Ministry releases list of defence items requiring industrial license

FDI/FEMA/ILT : List of Defence Items Requiring Industrial License

HC raps Dy. Commercial Tax Officer for levying penalty in haste on genuine stock transfer

CST & VAT : Where assessee, a registered dealer, was transporting cotton seed oil in two vehicles from Hyderabad to its consignment agent at Puducherry and Vigilance Officer intercepted said vehicles and thereafter Deputy Commercial Tax Officer levied tax on value of goods together with penalty alleging that consignment was not covered by proper documents, since it was claimed by assessee that oil was dispatched by way of stock transfer, it was not open to Deputy Commercial Tax Officer to arrive

Tax couldn’t be recovered immediately after order of CIT(A) if time-limit for filing appeal to ITAT

IT : Recovery of outstanding tax demand should not be resorted to when limit of 60 days to prefer appeal before Tribunal had not expired

No reassessment to deny sec. 80-IA relief when assessee had already disclosed all material facts dur

IT: Where assessee had already disclosed all facts truly and completely while claiming exemption under section 80-IA reopening would lack validity

HC condones belated appeal which occurred because assessee believed that its association would file

Service-tax : Where assessee had bona fide belief that Association was pursuing cause of all its members jointly and such ground of genuine belief led assessee not to pursue his individual cause, delay caused thereby is liable to be condoned.

SAT: BSE couldn’t sit in a judgment as it had vested interest in dispute between its subsidiary and

SEBI : Where BSE directed appellant broker to remit payment to it which was claimed to be due to appellant as well as ICCL, Clearing agency, in view of fact that BSE and ICCL were inter-linked and inter-connected as ICCL being wholly owned subsidiary of BSE, BSE should not sit in judgment in such matter

No TP additions if more commission is paid to AE for doing additional work than done by independent

IT/ILT : Where in transfer pricing proceedings, TPO made addition to assessee's ALP on account of higher rate of commission paid to its subsidiaries located abroad, in view of fact that said subsidiaries were performing customization work also which was not being done by independent distributors, payment of commission at higher rate was justified and, thus, impugned addition was to be deleted

Edible Oil Imports In 2014-15 Seen 5.4 Per Cent Up: Expert

India's edible oil imports, including palm oil, may rise 5.4 percent to 11.7 million tonnes in 2014/15 as a weak monsoon hurts domestic oilseeds production, an industry expert said.

Higher purchases by the world's leading cooking oil importer should support Malaysian palm oil futures that have shed almost 7 percent so far this year.

"Considering current monsoon progress, I don't think next year there will be any meaningful growth in local edible oil supplies, but demand will rise," said Govindbhai Patel, a trade expert from India's western city of Rajkot, at a regional palm oil conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

India's annual rains arrived five days late on the southern coast, and covered half of the country four days behind schedule on June 19, but since then it has failed to spread to soybean areas of central India.

Production of the main summer oilseed crop would depend on the quantity of rainfall in the next two months, said Patel, who has been in the edible oil trade for over three decades.

He expects India to import on an average 1.05 million tonnes of edible oil, including 700,000 tonnes of palm oil, each month until October.

India mainly buys palm oils from Indonesia and Malaysia, and small quantities of soyoil from Latin America and sunflower oil from Black Sea nations.

"Imports would rise in next five months as soybean sowing is getting delayed," Dorab Mistry, a noted London-based trade analyst, said on the sidelines of the conference.

Traders said the delay was primarily due to the slow spread of the monsoon rains over the growing areas of the main producing state of Madhya Pradesh.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sec. 158BD block assessment proceedings weren’t time barred if initiated within limitation period un

IT: Where proceedings for assessment by way of notice had been initiated well within period as prescribed under section 149, it could not be held that initiation of proceedings under section 158BD was time barred

Surplus arising to distributor of books from dealing in shares was capital gain if shares were held

IT: Where assessee treated shares as investment, used his own funds and share transactions did not relate to his main business, in spite of assessee receiving bonus share, income arising from sale of such shares were to be treated as 'capital gain', and not as business income

Palm Oil Imports By India Seen Tumbling First Time In Four Years

Palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer, may drop for the first time in four years as record global cooking oil supplies reduce the tropical oil’s discount to soybean and sunflower oils.

Shipments may decline 8.4 percent to 7.6 million metric tons in the year started Oct. 1 from 8.3 million tons a year earlier, Govindlal G. Patel, managing partner at G.G. Patel & Nikhil Research Co., told reporters in Mumbai today. That would be the first decline since 2009-2010, according to data from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India. Soybean oil imports are seen 61 percent higher at 1.75 million tons, while sunflower oil imports will jump 49 percent to 1.45 million tons, he said.

Reduced purchases by India may add to palm oil stockpiles in Indonesia and Malaysia, the largest suppliers. Futures in Kuala Lumpur have slumped 15 percent from an 18-month high in March. The discount to soybean oil averaged $93.90 a ton this year from an average of $244 in 2013, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Palm oil production faces the risk of an El Nino event, which can roil agricultural markets worldwide as farmers contend with drought or too much rain.

“There is good supply of sunflower and soybean oil in the market and prices are very competitive compared to palm oil,” Vijay Data, president of the extractors’ association, told a conference in Mumbai today. “If there is an El Nino and palm production drops, then prices could rise making soft oils more attractive.”

A moderate El Nino would reduce output by as much as 12 percent in Malaysia, according to IOI Corp. An event as severe as in 1997-1998 may cut production by as much as 15 percent, Chief Executive Officer Lee Yeow Chor estimates. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says disruptions associated with El Ninos have been most important for cocoa, coffee, sugar and palm oil.

The event, caused by the periodic warming of the tropical Pacific, brings drought to the Asia-Pacific region and heavier-than-usual rains to South America. Australia remains on El Nino alert even as a slowing in Pacific Ocean warming may push back its onset to September, the Bureau of Meteorology said June 17.

India’s monsoon, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the annual rainfall, is off to the weakest start since 2009, threatening planting of crops including soybeans, peanuts and rice, according to the India Meteorological Department.

“Looking at today’s scenario of the monsoon we do not expect a significant increase in domestic edible oil production,” Patel said. “Imports will rise because consumption is also increasing.”

Total cooking oil imports by India may increase 6.7 percent to a record 11.1 million tons in 2013-2014 from 10.4 million tons a year earlier, Patel said. The South Asian nation imports more than 50 percent of its cooking oil demand, shipping palm from Indonesia and Malaysia, the top producers, and soybean oil from the U.S., Brazil and Argentina.

Soybean oil imports more than doubled to 815,495 tons in the seven months through May from a year earlier and sunflower oil purchases rose 50 percent to 867,599 tons, according to data from the Solvent Extractors’ Association. Palm oil imports tumbled 15 percent to 4.33 million tons, it said.

Palm oil contract for delivery in September rose 0.2 percent to 2,487 ringgit ($773) a ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives today. Prices jumped to 2,916 ringgit on March 11, the highest level since September 2012.

“There is a necessary and compulsory demand base for palm oil of 7 million tons,” said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive officer of Sunvin Group, by phone from Mumbai on June 24. “Beyond that is dependent on price. This year the differential has reduced and there will be a shift to soft oils.

Source:- bloomberg.com

Ap Mulls Promoting Red Sanders Cultivation To Boost Production

As the Andhra Pradesh forest department prepares itself to sell the piled up stocks of seized red sanders logs through e-auctioning and e-tenders, another proposal relating to investing in the production of the logs in the future is underway.

Going by senior officials in the department, it is also being mulled to encourage private farmers to cultivate red sanders logs to enhance production and exports. According to officials, such a move will help curb smuggling and also help in brining the species out of the endangered list.

Presently, red sanders trees are naturally found only in three districts -- Chittoor, Kadapa and Nellore. Though officials claim there are no restrictions on the cultivation of the tress, promoting their cultivation will surely help in the long run. “We think it is high time to invest more in the production and protection of red sanders.

This will serve as a source of revenue for the future,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. According to him, presently AP has about 4,000 metric tonnes of red sanders logs stored in various notified godowns. A tonne fetches anywhere between `20-40 lakh in the international market. “Even if a tonne fetched `30 lakh, the government stands to net 1,200 crore,” he said.

Red sanders are said to be in demand in countries like Japan and China. Officials, however, feel such speculations are unfair and the logs are sold at such prices only in the grey market. “We will be selling the wood in the open market while following all legal procedures and it is unfair to assess the prices. The government will correspond and negotiate with importers,” principal chief conservator of forests AV Joseph said and added that the export will be taken up only through forest corporations to ensure no malpractice takes place.

Further, statistics available with the department suggest that 1,025 tonnes of red sanders were exported in the log form in 2006-07 where as in 2007-08 several tonnes were exported in the value addition form (furniture, medicine, etc). “We have about 85 percent of C And D category logs.

These do not fetch large amounts in the international market,” the official said. On concerns of the director general of foreign trade’s (DGFT) one-year deadline to auction the seized logs ending in October, officials said the government has been corresponding with the DGFT and the chances of getting an extension were bright.

Source:- newindianexpress.com

Shares held in fiduciary capacity won't be counted to determine relationship of 'Associate Co.' unde

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 2(6) of The Companies Act, 2013 - Associate Company - Clarification on Holding of Shares in A Fiduciary Capacity by Associate Company Under Section 2(6)

MCA clarifies incorporation status of subsidiaries of foreign Co. in absence of deeming provision un

COMPANIES ACT, 1956/COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 2(87) of The Companies Act, 2013 - Subsidiary Company or Subsidiary - Clarification on Incorporation of A Company, I.E., Company Incorporated Outside India

Revenue had to grant interest on belated refund even when assessee had waived off his rights thereof

Excise & Customs : Interest on belated refund is statutory (not discretionary) and is payable automatically and waiver thereof by assessee has no relevance; therefore, when department denied interest on refund on ground of being waived by assessee, High Court directed Revenue to pay interest on belated refund as per section 11BB

Doc signed in presence of witnesses couldn’t be termed as irrelevant after being unearthed in a sear

IT: Where in case of search carried out at premises of a builder, a MOU was seized showing that assessee had to receive certain amount from said builder on transfer of plot, in view of fact that MOU was duly signed by assessee in presence of five witnesses, it could not be regarded as a dumb or irrelevant document, and, therefore, impugned addition made on basis of said document was to be upheld

Case remanded to decide if letting out of commercial complexes were business income or income from h

IT : Where material placed on record did not clearly show that assessee was in business of acquiring properties and letting them out or that assessee had other properties, matter was to be remanded back to Assessing Officer to verify whether rental income from commercial complex comes under head 'business income' or under 'house property'

Revision application filed before 01-04-2005 would be governed by provisions of sec. 46 of Delhi Sal

CST & VAT : Where assessee had filed a revision, which related to period ending before 1-4-2005, under section 74A of Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004, entire provision of revision as contemplated under section 46 of Delhi Sales Tax Act, 1975 including period of limitation of five years prescribed therein would be applicable to such revision notwithstanding repeal of said Act by DVAT Act

Department couldn’t reassess consequential order of AO after ITAT affirmed order of CIT(A)

IT: Where department sought to revise order passed by Assessing Officer which had got merged with order of Tribunal, reassessment of said order would not be justified

Winding-up of Co. was maintainable if it neither had resources to repay debts nor had any intention

Company Law: Where company had admittedly committed a default in redemption of outstanding bonds and assets of company were wholly inadequate to repay these debts and there was nothing to indicate that appellant would ever be able to repay this debt ever or even had any intention to repay/redeem bonds; order for winding up, was inevitable

Declaration under ST Amnesty Scheme is maintainable if issues therein aren’t pending before authorit

Service Tax : As long as in respect of particular distinct period, subject matter of declaration or application is not pending or determined, main part of Section 106 would prevail and second proviso would not apply