Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Depreciation allowable even though asset was written off in books without adjusting block as it had
Keyman Insurance Premium paid by firm for its partners was allowable as business exp.
Repair and maintenance during warranty period can't be regarded as 'exempted service' for Cenvat pur
SC: Lessor rightly demanded transfer fee from respondent-Co as it transferred industrial plot to fam
Co. having related party transactions of more than 15% is excludible from list of comparables
CBDT authorizes CIT(E) to act as prescribed authority u/s 10(23C) with effect from Nov 15, 2014
India Manages To Defend Raw Sugar Export Subsidies At Wto, For Now
India has managed to ward off criticism at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for its raw sugar export subsidies by once again claiming that it has not made any payments under the programme. However, the country’s defence is unlikely to work for long as subsidy payments are slated to kick-off soon.
The Food and Public Distribution Ministry was recently sanctioned the first tranche of subsidy payment due to exporters for last year, a Food Ministry official told BusinessLine.
“While no export subsidy payments have yet been made for the period between February (when the incentive scheme had been announced) and September 2014, the Ministry has now been sanctioned ?200 crore (around $32 million) to be paid out to raw sugar exporters for the period,” the official said.
The subsidy payments, claimed by 80 sugar mills from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, is likely to be paid out from March 15, according to industry officials.
Several WTO members, including the European Union, Australia and Colombia, were critical of India for announcing export subsidies for raw sugar in February last year, accusing India of going against the understanding reached at the WTO’s Bali Ministerial meeting in December 2013, which said all export subsidies would be reduced and gradually eliminated.
Since India is a major producer of sugar and also exports from time-to-time, these countries claim that such export subsidies distort the world market.
In the WTO committee of agriculture meeting last week, many countries questioned India about the recent announcement of increasing raw sugar export subsidy to ?4,000/tonne in 2015 from ?2,277-3,371/tonne between February and September 2014.
India’s representative reiterated the argument made in the last meeting that it was not answerable on the subsidies, as no payments had been made yet. On the EU’s question about its intention to give payments in the future, the Indian representative said it was only providing facts.
India had earlier defended its raw sugar export subsidy programme on the grounds of encouraging sugar producers to diversify from refined to raw sugar.
“This is a valid justification for our subsidy programme and we will reiterate it if our small subsidy payments are questioned,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine.
Last year, the Centre had announced a subsidy for exports of raw sugar up to 4 million tonnes to help the cash-starved industry clear cane arrears to farmers that have crossed ?14,500 crore.
The Indian Sugar Mills Association estimates production at 26 million tonnes in the current marketing year, against last year’s 24.3 million tonnes. Domestic demand is pegged at 24.8 million tonnes for this year.
Source:- thehindubusinessline.com
Pesticides Issue Cleared, Tea Exports To Iran Will Rise This Year
Exports of premium Indian orthodox tea to Iran are expected to double this year as both countries have sorted out the pesticide issue that hurt shipments, said industry executives. Tea planters are aiming to export 30 million kg to Iran in 2015.
The countries have set up a joint working committee comprising representatives from both countries to facilitate tea trade, said Azam Monem, vice-chairman of Indian Tea Association. "The committee is responsible to remove technical obstacles and facilitate trade. We have been able to communicate to the Iranian government and all stakeholders in tea trade there that Indian tea is not at all harmful," he toldET.
Representatives of Indian tea trade and government officials recently visited Iran to improve trade ties between the two nations and clear the air following allegations that shipments from India contained traces of pesticides.
Representatives from Iranian tea trade are scheduled to visit India next month. The countries have signed a MoU whereby the Islamic nation has agreed to import 30 million kg of tea from India this year. India's efforts come at a time when Sri Lanka and Kenya are trying hard to enter the Iranian market.
According to Tea Board figures, Iran imported 12.20 million kg between April and December 2014 at Rs 267.30 per kg. For the whole year, the industry is expecting to achieve 16 million kg of tea exports. India's total tea exports slipped to 141.83 million kg in the first nine months of the current fiscal year from 166.36 million kg in the corresponding period of the previous year. Iran is a major export market for Indian tea. The country is ready to pay higher prices for quality teas. Orthodox tea, produced through hand-processing or using machines that mimic hand-rolling, is used in most specialty tea (the other variety, CTC, is machine-processed).
In 2014, India was not able to produce good volumes of orthodox teas as a long, dry spell affected tea leaves. "This in turn has left an impact on our exports to Iran," said Monem. Iran's annual consumption is around 120 million kg.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
India's Feb Natural Rubber Imports Jump 42 Pct Y/Y - Govt Source
India's natural rubber imports in February jumped nearly 42 percent to 28,806 tonnes from a year earlier as lower prices in the world market prompted tyre makers to raise overseas purchases, a government official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
The south Asian country imports natural rubber from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.Natural rubber price in the Indian market was nearly a third higher than Malaysia or Indonesia in February, said a Kochi-based dealer.
Source:- :in.reuters.com