Cenvat Credit : Even exempted export services are required to be added to Export turnover of services; and in case of 100% exporter, all unutilised service tax credit pertaining to exported service will be admissible as refund under Cenvat Rule 5
Thursday 24 April 2014
ITAT slams AO for making afresh sec. 153A assessments when no incriminating material was found durin
IT : Where Assessing Officer as a result of search conducted under section 132 on assessee proceeded against him and made fresh assessments under section 153A for three assessment years, which had already been concluded, assessments made under section 153A were liable to be set aside, since no incriminating material was found during search and seizure operation
HC lays criteria to identify AOP; relies on ratio of ‘Ishikawajima-Harima’ for taxability of offsho
IT/ILT- In absence of sufficient degree of joint action between consortium members in either execution or management of project, consortium would not be deemed as an AOP for purposes of Income-tax Act
When service-tax wasn't paid under a bonafide belief, revenue couldn't invoke extended period
Service Tax : Where assessee had not paid service tax for earlier period owing to bona fide belief as to non-charge of service tax, extended period was, prima facie, not invocable and, therefore, quantum of pre-deposit was reduced
CLB imposed penalty on respondent co. for refusing to register transfer of shares in favour of new h
CL : Where company issued shares as security to bank, and bank transferred entire debt portfolio of company to an asset reconstruction company, company cannot refuse to accept and transfer shares in name of new holder
Export commission paid to NR not subjected to withholding of taxes as NR agent had no PE in India
IT/ILT-I : Where in transfer pricing proceedings, TPO made addition to assessee's ALP in respect of card machines sold to AEs without granting adjustments on account of payment of royalty, commission to selling agent and warranty cost, following order passed by Tribunal in assessee's own case, aforesaid adjustments as sought by assessee were to be allowed
SEBI further revises guidelines for Liquidity enhancement with an intent to boost liquidity in illiq
SEBI : Revised Guidelines for Liquidity Enhancement Scheme in The Equity Cash and Equity Derivatives Segments
RBI notifies Uniform Accounting Rules for Asset Reconstruction Cos
NBFCs : Uniform Accounting Standards at ARCs
Assessee was liable to VAT on rent as it accepted regular sums from tenants and latter wasn’t proved
CST & VAT : When assessee accepted regular payments from user of property, there was implied tenancy and amounts received were liable to tax; for non-taxation, it is on assessee to prove that tenant was a trespasser and sums received were damages in form of mesne profits.
No IT relief to trust if its business receipts exceeded threshold; yet its registration couldn't be
IT: Where gross receipts of a charitable institution from its business exceeds limit of Rs. 10 lakhs, it will not be entitled for exemption or other admissible tax benefits for relevant year only; however its registration as charitable institution will continue
Revenue authorities must adjust excess duty towards pending dues to determine penalty on evasion of
Excise & Customs : If assessee has made excess payment, excess payment should be adjusted towards amount due and if, after deduction, no duty/interest is payable, question of imposing penalty under section 11AC would not arise at all
India’S Fy '14 Gems And Jewellery Exports Fell 9% To $39.5 Billion
According to latest government statistics, the country’s gems and jewellery exports declined sharply during the fiscal year FY ’14. The exports during FY ’14 totaled $39.5 billion during 2013-’14, nearly 9% lower when compared with the exports of $43.34 billion during the previous fiscal.
According to Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation- the representative body that promotes growth of trade in gems and jewellery, the sharp decline in exports was primarily due to flat demand from global markets and partly on account of tight norms of gold imports by the government which led to non-availability of gold for exports.
The exports of gems and jewellery from India had been declining since October last year. This was mainly due to various regulatory curbs on gold imports. The government had raised the customs duty on gold imports from 2% to 10% in an attempt to arrest the rising Current Account Deficit (CAD). The confusion surrounding 80:20 rule also resulted in reduced gold imports by the country. All these led to severe scarcity of gold in India.
The contraction in gold imports helped the country to contain the CAD to to $31.1 billion (2.3% of GDP) during the April-December FY14 period as compared to $69.8 billion (5.2% of GDP) reported in the same period of previous fiscal year. The final CAD data for the entire fiscal is due to be announced shortly.The exports of gems and jewellery constituted 15% of the country’s total exports during the fiscal.
Source:- metal.com
India May Cede Top Rice Exporter Spot Under Southeast Asian Price Onslaught
India's rice exports could slide by nearly a quarter this year and knock the country off its perch as top exporter of the grain due to stiff competition from Southeast Asian rivals that have recently slashed prices, Indian industry executives said.
A drop in Indian exports could help Thailand trim a record inventory chalked up under a controversial rice-buying scheme. Thailand may also be able to reclaim its status as the world's biggest rice exporter, which it lost to India two years ago.
It will also leave more rice in Indian hands at a time when the country's stocks are bulging and it faces the prospect of a record harvest, creating problems of storage.
"We are almost out of the market now. Thailand and Vietnam are selling aggressively and it is difficult for Indian exporters to match those prices," B.V. Krishna Rao, managing director at Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, India's biggest non-basmati rice exporter, told Reuters.
"Thailand will again become the world's biggest rice exporter. Our non-basmati rice exports could drop to 4 million tonnes," Rao said.
India toppled Thailand in 2012 to become the world's biggest rice exporter after the government lifted a four-year-old ban on non-basmati rice shipments in 2011 to trim a growing mountain of the grain following bountiful harvests.
In the 2013/14 financial year that ended on March 31, India's total rice exports stood at a record 10.5 million tonnes, comprising 4 million tonnes aromatic basmati rice and 6.5 million tonnes of the non-basmati variety.
While India's shipments of the basmati variety are likely to remain steady in 2014/15 at around 4 million tonnes, total rice exports could drop to 8 million tonnes due to the slide in exports of non-basmati rice, industry officials said.Desperate for revenues, Thailand has this year been selling larger quantities of the grain from state warehouses at low prices to private traders. Thailand-origin rice was offered at the lowest price in an international tender from Iraq's state grains buyer to purchase at least 30,000 tonnes, European traders said on Tuesday.
The push could boost Thailand's rice exports to 9 million tonnes in the 2014 calendar year from 6.7 million a year ago, according to a March report issued by a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache in Thailand. India's exports in the 2014 calendar year are expected to be lower than that, industry executives said.
Thailand is now offering 5 percent broken rice at $390 to $395 per tonne free-on-board basis, compared to India's offer price of $400.
The Southeast Asian nation usually charges a premium over Indian rice due to its longer grains
"India and Thailand are quoting nearly the same price for 5 percent broken rice. Thailand's prices need to go up by $40 per tonne to make Indian exports viable," said M. Adishankar, executive director at Sri Lalitha, a leading rice exporter based in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Since the first week of February, Thailand has cut export prices of 5 percent broken rice by nearly 12 percent, compared with a 2 percent drop in export prices from Vietnam, the world's second-biggest exporter. Indian prices rose 2 percent during the same period as the rupee strengthened.
"For some grades Thailand has been offering discounts compared to Indian prices. Indian exporters can't lower prices substantially due to the appreciating rupee," said M.P. Jindal, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association.
A strong rupee cuts the returns of exporters. The Indian currency has risen nearly 3 percent since the start of February.
The imposition of a 110 percent import duty on rice last year by Nigeria, a major importer of the grain from India, could further hamper exports from the South Asian country.
India mainly exports non-basmati rice to African countries such as Nigeria, Senegal and Benin, while Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are key buyers of its basmati rice.
"Shipments to Nigeria are hit due to the new duty structure," said Adishankar of Sri Lalitha.
Other African buyers are switching to Thailand as the government has been aggressively selling stocks from its warehouses, the exporters said.
Slowing exports will add to India's problem of plenty in foodgrains. Rice inventories with India's state-run agencies have already jumped above 30 million tonnes as on April 1, government data shows, against a target of 14.2 million tonnes. Moreover, the country is estimated to produce a record 106.19 million tonnes rice in the year to July 2014.
"Slowing exports mean more and more farmers will sell their crop to the government, but it doesn’t have enough storage space," said a rice miller based in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.
Source:- in.reuters.com
India Containerized Scrap Import Prices Rise Further By $13 A Ton
India containerized scrap import prices rose further by 3.7% week-on-week to $395 a ton in the week ended April 18th this year, as per the latest figures released by the The Steel Index (TSI).
According to TSI, Indian imports of containerised scrap gained by $14 ton last week to finish at $395 a ton.
According to a prominent trader in the region ‘whilst finished product sales remain slow, buyers are back into imports thanks to local scrap prices going up’.
US and European offers into the region were said to be around $410-415 a ton, although buyers are slowly beginning to take a more cautious approach to procurement, with many expecting prices to soften in May when scrap flows into yards traditionally start to pick-up pace.
Source:- metal.com
Lower Prices Propel India’S Coking Coal Imports By 18% In Fy ‘14
In current fiscal year 2013-‘14(FY14), lower rates of coking coal produced 18 pct increase in imports. Indian steel producers imported about 33.1 million tonnes of coking coal during 2013-14.
According to traders and analysts, the coking coal imports by the country took advantage of the price crash. Globally, the average prices dropped from $140 per tonne during previous fiscal to as low as $111- $118 per tonne in FY ’14.
However, all of the imported coke is not used for steel production. Some other plants produce coke in order to sell to other parties. India buys 30 to32 mt of coking coal from Australia annually. The rising coking coal imports also made improvements in India’s crude steel output. Based on the data of world steel organization, due to this high coke imports, steel production rose to 81mt in 2013 from 77.3 mt of 2012.
Coke traders also mentioned that usage of coke to produce hot metal and stockpiling the material by many plants is likely to make later rise in price. When Prices reached around $100 per tonne, the steel plants tried to stockpile the coke so as to meet up future price rise. Thus, normal steel production and rising imports of coking coal implies that the steel units have concern over both inventory and production.
Source:- metal.com
Russian Jv Venture Promises To End India's Butyl Rubber Import
India's $360 million imports of synthetic butyl rubber, used mainly to make tyres, may soon be rendered unnecessary after a Russian joint venture with Reliance Industries starts production end-2015, a top official has said.
Russian gas processing and petrochemicals major Sibur has a 25:75 joint venture with Reliance and the upcoming plant at Jamnagar is set to commence production by the end of next year, said Evgeny Griva, chief executive of Sibur Petrochemical India.
"Sibur believes that once production begins at Jamnagar, India will stop importing butyl rubber," Griva told IANS, adding the current imports were estimated at 60,000 tonnes per annum as against the plant's capacity of 100,000 tonnes.
The $7.6-billion Sibur's projections for India are based on a conservative medium-term growth in demand for butyl rubber at around 6.3 percent per annum, thanks to India emerging as a major hub for small cars.
"Production of small cars in India increased eight percent last year and is expected to maintain the same growth rate over the next there years. We anticipate a similar growth in demand for butyl rubbers as in tyre production," Griva said.
According to him, Russia has a leading position as a supplier of butyl rubber to the global market. "We at Sibur are among a few companies with technology to produce butyl rubber and the practical experience to produce and sell our product," he said.
"We are using a unique solution polymerization technology in Jamnagar. It is consistent in product quality and is also eco-friendly since it uses non-toxic solvents," the Russian chief executive said.
The technology is currently only being used at at Sibur's Togliattikauchuk plant in Togliatti in the Samara region of central Russia which has been operating since the early 1980s.
India's tyre output is expected to expand rapidly, with the credit ratings agency ICRA estimating growth at 8-10 percent a year to drive the Indian synthetic rubber industry forward.
"Once domestic demand is being satisfied in India, Reliance Sibur Elastomers may export its remaining output to neighbouring countries. But our joint venture's prime focus will be India", Griva said.
Sibur Petrochemical India, the group's subsidiary since in 2012, is also conducting detailed research on the country's petrochemical market and the related business development to tap the demand.
"India's per capita consumption of polyolefins lags well behind that in other countries in Southeast Asia and further behind Western Europe or North America. The demand will only grow as personal incomes are rising and consumption patterns.
Source:- business-standard.com
India To Make May-July Oil Payments To Iran - Sources
India is set to pay Iran $1.65 billion over the next three months under an interim nuclear deal that eases sanctions on Tehran and gives it access to $4.2 billion in blocked funds, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.
As long as Tehran complies with the terms of its preliminary agreement with western powers, which took effect on Jan. 20, Iran receives some of its funds frozen abroad in eight payments from various buyers over six months.
Iran has cut its most sensitive nuclear stockpile by nearly 75 percent in implementing the pact, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in its latest report, as the OPEC member allays fears about its atomic aims.
This means Tehran will have access to the next two installments, each of $550 million, which are due on May 14 and June 17. The final $550 million installment, due on July 20, is contingent on confirmation that Iran has fulfilled all of its commitment.
The Indian government has asked refiners to make the first payment by mid-May, three of the sources said, adding that refiners will settle all three tranches if payment is allowed by the United States and European Union.
"The individual companies' share is to be worked out," one of the sources said.Iran has so far received $2.55 billion in frozen oil funds, in five payments, four from Japan and one from South Korea.
Three of the sources said Iran had asked India to make payments into the Central Bank of Iran's account with Oman's Bank Muscat BMAO.OM in Omani rails.
"All I can confirm is that some movement is happening on payments by India to Iran, but the modalities as to which bank will be used by India to remit funds is yet to be worked out," said a western diplomat privy to the matter, who was not one of the four previously cited sources.
Indian refiners Essay Oil (ESRO.NS), Bangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL.NS), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL.NS) and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd together owe $3.6 billion to National Iranian Oil Co.
The tough sanctions slapped on Iran in 2012 closed banking channels for the transfer of oil payments to the OPEC member country, putting a stranglehold on its revenue, crippling its economy and ultimately bringing it to the negotiating table.
Indian buyers of Iranian oil have been settling 45 percent of payments in rupees, which Iran used for importing goods from India, while the refiners held the remainder.
Before the interim deal, countries that imported Iranian oil were required to steadily reduce their purchases to qualify every six months for a waiver from U.S. sanctions.
Iran's crude oil exports fell for the first time in five months in March and are slated to drop further in April, moving closer to the levels stipulated by the November interim deal.
That agreement allows Iran to keep exporting at current reduced levels of about 1 million bpd and opens a door for lifting shipment volumes later.
Iran's top four oil clients - China, India, Japan and South Korea - together cut oil imports from Iran by 15 percent to an average of 935,862 barrels per day (bpd) in 2013, government and industry data showed.
India's intake of Iranian oil surged nearly 43 percent in the first quarter of 2014, bringing a warning from the United States that it needed to hold the shipments closer to end-2013 levels of 195,000 bpd.
Source:- in.reuters.com
Pakistan Ready To Lift Import Ban On Items From India, Says Envoy
Pakistan has said it will allow imports of all items from India once the on-going election process in the country is over and New Delhi is in a position to implement the "arrangement'' of reducing subsidies on some items of export interest to Pakistan.
"Early this year, both the countries had agreed on an arrangement under which India would reduce subsidies on items that can be exported by Pakistan. But it could not be implemented as the model code of conduct came into play," Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit said in an interaction with women journalists on Wednesday.
Basit said that once the new Government is in place in India, the whole issue could be reconsidered.
Extending India non-discriminatory market access, which basically means allowing all Indian items to be sold in Pakistan, is a key condition that New Delhi has laid down before Islamabad for re-starting the bilateral trade dialogue that has been stalled for the past year.
Although Pakistan has opened its doors to over 85 per cent of items to be exported from India, it still disallows 1,209 items such as automobiles, many pharmaceutical products, agricultural produce and textile items such as polyester.
India, on the other hand, allows import of all items from its neighbour, but Pakistan alleges that there were a number of non tariff barriers that impeded imports.
"There are four sectors in Pakistan, which includes pharmaceuticals, agriculture, automobile and textiles which are apprehensive about competing with India," the High Commissioner said.
More opportunity
India needs to reassure Pakistan’s industry that there would be more opportunity for them for doing business in the country by removing some domestic subsidies and giving it a more level playing field, he added.
Islamabad had promised to do away with all import bans by December 31, 2013. It had also promised that it would allow trade of all products through the land route, instead of the expensive sea-route.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Sri Lanka Rupee Edges Down On Light Importer Dollar Demand; Stx Fall
The Sri Lankan rupee traded weaker on Thursday in thin trade due to light importer dollar demand, while dealers expected the currency to remain stable until imports pick up sharply with remittances slowing down.
The spot rupee was traded at 130.63/66 per dollar at 0617 GMT, a tad weaker from Wednesday's close of 130.60/61.
"We see importer dollar demand coming in with inflows drying," said a currency dealer, adding that the market was waiting to see if the central bank would defend the rupee or allow flexible movement in the exchange rate.
The benchmark 91-day treasury bill yield dropped to its lowest since January 2007, data showed on Wednesday, a day after the central bank kept policy rates steady at multi-year lows. ,
Many dealers said they are surprised by the lower credit demand from the private sector even though key interest rates have been at multi-year lows since January.
Private sector credit grew 4.4 percent year-on-year in February, the slowest since May 2010, latest data from the central bank showed. That compared with a growth of 5.2 percent in January this year and 13.3 percent in February 2013.
The central bank, in its monetary policy statement on Tuesday, expressed confidence that private sector credit growth would rebound in the second quarter and push up the pace of economic expansion.
Dealers expect the rupee to trade in a range of 130.60-70 in the near future. It has been hovering between 130.55 and 130.70 per dollar since March 3, Thomson Reuters data showed, with the central bank intervening to smoothen any sharp volatility.
There was a gradual increase since mid-March in remittances by Sri Lankan expatriates to their relatives, while dollar selling also increased as exporters paid bonuses to their employees until end of the festival season last week.
Those inflows have helped ease the depreciation pressure seen in the early part of the year.
Sri Lanka's main stock index was down 0.1 percent, or 5.87 points, at 6,166.90 as of 0624 GMT, with the market turnover at 780.8 million rupees ($5.98 million), with 21.4 million shares traded. ($1 = 130.6250 Sri Lanka Rupees).
Source;- in.reuters.com
HC raps ITAT for extending stay on tax demand beyond period of 365 days; orders for expedite disposa
IT : In view of third proviso to section 254(2A) substituted by Finance Act, 2008, with effect from 1-10-2008, Tribunal cannot extend stay beyond period of 365 days from date of first order of stay, but assessee can file a writ petition in High Court asking for stay and section 254(2A) does not prohibit/bar High Court from granting stay of recovery
Exemption on consignment not allowed as agent never unloaded goods and sold entire goods in one lot
CST & VAT : Where assessee claimed exemption on consignment sales made through its Bombay agent and Assessing Authority disallowed claim on plea that Bombay agent never unloaded goods that were dispatched by assessee and he had sold entire goods in one lot within a couple of days to one buyer, since Assessing Authority had not held an enquiry as to individual transactions, matter was sent back to him for fresh consideration
Assessee couldn't seek complete stay on tax demand even when it had strong case in its favour; rules
IT: Where contention of revenue that in case a person was seeking exemption under section 11 then benefit of section 10 was not available, was prima facie negatived, a complete stay on tax attributable to income excluded under section 10 was unexceptionable
Assessee was liable to VAT on Rent as it accepted regular sums from tenants and latter wasn’t proved
CST & VAT : When assessee accepted regular payments from user of property, there was implied tenancy and amounts received were liable to tax; for non-taxation, it is on assessee to prove that tenant was a trespasser and sums received were damages in form of mesne profits.
Higher salary bill couldn't be disallowed on pretext of odd trend if it was genuinely incurred for b
IT-I : Where assessee claimed deduction of higher salary expenditure on account of change in business profile, since said claim was supported by necessary statements and vouchers, disallowance of a part of said expenditure on basis of percentage of salary expenditure claimed on domestic turnover in earlier year, could not be sustained
HC has no power to change findings of fact recorded by the Tribunal
Excise & Customs : High Court has no power to make endeavour to record different fact findings, even prima facie, from that recorded in Tribunal order
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)