AO gets flak from ITAT for analyzing issue which wasn't in accordance with terms of revisional order

IT: Where Commissioner passed a revisional order directing Assessing Officer to examine assessee's claim of tax credit under section 90 afresh in respect of foreign income, Assessing Officer could not redetermine assessee's residential status and change it from resident to non-resident

Accused acquitted under NI Act as complainant didn't prove that cheque was issued for legally subsis

Negotiable Instruments Act: Where complainant filed a complaint against respondent on ground that cheque issued by respondent for discharge of legally subsisting liability had been dishonoured, however failed to prove that cheque was issued for discharging legally subsisting liability, respondent was rightly acquitted by Trial Court for alleged offence under section 138

Bombay HC also directs CBDT to extend due date for filing of return upto 31-10-2015

Bombay HC also directs CBDT to extend due date for filing of return upto 31-10-2015

No sec. 69 additions on basis of loose sheet found during search unless AO prove it as eligible info

IT: Matter remanded for fresh consideration where Commissioner (Appeals) deleted disallowance made by Assessing Officer on account of excess purchase shown by assessee in comparison to purchase reflected in profit and loss account entered in CPU found and impounded during course of survey, without recording any finding as to whether assessee had been able to explain such difference

Interest on overdraft facility availed for business couldn't be considered for sec. 14A disallowance

IT: Where assessee had written off debts in respect of trading transaction in its books of account, same had to be allowed

Investment of borrowed funds in shares would not show that assessee was carrying on business of inve

IT : Excess borrowed funds lying with assessee can always be invested in shares for earning higher returns or through professionally managed Portfolio Management Scheme; it would not mean that assessee was carrying on business of investment in shares

RBI issues framework for issuance of Rupee Denominated Bonds overseas

FEMA/ILT : External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy – Issuance of Rupee Denominated Bonds Overseas

CBDT's instruction of 2014 fixing monetary limits for filing appeals is applicable to pending cases:

IT: CBDT's instruction of 2014 fixing monetary limits for filing appeals is applicable to pending cases: Mumbai ITAT

CBEC directs AOs to complete adjudication within prescribed time limits

EXCISE /M : Streamlining Process of Adjudication

No penalty when additional income was surrendered by assessee only to buy peace and avoid protracted

IT: When subsequent to search certain documents belonged to assessee's father were seized wherein assessee had no interest, and, assessee offered additional income in his own hand to avoid protracted litigation and to save his aged father from harassment, penalty levied by Assessing Officer under section 271(1)(c) was unjustified

Members of Commodity Derivatives Exchanges can become member of SEBI on satisfying certain condition

SEBI : Registration of members of commodity derivatives exchanges

RBI issues framework for issuance of Rupee Denominated Bonds overseas- ECB Policy

FEMA/ILT : External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy – Issuance of Rupee Denominated Bonds Overseas

CBEC reminds its officers to ensure that cigerettes pack carry health warnings

EXCISE/M : IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVISIONS OF CIGARETTES AND OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS (PROHIBITION OF ADVERTISEMENT AND REGULATION OF TRADE AND COMMERCE, PRODUCTION, SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION) ACT, 2003 (COTPA) AND CIGARETTES AND OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS (PACKAGING AND LABELLING) RULES, 2008

Interest on FDRs made out of customer's advances wasn't income from other sources if same was reduce

IT : Where assessee, a construction company, received bank interest on FDRs which were made out of advances received from customers, even if construction was not complete during current year interest income could not be treated as income from other sources as same had been reduced from work-in-progress

CIT(A) wasn't empowered to decide an issue which did not arise out of order of any lower authority

IT : Where Commissioner (Appeals) adjudicated an issue which did not arise from orders of lower authorities appeal preferred by assessee for rectification under section 154 was to be allowed

Exp. incurred on issuance of shares to QIBs was preliminary exp. under sec. 35D

IT : Expenditure incurred by assessee on FCCB and debenture issues was allowable under section 35D

Gujarat HC directs for extension of due date for filing of return by one month subject to Sec. 234A

Gujarat HC directs for extension of due date for filing of return by one month subject to Sec. 234A interest

All directors liable for cheque dishonouring as they were involved in day-to-day management of accus

Negotiable Instruments Act: Where in complaint under section 138 there was an allegation that directors were involved in day-to-day business of accused company, High Court erred in quashing proceedings against all directors

CBDT releases its comments on queries relating to Black Money Act

IT/ILT : Departmental Clarifications on Black Money Act

No penalty for TDS default as sum paid for purchase of satellite rights didn't attract TDS

IT/ILT : Where assessee-company, involved in business of broadcasting and telecasting, paid a certain sum towards purchase of satellite rights said payment not being royalty, penalty could not be levied under section 271C for non-deduction of TDS on same

Prior to 1-6-2015 there was no enabling provision for levying sec. 234E fee at the time of processin

IT : Prior to 1-6-2015, there was no enabling provision in section 200A for raising a demand in respect of levy of fees under section 234E

Customs Dept can't reject FOB value of exports stating that declared value-addition can't be achieve

Customs : Whether value-addition has been made or whether same has been correctly shown, is a subject matter of examination by DGFT; Customs Department can merely examine FOB value and cannot reject declared FOB value on ground that value-addition shown by assessee could not have been achieved

Now Form 15G/15H can be e-filed; payee to specify number of Form15G/15H filed during the year

IT/ILT : Income-Tax (Fourteenth Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Substitution of Rule 29C and Form No.15G and Form No.15H

Govt. notifies twin fold hike in tax-free Transport Allowance for deaf and dumb employees

IT/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Income-Tax (Thirteenth Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rule 2BB

Dept. can't invoke extended period as assessee disclosed all facts at the time of registration

Excise & Customs : Where all facts/documents as to use of brand name were disclosed to department at time of registration, department cannot allege suppression of facts so as to invoke extend period to deny SSI-exemption

Corporate guarantee given to foreign AE couldn't be held as international transaction under transfer

IT/ILT : Corporate guarantee given by an assessee to its AEs does not involve any cost to assessee and, therefore, it has no bearing on profits, income, loss or assets of assessee and is outside ambit of international transaction

Custom Dept can't reject FOB value of exports stating that declared value-addition can't be achieved

Customs : Whether value-addition has been made or whether same has been correctly shown, is a subject matter of examination by DGFT; Customs Department can merely examine FOB value and cannot reject declared FOB value on ground that value-addition shown by assessee could not have been achieved

DLF isn't dominant player in Delhi in presence of developers like DDA, Ansal and API

Competition Act: Where there were many real estate developers in relevant market of provision of services relating to development and sale of residential apartment in Delhi, DLF was not dominant in relevant market

Delay in filing of appeal can't be condoned on ground that one of the partners of firm was ill

IT: Delay in filing of appeal cannot be condoned on ground that one of the partners of firm was ill

Even payment made under oral contract would attract TDS under sec. 194C

IT : Where assessee made payments on regular basis to owners of goods carrying vehicles though in terms of 'oral contract', assessee was liable to deduct TDS under section 194C

IRDA releases master circular on anti-money laundering or counter financing of terrorism

INSURANCE : ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING/COUNTER FINANCING OF TERRORISM (AML/CFT) GUIDELINES FOR LIFE INSURERS

Service provider promoting foreign brand isn't eligible for duty credit scrip under SFIS

FT (D&R) Act : Where petitioner-exporter applied for duty credit entitlement under SFIS but same was denied by impugned order, petitioner did not have vested right in seeking incentive as Duty Credit Scrip and, thus, impugned order of Central Govt. was to be upheld

Failure of assessee to show urgency of availing of cash loans above Rs. 20,000 leads to imposition o

IT : Where assessee-company accepted cash loan in contravention of provisions of section 269SS, in absence of any material to show that there was urgency for assessee to avail of loan in cash, such transaction would not come under exception clause of section 271D, and penalty levied was justified

Belief of partner that he wasn't liable for TDS on interest paid to firm wasn't a reasonable cause t

IT: Language of section 194A does not leave scope for any ambiguity on liability of a partner to deduct tax on interest paid by him to firm; therefore, belief of partner that he is not liable to deduct tax at source on interest paid to firm, cannot be considered as reasonable cause as contemplated under section 273B

Tax authorities can't take a stand different from Govt. so as to deny benefit to assessee

CST & VAT: Central Sales Tax - Once Cabinet took a policy decision to extend its 2004 Industrial policy in matter of central sales tax concession to eligible units beyond 31-3-2009 upto 31-3-2013 and notification dated 29-5-2009, accordingly, having been issued by Department of Industries, thereafter Excise and Taxation department could not take a different stand

Sec. 153C doesn't require that seized docs found during search must be incriminating ones

IT : In view of CBDT Instruction No. 5/2004, since total tax effect of all appeals filed by revenue before Tribunal was less than Rs. 4 lakhs, appeal was to be dismissed

No transfer of case as authorities didn't record independent findings that assessee was linked with

IT: Unless an independent finding is recorded by authorities that parties were linked in such a manner where there was major flow of finance from one side to other, transfer of assessment proceeding should not be permitted on ground of search conducted on one party

Officials with unsavory past and dubious reputation shouldn't be appointed as Tax Recovery officer:

IT : Implementation of Administrative Recommendations of Committee for Drafting New TRO Manual

Copy of doc proving ownership of premises is required for registration under Kerala VAT

VAT/KERALA/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Kerala Value Added Tax (Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rule 17

No excise duty on sum received due to price escalation if it isn't known at or before time of remova

Central Excise : Duty is payable at place, price and time of clearance of goods; hence, price-escalation, which was not contemplated at or before time of removal, cannot form part of transaction value especially when there is no allegation of understatement of value

Ban on import of Palm Oil via Kerala ports is in interest of farmers growing Coconuts: Apex Court

FTDR: Sub-section (2) of section 3 of Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act gives ample power to government to issue notifications in exceptional cases, thus, where decision to issue notifications prohibiting import of palm oil through all ports of Kerala had been taken in interest of farmers, more so for their survival, notifications so issued were to be upheld

Not affording opportunity to cross-examine witness is violation of natural justice

Service Tax/Excise/Customs : Where demand has been confirmed relying upon witnesses of certain witnesses but assessee has not been allowed cross-examination of said witnesses, there was violation of principles of natural justice and therefore, matter was to be remanded back for consideration afresh

Employees contribution to PF paid belatedly but before due date of filing return is deductible: Hyde

IT: Where assessee remitted employees' contribution to provident fund belatedly, but within due date of filing of return of income under section 139(1), in view of provisions of section 43B, business disallowance made by Assessing Officer was not justified

Dept. can't withheld refund or interest thereon unless higher authority stays order granting refund

Excise & Customs : Where Tribunal order granting refund with interest had not been stayed by Supreme Court, department could not withheld refund or interest thereon

Govt. mandates electronic filing for appeals and revisions under Chhattisgarh VAT

VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Chhatisgarh Value Added Tax Rules, 2006 – Amendment In Rules 57 And 63

Punjab and Haryana HC directs CBDT to extend due date of filing of return beyond Sept. 30, 2015

IT : The Punjab and Haryana High Court directed CBDT to extend due date of filing of income-tax returns from September 30, 2015 to October 31, 2015

CBDT directed to consider representation for extension of ITR due date peremptorily by 29-09-2015

IT : Karnataka High Court directs CBDT to consider representation for extension of date of filing of return (due by Sept. 30, 2015) peremptorily by Sept. 29, 2015

Presence of substantial number of venture capital firms in relevant market rules out dominance of op

Competition Act : Where there were substantial number of reality linked private equity/venture capital firms such as Kotak gp, HDFC etc. in relevant market of provision of services relating to management of investment in realty linked venture capital funds and reality linked private equity funds in India, OP with whom informant had invested a sum in a scheme, was not dominant in relevant market and, therefore, no case of abuse of dominant position was made out

One time upfront fee to be spread over term of agreement if it is refundable on termination of agree

IT : Where certain amount of upfront fee was received by assessee as advance fee for period of ten years and a portion of same was refundable to operator in case of termination of agreement within ten years, amount was to be spread over in ten years

'Thales Systemes Aeroportes' gets exemption under Section 10(6C)

IT/ILT : Section 10(6c) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Exemption – Foreign Company, Income Arising to, by Way of Fees for Technical Services – Notified Foreign Companies

Quoting of PAN is now mandatory in Form No. MGT-7

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Management and Administration) Second Amendment Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Form No.MGT-7

Sec. 69C additions to be made on amount of Cenvat Credit and not purchases if credit was availed fra

IT : Where assessee had made purchases from open market and shown same to be made from company H just to avail CENVAT credit, addition was to be made only on account of such CENVAT credit, and not on account of total purchases

Raw material to sales ratio was appropriate benchmark to determine ALP of raw materials purchased fr

IT/ILT : Where assessee purchased raw material from its AE located abroad, in view of fact that subsequent sale by assessee to various parties was an uncontrolled transaction, ratio of raw material to sales would be a proper ratio to compare consumption of raw material by assessee and comparable parties while determining ALP

Interest paid to be set-off against interest earned on lending to holding Co. for commercial expedie

IT : Netting off of interest on bank borrowings allowed u/s 57(iii) against interest earned from onlending to holding company if onlending to holding co. is based on commercial expediency and terms of bank loan permit such onlending and the income and expenditure do not pertain to the pre-operative period

Non-compliance with 'AS' in preparation of financials isn't a continuing offence under Companies Act

CL: An offence under section 211 is not a continuing offence and is complete moment balance sheet in question is issued by company unlike offences under sections 113, 162 and 168 of Companies Act, 1956 which are continuing in nature

Rubber Products' Exports Record 5% Growth

Exports of rubber products, which have been growing at a healthy double digit rates for about two decades, have seen the growth rate dwindle in the last three financial years. This is a cause of concern as rubber is a sunrise sector and the potential for exports is immense notwithstanding the economic slowdown in some of the export markets, said Mohinder Gupta, President of All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA).

According to Chemicals and Allied Products Export Promotion Council (Capexil) data, the exports of rubber products increased 5 per cent in FY15 to $2.82 billion from $2.74 billion in FY14. The increase in exports was boosted by non-tyre rubber products manufactured largely by around 5,500 rubber MSMEs.

The fact that rubber MSMEs have been able to manage a growth of 10 per cent (from $1,056.82 million in FY14 to $1,168.91 million in FY15) notwithstanding the overall exports scenario is pointer to the fact that there is large potential for growth if policies for rubber MSMEs are in place.

The share of India in rubber export market is a paltry 1.48 per cent, whereas China is 11 per cent. India's share can be easily enhanced to 5 per cent in the next 5- 7 years and India's ranking can be enhanced to fifth position from current 19th.

Firstly import of raw materials needs to be facilitated. India is grossly deficient in production of natural rubber (NR). Import of NR is therefore inevitable. However, there is import duty of 25 per cent on import of NR while rubber products can be imported at 10 per cent or even lower rates of duty under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), he said.

For encouragement of exports of rubber products, AIRIA has asked for a separate Rubber Export Promotion Council (Rubexil) with to view to maximise the export potential of Rubber industry.

Rubber industry fits in with the Government's initiatives of Make in India and Skill India as thousands of rubber units spread across the country manufacture around 35,000 different rubber products, which find usage in auto, defence, healthcare, agriculture and in various other critical sectors. Rubber industry is labour intensive already employing three million people, a large percentage of which are unskilled and around one million skilled, therefore rubber sector has all the ingredients to lead these initiatives.

Source:- business-standard.com

Payer not at fault for not approaching AO under sec. 195(2) as it made purchase contract and not com

IT : Where agreement entered into by assessee with foreign company was for simple purchase contract and not a composite contract, provisions of section 195(2) would not applied

India's Vegetable Oil Imports To Rise 19% This Season: Industry Body

India's vegetable oil imports will rise 19 percent to 14 million tonnes this marketing year ending Oct. 30, an industry body said on Monday, after weak monsoon rains late last year hit output of rapeseed and other oilseeds.

Pravin S. Lunkad, president of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, also said the government should lower the import duty on oilseeds to 5-10 percent from 30 percent currently so that under-utilised crushing plants in India can revive their business.

Indian oilseed crushers have been forced to use a fraction of their capacity as the domestic market stays awash with cheap rival palm oil from top producers Malaysia and Indonesia.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Attempt To Illegally Import Over 8,300 Kg Polythene Bags Foiled

The Excise and Taxation department foiled two attempts of illegally importing polythene bags in Jammu and Kashmir by recovering over 8,300 kg of such bags here today.

Two attempts to smuggle 8,310 kg of polythene bags was thwarted at the Lakhanpur toll plaza today.

"In one instance we found that a truck, on its way to Kathua from Pathankot, was loaded with 400 bags of wheat which was also been loaded with 120 bags full of polythene bags containing 8,230 kg of poly bags," a spokesman of the department said.

He said that in another attempt 80 kg of polythene bags were recovered from a car that was on its way to Kathua from Punjab.

The consignment was later handed over to the pollution control board, Kathua for proper disposal, he said.

The sale and use of polythene bags has been banned by the government in the state, the spokesman said, adding, the drivers of both the vehicles have been detained by the excise department and will later be handed over to police.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Indo-Us Bilateral Trade Can Touch $500 Billion By 2025: Report

With India emerging as the most sought after developing market and an important partner for the US, the bilateral trade between the two countries is likely to touch $500 billion by 2025, a recent survey said.

According to a survey conducted by PwC and Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), trade between the two countries has the potential to grow up to $500 billion through concerned efforts from all stakeholders -- government leaders and investors, corporates, businesses and entrepreneurs.

"India continues to emerge as one of the most important markets in the developing world and an important trading partner for the US. This is evident by the four-fold growth in the India-US trade since 2006 to 100 billion $in 2014," PwC India Strategy Consulting Leader Shashank Tripathi said.

He said the drivers to achieve this trade growth would be the five key sectors including aerospace and defence (A&D), infrastructure and logistics, energy, manufacturing and services.

"These sectors are of the utmost importance to the Indo-US relationship. In each of these sectors, in addition to the facilitation of trade by the government, the corporate sector can lead the way into the evolving trade relationships," Tripathi said.

The report further said enormous headroom exists to unshackle the real potential of the trade and strengthen strategic relationship between the two nations through trade.

"This is increasingly important, since in the new world order, economic interests drive strategic partnerships to the mutual benefit of the world's largest and oldest democracies. The two nations should initiate more trade missions and remove barriers that affect the trade and investment among other initiatives from the government and corporates," he added.
According to it, some of the key challenges in achieving mission USD 500 billion include India's poor record in the ease of doing business (EODB) ranking and speed of decision making as well as the US government's restrictive visa policy and restrictions on technology transfer.

"Both the governments need to improve the business environment, provide tax incentives and simplify regulations. Positive signs are already emerging with the government's focus on the Make in India initiative, bilateral shared forum on manufacturing, and the India-US CEO Forum," IACC Secretary General Ranjana Khanna said.

She further said strategic trading relationship is only the first step in creating a more meaningful partnership between two of the largest democracies in the world.

"This can not only lead to deeper engagement in areas such as space exploration, climate change and counter-terrorism, but also build a stronger people partnership and bring together dynamism and new thinking to create solutions to some of the most pressing problems the world is facing," Khanna added.

While roadblocks may arise in the course of time, the commonalities of interests are immense for growth in trade between India and the US, she said.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Pares Initial Gains; Still Up 6 Paise At 66.10

The rupee pared its initial gains, but was still trading higher by 6 paise at 66.10 against the US currency on bouts of dollar selling by banks and exporters.

The rupee resumed higher at 66.10 per dollar against the previous close of 66.16 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

It gained further to 66.01 on bouts of dollar selling before quoting at 66.10 at 3.35 pm local time. It hovered in a range of 66.14 to 66.01 per dollar during the evening deals.

In global markets, the US dollar was up against a basket of currencies in early lacklustre Asian trade amid relatively uneventful weekend with the dollar showing potential for gains if the upcoming data strengthen the case for a hike in interest rates this year.

The dollar index was 0.2 per cent up on Monday at 96.328, just shy of Friday’s high of 96.70, while the euro was down 0.2 per cent at $1.1174.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex ended lower by 247 points at 25,616.84.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Govt. grant received for modernization of machinery is liable to MAT

IT : While computing book profit under section 115JB, Central Government grant received by assessee for modernisation of machinery and compensation received from State Government for loss to its compound wall, could not be deducted from net profit computed as per Parts II and III of Schedule VI of Companies Act, 1956

A charitable trust can exercise option of accumulation of income by mere filing return of income

IT : Though law does not mention any specific mode of exercising option for setting apart income for charitable purpose in succeeding year , If such option is exercised when return is filed, that would be treated as in conformity and comply with provisions contained in section 11

Investment in chit-fund Co. for better management of funds to be construed as eligible investment by

IT : Where contribution to chit funds was done only as an arrangement for better management of society's funds, exemption under section 11 could not be denied

All shares couldn't be treated to be held for trading purposes when majority of them were held for a

IT: Where assessee except for shares of two companies held other shares for a very long period and valued same at cost, entire share transactions could not be treated as business transactions

Addition of unexplained investment justified when assessee was taking different stand before authori

IT : Where assessee had initially accepted investment in land as unexplained and had taken different stands before different authority, addition made under section 69 was justified

A commercially insolvent co. which didn't dispute its financial inability was liable for winding-up

CL: Where company did not dispute its financial inability to pay and was commercially insolvent, company was liable to be wound up

Haryana Govt amends composition scheme for developers

VAT/HARYANA/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Haryana Value Added Tax (Third Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Insertion of Rule 49A , Form VAT-CD1 and FORM VAT-R13

'Satyam' couldn't be selected as comparable as its financial results couldn't be relied upon due to

IT/ILT : Where a company admitted financial irregularities and conspiracy hatched and committed by its directors, financial results of said company cannot be relied upon and said company cannot be selected as comparable

Exp. incurred by hospital on MD's daughter getting knowledge in medical field for hospital was deduc

IT: Where daughter of managing director of assessee-company which was running a hospital was sent abroad for acquiring specialised kowledge in medical field and after acquiring same, she was working with assessee, expenses incurred towards daughter's education were to be allowed under section 37(1)

HC couldn't hold up assignment of debt just because application against sale notice was pending in D

SARFAESI: Merely because an application under section 17 against sale notice was pending before DRT, Court could not have exercised its writ jurisdiction against transfer of debt by secured creditor, as notice for sale of property and transfer of a debt by secured creditor are independent actions

No penalty for late filing of TDS return if TDS was deducted and deposited in time

IT : Where assessee-bank deducted TDS and made payment on time but filed late TDS return as it was not aware that returns were to be filed at branch level, since revenue had not suffered any loss on account of late filing of return, penalty levied was to be cancelled

Prior to 1-6-2013 developer wasn't liable to TDS on purchase of property from NR due to non-discrimi

IT/ILT : In view of article 26(4) of DTAA between India and USA, assessee cannot be burdened with requirement of TDS in case of payment to three Indian individuals including one non-resident for sale or purchase of property in India (Position prior to 1-6-2013)

Single residential project to be deemed as one irrespective of multiple permits granted by developme

IT: Where assessee-company developed a residential project on one single piece of land and in said piece of land assessee constructed six housing towers which was approved by CMDA in accordance with Development Control Rules, assessee would be entitled to deduction under section 80-IB(10)

Even availment of credit on minor inputs would lead to denial of 'Nil' rate of duty

Central Excise : Where NIL rate of duty is based upon condition that no credit of inputs had been taken, assessee cannot claim said benefit if he had taken credit even on minor inputs/consumables

CIT(A) gets flak from HC for deleting estimated additions only on basis of gross profit rate of prec

IT: Where Commissioner (Appeals) merely on basis of gross profit rate applied in preceding year granted relief to assessee to that extent, matter was to be remanded back for fresh examination of books of account

Case restored to AO as assessee didn't get chance to cross-examine parties whose statement was relie

IT: Where assessee was not given an opportunity to cross-examine representatives of two companies whose statement was relied upon by revenue in disallowing amount paid by assessee to said companies to carry out promotional and advertisement activities, same was breach of principles of natural justice and accordingly issue was to be restored for fresh disposal

Payer not liable for TDS default due to amendments made in definition of royalty at later stage with

IT : Where Assessing Officer on basis of amendments introduced in section 9(1)(vi) with retrospective effect held that assessee was liable to deduct tax at source from licence fee paid for use of softwares and disallowed payments by invoking provisions of section 40(a)(ia), assessee could not be held responsible for violation of TDS provisions on basis of subsequent amendments introduced in section 9(1)(vi)

Excise dealers aren't liable to pay excess sum collected in name of duty as it is applicable only fo

Central Excise : Liability to pay 'excess collection in name of duty' lies only on manufacturer of goods and not on registered dealers

Reassessment order rightly set aside as AO didn't came across any material relating suggesting escap

IT: Since during course of proceedings under section 147, Assessing Officer did not come across any material relating to payment of commission suggesting escapement of income under any heads, Assessing Officer was not justified in reopening assessment in respect of commission

Dist. Magistrate rightly ordered recovery as neither bank dues were paid nor notice was challenged b

SARFAESI: Where petitioner failed to pay outstanding dues of respondent bank, order passed by District Magistrate under section 14 directing bank to recover possession of mortgaged property of petitioner was legal

Service tax will not be considered in gross receipts while determining income under sec. 44BB

IT/ILT: Service tax was to be excluded from gross receipts while determining income under section 44BB

Delayed sanction of refund beyond three months from date of application attracts interest

Excise & Customs : If refund is sanctioned belatedly beyond three months from date of application, interest will be payable to assessee

Proportionate interest disallowable u/s 14A even if bank's current deposits exceed tax-free investme

IT : Interest liable to be disallowed u/s 14A on proportionate basis even if assessee-bank's current deposits exceed its investments yielding tax-free returns. Assessee-bank cannot escape disallowance of interest u/s 14A by taking the plea that its interest-free funds (own funds or current account deposits) exceeded the amount of its tax-free income yielding investments in shares and mutual funds

Interest debited in personal books of proprietor due to borrowing used for business purposes was all

IT : Where assessee's personal books of account as well as books of account of his proprietary concern were interlinked and connected with business activity of assessee, interest paid from personal books of account on funds borrowed for business purpose was allowable under section 36(1)(iii)

Bombay HC irked by delay in passing adjudication orders

Service Tax/Excise/Customs : High Court irked by delay in passing adjudication order after conclusion of hearing and huge pendency of cases in adjudication; asks Commissioner/Chief Commissioner to file affidavit listing pending cases along with time requisite to dispose them of

Gains arising on sale of shares out of investment portfolio are capital gains and not business profi

IT: Where assessee-company had maintained accounts with applicable accounting standards and revenue was unable to find fault with assessee's claim, capital gains arising out of investments portfolio was to be taxable under head 'Capital gain' and not as business income

Norms of Compromise/arrangements are applicable even in case of slump sale which is subjected to app

CL : Provisions of sections 391 to 394 attracted even in case of slump sale, which is subject to approval of court

Unaccounted income admitted during search must be co-related with docs found during search, says Raj

IT : Statements made during search, must be co-related with records, which are found, and if there is any ambiguity, explanation given by assessee should be taken into consideration, before making assessment

TPO can't compare profit to total cost ratio with profit to operating ratio of comparables

IT/ILT : TPO cannot calculate ALP of an international transaction by taking profit rate at total costs (both operating and non-operating) with profit rate of comparables on operating costs alone

Chennai ITAT still follows ratio of Merilyn Shipping; restricted disallowance to exp. payable at yea

IT: Chennai ITAT still follows ratio of Merilyn Shipping; restricted disallowance to exp. payable at year end

Block assessment under sec. 158BD set-aside as AO failed to record satisfaction in respect of other

IT : Material and evidence on basis of which Assessing Officer of searched person had reached to conclusion that undisclosed income belonged to any other person was not brought on record, pre-requisite of 'satisfaction' for initiation of block assessment proceeding in case of such other person was non-existent or absent

No coverage of liability towards pension scheme under sec. 43B where it didn't envisage regular cont

IT: Where assessee had charged a certain amount to profit and loss account, being liability towards pension scheme, and it submitted before Tribunal that pension scheme did not make any regular contribution to any fund or trust and, therefore, liability would not fall under provisions of section 43B, matter was sent back to Assessing Officer for proper verification and examination of claim of assessee

No penalty when borrowed funds were diverted to affiliate under bona fide belief that interest was d

IT: Where Assessing Officer levied penalty holding that assessee claimed deductions in respect of borrowed funds which were diverted to sister concern and not for business and assessee bona fide pleaded that its deduction was covered by a particular provision of law, penalty could not be levied

Exp. on replacement of damage part of windmill is revenue exp.

IT : Where assessee had replaced only damaged parts of windmill without there being substantial change in original performance and generation capacity of windmill, expenditure would be allowable

Govt. mandates electronic filing of applications for appeals and revisions under Chhattisgarh VAT

VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Chhatisgarh Value Added Tax Rules, 2006 – Amendment In Rules 57 And 63

Now Govt. can condone delay in filing Goa VAT returns beyond 60 days

VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Goa Value Added Tax (Tenth Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment In Rules 23 And 25

No penalty due to difference of opinion on addition of remission of liability if all facts were duly

IT : Where assessee merely failed to consider section 41(1) in respect of benefit accruing to it vide Government Resolution to reduce liability towards purchase cost of electricity from State Electricity Board but assessee had placed all facts on record, penalty levied under section 271(1)(c) was unjustified

Govt. notifies Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for education loans

CL/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme For Education Loans (CGFSEL)

CBEC lays down procedure for clearing of specified goods from EOU to DTA without payment of duty

EXCISE : Export Of Manufactured Final Product Under Bond Without Payment Of Excise Duty Under Rule 19 Of The Central Excise Rules, 2002

RBI asks banks to keep vigil on operations of foreign currency a/c of Airline Cos; reiterates norms

FEMA/ILT : Opening Of Foreign Currency Accounts In India By Ship-Manning/Crew-Management Agencies

Principle of alter ego can't be applied in reverse direction to make directors liable for an offence

Prevention of Corruption Act : Principle of alter ego can only be applied to make company liable for an act committed by a person or group of persons who control affairs of company as they represent alter ego of company; however it cannot be applied in reverse direction to make directors of company liable for an offence committed by company

RBI asks banks to keep vigil on operations foreign currency accounts of Airline Cos; reiterates norm

FEMA/ILT : Opening Of Foreign Currency Accounts In India By Ship-Manning/Crew-Management Agencies

No transfer if facilities are leased out for less than 12 years without any right of sub-letting

IT : No "transfer" of capital asset takes place in the ordinary sense of the word 'transfer' or even within the extended meaning given to the term 'transfer in section 2(47)(vi) when the plant and machinery along with land and building is leased out for a limited period of 10 years giving limited right to the lessee to hold and possess the facilities leased to it with further restriction on sub-letting it or transferring any right or interest therein to anyone without the permission of the lesso

RBI allows AD Category-1 banks to process import related payments

FEMA/ILT : Processing And Settlement Of Import And Export Related Payments Facilitated By Online Payment Gateway Service Providers

Now banks can provide partial credit enhancement to corporate bonds

BANKING : Partial Credit Enhancement to Corporate Bonds

No rebate if assessee failed to prove that exported goods were those which were cleared on payment o

Excise & Customs : Where assessee could not prove duty-paid character of exported goods viz. exported goods were same as cleared earlier on payment of duty, export rebate cannot be allowed; said infraction cannot be regarded as minor procedural lapse

Even royalty payment for 10 years was revenue exp. as it didn't make assessee owner of technical kno

IT : Where for a period of 10 years assessee paid royalty to a foreign company for acquiring technical know-how in respect of construction management services, since in terms of agreement, assessee did not become owner of said technical know how, amount in question was to be allowed as revenue expenditure

ITAT allows sec. 10(23C) relief to educational institution

IT : Where assessee trust was running an educational institution and objects of assessee were charitable in nature, receipts would be exempt under section 10(23C)

No FEMA proceeding shall lie against persons declaring black money under Compliance Window

FEMA/ILT/IT : Regularisation of Assets Held Abroad by Person Resident in India Under Fema, 1999

Now banks get power to change ownership of errant entities before loans turns into an NPA

BANKING : Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets in the Economy – Review of Guidelines on Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF) and Corrective Action Plan (CAP)

Co. wherein extraordinary event of merger takes place can't be selected in list of comparables

IT/ILT : In case of assessee, engaged in import of medical devices from AE, a company in whose case an extraordinary event of merger took place which affected its financial results, could not be accepted as a valid comparable while determining ALP

Directors' act of taking out of substratum of co. into the co. owned by them was oppression

CL : Since a fiduciary duty was cast upon directors of company who were also directors and shareholders of R6 to see that no loss was caused to company, taking out substratum of company by respondent-director into company owned by them, was nothing but oppression and mismanagement against petitioner

AO was right in not making sec. 43B disallowance of unpaid excise duty as it pertained to earlier ye

IT : Where against order of Commissioner passed under section 263, assessee filed appeal before Tribunal and revenue raised objection that appeal was not maintainable for reason that assessee had participated in hearing of assessment proceedings in consequence to order passed under section 263, appeal was very much maintainable

Companies with high turnover and low employee cost to sales ratio can't be selected as comparables f

IT/ILT : In case of assessee, engaged in rendering software development services to its AE, companies having functional difference, high turnover difference and low employee cost to sale ratio, could not be accepted as comparables while determining ALP

No denial of SSI exemption to company due to change of its management

CENVAT: Brand names of a company belong to company itself; it cannot be transferred from old management to new management and on ground of transfer of brands to new management, SSI exemption cannot be denied

Transfer was void as letter DIT (Investigation) wasn't given to assessee on basis of which case was

IT : Where letter of Director (Investigation) was not made available to assessee even though impugned order to transfer assessee's case to other jurisdiction had been passed relying upon same, impugned order had been passed in breach of principles of natural justice; and same was to be set aside

MAT inapplicable on foreign Cos having no PE in India w.e.f. April 1, 2001; Govt. to amend IT Act

IT/ILT : Section 115JB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 – Minimum alternative tax – Government decided to amend Income-tax Act, 1961 so that with retrospective effect from 1-4-2001, provisions of section 115JB shall not be applicable to a foreign company if that foreign company is a resident of a country having DTAA with India and such foreign company does not have a permanent establishment within definition of that term in relevant DTAA

MAT shall not be on foreign Cos having no PE in India w.e.f. April 1, 2001; Govt. to amend IT Act

IT/ILT : Section 115JB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 – Minimum alternative tax – Government decided to amend Income-tax Act, 1961 so that with retrospective effect from 1-4-2001, provisions of section 115JB shall not be applicable to a foreign company if that foreign company is a resident of a country having DTAA with India and such foreign company does not have a permanent establishment within definition of that term in relevant DTAA

SEBI notifies format of compliance report on corporate governance

SEBI : Format for compliance report on corporate governance to be submitted to stock exchange(s) by listed entities

Loss on account of error trades conducted by broker while acting on behalf of clients is allowable a

IT: Where assessee-broker was merely collecting security transaction tax, section 40(a)(ib) did not apply

'Christian Medical College' established to benefit all persons of any caste and creed eligible for s

IT : Where assessee-society, established by Christian community, had been running medical colleges and its main aims were to train professionals in field of medical and health care and also to provide medical facilities in its hospitals to all persons of any caste, activities carried out by assessee were charitable in nature and it was entitled to exemption under section 80G

High Court directs ITAT to give clearer picture as to whether seized doc belonged to assessee

IT : Where Assessing Officer on basis of documents seized from possession of one 'M' issued on assessee a notice under section 153C and Tribunal accepting plea of assessee held that above documents could not be considered as documents belonging to it, matter was remitted back to Tribunal for reconsideration after rendering specific findings as to status of documents

RBI proposes to relax ECB norms

FEMA/ILT : RBI Seeks Feedback On Draft Framework On ECBs

SEBI cautious public to deal with only registered investment advisors and research analysts

SEBI : SEBI Cautions Public To Deal With Only Sebi Registered Investment Advisers And Research Analysts

When M&A scheme becomes effective it can't be challenged in absence of any suppression

CL : Where there was no suppression of any relevant/material fact by petitioner-company whilst obtaining sanction of scheme of arrangement in 2010 and in composite scheme of arrangement in 2011, application filed by SEBI pursuant to a complaint of a shareholder for setting aside sanctioning order of schemes was to be dismissed particularly when composite scheme had become effective and BSE & NSE had granted in principle approval for listing of shares of petitioner

Payment of ineligible credit along-with interest on writing off inputs doesn't call for penalty

Cenvat : Where audit party pointed out that Cenvat credit was not available on written off value of inputs, and accordingly, assessee suo moto calculated and paid amount equal to amount of Cenvat credit and interest thereon without any contest, no penalty could be imposed

No disallowance of interest as AO failed to establish that sum advanced to sister concern was out of

IT : Where assessee, a real estate company, had taken term loan and paid interest on it, since Assessing Officer failed to establish that loan amount advanced to sister concerns was out of interest bearing funds only, disallowance made was unjustified

Particulars of MAT credit can't be said to be particulars of income for levying concealment penalty

IT : Income contemplated under section 271(1)(c) is income on which taxes are to be computed and paid, particulars of MAT credit furnished in return of income cannot be said to be particulars of 'income' for purpose of levying penalty under section 271(1)(c)

HC couldn't dispose of appeal without going into its merits if SC directed it to entertain appeal on

Excise & Customs : Where, in a matter involving clandestine removal, Supreme Court had directed High Court to dispose of appeals on merits, High Court could not dispose of those appeals as not maintainable

Interest can't be levied for the period during which application is pending before Set Com

IT : Where assessee applied under section 245D(1) to Settlement Commission and deposited admitted tax and satisfied tax liability finally determined within time, recovery of interest from assessee under section 220(2) in terms of section 245D(2C) for period during pendency of application before Settlement Commission was unwarranted

Revenue consistently adopting TNM method in earlier years couldn't make adjustments using CUP method

IT/ILT : Where TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP in respect of trading of coffee, cotton etc. with its AEs located abroad by adopting CUP method, in view of fact that revenue had been consistently adopting TNMM, same was to be adopted for assessment year in question

Govt. further extends validity of Industrial license for defence sector

FDI/FEMA/ILT : Streamlining Procedure For Grant Of Industrial Licenses – Extension Of Initial Validity Of Industrial Licence For Defence Sector

Mortgaged property can't be redeemed on part payment of mortgaged money

SARFAESI: Mortgaged property cannot be redeemed on payment of a part of mortgage money, except when mortgagee has acquired share of mortgagor, in whole or in part

Govt. notifies second ordinance for NI Act to sustain jurisdiction for trial of offence

BANKING/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2015

Women MP can't plead that she signed loan docs on her husband's wish, unaware of forgery

CL : The appellant who is a Rajya Sabha MP and was a former Asstt Commissioner of Commercial taxes cannot be allowed to advance a remarkable plea that she had signed bank loan documents as co-applicant or guarantor showing deference to her late husband and was ignorant of forgery and that she had settled the dues and High Court's quashing of proceedings should not be disturbed .The assertions as regards the ignorance are a mere pretence and sans substance given the facts. Lack of awareness, know

No deeming provision in Central Excise to treat assessment as 'provisional' in case of price escalat

Excise & Customs : In absence of any request from assessee in this behalf and further, in absence of any such deeming provision under act/rules, assessment cannot be treated as provisional merely because of 'price escalation clause'

Govt. notifies second ordinance under NI Act to sustain jurisdiction for trail of offence

BANKING/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2015

ITAT denied sec. 80-IB relief to assessee as it had filed return of income, belatedly

IT : Where assessee filed return belatedly, assessee was not entitled to deduction under section 80-IB

Tenancy rights of a notified person over flat were rightly disposed off due to existence of undisput

Special Courts Act: Where appellant was declared as notified party and its tenancy rights over a flat came to be attached and there was no dispute as to liabilities outstanding for statutory period, tenancy rights of appellant had been rightly disposed of

Compensation received by prospective employee on termination of employment contract isn’t taxable

IT : An amount received by a prospective employee 'as compensation for denial of employment' was not in nature of profits in lieu of salary. It was a capital receipt that could not be taxed as income under any other head

Amendment clarifying that seized assets can't be adjusted against advance tax liability is prospecti

IT : Explanation 2 to section 132B as inserted by Finance Act, 2013 with effect from 1-6-2013 is prospective

No reassessment when info on concealed income was already existing at time of assessment

IT : Where information regarding long-term capital gain on sale of shares was already existing on file of assessee and did not come up as an issue for first time during reassessment proceedings, said amount could not be treated as an escaped income chargeable to tax under section 147

DRP can't pass a non-speaking order without considering arguments raised by assessee

IT/ILT: Where assessee raised specific grounds before DRP against transfer pricing adjustment made by TPO, being first appellate authority it was duty of DRP of pass a reasoned order after meeting arguments raised by assessee

No need to take approval of inspecting Commissioner while making revision on directions of CIT

IT : Where Commissioner cancelled assessment order passed under section 143(1) and directed Assessing Officer to make assessment of assessee afresh, it was not necessary to seek previous approval of Inspecting Assistant Commissioner before issuing notice under sub-section (2) of section 143

Reassessment notice was void as it was issued by AO before recording of reasons for escapement of in

IT : In terms of section 148(2), reasons to believe must be recorded before issue of notice under section 148 and, therefore, notice issued under section 148 before recording reasons was not a legally valid notice

Sale proceeds of auctioned Airplane to be deposited in Court for recovery of service-tax dues of 'Ki

Service Tax : With a view to recover service tax dues pertaining to Kingfisher, Bombay High Court allowed auction of aircraft taken on 'finance lease' by Kingfisher but, in view of lessor's contention that aircraft is lessor's property, sale proceeds were directed to be deposited into Court

CPM is most appropriate method in case of contract manufacturers subject to satisfaction of Rule 10C

IT/ILT: As a general rule CPM would be MAM in case of contract manufacturers but that would be subject to satisfaction of parameters laid down in rule 10C(1) and (2) of Rules

HC denied to interfere with order of ITAT as revenue failed to point out any perversity in such orde

IT : Where Tribunal deleted addition on account of non-genuine gifts, jewellery etc. and revenue was unable to point out any perversity in order of Tribunal, finding of fact recorded by Tribunal could not be interfered with

No addition of unexplained investment on basis of high value shown in stock statements given to bank

IT : Where there was difference of certain amount between stock statement given by assessee to bank and stock statement filed by assessee before Assessing Officer and both statements were prepared on estimated basis and thereupon Assessing Officer added aforesaid amount in income of assessee under section 69 as unexplained investment in stock, statements could not be made basis of addition

Winding up plea dismissed as co. was commercially solvent and its indebtness was strongly disputable

CL : Where respondent-company was a going concern with sixty employees and it was also commercially solvent and indebtedness was vehemently disputed by respondent-company, an order of winding-up at instance of petitioning-creditor would not be maintainable

Suppression of facts as to provision of service and collection of service tax leads to evasion penal

Service Tax : Where assessee had suppressed facts as to provision of services as well as collection of service tax from clients, evasion penalty was rightly leviable and therefore, adjudication order could not be interfered with in writ jurisdiction

Delay in filing appeal due to marriage of son of proprietor of firm is condonable

Service Tax : Where assessee is a proprietary concern or partnership firm, decision to file appeal depends upon individual leadership; hence, marriage of son of proprietor/partner may be a valid ground of delay of 12 days

Issuance of debentures in lieu of interest dues couldn't be held as actual payment in terms of sec.

IT: Outstanding interest amount converted into a term-loan is not deemed to be 'actually paid' as contemplated under section 43B

No disallowance of sec. 80-IA relief without any proof that excess profits were shown due to arrange

IT/ILT: Where since Assessing Officer had not conclusively proved fact that there was an arrangement between assessee and its AE by which transactions were so arranged as to produce more than ordinary profits in hands of assessee, disallowance of part deduction under section 10A by applying provisions of section 80-IA(10), was not justified

Conveyance allowance paid to officers of LIC isn't exempt if it isn't reimbursement of exp.

IT: Where there was no evidence that amount of additional conveyance allowance paid to assessee, an officer of LIC, was reimbursement of expenditure, it was not eligible for deduction under section 10(14)(i)

Investment shown in dairy of assessee wasn't unexplained as AO failed to bring any other evidence

IT: Where no specific evidence had been brought on record by Assessing Officer to effect that impugned investment related to assessee, addition was to be deleted

No denial of reasons for reassessment just because assessee has asked for it only once: Bombay HC

IT : Revenue could not justify non-furnishing of reasons for reassessment on the ground that the assessee had asked for reasons recorded only once

Official liquidator doesn't have authority to ascertain claims filed by State Financial Corp. as sec

CL: State financial corporations as secured creditors are not required to prove their debt declared under State Financial Corporation Act before Official Liquidator or company court

Circulars contrary to Supreme Court's judgment need not be followed: CBEC

Clarification Regarding Binding Nature of Circular and Instructions

CBEC assigns additional powers to its Principal Commissioners

SERVICE TAX : Rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 - Service Tax Authorities

Circulars contrary to Supreme Court's judgment need not be followed

Clarification Regarding Binding Nature of Circular and Instructions

Demand notice is valid as assessee hasn't obtained discharge certificate under VCES

Service Tax : Where assessee had made declaration/payments under Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme but discharge certificate had not been issued thereunder, notice demanding tax cannot be treated as invalid even if same would be adjudicated by distinct authority

Gold jewellery below 500 grams to be deemed as 'streedhan' of wife; couldn't be seized

IT : In view of CBDT Instruction No. 1916 of 11-05-1994, gold jewellery of 471 grams found during course of search could reasonably be treated as streedhan of assessee's wife and would not be treated as undisclosed money

HC disallowed depreciation as assessee failed to prove that windmill was actually installed at proje

IT: Where Tribunal disallowed depreciation on windmill by holding that certificates which were relied upon by Commissioner (Appeals) and site inspection did not remove essential discrepancy, since it was physically impossible for consignment to cover a distance of 800 kilometers to reach proposed site and project of this magnitude was unable to commission within a short span, order passed was justified

Madras HC counts limitation period of reassessment from the date of rectification order

IT: Section 149 does not relax restriction of four years prescribed in proviso to section 147 for issuance of a notice under section 147; rather it puts an additional time restriction even where there is no restriction of time for reopening of assessment on account of failure of assessee to disclose fully and truly all material facts

No question of law arises when Concurrent findings are recorded by appellate authorities on unaccoun

IT: Concurrent findings of three authorities in respect of addition on account of undisclosed income from sale of flat, would not give rise to any question of law

ITAT unhappy with AO for completing assessment against assessee after issuing notice to incorrect ad

IT : Where notice under section 143(2) was not served upon assessee within 6 months from end of financial year in which return was furnished and Assessing Officer had completed assessment without serving statutory notice which was mandatory for completing assessment, assessment was null and void

IRDA specifies percentage and terms and conditions for reinsurance cessions

INSURANCE : Section 101A Of The Insurance Act, 1938 - Re-Insurance With Indian Re-Insurers – Specified Percentage And Terms And Conditions For Reinsurance Cessions To Indian Reinsurer In Compliance With Said Section

AO directed to readjudicate whether sum paid by Dhampur Sugar Mills on failure to export sugar was p

IT : Where assessee changed its method of accounting for valuation of closing stock, since changed method of accounting was more scientific and did not result in any evasion of tax, addition made on account of closing stock was unjustified

Alternate remedy of appeal wasn't appropriate as writ against Tribunal's order was pending for long

FEMA: Where writ petition against order of Appellate Tribunal had been admitted and was pending for several years, petitioner could not be directed to avail alternate remedy provided under section 35

ICAI's opinion in guidance note can be used to compute taxable income even if it has persuasive valu

IT : Where assessee had maintained accounts as per guidance note on accounting for leases issued by ICAI and during year it claimed deduction of lease equalisation charges from lease rental income, method of accounting following by assessee could not be discarded and it was entitled for deduction

Sale of CNG from retail outlets isn't prima facie marketing services of CNG

Service Tax : Purchase of CNG and sale thereof from retail outlets would not, prima facie, amount to 'marketing services of CNG' and therefore, same is not liable to service tax under Business Auxiliary Services

No reassessment to disallow MODVAT credit if its computation was available with AO during assessment

IT: Where working pertaining to MODVAT credit was available with Assessing Officer at time of passing order under section 143(3), reassessment initiated to disallow excess claim made by assessee in respect of MODVAT credit was not justified

Sum paid for software development wasn't FTS as no technical services were made available to assesse

IT/ILT : Where assessee having secured an order from foreign company, parceled out a portion of work to its subsidiary located in USA, since subsidiary performed its operations outside India and no technical knowledge was made available to assessee, amount paid to subsidiary company was not taxable in India

Gift of shares to shareholders to be deemed as payment of dividend in kind which is prohibited

CL : Court cannot sanction a compromise or arrangement which involves declaration of dividend in violation of section 123 of the Companies Act, 2013. Where a company gifts to its shareholders shares held by it in another company, it is in substance distributing a "dividend" within the meaning of section 2(35) of the Companies Act, 2013 as also section 2(22A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 since company could have sold those shares and distributed the proceeds. Allowing distribution of these shares

Usage of registered artistic work of other person doesn't lead to denial of SSI exemption

Central Excise : Mere registration of artistic work 'Sundar' under Copyright Act in name of another person does not prove that it was 'brand name' registered in name of such another person under Trade Marks Act; hence, SSI-exemption cannot be denied

Revenue could impose penalty without evidence if undisclosed income admitted again in post-search pr

IT : Where assessee himself admitted in presence of his Chartered Accountant that he had undisclosed income which was utilized for renovation of his bunglow, revenue authorities were not required to prove by bringing any positive evidence of existence of undisclosed income with assessee so as to levy penalty under section 271(1)(c)

Govt. urges black money hoarders to file declaration in time under compliance window

IT/ILT : Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 – Persons Holding Undisclosed Foreign Assets are Advised to File their Declaration well in Time Under Compliance Window of Said Act

Where NP rate determined by Tribunal was based on comparables, order of tribunal was to be upheld

IT : Where Tribunal after referring to comparable cases applied net profit at 8 per cent, since estimation of net profit by Assessing Officer was on higher side, order passed by Tribunal was justified

Dept. can't insist assessee to file forms online for inter-state sales under Puducherry VAT Act

CST & VAT: Central Sales Tax - Where assessee claimed concessional rate of tax/exemption from tax on inter-State sales/consignment sales effected during year, department's insistence that declaration in forms 'C' and 'F' should be uploaded through online in website is not in consonance with any of rules either under Central Sales Tax Rules or Puducherry Value Added Tax Rules

Govt. urges black hoarders to file declaration in time under compliance window

IT/ILT : Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 – Persons Holding Undisclosed Foreign Assets are Advised to File their Declaration well in Time Under Compliance Window of Said Act

Transfer of statutory liability in Slump Sale can't be deemed as actual payment under sec. 43B

IT: Statutory liability on account of bonus, gratuity and leave encashment does not stand discharged by assessee upon sale of its undertaking on 'as is where is' basis, so as to allow deduction under section 43B

Court can’t sanction a compromise or arrangement scheme which involves gift of shares to shareholder

CL : Court cannot sanction a compromise or arrangement which involves declaration of dividend in violation of section 123 of the Companies Act, 2013. Where a company gifts to its shareholders shares held by it in another company, it is in substance distributing a "dividend" within the meaning of section 2(35) of the Companies Act, 2013 as also section 2(22A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 since company could have sold those shares and distributed the proceeds. Allowing distribution of these shares

Once accused admits issuance of cheque onus is on him to prove that cheque hasn't been issued for di

Negotiable Instruments Act: Once issuance of cheque has been admitted, complainant is entitled to invoke presumption under sections 118 and 139 that cheque has been issued for discharging legally subsisting liability, which is a rebuttable presumption and where accused has failed to rebut such presumption he is guilty of offence under section 138

No reassessment to disallow additional depreciation if full disclosure was made by assessee in origi

IT : Where while submitting original return of income, assessee claimed depreciation at 20 per cent/10 per cent in respect of lesser machine, leth, ghanti and plant and machinery which came to be considered and granted by Assessing Officer, reassessment proceedings initiated for disallowing same was to be quashed

Tribunal can extend stay on recovery order beyond 365 days if delay in disposal of appeal not attrib

Excise & Customs : CESTAT has power to grant or extend stay of recovery of demand beyond 365 days from date when stay order was initially passed, if delay in disposal of appeal was not attributable to assessee

No penalty on 'Dimpal Yadav' for accepting cash loan from Samajwadi Party as it was routed via bank

IT : Where even though assessee had taken a loan in cash, since loan was routed through bank account of assessee for payment to Government for converting land into free hold property, no penalty could be imposed under section 271D

No penalty on 'Dimpal Yadav' for accepting cash loan from Samajwadi Party if it was routed via bank

IT : Where even though assessee had taken a loan in cash, since loan was routed through bank account of assessee for payment to Government for converting land into free hold property, no penalty could be imposed under section 271D

Provisions of deemed dividend aren't applicable if assessee isn't a shareholder of lender co.

IT : Where assessee was not a shareholders of lender company, provisions of section 2(22)(e) would not apply

Participatory note isn't an illegal instrument; SEBI can asks FPI to specify its terms and parties

SEBI : A participatory note i.e., 'Offshore Derivative Instruments' (ODIs) is not an illegal instrument , nor is it prohibited under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and the SEBI Rules and Regulations

Insurance Marketing Firms need not use the word 'firm' while registering with ROC: IRDA

INSURANCE : IRDA (REGISTRATION OF INSURANCE MARKETING FIRM) REGULATIONS, 2015 – CLARIFICATION ON NAME OF INSURANCE MARKETING FIRM

Assessee couldn't challenge reassessment just because impugned deduction was allowed in sec. 143(1)

IT : Where assessee's claim for exemption under section 10A was allowed by mere issuing intimation under section 143(1), Assessing Officer could reopen assessment subsequently taking a view that assessee had failed to fulfil conditions laid down in clauses (ii) and (iii) of section 10A(2) and, thus, exemption was wrogly allowed

Manner of distribution of profit among members of AOP, being developer isn't relevant for allowing s

IT : Allowability or otherwise of deduction under section 80-IB(10) is not dependent upon manner in which profit had been distributed among members of assessee-AOP but it depends upon income earned from eligible project and fulfilment of conditions laid down in said section

Genuineness of loan received through cheque from NRE account couldn't be doubted

IT : Where assessee received certain unsecured loan from a non-resident, in view of fact that said amount was advanced through an account payee cheque from NRE account of lender, impugned addition made under section 68 in respect of said loan was to be deleted

SC refers matter to larger bench on issue of inclusion of cost of gunny bags in value of soda ash

Excise & Customs : Supreme Court renders conflicting view on issue of includibility of cost of 'gunny bags' in value of soda ash; matter would be referred to larger bench

TPO gets flak from ITAT for applying bright line test for AMP exp. without performing FAR analysis

IT/ILT : International transaction of AMP expenses can be clubbed with other international transactions carried out by assessee as distributor only when AMP functions performed by tested party and comparables are same

Subsequent sale of acquired shares doesn't exempt acquirer from making public announcement

CL : Obligation for making PA for creeping acquisition above 5% does not cease even if shares sold later in same FY

Limitation period to register Court's order has to be determined from date of receipt of certified c

CL : Where scheme of demerger as approved by Company Court was subject matter of issue before Division Bench in appeal, limitation was to be determined from date on which petitioner was furnished with certified copy of judgment of Division Bench; hence petitioner was entitled to seek registration of order

No writ lies against pre-deposit orders passed by Tribunal as it can be challenged in appeal before

Service Tax/Excise/Customs : Pre-deposit orders passed by Tribunal can be challenged in appeal before High Court; hence, in view of effective alternate appeal remedy, writ petitions cannot be maintained thereagainst

CIT rightly made revision as AO failed to examine TDS default on discount paid against recharge coup

IT : Where Assessing Officer while completing assessment did not make any enquiry relating to non-deduction of tax at source in respect of discount/commission paid to vendors against pre-paid recharge vouchers, Commissioner was justified in setting aside said assessment in exercise of his revisional power

No penalty if income offered for taxation is equivalent to income returned pursuant to sec. 153A not

IT : Where difference between income declared under section 139(1), additional income offered under section 132(4) and assessed income under section 153A being identical with income returned under section 153A, no penalty under section 271(1)(c) is leviable

No disallowance of depreciation just because it was termed as terminal depreciation

IT: Merely because depreciation claimed under section 32 is termed as 'Terminal depreciation' could not be a reason to disallow claim

Dept. must prove flow of additional consideration from buyer to manufacturer to establish undervalua

Excise & Customs : Merely because stock statements given by assessee to banks for purposes of getting credit facilities, show 'higher values' of stock/goods, same does not prove undervaluation; there must be evidence of flowback of additional consideration from buyer to manufacturer

No vicarious liability of College Chairman for cheque bouncing if college wasn't arrayed as an accus

Negotiable Instruments Act : Where borrowings were effected for development of college, Chairman of college could not be proceeded against under section 138 on dishonour of cheque issued towards repayment of loan, if college was not arrayed as an accused

Assessee could claim balance sec. 10A relief directly before CIT(A) if it had wrongly claimed lesser

IT : Even if a claim for 100 per cent deduction under section 10A was not made by assessee before Assessing Officer, it could be made before Commssioner (Appeals)

Co. providing complex product development services can't be compared with Co. rendering only develop

IT/ILT : A captive unit of a comparable company which assumes only a limited risk, cannot be compared with a giant company in area of development of software who assumes all types of risks leading to higher profits

No vicarious liability of College Chairman for cheque bouncing if college wasn't arrayed as on accus

Negotiable Instruments Act : Where borrowings were effected for development of college, Chairman of college could not be proceeded against under section 138 on dishonour of cheque issued towards repayment of loan, if college was not arrayed as an accused

Sale at factory-gate wasn't undervalued merely because stock statements showed higher value of goods

Central Excise : Merely because price at godown (or in stock statements) was here, department cannot allege undervaluation in case of factory-gate sales

Sum paid to foreign consultant for interior designing of hotel isn't FTS

IT/ILT: Where there is no transfer of technology, technical know-how or any technical knowledge or skill that assessee can apply in furtherance of his business objects, payments for same to a Singaporean company does not fall within scope of 'fees for technical services' as per India-Singapore DTAA

ITAT could review its own order when it noticed that assessee wasn't duly served with hearing notice

IT : Appeal against Tribunal's order was rejected where Tribunal merely remanded issue of computation of deduction under section 80HHC to Assessing Officer for fresh consideration

AO who is engaged in election duty can demand extra time for verification of additional evidence, sa

IT : Where Assessing Officer sought one month time for due verification of additional evidence produced by assessee by stating that he was on election duty and number of cases of assessment in which time limitation was going to expire was pending, Commissioner (Appeals) should accept his demand

No violation of sec. 13 when exp. wasn't incurred on property of trustee as property was gifted to t

IT: Where assessee-trust incurred expenditure towards development expenses on leasehold land gifted by trustees to assessee by HIBA(oral gift), since subsequently said land was transferred to assessee by way of gift deed, trustees were not benefitted in any way, and, thus, there was no violation of provisions of section 13(1)(c)

No illegality was found in proposal to issue and allot shares as resolutions were passed in a duly c

CL: Where company had complied with all formalities in convening and holding AGM, requisite quorum was present and resolutions were passed in a democratic manner and decisions taken in AGM were legal and valid, no case of interference was called for

Interest earned on fixed deposits made by society out of its income is also eligible for sec. 80P re

IT: Where interest income earned by assessee society by providing credit facilities to its members was deposited in banks for a short duration which had earned interest, said interest on deposits was attributable to business of banking of assessee and it was liable to deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i)

Trust giving educational scholarship can't be said to be engaged in object of general public utility

IT : Scholarships is 'education', not 'any other object of general public utility'. Trust cannot be denied exemption by invoking the first proviso to sec 2(15) where its activities in fact fall within the heads 'education', 'medical relief' and 'relief of the poor' even if its objects allow it to carry on any activity for 'advancement of any other object of general public utility'

Roaming facility doesn’t require human intervention; roaming charges paid by Telecos aren’t ‘FTS’

IT : The provision of roaming services do not require any human intervention and accordingly, cannot be construed as technical services. Thus, payment of roaming charges by telephone operator does not fall under the ambit of TDS provisions under section 194J.

Digital Still Image Video Camera is liable to be taxed at 4% under Delhi VAT

CST & VAT : Delhi VAT - Digital Still Image Video Camera sold by assessee during period 1-4-2005 to 7-8-2005 was not covered under Entry No. 41 of Third Schedule to VAT Act, whereas said product sold during period 30-11-2005 to 31-12-2007 would fall under clause 15 of Entry No. 41A of Third Schedule

Exp. incurred on repairing of Multiplex building is revenue exp.

IT : Where expenditure on account of repairs and maintenance of buildings and theatres was only for purpose of carrying on of business and did not bring any capital asset into existence, same was to be treated as revenue in nature

Profit from forex fluctuation is an operating income; to be considered while determining ALP under t

IT/ILT : Foreign exchange fluctuation income is an operating income and thus same has to be taken into consideration while determining ALP of international transactions entered into by assessee

No dismissal of rectification plea on basis of objection of revenue without giving hearing opportuni

IT : Where on a rectification application filed by assessee, under section 254(2), Tribunal dismissed appeal in view of revenue's preliminary objection, a prejudice was caused to assessee and appeal was to be decided again

Appeal filed belatedly without any Condonation application is liable to be dismissed

Service Tax : Where belated appeal has been filed without any application for condonation of delay, appeal is liable to be dismissed as time-barred and Commissioner (Appeals) is not duty-bound to notify said defect

No addition of unexplained purchases as no adverse comments were made on such purchases in sales tax

IT : Where notice under section 153C was issued on 6-7-2010 which fell in assessment year 2011-12, for assessment years 2003-04 and 2004-05, notice was barred by limitation and assessment completed pursuant to said notice was to be quashed

Demanding EMI from buyers without revealing cancellation of building plans was unfair trade practice

Competition Act: Where complainant had booked for allotment of office space in proposed building of respondents and respondents continuously suppressed facts relating to rejection of building plans, demanded instalments of price and also forced complainants to accept car parking by paying additional sums, it amounted to unfair trade practice

TP adjustment deleted as margin of AE segment was within the tolerance limit

IT/ILT : Where margin of assessee's AE segment came within +/- 5 per cent range when compared to arithmetic mean/PLI, computed by TPO, no TP adjustment was required to be made

Failure to explain source of deposits would invite additions even if assessee was taxable on presump

IT : Where assessee did not maintain any books of account and failed to explain additions made in his account under section 68, addition made was justified

SEBI search and seizure norms come into force from Sept. 17, 2015

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Procedure for Search and Seizure) Repeal Regulations, 2015 – Repeal of SEBI (Procedure for Search and Seizure) Regulations, 2014

Now employees of AE excluded from definition of employee under share based employee benefits norms

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 2015

No CVD on import of set-top boxes meant for supply to customers of DTH service providers

Customs : Set-top boxes imported by DTH service providers and supplied to consumers for service charges without any transfer of property, are not 'sold' to consumers; therefore, there is no requirement to declare RSP thereon and hence, CVD on set-top boxes cannot be demanded as per section 4A of Central Excise Act

Assessee liable for sec. 194C TDS as his records revealed that he acted as contractor and not as com

IT : Where assessee, a transporter, having received freight charges for transportation of goods, paid same at a lesser rate to truck owners resulting in profits, assessee, being a contractor, was required to deduct tax at source under section 194C while making payments to truck owners/sub-contractors

Voluntary declaration of concealed income before its detection by revenue doesn't call for penalty

IT : Assessing Officer could not pass penalty order under section 271(1)(c) in a case where assessee suo-motu revised his return declaring additional rental income and paid taxes thereon before any detection of concealment by revenue authorities

RBI relaxes norms on equity investments by banks

BANKING : Review Of Equity Investment By Banks

Now banks can grant loans and advance to their CEOs/full time Directors without RBI's nod

BANKING : Guidelines On Compensation Of Chief Executive Officer/Whole Time Directors – Restrictions Under Section 20 Of The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 – Loans To Directors

Non-disclosure of a fact didn't amount to suppression if it wasn't legally required to be disclosed

Excise & Customs : If there is no legal requirement to disclose proprietary interest in any other factory and financial matters as to payment of job-work charges by assessee, non-disclosure of said fact cannot amount to 'suppression' and therefore, extended period of limitation cannot be invoked

No denial of sec. 80P benefit to society due to violation of provisions of Andhra Pradesh Co-operati

IT : Merely because assessee had received deposits from non-members and violated provisions of APMACS Act, it would not prevent assessee being a co-operative society nor it would prevent claiming deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i)

Under SARFAESI Act Appellate Tribunal has power to condone delay in filing appeal: Supreme Court

SARFAESI : Appellate Tribunal under SARFAESI Act has power to condone delay in filing an appeal before it by virtue of section 18(2) of SARFAESI Act and proviso to section 20(3) of RDB Act

Delhi HC dismissed petition seeking extension of due date of Sept. 30, 2015 for filing of return

IT : The Delhi High Court dismissed the petition which was filed to challenge the order of Government refusing to extend due date of 30-09-2015 as prescribed for filing income-tax returns of entities whose accounts are required to be audited. It was held that this petition was not drafted as PIL and it did not comply with the rules for filing a PIL

Govt. notifies norms on Digital Signatures

CORPORATE LAWS/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Digital Signature (End Entity) Rules, 2015

3 months taken by AO to record satisfaction pursuant to search to take action against 70 persons hel

IT : Where satisfaction under section 158BD was recorded by Assessing Officer of searched person after 3½ months, in view of fact that Assessing Officer had to take action against 70 persons on basis of search proceedings, aforesaid time period taken by him could not be regarded as unreasonable

Company having exceptional financial result due to merger is excludible from list of comparables

IT/ILT : In case of assessee, rendering IT enabled services to its AE, companies involved in providing KPO services and having exceptional financial results due to merger, could not be accepted as valid comparables while determining ALP

Govt. notifies norms for payment of additional contribution by mining lease holders

CORPORATE LAWS/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Mines And Minerals (Contribution To District Mineral Foundation) Rules, 2015

Electricity duty collected under Bengal Electricity Act on behalf Government doesn't attract sec. 43

IT: Where assessee collected electricity duty on behalf of State of Bengal but failed to pay said amount to Government and, therefore, revenue authorities made disallowance under section 43B, since Bengal Electricity Act, ruled out applicability of section 43B, impugned disallowance deserved to be deleted

HC not to interfere with findings of lower Court if accused failed to provide plausible defense for

Negotiable Instruments Act: Where defence projected by accused did not appear to be probable and lower Courts had recorded a finding that accused had committed offence under section 138, findings of lower Courts in exercise of revisional powers were not to be interfered with

HC not to interfere with findings of lower Court if accused failed so provide plausible defense for

Negotiable Instruments Act: Where defence projected by accused did not appear to be probable and lower Courts had recorded a finding that accused had committed offence under section 138, findings of lower Courts in exercise of revisional powers were not to be interfered with

Cessation of liability to repay loan taken to purchase capital asset doesn't invite sec. 41(1) addit

IT: Where assessee had taken loan for purchase of capital assets and there was a cessation of liability to repay said loan, section 41(1) would not be applied

'High level committee on CSR' gets one month extension to submit its report

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 135 Of The Companies Act, 2013 – Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) – Extension Of Another One Month For High Level Committee On CSR

Person drawing Cheque in his personal capacity to discharge liability of Co. was liable under sec. 1

Negotiable Instruments Act : Where respondent had drawn a cheque in his personal capacity to discharge liability of company and same was dishonoured, respondent being drawer of cheque was liable under section 138, even though company had not been named in notice or complaint

Tribunal's stay order prevails over undertaking given by assessee for payment of tax

Excise & Customs : Tribunal's stay order would prevail over any undertaking given by assessee; hence, where Tribunal had granted unconditional stay without any direction as to bank guarantee, department was bound to return bank guarantee furnished by assessee

Once assessee refused to co-operate with AO in block assessment his arguments at subsequent stage co

IT : Where assessee at time of search, admitted to have lent certain amount from his undisclosed business income, subsequently he could not file return declaring lower amount as undisclosed income contending that he had given said amount as trade advance which was returned later on

No disallowance of 'FTS' due to TDS default if FTS was capitalized in books

IT/ILT : Where assessee-company made payments to a non-resident concern, but said payment had not been claimed by assessee as revenue expenditure in current year, same would not come within ambit of section 40(a)(i)

Loss arising on ‘Index linked debentures’ as on balance sheet date is allowable: ITAT

IT : The methodology adopted by assessee to determine the rate of return on debentures on basis of Nifty level prevailing on the date of maturity was only a different method of computing the interest liability of assessee. It is an accepted and prudent accounting practice to provide for all known liabilities and losses as on the date of balance sheet. Thus, the loss provided by assessee on the date of balance sheet due increase in level of Nifty index vis-à-vis the level existed at the time of a

Assessee gets sec. 10A relief as it wasn't formed by splitting up of or reconstruction of asset alre

IT : Where STPI unit established by assessee for which section 10A deduction was claimed, was not formed by splitting up or reconstruction or transfer of used assets of its non STPI unit , assessee would be entitled for said deduction

ITAT interprets sec. 15 to determine taxable salary when excess salary is refunded by employee

IT : What is taxable under section 15 is "salary due" and not "salary accrued" salary is not taxable on "accrual" under section 15 since section 15 uses the words "salary due". The salary is not to be taxed on the basis of "accrual" since, in it's conscious choice of words, legislature has chosen the taxability on due basis or payment basis – whichever is earlier. The amount which constituted "salary due from an employer" was only the amount net of recovery, which the employer was legally empowe

Unexplained money couldn't be assessed in hands of assessee as same was already assessed in hands of

IT : Where impugned amount had already been assessed in hands of another person, same could not be again assessed in hands of assessee

Bpcl May Import Ethane From Us For Its Petchem Unit

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) could look at importing ethane from the United states to power its refineries.If BPCL goes ahead with its plan, it will be the second company to do so after the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.

“Ethane is available in abundance in the US. We are evaluating the future of ethane in this country and studying if there is demand for the fuel in India. We could use it to fuel our ventures. The cost of importing and the savings the fuel is being worked out,” said an official from BPCL.

BPCL has an integrated refinery expansion project at Kochi at the cost of Rs 14,225 crore augmenting its refining capacity to 36.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) from the present 30.5 mmtpa which is about an increase of 20% in refining capacity. An additional 5.3 mmtpa of petroleum products will be available in the market after the expansion.

Source:- khabarindia.in

No additions on firm solely on basis of statement of partner made during survey later on retracted

IT : Where Assessing officer, while making addition in hands of assessee-firm as well as its partner, solely relied upon statement of partner recorded at time of survey which was subsequently retracted, addition made by Assessing Officer were to be deleted

Safeguard Duty To Lift Steel Companies Profits: Moody's

Moody's has said the 20 per cent safeguard duty on some variants of steel imports is credit positive for domestic producers and will improve their profitability.

"The imposition of a safeguard duty on certain categories of hot-rolled coil steel imported into the country is credit positive for Indian steel producers because the duty will support domestic steel prices, improve producers' profitability and their leverage metrics," Moody's Investors Service said in a report.

"For our rated entities in India, Tata Steel (Ba1 stable) and JSW Steel (Ba1 stable), the safeguard duty is

credit positive as it staves off some of the downward pressure on their realisations caused by cheap imports."

The safeguard duty and a depreciating rupee will provide a stabilising impact on domestic prices and demand-supply equations, it said.

The 20% duty - which was announced on September 14 - took effect immediately and will be levied for 200 days.

Surging imports - especially from China, South Korea and Japan - have resulted in an imbalance between the supply and demand of steel in India and led to a sharp drop in prices. Domestic prices fell 25 per cent between June 2014 and June 2015 owing to a 57 per cent increase in cheaper imports, one third of which came from China, Moody's said.

"The safeguard duty and a depreciating rupee will provide a stabilising impact on domestic prices and

demand-supply equations although the extent of price increase may vary and fall short of the duty imposed," Moody's said.

The weak rupee makes steel imports more expensive and therefore, helps domestic steel producers indirectly, it added.

Source:- profit.ndtv.com

Instant Coffee Makers Import Raw Coffee As Prices Rise Here

 Indian instant coffee exporters are depending more on imported raw coffee for their shipments, thanks to global fall in coffee prices and relatively high prices of raw coffee in the country, even as weakening rupee has pushed exports.

While the total coffee exports from India for nine-and-a-half months to September 15 showed marginal increase at 2,36,779 tonnes year-on-year, the instant coffee re-exports jumped 22% to 46,127 tonnes for the period.

Global coffee prices plunged following a larger-than-expected crop output in Brazil, the largest producer. Weakening of the Brazilian currency too contributed to the fall in global prices.

Prices of Indian green coffee of both varieties - Arabica and Robusta - are about 10% higher than global prices. So, instant coffee exporters are increasingly opting to import raw coffee.

Hyderabad-based CCL Products (India), the country's top instant coffee exporter that ships to 80 countries, is now sourcing coffee from African countries, Brazil, Columbia, Vietnam, Mexico, Columbia and Peru.

Challa Srishant, MD of CCL Products, feels that instant coffee is winning more fans globally because it is cheaper and more convenient to prepare than the regular filter coffee. Its quality has also improved, he said. Latest trends in instant coffee are functional coffees, in which certain ingredients are added for health benefits like green coffee extract for weight loss, he added..

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Russia Restricts Import Of Meat From Up Plants

India’s buffalo meat exports to Russia, which commenced earlier this year, have hit a roadblock following several cases of foot-and-mouth disease reported from Uttar Pradesh.

Sources told FE that Russia had commenced import of buffalo meat earlier this year from four processing plants located in Aligarh, Barabanki, Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) and Aurangabad (Maharashtra) where inspectors from Russia had been stationed to monitor quality.

“Russia has decided to limit buffalo meat deliveries from units located in Uttar Pradesh following several cases of foot-and-mouth disease which had been reported from the state,” an official said.

After months of discussion and inspections of plants last year, Russia has decided to import buffalo meat from India.

As Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus have common customs standards, the buffalo meat exports commenced to these three CIS countries earlier this year.

Russia is among the few countries that had put a ban on import of meat and poultry products from India due to occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease years ago. Although, India is globally one of the largest buffalo meat suppliers, Russia did not import any meat from the country before 2015.

Russia’s move to source buffalo meat from India follows the ban imposed on fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and dairy imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia and Canada in response to the sanctions imposed on it last year.

The Russian president had asked for limiting food imports from those countries that had imposed sanctions on Moscow for its support of rebels in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.

India had made it clear that it will not support sanctions sought to be imposed on Russia by a select group of countries led by the US.

Russia was earlier exploring possibility of importing from India and the decision to set up an office in the country for monitoring buffalo meat shipment was taken in a meeting last year in Delhi by Dmitry Rogzin, deputy prime minister of Russia, with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

Meanwhile, officials said that concerted efforts to eliminate diseases such as rinderpest and foot-and- mouth disease among buffalo population have borne fruit with a sharp increase in exports of meat products from India in the last couple of years.

India’s buffalo meat shipment has risen sharply from R13,745 crore in 2011 – 12 to R29,282 crore in the last fiscal. Countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Egypt, Thailand and Saudi Arabia are the key export destinations for the buffalo meat products.

The major areas for buffalo meat production include Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

Source:- financialexpress.com

Courtesy Deficient Rainfall India To Import Edible Oil Worth $14Bn In 2015-16, A Rise Of $4Bn From Previous Year

 During the current financial year 2015-16 India will be importing edible oils worth $14bn and this is due to poor rainfall. In financial year 2014-15 India imported edible oils worth $10bn. A deficient monsoon is also building pressure on pulses.

A study by industry body, Assocham said that in 2013-14 the import bill was $7.2bn, increasing by over 46 per cent in the subsequent year. The rain fall deficit this year is around 12 per cent, production of oilseeds in states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is likely to drop, which will push India's vegetable oil import bill.

Demand of vegetable oil in the country is increasing, but, the supply side is not able to meet this growing demand. According to a release by the Assocham, responsible factors leading to this situation of wide demand-supply gap include, low and unstable yields of most oilseed crops, and uncertainty in returns to investment, which result from the continuing cultivation of oilseeds in rainfed, high risk production environments.

Industry Association's Secretary General, DS Rawat, in a statement said that for the optimum growth and development of oilseed economy a vibrant and efficient processing sector is a pre-requisite, which is sadly but truly not available in India.

"India's oilseed processing sector has been plagued by a slew of technological and policy issues culminating in the existence of a processing sector low in efficiency and capacity utilization", said DS Rawat.

Source:- merinews.com

Mandatory Export Policy For Sugar Likely Soon

The sugar industry is widely anticipating an announcement on a mandatory export policy from the government to replace the existing export subsidy scheme in the new crushing season beginning October 1, while officials say they are evaluating several options to deal with the excess sugar, the result of successive years of record surpluses.

Industry sources told ET that the central government will "very shortly" announce the mandatory sugar export policy . The central government had announced a subsidy of Rs 4,000 a tonne last year for export of raw sugar as the pressure of excess sugar production in the last five years had pulled down prices, and affected the capacity of mills to pay farmers for cane.

But the country could export only 1 million tonnes of sugar in this production year, even as output is expected to surge to record levels for the sixth consecutive year. Officials in the food ministry said there were a number of proposals to help the sugar industry and farmers, before the sugar crushing season began.

"We don't want to spread speculations on if we will be giving quotas to companies for mandatory export sugar or if we will give further any subsidy on export," a food ministry official said. "In the regulated regime prior to 2013, there was a Sugar Export Promotion Act and quotas were allocated. So it is not something bizarre if we now do it again. Let it happen and when it gets notified, we will talk."

If the central government accepts a mandatory sugar export policy, then there will be no export subsidy , as it will not be compatible with World Trade Organization rules. Without export subsidy , based on the current international rates, sugar mills can get an ex-mill price of Rs 17 a kg for raw sugar.

Based on current price, this means they will have to bear a loss of about Rs 6 per kg on the sugar they export. A large number of sugar mills don't see any problem in absorbing this loss. "We used to sell 10 per cent sugar as levy sugar at lower than the market price. The mandatory export will be just like the levy mechanism. But this will help to get rid of the excess sugar, which is our biggest concern," said the managing director of a sugar cooperative from western Maharashtra.

Narendra Murkumbi, vice chairman and managing director of Shree Renuka SugarsBSE -1.34 %, said mandatory exports will be tough to implement."In principle, mandatory export of sugar is a good idea. The 3-4 million tonne surplus sugar in the country is driving down prices, and any solution that helps to take care of the surplus is good. But implementing it will be a challenge," he said adding: "Continuing export subsidy is the right solution to take care the short-term problem of surplus sugar."

Echoing the industry's demand about cane price, Murkumbi said: "Right now, sugar mills do not have the capacity to do another season.We need help to bridge the gap between the FRP (fair and remunerative price for cane) and what the mills can pay the farmers."

The food ministry official said the government is working to help export Indian sugar to Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. "Indonesia is a very significant market in the Southeast Asian region, consuming over 3 million tonnes of the sweetener. Thailand has an advantage over India as they get to export sugar at 5 per cent and we attract a duty of 15 per cent. We are trying to work with them under the Regional Cooperation for Economic Partnership," he said.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

TP adjustments restricted to international transactions with AE and not in relation to entire turnov

IT/ILT : Transfer pricing adjustment has to be restricted to International transaction and not in relation to assessee's entire turnover

Circulars can't interpret notifications, says Supreme Court

Service Tax : Circular interpreting exemption notification and opining that said exemption would not be available to 'mutual funds agents' is violative of section 37B as it forecloses 'discretion or judgment' of adjudicating authority

TPOs working under Commissioner (TP) shall handle Specified Domestic Transaction cases

IT/ILT : Section 92CA Of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Transfer Pricing – Reference To Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) In Specified Domestic Transaction Cases

RBI relaxes norms on equity investments by banks

BANKING : Review Of Equity Investment By Banks

Illness couldn't be an excuse for delay in filing appeal when assessee wasn't ill at the time of exp

IT: In order to constitute reason for delay in filing appeal under section 249, illness must be at time of expiry of limitation; if assessee/appellant was ill but got alright, illness cannot be any excuse for delay in filing appeal

TPOs working under Commissioner (Transfer-Pricing) shall handle Specified Domestic Transaction cases

IT/ILT : Section 92CA Of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Transfer Pricing – Reference To Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) In Specified Domestic Transaction Cases

SEBI issues revised formats for disclosure under Insider trading norms

SEBI : Revised Disclosure Formats Under Sebi (Prohibition Of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015

Now banks can grant loans and advance to their CEOs/full time Directors without RBI's nod

BANKING : Guidelines On Compensation Of Chief Executive Officer/Whole Time Directors – Restrictions Under Section 20 Of The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 – Loans To Directors

Assessee trying to sell goods in domestic market in disguise of export is liable for penalty

CST & VAT : Karnataka VAT - Where assessee was transporting in a vehicle its product from Belgaum to Mumbai and officer-in-charge of check post intercepted said vehicle and having noticed that goods were not meant for export as claimed and transaction was within country imposed penalty upon assessee under section 53(12), imposition of penalty was justified

Forex loss or gain shall be considered while determining operational cost in transfer pricing cases

IT/ILT : Profit or loss arising out of foreign exchange fluctuations has to be taken into consideration while arriving at operating cost in transfer pricing matters

Winding-up plea couldn't be initiated against debtor-Co. for non-payment of time-barred debts

CL : Where company petition for winding up of respondent company on its inability to pay debts filed by petitioner-company was barred by limitation, petition was to be dismissed

No denial of registration to trust just because its incidental activities were profitable in nature

IT : Where assessee's primary purpose remained advancement of objects of general public utility, even if an incidental or ancillary activity for purpose of achieving main purpose was profitable in nature, denial of registration was unjustified

FinMin unveils guidelines of 'Gold Monetization Scheme' and 'Gold Bond Scheme'

IT : Introduction Of Gold Monetization Schemes

M.S. Plates, Angles and Channels used in construction of plant are eligible for credit as capital go

Cenvat Credit : M.S. Plates, M.S. Angles, M.S. Channels and H.R. Plates purchased and utilized in construction/erection of plant are eligible for credit as capital goods

Search proceedings can't be initiated against an issuer of seized cheque

IT : When cheque issued by assessee to searched person was found from searched person, cheque did no more continue to belong to assessee; further where no satisfaction was recorded by Assessing Officer of person searched and cheque was also undated, conditions for issuing notice to assessee under section 153C were not satisfied

No concealment penalty if income not found during search, was voluntary declared post search

IT: Where assessee filed revised return and had suo motu offered additional income and same was not detected during any course of action by revenue authorities, it could not be said to be a case of concealment of income inviting penalty action under section 271(1)(c)

ITAT suggests legislative amendment to give more time to TPO for passing orders

IT : Sub-section (3A) of section 92CA provides that where a reference is made to TPO, an order may he made at any time before sixty days prior to the date on which limitation period referred to in section 153, or as the case may be, in section 153B, expires

Property let out by trust to 'Airlines' for imparting technical training as per its objects is chari

IT : Where assessee, educational society, let out part of its property for efficient utilization of its assets with a larger purpose of imparting technical training in said campus, assessee could be said to be carrying on a charitable activity and income therefrom was exempt from tax

Apex Court remands matter to Tribunal for determining classification of wafers

Excise & Customs : Where Tribunal had not examined issues : (a) whether Chekkers Choco wafers contained chocolate or not; and (b) whether cocoa/chocolate 'sandwiched between wafers' would amount to 'contained in wafers', matter was remanded back for consideration afresh

No notice required to recover refund which was granted by AO and reversed by appellate authority

Service Tax/Excise/Customs : Recovery of refunds granted by adjudicating authority and reversed by appellate authority, does not amount to recovery of 'erroneous refund' as per section 11A; hence, no show-cause notice is required therefor

CBDT focuses on critical recovery area of outstanding tax; raises limit for monitoring of dossier ca

IT/ILT : Section 268A Of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Filing Of Appeal Or Application For Reference By Income-Tax Authority – Monitoring Of Dossier Cases – Re-Fixation Of Monetary Limits For Various Income-Tax Authorities

No reassessment on basis of audit objection without independent opinion of AO that income had escape

IT : Assessing Officer could not initiate reassessment proceedings merely on basis of objection raised by audit party to effect that assessee had been granted higher rate of depreciation in respect of earth moving machinery

Inputs sent to affiliate to generate electricity were eligible for credit as electricity was used in

Cenvat Credit : Electricity generation is integral part of process of manufacture; hence, inputs/pet-coke sent to sister unit for generation of electricity would be eligible for input credit, if resultant electricity is used for manufacture of final product

SEBI enhances disclosure requirement for NBFCs on issuance of debt securities

SEBI : Disclosures to be made by NBFCs in offer documents for public issue of debt securities under Sebi (issue and listing of debt securities) regulations, 2008

Goods taxable at 4% shall now be taxable at 5% under Dadra and Nagar Haveli VAT

VAT /INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Dadra And Nagar Haveli Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations, 2015 – Amendment In Regulation 4

Royalty paid to buyer for use of its brand name can't be deemed as additional consideration

Central Excise : Royalty paid by seller to buyer for use of buyer's brand does not amount to 'additional consideration', as it does not flow from buyer to seller; hence, same is not includible in transaction value

No penalty due to clerical mistake of showing loan repayment in cash instead of through cheque

IT : Where assessee-society repaid loan by account payee cheque but due to clerical mistake it was wrongly shown as cash payment, as there was no violation of section 269T, penal provision of section 271E would not be attracted

Woofers aren't part of TV; to be valued separately - Supreme Court

Central Excise : Where it was found that woofers were not part of Colour TV and were mere accessories, they were to be valued separately from Colour-TV; further, MRP-based assessment applicable to Colour-TV would not apply to 'woofers'

Goods manufactured by job-worker include transport and unloading of inputs at its premises

Excise & Customs : Transport of inputs from principal manufacturer to job-worker and unloading of said inputs at job-worker's premises (whether by own labour or hired labour) is includible in value of goods manufactured by job-worker

In case of trader sec. 68 and sec. 69C would be applicable if he failed to prove genuineness of cred

IT : In case of a trader section 68 as well as section 69C would be squarely applicable to sundry creditors, because credit purchases are nothing but expenditure and if sundry credits are not proved by assessee addition can be made by Assessing Officer by resorting to section 69C

ITAT imports 'make available' clause from India-Portugal DTAA by applying MFN clause of India-Sweden

IT/ILT : Assessee, a resident of Sweden, can claim benefit of conditions imposed for bringing to tax managerial fees in treaty between India and Portugal at lower rate on basis of protocol to DTAA between India and Sweden on principle of most favoured nation (MFN)

IRDA notifies registration norms for corporate agents; allows them to sell policies of upto 3 insure

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDAI (Registration Of Corporate Agents) Regulations, 2015

Accused held guilty of cheque dishonouring as complainant produced ledger books to show existence of

Negotiable Instruments Act : Where complainant produced ledger books to prove transaction by which liability of accused arose, complainant had discharged its initial burden to prove guilt of accused under section 138 on dishonour of cheque issued in discharge of that liability

'Facility Sharing Agreements' between Group Cos. at ALP won't be treated as 'real estate business' u

FDI/FEMA/ILT : Clarification On Fdi Policy On Facility Sharing Arrangements Between Group Companies

Now private companies can take loan from relatives of its directors

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/AAA/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Acceptance Of Deposits) Second Amendment Rules, 2015 – Amendment In Rules 2 & 3

Excise Act doesn't contain any provision for proceeding against legal heir of deceased

Excise & Customs : In absence of any machinery provisions to assess and collect tax from a deceased person/dissolved firm, all proceedings against such deceased person/dissolved firm abate and therefore, proceedings cannot be continued against legal representatives

No reassessment to disallow additional depreciation without any failure of assessee to disclose mate

IT: Where claim of additional depreciation had been allowed during course of scrutiny assessment after verification of all details, in absence of any failure on part of petitioner, Assessing Officer could not have assumed valid jurisdiction to reopen assessment

Receipt of advance from Co. wasn't deemed dividend as money lending was substantial part of its busi

IT : Where assessee, holding 51 per cent shares in a company, obtained loan from its reserves and surplus, since out of total funds available with said company, more than 75 per cent were deployed in loans and advances, amount received by assessee could not be considered as deemed dividend because of exclusion by item (ii) to section 2(22)(e)

Payment under Voluntary Retirement Scheme is revenue exp.

IT: Where assessee, a manufacturer of paper, incurred expenditure on ucalyptus tree plantation, pre-plantation expenditure incurred by assessee was allowable as revenue expenditure

Goa VAT dealers who remained unassessed beyond limitation period can apply to Commissioner for refun

VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Goa Value Added Tax (Eighth Amendment) Act, 2015 – Amendment In Section 29

SEZ units asked to make payment to suppliers from Foreign Currency a/c; failure would invite liabili

SEZ : Closure of advance authorization license issued as per para 4.16(a) of ftp, pending for want of payment to be received from foreign currency account

Textile Ind Seeks Shield Against Chinese Dumping

On the heels of top guns of India Inc demanding protection for the textile industry from cheap Chinese imports, textile manufacturers and associations have warned that the domestic industry would be extinct if dumping is not countered.

The industry claims that as much as 60 per cent of dumping happens from China, and unofficial estimate peg the size of this trade varying between 20 and 40 per cent of the $105-billion domestic textile industry.

"If the present level of dumping continues unchecked, the domestic textile industry will be extinct over the next few years," Chairman for Policy, Apparel Export Promotion Council Premal Udani said.

He further said when China finds that shipments through one channel has reached the official limits, it starts exporting the same goods to other countries like Hong Kong, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia for onward shipping to India to avoid customs inspections.

The impact of increasing dumping by Chinese is also felt by the largest textile manufacturers like Birla Cellulose, Century, and other textile mills among others. Indonesian and Chinese viscose yarns are being imported at nearly 25 per cent cheaper rate than domestic prices.

While import price is around Rs 150 a kg CIF, domestic prices are around Rs 200 a kg. Also, nearly 80 per cent of the fabric being imported into the country is from China, CMO, Birla Cellulose Rajeev Gopal, which is the largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) producer in the world, said. 

The government should provide a level-playing field to the textile industry across the value-chain by providing safe-guard measures against cheap imports. It should also sign FTAs with consuming markets like Europe, the US etc with preferential treatment to textile products to provide competitive advantage to Indian exports and be at par with countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, Gopal said.

He also said many textile units have been shut in Bhinwandi area in Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat, leading to huge loss of jobs. Clothing Manufacturers Association of India President Rahul Mehta said for the Rs 2-trillion ready-mades industry, the bigger issue is unofficial sale of second-hand garments through the northeastern borders as well as through SEZs like Kandla.

Source:thehansindia.com

Even job worker is entitled for sec. 80-IB benefit

IT : Where assessee carried on three kinds of activities, viz., manufacturing of plastic bags, trading and carrying out job work for manufacturing of plastic bags and polypropylene sheets for others, it was entitled for deduction under section 80-IB in respect of income derived from job work activity

Dumping Duty Only Short-Term Safeguard For Steel Firms

With the much-talked about 20 per cent safeguard duty on imported steel finally coming into force, it brings welcome relief for the steel sector, which has been struggling due to cheap imports from China and countries with which India has free trade agreements.

While the government has reacted with remarkable speed in response to an application from domestic steel producers in June, the safeguard duty on hot-rolled coils (HRC) will benefit the integrated steel producers (ISPs) only in the short term as it is likely to be applicable only for 200 days.

Earlier a government panel comprising commerce, steel and revenue secretaries had approved imposition of 20 per cent safeguard duty on imports of specific steel products from China, Japan and Korea for 200 days.Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday announced the government’s decision to impose a 20 per cent safeguard duty on steel imports with immediate effect. The duty on specific steel products will be valid for 200 days.

This is perhaps the first time in nearly two decades that the government is taking a series of moves to ‘protect’ the domestic steel industry since it was liberalised in the early 1990s.The safeguard duty is superior to the import duty since it is applicable to all nations unlike the import duty which excludes countries falling under free trade agreements. That said, the higher safeguard duty would benefit the ISPs, but negatively impact the companies involved in cold rolling and annealing of HR coils.

However, the players could circumvent this by importing HRC with some value addition. India’s import of iron and steel rose 58 per cent during April-June 2015, making it the country’s sixth-largest import during this period. The sector’s contribution to stressed advances stood at 10.2 per cent of the total advances at end-December 2014 and is among the top five sectors with stressed loans in the system. The Reserve Bank of India in its latest financial stability report highlighted that five out of the top 10 private steel producing companies are under severe stress.

These companies are struggling with delayed implementation of projects due to delays in land acquisition and environmental clearances among other factors.Steel imports have increased primarily from China, Korea and Japan. While the imposition of import duty of 12.5% applies to China, it does not apply to Korea and Japan, with which India has bilateral free trade pacts.

Source:livemint.com

Amended proviso to sec. 2(15) is prospective; town development activities are general public utility

IT : The proviso to Section 2(15) as substituted by the Finance Act, 2015 is applicable with prospective effect. Thus, even post insertion of such proviso but prior to April 1, 2016 activities of trade, commerce, business, etc, are not excluded from scope of charitable purpose which are in the course of actual carrying out of advancement of any other object of general public if aggregate receipts from such activity do not exceed 20% of total receipt of trust

Exemption available for works contract under repealed Sales Tax Act couldn't be carried under New VA

CST & VAT: Andhra Pradesh VAT - Where State Government of Andhra Pradesh had awarded a works contract to one 'K' for construction of a port and 'K' had entrusted work of construction to assessee, latter was rightly subjected to tax on turnover relating to works contract executed for 'K'

Amalgamation reserve couldn't be treated as benefit arising from business or profession under sec. 2

IT: Where four companies amalgamated with assessee-company, amalgamation reserve being difference in value of share capital of said companies prior and post amalgamation, coming into existence consequent to said merger could not be regarded as 'profit and gains from business profession' under section 28(iv)

Soyabean Oil Imports Touch All-Time High Of 4.06 Lt In Aug

India's soyabean oil imports have touched an all-time high of 4.06 lakh tonnes (LT) in August and the total inward shipment of vegetable oil in the same month has increased by 3 per cent to 13.74 LT.

"The import of soyabean oil is highest ever since it was permitted by the government in 1994. The inward shipments of soyabean oil have gone up mainly due to decline in its prices by USD 200 per tonne in last one year," Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) Executive Director B V Mehta told PTI.

Soyabean oil, which was costing USD 897 per tonne in August last year declined to USD 699 per tonne in the same month this year, he added.

The total import of vegetable oils during August 2015 is reported at 13.74 LT compared with 13.33 LT in the same month last year, Mumbai-based industry body said in a statement. Out of the total vegetable oil imported by the country in August, edible oil was 13.64 LT and non-edible oil was 9,477 tonnes.

The overall import of vegetable oils during November- August period rose by 23 per cent to 117.25 LT as against 95.25 LT in the same period last year.

Expressing concerns over the sharp rise in imports, SEA said: "India is being used as a dumping ground for excessive supply of edible oils in the world market."

"Excessive import has put tremendous pressure on the local prices, which are at a level where Indian oilseeds growing farmers are in distress and losing interest in oilseed crop," it added.

The country's dependence on imported oil has further increased to nearly 70 per cent, an alarming situation for the country's food security, it added.

India meets 60 per cent of its annual vegetable oil demand of 17-18 MT via imports. Palm oils make up over 70 per cent of the country's total vegetable oil imports.

Source:business-standard.com

FEMA provisions inserted by Finance Act, 2015 come into force wef. Sep 9, 2015

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : section 138 of the finance act, 2015 – amendments in foreign exchange management act, 1999 – notified date on which provisions of clause (b) of said section, sections 140, 141, 142 and clause (ii) of section 143 of the foreign exchange management act, 1999 to come into force