Assigning Keyman Insurance Policy 2 days before end of lock-in period held ‘malafide’; surrendered v

IT : A firm assigned a Keyman Insurance Policy to its partner just two days before completion of lock-in period and on that it had nil surrender value - The ITAT held that such assignment was made with a malafide intention so that the surrendered value could escape taxability in the hands of the employee - Therefore, the amount received under Keyman Insurance Policy would be taxable in the hands of partner

Status-quo lifted on amalgamation as petitioner had an alternate remedy under SEBI norms to challeng

CL : Where status quo was granted by way of interim order in respect of application seeking clearance for scheme of amalgamation between respondent Nos. 4 and 5 during pendency of writ petition filed by petitioner challenging acquisition of shares of respondent No. 5 by respondent Nos. 4 and 7 on ground that shares were acquired in violation of Insider Trading Regulations, interim order was to be vacated as petitioner had alternative remedy under provisions of SEBI Act and Regulations made there

SC: Sahara can sell stake in overseas properties pledged with Bank on furnishing of confirmation fro

CL: Supreme Court allows Sahara to sell its stake in overseas properties pledged with banks subject to furnishing of confirmation from banks within one week

Sec. 80-IB(10) relief curtailed as ‘FSI’ in housing project remained underutilized without any reaso

IT : In view of provisions of section 80-IB(10), an assessee cannot claim full deduction in respect of development of a housing project where utilisation of FSI is way short of permissible limits and there does not exist any special ground for under utilisation of FSI

No penalty if sale bill and delivery note were handwritten and assessee proved that it was a branch

CST & VAT : Where assessee was functioning in petroleum products at Chennai and it had got several registered outlets at Bangalore and it was transporting petroleum products from its Chennai Branch to Bangalore and Commercial Tax Officer, Check post intercepted said goods and having found that particulars in sale bill and delivery note were handwritten levied penalty under section 28A of Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 upon assessee, since transaction was only branch transfer, levy of penalty was

Valuation by DVO shall be the actual consideration under sec. 50C even if such value is lesser than

IT : Where fair market value determined by DVO on a reference made by Assessing Officer in terms of sub-section (2) of section 50C is less than value adopted or assessed by Stamp Valuation Authority then such fair market value determined by DVO has to be treated as full value of consideration received by assessee for purpose of computing capital gain

Extension of stay would operate retrospectively and any sum recovered during intervening period is t

Service Tax : Third proviso to section 35C(2A) inserted by Finance Act, 2013 cannot be construed as punishing assessees for matters which may be completely beyond their control; no recovery can be made if delay in disposing of appeal is not attributable to assessee

Irregular trading of shares with less frequency is an investment activity; resultant profit is capit

IT: Where shares were held as investment and same were not traded regularly and frequency and volume of transaction were less, it had to be treated as investment activity and not as business

TDS obligation arose even if hire charges were paid through settlement of accounts without actual ca

IT/ILT: Where, assessee a tax resident of Thailand, was engaged in execution of hydroelectric-power project of NTPC as a sub-contractor of another Thailand based company ITDL, in view of fact that ITDL provided certain machinery on hire to assessee, tax was required to be deducted at source while making payment of hire charges even though said payment was not made in cash and it was merely adjusted from amount due to assessee on account of execution of contract work

SC: Sahara can sell stake in overseas properties pledged with Bank on furnish of confirmation from b

CL: Supreme Court allows Sahara to sell its stake in overseas properties pledged with banks subject to furnishing of confirmation from banks within one week

Notice sent by registered post would be deemed as valid notice if it was undelivered with an endorse

CST & VAT: Where Assessing Authority issued on assessee several notices and sent same by registered post to correct address of assessee inviting objections to proposed assessment and all these notices were returned unserved with an endorsement 'left' and thereafter Assessing Authority passed assessment order on assessee, there was valid service of notice as contemplated under rule 64 of Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 before passing impugned assessment order

During pendency of oppression petition, CLB directed appointment of Court’s officer to revive co.’s

CL: Pending petition alleging oppression and mismanagement, directions were given for appointment of officer to take into possession company's property and for payment of outstanding rent of premises

Sec. 292BB is confined to deemed service of notice; it can’t cure defect in notice issued under sec.

IT: Section 292BB is only confined to service of notice and does not apply to issuance of notice

No unjust enrichment if duty paid under protest pending investigation and shown as receivables in ba

Excise & Customs : Where assessee has deposited amount under protest as an advance payment pending enquiry and investigation; and showed said amount as receivable in Balance Sheet, refund of said payment is not hit by unjust enrichment

Sec. 14A disallowance couldn’t be made for income not exempt from tax but eligible for sec. 80P dedu

IT : Section 14A would have no application in respect of income not being taxable on account of deduction under section 80-P(2)(d)

Issues pertaining to ST rebate and refund is appealable to Tribunal as sec. 83 refers to sec. 35EE o

Service Tax : Amendment to section 83 by making a specific reference to section 35EE of Central Excise Act, did not make any difference to nature of jurisdiction exercisable by CESTAT under section 86; Tribunal continued to possess jurisdiction to decide on matters pertaining to rebate and refund.

HC admits winding-up of real estate entity as it failed to refund customers’ deposits on failure of

CL: Where real estate company was unable to refund customer's advance on failure of project, winding up petition was to be accepted

Disallowance of HO exp. doesn’t entail concealment penalty in absence of any inaccurate or wrong par

IT/ILT: Where there was no allegation from revenue's side that assessee either furnished inaccurate particulars or wrong facts or any details furnished by assessee were found to be false, imposition of concealment penalty on account of disallowance of head office expenses and interest to non-residents was unjustified

Sec. 68 addition deleted when identity and creditworthiness of creditors were proved

IT : Where assessee took loan from agriculturist and to prove their genuineness and creditworthiness; assessee produced loan confirmation, copy of DD purchased by creditors, copy of voter Id, address and extracts from land register, no addition under section 68 could be made

Quantity discount to distributor for his previous performance couldn’t be reduced from his current t

CST & VAT : Where assessee was engaged in manufacture of home appliances and it allowed quantity discount to its distributors and claimed same as deduction from total turnover while arriving at taxable turnover, in terms of rule 3(2)(c) of Karnataka Value Added Tax Rules, 2005, quantity discount was not allowable as deduction from total turnover

Proviso to sec. 40(a)(ia) allowing deduction for exp. even after TDS default in tax neutral cases ha

IT: Second proviso to sec. 40(a)(ia) is effective retrospectively even if it was inserted by Finance Act, 2012 prospectively from April 1, 2013

Sum incurred to study feasibility of a new venture was capital in nature even if it couldn’t materia

IT : Expenditure incurred on procuring feasibility report for starting a new business is capital in nature and, in such a case, it would be immaterial whether ultimately project has materialized or not

Failure to consider listed plea in support of additional evidence violates principles of natural jus

Service Tax : Non-consideration of assessee's application to receive additional evidence in spite of fact that it was listed for hearing violates principles of natural justice and matter must be remanded back

Payment of sales commission to NR for services rendered outside India won’t be subject to withholdin

IT : Where assessee paid sales commission to its non-resident agents for services rendered by them outside India, sales commission was not chargeable to tax in India so as to deduct TDS on such payments under section 195

ITAT deletes TP adjustments made without considering under utilized production capacity of assessee

IT/ILT : Where in case of assessee, engaged in import of machinery, raw-materials, consumable components and finished goods, TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP without considering its claim of under-utilisation of capacity, in view of fact that relief so claimed was a vital factor in initial years, impugned adjustment was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

Details of assets reported in wealth-tax returns by loan defaulter to be shared by I-T Dept. with PS

IT : Sharing of Asset Details as Per Wealth Tax Returns of Loan Defaulters with Public Sector Banks

Authorities have discretion to levy lesser penalty than duty under Rules 96ZO, 96ZP and 96ZQ of Exci

Excise & Customs : Rules 96ZO, 96ZP and 96ZQ provide for discretion to not levy penalty or levy lesser penalty; penalty equal to duty is not mandatory

CLB rejected oppression plea as petitioner couldn’t prove forging of his signature for illegal trans

CL: Where petitioner could not prove that his signature on blank papers was misused for transferring his shareholding and resignation from directorship, petition alleging oppression was to be rejected

Short-term capital losses disallowed as assessee dealt in shares to create artificial losses

IT: Short-term capital loss to be disallowed where trading transactions of purchase and sale of shares had been effected to create artificial loss with a view to reducing tax liability

Prior to 10-9-2004 survey for oil exploration did not fall under ‘Consulting Engineer’s Service’

Service Tax : Hydrographic, oceanographic, geophysical, geotechnical investigation, harbor development surveys, etc. for clients engaged in oil exploration do not fall under Consulting Engineer's Services; they are taxable from 10-9-2004 under 'Survey and Exploration of Mineral, Oil and Gas Services

Payments of commission for services rendered in relation to securities are out of ambit of sec. 194H

IT: Services rendered in relation to securities get excluded from express definition of 'brokerage or commission' and thus, excluded from purview of section 194H

ITAT accepts assessee’s plea for exclusion of comparables chosen by him and accepted by TPO

IT/ILT : Where assessee has wrongly included some cases in list of comparables, which position has not been disturbed by TPO, in such a case, there can be no embargo on pleading by assessee for exclusion of those comparables at a subsequent stage

Batteries manufactured for use in Railway Coaches form part of coaches per se; VAT at 4% instead of

CST & VAT : Where assessee was engaged in manufacture of various types of batteries as per specifications given by Ministry of Railways and it sold said batteries to railways for use in rail engines, wagons, coaches, etc., batteries sold to railways formed part of railway coaches, engines and wagons and would fall under Entry No. 76 of Third Schedule of Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2005

No liability of guarantor-co. if MCA doesn’t upload digitally signed Form 8 due to director’s defaul

CL : Where guarantor company's director appended digital signature on Form 8 in respect of creating charge, but same could not be uploaded on MCA site due to said director's default in some other company, no relief could be availed by bank

ITAT deals with ‘booking’ amount paid to acquire a new house; distinguishes between Ownership and In

IT: Booking of two residential houses before the date of transfer would not provide ownership rights to assessee, thus, he could not be deemed to be owning two residential houses on date of transfer

Limitation period under sec. 11B is to be triggered once an application is made for refund

Service Tax : Once application for refund is made in terms of Central Excise Act, 1944, it has to be considered in accordance therewith and not otherwise; therefore, refund of tax mistakenly on export of services, would be subject to bar of limitation under section 11B(1) of Central Excise Act, 1944

No TDS from distribution of rental income earned by a society among its members

IT : Where assessee co-operative society having collected jeep rentals on behalf of its members owning those jeeps, remitted said amount to members, it being a welfare activity and there was no element of work contract involved, assessee was not required to deduct tax at source while making remittance in question

Matter remanded as ITAT didn’t enquire into segregation of funds before giving benefit of exception

IT : Where Tribunal allowed assessee's loss from sale purchase of shares in view of exception provided in section 73 without considering segregation of total funds between business and investment, matter was to be remanded for re-examination

Writ petition not maintainable if alternate remedy against impugned order available with assessee

Excise & Customs : In view of remedy available to assessee under section 9A of Rajasthan Excise Act before Excise Commissioner/Tax Board, writ petition against adjudication order was not maintainable

HC upholds constitutional validity of Securities Contract norms for recognition of Stock Exchanges

SEBI : Regulations such as those which have been framed by Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, 2012, insofar as they define conditions for recognition of stock exchange, of minimum net worth, composition of board of directors, dispersal of ownership and norms for governance, do not infringe right under Article 19(1)(c) and are not ultra vires Securities Contracts (Regulations) Act, 1956.

Sum unearthed during survey couldn’t be deemed as concealed income without establishing its nature a

IT: There is no presumption that amount unearthed during course of survey will automatically be considered as 'concealed income' rather in such a case, Assessing Officer has to establish nature of income as 'concealed income' before levy of penalt

No withholding taxes from commission paid to NR agents for their services rendered outside India

IT/ILT: Payments of commission made by assessee to its foreign agents for rendering services abroad was not taxable in India and, thus, assessee was not required to deduct tax at source while making said payments

Payment under compulsion which was otherwise not payable constituted hardship requiring waiving off

Service Tax : Payment under compulsion of any amount which is not due and payable would also constitute hardship for dispensation of pre-deposit, even though assessee may be in a financial position to pay same

HC sets aside Tribunal’s order declaring appellant guilty under FERA as no evidence were found in su

FERA: In absence of any evidence on record to show that appellant made payment in lieu of pay order received from a non-resident Indian, order implicating appellant guilty of violating section 9 was to be set aside

Additions couldn’t be made on basis of seized docs unless it’s supported by sufficient material

IT: In absence of sufficient supporting material, merely on basis of document seized under section 132(4A), Assessing Officer could not make addition of undisclosed income

No denial of credit to buyer when duty paid by supplier on non-excisable goods was accepted by depar

Cenvat Credit: Though Zinc Dross is non-excisable and duty paid thereon did not partake character of 'excise duty' but when department did not dispute classification by supplier, credit on such duty cannot be declined to purchaser

Embroidery Dealers Raided For Evading Service Tax

The preventive wing of the Central Excise and Customs on Tuesday raided the embroider dealers in the diamond city for allegedly evading paying service tax on the sale of the hi-tech machines in the textile sector.

Sources said the embroidery dealers have been taking huge amount of installation and maintenance charges from the embroidery unit owners. Though, the dealers are not paying service tax on the charges raised by them.

There are more than 1 lakh embroidery machines installed in the city. The embroidery machines are imported from China, Taiwan and Japan. The machines costs between Rs. 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore and above.

Official sources said the embroidery dealers have been charging between 20 per cent to 40 per cent as maintenance and installation charge to their customers, but they never pay service tax on the amount raised by them. More than dozen such dealers were raided in the city and that more are likely to be raided in the next few days.

A senior officer said, "Surat is the hub of embroidery industry. In the short span of six to seven years, the embroidery industry has grown by leaps and bound. They have costly machines fitted in their units and when it comes to paying service tax to the government, the dealers and even the manufacturers are not very keen.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Farmers Prefer Cotton Over Paddy, Oilseeds This Season

With cotton sowing in full swing across major producing states, the trend this season indicates a rise in the crop’s acreage compared to last year. This is because cotton offers higher returns compared to other kharif crops such as paddy and oilseeds, as well as the introduction of improved varieties, which cut costs related to pest- and weed-control, and labour.

Sowing is in the final stages in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan; in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, it is expected to last a few more days.

In northern states, the area under paddy is being diverted towards cotton, as cultivation costs for the latter are lower.Jagtar Singh Brar, a farmer from Mehma Sarji (Bathinda district), in Punjab, said with agricultural labour turning scarce and the water table dwindling, paddy has been becoming less remunerative (farmers in Punjab and Haryana use underground water to irrigate paddy fields and run tube wells; now, this is becoming unviable due to high diesel costs). Also, paddy has an adverse impact on soil, as fields are inundated for two months. Cotton helps loosen the soil and make it conducive for sowing other crops, too.

Last year, the minimum support price for the short- and long-staple cotton varieties stood at Rs 3,700 a quintal and Rs 4,000 a quintal, respectively. Farmers sold the commodity in the open market for up to Rs 5,000 a quintal.

For farmers in Gujarat and Maharashtra, too, cotton has turned more lucrative compared to oilseeds. Dilip Bhai Patel, president of All Gujarat Cotton Ginners’ Association, said, “Last year, prices of oilseeds remained consistently low; so, cotton is being preferred by farmers. The area under cotton could see an estimated rise of 15 per cent.”

He added this year, the monsoon might be sub-normal, owing to the El Niño phenomenon. He said a good monsoon last year had filled water reservoirs and, therefore, the predicted shortfall of six per cent in rainfall wouldn’t affect yields. Semi-draught-like conditions helped increase cotton yields, he added.

This year, production is estimated at 40 million bales (one bale=170 kg) Arrivals start in October. The spinning sector’s annual requirement is 30 million bales. Arun Seksaria, director of a leading cotton trade and export house, said this year, farmers were shifting to cotton. He added they might get good remuneration.

Though exporters aren’t bullish, due to the strengthening rupee and the competitive international market, a change in government policy (likely due to the change of guard at the Centre) might drive up exports. Sources at Monsanto, a major supplier of BT cotton seeds in India, confirmed this year, the demand for cotton seeds was higher than last year, across producing areas.

Source:- business-standard.com

AO can proceed against other person under sec. 158BC only if AO of searched person records his satis

IT : In order to clothe Assessing Officer of person other than searched person with jurisdiction to proceed against such a person under section 158BC, it is necessary that Assessing Officer of searched person has to be satisfied, that any undisclosed income belongs to any person other than person searched or whose books of account or other documents are requisitioned

General Motors India To Start Exporting Beat To Chile

General Motors have announced that they would start exporting the Beat to Chile, South America, by the second half of 2014. The car will probably continue to be sold with the name Spark GT. The initial lot would be left hand drive and will be manufactured at GM’s Talegaon plant. Sales in South America will begin from the first quarter of 2015.

The sales of General Motors have dropped by 8.24 per cent and stand at 80,890 units for FY 2013-14. The sales of Beat itself fell by 20.3 per cent MoM. Exports are a good option to keep the boat afloat in such testing times. Hyundai is currently the leader in exports with 2,59,811 units. Maruti and Nissan also exported 1,20,388 and 98,971 units respectively.

The initial lot would be left hand drive and will be manufactured at GM’s Talegaon plant

The Beat starts at Rs 5.51 lakh for base petrol in Chile. The base petrol costs Rs 3.92 lakh in India while the diesel starts at Rs 4.72 lakh. This decision comes in a bit late because the weaker rupee would have fetched more competitive prices.

“The exports will create more employment opportunities within GM India and the supplier community while helping improve capacity utilization at the Talegaon Plant” said GM India president and MD Arvind Saxena.

The Beat was recently given a facelift. It gets a new grille, smoked head-lamps and a few changes to the rear bumper. On the inside silver inserts and steering mounted audio controls were added. The ARAI fuel economy rating of the diesel model stands at 25.44 kmpl.

General Motors India today announced that it will begin production of export vehicles at its Talegaon Plant in the second half of 2014, with sales commencing in Chile in the first quarter of 2015.

Its first export model will be the left-hand-drive version of the Chevrolet Beat. The fuel-efficient smart city car is already built and sold in many markets around the world.

“The start of Beat exports underlines GM’s commitment to India and demonstrates the quality of the country’s growing supplier base,” said GM India President and Managing Director Arvind Saxena. “The exports will create more employment opportunities within GM India and the supplier community while helping improve capacity utilization at the Talegaon Plant.

Source:- overdrive.in

Cooperation With China Important For India’S Eurasian Energy Policy – Analysis

India, which imported 62.2 percent of its total oil needs from the Middle East during April 2013 to January 2014, is diversifying from this region largely due to vulnerable and unsteady conditions, so as to mitigate its security risks.

With robust increasing energy demand and a shortfall in domestic energy production, particularly hydrocarbons, India is gazing toward energy-rich countries like the US and of late Russia for energy imports.

While on the one hand, if approved, India will join with Cheniere Energy Partners to import liquefied natural gas from the US, the Ukrainian crisis seems to have opened a door for India to further diversify its energy procurements from Russia.

Russia too is ready to embrace the opportunity to diversify its hydrocarbon exports beyond Europe and enter the South Asia market.

A $30 billion oil pipeline proposal from Russia to India through China is an important step forward in this regard.

The pipeline, starting from the Russia’s Altai Mountain region, would reach northern India after going through China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

India and Russia have launched a joint study into the possibility of direct ground transportation of such oil. This project was first discussed in 2005 by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Talks on the project should conclude by mid-2014, according to an ONGC official. The project is expected to be completed by 2020-22.

India’s domestic hydrocarbon production is consistently falling, making oil, natural gas and coal imports increase. Given that India must consistently confront the challenging geopolitical terrains from where such energy is imported, the Eurasian energy outlook appears most promising, particularly at a time when China has agreed to the proposed oil pipeline. This would provide considerably better leverage for India’s energy policy.

The unstable political environment in Pakistan and Afghanistan has been a choke point preventing India importing hydrocarbons from either Russia or even Central Asia.

However, with China willing to open its door to Russian oil to flow through its territory, this creates an opportunity via this important route for India to even pursue its “Connect Central Asia” policy.

For Russia and even Central Asian countries, China can act as a catalyst to market their hydrocarbon resources to South Asia and beyond, opening an opportunity for gas exports too. Russia’s $400 billion gas deal with China is a case in point.

Furthermore, a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline could soon involve China as one of its partners.

These developments, which have already surprised the US, have provided a strategic win for Russia, India and China, particularly in Central and South Asia.

With India’s plan to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization supported by Russia so as to help it gain a strategic presence in Central Asia, this would in return strengthen India’s strategic partnerships with Russia and China in South Asia, particularly after the US military withdrawal in Afghanistan after 2014.

Thus China holds the key to India’s pipeline diplomacy through Eurasia facilitating Russia and Central Asia to market its energy exports to South Asia as well. This would offer India and China a chance to revive their energy cooperation in hydrocarbons, which so far has remained on paper only.

Notably, both countries haven’t actually moved forward beyond agreements signed in 2006 and 2012. The commencement of pipeline diplomacy through Chinese territory could end their traditional rivalries over acquiring worldwide hydrocarbon resources.

In a way, the Ukrainian crisis has therefore come as a blessing in disguise for both India and China to gear up to tap the Russian and Central Asian energy markets, creating overall economic growth for Eurasia while strengthening mutual energy security.

China can facilitate India’s energy security goals by providing a gateway through its territory to Russia, concurrently opening possible avenues for India’s Eurasian energy policy including Central Asia.

With China expressing hope for better ties with India under the new government, one can expect improved energy diplomacy through this energy corridor.

Source:- eurasiareview.com

Increased Indian Demand, Safe-Haven Buying Likely To Support Gold

Gold prices remain stuck in a narrow range between $1,290 and $1,305, the downside being limited by geopolitical concern and the upside being capped by generally good US data, which suggest the US Federal Reserve will persist with the current pace of stimulus tapering.

Official demand for physical gold from India is expected to increase as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to relax some of the restrictions imposed on the importing of gold.

Earlier this week, the RBI gave permission to "star trading houses" and private jewellery exporters, which had been barred from importing gold since July 2013, to resume imports, with immediate effect.

Ever since the Indian government imposed restrictions on gold imports, smuggling has increased substantially, which comes as no surprise, except to those government officials who thought their draconian actions would reduce gold demand and prompt individuals to hold more fiat currency instead of gold.

Recent data released by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in India showed that the smuggling of physical gold soared six-fold during the fiscal year ended this March 31 compared to the previous year.

The actual gold smuggled into the country is feared to be much more as Directorate of Revenue Intelligence estimates show that only one-tenth of the smuggling acts are caught by authorities.

According to the CBEC, the primary source of smuggled gold into the country is Dubai. And, recently, the World Gold Council reported a substantial increase of gold imports by neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

I expect to see prices supported by increased demand from India and from further safe-haven buying from investors due to the continuing crisis in Ukraine.

However, I don’t think this increased demand will be enough to push prices above the resistance of $1,310 an ounce in the short-term, and thus I expect to see further sideways action.

For the past few weeks, the price of silver has been mostly directionless as prices remain stuck in a trading range of between $19/oz and $20/oz.

The company that runs the London silver fixing, a benchmark dating back more than a century that allows everyone from miners to jewellers to trade and value the metal, will stop operations on August 14.

The silver fixing takes place each day at noon by phone between the three members, who declare how much metal they want to buy or sell for clients, as well as their own accounts.

The first silver fixing took place in 1897 at the office of Sharps & Wilkins.

Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and Bank of Nova Scotia will remain the three members of the company, which will continue to liaise with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other stakeholders, the London Silver Market Fixing Ltd said in a statement.

In January this year, Deutsche Bank said it planned to withdraw from the London gold and silver fixings as it scales back its commodities business. And, last month, after failing to find a buyer for their seat, the bank said it would resign from the fixings.

The bank was asked by the FCA to stay on with the silver fixing for another 90 days, according to a person familiar with the request, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Source:- bdlive.co.za

Rupee Ends At 58.93 Per Dollar, Snapping 3-Day Fall

The rupee snapped a three-day losing streak on Wednesday as dollar inflows related to foreign funds and companies helped offset heavy month-end demand for the greenback from oil and other importers.

Traders also cited occasional dollar buying by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), although the intervention was not believed to be as aggressive as in recent weeks.

Traders will continue to focus on the measures new Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government will take to bring down the fiscal deficit and fight inflation.

"There was good dollar selling seen today, likely some corporate flows as well. Foreign banks were mostly on the sell side while there were importers and state-run firms seen bidding," said A AjithKumar, a foreign exchange dealer with Federal Bank.

"There is a good technical support for the pair at 58.35 levels which the central bank defended last time. If that level is broken we could see the pair fall more, if not, we could head back towards 59.50 again," he added.

The partially convertible rupee closed at 58.93/94 per dollar compared to 59.04/05 on Tuesday.

Foreign investors have bought a net $1.46 billion in debt over the past four sessions, bringing their total buying so far this month to $3 billion. In shares, despite some modest selling over the past few sessions, net inflows in May are $2.4 billion.

In the offshore non-deliverable forwards, the one-month contract was at 59.21 while the three-month was at 59.76.

Source:- profit.ndtv.com

ITAT deletes TP addition as adjustments made by TPO weren’t based on any prescribed TP methods

IT/ILT : Where in respect of amount paid by assessee to its AE located abroad for rendering sales and marketing services, TPO made certain addition taking a view that cost base of AE was not genuine, in view of fact that basis adopted for making TP adjustment was not in accordance with procedure prescribed in statute, impugned adjustment deserved to be set aside

Notification for reduced rate of tax on all types of glasses and glass sheets not applicable to ‘gla

CST & VAT : Where assessee was engaged in manufacture of glassware made of opal glass and it claimed benefit of reduced rate of tax under notification S.O. No. 25, dated 25-6-2011 issued by State Government of Jharkhand under section 8(5)(b) of Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, product manufactured by assessee would not be covered by above notification and, therefore, it was not entitled to derive benefit of notification

CCI nods to combination of Unifying Engineering division of Tech Mahindra as it won’t impact competi

Competition Law : Where proposed combination relating to transfer of business of MES to TechM was for creation of unified engineering services division within TechM and was not likely to have an appreciable effect on competition in India, same was to be approved

RBI announces operational guidelines for 'Depositor's Education and Awareness Fund Scheme'

BANKING : Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014 –Section 26A of Banking Regulation Act, 1949- Operational Guidelines

Demand notice for services provided by Co. Couldn’t be issued in name of its director describing him

Service Tax : Where notice demanding service tax on services provided by company was issued in name of director portraying director as 'proprietor', said notice was liable to be set aside as misjoinder

HC rejects deletion of unexplained sum by CIT(A) on basis of evidences not adduced before AO

IT : Where books of account of third party company from whom assessee claimed to have received cash/cheque on sale of shares, were placed for first time before appellate authority without Assessing Officer having any opportunity to examine, such evidence would be inadmissible to disprove unexplained money

Non-disclosure of value and tax separately in invoice would result in calculation of VAT on total in

CST & VAT: Where assessee, a registered dealer under Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003, had purchased cigarettes, etc. from local registered dealers and sold same to local buyers and in invoice/bill issued it had not mentioned value of goods and amount of tax separately and in bottom of invoice a seal was put saying that tax was collected at rate of 12.5 per cent, assessee was not entitled to benefit of deduction of tax from total value mentioned in invoice

Payment of fees for technical know-how is out of scope of sec. 35AB if it’s considered as revenue ex

IT : Even if there is expenditure for acquisition of technical know-how, provision of section 35AB would not apply, if it is revenue expenditure; it is allowable only under section 37(1)

RBI widens hedging bracket for importers; allows them to book forward contracts up to 50% of eligibl

FEMA/ILT : Risk Management and Inter Bank Dealings

NBFCs to round off all transactions to the nearest rupee, RBI directs

NBFCs : Rounding Off Transactions to the Nearest Rupee by NBFCs

Foreign co. deemed to have PE in India if few places in India were at its disposal or at disposal of

IT/ILT: Where there was some place at disposal of assessee a non-resident company registered in Mauritius or its employees during entire period of stay in India for rendering extensive services to Indian company, it constituted PE in India under India-Mauritius DTAA

HC dismissed writ against SEBI's order as petitioner had an alternative remedy of filing appeal befo

SEBI : Where whole time member of SEBI passed an order against petitioner for violation of regulation 11 of SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations), 1992 and petitioner filed writ petition against that order contending that consent order had already been passed by Adjudicating Officer on identical issue, writ petition was to be dismissed as effective, efficatious and alternative remedy of appeal to SAT was available to petitioner

Time-limit provided under sec. 27 of Customs Act isn’t applicable to refund of Special CVD

Excise & Customs : Amendment in Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. vide Notification No. 93/2008-Cus. introducing time-limit of 1 year from date of payment for claim of refund of 'Special CVD on goods imported for resale' is not retrospective; it is effective from 1-8-2008 and is inapplicable to right of refund accruing prior 1-8-2008

HC dismissed petition for investigation into Co.’s affairs as petitioner wasn’t qualified to seek in

CL : Where petitioner was not qualified under any of clauses of section 237(b) to seek opinion of CLB for investigation into affairs of company, petition seeking investigation was to be dismissed

Sec. 220 interest to be computed with reference to date of original demand notice if order of AO is

IT: Where assessment made originally by Assessing Officer is either varied or even set aside by appellate authority, but on further appeal, original order of Assessing Officer is restored either in part or wholly, interest under section 220(2) shall be computed with reference to date reckoned from original demand notice and with reference to tax finally determined

Municipal Corp. permitting advertisement business is a part of its legitimate function; no ST on fee

Service Tax : Fees collected by a Municipal Corporation for granting written permission for conducting business of advertisement agency was a part of functions imposed on Corporation under legislation and is not liable to service tax

Union Cabinet nods to constitution of SIT on black monies stashed abroad

IT/ILT : Constitution of Special Investigating Team (SIT) to Implement Decision of Supreme Court on Large Amounts of Money Stashed Abroad

Provisions for bad debt to be added back to calculate book profits; reassessment upheld on basis of

IT: In view of retrospective amendment brought by Finance (No.2) Act, 2009 in section 115JB, Assessing Officer was justified in initiating reassessment proceedings taking a view that assessee was required to add 'provision for bad and doubtful debts' to net profit while computing book profits under section 115JB

HC raps Tribunal for setting aside that part of AO’s order which wasn’t subject matter of appeal

CST & VAT : Where against a particular portion of assessment order, assessee filed appeal before Tribunal, in terms of sub-section (6) of section 73 of Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003, Tribunal could not have set aside that portion of assessment order which was in favour of it assessee and was not subject matter of appeal before it

Replacement of damaged good in lieu of payment of overdue sum couldn’t be an unfair trade practice,

MRTP : Where respondent was ready to replace damaged pipe supplied by it to complainant but was insisting on payment due, no unfair trade practice was followed by respondent

TPO couldn’t reject TP method chosen by assessee on basis of theoretical assertions without any obje

IT/ILT: Where assessee had given a methodology for working of ALP on selection of CPM and RPM method supported by appropriate comparables, working could only be dislodged by TPO on basis of cogent reasons and objective findings

India Rubber Squeeze Is Rival Suppliers’ Gain

Asian rubber producers are shipping more of their stockpiles to India—an unlikely destination given it’s already well-supplied and ranks as the world’s fifth-largest producer of natural rubber.

But Indian buyers are skipping local rubber in favor of these imports from Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia because the imports are up to 15% cheaper, even with a 20% tax imposed by Delhi.

Global rubber prices have sunk 25% this year because the market, valued at more than $30 billion a year, is awash in surplus supplies from Southeast Asia. Indian farmers, watching local prices hurtle below production costs, have reacted by holding back stocks.

“Farmers don’t want to release the material until prices move up,” said George Valy, president of the Indian Rubber Dealers’ Federation.

That opens the way for imports, which are meeting nearly half of India’s monthly rubber demand of 80,000 tons, up from about a quarter a year ago.

For buyers, the drop in prices is a boon. Tire makers are stocking up, said an industry official who did not want to be identified.

That would be welcome news for Thailand, the world’s largest natural rubber producer, which plans to unload a stockpile of 220,000 metric tons on international markets. It’s struggling with an overhang of supply that’s denting farmers income there too.

Indian rubber prices have firmed up marginally as local supplies have dried up, rising over the past fortnight to 150 rupees ($2.56) a kilogram— but that’s not enough to tempt local farmers to release more stocks.

Indian rubber producers usually tap some of their trees in May before the arrival of annual monsoon rains stops production, but this year hardly anybody has ventured forward.

Aside from low prices, one of the reasons that farmers have not tapped their trees is that yields are low. They are hoping for better output after the rainy season finishes in September.

Source:- blogs.wsj.com

Vice-Presidents of ITAT is to be appointed on basis of merits without considering seniority of candi

IT : Vice-President of ITAT is to be appointed on merits as per under Rule 7C of ITAT Members (Recruitment and conditions of service rules), 1963 rather on basis of seniority of candidates

HC allows sec. 80-IA relief as same issue was held in favour of assessee in earlier year

IT : Where Tribunal allowed assessee's claim for deduction under section 80-IA relying upon order passed in assessee's own case relating to earlier assessment year, in view of fact that appeal filed against said order had been dismissed, impugned order allowing assessee's claim in assessment year in question also deserved to be upheld

Maintenance of catering services at client’s premises would be deemed as ‘outdoor catering’ liable t

Service Tax : An assessee engaged in running and maintenance of canteen or guest houses or engaged in catering at premises belonging to clients, is an outdoor caterer and liable to service tax

Interest on borrowing used for investment in shares was deductible if such shares didn’t yield any d

IT : Interest paid on money borrowed for investment even in shares which had not yet yielded any dividend, was admissible under section 57(iii)

Duty paid defective goods would entitle assessee to Cenvat credit as these were used for further man

Excise & Customs : Where goods cleared from factory on payment of duty are received back in factory on account of being defective and are used in further manufacture, they are eligible for credit as 'input'

No denial of Sec. 10(23C) relief on mere generation of incidental surplus by educational institution

IT : Increase in the fees for generating surplus would not by itself exclude the petitioner from the ambit of section 10(23C)(vi) of the Act. Generation of profit or surplus by an organization cannot be construed to mean that the purpose of the organization is generation of profit/surplus, as long as the surpluses generated are accumulated /utilized only for educational purposes. The same would not disable the institution from claiming exemption under section 10(23C)(vi) of the Act.

ITAT can't decide if an ex-member of ITAT can be debarred from practicing before it

IT : ITAT cannot decide on vires of Rule 13 E of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Members (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1963 So question as to whether Shri Deepak R. Shah, advocate and ex-Accountant Member of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, is debarred from practicing before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, not answered.

Interest accrued under ‘Deferred Payment Plan’ couldn’t escape tax net by crediting it to suspense a

IT : Where pursuant to directions of State Government, assessee sold three properties under 'Deferred Payment Plan' in terms of which purchaser was under obligation to pay interest on unpaid amount in accordance with schedule of payment, interest income so received was chargeable to tax

ITAT refused to remand a case to enquire into existence of PE in India as indeed it wasn’t a dispute

IT/ILT : Where in course of appellate proceedings before Tribunal, revenue raised a plea that issue as to whether assessee had a PE in India or not had to be verified and for that reason matter was to be remitted back to Assessing Officer, in view of fact that neither Assessing Officer nor DRP disputed claim of assessee that it had a PE in India, plea raised by revenue was to be rejected

Sum received by dealer from manufacturer in form of credit notes for replaced spare parts was liable

CST & VAT : Where assessee purchased cars from manufacturer and sold same to local customers at sale price which included cost of warranty and further it supplied spare parts to customers free of cost covered by warranty and returned defective parts to manufacturer and thereupon manufacturer issued credit notes to assessee reimbursing it for cost of parts so supplied, consideration paid by manufacturer to assessee by way of credit notes represented sale price of spare parts which were replaced a

Recovery of forex currency and proof for illegal transactions, both are necessary to affirm violatio

FERA: Mere fact that Indian currency was recovered did not establish violation of FERA as it was to be shown that said money was related to illegal transactions falling within ambit of FERA

Signing of development agreement couldn’t trigger capital gains tax unless developer discharged his

IT : Where assessee entered into a development agreement of land with a developer in terms of which developer had to develop property according to approved plan and deliver a part of constructed area to assessee, in view of fact that developer had not done anything to discharge obligations cast on it, capital gains could not be brought to tax in year under appeal merely on basis of signing of development agreement

Value of goods sold to be excluded while determining value of services for purpose of SSP exemption

Service Tax : Value of sale of goods must be excluded from contract price so as to determine value of services for purpose of small service provider's exemption

Provision for NPA to be included in book profit for MAT; HC remanded matter for fresh adjudication

IT : Issue as to whether or not provision for non-performing assets made can be added to book profits as per Explanation (c) for purposes of computing income under section 115JA, requires fresh adjudication

CA gets immunity from penalty under FEMA as ED couldn’t prove that retracted confession was a truth

FERA : Where there was retraction from confessional statements in respect of illegal transaction and ED miserably failed in giving any plausible explanation to prove that statements were true and not caused by threat, duress or coercion, penalty could not be imposed

Goods and services utilized for exports of inputs without using them in manufacturing weren’t eligib

Cenvat Credit : Components and Services utilised only in activity of trading are not eligible for credit, when they are utilised only for export of such traded items which are not used in stream of manufacture

No TP adjustments if assessee earned profits in India in contrast to losses incurred by its NR AEs c

IT/ILT: TP adjustments made to assesses ALP were not justified as assessee had earned profit in India whereas its AE had continuously sustained losses FAR

Energy Security Is The Key, Need To Cut Dependence On Imports Over Next Few Years

The amount of coal that we are importing now has already touched about 173 million tonnes and it will touch nearly 200 million tonnes in the next few years' time.

It implies a massive foreign exchange outgo and it is actually going to put a lot of pressure in terms of handling coal from ports to the place where the coal is needed to generate electricity.

In terms of oil, we are now importing 70-80% and in terms of gas, particularly LNG, we are importing more or less everything that we need because the domestic production is not as high as it should be.

So the challenge of course is to, first of all, look at the issues in these three segments--- coal, gas and oil --- from the perspective of energy security, because if we continue to import in this magnitude, even disregarding the challenge it poses to the macro economy given the subsidies we need to give and the amount of pressure it puts on the current account deficit, it is an energy security issue.

Thus, no country can afford to rely on such a large quantity of imported fuel to meet the domestic requirement and, as you know, anything can cause disruption in the supply chain. Look at the Malaysia Airlines flight.

Nobody knows where it has gone, despite the fact that we have such an advanced technology. What it means is that there are a lot of issues on which we have no control and if something goes wrong and if the supply line gets disrupted, we will be in big trouble. We do not have strategic reserves in India unlike the US. The US is more or less now becoming, thanks to shale gas, less dependent on imports and will be a net exporter of gas.

So the point is, how do we meet the challenge of increasing our domestic production of gas, oil and coal? As far as coal is concerned, we have almost 7-8% of the world's coal reserves and the bulk of it is still not explored.

The same is the case with oil and gas, where 48% of the sedimentation is still not explored and the production is not very high in case of the 52% of the sedimentation which has been already explored.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Export Zone Mat Scrap On Agenda

The new government will explore the possibility of abolishing the minimum alternate tax (MAT) on special economic zones and extending the benefits of export schemes to the zones. The incentives are expected to boost exports and prop up the manufacturing sector.

“The investments in SEZs have been impacted by uncertain taxation. Changes in policy have impacted the performance of units in these zones. Exports and manufacturing activities have come down from SEZs. Labour laws, too, are hitting the manufacturing sector’s growth,” a senior commerce ministry official said.

“Efforts would be to restore the confidence of investors and continuity in policy as these zones contribute about 30 per cent to the country’s exports,” officials said.

Under the SEZ act, units get a 100 per cent tax exemption on profits earned for the first five years, a 50 per cent exemption for the next five years and another 50 per cent on re-invested profits in the following five years. However, the government had imposed an 18.5 per cent MAT on the book profit of SEZs in the budget for 2010-11.

This resulted in a large number of developers withdrawing their proposals and a very few coming up with new ones.

The major reason for the SEZs losing their appeal was the frequent policy changes owing to the turf war between the finance and commerce ministries.

The finance ministry wanted to explore every opportunity to generate more revenue, while the commerce ministry wanted to offer tax sops to encourage the creation of more export-oriented manufacturing centres.

During 2012-13, SEZs attracted investments worth Rs 2.36 lakh crore and provided direct employment to over 11 lakh people. Exports from SEZs grew around 31 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4.76 lakh crore.

The another big change in the rule being considered by the ministry includes the extension of the benefits of export schemes to units within SEZs. In the foreign trade policy, the 2 per cent interest subvention scheme had been widened to include items such as toys, sports goods, processed agricultural products and readymade garments, apart from SMEs and the handloom sectors.

The focus product and focus market schemes, wherein the government gives cash incentives equivalent to 2 per cent of the value of exports, were also expanded to incorporate 10 markets and over 100 products.

The government, however, had eased land requirement norms to rekindle investor interest in SEZs in view of the problems faced by developers in land acquisition.

For multi-product SEZs, the minimum land requirement was brought down from 1,000 hectares to 500 hectares. For sector-specific SEZs, it has been reduced by half to 50 hectares. Also, there is no minimum land requirement for setting up IT/ITeS SEZs apart from easing the minimum built-up area criterion.

The minimum built-up area requirements to be met by SEZ developers will be 100,000 square meters for the seven major cities Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Calcutta; 50,000 square meters for Category B cities and only 25,000 square meters for the remaining cities.

The country’s exports in the past three years have hovered at $300 billion. The policy is aimed at boosting overseas shipments and enhancing its share in world trade. Exports in 2013-14 increased to $312.35 billion but fell short of the target of $325 billion. Shipments stood at $300.4 billion in 2012-13 and $307 billion in 2011-12.

Source:- telegraphindia.com

Share broker allowed to set off losses from derivatives with profits arising from share dealings on

IT : In terms of sub-section (1) of section 73, assessee, a share broker is entitled to set off loss incurred in transactions of derivatives and day trading of shares against its profits and gains from purchase and sale of shares on delivery basis

HC remands matter as vital grounds raised in written submission were not considered by Tribunal

Service Tax : Where an important ground/contention raised in written submission is not considered, order must be set aside and remanded back for consideration afresh

Instead of filing a writ assessee should plea before AO against his jurisdiction and reason assigned

IT : Where a show cause notice under section 148 is served after recording a prima facie opinion that assessment for relevant year requires re-consideration, assessee, in such a case, should raise pleas relating to lack of jurisdiction, insufficiency of reasons assigned and other related matters before Assessing Officer, instead of approaching High Court by way of a writ petition

Dumping Duty On Phenol From Us, Taipei

The Finance Ministry has imposed provisional anti-dumping duty on all phenol imports from the US and Chinese Taipei.

The duty will be valid for six months and has been levied based on the recommendations of the designated authority in the Commerce Ministry on a petition filed by Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd.

In the case of Chinese Taipei, the duty levied by the Revenue Department ranged from $46.07 a tonne to $193.9 a tonne depending on the exporter.

The Revenue Department has imposed an anti-dumping duty of $146.09 a tonne on all producers and exporters of phenol from the US. Phenol is a basic organic chemical used in phenol formaldehyde resins, laminates, plywood, particle boards, bisphenol-A and pharmaceuticals.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

India Containerized Scrap Import Prices Advance To $410 A Ton

India containerized scrap import prices advanced by $6 a ton week-on-week to $410 a ton in the week ended May 23rd this year, as per the latest figures released by the The Steel Index (TSI).

According to TSI, containerised shredded index for Indian imports gained 1.5% last week to finish at $410 a ton CFR Indian west coast port.

The country as a whole is riding a wave of positivity following the election win by the pro-business BJP party, with the steel industry in particular seeing a familiar ally coming into power.

However, the news that mining permits have been revoked from 26 mines in the Odisha region, with the potential to remove one third of domestic iron ore production, has served to dampen spirits in the steel industry.

Either more expensive imports would have to be sought or production levels reduced, with the likely result being that finished steel prices will rise. This has already begun to be reflected in scrap pricing for imports into the country.

Source:- metal.com

Officials Earn Court's Wrath For Ignoring Import Of Chinese Firecrackers

The Madras high court on Sunday chided top central agencies, including the Customs department, for not taking any action to prevent the illegal import of Chinese firecrackers into the country. Meanwhile, the court's bench here was also told that many containers were allowed to go out from ports unchecked, thus helping the entry of about 600 containers of Chinese firecrackers into the country now.

During the hearing at the special sitting, the Madurai bench of the court was told by the Customs department at Tuticorin that it was not even aware of communications sent by the chief controller of explosives (CCE) seeking action against the illegal import of Chinese firecrackers so that the Indian industry based primarily in Sivakasi could be saved.

At Saturday's hearing too, the court was told by the petitioner's side that the CCE' letter was communicated to the customs authorities and repeated representations were sent to the central government agencies, but their efforts had been in vain. Besides, the CBI too did not take action on the complaint filed by the fireworks manufacturers.

The court was considering a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by A Muthukrishnan of Sivakasi against illegal import of Chinese firecrackers. The Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association had also filed a case in the matter.

In the special sitting, the division bench of justices N Kirubakaran and S Vaidyanathan raised several questions to the central government's counsels. They represented the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

"The issue of illegal importing has been brought to the notice of the central government agencies for many years now. What prevented the agencies to take suo moto action in the issue? What action was taken on the letter sent from the CCE in 2012? The court asked.

"The court was told that there is only one scanner in the Tuticorin port. How it is possible for the customs to check the entire consignments when hundreds of containers come to the port? The court asked.

Piyush Bharadwaj, assistant commissioner of customs (Tuticorin) who appeared in the court, said the CCE's letter dated May 30, 2012 was not addressed to the central board of excise and customs (CBEC) or to the DRI. And, the same was also not addressed to either the commissioner of customs (Tuticorin) or to the chief commissioner of customs (preventive), Trichy, to whom the former reports.

Meanwhile, senior standing counsel of custom and excise B Vijay Karthikeyan said the Tuticorin customs will soon get one more modern scanner. Customs' intelligence wing is always on alert and frequent surprise checks are carried out by the higher officers, he added.

Assistant solicitor general K K Senthilvelan who appeared for CBI said the agency has started an inquiry on a complaint sent by the fireworks manufacturers association.

Additional government pleader S Sadeeshkumar said two special teams headed by inspectors of police have been formed in this case and raids were carried out in 10 godowns. However, no one has been apprehended so far.

Meanwhile, the TANFAMA filed a petition on Sunday stating that six containers carrying Chinese firecrackers have been found in Noida, which is under the jurisdiction of the joint controller of explosives, Agra. The concerned officials have been engaged to destroy the same, the petition said.

After hearing all concerned sides, the high court directed to add the CBEC as a party to the case and reserved its interim orders. It suggested that proper checks are essential in all ports and airports across the country.

Recently, Tamil Nadu Fireworks Industries Workers Protection Association had announced a reward ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10 lakh to anyone helping to locate imported Chinese firecrackers.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Rupee Could Appreciate Above 58

The rupee will be seen appreciating above 58 to the dollar this week due to dollar flows in domestic markets and government bond yields will be seen falling further on hopes that the new government will strive to bring down the fiscal deficit.

“This week, the rupee may appreciate above the 58 a dollar level. The broad trading range would be between 57.75 to 58.50 a dollar,” said the head of treasury with a public sector bank.

On Friday, the rupee ended at 58.51, compared with the previous close of 58.46 a dollar. The rupee had ended marginally weak due to dollar buying by state-run banks on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India.

The rupee still rose 0.4 per cent for the week, posting its fourth straight weekly gain and its longest winning streak in 16 months on hopes the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance win would bring about a government willing to undertake substantial economic reforms and drive the nation towards the growth path.

On the other hand, government bond yields might fall as the street is hoping that the fiscal deficit for the current fiscal might be brought down by the new government.

“This week, the 10-year bond yields may trade between 8.50 per cent to 8.70 per cent,” said a government bond dealer with a state-run bank.

The yield on the 10-year government bond ended at 8.64 per cent on Friday, its lowest since January 22, compared with the previous close of 8.71 per cent.

Narendra Modi will be sworn in as prime minister on Monday at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Street is also waiting to know who would be finance minister in Modi's government.

Source:- business-standard.com

Instead of filing a writ assessee should plea before AO against his jurisdiction and reason assigned

IT : Where a show cause notice under section 148 is served after recording a prima facie opinion that assessment for relevant year requires re-consideration, assessee, in such a case, should raise pleas relating to lack of jurisdiction, insufficiency of reasons assigned and other related matters before Assessing Officer, instead of approaching High Court by way of a writ petition

Co. was liable for illegal actions of its managers which resulted in non-payment of excise duty

Excise & Customs : Where benefit which assessee-company would obtain by illegal conduct of its Manager would have resulted in non-payment of duty, assessee has to be held liable for acts of its Manager/ employees

Scrutiny assessment made prior to introduction of section 292BB be set aside as notice wasn’t issued

IT: Provision of section 292BB as inserted by Finance Act, 2008, with effect from 1-4-2008, are not applicable to assessment year 2007-08

Bad debts not arising from transactions with AEs couldn’t be taken as part of operating cost for com

IT/ILT: Where in transfer pricing proceedings TPO made certain addition to assessee's ALP in respect of services rendered in ITES sector, in view of fact that TPO had not properly allocated segmental expenditure as bad debts not related to AE transactions were wrongly considered as part of operating cost for determining ALP of transactions with AE and, moreover some comparables selected were improper on account of functional difference, high turnover etc., impugned adjustment was to be set aside

MCA again extends validity of reserved names of Cos whose due date expired when MCA services were pu

Companies Act, 2013 : Section 7 of the Companies Act, 2013 - Incorporation of Company - Extension of Validity Period for Names Reserved as on 31-3-2014

Commissioner’s order for reopening of assessment without giving an opportunity of being heard was va

CST & VAT: Where Commissioner without affording opportunity of hearing to assessee passed order under section 21(2) of U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 and granted permission to department for reopening assessment of assessee after expiry of normal period of four years, since assessee in its defence would get another chance at time of reassessment proceedings, impugned order did not call for any interference

In proposed amalgamation HC allows relaxation from holding meeting of handful of shareholders

CL : Where companies had handful of shareholders, application for dispensing to convene meeting of equity and preference shareholder was allowed; direction to convene meeting of unsecured creditors was given

High Court affirms rejection of books as they varied with trend of power consumption in comparison t

IT : Where production of oil recorded by assessee in its books of account was completely inconsistent with pattern of power consumed, books of account were rightly rejected

Authorities have an option to levy lesser penalty than duty under rule 96ZO of Excise Rules: HC says

Excise & Customs : Rule 96ZO is ultra vires upto extent it provides for mandatory minimum penalty without mens rea and without any element of discretion; hence, authorities have option to levy lesser penalty than duty looking to gravity of offence

Losses already adjusted in earlier years couldn’t be considered again by revenue to compute sec. 80-

IT: For purpose of determining quantum of section 80-IA deduction in year in which assessee put forth claim, revenue cannot take into consideration loss and depreciation from eligible business of earlier year which was already set-off against income of assessee from other source

India, Pakistan May Shake Hands On Electricity, Hydrocarbons

New Delhi and Islamabad, thanks to their newfound bonhomie following Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif accepting the invite to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Indian prime minister, are looking to seal a deal soon in trade in electricity and hydrocarbon products.



The move is against the backdrop of bilateral trade between the two countries crawling: It was just $1.8 billion during April-December last fiscal and the ambitious target of $6 billion for the financial year must have been missed by a wide margin, although disaggregated data is yet to be out.



The move for a deal in India-Pak trade in electricity and hydrocarbons is in addition to speeding up of opening of branches of Indian and Pakistani banks in each other’s territories and boosting infrastructure development at the border for trade facilitation, official sources told FE.



Talks will soon be held to ink a pact on export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from India to Pakistan via a pipeline through the Wagah border.



Negotiations are currently deadlocked on the issue of the price at which India will export the item as Pakistan feels that India’s offer price is too high.



The Pakistani proposal is to import 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of LNG from India.



India itself imports LNG at $14 per mmBtu and therefore is quoting around $21 per mmBtu for sale to Pakistan consumers after taking into account duties, transportation charge and local taxes. However, Pakistan is pitching for a maximum price of $17 per mmBtu.



On electricity trade, the talks are stuck on “technical issues,” the sources said. There is also an offer from the World Bank to finance a project to transfer at least 500 MW of power to Pakistan from India initially and then upgrade it to 1200 MW.



On the issue of bank branches, India’s Punjab National Bank, which was founded in Lahore (Pakistan), and SBI are keen to open branches in Pakistan, while Pakistan’s Muslim Commercial Bank and Commercial Bank of Pakistan want to start branches in India.



Pakistan has already indicated its readiness to grant India non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) – similar to Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status where India will be treated on an equal basis with Pakistan’s other trading partners – and had said it was waiting for the new government to take charge in India to announce the details. India had MFN status to Pakistan in 1996 itself. Soon both countries will bring out a time line to reduce duties on a small list of sensitive products, the sources said.



One sector which India is keen to focus on is automobiles and auto-components. The sources said the plan is to make the South Asian region, including Pakistan, a major sourcing hub for the Indian automobiles sector and build value chains. Simultaneously, India is hoping to get market access in Pakistan in the sector and compete with Chinese products. The sources said Pakistani auto sector is in favour of gradual relaxation of duty curbs in the protected sector.



According to a study by the think-tank ICRIER, the significant performance improvement in Pakistan’s motor cycle industry, among other factors, can be attributed to the opening up of Pakistan’s market to imported Chinese components. “Thus there is a case for Pakistan to further liberalize its auto sector. Currently, there is hardly any direct trade in auto components between India and Pakistan and most of the trade is routed via Dubai, according to the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India,” ICRIER said.

Source:- financialexpress.com

Hc Directs Inclusion Of Cbcce In Illegal Crackers Imports Pil

The Madras High Court today directed to include Central Board of Customs and Central Excise (CBCCE) in a PIL seeking CBI probe into the recent seizure of Chinese crackers at a godown in Sivakasi.



Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice S Vaidhyanathan of the Madurai Bench of the HC, in a special sitting, asked if the Customs Commissioner (Preventive), Tiruchirappalli, was not aware of the ban on import of the crackers and how was it that crackers were being sold in Sivakasi, and if the complaint regarding it, made to the Commissioner at Chennai, had not been brought to their notice.



The Assistant Commissioner replied that they did not receive the copy of the complaint from Chennai office.



The Central Government lawyer submitted that Director General of Trade had banned import of Chinese crackers and described them as "explosive items".



The Assistant Commissioner said they were checking all the suspicious containers and containers of blacklisted companies. The Tuticorin Port would soon be installing X-ray scanner apart from the "gamma scanner" they were having and they would be able to check more containers.



The Judges also directed the Tamil Nadu Amorces and Fireworks Manufacturers Association to give details about sale of Chinese crackers in the state when their advocate said they have specific information about Rs 100 crore worth of Chinese crackers being stored in godowns at various places.



The Judges asked the CBI to provide the details about cases of illegal sale of Chinese crackers.



Virudhunagar SP, Maheswaran said special teams had been formed to nab the two accused from whose shops Chinese crackers were seized recently. He said 50 godowns had been raided by special teams.



Muthkrishnan, executive member of Aditamizhar Peravai, a Dalit outfit, who filed the PIL seeking a CBI inquiry into the illegal sale of Chinese crackers in Sivakasi, also sought checking of all the godowns across the country and find out the origin of Chinese crackers stored in various godowns.

Source:- business-standard.com

HC denied to entertain writ filed for stay of recovery proceedings as matter was already pending bef

IT : Where no objection and/or representation had been filed before Tax Recovery Officer against attachment of its bank accounts and assessee had accepted same, it was not open to petitioner to make a grievance in writ petition

Pledging Policy Blamed For Drastic Fall In Price Of Rice

THE PRICE of Thai rice has plunged to the lowest level in six years, even lower than Vietnam's despite higher cost of production, due to the deposed government's pledging policy.



The Thai Rice Exporters Association reported last week that the price of 5-per-cent white rice had dived about 60 per cent to US$375-$389 per tonne from the all-time high of $1,020 in April 2008.



Compared to $395 quoted for Vietnamese rice, it is also the first time in history that Thai rice is cheaper.



Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the association, blamed this on the ousted government's rice-pledging scheme. Exporters are not happy with the price trend, which should boost exports, as the cost of production has been on the rise and Thai rice quality is superior to Vietnam's.



"Thai rice should be more expensive than Vietnamese rice. Our price has, however, dropped gradually since late last year, because the government released stocks in haste," he said.



According to Chookiat, Thailand's paddy rice price is also priced lower than Vietnam's, at about Bt7,000-Bt7,500 a tonne against Bt8,000.



The pledging scheme, which quotes Bt15,000 or about $500 per tonne, has encouraged farmers to sell rice to the government. In the first two years of the scheme, the inventory exceeded 10 million tonnes.



Late last year, the dissolution of the lower House left the scheme struggling, as the government could not find the cash to pay farmers for their rice. Under pressure to raise money quickly, the stockpiles were dumped into the market, leading to the sharp drop in price.



Many foreign buyers have piled on orders for Thai rice because of the cheap price, he said.



That is supported by the Foreign Trade Department's figures for the first four months of this year. By volume, Thailand exported 3.21 million tonnes, which was 26.6 per cent higher than the 2.05 million tonnes in the same period last year.



However, by value, exports rose only 17.5 per cent in baht terms to Bt51.5 billion and only 8.3 per cent in dollar terms to $1.47 billion.



Chookiat hopes that the Commerce Ministry, after the military coup, would slow down the stockpile releases and this should prop up the price.



However, the United States Department of Agriculture projects that in the 2014-15 crop year, rice production would hit a new record of 480.7 million tonnes, up 4.6 million tonnes from the previous year. Assuming normal weather, record crops are projected for the major exporters including India, Thailand and Vietnam.



Global rice supply and consumption are projected to reach record levels of 592 tonnes and 482.2 million tonnes.



Source:- nationmultimedia.com

Iran To India: Pay Suppliers Of Food, Medicines With Oil Euros

Iran now wants to get back its euros owed by India through a new channel. It wants New Delhi to pay the money that Tehran owes to third countries for purchase of food, medicines and medical equipment.



With nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1 (the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) going slow, Tehran has approached New Delhi for allowing third country exports of humanitarian goods for drawing down the $3.6 billion accumulated balance on account of India’s oil imports.



Last week, the Reserve Bank of India agreed that payments for third country exports to Iran could be made from the 55 per cent euro component of oil payment due to National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) with UCO Bank acting as the settlement bank.



UCO Bank would examine the letters of credit issued by Iranian banks for third country imports by Iranian firms and would advise the identified Indian oil importing refineries to remit the foreign exchange to its nostro account on a particular date which would then be remitted to the Iranian Bank.



The due diligence would involve UCO Bank securing certification from renowned inspection agencies of the goods being humanitarian in nature. If there is any suspicion or doubt on any consignment, then UCO Bank would be free not to release the money.



To trigger this mechanism, NIOC would have to enter into a tripartite agreement with UCO Bank and the Indian oil companies detailing all responsibilities and obligations. The payouts by each Indian refinery would be in proportion to their outstanding amount.



Once the payment is done, NIOC will deduct from the obligations the amount it receives from each company.



India is set to pay Iran $1.65 billion under an interim nuclear deal that eases sanctions on Tehran and gives it access to $4.2 billion in blocked funds. As long as Tehran complies with the terms of its preliminary pact with P5+1, Iran receives some of its funds abroad frozen with various buyers over six months.



Indian refiners Essar Oil, Bangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd have been settling 45 per cent of payments in rupees, which Iran used for importing goods from India, while the refiners held the remainder.



Three days of negotiations in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 ended May 17 with no sign of advance.



The Vienna round follows the conclusion of the interim pact under which Iran froze or rolled back key aspects of its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.



If an agreement is not concluded by July 20, the talks can be extended for another six months.

source:- financialexpress.com

Dastgir Hints At New Policy On Cotton Import From India

Vowing not to do trade with India at the cost of farmers, ginners and industrialists, the Federal Commerce Minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan, has said that trade policies would be framed with the consent of all stakeholders.



He was talking to a delegation of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) which called on him in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Mukhtar Ahmed Khan Baloch. The other members of the PCGA included Senior Vice Chairman Prem Chand Khiatani, Vice Chairman Aasim Saeed Sheikh and Shehzad Ali Khan. The minister also announced that a new policy would be framed on cotton import from India with the consent of all stake holders.



He said that funds have already been released for the establishment of Cotton Ginning Research & Training Institute in Multan.



Reiterating that the ministry of textile would play a key role in getting cleared refund cases of ginners, the minister said: "We have imposed five per cent import duty on the import of cotton yarn after reviewing the effects of cotton and yarn import from India."



He also claimed that revolutionary amendments were being introduced in Seed Act-2010 so that well-germinated, certified and heat resistant seeds could be supplied to the farmers on reasonable rates.



Quoting Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif as saying that fleecing of growers would not be tolerated at any stage, the minister said: "Use of uncertified varieties of seeds increases input costs of farmers. The low levels of pest resistance in these seeds have increased insects'' immunity, necessitating the use of nearly double the normal amount of pesticides," he added.



At the outset, the minister lauded the PCGA''s role in ensuring supply of certified cotton seed.



Earlier, the PCGA delegation expressed its reservations on the import of cotton from India and stressed the need for finalising a timeframe for cotton import so that interest of local growers could not be hurt.

Source:- brecorder.com

India Easing Gold Import Restrictions: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Long the top importer of gold, India fell behind China in 2013. The decline in gold consumption came after bullion import duties were pushed up tenfold – from 1% at the start of 2012 to 10% and other rules such as mandatory re-export of 20% of imports, transaction taxes and even curbs on ETF buying stymied India's gold industry.



Business-friendly prime minister elect Narendra Modi's sweeping victory has raised hopes inside the country that promises of relief for the gold industry that employs more than 3 million traders and shopworkers would be kept.



Last week gold was boosted by news that the Reserve Bank of India is relaxing the much-maligned 80-20 import-export measure.



Hopes that the measure could be fully phased out by October, ahead of the Diwali festival in October and the crucial gold-buying wedding season, has already seen the rupee price of gold drop to nine-month lows.



"It’s only a matter of time before these restrictions on gold are removed completely by the new Indian government,” Marcus Grubb, managing director of investment strategy at the World Gold Council told the Telegraph.



Gradually, a number of things are now adding up to make investors more positive about gold."



Despite the curbs overall Indian consumption still rose by more than 100 tonnes to 975 tonnes in 2013 according to the WGC data while some estimates put "unofficial imports" at more than 100 tonnes.



But the first quarter this year the restrictions really began to bite with gold demand on the subcontinent plummeting during the first quarter.



Jewellery consumption in India declined 9% to 145.6 tonnes, while India's bars and coins buying showed a huge drop-off of 54% to 98 tonnes.



Overall gold demand in India slid 26% during the first three months of 2014.



WGC says "as demand for physical gold investment products fell back, the pressures that had been squeezing the supply chain throughout 2013 eased," pushing down price premiums in a number of local markets.



Premiums paid over the London price rocketed to as much as $170 an ounce during the gold festivals and wedding season last year.

Source:- mining.com



It has since come down but last week premiums demanded by India's gold traders still hovered around $60 above the international ruling price.



That compares to Shanghai premiums that topped out at $37 an ounce a year ago, but which has since fallen to par or even a discount.



India imposed the import restriction to shore up the value of the rupee and cut down on the country's crippling current account deficit.



Bullion and crude oil contributed almost 80% of the record $88 billion deficit in the past fiscal year.



Those problems have eased, but have certainly not gone away.



The relatively muted reaction on New York and London gold markets – briefly scaling $1,300 on Thursday only to fall back to $1,292 the next session – to the prospects of greater India imports could indicate that the changes may not be the positive catalyst gold investors have been hoping for.



Easing the curbs should result in declining premiums inside the country and a reduction in smuggling, but may not alter underlying demand that much.



Gains in the rupee to 11-month highs following the Modi win have also already been pared back. Naveen Mathur, associate director (commodities and currencies), Angel Broking told India's Business Standard over the weekend:



"There is no positive trigger for prices in the domestic market; also, the rupee will continue to remain the major deciding factor for the yellow metal."



Last month Rajesh Khosla, managing director of the country’s biggest refiner which is expanding capacity to 200 tonnes of gold per year, predicted the relaxation of the 80-20 rule, but added that "while the form of restrictions may change, the government will continue to restrain buying."



That means the limits would result in shipments of 650–700 tonnes for the 12 months started April 1, close to last year's levels and down from 845 tonnes in 2012–2013

Source:- mining.com

Rupee Recovers By 12 Paise Against Usd In Early Trade

The rupee recovered by 12 paise to trade at 11-month high of 58.40 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased foreign capital inflows ahead of swearing-in of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India.



Besides, increased dollar selling by exporters, a higher opening in the domestic equity market and strengthening of euro against the American currency overseas also supported the rupee.

Source:- ptinews.com

Payment of ST on services availed during construction of mall was eligible input against renting of

Cenvat Credit : Expression 'used for providing output services' cannot, prima facie, be given wide import so as to cover raw materials used for construction of building; hence, construction materials are ineligible for credit

Composite suit under two different Acts not allowed if court has no jurisdiction to entertain both c

CL: Where composite suit was filed under Copyright Act and Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, such a suit would not be maintainable unless Court had jurisdiction to entertain suit in relation to both causes of action

Fee from Technical aid on pipeline project by consortium member was FTS if construction work done by

IT/ILT : Where assessee provided design and engineering for laying pipelines, prepared welding procedure, reviewed work procedure and deputed expertised manpower for site review, assessee's income was taxable at rate of 10 per cent only as technical supervision

Constitution of an ‘AOP’ to be examined in view of principles laid by ‘Linde AG’; HC sets aside adva

IT/ILT: The AAR in the case of petitioner held that the consortium of petitioner ('CTCI') and CINDA constituted an AOP. The Advance Ruling [CTCI Overseas Corporation Ltd., In re [2012] 18 taxmann.com 45(AAR-New Delhi)] was set aside by the High Court with a direction that constitution of AOP in this case was to be examined on basis of principles laid down by the Delhi High Court recently in the case of Linde AG, Linde Engineering Division v. Dy. DIT [2014] 44 taxmann.com 244 (Delhi)

SEBI hikes regulatory fees for market intermediaries

SEBI/Indian Acts & Rules : SEBI (Payment of Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in SEBI (Alternative Investments Funds) Regulations; SEBI (Bankers to An Issue) Regulations; SEBI (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations; SEBI (Custodian of Securities) Regulations, Etc., Etc.

HC rejected writ petition as alternate remedy was available to assessee to appeal under sec. 62 of K

CST & VAT: Where against order of assessment, assessee filed writ petition contending that assessment order and demand notice raised thereunder be quashed or annulled, since order of assessment was an appealable order under section 62 of Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003, it would be open for assessee to file an appeal and seek redressal of its grievance, if any in appellate proceedings

HC remands case to enquire into multiple cash transactions to ensure violation of sec. 269SS

IT: Matter be remanded to determine factual situation as regards transactions exceeding limit of Rs. 20,000 when several transactions were involved

Addition upheld as seized unaccounted jewellery was claimed to have been received from parties not a

IT: Where in block assessment proceedings, assessee challenged addition on ground that certain jewellery was received from parties on credit, in view of fact that no entry was found in books of account maintained by assessee or party concerned regarding said transactions and, moreover, creditworthiness of said parties was also not proved, impugned addition was to be upheld

Production of expanded units can’t be clubbed with beneficiary unit for availing of rule 28A exempti

CST & VAT : Rule 28A exemption being unit specific, where beneficiary unit fails to maintain production level criterion, production of expended unit cannot be clubbed

Receipt of freight subsidy won’t be considered as an eligible profit for sec. 80-IA relief

IT : Freight subsidy granted to an industry cannot be regarded as income derived from business of industrial undertaking and, thus, it is not includible in profits eligible for deduction under section 80-IA

Special price for large buyer isn’t anti-competitive; seller can’t be forced to deal with entity inf

Competition Act : Where joint venture company of appellant was by far largest purchaser of appellant's products, it was fair for appellant to offer preferential sale terms to it and it could not be said that favourable prices of appellant for its JV had resulted in reduced profit margins for other converters and deprived them of their chances to grow; hence, appellant was to be acquitted of anti-competitive conduct

Payment of entry tax is an allowable deduction even if it is set off against VAT liability of assess

IT: Where assessee, a manufacturer cum exporter, claimed deduction under section 80HHC on foreign exchange income received on account of cancellation of forward contract, following decision of Supreme Court rendered in case of CIT v. K. Ravindranathan Nair [2007] 295 ITR 228/165 Taxman 282, orders of lower authorities were set aside and matter was sent back to Assessing Officer for decision afresh in light of said decision

In TP adjustment volume discount given in prior yrs to be given in current year as well if facts rem

IT/ILT: Where assessee's claim of volume discount in respect of import of raw material from AE located abroad was allowed in earlier assessment year, in absence of any change in circumstances, following principle of consistency, assessee's claim for volume discount was to be allowed in assessment year in question as well

Cenvat credit couldn’t be denied to service recipient if service provider couldn’t pay service tax t

Cenvat Credit : Activity or action of service provider in not depositing same in Government Treasury will not bar service recipient from taking Cenvat credit on service tax paid, if eligible

Penalty on DLF for issuing demand notice for unilaterally increasing super area in contravention of

Competition Act: Where opposite party failed to show any cause, much less any reasonable cause, for non-compliance of order of Commission and issued demand letters in contravention of such order, penalty was to be imposed

Members of AOP couldn’t claim their share of loss when losses of AOP were wiped out due to late fili

IT: Where AOP did not file its return of loss on time and, thus, loss got forfeited, no member of said AOP could claim his share of loss against his individual income

Allowing use of plant, machinery and equipment isn’t ‘Business Support Services’; no service tax lev

Service Tax : Allowing use of its plant, machinery and equipment is not, prima facie, covered under Business Support Services and is not liable to service tax.

Non-availability of accountant wasn’t a valid excuse to justify unaudited accounts; HC upheld penalt

IT : Where assessee-firm maintained proper documents for conducting its partnership business, its plea for not getting accounts audited within prescribed time period merely on account of absence of accountant was not acceptable and, thus, impugned penalty order passed under section 271B was to be upheld

Before conclusion of assessment, assessee couldn’t insist on recovery of tax from proceeds of his se

IT: Assessee's claim for adjustment of tax liability against proceeds of seized assets was misconceived as recovery can be initiated only on crystallization of liability on completion of assessment

Retro-amendment was applicable to all proceedings pending due to non-communication of order

Excise & Customs : Where rebate had been rejected but order had not been communicated to assessee, such proceedings could not be regarded as 'concluded', as assessee had no chance to challenge said order; therefore, any retrospective amendment in favour of assessee allowing said rebate, would apply

HC upheld involvement of firm as well as its partners in Hawala transactions and in unauthorized dea

FERA : Where SD had thoroughly analysed seized documents and other evidence on record to brought out a fact that partnership firm along with its partner were involved in hawala transactions and that all transactions took place with knowledge and participation of its partners, there was no error committed by SD in proceeding to hold partnership firm and its partners guilty of contravention of sections 9(1)(b)(d) and (f) read with section 68

ITAT granted stay on tax demand as variation in Arm’s Length Price of international transaction was

IT/ILT : Where during pendency of appellate proceedings, assessee filed instant application seeking stay of tax demand, in view of fact that difference in arm's length margin was only 3.98 per cent and, moreover, total turnover from AE constituted only 39.13 per cent of total revenue of assessee, in interest of justice stay of demand was to be granted to assessee for a period of six months

SEBI directs Stock Exchanges to give listing priority to Cos listed on non-operational exchanges

SEBI : Companies Exclusively Listed on De-Recognized/Non-Operational Stock Exchanges

Writing off debt unilaterally not taxable under sec. 41(1) if corresponding entry still appears in c

IT: Where credit entry was found in ledger of corresponding party, no addition could be made on account of cessassion of liability

Authority couldn’t make modification in eligibility certificate after having lost the case before Tr

CST & VAT: Where Commissioner exercising his powers under section 4A(3) of U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 cancelled eligibility certificate granted to assessee and Tribunal set aside order of Commissioner and restored eligibility certificate and thereafter Commissioner again issued notice under section 4A(3) to assessee and modified eligibility certificate, it was not open to Commissioner to make any modification in above eligibility certificate after having lost matter before Tribunal

SEBI raises threshold limit for cash investment in mutual funds to Rs. 50,000

SEBI : Circular on Mutual Funds

India's Coal Import Up 18 Per Cent At 171 Mt In 2013-14

Coal import increased 17.9 per cent to 171 million tonnes (MT) in financial year 2013-14 amid a widening demand-supply gap in India.



Coal import was at 145 million tonnes in 2012-13, according to a Coal Ministry document.



The import of dry fuel rose at a time when state-run miner Coal India, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic production, missed its output target in the last financial year.



Coal India Ltd (CIL) produced 462 million tonnes in the year ended March 31, 2014, against a target of 482 million tonnes.



In 2012-13, CIL produced 452.5 million tonnes of coal, short of its goal of 464 million tonnes.



About 24 per cent of coking coal is mostly imported from Australia and is used in the steel sector. The remaining 76 per cent is non-coking coal imported from Indonesia and South Africa for the power and cement sectors, the official document said.



As per the 12th Plan documents, coal demand-supply gap is estimated to further rise to 185 MT in 2016-17, it said.



According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the power sector which alone imported 80.30 MT of coal in 2013-14 is likely to import 171 MT of fossil fuel by the end of 12th Plan period (2012-17), and 188 MT by 13th Plan, it said.



Coal is the mainstay of India's energy programme as 70 per cent of power generation is dependent on the dry fuel.

Source:- profit.ndtv.com

Odisha To Renew Some Iron Ore Mining Licences In 2 Months

India's top iron ore producing state Odisha will renew in about two months licences of 10 of the 26 mines that were shut by the Supreme Court last week, a government official said, allaying fears of steelmakers the shutdown would lead to heavy imports.



The top court had ordered the closure of nearly half of the 56 mines in Odisha due to non-renewal of years-old leases. The closed mines accounted for about half of the state's output of more than 70 million tonnes last fiscal year.



"We're expediting the renewal process and hope to be able to renew the licences of 10 captive mines in about two months," U C Jena, Odisha's deputy director for mines, told Reuters.



The top court had directed Odisha to decide on the renewal of leases within six months and first consider applications of miners who process their own ore, such as Tata Steel Ltd and Steel Authority of India Ltd.



Jena said the 10 mines that should have their licences renewed in two months together produced about 20 million tonnes in the fiscal year that ended in March 31.



To help cover some of the shortage if needed, India's largest iron ore producer NMDC Ltd said it was ready to raise sale volumes by 5 million tonnes above its target of 32 million for this fiscal year.



"We have no issues in raising production," NMDC's finance head, S Thiagarajan, told Reuters.



"Last year from our operations in Chhattisgarh (state) we produced about 21 million tones but our capacity is 25 million. We also have stocks of about 2-3 million tonnes."



'Moral responsibility'



Industry lobby group Assocham earlier this week wrote a letter to the Finance Ministry asking it to consider ordering NMDC to stop its contractual obligation to export up to 2.5 million tonnes of iron ore per year to Japan and South Korea.



"At this juncture when Indian iron and steel industry is struggling to survive due to paucity of key raw material like iron ore, it is the moral responsibility of NMDC to support the industry," Assocham wrote in the letter.



Thiagarajan said NMDC's exports were under long-term bilateral agreements decided by the government and hence he could not comment on that.



Citing a sharp fall in iron ore output following court restrictions on mining in various states, Assocham said the government should also remove the import duty of 2.5 per cent on iron ore and pellets.



India's iron ore production fell to 136 million tonnes in 2013/14 from the peak of 218 million in 2009-10, Assocham said. Output could fall to about 100 million tonnes in the current fiscal year due to the Odisha ban, it added.



India was once the third largest exporter of iron ore, sending out a record of more than 117 million tonnes in the fiscal year through March 2010. It slipped to No. 10 last fiscal year, with estimated exports of less than 20 million tonnes.



Source:- profit.ndtv.com

Commerce Ministry Proposes Antidumping Duty On Solar Cells From Us, China

The Commerce Ministry has proposed anti-dumping duty of up to USD 0.81 per watt on solar cells imported from the US, Malaysia, China and Chinese Taipei following complaints by domestic players.

In its final findings, the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has recommended imposition of the duty on imports of "solar cells whether or not assembled partially or fully in modules or panels or on glass or some other suitable substrates, originating in or exported from Malaysia, China, Chinese Taipei and USA," the Commerce Ministry said in a notification.

The Directorate's recommendation comes on the basis of its findings that increased imports have caused "material injury" to the domestic industry, it said.

"... the Authority (DGAD) concludes that - the product under consideration has been exported to India from subject countries below its normal value, thus resulting in dumping of the product; the domestic industry has suffered material injury due to dumping of the product under consideration," it added.

While the DGAD has recommended anti-dumping duties of up to USD 0.48 per watt on import of solar cells from the US companies and up to USD 0.81 per watt for Chinese firms.

Similarly, USD 0.62 per watt and USD 0.59 per watt was recommended by the DGAD on imports from Malaysian and Taipei firms, respectively.

According to the report, imports of solar cells from the US, Malaysia, China and Taipei have jumped to 1,73,015 KW (kilo watt) in 2010-11 from 57,661 KW.

"The Authority is of the view that imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty is required to offset dumping and injury. Therefore, the Authority considers it necessary to recommend imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties on the imports of the goods from the countries," it added.

The application for the probe was filed by Solar Manufacturer's Association of India on behalf of three of its member companies - Indosolar LtdBSE 4.67 %, Jupiter Solar Power Ltd and Websol Energy Systems LtdBSE 4.94 %.

The recommendations also come against the backdrop of the US dragging India to the WTO on the country's solar mission plan that allows only local equipment.

India has said that its national solar mission programme is WTO-compliant and it would defend its stand in the Geneva-based multilateral body.

India in 2010 launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. It aims to have 20,000 MW of grid-connected solar power by 2022.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com