Tuesday, 7 January 2014
HC slams revenue for allowing excess deduction to assessee even in absence of any evidence to prove
Vehicles meant for private use of assessee won't be eligible for credit as capital goods
Limitation period for completing block assessment would resume from date of pronouncement of stay or
Assessee isn’t entitled to seek credit of input services used for trading purposes
Tea Turnover Tops Rs 500 Crore At Coonoor
Two significant records were created by the Coonoor Tea Trade Association in 2013, the turnover crossed Rs 500-crore mark and the average price topped Rs 100 a kg, reveals an analysis of market reports.
The average price was above Rs 80-a-kg mark for the second consecutive year. The volume sold continued to remain above 5-crore-kg level for the third consecutive year.
In all, 51 auctions were held last year with 5.95 crore kg being sold against 5.53 crore kg in 2012. A higher volume was sold despite average price rising to Rs 89.32 a kg from Rs 82.28 in 2012.
Consequently, the turnover rose to Rs 531.45 crore from Rs 455.01 crore. This increase of Rs 76.44 crore marked 16.80 per cent growth.
The increased turnover lay spread among factory owners, growers, traders, workers, auctioneers and warehouse keepers.
For the first time at the auctions, the average price crossed Rs 100/kg to touch Rs 104.11 on March 8. It remained above Rs 100 till April 26 peaking to a high of Rs 110.70 on March 21.
However, oversupply in global market reduced exports. Availability of low-priced tea in north Indian auctions reduced upcountry demand. Collectively, in the last quarter, CTTA auction average price crashed to Rs 72 – the least in the last two years. Otherwise, the year’s average price would have been much higher.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Reassessment notice would be non-est if it was not served at address given by assessee to IT departm
Natural Rubber Imports Go Up By 46 Pc In Dec
Imports of natural rubber went up by 46 per cent to 26,853 tonnes in December due to lower prices in international markets and drop of over 5 per cent in domestic production.
Imports increased notwithstanding the Centre raising import duty on natural rubber to Rs 30 per kg or 20 per cent, whichever is lower, in December.
The basic customs duty on natural rubber earlier stood at Rs 20 a kg or 20 per cent whichever was lower.
According to the Rubber Board data, India's natural rubber imports rose to 26,853 tonnes from 18,366 tonnes of in the same month in 2012.
"Imports have gone up as contracts for import of natural rubber in December were made during September and October, and at that time prices in the international market were down by Rs 35 per tonne as compared to domestic prices," a senior rubber board official said.
During April-December period of this fiscal, rubber import increased to 2.64 lakh tonnes from 1.73 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.
Meanwhile, production of natural rubber dropped by 5 per cent to 1.08 lakh tonnes during December 2013 against 1.14 lakh tonnes in the same month of 2012. However, consumption rose to 79,500 tonnes in December last year from 78,420 tonnes in December 2012.
Rubber exports declined 57 per cent to 695 tonnes in December last year as compare to 1,603 tonnes in the same month in 2012.
Source:- business-standard.com
Wheat Exports May Fetch More On Firm Global Prices
India, currently a big wheat seller in the global market, could gain from the firm trend in prices of the cereal, triggered by the concerns over severe cold snap affecting the US crop and large purchases made by African countries
State trading entities – MMTC, STC and PEC Ltd – have offered to sell a total of nearly 8.3 lakh tonnes of wheat. Tenders for the sales expected to be decided over the next 17 days.
“India should exploit the current situation to get the maximum price for its wheat. There is a case for upward revision of the floor price for exports,” said trade sources.
India had set minimum export price of $260 a tonne but has received higher quotes from global buyers for tenders floated recently. So far, about 9 lakh tonnes of wheat have been tendered for sale, but sales of about six lakh tones only have been finalised.
The Government has planned to export about 20 lakh tonnes to create storage space for the new crop expected to arrive in April. The country’s wheat stocks as on December 1 stood at 31 million tonnes, almost thrice the buffer and strategic reserves to be maintained statutorily.
The firm trend in global prices is also aided by the aggressive buying from African nations such as Egypt and Algeria last week. Egypt has bought 5.35 lakh tonnes from Ukraine, Russia and France at an average price of $317 a tonne.
Algeria has bought about 5 lakh tonnes, while Syria has bought about two lakh tonnes.
“Going by the recent market trends India should get better price for its wheat. The intrinsic value of the Indian wheat is $290-300 a tonne – a price at which India should be selling,” an analyst said.
Wheat futures, which rallied to a two week high on the Chicago Board of Trade on concerns of crops damage in the US winter crop, eased a bit on Tuesday on signs of slack demand.
Wheat acreage in the current rabi season has touched a record 302 lakh hectares, raising expectation of a bumper harvest of over 95 million tonnes. Prevailing cold conditions across the wheat growing regions of North India are seen aiding the crop.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Indian Cotton Seen Up On Export Demand, Thin Supply
Cotton futures in India, the world's second-largest producer, are expected to trade higher this week on demand from overseas and local buyers amid a slowdown in supplies due to a cold wave in many parts of the country.
Indian origin cotton is getting good export orders from Pakistan and Bangladesh, while China is buying more of cotton yarn in a bid to bypass duties on the raw fibre, spot traders said.
"Demand for raw cotton has been good from Bangladesh and Pakistan, but supplies have slowed down in the local markets because of the dip in temperature," said Arun Kumar Dalal, a trader from Ahmedabad, a key market in Gujarat state.
Daily cotton supplies have fallen to 170,000-175,000 bales of 170 kg each from 180,000-190,000 the previous week across India due to the cold and cloudy weather, spot traders said.Meanwhile, Chinese buyers are settling cotton import contracts signed earlier to import more yarn from India to bypass duty.
"Chinese buyers are finding importing yarn cheaper than the fiber due to higher duty... Indians have willingly obliged as the deals were struck at much lower rates of 81-82 cents per pound, while current rates are 86-87 cents per pound," Kotak Commodities said in a research note.
The January cotton contract ended up 1.93 percent to close at 20,070 rupees per bale on the Multi Commodity Exchange.In the spot market, the price of the most-traded domestic spot Shankar-6 variety rose 300 rupees to 40,700 rupees per candy of 356 kg, data from the Cotton Association of India showed on Monday.However, estimates of higher output could limit the upside, analysts said.
Spot traders expect cotton prices to fall with the rise in supplies from mid-January.The most-active March cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. was up 0.80 percent at 83.60 cents per pound at 1248 GMT. (Reporting by Meenakshi Sharma; Editing by Prateek
Source:- in.reuters.com/article
India Emerges Net Exporter Of Steel In April-Dec Period
India has become a net exporter of steel in the first nine months of the present fiscal, mainly due to subdued domestic demand.If the trend strengthens during the January-March period, the country may end up being a net exporter of steel for the entire fiscal, 2013-14, after a gap of five years.
“India emerged as a net exporter of total finished steel in December 2013 as well as during the April-December period,” said Joint Plant Committee (JPC), a unit of Steel Ministry.
Exports went up by 9.5 per cent during the April-December period to 4.136 million tonne (MT), but imports in the same period registered 29.2 per cent decline at 4.09 MT.
In December, exports rose by 13.7 per cent to 0.54 MT while imports nosedived by 46 per cent to 0.37 MT.India has been a net importer of steel since 2007-08. In the last fiscal also, it imported 7.9 MT against its exports of 5.2 MT. Before 2007-08, however, India used to export more than imports.
The surge in exports during the April-December period is a result of rupee volatility, different economic conditions, impact of global downswing and depressed domestic demand, JPC said in its latest report.It attributed the dip in imports to slowdown in domestic economy, exchange rate volatility, relative prices, global downswing and bilateral agreements among others.Almost all domestic producers have had a good growth on the export front in the present fiscal so far.
Steel Authority of India (SAIL) clocked a 122 per cent growth in exports to 177,000 tonne during October-December quarter alone and it is eyeing doubling last year’s volume to 700,000 tonne this fiscal.
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) recorded 142 per cent growth in its export revenue during the April-December period at Rs 519 crore.Rising exports have also helped them raise domestic prices and reduce inventories. Steel makers have raised prices by up to Rs 1,500 per tonne earlier this month.
Impacted by economic slowdown, India’s steel consumption grew by just 0.5 per cent to 53.789 MT during April-December period of the current fiscal.
Source:- business-standard.com