Thursday, 13 August 2015
On conversion of DTA unit into EOU unit, DTA unit can transfer balance of Cenvat to EOU
Co. providing software development services not comparable with software product Co. owing significa
Mp Urges Commerce Minister To Ban Import Of Natural Rubber
Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has urged union minister of state for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman to consider banning import of natural rubber and address other issues of rubber growers. Rubber Board's statistics reveal there is shortage of 50,000-60,000 tonnes of natural rubber production in India against industrial requirement of the country. At the same time, price of natural rubber has dipped by 1/3 compared to 2012 prices.
Presenting a copy of the memorandum of Karnataka State Rubber Cultivators' Hitharakshana Vedike to the minister in New Delhi, Nalin said the vedike has sought immediate government action to refit the minimum price of RSS 4 rubber at Rs 180/kg considering the cost of escalation of cost in production. The vedike said 85% of natural rubber is produced by marginal, medium and small farmers and the extent of land owned by them varies from 10 cents to 2 acres.
Noting that farmers in the state are facing a grave situation owing to steep price fall, Nalin said the predominant reason for this is the huge volume of import of natural rubber in to the domestic market. Nalin also sough urgent financial aid to the rubber sector to the tune of Rs 900 crore from the Price Stabilisation Fund of the union government to the rubber sector, which he said is essential to rescue the rubber growing farmers not only in Karnataka but also Kerala.
Import duty should be increased to 40% of the price and import should be through select ports. Strict checks should be implement to make sure that rubber below RSS 4 quality is not imported. Natural rubber import should be restricted as requirement specific as certified by the Board rather than distorting price structure or manipulation of domestic market. Board should procure at least 1 lakh TEU rubber at Rs 180/kg as immediate arrangement to save growers in distress.
Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Jsw Steel, Kalyani Steels Look At Price Cuts After China’S Yuan Devaluation
JSW Steel Ltd and Kalyani Steels Ltd are considering cutting some steel product prices to preserve market share, worried Chinese exports will become even cheaper due to a weaker yuan, company executives told Reuters.
India — the world’s fourth-largest steel producer — turned net c in the year to 31 March as an oversupplied China flooded it with cheap metal, mainly for construction.
China’s decision this week to devalue its currency has further worried Indian steel companies, most of whom operate on razor-thin margins.
A senior official at JSW, India’s third largest steel company, said it may keep prices unchanged for its high-end products, which make up 37% of its output, but that for the rest it may be difficult to hold to current rates.
R.K. Goyal, managing director of medium-sized producer Kalyani Steels, said it could scale down operations or further cut prices despite losing money.
“We will have to cut prices and bear losses,” Goyal said. “It’s very difficult to close steel plants entirely but we may have to shut some units.”
India’s steel imports jumped 72% in the fiscal year to end-March to 9.3 million tonnes, with China accounting for about a third of the total.
Over April-June — India’s fiscal first quarter — steel imports from China rose 49% from a year ago to 723,000 tonnes, according to government data.
India-based Tata Steel, also Europe’s second-largest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal, has said the country is importing 1 million tonnes of steel a month.
Spokesman Chanakya Chaudhary declined to comment on Tata’s pricing strategy but said there would be “mayhem” in the Indian market after the yuan devaluation.
The JSW official said although India’s steel prices have fallen 20% in the past one year, consumers still prefer to buy China’s even cheaper imports. The official declined to be named as he was sharing market-sensitive information.
India has already raised the import duty on some steel products to 12% but companies say that’s not enough to protect the local industry.
Ravi Uppal, managing director of Jindal Steel And Power Ltd, said his company has cut prices by as much as 25% in the past one year and can’t afford any more cuts.
“If the situation perpetuates, we will have no other option but to cut production ... We will continue to cut costs wherever we can, but the government has to protect us,” Uppal said.
Source:- livemint.com
India's Ioc May Partly Pay Pending Oil Dues To Iran This Month - Exec
India's top state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp could pay a part of its oil import dues to Iran as early as this month, a senior company executive said on Thursday.
Indian refiners had got approval to pay Iran $1.4 billion in oil dues, Reuters reported earlier, in one of the first signs a nuclear deal with six major world powers is helping Tehran unlock frozen funds.
The company's finance director A.K. Sharma told reporters that while there was no immediate timeline for the payment, a partial payment could be possible this month.
Indian Oil has still to pay around $500 million to Iran, Sharma said.
India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, has run up a $6.5 billion bill for Iranian oil that it has been largely unable to pay because banking channels were blocked by Western financial sanctions.
Source:- reuters.com
Price Slide Led To Jump In July Gold Import
Gold import in July had doubled to 90-95 tonnes from the 47 tonnes in June. July (and June) is normally a lean season for gold in India, the world’s largest consumer and this is the highest figure for July in five years. It was 40 tonnes in July 2014.
The rise was due to a sharp fall in prices, which spurred demand. Consumers went for early buying, ahead of the festival season which begins from end-August. Rural demand, too, starts only after these months, if rainfall if normal and there are signs of a good crop.
This time, prices started falling from the last 10 days of June and continued in July. Prices started falling from Rs 28,000 per 10g and went below Rs 25,000. Price-sensitive consumers came out to buy.
Sudheesh Nambiath, senior analyst at GFMS Thomson Reuters, said: “Demand from India has been very strong and since July 20, the NCDEX-polled domestic gold premium has averaged approximately at $2 (an oz), an indication of strong offtake despite increased supplies. The response at the jewellery show was overwhelming.” The reference is to the 32nd India International Jewellery Show here, an annual business-to-business exhibition, in early August.
With prices falling, the physical market which was quoting a discount, has turned it into a premium. In June, the discount was $4-8 an oz; it turned into a $2 premium in recent weeks.
In the past two days, gold prices have gone up almost Rs 1,000 per 10g, due to a lower rupee value and increase in international prices. China’s devaluation of their currency has turned gold positive. Says Nambiath, “The Indian currency is on a weak footing currently, thereby providing a floor for gold in rupees. And, as the gold price in rupees stabilises, consumers on the sidelines will return to the market, thereby lifting the physical demand.”
In July, the importing agencies reported a good flow of orders, with the higher premia only encouraging larger volumes held on a consignment basis. In the new Foreign Trade Policy, there are three private companies qualified as nominated agencies, thus being eligible to supply to the domestic market. They have been permitted by the Reserve Bank to also import gold on a consignment basis, not only against payment.
Source:- business-standard.com
Rupee Breaches 65/Dollar On Continued Slide In China's Yuan
The rupee reversed early gains to hit the key 65 per dollar mark on Thursday. It hit a low 65.20 per dollar, a two-year low against the greenback. The rupee last traded around these levels in September 2013 when the country was struggling with slow growth and rising deficits.
Reuters citing traders said the Reserve Bank of India likely sold dollars at around the 65 level to slow the rupee's falls.
Selling in the rupee has intensified over the last three days following China's unexpected devaluation of its yuan currency on Tuesday. The devaluation of the yuan has dragged down global equity and currency markets, leading to a sharp selloff in the rupee too.
Yuan's devaluation has sparked fears of a global currency war; analysts say continued depreciation in China's currency will increase the volatility in the rupee, pressure domestic exports and result in dumping of cheap Chinese goods in to India.
"We are part of the global markets and we are responding to what is happening in the global market," said Jamal A. Mecklai, CEO of Mecklai Financial & Commercial Services.
The reversal in the rupee led to a correction in stock markets too. The BSE Sensex, which had surged as much as 280 points in morning trade, ended just 37 points higher at 27,549.
The rupee is now on course for a sixth straight day of loss. As of 4.40 p.m., the rupee traded at 65.17 per dollar
Source:- profit.ndtv.com