FEMA/ILT : Risk Management & Inter-Bank Dealings:Booking of Forward Contracts - Liberalisation
Wednesday 9 April 2014
RBI bans fresh foreign investment in T-bills and Govt. securities with maturity of less than a year
FEMA/ILT : Foreign Investment In India In Government Securities
Initial subscription in PPF can be paid by e-payment; initial minimum subscription in PPF fixed at R
IT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Public Provident Fund Scheme (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Paragraph 4
Time Deposit Accounts to be renewed automatically on maturity in a CBS branch, New Post Office Rules
IT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Post Office Time Deposit (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 6
New Post Office Monthly Account Rules: Interest on saving deposit can be credited at any CBS Post Of
IT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Post Office Monthly Income Account (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 8 and Omission of Rule 6
Date of clearance of cheque in Post Office Saving Account to be deemed as date of deposit
IT/INDIAN ACT & RULES : Post Office Recurring Deposit (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 6
Easy route to withdraw sum on closure of saving a/c from any CBS Post Office branch if interest isn’
IT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Post Office Savings Account (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 9
FinMin allows e-payments for deposit schemes of post office equipped with CBS platform
IT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Post Office Savings Bank General (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rules 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 15
Investment made by NBFCs in group Cos. via AIF or VCF to be reckoned for computing net owned funds;
NBFCs : Investment Through Alternative Investment Funds - Clarification on Calculation of NOF of an NBFC
Penalty upheld as assessee made voluntary disclosure only after unearthing of impugned docs from thi
IT: Where assessee voluntarily made disclosure of additional income only after he was confronted with documents recovered from another assessee, petition against order of Commissioner whereby application for waiver of penalty under section 273A(4) was rejected, was not maintainable
Trading Revives On Cotton Market
Renewed buying interest at the lower level from exporters and some millers on Tuesday generated activity on the cotton market where underlying sentiment also indicated firmer tone.
Floor brokers said that lesser arrivals of Indian cotton yarn in the local market due to appreciation in Indian rupee value generated some buying interest from needy mills and exporters.
Similarly, the rise in Indian currency’s value also reduced exports of cotton yarn to Chinese market as export parity becomes somewhat uncompetitive for Indian exporters.
According to brokers, all these factors are developing in favour of Pakistani spinners who had been recently under pressure due to dumping of Indian cotton yarn in domestic market and in Chinese market.
Meanwhile, the unsold stocks of cotton held by ginners are also rapidly falling and market sources believe that presently around 700,000 bales are available in the country and may completely exhaust by end of next month.
The New York cotton market opened the week on easy note where all the future contracts ended with fresh falls.
The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates were firm at previous level.
Trading on ready counter picked up slightly, and the following deals were reported to have changed hands: 480 bales, Yazman Mandi, at Rs6,435; 2000 bales, Rahimyar Khan, at Rs6,500; 400 bales, Shahir Sultan, at Rs6,600; and 1,000 bales, Sadiquabad, at Rs6,600.
Source:- dawn.com
Capital Stuck In Refund Regimes: Ptea Chief Urges Government To Relieve Financial Stress
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has urged the government to ease financial stress as 25 to 30 percent working capital has been stuck up in various refund regimes. Textile industry is the only hope for revival of country's economy which is currently jolted by high cost of doing business. The government should provide level-playing field to double its existing share in global textile trade.
Talking to newsmen after chairing an emergent meeting of textile exporters here on Tuesday, PTEA Chairman Sheikh Ilyas Mahmood pinpointed the various bottlenecks plaguing textile exports and said that most ticklish issues are severe liquidity crunch as billions of rupees of textile exporters are stuck up in various refund regimes. Finance is imperative to run the wheel of industry but without this, no one could even think to run industry, he added. GSP plus facility has brought the hope of a significant jump in textile exports but lack of necessary funds is hurting the outcomes of this duty waiver relief. Terming rising cost of production another major hurdle in export promotion, he said that prices of raw materials and inputs have sky rocketed making our products uncompetitive in international market. Textile industry in Punjab is facing the issue of competitiveness not only with rival countries but also within the country.
Ahmad Kamal, former Chairman PTEA said that GSP plus trade incentives had opened a big window of opportunity for Pakistan to not only push its textile exports to the world but also produce a trade surplus to help the government overcome its current account woes. Giving example, he said that Bangladesh has increased its textile exports from $5 billion to almost $27 billion in last eight years after obtaining free market access to EU and is aiming for $40 billion in next few years.
Azhar Majeed, former Chairman PTEA pointed out that regional countries are providing a lot of subsidies and incentives to its textile sector to remain competitive in international market. Recently, India in a bid to give stiff competition to Pakistan, has flexed its muscles by proposing huge subsidies to its textile exporters and announce seven percent relief to its textile exporters for EU and US markets. Indian textile exporters will have two percent tax relief under Duty Credit Scrip to land their goods in EU and US markets with an increase of five percent in rebate, cumulatively a seven percent relaxation.
Rana Arif Touseef, former Chairman PTEA added that incentives under Technology Upgradation fund Scheme, Focus market scheme and Interest Subvention Scheme are available to Indian textile exporters. Various Indian states are also providing additional incentives (subsidies) to attract investment in their state. Regional rivals are also getting not only constant supply of gas and electricity but also on cheep rate.
Source:- brecorder.com
South Carolina Companies Looking To Increase Exports To India
Indian-American South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will lead a high-level delegation to India later this year, aimed at significantly increasing the American state's exports to the country.
Haley, the only second Indian-American Governor of an American State, would be making stops in New Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai and Chennai during her visit in November.
"This mission will be vital in continuing to build relationships with Indian companies and laying the groundwork for increasing our exports to the nation," South Carolina Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said in a statement.
During Haley's first term, South Carolina has emerged as one of the most favored destinations for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
IBM-Plant Location International's 2013 report recognized South Carolina, for the second year in a row, as the top per- capita recruiter of jobs tied to FDI in the US.
From 2011-2013, foreign-based companies contributed 36 per cent of new jobs and 60 per cent of investment recruited to South Carolina.
Companies based in Japan, Germany, France, China and Canada represented the top five contributors to foreign-direct investment in South Carolina from 2011-2013.
During the same period, India ranked 16th in capital investment, said the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
As a result, Haley and her team decided to target India to increase export and attract foreign direct investment by making a focused trip to India, which would last for 10 days in November.
Investment by US companies in India and vice versa has been on the rise. In 2012, US FDI in India was $ 28.4 billion, representing a 15.3 per cent increase from 2011.
This investment is led by professional, scientific, technical services, manufacturing finance/insurance, and the information sectors, according to statistics made available by the Office of the US Trade Representative.
At the same time, India FDI in the US was $ 5.2 billion, up 6.7 per cent from 2011. India's direct investment in the US is primarily concentrated in the professional, scientific, and technical services, and banking sectors.
By export value, India is South Carolina's 16th highest trade partner, according to US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.
Exports from South Carolina to India last year totaled $ 352 million, up from $ 110 million in 2005. This ranks South Carolina 14th in the US for total exports to India.
In general, exports to India represent a growing market. The US exports to India have more than doubled since 2006, from $ 9.6 billion to $ 21.8 billion.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
SC sets aside restraint order of SEBI as respondent was not trading in Indian market for long time
SEBI : Where respondent had not traded in Indian Market for a longtime and SEBI's restraint order against him was not given effect to, impugned order of SAT setting aside SEBI's order was justified
India March Coal Imports Rise 42% On Month: Interocean
India imported around 14.9 million mt of coal at 21 major ports in March, up 41.7% from February, according to data released Monday by Indian ship broker Interocean.
The March imports included 11.3 million mt of thermal coal, up 35.9% from February, and 3.6 million mt of coking coal, up 63.4%.
Mundra port on India's west coast received the highest coal shipments last month at 3.7 million mt, up 56.9% from February. It also received the highest steam coal shipments at 11.3 million mt, up 36% from February.
Paradip port on the east coast received the most coking coal last month at 751,987 mt up 14.4% on the month.
The surveyed ports were: Kandla, Mundra, Bhavnagar, Pipavav, Bedi, Magdalla, Dahej, Dharamtar, Haji Bunder, Jaigarh, Goa, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Ennore, Karaikal, Krishnapatnam, Kakinada, Gangavaram, Vizag, Paradip and Haldia.
Most of the coal was imported from Indonesia, South Africa, Australia and the US. Adani Enterprises, Bhatia Coal, JSW Group, Coastal Energy and Steel Authority of India Limited were the main importers.
Source:- platts.com
Steel Imports Dip 31% In Fy14 To 5.44 Mt
ndia's steel imports declined by a whopping 31.3 percent last fiscal to 5.44 MT due to subdued economic growth and exchange rate volatility.
"Import of total finished steel showed a southward trend, declining by 31.3 percent year-on-year in April-March period of 2013-14 at 5.445 MT," Joint Plant Committee (JPC), a unit of the steel ministry, said in a report.
Imports were down in March by 34.2 percent to 0.437 MT compared to the same month a year ago.
"Such trends were driven by factors like slowdown in domestic economy, exchange rate volatility, relative prices, global downswing and bilateral agreements among others," JPC said.
Lower imports helped India remain a net exporter of total finished steel in 2013-14.
Exports were up by 4.1 percent last fiscal at 5.59 MT.
JPC said rupee volatility, different economic conditions, mismatched demand-supply situation during the period helped domestic firms ship more steel abroad.
Indian steel makers produced 85 MT finished steel, up 4.1 percent last fiscal ended March 31, helped by a 9.5 percent growth in production by main producers such as SAIL , RINL and Tata Steel .
However, steel consumption growth rate hit the lowest in four years at 0.6 percent to 73.93 MT in 2013-14 impacted by slower expansion of the domestic economy and lower imports.On April 07, 2014, Steel Authority of India closed at Rs 70.90, down Rs 0.45, or 0.63 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 75.35 and the 52-week low was Rs 37.65.
Source:- moneycontrol.com
Erroneous decision can't be reheard in review plea; mere apparent mistakes can be corrected in such
Excise & Customs : In exercise of review jurisdiction, it is not permissible for an erroneous decision to be 'reheard and corrected', as review court does not sit in appeal over its own order; only apparent mistakes can be corrected and new facts/evidences can be considered
Total share capital couldn't be held as unexplained if only some investors didn't respond to confirm
IT : Addition can be made only for amount which pertained to those subscribers/investors to share capital whose particulars could not be verified and who did not respond to notices issued by Assessing Officer
Whistleblower Questions Central Excise Department's Mass Promotion
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), in a March 31 order, promoted 110 officers to the grade of assistant commissioners. The order, signed by Amarjit Singh, deputy secretary, government of India, reached offices across the country within a couple of days.
A whistleblower in Karnataka shared, on condition of anonymity, with TOI a copy of the circular with the list of promoted officers. He argued that the order was passed more than three weeks after the model code of conduct came into effect following the Election Commission's announcement of the poll schedule.
He also questions the urgency to promote officers on the last day of the financial year since formation of a new government is on the cards.
The order reads: "The President is pleased to promote the officers mentioned in Annexure-I to the grade of Assistant Commissioner of CBEC in Pay Band 3 with Grade Pay of Rs 5,400 on purely ad-hoc basis with immediate effect and until further orders."
NR Madhav Prasad Reddy, an activist from Anekal near Bangalore, late Saturday filed a complaint with the EC, demanding a probe if it violates the code of conduct.
The whistleblower's note reads: "The order of promotion of 110 assistant commissioners of Central Excise (till transfers are decided as per their own policy), signed on 31-03-2014, last day of the year, when election process is under way (not known whether proper clearances from the Election Commission have been obtained, and even if obtained what was the urgency in clearing the list when a new government will be formed and take a justified decision on the matter)."
Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Rupee Trading A Tad Weak At 60.12
The rupee was trading a tad weak at 60.12 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to mild dollar demand from banks and importers.
The domestic unit jumped by 29 paise to 59.82 against the dollar in the opening trade amid IMF’s forecast of improved growth prospects for India.
The rupee hovered in the range of 59.82-60.15 against the dollar during the afternoon trade.
Supported by slightly stronger global growth, improving export competitiveness and implementation of recently approved investment projects, India’s growth is expected to recover from 4.4 per cent in 2013 to 5.4 per cent in 2014, the IMF had said yesterday.
The domestic unit had closed flat at 60.11 per dollar on Monday. The currency market remained closed on Tuesday due to a bank holiday on account of Ram Navami.
A higher opening in the domestic equity market and strengthening of other Asian currencies against the dollar overseas also supported the rupee in early trade, forex dealers said.
The RBI is actively absorbing flows to slow the rupee’s rise since September 2013, whilst simultaneously boosting the foreign reserves stock to ward off bouts of volatility, said Radhika Rao, Economist at DBS Group.
The overnight call money rate, interest rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches, was trading weak at 8.2 per cent from its previous close of 9.1 per cent on Monday.
Yield on 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent government bond, maturing in 2023, softened a tad to 9.09 per cent from Monday’s close of 9.1 per cent. Prices of the security were trading slightly higher at Rs 98.29 from Rs 98.27. Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Prior to 1-7-2012, no sec. 55A valuation if value of asset given by assessee was more than its marke
IT : Prior to 1-7-2012, no section 55A valuation if value of asset given by assessee was more than its market price
Banquet halls or business centres in hotels are 'luxuries'; services provided by them are liable to
CST & VAT: Provision of facility like 'business centre' or 'banquet hall' in a hotel amounts to 'luxury' and all charges therefor including internet charges, public address system charges, etc. are liable to luxury tax
No TP adjustment on reimbursement of advertisement exp. to AE if it was related to export activity o
IT/ILT: Where transaction of sharing advertisement expenditure was an independent transaction but it related to activity of export, entire amount should not be added on ad hoc basis as TP adjustment without following prescribed method
HC rejected winding-up plea against respondent-co. as bona fide dispute was found for withholding of
CL : Where company sincerely believed that claimed amount was not payable and was able to establish that there were bona fide disputes, question of failure and neglect to pay an admitted debt did not arise as claim was neither accepted as a debt nor admitted to be payable
CBEC slams dept. officials for laxity in handling litigation matters; instructs for swiftness in ong
GST : Section 35G, Read With Section 35B, of The Central Excise Act, 1944 - High Court, Appeals To - Improving Departmental Representation in High Court/Cestat
HC rejected appeal on sec. 40A(3) disallowance as this issue was not raised by revenue in prior asse
IT: Where question of disallowance under section 40A(3) was not raised before this Court in earlier appeal of same assessee for earlier assessment year, it could not be raised in subsequent assessment year
Service of adjudication order on authorized signatory of co. was valid service of order under sec. 3
Excise & Customs : Regular employee/authorised signatory of company is an authorised agent within meaning of section 37C read with section 35Q; therefore, personal service of adjudication order on such employee is a valid service under section 37C
HC slams revenue for rejecting books due to fall in GP rate without first verifying reasons of decli
IT: Where explanation for fall in GP rate was not verified by revenue, same could not be a ground for rejection of books of account
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