Service Tax : Theatre and films are not identical, hence, service tax exemption to 'theatre artists' in folk/classical forms of art but not 'film artist' cannot be regarded as violative of article 14, as the same is aimed at giving support to native art and culture in compliance with obligation of State under article 29
Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Sec. 14A disallowance has to be invoked even for computing book profits to determine MAT liability
IT : Where assessee declared an income being profit on sale and development of land in respect of a project carried out by assessee, even though said land belonged to sister company of assessee, assessee would be entitled for deduction under section 80-IB
RBI norms for classifying an asset as NPA aren't unconstitutional, rules Delhi High Court
Banking Regulation Act : RBI is empowered to issue guidelines for asset classification and, therefore, guidelines issued by RBI for classifying an asset as non performing asset are valid
Salary paid to NR director for services rendered to US based branch of Co. wasn't taxable in India
IT : Where amount credited in profit and loss account was net of gross receipts after deducting various expenses and entire receipt in TDS certificate had been duly considered by assessee, addition made on difference between TDS certificate and income credited was not justified
TPO couldn't consider ALP of technical service fee as nil without considering break-up of cost incur
IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP by taking value of technical service fee paid by assessee to its AE at nil, since in order to prove genuineness of payment in question, assessee had given breakup of costs incurred by parent company and basis of apportionment but same had not been considered at all by TPO, impugned addition was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh
Apex Court directs AO to consider claim of partial exemption claim when full exemption was denied to
Excise & Customs : Where assessee was denied full exemption but sought to claim another partial exemption whereby rate of duty was 40 per cent, Supreme Court remanded matter back for consideration of partial exemption subject to deposit of 40 per cent of duty
Steps To Arrest Decline In Exports Should Be Taken: Fieo
While expressing concern on sharp decline in India's export for May 2015, FIEO Southern Region Chairman, A Shaktivel said that
continuous decline in export need to be arrested at any cost.
In a statement, Shaktivel urged the Centre to take pro-active step and address the concerns of the Industry especially the issue of reintroduction of Interest Subvention Scheme and fine tuning of SFIS (serviced from India Scheme) benefits.
He also demanded that availability of fund under Market Development Assistance and MAI should be increased immediately to help MSME exporters to do vigorous marketing in potential and emerging markets, as more than 45 per cent of India's exports are from this segment.
Even though data on sectors which have shown negative trend in export was not available now, Shaktivel urged the Government to provide special focus for export growth of Textiles and Ready made Garments, Leather, Auto components, Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals so that the negative trend can be reversed in the coming months.
Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com
Outdoor catering services are ineligible for credit to extent of cost of food recovered from employe
Cenvat Credit : In case of outdoor catering services availed in factory canteen, proportionate credit, to extent it is embedded in cost of food recovered from employee/beneficiary, is not admissible to assessee
India Yarn Prices: Domestic And Export Markets (Weekly Report)
Yarn prices are relatively firm in India, although production continues rising in line with the capacity expansion. Cotton yarn output has further increased in April, as reflected by our charts and tables.
Our comprehensive review of Indian yarn markets covers the domestic markets in Ludhiana (Punjab) and Indore (Madhya Pradesh), with a wide range of products and counts, including cotton yarns (carded and combed), polyester spun, polyester-cotton, polyester-viscose and polyester-acrylic. Export market prices are also available for both cotton and polyester-cotton.
Source:emergingtextiles.com
“Removal Of Benefits To Hit Exports”
The cotton textiles export promotion council (TEXPROCIL) has said that the removal of benefits on exports to African countries in the new foreign trade policy will affect shipments of value added products like cotton dyed and printed fabrics, according to media reports.
"The new Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 has removed all benefits on exports to African countries. This has had a serious impact on exports of value added products like cotton dyed and printed fabrics and made-ups to African countries," TEXPROCIL chairman R K Dalmia said in a statement in Mumbai.
"We urge the government to include exports of value added products to African countries in the new Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20," Dalmia added.
The newly introduced MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) has allowed a duty credit scrips of 2 per cent, 3 per cent and 5 per cent to exports of notified products to certain specified countries, he said.
However, Dalmia said, the scheme does not include exports of value added and labour intensive products like cotton dyed and printed fabrics and made-ups to different African countries like Mauritania, Mali, Dar Es Salaam, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissaou, Niger, Benin, Angola, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania, which is a major blow to the exporters to the African region.
Earlier, in the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14, exports of cotton fabrics and made ups to many African countries were granted duty credit scrips at 4 per cent of the Free On Board (FOB) value of exports in general and in some cases 7 per cent.
The withdrawal of these benefits on exports of cotton fabrics and made ups to African countries has put the exporters into a huge dilemma, he added.
Dalmia said the share of textiles exports to African region is less than 5 per cent and there is huge potential to increase this share if adequate export benefits are extended.
Source:fibre2fashion.com
India’S Mango Exports To Remain Below 25,000 Tonnes This Year: Assocham
Export of mangoes from India might fall by up to 40 per cent in terms of quantity and might remain less than even 25,000 tonnes as unseasonal rains coupled with hailstorms between February-end and early-April lashed major mango producing areas across India thereby damaging the crop and causing dearth of 'export-quality' fruit, according to an ASSOCHAM analysis.
Mango exports have fallen significantly in recent years in quantity terms i.e. from 55,585 tonnes in 2012-13 to 41,280 tonnes in 2013-14 thereby registering a fall of about 26 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y)," according to the analysis based on a study titled 'Mango: Anxiety on production & export front,' conducted by the Agri-business council of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
Even previously, exports of mangoes had fallen by over 12 per cent Y-o-Y i.e. from over 63,440 tonnes in 2011-12 to 55,585 tonnes in 2012-13. Though in terms of value, mango exports rose by about 26 per cent Y-o-Y i.e. from over Rs 209 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 265 crore in 2012-13. But the growth in realisation had fallen drastically from 26 per cent in 2012-13 to eight per cent in 2013 14.
However, export of mango pulp from India has risen both in terms of quantity and value by 18 per cent and 27 per cent respectively in 2013-14, further noted the ASSOCHAM analysis. UAE alone accounted for over 60 per cent of India's total mango exports followed by UK (16 per cent), Saudi Arabia (four per cent), Kuwait (three per cent) and Qatar (two per cent) in 2013-14. While Kuwait registered a whopping 456 per cent jump Y-o-Y followed by Bharain (28 per cent), Saudi Arabia (3.4 per cent) and UK (2.3 per cent), US did not register any growth in imports of mango (quantity-wise) from India, rest all countries registered negative growth in 2013-14.
"Apart from poor mango production due to damage caused by unseasonal rains in top mango producing states early this year, increase in freight costs is also proving to be a hurdle for mango exporters," said DS Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM. "Stiff competition from other mango producing countries, together with dearth of proper packaging and storage facilities in major mango growing regions are other key concerns of the exporters," said Rawat.
Mango production in India might decline this year by 35-40 per cent, due to crop damage following unseasonal rainfall in major growing states, noted the ASSOCHAM study.
With a share of over 23 per cent, Uttar Pradesh is ranked India's leading mango producing state as of 2013-14 followed by Andhra Pradesh (15 per cent), Karnataka (9.5 per cent), Telangana (nine per cent) and Bihar (seven per cent) which remained top five states in this regard.
Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Softly, Softly, India's Influence Rises In Crude Oil
Almost unnoticed, India is starting to exercise increasing influence on crude oil markets in Asia. The South Asian nation has doubled imports to almost 4 million barrels per day (bpd) in the past decade, in the process overtaking Japan, Germany and South Korea to become the world's third-biggest importer behind China and the United States.
Its importance to the outlook for crude oil over the next decade becomes even more apparent in the light of slowing demand growth in China, the likelihood of at best steady consumption in much of the developed world and declining demand in Japan.
Two recent events underscored the importance that India is assuming in Asian crude oil markets: the visit by a senior official of Saudi Arabia's state oil giant and talks between Indian refiners and Iraq over filling strategic storage.
The main news from the visit of Ahmed Al-Subaey, Saudi Aramco's executive director for marketing, to New Delhi last week was that the kingdom is ready to boost output in coming months to meet rising global demand.
That was information useful to market players, but what wasn't discussed in public was what the Aramco executive was talking about with the Indian oil officials he met.
It doesn't require much imagination to conclude that the Saudis are interested in expanding their relationship with India, given it is becoming the main driver of crude demand growth in Asia, something Al-Subaey acknowledged.
India imported 3.942 million bpd in the first four months of the year, a decline of 0.6 percent over the same period in 2014.
However, import growth was affected by refinery maintenance in April and it's expected to accelerate over the rest of the year, with full-year imports expected to exceed 4 million bpd.
Saudi Arabia supplied about 795,000 bpd to India in the first four months of the year, a gain of 4.6 percent over the same period last year.
But the Saudis will be well aware that their oil will face competition from Middle East rivals in coming months, especially if Iran is successful in getting Western sanctions relaxed and Iraq continues to pump more crude.
Iran shipped about 160,000 bpd to India in the first four months of 2015, a decline of 50.6 percent over the same period a year earlier. The Iranians will be targeting to get that market share back and reclaim their position as India's preferred Middle Eastern supplier.
The Iraqis increased their exports to India by 12.9 percent to about 555,000 bpd in the first four months, and seem determined to grab an increasing share.
Indian Oil Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp held talks earlier this month with Iraq's national oil company to buy 4 million barrels of Basra light crude oil for India's strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs), Reuters reported on June 3, citing three sources with knowledge of the discussions.
The talks centred around supplying 8 million barrels of crude for SPRs in the coastal city of Vizag in southern Andhra Pradesh state. Two other SPRs are expected to be completed by the end of the year, holding 29.3 million barrels.
However, even with that storage, India will only have reserves equivalent to about 13 days consumption, well below the 90 days the International Energy Agency mandates its members countries should hold. This means that in coming years India is likely to boost its storage capacity and thus import more oil than it consumes.
While not on the same scale as the SPR programme being undertaken by China, India will nonetheless be a driver of demand growth in Asia, most likely at a time when China has filled its SPRs and is transitioning its economy to a lower fuel intensity as it moves more to consumer-led growth and away from export-led industries.
In the current market, where oil is well-supplied and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers show little inclination to cut output, it won't surprise to see more exporters beating a path to New Delhi.
Source:deccanherald.com
Failure to mention PAN of a few deductees in TDS return due to their non-availability won't invite p
IT : No penalty imposable u/s 272B if deductor fails to mention correct PAN of a few deductees in quarterly e-TDS return Form 26Q which in fact were not available with deductor at the material time and deductor had nevertheless deducted TDS and deposited the same with Govt and obtained correct PAN numbers and filed revised statement on receiving show cause notice from the Department. These circumstances come within the scope of "reasonable cause" for non-compliance u/s 273B. Also, absent contuma
Sum received for making investment on behalf of payer couldn't be treated as gift under sec. 56
IT: Where assessee received certain sum from another person in pursuance of a general power of attorney for making investment in mutual fund on behalf of latter, said sum could not be assessed in hands of assessee under section 56(2)(vi)
Reimbursement not includible in value of services if it is paid to discharge legal obligation of ser
Service Tax : Reimbursements are includible in value of services, except where service recipient is having obligation, legal or contractual, to pay certain amount to any third party and reimbursement relates to said amount paid by service provider on behalf of service recipient
Interest on housing loan disallowed due to maximum limit of Sec. 24 couldn't be set-off against inte
IT : Housing loan interest in respect of Self Occupied Property in excess of Rs.1,50,000 shall be disallowed u/s 24(b) and shall not be allowed to be deducted from interest income from loan given shown under income from other sources head. It cannot be argued that if own savings had not been given as loan and been invested in house instead, there would have been no income from loan given nor there would have been interest liability on housing loan and thus both should be netted off
India’S Thermal Coal Imports Likely To Spike Owing To Poor Monsoon Rains
Indian thermal coal imports were expected to spike over the next few months, exceeding the 200-million-ton forecast for the current financial year, a senior government official has said.
Indian thermal coal import projections for 2015/16 have already been increased to 200-million tons, but shipments could well increase by between 15% and 20%, should rainfall be insufficient during the monsoon season.
Any tardy progress of the monsoon rains carried the risk of lower hydro-electricity generation and would put pressure on thermal power generation. At the same time, scanty rainfall would trigger a rise in demand for irrigation, which would increase electricity demand.
According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), monsoon officially arrived in the sub-continent on June 5 and so far, progress across the peninsula region of the country has been “sluggish”. In its updated monsoon forecast earlier this month, the IMD revised its estimate cumulative rainfall during the season at 88% of long-term average, down from 93% predicted before the onset of the rainy season.
According to data sourced from government agencies, Indian electricity generation during April 2015 was down 1% compared to yearly growth of 8.4% during 2014/15.
The data showed that current coal stocks available at the 100 major thermal power plants in the country was estimated at 20 days consumption of fuel, which was an improvement of about 11 days consumption around the same time last year. Pithead stocks with major supplier, Coal India Limited, were pegged at around 40-million tons.
However, even if coal imports were poised for a seasonal surge, there was a logistical logjam with stocks at various ports rising to 16-million tons.
Several officials with thermal power companies said that with the Indian rupee depreciating below the Rs64 to the US dollar, power companies were reluctant to blend more expensive imported coal with local fuel as it would increase cost of power generation which they would not be able to pass on to consumers.
The spurt in coal imports would also necessitate clearing of infrastructure and logistical logjams to negate risks of high port stocks and shortage at thermal plant sites.
According to a Coal Ministry official, besides from supply side issues, the government was also having to assess the rise in import bill despite soft international prices of thermal coal, since the depreciating Indian rupee would sharply increase the total import bill.
India’s coal import bill in 2013/14 was $14-billion, which increased to $16-billion in 2014/15. According to some private analysts, coal imports could escalate to about $22-billion owing to local currency depreciation even if current international thermal coal persist at lower levels.
Source:miningweekly.com
India's Gold Import Increases By 10.5% To Usd 2.42 Billion In May
With the increasing demand of yellow metal owing to its lower prices pushed India’s gold imports by 10.5 per cent in May from a year before.
Imports by India, the net importer of gold, stood at USD 2.42 billion in May, compared with USD 2.19 billion a year earlier, according to the latest official data.
Gold prices have been down by roughly 10 per cent from a year before. In April this year, the imports grew 78.33 per cent to USD 3.13 billion.
The increase in gold imports directly impacts the current account deficit (CAD). The Reserve Bank and the government have maintained that the CAD level is comfortable, but the surge in gold imports might put some pressure on them.
India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of the jewellery industry.
Source:knnindia.co.in
Indian Rupee Opens Higher At 64.18 Per Dollar
The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 64.18 per dollar on Wednesday against previous close of 64.24.
The dollar edges higher, as US housing data encouraged speculation that the Federal Reserve will soon raise interest rates and it was further strengthened by worries that Greece was tilting towards debt default dragged on the euro. The dollar index inches towards the 95 mark.
Himanshu Arora of Religare said, "The rupee is expected to depreciate against the dollar today, amid expectations of interest rate hike that may happen sooner than later. This will prompt foreign investors to sell their investments in emerging markets, including India and channel their investments back to the US."
"Recent selling by FIIs in Indian debt market may continue going forward and is expected to dent INR in the short term. Weakness in domestic equities may also keep INR under pressure. Range for the day is seen between 63.85-64.38/dollar," he added.
Source:moneycontrol.com
No additions under sec. 153A if no incriminating material is found during search
IT: No addition can be made in respect of assessments which have become final if no incriminating material is found during search
FEMA : HC quashes adjudication proceedings against petitioner on failure of ED to conclude proceedin
FEMA: Where there was unexplained delay of 19 years on part of Enforcement Directorate to conclude adjudication proceedings against petitioners, adjudication proceedings were to be quashed for lack of evidence
AO can determine actual cost of used asset after satisfying that its actual price is inflated for ul
IT: Where an asset before acquisition by assessee was used by another person for his business and Assessing Officer was satisfied that actual price of such asset had been inflated or deflated for an ulterior purpose, then Assessing Officer had power to reject such declared price and determine correct actual cost
Co. providing 2D/3D animation services isn't comparable with a Co. providing software development se
IT/ILT : A company engaged in services for 2D and 3D animation is functionally different from a company providing software development services
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