IT: Where loss in respect of bad debt written off on account of loan given to a subsidiary company, was rejected in view of legal position, which was against assessee, and not because of statement of incorrect or wrong facts, penalty could not be levied
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Application for condonation of delay can’t be rejected without granting an opportunity of being hear
ST : Though condonation cannot be claimed as a right and it depends on facts of each case but substantial justice is required to be done and door of litigant cannot be closed by merely rejecting condonation application in a cursory manner; authorities must provide an opportunity of being heard to assessee before rejecting application
FinMin worried over tax mop -up
After getting some comfort on the current account deficit with a rise in exports, the finance ministry is now worried about revenue, crucial for containing the fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product, its outer target.
As tax collections were subdued in the first half of the financial year, it has planned to issue instructions to field officers to take all possible measures to meet their Budget target.
The revenue department’s worry is that in many cases taxpayers have taken credit for the tax already paid by them on inputs, thus reducing their net cash outgo. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) might ask field officers to do a special audit in such cases.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram will soon brainstorm with top revenue officials on what to do. The CBEC brass is to meet on Friday in this regard. Besides special audits, other measures could include notices to non-filers and stop-filers, recovery of arrears and fast settlement of disputes, among others.
“This time, the tax credit has been more than cash payment. It could be because of expansion by companies, particularly in capital-intensive sectors, but this might not be true in all the cases. We are trying to figure out why this happened,” said a ministry official who did not wish to be identified.
The official said the ratio of tax credit to cash payment was 35:65 a decade earlier; now, this had reversed. Tax credit of about Rs 2.5 lakh crore was given last year. So far this year, tax credit of Rs 1,72,000 crore has been taken, while cash payments are Rs 62,107 crore.
The growth in tax receipts during the first half of this year has been lower than the 19 per cent projected in the Budget for the entire year, as GDP growth is less than expected.
Indirect taxes are particularly bothering the government, as excise collections till August were 8.3 per cent down due to weak industrial output, against the Budget Estimate of 11.9 per cent growth for the year. Service tax collections, though up, have also grown at a much lesser pace of 14.3 per cent against the asking rate of 36 per cent.
Collection from customs duty during April-August recorded 9.6 per cent growth over the same period of last year. This is lower than the Budget projection of 13 per cent for 2013-14.
Officials said in September some pick-up was seen, as industrial output grew by 2.7 per cent in July and 0.6 per cent in August. There is a lag effect of one to two months between the two sets of data.
The ministry is expecting collections to pick up in the coming months, led by a growth in industrial output in July and August after a two-month contraction, stimulus to the automobile and consumer durables sector by way of additional capital to banks and higher GDP growth in the last two quarters.
Another silver lining is the coming Assembly elections in five states, which would increase fuel consumption.
Net direct tax collections in April-September were up 10.7 per cent at Rs 250,959 crore, compared with Rs 226,653 crore in the same period of 2012-13.
The government has set a target of Rs 668,109 crore for direct taxes this year, against the BE of Rs 570,257 crore last year. For indirect taxes, the target is Rs 565,002 crore in 2013-14, against last year’s BE of Rs 505,044 crore. In 2012-13, both direct and indirect tax collections fell short of the target and the Revised Estimate was set at Rs 565,835 crore and Rs 469,546 crore, respectively, a rise of 17.4 per cent over the previous year.
E-sampark centres not taking downloaded property tax forms
Residents who went to e-sampark centre in some sectors for submitting property tax on residential property had to face problems with forms downloaded from the internet not being accepted. Instead the residents were asked to take forms from the sampark centres and fill these up.
Property tax on residential property has recently been introduced in Chandigarh. The tax is to be submitted from October 14 to December 14. Thereafter, a fine would be imposed on the defaulters that would be added to the water bills. The tax has been imposed at the rate of Rs 1 per sq yard.
A resident of Sector 44 said that he downloaded the form from the website of the Municipal Corporation and filled it. However, when he went to the e-sampark centre, he was told that he would have to fill the form available at the centre and the ones downloaded will not be accepted. A similar experience was shared by others at the sampark centre.
Joint Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Rajiv Gupta said that the e-sampark centres are supposed to accept the downloaded forms as that is the purpose of having these on the MC website. Instructions for the same have already been issued, he said.
Entity with related party transactions of up to 25% is an 'Uncontrolled Entity', says ITAT
IT/ILT: In order to determine ALP of international transactions entered into by assessee, companies selected should be functionally comparable and not identical
INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL,MUMBAI CONSTITUTION OF BENCHES FROM 21.10.2013 TO 24.10.2013
[unable to retrieve full-text content]INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL,MUMBAI CONSTITUTION OF BENCHES FROM 21.10.2013 TO 24.10.2013 {ad} For more information...
Customs, Excise And Service Tax Appellate Tribunal To Have Six New Benches
17-Oct-2013
After six cities, Chandigarh, Allahabad and Hyderabad will also now have CESTAT benches, a move aimed at speedy disposal of cases related to Customs, Excise and Service Tax.
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for setting up six additional benches of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), including three at the existing locations in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and three new benches in Chandigarh, Allahabad and Hyderabad.
Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad already have one CESTAT bench each.
With these additions, nine major cities in the country now have the benches of the appellate tribunal of the three revenue departments.
The creation of additional/new benches of CESTAT would amount to a one-time expenditure of Rs 3.45 crore while the recurring expenditure would be Rs 10 crore per annum.
Official sources said after the expansion, disposal of cases will increase and pendency will decrease benefiting the government and tax payers. This would help reduce travel time and expenditure, they added.
The CESTAT benches would need creation of twelve posts of Members of the Tribunal (6 Technical and Judicial Members each) in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG+) in addition to 98 posts of supporting staff including Deputy and Assistant Registrars.
CESTAT was set up in 1982 to provide an independent and impartial forum to hear the appeal against orders and decisions passed by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise under the Customs Act 1962, Central Excise at 1944 and Gold (Control) Act, 1968.
After coming into operation of the Service Tax vide Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994, Service Tax Appeals have been included in the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
The tribunal is also empowered to hear the appeals against the orders passed by designated authority with regard to anti-dumping duties under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
At present, CESTAT has three benches each in Delhi and Mumbai and one bench each at Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The headquarters as well as Principal Bench of the tribunal are in Delhi.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
Worried over rising prices of CNG - Complain to Petroleum Regulatory Board rather than Competition C
Competition Act: Commission would not proceed with complaint regarding pricing of PNG when Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board was looking into grievances of consumers and pricing of CNG/PNG
Cotton Yarn Prices Fall As Demand Slows
17-Oct-2013
Cotton yarn prices have declined five-seven per cent in the past fortnight, owing to high inventory and low demand. Sources said the recent fall in yarn prices could also be attributed to a fall in cotton prices.
“Yarn prices have fallen mainly due to the fall in demand from fabric makers. A huge inventory pile-up has prompted buyers to go slow on fresh purchases. Also, cotton prices have fallen by about Rs 3,500 a candy (each of 356 kg) since mid-September,” said K Selvaraju, secretary general, Southern India Mills’ Association. On September 15, combed yarn prices had touched a high of Rs 281 a kg; now, the price stands at Rs 261 a kg. Hanked yarn prices have fallen from Rs 1,115 a bundle (each of 4.54 kg) in mid-September to Rs 1,085 a bundle.
Traders expect prices to fall further, as there is an inventory pile-up of 160 million kg. “China has almost stopped cotton yarn imports. It may be waiting for Indian yarn prices to stabilise at lower levels. But that seems unlikely before November,” said Arun Dalal, a leading cotton trader and industry expert.
The government's decision to do away with cotton yarn export benefits under the focus market scheme (FMS), has also hit exports. “The FMS was to reduce our dependence on China and explore new markets. The government's decision to withdraw the scheme has adversely affected trade,” said a miller based in Andhra Pradesh.
Sources say the government's decision to withdraw benefits under the FMS scheme was unwarranted. “There was no shortage; on the contrary, the stock is 20 per cent more than last year. Also, on a year-on-year basis, cotton prices have increased more than yarn prices,” said Selvaraju. He added cotton prices had increased by Rs 44 a kg in the past year, against the Rs 28-a-kg rise in yarn prices.
“There is an alternative of synthetic yarn. When cotton yarn prices jumped to peak levels in September, many garment buyers increased their purchase of synthetic yarn, as crude imports became cheaper with the rupee appreciating from its low levels,” said Dalal.
However, there is a silver lining for yarn traders and millers. Industry estimates suggest this year, China might not buy cotton from India. As a result, the demand for yarn may rise. Currently, about 40-50 per cent of India's yarn exports are accounted for by China.
Source:- business-standard.com
Canon May Set Up Plant In India For Exports
17-Oct-2013
Canon India is looking at setting up a manufacturing plant in India. This follows the recent initiatives taken by the Government to establish electronic hardware manufacturing clusters in the country and incentivise manufacturing.
However, the Japan-based company said it will not decide in a hurry, as it wants the facility to also be an export hub. The company, at present, imports 100 per cent of the products it sells in India.
“We have started checking the infrastructure opportunity and benefits. It is a very basic field study we are doing. According to our company policy, we are not interested in establishing a hardware factory (copier, scanners) only for the sake of that country,” Kazutada Kobayashi, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canon India, told Business Line.
He said though India is not much into electronic hardware manufacturing right now, but with the new policies in place, the country may do good in the next 10 years.
He said, when the company decides to set up a plant in India, it will produce for the export market as well, particularly the West.
“For example, our inkjet printers’ factory which has over 10,000 workers in Vietnam does not produce products only for Vietnam, but exports as well,” he said.
He said the company is doing studies on the infrastructure, parts supply (as many parts suppliers should also be in place), export and import leniency on parts and products, logistics and skilled labours.
“Logistics and quality of workers are very important, particularly because our industry is different which is known as precision machine industry, slightly different from other manufacturers such as bikes and cars,” Kobayashi said.
“The Government aims to achieve a turnover of around $400-billion from the electronic hardware industry at an investment of about $100 billion and provide employment to around 28 million by 2020.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Minimum Support Price Of Wheat Raised By Rs 50 To Rs 1,400 A Quintal
Concerned about high inflation, the Centre on Thursday raised the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 50 a quintal for the marketing year starting April 2014, rejecting an agriculture ministry proposal for a higher increase.
MSPs of other rabi crops including gram, barley and mustard have also been increased, but kept at lower ends of the recommended hike. Procurement of these crops under the new price will begin in April next year.
"Wheat MSP has been increased by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 1,400 for 2013-14 crop year as against Rs 1,350 last year," food minister K V Thomas said after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs which approved the increase as recommended by the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), the government advisory body.
The CCEA rejected agriculture minister Sharad Pawar's proposal to pay farmers Rs 1,450 per quintal for wheat. Asked why the agriculture ministry's proposal wasn't accepted, Thomas said, "We are concerned about inflation. When MSP goes up, obviously prices in the open market rise and we have no control on that."
The CACP had recommended an increase of Rs 50 per quintal of wheat, keeping in view high inflation in cereals and exports becoming unviable. It felt the existing MSP was comfortably higher than the projected cost of production.
"We need to take a balanced decision of protecting both farmers and consumers. We are giving price support to farmers and not income support," Thomas said.
The CCEA also approved MSP increases for gram by Rs 100 per quintal to Rs 3,100, masur by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 2,950 and mustard seed by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 3,050.
The MSP of barley has been raised by Rs 120 per quintal to Rs 1,100 and safflower by Rs 200 per quintal to Rs 3,000 for 2014-15.
Inflation as measured by the wholesale price index rose to a seven-month high of 6.46% in September, while it was 9.84% as per the consumer price index amid higher prices of cereals and vegetables.
The increase in wheat MSP is likely to lead to a rise in the government's food subsidy bill in the next fiscal. Sowing of wheat starts in October and harvesting takes place from April.
Source:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Adani Ports, United Liner Among Five Bidders For Jnpt’S Liquid Terminal
Five companies, including Adani Ports and United Liner Agencies (ULA), have shown interest in constructing the Rs 1,800-crore liquid terminal for the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), its chairmanin-charge NN Kumar told ET.
Apart from ULA and Adani, Aegis Logistics, IMC and Netherlands's Vopak are expected to submit their applications on October 21, which is the deadline, said Kumar.
"The terminal will handle edible oil, chemicals, liquid fertilisers as well as petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL)," said NN Kumar. "There is a great demand for handling chemical and edible oil. Mumbai Port Trust primarily handles POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants)," he added.
The liquid terminal, which will handle 15.5 million tonnes per annum and is expected to be built in two phases, will take about five to eight years to be constructed.
It will have a liquid jetty and a tank farm spread over 70 hectares. While JNPT is India's largest container port with 4.1 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container capacity, it lags behind other ports in providing terminals for liquid cargo.
Even though the port has a twinberth liquid cargo terminal run by the state oil refiners Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil Corp, the capacity is just 5.5 million tonnes with a waiting period running into about six to seven days.
JNPT is expanding through public-private partnerships and hopes to reach a capacity of 10 million TEU by 2017. The bidding process to construct the fourth container terminal, which will be 2,000-meter long and add 4.8 million TEU of capacity per annum, is currently on, and the names of the qualifying bidders will be announced in 10 days, said Kumar.
The qualifying bidders will be then given a price bidding form by mid-November while JNPT will seek security clearance for these companies from the Ministry of Shipping. Kumar said the winning bid should be announced by mid-January.
Adani Ports, Essar Ports, Dubai Port World, APM Terminals, Port of Singapore Authority, Sterlite Ports, United Liner Agencies and International Container Terminal Services have participated in the qualifying process for theRs 8,000-crore project.
JNPT is also looking to build a multi-logistics container cargo handling facility for not less thanRs 3,000 crore spread over 200 hectares, which will come into use after the fourth container terminal is built, said JNPT's Kumar.
Currently, the cargo is segregated inside the yard. The proposed multi-logistics facility will separate the cargo coming in through the new eight-lane JNPT road and the dedicated freight corridor, both of which is also expected to be completed by 2017.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
India Eyes More Iranian Oil, But Without Violating Us Sanctions
17-Oct-2013
India is exploring ways to increase crude oil supplies from Iran without attracting US sanctions.
The current waiver granted to India by the US is set to expire in December and any further extension is largely dependent on how far business with Iran has been contained.
A senior Government official told Business Line that, “It was decided in the meeting of senior officials held recently that it was necessary to increase oil imports from Iran as payment for it is made in rupee and we get to save precious foreign exchange. But, it can only be done if it is legally possible.”
At present, the legal tenability of buying more Iranian crude oil during the fiscal without affecting other commercial relations (US) is being examined by the External Affairs Ministry’s legal & tender department. The US could allow higher imports this year since there was sharp drop in crude sourcing from Iran last year, the official said.
Imports from Iran were brought down by more than 25 per cent last year, while the US had only asked for a gradual reduction. Last year total imports from Iran were at 13.14 million tonne.
“It all depends on how the term ‘gradual reduction’ is interpreted. The other countries that had been granted waiver by the US have reduced their annual purchase by about 15 per cent,” the official said.
The architects of the US sanctions legislation, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez and Republican Senator Mark Kirk, had proposed that oil importers should reduce their purchases by 18 per cent or more every year to qualify for further exemptions.
In 2011, the US imposed sanctions against Iran for suspected nuclear activities. It meant that those countries which continue to do business including purchase of oil with Iran will not be extended support from the US financial system.
Countries dependent on Iranian oil such as India, China and Japan, were given the first round of waiver in June last year on the condition that they gradually reduce their purchases from the Gulf country. This was further extended till end of this year.
While the Government is exploring this aspect, domestic oil refiners feel that India would need to resolve the insurance issue to enable them to purchase more from Iran. “Supply is not an issue, but it is lack of insurance cover which is affecting imports from Iran,” said one of the domestic refiners.
If the Government wants supplies to increase then it has to resolve the insurance issue, the refiner added. Western sanctions do not prevent Indian insurance companies from providing cover, but they depend on reinsurance from the Western companies, because of the high risks involved.
The sanctions discourage global re-insurers from taking on the risk.
To resolve this, the Government is putting in place an insurance fund. The Fund is yet to become operational.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Silver Prices In 2014 Will Ride Higher Thanks To India
17-Oct-2013
While silver demand among U.S. traders at the moment is muted, silver demand in India - the world's biggest buyer of the white metal - is insatiable.
It will be one of the biggest factors supporting higher silver prices in 2014.
And it all stems from a move the government made to limit gold buying...
India - the world's biggest gold buyer - imposed heavy import duties on the yellow metal this year to try and narrow India's swollen trade gap. The government raised the import duty on gold three times this year to 10%.
In July, the government told importers that one-fifth of their purchases would have to be turned around for export. Only 80% would be available for domestic use.
As these import numbers show, silver has become the "go-to" precious metal for India's investors.
Data released early last week showed Indian silver imports are set to hit a record this year.
According to metals consultancy firm GFMS, India imported 4,073 tons of silver from January to August. That was more than double the 1,921 tons in all of 2012, when a spike in prices during the peak season pressured demand. The record high was set in 2008 when India imported 5,048 tons.
"Ever since the government has started putting measures to curb gold imports, demand for silver has seen a sudden surge," Monal Thakkar, president of Amrapali Industries, a leading Ahmedabad-based stock and commodity brokerage house, told the Business Standard. "Moreover, there is a general scare in the market that the government might soon start curbing silver imports also, as a result, traders are stocking up silver."
But the fresh spike in silver buying is unlikely to result in a similar policy response from authorities since the value of imported silver is much lower than gold and is not critical to the country's trade balance.
Industry experts expect demand for silver to remain high in India as long as gold prices and import taxes stay elevated.
Also contributing to the silver frenzy in India is the uptick in disposable income in rural areas due to a "good" monsoon season. While the June to September rains can be deadly, they are essential to the country's agriculture and economy.
"There is less gold available so rural people will gradually move to silver. It will be more of a default option than a conscious choice," Rajesh Khosla, managing director with refiner MMTC PAMP told Reuters.
Whether as a gold substitute, an alternative investment, or a safe haven asset, silver will be profitable for investors.
The increased interest in silver will be a major price catalyst into 2014 - giving the white metal an edge over gold.
"Going forward, the recovery will be sharper in silver compared to gold," Gnanasekar Thiagrajan, director with Commtrendz Research told Reuters.
Source:- moneymorning.com
Profit sprouting from delivery based transaction of shares would be taxable as capital gain
IT: Profit arising from delivery based transaction of shares should be taxable as capital gain
India Seals Deals To Export 175,000 T Raw Sugar This Year
17-Oct-2013
Traders have signed contracts to supply about 50,000 tonnes of raw sugar to Iran, while the rest of it will go to refineries in the Middle East, said a source with direct knowledge of the deal.
Confirming the deals, another source said dealers had agreed to export raws from India for $445-$450 a tonne, free on board.
So far India has not struck deals with Indonesia, the world's biggest raw sugar importer, as Jakarta has already locked in supplies until June 2014, an Indonesian trader said.
India, the world's biggest producer after Brazil, is expected to step up raw sugar exports in the 2013/14 season.
"As crushing gathers momentum in the new season, we expect more export deals for raw sugar and that is absolutely essential for mills to survive," said the third source, who also confirmed these contracts.
In the 2013/14 season, India is likely to export about 2 million tonnes of sugar, including 1.2 million-1.5 million tonnes of raws, traders said. India could export hardly 300,000 tonnes of sugar, all whites, in the previous 2012/13 season.
Higher output in the past three years and weak demand for white sugar exports have left mills with massive stocks of the refined variety.
Carry-forward stocks on Oct. 1, when the current 2013/14 sugar season began, were at 8.8 million tonnes of whites and the country is forecast to produce 25 million tonnes of sugar this year, higher than local consumption of 23 million tonnes.
Mills incur extra costs when maintaining large stocks and domestic prices tend to remain soft because of big inventories.
To overcome the problem, mills in India, also the world's biggest sugar consumer, are increasingly turning towards raw sugar exports this year that began in October.
To cash in on the demand for raws, traders are also encouraging mills to produce more raws at the start of season.
Expanding sugar refining capacities in Asia and Africa will absorb supplies of raws from India.
Capacity for turning raw sugar into the white variety in countries such as Sri Lanka, Iraq, Yemen, Egypt and Bahrain, is expected to almost double from current levels of 5.6 million tonnes annually in coming years.
On Thursday, the Indian Sugar Mills Association, a producers' body, asked the government to give incentives to help boost exports of the refined variety.
Source:- in.reuters.com
Rbi’S Re-Export Norm Continues To Impede Gold Imports
17-Oct-2013
Gold imports continue to be affected as importers struggle to meet the Reserve Bank of India’s mandatory norm of re-exporting 20 per cent of the precious metal brought into the country.
This, in turn, has resulted in domestic gold prices ruling seven per cent higher than global prices.
“There is huge shortfall in gold supplies currently, even as festival buying is picking up. Lack of imported consignments is pushing up prices here,” said Harmesh Arora, spokesman for the Bombay Bullion Association.
On July 22, the RBI issued a notification making it mandatory for those importing gold to re-export at least 20 per cent of the quantity imported into the country.
“Since then, hardly a couple of tonnes of gold have come into the country,” said Arora.
The RBI had come up with the re-export norm as part of the Government’s efforts to curb the rising current account deficit (CAD), which ballooned to $21.8 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal. Gold imports are seen as a major reason for trade imbalance, resulting in CAD rising.
On Thursday, spot gold in the global market ruled at $1,318.35 for an ounce. Taking into consideration the global price (about Rs 26,000), the 10 per cent import duty (Rs 260) and other charges such as handling, the cost should be around Rs 29,000.
But in Mumbai, pure gold (99.9 per cent purity) closed at Rs 31,120 for 10 gm, a premium of over Rs 2,000.
“In fact, people are selling gold in the physical market and buying in the futures ,” said Prithviraj Kothari, Director of Riddhi Siddhi Bullion Ltd. “Though prices in the domestic futures are ruling higher than global prices, they are cheaper than spot prices,” he said. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold contracts maturing in December ruled at Rs 29,946. “Gold in India is ruling higher only because imports have been totally hit,” said Arora.
Initially, lack of clarity and Customs authorities not being sure on implementing the norm were blamed for imports coming to a standstill. On September 20, the Commerce Department officials said that gold imports would resume as the Government would help the Customs Department in interpreting the RBI notification correctly.
“It is impossible to fulfil the norm of re-exporting 20 per cent. Banks, which buy the precious metal on our behalf, are not willing to import,” said Ba. Ramesh, Joint Managing Director of Thangamayil Jewellery Ltd.
Importers say that it will be difficult to meet the norm since re-exports accounted for hardly six per cent of total imports during the last two years.
“The problem has been compounded because Customs authorities want us to meet the stipulation for each consignment,” said Arora. The RBI notification said that fresh imports would be allowed only after an importer re-exports 20 per cent of the shipments brought into the country earlier. Banks also have to keep the gold meant for re-export in separate Customs bonded warehouses.
“It takes between 60 and 90 days for exports to take place. Until then, you can’t bring gold into the country,” said Kothari.
Currently, only gold that is meant to be re-exported is finding its way through the ports.
“Totally, imports in the last couple of months could have hardly been four tonnes,” Arora said.
During January-September this year, gold imports were a little short of 400 tonnes with the bulk coming in during April-June. Last year, gold imports totalled 860 tonnes, down from 969 tonnes in 2011.
“We don’t think that imports will rise drastically over the next couple of months due to the prohibitive policy,” said Ramesh.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Rupee Rises Tracking Continued Sell-Off In Dollar Vs Majors
The rupee is trading at 61.12/13 against the dollar versus its close of 61.23/24 on Thursday, tracking a continued sell-off in the greenback across all major currencies on worries of the economic impact from the weeks-long U.S. government shutdown.
The dollar nursed losses near an eight-month low against a basket of currencies on Friday as traders focused on the economic impact of an acrimonious showdown in Washington that dragged the United States to the brink of a debt default.
Source:- in.reuters.com
Scamsters drain out PF accounts with fake claims, EPFO swings into damage-control mode
NEW DELHI: Nearly 2.5 crore, or 30 per cent, of all provident fund accounts have a negative balance, some of which may be due to fraudsters who faked withdrawal claims to siphon off money by opening bank accounts using forged identity documents.
Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) chief vigilance officer Sanjay Kumar has flagged an internal investigation that has found fraudulent withdrawals, orchestrated in accounts that have not had fresh inflows for years. Such claims managed to evade all checks and balances in the system and PF staffers were pressured using 'all possible means' to clear these fake claims swiftly.
The PF department, startled by these two separate findings made over the last few days, has swung into damage-control mode, issuing strict instructions to field offices to fix responsibility for these lapses, correct the spectre of negative balances and ensure that no fake claims get through the system.
But the 8.15 crore formal sector employees with PF accounts should be worried, especially if they have switched multiple jobs in recent years but failed to withdraw or transfer the PF balances, or if an ex-employer has shut down in recent years.
Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) chief vigilance officer Sanjay Kumar has flagged an internal investigation that has found fraudulent withdrawals, orchestrated in accounts that have not had fresh inflows for years. Such claims managed to evade all checks and balances in the system and PF staffers were pressured using 'all possible means' to clear these fake claims swiftly.
Insiders seem to have colluded with the scamsters in identifying dormant accounts and actively facilitating their loot. This also brings into question the Know Your Customer or KYC norms followed by banks. "The claims were settled by putting pressure on dealing hands/office by all possible means. In all these cases, the amount settled had been sent through NEFT (electronic funds transfer) in the bank accounts opened with forged identity," Kumar has said in a letter warning EPFO's field offices about the scam. "This has been the modus operandi that has been used in the EPF office over the years, but we have said this is unacceptable and initiated action against it," said a senior official.
He, however, said that all such fraudulent withdrawals may not be criminal in nature as some employers often create PF accounts for their relatives showing them as employees.
In April 2011, the EPFO stopped crediting interest on PF accounts that hadn't seen fresh contributions for three years.
IRDA notifies procedure and application form for categorization of surveyors
INSURANCE : Categorisation and upgradation of surveyors
CESTAT gets 6 new benches; a move for timely disposal of cases
ST : Section 129 of the Customs Act, 1962 - Appellate Tribunal - Constitution of - CESTAT gets six additional benches, three at existing locations of New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and three new benches at Chandigarh, Allahabad and Hyderabad
HC slams revenue, dismisses its appeal as various aspects of impugned issue were left open by revenu
IT: Where Assessing Officer allowed assessee's claim for deduction of privilege fee paid to State Government and Commissioner revised order of Assessing Officer holding that privilege fee could not be allowed as deductible expenditure and further Tribunal remanded matter to Commissioner for re-examination, since all aspects of matter being left open by Tribunal, appeal filed by revenue was liable to be dismissed
Agents providing money transfer services on behalf of foreign principal aren’t liable to ST
ST: Money transfer services provided by sub-agents by way of delivery of money in India on behalf of M/s. Western Union located abroad amounts to export of service and would not be taxable in India
If last panchnama was merely a release order, it won't extend limitation period for block assessment
IT: Where last panchnama was merely a release order, same could not extend period of limitation for completing block assessment order
Any artwork with life span of less than 6 months couldn't be deemed as capital expenditure
IT : Any art work which has a life of six months or less cannot be considered as capital expenditure
Another 10 lakh Income Tax defaulters identified
The Income Tax (I-T) department has identified 10 lakh more high-risk individuals, who have made significant cash transactions through their credit cards or investments but the same had not been reflecting in their I-T returns. High-risk individuals also include those who have consistently not been filing I-T returns. Altogether, there are over 22 lakh I-T defaulters since the data-mining exercise started two years ago. Sources said that the notices issued to individuals till March had tax implications in the range of about Rs 3,800 crore. |
Finland hopeful of amicable settlement of Nokia’s tax dispute
Finland has expressed hope that its telecom major Nokia’s tax dispute with the Indian Government will be settled amicably.
Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Alexander Stubb, who is in India with a 30-member strong business delegation, discussed Nokia’s taxation woes with his counterpart Anand Sharma on Tuesday.
Nokia, which sold its handset business to US-based Microsoft last month, is embroiled in a dispute with the Indian Government on a retrospective tax demand of Rs 2,080 crore from the Finance Ministry.
“It was very good to get the arguments on both sides. I am quite confident that the issue will be resolved positively,” Stubb told reporters after the meeting.
It is probably not for me or Sharma to decide on those issues that is being dealt with in normal rule of law in the Indian courts, Stubb added.
The Finnish Foreign Trade Minister’s delegation represents diverse sectors such as energy & environmental technology, mining, metals, construction, information technology, health & well-being and financing. ONGC and Finland’s clean technology firm Chempolis have signed an agreement to produce ethanol, bio chemicals and bio-coal from biomass residual matters that would reduce India’s dependence on imports.
The agreement was signed by Stubb and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Panabaka Lakshmi.
“We have signed an MoU with a Finnish company called Chempolis. It is for conversion of cellulose into ethanol. We have developed a technology by which all cellulose-based waste products can be converted into ethanol,” ONGC Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva said.
Case remanded to SEBI to consider whether appellant had facilitated accused to make ill-gotten gains
SEBI : Where appellant cornered shares while dealing in shares of two companies in their IPO and facilitated some others to make gains, if matter was remanded for reconsideration in case of those persons, appellant's case was also to be remanded
Cash payments to agents to procure raw materials covered by Rule 6DD; no sec. 40A(3) disallowance
IT: Payments made in excess of Rs. 20,000 ginning factory to its agents for procuring cotton could not be disallowed under section 40A(3)
Mr. Sunil Kumar D. Shah (HUF), Hyderabad vs. The Dy. Commissioner of Income-tax, Central Circle-2 Hyderabad Appellant Respondent
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Mr. Sunil Kumar D. Shah (HUF), Hyderabad vs. The Dy. Commissioner of Income-tax, Central Circle-2 Hyderabad Appellant Respondent
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Remedy against erroneous legal opinion of AO lies in sec. 263 and not in sec. 147 scrutiny assessmen
IT: Where Assessing Officer had formed erroneous legal opinion in original assessment order, remedy available to revenue was under section 263 and not under section 147
ST penalties to be waived off as short payment of ST was due to inadvertent error of assessee
ST: Where assessee had short-paid service tax on account of inadvertent excess utilization of credit, which was adjusted voluntarily in next month, there was no intention to evade service tax and, accordingly, penalties were liable to be set aside
Alka Rajesh Agrawal C/o M/s Ravi andDev,Chartered Accountants, 601,“A” Wing, Aurus Chambers,Behind Mahindra Towerw,S.S.Amrutwar Marg, Worli, Mumbai-400013 Vs. Asstt. Commissioner of Income Tax, 17(2), Mumbai.
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No penalty for delayed audit completion if assessee wasn't authorized to appoint an auditor
IT: Where it was not within assessee's domain to have auditor appointed by registrar or State Government to complete audit within specified date, no penalty under section 271B should be imposed on assessee
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