Materials used for making a premises dust-free and fire resistant is an eligible input

ST : Paints and other materials used on floor of factory/premises to make it dust free and fire retardant, which was essential for manufacture/provision of service, are inputs eligible for Cenvat Credit

Mere submitting an incorrect claim without malafide intention doesn’t attract concealment penalty

IT : Where expenditure was disallowed due to non-availability of supporting evidence, it could not be held as giving inaccurate particulars of income, and, therefore, penalty for concealment could not be levied

A bona fide belief on allowability of an exp. and disclosure of same in return saves assessee from p

IT : Where assessee-company bona fidely believed that expenses in question could be claimed towards business expenses and all material facts relating to these expenses were disclosed in return of income, penalty under section 271(1)(c) was not leviable

INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, MUMBAI BENCHES, MUMBAI STATEMENT SHOWING THE LIST OF SPECIAL BENCH CASES PENDING AS ON 06.07.2013.

INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, MUMBAI BENCHES, MUMBAI STATEMENT SHOWING THE LIST OF SPECIAL BENCH CASES PENDING AS ON 06.07.2013. Sr. Appeal No. Name of the To whom assigned the Points involved Remark No Assessee Special Bench MUMBAI BENCHES 1. ITA No. 5568 & DHL Operations 1. Hon'ble Vice- "Whether, or not, on the facts and in Fixed on 5569/M/1995 & B.V. Netherlands President the circumstances of the case and on a 10.09.13 6448/M/1994 2. ( MZ) proper interpretation of Art. 5.5 and A.Y. 1991-92 to 1993- 3. Shri. P.M.Jagtap, Art. 5.6 of the DTA (with Netherlands) 94 A.M. and having regard to its activities, it Shri.B.Ramakotaiah, can be said that Airfreight Ltd. was the A.M. agent of the assessee so that it can be held that the assessee had a PE in India? And if the answer is in the affirmative, whether or not the income from inbound shipments can be treated as attributable to the PE?" 2. ITA 5996/M/93 GTC Industries Ltd. 1. Vice President(MZ) Fixed on ITA 1055/M/94 2. Shri R.S.Syal,AM. 05.09.13 ITA 1056/M/94 3. Shri B. Ramakotaiah, A.M. 1 DELHI BENCHES 1. ITA No. M/s C.L.C. & Sons 1. Hon'ble President, "Whether, on the facts and Fixed after 1976/Del/2006 Pvt. Ltd. I.T.A.T. circumstances of the case, assessee is the disposal 2. Hon'ble Vice-entitled to claim depreciation on the of Hon'ble President (Zonal) value of all intangible assets falling in High Court 3. Shri. Rajpal Yadav, the category of "any other business or in the case of JM. commercial rights", without coherence CLC Global of such rights with the distinct genusis/ Ltd. which is category if intangible assets like know pending how, patents, copyrights, trade marks, before licences and franchises as defined U/s Hon'ble High 32(1) (II) of the I.T. Act." Court. 2. ITA No. 1999 & M/s National 1. Shri.G.D.Agarwal,VP "Whether on the facts and Blocked for 6th 2000/Del/2008 Agricultural Co-op. (DZ). circumstances of the case, where claim Months Mkt. Federation of 2. Shri.Rajpal Yadav, of damages and interest thereon is India, New Delhi 3. J.M. deputed by the assessee in the court of Shri.I.C.Sudhir,JM law, deduction can be allowed for the interest claimed on such damages while computing business income." 3. ITA M/s Giesecke & 1. Shri P.M.Jagtap,A.M. 1."Whether for the purposes of Fixed on No.5924/Del/2012 Devirent India 2. Shri A.D. Jain, J.M. determining the Arm's Length Price in 05/08/2013 Pvt.Ltd.,Gurgaon. 3. Shri B. Ramakotaiah, relation to the international A.M. transaction, quantitative filter of high/low turnover is to be applied and, accordingly, high/low turnover companies vis-à-vis the assessee company are to be excluded from the comparables selected for bench marking the transaction. 2.If the answer to question no. one is in affirmative then what should be the parameter, if any, for exclusion of high/low turnover companies vis-à-vis the assessee company. 2 4. ITA M/s Suraj 1. Shri U.B.S Bedi, J.M. "Whether on the facts and in the Fixed on No.3827/Del/2009 Oversease(Pvt.)Ltd. 2. Shri S.V.Meharotra, circumstances of the case, the 22/07/2013 A.Y.2006-07 A.M. Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals) 3. Shri I.C. Sudhir, J.M.erred in Law in holding that profit aggregating to Rs. 2,51,50,313/-earned by the appellant from sale of shares and securities held under discretionary portfolio management scheme was assessable under the head `business income', as opposed to capital gains returned by the appellant?" 5. ITA No. Shri Tejinder singh 1. Vice President, (DZ) "Whether on the facts and Blocked for 06 163/ASR/2003 (HUF) 2. Shri S.V.Mehrotra, circumstances of the case, months A.Y.1998-99 A.M. consideration claimed to have been 3. Shri R.P. Tolani,J.M. received on account of sale of jewellery 4. Shri B.C.Meena, A.M. etc. relating to the disclosures made 5. Shri R.P.Yadav, J.M. under VDI Scheme, 1997, can be considered to be the income of the assessee from undisclosed sources under any of the provisions of Income- tax Act, 1961?" KOLKATTA BENCHES 1. ITA Nos.1548 & M/s. 1. Hon'ble President, 1. "Whether, on the facts and in the Adjourned 1549/Kol/2009 Instrumentarium I.T.A.T. circumstances of the case, no arm's length Sine-die. A.Y.2003-04 & 2004- Corporation Ltd. 2. Hon'ble V.P. (KZ) rate of interest was required to be charged 05 3. Shri Mahavir Singh, on the loan granted by the non-resident J.M. assessee-company to its wholly owned subsidiary Indian company M/s Datex Ohmeda(Indian) Pvt. Ltd.(Datex)?" 2. "Whether, in the given facts and circumstances of the case, CBDT Circular No. 14 of 2001 [252 ITR (St.) 104] and Taxation Ruling TR 2007/1 issued by Australian Taxation Office are relevant in the context of Transfer 3 Pricing Regulations of India, in particular to the case of the assessee? 3. "Whether, setting off of loss with future profits and not assessing the interest income in the hands of the assessee on arm's length price will cause real loss to the Govt. exchequer?" CHENNAI BENCHES 1. Int. T.A. 101 & M/s Bharat 1. Hon'ble Vice- "Whether, the amount collected from Adjourned 161/Mds/2003 Overseas Bank Ltd., President (CZ) the borrowers to meet the interest tax Sine die A.Y. 1999-2000 Chennai 2. Shri. N.S.Saini,A.M. liability could be taxed as interest A.Y.2000-2001 3. Smt.P.Madhavidevi, under the Interest-Tax Act, 1974?" J.M. AHMEDABAD BENCHES 1. ITA 2170/Ahd/2005 M/s Nanubhai D. 1. Hon'ble President,"Whether, Shri Deepak R. Shah, Adjourned Desai, Surat I.T.A.T. advocate and ex-Accountant Member of Sine die 2. Hon'ble Vice-the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, is President (AZ) debarred from practicing before the 3. Shri.R.S.Syal,A.M. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in view of the insertion of Rule 13 E in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Members (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules,1963?" 2. ITA 1952/AHD/2012 Shri Himanshu V. 1. Hon'ble Vice- "Whether deduction u/s 80-IA(4)(ii), Date awaited Shah, Ahmedabad. President,(AZ). which is available to BASIC Telecom 2. Shri.S.V.Mehrotra, Services Providers is also available to A.M. Franchisee of such Basic Service 3. Shri.M.K.Shrawat, Providers also, which is only putting J.M. EPEX system with out creating infrastructure in the field of Telecom?" 4 3. ITA Nos.2668,2669 & The People"s Co-op. 1. Hon'ble Vice- 1."Whether the assessee being a Co- Fixed on 2670/Ahd/2012 & Credit Society Ltd., President(AZ). operative Credit Society, in view of its 12/08/2013 C.O.Nos.10, 11, Deesa. 2. Shri.M.K.Shrawat, function in providing credit facilities to 12/Ahd/2012 J.M. its members, is into the business of 3. Shri A.M. banking and is it not being impeded or Alankamony, A.M. hit by the provisions of section 80P(4) of I.T. Act, 1961? Further, in view of section 5 of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and section 2 of NABARD Act, 1981, whether this Co-operative Credit Society is carrying on the Banking Business, and for all practical purposed acting like a Co-operative Bank?" 2. "Whether a Co-operative Credit Society being providing credit facility to its members can be held as banking function, so as to deny the benefit of Section 80P(2)(a)(i) by invoking the provisions of section 80P(4)?" HYDERABAD BENCHES 1. ITA No. 18/H/2012 M/s Jagathi 1. Shri R.S. Syal, AM. Fixed on Publication Pvt. 2. Shri P.M. Jagtap, AM. 16/09/2013 Ltd., Hyderabad. 3. Shri N.V. Vasudevan, Vide M.Z.U.O. JM. Dt.03.07.2013 5 INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL,MUMBAI BENCHES,MUMBAI. LIST OF SPECIAL BENCH CASES HEARD AND PENDING FOR ORDERS AS ON 06.07.2013 Sr. Appeal No. Name of the To whom assigned the Points involved Remark No Assessee Special Bench RAJKOT BENCH 1. ITA No. 391 & M/s Bharti Auto 1. Shri G.C. Gupta, Heard on 392/Rjt/2011. Products, Jamnager. Vice-President, (AZ). 18/06/2013 2. Shri D. K. Srivastava, AM 3. Shri A. M. Alankamony, AM. 6

RBI/2013-14/147 A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 14 dated 22-07-2013

Reserve Bank Of India

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.14

July 22, 2013

To

All Category - I Authorised Dealer Banks

Madam / Sir,

Export of Goods and Software – Realisation and Repatriation of export proceeds – Liberalisation

Attention of Authorised Dealer Category-I (AD Category-I) banks is invited to A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 52 dated November 20, 2012 extending the enhanced period for realization and repatriation to India, of the amount representing the full value of goods or software exported, from six months to twelve months from the date of export up to March 31, 2013. Further, in terms of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 105 dated May 20, 2013 it was decided, in consultation with the Government of India to bring down the above stated realization period from twelve months to nine months from the date of export valid till September 30, 2013.

2. In this connection, it is clarified that as the realization and repatriation period stipulation in terms of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 52 dated November 20, 2012 was valid till March 31, 2013 only, the time period for realization and repatriation of export proceeds from April 01, 2013 onwards till September 30, 2013, shall be reckoned as nine months from the date of export.


3. The provisions in regard to period of realization and repatriation to India of the full export value of goods or software exported by a unit situated in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as well as exports made to warehouses established outside India remain unchanged.s


4. AD Category-I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned.


5. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under sections 10 (4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions / approvals, if any, required under any other law.

Yours faithfully,

(C. D. Srinivasan)

Chief General Manager

RBI/2013-14/147

RBI/2013-14/148 A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 15 dated 22-07-2013

Reserve Bank Of India

A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 15

July 22, 2013

To

All Scheduled Commercial Banks which are Authorised Dealers (ADs) in

Foreign Exchange/ All Agencies nominated for import of gold

Madam / Sir,

Import of Gold by Nominated Banks /Agencies/Entities

Attention of Authorised Persons is drawn to the Reserve Bank’s A.P. (DIR Series) Circulars No. 103 , 107 and 122 dated May 13, June 04 and June 27, 2013 respectively on the captioned subject. ;As per these instructions, certain restrictions were imposed on the import of various forms of gold by nominated banks/nominated agencies/ premier or star trading houses/SEZ units/EoUs which have been permitted to import gold for use in the domestic sector. None of these restrictions was applicable to import of gold for the purpose of exports or to import of gold by units in SEZ exclusively for the purposes of exports.

2. Based on a review of the above instructions and in consultation with Government of India, it has been decided to rationalize the import of gold in any form/purity including import of gold coins/dore into the country. Accordingly, the following instructions are issued:
   
   
   
   1. It shall be incumbent on all nominated banks/nominated agencies to ensure that at least one fifth of every lot of import of gold (in any form/purity including import of gold coins/dore) is exclusively made available for the purpose of export. Such imports shall be linked to financing of exporters by the nominated agencies (i.e. average of last three years or any one year whichever is higher). Further, they shall make available gold in any form for domestic use only to entities engaged in jewellery business/bullion dealers supplying gold to jewellers.
   
   
   2. They will be required to retain 20 per cent of the imported quantity in the customs bonded warehouses.
   
   
   3. They are permitted to undertake fresh imports of gold only after the exports have taken place to the extent of at least 75 per cent of gold remaining in the customs bonded warehouse.
   
   
   4. Any import of gold under any type of scheme, shall follow the 20/80 principle set out at (a) and (b) above. The extant instructions, as regards import of gold on consignment basis, LC restrictions etc. stand withdrawn.
   
   
   5. A working example of the operation the scheme envisaged in terms the present instructions is given in the Annex.
   
   
   
   
   


3. Entities/units in the SEZ and EoUs, Premier and Star trading houses are permitted to import gold exclusively for the purpose of exports only.


4. AD Category I Banks are advised to strictly ensure that foreign exchange transactions effected by / for their constituents are compliant with the above instructions. Head Offices of nominated agencies / International Banking Divisions of banks would be responsible for monitoring operations of the revised scheme taking into account transactions put through different centres.


5. Government of India will be issuing separate instructions, if any, to the customs authorities/DGFT to operationalize and monitor these import restrictions.


6. The above instructions will come into force with immediate effect. Authorised dealers may please bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned.


7. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999), and are without prejudice to permissions / approvals, if any, required under any other law.

Yours faithfully

Rudra Narayan Kar

Chief General Manager-in-Charge

RBI/2013-14/148

---

Annex

An example of the working of the scheme:

1. Nominated agency ABC imports say 100 kg of gold in any form/purity.


2. Out of the above import of 100 kg, 20 kg gold held in the bonded warehouse can be got released in part or full to be sold to exporters of gold against undertaking to customs authorities as is the practice now.


3. Any further import of gold by ABC shall be permitted by the customs authorities only to the extent of actual export out of 20 kg of gold held in bonded warehouse. This can happen only after at least 15 kg of gold out of 20 kg is actually exported from the previous lot.


4. If ABC wants to place order for the second lot of import, only 75 kg of import (including 15 kg for exports) will be permitted which will again follow the procedure outlined above. At this stage, total gold with the bonded warehouse meant for the exporter will be (5 + 15) i.e. 20 kg. Out of this at least 15 kg (i.e. 75% of the above 20 kgs) will have to be actually exported to enable ABC to import again. This procedure will be followed for every lot of import.


5. If for any reason, ABC is not able to channelize the gold held in bonded warehouse for exports, no further imports can be undertaken by ABC who will also arrange for re export of the gold in the bonded warehouse.
   

Materials used for making a premises dust-free and fire resistant is an eligible inputs

ST : Paints and other materials used on floor of factory/premises to make it dust free and fire retardant, which was essential for manufacture/provision of service, are inputs eligible for Cenvat Credit

Payments for launching and tracking of satellite aren't FTS as no technology is made available to as

IT/ILT : Where foreign companies did not make available or transfer any technology to assessee satellite manufacturer, with respect to launching and tracking of its satellite, payments could not be held as fees for technical services in view of article 13 of India - France DTAA and article 12 of India - USA DTAA

CISF wants ‘service tax, security deposit’ for guarding Haryana, Punjab Secretariat

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which has been guarding the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh for over a decade now, has threatened to withdraw its services, if both the governments failed to clear outstanding dues worth Rs 45 crore by August 31.

The amount included service tax and advance security deposit of three months on the security being provided by it to the states.

The CISF, earlier this month, had sent a strong-worded notice to the governments of Haryana and Punjab in this regard. According to CISF, while Haryana is required to clear an outstanding of Rs 23 crore, Punjab owes it Rs 22 crore. However, in a letter to the director general (CISF) under Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Samir Mathur has rebutted its claims and clarified the government's position.

It stated that CISF is a central armed police force and clearly differentiated from private security agencies.

"In this case, it is providing safety and protection to the functioning of democratically elected governments under the Constitution. The Punjab and Haryana Secretariat is the seat of governance of the states of Punjab and Haryana from where the constitutional functions are discharged. It is difficult to conceive that service tax has been sought to be levied for security... when the states are paying deployment charges," the letter added.

On CISF's claim that Haryana owes it arrears worth Rs 6.47 crore and a penal interest of Rs 9.82 crore, the government said: "During reorganisation of the erstwhile Punjab state, the assets were divided in the ratio of 60:40, including the space and manpower deployed in the Secretariat building between Punjab and Haryana. ...during the period of deployment of ITBP, the cost was shared in the ratio of 60:40 and this pattern is continuing again from October 2009 till date."

Interest allowable on advance deposit of MAT under sec. 115JA, as it bears character of advance tax

IT : MAT deposit made in advance under section 115JA on basis of book profit bears character of tax paid in advance and, therefore, interest under section 244A has to be granted in case of excess deposit of said amount

Why you should file tax returns before July 31 deadline

Q: July 31 is the last date for filing it returns. But a lot of people use the two year extended window to file their returns. Is this advisable? And what are the implications of missing the July 31 deadline?

A: One should file income tax return before the deadline rather than waiting for the deadline; file it as soon as possible.

If one files the income tax return late, that is after the deadline of July 31 then a penal interest is required to be paid. The penal interest is equal to 1 percent of the tax due whether one day or one month, 1 percent per month or part of the month, the penal interest would be payable. Therefore, I strongly recommend all taxpayers of India to file income tax return in time.

Those who have got loss etc, they cannot take the benefit of carry forward of the loss, especially if the tax return is filed beyond July 31.

If no tax is due and return is delayed then one can file the return after July 31. No penalty, no penal interest but only in a situation when no tax is due.

Q: Suppose there is any kind of unpaid tax pending because of variety of reasons like if one is changing employer or have any kind of other source of income etc then is there any penalty if one does not file returns within July 31?

A: Yes, if one does not file return before July 31 then some taxes are due. Reasons are not concerned, whether change of employer or some other income, tax on other income, interest income and property income. The fact remains that as on July 31 some tax is outstanding. On that tax the net tax payable amount penal interest will be the required to be calculated and to be paid. That means even if return is delayed for two days, for example if one files in the month of August even then penal interest will be charged for the whole month. Therefore, file the return in time, pay the taxes now and file the return before July 31.

Caller Q: I am holding unlisted company shares for last 20 years for which there is a buyback offer by an American multinational company. Can I pay long-term capital gain tax without indexation at the rate of 10 percent?

A: You will not be able to take advantage of 10 percent tax rate as that is applicable only for listed company. You have to calculate the cost based on cost, inflation index and then make payment of 20 percent tax and you can save tax also by making investment in real estate.

Caller Q: What is the right time to declare interest on the bank fixed deposits (FDs)?

A: On accrued basis declare your income from bank FDs etc. This means you would have a cumulative fixed deposit receipt and bank will give the details, certificate and details of accrued interest. Therefore, best is to declare accrued interest in the income tax return but still the choice lies with the taxpayer to take whichever path he would like to chose. One can go for cash system of accounting or mercantile system of accounting but follow one system consistently, for example you may declare accrued interest on year-to-year basis or you may declare the entire interest income at one go in the year in which you receive the actual amount of the interest. However, it's better to go in for declaring on accrued bases so it is easy for you to take advantage of the tax deducted at source also.

Staff crunch may burn Rs 15,000-cr hole in direct tax mop-up

Direct tax collection may fall short by Rs 15,000 crore due to manpower shortage, the Income-Tax Gazetted Officers Association apprehends.

Suggesting filling up nearly 1,350 additional posts of Group A officers by promoting Group B Income Tax Officers, A. Sitarama Rao, President of the Association, said, “With just 50 per cent of the sanctioned strength of these commissioners, how on earth will the Government narrow its gap between revenue and expenditure to 4.8 per cent in 2013-14 and three per cent by 2016-17?”

At a press conference here on Thursday, the Association said the problems were two-fold. First, the effective strength of the additional posts at certain levels will be much less than projected. Second, the direct recruitment process will take time.

Income Tax Gazetted Officers are basically promotees and account for nearly 15 per cent of total workforce in the department. After spending years as officers, they are promoted to the post of Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax and Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax.

The Association claims that these two ranks alone collect 80-85 per cent of total direct taxes.

According to its back-of-the-envelop calculation, the targeted working strength at the level of Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax and Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax will be reduced to 1,528 against the sanctioned strength of 2,914.

The Association’s statement comes after the Government has approved creating over 20,000 additional posts (Group A – 1,349, Group B – 2,064 and Group C – 17,338) in the Income Tax Department as part of cadre restructuring.

It was said that the move would generate additional revenue of over Rs 25,750 crore a year against additional expenditure of nearly Rs 450 crore annually.

However, the Association feels that even this additional revenue will not be possible, apart from shortfall in the Budget target of Rs 6.68 lakh crore.

The Income Tax Department plans to appoint 270 Group A officers a year for five years. Half of these will be through direct recruitment and half through promotion.

According to the Association, considering that the Union Public Service Commission (agency responsible for recruitment of Group A officers at Central Government level) cannot commence its recruitment process before February 2014, only 270 vacancies are likely to be filled by way of promotions. The corresponding 270 direct recruitment vacancies in 2013-14 and 2014-15 will actually be available only after two years.

Direct tax includes income, corporate, securities transaction and wealth tax. During April-June, gross direct tax collection rose to Rs 1.24 lakh crore against Rs 1.11 lakh crore during same period last fiscal.

Simplifying procedure for filing income-tax returns

The deadline for filing income tax returns, July 31, is just week away. Needless to say, many individuals dread the date with I-T department, as they find the entire process very confusing. However, according to experts, if an individual is clear about the basics, the entire procedure can be completed in an hour's time. "Tax payers earning over Rs5 lakh are now required to file their tax return electronically. This will reduce paperwork to a great extent," says Vineet Agarwal, director at KPMG. Choose the right form Tax consultants are divided over the applicability of forms ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-2 for salaried individuals, drawing income from salary and interest. Going strictly by the new I-T rules, an individual cannot file returns using the simpler form ITR-1 (Sahaj) if the person has any taxexempt income above Rs5,000. Since the I-T department has not issued any clarification so far, there are numerous interpretations on the matter. "Due to the change in rules, most salaried individuals will now have to use ITR-2. After all, typically, their remuneration includes tax-exempt components like house rent allowance (HRA), transport /conveyance allowance and leave travel allowance (LTA), which can easily exceedRs5,000 in a year," explains Vaibhav Sankla, director with tax consultancy firm H&R Block. However, many experts argue that ITR-1 (Sahaj) is the relevant form for this year. "Our view is that if the exempt income has been accounted for in Form 16, salaried individuals can continue to use ITR-1 (Sahaj). However, if they have earned an income of over Rs5,000 from, say, dividends, they will have to use ITR-2. Similarly, resident Indians, who may have been deputed abroad by their employers and are claiming a double tax avoidance treaty benefit, will have to use ITR-2," says Sonu Iyer, partner and national leader — human capital services, EY (formerly E&Y).Until last year, such additional, explicit disclosures were not sought by the I-T department. Check your tax credit Take a look at Form 26AS, which shows the amount of tax deducted from your salary that your employer has actually deposited with the I-T department, on the e-filing portal. "It is critical to ascertain whether the tax deducted from your income (as per your Form 16) matches the figures in Form 26AS. The two versions must tally. If you go ahead with filing the return without seeking clarity on the nature of the discrepancy, you are bound to get a notice from the I-T department later," says Iyer. Simplifying procedure for filing income-tax returns Claim 80G, other deductions You also need to figure out whether you want to claim any extra deductions you forgot to claim earlier. For example, if you have not submitted the relevant bills while making your investment declaration in January, your Form 16 might not have accounted for the deduction of up to Rs5,000 on preventive health checkups under section 80D. You have the option of claiming this deduction while filing returns. "ITR forms do not require you to enter any details of such bills. However, it is advisable to retain copies of these bills. If there is an enquiry from the tax department in future, these bills will serve as proof," says Sankla of H&R Block. Similarly, you can also claim deductions under section 80G on donations made to charitable institutions. "Typically, employers do not consider 80G deductions in Form 16. So, the individual can claim the benefit at the time of filing return. In the ITR form, you will be required to provide details like the amount donated as well as the charity's name, PAN and address," he adds.

Business Group Wants Separate Ports For Exports, Imports

A business lobby group is demanding that the government designate separate seaports for exports and imports to overcome gridlock in the country’s biggest trade gateway, Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta.



Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said on Monday that the lengthy dwelling time at the port resulted in high business costs that burdened business players and moreover, markedly disrupted international trade activities.



“We certainly cannot do business as usual, and certainly require a drastic change. Otherwise, both exports and imports will be impacted,” he told reporters after a meeting with Industry Minister MS Hidayat.



Exports and imports in Southeast Asia’s top economy have grown to record highs in recent years, with last year seeing exports reaching US$190.03 billion and imports settling at $191.69 billion.



In line with significant surges in overseas trade activities, the dwelling time at Tanjung Priok Port which shoulders more than 70 percent of incoming and outgoing goods, has further expanded in the past few years, peaking to eight days this year from 6.5 days last year.



Indonesia’s dwelling time ranked highest compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors, including Singapore (1.2 days) and Thailand (five days).



In the past few weeks, poor performance in Tanjung Priok Port has raised deep concerns among business players as it could process only 170 containers on a daily basis, far fewer than the 600 containers that it should tackle, according to an estimate by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).



The slow handling activities at the port caused Rp 4.8 billion ($472,209) per day in losses for exporters and importers, Kadin’s recent statistics reveal.



A quick solution to accelerate exports would be to build a new seaport to mainly serve exports in Kawasan Berikat Nusantara (KBN) industrial bonded zone in North Jakarta, Sofjan said.



KBN, which covers Marunda, Cakung and Tanjung Priok, currently serves as an export-processing zone (EPZ) that hosts more than 100 factories.



On the other hand, to cope with big inflows of overseas goods, particularly raw materials and intermediary goods, the government should allow a special verification process, with importers and importer producers getting their purchased items checked at their own warehouses instead at the densely occupied Tanjung Priok Port, Sofjan added.



In response to the demand from local business players, the Industry Minister said breakthroughs were needed at the heavily congested port as the problems could further hurt both exporters and importers if they remained unsolved.



“We must [first] realize the plan to build a new container port in KBN. At least that can be a temporary alternative due to inefficiency at Tanjung Priok. If such inefficiency continues, our industry will suffer bigger losses and undermine the competitive edge of local businesses,” Hidayat said.



“The verification at warehouses of each importing firm would be feasible as an emergency solution to temporarily ease overloads at the port, but should be followed by stricter customs procedures,” he added.

Source:-www.thejakartapost.com

No unfair trade practice if complainant couldn’t prove that it was lured by false advertisement to a

MRTP : Where complainant could not prove that it acted on false and misleading advertisement issued by respondent-carrier before handing over its consignment to said carrier, no case of unfair trade practice was made against respondent

Curb Import Of Mobiles And Electronics To Support Rupee

Jul 22, 2013

MUMBAI: Experts have recommended curbs on imports of imports and pro-growth policies to encourage inflows from foreign institutional investors. Reserve Bank of India's moves to raise rates has been criticized as it hurts growth and encourages foreign debt which is seen as hot money.



"There is a need for RBI to cut rates aggressively to bring back the 'feel better' factor as a 'feel good' factor is something that will take longer. There is a need for this to encourage inflows from foreign institutional investors which is the only source through which capital can come in fast and in large quantities" said Pradip P Shah, Chairman, IndAsia Fund Advisors. He was speaking at a seminar on the falling rupee and its impact on the Indian economy.



He also said that foreign currency non-resident deposits ( FCNR) which has helped India raise foreign currency in the past can be encouraged through sops such as lower cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio requirement for these deposits. He said that central government must do its bit by discouraging imports of consumer electronics, micro electronics and consumer products if required through non-tariff barriers. "Right now these imports are not doing anything for the Indian economy they are only creating jobs in Thailand or some other country" he said.



Echohing his view Saugata Bhattacharya economist Axis Bank said that the government's top priority should be in reviving growth. "Growth coming down from 9% to 7% is not as bad as growth coming down from 6% to 5%" he said. According to Bhattacharya besides placing curbs on imports the government could provide a simultaneous sop to domestic production through tax cuts.



According to Prabodh Thakker, Vice President, IMC and chairman of Aon Global Insurance Brokers to support the rupee there was a need to provide a boost to domestic manufacturing, improve the policy environment and spur growth.

Source:-timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Fresh Curbs On Gold Imports

Mumbai, July 22: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today tightened gold imports further by ordering nominated banks and agencies to ensure the export of one-fifth of every lot of gold imported.



The central bank said banks must retain 20 per cent of the imported gold in customs bonded warehouses and will only be able to further import gold after exporting at least 75 per cent of the gold from those warehouses.



The RBI added that the banks and agencies could make available gold in any form for domestic use only to entities engaged in the jewellery business.



The latest measure came as part of what it called a move to “rationalise” the import of gold into the country.



Both the Union government and the central bank have been concentrating on bringing down gold imports over the past few months to tackle the ballooning current account deficit (CAD).



India’s CAD, which simply put is the difference between inflows and outflows of foreign currency, rose to 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2012-13 from 4.2 per cent in 2011-12. A high CAD has also been blamed for the recent depreciation in the value of the rupee.



As part of these efforts, while import duty of gold was raised to 8 per cent from 6 per cent, the RBI had in the recent past placed various restrictions on banks’ import of gold.



These steps seem to have met with success as imports in June are estimated to have fallen to around 31 tonnes from 162 tonnes in May and 141 tonnes in April.



India imported around 830 tonnes of the yellow metal in the previous fiscal.



In its notification today, the central bank said all nominated banks/nominated agencies must ensure that at least one fifth of every lot of imported gold is exclusively made available for the purpose of export.



Analysts said the quantitative restriction was a clever move by the RBI as it had to be seen in the context of the tight export market now prevailing.



This had resulted in gems and jewellery exports from India declining in 2012-13.



With imports of gold now linked to exports, the amount of the yellow metal coming into India could be hit if exports do not pick up.



The instructions will, however, not apply to import of gold by units in the special economic zones, export-oriented units or star trading houses, which import gold only for the purpose of exports, it added.



The RBI said on a review of earlier norms, it “has been decided to rationalise the import of gold in any form/purity, including import of gold coins” and the new guidelines will come into force with immediate effect.



The government will issue separate instructions, if any, to the customs authorities and the DGFT to operationalise and monitor these import restrictions, the RBI said.



The banks and other authorised agencies have been asked to strictly ensure that foreign exchange transactions are compliant with new instructions, the RBI said, adding that they will be responsible for monitoring operations.



It further said earlier instructions on the import of gold on a consignment basis and against letters of credit had been withdrawn.



Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council chairman Vipul Shah said, “This step will boost exports and foreign revenue. There will not be any shortage of gold for domestic use. There will be some impact on prices.”

Source:-www.telegraphindia.com

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