Co-operative society gets sec. 80P relief as it wasn't a co-operative bank

IT : Where assessee provided credit facilities to its members, since assessee was a co-operative society and not a co-operative bank, assessee would be entitled to deduction under section 80P

Separate consideration paid while acquiring shares to get commercial rights of marketing was goodwil

IT : Where apart from paying consideration, while acquiring shares of a company, assessee paid separate amount to transferor company to get commercial right for marketing, customer support, distribution and associate setups, depreciation was to be allowed on same

India Polished Diamond Exports Drop 18% In July

India’s exports of polished diamonds dropped 18.3% last month, as rough imports plummeted 43% in the month from a year earlier, according to information released by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

In volume terms, the drop was 14.4 percent with the country exporting 2.80 million carats last month versus 3.26 million carats a year earlier.

The impact of an industry slowdown was evident in the country’s import figures. Overall gross imports of gems & jewelry was down 29.8 percent to $ 2.27 billion last month as compared to $3.24 billion for the same period last year.

Source:diamonds.net

Agriculture Ministry Pushes For Hike In Import Duty Of Edible Oils

The Agriculture Ministry has proposed an increase in import duty on crude and refined edible oils to protect farmers' interests and provide a level-playing field to domestic oilseed processors.

At present, the import duty on crude edible oil is 7.5 per cent, and for refined oil, it is 15 per cent. The duties were last revised in December.

"We have a mandate to promote production of oilseeds. Farmers are getting affected because of increasing import of edible oils. We have proposed the Finance Ministry to consider raising import duty from the current level," a senior Agriculture Ministry official told PTI.

Meanwhile, industry body Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) has demanded that the government raise import duty on crude oil to 25 per cent and that of refined oil to 45 per cent.

According to SEA, the increase in duties will protect the interest of crushers and also local farmers to sustain their interest in oilseed cultivation.

It said the imports of edible oils has reached a record of over 10 million tonnes in the first nine months of the current oil year ending October 2015, as against 8 million tonnes in the year-ago period.

Total imports are expected to touch 14 million tonnes valued at Rs 65,000 crore in the entire 2014-15 oil year against the previous year's import of 11.8 million tonnes, it added.

About 60 per cent of India's annual edible oil demand of 18-19 million tonnes is met through import, mostly from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

China Steel Plant To Be Affected By India's Import Tariff Hike

A decision by the Indian government to increase import duties on certain steel products is expected to adversely affect the operations of the Taiwan-based China Steel Corp's plant in India, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said Saturday.

The company's production base in the western state of Gujarat is expected suffer higher operating costs as imported steel products will become more expensive after the tariff hike, the ministry said.

Effective Aug. 12, India's import duties on steel bars and certain hot-rolled steel plates were increased 2.5 percentage points to 12.5% and 10%, respectively, the minstry said.

It was the country's second tariff hike on steel products since mid-June, as it has been trying to protect its steel industry by preventing foreign exporters from undercutting local businesses, the ministry said.

In addition to the tariff hikes on steel bars and hot-rolled steel plates, the Indian government has raised import duties 2.5 percentage points on a wide range of metal products such as copper, nickel, lead, zinc, aluminum and tin.

China Steel's plant in Gujarat launched commercial production on Jan. 12, featuring an annealing and coating line, and is aiming to roll out an annual 200,000 tonnes of electrical steel, a type of value added cold-rolled steel.

Described as the first stage of China Steel's investment in India, the project was launched in July 2012 and construction started in August 2013, with an investment of US$237 million.

The ministry said other Taiwanese steel exporters in India are also expected to feel the pinch of India's higher tariffs, which will erode their competitive edge.

In 2014, Taiwan sold US$176.08 million worth of steel products to India, a 1.43% annual drop, while its market share fell to 1.54% from 1.73% the previous year.

The ministry said it will continue to voice its concerns to the the Indian government about the higher import duties and will push for a bilateral free trade agreement to eliminate such trade barriers.

Currently, China, South Korea and Japan are three largest steel exporters to India, with a combined 46.77% share of the market. Since South Korea and Japan have comprehensive trade agreements with India, they will not be affected by the tariff hikes, the ministry said.

Source:wantchinatimes.com

India To Import 10,000 Tonnes Onions To Check Prices

With onion prices hitting Rs 70-80 per kg in most parts of the country, the central government has floated tenders for the import of 10,000 tonnes of onions, it was announced on Saturday.

"Government of India has been keeping a close watch on the rise in prices of onions. A decision has been taken by the government to import onions and a tender has also been floated for 10,000 MT of onions which will be opened on August 27," a government spokesman said here.

Onion prices have been on the rise across the country in the past one month. At many places, onion prices crossed the Rs.70 per kg mark on Thursday with most people complaining that the government was not doing enough to contain price rise.

The Nashik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF), in its latest report, said that the onion prices are likely to remain on the higher side till September-end. Wholesale dealers have indicated that if the present trend continues, onions could soon hit the Rs.100 per kg mark.

The government also announced on Saturday that Minimum Export Price (MEP) of onions would now be raised to $700 per metric tonne (MT) to ensure that onions are not exported and are made available in the domestic market. The MEP was last increased from $250 per MT to $425 per MT on June 26, the spokesman said.

Noting that onion prices were being reviewed regularly, he said that the secretary, consumer affairs department will hold a meeting with various government departments and agencies on Monday to review the action taken to keep the prices in check.

"To intervene in the market, Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) and NAFED have procured 5,857 MT of onion. This has been funded out of Price Stabilisation Fund meant to keep prices of essential commodities under control," the spokesman said.

"SFAC is supplying onions at Rs.30.50 per kg to SAFAL, which is retailing at Rs.39 per kg in Delhi. SFAC is also selling onions to consumers at Rs.35 per kg through 120 milk booths of DMS (Delhi Milk Supply). A decision was also taken by Government of Delhi to sell onions at subsidized rate of Rs.40 per kg through 280 Fair Price Shops, which was further reduced to Rs.30 per kg from August 12," he said.

The spokesman said that price of onions has been "rising on account of a decline in total production from 189.23 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 as against 194.02 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 i.e. a decrease of 4.79 lakh tonnes".

"The shortfall has primarily been on account of adverse weather conditions including unseasonal rains which has impacted both the standing and harvested crop at the major producing centres," he added.

The central government has directed that action be taken against those hoarding and black-marketing of onions. The NHRDF pointed out that out of the storage stock of 40 lakh tonnes in July this year, 50 percent has been consumed and only about 16-18 lakh tonnes is left.

With the festival season round the corner in Maharashtra, which produces the maximum onions but has been hit by an ongoing dry spell in most parts of state, onion prices could breach the Rs.100 per kg mark in urban centres like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur in the next couple of weeks.

Onion prices in other states and cities too are in the Rs.70-80 per kg bracket in retail, upsetting the budget of most homes and establishments.

Source:mid-day.com

Rupee Could Weaken To 66.25/Dollar: Dbs Bank

The rupee on Friday edged closer to the 66/dollar, its lowest value since September 2013. Arvind Narayanan, head of sales at treasury and markets at DBS Bank, said that rupee is poised to weaken further and could hit 66.25/dollar.

The rupee has fallen over 3 per cent since China on August 11 depreciated its yuan, sparking  fears of a global currency war. The rupee ended at 65.82/dollar on Friday after hitting a low of 65.92.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuran Rajan has warned of risks of risks from devaluation China's yuan. "If it is part of a process of getting competitive advantage through longer term depreciation it has to be worrisome across the world, partly because you could have tit-for-tat actions," he said on Thursday.

Apart from yuan's depreciation, Mr Narayanan of DBS Bank attributed rupee's fall to emerging market selloff amid global growth concerns.

"What started off with yuan devaluation has become bigger issue. We have seen the ongoing China slowdown assuming bigger proportions," he added.

Worries of a deepening China economic slowdown intensified on Friday after a private survey showed the factory sector shrank at its fastest rate in almost 6-1/2-years in August, hammering global stocks and commodity prices.

The recently released minutes from US Federal Reserve Fed minutes showed officials noting that weak global economy posed too big a risk to commit to a rate "liftoff." Moody's has recently cut India's FY16 growth estimate to 7 per cent from 7.5 per cent.

However, Mr Narayanan does not fear a run on the rupee as it happened in 2013, when rupee hit an all-time low of 68.85. India's deficits have narrowed significantly since 2013 and the Reserve Bank of India has significant ammunition in the form of foreign reserves, he added. The Reserve Bank of India has foreign exchange reserves worth nearly $350 billion.

Mr Narayanan said the RBI may be okay with some weakness in rupee because the fall in the currencies in other Asian markets could impact India's exports.

Mr Narayanan also attributed commercial reasons for the fall in rupee. The dollar demand has gone up because importers want to cover their exposure in view of the weakening of the rupee while exporters might want to hold to their dollars on expectations of a further weakening of the currency, he added.

Source:profit.ndtv.com

Retro increase in compounded rates allows assessee to reconsider his option of compounded levy schem

CST & VAT : Kerala VAT - Where choice of an assessee, as to manner of payment of tax, is based on a particular provision of law, as it stood at time of exercise of his option, and that basis is thereafter changed, assessee must be given an opportunity to reconsider his option for purposes of payment of tax

Even if advance forfeited by supplier wasn't allowable as bad-debt, yet it could be considered as bu

IT : Where supplier refused to return amount advanced by assessee for purchasing raw material as assessee did not honour transaction, amount in question could not be considered as debt at all and assessee could not be allowed benefit of section 36