AO couldn't reduce subsidy from cost of asset in current AY when it was received in subsequent year

IT : Where amount of subsidy had actually been received by assessee in next financial year, actual cost of plant and machinery could not be reduced during year under appeal thereby reducing claim of depreciation

Co. providing geospatical services isn't comparable to a Co. engaged in call center services for TP

IT/ILT: A company to be selected as comparable should have comparable services, comparable revenue earning and complete segmental details when it is involved in diverse nature of services

Sec. 68: Expression 'any sum found credited in books of account' covers both credit and debit entrie

IT : Expression 'any sum is found credited in books of assessee' in section 68 not only means all entries on credit side but also entries on debit side in books of account

Loan received by shareholder taxed as deemed dividend as it wasn’t covered under exclusions of sec.

IT : Loan advance received by Managing Director from company would be deemed dividend

Telecom charges incurred in forex are excludible from export turnover and total turnover for sec. 10

IT : While computing exemption under section 10A, expenses on telecommunication, insurance and other heads incurred in foreign exchange are to be excluded from both, export turnover and total turnover

Transfer of loan to spouse through journal entry won’t be deemed repayment of loan in violation of s

IT : Transfer of loan to spouse through journal entry won’t be deemed repayment of loan in violation of section 269T

Issue regarding excisability of gasses vented into air is appealable before Supreme Court and not Hi

Central Excise : If issue involved is regarding excisability to tax on gasses which are vented into air, appeal lies to Supreme Court and not before High Court

Interest on delayed payment by DISCOMs wasn't an income of assessee, as agreement was effective from

IT : Where power purchase agreement between assessee-company and DISCOMs was effective from subsequent assessment year, assessee was not entitled to claim any interest an delayed payments from DISCOMs for year under consideration

No concealment penalty when assessee had wrongly claimed deduction of prior period exp. under a bona

IT: Where assessee had given truthful and cogent explanation without concealing facts why interest relating to earlier years, which was capitalized, had been accounted for as a liability in current years, penalty under section 271(1)(c) was not to be levied

Issue as to whether provision of service amounted to 'export' isn't appealable before High Court

Service Tax : Issue 'whether provision of service amounted to 'export' of service and whether therefore, it was liable to service tax' is not appealable before High Court; said issue is appealable only before Supreme Court

Co. couldn't reject redemption on ground of limitation as it had disclosed debenture holders in annu

CL : Where application filed by debentureholders under section 117C(4) of 1956 Act was resisted on ground that it was barred by limitation in terms of Part X, article 113 of Limitation Act, 1963, since names of debentureholders were duly disclosed in annual return of respondent company, aforesaid plea raised by respondent was to be rejected

ITAT followed its earlier order and directs TPO to exclude functionally dissimilar comparables from

IT/ILT : Exclusion of comparables was to be directed in view of earlier years' order of Tribunal on same facts and circumstances

Import Duty On Vegetable Oils Hiked

The Finance Ministry has hiked import duty on both crude and refined vegetable oils to protect local farmers and refinery industry.

The basic customs duty has been hiked by 5 percentage points each, bringing the import duty on crude oils to 7.5% and that on refined oils to 15 per cent. Prior to this move, crude oils attracted import duty of 2.5% and refined oils attractted customs duty of 10%.

India had imported estimated 11.6 million tonnes of edible oil in 2013/14, higher than record 10.4 million tonnes imported in 2012/13. New Delhi is likely to import 13 miillion tonnes of edible oils this year that began from November.

About 60 per cent of India's annual edible oil demand of 18-19 million tonnes is met through imports. A significant portion of imports is palm oil sourced from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Source:thehindubusinessline.com

Yule Brews Packet Tea Plan

Andrew Yule & Company Ltd is betting on value addition in its tea business. The diversified PSU is targeting to raise the share of packet tea in the business to over 25 per cent in 2-3 years from 5 per cent.

The company, which produces 12 million kg annually, expects to clock a turnover of Rs 200 crore from its tea division by the end of this fiscal against Rs 183 crore last year.

It has unveiled its online B2C sales portal to cash in on growing e-commerce prospects. As part of its sales strategy, the company is mulling a pan-India launch in select institutional and retail chains. It is already an exclusive supplier to the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India and the Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India.

"The tea industry is at the crossroads. Tea, coffee and cocoa have not done well as far as price is concerned. The operating cost for the industry is going up. One of the way out for an Indian manufacturer of tea is to get into value addition. Our target is to take the share of packet tea to over 25 per cent in 2-3 years from about 5 per cent now," managing director Kallol Datta said.

At an industry level, packets constitute 30 per cent of the domestic consumption of 1,000 million kg. Last year, production stood at 1,200 million kg, while exports were at around 200 million kg. The domestic packet tea market is valued at around Rs 9,500 crore.

Buoyed by the increased demand for green tea, Andrew Yule is planning to start its production in Darjeeling, Assam and the Dooars. It has 15 gardens - 10 in Assam and five in Bengal.

Andrew Yule is also tapping new export markets and has exported value-added tea to the US and eastern Europe.

Datta said the Assam government had shown interest in handing over 15 gardens to the company under the Assam Tea Corporation. "We had initial discussions with them. There are issues in those gardens. We told them we could go phase-wise and begin with three. In Bengal, we gave a proposal to take over two gardens-Pandam and Rangaroon-initially. The Bengal government has now decided to auction five gardens. We are contemplating whether to bid and take part in that auction," he said.

Source:telegraphindia.com

Rupee Challenge Likely For Jaitley, Rajan In 2015

The rupee has been the best-performing emerging market currency in 2014 providing a welcome break for investors, who spent much of 2013 watching the currency crash from one low to another.

The strength in the rupee helped attract foreign investment and underpinned the domestic stock markets in 2014. But as the year draws to a close, the currency has started weakening again.

Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had to make a statement in Parliament after the rupee hit a 13-month low of 63.89 against the dollar

Mr Jaitley may have to face many more questions about the rupee in the coming months as analysts expect the currency to face increasing headwinds in 2015.

"The rupee is expected to weaken further against the dollar and the first target is 65/dollar," said Saagar Bajaj, technical analyst with Nirmal Bang. Madan Sabnavis, chief economist of CARE Ratings expects the rupee to hover between Rs 64- Rs 65 a dollar in the coming days.

Moses Harding, group CEO and chief economist at Srei Infrastructure Finance tweeted today, "Taking all cues in play, #USD/INR is seen to have set up ST base at 62.85/63.10-63.35 with goal post now at 64.85-65.10/65.35 by end FY15."

Source:profit.ndtv.com

Gold Loses Sheen To Import Curbs; Smugglers Make Hay

Losing its sheen for the second year in a row, gold turned cheaper by over 10 per cent in 2014 as the government tried to divert investors away from this 'unproductive asset', even as import curbs led to a rise in smuggling of the yellow metal. For silver, the year has been even worse with a fall of about 20 per cent in its price.

As the year 2014 draws to a close, gold prices have fallen to nearly Rs 26,000 per 10 grams from close to Rs 30,000 at the end of 2013. For silver, the fall has been even sharper at about Rs 36,000 per kg from close to Rs 44,000 at the beginning of 2014.

The fall in prices of the two precious metals came amid import curbs on gold for a significant part of the year, even as RBI has now eased some of these curbs.

A strong rally in the stock market, which is emerging as a preferred investment class, and sustained selling pressure from bullion stockists, coupled with weak trends in global metal markets, further dampened the sentiment in the precious metal market in India, experts said.

After starting the year at around Rs 29,800-level, the standard gold (99.5 purity) touched its yearly high of Rs 30,795 per 10 grams on March 3, but started moving downwards thereafter and has touched a low near Rs 26,000 this month.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also recorded a high of Rs 30,945 per 10 grams early in the year, but soon began falling and touched a low near Rs 27,000 in December.

Silver also scaled a peak of close to Rs 50,000 early in the year, but is headed to end the year near Rs 36,000-37,000-level. It had ended 2013 at Rs 44,230 per kg.

A sharp appreciation in the US dollar against the Indian currency added to the selling pressure in gold, while festival demand also remained relatively weak this year.

Government had imposed severe restrictions late last year on gold imports, including an increase in import duty to 10 per cent to check burgeoning current account deficit and sliding rupee. The steps, in line with the Centre's aim to help lower gold imports, also led to increased instances of smuggling.

However, some restrictions were eased in May, just before the previous UPA government's tenure ended, while further curbs were lifted last month under the new regime. The government has now also cut the import tariff value on gold and silver, taking into account weak global trends.

Meanwhile, silver prices also declined on reduced off-take from industrial users. Sharp rise in equity market affected the sentiment in the precious metals as investors transferred funds to equities from metals.

The year witnessed little buying interest during festivals like Dhanteras and Diwali, while demand was weak even during the wedding season.

In the global market, gold peaked above USD 1,300-level an ounce around the middle of the year on safe haven buying triggered by escalating geopolitical tension. However, it declined afterwards to touch a low of USD 1,140 an ounce towards the end of the year amid unwinding of positions by the hedge funds.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com