IT/ILT: Matter to be remitted back to Assessing Officer to enquire whether prices and other conditions were not influenced by GMBH to determine existence of AE relationship between assessee and said company
Sunday 24 November 2013
Officers couldn’t challenge promotion based on merger of grade I and grade II officers if merger acc
Service Matter: Once merger of Grade I with Grade II officer was accepted by petitioner-officers, further promotion on this basis could not be challenged
Sec. 25 Company registered with a foreign director eligible for sec. 80G approval
IT : Approval under section 80G is also permissible to a company registered under section 25 of Companies Act whose director is Foreign National
India May Have To Start Importing Iron Ore Soon: Steel Ministry
The Steel Ministry is of the view that India will have to import iron ore in the immediate future to meet significantly increasing demand from domestic companies.
“With many projects in the pipeline, both brownfield and greenfield expansion of steel capacity, iron ore requirement will increase significantly leading to imports of iron ore in near future,” the Steel Ministry has said in a recent presentation to the Planning Commission.
The Ministry in its mid-year plan review has identified iron ore availability as one of the challenges to achieve the steel production target of 300 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2025.
With current production capacity of around 90 mtpa, India needs at least 140 million tonnes (MT) iron ore to meet its need. It requires 1.5-1.6 MT iron ore to produce one million tonne of steel.
“Domestic requirement of iron ore is increasing with the capacity addition in steel production. Between the 2008-09 and 2012-13 period, the demand for iron ore has gone up from 87.4 million tonnes (MT) to 124.8 MT,” it said.
India, the world’s fourth largest producer of steel after China, Japan and the US, had produced 78.31 MT steel during 2012-13. It is likely to slightly inch up in current fiscal.
During the January-October period of the current year, India produced 66.38 MT steel.
The Steel Ministry also said iron ore production has come down from 213 MT in 2008-09 to 136 MT 2012-13 due to ban on mining in Karnataka and sharp fall in production in Odisha.
“It would require sufficient time for 200 MT plus production (of iron ore),” the Ministry said.
The government has already taken steps discourage iron ore exports by raising the duty to 30 per cent.
As per the United National Framework Classification (UNFS) of mineral resources, total resource of iron ore in the country is around 28.51 billion tonnes, as on April 1, 2010.
Country’s iron ore production is expected to rise in the coming days with the Supreme Court partially lifting ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka, a producing state.
Source:- thehindu.com
Indian Refiners Say Iran Nuclear Deal Eases Crude Oil Import Process
The lifting of a European Union ban on insuring tankers carrying Iranian crude as part of a nuclear deal reached in Geneva on Sunday will ease the process of importing the Persian Gulf state's oil, according to Indian refiners. While officials from Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd said the removal of restrictions on shipping cover will enable them to purchase contracted volumes more easily, they said they don't intend to buy more than previously planned. "We can go ahead and import the contracted volume for this year," said Rajkumar Ghosh, the director of refineries at Indian Oil, the country's largest processor. The company has a deal to buy 1.2 million metric tonnes of Iranian oil in the year ending March 31, of which 0.5 to 0.6 million tons have been imported since April, he said. Middle East suppliers sell the bulk of their crude in long-term contracts.
The end of the EU ban is part of a first-step agreement that will give Iran as much as $7 billion in relief from economic sanctions over six months. In return for limiting its nuclear program, the interim deal provides for the release of $4.2 billion in frozen oil assets and will let Iranian oil exports continue at current levels, rather than requiring continued reductions by buyers, according to a White House statement.
It won't mean an increase in shipments after they were cut by 60 per cent since 2012, the US administration said.
Invalidated insurance
The insurance restrictions affected about 95 per cent of the global tanker fleet because the ships are covered under rules governed by European law. Carrying Iranian oil would invalidate ships' insurance against risks including spills and collisions, according to the International Group of P&I Clubs. The Japanese government started providing sovereign cover for its tanker operators while India was due to consider a 20 billion rupee ($320 million) fund to help cover imports.
"This is a precursor to overall easing of Iran sanctions," P.P. Upadhya, the managing director of Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals, said by phone. "We are importing about 500,000 tons every month since August, so we should reach our 4 million-ton plan by March."
India's crude imports from Iran are expected to total 11 million tons in the twelve months ending March 31, a drop of about 15 percent from the previous year, Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae said November 8.
Insurance Pool
Hindustan Petroleum plans to import 0.8 million tons of Iranian crude by March if it can begin shipments next month, B.K. Namdeo, director of refineries at India's third-largest state-run refiner, said today. The country's processors are unlikely to exceed their targets in the current financial year, he said.
"We will be able to start importing Iran crude even without the government's insurance pool," Namdeo said.
In June 2012, there were 23 importers of Iranian crude; today, only six remain - China, India, South Korea, Japan, Turkey and Taiwan, according to U.S. officials. Since July 2012, the EU has also banned oil imports.
Source:- business-standard.com
Thai Rice Export Outlook Improves
Rice exports will likely fare better than expected, as demand for Thai rice should become more active next month, says the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
"From December-February, we expect Thai rice exports will experience good growth as demand for our grain recovers now that the price gap between Thai, Indian and Vietnamese rice has narrowed," said president Korbsook Iamsuri.
She said Thailand could see 7 million tonnes shipped this year, up from an earlier estimate of 6.5 million tonnes.
Ms Korbsook said next year's rice exports are projected to stay unchanged at 7 million tonnes, as there are yet no clear supporting factors driving shipments.
The latest rice report from the US Agriculture Department shows prices for most grades of Thailand's high- and medium-quality regular-milled white rice has declined by 6-8% over the past two months.
This is mostly due to sales of government rice stocks, a lack of large new sales and the recent availability of new rice from the early harvest of the new crop.
Prices for parboiled rice have declined as well, while those for aromatic grains have increased.
Thailand's high-quality, 100% grade B (fob vessel, Bangkok) milled rice for export was quoted at US$434 a tonne for the week ending Nov 11, down by $30 from the week ending Sept 9 and the lowest since January 2008.
In contrast, price quotes from Vietnam have increased since early September due mostly to recent large sales to the Philippines and China.
Thailand's price quotes for 5% broken grains are now just $21 a tonne above the quotes for Vietnam's 5% double-water-polished milled rice, down from almost $90 in early September and more than $150 early this year.
Source:- bangkokpost.com
Coffee Exports In 2013-14 May Slip Below Last Year's Level
India's coffee exports may drop from the last year's record level to 5.1 million bags in the 2013-14 marketing year, due to a dip in production as well as low export prices, a report has said.
The country is estimated to have shipped a record 5.2 million bags of coffee in the 2012-13 marketing year (October- September). One bag contains 60 kg coffee bean.
"Exports for 2013-14 marketing year are forecast at 5.1 million, down by 1,05,000 bags from last year's record level," the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report.
"Lower export prices, domestic crop reduced by monsoons and better yield in major coffee-producing countries are expected to temper Indian exports, but exporters are optimistic that significant volumes of coffee will be exported," it said.
However, foreign demand for Indian beans and processed coffee is expected to remain strong on the back of weaker rupee, the report added.
On weak export prices, the USDA said while Indian Arabica remained steady, prices of Robusta, which comprises the bulk of Indian exports, have dropped sharply in anticipation of a larger global supply. This supported the expectation that exports will be competitively priced. The USDA's projection of India coffee production is significantly lower than the Coffee Board of India's estimate of 5.7 million bags for 2013-14.
According to the report, heavy rain in major coffee-growing regions, especially in Karnataka that contributes 70% of the total production, appears to have reduced yields. The bulk of India's coffee production is exported and the domestic industry's marketing efforts are very much focused on export promotion.
There are indications that the popularity of coffee is increasing with the spread of both foreign and home-grown coffee shops, it said. However, exports continue to siphon a large amount of coffee away from the domestic market, and consumption estimates are unchanged, the report added.
Italy, Germany, Russia and Belgium are the top markets for Indian coffee exports.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
Additional conveyance allowance paid to Development Officers of LIC being a perquisite would be subj
IT: Where Senior Divisional Manager of LIC had issued a letter dated 7-4-2004 directing office to deduct tax at source on conveyance/additional conveyance allowance to be paid to development officers of LIC, said allowance was taxable being perquisite and, therefore, impugned letter had rightly been issued
Indian Rupee Opens Higher At 62.65/Dollar, Gains 21 Paise
Indian rupee opened higher by 21 paise at 62.65 per dollar on Monday as against Friday's closing of 62.86 per dollar.
Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered says globally, equities were positive and the Iran nuclear accord will add to positive sentiment. According to him, the range for the day is seen between 62.40-62.80/USD.
"Exporters are likely to sell dollars near the upper end of the range," he adds
The yen starts the week at four-year lows versus the euro and a four-month trough on the dollar, still very much the funding currency of choice in a trend that is likely to continue in this US hliday-shortened week.
Source:- moneycontrol.com
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