Loss due to fall in prices of warrants is capital loss if warrants are held as investments and not a

IT : Where assessee subscribed to Preferential Equity Warrants as investment and not stock-in-trade, any loss incurred due to fall in trading price of said warrants would be a capital loss and not a revenue loss

Buyer may file refund claim before authorities having jurisdiction over manufacturer

Excise & Customs : Supreme Court on law of refund : (a) 'buyer' or 'any person' who has borne burden of duty may file claim for refund; (b) buyer may file refund claim before authorities having jurisdiction over manufacturer; (c) even buyer may lodge protest and there is no form for lodging protest by buyer; and (d) protest must also be lodged within time-limit for claiming refund and, therefore, time-limit of refund would not get extended, if protest is lodged after expiry of time-limit.

Commission disallowable on failure of assessee to show nature of service rendered by sub-against; SC

IT : SLP dismissed against order of High Court where it was held that since assessee failed to produce evidence regarding nature of services rendered by sub-agents, sub agency commission paid could not be allowed

ITAT directs TPO to select appropriate method for determining ALP of export made to AE by following

IT/ILT : Following order passed by Tribunal in assessee's own case relating to earlier assessment year, matter was to be remanded back to TPO for selection of oppropriate method of determining ALP in respect of transaction relating to export of silica by assessee to its AE

DTA clearances by 100% EOU are to be valued as per Customs laws and not at its selling price in Indi

Excise & Customs : As per proviso to section 3 of Excise Act, DTA clearances by 100 per cent EOU is charged to excise duty, which is equal to customs duty leviable on 'customs value'; for that purpose, sale price charged to customer in India cannot be considered as a price in course of International trade and therefore, rule 4 of Customs Valuation was inapplicable and rules 5 to 8 were to be considered sequentially

Petitioner couldn’t defy reference date set by SEBI if he didn’t transfer his shares pursuant to pub

SEBI: Where petitioner had not transferred his shares pursuant to a public announcement and had also not impleaded shareholders who had transferred their shares, he could not have challenged reference date fixed by SEBI

Loss due to fall in prices of warrants in capital loss if warrants are held as investments and as no

IT : Where assessee subscribed to Preferential Equity Warrants as investment and not stock-in-trade, any loss incurred due to fall in trading price of said warrants would be a capital loss and not a revenue loss

Loan given by a co. was deemed dividend for assessee as it held substantial interest in lending and

IT : Where assessee was having more than 10 per cent voting power in lending company and also had substantial interest in borrowing company, loan given by lending company to borrowing company would be treated as deemed dividend

Depreciation on fixed asset acquired under slump sale to be calculated on value determined in survey

IT : Where in slump-sale both parties relied on surveyor's report in determining consideration paid in lumpsum, depreciation would be allowed on cost of fixed assets as per surveyor's report

Now Infra Debt Fund-NBFCs can invest in non-PPP projects and PPP projects without a project authorit

NBFCs : Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFS) – Amendment in NBF (Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2007; IDF-NBFCS (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2011; Systemically Important NBF (Non-Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2015 and Non-Systemically Important NBF (Non-Deposit Accepting or Holding) Companies Prudential Norms (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2015

SC rejects High Court's order quashing search warrant due to non-communication of reasons thereof to

IT: The necessity of recording of reasons for conducting search under Section 132acts as a cushion in event of legal challenge being made to satisfaction reached - Reasons enable a proper judicial assessment of decision taken by the Revenue - However, this would not confer upon assessee a right of inspection of documents or communication of reasons at the time of issue of authorization for search – It is only at stage of commencement of assessment proceedings after completion of search and seizu

CBDT revises annual target of auditable cases for Add. CIT and internal audit parties

IT : New Internal Audit System – Modification of Instruction No.3 of 2007

Pharmexcil Conducts Interactive Meet On Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 In Mumbai

Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) has recently organised an interactive meet on Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 and its impact on the pharmaceutical sector in Mumbai. During the meet, experts from the industry, regulators and policy makers discussed different positive aspects of the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP).

Ashutosh Gupta, Chairman, Pharmexcil welcomed the dignitaries as well as Pharmexcil members. In his opening remarks, he said, “The present government has an industry-friendly approach and we should not forget that it has taken many positive and encouraging steps in favour of the industry.

The new FTP has clubbed five different schemes under chapter 3 which would result in less paperwork and a hassle free environment. For the first time, our Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) manufacturers are very happy with the new FTP 2015-2020 as it opens many avenues for them as well.”

Dr Kavita Gupta, Additional DGFT, Mumbai graced the occasion as Chief Guest. She said, “Since we have a stable government at the centre, the good part of the policy is that it will not see changes so early except for mid-term review process.”

Dr Kavita Gupta elaborated and said that FTP 2015-2020 is notified by the Central Government of India under section 5 of FTDR Act 1992 and the latest FTP is in effect from April 1, 2015 till March 31, 2020. She urged industry stakeholders to remain extra cautious with the documentation process as many of the DGFT’s process are going digital. She informed about status holder certification application, which is available till June 30, 2015. In her presentation, she mentioned about various salient features of simplification and merger of reward schemes.

She said that under chapter 3 merchandise goods scheme, which has merged into a single scheme. Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) benefits have been extended to the units located in different Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Double weightage is allowed only for one-star export houses especially for northern eastern states, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim for manufacturing units under Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

While referring to the ‘Make in India’ programme in FTP 2015-2020, she said, “The government is trying to boost the ‘Make in India’ initiative and has reduced export obligation for domestic procurement under Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme. It has been reduced to 75 per cent to promote domestic capital.”

It was also announced that Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will go online for filing documents by June 30, this year. There are plans to adopt paperless trade application 24X7. It has already introduced single window system, online inter-ministerial consultations where companies need to load one time export / import documents which will be presented as a reference for future activities. There are plans to start an online message exchange with Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It will provide detailed information related to foreign trade of other countries’ regulations. With new FTP, SEZs will be entitled to take chapter 3 incentives and LOP will initially be valid for two years to enable the unit to construct plants and install machineries.

Dr Kavita Gupta said, “Fees and charges for processing chapter 3 scrip application will no longer be paid in rupee but in dollars. The earlier policy was governed by the points mentioned earlier and new policy will be governed by new policy specifications.”

Discussions were held on various norms followed by the DGFT and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and issues related in export consignments. The industry requested Pharmexcil to take the issue more aggressively and convey its message to both the authorities and also streamline the process.

Prof Ajit Shah, Consultant for Export-Import presented a bird’s eye view of FTP 2015-2020. He said, “The good part of the new FTP is that it has incorporated several circulars into the current policy.”

Shah suggested companies should develop an error code system because everything is going online and each day is considered crucial for advance licensing. In this scenario, pharma companies should have National Informatics Centre’s contact details in place and know the process for filing complaints. Simultaneously, companies need to train themselves on advanced online technologies.

Shah said, “Chapter 8 is a real eye opener for me. Now onwards, we have to strengthen our paperwork. Companies need to rework on proforma, invoice, shipping bill, etc. format because our FTP is accessible globally and countries which are importing can easily identify points which are in their favour. I feel if companies need to take help from their lawyers or chartered accountants they should do so before it is to late.”

He further said that though the new FTP is being seen as an obstacle and there are bottlenecks, there are always solutions to overcome problems and move ahead.

Dr K Bangarurajan, Deputy Drugs Controller DDC(I), Central Drug Standards Control Organisation discussed the issues faced by the Indian pharma community. “As a regulator, we come across quality issues which need to be reduced as fast as possible because it is hampering the image of the Indian pharma industry in the global space as well as impacting the individual company’s performance.

My advice to all Indian pharma companies is that whenever there is an export order, try to see that product confirms to the pharmacopoeia and additional parameters. Many less regulated pharma companies are also now strengthening their guidelines and procedures, so Indian companies should study all these before before venturing into it.”

Raghuveer Kini, Executive Director, Pharmexcil delivered the vote of thanks and pointed out, “There are many instances when the industry had faced several issues in different countries not because of quality compliance issues but due to data integrity / inadequate documentation. We have initiated several bilateral talks with these countries’ regulatory agencies and hope to have positive outcomes.”

Source:financialexpress.com

SEBI directs for reduction of time involved in delivering shares to buying broker in case of default

SEBI : Revision of Activity Schedule of Auction Session

Raw Sugar Exports Likely To Be Hit On ‘Late’ Incentives By Goverment

Raw sugar exports from the country may not exceed 3-5 lakh tonne this season, top officials of the Indian Sugar Mills Association ( Isma) said.

Both the Centre and the Maharashtra government have announced incentives for raw sugar exports. These announcements, however, have failed to bring any cheer to markets with millers claiming that these incentives have come late.

Abhinash Verma, director general, Isma, estimates that raw sugar exports until March 31, 2015, were nearly 3 lakh tonne. Of which around 1.5 lakh tonne has already been shipped out of the country. The total raw sugar exports this season could touch 3-5 lakh tonne, he said. The production is nearly over and the season is almost ending, he said, adding that the announcement has come in slightly late.

In February, the central government decided to give mills a subsidy of Rs4,000 a tonne for exports of up to 14 lakh tonne of raw sugar, an incentive some traders said may be too little as global prices remain weak with large supplies from top producer Brazil set to flood the market soon. The subsidy given by the state is expected to be applicable for exports of 800,000 tonne raw sugar. Sugar mills in the country traditionally produce whites for local consumption.

Mukesh Kuvedia, secretary general , Bombay Sugar Merchants Association, says that although the government of Maharashtra and the Centre have announced subsidies, he did not expect much export to take place. This is because the international prices are low and our cost of production is higher, he pointed out.

Ex-mill prices of sugar have fallen to Rs 21-24 per kg in the country, while the cost of production is over Rs 30 per kg. Sugar production in India is estimated to be higher than domestic consumption for the fifth year in a row this season.

Moreover, the season is almost ending and very few mills are in a position to take up the production of raw sugar, which is usually factored in at the start of the season, Kuvedia said. Had the government given the incentives at the start of the season, the picture would have been different, he said.

Now the mills will have to wait for the next season which begins in October and then plan for raw sugar exports since this subsidy is allowed for the 2015-16 season, he said.

Experts are estimating Brazil to have bumper sugar production next year as well and as a result of which there could be a glut in the international markets.

According to Sanjeev Babar, MD, Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation (MSCSFF), the federation is still in the process of gathering information but around 5-6 factories have entered into forward contracts for around 1.5-2 lakh tonne of raw sugar.

Figures from private players are also still being gathered and therefore accurate estimates are still not available, he said, adding that the exports may not exceed 4-5 lakh tonne this year because the incentives have come in late.

This is the reason that millers have been demanding an extension on raw sugar subsidy to continue for at least 5 years so that millers are in a better position to plan out their inventory. This season, the incentives have come in late from both the Centre and the state and therefore the mills may not be in a position to avail benefits, he said. Last year, Maharashtra exported around 7.5 lakh tons of raw sugar and millers also received Rs 138 crore worth incentives for the previous seasons on March 31, 2015, he added.

This year, factories across the country have been struggling with cane payments. Cane payment dues have mounted to R20,000 crore.

Source:hellenicshippingnews.com

SEBI asks research analyst to apply for registration before May 31, 2015

SEBI : Last Date for Making An Application for Grant of Registration under SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014

RBI does away with requirement of declaration of export of goods/software under foreign exchange nor

FEMA/ILT : Export of Goods and Services – Declaration of Exports of Goods/Software

Banks not to insist on physical presence of a/c holder; devise better ways for hassle free remittanc

FEMA/ILT : Foreign Currency (Non-Resident) Account (Banks) (FCNR(B)) Scheme

PF Authority notifies norms for registration of aggregators and monitoring implementation of Nation

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Aggregator) Regulations, 2015

Subsequent orders made following an earlier order should contain same directions as contained in ear

Excise & Customs : Subsequent remand order following an earlier remand order, must be in consonance with directions contained in such earlier order; hence, if earlier order bound assessee to furnish supporting documents, subsequent order must also contain directions to that effect

No sec. 14A disallowance if genuineness of exp. incurred for business activities was never doubted

IT: Where business of assessee as an investment company had been set up and commenced and genuineness of expenses and fact that it was incurred for business activities was not doubted by lower authorities, expenditure under section 14A was allowable

TP additions not sustainable as comparable selected was functionally different and had odd event dur

IT/ILT : Addition made to assessee's ALP in respect of rendering software development services to its AE was not sustainable as some of comparables selected by TPO were improper on account of functional difference, brand value and happening of extraordinary event like amalgamation etc.

Co. which cleared creditor’s dues and handed over money drafts to liquidator was to be brought out o

CL : On payment of dues and handing over of money draft to liquidator to pay all dues, company is to be brought out of liquidation

25 Per Cent Duty Hike On Rubber Fails To Curb Imports

Increasing import duty on natural rubber to 25 per cent has failed to curb shipments of the commodity to India as international prices remain subdued and domestic growers have yet to intensify tapping, discouraged by low rates.

Domestic production declined 11 per centto 45,000 tonne in April from a year earlier, according to data released by the Rubber Board. Consumption improved marginally to 82,000 tonne. The tyre industry imported 37,250 tonne - an increase of 28 per cent.

The tyre industry imports block rubber variety SMR 20 at a landed price of about Rs 120 per kg. This is costlier than block rubber ISNR-20 and cheaper than sheet rubber RSS-4, both produced domestically and generally used by the industry.

"In terms of quality, the block rubber we import is superior to not only ISNR-20 but even to RSS-4. The lower prices seem to be discouraging growers from maintaining consistent quality. Also, to cover the production-consumption gap, imports will contin ue despite a change in duty," said Rajiv Budhraja, director-general of the Automotive Tyre Manu facturers' Association.

Although the price of RSS-4 at 7 . 124 per kg is higher than internationt attractive enough for rub al rates, it's not attractive enough for rubber growers.

When the Kerala government had scrapped a 5 per cent purchase tax to encourage tyre manufacturers to buy rubber from the local market at the cost of imported rubber, growers were able to get a better price of ` . 132 per kg. The scheme was operational only until March 31, after which prices fell again.

"Most of the growers are not interested in tapping unless the prices improve to . 135-150 per kg levels, which is not likely to ` happen in the near future. So the production fall is likely to continue," said N Radhakrishnan, former president of the Cochin Rubber Merchants' Association.

Big producers such as Harrisons Malayalam continue to tap even at a loss as they have a large number of workers and a huge social cost to bear.

"There is hardly any buying by the tyre makers. With a record import of over 4 lakh tonne, the stock position may be good,'' said N Dharmaraj, vice-president of the United Planters' Association of Southern India.

The import duty on rubber was increased last month after growers complained that shipments from overseas had lowered domestic prices.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

HC gets flak from SC for quashing search warrant as reasons for search authorization weren’t intimat

IT: The necessity of recording of reasons for conducting search under Section 132acts as a cushion in event of legal challenge being made to satisfaction reached - Reasons enable a proper judicial assessment of decision taken by the Revenue - However, this would not confer upon assessee a right of inspection of documents or communication of reasons at the time of issue of authorization for search – It is only at stage of commencement of assessment proceedings after completion of search and seizu

CCI again finds DLF guilty of unfair trade practices; issues cease and desist order

Competition Act : Conduct of DLF of demanding additional payments from buyers pursuant to increase in super area and arbitrary cancellation of allotment was an unfair trade practice. Thus, terms and conditions imposed through the Buyer's Agreement were abusive being unfair within the meaning of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Competition Act, 2002 ('the Act').

India To Stop Imports Of Low Grade Thermal Coal In Two Years, Says Piyush Goyal

The government expects that the 1 billion tonne coal production target will enable it to stop imports of thermal coal in two and a half years, which will soften pressures on current account deficit.

Piyush Goyal, minister of state for Coal, Power and Renewable Energy, said the government intends to stop imports of low grade thermal coal in next two – two and a half years with coal production already on a growth trajectory.

“We have achieved a production growth of 32 million tonne in 2014-2015, against a production growth of 31 million tonne in a cumulative 4 years period between 2011 and 2014. Our growth has been 11.1% in 43 days of the current year.  At this level of growth the country will be able to produce enough coal so as to substitute imports of thermal coal in next two- two and half years. But we will continue to import high grade coking coal, mainly used for steel production,” Goyal said.

India imported around 160 mt of coal in FY 15, of which 120 mt was low grade thermal coal.Goyal said the growth in coal production will match the growing requirement of electricity, expected to be two trillion units in the near future.

With the projected coal demand of the country hovering at around 1,200 million tonne by 2020, at an envisaged growth rate of 7%, CIL is expected to chip in 1 billion tonne, of which 908 mt is expected to come from identified projects.

“We have already identified the big picture and now we have done mine by mine planning to ensure the target, Goyal said adding investment to achieve the target will be to the tune of $20-25 billion, of which a part will be deployed for equity funding in infrastructure projects being developed for coal evacuation.

CIL was basically relying on timely completion of three critical railway lines, timely land acquisition and timely green clearances, through which it could ensure achieving its target.

According to Goyal 70 new mines in the public sector, 30 state government owned mines and 70-80 mines from the private players would ensure the targeted production.

Besides there were scopes of incremental production from the existing mines along with an opportunity to stretch the expansion projects four –five times.

CIL has created coal project monitoring group portal for regular monitoring of project related issues with different ministries and state authorities.

CIL has also decided to purchase 2,000 railway wagons for facilitating coal evacuation, CIL chairman and managing director Sutirtha Bhattacharyya said.

Source:financialexpress.com

B'desh, India Agree To Private Sector Partnership In Power

India and Bangladesh have agreed to open ways for private sector partnership to swap electricity alongside existing government-level cooperation, officials said today as power secretaries of the two countries concluded a two-day meeting here.

"We are already engaged in the government level (cooperation in powers sector) and now the two countries agreed to allow private sector partnership in this sector," a Bangladeshi energy ministry spokesman said.

His comments came as the Joint Steering Committee on the Power Sector led by Power Secretary P K Sinha and his Bangladeshi counterpart Monowar Islam concluded its ninth meeting and second in six months late yesterday.

"Private-private cooperation is just like we have the public-public (involving two countries' state-owned entities) cooperation. That could be either in Bangladesh or in India," Sinha earlier said in brief comments emerging from the steering committee meeting with Islam late yesterday.

Officials familiar with the meeting said that the proposal of the private sector partnership was floated by the Indian side as several Indian companies including Reliance previously expressed interest for investment in power in Bangladesh.

"We have discussed about the Indian companies interests to invest in our power sector alongside the issues of importing power from Nepal and Bhutan through India," Islam said.

Sinha supplemented him saying India would examine the required regulatory measures in enabling Bangladesh to import hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan.

An official statement issued after the meeting said the meeting reviewed the progress on Bangladesh's move for import of additional 600 MW power from India, of which 100 MW would come from Tripura's Palatana power project starting next December while the the remaining 500 MW was expected to reach from December, 2017.

It said the meeting reviewed and discussed the progress of installation of a high capacity multi-terminal HVDC bi-pole transmission line for inter-connection between India's north and north-eastern region and the proposed 1,320 MW coal-fired Rampal power plant near Sundarbans in Bangladesh.

The steering committee meeting came even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is soon expected to go on his maiden visit to Bangladesh after the settlement of the long-pending Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) while officials said several more top bureaucrats of different ministries of India were likely to visit Dhaka to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation ahead of Modi's tour.

Source:business-standard.com
 

India’ S Gold Imports Surpass 100 Tonnes For Second Straight Month

Gold imports by India, the world’s second- largest consumer, exceeded 100 metric tons for a second month in April as easing of state curbs boosted demand for everything from necklaces to bangles and rings.

Shipments totaled 111 tons last month and are about 60 tons so far in May, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said in an interview in New Delhi on Friday. Imports in March more than doubled to 125 tons from 60 tons a year earlier because of seasonal demand and a drop in prices, according to the finance ministry.

India is set to become the world’s top consumer this year as economic growth accelerates and China’s booming equity markets reduce the appeal of bullion, according to P.R. Somasundaram, World Gold Council’s managing director in India. Jewelry sales surged 22% to 150.8 tons in the first quarter from a year earlier, while imports increased 28% to 226.9 tons, the council said on Thursday.

Shipments into India, which imports almost all its gold needs, totaled 891.5 tons last year to meet demand of 811.1 tons, council estimates. Consumption will rise to between 900 tons and 1,000 tons this year, Somasundaram said.

Demand slowed last year after the government raised the import tax three times in 2013 to 10% and linked inbound shipments to re-exports to contain a record current-account deficit. The restrictions were withdrawn in November after the deficit narrowed. Only the import tax remains.

Source:livemint.com
 

Rupee Opens At 63.43 Against Us Dollar

The rupee opened at 63.43 against the US dollar today. The local unit closed at 63.39 against the US dollar on Thursday. The Indian currency has hit a high of 63.37 and a low of 63.57 today.

The FIIs were net sellers of Rs737mn in the cash segment on Thursday. The domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs3.02bn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.

Source:indiainfoline.com

Dispute on installation date of machinery wasn’t a case of furnishing inaccurate particulars; penalt

IT : Dispute regarding date of installation of machinery was not a case of furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income; penalty under section 271(1)(c) could not be levied

Loss arising to bank on revaluation of securities was allowable as profit on its sale was treated as

IT: Where assessee-bank treated profit on sale of securities as 'business income', it was implied that securities were treated as stock-in-trade and held as 'Available for Sale'; hence loss on revaluation of securities would be allowed

Court can't direct Govt. to include tax relief clause u/s 42 in agreement for business of extraction

IT : If the Production Sharing Contract(PSC) between the Govt and the assessee engaged in prospecting for or extraction or production of petroleum and natural gas does not include a clause as regards tax reliefs under section 42, the same cannot be allowed to the assessee . Further, a direction cannot be issued by Court for grant of tax benefit under section 42 of the Act by incorporating the said clause in the PSC

HC deletes concealment penalty as there was no concealment of particulars but an error in reporting

IT: Where assessee sold Dal Mill on which it was claiming depreciation so far but failed to declare and written down value long-term capital gain, same could not be treated as concealment of income and penalty could not be levied

Credit of service tax paid under reverse charge can be taken on basis of TR-6 Challan

Cenvat Credit : Credit of service tax paid on GTA Services under reverse charge can be taken based on TR-6 challans even for period prior to 16-6-2005 when reference to said challan was added in rule 9(1) of CENVAT Credit Rules; rule 9 is procedural aspect and cannot be used to deny otherwise eligible credit