Friday, 20 December 2013

No clandestine removal if excess quantity was in retail packs to avoid breach of weights and measure

Excice : Excess quantity packed in retail packs to avoid violation of Weights & Measures Act doesn't amount to 'clandestine removal' and when such products are liable to duty on basis of MRP declared and not on basis of quantity cleared, supply of such minimal excess quantity does not lead to loss of revenue


Matter remanded as AO taxed exchange reserve without stating reasons to establish its relation with

IT: Where Assessing Officer did not mention reasons as to why exchange variation reserve accounts (EVRA) related to fixed assets, matter would be remanded for fresh adjudication


Service Tax Defaulters To Face Arrest From January 1

Come January 1 and thousands of service tax defaulters who have not bothered to avail of the one time Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) are likely to be arrested. VCES is an amnesty scheme for those who have never filed their service tax returns as well as those who have stopped doing so. Launched by finance minister P Chidambaram, the scheme gives benefits like waiver of interest and fine on tax dues to the defaulters who come forward to pay up.



Highly-placed sources told TOI that the Hyderabad zone of the service tax department has got a 'green signal' from the finance ministry to launch the strictest action against defaulters, including arrest and immediate recovery of the money by attaching property or bank accounts.



Meanwhile, the department is leaving no stone unturned to give wide publicity to the scheme slated to end on December 31. Apart from putting up kiosks, mobile teams have been formed to reach various corners of the city in the next two weeks to persuade people to pay the tax. Officials are reportedly working even on weekends. However, sources revealed that the response is still lukewarm despite the closure date being barely 10 days away. "At present, the department is getting one or two odd cases of VCES per day," said an official, adding that recently a leading regional language TV channel paid Rs 80 lakh dues after being issued summons.



Ahead of the massive crackdown, the service tax wing of the Central Board of Excise and Customs has constituted teams to persuade defaulters to file returns. "In the recent past, we were forced to arrest some defaulters in construction, multimedia companies and security agencies. We found that they were not depositing the service tax collected from customers with the department. These are the cases of deliberate and criminal evasion. Apart from such evaders, there are thousands who are yet to get registered with the department while scores have stopped filing their service tax returns," a senior official said.


Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com





Self-proclamation of dominance by enterprise in its red herring prospectus won’t prove its actual do

Competition Act : Self acclaims by enterprises in their own documents like red herring prospectus cannot be taken as evidence of dominance per se


Management fee paid to establish new factory isn't operational exp; excludible to determine PLI for

IT/ILT: Where management fees were paid towards setting up of new factory, it would not constitute operational expenses and same should be excluded while computing operating profits of assessee in determining profit level indicator (PLI)


Construction of toilets under a contract and not for social service can't be deemed as 'charitable'

IT: Construction of dry latrines under contract awarded by State development agency cannot be said to be 'charitable purpose' for granting registration under section 12A


India Refined Palm Oil Imports To Surge On Low Prices -Ruchi Soya

India Dec 20 (Reuters) - India is likely to import a record 4 million tonnes of refined palm oil in 2013/14 as export taxes in key supplier Indonesia make it cheaper than the crude variety, an executive at India's top edible oil buyer said.



Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, in November hiked its crude palm oil export tax to 12 percent for December shipments, compared to 6 percent for the refined variant.



India is the world's largest vegetable oils importer, with shipments traditionally dominated by crude oils which are then refined for the domestic market. But cheaper imports of refined palm oil are keeping local refining capacity idle.



"Going by the current trend it seems imports of RBD (refined, bleached and deodorised) palm oil will be nearly half of total palm oil imports (in 2013/14)," Nitesh Shahra, president of the refinery division of Ruchi Soya told Reuters on Friday.



Indonesia has been selling RBD palm oil at a discount of $20 to $25 per tonne over crude palm oil and could offer higher discounts to boost sales, he said.



India imported 8.3 million tonnes of palm oil in the 2012/13 marketing year that ended on Oct. 31, including a record 2.2 million tonnes of RBD palm oil, data compiled by Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) showed.



Shahra said he hoped the Indian government would increase duty on imported refined palm oil "very soon" to arrest the flow.



Indian Food Minister K. V. Thomas earlier this month said the government is considering tweaking import duties.



The south Asian country fills more than half its edible oil demand through imports, consisting mainly of palm oil sourced from Indonesia and Malaysia. It also buys soyoil from Argentina and Brazil, and sunflower oil from Ukraine.



India's total palm oil imports may drop marginally this year due to a correction in prices of sunflower and soyoil, Shahra said.



"The gap between palm and soft oils - sunflower and soyoil - has narrowed ... hence we are expecting an increase in import volumes of soyoil and sunflower oil."



The country's sunflower oil imports in November surged 153 percent from a year ago as the gap between crude sunflower and refined palm oil narrowed to $115 per tonne, compared to $380 at the same time last year, the SEA data showed.



OILSEED OUTPUT



The country's soybean production in 2013/14 could fall by nearly 14 percent from a year ago to 9.5 million tonnes despite a rise in the acreage, Shahra said.



"Considering there has been crop damage, we think current year soybean production would be around 9.5 million tonnes compared to 11 million tonnes last year," he said.



Key soybean producing states Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra received heavy rainfall in August and September that initially cut yields and later damaged the harvest.



Soybeans are the main summer-sown oilseed crop in the country and so far supplies in the spot market have been lower than last year as farmers are holding back crops in expectation of price rises.



The drop in soybean production would reduce shipments from Asia's biggest soymeal exporter by around 15 percent in 2013/14, he said.



The country's soymeal exports in 2012/13 eased 4.1 percent from the previous year to 3.5 million tonnes, according to industry group Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA).



The sowing of rapeseed, the biggest contributor of edible oil in the country, is progressing well due to conducive weather. Indian farmers were cultivating rapeseed on 6.65 million hectares as of Dec. 12, compared with 6.36 million hectares a year earlier, farm ministry data showed.



"If weather remains favourable, rapeseed production could rise to 7 million tonnes this year from 6.5 million tonnes last year," he added. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav)


Source:- in.reuters.com





Self-proclamation of dominance by enterprise in its red herring prospectus won't prove is actual dom

Competition Act : Self acclaims by enterprises in their own documents like red herring prospectus cannot be taken as evidence of dominance per se


Indian Rupee Rises 10 Paise To 62.04 Against Us Dollar On Strong Stocks

The Indian rupee recovered after three days of declines to close 10 paise higher at 62.04 against the US dollar today amid gains in local stocks and capital inflows.US Dollar sales by exporters and some weakness in the US currency overseas also supported the rupee.


The Indian rupee opened lower at 62.40 a dollar from the previous close of 62.14 at the interbank foreign exchange market and dropped to 62.45 on sustained dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners.


The local currency rebounded to a high of 62.01 on fresh dollar selling by exporters and strong local stocks. It ended at 62.04, a rise of 10 paise or 0.16 per cent. In the three previous sessions, it had fallen 41 paise.


"The domestic currency opened on a lacklustre note today as all the Asian currencies were trading weak against the US dollar," said Abhishek Goenka, CEO of India Forex Advisors.


"Rupee was seen gaining later during the session on the back of dollar selling by bankers."


The benchmark 30-share S&P BSE Sensex today shot up 371.10 points or 1.79 per cent.


Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 2,264.11 crore yesterday, according to provisional data. Their net purchases today were Rs 990.19 crore.


"The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major units, opened on a strong note but during the day it weakened and at present is trading near yesterday¿s close, which helped the rupee," said Pramit Brahmbhaat, CEO at Alpari Financial Services (India).


Forward dollar premiums dipped further on sustained receipts by exporters.


The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in May dropped to 229-1/2 to 231-1/2 paise from the overnight close of 235-237 paise and far-forward contracts maturing in November slumped to 466-1/2 to 468-1/2 paise from 474-1/2 to 476-1/2 paise.


The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 62.2420 and for the euro at 84.8774.


The rupee turned positive to end at 101.34 against the pound from 101.79 yesterday and improved to 84.70 per euro from 85.03. It remained firm to settle at 59.41 per 100 Japanese yen from 59.69.


Source:- financialexpress.com





‘Bigg Boss’ not to withhold tax from sum paid to NR assisting in production of programme; AAR refers

IT/ILT: In view of CBDT's Circular No. 715, dated 08-08-1995, services rendered by NR for production of programmes for purpose of broadcasting and telecasting shall be specifically characterized as 'work' for the purpose of section 194C - When such services are categorized as 'work' for Sec. 194C the income therefrom would be treated as 'business income' - Held, Yes – Therefore, payment to a non-resident for production of programmes for the purpose of broadcasting and telecasting shall not be tr


Mere filing of return doesn’t attract bar on filing advance ruling application

IT : Mere filing of ITR does not attract the bar on filing advance ruling application u/s 245R(2)


Services provided via machines without human involvement can't be held as technical services to invo

IT: Section 194J would have application only when technology or technical knowledge of person is made available to other; and not where mere technical systems and/or services are rendered


HC slammed ITAT as it failed to consider admitted grounds of appeal filed by IT department

IT: Where revenue's amended ground of appeal in respect of income from letting out of godowns, etc. was admitted, but not considered in appeal by Tribunal, same required fresh adjudication


Sums paid under protest during investigation tantamount to predeposit; refund thereof is entitled to

Excise : Amounts paid under protest during investigation amount to pre-deposit and any refund thereof would be entitled to interest as per section 11BB of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (even for period prior to introduction of section 35FF)


No concealment penalty due to excess consumption of raw materials if assessee explains reasons there

IT: Where assessee properly explained excess consumption of raw material in relevant year, penalty under section 271(1)(c) could not be imposed on basis of addition of excess consumption of raw materials


Without bringing new facts on record, AO can't allege escapement of income to justify reassessment

IT : Where method adopted by assessee for computing book profit under section 115JB was considered in scrutiny assessment, in absence of any new material before Assessing Officer, reopening of assessment on said issue was not valid


HC sets aside block assessment against employees as seized docs belonged to employer company

IT: Where seized amount belonged to company and, not to employee/agent of company, block assessment proceeding under section 153A against latter was to be set aside