Excise & Customs: Settlement Commission is entitled to exercise its discretion in imposing penalty on company as well as against its directors on recording elements of mens rea in concealing duty liability
Wednesday 18 November 2015
Now NRs or NRIs may acquire units of 'Real Estate Investment Trusts'
FEMA/ILT /INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Transfer Or Issue Of Security By A Person Resident Outside India) (Eleventh Amendment) Regulations, 2015 – Amendment In Regulations 2, 5, 9 & 12 And Insertion Of Schedule 11
India To Reign As The Top Buffalo Meat Exporter In 2016: Usda Report
India's current global supremacy in the buffalo meat export is expected to continue in 2016 as the demand improves in southeast Asia, Middle East and North Africa, says the latest report of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The report predicts gains for major countries including India, Brazil and the US. The global production of beef is forecast to rebound 1 per cent higher to 59.2 million tonnes in 2016 as exports by the main traders are expected to rise 3 per cent to 9.9 million tonnes on stronger demand.Unlike other countries, India exports only buffalo meat as slaughter of cows and bullocks are banned in most states.
India's exports in the first six months to September, 2015 has shown a dip. The buffalo meat exports have fallen 10 per cent in value despite 3 per cent increase in quantity than a year earlier at 710,791 tonnes valued at Rs 12,171 crore as per the data of 'Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda). However, Indian companies are expecting the situation to get better in the coming months.
"We expect increased orders from the buyers. Apart from traditional buyers like Vietnam and Malaysia, other countries like Philippines have also started buying Indian buffalo meat," said Priya Sud, partner of Al-Noor Exports.
The devaluation of Brazilian currency real seems to have hit buffalo meat exports from India. Brazil is currently the principal competitor of India. India has been attracting buyers because of competitive rates for its buffalo meat. In 2014-15, India exported 1,475,526 tonnes va . 29,282 crore.lued at ` The USDA report indicates the India will widen lead over Brazil as top exporter. It points out that con tinuing herd expansion will drive production higher for the main ex porting countries.
Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com
Income from share dealings taxable as capital gain if 75% of profit came from shares held for more t
IT : Where assessee earned profits on sale of shares, in view of fact that number of share transactions entered into during relevant year was not high and moreover 75 per cent of profits came up from shares held for more than nine months, amount in question was to be taxed as short-term capital gain
RBI allows FDI in REITs
FEMA/ILT /INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Permissible Capital Account Transactions) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2015 – Amendment In Regulation 4
Charges paid for installation and commissioning of machine at buyer's site isn't includible in excis
Excise & Customs : Transaction value is determined at time of clearance of goods at factory; hence, installation and commissioning charges for Erection, Commissioning, Installation, etc. of machines at buyer's site cannot be included in value
Assessee can't escape concealment penalty just because wrong claim is based on auditor's report
IT: Auditor's report cannot override provisions of Act and, thus, merely because assessee's false claim for deduction is supported by a Chartered Accountant's opinion, this fact per se cannot absolve assessee from penalty under section 271(1)(c)
Delhi Govt. devised mechanism to prohibit misuse of auto downloading facility for DVAT forms
VAT : Status Of Statutory Forms Downloaded By Dealers
Now Delhi dealers required to submit details of goods sold via each e-commerce website
VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Delhi Value Added Tax (Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment In Forms Dvat-16, Dvat-30, Dvat-31 And Insertion Of Annexure IE
Cabinet approves protocol amending India-Kuwait DTAA; includes internationally accepted standard for
IT/ILT : Section 90 Of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Double Taxation Agreement – Agreement For Avoidance Of Double Taxation And Prevention Of Fiscal Evasion With Foreign Countries – Kuwait – Protocol Amending Said Agreement
Criminal proceedings rightly initiated against assessee as he wilfully evaded payment of tax: HC
IT: High Court upheld criminal proceedings initiated against an assessee under Section 276(c) for non-payment of tax. The Court sets aside the contention of assessee that prosecution proceedings could not be initiated when no notice of demand under section 156 was furnished. The High Court held that separate notice of demand was not required if intimation under section 143(1) regarding tax payable by assessee was furnished.
Rupee Trims Initial Losses, Down 9 Paise Against Dollar
:The rupee opened at 66.12 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 66.09 and 66.20, respectively
The Indian rupee on Wednesday weakened against the US dollar after local equity markets fell over 300 points.
At 2.12pm, the home currency was trading at 66.19, down 0.24% from its previous close of 66.03. The local unit opened at 66.12 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 66.09 and 66.20, respectively.
At 2.20pm, the benchmark Sensex index fell 1.37%, or 355.05 points, to 25,509.42. The Sensex fell in 15 out of 20 sessions. Since 19 October till date, Sensex has fallen 6.4% or 1,750 points.
Investors are awaiting information from global policy makers. The US Federal Reserve releases minutes from its last meeting Wednesday, while the Bank of Japan began a two-day meeting, Bloomberg reported.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.687% compared with its Tuesday’s close of 7.67%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The employees of the Reserve Bank of India are set to go on a strike on Thursday for the first time in more than six years to protest against the government taking powers from the central bank, threatening to disrupt bond and foreign currency markets, which could affect settlements under the payment platform operated by the central bank, Bloomberg reported, quoting Rajeev Radhakrishnan, Mumbai-based head of fixed income at SBI Funds Management.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities in eight out of 10 sessions. Since 30 October to 16 November, FIIs sold $651.22 million in equities. Since 27 October to 16 November, FIIs sold $494.09 million in debt.
In fiscal year 2016 so far, FIIs have sold $2.05 billion in equity, the steepest selling since fiscal year 2009. In FY16, FIIs were the net sellers in equity in five out of eight months.
Data on Tuesday offered a mixed view of the health of the US economy—consumer prices increased 0.2% in October after two straight months of declines, while industrial production fell. The modest rise in inflation could bolster chances of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, raising interest rates next month, but weak industrial output raised concerns about the robustness of fourth-quarter economic growth, Reuters reported.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 4.8%, while FIIs have bought $3.95 billion from local equity and $8.51 billion from bond markets.
Most Asian currencies were trading lower. Indonesian rupiah was down 0.53%, South Korean won 0.16%, Taiwan dollar 0.1%, China renminbi, while China offshore and Thai baht were down 0.1% each. However, Japanese yen was up 0.11%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 99.498, down 0.13% from its previous close of 99.631.
Source : livemint.com
Split sales couldn’t be treated as slump sales just because unit was transferred as going concern
IT : Where assessee had sold tea estate and assigned values to every movable property transferred to buyer, it could not be said that transfer was slump sales only for the reason that the tea estate was transferred to buyer as a going concern.
Steel Prices To Fall By In Rs 1-1.5K/Tn
Steel pricing will depend upon exchange rate and international demand, says TV Narendran, MD & CEO of Tata Steel. Safeguard duty by the government has helped stabilising demand. He expects steel prices fall by Rs 1,000-1,500 per tonne this quarter. Talking to CNBC-TV18’s Archana Shukla, Narendran says that he is positive on steel demand, but not on prices. He is positive that steel industry will pick-up once India clocks in 7-8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) and government starts investment in infrastructure. Tata Steel has managed to record 20 percent earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin in last two quarters despite imported iron ores. The company is prepared to ride the cycle down by managing cost, Narendran says adding that the company is better places than its competitors. The company has received approvals for iron ore mines in Orissa till 2030 and is currently ironing issues in Jharkhand. The company’s demand is being taken care of currently, he says. On the company’s Kalinagar plant, he says that strong marketing franchise will help production. The plan is to start exports soon after domestic demand becomes visible, he says. Positive Europe EBITDA margins were driven by Netherlands business, he says adding that the Europe market is important for structural growth. The company does not have any plans to sell stake for debt reduction, he says. “We have headroom in debt as we largely used internal accruals for Kalinagar plant,” he adds. The company has managed nearly Rs 6000 crore this year. Tata Steel is looking to sell its long production business as the main focus in UK is on strips, he says. After a failed due diligence with a buyer, the company is looking at options. The company is also focusing on ramping up its B2C business 0- services & solutions segment - in value-added steel portfolio to 30 percent from the current 1-2 percent in five years.
Source : metaljunction.com
Sez Proposals Strike Fear In Villagers
Despite the positive spin by officials, locals facing economic zones in Mae Sot believe their lives will change for the worse
NO HEAVY industry will be promoted in the proposed special economic zones (SEZs) in the border provinces, government officials have emphasised.
However, locals near the proposed economic zone in Tak's Mae Sot district said they feared their livelihoods would soon be changed forever as people in two villages would have to move away from their land.
They were also worried about the future environmental impact of the industrial estates.
Representatives of the Office of the National Economics and Social Development Board (NESDB) and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), who are responsible for the creation of 10 border SEZs, addressed villagers' concerns about the possible environmental impact and the problem of land reclamation to the Thai Journalist Association yesterday.
Pojanee Artarotpinyo, NESDB's deputy secretary-general, said 13 industry types were promoted by the government to invest in the new SEZs. All are light industry, and only one of them needs to be processed under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consideration.
The 13 industries are agricultural product processing, ceramics, textile, furniture, jewellery, medical equipment, automobile parts, electronics, plastics, medicine, logistics, other industrial zones and assistance to the tourism industry.
Together with these industries, it was reported recently that the Board of Investment of Thailand had added another 10 to the list of promoted industries that would receive tax benefits if they invested in the new SEZs.
"I was assured that these 13 promoted industries were light industry, mostly based on labour and environmentally friendly," Pojanee said.
Attapon Jirawatjanya, IEAT specialist, clarified that due to the location of all SEZs in the rural area, close to the border, only specific types of industry were suitable to invest there, such as logistics and commodities industries. The area was not appropriate for heavy and polluted industry such as petrochemicals.
"We have come up with guidelines for the appropriate types of industry in specific SEZs and they will fit with the local environment and resources," Attapon said.
He also revealed that the industries in the area were planned to help local people benefit first from the SEZs. The zone would generate a suitable atmosphere for economic growth and create jobs and opportunities for locals.
However, Chomphunuth Kreau-kamwang, a resident of Mae Sot district, claimed she was among those affected by the SEZs project and was concerned that life would change forever.
"My family and several neighbours will have to move out from our lands as they are to be reclaimed by the state to set up the SEZs. We are farmers who make a living from this land and we have no place to go," Chomphunuth said.
She revealed that people who lived in two villages near the proposed SEZs' area were very ill-informed on the project.
"The prime minister said locals would be the ones to benefit from the project - but I cannot see how industry in the area could be good for the community. Furthermore, I am worried the industries will pollute our environment," she said.
Source : nationmultimedia.com
Deputation of employees of foreign AE in India isn't manpower supply if their salary is reimbursed b
Service Tax : Where Tribunal had found that employees deputed by foreign group company were actually appointed by assessee in India and only a portion of their salary was paid to employees by foreign group company and reimbursed on actual basis, same would not, prima facie, amount to manpower supply services
Textile Sector Welcomes Revision
The textile sector has welcomed the increase in drawback rates and value caps for several textile products, which will come into effect from November 23. Cotton Textiles and Export Promotion Council Chairman, R. K. Dalmia, has said in a press release that increase in the drawback rates for cotton made ups and garments would encourage export of value added products. However, some high value items such as ‘boiler suits’ and ‘protective wear’ made of cotton and manmade fibre blends have not been covered. According to the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) Deputy Chairman P. Nataraj, increase in the rates for value added products will encourage the sector to focus on value addition. Indian Texpreneurs Federation has said that the importance given to manmade fibre based yarn and fabrics in the drawback revision will give a boost to value addition in man-mande fibre segment.
Source :thehindu.com
Sale of goods from Kerala to SEZ unit isn't deemed as export; liable to sales tax
CST & VAT : Kerala VAT - As per SEZ Act, Sales to SEZ unit is regarded as taxable sales unless any specific exemption in respect thereof is provided under CST Act or under the respective state legislation. In the instant case, it was held by the High Court that sale of sandalwood from Kerala to SEZ unit in Madras does not qualify to be export sales under Kerala VAT as no specific exemption has been provided either under Kerala VAT Act or under CST Act.
Pest Invasion To Push Cotton Production To Five-Year Low
AJKOT: Cotton production in Gujarat, the largest producer of this staple fiber in India, may drop by 30% due to massive invasion of pink bollworm pest and sukaro (para wilt) disease. Farmers and agriculture experts fear the production may fall to a five year low to less than 90 lakh bales - down from 125 lakh bales in 2014-15. Besides farmers, the lower production threatens to hit the textile trade.
The unprecedented magnitude of the dual menace has forced thousands of cotton growers in Saurashtra and north and central Gujarat to destroy their standing crop, rendered useless due to infec tion. The crisis claimed its first victim, a 30-year-old farmer from Supedi village near Rajkot, who committed suicide after pest attack destroyed cotton grown on 85 bigha land.
"Cotton production will be 30% less this year. The area under sowing in 2015-16 was already down at around 27 lakh hectares as against 30 lakh hectares the previous year as farmers switched to other cash crops like groundnut," said N M Sharma, managing director, Gujarat State Co-operative Cotton Federation Ltd (Gujcot). Sharma said that the production may not cross 90 lakh t bales, the lowest in five years.r Bhikhu Vekariya, a farmer in Devrajiya village of Amreli, said, "Due to pink bollworm, I got just around 200 kg per bigha instead of 600 kg per e bigha earlier. None of the pesti cides are effective."
The market prices of cotton have also declined to Rs 32,100 Rs 32,200 per candy (356 s kg) from Rs. 32,800-Rs 32,900 h per candy a month back on global cues. Farmers want the , minimum support price (MSP) e to be hiked from Rs 810 per 20 kg to over Rs 900 per 20 kg. It's a delicate situation for ginners too who are I wary of government hiking MSP . "We won't be able to afford raw cotton if the MSP is hiked above Rs 900 per 20kg.
The yarn market is reeling under slowdown and mills are already facing problems due to subdued textile market," said Dilip Patel, president, All Gujarat Ginners Association. "This pest can be controlled only if it's detec ted early. Once it enters the cotton balls, pesticides are not effective," Dr. K L Raghvani, head of entomology department at Junagadh Agricultural University , said. Raghubha Vaghela, a farmer from Derala village of Maliya-Miyana said, "I lost around 40% cotton in my 40 bigha land due to sukaro and pink bollworm." "Half of the cotton crop in my 86 bigha land is destroyed. I destroyed the infected crop after first round of plucking and sowed wheat and sesame as I have irrigation facility'' says Natubha Parmar, a farmer from Godavari village in Muli taluka of Surendranagar.
Entomologists say sukaro (para wilt) disease occurs due to many reasons, one of the main being lack of nutrients in the land where cotton is sown.
Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Gold Falls To Near 6-Year Low With Fed Still In Focus
Gold prices fell more than 1 percent to the lowest price in nearly six years on Tuesday, pressured by expectations that the United States will raise interest rates in December, and as the dollar rose and stocks rebounded from losses suffered after Friday's attacks in Paris.
The other precious metals followed gold down, with silver dropping for the fourteenth straight session to a 2-1/2-month low and platinum tapping a seven-year low.
Spot gold was down 1.1 percent at $1,070.18 an ounce, after falling to $1,065.18, the lowest since February 2010.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled down 1.4 percent at $1,068.60.
Source : cnbc.com
CCI slapped penalty on Jet Airways, Indigo and Spice Jet for forming cartel to fix fuel surcharge
Competition Act: Where opposite parties i.e. Jet Airways, Indigo and Spice Jet had acted in a concerted manner in fixing and revising fuel surcharge (FSC) rates for transporting cargo, conduct of OPs was anti - competitive and penalty was to be imposed upon them
Stay to be granted when TPO determined ALP of AMP exp. by following ratio of LG’s case instead of So
IT/ILT : Where assessee challenged demand made on account of T.P. adjustment on basis of Tribunal's decision, but High Court had disallowed said decision, assessee had good prima facie case for stay on said demand
MCA releases new Form MGT 7 with more clarifications
COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Management And Administration) Third Amendment Rules, 2015 – Substitution Of Form MGT-7
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