Assessee must indicate reasons for seeking cross-examination, says Ahmedabad CESTAT

Excise & Customs : Having not justified or indicated reason for seeking cross-examination, assessee cannot claim that there is a violation of principles of natural justice.

HC allows assessee to produce docs for input credit before AO as he failed to produce docs during as

CST & VAT: Where assessee had failed to produce documents for claiming input tax benefit during assessment, High Court permitted assessee to produce Form VAT C-4 and tax invoices before assessing authority

Demand can't be raised alleging clandestine removal of goods when duty is paid on annual production

Excise & Customs : Where show-cause notice is issued on ground that assessee is covered by production capacity based duty under section 3A, provisions of section 3 read with section 11A cannot be invoked to demand duty alleging clandestine removal

Govt. unveils booklet on "Investment opportunities in India"

FDI : Investment Opportunities in India

Evasion penalty can’t be reduce below the limit prescribed under sec. 11AC

Excise & Customs : Penalty under section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944 is a mandatory penalty and same cannot be reduced/waived below limit fixed by said section, even if duty is paid immediately on receipt of notice

Sale of unspecified goods in execution of work contract was chargeable to higher rate under West Ben

CST & VAT: West Bengal VAT - Where assessee was engaged in the business of executing works contract, since she had not sold in execution of works contract any goods specified in section 14 of Central Act, she was liable to pay tax at rate of 12.5 per cent on taxable contractual transfer price as per section 18(1)(b)

ITAT rightly determined market value of land on 1-4-1981 after considering doc of 1984 in respect of

IT: Where Tribunal determined fair market value of land inherited by assessee before 1-4-1981 by considering document of 1984 in respect of nearby land and after allowing certain deductions, no interference was required with such determination

ITAT quashed sec. 153C block proceedings as AO didn't record satisfaction that seized docs belonged

IT : Where Assessing Officer of 'B', 'P' and 'MB' did not record any satisfaction that some money, bullion, jewellery or books of account or other documents found from these persons belonged to assessee, initiation of proceedings under section 153C on assessee was void ab initio

Mere non-registration of asset in name of assessee doesn’t lead to denial of deprecation claim there

IT: Where certain assets were already transferred to assessee-society, assessee's claim for depreciation could not be rejected merely because those properties had not yet been registered in name of assessee

SC: Award could be modified if arbitrator failed to draw inference from facts resulting in miscarria

CL : Where arbitrators failed to appreciate and draw inferences that logically flow from proved facts resulting in miscarriage of justice, arbitral award will be open to challenge and may be cast away or modified

Interest on sums lent to foreign AE is to be benchmarked at LIBOR and not at domestic prime lending

IT/ILT : While benchmarking international transactions where assessee had advanced money to its AE and charged interest, international rates fixed being LIBOR + rate would be applicable and not domestic prime lending rates

AO couldn’t make addition of deemed dividend when assessee wasn’t a shareholder of lending Co.

IT: Where assessee itself was not shareholder of lending company, addition made by Assessing Officer by invoking provisions of section 2(22)(e) was not sustainable

No Wheat Export From Government Stocks: Food Secy

The government will not export its surplus wheat stock this year and will continue to offload the grain in the domestic market despite estimates of bumper wheat production.

Private traders can export wheat under the open general licence (OGL) scheme, Food Secretary Sudhir Kumar told PTI.

After lifting of ban on wheat export in September 2011, the government has exported nearly 6 million tonnes of wheat from FCI godowns during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscals. However, there have been no shipments so far this financial year.

"We have no plans to export wheat this year. There will be no export from the official channel. Private traders can do it under the open general licence (OGL) scheme," Kumar said.

"We will offload our stocks in the domestic market and not in the international market even if it is viable," he added.

The government is already sitting on a wheat stock of 25 million tonnes as on January 1, much higher than the actual requirement of 13.8 million tonnes, as per the FCI data.

Moreover, the wheat production is estimated at 95.76 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June) against 95.85 million tonnes in the last year.

The crop is ready for harvesting from April onwards. The government aims to procure 30 million tonnes of wheat this year to meet requirement of ration shops, further putting pressure on stocks.

Noting that the government has already started offloading surplus wheat in the domestic market under the open market sale scheme, Kumar said that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) -- the nodal agency for foodgrains procurement and distribution -- has sold about 3.5 million tonnes so far. Wheat is being sold under OMSS to boost domestic supply and check prices.

Asked if it has fixed a quantitative limit for wheat sale under OMSS, Kumar said, "This time, there is no quantity fixed. There is an open offer to sell anything above the buffer norm. Earlier, we used to take approval for fixed quantity, but there is no such system now."

At present, the wheat grown in the 2013-14 crop year is lying with FCI. "They have started offloading and have sold about 3.5 million tonnes so far this year." he added.

On poor response to OMSS sale in the previous years, the Secretary said, "We have sold about 6 million tonnes each in the last two years. It is not a small quantity, could have been more. But it depends on the buyer." India is the world's second largest producer of wheat.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

HC orders deposit of 10% of disputed demand to avoid undue hardship on assessee

CST & VAT: U.P. VAT - Where Tribunal had stayed 80 per cent of disputed amount of tax, order of Tribunal was modified by directing assessee to deposit 10 per cent of disputed tax and to furnish security for 90 per cent of balance tax

AO couldn’t make addition of unaccounted stock when he failed to point out defects in book of accoun

IT : Where Assessing Officer could not point out any defect in books of account maintained by assessee, he was not supposed to make addition of unaccounted closing stock being difference in stock on mathematical calculation

Coal Block Auctions Will Lead To Level Playing Field For All

Chandra Shekhar Verma, chairman and managing director, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), talks about steering the company in the current tough times, when local as well as global demand is depressed. He shares his action plan for the next 10 years and talks about his five years at the helm. Excerpts:

Globally, steel production growth has been tepid with only 2% increase in the calendar year against 3.5% in the corresponding period a year ago. There is surplus capacity of about 23-24% as utilisation is low. Demand in India is better than what it is globally. In April-December, production has grown at 5.3%. However, there has been a surge in imports — to 7.4 million tonne (mt) from 4.6 mt in the first three quarters of the current fiscal. Due to the SIPA agreement, there is a lot of import from Japan and Korea.

After consumption peaked in China, the country has been exporting steel to India as well. The depreciation in the rouble has also led to greater imports.

The demand situation should settle down and it is not a great cause of worry. However, companies importing to India have to bear freight and logistical costs also and, hence, the surge in imports should be temporary. The demand scenario in India is likely to improve as the country and the emerging markets as a whole remain the demand centre. Our per capita steel consumption is abysmally low at 55 kg per annum against the global average of kg p.a., which will only improve as we catch up and urbanise more. Further, a number of new initiatives by the government will gradually boost demand. We have also taken steps to multiply capacity.

We are the sole bidder for the block reserved for steel sector among the mines earmarked for PSUs. We will also be taking part in the next round of auctions to procure more coal blocks. These auctions will provide a level playing field for all companies and facilitate faster development of coal blocks. We will be able to take the advantage of our own coal blocks as we have enough knowhow in the mining. Today, we are operating four coal mines and, along with the Mozambique mine, we are mining 30 mt coal on our own.

We are not averse to acquiring global assets, but we have to keep an eye on location and market situation domestically as well as globally. We are getting 3-4 shipments of more than 1 lakh tonne currently from Mozambique and also working out the logistical issues, which will enable us to bring more coal from there.

We have a planned expenditure of Rs 72,000 crore. Capex for the individual year has been Rs 8,000-10,000 crore per year and, this year, it will be about Rs 9,000 crore. We have prepared vision 2025 to enhance capacity to 50 mt from 23.46 mt, which will involve a total capex of Rs 1,50,000 crore.

funds will come through debt and equity in equal proportion as opposed to our current expansion plan, which is being funded with two-third equity and one-third debt.

The Rourkela and Burnpur plants have started producing. In conjunction with Bhilai, production will reach 23.46 mt per annum next year. Demand in India is not likely to slump in the foreseeable future — cement-steel mixing ratio is not adequate here as for every tonne of cement used in construction, only 0.3 tonne steel is used. In developed economies, the ratio is 1:1. India is slowly becoming quality conscious and there is a preference for pre-fabricated steel and cement structure. Considering that 50-60% of steel is used in the infrastructure and construction sector, as we move to more qualitative products, steel demand will only go up.

Source:financialexpress.com

Indian Meat Exporters Optimistic Over Russian Opportunities

India is to begin exports of meat and dairy products to Russia by mid-2015, with the first shipments of buffalo meat due to take place in the coming months, according to official statements from the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry.

Indian companies are currently waiting for a decision from Russian veterinary body Rosselkhoznadzor on the list of approved suppliers.

"We are confident that, in the near future, our companies will be allowed to deliver their products to Russia," said director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Ajay Sahai.

FIEO has complained that the contracts on the supply of buffalo meat to the Russian market are still not signed, although Rosselkhoznadzor actually allowed imports of this product from four companies in India in December 2014.

The Russian veterinary body is also continuing its inspections of the Russian market with the intention to grant further export rights to other companies.

Officials from Rosselkhoznadzor have confirmed that, at the end of 2014, they inspected six other meat producing companies in India and, according to preliminary information, in each case Russian vets were satisfied with the quality of the products and safety of the production process.

As a result, Indian companies expect the range of products eligible for export to expand, before the first deliveries are expected later this year.

"The imminent start of supplies of meat and milk from India are equally important for both sides [for Indian producers and Russian market]," commented a source at the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry.

He also referred to the Russian ban on supplies from the European Union (EU) and the US and that it currently faces the risk of a deficit in certain categories of meat products, while for exporters in India this was the first chance to reach a new and very promising market.

According to Russian experts, the prospects for exports of meat products from India to Russia are now clearer than several months ago. Russian agricultural analyst Eugene Gerden said that following the selection of Narendra Modi as the country’s Prime Minister in mid-2014, there was a possibility that negotiations on the launch of supplies of buffalo meat to Russia faced deadlock.

"It was known that representatives of the current government previously spoke against developing exports of buffalo meat for religious reasons, but new steps towards establishing supplies to Russia show that the authorities do intend to develop this area of bilateral trade," said Gerden.

Source:globalmeatnews.com

SEBI releases FAQs for Investment Advisers

SEBI : FAQs on SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013

Issue relating to promotion of ACIT is first appealable before Central Administrative Tribunal, rule

IT: Where petitioners working on different posts with respondent/CBDT, raised a grievance with regard to their promotions, they were required to approach Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in first instance and, thus, writ petition filed by them was not maintainable

Commerce Ministry Seeks Cut In Gold Import Duty

With a decline in gold imports, Commerce Ministry has sought reduction in import duty on gold, a step that could boost exports and manufacturing of gems and jewellery.

"We have been asking for a cut in gold import duty," Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told reporters here on the sidelines of a CII function.

In its Budget proposals, the Ministry has suggested the Finance Minister to consider reduction in import duty on the yellow metal.

The industry has sought reduction in customs duty on gold to two per cent, from 10 percent now.

The gems and jewellery sector, which employs about 3.5 million people, would get a boost from the move.

Gold imports in December declined sharply to 39 tonnes, from 152 tonnes in November. Exports of gems and jewellery too declined by 1.2 per cent year-on-year to USD 2.66 billion in December.

The sector is one of the 25 thrust areas identified under the 'Make in India' programme. The campaign aims at attracting domestic and foreign investments to boost manufacturing and create jobs.

The government had raised the import duty on gold to contain the widening current account deficit.

Source:zeenews.india.com

Rupee Strengthens To 61.89 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee strengthened against the dollar in the mid day trading on Thursday amid caution ahead of the Union budget due on Saturday.Traders will also keep an eye on the annual economic outlook survey on Friday.

The local unit opened at 61.94 per dollar and touched a high of 61.83 per dollar, a level last seen on 6 February. At 2.54pm, the home currency was trading at 61.89, up 0.14% from previous close of 61.97.The Sensex index fell 0.63%, or 183 points, to 28,840.07 points.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.729% compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.707%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 1.78%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $3.42 billion from local equity and $5.05 billion from bond markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.257, up 0.05% from the previous close of 94.213.

The ratings agency S&P raised its India gross domestic product growth forecast to 7.9% from 6.2% for the year ending March 2016, citing as well rising investment and low oil prices. The agency also raised its growth forecast for fiscal year 2016-17 to 8.2% from 6.6% previously.

Source:livemint.com

Confiscated goods can’t be auctioned during pendency of appeal without prior approval of appellate C

Excise & Customs : During pendency of appeal, confiscated goods cannot be auctioned without prior permission of appellate court; High Court directs department to pay value of goods on date of seizure, with applicable interest

HC orders pre-deposit in cash as assessee was continuously using credit during withdrawal of Cenvat

Excise & Customs : Where, having defaulted in payment of duty beyond 30 days, assessee continued to use credit to pay duty despite prohibition on Cenvat use under rule 8(3A), assessee was liable to pre-deposit duty in cash with applicable interest

No revocation of trust’s registration alleging misuse of funds by trustees if trust was fulfilling i

IT : Where assessee-trust was fulfilling its main object of imparting education, registration of trust could not be cancelled only on basis that trustees were misappropriating funds of said trust

MCA notifies Form for filing info to rectify defects or incompleteness in e-forms filed with it

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Amendment Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rule 10 and Insertion of Form No. GNL-4

No TDS on sum paid for extra cost incurred by contractor due to delay in completion of work by sub-c

IT : Amount paid by sub-contractor to main contractor on account of extra costs that main contractor had to incur due to delay in completion of work by sub-contractor was not liable to TDS under section 194C

Assessee couldn't demand stay on recovery proceedings due to pendency of restoration application in

Excise & Customs : Application for Recall/restoration of Tribunal order has to be disposed of, one way or other by Tribunal itself on merits; but, assessee cannot claim a stay on recovery merely because a recall application has been filed (or is pending)

Revised monetary limit for filing appeal would also apply to pending appeals, rules Gujarat High Cou

Excise & Customs : In view of Instruction F. No. 390/Misc./163/2010-JC, dated 17-8-2011, tax appeal below Rs.10 lakh is not maintainable before High Court and this instruction also applies to pending appeal filed/admitted before 17-8-2011

Revised monetary limit for filing appeal would also apply to pending appeals, rules Gujarat High Cou

Excise & Customs : In view of Instruction F. No. 390/Misc./163/2010-JC, dated 17-8-2011, tax appeal below Rs.10 lakh is not maintainable before High Court and this instruction also applies to pending appeal filed/admitted before 17-8-2011

Computation of period to levy interest for assessee-in-default not to be adjudicated in writ; rules

IT: Where petitioner had been called upon to pay interest under section 220(2), demand having been raised consequent to order passed by Settlement Commission, computation of period for purpose of levy of interest could not be adjudicated in a writ petition and, hence, petitioner was to be directed to file a revision before Commissioner under section 264

Revised monetary limits for filing appeal would also apply to pending cases, rules Gujarat High Cour

Excise & Customs : New/revised monetary limits would apply to pending appeals also; hence, appeal filed prior to fixation of new/revised limits would not be maintainable after new/revised limits come into force

No extended period when assessee didn’t pay duty due to conflicting views expressed in CBEC’s circul

Excise & Customs : Where Tribunal found that department was aware of all facts and there were conflicting CBEC Circulars on issue of excisability of 'sugar syrup' during relevant period, there can be no case of suppression and therefore, extended period of limitation cannot be invoked.

Independent manufacture couldn’t be chosen as a comparable for job worker

IT/ILT : Where assessee was only a job worker comparables chosen by assessee of full fledged independent manufacturers could not be prima facie considered for purpose of comparability analysis

HC denied set off of input tax credit of earlier period against output tax liability of current peri

CST & VAT : Karnataka VAT - Where assessee purchased goods in month of June, 2006 after payment of input tax and claimed input tax credit in return filed for period of February, 2007, it was not entitled to benefit of input tax credit

No mandate to file audit report alongwith return to claim deduction under sec. 32AB

IT : Deduction under section 32AB claimed by assessee cannot be disallowed on ground that assessee had not filed audit report along with return

Assessee wasn’t entitled to refund of ST paid on services used for export as it failed to comply wit

Service Tax : Where exporter of goods claiming refund of service tax paid on services used for export had : (i) failed to obtain service tax code under notification no. 41/2007-S.T. and had not even complied with said requirement subsequently; and (ii) also filed refund claim belatedly, he was not entitled to said refund

OP abused its dominance by influencing State utilities to get project report done in lieu of financi

Competition Law : Where Opposite Party was dominant in relevant market for financing of rural electrification scheme, OP abused its dominant position by influencing State utilities to get detailed project reports (DRPs) done by its subsidiary in return of promise that finance would be arranged by OP

Co. engaged in BPO services couldn’t be a comparable for software development Co.

IT/ILT : A software development company cannot be compared with a company mainly engaged in BPO services

India's Iron Ore Exports Declined Sharply During Jan-Oct 2014

The Indian exports of iron ore saw huge decline during the initial ten-month period in 2014, indicates the latest statistics released by Indian Trade and Commerce Ministry. The iron ore exports from the country fell sharply by 26.2% during the period from January to October last year when compared with the previous year.

The iron ore exports from the country totaled 9.03 million tonnes during the initial ten-month period in 2014. The exports had totaled 12.23 million tonne during the corresponding ten-month period during 2013.

The statistics indicate that China continued to remain as the biggest importer of Indian iron ore. The iron ore exports to China totaled 6.47 million tonne during the ten-month period, falling 33.4% year-on-year. In second place was Japan with total iron ore shipments of 1.54 million tonnes during the period. The exports to Japan dropped by 18.4% when compared with the previous year.

The iron ore exports by the country during the month of Oct ’14 alone totaled 268,000 tonnes. The exports for the whole year are estimated to remain within 10 million tonnes in 2014.

The imposition of 30% duty on exports of iron ore lumps and fines has resulted in the sharp fall in exports. In addition, the prevailing mining bans by various states have also led to fall in exports during the period.

Source:- metal.com

Cbec Suffers Top Slots Vacant Ahead Of Budget

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is suffering from top slots vacant ahead of the overnment’s first full-year Budget for 2015-16 on February 28.

CBEC Chairman Kaushal Srivastava , who is retiring in June.The reason for no movement on the appointments is that a review of the selection process for the top slots as sought by finance minister Arun Jaitley is yet to be undertaken.

The CBEC comprises of seven members. In the absence of the appointments of full body, it is functioning with three members, including the chairman, Kaushal Srivastava. Others two members are Ms Joy Kumari Chander and Shashi Bhushan Singh.

All of them have been overburdened with additional charges. The shortage of four members badly affected the overall functioning of the CBEC.

It’s interesting to note that Chairman Srivastava, members Chander and Singh are retiring in June, May and February of this year respectively and the total 14 posts of Principal Chief Commissioner are lying vacant since October 15, the date of implementation of cadre restructuring.

The CBEC is the apex body of customs, central excise and service tax departments and oversees collection machinery of these departments, which are the largest revenue collector for India government.

The board provides critical inputs to the Budget process. The CBEC also faces revenue shortfall around Rs 70,000 crore till date.Not filling up vacant slots of top brass in the CBEC that will hit post budget revenue target and collection.

Source:- tkbsen.in

Rupee Trims Its Early Gains Vs Dollar, Still Up By 13 Paise

The rupee trimmed its early gains against the American currency and was quoted higher by 13 paise at 62.07 per dollar on selling of the US unit by banks and exporters on the back of lower dollar overseas.

Good foreign capital inflows into the equity market also impacted the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said.

The rupee resumed higher at 62.06 per dollar as against the yesterday's closing level of 62.20 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and firmed up further to 62.01 per dollar on initial selling of dollars.

However, it trimmed its early gains and was quoted at 62.07 per dollar at 1100hrs.

The domestic currency moved in a range of 62.01-62.08 per dollar during the morning trade.

In the New York market, the dollar inched lower against the yen and euro after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen suggested the central bank's first rate hike since 2006 may not occur until the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark sensex was quoted higher by 180.57 points or 0.62% to 29,185.23 at 1100hrs.

Source:- business-standard.com

Deemed credit available on iron and steel materials even when SSI-exemption limit was exceeded

Excise & Customs : Units availing SSI-exemption under notification no. 1/93-CE are entitled to deemed credit in respect of iron and steel materials, even after crossing SSI-exemption limit

Unexplained cost of construction to be spread over total period of construction for making sec. 69 a

IT: Where construction was spread over a number of years, addition for unexplained cost of construction would be spread over to said years

No reassessment after 4 years if there was no failure of assessee to disclose material facts at asse

IT : In absence of failure on part of assessee to disclose truly and fully all material facts necessary for assessment, Assessing Officer could not initiate reassessment proceedings after expiry of four years from end of relevant assessment year

Removal of inputs/capital goods from DTA unit to EOU unit under CT-3 form weren’t liable to reversal

Excise & Customs : No reversal of credit is warranted on removal of inputs/capital goods from DTA unit to EOU unit under CT-3 after taking permission from department, in view of exemption under Notification No. 22/2003-C.E.

Income from letting out shopping complex alongwith host of facilities would be business receipts

IT : Where assessee company developed shopping malls and business centres on properties owned by it and let out same by providing host of facilities in said business centre, income derived therefrom was business income

Appellate authorities rightly deleted sec. 68 addition after relying on confirmation of advance by l

IT : Where appellate authorities after considering balance sheet of lender as well as confirmatory certificates in respect of advances given to assessee, deleted addition made by Assessing Officer under section 68, said order did not require any interference

Assembling of air purification system by simple tools would qualify as manufacture for sec. 80-IC re

IT : Assembling of altogether different constituent parts in air purification system by using simple tools and testing equipments would qualify as a manufacturing activity eligible to deduction under section 80-IC

Tribunal couldn't restore appeal when assessee didn't pray for extension of pre-deposit time before

Excise & Customs : Where High Court/Supreme Court has confirmed pre-deposit order of Tribunal and there was no prayer before High Court/Supreme Court seeking extension of time to make pre-deposit, Tribunal cannot restore appeal even after belated compliance with pre-deposit order

ARCs to obtain prior approval of RBI for change in their shareholding pattern

SARFAESI : Bank’S Prior Approval for Change in Shareholding

Issue of adjusting excess duty on finalization of provisional assessment was referred to third membe

Excise & Customs : Issue 'whether, in case of provisional assessment, excess payment of duty is to be adjusted against short-payment of duty, for determining demand' stands referred to Third Member

Mistake in rectification order is rectifiable by Tribunal

IT : A mistake from any source, be it parties or Tribunal, as long as it becomes part of record, would require examination by Tribunal under section 254(2)

Exp. for increasing share capital is revenue exp. when capital is utilized to purchase trading stock

IT : Where assessee incurred certain expenditure for increase in share capital, in view of fact that entire incremental share capital was used for purchase of trading stock, expenditure in question was to be allowed as revenue expenditure

Rectification order passed by ITAT after 4 years was valid as it took time to dispose of petition of

IT: Where Tribunal took its own time to dispose of petition filed by assessee for rectification order and passed said order after 4 years, was well within time limit as specified under section 254(2)

Renting furniture and other facilities along with office space is taxable as renting of immovable pr

Service Tax : Prima facie, renting of office space along with furniture, network, cabins and other facilities to work as an office is covered under 'renting of immovable property services' and is liable to service tax; CESTAT directs making of pre-deposit

Assessee eligible for concessional tax on diesel as it manufactured hot mix material for constructio

CST & VAT: U.P. VAT - Where assessee, a works contractor, was engaged in manufacture of hot mix material by cement, diesel oil, furnace oil and lubricants, which was used in construction of roads, and it made an application for issuance of form 'D' as per circular dated 14-1-2008 for purchase of diesel oil and furnace oil at concessional rate of tax for purposes of manufacturing hot mix material, assessee was manufacturer of a taxable goods entitled for form 'D

Sugar Mills To Struggle To Export Raws Despite Subsidy

Indian mills are likely to struggle to export raw sugar, despite a government subsidy to boost shipments, as global prices remain weak with large supplies from top producer Brazil set to flood the market soon.

Lower exports by India, the world's biggest consumer of sugar, should take some pressure off benchmark New York prices that are mired near a 5-year low of 14.08 cents per lb.

"Not only are the prices unfavourable, most refineries in the world have sufficient stocks, with the pipeline being full. I do not see our exports going beyond 500,000 tonnes," said Dharmender Bhayana, managing partner at Sugrain Trading LLP.

India, which traditionally produces white sugar, exported nearly a million tonnes of raws in 2014.

"We have nearly missed the bus as the government took a long time to approve the subsidy. There is plenty of sugar and supplies from Brazil will arrive in April," Bhayana added.

After months of indecision, India last week decided to give mills a subsidy of 4,000 rupees ($64) a tonne for exports of up to 1.4 million tonnes of raw sugar to help cut stockpiles after five years of surplus output.

But given a premium for Indian supplies, traders do not see this subsidy helping much in terms of boosting exports.

Indian raw sugar is being quoted at $350 per tonne free on board for exports, versus $330 quoted for Brazilian supplies.

To help mills, India's top sugar-producing state of Maharashtra is considering an extra 1,000 rupees ($16) per tonne subsidy for exports of raw sugar.

Maharashtra, which accounts for more than a third of India's sugar production, is likely to approve the incentive in a week, said a government source who declined to be named as he is not authorised to talk to the media.

Global prices need to rise to make Indian raws attractive, but that looks unlikely in an oversupplied market, said a Delhi-based trader with an international firm.

"We are not very sure if Iran would import as much as it did last year because sanctions are gradually easing. Iran may turn to Brazil also," the trader added.

Iran had bought 500,000 tonnes of Indian raws in 2014, paying with the rupees it received for oil from India amid curbs on dollar trade with Tehran due to sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme.

In the absence of export deals, Indian mills could turn to the local port-based refineries of Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd, EID Parry and Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd. But prices remain an issue.

"Mills are willing to sell raw sugar at 20,000-20,5000 rupees a tonne which is considered high and needs to come down to 19,000-19,500 rupees for refiners to buy from mills," said a Mumbai-based trader who works with an international company.

Source:- in.reuters.com

India Begins Exporting Buffalo Meat To Russia

Rosselkhoznadzor has sent an expert to India to assess the quality of buffalo meat, destined for export from India to Russia, according to information on the agency’s website.

He will oversee the preparation and shipment of buffalo meat to Russia, as well as become acquainted with the raw material base of the Indian companies that are planning to export this meat.

Deliveries of buffalo meat from India to Russia were approved during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi in mid-December 2014.

Four Indian companies were given the right to export buffalo meat to the Russian Federation –N68 Fair Exports Pvt. Ltd, N121 Frigerio Conserva Allana Limited, N23 Frigorifico Allana Limited, and N42 Amroon Foods Pvt. Ltd.

Source:-in.rbth.com

Assam Govt mandates e-filing of import declarations

CST & VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Assam Value Added Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 2014 – Amendment in Sections 75 and 77

Steel Industry Hit By Weak Demand, Firms Seek Import Barriers

The steel industry has been passing through challenging times with rising input cost and falling demand. The margins of steel companies are squeezed with its inability to pass on the rising input cost to end user due to falling demand.

The shortage of iron ore has led to higher prices in the e-auction even as the key raw material prices in the international markets are hitting a new low.

The cost of coal is expected to go up with companies bidding for 21 coal blocks put on auction. With the rising production cost, steel producers are banking on the Government thrust on ‘Make in India’ programme to boost steel demand.

Goutam Chakraborty, Research Analyst, Emkay Global Financial Services, said the industry has sought the government to increase import duty to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent as there has been a steady increase in import.

“The industry also wants a cut in export duty of low grade iron ore of 55 per cent to 58 per cent grade, specially to revive mining in Goa, but it would not help much even if it comes through as price of high grade iron ore itself has fallen sharply in the international markets,” he added.

Indirectly, he said, the steel industry would benefit from any sops provided to boost infrastructure and real estate spending.

Though the Reserve Bank of India has signalled softer lending rates, banks seem not comfortable toeing the line. The recent cut in repo rates has not led to lower rates for corporates. Investment in infrastructure projects and demand for housing will get a boost, if the lending rates are reduced. Steel demand will go up with the revival in infrastructure and real estate projects.

From being a net exporter of steel last fiscal, India has turned out to be a dumping ground for major steel manufacturing countries. In the first 10 months of this fiscal, imports were up 69 per cent to 8.1 million tonnes against 4.8 million tonnes in the same period last year. In 2014, imports from China alone were at 2.83 million tonnes against 1.25 mt, an increase of 128 per cent. China, with production capacity of 1,116 million tonnes, accounts for 49 per cent of global output and has surplus capacity of 200 mt.

Last year, steel consumption in China was down 3.4 per cent, but it managed to maintain a production growth of 1.5 per cent.

Countries such as Europe, the US, West Asia, South-East Asia and India are the major markets for exporting countries. Demand in West Asia has remained sluggish due to sharp fall in oil prices, while Europe is struggling to recover from the economic crisis. With the US imposing anti-dumping duty on steel imports, India and South-East Asia has become the preferred markets for China.

In a bid to encourage export of low value steel products, China offers incentives ranging from 13 per cent to 28 per cent of the value of shipments. In contrast, the production cost in India has gone up steadily due to high iron ore prices and coal prices. Iron ore prices in the international markets have fallen 50 per cent in the last one year, while it was 14 per cent in India.

Source:- thehindu.com

Budget 2015: Govt May Consider Import Duty Cut On Gold

With decline in gold imports, the government may consider 2-4 per cent reduction in import duty on it in the forthcoming Budget, a move that could help boost exports and manufacturing of gems and jewellery, sources said.

The industry has already sought reduction in customs duty on gold to 2 per cent, from 10 per cent now."Gold imports are declining continuously. Gems and jewellery sector contributes significantly in the country's total exports. On account of this, we are expecting a cut in the import duty. But it is up to the Finance Minister to take the final decision in the Budget," said a source.

The government may consider cutting the duty by 2-4 per cent, sources said.Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last month hinted that the gems and jewellery sector, which employs about 3.5 million people, may get some incentives in the Budget.

The issues including the import duty related to this sector were widely discussed recently at a 'Make In India' workshop and a presentation was given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on it by Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher.

The ministry suggested that import duty on gold and silver be reduced to 2 per cent from the current 10 per cent.

Gold imports in December declined sharply to 39 tonnes, from 152 tonnes in November. Exports of gems and jewellery too declined by 1.2 per cent year-on-year to USD 2.66 billion in December.

The sector is one of the 25 thrust areas identified under the 'Make in India' programme. The campaign aims at attracting domestic and foreign investments to boost manufacturing and create jobs.

The All India Gems and Jewellery Federation has suggested that the customs duty should now be reduced to help check the smuggling of the precious metal.The government had raised the import duty on gold to contain the widening current account deficit.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Jnpt Planning To Build Satellite Port At Vijaydurg Or Dahanu

State-run Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s busiest container gateway near Mumbai, is planning to build a satellite port at either Vijaydurg or Dahanu in Maharashtra for at least Rs.10,000 crore.

JNPT and the Maharashtra government will hold 75% and 25% respectively in the proposed project, port chairman N.N. Kumar said in an interview on Sunday. “At both Vijaydurg and Dahanu, there is natural draught of 20 metres to receive bigger ships. A feasibility study for a satellite port has been completed internally. At present, there is only one big port in Maharashtra—JNPT—despite the fact that there is large industrial growth taking place in the state,” Kumar said without disclosing the project’s time frame.

JNPT’s proposal comes at a time when the growth of the Indian economy is projected to touch 7.4% in the current fiscal year compared with 6.9% last year based on a new way of calculating gross domestic product (GDP). At this level, it is estimated to be on par with China, the fastest growing major economy in the world. It is also the first time that the economy is projected to be bigger than $2 trillion; India’s GDP is estimated to be $2.1 trillion in 2014-15, according to official data.

With the first three quarters’ economic growth numbers at 6.5%, 8.2% and 7.5% respectively, the data assumes that in the fourth quarter (January to March), GDP will grow at 7.5%. However, merchandise imports in January fell 11.4% to $32.2 billion while non-oil imports rose 3.45% to $24 billion.

“Maharashtra needs a large multi-purpose port considering the way the export-import trade is growing. At present, there is no big multipurpose port. JNPT is focused on containers while Mumbai Port is handling more on only liquid cargo. You need to handle coal and other cargoes for power plants and other industries for the Maharashtra state,” Kumar said.

Mumbai Port, India’s oldest harbour, has not scaled up efforts to handle more cargo, as it is situated within city limits. Interestingly, JNPT was built to de-congest the 143-year old Mumbai Port. JNPT was built in 1989 outside Mumbai city near Nhava Sheva island. Mumbai port, once considered the country’s premier harbour, has about one-third of the total employees across all 13 major ports of India, but handles only 10% of the total traffic of these ports.

“JNPT is also getting congested. Once it builds its fourth container terminal, JNPT will get its entire waterfront exhausted. If JNPT has to grow as entity, it has to look outside for growth like any other company,” said Atul C. Kulkarni, an independent maritime consultant.Kulkarni said the government has given its port authorities guidelines to look out for further growth, as the market is growing.

“Nothing stops JNPT in joining hands with another government entity or a private company to augment cargo handling facilities and to invest in a port outside Nhava Sheva.”

JNPT’s Kumar said funding should not be a problem for the port as it has got sufficient reserves. He said the proposed port will cater to entire Maharashtra, upper part of Karnataka, southern part of Gujarat and some parts of Goa.

At present, three big ports of Gujarat—Mundra, Pipavav and Kandla—are competing with Maharashtra ports for the cargo of western India hinterland.Agents of leading shipping lines said cargo from Maharashtra often go to private sector ports in Gujarat due to congestion at JNPT. They said both Mundra and Pipavav in Gujarat are non-major ports or not under the control of centre, allowing them to fix their own rates unlike state-controlled major ports.“The proposed satellite port is not to compete with other existing ports in Gujarat. There is sufficient cargo for everyone.

Source:- livemint.com

Rupee Opens Higher At 62.05 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee on Wednesday strengthened against the dollar, tracking gains in the local equity and Asian currencies markets.

Traders are cautious ahead of the railway budget on Thursday and national budget on 28 February. Also traders will keep an eye on annual economic outlook survey on Friday.

The local unit opened at 62.05 per dollar and touched a high of 62.03—a last level seen on 10 February. At 9.11am, the home currency was trading at 62.02, up 0.28% from previous close of 62.20.

The Sensex Index rose 0.33% or 96.46 points to 29,101.12 points.Major Asian currencies were trading higher against the dollar after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen suggested the Fed would not rush into raising interest rates, Reuters reported.

Janet Yellen told the Senate Banking Committee that the US central bank was preparing to consider interest rate hikes “on a meeting-by-meeting basis, it added.The South Korean won was up 0.68%, Taiwan dollar up 0.53%, Malaysian ringgit 0.53%, Philippines peso 0.28%, Japanese yen 0.24%, Indonesian rupiah 0.23%, Singapore dollar 0.07%. However, China offshore spot was down 0.15%, Thai baht 0.11%, China renminbi 0.06%.\

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.707% compared with its Tuesday’s close of 7.718%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 1.35%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $3.25 billion from local equity and $5.05 billion from bond markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, trading at 94.358, down 0.15% from the previous close of 94.493.

Source:- livemint.com

Usage of goods for commercial purposes even after declaring them for personal usage does not call fo

CST & VAT : Kerala VAT - Even where assessee declared that purchase of goods was for purpose of own use but used it for commercial purpose and generated profit from it, penalty under section 70B could not be levied

CLB isn’t empowered to adjudicate upon validity of meeting held in stipulated time

CL: If any meeting is held by a company within stipulated time in accordance with law, CLB is not empowered to adjudicate validity of meeting

Commission held at ALP in earlier year had to be accepted in later years if facts remained unchanged

IT/ILT : Where similar commission payments were being made by assessee to an individual as per agreement and were considered at arm length in earlier years, then same could not be considered as not being at arm's length in year under consideration unless it was shown by department that facts in year under consideration had undergone a change

Co. providing engineering and geospatial services isn't comparable to a Co. offering only engineerin

IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP in respect of rendering engineering and structural designing services to its AE, in view of fact that one of comparables selected by TPO was functionally different as it was offering both engineering as well as geospatial services, only a part of impugned addition deserved to be confirmed

ITAT deleted penalty as revenue failed to point out any non-compliance regarding production of TP do

IT/ILT : Where in course of transfer pricing proceedings, revenue could not point out any specific non-compliance on part of assessee regarding production of documents maintained under section 92D(1), impugned penalty order passed under section 271G was to be set aside

HC condones delay in filing appeal as delay occurred just because person-in charge was on bed rest

Excise & Customs : Where 'delay occurred because person-in-charge was advised bed-rest' and said explanation is found to be genuine, then, condonation cannot be denied merely because Appeal was not filed immediately after resumption of duty by person-in-charge; High Court allows condonation on payment of costs

Co-operative banks to withhold taxes while making payment of interest in excess of Rs. 10,000 to its

IT: Where assessee co-operative bank had made interest payments in excess of Rs. 10,000 on term deposits to its depositors, assessee would be liable to deduct TDS on said payment

Assessee availing of area-based exemption for first time need not to reverse credit balance lying wi

Central Excise : A manufacturer availing of area-based exemption for first time is not required to reverse Cenvat Credit balance lying with him

No penalty under sec. 158BFA on admission of undisclosed income without hearing assessee

IT : A notice to assessee is a must before any penalty is imposed under section 158BFA

HC sets aside adjudication of stamp duty by Collector as he failed to ascertain the fact that proper

Stamp Act: Where respondents while adjudicating upon application of petitioner filed under section 31 had not ascertained fact that value mentioned in sale deed was less than market value and petitioner had wilfully under-valued property, with a fraudulent intention to evade proper stamp duty, impugned order passed by respondent taking recourse to section 47A was to be set aside

No invocation of extended period and imposition of penalty against recipient of service in revenue-n

Service Tax : Where an assessee is paying tax as a receiver, extended period and consequent penalty may not be invokable if situation is revenue-neutral; CESTAT remands matter back to reconsider matter on facts and law

Commissioner rightly exercised revision power as original assessment order was pre judicial to inter

CST & VAT : Kerala GST - Information received subsequent to assessment that relevant Form F was invalid, would be sufficient for Commissioner to exercise revision power

Input tax credit of purchase tax wasn’t available to manufacturer as it had sold final product outsi

CST & VAT: Tripura VAT - Where assessee purchased raw rubber after payment of purchase tax and manufactured rubber thread therefrom and sold a large quantity of rubber thread outside State either by transfer of stock or by means of inter-State sale, benefit of input tax credit was not available to assessee in respect of central sales tax collected and payable under Central Act

Area-based exemption from basic excise duty doesn't extend to EC, SHEC and National Calamity Conting

Excise & Customs : An area-based exemption from basic excise duty or special excise duty leviable under Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 does not extend to education cesses and National Calamity Contingent Duty leviable under various Finance Acts

No addition in block assessment for completed assessments unless any incriminating evidence found in

IT : Determination of 'total income' in respect of assessment years for which assessments were already completed on date of search, shall not be influenced by items of income other than those based on material unearthed during course of search

Govt. mandates e-filing of VAT returns in Daman and Diu

CST & VAT : Daman and Diu Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 - Amendment in Rule 28

Assessee is eligible for interest on belated refund after expiry of 3 month from date of filing refu

Excise & Customs : There is no provision under section 11BB that relevant date for determining interest on belated refund will be postponed in any eventuality; interest accrues from expiry of 3 months from date of refund applications and date of appellate order granting/upholding refund is immaterial

Issue of determining market value of property being converted into stock-in-trade couldn’t be decide

IT : Question of determining fair market value of property of assessee converted into stock-in-trade from investment is a question of fact which can not be determined in writ jurisdiction

ITAT allows deduction of interest as loan was utilized to acquire property for business of pre-schoo

IT : Where assessee, engaged in business of running pre-schools, took term loan and utilised it for acquiring property used for purpose of pre-schooling business, assessee's claim for deduction of interest on said loan was to be allowed

Mere incompleteness in import declaration form won't invite penalty when goods were recorded in book

IT : Where in respect of credit entries, assessee established identity of creditors by bringing on record their PAN and complete addresses and, moreover, transaction was made through proper banking channel, impugned addition made under section 68 was not sustainable

Employee couldn’t file writ due to excess tax deducted by employer as he could claim its credit in r

IT : Where assessee filed writ petition seeking a direction to respondents to assess him for tax only after deducting monthly instalments recovered from his salary towards housing loan repayment, in view of fact that any excess deduction would be taken care of in regular assessment, relief sought for could not be granted

Construction of electrical substation is a service relating to transmission of electricity; exempt f

Service Tax : Constructing electrical substations on turnkey basis was exempt from service tax under notification no.45/2010-ST, dated 20-7-2010, as it is a service relating to transmission and distribution of electricity

Allowing assessee to pay arrears of tax instalments was valid as it was permitted under Tamil Nadu V

CST & VAT :Tamil Nadu VAT - Where assessee was in arrears of tax and thereupon Assessing Authority initiated coercive proceedings against assessee and on writ petition Single Judge quashed action of Assessing Authority and directed assessee to pay amount in instalments, order passed by Single Judge was subject to provisions of section 42 and was correct

SC : Bank Manager rightly convicted for corruption charges as he had abused his position to benefit

CL : Appellant, an Assistant Manager in securities department of a branch of UCO Bank, was convicted under Prevention of Corruption Act for hatching a criminal conspiracy in facilitating trading of SGL securities to benefit of a famous share broker by abusing his official position and violating banking laws

A software development Co. can’t be a chosen as comparable for a Co. developing software without any

IT/ILT: Assessee that was engaged in software development services on contract basis without having any IP rights in software developed by it was functionally not comparable to a company engaged in developing software tools after enough research and development activity and tools so produced were intellectual property of this company

Bombay High Court levied sec. 234D interest on 'Indian Oil Corporation' following its order of earli

IT : In view of order passed in case of CIT v. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. [2012] 25 taxmann.com 284/210 Taxman 466 (Bom.) interest on excess refund under section 234D was to be charged from assessee

TP adjustment is to be made only in respect of purchases made from AE and not from unrelated parties

IT/ILT : TP adjustment is to be made only in respect of purchases made from AE and not from unrelated parties

India's 2014 Tea Exports Fall 8.1 Pct Y/Y

India's tea exports in 2014 fell 8.1 percent from a year earlier to 201.23 million kg due to poor demand from Bangladesh and Iran, the state run Tea Board said in a statement.

The country's exports to Bangladesh halved on year to 5.86 million kg, while exports to Iran stood at 18.03 million kg, down 22 percent.

In value terms India's exports dropped 13.5 percent from a year earlier to $643.75 million in 2014.

India, the world's second biggest tea producer, exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK, and the orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

Solurce:- in.reuters.com

Dsk Motowheels Imports Keeway Superlight 200 In India

DSK Motowheels is planning to introduce a budget bike brand Keeway in India in 2015. The company currently handles the operations of Hyosung and Benelli range of bikes in India. Interestingly, the company has recently imported one unit of the Keeway Superlight 200 in semi-knockdown (SKD) condition, which is expected to be assembled at DSK’s production facility in Wai, Maharashtra. The introduction of bikes as SKD would help the company avoid high taxes on CBU imports, and will allow the maker to price Keeway bikes competitive in the market.

DSK Keeway Superlight 200 The Keeway Superlight 200 is propelled by a 197cc single-cylinder engine that churns out a maximum power output of 12.7bhp and a peak torque of 14Nm. We believe that the Keeway Superlight 200 will be a bad attempt from DSK Motorwheels, as most 200cc bikes in our country are offering power over 20bhp. For example, the upcoming Pulsar 200SS' 200cc engine develops 23.5bhp of power.

The Keeway Superlight 200 is 2260mm long, which surely offers comfortable seats for two adults. The bike has all-black theme, and there are chrome treatment to add some spark to its look. The braking system comprises of disc at the front and drum type brakes at the rear. The twin exhaust tips also add to its style. It is expected that the Keeway Superlight 200 will be priced in the range of Rs. 1.2 lakh to Rs. 1.4 lakh, which is pretty decent. Moreover, DSK will also launch the Keeway Blackster in the country, which is powered by a powerful 249cc engine.

Source:- cartrade.com

In works contract service portion was liable to service tax even prior to 1-6-2007

Service Tax : Service portion in works contract was liable to service tax even prior to 1-6-2007 under 'Commercial or Industrial Construction' or 'Construction of Complex' but said service portion is eligible for abatement and abatement cannot be denied merely because value of free supplies is not included in value of services

Reassessment can be made on basis of info gathered by Commissioner during inspection of assessee's p

CST & VAT: Karnataka VAT - Where Commissioner inspected business premises of assessee and found difference in stock and instead of initiating proceedings under section 52 against assessee, furnished said information to Assessing Authority and thereupon Assessing Authority passed a reassessment order under section 39(1) on assessee, Assessing Authority had power to pass impugned order

Date of receipt of seized material would be considered to count limitation period for issuing sec. 1

IT: Where pursuant to search proceedings in case of 'R', seized material relating to assessee was received on 12-3-2009, in view of proviso to section 153C, notice issued to assessee for assessment years 2001-02 and 2002-03 was barred by limitation

Consumer Durables Makers Demand Massive Duty Cuts On Imports Of Components

Consumer durables makers want the Government to abolish or at least reduce customs duty on imports of components that are used in manufacturing of refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and microwaves in the upcoming Budget.

Such a move, they say, will boost the Government's agenda of 'Make in India' since it will lower prices of made-in-India products, making them more competitive compared to imported products.

Read our full coverage on Union Budget

"The Government must reduce customs duty on parts and components of consumer appliances from current 7.5-10 per cent to zero in order to make manufacturing in India more competitive than finished goods imports from countries with free trade agreements," said Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice president, Godrej Appliances.

The current duty structure goes against the Government's vision of 'Make in India', he added.According to Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), which represents the roughly Rs 45,000 crore industry, the excise duty on LCD and LED panels, used in making televisions, mobile phones and tablets, should be abolished. Customs duties on components like magnetron, used for producing microwave ovens, and pre-printed steel sheets and other essential parts used in making air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators need to be lowered as much possible to encourage manufacturing of these appliances in India.

"A reduction in the customs duty on OLED modules and import of parts for manufacturing air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators is needed," said Manish Sharma, president of CEAMA, and managing director, Panasonic India and south Asia.

At present, most high-end consumer durable products and appliances are imported as finished products because of the non-availability of components in India. According to a study by Corporate Catalyst India, only 30-35% of electronic component required for manufacturing are available locally; semiconductors, a critical component in many electrical appliances, are almost entirely imported.

Similarly, the steel finishes that are used in refrigerators are not available locally, nor are energy-efficient compressors, motors, and some blowing agents and electronic components.

Almost 1.5 to 2 million flat panel TVs in a 6 million unit-strong market are imported annually; the rest, which are assembled in India, have to make do with imported parts. According to industry estimates, almost 65-70% of parts used in locally manufactured white goods come from markets such as China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Also, high-end products in these categories are completely imported from abroad since manufacturing them locally is not viable.

The same goes for categories such as laptops, tablets, micro-wave ovens and digital cameras, which are all imported as completely built units from abroad.

South Korean consumer electronics company Samsung has said it manufactures all its consumer electronic products locally, barring high-end refrigerators, ultra high-definition TVs, and microwave ovens. However, components for these are imported.

After a long dull period, the festive season proved to be lucrative for the consumer durables sector as it saw an upsurge in sales, driven by higher consumer confidence and a stable rupee, said Sharma. But a recent rollback of the excise duty has led to an increase in product prices passed on to the consumers, thereby adversely impacting their sentiment and leading to a subsequent drop in sales, he said. "We want a reduction in the excise duty to give an overall boost to the sector," he said.

According to CEAMA, introduction of good and services tax (GST) will decrease compliance burden for businesses as well as reduce paperwork and create a seamless pan-India market and also bring down the total incidence of taxes by eliminating cascading effect of taxes on goods and services.

"The budget needs to remove the inefficiencies in the system like inverted duty structures to pave the way for an efficient GST," CEAMA said in a statement.

On the other hand, special addition duty pushes up duty costs for the manufacturing sector, along with countervailing duty to 17% compared with output excise duty of 12%. This is not aligned with the 'Make in India' initiative as it will discourage multinational companies from manufacturing in India, CEAMA noted.

The government, CEAMA said, also needs to promote local manufacturing of components like electron gun, metal parts which are used in manufacturing televisions, and compressors, and electric motors and plastic components for household appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners.

"The Finance Minister needs to remove anomaly in the inverted duty structure for the benefit of manufacturing in India. We hope this budget boosts the growth of consumer durable manufacturing in India with excise duty concession of two per cent withdrawn till the implementation of GST," said an LG official.

"All sectoral indicators have shown that growth has stifled the appliance industry. The increase in excise duty has added to our woes. What we seek from this budget are measures that will stimulate demand," said Shantanu Das Gupta, vice president (corporate affairs & strategy, Asia South) at Whirlpool India.

Source:- business-standard.com

Competition Imports Fiat's 500L In India

One of the car manufacturers based in NCR, has imported a Fiat 500L into India for benchmark testing. We have confirmed from our sources that the car hasn't been imported by Fiat Chrysler India. The Fiat 500L has been imported by one of the manufacturers, which could be a manufacturer that will enter the MPV segment or has entered this segment and is looking to upgrade its product.

The Fiat 500L that has been imported is the 1.3-litre diesel engine that comes mated to a 93bhp, five-speed manual transmission. There are two options in Fiat 500L, one is a five-seater with two rows of seating and the other is three-rows of seating with seven seats. Fiat had plans to introduce the 500L in India, however now at he moment our sources confirm that there are no such plans.

The L in 500L stands for Large/Lounge as it is 4.1 metres, which is similar to the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga in its size. The Fiat 500L is based on the Punto platform, so Fiat can introduce the 500L in India, without heavy investment of a new platform and can be a good product in this segment. The Fiat 500 range also has the 500X, which is placed in-between the 500 and the 500L, however even the 500X is based on the Punto platform, so producing these cars won't be difficult for them. However, at the moment it seems Fiat might be targeting the SUV segments with its Jeep and other products from the Abarth range like the 500.

Source:- business-standard.com

Rupee Strengthens Marginally To 62.21 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee erased most of the morning gains on Monday and was trading marginally higher, tracking losses in the local equity markets.

This week traders are likely to adjust positions according to government announcement in the railway budget on 26 February and the Union Budget on 28 February.

Traders will look for the direction of government policy through these two announcements and will keep an eye on annual economic outlook survey on 27 February.The local unit opened at 62.15 per dollar. At 2.46pm, the home currency was trading at 62.21, up 0.02% from previous close of 62.22.

The Sensex Index fell 0.67%, or 195.81 points, to 29,035.60.The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.692% compared with its Friday’s close of 7.695%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 1.4%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $3.12 billion from local equity and $4.9 billion from bond markets.Global rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) on Monday warned that India’s weak fiscal and debt indicators, coupled with the low income levels, “constrain” the sovereign rating.

“India’s low income levels and weak fiscal and debt indicators constrain the country’s credit profile,” S&P said in a note.The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.66, up 0.38% from the previous close of 94.253.

Source:- livemint.com

Gain from share transaction couldn't be taxed as business profit without considering material brough

IT: Without considering period of holding to shares, number of transactions and criteria elucidated in Circular No. 4 of 2007, income from share transactions could not be held as 'business income' as against claim as 'capital gains'

No penalty alleging sec. 269SS violation in absence of any evidence showing acceptance of cash loan

IT : Where Assessing Officer made addition under section 69C in respect of interest paid on loan taken in cash, since revenue had not filed any document or material to show that in fact loan was taken and interest payment was made, impugned addition was to be deleted

For sec. 80-IB relief initial AY would being when hotel starts functioning and not when approval is

IT : For purpose of computing ten assessment years for granting of deduction under section 80-IB, initial assessment year is year in which business of hotel started functioning and not year in which approval was granted by prescribed authority

Addition of ‘speed post’ as valid mode of service is clarificatory and retrospective in nature, rule

Service Tax : Addition of term "speed post" in section 37C of Central Excise Act, 1944 by Finance Act, 2013 is : (a) clarificatory, (b) procedural for purpose of communication of decisions, etc.; (c) curative, as various High Court had already held that service through 'speed post' was a valid mode; hence, same is retrospective

No penalty on wrong availment of exemption if assessee had informed department while claiming exempt

Excise & Customs : Where assessee had informed department about claim of exemption while exercising option to avail exemption, levy of penalty is unwarranted in absence of material fact of suppression

In work contract service portion was liable to service tax even prior to 1-6-2007

Service Tax : Service portion in works contract was liable to service tax even prior to 1-6-2007 under 'Commercial or Industrial Construction' or 'Construction of Complex' but said service portion is eligible for abatement and abatement cannot be denied merely because value of free supplies is not included in value of services

Exp. incurred on issuance of debentures is allowable as revenue exp.

IT : Expenses incurred in issue of debentures could be allowed as revenue expenditure

HC deletes VAT penalty as assessee hadn't claimed any ineligible tax benefit

CST & VAT: Karnataka VAT - Where assessee had purchased goods after payment of input tax and it was not liable to pay any output tax and Assessing Authority imposed penalty upon it under section 72(2) on plea that in return it had put forward a claim for input tax credit to which it was not eligible, since assessee had not claimed any tax benefit, imposition of penalty was not justified

Interest paid on borrowed sum isn't deductible when income is determined by applying estimated rate

IT : Depreciation is allowable even if total income is estimated by applying net profit rate

Prior to 1-3-2007, no reversal of credit was required on inputs after opting for exemption

Cenvat Credit : Prior to 1-3-2007, credit taken on inputs during period before taking exemption need not be reversed; reversal under rule 11(3) of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 is required only from 1-3-2007

Reassessment set aside as AO had disallowed interest by treating it as capital exp. due to change of

IT : Assessing Officer having allowed deduction in respect of assessee's claim for payment of interest, could not initiate reassessment proceedings merely on basis of change of opinion that interest expenditure in question was capital in nature

ITAT directs AO to exclude seven comparables to determine ALP following decisions of co-ordinate ben

IT/ILT : Following decisions of co-ordinate Benches, seven companies were directed to be excluded from comparables for computing ALP of transactions entered into by assessee with its AEs

No sec. 11 relief if trust was doing supermarket business on commercial lines, being not incidental

IT : Where assessee trust carried on supermarket business for and on behalf of trust on commercial basis and there was no nexus between supermarket business and activity incidental to attainment of objects of assessee, assessee would be disentitled for exemption under section 11

No capital gain on transfer of transferable development rights as its cost of acquisition couldn't b

IT : Where assessee had not incurred any cost to acquire TDR attached to land owned by society, transfer of same to developer for consideration for construction of a floor space index would not be eligible to capital gains tax

Presence of large builders offering commercial space in same area rules out dominance of opposite pa

Competition Act: Presence of large number of players in relevant market for services of development of commercial space in shopping malls in Noida and Greater Noida indicated that commercial shop buyers had choice and were not solely dependent on opposite party and, therefore, opposite party was not dominant in relevant market

HC dismissed writ as assessee had already filed appeal against the adjudication order

Service Tax : Where assessee had filed appeal against adjudication order and all issues (including time-bar) could be raised before appellate authority, writ petition filed against said adjudication order was to dismissed in view of effective alternate remedy

'Academy of Scientific and Innovation Research' notified as scientific research association under se

IT : Section 35(1)(ii) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Scientific Research Expenditure - Approved Scientific Research Associations/institutions - Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (Acsir), New Delhi

Services provided by clubs to its members weren't liable to ST prior in introduction of negative lis

Service Tax : Services provided by clubs to its members are not liable to service tax during period from 16-6-2005 to 30-6-2012

Initiation of search would provide sec. 153A jurisdiction even if no undisclosed income was unearthe

IT : Where expenses on renovation and cost of improvement of leased building were incurred only for purpose of carrying on day to day business and did not bring into existence of any capital assets, same would be allowable as revenue expenditure

HC deletes sec. 69B additions as AO failed to prove that purchases were made out of undisclosed inco

IT : Where Assessing Officer could not show that assessee had made purchases out of undisclosed income, addition was not justified under section 69B

Supply of electricity to affiliate under book adjustment amounts to sale of electricity; input credi

Cenvat Credit : Transfer of possession of electricity to sister concern to 'sale' within meaning of section 2(h), as Book adjustment is also a form of payment; hence, in case of such sale of electricity, assessee is liable to reverse pro rata credit of inputs used in generating said electricity

HC directed AO to analyse provisions of clubbing before making addition of gift in name of HUF

IT : Where assessee received cheques as gift in his individual name, but deposited same in HUF account, before making addition in hand of HUF matter to be readjudicated for in-depth analysis of section 52(2)(vii) and section 64(2)

Failure to file timely return of TCS isn't a technical mistake; HC upheld proceedings for such failu

IT : Where assessee, a State Government undertaking, did not furnish return in Form No. 27EC well in time, impugned penalty order passed under section 272A(2)(c) was to be upheld

Sec. 80P: Co-operative society not to be deemed as co-operative bank if it didn't accept deposits fr

IT: A co-operative society, not accepting deposits of money from non-members, cannot be regarded as primary co-operative bank and provisions of section 80P(4) would not be applicable in its case to deny deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) to it

No disallowance if trust was accumulating funds to pay on death of bank employees to fulfill its obj

IT: Where assessee-society constituted for welfare of employees of a bank, had accumulated a sum under heading 'Further utilization' for making payments to members or their legal representatives in case of their death, retirement or permanent disability, assessee had fulfilled its obligation as required under section 11(2) and no disallowance was called for

No limit on number of subscribers of NCDs issued by NBFCs via private placement with minimum subscri

NBFCs : Raising Money Through Private Placement Of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDS) By NBFCs

No disallowance for cash payment for purchase of gold bars held as investment: ITAT

IT: Where assessee had shown purchase of gold as investment in balance sheet as well as in wealth-tax return and, further, purchases and sales were made at prevalent market price, loss incurred on sale of gold within a year was to be treated as short term capital loss

If Rule is stuck down as ultra vires, all demand and proceedings thereunder become futile

Excise & Customs : Where Rule under which demand is raised has been struck down, demand and consequential proceedings are academic and are to be set aside

Mere packing of various accessories to heart surgery to form ‘custom pack’ doesn’t amount to manufac

Excise & Customs : Process involving : (a) import of tubes, connectors, filters and caps, etc.; (b) cutting of tubes, (c) assembling tubes with connectors and blood filter/oxygen filter and (d) packing same in ready to use condition for heart surgery, does not amount to manufacture, as same is mere 'packaging of various accessories'

Govt. notifies norms for FDI in insurance companies

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015

No need for pre-deposit due to ineligible credit as tax paid on non-taxable activity exceeded credit

Cenvat Credit : If service tax paid on non-taxable activity exceeds credit taken on inputs/services used for such activity, credit can be said to have been reversed in form of payment of service tax and assessee is eligible for waiver of pre-deposit

No disallowance if trust was accumulating funds to pay on death of bank employee as it was formed fo

IT: Where assessee-society constituted for welfare of employees of a bank, had accumulated a sum under heading 'Further utilization' for making payments to members or their legal representatives in case of their death, retirement or permanent disability, assessee had fulfilled its obligation as required under section 11(2) and no disallowance was called for

HC quashed block assessment order as it was made on basis of time-barred notice of sec. 158BD

IT : Where notice issued to assessee under section 158BD was beyond time limit specified under section 158BE, block assessment order was void ab initio

Penalty leviable if assessee didn't add back depreciation charged under Companies Act in computation

IT: Where assessee-company charged depreciation both under Companies Act and Income-tax Act while failed to add back depreciation charged under Companies Act, same could not be held as mistake not liable to penalty

ITAT deleted disallowance following earlier order of HC as DRP hadn't given cogent reasons for disal

IT/ILT : Following order passed by High Court in assessee's own case relating to earlier assessment year, in absence of any cogent reasons, disallowance made by TPO in respect of certain allied payments made by assessee to AE such as technical fee, training and testing expenses, was to be deleted

VAT was leviable on supply of goods as works contract was held as divisible

CST & VAT : Karnataka VAT - Where assessee was engaged in execution of works contract awarded for construction of power lines and erection of transmission towers and said contract was in four parts and each one of them was separate, works contract executed by assessee was a divisible contract and not a composite contract

AO couldn't make partial disallowance of exp. After accepting the genuineness

IT: Where Assessing Officer had accepted genuineness of payment of consultancy charges to architect, entire amount should have been allowed and allowing part payment was not justified

Co. engaged in 3D animation software services isn't comparable to a Co. providing various software p

IT/ILT: A company providing variety of software products in area of web solutions, e-commerce, software consultants, content management ERP applications etc. could not be functionally comparable to assessee purely providing software services in field of 3D animation

Penalty rightly levied on assessee as it failed to produce endorsed transit declaration at exit chec

CST & VAT: West Bengal VAT - Where assessee, a transporter, was carrying goods through State of West Bengal and it got endorsed transit declaration at entry check post of West Bengal but did not produce same at exit check post, imposition of penalty under section 80 was justified

Civil court and not CLB is an appropriate forum to decide upon basic rights of parties for allotment

CL : Where rectification sought for in register of members was not a simple rectification, but adjudication of basic right of parties for allotment of shares to become members, appropriate forum to decide same is either by civil court or through arbitration; such issues are outside jurisdiction of CLB

Timely service of sec. 143(2) notice is mandatory and not only a mere procedural requirement

IT : Service of notice under section 143(2) within time-limit prescribed is mandatory and it is not a mere procedural requirement

Sum paid to NR agent for rendering marketing services outside India wasn't taxable in absence of its

IT/ILT: Where foreign agents rendered marketing services to assessee outside India, since those agents did not have PE in India, commission paid to them was not taxable in India

Cabinet Extends Export Subsidy On Raw Sugar

In a relief to sugar mills resorting to distress sales, the government on Thursday approved an export subsidy on raw sugar for the current production season. Sugar mills will be allowed to export 1.4 million tonnes (mt) of raw sugar and can avail of a subsidy of Rs.4,000 per tonne, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) said in a statement.

The export incentive is for the production season 2014-15 (October to September) and will help sugar mills clear dues to cane growers, the CCEA, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said. In February 2014, the government had announced an export subsidy of Rs.3,300 per tonne for 4 mt. But only 750,000 tonnes were actually exported under the scheme.

The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) welcomed the government’s decision. “At the current global and domestic prices, raw sugar exports from India is just about viable with the incentives,” said Abinash Verma, director general of ISMA.

“As per our estimates, there is surplus sugar of around 2.5 mt and therefore the industry will require incentives for another 1-1.5 mt. This is the only way for the industry to pay cane price even at the FRP (fair and remunerative price) level this season; otherwise cane price arrears (to growers) which are at Rs.12,300 crore will very soon cross Rs.13,000 crore, (the peak) recorded in last season,” he said.

According to ISMA, the industry’s debt burden has more than tripled from Rs.11,443 crore in 2007-08 to Rs.36,601 crore in 2012-13. Local mills are expected to produce 26 mt of sugar?this year against a domestic demand of 24.7-24.8 mt.

In another decision, CCEA approved the widening of four highways: the six-laning of the 145km Chakeri-Allahabad section of National Highway (NH) 2 in?Uttar?Pradesh, worth Rs.1,999.85 crore; 137km Baleshwar-Chandikhole section of NH5 in Odisha worth Rs.2,296.82 crore; and 72.4km Handia-Varanasi section of NH2 in Uttar Pradesh worth Rs.2,378.59 crore. CCEA also approved the four- and six-laning of the 127km Raipur-Bilaspur section of NH130 in Chhattisgarh worth Rs.1,963.88 crore.

Source:livemint.com

Order of Commissioner(A) is binding precedent for adjudication authority even if such order is pendi

Excise & Customs : Where an adjudication order has been passed without reference to orders passed by superior authorities viz. order passed by Commissioner (Appeals) as well as CESTAT, same is liable to be set aside and writ is maintainable thereagainst.

Reassessment initiated on receiving info of TDS default made by assessee after scrutiny assessment h

IT : Assessee cannot challenge disallowance made under section 40(a)(ia) taking a plea that it could not collect Form 15-I from recipients due to lapse of time

Stainless Steel Makers Seek Higher Customs Duty

Ahead of the budget, stainless steel firms have asked the Finance Ministry to increase customs duty to 25 per cent from 10 per cent at present to safeguard the interest of domestic firms in view of growing imports.

"There is an urgent need to control the growing imports and one way to achieve this is by increasing the customs duty rates. However, this is not possible with a small differential between MFN rate and peak rate of duty," Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) wrote in a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

An MFN tariff is the lowest possible tariff a country can assess on another country.

"Therefore, it is suggested that the peak rate of duty for stainless steel products may be increased from 10 per cent to 25 per cent to enable any maneuverability in MFN rates as and when need arises," it added.

"It is, therefore, requested that in order to safeguard huge investment made towards development of Indian stainless steel industry, peak duty rates may be raised to 25 per cent from the existing 10 per cent," ISSDA said.

India is the third largest consumer of stainless steel in the world and has 2.68 million tonnes production capacity per annum. The domestic industry is reeling under a surge in imports primarily from China and other nations.

Overall, stainless steel imports have risen from 2.39 lakh tonnes (LT) in 2011-12 to 3.24 LT in 2013-14. Imports are expected to rise to 4.23 LT by the end of this fiscal.

India had pruned the peak customs duty from 12.5 per cent to 10 per cent for all goods other than agriculture products in the Union Budget of 2007-08.

"During this period, the import of stainless steel was a meager 1.44 LT against 3.24 LT in 2013-14. This surge of more than 80 per cent in import volumes has been largely due to the low levels of import duties on stainless steel flat products," ISSDA said.

In the last Budget, the government had raised basic customs duty on stainless steel products from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

Source:profit.ndtv.com

India's Gold Imports May Rise To 35-40 Tonnes In February

India's gold imports are likely to rise to 35-40 tonnes in the current month as compared to 26 tonnes in the corresponding period last year, according to gold and silver refiner MMTC Pamp.

"The country has already imported 23.2 tonnes of gold in the first fortnight of this month. Total shipments at the end of the month could reach 35-40 tonnes," a senior official at MMTC Pamp told PTI.

The imports could see further increase during the wedding season, which begins in March, the official added. MMTC Pamp is a joint venture between state-run MMTC and Switzerland's PAMP.

In January, imports rose marginally to 36 tonnes from 31 tonnes in the same month of corresponding year.

Gold shipments have been steadily rising after the Reserve Bank in November 2014 scrapped the 80:20 rule, under which it was mandatory for traders to export 20 per cent of the import. The RBI has been easing import curbs on gold since November 2014.

Also, on February 18, the central bank lifted ban on import of gold coins and medallions and allowed banks to lend gold on loan to jewellers. Ahead of the Budget, the industry is expecting a cut in import duty from the existing 10 per cent. India, the world's largest consumer of gold, imports around 800-900 tonnes of gold annually.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

No reassessment alleging excess payment to related if there was no failure of assessee to disclose m

IT : In absence of any failure on assessee's part to disclose all material facts necessary for assessment, Assessing Officer could not initiate reassessment proceedings merely on basis of change of opinion that assessee had paid excessive interest on loan taken from related parties

Transformation of underground raw water into packaged drinking water won't amount to manufacture

CST & VAT : Assam VAT - Transformation of non commercial underground raw water into packaged drinking water did not amount to manufacture under section 2(30) of Assam VAT Act and under section 2(22) of Assam Sales Tax Act

MCA mandates IndAS from FY16-17 for companies having net worth above Rs 500 crore; notifies IndAS ru

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015

Rupee Strengthens To 62.25 Per Dollar In Afternoon Trade

The Indian rupee on Friday strengthened against the dollar on selling of the US currency by custodial banks, according to a banker.

At 2.01pm, the home currency was trading at 62.25, up 0.15% from Wednesday’s close of 62.34. The local unit opened at 62.22 per dollar. Rupee was shut on Thursday on account of a public holiday.

“There are some flows coming in from foreign investors and therefore custodial banks are selling dollars. The appreciation would have been higher but there is month end demand from oil companies which is offsetting the rise,” a banker at a public sector bank said on condition of anonymity. The benchmark Sensex fell 0.69% to 29,258.40 points.

Major Asian currencies were trading lower against the dollar. The Malaysian ringgit was down 0.71%, Taiwanese dollar 0.33%, South Korean won 0.33%, Indonesian rupiah 0.22%, Singaporean dollar 0.14%, Philippines Peso 0.12%.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.688% compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.710%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 1.13%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $2.49 billion from local equity and $4.68 billion from bond markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, trading at 94.559, up 0.17% from the previous close of 94.404.

Source:livemint.com

HC couldn't re-appreciate evidentiary material as it wasn't in scope of appeal

Excise & Customs : Where submission urged by assessee requires High Court to re-appreciate evidentiary material, same does not lie within scope of appeal, as appeal can be entertained only on a substantial question of law

Estimated addition curtailed by CIT(A) following ITAT's order of preceding year couldn't be interfer

IT : Where Commissioner (Appeals) had reduced net profit rate to 7.75 per cent from 12.5 per cent as applied by Assessing Officer, following Tribunal's order in immediately preceding year, no interference was required with Tribunal's order

No reversal of credit on loss of inputs due to moisture content after their delivery in factory

Cenvat Credit : Process of manufacture starts from stage of taking raw material from storage base to factory; hence, loss of inputs due to moisture after inputs were received in factory, is a loss during process of manufacture of finished products and there is no requirement of reversal of credit in relation to said inputs

Department couldn't lift corporate veil of Co. to recover tax dues from director during pendency of

CST & VAT : U.P. VAT - Where Assessing Authority passed assessment order on a company and raised tax demand upon it and appeal against impugned order was pending consideration, doctrine of lifting corporate veil was not applicable in instant case and director and authorised representative of company could not be made personally responsible for recovery of arrears of tax due from company

ITAT couldn't delete sec. 68 addition when mystery pertaining to creditworthiness remained unresolve

IT : Mystery pertaining to creditworthiness being unsolved, matter was remanded to Tribunal for fresh adjudication where it deleted addition made under section 68 in absence of departmental representatives

Sub-contractor not disentitled from availing the benefit of presumptive taxation under section 44BB

IT/ILT : The basic condition to be satisfied for applicability of section 44BB is that the plant or machinery(which term includes ship) supplied or rented on hire by the assessee-non-resident should be used in the prospecting for or extraction or production of minerals oils or where equipment has been supplied, such equipment should have been used for the purposes of prospecting for or extraction or production of mineral oils. There is nothing in the said provision so as to disentitle a sub-cont

In anti-competitive agreements, onus to rebut presumption of adverse effect on competition lies with

Competition Act : In case of agreements as listed in section 3(3), once it is established that such an agreement exists, it will be presumed that agreement has an appreciable adverse effect on competition; onus to rebut this presumption would lie upon opposite party

ITAT invoked sec. 40(a)(ia) disallowance as payment was made for labour contract work without deduct

IT : Where assessee had disclosed relevant particulars at time of original assessment, but they are found to be untrue on basis of material discovered by a later date by Assessing Officer, assessment would be validly re-opened section 147(a)

Inputs destroyed by fire at WIP stage were deemed to be used in manufacture; no reversal of credit

Cenvat Credit : Where inputs have been destroyed by fire while work was in progress, inputs must be regarded as 'used in manufacture'; hence, if there is no claim of remission by assessee, department cannot seek reversal of credit on inputs

No extended period if demand arose out of correct figures shown in ST-3 returns

Service Tax : Once correct calculations have been shown in ST-3 returns and demand arose solely out of correct figures shown in ST-3 returns, there cannot be any intention to evade service tax; hence, extended period cannot be invoked

No disallowance of depository charges paid by broker without deducting tax as Stock Exchange paid ta

IT : Where assessee made payment of depository charges on account of services provided with regard to transactions in securities through stock exchange without deducting tax at source, since taxes on said amount were already paid by recipient, impugned disallowance made by authorities below was not sustainable

Suspension of CHA licence couldn't be sustained if show cause notice wasn't issued in statutory time

Excise & Customs : Suspension of license of Customs House Agent cannot be sustained, when no show-cause notice was issued to said CHA under regulation 22 of Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004 within statutory time-limit

Prior to 1-4-2013, TDS disallowance was attracted in payer’s hand even when payee paid taxes thereon

IT : Position prior to 1-4-2013 - Where assessee-partners borrowed amounts from their respective partnership firms, assessee would be required to deduct TDS on interest payment made even firm paid taxes

Writ couldn't be filed to recover export benefit after expiry of 3 years of rejection of export bene

Excise & Customs : In case of rejection of deemed export benefits, writ petition thereagainst must be filed within 3 years from date of rejection; any writ petition filed beyond said period is barred by limitation

Appellant was to be held guilty of violating FEMA as he failed to prove that he was coerced while ma

FERA: Where appellant failed to disclose as to how he was pressurized, coerced, or tortured, and by whom, when he made earlier confessional statement, plea of appellant that he could not be held guilty founded upon his highly belatedly retraction of his confessional statement, had to be rejected

Income of Swiss shipping Co. is taxable only in Switzerland and not in India as per India-Switzerlan

IT/ILT : Where assessee, a Switzerland based company, was engaged in business of operation of ships in international water, in terms of article 22 of India-Switzerland DTAA, freight income earned by assessee was taxable in Switzerland and not in India

India Among Top 10 Asian Export Markets For Uk-Built Cars

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reports car exports to China have increased five-fold since 2009. In 2014, 137,410 UK-built cars were exported to China, at 14.5 pct over 2013.

In 2014, Only UK bought more British-built cars than China. Exports to China is greater than combined UK exports to Brazil, India and Russia. China’s sales trend reflects substantial growth in the wider Asian market. UK-built cars exported to Asia has trebled in five years (220,682 in 2014 over 60,804 in 2009). Asia is UK automotive industry’s largest export market after Europe. 18.5 pct of all cars built in UK are used in the Asia region.

For 2014, UK automotive exports accounted for 11.2 pct of export generated revenue, valued at £26.2 billion. UK exported 1,195,190 cars to more than 100 countries at 54.7 pct increase over 2009, when 772,210 cars were exported.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive says economic growth in Asia in these five years has resulted in increased demand for new cars. Demand for high-quality premium vehicles with a strong brand heritage puts UK in a prime position to cater to an emerging market owing to quality of globally competitive products. UK automotive sector is important to the UK economy leasing to highest share of UK exports in history.

Significant investment in British auto manufacturers (Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, McLaren and Rolls-Royce) means 60 pct of all UK-built cars on offer are from premium luxury brands. Average export value of UK-built cars has increased from £10,200 in 2004 to £21,900 in 2014 in the Asian market. Growth is ubiquitous in almost all Asian export markets since 2009. South Korea is now UK’s eighth largest export market outside of Europe up from 16th in 2009 at 13,337 vehicles over 2,315 units in 2009, equating to 476.1 pct growth.

Growth in India equates to 817.8 pct at 2,836 cars in 2014, over 309 cars exported in 2009. Jaguar Land Rover sold 226 cars in India in FY 2009-10. Export volumes remain modest in a number of Asian markets, owing to high import duty. The situation is similar in India and has resulted in driving local production. However, significant growth in cars exported to most Asian countries underlines a strong demand for UK-built. UK car exports to India places the country as one of UK’s Top 10 Asian export markets. Export of UK-built cars to India were higher than in Kuwait (2,548), Hong Kong (2,362), and Qatar (2,085) in 2014.

Source:rushlane.com

Hot Water Treatment For Indian Mangoes For Eu Market

India's prized Alphonso mangoes will be treated with "hot water" as part of procedures to remove any contaminants like fruit flies before being exported to Europe, especially Britain, where they have a large market, a top EU trade official said.

Maurizio Cellini, First Counsellor, Head of Trade and Economic Affairs team of the European Union to India, told IANS that among the procedures India has to abide by to export mangoes to the 28-member bloc is of treating fruit with hot water.

Cellini also said that while the mango has been allowed for export, the ban on four other Indian products - eggplant, bitter gourd (karela), taro plant (arbi) and snake gourd (chichinda) - has not been lifted.

The EU had last May slapped a ban on the Indian mango and the vegetables following concerns over contamination, mainly from non-European fruit flies. The European Commission voted to lift the ban on Indian mangoes in late January and the final decision was taken on Valentine's Day Feb 14.

Cellini said a number of controls have been put in place by India, including some conditions for the packaging.

"There has been a commitment by India to treat mangoes with hot water, which was an additional requirement which is apparently important in order to guarantee that the products are free of contaminants like mosquitoes, insects which may come with the fruit," Cellini told IANS.

"I know that Indian mangoes are very popular in Britain, so there will be strong export to Britain; other European countries import mangoes from Africa and Brazil," he added.

Regarding the other four vegetables, he said India has not been able to provide the necessary guarantees yet that the packaging and treatment would be done in a way to eliminate the insects.

"Our experts came to India and made an inspection a few months ago. The result of the inspection was that things were making progress for the mango but for the other products they were not there at the right point," he added.

On the dragging India-EU free trade agreement negotiations that have been going on since 2007 but are stuck on certain niggling issues, Cellini said that EU is fully committed to negotiations and if completed "it would be a boost to the European Union and to India alike.

"There are some difficult points still to discuss and we need to get back to the table and see whether India is willing to consider certain sensitive points of the negotiation which for the EU are important.

"If we see positive signals, I'm sure the negotiations can continue and we are hoping to reach a mutually satisfactory solution in a short time," he added.

The negotiations are stuck over the EU demand for duty cut on European automobiles, auto components and wines and spirits. India has been asking for greater access to the European markets, mainly the UK and Germany for its professionals.

Cellini also said the EU can contribute to the Narendra Modi government's initiatives like Make in India, Smart Cities, infrastructure and renewable energy.

"Europe is very advanced; We have the right technology and right solutions and we think cooperation in this area could be mutually beneficial," he said.

On the Modi government's Make in India initiative, Cellini said the initiative signals improvement in ease of doing business, in transparency and in predictability, reforms in taxation system, and improvement in the general business climate.

"If this is done then I am pretty sure the EU companies, multinationals and small and medium enterprises will be encouraged to come to India to do business. It is important that these reforms become a reality and are translated into real facts and realised and that life for entrepreneurs becomes easier in India. If that happens I'm sure that activity of EU business will increase in India," Cellini told IANS.

He said the government's initiatives signal good business sentiment. "Business sentiment is a good thing, but you still have to be convinced to make the investment and to take action; probably we are not there yet but the sentiment is certainly positive and has improved, compared to a few months ago.

"The outlook is good, let's wait another few months maybe in order to see all this becomes real; I think it takes some time, the government is not in place for a very long time.. Reforms are not done in a day," he added.

Source:business-standard.com