IT: Where different items were categorised under single heading electrical installations and depreciation was allowed at flat rate of 15 per cent while electrical fittings included in this category are entitled to depreciation at rate of 10 per cent, matter to be readjudicated
Friday, 14 March 2014
SC remanded back case as HC dismissed appeal on pretext of constitutional issue
Excise & Customs: Where questions raised before High Court were not dependent upon constitutionality of provisions, judgment of High Court disposing of appeal only on that ground could not be sustained and matter was remanded back
Sum received by astrologer for predicting win of ‘Jayalalithaa’ was taxable as business receipts
IT: Where seven political leaders of Tamil Nadu had given certain amount to assessee, an astrologer by profession, on account of predication made by him in respect of election results, above amount was taxable in hands of assessee as income from business
Profits from sale of agricultural land by real estate developer were taxable as business receipts
IT : Where assessee-firm was constituted for purpose of carrying on business of buying and developing properties into plots and in meantime it purchased agricultural land and sold same after three years, income derived on purchase and sale of agricultural land formed income from business
Matters not raised in appeal can be reassessed
CST & VAT : Where assessee's appeal against original assessment order rejecting assessee's return but granting certain exemptions had been dismissed, there was no merger of assessment order in appellate order as regards allowability of exemptions as same were not in challenge in appeal; hence, grant of said exemption could be subjected to reassessment
HC lifts CLB's status qua on co's assets; accepts appellant's deposit to restore lease in interest o
CL : Where DDA sought to cancel lease of plot in name of appellant company on its failure to commence construction of hotel as a condition for lease, status quo order of CLB was to be vacated and appellant's offer to deposit sum for said purpose without prejudice to rights of respondent shareholders was to be accepted
ITAT following its earlier order directed AO to apply same rate of net profit to make adjustments to
IT/ILT : Following order passed by Co-ordinate Bench of Tribunal in assessee's own case relating to earlier assessment year, Assessing Officer was to be directed to make adjustment to assessee's ALP by applying net profit rate of 1.25 per cent on gross receipts of assessee
Workshop To Improve Rice Export To Usa
The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan and the Ministry of National Food Security and Research conducted a training .
workshop on the control of Khapra beetle in rice to develop awareness among the exporters. Dr. Muhammad Ishfaque, Department of Plant Protection Lahore gave a presentation by covering all Technical Aspects for removal of Khapra beetle. Ch. Masood Iqbal, Chairman REAP, also delivered a speech on this issue. In a section of press, his message was not clearly recorded. In fact, he emphasized that in future our exporters need to be more vigilant by covering all Phytosanitary requirements which are essentially required for Rice Export to USA.
The present practice of inspection at USA Ports will remain as it is till the finalization of arrangements mutually agreed between the Government of Pakistan and APHIS (USDA).
Source:- nation.com.pk
Expedite Duty Drawback Claims: Fieo
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has once again urged the Centre to expedite the release of duty drawback claims as it has touched Rs.10,100 crore at the national level.
FIEO has been raising concern over the delay in refund of duty drawback for the goods exported through sea and air ports, as liquidity is a big issue for exporters and it would impact future shipments and fund flows.
Citing the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) website, a FIEO official said: “We are talking about the duty drawback pendency claim of Rs.10,177.50 crore since November. This figure is mentioned in the CBEC website and not provided by us. We are requesting the Centre to help the exporters to enable them to compete at the global level when the market conditions are gloomy.”
At the national level, from April 2013 till March 12, 2014, CBEC has paid Rs.11,511.13 crore against Rs.9,666.38 crore paid for the corresponding period last year. The pendency is Rs.10,177 crore for 12.41 lakh shipping bills.
Regarding the pendency at the Southern ports, he said CBEC till date had paid Rs.5,885.86 crore against Rs.4,721.98 crore for the corresponding period last year and the outstanding amount is Rs.3,168.64 crore.
Talking to The Hindu, a Custom House agent said that there has been a slow down in the refund of duty drawback claims since November. Though the CBEC claims that there has been a 27.4 per cent increase in the payout for the current year, it includes payment made for January-March 2013 period in the first quarter of 2014 and also due to inflation.
Source:- thehindu.com
Asia Pacific Market: Stocks Slide On China Economy Slowdown, Ahead Of Crimea Referendum
Asia Pacific share market drifted down on Friday, 14 March 2014, as risk aversion selloff flared across the region on concerns about China's economic growth coupled with escalating tensions in the Ukraine. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.9%.
Investment rationale turned bearish amidst heightening concern about the outlook for the China economy after at least four investment banks cut their growth forecasts on the region's biggest economy.
Bank of America Corp., UBS AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Nomura Holdings Inc. lowered forecasts for China's 2014 economic expansion after reports yesterday showed factory output rose in January and February at the slowest pace since the global financial crisis, while retail sales grew at the slowest rate for the period since 2004.
National Bureau of Statistics of China said on Thursday that factory production rose 8.6% in the January-February period from a year earlier. Retail sales advanced 11.8%, while fixed-asset investment excluding rural households was up 17.9%. The Thursday data releases confirm that the slowdown seen at the end of 2013 has extended into this year and suggest it is deepening.
At the same time, Premier Li Keqiang signaled that China's leaders are "not preoccupied" with hitting the official 7.5% economic growth target. Risk sentiments weakened further after PREMIER Li Keqiang signaled on Thursday that his government will not ride to the rescue of every troubled investment, by saying some loan defaults are hard to avoid in what he called a challenging economic environment. But Li, speaking at a news conference on the final day of the annual session of China's top legislature, hinted at some tolerance for slower economic expansion this year in order to push reforms aimed at providing longer-term and more sustainable growth, as long as enough new jobs are created. The GDP growth target is around 7.5%. 'Around' means there is some flexibility and we have some tolerance, Li said, adding that the lower limit on growth must ensure job creation. China wants to create 10 million new jobs in 2014 and Li has said that the economy must grow 7.2% annually to do that. Some 13 million new jobs were created last year, when the economy grew 7.7%.
Selling pressure intensified further on caution ahead of a public referendum in Crimea on Sunday to decide whether to break away from Ukraine and become part of Russia. The Black Sea region of Crimea votes on whether to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia on March 16, with the U.S. and Germany stepping up pressure on Moscow over their support for the secession.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said serious steps would be imposed by the U.S. and Europe if the referendum on Crimea joining Russia takes place on Sunday as planned.
Market sentiments also under pressure after the release of disappointing U.K. trade balance data. Official data showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to 9.79 billion pound in January, from 7.66 billion pound in December, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated deficit of 7.7 billion pound.
Meanwhile, investors were eyeing upcoming U.S. data due later in the day, after upbeat economic reports on Thursday eased concerns over the strength of the nation's economic recovery. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.3% in February, ending two months of declines, while Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, also rose 0.2% last month, ahead of expectations for a 0.3% rise. Separately, the Department of Labor said the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to a three month low of 315,000 last week, from the previous week's revised total of 324,000.
Among Asian bourses, Japanese share market stumbled the most in the region, as investors flew away from riskier stocks, particularly export related companies, amidst concerns about China's economic growth coupled with escalating tensions in the Ukraine. Meanwhile, hardening of yen against major currencies intensified selling in the local shares. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index tanked 3.3% to 14327.66, while the Topix index of all first-section shares retreated 3.22% at 1164.70.
Japanese exporter shares, especially those with close China links, declined sharply, with TDK topped a list of battered exporters, losing 4.5%. Komatsu fell 3.6% and Daikin Industries lost 3.9%.Toyota dropped 3% to 5,551 yen in Tokyo. Honda Motor Co. (7267), which gets about 83% of sales from overseas, decreased 3.1% to 3,607 yen. Sony Corp. (6758), the maker of Bravia televisions and PlayStation game consoles, sank 4.2% to 1,761 yen.
The minutes of the Feb. 17-18 policy meeting released on Friday, indicating many of the Bank of Japan's nine board members decided unanimously to double the scale of the two programs to help boost bank lending and extend the application period for these facilities by one year.
"Many members said that the bank had been stating that, implementing quantitative and qualitative monetary easing, it would examine both upside and downside risks to economic activity and prices, and make adjustments as appropriate," the minutes said. "These members continued that the revisions discussed at this meeting should not be taken as such 'adjustments' to achieving the price stability target of 2% as expected.
The minutes for the February meeting also showed that the board agreed that the moderate recovery trend will continue, weathering an expected slump in domestic demand after the April sales tax hike. "A few members expressed the view that future economic developments depended on whether an increase in exports and business fixed investment could offset the reversal decline in private consumption following the consumption tax hike," the minutes said. "One of these members added that, in the event of a decline in household and business sentiment, it was necessary to closely monitor whether this would bring about a self-fulfilling economic downturn through a contraction in consumption and investment activities." Some board members said exports have been weak because some sectors have had to respond to strong domestic demand. "These members continued that exports might gain momentum in the April-June quarter of 2014, at which time domestic demand was projected to experience a reversal decline following the consumption tax hike," the minute said.
In Australia, Australian stock market closed sharp lower as investors flew away from riskier stocks, particularly commodity linked companies, on lingering concerns about weakness in the Chinese economy and tensions in Ukraine. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index each were down 1.5% to finish at 5329.40 and 5347.10, respectively.
Material was the worst-performing sector, down 2.4%, as the base metal prices fell up to 1.4% on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday with copper and aluminium leading the declines. Resources giant BHP Billiton tanked 2% to A$35.66, while Rio Tinto, Australia's biggest iron ore miner, dropped 2.5% to A$61.50 and third force in iron ore, Fortescue Metals Group, dropped 2.7% to A$4.98.
Shares of Australian financial companies were also down. Commonwealth Bank of Australia declined 0.9% to A$75.25, Westpac Banking Corp 1.8% to A$33.65, National Australia Bank 1.2% to A$34.33 and ANZ Banking Group 1.1% to A$31.87.
Lend Lease shares fell 1.6% to A$11.32 following a fire at its $6 billion Barangaroo development in Sydney. It is likely the property group has insurance but the fire, which covered Sydney's central business district in smoke, will cause delays.
Shares in Leighton Holdings gained 3.1% to A$21.37, following the increase of a takeover offer from Hochtief, which raised its conditional bid to A$22.50%.
In China, Mainland China stock market finished weaker, after at least four investment banks cut their growth forecasts on the Asia's biggest economy. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.73% to 2004.34.
Among SSE sectors, 9/10 sectors of the SSE index declined, with energy sector dropped the most amongst the SSE sectoral peers, down 1.5%, followed by healthcare down 1.1%, consumer staples down 1.1%, industrials down 1%, utilities down 1%, financials down 0.8%, telecommunication services down 0.5%, information technology down 0.4% and materials down 0.1%.
In Hong Kong, HK market declined for third consecutive day, amid mounting concern about the outlook for the China economy after at least four investment banks cut their growth forecasts on the region's biggest economy. The Hang Seng Index ended down 216.59 points to 21,539.
Among the HK 50 blue chips, 38 fell and 8 rose, with 4 stocks remaining unchanged. New World Development Co was down 14% to HK$8.27 on whammy of rights issue, while CITIC Pacific rose 4.9% to HK$11.68 on talks that the conglomerate looks for a up to HK$8.8bn 5-year loan with 13 banks, making themselves the biggest blue-chip loser and gainer.
New World sank 14% to HK$8.27, while New World China (00917) surged 29% to HK$6.63 after its parent announced plan to take it private at HK$6.8 per share.
Tencent plunged 4% to HK$564 after regulator's call to a halt of Tencent's virtual credit card products. The stock has dropped for three consecutive days. It has slid 12.7% from its all-time high of HK$646 on 7 March.
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance on Friday said total gross premiums of the Hong Kong insurance industry in 2013 amounted to HK$290.7 billion, an increase of 13.9% over 2012. Gross and net premiums of general insurance business recorded a growth of 7.1% to HK$42.1 billion and 8% to HK$29.2 billion compared with 2012. Overall underwriting profit also recorded an increase from HK$2.2 billion in 2012 to HK$3 billion in 2013. Revenue premiums of Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) business and Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business rose 18.4% to HK$173.3 billion and by 9.5% to HK$54.7 billion. Contributions of Retirement Scheme business grew 2.3% to HK$17.1 billion. New office premiums (excluding Retirement Scheme business) of long term business for 2013 climbed 18.9% to HK$92.6 billion compared with 2012. Both Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) and Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business recorded premium growth, with the former rose 21% to HK$73.0 billion and the latter grew 11.7% to HK$19.1 billion in terms of new office premiums.
In Indonesia, shares in the Jakarta market surged sharply today, after main opposition PDI-P party named Jakarta's hugely popular governor, Joko Widodo, as its candidate for this year's presidential election. The Indonesian benchmark Jakarta Composite Index jumped 3.23% to 4878.54, extending its advance from an Aug. 27 low to 23%. That's above the 20% level that marks the common definition of a bull market.
Bank Indonesia held its benchmark reference rate unchanged at 7.50%, as widely expected, because pressures over the inflation rate and the rupiah have eased. The decision came after market close on Thursday.
In India, strong intraday rebound in late trade took the key benchmark indices to positive zone from negative zone. The market sentiment was boosted after the data showed that inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) eased to a nine-month low last month.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally up 22.55 points or 0.1%, up about 225 points from the day's low and off close to 55 points from the day's high. Among the 30 Sensex shares, 15 declined and rest rose. Bhel (up 2.73%), Tata Steel (up 1.68%), and Tata Motors (up 1.61%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Indian index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) and ITC, both, reversed intraday losses. Shares of L&T scaled 52-week high and L&T Finance Holdings slumped after the offer for sale of shares of L&T Finance Holdings by L&T was oversubscribed. Among auto stocks, M&M scaled record high.
Indian economy can grow an annual 5.2% in the quarter to end-March on higher farm output growth, the chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council said today, 14 March 2014. C. Rangarajan also said he expects the economic growth to pick up to 5.5% to 6% in the fiscal year that begins on 1 April 2014. Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) eased to a nine-month low of 4.68% in February 2014, from 5.05% in January 2014 and 7.28% during the corresponding month of the previous year, data released by the government today, 14 March 2014, showed. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 5.17% compared to a buildup rate of 6.15% in the corresponding period of the previous year. The government revised upwards the rate of WPI inflation for December 2013 to 6.4%, from 6.16% reported on 15 January 2014.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan's Taiex index dropped 0.69%. South Korea's KOSPI index fell 0.75%. New Zealand's NZX50 declined 0.64%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite declined 0.76%. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.25%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index jumped 3.23%.
Source:-business-standard.com
Kcci Export Trophy Awards: Paying Tribute And Recognising Untiring Efforts Of Karachi-Based Exporters
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has organised KCCI Export Trophy Awards for Karachi based exporters during the current fiscal year with a vision to pay glowing tribute and recognise the untiring efforts being made by the local exporters, who are promoting 'Made in Pakistan' logo and earning the foreign exchange for the country.
The tireless efforts being made by these exporters have ensured that Pakistan's economy stays afloat in all circumstances as the overall business climate is not at par as compared to Pakistan's competitors in this region yet our exporters are trying their best to maintain and further improve their share in the international markets.
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has designed its Exports Awards for Karachi based exporters in an alluring manner, while classifying the awards in diversified categories in respect to an array of export oriented products of Pakistan. KCCI has been organising Export Trophy Awards since many years to pay glowing tribute to exporters for their unmatchable contribution in earning foreign exchange and to recognise their services which led to ensuring that Pakistan's economy stays afloat. It is very heartening to note that the depressed economy has finally started to recover soon after the democratically elected PML-N government took over the regime and announced to give top priority to economic revival and energy crisis.
KCCI Export Trophy Awards are being conferred in seven different categories namely 1.) Businessmen of the Year Award; 2.) Best Export Performance Award; 3.) Special Merit Export Award; 4.)Merit Export Award; 5.)Non-traditional/ value-added New Product Award; 6.) Best Lady Exporter Award; and 7.) Special Award for Small & Medium Enterprise (SME).
Karachi city, being the financial hub of Pakistan and a major contributor to the national exchequer, is undoubtedly the paradise for exporters as two major ports of the country, the Karachi Port Trust and Port Qasim Authority equipped with Pakistan International Container Terminal and Qasim International Container Terminal, are located in the metropolitan city of Karachi. Majority of the offices of various shipping companies along with the offices of freight forwarders and shipping agents are headquartered in this important city.
Despite energy crisis and security issues, Pakistan's export have continued to perform well owing to the business community's will to keep on enhancing exports by exploring untapped markets, besides enhancing trade ties in regional markets including SAARC, ASEAN, Central Asian Republics, China, Iran, India, Middle East and African countries.
According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan's trade deficit has shrunk by 10.76 percent to $5.8 billion in the first four months (July to October) period of current fiscal year 2013-14 (FY14) as compared to $6.5 billion in same period last fiscal year. Meanwhile, exports from the country gained sufficient pace in the period under review to $8.6 billion, registering 5.11 percent increase over exports worth $8.2 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.
The European Union (EU) granted duty-free access to Pakistani made-ups under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) Plus status from January 1, 2014. Industry analysts believe that the GSP Plus status will help reduce trade deficit of Pakistan by duty free or preferential duty-rate access on 3,500 products to EU markets where currently Pakistan textile exports to the EU draw an 11 percent duty.
The new trade concessions are likely to bode well for the Pakistan textile chain and should augment export revenues where the EU is one of Pakistan's major trading partners. With the approval of GSP Plus status, Pakistan's export revenues are likely to be enhanced by $500 million to $1 billion annually, as the industry will look to maximise capacity utilisation.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan exported textiles and garments worth US $4.691 billion during the first four months of the ongoing fiscal year 2013-14 that started on July 1, 2013, showing a rise of 7.55 percent over exports of US $4.361 billion made during the corresponding period of last year.
From January to October 2013, Pakistan's raw cotton exports surged by 43.27 percent year-on-year to US $81.556 million, while its bed wear exports grew by 21.08 percent year-on-year to US $727.306 million. However, major earnings for Pakistan were from cotton fabric, which fetched US $946.601 million growing at 5.2 percent year-on-year, followed by knitwear, which earned US $763.865 million rising at 1.51 percent year-on-year, and cotton yarn, which brought US $758.363 million in foreign exchange showing a rise of 6.39 percent year-on-year.During the four-month period, Pakistan's readymade garment exports increased by 7.96 percent year-on-year to US $620.763 million. The textile exports as a whole increased by mere 0.40 percent year-on-year in October 2013 to US $1.114 billion, with a major dip of 50.35 percent year-on-year seen in export of cotton.
Furthermore, the export of non-textile products grew marginally by 2.29 per cent in the first four months (July-October) of this fiscal year from a year ago. In absolute terms, the export of non-textile products reached $3.885 billion in July-October 2013 compared with $3.798billion in the corresponding period of last year. The increase was mainly driven by surge in export of petroleum products, sports goods, leather products and molasses.
Although Pakistan's exports have been performing well for many decades but the experts from business community strongly believe that these exports were still at the lower side and they can be taken to new heights if government focuses more on improving the infrastructure along with Pakistan's foreign trade with various countries. Moreover, Pakistan's exports remain confined to traditional markets with limited exportable items, of which the textile exports remain outstanding. There is a need to not only diversify these exports but also explore new markets as remaining confined to the traditional markets and products will keep Pakistan's exports limited and we, despite having the capability to earn billions of dollars by diversifying and enhancing our exports, will not be able to score much. On the other hand, the decision makers in Islamabad must also stop depending on aid and should devise a clear strategy focusing on ways and means to enhance trade. In this regard, all hurdles in way of enhancing trade must be removed by effectively dealing with corruption at all departments, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to industrialists and availability of essential infrastructure along with safe and secure business climate.
Source:- brecorder.com
Gold, Silver Up On Scattered Buying, Global Cues
Gold prices recovered by Rs 10 to Rs 30,810 per ten gram in the national capital on Friday on scattered buying by retailers amid a firm global trend.
Silver also strengthened for the fourth day by adding Rs 100 to Rs 47,000 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units.
Traders said scattered buying by retailers amid a firm global trend, where gold climbed to a six-month high, and escalating tension in Ukraine mainly boosted demand for the precious metals as a safe haven.
Gold in Singapore, which normally sets price trend on the domestic front, rose 0.5 per cent to $ 1,376.64 an ounce, the highest level since September 10 and silver added 0.2 per cent to $ 21.22 an ounce.
On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity recovered by Rs 10 each to Rs 30,810 and Rs 30,610 per ten gram respectively. It had lost Rs 220 on Thursday.
Sovereign held steady at Rs 25,350 per piece of eight gram.
On the other hand, silver ready rose further by Rs 100 to Rs 47,000 for per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 160 to Rs 46,850 per kg. The white metal had gained Rs 970 in the previous three sessions.
However, silver coin lacked necessary buying support and plunged by Rs 1,000 to Rs 86,000 for buying and Rs 87,000 for selling of 100 pieces.
Source:- thehindu.com
Higher tax rate specified by IT Act on foreign cos. isn’t violative of non-discrimination clauses of
IT/ILT : Higher rate of tax prescribed for foreign company is not to be regarded as violative of non-discriminatory clause, i.e. article 26 of India - France DTAA
Ind-Ra Market Wire: India To Miss Fy14 Exports Target
India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) believes India will miss its FY14 exports target of USD325bn due to negative growth in exports (3.7% yoy) in February 2014.
Exports valued at USD26.7bn in February 2014, puts the cumulative exports over April 2013-February 2014 at USD282bn, leaving a gap of USD43bn from the FY14 exports target. Ind-Ra believes it is quite unlikely that this gap would be filled in just one month as exports in most of the months of FY14 have fluctuated between USD24bn-USD27bn.
Imports in February 2014, valued at USD33.8bn, witnessed a negative yoy growth of 17.0%. This fall was mainly due to a sharp decline in non-oil imports (24.5%). With a slowing economy, this is not unexpected, but has had a positive impact on the overall trade balance. Trade deficit declined to USD8.1bn in February 2014 from USD9.9bn in January 2014.
On a cumulative basis, exports at USD282bn over April 2013-February 2014 grew 4.8%, while imports at USD411bn declined 8.7%. This resulted in the trade deficit narrowing to USD128bn over the same period. Ind-Ra, therefore, expects current account deficit to come down to 2.2% of GDP in FY14 as against 4.8% of GDP in.
Source:- business-standard.com
Palm Imports By India Tumble To Lowest In 34 Months On Prices
Palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer, slumped to the lowest since April 2011 last month as prices surged on production concerns and local refiners idled capacities because of falling profit margins.
Purchases of crude and refined palm oils plunged 50 percent to 393,828 metric tons from a year earlier, Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association of India said in an e-mailed statement today. Shipments were lower than the 550,000 tons estimated in a Bloomberg survey. Total imports, including for industrial use, tumbled 40 percent to 578,975 tons, the association said.
Futures jumped to the highest level in almost 18 months this week after data showed that palm oil output in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer, dropped last month to the lowest since April 2012 and as a dry spell sweeping most of Southeast Asia threatened to hurt production later this year.
“The dry spell in Indonesia and Malaysia is hitting us as prices have gone up,” B.V. Mehta, executive director of the trade group, said by phone from Mumbai. “There is a disparity in importing palm products, and many refineries are lying idle. Today, RBD palm olein is $15-$20 a ton cheaper in India than crude palm oil. Who is a fool to import CPO?”
Indonesia set the export tax on refined bleached and deodorized, or RBD, palm olein at 2 percent for March, compared with a 10.5 percent tariff on crude oil. India imposes a duty of 2.5 percent on crude edible oil imports, while the levy on refined varieties is 10 percent.
Crude soybean oil imports jumped 54 percent to 96,420 tons in February from a year earlier, while sunflower oil purchases fell 31 percent to 57,950 tons, the association said. The country purchased 11,489 tons of canola oil last month, it said.
Futures climbed to 2,916 ringgit ($889) a ton on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives on March 11, the highest price since September 2012, and were at 2,783 ringgit at 5:07 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur today. Palm oil’s discount to soybean oil narrowed to $90.337 a ton from an average of $192.67 in the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Stockpiles at ports and due to arrive in India fell to 1.25 million tons as of March 1 from 1.52 million tons a month earlier, data showed.
“People are waiting for prices to fall,” Mehta said. “Only then will they start refilling supplies which are lower than the normal levels of 1.4 million tons a month. For now, new rapeseed crop is due and supply will be comfortable.”
India’s total cooking oil imports dropped 6 percent to 3.5 million tons in the four months ended February, the association said. Imports during 2013-2014 may total 10 million tons to 11 million tons, compared with 10.7 million tons a year earlier, Mehta said.
Source:- bloomberg.com
Rupee Recovers Most Losses As Exporters Sell Dollars
The rupee recovered most of its losses against the US dollar as exporters sold the US currency after a strong opening to the dollar in domestic trade on Friday.
At 2.55pm the rupee was trading at 61.265 per dollar, down 0.14% from its previous close of 61.18, but more importantly it was off its intra-day low of 61.55 earlier in the day.
The partially convertible currency had opened at 61.415 a dollar as banks bought the US currency after overnight data showed that the US economy was recovering at a quicker-than-expected pace.
Jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to 315,000 in the week ended 8 March, a labour department report showed 13 March. A separate report from the commerce department showed retail sales rose in February for the first time in three months. Purchases climbed 0.3% after a revised 0.6% decrease a month earlier that was bigger than initially estimated.
“The rupee was trading weaker earlier but since then there is no real customer dollar demand in the market which has allowed it to rebound. Exporters are also looking to sell the dollar at every uptick which is why rupee has rebounded,” said Agam Gupta, managing director, fixed income trading, India at Standard Chartered Plc.
A larger-than-expected drop in wholesale inflation also soothed the market. The February wholesale price inflation (WPI) figure dropped to 4.68% from 5.05% in January, much below the consensus estimate of 4.9% and a nine-month low.
Since January this year, the rupee has gained 0.89% amid a return of foreign inflows in both the debt as well as equity markets in India.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.596, down 0.03% from the previous close of 79.62.
India’s benchmark Sensex was trading at 21,613.80, down 0.74%, or 160.81 points, from the previous close.
The 10-year bond was trading at 8.771%, from previous close of 8.738%. It opened at 8.738% and touched a high and a low of 8.784% and 8.737%, respectively.
The India call money rate was trading at 8.65%, up 23.57% from previous close of 7%. It opened at 8.05% and touched a high and a low of 8.65% and 8.05%, respectively.
Source:- livemint.com
Courier services to communicate with head office and customers are eligible for input service credit
Cenvat Credit : Courier service used for sending documents to head office and to customers is eligible for input service credit
ITAT slams DIT(E) for denying trust registration on pretext of its activities outside India without
IT : Where there was no material on record to show that assessee-trust had carried out activities outside country or had applied any fund to such activities outside country, denial of registration under section 12AA was not justified
Higher tax rate specified by IT Act on foreign cos. isn’t voilative of non-discrimination clauses of
IT/ILT : Higher rate of tax prescribed for foreign company is not to be regarded as violative of non-discriminatory clause, i.e. article 26 of India - France DTAA
Nature of relationship amongst parties and terms of investment also relevant to prove legitimacy of
IT : Creditworthiness and genuineness of Share money depends also on nature of relationship between parties, object, terms and quantum of investment, types of investor, creditworthiness of recipient, etc.
Synnex-IBM deal to transfer BPO business won't have adverse effect due to existence of big players i
Competition Law: Where proposed combination relating to transfer of CRM BPO business of IBM to informant was not likely to have adverse effect on competition in India, same was to be approved
Receipt of reassessment notice by authorized representative of assessee to be deemed as valid servic
IT : Notice under section 148(1) served on assessee through its accountant, being its representative, was valid and legal
RBI hikes trade related remittance ceiling to Rs 5 lakh per transaction
FEMA/ILT : Rupee Drawing Arrangement - Increase in Trade Related Remittance Limit
Assessee couldn't seek advance ruling under Karnataka VAT when transaction was under scrutiny of Dep
CST & VAT : Where a transaction has been taken up by Department for scrutiny/inquiry and claim of exemption is pending consideration of Department, assessee cannot file application for advance rulings
HC slams AO for invoking sec. 50B even when slump sale was made prior to its introduction
IT : Slump sale taken place prior to introduction of section 50B with effect from 1-4-2000, was not taxable
Addition set aside as TPO erred in applying CUP method to fix ALP of management fee at 'nil'
IT/ILT : Where assessee-company engaged in manufacturing and marketing of speciality chemicals and printed circuit board, entered into cost sharing agreement with AE located abroad in terms of which certain group management cost was paid, in absence of proper examination of material brought on record in support of assessee's claim, TPO merely referring to CUP method could not determine ALP of management fee at nil
PAN and address details of depositors proved their identity and creditworthiness; no sec. 68 additio
IT : Where in support of receipt of share application money, assessee produced names, addresses and PAN of depositors which were sufficient to prove their identity and creditworthiness, Assessing Officer was not justified in making addition under section 68 in respect of amount in question
Order of lower authorities couldn't be revised if due taxes had been paid and there was no instance
CST & VAT : If tax has been duly paid and there is no tax evasion, order in favour of assessee cannot be regarded as 'erroneous' and 'prejudicial to interests of revenue' and cannot, therefore, be subjected to revision
HC raps appellate authorities for enhancing commission allowed by AO in absence of any additional ma
IT : Without materials available to appellate authorities, percentage of commission allowed by Assessing Officer could not be enhanced
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