Monday, 28 December 2015

Revisional proceedings under UP Trade Tax Act couldn't be objected even if such act was repealed b

CST & VAT : Uttar Pradesh VAT - Where U.P. Trade Tax Act had been repealed on 1-1-2008 by U.P. VAT Act and in meanwhile Assessing Authority made assessment of assessee for period 1-4-2007 to 31-12-2007 on 9-11-2009 under provisions of U.P. Trade Tax Act, remedy of revision provided under section 10B of repealed Act would survive repeal

No addition on basis of stocktaking if stock was valued on basis of cost or market price, whichever

IT: Where assessee had calculated valuation of closing stock on basis of cost price or market price, whichever is lesser, which was always permissible as per principle of accountancy and Settlement Commission accepted true and full disclosure made by assessee, on basis of stock taking, Assessing Officer could not make addition of an amount covered by such disclosure

No TDS liability of banks if FD is made on directions of Court during pendency of proceedings: CBDT

IT : Section 194A of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Deduction of Tax at Source - Interest Other than Interest on Securities - Notified Institution – TDS Under Section 194A on Interest on Fixed Deposit Made on Direction of Courts

Grading and certification of diamonds isn't manufacture

Excise & Customs: Activities of : (a) grading, (b) inscription; and (c) invoicing of diamonds i.e., diamond-certification cannot amount to manufacture of diamonds, as there is no change in essential character of diamond owing to said activities; however, issue whether same would amount to 'service' was left open

Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister included in Search-cum-Selection Committee of S

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairman and Members) Amendment Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rule 3

Registration of a trust can’t be cancelled even if it was indulged in certain commercial activities

IT: Proviso to section 2(15) cannot be basis for cancellation of registration under section 12A

Rbi Sets Rupee Reference Rate At 66.13 Against Dollar

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Monday fixed the reference rate of the rupee at 66.1380 against the US dollar and 72.5534 for the euro.

These rates were 66.20 and 72.41, respectively, on December 23.

According to an RBI statement, the exchange rates for the pound and the yen against the rupee were quoted at 98.6911 and 54.92 per 100 yens, respectively, based on reference rates for the dollar and cross-currency quotes at noon.

The SDR-rupee rate will be based on this rate, the statement added.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com



FinMin issues report of committee on revitalizing public private partnership model of infrastructure

CORPORATE LAWS : Report of the Committee on Revisiting and Revitalising Public Private Partnership Model of Infrastructure

Gold Imports Lose Steam, Fall 36.5% To $3.5 Billion In November

NEW DELHI: Gold imports shrank 36.5 per cent to $3.53 billion in November on the back of falling prices of the yellow metal, something that will keep the country's current account deficit (CAD) in check.

The prices have been declining at global as well as domestic markets.

The gold imports stood at $5.57 billion in November 2014, according to commerce ministry data. The figure for November this year is the highest in the current fiscal.

The contraction in imports helped narrow the trade deficit to $9.78 billion in the previous month. It stood at $16.2 billion in November 2014

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com



Govt's Cotton Purchases To Plummet As Pakistan Raises Imports

MUMBAI: The government's purchases of cotton are set to plunge 89 per cent in the 2015/16 marketing year as local prices have jumped after crop failures forced neighbouring Pakistan to raise imports from the world's biggest producer of the fibre.

The increase in shipments to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam will help India trim spending on cotton buys by nearly Rs 14,000 crore ($2 billion) in the year that started on October 1, although the rise in volumes on the international market will cap recent gains in global prices.

"Prices have moved above the MSP (minimum support price) level in most states and farmers are selling to private players," said BK Mishra, chairman and managing director of the state-run Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).

In a scheme to assist India's cotton farmers, the CCI buys raw cotton fibre from them at Rs 4,100 per 100 kg, while in spot markets prices have risen to Rs 4,300 to Rs 4,800.

In the year to September 30, India spent Rs 16,000 crore to buy 8.7 million bales at the MSP as top consumer China started slashing imports.

In the current marketing year, the government purchases were again expected to rise to last year's level due to poor demand from China. But a sudden increase in demand from Pakistan and a decision by India's top producing state Gujarat to buy from farmers at levels higher than the MSP boosted prices and reduced the need for state support.

The government will likely spend just Rs 2,000 crore for procurement of 1 million bales this year, Mishra said.

"We have bought 700,000 bales so far, but henceforth we are expecting a slowdown in purchases due to rising prices."

Spot prices of ginned cotton in India have risen nearly 5 per cent in a month to Rs 33,200 per candy of 356 kg.

"Demand is healthy for Indian cotton from Pakistan and other Asian countries," said Dhiren Sheth, president of the Cotton Association of India, adding that prices could stabilize around the current level.

"India has so far contracted 3.6 million bales for exports, including nearly 2 million bales to Pakistan," Sheth said.

Pakistan's overall cotton imports are seen climbing to at least 4 million bales in the year that started on August 1, from 1.2 million bales in the previous year due to an estimated 25 per cent drop in its own production.

India's cotton exports in the 2015/16 season are expected to rise 18 per cent to 6.8 million bales.

A drop in India's production due to a pest attack and the first back-to-back drought in nearly three decades has also been supporting prices, said Pradeep Jain, a ginner based in Jalgaon in the western state of Maharashtra.

A government body has estimated a 4 per cent drop in India's production in the current year. Traders are estimating a much steeper drop after floods hit cotton growing in the southern state of Tamil Nadu earlier this month.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com



November Asian Imports Of Iran Oil Drop 16.2% On India, Korea Cuts

TOKYO: Asian imports of Iranian oil in November fell by the most in nine months with India and South Korea cutting their imports as buyers mainly hold off on raising their purchases after July's landmark agreement on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Imports by Iran's four biggest buyers - China, India, Japan, and South Korea - came to 894,685 barrels per day last month, down 16.2 per cent from the same month a year ago and the sharpest decline since February, government and tanker-tracking data show. However, imports rebounded 11.3 per cent from October.

The decline was mostly in line with loading data at Iranian ports for the arrival month. Exports to Asia are set to rise above 1 million bpd this month.

India and South Korea led the drop in Iranian imports. India's intake declined to 138,100 bpd, down 44.9 per cent from the same time a year ago and the lowest since March, while South Korean imports decreased to 97,200 bpd, down 28.8 per cent and the lowest since July.

Japan's oil imports from Iran in November rose 3.1 per cent from a year earlier to 168,285 bpd, trade ministry data showed on Monday.

Average total imports by the top four Asian buyers have fallen 7.1 per cent to 1.03 million bpd in the first 11 months of the year, the data showed.

Despite the slump in oil prices, Iran has vowed to ramp up crude oil production and reclaim its lost share of exports after international sanctions on the OPEC member are lifted in January 2016.

Iran's crude oil exports could rise by half a million barrels per day within 6-12 months once sanctions against it are lifted, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said this month.

The sanctions were introduced to keep Iran's exports at around 1 million bpd, down from 2.5 million bpd in 2011, and force Tehran to the negotiating table over its disputed nuclear activities. Western powers say the activity is a cover for building nuclear weapons, which Iran has consistently denied.

Under the accord reached in Vienna on July 14, Iran will be subject to longer-term restrictions on its nuclear programme in return for the removal of US, UN and European sanctions.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com



India's 2015/16 Palm Oil Imports Set For Smaller Gain Vs Soyoil

KUALA LUMPUR: India's palm oil imports will rise marginally in the year to October 2016 from current record highs as the commodity's discount to soyoil narrows on output worries, making it less attractive for buyers in the world's top edible oils consumer.

Palm oil prices have been outperforming soybean oil since August, gaining about 8 percentage points more on a threat to yields from what analysts have termed a "monster" El Nino weather pattern. Plentiful world soybean supplies have further tightened the price spread.

With palm becoming less competitive, India's purchases will climb only 100,000 tonnes to 9.7 million tonnes this marketing year, while soyoil purchases will surge 40 percent to 4.2 million tonnes, said Zia Ul Haq, trading manager at an edible oils procurement company IFFCO (S.E.A.) Sdn Bhd.

"The soyoil market is expected to be under pressure due to ample world supply while palm is trying to hold at current price levels," the trading manager said, explaining the tighter price spread. "Traders are expecting palm production to drop and the El Nino impact to kick in during the second quarter next year."

Palm prices soared 57 percent in 2009 partly due to an El Nino, which typically brings crop-damaging dry weather across Southeast Asia. Benchmark futures are currently near an 18-month top of 2,490 ringgit ($579.07) per tonne.

Higher demand from the biofuel sector for blending purposes will keep palm oil prices elevated, the trading manager said, dragging further on demand for the tropical oil.

Indonesia has been pushing for greater local use of edible oil-based biodiesel to cut its fossil fuel import bill and create more demand for palm oil, of which it is the world's biggest producer and exporter followed by Malaysia.

This comes at a time when global soybean oil output is expected to hit an all-time high of around 51 million tonnes in 2015/16, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Reflecting these fundamentals, the spread between soyoil and palm prices has narrowed about $40 over three weeks. Traders believe this could impact India's import demand.

The country consumes 18-19 million tonnes of vegetable oils annually and , of which about 9 million is palm oil.

USDA data shows India's palm oil imports rose 16 percent to a record 9.1 million tonnes in 2014/15, while soyoil arrivals surged 50 percent.

Leading vegetable oils analyst Dorab Mistry, however, said that higher soyoil use by India would drive up prices of the commodity, tilting the balance in palm oil's favour once again.

"Soyoil has limited availability. The bean is only 18-19 percent oil, you'd have to crush a lot to get a small amount of oil,"


Palm oil prices have been outperforming soybean oil since August, gaining about 8 percentage points more on a threat to yields from what analysts have termed a "monster" El Nino weather pattern. Plentiful world soybean supplies have further tightened the price spread.

With palm becoming less competitive, India's purchases will climb only 100,000 tonnes to 9.7 million tonnes this marketing year, while soyoil purchases will surge 40 percent to 4.2 million tonnes, said Zia Ul Haq, trading manager at an edible oils procurement company IFFCO (S.E.A.) Sdn Bhd.

"The soyoil market is expected to be under pressure due to ample world supply while palm is trying to hold at current price levels," the trading manager said, explaining the tighter price spread. "Traders are expecting palm production to drop and the El Nino impact to kick in during the second quarter next year."

Palm prices soared 57 percent in 2009 partly due to an El Nino, which typically brings crop-damaging dry weather across Southeast Asia. Benchmark futures are currently near an 18-month top of 2,490 ringgit ($579.07) per tonne.

Higher demand from the biofuel sector for blending purposes will keep palm oil prices elevated, the trading manager said, dragging further on demand for the tropical oil.

Indonesia has been pushing for greater local use of edible oil-based biodiesel to cut its fossil fuel import bill and create more demand for palm oil, of which it is the world's biggest producer and exporter followed by Malaysia.

This comes at a time when global soybean oil output is expected to hit an all-time high of around 51 million tonnes in 2015/16, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Reflecting these fundamentals, the spread between soyoil and palm prices has narrowed about $40 over three weeks. Traders believe this could impact India's import demand.

The country consumes 18-19 million tonnes of vegetable oils annually and , of which about 9 million is palm oil.

USDA data shows India's palm oil imports rose 16 percent to a record 9.1 million tonnes in 2014/15, while soyoil arrivals surged 50 percent.

Leading vegetable oils analyst Dorab Mistry, however, said that higher soyoil use by India would drive up prices of the commodity, tilting the balance in palm oil's favour once again.

"Soyoil has limited availability. The bean is only 18-19 percent oil, you'd have to crush a lot to get a small amount of oil,"

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com



SC remanded matter back as certain docs allegedly on records were not considered by Tribunal

Excise & Customs : Supreme Court remands back issue of 'exclusion of transit insurance in computing excisable value', as certain invoices allegedly on record were not considered by Tribunal in passing final order

Credit on capital goods already received can't be denied on basis of subsequent amendment to law

Cenvat Credit : Subsequent amendment cannot, in any manner, be interpreted to take away right of assessee to take credit of capital goods already received prior to amendment; hence, credit of capital goods received prior to amendment cannot be denied relying upon such amendment

Running micro-finance business on commercial lines isn't charitable in nature

IT : Where assessee was carrying on micro finance business in a commercial manner so as to earn profit and there was no iota of charity carried on by it, its case was hit by proviso to section 2(15) and it was not entitled to exemption under section 11