Excise & Customs : Extended period of limitation cannot be invoked where : (a) non-payment of duty was due to bona fide view based on statement of Finance Minister seeking to withdraw duty; and (b) all details were supplied to department within a few days of asking for information
Sunday 12 July 2015
No denial of sec. 54F relief when assessee gets multiple flats from builder under joint development
IT : Where in terms of development agreement, assessee handed over physical possession of property to builder allowing it to enjoy 60 per cent of land in lieu of 40 per cent of constructed area, it was to be concluded that transfer took place in year in which said agreement was entered into
Banks to report restructured agricultural loans due to natural calamities to Credit Information Comp
BANKING : Data Format for Furnishing of Credit Information to Credit Information Companies and Other Regulatory Measures
India To Be Honda’S Parts Export Hub, Eyes Rs. 1,100Cr In Fy16
Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co., Ltd plans to make India an export hub for auto components by enhancing supply from New Delhi to its various international operations, while it also looks to enhance overseas shipping of global models produced in the country.
The company, which exported auto components worth Rs.722 crore in 2014-15, is looking for over 50% increase to Rs.1,100 crore in the ongoing fiscal by adding more countries such as the US, China and Canada to its basket. “We have been exporting a lot of components from India. We are definitely looking to increase exports from here as we want to make it a global export hub,” Honda Cars India President and CEO Katsushi Inoue told PTI.
Honda’s exports of auto components from India has been gradually increasing. In 2013-14, its component exports had a turnover of Rs.420 crore. It ships different engine parts, forgings and transmissions along with others, which are produced at its Tapukara plant in Rajasthan to a host of global operations.
These include Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, UK, Brazil and Mexico. Soon, it will start exporting components to its operations in US, China and Canada. Inoue said Honda was very much in consonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative.
“Honda’s expectations from India is very high. There is a huge potential ahead...Currently it’s the fourth biggest market for us after the US, China and Japan,” he added. On exports of cars from India, he said Honda will look to increase the volumes but “it will be to right hand drive countries”.
Honda Cars India exported 8,403 units last fiscal while in 2013-14 it had shipped out 5,798 units across various markets. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, the company has already exported a total of 1,858 units. Keeping with its focus on exports, the company, which had recently re-launched its premium hatchback Jazz in India had started exporting the model ahead of its launch here.
The company also exports models like hatchback Brio, compact sedan Amaze, mid-sized sedan City and multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio. Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) exports mostly to South Africa and neighbouring countries Nepal and Bangladesh. It is exploring other options to increase the export market.
While Amaze, Jazz and City are manufactured at the Tapukara facility, other models like Brio and Mobilio are rolled from its Greater Noida factory. Commenting on the Indian market, Inoue said: “Indian market is growing, the young generation is entering car market. It is an important market for us.”
Source:livemint.com
Jnpt On Govt’S Radar Before World Bank’S 2016 Report
With the World Bank’s Doing Business report 2016 to be released soon, the ministries of finance and shipping are in urgent talks to improve the functioning at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which handles over 50 per cent of India’s container trade.
The spotlight on the JNPT port is in wake of the Doing Business report of 2015, which ranked India at 126 out of 189 countries under the ‘Trading Across Borders’ component, based on the export and import taking place at the JNPT Port, Mumbai.
“The ranking by the World Bank was done on the basis of three parameters including number of documents required for export/import; time taken in the process of export/import; and cost of exporting /importing a consignment. The revenue secretary and the shipping secretary met recently to discuss the measures which need to be taken on an urgent basis,” a government official told The Indian Express.
Among the many challenges, lack of buffer yards and parking areas for containers, high parking charges, lack of e-delivery of orders and single-window clearance are the most prominent ones at JNPT.
JNPT handled 4.12 million TEUS in 2013 and handles approximately half of India’s containerised throughput. The World Bank report said that in India (Mumbai), exporting a standard container of goods requires seven documents, takes 16 days and costs $1,120. Importing the same container of goods requires 10 documents, takes 20 days and costs $1,250.
“After the meeting it has been decided to convince private container terminal – Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT) and Gateway Terminals India (GTI) – to construct new parking lots and operate them on pay and park basis. Permanent solution for reducing the congestion is construction of a flyover to the port and that will take some time. Meanwhile the JNPT has been asked to widen roads to the port within 2-3 months,” the official added.
In fact, several Japanese companies recently took up the issue of inadequate infrastructure. “The shipping lines charge exorbitantly… The ministry has urged the shipping lines to move to automated system of e-delivery orders and bring down the cost,” the official said. Currently only 9 of 34 shipping lines issue e-delivery orders.
To streamline the movement of containers, a railway line at the port and a 6-8 lane evacuation corridor is proposed at Rs 3,200 crore to be operational in 2-3 years.
Source:financialexpress.com
Duty On Wheat Imports Is A Retrograde Step
The food ministry’s move to impose 10% import duty on good quality wheat for enabling sale of the government’s poor quality wheat procured this year is laughable, to say the least, and irrational any way. Apparently, the view is that unless market buys lower quality wheat at the official price and policy, the government will block import of good wheat that is being currently imported at a lower price by the trade in southern India.
The greatest single ambiguity is that if Maggi noodles could be banned for non-compliance with specifications, why the sale of low quality wheat is being promoted by virtually denying acquisition of superior cereal from abroad (currently Australia) at cheaper prices by millers/traders, especially from southern India. The huge difference in wholesale prices prevailing in the south and the rest of India justifies imports on commercial prudence.
Normally, south Indian millers blend superior quality wheat with low quality grains as “filler”, so that customised flour (atta) for maida/rava/suji or bread/bakery making could be produced. The superior variety has suffered severe shortfall this year due to unseasonal rains in Madhya Pradesh. If the government decides to clamp down on production of such customised flour, low quality wheat that could be used as “filler” cannot also be easily consumed.
Thus, the government itself disables consumption of its wheat.
By official admission, about 30% of the 27 million tonnes (or 8 million tonnes) bought this year (2015-16) by the government is of poor quality. It remains unclear if most of grains procured “under relaxed norms (URN)” is classified as “poor quality” or URN wheat is somewhat superior to the “poor quality”. Does poor quality mean inedible for human consumption? Of the 4 million tonnes offered under OMSS till May 2015, only 5,000 metric tonnes could be sold. Is the questionable quality the prime reason for tardy disposal?
A Times of India report of January 29, quoting FCI officials, mentions that 90% of the 27 million tonnes of wheat procured this year URN—24 million tonnes—equivalent to the annual production of Australia, carries higher percentages of shrivelled, broken grains and lacks lustre. Such wheat is suitable for making chapatis (unleavened flat bread) but it suffers from shorter shelf life and needs to be consumed in less than a year.
To clear the confusion, the government may come out with facts and figures of availability of (1) good quality, (2) URN, and (3) inedible grains for human use. Any alternative course of action for their evacuation can be evaluated and planned thereafter.
The government has not notified any differential between good and lower quality grains. There is no pick-and-choose option. It is a matter of common sense that a commodity with varying specifications cannot be sold at the same price when the authorities themselves have determined a large tonnage as “of lower quality”.
Wheat of URN or lower parameters at OMSS price of Rs 1,550 per quintal plus freight and incidentals costs around Rs 1,900 per quintal in south India, versus imported grain at Rs 1,850 per quintal. Though these two qualities are not mutually comparable, still the value of better type of imported produce is cheaper. Since the WPI wheat inflation is down to about 3%, the imposition of 10% implies that the government is spurring inflation domestically, simply because holdings stuck with FCI or state governments are to be bailed out due to lack of ideas for their disposal.
Indian wheat consumption sans export is about 85 million tonnes per annum. The import of half to one million tonnes in southern India is not likely to accelerate disposal process of FCI or the government of about 20 million tonnes by adding 10% duty component. The government may also have to weigh in the political consequences of distributing “poor quality” wheat under PDS. Is there any rationalisation for penalising consumers because producers were protected? Should PDS consumers become guinea pigs for using substandard wheat, simply because it is subsidised?
For the open market sale, the government has to reduce the price for saleability in the market. That can be determined by open auction without any pre-fixation to OMSS of Rs 1,550 per quintal. The rate of disposal is directly dependent on the minimum price acceptable in open market for lower/poor quality grains.
Lustre loss wheat was classified of lower category in 2002-03 and was offered as “feed wheat”, for which there is abundant demand in India and abroad. About 4 million tonnes was exported at discounted values of 20-25% from the normal values. The authorities should have the courage of declaring suboptimal quality as feed wheat. For example, if OMSS of such wheat is discovered at, say, Rs 1,100 per quintal, the rate of disappearance will be phenomenal.
The problem in the bureaucratic set-up is no official agency is prepared to discount the price as the loss will have to be booked with reasonable justifications. But burdening 10% duty on wheat import may mean some action on paper, even though it may defy the objective.
The government must come out transparently with various qualities and quantities it has stocked, declare poor quality as feed wheat, apply calibrated discount to lower quality wheat, and then sell locally. If still the consumption does not pick up, it can export 5-6 million tonnes as feed wheat at global market price. Let the good grain be distributed under PDS to avoid political complications and shun the levy of import duty.
Source:financialexpress.com
India Passing Through A Challenging Phase Especially In Exports: Dgft
India is passing through a "challenging phase", particularly in exports, but underscored government's commitment on ensuring ease of doing business, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Pravir Kumar said in Chennai on Sunday.
"Right now, we are passing through a challenging phase, particularly in exports. In the past six months, there have been global issues, global turmoil also... so the exports are not doing as well as we would like to," he said.
Addressing an Open House organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Chennai, Kumar said even "winning sectors" have been facing problems in the past few months, reports media.
However, the government is prepared to face the situation as "we have the inner strength and depth to absorb," any such short-term problems.
Certain "external" factors such as the "problem in Greece or problem in China" are beyond our control, but "we have to live with it," and come up with innovative ways to circumvent the problems arising out of these, he added.
However, at the internal level, the government's endeavour should be to make things easy, and "the best we can do is make trading easy," he said.
"You must be aware that the government has come up with the new foreign trade policy and you realise that the main thrust of the new foreign trade policy is on ease of doing business, making trading easy," he added.
Reducing the number of documents required for export-import is "just one of the steps" by the government in its endeavour to make ease of doing business, he said.
Meanwhile, the DGFT also recalled his department launching online payment of fee yesterday, which again is a part of efforts to ensure ease of doing business.
Further, the Revenue Department is working on a single window clearance system for customs procedures and once this takes shape in about six months it would be a major initiative, he added. Kumar also urged exporters to do trade with countries which had signed Free Trade Agreements with India.
Source:smetimes.in
Rupee Depreciates Against Us Dollar
Rupee depreciated 6 paise to 63.45 against dollar in intraday trade today. The domestic unit had settled flat at 63.39 against the US currency on Friday. Dollar index, which tracks the movement of dollar against a basket of major world currencies, stood at 96.03.
Euro fell 0.30 per cent to 1.11 against the greenback as uncertainty over Greece continues, with the debt-ridden country and international creditors failing to break the deadlock over the bailout terms. Greece has now been given a new deadline to pass new laws as a condition for negotiations on a bailout.
Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com
Act of non-payment of service tax after its collection can't be claimed to be done under a bona fide
Service Tax : Non-payment of collected service tax and showing NIL tax liability in returns, cannot be regarded as done under a bona fide belief; hence, penalties under sections 76 to 78 cannot be waived by resort to section 80
Grant of sec. 10B exemption on interest on FD is a mistake apparent from record; rectification allow
IT : Where interest earned by assessee from deposits with bank, electricity board and on staff advances did not have direct or immediate nexus with its business undertaking, grant of interest under section 10B was a mistake apparent from record and, hence, intimation under section 143(1) was rectifiable under section 154
Filing of docs of registration of charge proved that debenture trustee had pari passu charge over Co
CL : Where necessary documents for registration of charge under section 125 in favour of appellant in respect of immovable properties of respondent No. 1 company had been submitted by company, appellant held pari passu charge as secured creditor in properties of company
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