Monday 23 December 2013

Addition of chemicals to Gibberillic Acid to make 'Plant Growth Regulator' to be deemed as manufactu

Excise : Purchase of Gibberillic acid and 6 Benzyl aminopurine from outside and mixing them to produce plant growth regulator is, prima facie, a process of manufacture in view of Note 8 to Chapter 38 and resultant product is classifiable under Tariff Item 3808 98 40


ITAT denies to rely on another ruling which involved a different treaty and distinguished meaning of

IT/ILT: Where Tribunal on analysis of article 5 of DTAA between India and Korea treated Mumbai based project office as assessee's fixed place of business in India, such finding could not be termed erroneous on basis of decision of Court where treaty between India and Netherland was applied


Texas Leather Furniture Offers Custom Leather Furniture Hand-Crafted In The United States

There has been a movement in the past few decades on the part of many companies that sell leather sectionals in San Antonio to purchase cheap furniture manufactured overseas. This allows stores to sell leather recliners in San Antonio at rock-bottom prices, but ultimately does not save the customer any money and leads to frustration and disillusionment.



Buying furniture in San Antonio should mean finding quality pieces that will last for many years to come. When customers visit a leather furniture store in San Antonio that sells cheap, foreign-made furniture, they end up buying "bargain" furniture that often falls apart after only a few years or simply does not look as rich and luxurious as quality leather furniture made domestically.



For this reason, San Antonio's own Texas Leather Furniture, located at http://texasleatherinteriors.com/show/living-room , refuses to "buy cheap." This store offers custom-made, quality, hand-crafted pieces in real leather that are made right here in the USA by trusted manufacturers. When customers buy a leather sectional, sofa or recliner at Texas Leather, they will immediately know that they are getting the best possible quality for their furniture dollar and are purchasing pieces that will last for a lifetime of use.



The Texas Leather Furniture showrooms in Austin and San Antonio are full of quality American-made pieces. Staff members are happy to talk to customers about the quality and workmanship evidenced by Texas Leather Furniture's selection.



About Texas Leather Furniture

With locations in San Antonio and Austin, Texas Leather Furniture is ready to serve Texans throughout the region with custom leather furniture hand-crafted in the United States. For the very best quality furniture that looks great and stands up to hard wear and tear, visit a Texas Leather Furniture showroom today.


Source:- sbwire.com





Dobrá Tea Brings A Taste Of World Teas To Downtown Northampton

They fell in love over tea while attending college in Vermont, created a tea program for a shop near Glacier National Park in Montana and backpacked through China’s tea lands to learn about the centuries-old practice of growing and processing tea.



And after much soul-searching and good fortune, the couple in late November launched a Bohemian-style tearoom called Dobrá Tea Northampton at 186 Main St., in the space formerly occupied by Eclipse Restaurant.



The tearoom features more than 100 varieties of hand-selected, loose-leaf teas from around the world, as well as light fare of locally produced, chemical-free foods.



The couple believes operating a shop that focuses solely on tea fills a unique niche in a city that tends to revolve around coffee. Based on early results, visitors agree, said Alli Jukiro.



“Northampton is such a coffee town, so it’s wonderful to have a place where you can go to have tea,” she said. “We have felt so welcomed by the city and community.”



Dobrá aims to serve its tea in a soothing atmosphere designed to reflect the Bohemian, Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Asian and other cultures of the tea-drinking countries where much of its tea comes from. The space features numerous “nooks and crannies” where people can have quiet, intimate gatherings, a no-technology room where computers and smartphones are discouraged and a seating area screened off by beaded curtains for extra privacy.



“We want to serve tea as traditionally as possible, as it would be in the country of origin,” Joel Jukiro said.



Moroccan lamps, Chinese teaware, artwork and tea-related photos are displayed throughout the tearoom, and soft, non-English music serves as a backdrop. In addition to traditional chairs, the tearoom also has benches against walls and areas where people sit on floors. But it’s not solely about privacy. There is plenty of seating near the entrance where large windows face Main Street. In the few weeks since opening, Dobrá has hosted blind dates, business meetings and solitary tea drinkers.



“It’s kind of a blank slate,” Alli Jukiro said. “The atmosphere is anything you want or need it to be.”



Visitors to the tearoom can choose from hot and chilled tea options. Dobrá’s thick menu gives a history and description of each tea, and each of the shop’s seven employees, or “devoteas,” are knowledgable about the teas and can make recommendations. The Jukiros said each employee goes through a training period and must pass three tests showing they understand the history and science behind the teas that Dobrá serves.



The teas, which cost between $3 and $7 for a teapot or single-serving, are served in handmade pottery or in traditional vessels.



The Jukiros’ passion for tea began as customers at a Dobrá Tea in Burlington, Vt., while they were students at the University of Vermont, where the pair first got to know each other and plan their future. After graduation, they spent three years working on a community-oriented farm in northern Montana, where they developed a tea program for a teahouse in Whitefish. Wanting to “do something big,” the couple began plotting the biggest adventure of their lives — a several-month backpacking trip to the tea-brewing regions of China.



“We really wanted to see if tea was something we wanted to follow as a life path,” Joel Jukiro said.



As they ventured from one end of China to the other, the Jukiros soaked up the tea business from many experts including a husband-and-wife team who specialized in an exotic tea called Pu’er, a tea that is served in the Northampton Dobrá.



“We would sit for four hours a day, drinking tea and eating together,” Alli Jukiro said. “We learned infinitely more than we would have hoped.”



When they returned to the United States, the Jukiros worked at Dobrá Tea rooms in Portland, Ore., and Portland, Maine, before deciding to open their own shop earlier this year.



A fortuitous sequence of events landed them in Northampton two years after their first visit to Paradise City. After struggling for a number of months to find the right spot in the Boston area, the Jukiros returned to Northampton last spring to check out the Main Street location and meet the building’s owner. They quickly realized both the space and the community would be a good fit.



“In a city where people are constantly looking for the alternative, we’re striving to be a complete alternative to the regular dining experience,” Joel Jukiro said.



Dobrá Tea Northampton is the seventh United States store in the Dobrá chain. The franchise was started in the late 1980s in Czechoslovakia when a group of tea smugglers called the Society of Tea Devotees was formed to smuggle good teas into Prague from East Germany. The first Bohemian-style tearoom, Dobrá Cajovna, opened in Prague in 1993. A decade later, the concept spread to the United States with the opening of the first tearoom in Burlington.



Dobrá is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Dobrá hosts live entertainment including musicians, belly dancers and speakers, and intends to offer tea classes focusing on tea and tea culture.


Source:- gazettenet.com





Bashar Al-Assad's Secret Oil Lifeline: Iraqi Crude From Egypt

The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has received substantial imports of Iraqi crude oil from an Egyptian port in the last nine months, shipping and payments documents show, part of an under-the-radar trade that has kept his military running despite Western sanctions.



Assad's government has been blacklisted by Western powers for its role in the two-and-a-half year civil war, forcing Damascus to rely on strategic ally Iran - itself the target of Western sanctions over its nuclear programme - as its main supplier of crude oil.



A Reuters examination based on previously undisclosed commercial documents about Syrian oil purchases shows however that Iran is no longer acting alone. Dozens of shipping and payment documents viewed by Reuters show that millions of barrels of crude delivered to Assad's government on Iranian ships has actually come from Iraq, through Lebanese and Egyptian trading companies.



The trade, which is denied by the firms involved, has proven lucrative, with companies demanding a steep premium over the normal cost of oil in return for bearing the risk of shipping it to Syria. It also highlights a previously undisclosed role of Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon in Assad's supply chain, despite those countries' own restrictions on assisting his government.



Both the Syrian national oil company that received the oil, Sytrol, and the Iranian shipping operator that delivered it, the National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC), are on U.S. and EU sanctions lists barring them from doing business with U.S. or European firms, cutting them off from the U.S. and EU financial systems and freezing their assets.



Although firms outside the United States and EU are not subject to their sanctions, companies that do business with firms on sanctions lists risk themselves being blacklisted: Washington and Brussels regularly add companies and individuals from third countries to their sanctions lists if they are found to deal with companies already listed.



At least four firms from third countries that were added to the U.S. Treasury's sanctions list for Iran when it was last updated on December 12 were punished specifically "for providing material support to NITC", the Treasury said.



"We have been very focused on targeting Iranian attempts to aid the Assad regime through economic as well as military means," said a Treasury Department spokesman. He declined to comment on the specific activities described in the documents reviewed by Reuters but said companies and individuals had been added to the sanctions list for similar types of activity.



The cache of documents describing the trade between March and May this year was shown to Reuters by a source on condition of anonymity. Many details were corroborated by a separate Middle Eastern shipping source with long-standing ties to the Syrian maritime industry. Publicly available satellite tanker tracking data, provided by Thomson Reuters, parent company of Reuters, was used to confirm the movements of ships.



The documents refer to at least four shipments by four tankers named Camellia, Daisy, Lantana and Clove, each of which is operated by Iran's NITC and, say the documents, carried Iraqi oil from Egypt's Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir to Syria.



According to the documents, Beirut-based trading firm Overseas Petroleum Trading (OPT) invoiced Syria for arranging at least two of the shipments and was involved in a third, while a Cairo-based firm, Tri-Ocean Energy, was responsible for loading Iraqi oil into at least one.



Both OPT and Tri-Ocean denied any involvement in the Syria trade, declining to offer an alternative explanation for what the documents and ship tracking data show.



An EU country government source said Tri-Ocean is already under scrutiny by the United States for suspected violations of sanctions against Iran, giving no further details. The U.S. Treasury spokesman declined to comment on specific investigations.



Iran's NITC declined to comment.



There was no evidence that the Iraqi or Egyptian governments were involved in shipping Iraqi oil through Egypt's port, as crude can change hands after first being exported.



Iraq has been criticised in the past by Western countries for allowing deliveries of supplies and weapons from Iran to Syria to pass through its airspace. Iraq's oil ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Iraqi government controls exports of crude from the country and has tried to restrict traders from re-selling its oil.



A representative of the Arab Petroleum Pipeline Company, which is known as SUMED and owns and operates Egypt's Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir where the oil tankers loaded, had no comment. SUMED is half owned by the Egyptian state oil company EGPC and half by a group of four other Arab countries.



Tarek El-Molla, the chairman of EGPC, said that Egypt had banned state companies from dealing with Iranian oil and shipping firms, and that he was unaware of shipments to Syria.



El-Molla said a tanker flying the Iranian flag would not be able to berth at Sidi Kerir. The four NITC-operated tankers involved in the shipments have all been renamed within the past few years and were flying Tanzanian flags at the time they loaded in Egypt, a tactic Reuters has previously reported has been used by Iran to mitigate the impact of sanctions on its shipping since sanctions against Tehran were tightened in 2011.



ASSAD'S BEIRUT OIL DEALER



Syria imported up to 17 million barrels of crude oil between February and October, of which roughly half came directly from Iran and half from Egypt's Sidi Kerir port, according to the Middle Eastern shipping source. The cache of documents reveals that at least half of the oil from Egypt's port was Iraqi crude.



Lebanese oil trading firm OPT arranged the shipments with Syria's internationally blacklisted state-owned oil company, Sytrol, operator of the one functioning refinery still under Assad's control. The documents show the firm invoicing Sytrol for almost $250 million for two deliveries of Iraqi crude it had arranged in March and May to Syria's Banias refinery.



In a letter to Sytrol's marketing manager dated April 4 of this year, OPT asked for a payment advance of around $50 million and detailed previous deals with the Syrian state oil company.



"Our company (OPT) has and continues to secure the state's needs in oil and oil derivatives in the recent period and was able to secure this despite major difficulties and challenges," said the letter from an OPT official, Abdelhamid Khamis Abdullah, whose name appears frequently in the correspondence. It was not possible to ascertain his exact role at the company.



The letter states OPT had already provided Sytrol with almost 5 million barrels of crude, diesel, and cooking fuel. The price for each barrel of Iraq's Basra Light crude in the invoices is between $15 and $17 above the official Iraqi price at that time, equivalent to an extra $15 million for each tanker.



OPT denied being involved in selling oil to Syria.



"We dispute all what you mentioned in your below emails," an OPT employee said in an email, without providing a name. The company offered no alternative explanation for the documents.



Egyptian oil firm Tri-Ocean Energy, which has brokered deals for OPT in the past, loaded at least one cargo of Iraqi crude onto an Iranian tanker that was delivered into Syria by OPT at the end of May, according to the documents, which say the oil was delivered to Syria on the Iranian tanker Clove on May 26.



Tri-Ocean's senior trading director Ali Tolba denied in an email that his company supplied Syria with crude or had loaded Iraqi oil onto Iranian tankers. He and Tri-Ocean's CEO, Mohammed el-Ansary, did not respond to a request from Reuters to review the documents seen by Reuters. Syria's Sytrol did not respond.



THE MILITIA MONEY MAN



Sytrol has used a blacklisted businessman close to Assad as intermediary to transfer money to OPT, according to the documents. In a letter from OPT to Sytrol on March 14 of this year, OPT requested payment through Ayman Jaber.



Jaber, who runs a company called Al Jazerra, is himself on U.S. and EU sanctions lists, which means firms or individuals doing business with him can themselves be added to the lists. When it listed Jaber a year ago, the U.S. Treasury accused him of coordinating state-sponsored pro-Assad militia groups known as Shabiha in the port of Latakia.



"Please could you pay the value of approximately $130 million plus 1.8 percent transfer fee into the account of Mr. Ayman Jaber, the head of Al Jazerra, at the central bank so he can transfer it into our accounts abroad," OPT wrote. In another letter three weeks later, OPT confirmed receipt of around 375 million euros from Al Jazerra, transferred from the account of Ayman Jaber.



At least two other firms mentioned in the documents had names and logos similar to companies based in the EU, which would be directly subject to European sanctions forbidding them to deal with Sytrol or NITC. In both cases, European head offices denied any relationship with Syrian offices using their names.



Some of the documents confirming the arrival of the oil in Syria were stamped or signed by a shipping agency called Med Control Syria. Jhony Matnious, a manager at the company in Damascus, told Reuters by email that the crude imports were Iranian through a government agreement between Damascus and Tehran.



Med Control has a head office in Greece, which lists Syria as a branch office on its website with the same address, logo, phone number and email as in the documents. A manager there denied any relationship with the Syria office:

"We had an agency agreement in Syria but it was never active and we never had any business in that country," said Sam Papanikolas.



Documents showed some shipments were certified by a quality control firm called Inspectorate, owned by Paris-based firm Bureau Veritas. A Bureau Veritas spokeswoman in Paris said Inspectorate had previously employed a subcontractor in Syria but had stopped since October 2011, and any certificates this year would have been issued without the firm's knowledge.



After leaving Iraq, the crude oil was delivered to Sidi Kerir on the 200 mile (320 km) SUMED pipeline, which runs from the Red Sea to the port west of Alexandria, where it was loaded onto Iranian ships.



According to Reuters AIS Live ship tracking data, which monitors the location of oil tankers via satellite, the four ships each sailed north towards Syria. Each ship switched off its satellite signals just before the delivery date in Syria, then reappeared on satellite tracking shortly after. In some cases the satellite data also contains information about cargo weight, which confirms that the cargo was unloaded while the ships' signals were shut off.



"Aiming to cut off a regime from oil supplies is very very difficult," said Ayham Kamel, Middle East and North Africa analyst at Eurasia Group consultancy in London said. "Especially as the regime still has a few allies."


Source:- ndtv.com





HC set aside sec. 153C assessment initiated on basis of docs not belonging to assessee

IT : Where documents on basis of which Assessing Officer initiated proceedings under section 153C did not belong to assessee, assessment framed under section 153C to be cancelled


Indian Iron Ore Mining Mess - Mining Villages Witness Change

Times of India reported that since the total closure of iron ore mining dealt a huge blow to the economy rendering thousands jobless, the mining villages are witnessing a change in terms of quality improvement in the environment.



EIA Resource and Response Centre, Goa which conducted a rapid survey to determine the impact of ban on mining in the state said that “Residents from villages around the mines at Netravali, Sanguem, Goa, have indicated positive results due to the stoppage of mining in the area.”



There has been a huge improvement in the quality of stream water and yield of local produce. Hence if the ban on mining continues, one could surely expect other such positive changes in future.



The study said that "Even though 'mining dependents' are claiming loss of income due to stoppage of mining, 'there is a section of the public benefiting economically by way of agriculture and exploring new options."



It was also found that the ban forced people to re think and venture into different occupations. Post mining ban cultivators discovered that their chillies and cashew produce increased while earlier the dust would coat the plants and rot the flowers.



Traditional fishing communities have also noticed a rise in the 'mendios' in Chicalim along the bank of Zuari. The route was earlier used for transportation of ore by barges causing water pollution.



Some truck drivers have started going back to agriculture as a way to sustain and clear their loans from the banks. A truck driver, with the closure of mines in Sirigao, Bicholim, has managed to bounce back as a motorcycle pilot.

According to economist and Member of Rajya Sabha Mr N K Singh, the worst is not over for the Indian economy. India may achieve short term reprieve through expenditure compression. However, it may not be sufficient to bring macro economic stability in the medium and long term.



Mr Singh, who was India’s Revenue Secretary from August 1996 to August 1998 and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, felt that the prevailing policy would shift the fiscal pressures to the next year.



He said Business Line after the launch of his book The New Bihar here that “The difficult decisions on subsidy and public expenditure rationalisation have been postponed. Those are necessary if you want to have a fiscal deficit that is acceptable in the medium term.”



According to him imaginative steps taken by the RBI in reducing the current account deficit through the dollar swap window, coupled with reduction in gold imports, was one reason for the short-term reduction in Current Account Deficit.



Slackening of oil prices post Syria crisis and lifting of sanctions on Iran is another reason.



He said that “These are not long abiding factors. In the long term, exports need to pick up far more significantly. The fact that export growth has not gone up despite the rupee depreciation and improved competitiveness, suggests that new markets and products are far more problematic. People are worried that given the regulatory hurdles and labour laws, the Indian manufacturing activity has become globally uncompetitive.”



According to Mr Singh, the slowdown in India is primarily because of domestic policy paralysis and less of exogenous factors. The worst is not over, Mr Singh said and pointed out that investor confidence remains weak, interest rates are high and food inflation continues to be a matter of concern.



He said that “Temporary reprieve has been obtained and serious problems have been brushed under the carpet.”



According to Mr Singh, confidence over the RBI’s enhanced capability to manage inflows has seen less impact of Fed tapering.



However, bulk of the tapering is yet to be done and its impact will be visible in the long run.



He said that “The best bet is that there won’t be further outward flow. But we do not know. How much and to what extent the markets have factored in is what time will tell.”


Source:- steelguru.com





Trust registration can't be revoked if its settler claims sec. 80G relief on donations given by him

IT: Merely because settler of trust had claimed deduction under section 80G on donations made to assessee trust, same could not be basis for cancellation of registration granted to trust


Finmin Economist Suggests China Cues To Boost Exports

As the commerce ministry gears up to present a new three-year export strategy, a senior finance ministry economist says India’s exports can grow by 30 per cent annually to take its share in world trade to 4 per cent in five years from 1.6 per cent today.



“This is not impossible, China has done it,” the economist, H A C Prasad, told Financial Chronicle. What needs to be done is give a big push to , electrical and engineering exports. This will do the trick. Most of the top 100 globally imported items are from these sectors, and textiles, he reasons.



India has only five items with at least 5 per cent share in the top 100 list. Of these, only two items, diamonds and jewellery, have a 20 per cent share, according to Prasad.



“Till now our focus has been on exporting what we can, that is supply-based. We have to shift to a more demand-based approach of these items in which we have basic competence. In fact, there are many simple items in the top 100 list which we can focus on,” says Prasad.



Growing at 30 per cent is not difficult. India achieved an average export growth of 20 per cent during 2003-08. In two of these years the growth was 29 per cent and 31 per cent. India’s share in global merchandise exports increased from 0.5 per cent in 1990 to 1.6 per cent in 2012. At the same time China’s share increased from 1.8 per cent to 11.1 per cent. India’s services export share increased from 0.6 per cent to 3.2 per cent; China’s from 0.2 per cent to 4.4 per cent.



India has already come out with a new electronics policy aimed at attracting up to $400 billion in investments over the next 10 years. The policy is expected to raise exports as well as cut imports of electronics, the latter having grown substantially.



Last year electronics imports were worth $32 billion, next only to oil and gold. The government thinks that if electronics manufacturing is not stepped up electronics imports may touch $300 billion in 10 years.



The government aims to replicate the success of automobile manufacturing in the electronics sector also. The auto sector raised engineering exports manifold to become one of the fastest-growing export sectors. This year engineering export growth has dropped to 14.6 per cent; earlier years saw over 30 per cent growth.



The commerce ministry will surely fail to achieve $500 billion annual export target by March due to the global economic meltdown. It is now working out a strategy to reset exports target to earn more than $500 billion in the three years.



“There are lessons to be learnt from China, which kept its currency stable for decades. That made Chinese manufacturing competitive and helped rapid growth in exports. In India the rupee keeps on depreciating, hiding the deficiencies in our manufacturing,” according to Atul Joshi, MD and CEO of India Ratings & Research.



Unless our manufacturing is competitive, our exports cannot grow at the brisk pace of 25-30 per cent on a sustained basis like China’s, he says. Prasad does not subscribe to this view. “Economists have started saying that the recent pick-up in India’s exports and the fall in Chinese exports is due to the depreciation of the rupee and appreciation of the yuan, which is far from the truth.”



India’s merchandise exports are basically dependent on world GDP and world import growth. The effect of exchange rate changes is marginal, he says. What needs to be tackled is volatility in the exchange rate, which impacts exports.



More importantly, competitiveness must be enhanced by improving the ease of doing business in India and reducing both credit and non-credit costs. This should be an important agenda for the coming years, he adds. The cost of export from India is $1,170 per container; from China it is $620 in China and from the OECD countries $1070. India’s cost of import is $1,250 per container; China’s $615 OECD’s $1,090.



Improving trade facilitation will make India’s exports price competitive like China. Prasad also says the focus should be on speeding up free trade agreements and regional trade agreements.


Source:- mydigitalfc.com





Energy Trade: Pakistan Moves Closer To Electricity Import From India

At a time when the international court has allowed India to divert water from the Neelum Jhelum River for the Kishanganga Dam in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Pakistan is set to sign an initial deal for import of electricity from Delhi to overcome a crippling power crisis.



Sources told The Express Tribune that the Ministry of Water and Power had sent draft of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to the Law Division for vetting, before signing it to pave the way for electricity import.



The previous government had taken an initiative to buy electricity from India to overcome the energy crisis in Pakistan. Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had given the go-ahead for electricity import.



“The two sides are likely to ink an MoU for electricity trade,” a source said, pointing out that this was going to happen despite the fact that Delhi had succeeded in getting a decision in its favour from the International Court of Arbitration.



The court has permitted India to divert water to the Kishanganga Dam, which will hurt 900-megawatt Neelum Jhelum hydropower project being set up in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).



India has offered to supply about 500MW of electricity in the beginning and this plan could be implemented within a year by laying a transmission line.



http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/etwebdesk/500MW_zpse66f9c33.jpg



A senior government official said Pakistan felt that it could import 2,000-2,500MW of power from India to tackle the acute shortage which had hit its economic growth bringing it down to 3% a year.



India has also expressed interest in exporting oil, but since Pakistani refineries produce low-quality oil whereas India produces oil of Euro 2, 3 and 4 standards, they cannot press ahead with the plan.



“Now, the World Bank has come up with a proposal, saying it can provide technical assistance for conducting a feasibility study of the power import programme,” an official said.



Delhi had told Islamabad that it faced problems in interconnection of power, however, Pakistani officials insisted such issues would be resolved later and the two sides were now set to sign an MoU for electricity trade, he added.



Sources said preliminary discussions with India were under way and tariff matters still needed to be finalised.



“However, the MoU will be an initial commitment to India,” the official said, adding the government of Pakistan was also working on other power import projects like Casa-1,000MW and electricity purchase from Iran.



Pakistan is currently importing 35MW of electricity from Iran to meet requirements of Gwadar, while work on increasing it by 100MW is going on. The two sides signed an agreement on the project in 2007.



Pakistan also has another project in the pipeline for import of 1,000MW of electricity from Tajikistan under Casa-1000 programme. Feasibility report of the project has been finalised and work is expected to be completed by 2016.



The country’s power production ranges between 10,000MW and 16,000MW against total installed capacity of 20,800MW. Globally, most countries generate 80% of their power requirements from their installed infrastructure, but Pakistan’s generation capacity only meets 65% of the needs due to old plants, poor maintenance and high circular debt.



Source:- tribune.com.pk





Export Earnings Must Be Converted Into $ At Rate Ruling On Date Of Licence'

For redeeming our EPCG Licence, what exchange rate should be taken, when we receive the payments in Indian rupees through a freely convertible Vostro Account of a Non-Resident Bank, in accordance with Para 2.40 (b) of the Foreign Trade Policy? We have approached our bankers with the payment advice copy of the Non-Resident Bank concerned, but they are unwilling to give us any certificate of equivalent foreign currency value. Please inform how to proceed.

As per DGFT Policy Circular no. 8 dated 28.05.1998, export proceeds realised in any currency shall be converted into US dollars at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of issuance of the EPCG licence which has been endorsed on the reverse of the licence, with a view to ascertaining whether the export obligation has been fulfilled or not.



What are "switch" bills of lading and when they are sought?

"Switch" bills of lading are a second set of bills of lading issued by the carrier (or by the carrier's agent) in substitution for the bills of lading issued at the time of shipment. The agent who is asked to issue the second set is often at a port other than the load port. The reasons for seeking the 'switch' bill of lading could be that the original bill names a discharge port which is subsequently changed (for example, because the receiver has an option or the goods have been resold) and new bills are required, naming the new discharge port. The other reason could be that a seller of the goods in a chain of contracts does not wish the name of the original shipper to appear on the bill of lading, and so a new set is issued, sometimes naming the seller as the shipper. The third situation could be when the goods were shipped originally in small parcels, and the buyer of those goods requires one bill of lading covering all of the parcels to facilitate his on-sale. It could also be that one bill of lading is issued for a bulk shipment which is then to be split into multiple bills covering smaller parcels.



For making payment to a non-resident or foreign company, the remitter is required to submit form 15CA and 15CB to an authorised dealer. I understand that some private banks accept an undertaking from their clients in lieu of 15CA and 15CB. Is it in order?

Rule 37 BB of the income Tax Rules, 1962 has been amended through notification no. 58/2013 dated 5.8.2013. Sub-rule (2) of the said Rule 37BB says that the information in Form No. 15CA shall be furnished electronically to the website designated by the Income-tax Department and thereafter a signed printout of the said form shall be submitted to the authorised dealer, prior to remitting the payment. Form 15CB is not required if a certificate from the Assessing Officer under section 197 or an order from the Assessing Officer under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 195 is produced before the authorised dealer.


Source:- business-standard.com





Rupee Closes At One-Week High On Rbi Chief's Comments

The rupee strengthened on Monday to its highest level in nearly a week, boosted by the central bank chief's comment on reluctance to "overtighten" monetary policy after leaving interest rates unchanged in a surprise move last week.



Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said the central bank had tilted towards keeping rates on hold even before November consumer and wholesale price inflation data were released.



In an interview to television channel ET Now, he said when growth is weak, we have to be careful of "over-tightening".



"The governor's comments helped the rupee a bit. At least, the market now thinks that the central bank will consider growth as well when framing monetary policy," said Hari Chandramgethen, head of foreign exchange trading at South Indian Bank.



"I expect some support for the dollar/rupee around 61.65 levels with the pair broadly holding in a 61.60 to 62.40 range until the year-end."



The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.9525/9625 per dollar compared with 62.04/05 on Friday.



The rupee rose to as high as 61.8350 after Rajan's comments, its highest level since December 18.



Traders said gains in the domestic share market throughout the day also boosted sentiment for the rupee.Indian shares edged higher as blue chips gained on continued foreign inflows despite last week's decision by the US Federal Reserve to start reducing its bond purchases, although a fall in Infosys capped broader gains.



Dealers will continue to monitor movements in other Asian currencies and the euro for near-term direction in the absence of any major domestic factors with volumes also lower on account of year-end holidays globally. In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 62.42 while the three-month was at 63.23.


Source:- businesstoday.intoday.in





Liquidator rightly adjudicated claims by leaving bank as no charge against property was created in b

CL: In absence of creation of charge in favour of bank in respect of immovable properties of company-in-liquidation, Official Liquidator would be justified in adjudicating claims by keeping bank excluded in respect of an amount realized from immovable properties


Defects in panchnamas don’t affect validity of search, yet remedial steps are needed to avoid this p

IT: There was certainly lapse and failure to comply with the requirements of search and seizure manual as the panchnama did not contain names of petitioners and does not record any suspension of search, yet such lapses won't affect either the validity of the search or nullify notice under section 153A of the Act


Sec. 35ABB doesn’t deem sums paid on telecom licenses as capital exp., it is operative when exp. is

IT : Sec. 35ABB doesn't deem all the payments under the terms of a telecom license to be capital expenditure


No denial of sec. 10(23C) approval on possibility that assessee would pursue non-charitable objects

IT : Mere possibility that society in future might pursue non-Charitable activities, would not constitute grounds to reject approval under section 10(23C)(vi)


MCA acts stringent towards certifying professionals to curb defective filing leading to high pendenc

COMPANIES ACT. 1956 : Ministry of Corporate Affairs' Advisory to All Certifying Professionals (CA/CS/CMA) on Defect Free Filing of All Eforms in MCA21 Portal in Accordance With Provisions of Companies Act, 1956


Sums paid to truck owners to execute transportation contract won't attract TDS in absence of a sub-c

IT: Where assessee was responsible for entire transportation job assigned by company to assessee and there was nothing on record to show that assessee had sublet his work to other truck owners, provisions of section 194C were not applicable on payment made to truck owners


Sec. 11A doesn't apply to recovery of refund which granted under exemption notification

Excise : Section 11A does not apply to recovery of refund granted under exemption Notification No. 32/99-CE


ITAT upholds postponement of recovery of TDS on salary until verdict of HC was delivered on rule 3

IT: Where assessee did not deposit TDS on perquisites in terms of order of High Court wherein validity of rule 3 of Income-tax Rules, 1962 was questioned and same was still pending for finality, recovery of TDS amount to be postponed till finality of judgment of High Court


Total No. of workers working in similar units to be aggregated to fix up eligibility for sec. 80-IB

IT: Where assessee was having another unit of same activity, workers engaged in such unit was also required to be taken into consideration while computing total number of workers employed by assessee for purpose of section 80-IB deduction


Machinery used for manufacturing of milk products would also be eligible for investment allowance, r

IT: Process of making milk products, i.e., ghee, butter milk, flavoured milk etc., from milk amount to manufacture and, therefore, plant and machinery used for such process are eligible for investment allowance


AO can't slap concealment penalty on assessee merely for claiming exp. on basis of Apex's Court verd

IT: Where assessee under bona fide belief claimed expenditure, disallowance of such expenditure could not result into penalty under section 271(1)(c)