IT: Where Assessing Officer, Agra initiated reassessment proceedings against assessee and subsequently he transferred case to Assessing Officer, Mathura, who was having jurisdiction over assessee, and thereupon Assessing Officer, Mathura without recording fresh reasons and on basis of reasons recorded by Assessing Officer, Agra issued on assessee a fresh notice under section 148, Assessing Officer, Mathura had not validity assumed jurisdiction to initiate reassessment proceedings against assesse
Thursday 10 April 2014
Depreciation on lease asset disallowed as parties to contract failed to prove existence of asset
IT : Where assessee claimed depreciation on leased out M.S. Rolls, in view of fact that lease transactions in question were merely financial transactions as both assessee as well as lessee failed to prove even existence of M.S. Rolls, Assessing Officer was justified in rejecting assessee's claim
SC : Protest by Trade unions against telecast of ‘Mahabharata’ in Bangla language wasn’t anti-compe
CL : Section 3 of the Competition Act applies to competitors' actions, not to workers' actions
Tribunal to allow early hearing irrespective of sum involved in appeal if issue was covered by judgm
Excise & Customs : Where issue is undisputedly covered by judgment of jurisdictional High Court, Tribunal must allow application for Out-of-turn/Early Hearing irrespective of fact that amount involved therein is less than Rs. 1 crore
RBI sets up new category of NBFC, viz., ‘Non-Operative Financial Holding Co.’ to regulate credit sys
NBFCs : Registration of Non-Operative Financial Holding Companies (NOFHCS)
Losses from share transaction due to bonus stripping can be carried forward as sec. 94(8) applies to
IT : Where assessee purchased certain shares immediately prior to allotment of bonus shares and after allotment of those shares original shares whose value had reduced to almost 50 per cent were sold, said transaction being in nature of 'bonus stripping' was covered under section 94(8) and, since said section covered only 'units' and not 'securities', assessee's claim for set off of said loss could not be disallowed
SEBI restores margins for USD-INR contracts in currency derivatives to pre July 8, 2013 rates
SEBI : Margins for USD-INR Contracts
Sec. 54F relief couldn't be withdrawn if residential property was subsequently put to use for commer
IT : Subsequent change in usage of property does not disentitle assessee to relief under section 54F, if what was acquired was originally a residential property
Excise Collection Up 2%, Service Tax 14% In West Bengal For Fy 14
Central excise collection increased by nearly 2 per cent and service tax by 14-16 per cent during the FY 2013-14 for the Kolkata circle, but is short of the revised target.
"The final numbers are not yet released but approximately our excise collection has grown by 2 per cent and service tax by 14-16 per cent (during FY 2013-14) for our circle comprising West Bengal, Andamans and Sikkim," Chief Commissioner of Central Excise and Service tax, (Kolkata) Kameswari Subramanian told PTI here.
Collection from Andamans and Sikkim is negligible in the total collection for the circle.
"Though, we have missed the revised targets in both excise and service tax by 7 per cent and 8.6 per cent for 2013-14, our total collection has gone up over 2012-13," she said on the sidelines of an interactive session with members of the Bengal Chamber.
In 2012-13, the total collection for central excise in the circle was at Rs 8365.80 crore, and in case of service tax it was Rs 5441.29 crore, commissioner service tax C M Chandolia said.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
Daimler India Aims At Operational Break-Even By 2015
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), on Thursday, indicated that it would aim to achieve operational break-even by the end of 2015 as well as target to more than triple its current volumes in a shorter period.
The truck and bus manufacturing arm of German auto major Daimler AG has worked out a three-pronged strategy to report operational break even. Firstly, it plans to be more cost-competitive by increasing localisation levels in its trucks further to about 95 per cent from 85 per cent now. Secondly, the company would aggressively work on boosting volumes and market share despite tough market conditions and thirdly, stronger export thrust would be given as long as the currency fluctuates favourably.
“We have ambitious 3-year plan to achieve operating break even for DICV. We hope to reach this level by the last quarter of 2015,” Marc Llistosella, Managing Director & CEO of DICV said here.
With the highest ever monthly sales of about 1,000 trucks in March this year, DICV’s cumulative sales of BharatBenz trucks, sale of which began in September 2012, crossed 10,000 units. DICV sold 2,203 units in January-March 2014 period as against 1,316 units in a year-ago period and claimed to have garnered a market share of 5.3 per cent in the addressable medium and heavy duty truck market (above 9-tonne category).
Mr.Llistosella hinted that company had drawn up plans to reach 30,000 sales mark in a shorter period. Its current annual capacity is 36,000 units on two-shift basis. In 2013, DICV produced 6900 trucks out of its Oragadam facility near Chennai and sold 94 per cent of production in the domestic market while the rest were exported.
Source:- thehindu.com
Bangladesh's Negative Policy Compels: Pakistanis To Shift Textile Units Back To Country
Pakistanis are shifting their textile units back to the country in the wake of Bangladeshi government's 'negative' and `biased' policies that triggered insecurity among the investors, industry sources said on Wednesday. The political turmoil that culminated in hatred against Pakistan largely caused worrisome to the investors who had relocated their units from Karachi or other cities of the country to Dhaka, they said.
"Bangladeshi government also blamed Pakistan for overplaying the collapse of a textile factory building in Dhaka at global markets," said Chief Co-ordinator Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Prgmea), Ijaz A. Khokhar. He said the Pakistani investors found the Bangladeshi government's policies 'hostile' and its bureaucracy difficult to deal with since the political tension gripped the nation after trials and punishment of Jamaat-i-Islami leaders for 1971 war charges.
"The entire atmosphere changed there against the Pakistani investors and Bangladeshi government singled out Pakistan for all faults including the factory collapse despite its friend -India had aggressively propagated on the tragedy along with EU," he said.
It is now an established fact that the new investors have scarped their plans to set up units in Bangladesh after its government stepped up a drive against Pakistan, he said, adding that "a number of investors relocated their units back home". He said a majority of units that Pakistan investors had set up were from home textile sector, who were in a search for duty-free access that Dhaka provided for its being Least Developed Country (LDC) in the EU. "Now GSP-Plus provides the same facility for local exporters, upstaging the Bangladeshi factor that attracted many to return after political turmoil in Bangladesh," he said.
However, he lamented the energy crisis had played a bad role that scaled back textile production phenomenally in Pakistan though the country has attained a GSP-Plus status to EU, Khokhar said. Chief Co-ordinator, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA), Javed Bilwani said the investors have been panicked owing to Bangladeshi government's policies. He said several had fled with their capitals back home.
"The remaining investors are worried and feeling insecure in Bangladesh and will sooner rather than latter will escape to Pakistan because the sudden political shocks they received from Bangladeshi government have left them altogether panicked," he said. However he said the investors will have no significant business in Pakistan since the country is passing through acute short of energy and fluctuating tariffs of utilities, besides poor law and order.
"How can the GSP-plus status help the nation if the country is already having big tax rate, no rebate, no energy, rupee value fall and rise, delays in refunds and other such issues that hinder the production and export of textile," he queried.
Source:- brecorder.com
Cotton Prices Fall As Trading Slows
Cotton prices moved lower on Thursday amid slow trading and depressed cotton yarn demand in the domestic market.Floor brokers said that the rupee gaining strength in the inter-bank trading dampened sentiment as exports will become costlier. The textile sector is already faced with a number of issues including availability of cheap Indian cotton yarn.
However, brokers said that it is encouraging that the recent strength gained by the Indian rupee and weaker Chinese currency have somewhat checked yarn exports from India to China.
Nevertheless, slow off-take of cotton yarn in the domestic market continues to adversely affect cotton trade as spinners are reluctant to enter into fresh deals. Barring some interest shown by exporters in low quality lint, the market lacked trading interest, they added.
The world cotton markets also remained easy where Chinese cotton stocks have come down considerably.
The New York cotton gave mixed trend where far-off contracts ended with fresh gains and near-future contracts closed easy. The KCA cut its spot rates by Rs50 to Rs6,500 per maund.
Following deals were reported to have changed hands on the ready counter: 1,100 bales, Sui, at Rs5,400; 558 bales, Ghotki, at Rs6,200; 400 bales, Karampur, at Rs6,550; 1,400 bales, Khanpur, at Rs6,600; and 1,000 bales, Rahimyar Khan, at Rs6,500.
Source:- dawn.com
At 4.5 Bn Dollar, Seafood Exports Surpass Target This Fiscal
Seafood export target, set by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) of India, has surpassed the target and achieved an export value of $4.5 billion, against the target of $4.3 billion for the fiscal 2013-14.
Serious fall in the production and export of shrimp from Southeast Asian countries, lowering of countervailing duty on Indian shrimp exports in the US and the depreciation of Indian currency are the major factors of the improved performance. MPEDA now targets an earning of $10 billion by 2020 from marine products exports.
As per the provisional estimate of MPEDA, India’s seafood export has crossed one million tonne mark for the first time in this financial year, earning over $4.5 billion, which is a record so far. “During 2011-12 and 2012-13, earnings were $3.5 billion. It was increased by $1 billion in revenue in 12 months. Export revenue grew 30 per cent in dollar terms. In rupee terms, the estimates indicated an earning of `20,000 crore. In 2012-13, India exported 928,215 tonnes valued at `18,856 crore. In 2011-12, the country had exported 862,021 tonnes valued at `16,597 crore,” the MPEDA estimate said. Rise in local demand in Korea warmed up global prices.
However, the US was the largest market for Indian shrimps, as the country imported 51.24 per cent of the total Indian shrimp exports. This was followed by South East Asian countries (16 per cent), EU (15.82 per cent) and Japan (4.94 per cent). Shortage of shrimp due to spread of Early Mortality Syndrome also caused rise in prices.
Increase in the production of Vannamei shrimp, rise in the productivity of Black Tiger variety and increase in export of chilled items also helped achieve higher exports, MPEDA said. In order to achieve the 2020 target, MPEDA rely on increased production of Vannamei shrimp, quality control measures and increase in infrastructure facilities for production of Value added items.
Source:- newindianexpress.com
China Reports Unexpected Fall In Exports, Imports
China reported an unexpected contraction in exports in March, raising the danger of job losses as Beijing tries to overhaul its slowing economy.
Trade data on Thursday showed exports fell 6.6 percent from a year earlier, well below analysts' expectations of growth in low single digits. Imports contracted by 11.3 percent, highlighting the weakness in Chinese growth.
China's leaders are counting on relatively strong export growth this year to help support employment while they try to build up domestic consumption and reduce reliance on investment in factories and infrastructure. Unexpectedly weak exports could undermine those efforts.
In a sign of official concern about job losses, the Chinese leadership launched a mini-stimulus last month based on higher spending on construction of railways, low-cost housing and other projects.
Some analysts have cautioned this year's trade figures are distorted by comparison with unreliable data issued last year. They say exporters last year inflated the value of goods sold abroad as a way to evade Chinese currency controls and bring extra money into the country.
"While the export data will add to worries among policymakers and in the market about growth slowing down precariously or China losing competitiveness, we would caution against such interpretations," said RBS economist Louis Kuijs in a report.
Kuijs said that with data distortions factored out, China's exports in March might have grown by as much as 5.2 percent, on par with South Korea.
March's trade decline came after exports shrank by 18.1 percent in February.
China's global trade balance returned to a surplus of $7.7 billion after running a deficit in January and February.
"Improving conditions in developed economies should continue to support Chinese exports," said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report. "In contrast, we expect import growth to remain relatively weak as slowing investment spending is likely to weigh on imports of commodities and capital goods."
Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Indian Steel Imports Dip 31Pct In 2013-14
PTI reported that India's steel imports declined by a whopping 31.3% last fiscal to 5.44 million tonne due to subdued economic growth and exchange rate volatility.
Joint Plant Committee, a unit of the steel ministry, said in a report that "Import of total finished steel showed a southward trend, declining by 31.3% YoY in April to March period of 2013 to 2014 at 5.445 million tonne."
Imports were down in March by 34.2% to 0.437 million tonne compared to the same month a year ago.
JPC said that "Such trends were driven by factors like slowdown in domestic economy, exchange rate volatility, relative prices, global downswing and bilateral agreements among others."
Lower imports helped India remain a net exporter of total finished steel in 2013 to 2014.
Exports were up by 4.1% last fiscal at 5.59 million tonne. JPC said that rupee volatility, different economic conditions, mismatched demand-supply situation during the period helped domestic firms ship more steel abroad.
Indian steel makers produced 85 million tonne finished steel, up 4.1% last fiscal ended March 31st, helped by a 9.5% growth in production by main producers such as SAIL, RINL and TATA Steel.
However, steel consumption growth rate hit the lowest in 4 years at 0.6% to 73.93 million tonne in 2013 to 2014 impacted by slower expansion of the domestic economy and lower imports.
Source:- steelguru.com
Govt To Miss Indirect Tax Rev Target By Rs 17,648 Cr In Fy14
The government is likely to miss revised indirect tax revenue target by about Rs 17,648 crore in the 2013-14 fiscal year due to economic slowdown, a senior government official has said.
"Provisional indirect tax collections show that the department will miss revised estimate of indirect tax collection target by about Rs 17,648 crore," Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) chairperson J M Shanti Sundaram told CNBC-TV18.
"I think reasons are also there. The growth in manufacturing sector and other sectors have not been good. That has already been in papers so inspite of that we have done the best we could do," she added.
As per revised estimate, during 2013-14, the government had proposed to collect Rs 5,19,770 crore.
As per the Budget Estimate, it was Rs 5,65,252 crore.
On Parthasarathi Shome headed Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) proposal of amalgamation of Direct Tax and Indirect Tax Departments, Sundaram said: "Any suggestion by TARC, which would impact the structure of the collecting agencies, the two departments (CBDT and CBEC), I think, are need to be viewed with little care and would in fact I think would be beyond the mandate of TARC itself."
TARC set up by the Finance Ministry to suggest measures to prevent economic offences among other things is looking into amalgamation of Direct Tax and Indirect Tax Departments.
The TARC was given the tenure of 18 months time to give its final report which will go to the next government for follow up action.It is likely submit its first report by May end.
Source:- mydigitalfc.com
Rupee Opens 0.4% Lower At 60.33 Per Dollar
The Indian rupee on Friday opened lower tracking losses in Asian currencies and ahead of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data. The domestic currency opened at 60.33 per dollar, down 0.4% from its Thursday’s close of 60.07.
India’s equity benchmark Sensex index was trading at 22,642.05 points on BSE, down 0.32%.Most Asian currencies were trading lower, with the Indonesian ruphiah down 0.83%, Malaysian ringgit down 0.44%,Taiwan dollar down 0.26% and the Philippines peso down 0.18%.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 2.45% against dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.76 billion from local equity markets.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 9.014%, compared with its Thursday’s close of 9.001%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.395, up 0.02% from its previous close of 79.383.The government will issue the IIP data at 5.30pm on Friday.A Bloomberg poll showed that the IIP will grow 1% in February as against 0.1% in January.
Source:- livemint.com
Distribution of liquors purchased from distilleries amounted to sale; not liable to ST
Service Tax : Procurement of Liquor from various manufacturers who were distilleries, brewery, blending unit based upon rate contract entered for supplies every year on outcome of participation in tenders and distribution thereof amounts to 'trading'/'sale' and is, therefore, not liable to service tax
No abuse of dominance by a Mfg. Co. when there were many Cos. dealing with similar products in relev
Competition Law : Where there were number of fitness equipment and treadmill manufacturing companies operating in India with more number of retailers than OP, OP would not be said to be dominant player in market of sale of treadmill
TP study couldn't be allowed to reduce profits eligible for deductions under section 10B
IT/ILT : It is not permissible for Assessing Officer to work out deduction under section 10A on basis of arm's length price determined by Transfer Pricing Officer
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