IT : In block assessment, assessee shall not be entitled to exclude basic exemption granted under section 139(1) without satisfaction of Assessing Officer regarding genuineness of books of account or other documents in respect of his income
Tuesday 24 June 2014
No reassessment for alleged non-disclosure of sum earmarked under sec. 11(2) if it was disclosed dur
IT: Where reasons themselves did not indicate anywhere that assessee had not truly and fully disclosed all material facts nor had any material brought to reveal such non-disclosure in respect of sum set apart by assessee charitable trust under section 11(2), notice under section 148 would be invalid
HC dismissed appeal as ITAT had deleted penalty due to sufficient cause on part of assessee
Service Tax : Where Tribunal has adverted to relevant facts to hold that there was sufficient cause on part of assessee in not paying service tax or paying service tax belatedly, no question of law arose for consideration of High Court
SAT: Stock broker fined for providing assistance and abetting clients in placing synchronized trades
CL : Where stock broker aided and abetted entities by providing a platform for circular/synchronised trades in an ill-liquid scrip and thus, manipulated price to attract investors interest penalty was to be imposed
No TDS on sales commission paid to a non-resident for services rendered outside India
IT/ILT : Agency/sales commission payment to non-resident agents for services outside India is not tax deductible at source and outside the purview of section 40(a)(i)
Philippines May Loosen Rice-Import Curbs As Prices Soar
The Philippines is considering easing rice-import curbs as Asia’s second-biggest buyer battles record-high domestic prices and seeks to limit losses at a state agency, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
Policy makers will consider a proposal next month to adopt a free market and allow private traders to import as much rice as they want, Balisacan, 56, said in an interview in his office in Manila yesterday. The government would instead collect tariffs on the imports, he said.
“We need to get our trade policy right to address rising rice prices,” Balisacan said. “Our approach in restricting rice imports without an adequate assurance that local rice production would be sufficient to meet demand was the main factor” that led to higher prices, he said.
President Benigno Aquino is seeking to curb inflation running at the fastest pace since November 2011, boosted by the higher cost of rice, a staple in the Southeast Asian nation. Debt at the National Food Authority, which subsidizes farmers by buying their rice at higher prices, will probably climb to 180 billion pesos ($4.1 billion) by end-2016 without any changes to the program, Aquino said, or twice the nation’s defense budget this year, according to Bloomberg calculations.
“Moving to a free market allows the government to plug its cash leaks stemming from rice subsidies,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc. in Manila. “It also provides more market access for people to buy rice.”
The government had planned to import 1 million metric tons of rice this year, including 200,000 tons secured last year after Super Typhoon Haiyan struck in November. Separately, it allowed private traders in February to buy 163,000 tons of rice from overseas.
Consumer prices climbed 4.5 percent in May from a year earlier. Retail prices of well-milled rice rose 20 percent from a year earlier to a record as of the second week of June, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
That’s in contrast to prices of Thai 5-percent broken white rice, an Asian benchmark, which have tumbled 26 percent in the past year as the Thai government accelerated sales of stockpiles to make payments to farmers. Thai reserves have more than doubled to almost 14 million tons from 5.6 million tons in the 2010-2011 crop year prior to the start of the government’s rice purchase program, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“While we want to provide sufficient protection for our rice farmers, we also want to ensure that consumers, particularly the poor, would have access to inexpensive rice,” said Balisacan. “Instead of the government deciding, let the private traders and players decide that.”
To help farmers who may be hurt by cheaper imports, the government could take steps to boost irrigation, develop higher-yielding rice varieties, provide better access to credit and improve the supply chain, said Balisacan. The former World Bank economist oversees agencies including the Public-Private Partnership Center and the Philippine Statistics Authority, and is also in charge of approving infrastructure projects.
Restrictions on rice imports had encouraged smuggling, and the country’s Bureau of Customs has stepped up efforts to clamp down on the release of illegal rice shipments since Commissioner Sunny Sevilla took office in December.
The Philippines, the largest importer of rice in Southeast Asia and the biggest buyer in Asia after China, may import 2 million tons this year and 1.8 million tons in 2015, according to USDA estimates. India, the top shipper, exported 10.48 million tons in 2013, with Thailand at 6.72 million tons and Vietnam at 6.7 million tons, according to USDA data.
Officials around the region have come under pressure to control rising food prices and curb the cost of living. India will offload 5 million tons of rice, about a quarter of its state stockpiles, at subsidized rates to check price gains, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said last week.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is the first central bank this year among Southeast Asia’s biggest economies to move toward tightening monetary policy as inflation quickens. Last week it increased the rate on special deposit accounts a quarter of a percentage point after raising the reserve ratio twice earlier.
The monetary authority last week also raised its inflation forecasts for 2014 and 2015, citing risks including El Nino and food costs. Food prices surged 6.7 percent in May from a year earlier, the fastest pace since April 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Food and non-alcoholic beverages have a weightage of about 40 percent in the consumer price basket.
Source:- bloomberg.com
Slight delay in service of demand notice and copy of assessment order would not invalidate assessmen
IT : Assessment within limitation period cannot be doubted merely because demand notice is served after 47 days of said period
No concealment penalty if confirmation of creditors couldn’t be obtained as they were not traceable
IT: Where a few creditors could not be traced due to riot in related areas and assessee surrendering outstanding amount in revised return, penalty under section 271(1)(c) could not be levied
RBI asks banks and financial institutions to provide info to SIT for unearthing of black money stash
BANKING : Constitution of Special Investigating Team - Sharing of Information
CBDT notifies new Wealth-tax return form - Mandatory e-filing except by Individual/HUF not liable to
IT/ILT : Wealth-Tax (First Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Substitution of Rule 3 and Insertion of Form BB
Import Ban On Milk Items From China Extended By One Year
The government has again extended the ban on imports of milk and its products from China for one more year till June 2015.
"Prohibition on import of milk and milk products (including chocolates and chocolate products and candies/ confectionery/ food preparations with milk or milk solids as an ingredient) from China is extended for one more year, i.E., till 23.6.2015 or until further orders, whichever is earlier," Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
The ban, which expired on June 23, is extended every year.India had first imposed the ban in September 2008 due to presence of melamine, used for making plastics and fertiliser.
India, however, does not import milk products from China, but as a preventive measure, it has imposed the ban.The country's milk production is estimated to have increased by 6 per cent to about 140 million tonnes in 2013-14 from 132.4 million tonnes during the previous fiscal. India is the world's largest producer and consumer of milk.
Among states, Uttar Pradesh continued to remain the leading milk producer, followed by Rajasthan and Gujarat, whereas, the per capita demand was maximum in Punjab followed by Haryana in 2013-14.
Recently, all major milk producers including Mother Dairy and Amul had raised milk prices by Rs 2 per litre across all variants due to increase in procurement costs.
Source:- mydigitalfc.com
Rupee Opens 5 Paise Stronger At 60.16 Per Dollar
The Indian rupee opened marginally higher against the US dollar on Tuesday, even as Asian currencies showed a mixed trend.The home currency opened at 60.16 against the dollar against its Monday’s close of 60.21.
At 9.13am, the rupee was trading at 60.14 per dollar, up 0.11% from its previous close.India’s benchmark equity index, S&P BSE Sensex, rose 0.61%, or 151.55 points, to 25,182.87.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 8.738%, compared with its Monday’s close of 8.78%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Currencies in the region showed a mixed trend. The Malaysian ringgit was trading up 0.17%, but Japanese yen, Philippines peso, Thai baht and Singapore dollar were down marginally.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.297, up 0.02% from its previous close of 80.272.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 2.73% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $9.87 billion from local equity markets.
Source:- livemint.com
Show Cause Notice must be issued in conformity with the law prevalent on date of its issue, rules HC
Service Tax : Show-cause notice must be issued in conformance with law, as it stands amended, on date of issuance thereof; notice issued on 6-10-2004 as per law in force prior to 10-9-2004 was, therefore, set aside
HC affirmed additions in hands of a bank for its long outstanding surplus reflected in suspense acco
IT: Bad debts relating to non-rural branches of a bank in excess of credit balance of provisions for bad debts created under section 36(1)(viia), alone would be admissible deduction under section 36(1)(vii)
No disallowance of interest on loan when assessee had enough interest free funds to invest in tax fr
IT : Where assessee had sufficient interest free fund available with it to be invested in mutual funds, deduction of interest expenditure on borrowed fund could not be disallowed under section 36(1)(iii)
Recovery proceedings were valid if initiated after Sep. 10, 2004 even if demand pertained to earlier
Excise & Customs : Were proceedings for recovery are initiated after introduction of proviso to section 11 on 10-9-2004 providing for recovery from successor, recovery is valid even if demand pertains to period prior thereto
No addition of unexplained sums if it was duly explained by assessee in absence of any response from
IT : In a case of purchase of shares on credit, assessee's obligation stood discharged under section 69A if he furnished details of cheques, details of banks and addresses of sellers of shares
Even if decree for non-payment of debt is obtained, winding-up is valid mode of execution against in
CL : Even where valid decree was obtained by winding up petitioners for non-payments of debts by respondent-company on its becoming commercially insolvent, winding up petition, being an equitable mode of execution, would still be admitted
Common salt purchased by Britannia to make biscuits was exempt under Third Schedule of Tamil Nadu Sa
CST & VAT : Where assessee purchased common salt and used it in manufacture of biscuits, etc., common salt in question would fall under Entry No. 7 of Part B of Third Schedule of Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 and was exempt from tax
Sec. 143(2) notice is must even if assessee treats original return as one in response to sec. 148 no
IT: Even where assessee requested Assessing Officer to treat original return as one in response to section 148 proceeding, notice under section 143(2) was mandatory; otherwise re-assessment would be bad in law
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