Sums payable to drivers as per incentive scheme encouraging prompt delivery of vehicles were allowab

IT : Where manufacturer of two-wheelers had launched an incentive scheme for encouraging prompt delivery of two-wheelers from site of manufacturing plant up to door step of dealers and in pursuance of said scheme, assessee having received certain amount from manufacturers, paid a part of same to drivers as incentive, amount so paid was to be allowed as business expenditure

Belated appeal to be condoned if department didn't supply order in original despite request by asses

Excise & Customs : Where assessee's requests for supplying a copy of Order-in-original was not acceded to by Department within time, delay in filing appeal consequent thereto was condonable

Funding of loans from parties not assessable to tax casts doubt over sanctity of funds; HC upheld se

IT: Where assessee received loan from creditors who were not even taxpayers and, moreover, Assessing Officer had made sufficient inquiries and found that entire loan transaction was not genuine and essentially amounted to routing cash amount of assessee through alleged source, in such a situation, addition made under section 68 in respect of loan amount was to be confirmed

Labour and hire charges saved due to use of own machinery in works contract were deductible to deter

CST & VAT : When an assessee, instead of taking machinery and tools on hire, purchases machinery and tool and employs them in execution of works contract, he is entitled to deduction, which represents labour/hire charges, in substitution of which machinery and tools were employed

No cartelization amongst Airtel, Idea and Vodafone in 3G spectrum auction; CCI dismisses BSNL's comp

Competition Law : Where opposite parties who were private telecom service providers competed with each other in bidding for 3G spectrum services in several circles and informant failed to furnish any data to show that OPs had formed a cartel among themselves, proceedings against OPs were to be closed

Assessee isn't debarred from pointing out mistakes in comparables selected by him

IT/ILT: Once a FAR is considered as comparable by assessee, it is still open to point out mistakes therein

Ecc Approves Procurement Of Eight Million Tonnes Of Wheat

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) that met here on Tuesday with Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar accorded approval to the wheat procurement target of eight million tonnes for 2013-14 and extended the existing ban on the import of gold.

The Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) will procure 1.6 million tonnes and the remaining will be procured by the four provincial governments at the same support price of Rs1,200 per 40 kg.

The meeting also extended the ban till March 31 on import of gold and separated the gem stones from the gold and directed the Commence Ministry to immediately lift the ban on export of gem stones.

In the meeting, Ministry of Commerce had suggested that the quantity of gold should be reduced in one import transaction from 25 kg to 10 kg. At present there is a fine of 5 percent if importer imports gold and does not export the same quantity of gold after value addition in the shape of jewellery. It was observed that many importers imported the gold and did not export the same quantity after value addition rather they were involved in smuggling out of the gold to India which was why the ban on gold was imposed by the Nawaz government.

The official who was part of the meeting claimed that the ban on import of gold would be done away with before March 31 after gauging the sentiment of the ECC participants about the gold import issue.

The Commerce Ministry had also come up with its finding in the ECC which suggested that importers should get themselves registered afresh for importing gold and exporting the same after value addition. But importers are hesitant. However, Finance Minister Dar asked the Commerce Ministry to again come to ECC after detailed program to handle the issue with pragmatic approach.

Coming to wheat procurement issue, the official told that farmers community across the country wanted the increase in wheat support price over 1300 per 40 kg arguing that the input cost had increased manifold because of raise in prices of pesticides, electricity and fertilisers, but the Nawaz government did not honour the demand of the farmers and decided to maintain the wheat support price at existing level of Rs1200 per 40 kg.

Under the procurement plan, Punjab government will procure 4.5 million tonnes wheat from growers, Sindh 1.3 million tonnes, KPK 0.450 million tonnes, and Balochistan will procure 0.150 million tonnes.

According to the official, the participants of the ECC were told that current spell of rains would have positive impact on wheat growing areas and two more spells were due in the current month that would help achieve reasonable crop of wheat.

The ECC, however, the official disclosed, had deferred the summary of Commerce Ministry seeking import of livestock and dairy products from the 25 countries on which Pakistan had placed ban in 2001 on account of mad cow disease.

Commerce Ministry was of the view in the summary that World Animal Health Organisation had certified that the said 25 countries were now included in the list of countries where mad cow disease was no more there, so the import of livestock and dairy products should be allowed from the said countries. Dar responded saying he had no objection to import livestock from the said countries if the price of Rs200 per kg meat got reduced.

The 25 countries mainly include USA, New Zealand, some countries of EU and South America. At present, Pakistan imports livestock and dairy products from Australia.

On the issue of sugar export, the dispute between Commerce Ministry and State Bank of Pakistan emerged over the data discrepancies about sugar export as ministries of commerce and industries were of the view that country had exported 500,000 tonnes of sugar that had also been verified by PSMA (Pakistan Sugar Mills Association) whereas State Bank of Pakistan and finance minister were adamant that export of 500,000 tonnes had not completed yet.

So the decision was made that the figures about shipments of sugar exports needed to be reconciled between Commerce Ministry and central bank of Pakistan. The Commerce Ministry has also been directed to come up with sugar export policy and Ministry of Industries has been asked to come up with concrete measures needed to be adopted for the better export policy.

However, Ministry of Industries failed to impress upon the ECC on its review about performance of Large Scale Industries as in the review, there were no recommendations mentioned to increase the growth in LSM sector owing to which ECC asked Ministry of Industries to come up with recipes on how to increase the growth in LSM.

However, the ECC was informed by the Ministry of Industries that the performance of LSM had improved to a great extent telling that LSM growth stood at 6.8 percent in July-December 2013-14 as compared to 2.3 percent in the same period last year. The ECC was informed that there is 78 percent increase in sugar production and 28 percent increase in fertiliser sector.

It was also told the growth in auto industries declined by 2 percent apparently because of import of used cars and increase in sales tax on tractors. Ministry of Industries in its review also pinpointed that the growth in manufacturing bicycles had declined by 14.8 percent explaining the reason that the lower middle class had switched over to buying motorbikes and this could be gauged by the fact that growth in motorbike had tremendously increased. The Ministry also told that growth in paper and board increased by 7.5 percent, jute goods 16 percent and cotton and yarn by 2.18 percent.

Earlier, the finance minister in his opening remarks said that after coming into power the government of PML-N, in line with its manifesto, introduced several structural reforms in the economic sector to overcome the challenges it confronted. He said that today, thanks to Allah, all economic indicators were on the positive trend. Growth is moving up, inflation is going down, foreign exchange reserves are growing, value of rupee is appreciating and the stock market is moving up. He added that the economic scenario of the country was moving in the right direction and we would be able to contribute in prosperity of our people.

Source:- thenews.com.pk

A Budget For The Marginals: 2 Reform Stamp Duty

Government intervention in the housing market is a tricky business. On the one hand, it is a social good to improve people’s chances of owning a home, and homeowners deeply resent a stagnant or falling market. On the other hand, we have all too recently seen the risks of excessive lending. These are the well rehearsed motivations for and concerns about the Help to Buy scheme.

It’s universally acknowledged that more housebuilding would be a positive step. While that should of course happen, for political and practical reasons it is a medium term measure at best.

There is something the Chancellor can do in next week’s budget which would help existing homeowners, and would-be first time buyers, though: reform stamp duty.

As the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign, Stamp Out Stamp Duty, argues, we should aim eventually to eliminate stamp duty entirely.

It is a form of double taxation, and it represents a tax on the main family home – an asset which is exempted from capital gains tax for entirely moral reasons. It particularly hits those at the bottom of the pile, eating into their hard-saved deposits, particularly given that the 1 per cent rate now kicks in well below the average house price. Stamp duty also distorts the economy – producing weird variations in prices, deterring people from downsizing (which reduces opportunities for those with growing families) and adding extra costs to the process of moving to another area for work, for example.

But, with deficit reduction still the priority (as Paul Goodman argued yesterday) our short term aims must be a little more modest. As a first step towards abolition of this unfair tax on aspiration, the Chancellor ought to reform the duty to a marginal model, rather than the current ‘slab’ system.

Before we get bogged down in technical terms, here are the definitions. A slab system is one in which the taxpayer is charged a percentage on the whole value of the transaction once that value crosses the threshold, ie a house costing £125,000 incurs no stamp duty at all, but a house costing £125,001 incurs 1 per cent stamp duty on the whole amount, £1,250 in total.

A marginal system, like that operating for income tax, only applies the percentage charge to the money above the threshold – so a £125,001 house would incur a tax of 1p.

This would bring stamp duty into line with other commonly understood taxes, and reduce the heavy burden which currently afflicts those at the bottom of the pile most severely. A lower burden and a marginal system would help to iron out those distortions in the market, too. More people would be able to buy and sell houses, increasing opportunity and bolstering everyone’s freedom to make full use of their own property as they might wish.

Of course, given the importance of cutting the deficit, as Paul noted, we can’t just sling out tax cuts without giving thought to the consequences.

Fortunately, an enlightening Walbrook Economics study for the TPA has examined the impact on the Treasury’s revenues, too. If transaction numbers were static, such a reform would reduce the tax take by around £1.3 billion a year. Of course, the market is not static – and one of the main reasons to make stamp duty marginal is that it would free up the market, and increase the number of transactions.

That’s only the start of the upsides – people would be more likely to spend money on home improvements, and a more active market would provide greater incentives to build new houses. All in all, the TPA suggests each new transaction would on average be worth around £6,000 to the Exchequer in extra revenue raised as a result of the new economic activity.

For the Treasury to make that £1.3 billion back in extra market activity, therefore, the reform would need to generate only 210,000 extra transactions a year. To put that into context, there were 1.07 million transactions in the UK last year, a relatively low number compared to the years before the crash. Studies of the impact of recent stamp duty holidays suggest reductions in the rate stimulate sales in the short and long term at least enough to hit that figure and thus balance the books.

Laffer Curve-style justifications that tax cuts pay for themselves often involve a lengthy lag time. In this case, though, it seems that the market is sufficiently flexible and stamp duty is a sufficiently serious burden that a change would produce a swift enough reaction essentially to pay for itself.

Reforming stamp duty from the current unfair slab rate to a fairer marginal system would be a double victory for George Osborne – he would help people to become homeowners or to move up the housing ladder, and do so in a way that would be fiscally neutral at worst. It’s a way to improve the lives of large numbers of people at an affordable stroke.

Source:- conservativehome.com

India's Cotton Exports Up 5 Pc At 7.8 Mn Bales In Aug-Feb

India's cotton exports rose by five per cent to 7.8 million bales till February of this year and the pace of shipments are expected to taper in coming months depending upon demand from China, a latest report said.

The world's second biggest cotton producer had exported 7.4 million bales during the August-February period of the 2012-13 marketing year (August-July). One bale has 170 kg.

"Exports have reached an estimated 7.8 million bales through the end of February," the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest report.

Exports from December to February -- traditional months of heavy shipments -- were primarily to China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Pakistan, it said.

However, the pace of exports is expected to taper in coming months depending on demand from China, it added.

According to the USDA, total cotton exports are expected to touch 10.2 million bales in the ongoing 2013-14 marketing year as Indian cotton is favourably priced relative to the Cotlook A index, that monitors global cotton trade.

Cotton exports are expected to be marginally higher in 2013-14 as against 9.9 million bales in the pevious year.

On market arrival of cotton, the report said it continue to lag last year's pace and have reached 21.8 million bales as reported by state-run Cotton Corporation of India.

Arrivals are particularly slow in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan where the pace of cotton deliveries to local markets is 30 per cent behind a year ago. Arrivals in Andhra Pradesh are also running significantly behind the year ago pace.

Quoting trade sources, the USDA said that farmers are willing to hold cotton on farm in the hope of better pricing as the year progresses.

Similarly, mills are maintaining smaller stocks of cotton, buying smaller volumes more frequently rather than fewer, larger purchases, in part because of the high rates of interest in India, it said.Cotton prices remain firm, but spinning margins are strong pointing to continued strong consumption, it added

Source:- business-standard.com

Subsidy Cut To Cap India's 2014/15 Potash Imports

India's potash imports in 2014/15 are likely to remain squeezed despite a 20 percent drop in global prices as the government's plan to cut subsidy will keep local retail prices elevated, a senior industry official told Reuters in an interview.

The south Asian country fulfils its entire potash requirement through imports and global suppliers were banking on recovery in its demand to counter the slump in prices.

"Since the government is cutting subsidy, I think India can buy around 3.5 million tonnes in 2014/15," said P.S. Gahlaut, managing director, Indian Potash Limited, the country's biggest importer. Indian financial year runs from April to March.

India will cut potash subsidies by nearly a fifth for 2014/15 as the government tries to contain a ballooning fiscal deficit, two government sources and an industry official told Reuters last month.

Higher retail prices have already seen a drop in India's annual potash imports to around 3.3 million tonnes in 2013/14 from 6.3 million tonnes in 2010/11, Gahlaut said.

Retail potash prices have doubled since 2011 to 17,000 rupees a tonne as India cut subsidies over the last two years, including a 21.5 percent reduction in 2013/14, and due to a weak currency.

Global potash prices were thrown into a tailspin after Russia's Uralkali broke away from its trading venture Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) in July, sparking competition between producers who had previously maintained a high discipline on pricing.

Global potash miners like Potash Corp, Mosaic Co , Agrium Inc, Germany's K+S AG, Arab Potash Co and Israel Chemicals were hoping strong demand from price-sensitive Indian market in 2014.

Negotiations with global potash suppliers are likely to start from next week and import deals can be signed by the end of March, said Gahlaut, a key Indian negotiator with overseas suppliers.

He said India is likely to secure potash at the same price China bought from global suppliers earlier this year.

"We will pay the same price for potash as China has paid. Because of freight and smaller shipments, usually India pays a slightly higher CFR price than China, but FOB price would remain the same for potash suppliers," he said.

Uralkali, the world's top potash producer, has agreed to sell 700,000 tonnes of potash to China at a price of $305 per tonne on a cost and freight (CFR) basis in the first half of 2014.

In the first half of 2013/14 India bought potash at $427 per tonne, but after the break-up of BPC it secured discounts for existing deals to $375.

Source:- in.reuters.com

Palm Imports By India Falling 30% As Price Highest Since ’12

Palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer, probably tumbled for a second month as global prices jumped to the highest level since 2012 and refiners awaited domestic rapeseed supplies. Futures declined.

Shipments of the main crude and refined oils fell 30 percent to 550,000 metric tons in February from a year earlier, the median of estimates from five processors and brokers compiled by Bloomberg show. Imports in January fell to the lowest since April, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, which is set to release data this week.

Reduced demand from India may curb a rally in futures in Kuala Lumpur, which jumped 17 percent in the past year on concern production of cooking oils will drop as dry weather from Southeast Asia to South America cut prospects for crops. India imports more than 50 percent of its cooking oil demand, shipping palm from Indonesia and Malaysia, the top producers, and soybean oil from the U.S., Brazil and Argentina.

“The pace of imports has reduced because of the rising prices,” Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive officer of Mumbai-based broker Sunvin Group, said by phone. “The gap between palm and soft oils has narrowed, so we can see some shift in demand but not a substantial amount,” he said, referring to soybean and sunflower oils.

Crude soybean oil imports probably jumped 60 percent to 100,000 tons in February from 62,585 tons a year earlier, while sunflower oil purchases rose to 100,000 tons from 84,310 tons, the survey shows. Total vegetable oil imports, including for industrial use, dropped 20 percent in February to 780,000 tons.

Price Gap

Palm futures retreated 1.8 percent to 2,821 ringgit ($856) a ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, the biggest decline at close since Dec. 13. Its discount to soybean oil narrowed to $95.35 a ton from an average $194.42 in the past year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Cooking oil stockpiles at ports and due to arrive to India probably totaled 1.35 million tons at the start of March from 1.52 million tons a month earlier, said Bajoria.

“Imports declined ahead of the rapeseed crop harvest this month and local demand was also poor,” Ashok Sethia, executive director at Sethia Oils Ltd., said by phone from Kolkata. “Consumption should rise in the summer months.”

India may harvest 7.23 million tons of rapeseed, the main oilseed grown in the winter season, up from 6.7 million tons last year, the association said, citing estimates by the Central Organization for Oil Industry & Trade, on March 10. Total vegetable oil imports by India are seen at 11.2 million tons in the year started Nov. 1, compared to 10.7 million tons a year earlier, COOIT said.

Source:- bloomberg.com

Dept. can't insist for formal letter for excise exemption if details were submitted with registratio

Excise & Customs : Where all details required to be submitted with exercise of option to claim area-based central excise exemption had already been furnished with application for central excise registration, non-filing of formal letter opting for said exemption is not fatal

Govt Seeks Fund Source, Gold Imports Dry Up

The apprehensions of customs and other enforcement officials that the large-scale gold imports by expats during the last four months happened at the behest of organized rackets have proved right.

The Karipur airport alone had seen gold imports by NRKs to the tune of 4,487 kg in the last four months. The import figures in the airport for January averaged at 45 kg per day.

The gold imports by expats came to an abrupt end on Thursday with the central government making it mandatory for the importers to furnish the source of funds used for gold purchase and also the details of the person who had booked their flight tickets.

"We had reasons to believe that the gold brought in by passengers were actually not theirs. The sudden drying up of gold imports following the new order has confirmed our doubts," a senior customs officer said.

The four passengers who tried to bring in one kg of gold on Friday were apparently unaware of the new order. Their gold was detained by customs since they were unable to furnish the source of funds. Two of them, who reportedly admitted to acting as carriers, subsequently flew back to the UAE taking the gold along with them.

The March 6 order by the customs director has directed the field formations to "ascertain the antecedents of passengers, source for funding for gold as well as duty being paid in the foreign currency, person responsible for booking of tickets etc so as to prevent the possibility of the misuse of the facility by unscrupulous elements who may hire such eligible passengers to carry gold for them".

The order also stated that the engraved serial number of gold bars must be invariably mentioned in the baggage receipt issued by customs.

Enforcement directorate officials had collected details of passengers and had launched a probe after finding that Gulf-based rackets were channeling hawala money transfers to the country. They had also warned that the passengers could face action under the Foreign Exchange Management Act any time in the future if their collision with hawala rackets is established.

According to customs officials, majority of persons who have utilized the gold import facility available for Indians who have stayed abroad for at least six months to legally bring in up to 1 kg of gold after payment of 10% tax, were ordinary low-income employees.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Ficci Organized Seminar On 'Post-Bali Agenda Of Wto And Trade Facilitation'

Addressing the Seminar on ?Post-Bali Agenda of WTO and Trade Facilitation? at FICCI , Commerce Secretary Mr Rajeev Kher said "Bali was a success and the beginning of a new phase of WTO which is of great significance to developing countries like India.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement signed at the WTO Bali Ministerial is expected to bring gains for Indian business. Although India was unilaterally also pursuing Trade Facilitation initiatives, the WTO Agreement has set an obligation for countries to commit to reforms. Food Security was another milestone achievement of Bali and a remarkable negotiating success which helped in addressing a historic deficiency of the WTO agreement."

"While India remains a huge supporter of the 'Single Undertaking' in the run-up to the formulation of the Post-Bali Agenda, there is a shift in the paradigm with the emergence of plurilateral engagements such as the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), NAMA Sectorals, ITA-2, Agreement on Environment Goods, to name a few, which would force the usage of WTO only to the extent that is necessary. It would be a challenge for India, as Plurilaterals would dilute India?s strong stance on the issue of Single Undertaking", Commerce Secretary added.

The Seminar was jointly organized by FICCI and Centre for WTO Studies. Other speakers at the Seminar were Mr R V Kanoria, Past President, FICCI and Chairman & Managing Director, Kanoria Chemicals & Industries Ltd; Mr Sumanta Chaudhuri, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Mr V K Srivastava, Director, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Ms Kajal Singh, Additional Commissioner, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC); Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI and Mr Abhijit Das, Professor and Head, Centre for WTO Studies.

Source:- newstrackindia.com

Rupee Trades Lower At 61.09 Per Dollar Tracking Asian Currencies

The Indian rupee was trading lower against the US dollar in the afternoon on Wednesday, tracking peers in the Asian markets and ahead of the release of the consumer price inflation and industrial production data later in the day.

At 2.09pm, the rupee was trading at 61.09 per dollar, down 0.21% from its previous close, while India’s equity benchmark BSE Sensex was trading at 21,863.37 points, up 0.17%.The partially convertible Indian currency opened at 61.13 per dollar against its Tuesday’s close of 60.95. Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 1.17%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $634.4 million from local equity markets.

Most Asian currencies were seen trading weaker against the dollar on Wednesday. The South Korean won was down 0.51%, Philippines peso fell 0.4%, Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.31% and Malaysian ringgit slipped 0.26%.The government will release the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for January and consumer price index (CPI)-based Inflation for February later in the day. A Bloomberg poll showed that IIP will fall 1% for January as against a contraction of 0.6% in December, while CPI is expected to be 8.3% in February as against 8.79% in January.The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond stood at 8.731%, compared with its Tuesday’s close of 8.736%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.821, up 0.11% from its previous close of 79.736.

Source:- livemint.com

HC grants interim stay on tax recovery proceedings till disposal of stay application by CIT(A)

IT: Pending application for granting stay on demand, recovery proceeding is to be stayed

Geographical location of market won’t impact comparable unless market conditions are materially diff

IT/ILT: Geographical location of market is of no consequence in judging comparability of an uncontrolled transaction under CUP method, unless market condition in which uncontrolled transactions have taken place are materially different - Held, Yes - No TP adjustment to be made on account of single transaction and unsecured loan extended to foreign subsidiary, on the reasoning that the subsidiary is under management and control of the lender-parent company, and the business risk is much lower - H

Corporate guarantees are outside the ambit of international transaction even after retro amendment t

IT/ILT : Capital financing transactions covered by clause (i) (c) of the Explanation to section 92B are international transactions only if they have any real bearing as distinct from contingent effect on the profits, income, losses or assets of the enterprise. Corporate guarantees issued for the benefit of AEs do not cost anything to the issuing enterprise and yet may provide certain comfort levels to the parties dealing with the AEs. These guarantees do not have any impact on profits, income, l

No abuse of dominance by Omaxe as other players also had access to real estate market, CCI says

Competition Law : Presence of several real estate developers in relevant market makes it competitive and rules out dominance of opposite party in that market

Application of trust’s income to repay monies taken from trustees won’t violate sec. 13; sec. 11 rel

IT-I: Where assessee, a trust registered under section 12A, received money from trustees for carrying on of its activities and those monies had been repaid to them or to their nominees as and when funds were available with assessee-trust, there was no violation of section 13(1)(c) and, therefore, assessee's claim for exemption under section 11 was to be allowed

Sec. 35B not complied with by appending signatures on opinion of lower officer; resultant appeal not

Excise & Customs : Mere appending of signatures on opinion of lower officers, by itself, is not sufficient compliance with section 35B of Excise Act; appeal filed in pursuance of said authorisation of Committee of Commissioners is not maintainable

Sums paid by treasury depart. to stamp vendors on subsequent sale of stamp papers won’t attract sec.

IT: Where Treasury Department sold stamp papers to stamp vendor and latter received certain amount from Treasury Department in lieu of subsequent sale of stamp papers to individuals, stamp vendor could not be treated as agent of Treasury Department and TDS was not liable to be deducted on above payment

Reimbursement of service tax is to be excluded from gross receipts for computing sec. 44BB presumpti

IT/ILT: Where assessee was getting reimbursement of service tax from its client i.e. ONGC, on production or submission of original treasury challan, there being no element of income in said payment, amount of reimbursement was not includible in gross receipts for purpose of determining income under section 44BB

No addition alleging bogus export as docs furnished by assessee proved genuineness of export transac

IT : Where assessee produced original bank certificate showing bills received by bank drawn on importer, export orders confirmed by importer and original statement showing credit limit of importer, Tribunal was justified in deleting addition made by Assessing Officer treating exports as bogus

Mixing of asphalt, jelly and sand to make 'bitumen mixture' amounts to manufacture

CST & VAT : Mixing of asphalt, jelly and sand by employing melting, etc. so as to make 'bitumen mixture' to be used for laying roads, amounts to manufacture

Sec. 54 relief allowed as two houses were acquired instead of one big house to avoid disharmony amon

IT: Expression 'a residential house' used in section 54 doesn't refer to a single residential house; it permits use of plural - The assessee was not attempting to evade tax when instead of one big house, assessee chose to purchase two small residential houses (out of the sales consideration) for his two sons to avoid litigation or disharmony amongst brothers - Therefore, the assessee was entitled to exemption under sec. 54 in respect of acquisition of two residential houses - Held, yes