TP adjustments for not charging cost from AEs deleted as assessee had to settle transactions at cost

IT/ILT: Where charging cost for employees seconded to foreign AE would erode tax base in India, no transfer pricing adjustment should be made if assessee had not charged for transfer of employees

Assessee couldn’t be penalized if share broker couldn’t furnish docs in support of cap. gains earned

IT : Where assessee sold shares in ordinary course through stock exchange and received sale consideration by way of demand draft, in such circumstances merely because share broker could not file any evidence in support of said transaction because same was already seized by Department, it could not be a basis of making addition under section 68 in respect of capital gain arising from sale of said shares

Sum incurred by coaching institute on scholarship to attract more students allowed as revenue exp.

IT : Where by providing scholarship, business of assessee-coaching institute was expanded, same would be allowable as business expenditure

Joint ownership of a house property allows sec. 54 deductions to both husband and wife

IT : Where requirement of section 54 is that income of building which is being sold should be chargeable under head 'income from house property'; requirement of section is not that assessee must earn income from said property

Govt Gives More Time To 30 Sez Developers To Execute Projects.

The government has given six months to one year time to as many as 30 special economic zone developers including Tata Consultancy Services and Parsvnath to execute their projects.



The decision was taken by an inter-ministerial Board of Approval (BoA) chaired by Commerce Secretary SR Rao in its meeting on November 8.



Source:- financialexpress.com

India Sugar Boosted By Hopes Of Import Duty

20-Nov-2013

ndian sugar futures rose on Wednesday from their lowest level in nearly one-and-a-half years on hopes the government would raise import duty on the sweetener and also due to a delayed crushing season in key producing states.

The key December contract was up 0.78% at INR2,829 (USD45.26) per 100 kilo on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange at 0840 GMT. It fell to INR2,801 in the previous session, its lowest since June 8, 2012.

Source:- agra-net.com

Govt Plans More Wheat Export Tenders To Cash In On Good Price

21-Nov-2013



Buoyed by the strong response to its attempt to sell wheat from state-run warehouses, the government is planning to open a series of such export tenders in the months of January, February and March to sell a total of around 2 million tonne of wheat in the overseas market.



Tuesday, state-owned trading firms--State Trading Corporation(STC), Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) and PEC Ltd-- received bids in the range of $284.7-289.9 per tonne for shipment of 0.34 million tonne from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns.



The highest quotations received by the three state trading firms were higher than the government's floor price of $260 per tonne for export of the FCI-procured wheat.



“In the subsequent tenders, the quantity offered will be more as we expect to get good price in coming months as well,” a senior government official said.



Government had to lower its base price for export of wheat from $300 per tonne to $260 per tonne after its attempt to export 0.15 million tonne of wheat was cancelled as the bids received were much lower than the base price.



“We were hoping to get a price of around $270-275 per tonne, but the price quoted (around $290 per tonne) is unexpected, which shows that Indian wheat has started commanding a premium in the international markets,” the official said.



He said the price received was even more than that quoted by Black Sea wheat, which is one of the most valuable wheat brands in the world market.



“In the coming months too, the trend is expected to be maintained because as per information the Australian wheat crop is not as good as expected, which will enable us to sell more in the overseas markets,” he added.



He said exporting wheat was more profitable for the government than selling it domestically as average global price of $285 per tonne will fetch Rs 18,000 for each tonne of wheat to the kitty, while the exchequer gets just Rs 16,000 per tonne in home market.



In 2012-13 fiscal, the government had earned $1.4 billion from export of 4.2 million tonne of wheat by PSUs. Indian wheat had fetched an average price of $311.38 per tonne last fiscal.



India is exporting wheat from state-run warehouses as consecutive years of bumper harvest have filled them to the brim.



According to FCI, wheat stocks in state godowns are estimated to be over 34 million tonne as on November 1 as against a requirement of just 14 million tonne.



Source:- business-standard.com

How Lng Export Boom Could Bust The Budget

The high price of gas in Australia has made replacing coal-fired power stations with gas uneconomic and "fugitive emissions" from the LNG plants mean that reducing overall emissions within Australia by 5 per cent by 2020, as government policy dictates, will require much bigger cuts in other industries.



Tony Abbott will have to either drop the promise to cut emissions by 5 per cent or the promise to repeal the carbon tax. Both together will be impossible without massive government spending under the proposed "direct action" policy of paying companies to reduce emissions.



Actually, previous government policy was for a 15 per cent reduction in emissions if the rest of the developed world also took action on climate change. That's happening, so the 15 per cent would have applied.



The Coalition said it would match Labor's emissions reduction target, but the figure of 15 per cent doesn't seem to appear in its policy, only 5 per cent.



Anyway, not trying to reduce carbon emissions at all would put Australia at odds with the rest of the world, including China and the US, and endanger trade agreements. So the Prime Minister and Treasurer Joe Hockey will be, or at least should be, desperately hoping that the Senate never allows the repeal of the emissions trading scheme legislation, so it's not exactly a broken promise -- at least they tried.



Before the Charter of Budget Honesty it used to be routine for incoming governments to declare things were much worse than anyone thought, so that all bets are off on election promises.



Now, with the introduction of the PEFO (pre-election fiscal outlook) there has to be a Commission of Audit to provide the nasty surprise that allows the breaking of expensive promises.



In essence, Australia's LNG export boom and high domestic gas prices will make it very difficult for the Coalition to get re-elected if it sticks to current policies.



The cost to the budget of climate change direct action, plus paid parental leave, disability insurance, education funding and rapidly rising health costs would lead to an even greater structural deficit than currently exists ($28.8 billion, according to economic consultancy Macroeconomics).



The emissions trading scheme currently in place would eventually produce revenues to the government of up to $10bn a year. It's understood Treasury has estimated the eventual cost of the Coalition's direct action plan at $10bn.



That's a $20bn turnaround and makes climate change a "nuclear bomb" in the federal budget, as professor Ross Garnaut says. As he puts in his book Dog Days, it would end up "distracting the government and the polity from the great economic challenges facing Australia".



Like Australia, the US has enjoyed a huge boom in gas supplies by exploiting smaller and tighter reservoirs -- in their case shale, in ours coal seams.



However the US banned LNG exports and is now allowing them on a case-by-case basis, resulting in a collapse in the domestic gas price to about a third of what it was. The result is wholesale replacement of coal-fired power stations, new and existing, with lower carbon-emitting gas.



In Australia, export pricing has led to a huge increase in the domestic gas price despite the big lift in available supply, with the result that gas is still uneconomic as a replacement for coal.



Wind and solar are too expensive to replace coal. Gas is, or at least should be, the only viable substitute in the medium term.



Add to that the fugitive emissions from the gas liquefaction plants and Australia's LNG export industry is likely to be a big net cost to Australia, not a benefit, especially in the early years while the capital cost of building the plants is written off in depreciation against taxable profits.



All the extra costs to the budget that have been promised -- direct action, parental leave, NDIS, education and health -- seem to lead inevitably to a budget crisis just beyond the current forward estimates of four years.



It will be very interesting to see how the Commission of Audit led by Tony Shepherd deals with all of this, and in particular whether they try to properly cost the Coalition's direct action policy.



That might be awkward, especially if the audit reveals that the government will have to make big cuts to welfare, health and education spending in order to fund the reduction in carbon emissions.



Source:- www.theaustralian.com.au

India, Vietnam Ink Eight Agreements.

India and Vietnam on Wednesday inked eight agreements, including one for oil and gas exploration in the seas off Vietnam that includes the South China Sea as visiting Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks in New Delhi.



Nguyen Phu Trong is the general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party.



The eight agreements as well as a $100-million line of credit to Vietnam for defence purchases is a major step forward in India's "Look East Policy".



Manmohan Singh "reaffirmed that Vietnam was a pillar of India's 'Look East Policy', which was supported by the general secretary. They envisaged a more active role for India in the regional and international arena," a joint statement said.



Outlining their strong convergence of interests in working together, Dr Singh said, "Vietnam's emergence as one of the most vibrant economies in the Asia Pacific region is greatly welcomed by India, especially because we regard Vietnam as a trusted and privileged strategic partner and an important pillar of our Look East Policy."



Boosting connectivity, both sides inked an air services agreement that would see direct flights between the two countries and also promote an international aviation system based on competition.



Both sides also inked an agreement for setting up a high-tech crime lab in Hanoi.



India is to provide a financial grant for buying technical equipment and teaching aids for the Indira Gandhi Hightech Crime Lab (IGHCL) and also depute experts to Vietnam.



The MoU "consolidates the cooperation between the two countries in the field of crime investigation, counter terrorism and other transnational organised crime, and other relevant areas".



The MoU between Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) provides for joint exploration, development and production of petroleum resources between the two countries for new investments by OVL in oil and gas blocks in Vietnam for oil and gas exploration and production.



Petro Vietnam is also to participate in open blocks in India and in third countries.



Vietnam's industry and trade ministry also inked a MoU with Tata Power Ltd. for development of the Long Phu 2 coal-fired power plant project in Soc Trang, Vietnam.



"The project is to be operated through a BOT Company owned by TATA Power and additional investors, with TATA Power as the lead member and will reach commercial operation in accordance with Agreements with the Vietnam side," the statement said.



Tata Power Co. Ltd won a $1.8-billion contract to develop the thermal power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Tran after beating competition from South Korea and Russia to win the 1,200 MW contract.



A Vietnam-India English and IT Training Centre at the National Defence Academy of Vietnam in Hanoi will also be set up.



Both sides are on course to achieve the trade target of $7 billion by 2015.



A new Joint Sub-Commission on Trade has been tasked to work towards realizing the enormous potential of our economic relations, said the prime minister.



Dr Singh expressed appreciation for Vietnam's decision to award Tata Power the thermal power project and the offer of another offshore block to ONGC Videsh Limited for continued oil and gas exploration.



"We also look forward to boosting our bilateral economic ties through the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and connectivity projects," he said.



In India's first gift of a supercomputer to another country, a PARAM High Performance Computing Facility was inaugurated at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, the prime minister said.



The Archaeological Survey of India has also voiced readiness to take up conservation and restoration of the Cham monuments "which are a symbol of our historical, civilizational and cultural contacts".



Source:- ndtv.com

Punjab To Offer Vat Refund For It Ventures

Punjab's upcoming information technology (IT) promotion policy will offer value added tax (VAT) refund on equipment and machinery installed by entrepreneurs, apart from incentives like VAT retention and property tax rebate to them. The IT policy is part of the upcoming industrial policy of the state.



Punjab's principal secretary, IT, A R Talwar said there is not much investment that goes into setting up of new IT units and the focus is more on putting together human resource. Therefore, the state government has thought of these steps to incentivize setting up of new IT companies.



Speaking on the sidelines of the annual IT event jointly organized by Chandigarh administration, Punjab government and CII (northern region( on the theme 'Thinking ahead of the curve through innovation', he said the upcoming IT policy was looking at promotion of both software and hardware components of IT industry in the state.



"Whereas the focus will be on Mohali and Amritsar for software generation, hardware industry will be supported across the state. VAT refund on equipment will be given on products that are bought from within the state," he said.



The policy gives special emphasis on electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector in view of the fact that India is emerging as a favourable destination for chip design and embedded software and there is immense potential for the same. The new policy for ESDM sector with special package of incentives is aimed at projecting Punjab as a global ESDM hub.



It was in Mohali that an STPI centre was set up in 1998 when IT was still considered a novelty. Exports from Mohali and Chandigarh have gradually picked up and crossed Rs 1,500 crore in 2012, which is a milestone for a Tier-II destination. During the financial year 2010-11, export from this region was Rs 1,565 crore.



Whereas Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP) hit hurdles following controversy over land acquisition and sequent allotment, Punjab has an edge as IT companies don't face any restrictions pertaining to building by-laws as is the case in Chandigarh.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Unsecured creditors can opt for winding up as Corporate Debt Restructuring was meant for secured cre

CL: Where RBI's corporate debt restructuring scheme was for benefit of secured creditors only, unsecured creditor could pursue winding up petition

Sec. 372A of the 1956 Act would remain in force until corresponding section of the 2013 Act is notif

Companies Act, 1956/ Companies Act, 2013 : Section 372A of The Companies Act, 1956, Read With Section 186 of The Companies Act, 2013 - Inter-Corporate Loans and Investments - Clarification With Regard to Applicability of Provision of Section 372A Consequent Upon Notifying of Section 185 of The Companies Act, 2013

No penalty on voluntary payment of duty prior to show cause notice; Expl. to sec. 11(2AB) is retrosp

Excise & Custom : Explanation 3 inserted in section 11A(2B) of Central Excise Act, 1944 by Finance Act, 2010 with effect from 8-5-2010, is a clarificatory provision having retrospective effect and, therefore, assessee making payment of duty voluntarily prior to issuance of show-cause notice may claim benefit thereof for prior periods as well

Construction on land taken on lease from trustees doesn’t benefit them if trust can remove it at end

IT: Where assessee-trust having taken land on lease from its trustees constructed a building thereon, in view of fact that in registered lease deed, there was no stipulation that construction made on leased land would become property of lessor after expiry of term of period of lease and it was always open to assessee to remove constructions, no benefit would directly enure to trustees and, therefore, on aforesaid ground exemption of income could not be denied to assessee-trust by invoking provis

A firm gets perpetual registration until any default is committed by it

IT: Once registration certificate is granted to a firm, same is to be continued till default

CBDT directs I-T Officers to adhere to Circular 1/2013 issued in relation to deductions under Secs.

IT : Section 10A, Read With Sections 10AA & 10B of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Free Trade Zone - Direct Tax Benefits - Clarification on Issues Relating to Export of Computer Software

Stock valuation method followed in earlier years can’t be rejected outrightly; AO to assign reasons

IT: Regular method followed by assessee for valuation of closing stock, and accepted by department in earlier years cannot be changed in subsequent assessment year without giving any reason for same