state government officers from the industries department on export regulations and guidelines. These sessions will guide them on procedural and regulatory requirements for exports in different sectors. We will also discuss some of the focus areas that the state should tap into," said Ajay Sahai, FIEO's Director-General and CEO.
Along with undertaking sensitisation training programme on exports, the FIEO is also in talks with the state Industries Department to set up 9 export facilitation centres in Gujarat to promote and encourage exporters in the state with ready information available from one single source. Sahai added that the facilitation centres were most likely to come up around areas that were the manufacturing hubs in the state.
"The FIEO experts will train our officers in a bid to increase in-house capacity, sensitising them to the opportunities in the export sector. We are also in talks with them for trade facilitation centres," said K D Vyas, AGM at the Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXTb).
The report prepared by the FIEO for Gujarat cited that while exports from India were currently pegged at $300 billion (Rs 16.50 lakh crore), Gujarat contributed around $75 billion (Rs 4.15 lakh crore). The report had estimated that while India's exports were likely to grow by $1200 billion, exports from Gujarat will account for $ 400 billion of the total share.
Source:-www.indianexpress.com
Rbi Wants Stricter Norms For Gold Import Firms
The restriction on gold import by banks was likely to be extended to gold import houses, also known as premier trading houses, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sources said. In the annual policy review, earlier this month, RBI had imposed restriction on import of the yellow metal by banks to rein in the country’s widening current account deficit (CAD). This move opened a huge revenue opportunity for import houses, which do not face any restriction. They are now charging hefty premium on gold sales to retailers.
“We are in talks with the commerce ministry to extend the restriction to gold import firms,” a top central bank official said, requesting anonymity. Bankers said the objective behind putting restriction on gold imports was not being met, as nominated agencies were kept out of the revised norms.
In recent weeks, the premium on gold, the difference between domestic and international gold prices, had shot up to as high as $40 an once from less than $2 an ounce due to supply disruptions in the market following the RBI directive. Banks have also alerted the central bank about this anomaly and requested it to address the issue.
Currently, banks are permitted to import gold on consignment basis, unfixed price basis and loan basis, but only for the purpose of export and not for domestic use.
Import of the yellow metal, which is resulting in widening the CAD, has been a huge concern for both the government and central bank. Current account deficit soared to a record high of 6.7 per cent of gross domestic product in the quarter ended December 2012.
However, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said the CAD was likely to come down to “more tolerable and acceptable” levels in 2012-13 once the fourth quarter numbers were out. A current account deficit of 2.5 per cent is seen as a comfort level of RBI.
Source:-www.business-standard.com
Ficci opposes changes in basic wage structure for PF deduction
The government had introduction a triple test - 'Ordinarily, Necessarily and Uniformly' - to define basic wages for provident fund deduction through a circular issued in November last year, but had later stayed its implementation.
Ficci warned that the proposal will have 'huge financial implications both for industry and government and may even be counterproductive to the EPFO, as organisations who are extending coverage to employees receiving salaries above 6,500 may choose to opt out, depriving the employees coverage under a globally renowned social security scheme'.
Under the current rules, an organised sector worker is not required to mandatorily join the provident fund scheme of the EPFO if his basic salary exceeds 6,500 a month.
"Most of the employees today join an organisation above this statutory limit and they are voluntarily covered by the industry," the industry chamber said in a statement. It has argued that PF deduction should be on the full amount of 'minimum wages' where such wages are being paid under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. "For employees who are on a higher salary bracket and receiving allowances as incentives to promote business, the PF contribution should be restricted to basic salary," it said.
Take a longer view on Inflation-indexed bonds
Prasanna A
The Government of India has decided to issue inflation-indexed bonds (IIB), starting from June, in an effort to broaden the menu of investment choices available for investors.
Although the bonds will be issued primarily for institutional investors, the government is making efforts to woo small investors by allocating a higher portion for non-competitive bidders. Further, the success of this bond and the pricing would have a bearing on a separate series of inflation-linked bonds that may be issued to retail investors, sometime later this year.
A lot of views have been aired about the potential success of IIBs and their likely pricing. In the context of declining WPI inflation, there seems to be an apprehension that IIBs may not receive an enthusiastic response. While it is difficult to hazard a guess before the first auction, participants should take a longer view on IIBs. A cursory glance at the benefits of IIBs for various stakeholders tells us that this instrument will be a net positive for the financial system.
For investors, IIBs represent the truest inflation hedge possible. Years of false marketing may have convinced some investors of the superiority of equity returns but neither equities nor physical assets can offer an effective and stable hedge against inflation. By their very design, IIBs are geared to provide such a hedge. IIBs have also known to provide diversification benefits and thus have emerged as a separate asset class, distinct from nominal bonds in many countries.
In advanced countries, IIBs have helped lower the cost of borrowing for the government, as nominal bonds contain an inflation risk premium; further, in periods when investors over-estimate inflation, IIBs could result in cost savings compared to nominal bonds. In some emerging economies, governments have been forced to issue IIBs as there were few takers for nominal bonds during periods of high inflation. None of these constraints hold in India.
Thanks to captive buying from banks and insurance firms and regular intervention by the RBI, the government is able to borrow as much as it pleases through nominal bonds. Further, the yields on nominal bonds continue to be extremely favourable to the government considering India's potential growth, inflation behaviour and chronic fiscal deficits. Thus, there is little conventional incentive for the government to issue IIBs.
Rather, the government's thinking seems to be to improve the choices available to investors and to wean away households from the gold obsession. One of the criticisms against IIBs in other countries is that such bonds lead to the spread of indexation i.e. the linking of wages and other prices in the economy to inflation. Studies have shown that such concerns are overblown. In India, indexation is already excessive. Public sector wages are linked to inflation and, more damagingly, the wages paid out in the rural job schemes are also linked to inflation.
What about the use of WPI instead of CPI for IIBs? It is a dampener when it comes to marketing the instrument to households; however, since the RBI has been basing its policy on WPI, the decision seems logical. Once India works out how to construct a representative and robust consumer price basket, then bonds linked to CPI can be issued.
Restrict EPF contribution to basic salary, says FICCI President
By Amit Shanbaug, ET Bureau | 28 May, 2013, 04.19PM IST
Currently, there are more than 50 million EPF subscribers from both organized and unorganized sectors and assets worth Rs 5 lakh crores with the EPFO are available for investment. Almost, 40 per cent of these assets go to the Central and State Government securities, said Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, President, FICCI.
The introduction of a triple test- 'Ordinarily, Necessarily and Uniformly'- for the purposes of defining basic wages by notification no. 7 (1)2012/RCs Review Meeting/345 dated 30th November, 2012 will arm the field staff of the EPFO with full powers to brand any component of salary, other than those exempted, as part of the wages for deducting EPF contribution, imposing thereby a huge financial liability on the establishments. The move is ill conceived and if brought into force will dampen business and investment sentiments which are already at a low ebb.
However, FICCI strongly supports PF deduction on full amount of 'minimum wages' where such wages are being paid under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. For employees who are on a higher salary bracket and receiving allowances as incentives or performance based rewards to promote business, the PF contribution should be restricted to basic salary.
Interest free advances to AEs can be compared with interest on risk free deposits made with banks
An NBFC can’t grant advances for purchase of gold in any form including units of Gold Mutual Funds
IRDA makes Regulations on ‘Scheme of Amalgamation and Transfer of Life Insurance Business’
Conversion from domestic tariff area to STP unit isn’t splitting up or reconstruction for sec. 10A b
While lending against gold, banks to consider the ceiling on weight of gold coins a customer can pos
No appeal to HC if amount involved is less than monetary limit fixed for filing revenue appeal
No sec. 68 addition for share application money if a large number of applicants confirm said transac
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Expenditure disallowed for default in tax withholding would also qualify for sec. 80-IB deductions
Group Medical Insurance services are eligible for input service credit
Case remanded as objections of assessee regarding selection of comparables were not entertained by T
Services provided by Trustees and Asset Management Co. of Mutual Funds are liable to ST
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