HC rejects creditor's objection to amalgamation scheme as there was unequivocal promise to pay off d

CL : Where some unsecured creditors of petitioner-company challenged proposed scheme of amalgamation on account of non-convening of meeting of creditors, in view of fact that debts belonging to them were doubtful and, moreover, there was unequivocal promise to pay debts if found to be true and binding on petitioner, objection raised deserved to be set aside

Ocean freights are not includible in value of 'logistics support services' or 'freight forwarding' s

Service Tax : Prima facie, ocean freight is not includible in value of logistics support service or 'freight forwarding' services falling under Business Support Services, provided to exporters/importers located in India

TP adjustment has to be made only for international transaction with AE and not with unrelated parti

IT/ILT: Determination of transfer pricing adjustment should be restricted to value of international transactions carried out by assessee with its associated enterprises and not to unrelated parties

No ST could be levied on surplus arising out of distribution of consideration which was already char

Service Tax : When assessee-transporter had paid service tax on entire consideration received from all customers, no service tax could not be demanded on surplus arising out of distribution of said consideration to various parties

Interest-free loan taken from tenant isn't includible in 'Annual Letting Value' of property on notio

IT : Where assessee let out its hotel premises, in view of fact that apart from rent assessee also received interest free loan from tenant which had no nexus with leasing of property, notional interest on said loan could not be included while computing ALV of property

Assessee can't claim interest on refund if there is no delay on part of department in granting refun

IT : Where there was no delay on part of department in making refund after furnishing indemnity bond by assessee, no interest on refund was allowable

Doc seized during search not to be relied upon by AO to make additions when doc was undated and unsi

IT : Where Assessing Officer made addition to assessee's income on basis of a document seized in course of search, in view of fact that document seized was both undated and unsigned and even taken at face value did not lead to further enquiry on behalf of Assessing Officer, impugned order of Tribunal deleting addition was to be confirmed

Tax Recovery Officer couldn't pass arrest order against petition for non-submission of proposal to p

SEBI : Where in recovery proceedings initiated by SEBI, petitioner failed to furnish proposal of payment of dues, detention and arrest order passed by Tax Recovery Officer against petitioner was arbitrary and illegal

Pakistan Exports Items Worth Rs 446 Million To India Via Wagha In Second Half Of March

Pakistan has exported items worth Rs 446 million to India via Wagha border trade route between March 16 and March 31.As per the documents available with Customs Today, Pakistan exported fruits, salt, cement, gypsum, glass and aluminium ores, woven fabrics, scrap rubber, seeds and other items to India.

Pakistan has exported 2,602 metric tonnes of fruits (HS Code 804-1020) to India worth Rs 123 million.

On the other hand, perfumery plants and plant seeds worth Rs 132 million have been exported, while vegetable extracts worth Rs 66 million were also exported.

According to details, Pakistan exported 39,211kg gypsum worth Rs 61 million to India.

Besides, Pakistan exported Portland cement, aluminous cement, slag cement, super-sulphate cement and similar hydraulic cements and clinker worth Rs 67 million to India from March 16 to March 31, 2015.

Pakistan also exported carbonates, hydrogen peroxide, limestone and glass to India.

As a whole, Pakistan exported items worth Rs 446 million to India via Wagha border Lahore.

Pakistani exports to India through Wagha border have increased while import of vegetables from India is decreasing these days.

The current season is not favourable for vegetables’ import so Pakistan’s largest import from India is likely to fall in the upcoming months.

Source:-customstoday.com.pk

Domestic Cashew Market Is Growing Faster Than Exports

Increasing domestic cashew consumption is affecting India's exports of the nut that is a rich source of anti-aging agents. With local demand increasing 15% annually, consumption in India has overtaken that of the US and Europe, the principal buyers of Indian cashew.

"The annual Indian consumption is hovering around 2 lakh tonne compared with about 1.3 lakh tonne in the US and 80,000 tonne in Europe," said Pankaj N Sampat, director of Mumbai-based Samsons Traders. India's exports have been around 1.2 lakh tonne a year.

With cashew's popularity increasing, its processing, which was limited to the four southern states, is spreading to other places. "Cashew has seen several new origins like Gujarat, West Bengal and Maharashtra in the past few years," said K Prakash Rao, managing partner of Kalbavi Cashews. This has increased the number of processors, putting pressure on the availability for processing systems, said Rao. The booming local market has hindered the growth of exports, he added. Cashew is a major foreign exchange earner for India.

Though official figures are yet to come out, value of cashew exports in 2014-15 was estimated to have surpassed Rs 5,000 crore, achieved in the previous year. Till the end of February 2015, cashew worth Rs 4,986 crore was exported.

Vietnam, a major producer, exports almost the entire production as its domestic consumption is marginal.The problems confronted by the export market - like the high price of imported raw cashew nuts, rising cost of production and a lower price in the world market - have also worked in favour of domestic consumption.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Gold Premiums Jump Despite Surging Imports

The gold premiums in Mumbai climbed higher during the week. The gold which had traded at a premium of as low as $1 during the previous week has now increased to $2-$3 per ounce over London spot prices. This is despite a huge rise in gold imports by the country during the past month.

The official gold import figure for the month of March is yet to be announced. According to rough estimates provided by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the monthly imports might have totaled nearly 100 tonnes during the month. However, importers claim that actual imports may have been even higher at around 120 tonnes. One has to wait until the release of official government data in mid-April.

Meantime, the Indian government announced relief packages to farmers affected by hailstorms in Northern and Western parts of the country. This should augur well for gold demand in the country during this month. Moreover, the country is about to enter into monsoon season, which according to Met department predictions must be ‘normal’ to ‘good’. Incidentally, farmers totaling nearly 120 million in number account for 60% of the annual domestic gold consumption by India.

The gold demand is likely to climb higher ahead of ‘Akshaya Tritiya’ festival. However, gold prices above Rs 27,000 per 10 gram are likely to dampen the festive gold sales in the country.

Elsewhere, spot premiums at Chinese Shanghai Gold Exchange remained at $3.50 per ounce over spot prices on 1 kilogram bars. The premiums in Hong Kong hovered around $1.50 per ounce. Premiums in Singapore remained at $1.50 per ounce during the previous week. Bangkok premiums went marginally higher to $2 per ounce from $1.50 per ounce during the prior week. Meantime, Dubai gold premiums dropped to $0.25 cents per ounce.

Source:metal.com

Rupee Trading Marginally Higher At 62.22 Vs Dollar

The rupee was trading marginally higher against the US dollar in late afternoon trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange after rating agency Moody’s upgraded India’s outlook from stable to positive.

At 4.07 pm, the rupee was trading at 62.22 against the previous close of 62.24. During the day, the rupee moved between 62.29 and 62.15.

Besides, selling of the American currency by exporters and banks and a higher opening in domestic stock market supported the rupee but the dollar’s strength against other currencies overseas limited the gains, forex dealers said.

The rupee had ended marginally higher by two paise at 62.24 against the American currency in yesterday’s trade due to weakness of the greenback in international markets.

Source:thehindubusinessline.com

Limitation period to revise an order won't begin from date of reassessment if issue isn't subject to

IT : For issues which were not subject of reopening, period of limitation for revision would commence from date of order of assessment and not reassessment

HC directs Chief CIT to examine whether assessee engaged in teaching music/dance is educational inst

IT : HC directs Chief CIT to examine whether assessee engaged in teaching music/dance is educational institution

Govt. constitutes 'Information Security Committee' in CBDT

IT/ILT : Constitution of An Information Security Committee (ISC) – Broad Responsibilities of Said Committee

SEBI hikes limit for USD-INR currency derivative contract beyond which proof of exposure is to be es

SEBI : Revision of Limits Relating to Requirement of Underlying Exposure for Currency Derivatives Contracts

RBI directs authorised dealer banks to follow revised FDI limit in insurance sector

FEMA/ILT : Foreign Direct Investment in India – Review of FDI Policy – Sector Specific Conditions in Insurance Sector

Assessee has to collect TCS on sale of imported timber to dealers

IT : Where assessee was engaged in importing timber and thereupon selling it to registered dealers in country, assessee was required to collect tax at source from purchasers/dealers in terms of section 206C at time of sale

Voluntary disallowance by assessee under Sec. 14A couldn't be enhanced by AO without showing any rea

IT: Where Assessing Officer could not found any deficiency in assessee's books of account and could not prove that assessee's computation of section 14A disallowance for earning exempt income was incorrect, assessee's claim was to be allowed

VAT collected from buyer is includible in taxable turnover of assessee if VAT isn't shown separately

CST & VAT: Karnataka VAT - Where assessee sold goods and tax invoice issued to purchasing dealer showed price of goods inclusive of all taxes and it did not contain details such as rate and amount of tax charged, assessee was not entitled to deduction of tax amount as contemplated under rule 3(2)(h) of VAT Rules

Non-refundable membership fees received from members to be apportioned and taxed over period of memb

IT : When services were to be rendered for a period of years, both revenue and expenditure were to be shown proportionate to degree of completion of service

Plastic Pouch development exp. is in nature of scientific research exp; allowable under Sec. 35

IT : Plastic pouch development expenses being in nature of scientific research or acquisition of patent rights or copy right would come under purview of section 35 or 35A; said expenses were not allowable under section 37(1)

No disallowance of loss claimed in return filed u/s 153A after the due date prescribed under sec. 13

IT : Raw materials purchased by assessee for first time production would be allowable as revenue expenditure

'Impose hefty penalty on listed Cos for non-appointment of women director' - SEBI's direction to Sto

SEBI : Fine structure for non-compliance with the requirement of clause 49(ii)(a)(1) of listing agreement

CARO, 2003 not applicable for F.Y 2014-15, MCA likely to notify smaller version of CARO soon - ICAI

COMPANIES ACT, 1956/COMPANIES ACT, 2013/AAA/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013 - Powers and duties of auditors and auditing standards- Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2003 ceased to have effect from 1-4-2014.