Wednesday, 21 January 2015
No dependent agency PE under India-France DTAA when transactions between agent and principal were ma
Commissioner (A) rightly granted interim stay after viewing factual position and having detailed dis
Unabsorbed losses or depreciation spread over block period couldn't be adjusted against undisclosed
HC upheld penalty on firm for receiving cash loan exceeding Rs. 20,000 in guise of capital contribut
Cement used as construction material for roof of mining area isn't 'input'; ineligible for credit
Tribunal can't comment upon validity of provisions of Act/Rules
No denial of trust registration to single entity even if its name indicated existence of cluster of
Disclosure of inflated stock for getting higher CC limit from bank leads to sec. 69C addition as une
HC sets aside penalty on director as he wasn't in-charge of Co. at time of commission of offence
ITAT sets aside TP addition as comparable chosen by TPO didn't satisfy ratio of 25% of employee cost
India To Put Restrictions On Import Of Us Chicken Legs
India is set to tighten norms for imports of American chicken legs by proposing to keep out frozen chicken older than six months and those that have consumed hormones or genetically modified feed as the country prepares to contest a WTO order to lift a ban on purchases of US poultry.
The new standards, which may kick in within six months, could offer some protection to the growing domestic poultry industry from competitively priced American chicken legs.
While the Indian industry will also have to meet these food safety norms, being brought in as part of the government's quality initiative, it has an advantage since it largely consists of fresh poultry and does not rely on GM feed.
The World Trade Organization asked India in October to lift a ban on American chicken, imposed on account of avian influenza in 2007, calling it 'unscientific' and non-compliant with the global trade body's rules.
India will challenge the WTO order in the appellate body in a couple of days, citing domestic food safety concerns.
The new import norms are being prepared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in consultation with the department of commerce and the department of animal husbandry, dairying & fisheries.
"We are working out standards for poultry and are discussing banning the sale of chicken older than six months. Also, poultry must not be fed with genetically modified feed, growth hormones and antibiotics," a government official said. US frozen chicken legs are stored for about four to five years and its poultry consume growth hormones and GM feed, a significant concern in India.
FSSAI has put out a draft order for meat and poultry products, inviting public comments. It has proposed that poultry birds should not be given feed containing meat, bone and blood. Besides, the use of antibiotics in feed and growth hormones will not be allowed.
It also said that slaughtering or processing of bovine meat will be prohibited where poultry meat is produced for human consumption. "The order will come into effect from July 2015," FSSAI said in the draft order.
US consumers prefer chicken breasts and the less-favoured legs are frozen for export to other markets at highly competitive prices. Chicken legs, which are popular in India, are priced locally at about Rs 150-170 per kg, while the US sells them at Rs 40-50 per kg.
The FSSAI will work with the department of animal husbandry to modify health certificates for meat and poultry sold to India.
"It will require competent authority of the exporting country to provide certifications to India in compliance with requirements to allow for placing of meat and poultry in Indian market," it said in the draft order.
More than 20 countries, including members of the EU, South Korea and South Africa, have imposed curbs on poultry from certain US states or the entire country. China halted imports of US poultry and eggs after an avian flu strain was detected in the Pacific Northwest. The EU banned US chicken on account of chlorine treatment.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
India’S Cut And Polished Diamond Exports Drop Marginally In December
In December 2014, India’s performance in exports of its cut and polished diamonds recorded a minor dip of 0.03 percent to US$ 1.451.75 million (US$ 1,452.20 million in December 2013). In volume terms the said exports were at 1.98 million carats from 2.04 million carats in December 2013, reports say.
Gold jewellery exports dropped 0.55 percent in December 2014.Rough diamond imports declined 13.4 percent, to US$ 1,431.18 million, from US$ 1,652.53 million. The volume of rough diamond imports dropped from 17.19 million in December 2013, to 14.06 million in December 2014.
India’s gross exports of all gem and jewellery products indicated a small 1.65 percent increase over December 2013, reports say.
Source:- diamondworld.net
Exercise Caution In Summoning Ceos Cbec To Excise Officials
CBEC has asked excise and service tax officials to exercise caution while summoning CEOs and top functionaries of large firms or PSUs for probing any revenue cases.
Summons should be used “as a last resort when it is absolutely required,” said a communication by Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to tax officials.
The circular has been issued to discourage the practice of issuing summons to top officials of companies in a “routine manner” to call for material evidence and documents.
"Senior management officials such as CEO, CFO, General Managers of a large company or a PSU should not generally be issued summons at the first instance.
“They should be summoned only when there are indications in the investigations of their involvement in the decision making process which led to loss of revenue,” it said.
Power of issue of summons are generally exercised by officials of ranks of Superintendent, though higher officers also issue summons.
“Summons by Superintendents should be issued after obtaining prior written permission from an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner with the reasons for issuance of summons to be recorded in writing,” the circular added.
Earlier, the Ministry had asked Income Tax officials to be polite to assessees and not to make them wait unnecessarily in tax offices.
The Income Tax department had recently asked for holding of public meetings every Wednesday to resolve taxpayers grievances and tax issues as part of the ‘Good Governance’ initiative mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Source:- tkbsen.in
Rupee Strengthens For Sixth Day, Trades At 61.59 Per Dollar
Rising for the sixth consecutive session, the Indian rupee on Thursday strengthened marginally against the dollar, tracking the gains in the local equity markets.
At 9.12am, the rupee was trading at 61.59 per dollar, up 0.08%. The local currency opened at 61.61 per dollar compared with its previous close of 61.64.India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 28,951.08 points, up 0.22%.
Most of the Asian currencies were trading mixed against the dollar. The Taiwan dollar was up 0.25%, Malaysian ringgit 0.1%, Indonesian rupiah 0.05%. However, South Korean won was down 0.25%, Japanese yen 0.23%, Thai baht 0.1%.
Indian stock markets also touched all-time highs on Thursday, reinforcing expectations of further foreign fund inflows. Since 14 January, the Sensex has gained 5.6%, or 1,542 points. FIIs have bought equities worth $837.07 million during the same period.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.699% compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.691%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has strengthen 2.36% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $436.7 million during the period from local equity markets and bought $2.21 billion from debt markets.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 92.881, down 0.03% from its previous close of 92.904.Dealers also awaited European Central Bank (ECB) meeting. There are expectations that ECB will buy at least €600 billion of government bonds, and possibly double that if the programme continues for two years.
Source:- livemint.com