CBEC puts in place a system to regularly monitor cases of litigation

EL : Putting of System to Monitor Regularly Litigation Cases for Safeguarding Interests of Union of India

CBEC strives to improve indirect tax administration

EL : Steps Needed to Be Taken to Improve Indirect Tax Administration

CBDT unveils draft rules to apply multiple year's data and 'range concept' for determination of ALP

IT/ILT : Section 92C of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Transfer Pricing - Computation of Arm’S Length Price – Draft Scheme of Proposed Rules for Computation of Arm's Length Price (ALP) of An International Transaction or Specified Domestic Transaction Undertaken on or after 1-4-2014

Doctors not entitled to gratuity and PF aren't employees of hospitals; sums paid to them would attra

IT: Remuneration paid to consultant doctors employed by assessee hospital would be subject to TDS under section 194J and not under section 192

Mere expressing unhappiness with compounded scheme doesn't tantamount to opting out of such scheme

Excise & Customs : Where assessee filed declarations opting for compounded levy scheme and assessee merely expressed unhappiness with scheme but never formally opted out of scheme, said scheme would apply for subsequent years

Steamer agent's services provided to foreign clients on Indian shores against foreign exchange amoun

Service Tax : Steamer agent's services provided to foreign client against consideration in convertible foreign exchange amounted to 'export services' and not liable to service tax, even if services have been rendered on Indian shores

Export transactions can't be compared with domestic transactions for TP study

IT/ILT : Where, assessee exported goods to its AEs and made sales in domestic markets, keeping in view material differences which affected substantially profitability of export transactions vis-a-vis domestic transactions, it would not be fair and proper to compare exports made by assessee to its AE with sales made by assessee-company to in domestic segment

Imported decorative items predominantly made by hand held as ‘Handicrafts’; taxable at 4% and not 12

CST & VAT : Delhi VAT - Where assessee was in business of sale of decorative items of glass and it imported said items from Italy, since above items were predominantly made by hand and were graced with visual appeal, they would fall in category of 'Handicrafts' under Entry No. 128 of Third Schedule to VAT Act

Accused abused process of law by filing criminal complaint as a counter blast against complaint of c

Negotiable Instruments Act : Where accused filed criminal complaint against appellant as a counter blast for complaint filed by appellant against accused under section 138, complaint filed by accused was in abuse of process of law

Losses already set-off against other income couldn't be set-off again while computing relief u/s 80-

IT : Where assessee, engaged in windmill power generation, claimed deduction under section 80-IA, since losses incurred by assessee had already been set off against other income of business enterprise, profits earned by its industrial undertaking would be eligible for deduction

No denial of sec. 80G approval due to non-registration of land in name of trust, being held for char

IT : Where assessee-charitable society had fulfilled requisite conditions of section 80G, approval under section 80G could not be denied merely because land required for establishing its activities had not been registered in its name

Assessee wasn't 'assessee-in-default' in absence of demand notice; provisional attachment of propert

IT : In absence of any notice of demand under section 156, assessee could not be treated as 'assessee in default'

Income can be determined on estimation basis only after rejection of books of account with a valid r

IT : Where Commissioner (Appeals) had accepted assessee's explanation regarding set off of unabsorbed loss and both members of Tribunal agreed that claim of assessee was acceptable if such explanation was correct, there was no need to send matter back to Assessing Officer for examining such explanation

Delayed appeal isn’t condonable even if ITAT decides it subsequently in favour of assessee on simila

IT: Where assessee took voluntary decision not to assail order of Tribunal and accepted same, only because assessee succeeded on same issue 5 years later, same could not be a sufficient cause to condone delay of 5 years in filing appeal before High Court

West Bengal VAT : AO couldn't cancel registration certificate on assessee's failure to file e-return

CST & VAT: West Bengal VAT - Cancellation of registration certificate of assessee on ground that he had not filed returns electronically was wrong and if assessee had complied with requirements of sub-section (4) of section 29, registration certificate had to be restored

No reassessment to disallow exp. due to TDS default by treating it as royalty if its details were di

IT/ILT : Where at time of making assessment, assessee disclosed all material facts showing that software licence fee paid to foreign company was in nature of revenue expenditure, AO could not initiate reassessment proceedings subsequently merely on basis of change of opinion that fee so paid was in nature of royalty and thus, assessee was required to deduct tax at source while making said payment

Sec. 80-IB relief allowed following order of ITAT couldn't be denied even if such was challenged in

IT: Where Commissioner (Appeals) allowed assessee's claim for deduction under section 80-IB by following earlier order of Tribunal in assessee's own case, merely because department had preferred an appeal before High Court against said order of Tribunal, it could not be a ground for rejecting assessee's claim

India Looks To Increase Oil Imports From Mexico

 India is looking at raising crude oil import from Mexico as it looks to broaden its import basket and cut reliance on volatile Middle-East.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on his maiden visit to Mexico sought deeper collaboration with the Latin American nation that is opening up to foreign companies.

As part of strengthening bilateral ties through enhanced cooperation in the energy sector, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of state-owned explorer ONGC, has decided to open a dedicated office in the Latin American nation, an official statement said here.

Pradhan on a two-day official visit to Mexico held talks with his counterpart, Minister of Energy of Mexico Pedro Joaquin Caldwell. He also met Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villareal and CEO of national oil company of Mexico PEMEX, EmilioLozoya Austin.

"India is trying to diversify its import sources of energy and more than 20 per cent of crude import of India is presently sourced from Latin America. Mexico figures high on the priority of India to enhance bilateral energy ties," Pradhan said during his meeting.

Presently, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Reliance Industries and Essar Oil buy about 6 million tons of crude oil annually from Mexico.

India imports 78 per cent of its crude oil needs, close to 60 per cent of which come from Middle-East Asia.

Mexico last year opened up the energy sector for private and foreign participation. "The energy reforms in Mexico provides a window to transform the relationship from buyer-seller relationship to that of an energy partnership," the statement said.

During the meetings, Pradhan stressed Indian companies are keen to participate in the exploration and production activities in Mexico including in deep water and unconventional resources.

He also highlighted the fact that India has emerged as a modern refining hub with expertise to develop complex refineries at most cost effective manner.

OVL signed an MoU with PEMEX for cooperation in upstream sector.

The Mexican Energy Minister and CEO, PEMEX invited Indian investment in all streams of hydrocarbon sector, the statement said.

"The two sides agreed that it would be a win-win situation for both countries to intensify energy cooperation. The two ministers agreed to set up a joint working group on hydrocarbon at the official level to identify concrete areas of cooperation in the oil and gas sector," it added.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

India’S Auto Exports Hit A Record High In 2014-15

I want to appeal all the people world over from the ramparts of the Red Fort,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in August last year, “come, make in India; come, manufacture in India. Sell in any country of the world, but manufacture here.”

For inspiration, his target audience need not have looked beyond India’s vast automobile factories that build millions of vehicles for global markets every year. Just to illustrate, South Korean car maker Hyundai, which set up shop in the southern city of Chennai in 1996, now exports to 119 countries, shipping over 190,000 cars in 2014-15.

Exports of cars, utility vehicles, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers have grown every year since 2000. In the financial year that ended in March, Indian factories exported a record 3.5 million vehicles which, according to industry figures, was 15% more than what they managed a year back. This compares with domestic sales of just above 2.6 million units during the same period, up 5% from a year ago.

Exports have helped automobile companies mitigate risks from the cyclical demand in home and overseas markets. The tepid demand in the local market in the last three years saw a renewed exports thrust by automobile firms, particularly those that saw a sharp decline in domestic volumes.

Car sales in India contracted by 7% and 5% in fiscal 2012-13 and 2013-14, rising 5% in fiscal 2014-15.

Even as overall automobile exports rose, car exports fell 1.66% to 542,082 units in 2014-15 from 551,218 units in 2013-14. The reason: an 18% fall in overseas shipments by top exporter Hyundai Motor India Ltd to 191,221 units. An HMIL spokesperson attributed this to the sharper focus on domestic markets, adding that the maker of i20 small cars, Verna sedans and Santa Fe SUVs will “keep penetrating the existing markets and expand our business in the newer markets in the future”.

There is another reason, though. In September, Hyundai stopped shipments to Europe from its Chennai facility, assigning the task to its plants in Turkey and Czech Republic. The Indian operation continues to be the hub for Asia, Latin America and Australia, but it was Europe that accounted for 40% of HMIL’s exports.

“The decision to shift a product export to a specific overseas plant such as Turkey is a strategic decision to meet the customer demand in that specific market while balancing the domestic market demand,” the HMIL spokesperson said.

Where Hyundai slowed, others have leapt ahead. The local arm of Volkswagen AG, which makes Polo small cars and Vento sedans, raised 2014-15 exports by 95% to 64,994 units even as its domestic sales slipped by 14.3% to 45,018 units. Similarly, the local arm of Ford Motor Co., which saw domestic sales fall 11% to 75,138 units in 2014-15, raised exports by 70% to 81,703 units.
Ford, which makes Fiesta sedans, Figo small cars and EcoSport SUVs at its Chennai plant, is now building a second plant at Sanand in Gujarat, which will triple its exports. The $1 billion factory will produce 240,000 units per annum, out of which at least half will be shipped overseas.
The higher proportion of exports in overall volume was seen at the local arm of the local unit of Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. Ltd as well. Albeit a small base, local sales at the firm rose 25% to 47,474 units while exports rose 3.45% to 120,331 units in 2014-15.

Nissan’s India operations head Guillaume Sicard said this year could be even better for exports, with the government’s focus on manufacturing. “They have already streamlined documentation and consolidated schemes into simple and clear objectives for the enhancement of the automobile industry. We are also seeing increase in incentives for exports, especially for Europe,” Sicard said.

He, however, disagreed that exports are a strategy to compensate for poor domestic sales.
“We do not use exports as a strategy to tide over the slowdown in a market; we particularly prefer a robust environment in our domestic markets, as well as exports.”

Rakesh Batra, who heads the auto practice at consultancy EY India, said exports from India will continue to be the preserve of global automakers and not homegrown ones.
According to Batra, “unlike a Tata Motors Ltd or a Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd who need to invest in all the three areas—product, brand and distribution—making exports a strategic play, for the multinational firms it’s all about a sourcing decision”, since they own strong brands and networks.

With limited scope for products made in India, the addressable markets will also be select, he added, referring to countries in West Asia, Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Trade agreements between South Korea and the European Union, too, have prompted companies such as Hyundai to shift some production out of India.

Sugato Sen, director general of industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, said automobile export volumes are largely driven by smaller-ticket models like two-wheelers. Close to seven out of 10 automobiles shipped out of India in 2014-15 were either a scooter or a motorcycle. Two-wheeler exports rose by 15% to 2.4 million units.

The auto industry contributes to more than 40% of India’s manufacturing sector, according to R. Raghuttama Rao managing director at IMaCS (Icra management consulting services).
Most global vehicle makers have set up shop in India, clearly endorsing the point that India is competitive and capable of delivering quality despite several negative perceptions still associated with the country.

The auto industry provides guidance for the general manufacturing industry in terms of how to straddle the two ends of being a high quality player and cost competitive,” says Rao.
Nissan’s Sicard points out that taxation and sectoral reforms to encourage exports of made-in-India vehicles and lower cost of capital will help raise investments in manufacturing.
For now, though, global carmakers are sold on making in India.

On Monday, after meeting Prime Minister Modi in Seoul along with chiefs of several other companies, Chung Mong-koo, group chairman of Hyundai, said his company is looking at building a third plant in India. According to Reuters, Hyundai’s affiliate Kia Motors is also reported to be keen on building a factory in India. For global car makers at least, Make in India is truly on.

Source:- livemint.com

Duty On Rice Imports Fails To Cheer Farmers Despite Increase In Boro Paddy Prices, Say Experts

Bangladesh rice farmers are expressing concern that the imposition of import duty of 10% on rice imports has increased Boro (January - May) paddy prices by about 20% since its imposition last week but the increase has not benefited them apparently, according to local sources. Paddy prices are said to have increased to around Tk 600 - Tk 650 per 40 kilograms (around $193 - $209 per ton) from last week's Tk 500 - Tk 550 per 40 kilograms (around $161 - $177 per ton)

Local sources say most of the farmers had sold their output from the ongoing Boro harvest season even before the duty imposition and are now not left with any stocks to take advantage of the increased prices. Moreover, the prices are below the average production costs of around Tk 800 per 40 kilograms (around $260 per ton), say farmers.

They say the government's decision will only benefit big millers who have stocked enough paddy from the ongoing Boro harvest.

Some rice experts in the country told local sources that domestic paddy and rice prices had declined sharply before the Boro harvest due to higher imports, especially from India, despite sufficient production in the country. According to Food Ministry data, Bangladesh's private rice traders have imported around 1.36 million tons of rice from July 1, 2014 - May 7, 2015, compared to only 374,560 tons imported in the whole of 2013-14.

Absence of import duty on rice was said to be the main reason for a surge in imports. Therefore the government had imposed a duty of 10% on rice imports, with effect from May 10, 2015.

Millers and traders also expressed concern that the government's imposition of duty had led to a sharp decline in rice prices in India, especially in the eastern states and Andhra Pradesh, which usually export non-aromatic parboiled rice to Bangladesh. The duty hike may not protect the interests of farmers in this situation, they said. Some experts suggested that the government could either ban imports from India or increase the procurement price.

The government will reportedly procure one million tons of 2015 Boro paddy and 100,000 tons of Boro rice between May 1, 2015 and August 31, 2015. It has fixed the procurement price for paddy at Tk 22 per kilogram (around $283 per ton) and that for rice at Tk 32 per kilogram (around $412 per ton).

Source:- oryza.com

‘HR sheets and steel plates’ used for maintenance of ‘storage tanks’ are eligible for input credit

Cenvat Credit : HR Steel Sheets, Plates etc. used for repair and maintenance of storage tank (which is specifically covered under definition of 'capital goods'), are eligible for credit as 'inputs'

Mandap Keeper's services related to marriage were liable to service tax

Service Tax : Marriage is a social institution that existed much before religions came into being; hence, marriage is a social function and cannot be held as a religious function and services relating to thereto are taxable under Mandap Keeper's services

Lump sum payment made for procurement of right to use technical know-how is deductible u/s 37 and no

IT : In case of assessee, engaged in production of engineering related products, expenditure incurred towards procurement of right to use technical know-how by paying a lump sum consideration in course of business was a revenue expenditure falling under section 37 and provisions of section 35AB were not applicable to assessee's case

Seller was in default as he didn't collect TCS at time of sales without obtaining Form 27C from buye

IT : Furnishing of Form No. 27C by buyer at time when collection of tax at source is contemplated under section 206C, has to be construed as mandatory

India Eyes 15% Jump In Medicine Exports This Fiscal

Indian drug makers are hopeful of achieving double digit growth in exports this fiscal after being confined to single digit growth for two years, helped by factors such as several medicines going off patent, strengthening dollar and access to new markets in Asia.

"We hope to achieve 10-15 per cent growth in export of pharmaceutical products during the current fiscal," said PV Appaji, director general at Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil). This optimism is driven mainly by anticipated increase in the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approvals as a large quantum of medicines are going off patent.

"Increased focus of Indian drug makers on complex and high value generics and growing acceptance to our generics in key new markets like Japan and appreciating dollar should also help us achieve the targeted exports," Appaji told ET.

India failed to achieve targeted growth in export of medicines in the last two years. As against the targeted growth of 10 per cent during 2014-15 set by the commerce ministry, the country's pharmaceutical exports saw only 5 per cent growth at Rs 95,000 crore, largely on account of delayed regulatory approvals and price erosion due to increased global competition.

The North American market, which accounts for nearly a third of the country's pharmaceutical exports, proved a drag on revenues of several domestic drug makers, owing to slower product approvals in the US and piled up applications before USFDA.

Increased scrutiny and import alerts by the global drug regulators on facilities and products of Indian drug makers over the last couple of years, too, had adversely affected exports and profitability of several large medicine manufacturers, Appaji said.

Currency devaluations and geopolitical uncertainties in certain countries like Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Brazil also contributed to lower than anticipated exports.

Things are expected to improve this year. Large Indian drug makers such as Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Lupin, Sun Pharma, Glenmark and Aurobindo Pharma have lined up several complex generics for launch and are waiting for global regulatory approvals.

Many of them expect double-digit growth in sales this fiscal, anticipating quicker approvals.

GV Prasad, co-chairman and chief executive officer at Dr Reddy's, said India's second largest drug maker is targeting double digit growth this year. "Europe started to turn around and it is profitable now due to new launches. We are looking at working with a partner to enter in to the lucrative, however difficult, Japanese market," he said. The Hyderabad-headquartered company's chief operating officer Abhijit Mukherjee said the company was expecting increased ANDA approvals this fiscal.

Dr Reddy's, which has clocked $1 billion revenue from the US market alone, has 68 ANDAs pending for approval before the FDA for months. Analysts tracking the sector project faster regulatory approvals to drug applications under the FDA's new Generic Drug User Fee Act in the place of existing system that took at least 30 months for approvals.

"The target set by India of achieving double digit growth in exports appears to be feasible," said Alok Dalal, pharmaceutical analyst with CLSA.

Nitin Agarwal, analyst with IDFC Securities, expects FDA to review and act on 75 per cent of the ANDA applications within 15 months of submission.

Neha Manpuria, analyst with JP Morgan, in a report released in January had said, "Growth in the US has been affected by the lag in new product launches. While the trend so far has been tepid, any pickup in ANDA approvals would be a key driver for growth in the near term."

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com
 

Indian Dgft Announces Relaxation On Scrap Metal Import Regulation

India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has announced certain relaxations to the earlier announced regulations on scrap metal imports into the country. The revised rule is on the back of concerns raised by several recycling bodies including Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) and the Metal Recycling Association of India (MRAI).

The metal scrap import regulations will come into effect from July 1st. Current pre-shipment inspection certificates are valid only until June 30th, 2015. All existing certifications will go invalid by that time. According to DGFT, pre-shipment inspection agencies need to reapply for certification by an Inter-Ministerial Committee on or before 7th June. The status will be renewed once in every three years, DGFT public notice stated.

As per the stringent scrap import policy announced by Indian authorities in April this year, the Pre-Shipment Inspection Agency (PSIA) in the source country was required to make a video of duration between 3 to 5 minutes covering the inspection process carried out at containers. However, May 18 notice states that photos would be acceptable as an alternative.

The DGFT is believed to have come ahead with the new regulations after scrap shipments into the country were found containing radioactive and explosive materials in it. The Indian administrators stated that the country’s security is their top priority, while admitting that the new rules may lead to lesser scrap imports into India.

Meantime, MRAI has sought for several concessions in the proposed rule. The recycling association has urged to allow self-certification of scrap yards. In addition they also called upon DGFT to exempt shredded scrap from inspection certification requirement.

Source:metal.com

Rupee Opens Higher At 63.74 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee on Thursday strengthened against the dollar, tracking the gains in the local and Asian currencies market. The local unit opened at 63.74 per dollar and touched a high and a low of 63.68 and 63.74, respectively. At 9.07am, the home currency was trading at 63.69, up 0.22% from its previous close of 63.83. The Sensex rose 0.17% or 47.34 points to 27,884.55 points.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.847% compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.858%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 1%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $6.76 billion from local equity and $6.03 billion from bond markets.

Most of the Asian currencies were trading higher. Thai baht was up 0.34%, Malaysian ringgit was up 0.32%, Taiwan dollar was up 0.19%, Japanese yen was up 0.16%, South Korean won was up 0.15%, Philippines peso was up 0.14%, Singapore dollar was up 0.14% and Indonesian rupiah was up 0.08%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.396, down 0.05% from its previous close of 95.448.

Federal Reserve officials signalled they are unlikely to raise interest rates in June, while leaving open the option of tightening later in the year, Bloomberg reported.

Minutes of their April meeting released on Wednesday also confirmed that the Fed expects growth to pick up after stalling in the first quarter, even as officials fretted about the strength of consumer spending that makes up two-thirds of the economy, it added.

Source:livemint.com

Tribunal cannot follow discriminatory approach on same issues

Service Tax : Where, in earlier matters, pre-deposit had been waived and matter was remanded back to Commissioner (Appeals) for disposal on merits, Tribunal cannot adopt a different approach and order pre-deposit in other matters involving same issue

CESTAT applies brakes on assessee’s practice of taking back-dated credit after departmental audit

Cenvat Credit : If some credit is admissible on basis of cenvatable documents existing with assessee on date of visit of audit officers, but credit is not taken, then same can be taken only after date of visit of audit officers; assessee cannot take back-dated credit and file revised returns

Notice asking assessee to file block return couldn't be challenged in writ as assessee could file ap

IT : Against notice issued to assessee requiring him to file block assessment return as a result of disclosure made in search of premises of other person, assessee had remedies under Income-tax Act to file an appeal against said notice; writ petition against same was not maintainable