CST & VAT : Where 'raw wool' was exempt if used in manufacture of 'woollen yarn', said exemption was available even when raw wool was used in manufacture of 'woollen carpet yarn'
Wednesday 16 April 2014
Interest for default in payment of advance tax couldn't be charged beyond stage of final order of Se
IT: Interest under sections 234B and 234C could not have been charged beyond stage of section 245D(1)
Reassessment to disallow sec. 80-IB deduction quashed as it was allowed originally after detailed en
IT : Where Assessing Officer allowed assessee's claim for deduction under section 80-IB(10) after making detailed enquiries, he could not initiate reassessment proceedings on basis of same material taking a view that said claim was wrongly allowed
No benefit of reduced penalty rate of 25% at appellate stage unless lower authorities failed to gran
Excise & Customs : Where option to pay 25 per cent reduced penalty was granted in adjudication order and assessee did not make payment of duty, interest and said penalty within 30 days from receipt of adjudication order, assessee was liable to full duty and said benefit could not be extended by Tribunal at appellate stage
CLB allowed petitioner to inspect relevant docs of Co. as it alleged illegal transfer of shares
CL : Where petitioner shareholder alleged illegal transfer of equity shares, fabrication of accounts, etc., he would be allowed only to verify statement of accounts, account books and minutes book that contained decision taken by Board of Directors, audited balance sheets and transfer deeds in disputes
Wrong application of law calls rectification; interest connected with PE not taxable at concessional
IT/ILT: Where rate of withholding tax on interest under Indo-Japan DTAA was not in accordance with statutory provisions, rectification was just
Almost 70Pct Of Coal India Stock Unusable - Report
As much as 70% of Coal India's 49 million tonne of coal stock is unusable because it cannot be evacuated and supplied to power plants when required. That means a dramatic drop in the company's accessible stock to just 16 million tonne.
Despite its best efforts, CIL managed to reduce stock by just 9 million tonne in 2013-14.
Over the past several years, the company has been maintaining a huge stock on its books but most of this has turned out to be of little use.
Mr S Narsingh Rao chairman of CIL said that "Some 33 million tonne of stock is lying in locations where transportation is an issue. The coal from these regions cannot be evacuated at short notice mainly due to issues with the railways. For example , 8-9 million stocks have been lying in the Rasundhara mines but the Hinh Court in Orissa has ruled that loading has been barred during the day."
A senior CIL official said that "As coal remains dumped on ground, it either gets pilfered or gets mixed with ground soil rendering a large part of it unusable. CIL has not done a fresh assessment of this dumped coal over the years, neither has it written off the unusable coal from its books."
Despite having missed its production target by some 20 million tonne, CIL could not evacuate more than 9 million tonne from its stock of a total 57.8 million tonne mainly due to transport availability issues. In most of the cases, the coal is lying in areas where railways cannot send adequate rakes for this coal to be moved.
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In fact CIL had offered its customers the option of picking up coal from the stockyards but that met with little success because of the inaccessibility of the locations. The scheme was offered in 2012 and is still valid but only a handful of companies have participated.
Source:- coal.steelguru.com
Japanese Trading Houses Put Ports Expansion On Hold In India
Economic Times reported that Japanese trading houses, Mitsui & Company and Sumitomo Corp, who were planning to invest in the Indian port sector for more than a year to gain from strengthening trade ties, have put their plans on hold recently due to by high asset valuations and corporate changes back home.
Japan's trading houses were interested in picking up a minority stake or in taking up operational control of a terminal to support their trading volumes. They evaluated and visited several ports in India until a year ago.
According to an e-mail statement from Sumitomo, "We look for investment opportunities in Indian port operation because of promising growth in India as well as that of export and import trade business in the future."
Statement said that "However, we slowed down the activities recently because the assets of private Indian ports are generally high compared to other countries."
More than 1,000 Japanese businesses dot the states and union territories along the Indian coastline. The number is expected to balloon as the two Asian economies look for an alternative to China.
L&T's Kattupalli, Gammon Infrastructure's berth at Vizag, MARG Group's Karaikal port are some of the assets that Japan's trading houses were in talks with. But the plans are on hold due to global corporate restructuring and wariness to invest in asset heavy businesses thereafter, said an industry source, who didn't want to be named.
The source said that "Mitsui has now become wary of asset heavy businesses. This is a trend panning all trading houses that have not done well. They are realigning their focus."
According to an e-mail statement from the company, Mitsui is generally looking at potential port investment opportunities on a worldwide basis, but currently does not have any specific project in India they are considering to invest in.
Another person with direct knowledge of the matter, said that "They were looking for assets in South and West India and have been in the market for more than 1 year."
The person said that both these companies were looking for clean assets, something that is hard to come by in India.
Japanese trading houses run ports across the world. Portek, a subsidiary of Mitsui, runs ports in Indonesia, Rwanda, Latvia and in many more geographies. They are able to attract shipping lines to their ports given their experience in the sector and due to huge cargo volumes.
Trading houses, including Mitsui & Co and Sumitomo Corp, are huge conglomerates that control diversified large companies across all sectors. However, most of the Japanese trading houses have faced profit declines in recent past and are selling less profitable assets and moving to lighter assets and high growth areas.
Source:- steelguru.com
RBI lays norms for inoperative foreign deposits; asks banks to convert deposits into Indian Rupees a
FEMA/ILT/Indian Acts & Rules : FEM (Crystallization of Inoperative Foreign Currency Deposits) Regulations, 2014
RBI amends FDI norms for Pharma sector; empowers Govt. to specify terms for FDI in Brownfield cases
FEMA/ILT/Indian Acts & Rules : FEM (Transfer or Issue of Security by A Person Resident Outside India) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Schedule 1
Restoration Of Komenda Sugar Factory By June
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Trade and Industry, on Tuesday, announced that work on the restoration of the Komenda Sugar Factory in the Central region will commence by June this year.
He said a $35 million loan had been acquired from the Indian Government in addition to one million dollars being raised by the Ghana Government for the project.
Government, he said, was still negotiating with India for another $24 million to support sugarcane farmers to produce the raw material locally for the factory.
Mr. Iddrisu made the disclosure in Accra during a breakfast meeting with editors of the various media houses in the country to appraise them on trade and industry issues.
The Minister said another sugar factory would be established at Depale in the Northern region, where research had shown that the soil in the area is very good for sugarcane production and that several companies have expressed interest in the project.
He recounted that, in 2013, the Ministry was able to see to the passage of the revised Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act, which now empowers the GIPC to give a minimum capital requirement of GHc1 million, stating that, Ghana is now a preferred priority destination for investment.
He said the passage of the revised Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) has empowered the EDAIF to be able to give loans and credit facilities to local industries.
Mr. Iddrisu said in line with government's vision of empowering local pharmaceutical companies, EDAIF had disbursed GHc50 million to local pharmaceutical companies to help them in their expansion drive.
He said funds would soon be released for the irrigation sector to promote the production of vegetables and other horticulture crops both for the local and export market.
He said the Ministry had tasked EDAIF to identify about 1,000 to 2,000 small-scale-holder farmers to be assisted.
The Minister said government would be establishing the International Trade Commission before the close of the year, adding that, Ghana would be opening International Trade Offices in countries such as China, Japan and South Africa, to boost its trade.
He noted that the Ministry had put in place a new export strategy in order to increase the volume of export this year and beyond.
He said a committee had been put in place to ensure that Ghana becomes self-sufficient in rice production, explaining that it was only when the country attains that level, before “we can think of banning the importation of rice.”
He said this year, “EDAIF would be able to make available GHc20 million to rice farmers, but the mechanization of the farms rests on the shoulders of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.”
The Minister said three companies had expressed interest in investing in the jute factory, but they were now waiting for assurance from the Ghana Cocoa Board that their produce will be purchased by them.
He said the ban on the export of ferrous metals was to rescue the local steel industry and to assure them of regular supply of scrap metals for their production.
Mr. Iddrisu said the regulation banning the export of ferrous metal would be revised, adding that, it was not meant to punish anyone.
On the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the Minister said Ghana was awaiting the final decision of the sub-regional body, ECOWAS.
He said the EPA could be likened to a double-edged sword and that the nation stood both to gain and loose when it signs it.
He explained that Ghana in 2007 signed the EPA with the European Union, but the current one being handled by ECOWAS was far better than it.
Source:- ghanaweb.com
HC directs refund of sum recovered from assessee during pendency of stay application in excess of pr
Service Tax : Where department had recovered Rs. 150 lakh during pendency of stay application and pre-deposit of only Rs. 10 lakh was ordered in stay application, assessee was entitled to refund of Rs. 140 lakh.
ITAT exempts capital gain on sale of self-generated trademark as its cost of improvement isn't ascer
IT/AAA: Where asset under transfer was self-generated trademark, its cost of acquisition being NIL and same is not capable of improvement at an ascertainable cost in terms of money, computation of capital gains is not possible and, thus, same is not taxable under section 45
'India's Exports To Cross $325 Bn This Fiscal As Global Economy Is Improving'
India 's exports will cross $325 billion in the current fiscal — the targeted figure that was missed in 2013-14, Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher has said.
Endorsing former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke's optimism on the state of the global economy, Kher said it would get reflected in India's trade performance.
"US economy is certainly going up. The EU is not going down. India's performance will also improve," Kher told reporters on Wednesday at a standards conclave organised by the Government and CII.
Export target
While refusing to put a figure on India's export target this year as the foreign trade policy was still in formulation, Kher said it would be definitely more than $325 billion.
India missed the export target of $325 billion in2013-14, as exports posted just a 4 per cent growth over the previous year to $312 billion.
The shortfall was mainly due to low demand in key markets, loss of preferential market access in the EU and quality issues faced by pharma exports.
Curbs on gold imports
On the issue of the existing restrictions on gold imports, Kher said that in the long-term the policy needs to be rationalised.
India's imports in 2013-14 declined due to a sharp drop in gold imports and slowdown in manufacturing sector.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
India Is The World’S Biggest Arms Importer—And That’S Not Going To Change Anytime Soon
India has been the world’s largest arms importer every year since 2010, as its defense industry struggles to keep up with its international ambitions.
The volume of major weapons imports more than doubled between 2004-08 and 2009-13 and India’s share of the volume of international arms imports increased from 7% to 14%, according to the latest report released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
A plausible reason for this is that India lacks a defense industry of its own sufficient to meet its external challenges and to keep pace with its expanding strategic interests. The need to modernize has indeed been one major reason for India’s status as top spender on arms imports. But there are other factors at work too.
New factories, new weapons
India is still struggling to upgrade its arms manufacturing sector, despite this being a priority for over a decade. Continued reliance on foreign suppliers exposes the lack of a clear-cut vision of its defense industry.
The country’s hand was forced slightly: humiliating defeat in a war with China in 1962 and America’s refusal to share high-tech weapons meant India needed to upgrade its military capability. Given the Cold War dynamics of the time, the USSR stepped in and eventually the Indian armory was full of Russian weapons.
Even today, Russia continues to be one of India’s most significant strategic partners and biggest arms supplier providing about 75% of its weapons imports. The remaining 25% is made up of the US and Western European countries, particularly France, Britain and Germany.
But the modernization of India’s armed forces continues to take place in a slapdash manner. Despite the rhetoric of “indigenisation,” there has been no significant systemic transformation and huge cost and time overruns in domestic defense production are commonplace.
Though the government has emphasized private firms and public-private partnerships, the Indian defense industry continues to be dominated by the public sector. The Defence Ministry’s stumbles over promoting the private sector, which is still restricted to only 26% in the defense production sector, further constrains and exposes the lacuna in India’s defense industry planning.
Making new friends
Indian defense firms continue to struggle with the move from a buyer-seller relationship with foreign firms to one based on equal partnership and joint production.
Since the Cold War, India has tried to increase its arms imports from the US and Western Europe as part of a broader strategy of diversifying suppliers. This works both ways: the US defense industry is very happy to find new buyers and new technologies. American defense giants such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing have been exploring potential business partners in India, attracted by the low-cost, well-educated, English speaking and technically sound workforce. The US is now India’s second largest arms supplier, accounting for 7% of the total.
Other sources of India’s arms include Israel, where the improving Indo-US ties and common security concerns over Islamic terrorism provided a natural partnership, and France, which has agreed to sell 126 combat aircraft to India, worth $20-25 billion.
Relying on imports from first tier arms producing countries has positives and negatives. On one hand, it has ensured and enhanced India’s defense capability, but on the other it has constrained indigenous research as technology has been imported rather than developed. Though these arms purchases are done with technology transfer and offset arrangements, India still lags behind the developed countries defence industry standards.
Three-way fight
So what are all these arms for? India faces two primary enemies—Pakistan and China—and what worries its government most is the prospect of its two rivals uniting to form a hostile nuclear and defense partnership. This isn’t just scaremongering: 54% of Chinese arms exports already go to Pakistan.
In the face of this threat, India feels it still needs to beef up its arms acquisitions to deal with its shortage of fighter jets, submarines, helicopters, howitzers and so on. For example, the Indian Air Force is left with 34 fighter squadrons when at least 44 would be required to deter the dual challenge of Pakistan and China.
The prospect of conflict between the three countries is real. India has been at odds with Pakistan since its creation. China fought with India in 1962 and the relationship is still not truly normal, with a border standoff last year. The Indian government is only rational to want to be prepared to tackle both countries simultaneously, or even Pakistan directly if a terror strike brought the two to war.
The great game
Geopolitical factors are also driving India to focus on importing arms. Since the country declared itself a nuclear power in 1998, India’s political and defense elites have reached a consensus on the idea that India must march toward great power status. A growing economy further supports the focus on beefing up its defense as does the “push factor” of Chinese rivalry and the “pull” of the US’ rebalancing strategy towards Asia-Pacific.
Yale historian of international relations Paul Kennedy says, a credible great power must have a solid defense industry base. India is no exception. If it wants to seriously aspire to be a great power it will need to make its own arms, tanks, and bombs.
As one account of India’s military modernization puts it, the country is “arming without aiming.” Without a serious effort to reinvent its strategy, India risks wasting the money it is ploughing into its military. Excellent progress has been made in missile technology and a space program, but more must be done to ensure effective public-private partnerships, joint-production with foreign firms, and the growth of India’s own industry.
For the time being, little will change. Security threats to the north and west, the need to develop an indigenous defense industry and its aspirations for great power status will see India continue to top the arms importer list in the coming years.
Source:-qz.com
Follow Cases To Reduce Litigation, Free Locked Revenue: Finmin To Cbec
In an attempt to pull up the indirect tax department for its laxity in dealing with litigation, the finance ministry has told all chief commissioners and commissioners to closely follow the cases so as to free the revenue locked up in disputes.
An official told The Indian Express that revenue secretary Rajiv Takru has written a letter to all chief commissioners of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) asking them to follow up all cases in court with the standing counsels and “introduce a proper system of monitoring and handling the litigation at the field level to prevent delays in responding to the directions of the courts.”
The direction comes after scathing observation of the Principal Bench of CESTAT, New Delhi, in December last year.
The Bench had observed that it was high time the revenue department reduced its litigation without burdening the Tribunals. It had said that the situation exhibited laxity of the commissioners in pursing the litigation before High Courts.
In several cases, where High Courts ordered pre-deposit, the department did not follow up the compliance, thereby causing loss to the exchequer.
Source:- http://ift.tt/Ry0MTO
Rupee Weakens To 60.27 On Dollar Demand From State-Run Banks
The Indian rupee weakened against the US currency on Wednesday on dollar demand from state-run banks, while foreign banks were seen selling the greenback, halting the local currency’s slide.
At 2.16pm, the rupee was trading at 60.27, down 0.05% from its previous close of 60.23 a dollar. The local currency had opened at 60.30 and strengthened to 60.20 in the morning trade.
BSE’s benchmark Sensex fell 0.7% to 22,328.32 points.
Asian currencies were largely showing a mixed trend against the dollar even as the dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major global currencies, was trading down at 79.7, from its previous close of 79.803.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 2.53%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought $4.76 billion during the period from local equity markets.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 8.953%, compared with its Tuesday’s close of 8.956%.
Source:- livemint.com
ITAT exempts capital gain on sale of self generated trade make as its cost of improvement isn't asce
IT/AAA: Where asset under transfer was self-generated trademark, its cost of acquisition being NIL and same is not capable of improvement at an ascertainable cost in terms of money, computation of capital gains is not possible and, thus, same is not taxable under section 45
Writ order passed against Commissioner's quasi-judicial order is non-appealable to Division Bench
CST & VAT : Order of Commissioner under section 70 of Chhattisgarh VAT Act determining rate of tax is a 'quasi judicial order'; and, therefore, writ order passed there against by Single Judge bench is an order under article 227 of Constitution and is not appealable before Division Bench
Revenue erred in denying registration to trust as it wasn't evident that sum was spent for non-chari
IT: Where from records it was evident that main and generic objects of Trust was 'education', being a charitable activity for general public utility and where income and expenditure statement filed did not indicate spending of same for objects narrated by Director (Exemption), proposition that it was premature to deny registration of Trust under section 12AA was correct
SAT upheld SEBI's charges on appellant-intermediary for collecting margin requirement in impermissib
CL: Accepting any sort of security such as post and undated cheques, property, property documents or furniture and fixtures by a CM from TMs as collateral for purposes of initial margin could not be termed as prudent risk management measure and was not permitted
Forward contracts to hedge against forex losses from import or export of diamonds by jeweller aren't
IT : Forward contracts which are integral part or incidental to core business of import/export of diamonds, in principle, constitute hedging transactions, and not speculative contracts
Sec. 240 can't be triggered for assessment in search cases; no refund of taxes paid pursuant to bloc
IT : Taxes paid pursuant to return filed in block assessment are not liable to be refunded
HC advises reference to articles and memorandum to identify principal business of co. for purposes o
IT : "Principal business" of a company has to be determined going by its memorandum and articles
Buyer of property in auction won't be a successor of business; predecessor's dues couldn't be recove
Excise & Customs : Buyer of land/building/machinery in auction organized by State Industrial Investment Corporation cannot be regarded as 'successor' in business so as to recover dues of predecessor from him
Losses from off-market sale of shares allowed as no evidences were shown to establish their sale at
IT : Where there was no evidence to suggest that shares were sold at rates lower than prevailing market rates, disallowance of losses made by Assessing Officer was uncalled for and was to be deleted
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