Sugar Stocks Gain On Talks Of Import Duty Hike

Among other stocks - Sugar stocks were in focus on the back of reports indicating that the government may soon consider hike in import duty on sugar.

According to media reports, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday was quoted as saying that his department would soon recommend increasing the import duty on sugar to 40 percent from the current 15 percent to bring down the surplus.

Select sugar stocks pared gains and ended in red at close. However, Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini, Shree Renuka Sugars, Triveni Engineering, KCP Sugar and Andhra Sugar were up 0.5-1 percent each.

Source:indiainfoline.com

Coal India To Import About 2 Million Tonnes Of Coal In Fy16

State-owned Coal India will import about 2 million tonnes of coal, to be supplied to power producers, in the current fiscal. “Coal India (CIL) will import 1.6 million tonnes of coal for power producers in financial year 2015-16,” a source said.

CIL had earlier engaged MMTC through a competitive bidding for arranging such imported coal. In the just-ended fiscal, CIL imported 0.48 million tonnes of coal for power plants, the source said.

Earlier this month, state-run MMTC had said that it has received orders for import of steam coal from CIL and Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Ltd.

MMTC got the order to supply about 2.35 million tonnes of imported steam coal during 2015-16. CIL had earlier asked power firms to contact its supplying companies in case they need to import coal through them for FY16.

“In order to make necessary arrangements for supply of imported coal, interested and eligible power utilities are requested to approach the supplying coal companies immediately with whom they have signed for further course of action,” Coal India (CIL) had said in a notice.

The PSU further said that it offers to supply imported coal for the year 2015-16, under the provisions of fuel supply agreement (FSA) entered with the power utilities “in the post 2009 FSA model”.

In terms of the Presidential Directives issued in 2012 and 2013, CIL board had earlier decided that under fuel supply pacts for new power plants commissioned after 2009, out of the minimum assured quantity (80 per cent of Annual Contracted quantity), 15 per cent shall be supplied from imported coal.

It was decided that such imported coal supply was to be made through a PSU importing agency under a back-to-back supply agreement with power plants opting to take imported supply from CIL.

Source:hellenicshippingnews.com

Government Raises Import Tariff Value On Gold At $388 Per 10 Grams

The government today raised import tariff value of gold to $388 per 10 grams, taking cues from global price trends. However, the import tariff on silver has been cut to $524 per kg.

During the last fortnight of March, the tariff value on imported gold was $385 per 10 grams and on silver at $543 per kg. The import tariff value is the base price at which customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing. It is revised on a fortnightly basis taking into account global prices.

The increase in tariff value on imported gold has been notified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, according to an official statement.

Gold in Singapore, which normally sets price trend on the domestic front, rose by 0.4 per cent to $1,207.70 an ounce and silver by 0.3 per cent to $16.40 an ounce.

In the national capital, gold prices rose by Rs 210 at Rs 27,080 per 10 grams and silver also gained Rs 200 at Rs 37,000 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Gold is the second-largest import item for India after petroleum. Higher gold import bill adversely affects the country's current account deficit (CAD). The government has been repeatedly asking people to desist from buying gold and instead invest in other saving instruments.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Volkswagen isn't a dominant player in passenger car segment in India; it can't be said to have abuse

Competition Act : Where OP i.e. Volkswagen Group, had a very negligible share in passenger car segment in India which was dominated by a number of players, OP could not be said to be dominant and as such question of abuse of dominance would not arise

HC directed assessee to re-file appeal before Tribunal as same was returned without passing any orde

CST & VAT : Tripura VAT - Where against order of Commissioner, assessee filed appeal before Tribunal and same was returned without passing any order, assessee was to be directed to re file appeal before Tribunal and thereafter it shall act in accordance with law

No penalty for wilful non-disclosure of turnover on basis of inspection carried out in middle of AY

CST & VAT : Tamil Nadu VAT - Where Assessing Authority inspected business premises of assessee in middle of assessment year, there being no assessment, non-disclosure of turnover would not fall under case of 'escaped turnover' so as to levy penalty under section 27(3)

Mandatory pre-deposit not required if dispute arose before 6-8-2014 even if appeal was filed thereaf

Service Tax : Right of appeal is governed by law prevailing at date of institution of suit or proceeding, and not by law that prevails at date of its decision or at date of filing of appeal; hence, in case where dispute arose in 2012 i.e., before 6-8-2014, assessee's right of appeal would be governed by erstwhile provisions and not by amended provisions mandating 7.5% /10% pre-deposit

No exclusion of comparable on basis of info obtained u/s 133(6) without making available such info t

IT/ILT: Where Assessing Officer has excluded a company from comparable list on basis of information obtained under section 133(6) but does not make available said information to assessee, comparability should be considered afresh

AO couldn’t deny sec. 80-IC relief to manufacturer of LCD monitors merely by doubting genuineness o

IT: Where LCD monitors manufactured by assessee was covered under Schedule XIV and Assessing Officer proceeded on basis of doubts as to genuineness of claim rather than some concrete material, disallowance of deduction under section 80-IC was not justified

Communication of factual inconsistencies by departmental auditor doesn't put fetters on initiation o

IT : If Assessing Officer fails to examine an issue during assessment proceedings and later developments warrant its examination, it would not be case of 'change of opinion' at time of initiation of re-assessment

No reassessment on basis of mere change of opinion by AO to deny depreciation on non-compete fees pa

IT : Where assessee's claim of depreciation on non-compete fees paid, was accepted by Assessing Officer in regular assessment after verifying details, notice issued for reassessment was based on change of opinion and same was not sustainable

MAT Companies are liable to pay interest on account of default in payment of advance tax

IT : Interest under sections 234B and 234C shall be payable on failure to pay advance tax in respect of tax payable under section 115JB

No sec. 194J TDS on sale of goods to stockiest below MRP by treating the differential amount as mana

IT : Where assessee had received sale price from stockist but had not paid/credited any amount to stockist, question of invoking section 194J against assessee did not arise

Sec. 54F relief allowed to wife as she gifted one house to her husband and held only single house on

IT : Gift of house to spouse cannot be disregarded for the purpose of assessee's eligibility for deduction u/s 54F

Food articles supplied to airline weren't undervalued because they were sold at higher price to rest

CST & VAT : Assam VAT - Where assessee entered into a contract with an airline for supply of food articles, merely because sale made to airline was at much lower price than price at which articles were sold by assessee at restaurant was not a ground in itself that sale price was undervalued

Sec. 80P : Co-operative society not to be deemed as co-operative bank if it didn't receive any depos

IT: Where assessee, a co-operative society did not receive deposits from public and, moreover, by-laws of society permitted admission of any other co-operative society as its members, assessee could not be regarded as primary-co-operative bank and, there being no application of section 80P(4), its claim for deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) was to be allowed

Sec. 69A invoked against company on basis of statement of director recorded during survey

IT: Where assessee had not offered any satisfactory explanation regarding surrendered amount being not bona fide and it was also not borne out in any contentions raised before lower authorities, additions so made after adjusting expenditure were justified

Govt. notifies 'IIT, Bhubaneswar' as scientific research association under Sec. 35(1)(ii)

IT : Section 35(1)(ii) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Scientific Research Expenditure - Approved Scientific Research Associations/institutions - Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar

Now D-VAT refund can be claimed only at the end of ‘tax period’; credit of excess VAT paid inadverte

VAT : Delhi Value Added Tax (First Amendment) Act, 2015 – Amendment in Section 11

Rajasthan Govt. has allowed more time for filing of revised VAT return and has mandated e-filing for

VAT : Rajasthan Value Added Tax (Third Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment of Rules 16, 19, 21, 22A, Form Vat-10, Form Vat-10A, Form Vat-11, Form Vat-20, Form Vat-20A, Form Vat-21, Form Vat-25 & Form Vat-26; Substitution of Rules 19A, 27, 30, 37, 54, 73, 80, Form Vat-22, Form Vat-23, Form Vat-24, Form Vat-27, Form Vat-36, Form Vat-41& Form Vat-59; Omission of Rules 28, 29, Form Vat-23A & Form Vat-23B and Insertion of Rules 76A & 79B

Now banks can issue FDs exceeding 15 lakhs without option of pre-mature withdrawal at differential i

BANKING : Interest Rates on Deposits

HC denied to condone delay in filing appeal by a Co. as director didn't give true facts about servic

IT : Where assessee-company filed contradictory affidavits and had not given true and correct facts about service of order of Tribunal, delay in filing appeal could not be condoned

Fee paid to electricity board for using distribution network isn't FTS as it doesn't involve human i

IT : Where assessee paid charges to State power utility for using its distribution network to sell energy generated and same did not involve any human intervention, assessee was not required to deduct TDS under section 194J

Filing of return by power generating unit has to be treated as an exercise of option by it to claim

IT : Filing of return of income within prescribed time under section 139(1) along with audit report has to be treated as an option exercised by assessee in terms of second proviso to rule 5(1A) for claiming depreciation

Sec. 11AA interest on delayed payment of duty is prospective in nature; not applicable prior to Apri

Central Excise : In case of differential duty arising due to price escala-tion/reclassification, due date for payment of duty is determined with reference to 'date of supplementary invoice'; hence, no interest can be demanded on differential duty under rule 173G of Central Excise Rules, 1944 with reference to 'date of clearance' of goods

Reimbursement of exp. to foreign AE was taxable if no nexus was found between services rendered and

IT/ILT : Where assessee-company, a tax resident of UK, had received certain sum from a foreign company which was engaged in exploration and production of oil in oil fields of India and claimed same to be reimbursement of actual cost, but could not establish one to one nexus between services rendered to said company and alleged reimbursement, it would be fair to tax assessee's receipts under section 44BB

Sec. 80-IA: Assessee can't deduct brought forward depreciation from Gross Total Income instead of bu

IT : Where assessee deducted brought forward unabsorbed depreciation from gross total income and claimed deduction, assessee's manner of computing deduction was incorrect and same was to be deducted only from business income