Friday, 6 December 2013
'Crossed' cheque not analogous to 'Account-payee' cheque; former attracts sec. 40A(3) disallowances
No reassessment to tax foreign branch's income if such issue was already dealt with in original asse
HC paves the way for justice; it says Setcom to grant personal hearing prior to rejection of applica
Us To Keep Pressing India On Iran Oil Sanctions
Even as it acknowledged difficulties faced by countries like India in reducing oil purchases from Iran, the US said it would keep pressing them to enforce sanctions despite the landmark US-Iran nuclear deal.
"We've been very clear that as we negotiated the first-step agreement and as we negotiate the final agreement, the architecture, the core architecture of Iran's oil and banking sector sanctions remain in place," State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters Friday.
The Nov 24 "initial, six-month" deal between Iran and six world powers led by the US freezes Iran's nuclear development programme in exchange for lifting some sanctions while a "comprehensive solution" is worked out.
"We have done a lot of diplomatic hard work - very hard diplomatic, tireless work, again, with countries like India, Japan, South Korea, others - to put in place these sanctions on Iran's oil," she said.
"We know it's not easy for these countries, but we all have done it because it's in the world's interest to put pressure on Iran to get them to a diplomatic solution to their nuclear programme," Harf said.
"So we're going to keep talking to these countries," she said. "We are going to keep enforcing a majority of the sanctions and we'll keep having these conversations."
The spokesperson said the US "would actively fight any attempts to use this first-step agreement as a way for people suddenly to somehow try to evade sanctions in any way."
In response to another question, Harf said the US also talked to Israelis all the time about their shared concerns over Iran's nuclear programme.
Asked to comment on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's reported remarks about Kashmir, the spokesperson repeated Washington's long-held position that it was a matter between the two countries.
"We've been very clear that this is an issue we think needs to be discussed directly between Pakistan and India," Harf said.
On India-Pakistan relations, she said: "We've always said that we believe they need to keep building a better relationship, they need to work together on these issues, and certainly we hope they will do so."
Source:- newstrackindia.com
India Holds Nerves To Have Its Way.
By his own admission, getting a favourable deal in Bali has not been easy. "We withstood pressure and didn't blink," said a relaxed Anand Sharma, commerce & industry minister, after managing to have his way at WTO.
While negotiations are always difficult, the last 48 hours were particularly testing for Sharma and his team. It all began with back-to-back meetings on Wednesday evening after it became clear that India was not going to blink on its demand on food subsidy and made its displeasure clear during the plenary session through a strongly-worded message, rejecting the offers on the table.
Sharma first spent some time with Indonesian trade minister Gita Wirjawan, chairman of the ministerial conference. By then, Indonesia, which was a key proponent of the plan, had jumped the ship to make a success of the ministerial, leaving Brazil and South Africa as major allies for India. Next came a meeting between WTO director general Roberto Azevedo and trade ministers from India, Brazil, and South Africa. By then it was slowly emerging that even Brazil wasn't pursuing the demand on food subsidy with the same vigor.
So, Sharma now spent some time with Azevedo, who he had met before the start of the ministerial meeting. India once again reiterated its stance. Then for the next 20 hours there was no word from WTO DG or Wirjawan, who spent the time trying to get the US to soften its position.
On Thursday evening, Sharma and his team returned to meet the WTO boss and the Indonesian trade minister in their offices in Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center. Here, sources told TOI, the duo offered a new language, which was turned down as there was no change in the stance.
Just when Sharma was settling for the evening, wrapping up dinner, he received a call, asking him to return. So, the Indian negotiators returned around 11 PM, but none of the officials were allowed to accompany Sharma when he met Azevedo, Wirjawan and US Trade Representative Michael Froman. Although Sharma and Froman have known each other for years, this was the first time they were meeting since they landed in Bali. They had met just once before and merely shook hands.
Over the next 100 minutes, things didn't move. "It was essentially the same text with some variation," said an official. Back in the hotel, Sharma and the negotiators prepared their wish list and Jayant Dasgupta, India's ambassador to WTO, returned with the government's message at 2.30 AM. It wasn't until 3.30 in the morning that India's 25-odd negotiators returned to their rooms.
"It's a war of nerves," Sharma said later. Although he had been updating PM Manmohan Singh on the progress daily, the first thing that the minister did on Friday was to dial his boss to get a political clearance, and followed it up with another call in the afternoon. It wasn't until 11 AM that things began to swing India's way and by 4 PM it was clear. During these five hours, the government is also learnt to have got the cabinet to endorse the deal when it met to condole apartheid hero Nelson Mandela's death.
The government on Friday said the WTO's new agreement on trade facilitation is expected to help reduce transaction cost for Indian exporters, besides simplifying rules for traders sending consignments to developed countries.
With the agreement proposing increased use of electronic payment tools, the government will need to make its electronic data interchange and electronic bank realization certificate (eBRC) platforms more efficient, and virtually doing away with the need for traders to visit bank branches or DGFT offices.
But, the real gains are expected in removal of hurdles that Indian exporters often face in tightly regulated markets such as the European Union. Often, authorities seize a consignment of basmati rice or peanuts at one of the ports and an alert is sent to all ports, affecting all such cargo from India. With the new trade facilitation agreement, the rapid alert mechanism in EU will have to be reworked.
Similarly, when it comes to shipments that have been confiscated by authorities due to lack of compliance with local norms, exporters will now have the option of getting the rejected consignments back so that they can be exported to a market where they comply with the rules.
Officials pointed out that there were other gains too. For instance, European countries follow different customs procedures at ports, causing tremendous hardship to plant and animal products. But, with an agreement on trade facilitation in place, common rules have to be put in place.
Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com
India Has Its Way At Wto As Food Security Plan Prevails.
Ministers appeared close to sealing the world's biggest trade reform for two decades on Friday after India, the most vocal holdout, endorsed a draft text presented by the head of the World Trade Organisation.
The deal, thrashed out at talks on the Indonesian island of Bali, would lower trade barriers and speed up the passage of goods through customs.
Analysts estimate that over time it could boost the world economy by hundreds of billions of dollars and create more than 20 million jobs, mostly in developing countries.
Failure would have represented a body blow to the 159-nation WTO, formed in 1995 and still without a major trade deal to its credit after many years of negotiating fiascos.
"It is a victory for the WTO and for the global community to have arrived at a mature decision," commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma told reporters. "We are more than happy. It is a great day. It is a historic day."
The deal requires unanimous support, and a potential veto could still come from Cuba, whose representative banged the table and shouted at WTO chief Roberto Azevedo after the meeting where his draft agreement was distributed to all the members, a participant at the meeting said.
Cuba has been consistently demanding the United States lift its economic embargo of the Caribbean island as part of the Bali agreement, but trade diplomats say it has made the same demand for decades and they do not expect it to block a deal.
Heads of delegation were to resume informal talks in the early hours of Saturday, but a diplomat said the meeting had been delayed by an hour because of last-minute concerns about the wording of a compromise on food subsidies.
That is the vital issue for India, which this year announced a massive programme for stockpiling food to feed to the poor, in breach of the WTO rules on subsidies.
Another diplomat said the delay was caused by Cuba consulting with Azevedo.
Red Tape
Azevedo, a Brazilian diplomat, took the helm of the WTO in September and immediately launched a punishing regime of round-the-clock talks and "whatever works" diplomacy. Even so, the outcome had appeared in grave doubt as recently as Thursday.
If agreed, the reform would slash red tape at customs around the world, give improved terms of trade to the poorest countries, and allow developing countries to skirt the normal rules on farm subsidies if they are trying to feed the poor.
It would also revive confidence in the WTO's ability to negotiate global trade deals, after it consistently failed to clinch agreement in the Doha round of talks that started in 2001 and proved hugely over-ambitious.
As the Doha round stuttered to a halt, momentum shifted away from global trade pacts in favour of regional deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the United States is negotiating with 11 other countries, and a similar agreement it is pursuing bilaterally with the European Union.
Failure in Bali would have led to a more divided world, with regional blocs reversing the WTO's globalising goals, some experts say.
The "Bali package" now on the table secures a handful of elements of the Doha round that were thought to be doable and declares a "strong resolve" to pursue agreement on the rest.
India's concerns that the Bali deal would give only a temporary shield to its food stockpile plan were resolved with wording that promised a search for a more permanent solution.
"The food security fix is something out of 1984, George Orwell would be proud," said Simon Evenett, professor of international trade at the Swiss University of St Gallen.
"The food security text is so contradictory that there must be an informal understanding among the big players as to what it really means."
Many diplomats had predicted Sharma, whose government is entering a bruising electoral battle, would use Bali as a platform where India could be seen to stand against the rich world in defence of the poor.
But India was under pressure to accept an eventual compromise, because failure of the Bali package would leave its food subsidy programme exposed to trade disputes that could lead to billions of dollars in trade sanctions.
The meat of the Bali deal is an agreement known in WTO jargon as "trade facilitation": streamlining and standardising customs and port procedures to speed trade globally.
A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Peterson Institute of International Economics estimated it would inject $960 billion into the global economy and create 21 million jobs, 18 million of them in developing countries.
Source:- hindustantimes.com
Rupee Strengthens By 34 Paise, At 5-Week High Against Dollar
The Indian rupee ruled firm for the third consecutive day and moved up 34 paise to 61.41 against the US dollar, the highest level in more than five weeks, on sales of the US currency by banks and exporters amid foreign capital inflows into the local equity market.
The rupee resumed higher at 61.64 per dollar from Thursday's closing of 61.75 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market. It hovered in a range of 61.40 to 61.70 before ending at 61.41, a gain of 34 paise or 0.55 per cent.
It was the third weekly gain for the local currency.
Banks and exporters preferred to reduce their dollar positions as overseas investors bought local shares. They purchased a net Rs 1,151.51 crore of shares on Thursday, according to provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The 30-share benchmark Sensex moved up 38.72 points, or 0.18 per cent, to end the week at 20,996.53.
In the global market, the dollar edged higher on Friday ahead of the release of the US jobs report for November, due later in the day. The report may give investors an indication of when the Federal Reserve will ease its stimulus programme.
"Today's non-farm employment change data from the US will be very important as it will provide clues regarding QE (quantitative easing) tapering," said Abhishek Goenka, CEO of India Forex Advisors.
The dollar on Thursday fell to its lowest level against the euro in more than a month after indications the European Central Bank has no immediate plan to further ease policy.
Source:- businesstoday.intoday.in
Indian Rupee Gains Ahead Of Poll Results, Us Jobs Data.
The rupee rose on Friday, notching up a third week of gains, while US nonfarm payrolls data and state poll results are expected to determine whether the currency would sustain its recent winning run.
The outcome of the state elections is due on Sunday and if exit polls are any indicator, the main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to win most of the states.
A strong win ahead of the general elections due by May would be seen as an affirmation of the party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Modi is perceived as market-friendly and a win for his party would boost the rupee which has already gained on the exit poll results.
The US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data, due later on Friday, will be a key pointer to whether the US Federal Reserve is likely to begin tapering its extraordinary monetary stimulus early next year.
‘We have two important issues lined up this weekend. The much-awaited NFP will give clarity on tapering by the Fed and the Indian poll results will give clarity on the political front,’ said Vikas Babu Chittiprolu, a dealer with Andhra Bank.
The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.41/42 per dollar compared with 61.7525/7625 on Thursday, notching up a third day of gains. For the week, the rupee was up 1.7%, its biggest weekly win in ten.
The rupee's gains this week were also aided by strong foreign interest in bidding for PowerGrid Corp of India's $1.1-billion share sale.
Foreign investors bid for shares worth $2.7 billion, exchange data showed.
In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 61.85, while the three-month was at 62.77.
Source:- financialexpress.com
India's Nov Soymeal Exports Jump Almost Three-Fold On Month
India's soymeal exports in November jumped almost three-fold from a month ago as supplies of the animal feed improved after newly harvested soybeans arrived for crushing, a leading trade body said on Friday.
While that should ease worries about supply triggered by rains at the start of the harvest, Asia's top soymeal exporter is still expected to ship less than initial expectations in 2013/14 as high prices deter buying.
India's soymeal exports rose to 503,269 tonnes in November from 182,724 tonnes a month ago, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association said in a statement.
Over October to November, the South Asian country exported 685,993 tonnes of soymeal, up 21 percent from a year ago.
"Better realisation due to higher price and a weak value of the rupee led to the surge in overseas soymeal sales," said B.V. Mehta, SEA's executive director.
The average export price for soymeal stood at $557 per tonne in November against $541 per tonne in October, free on board, giving better returns as the domestic currency lost more than 1 percent against the U.S. dollar last month.
South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Iran are the major buyers of Indian soymeal. Soybeans are crushed to produce edible oils and animal feed.
Rains during the start of the soybean harvest in October had raised concerns that soymeal supplies could be less this year and could result in delays or even defaults in export deals.
Traders said there were no reports of any default in soymeal export deals despite high domestic prices.
They forecast export deals of 1.4-1.6 million tonnes from Oct. 1 to Jan. 31 as traditional buyers in Southeast Asia have covered requirements, versus 1.7 million tonnes a year ago.
A drop in sales to Iran and higher prices of soymeal are the main reasons behind the lower export estimates.
India's near-monopoly in soymeal exports to Iran is expected to break following Tehran's nuclear deal with the West which is expected to pave the way for rival suppliers to boost their trading with the oil-rich country.
In November, Iran imported 184,860 tonnes soymeal from India as against 33,000 tonnes in October.
But Iran may no longer be willing to pay a high premium for Indian supplies after last month's deal with the West.
India soymeal was quoted at $560 per tonne free on board as against about $490 for supplies from South America.
India's soymeal exports may be limited to 4 million tonnes in 2013/14, around a million tonnes lower than early forecasts, traders and industry officials have said.
Total oilmeal exports by India, the leading supplier of animal feed to Asia, rose to 560,648 tonnes in November, up 52 percent from a month ago.
Source:- in.reuters.com
Assessment without scrutiny would mandate reassessment beyond 4 years even if assessee made true dis
SEBI justified in issuing circular to discourage cash transactions in capital market
Iran’S 28Th Fleet Docks At Indian Mumbai Port
An Iranian commander says the country’s 28th fleet of warships, which includes the country's first super-heavy submarine, has docked at India's western port city of Mumbai.
“The Navy’s 28th flotilla comprising Alborz destroyer, Bandar Abbas auxiliary ship, Younes super-heavy submarine and a Bell 212 Twin Huey helicopter docked at Mumbai port this morning after travelling 3,000 kilometers,” said the Iranian Navy’s Deputy Commander for Operations Admiral Siavash Jareh on Thursday.
Iranian naval fleets are dispatched to the international waters to ensure security along shipping lanes and to convey a message of peace and friendship to regional countries, he added.
“This is the first time that the Younes super-heavy submarine has been dispatched to the eastern waters of the Indian Ocean and the Indian port of Mumbai,” the Iranian commander stated.
He noted that the presence of Iran’s Navy sub-marines in international waters indicates the power of the force, saying, “Today, the Navy has, in the true sense of the word, turned into a real strategic force.”
Jareh emphasized that the security of the Indian Ocean could be maintained only through collective cooperation by its littoral states.
He noted that the 28th Navy fleet recently managed to repel an attack by pirates on a Liberian-flagged vessel in the Indian Ocean.
On November 28, Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the Liberian-flagged ship was sailing in the north of the Indian Ocean when it came under attack by pirates and sent a distress signal which was picked up by Iranian naval forces.
Sayyari said on November 23 that Iran’s 27th naval flotilla had returned from its 95-day mission in the high seas.
In recent years, Iran’s Navy has been increasing its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.
In line with international efforts to combat piracy, the Iranian Navy has also been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.
Source:- presstv.ir
Up Seeks Raise In Import Duty On Sugar
UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday took part in the meeting called by Union agriculture minister on bailout package for the sugar industry and demanded to implement interest subvention scheme at the earliest that would pave way for a interest free loan of Rs 2000 crore for sugar mills in UP. He said that the Centre should include cess and surcharge on excise duty as part of the scheme. He also said that loan should be given to mills under condition that they will use it only for the payment of pending Rs 2,300-crore arrears towards farmers.
Yadav said that it was not only in the interest of industry but also that of farmers should be kept in mind while framing any sugar policy in future. He said that import duty on sugar should be increased from 15% to 30% and buffer stock of the sugar should be 20 lakh tonne. He also said ethanol blending in petrol should be increased from 5% to 10 %. The state government has been squarely blaming the Centre for the cane crisis in UP that not only got prolonged but also led to violent protest by the opposition.
UP Sugar Mills Association ( UPSMA) on Friday welcomed the initiatives announced by the Central government to help the sugar industry overcome the severe financial crisis it is going through. The group of ministers on Friday announced a bailout package wherein interest free loans would be provided to the cane industry.
The association in a statement said in UP the first step shall be to clear the arrears of farmers. UP sugar industry would also like to produce the new product "raw sugar". This will add to the product mix and will help in grabbing opportunities as and when they arise.
UP Sugar Industry looks forward to rationalising the cane price mechanism by adopting a revenue sharing formula as a transparent long term solution, the association said.
Sugar mill chief engineer hangs self
A 57-year-old chief engineer allegedly hanged himself at his official quarter after facing problems at work. Chaitanya Kumar Srivastava was chief engineer in Kisan Sahkari Chini Mill, Sultanpur. He lived alone and allegedly hanged himself on Thursday night. He was apparently upset after work at the mill came to a halt on Thursday following a turbine failure which he could not rectify and was being held responsible for, reports said. The body has been sent for postmortem and his family in Lucknow has been informed, police said.
Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Indian 2014 Gold Imports Seen At Half Usual Levels
Indian gold imports may fall 70 percent in the final quarter of 2013 from 255 tonnes in the year-ago period and are expected to be half usual levels at 500-550 tonnes next year if new import rules are maintained, a top trade body official said on Friday.
To curb a record trade deficit, India imposed an import duty of 10 percent on gold, and tied imports for domestic consumption to exports, creating scarce supply of the yellow metal and boosting premiums to a record.
As a result, Indians have depended heavily on old heirlooms and smuggled yellow metal to meet wedding demand.
"Year 2014 seems to be a difficult one for the Indian gem and jewellery industry so far as gold imports are concerned," Bachhraj Bamalwa, director at the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF), said in an interview at the Reuters Global Gold Forum.
India, which may import a lower-than-usual 700-750 tonnes in 2013, is unlikely to ease its import policy or the customs duty until the trade deficit is under control, Bamalwa added.
"Demand (for) jewellery has not yet picked up, so the industry is not yet in panic, but I am not (very) sure about the future - say, after 30 days," said Bamalwa.
The World Gold Council (WGC) cut its forecast for Indian gold demand earlier this month, predicting the country could also lose its crown as the world's biggest consumer of bullion to China.
The WGC said Indian demand could be 900 tonnes in 2013, from its previous forecast of 1,000 tonnes.
Fourth-quarter demand is expected to be low because consumers brought forward wedding purchases to April and May, when gold prices fell drastically, Bamalwa said.
Premiums for gold in India climbed to a record $160 an ounce above spot prices this week. By the end of the quarter, they may have risen as high as $200 an ounce, Bamalwa said.
Indian gold imports may fall 70 percent in the final quarter of 2013 from 255 tonnes in the year-ago period and are expected to be half usual levels at 500-550 tonnes next year if new import rules are maintained, a top trade body official said on Friday.
To curb a record trade deficit, India imposed an import duty of 10 percent on gold, and tied imports for domestic consumption to exports, creating scarce supply of the yellow metal and boosting premiums to a record.
As a result, Indians have depended heavily on old heirlooms and smuggled yellow metal to meet wedding demand.
"Year 2014 seems to be a difficult one for the Indian gem and jewellery industry so far as gold imports are concerned," Bachhraj Bamalwa, director at the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF), said in an interview at the Reuters Global Gold Forum.
India, which may import a lower-than-usual 700-750 tonnes in 2013, is unlikely to ease its import policy or the customs duty until the trade deficit is under control, Bamalwa added.
"Demand (for) jewellery has not yet picked up, so the industry is not yet in panic, but I am not (very) sure about the future - say, after 30 days," said Bamalwa.
The World Gold Council (WGC) cut its forecast for Indian gold demand earlier this month, predicting the country could also lose its crown as the world's biggest consumer of bullion to China.
The WGC said Indian demand could be 900 tonnes in 2013, from its previous forecast of 1,000 tonnes.
Fourth-quarter demand is expected to be low because consumers brought forward wedding purchases to April and May, when gold prices fell drastically, Bamalwa said.
Premiums for gold in India climbed to a record $160 an ounce above spot prices this week. By the end of the quarter, they may have risen as high as $200 an ounce, Bamalwa said.
SPOTLIGHT ON EXPORTS
Under the government's new rules, gold importers must export 20 percent of their total imports. Importing agencies such as banks and state-run companies can bring in a maximum of two consignments of metal before having to furnish proof of exports, he said.
Jewellers are trying to increase exports but the global economic situation is "not very encouraging", Bamalwa said.
Jewellery exports, on which domestic imports are dependent under the new rule, have slid nearly 55 percent to $3.95 billion so far this fiscal year, from April to October.
Falling exports will have a knock-on effect on future imports because of the ties between the two, which in turn will hurt domestic jewellers who should be seeing surging demand as the wedding season gets into full swing.
The trade body plans to approach the government to provide low-cost finance to jewellery exporters, against a 12-13 percent funding cost now. Its global competitors get financing at 2-3 percent.
"We will be approaching the government for some incentives, but since the country is going for general elections next year, the incentives may not come before the next government comes to power," Bamalwa said. Elections are due in May in India, the world's second-most populous country.
Bamalwa said the government was "in no mood" to relax its new import duty rules, or its gold export requirements, until the current account deficit had been reined in.
Source:- business-standard.com