Service provider couldn't raise plea of financial hardship if it failed to deposit service tax in Go

Service Tax: Where assessee has already collected Service tax from its client, then, at time of payment of same to Government, assessee cannot raise argument of non-taxability or financial hardship or ignorance in paying such 'collected taxes' to Government

General provisions of the Act couldn't be applied once TP provisions applied to an international tra

IT/ILT : Once a transaction is undisputedly subject matter of Chapter X of Act, then other general provisions of Act cannot be applied simultaneously

Govt. enhances list of transactions to be filed with Central Registry under SARFAESI Act

SARFAESI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Central Registry) Amendment Rules, 2016 – Amendment in Rules 4, 5 and 7

Time-limit to file refund claim won't apply on refund of service-tax which was deposited mistakenly

Service Tax : Double payment of service tax is a mere deposit and does not amount to payment of 'tax'; hence, time-limit of section 11B and principle of unjust enrichment would not apply to refund thereof

CBDT notifies procedure for appointment of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of AAR

IT/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Authority for Advance Rlings (Procedure for Appointment as Chairman and Vice Chairman) Rules, 2016

Subscribers opting for 'Atal Pension Yojna' before March 31, 2016 are entitled to receive Govt's con

IT : Atal Pension Yojana (APY) – Amendment In Notification F.No.16/1/2015-Pr- Atal Pension Yojana, Dated 16-10-2015

MCA springs surprise; allows companies to choose vague names, eases incorporation rules

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Incorporation) Amendment Rules, 2016 – Amendment in Rules 8 & 36 and Substitution of Rule 9 & Form INC-1

Govt. notifies rules for appointment of President of CESTAT

EXCISE/SERVICE TAX/INDIAN ACTS & RU : Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure for Appointment as President) Rules, 2016

Cases of earlier years couldn't be kept pending for purpose of consolidation with cases having simil

IT: Cases of earlier years couldn't be kept pending for purpose of consolidation with cases having similar issues

HC can transfer suit for infringement of Trademark to other convenient place of jurisdiction

Trade Marks Act: If court where suit is instituted, in spite of having territorial jurisdiction finds that suit can be tried more conveniently at other place which also has territorial jurisdiction, appropriate High Court is entitled to transfer suit to other convenient place

CESTAT and HC couldn't admit an appeal where it was filed before CCE(A) beyond condonable period

Service Tax : Appellate authorities and High Court have no power to admit an appeal where it is filed beyond condonable period of Commissioner (Appeals)

Details given to police about lavish wedding of daughter couldn't be used by AO to reopen a case

IT : A statement recorded by Police Officer under section 161 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is neither given 'on oath' nor it is tested by cross examination and, therefore, such a statement cannot be treated as substantive evidence to reopen assessment proceedings

Royalty paid to director for using technology devised by him is deductible

IT : Royalty paid by assessee-company to its director in his individual capacity for using technology devised by said director, would be deductible under section 37(1)

Service tax paid by exporters on terminal handling charges is eligible for refund

Service Tax: An exporter of goods is eligible for refund under Notification 41/2012-ST in respect of service tax paid on terminal handling charges, inland haulage service and other documentation charges for export goods.

Govt. notifies norms for appointment of Multi-Tasking Staff in various Debt Recovery Tribunals acros

DEBTS RECOVERY TRIBUNAL/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata (Multi-Tasking Staff) Recruitment Rules, 2016

Govt. establishes Centralized Registration Centre for processing name reservation requests under Cos

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 396 of The Companies Act, 2013 – Registration Offices - Establishment of A Central Registration Centre (CRC) Having Territorial Jurisdiction All Over India, for Discharging or Carrying out Function of Processing and Disposal of Applications for Reservation of Names

No disallowance if cash exceeding 20,000 is directly deposited in bank account of supplier

IT: No disallowance if cash exceeding 20,000 is directly deposited in bank account of supplier

HC dismissed winding up plea against respondent-co. as arbitral award had already been passed in fav

CL : Where arbitration award had already been passed in favour of respondent-company, winding up petition filed by petitioner to pay bona fide disputed debt was to be dismissed

SC denied to entertain revenue's appeal due to lower tax effect

IT: In view of fact that Department had not filed appeal even before High Court in a similar case, Revenue's appeal before Supreme Court in instant case had to be dismissed as issue involved low tax effect; however, question of law was left open

HC allows credit of outward transportation up to buyer's premises for destination based sales

Cenvat Credit : Where sales invoice showed that prices were inclusive of freight up to buyer's premises and sales was made on FOR destination basis, place of removal would be buyer's premises and, therefore, outward transportation services up to buyer's premises would be eligible for input service credit

Final order isn't sustainable if passed after one month of DRP's directions

IT/ILT : Where DRP gave directions on 24-9-2014 to Assessing Officer to pass order and such directions were received by concerned Assessing Officer on 28-10-2014, but assessment order was passed on 30-1-2015, beyond period of limitation as prescribed under section 144C, it was not sustainable

Cash purchases disallowed as assessee failed to prove that purchases were made via agents located in

IT : Where assessee made cash payments in excess of Rs. 20,000 for purchase of crackers, in absence of even names of agencies or agents or retailers living in villages to whom said payments were made on a day-to-day basis, impugned disallowance made by authorities below under section 40A(3) was to be confirmed

ALP of services couldn't be taken as 'Nil' by assuming that assessee wasn't benefited from services

IT/ILT : Where assessee-company received support services from AE in terms of marketing services, operations and logistics services etc. on basis of which it managed to reduce its raw material cost and achieve higher sales, TPO could not determine ALP of said services at nil taking a view that services so rendered had not resulted in any benefit to assessee

"Aquachem" used for purification of water to manufacture cement is eligible for input credit

Cenvat Credit : "Aquachem" used for purifying water used in manufacture of cement is eligible for input credit and parts/accessories used in construction/manufacture of 'plant and machinery' are eligible for capital goods credit

Director of a trading member or clearing member can't be part of governing board of stock exchange:

SEBI : Amendment to Sebi Circular CIR/MRD/DSA/33/2012, Dated 13-12-2012 Pursuant to Amendment in Regulation 2(1)(b) of Secc Regulations, 2012

No withdrawal of sec. 54 relief if new house was transferred to daughter within 3 years

IT: Where assessee had sold his residential property in April, 2010 and invested sale proceeds in August, 2010 in another residential property and in November, 2010 he had settled new property to his daughter out of love and affection, settlement of property was a gift falling under section 47(iii) and assessee was entitled to exemption under section 54 in respect of capital gains arising on sale of property

Govt. notifies pay scale for post of Private Secretary under CCI employees' rules

COMPETITION ACT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Competition Commission of India (Salary, Allowances, Other Terms and Conditions of Service of The Secretary and Officers and Other Employees of The Commission and The Number of Such Officers and Other Employees) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2016 – Amendment in Schedule I

Dept. can't issue second notice on same ground for different period where first notice was dropped o

Excise & Customs : Where all relevant facts were within knowledge/notice of Department while issuing first notice and said notice was even dropped on merits, department cannot issue second notice invoking extended period alleging mis-statement/mis-declaration on part of assessee

No TP adjustment in respect of AMP exp. if transaction with AE doesn't fall in ambit of 'internation

IT/ILT : Where existence of an international transaction involving AMP expense with an ascertainable price is unable to be shown to exist, even if such price is nil, Chapter X provisions cannot be invoked to undertake a TP adjustment exercise

Revenue faces ITAT's flak for filing appeal with tax effect below specified monetary limit

IT: Where department against order of Commissioner (Appeals) dated 15-1-2009 filed appeal before Tribunal, wherein tax effect was less than Rs. 10 lakhs, keeping in view Circular No. 21 of 2015, dated 10-12-2015 and also provisions of section 268A, department should not have filed instant appeal

HC sanctions amalgamation scheme as there was nothing prejudicial to interest of creditor, members o

CL: Where there was nothing prejudicial to interest of creditors, members of both transferor and transferee company or to public interest and all required procedures had been followed, scheme of amalgamation so proposed had to be sanctioned

CBEC prescribes sun-set date of excise exemption for new industries in J&K

EXCISE/NT : Section 5A of The Central Excise Act, 1944 - Power to Grant Exemption from Duty of Excise - Amendment in Notifications No.56/2012-C.E. and No.57/2002-C.E., Both Dated 14-11-2002

SEBI clarifies on operational aspects of voluntary adaption of aadhar based e-KYC process

SEBI : Know Your Client Requirements – Clarification on Voluntary Adaptation of Aadhaar Based E-Kyc Process

SARFAESI Act can't be used to bulldoze statutory rights vested on tenants under Rent control Act

SARFAESI Act: A tenant cannot be arbitrarily evicted by using the provisions of the SARFAESI Act as that would amount to stultifying the statutory rights of protection given to the tenant. A non obstante clause (Section 35 of the SARFAESI Act) cannot be used to bulldoze the statutory rights vested on the tenants under the Rent Control Act. The expression 'any other law for the time being in force' as appearing in Section 35 of the SARFAESI Act cannot mean to extend to each and every law enacted

Wheeling charges paid to 'Power Grid Corporation' couldn't be deemed as 'FTS'; liable to TDS under s

IT: Where assessee-company paid wheeling charges for transportation of electricity, said charges paid could not be characterized as fee for technical service and no deduction under section 194J could be made

New percentage based pre-deposit scheme wasn't applicable on appeals pending on Aug 8, 2014

Service Tax : New percentage-based pre-deposit law is applicable to appeals filed on or after 6-8-2014 and all pending appeals/stay applications filed prior to 6-8-2014 shall be governed by erstwhile law

Amount mentioned in pay order held as unexplained as assessee failed to establish that it wasn't in

IT: Where Authorised Officer during search seized a letter dated 12-4-1999 from a colleague of assessee, which was written by Chief Manager of Union Bank of Switzerland to assessee stating that pay order in favour of assessee payable in India had expired its encashment period and fresh pay order was in process of being issued and thereafter Assessing Officer assessed assessee for assessment year 2000-01 and on basis of above letter made certain addition to his income, since assessee had not esta

Composite scheme involving more than one independent scheme of arrangement is maintainable: HC

CL: Composite scheme involving more than one independent scheme of arrangement is maintainable

No TP adjustment due to delay in realization of sale proceeds from AE if sales is made at ALP

IT/ILT : Where transactions relating to purchase and sale entered into by assessee with its AE were found to be at arm's length, since early or late realization of sale proceeds was integral part of main transaction of sale made to AE, impugned addition made by TPO on account of delay in realisation of dues from AE was to be set aside

TP adjustment to be made only in respect of international transaction with AE and not at entity leve

IT/ILT : TP adjustment towards ALP, if any, is required to be made only in respect of international transactions entered into by assessee with its AEs and not at entity level of assessee

No TCS on usable product obtained in course of ship breaking activity as same can't be treated as 'S

IT: Where products obtained in course of ship breaking activity are usable as such, they do not fall within definition of scrap for purposes of tax collection at source on their sale

SEBI clarifies issues relating to streamlining the process of public issue of equity shares and conv

SEBI : Clarificatory Circular On Streamlining Process Of Public Issue Of Equity Shares And Convertibles

RBI permits designated banks to sell 'India Gold Coin' minted by 'Metals and Minerals Trading Corpor

BANKING : Sale Of India Gold Coin (IGC)

Co. having significant intangibles and brand value than test party couldn't be chosen as comparable

IT/ILT : In case of assessee rendering software development services to its AE, company in respect of which segmental data relating to software development and IT enabled services was not available, and another company having significant intangibles and brand value, could not be accepted as comparables while determining ALP

Now Gold Monetization Scheme also available for Proprietorship and Partnership Firms

BANKING : Gold Monetisation Scheme, 2015 – Amendment In Master Direction DBR.IBD.NO. 45/23.67.003/2015-16, Dated 22-10-2015

Services provided by Stock exchanges and Depositories included under term Infra Sector: SEBI

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Issue Of Capital And Disclosure Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations, 2016 – Amendment In Schedule X

Extended period couldn't be invoked if Commissioner didn't object to information provided by assesse

Excise & Customs: Where assessee vide letter dated 23-6-2001 gave reply to letter of Commissioner and Commissioner had not communicated any objection to information provided by assessee and later on 29-5-2006 he issued on assessee a show cause notice for period June, 2001 to February, 2002 by invoking extended time period, extended period was not applicable in instant case

Lessee wasn't entitled to notice u/s 14 of SARFAESI if rental agreement with owner-borrower was unre

SARFAESI : At time of taking possession of property by bank on owner's failure to repay bank debt, tenants with whom there were no registered lease deeds, were not entitled to notice under section 14

No VCES for matters already noticed in departmental audit

Service Tax : Where departmental audit had been initiated in February 2013 and non-payment of service tax on renting services had been noticed in course of said audit and matter was under consideration on 1-3-2013, then, as per section 106(2), assessee was disqualified from filing VCES declaration in respect of renting services

Tribunal dismissed pending appeal of revenue considering new monetary limit of 10 lakhs

IT : Where department against order of First Appellate Authority filed appeals before Tribunal and tax effect in appeals was below monetary limit of Rs. 10 lakhs, specified in CBDT Circular No. 21/2015, dated 10-12-2015, applying said circular, instant appeals were liable to be dismissed as withdrawn/not pressed

CIT(A) can't pass orders after considering additional evidence without bringing same to notice of AO

IT: Where Assessing Officer had disallowed assessee's claim for exemption under section 10A and, on appeal, assessee, in support of its claim, furnished various documents and Commissioner (Appeals) after considering said documents and without bringing same to notice of Assessing Officer allowed claim for exemption, matter required to be remanded to Commissioner (Appeals) for passing a fresh order after providing said documents to Assessing Officer

Onus is on assessee to prove existence of reasonable cause for waiver of penalty

Service Tax : Onus to establish that there was a reasonable cause for delay in payment of tax, is on assessee; hence, where assessee failed to justify delay in payment of tax by producing materials evidencing financial hardship, etc., there was no reasonable cause for delay and therefore, penalty could not be waived

CBDT officials directed to use new proforma to request info exchange from foreign tax authorities

IT/ILT : Jurisdiction of Competent Authorities in Foreign Tax & Tax Research Division, Usage of Form-A Prescribed in Manual on Exchange of Information Issued by CBDT in May, 2015 and Updated Contact Details of Officers Dealing with Exchange of Information Under Various Treaties

SEBI requires Depositories to credit 5% of profit from operations to Investor Protection Fund

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Depositories and Participants) (Amendment) Regulations, 2016 – Amendment in Regulation 53c

No abuse of dominance by Omaxe Ltd. as many other real estate developer were selling flats in Jhajja

Competition Act : Where several other major real estate developers were operating in relevant market of provisions of services relating to development and sale of residential flats in Jhajjar, OP was not dominant in relevant market and, therefore, its conduct was not to be examined under section 4

No VAT or CST on inter-state stock transfer if goods were eventually exported to foreign countries

CST & VAT: Andhra Pradesh VAT - Where Secunderabad branch of assessee purchased chillies from farmers (unregistered dealers) and transferred it to Cochin branch by way of stock transfer for export to foreign countries and Cochin branch, in turn, had exported chillies to foreign buyers, no purchase tax could be levied on stock transfer of chillies under section 4(4)(iii) of VAT Act

Sum paid to power transmission Co. for using its transmission network isn't liable to Sec. 194J TDS

IT: Where assessee, engaged in buying and selling electricity, paid transmission charges of power to KPTCL from generation point to consumers, since there was neither transfer of any technology nor any service attributable to a technical service was offered by KPTCL, tax was not required to be deducted at source under sec. 194J while making payment of transmission charges

AAR taxes entire revenue under sec. 44BB; rejects splitting between onshore and offshore activities

Where applicant enters into contract with RIL for providing 'Floating Production storage and offloading' (FPSO) facilities, in view of fact that in terms of 'Change Order' certain amendments were carried out such as fabrication and installation of new living quarters onboard and mobilising and commissioning team of applicant, since both original contract and amendments therein by way of 'Change Order' are inextricably linked with extraction, processing, production, storing & offloading of crude

No denial of exemption due to non-reversal of credit and violation of Cenvat Credit Rules

Cenvat Credit : If assessee has not lapsed/reversed credit under rule 11 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 on opting for exemption, then, for violation of CENVAT Credit Rules, action may be taken under CENVAT Credit Rules, but, exemption itself cannot be denied

Rupee Trades Higher At 67.94 Against Us Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee erased all the morning losses and was trading little changed against the US dollar, following cues from the local equity markets.

At 2.18pm, the rupee was trading at 67.94 a dollar, up 0.01% from its previous close of 67.96. The local currency opened at 67.89 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 67.82 and 68.10, respectively. The rupee has fallen in 10 out of 14 trading sessions.

India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 24,057.89 points, down 0.02% or 5.62 points. Earlier in the morning, the Sensex gained as much as 250 points.

Most Asian currencies were trading higher. Indonesian rupiah was up 0.51%, Malaysian ringgit 0.45%, Philippines peso 0.11% and Hong Kong 0.1%. However, Taiwan dollar was down 0.27% and China offshore spot 0.17%.

So far this year, the Sensex is down over 7.5% and the rupee has weakened 2.5%. So far this year, foreign institutional investors have sold $1.23 billion from local equity markets and bought $242.80 million from the debt market. Brent crude is down 24.4%.

Traders are cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy meet on interest rates later today. The ECB is expected to warn that inflation could stay ultra-low for longer due to plunging oil prices, weak Chinese growth and the lack of decisive fiscal policy action at home, Reuters reported.

The yield on India’s current 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.751% compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.797%. It opened at 7.797% and touched a low of 7.736%, a level last seen on 8 January. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sees scope for policy easing if disinflation persists. “Going forward, we have to disinflate a little more. So, at the meeting (on 2 February), we will take all these factors into account and decide what the next step is, but broadly I would say we are on the right path,” RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said in an interview to CNBC at Davos.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 99.0536, down 0.03% from its previous close of 99.091.

 

Source :.livemint.com

No stay on initiation of prosecution proceedings under sec. 276D just because appeal proceedings are

IT : Pendency of appellate proceedings has no bearing on initiation of prosecution under Act

Extended period can't be invoked to demand duty on inter-unit transfer of goods

Excise & Customs: In case of inter-unit transfer of goods, where transferee unit can take credit of duty paid by assessee-transferor, department cannot allege suppression of facts with intent to evade duty and, therefore, extended period of limitation cannot be invoked

Commerce Ministry Backs Measures To Boost Sezs

The Commerce Ministry is in the process of identifying reasons for the slowdown in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ). It has also asked the Finance Ministry to consider steps to ensure greater investment and employment generation in these enclaves to boost exports from SEZs.

The commerce ministry has taken up with the finance ministry issues raised by the SEZ developers and units including removal or reduction of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) on SEZs, according to a government statement. It is also looking into the developers’ opposition against a proposal considered by the finance ministry for abolition of all direct tax benefits for SEZs not operationalised before April, 2017. Finance ministry has been asked to extend the Sunset Clause (provision relating to the expiry of the benefits to SEZs) on SEZs up to 2023.

This follows a meeting that the Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held on Tuesday with a delegation of Export Promotion Council for export oriented units and SEZs (EPCES).

Opposing the proposal that was being considered by the Central Board of Direct Taxes for abolition of all direct tax benefits for SEZs not operationalised before April, 2017, EPCES said it would create uncertainty in the minds of investors and lead to an increase in the number of applications for de-notification of approved SEZs. The commerce ministry said Sitharaman informed that the issue has already been taken up with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, adding that IT/ITeS industry body Nasscom has also taken up this issue.

The imposition of MAT and DDT on SEZs has led to a slowdown in terms of growth in exports from these enclaves, reduced number of SEZ notifications, slower operationalisation of SEZs and increased number of applications for de-notification of approved SEZs, EPCES said. It has also dented the investor-friendly image of SEZs, created uncertainty in the minds of foreign and domestic investors, EPCES said, adding that MAT should be totally withdrawn or reduced to its original rate of 7.5 per cent.

The EPCES also wanted SEZ units to be allowed to sell in the domestic tariff area (DTA or domestic market) by shelling out the same duty applicable to imports from nations who are free trade agreement (FTA) partners of India.

Since SEZs are duty and tax free enclaves, they have to pay regular duties for sales in the domestic market, which in turn makes their items costlier as compared to imports from FTA partner nations that enter India at zero or lower than regular duties, they said. Ms. Sitharaman assured the delegation that this matter will be looked into, according to the statement.

The delegation comprised of senior representatives of Reliance Industries Jamnagar SEZ, Adani Port & SEZ, Tata Steel SEZ, DLF Ltd., Serum Institute of India Ltd, P.P. Jewellers, Phoenix Infocity, J. Matadee Free Trade Zone, ION Kharadi – Panchshil Group.

 

Source :.thehindu.com

Commerce Ministry Backs Measures To Boost Sezs

The Commerce Ministry is in the process of identifying reasons for the slowdown in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ). It has also asked the Finance Ministry to consider steps to ensure greater investment and employment generation in these enclaves to boost exports from SEZs.

The commerce ministry has taken up with the finance ministry issues raised by the SEZ developers and units including removal or reduction of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) on SEZs, according to a government statement. It is also looking into the developers’ opposition against a proposal considered by the finance ministry for abolition of all direct tax benefits for SEZs not operationalised before April, 2017. Finance ministry has been asked to extend the Sunset Clause (provision relating to the expiry of the benefits to SEZs) on SEZs up to 2023.

This follows a meeting that the Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held on Tuesday with a delegation of Export Promotion Council for export oriented units and SEZs (EPCES).

Opposing the proposal that was being considered by the Central Board of Direct Taxes for abolition of all direct tax benefits for SEZs not operationalised before April, 2017, EPCES said it would create uncertainty in the minds of investors and lead to an increase in the number of applications for de-notification of approved SEZs. The commerce ministry said Sitharaman informed that the issue has already been taken up with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, adding that IT/ITeS industry body Nasscom has also taken up this issue.

The imposition of MAT and DDT on SEZs has led to a slowdown in terms of growth in exports from these enclaves, reduced number of SEZ notifications, slower operationalisation of SEZs and increased number of applications for de-notification of approved SEZs, EPCES said. It has also dented the investor-friendly image of SEZs, created uncertainty in the minds of foreign and domestic investors, EPCES said, adding that MAT should be totally withdrawn or reduced to its original rate of 7.5 per cent.

The EPCES also wanted SEZ units to be allowed to sell in the domestic tariff area (DTA or domestic market) by shelling out the same duty applicable to imports from nations who are free trade agreement (FTA) partners of India.

Since SEZs are duty and tax free enclaves, they have to pay regular duties for sales in the domestic market, which in turn makes their items costlier as compared to imports from FTA partner nations that enter India at zero or lower than regular duties, they said. Ms. Sitharaman assured the delegation that this matter will be looked into, according to the statement.

The delegation comprised of senior representatives of Reliance Industries Jamnagar SEZ, Adani Port & SEZ, Tata Steel SEZ, DLF Ltd., Serum Institute of India Ltd, P.P. Jewellers, Phoenix Infocity, J. Matadee Free Trade Zone, ION Kharadi – Panchshil Group.

 

Source :.thehindu.com

Manufacturer cum service provider can take credit of ST directly in ER-1 instead of routing it throu

Cenvat Credit : In case of an assessee being manufacturer cum service provider, credit of input services may be taken directly in ER-1 returns instead of taking it first in ST-3 and then, transferring to ER-3 return

Maruti Export To Lanka Ebbs After Duty Changes

 Maruti Suzuki’s export to Sri Lanka, its biggest foreign destination last year, is losing speed after an increase in import duty by the island nation two months earlier.

Last year, Sri Lanka overtook Maruti’s hitherto top export markets of Chile and Philippines, after the government there had reduced the duty. The move acted as a stimulus for demand and India emerged a big beneficiary. “The pent-up demand following the duty relaxation last year has been served. There was also advancement of purchase, and market growth in Sri Lanka was abnormally high. After the reversal of import duty, the short-term surge in demand ended,” said a Maruti spokesperson.

As new imports would become expensive, sales dropped but are expected to normalise soon, the spokesperson added, without disclosing the number of units shipped.

In November, the import duty on 1,000cc vehicles was increased from 50 to 70 per cent, impacting Maruti's WagonR, for instance. Import duty on vans was increased from 85 per cent to 150 per cent.  

Maruti’s Alto and Celerio models are in high demand in Lanka. In the past, Maruti had contemplated setting up an assembly unit in Lanka. Its export there has fluctuated with changes in the tax structure. Lanka was Maruti’s biggest market in 2011-12. The company has a distributor there, which operates through a network of at least 20 retail outlets and 15 workshops. Maruti also trains the service staff.  Maruti, this country’s largest car maker, is the second largest exporter of passenger vehicles from India, after Hyundai. Close to a tenth of production is exported to markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

ALSO READ: Maruti December sales up 8.5% at 1,19,149 units
 
In the passenger vehicle export market, a weak demand is quite often offset by a surge in demand from others. Economic and political changes are the usual causes. Changes in regulations also impact the export numbers. For instance, Sri Lanka grew last year but the markets in Algeria and Britain declined for Maruti.

Expansion of the export portfolio by addition of the Ciaz, Ertiga, DZire and Swift models led to five per cent growth in shipments by Maruti in the April-December period (first nine months of this financial year), to 96,841 units.

Compact cars form a large chunk of exports for Maruti, which last year also started shipping the bigger vehicles like the Ciaz and Ertiga. The company is now preparing to ship its latest hatchback, the Baleno, to various destinations.

Source :business-standard.com

Groundnut Exports Unlikely To Improve Despite Lifting Of Ban By Vietnam

 Despite Vietnam lifting its ban on Indian groundnut imports, India is finding it tough to match last year's export figure. This is due to the overall slack in demand for the commodity in the international market.

Earlier, Vietnam had placed a ban on Indian groundnut over poor quality issues. It recently lifted the ban, allowing imports of groundnut from India after lobbying by the Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotional Council (IOPEPC). However, according to industry players, this will not help much in touching even last year's total export mark, leave alone registering a growth.

As per IOPEPC data, during 2014-15, India had exported 708,390 tonnes groundnut and this year, the country's export have so far been 219,739 tonnes groundnut in first seven months of 2015-16 as against 281,898 tonnes in corresponding period last year. According to industry sources, groundnut exports may not cross 500,000 tonnes mark by end of March this year.

In terms of Vietnam, the data showed that India had exported about 148,000 tonnes to Vietnam alone, thereby forming 26 per cent of total Indian groundnut exports during 2014-15. According to exporters, some fresh demand from Vietnam may generate in near future. However, a ban of last 9-10 months has created a void which is not likely to be fulfilled this fiscal.

"Import banned by Vietnam is the one of the major reasons for sharp fall in groundnut export from India this year. The country had banned groundnut import from April 2015 as it had found pests in Indian consignments. By end of March, country's total export is likely to be about 500,000 tonnes this year", said Sanjiv Sawla, chairman of IOPEPC.

Cautioning the exporters, Sawla stressed on the need to focus on quality of groundnuts since more and more countries are applying stringent norms on imports of food products considering the quality standards and food safety systems.

Vikram Duvani, managing director of Rachana Seeds Industry said, "Crop size was lower last year and domestic consumption was good which increased the groundnut price. Competing countries are offering cheaper rates. All this translated into lower export from the India."

Competing countries like Africa, Argentina, Brazil and the US offer groundnut at about $950-1,100 per tonne while India's groundnut prices are ruling at $1,000-1,150 per tonne in international market.

Country's export have decreased by 22 per cent to 219,739 tonnes groundnut in first seven months of 2015-16 as against 281,898 tonnes in corresponding period last year. IOPEPC data suggests that out of 281,898 tonnes export in the corresponding period 2014-15, Vietnam was the second largest importer with 43,983 tonnes after Indonesia that had imported about 102,230 tonnes. On the other side, demand from Indonesia has also decreased about 36 per cent to 65,602 tonnes in April to October period. Industry sources said that overall weak economy has affected the trade this year.

The council needs to closely examine the procedure for groundnut shipments to Vietnam. Preliminarily, it appears that the procedure is complex. Processors and exporters will have to take extra precaution for groundnut shipments to Vietnam. This positive development will boost exports of Groundnuts from India, said Mumbai based exporter.

 

Source :business-standard.com

Groundnut Exports Unlikely To Improve Despite Lifting Of Ban By Vietnam

 Despite Vietnam lifting its ban on Indian groundnut imports, India is finding it tough to match last year's export figure. This is due to the overall slack in demand for the commodity in the international market.

Earlier, Vietnam had placed a ban on Indian groundnut over poor quality issues. It recently lifted the ban, allowing imports of groundnut from India after lobbying by the Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotional Council (IOPEPC). However, according to industry players, this will not help much in touching even last year's total export mark, leave alone registering a growth.

As per IOPEPC data, during 2014-15, India had exported 708,390 tonnes groundnut and this year, the country's export have so far been 219,739 tonnes groundnut in first seven months of 2015-16 as against 281,898 tonnes in corresponding period last year. According to industry sources, groundnut exports may not cross 500,000 tonnes mark by end of March this year.

In terms of Vietnam, the data showed that India had exported about 148,000 tonnes to Vietnam alone, thereby forming 26 per cent of total Indian groundnut exports during 2014-15. According to exporters, some fresh demand from Vietnam may generate in near future. However, a ban of last 9-10 months has created a void which is not likely to be fulfilled this fiscal.

"Import banned by Vietnam is the one of the major reasons for sharp fall in groundnut export from India this year. The country had banned groundnut import from April 2015 as it had found pests in Indian consignments. By end of March, country's total export is likely to be about 500,000 tonnes this year", said Sanjiv Sawla, chairman of IOPEPC.

Cautioning the exporters, Sawla stressed on the need to focus on quality of groundnuts since more and more countries are applying stringent norms on imports of food products considering the quality standards and food safety systems.

Vikram Duvani, managing director of Rachana Seeds Industry said, "Crop size was lower last year and domestic consumption was good which increased the groundnut price. Competing countries are offering cheaper rates. All this translated into lower export from the India."

Competing countries like Africa, Argentina, Brazil and the US offer groundnut at about $950-1,100 per tonne while India's groundnut prices are ruling at $1,000-1,150 per tonne in international market.

Country's export have decreased by 22 per cent to 219,739 tonnes groundnut in first seven months of 2015-16 as against 281,898 tonnes in corresponding period last year. IOPEPC data suggests that out of 281,898 tonnes export in the corresponding period 2014-15, Vietnam was the second largest importer with 43,983 tonnes after Indonesia that had imported about 102,230 tonnes. On the other side, demand from Indonesia has also decreased about 36 per cent to 65,602 tonnes in April to October period. Industry sources said that overall weak economy has affected the trade this year.

The council needs to closely examine the procedure for groundnut shipments to Vietnam. Preliminarily, it appears that the procedure is complex. Processors and exporters will have to take extra precaution for groundnut shipments to Vietnam. This positive development will boost exports of Groundnuts from India, said Mumbai based exporter.

 

Source :business-standard.com

Government To Increase Oil Imports From Africa: Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: India is looking at raising crude oil imports from Africa as part of efforts to diversify sourcing of energy and reducing dependence on the Middle East, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday.

India imports nearly 80 per cent of its oil needs. Nearly two-third of this volume traditionally was supplied by exporters in the Middle-East led by Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. This dependence over time has been brought down.

The country imported 99.36 million tons of crude oil in April-September this fiscal, 57 per cent of which came from the Middle-East region.

"We imported 32 million ton of crude in 2014 from Africa, including 3 million tons from North Africa and 29 million tons from West Africa, mainly from Nigeria and Angola. This constitutes approximately 16 per cent of our consumption. This is going to increase in the coming years," Pradhan said.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 4th India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference, he said over the past two decades, the African hydrocarbon sector has been expanding rapidly as also the interests of Indian oil companies in the continent.

"As a matter of policy, the present Indian government is keen to move towards a geographically diversified energy basket. This has resulted in India's greater focus on Africa as a vital region for sourcing petroleum products in coming years," he said.

Crude import from Africa has played an important role in India's energy security.

Of the 99.36 million tons of crude oil India imported in April-September this fiscal, Africa supplied a third of it while South America accounted for a little less than 16 per cent.

At 11.59 million tons, Nigeria is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India in April-September, behind Saudi Arabia (19.56 million tons) and Iraq (17.01 million tons).

Pradhan said India's scarcity of domestic energy resources can be offset by Africa's surplus energy reserves - which accounts for about 15 per cent of current proved accessible global oil reserves.

"Over the past two decades, the African hydrocarbon sector has seen rapid growth. The new discoveries in Africa have seen oil reserves grow by over 100 per cent and gas reserves grow by over 55 per cent. We believe that this will greatly improve Africa's position as an exporter of not only oil but also gas," he said.

India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world with over 7 per cent GDP growth, he said, adding that the country's energy consumption has been constantly increasing.

The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of Indian primary energy consumption in the last 15 years has been about 7.3 per cent as compared to a global CAGR of 3 per cent. "I expect energy demand to go up further," he said.

Pradhan said as per the International Energy Agency's (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2015, India will contribute around 25 per cent of the growth in global energy demand. It would thus be the single largest contributor to energy growth globally.

Indian upstream companies have been active in Africa's hydrocarbon sector.

"In Mozambique, Sudan and South Sudan, Indian companies have major presence in exploration and production segments with total investments of nearly $7-8 billion now," he said. "Indian companies also hold interest in key oil and gas projects in Gabon, Libya and Egypt."

"We are confident that India, apart from being an attractive market for crude oil and gas, would be an able partner for African nations across the industry value chain," he said.

Indian companies are already providing comprehensive Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services to the hydrocarbon sector in Africa. Presently, they are working in Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, Sudan and Ghana.

Pradhan had said during the India Africa Forum Summit in October last year, Prime Minister had announced 50,000 scholarships for African students and research scholars.

India has also offered a concessional credit of $10 billion over next 5 years for African countries.

"We have good scope to tap into this line of credit for oil and gas projects in Africa. I call upon public and private sector both in India and Africa to identify viable projects which can be financed and pursued through this line of credit," he said.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Government To Increase Oil Imports From Africa: Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: India is looking at raising crude oil imports from Africa as part of efforts to diversify sourcing of energy and reducing dependence on the Middle East, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday.

India imports nearly 80 per cent of its oil needs. Nearly two-third of this volume traditionally was supplied by exporters in the Middle-East led by Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. This dependence over time has been brought down.

The country imported 99.36 million tons of crude oil in April-September this fiscal, 57 per cent of which came from the Middle-East region.

"We imported 32 million ton of crude in 2014 from Africa, including 3 million tons from North Africa and 29 million tons from West Africa, mainly from Nigeria and Angola. This constitutes approximately 16 per cent of our consumption. This is going to increase in the coming years," Pradhan said.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 4th India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference, he said over the past two decades, the African hydrocarbon sector has been expanding rapidly as also the interests of Indian oil companies in the continent.

"As a matter of policy, the present Indian government is keen to move towards a geographically diversified energy basket. This has resulted in India's greater focus on Africa as a vital region for sourcing petroleum products in coming years," he said.

Crude import from Africa has played an important role in India's energy security.

Of the 99.36 million tons of crude oil India imported in April-September this fiscal, Africa supplied a third of it while South America accounted for a little less than 16 per cent.

At 11.59 million tons, Nigeria is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India in April-September, behind Saudi Arabia (19.56 million tons) and Iraq (17.01 million tons).

Pradhan said India's scarcity of domestic energy resources can be offset by Africa's surplus energy reserves - which accounts for about 15 per cent of current proved accessible global oil reserves.

"Over the past two decades, the African hydrocarbon sector has seen rapid growth. The new discoveries in Africa have seen oil reserves grow by over 100 per cent and gas reserves grow by over 55 per cent. We believe that this will greatly improve Africa's position as an exporter of not only oil but also gas," he said.

India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world with over 7 per cent GDP growth, he said, adding that the country's energy consumption has been constantly increasing.

The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of Indian primary energy consumption in the last 15 years has been about 7.3 per cent as compared to a global CAGR of 3 per cent. "I expect energy demand to go up further," he said.

Pradhan said as per the International Energy Agency's (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2015, India will contribute around 25 per cent of the growth in global energy demand. It would thus be the single largest contributor to energy growth globally.

Indian upstream companies have been active in Africa's hydrocarbon sector.

"In Mozambique, Sudan and South Sudan, Indian companies have major presence in exploration and production segments with total investments of nearly $7-8 billion now," he said. "Indian companies also hold interest in key oil and gas projects in Gabon, Libya and Egypt."

"We are confident that India, apart from being an attractive market for crude oil and gas, would be an able partner for African nations across the industry value chain," he said.

Indian companies are already providing comprehensive Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services to the hydrocarbon sector in Africa. Presently, they are working in Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, Sudan and Ghana.

Pradhan had said during the India Africa Forum Summit in October last year, Prime Minister had announced 50,000 scholarships for African students and research scholars.

India has also offered a concessional credit of $10 billion over next 5 years for African countries.

"We have good scope to tap into this line of credit for oil and gas projects in Africa. I call upon public and private sector both in India and Africa to identify viable projects which can be financed and pursued through this line of credit," he said.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Interest earned by developer on surplus funds parked with banks is taxable as income from other sour

IT: Where assessee, engaged in construction activities, deposited its surplus funds in FDRs, interest earned thereon was to be taxed as 'income from other sources'

CBEC's circular prevails over Education guide for valuation of flats given by builders to landowners

ST : Report of High Level Committee Recommending Valuation of Flats for Levy of Service Tax

Twisting Aluminium wire along with steel wire to form 'plaited wire bands' amounts to manufacture

Excise & Customs: Cabling/twisting together of Aluminium wires/wire rods along with steel wire to form 'plaited wire bands' would amount to manufacture because plaited wire bands, etc. have a different name, character and use and are classifiable separately.

No more refund of Bihar VAT to foreign diplomats

VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Bihar Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 – Amendment in Rules 14 & Omission of Rule 17

Failure to issue notice can't be cured by sec. 292BB even if assessee participated in reassessment p

IT : Merely because assessee participated in proceedings pursuant to notice under section 148, it would not obviate mandatory requirement of Assessing Officer to issue assessee a notice under section 143(2) before finalizing order of reassessment

Capital gain arise on transfer of land under JDA and not business income if there was no commercial

IT : Where in terms of construction agreement, assessee handed over piece of land to builder, for construction of multi storied building, since construction and sale of flats did not change character of asset and there was no material to show that assessee ever had any intention to exploit plot as a commercial venture, transaction could not be characterized as 'an adventure in nature of trade'

Murthy Panel on AIFs suggests favourable tax regime for investors

SEBI : Submission of Report by Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee

No MAT on foreign Co. as it doesn't have PE in India; AAR follows Government's stand

IT/ILT: Where a Mauritian Company a 100 per cent subsidiary of parent company proposed to transfer shares held by it in Indian company in favour of a company proposed to be incorporated in Singapore with an object of group re-organization, the transaction having begun almost 20 years back, it could not be said that it was for tax avoidance and, therefore profit arising from such transaction won't be subjected to tax in India in terms of Article 13 of of DTAA between India and Mauritius. Further,

Dept.'s appeal against liquidating Co. stands abated as no application filed by liquidator to contin

Excise & Customs : If assessee-company is being wound up, Revenue's appeal before Tribunal would stand abatement as per provisions of rule 22 of CESTAT (Procedure) Rules, 1982, unless an application is made by or against liquidator/receiver for continuance of proceedings

No additional depreciation if manufactured goods were captively consumed for construction activity

IT: Production of prefabricated piles which were going to be used by assessee in its business of piling, would form part of construction activity irrespective of fact whether such piles were constructed at project site or at some other place with help of machinery; it did not involve production or manufacture of an article or thing entitling assessee to additional depreciation on said machinery

Fee received for 'Supply Management Services' isn't taxable as FTS or royalty under India-UK DTAA

IT/ILT: Where Indian company CTIL purchases turbocharger components directly from third party in UK and US and in relation to such purchases, applicant provides supply management services which ensure CTIL market competitive pricing from suppliers and applicant is not imparting its technical knowledge and expertise to Indian company based on which Indian company will acquire such skills and will be able to make use of it in future, Supply Management Services fees received by applicant is not FTS

Sum received by FII for giving-up right to sue 'Satyam' for fraud is tax-free

IT/ILT : Settlement amount received by FIIs who had invested in company's shares/ADS for giving up right to sue the company for damages caused by fraud in financial statements is capital receipt and is not taxable. Settlement amount is a compensation for not pursuing the suit and involves surrender of capital asset of "right to sue". The capital asset "right to sue" cannot be transferred in terms of section 6(e) of the Transfer of Property Act. Even if surrender of right to sue can be treated as

HC allows depreciation on ROC fee after capitalizing it in cost of plant

IT: Where amount of fees paid to Registrar of Companies for increasing authorized share capital was capitalized against plant and machinery, assessee was entitled to depreciation at rate of 15 per cent on said amount

HUF or its Karta can't become partner in LLPs; MCA clarifies

LLP : Section 5 of The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 – Partners - Whet her Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)/Its Karta Can Become Partner/Designated Partner (DP) in Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

Rupee Falls 29 Paise Against Us Dollar

NEW DELHI: After a break, the rupee resumed its downtrend by falling 29 paise to 67.94 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking mixed cues from Asian currencies.

The domestic currency had closed 3 paise higher at 67.65 on Tuesday on fresh dollar selling by banks and exporters.

The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.5578 per dollar, which was higher than the previous fix of 6.5596, and up from the previous day's closing quote of 6.5787. There have been concerns that the recent weakness in the Chinese economy would prompt further stimulus by Chinese authorities, which may weaken the yuan and other Asian markets.

"The reality here is that the panic is really coming due to worries over the real intentions behind policymakers moves on the renminbi and exchange rate. The fact that it has started to truly trade according to a trade-weighted basket, makes it appear like the target is to keep it flat on a trade-weighted basis," said David Mann, Standard Chartered Bank, in an interview to ET Now.

So it will be more volatile on a bilateral basis against the dollar, which has been shaking the market sentiment, Mann added.

On Wednesday, the Korean won declined 0.39 per cent to 1210.60 against the greenback. Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and Thai baht fell 0.30 per cent, 0.14 per cent and 0.03 per cent, respectively.

On the flip side, Taiwanese dollar and Japanese yuan added 0.53 per cent and 0.38 per cent, respectivey. Yuan was flat.

There were also concerns over foreign equity outflows, which stood at Rs 6,385 crore so far in January.

"India has done better than other emerging market currencies. The Indian currency is down 7-8 per cent but not the same as other emerging markets. Russia's rouble has fallen 55-60 per cent. The macro fundamentals in India are good and we have a very good central bank. Even if there is some weakness, it will be limited as compared to other currencies," said John Praveen, Pramerica International Investments.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has retained India's growth forecast for the next two years even as it pared the global estimate citing subdued demand and diminished prospects in its latest update of the World Economic Outlook.

The ongoing month has seen Asian currencies falling as much as 3.5 per cent against the greenback. The rupee has declined 2.21 per cent, while the yuan has fallen 1.30 per cent.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Centre Allows Apple Import Via Kochi Port

KOCHI: The high court on Tuesday disposed petitions challenging a ban on importing fresh apples through ports other than Mumbai after the Centre informed that the ban has been relaxed.


During the hearing on Tuesday, the central government produced a copy of the new notification, according to which imports of apples can be made through seaports and airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Kochi as well as land and airports in Delhi.


The Kerala high court had earlier stayed the notification that allowed importing of fresh apples only through Nhava Sheva Port, east of Mumbai. The notification was issued by the department of commerce of the ministry of commerce and industry on September 14 last year.


Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam-based importers had filed petitions alleging that such a ban is in violation of their constitutional right to equality. They had pointed out that the restriction would result in an additional transportation cost of Rs2.25 lakh per container of apples. If the ban is allowed to continue, price of apples would rise to a range of Rs300 -350 per kg.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Sec. 234B interest couldn't be stretched to the stage of appellate proceedings

IT: In terms of section 234B(1), interest liability would end on date of determination of total income under section 143(1) or, in case of regular assessment, date of such assessment and there is no scope for extending such liability to a later date and relate it to a revisional, appellate or a rectification order

Diamond Industry Seeks Export Boosting Steps

SURAT: Slowdown in global markets continues to impact exports of cut and polished diamonds from India. Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has requested central government to introduce Special Turnover Tax regime for diamond industry with 0.75 per cent tax on sales turnover like it is in Israel, Belgium and Dubai to encourage companies of non-resident Indians to shift capital to India and give a boost to exports.

The latest import-export figures declared by GJEPC show that the exports of polished diamonds in December 2015 decreased by 17.1 per cent at $1.20 billion compared to $1.50 billion in the same month previous year.

However, rough diamond imports during the month increased by 2.44 per cent at 1.46 billion, marginally up by 2.44% in value terms from US$ 1.43 billion the previous December.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

 

India Cautiously Optimistic On Agri Exports To Iran

The lifting of economic sanctions on Iran has brightened the prospects of agriculture product exports to that country.

Despite domestic challenges, India has the potential to export fruits, vegetables and basmati rice to Iran.

Speaking to BusinessLine, V Shankar, Managing Director of Rallis India, said deficient rain in the last two years has put huge stress on farmers, with commodity prices dropping along with fall in output, a rare phenomenon in any business.

Given the current situation, farmers can definitely tap into export potential to Iran, if the Centre provides little support to bring down the cost of cultivation, he said.
Advantage of fruits, veggies

Fruits and vegetables are good diversification for farmers as they consume less water and can be grown in 90 days, as compared to other crops.

Export markets follow stringent quality norms with low pesticide residue and in case of rejection, farmers are hit badly as they have to incur high cost of cultivation and transportation.

“India can export all fruits including grapes, mangoes, pomegranate besides basmati rice, but globally commodity prices have fallen sharply. The high value agriculture export, if it becomes a reality, can bring big relief to farmers,” he said.

Incidentally, Rallis India works closely with farmers growing grapes in Nashik. Grapes are grown over 4 lakh acres in Maharashtra at Nashik, Sangli, Pune and Solapur. Last season, the crop was affected because of unseasonal rain and hailstorm. This year around, farmers fear the sudden drop in temperature in Nashik to impact overall production. Vinod Ahuja, President of Basmati Rice Farmers and Exporters Development Forum, said Iran displaced Saudi Arabia as one of the largest importers of Basmati rice from India, before the economic sanctions were imposed.

Iran used to import about 1 million tonne of basmati rice, and farmers in Punjab and Haryana switched from growing other crops to Pusa 1121 variety, but burned their fingers after Iran stopped buying directly from India after the sanctions, he said. India exports about 3.5 million of basmati rice annually.
Basmati price

Along with other commodities, the price of Basmati has fallen sharply to $897 a tonne between April and November from $1,352 a tonne registered in the same period last year. Till recently, India exported Basmati rice through Dubai.

Ahuja said opening up of any new market is always good farmers but given the high cost of cultivation and unpredictable climatic conditions has made farming a difficult task.

Source :thehindubusinessline.com

India Eyes More Crude Oil Imports From African Nations

India will host 22 African countries at the India-Africa Hydrocarbon Conference later this week. To be held in New Delhi on Thursday and Friday, this will be the fourth edition of the conference.

Three conferences were earlier held in 2007, 2009 and 2011. India had invited 25 oil and gas-producing African countries to the conference. Of these, 22 have confirmed their participation. Nine countries will be represented at the ministerial level. These include Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius, Sudan and South Sudan.

Mozambique and South Africa will skip the conference, as their ministers are busy with the World Economic Forum at Davos, official sources said.

The government hopes to consolidate the discussions that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had with delegates at India-Africa Summit three months ago.

Sources said India’s domestic production of crude oil has plateaued at 37 million tonnes (mt) and is likely to remain at this level with little likelihood of future discoveries and technological breakthroughs. Meanwhile, the number of African nations that have struck oil or gas has increased from seven in 1990 to 25 now.

India imports 76 per cent of its crude oil needs, which by 2030 is estimated to reach 90 per cent. The country also imports 37 per cent of its gas requirement.

Africa is likely to be a significant source of meeting India’s hydrocarbon needs in the years to come. This will also help India diversify its source of crude from volatile West Asia.

In 2014, India had imported 32 mt of crude, 15 per cent of its consumption that year, from Africa. This was primarily from Nigeria and Angola. Currently, India’s oil imports from Africa stand at 7.5 per cent.

Of India’s top four sources of gas – Qatar, Nigeria, Australia and Equatorial Guinea – two are from Africa. In 2015, India’s gas imports from Africa doubled compared to 2013; India accounted for eight per cent of Africa’s gas exports in 2015, compared to four per cent in 2013, official sources said.

India is also a major exporter of refined petroleum products and Africa is the second largest destination for these products. Seventeen per cent of India’s refined products are headed for Africa. New Delhi expects this figure to rise to 20 per cent.

Apart from energy security, India hopes to nurture the growth of African hydrocarbon sector by providing its expertise in oil exploration, refining, consultancy, training and infrastructure development. Indian public sector company ONGC Videsh has significant investments in the African oil & gas sector, particularly in Sudan, South Sudan and Libya. However, India's investments in Africa pales compared to China's $25 billion in that continent's oil & gas sector.

The total India-Africa trade has increased nine-fold from $8.2 billion in 2004 to $75 billion in 2014. New Delhi expects this to touch $100 billion in the next couple of years.


Three conferences were earlier held in 2007, 2009 and 2011. India had invited 25 oil and gas-producing African countries to the conference. Of these, 22 have confirmed their participation. Nine countries will be represented at the ministerial level. These include Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius, Sudan and South Sudan.

Mozambique and South Africa will skip the conference, as their ministers are busy with the World Economic Forum at Davos, official sources said.

The government hopes to consolidate the discussions that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had with delegates at India-Africa Summit three months ago.

Sources said India’s domestic production of crude oil has plateaued at 37 million tonnes (mt) and is likely to remain at this level with little likelihood of future discoveries and technological breakthroughs. Meanwhile, the number of African nations that have struck oil or gas has increased from seven in 1990 to 25 now.

India imports 76 per cent of its crude oil needs, which by 2030 is estimated to reach 90 per cent. The country also imports 37 per cent of its gas requirement.

Africa is likely to be a significant source of meeting India’s hydrocarbon needs in the years to come. This will also help India diversify its source of crude from volatile West Asia.

In 2014, India had imported 32 mt of crude, 15 per cent of its consumption that year, from Africa. This was primarily from Nigeria and Angola. Currently, India’s oil imports from Africa stand at 7.5 per cent.

Of India’s top four sources of gas – Qatar, Nigeria, Australia and Equatorial Guinea – two are from Africa. In 2015, India’s gas imports from Africa doubled compared to 2013; India accounted for eight per cent of Africa’s gas exports in 2015, compared to four per cent in 2013, official sources said.

India is also a major exporter of refined petroleum products and Africa is the second largest destination for these products. Seventeen per cent of India’s refined products are headed for Africa. New Delhi expects this figure to rise to 20 per cent.

Apart from energy security, India hopes to nurture the growth of African hydrocarbon sector by providing its expertise in oil exploration, refining, consultancy, training and infrastructure development. Indian public sector company ONGC Videsh has significant investments in the African oil & gas sector, particularly in Sudan, South Sudan and Libya. However, India's investments in Africa pales compared to China's $25 billion in that continent's oil & gas sector.

The total India-Africa trade has increased nine-fold from $8.2 billion in 2004 to $75 billion in 2014. New Delhi expects this to touch $100 billion in the next couple of years.

 

Source :.business-standard.com

No ST on sub-brokers if stock broker already paid tax on total brokerage amount

Service Tax : Where service tax had been paid on total brokerages by main broker under 'stock-broker services', no tax could be demanded from sub-broker under same category

Amendment Act to prevent crimes against SCs and STs to be effective from Jan 26, 2016

CORPORATE LAWS/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Section 1 of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 – Act – Enforcement of – Notified Date on Which Provisions of Said Act Shall Come Into Force

Period of holding of ESOP shall be counted from date of exercising of option and not from date of of

IT: Where sweat equity shares were offered to assessee by employer was accepted immediately and assessee exercised option after three years and on same date shares were also sold, gains would be short-term capital gain or, in alternative, income from other sources, not liable for exemption under section 10(38) or section 54EC

IRDA releases revised guidelines to streamline regulatory process of cross border reinsurers

INSURANCE : Guidelines on Cross Border Reinsurers

Salary includes DA but excludes other allowances for computing exemption of gratuity and leave encas

IT : Computation of benefit of gratuity and leave encashment under sections 10(10) and 10(10AA) to be governed by definition of 'salary' as per Rule 2(h) Part A, Fourth Schedule

Objection against value adopted by DVO is meaningless when assessment is made on basis of stamp duty

IT: Assessee's objections regarding valuation made by DVO had no meaning where in terms of section 50C(3) assessment was made by adopting valuation made by stamp valuation authorities as full value of consideration as against valuation made by DVO

MMTC has prior charge of property over Punjab & Sind Bank as its mortgage deed is of earlier date

RDDBFI: Where DRT decree was passed by Recovery Officer in favour of PSB in respect of disputed property though arbitral award had already been passed in favour of MMTC in respect of that property, earlier mortgage would take prior claim by virtue of section 48 of TPA and matter was to be remanded to Recovery Officer to determine whether mortgage claim existed in favour of PSB

Service used to control pollution in factory area is eligible for Cenvat Credit

Cenvat Credit : Services meant for maintenance of green-belt to reduce pollution are eligible for input service credit, as control of pollution in factory area is an indispensable necessity

SEBI issues FAQs on new listing norms

SEBI : Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Sebi (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015

SLP against reassessment proceedings stands dismissed when reassessment order was set aside by appel

IT/ILT : Where reassessment order passed by Assessing Officer denying deduction under section 80P to assessee-bank was disallowed by Commissioner (Appeals) as well as Tribunal, special leave petition filed by assessee against High Court's order allowing reassessment proceeding, became infructuous

Co. owing significant intangibles couldn't be compared with a software development service provider

IT/ILT: A company owning significant intangibles, earning revenue from sale of licences and subscription and owning intellectual property in form of registered patents cannot be compared to software development service provider

On department's appeal, Tribunal can't go beyond points arising out of review order of Committee

Customs : On department's appeal, Tribunal cannot go beyond points arising out of review order of Committee; it can consider additional points only to the extent of points raised in Memorandum of Cross-objections filed by respondent.

Revenue subsidy taxable even if reduced from cost of asset; FA 2015 amendment is prospective: ITAT

Revenue subsidy taxable even if reduced from cost of asset; FA 2015 amendment is prospective: ITAT

Delhi Govt. hikes VAT on petrol and diesel by 96 paise and 53 paise per litre, respectively

DELHI/VAT/NOTIFICATION/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : DELHI VALUE ADDED TAX ACT, 2004 – AMENDMENT IN FOURTH SCHEDULE

Rupee Recovers 8 Paise Against Dollar In Early Trade

 Snapping its three-day losing streak, the rupee edged higher by 8 paise to 66.60 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange in early trade today, on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.

Besides, a higher opening in domestic stock markets supported the rupee but dollar’s strength against other currencies overseas capped the gains.

The rupee had dropped nine paise to close at 67.68 per dollar in yesterday’s trade on sustained demand for the US currency from banks and importers amid sharp fall in equities.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex recovered by 126.72 points or 0.52 per cent, at 24,315.09 in early trade.

 

Source :thehindu.com

Unfettered Access To Iran Could Help India

 The lifting of sanctions on Iran at a time when the global crude oil prices have nosedived to historic lows may not be all good news for Indian companies. It would become easier for oil refiners to source crude oil from there though increasing quantities from the country could take time and might not be feasible in the short run.

Further fall in crude oil prices due to Iranian crude coming into the market could, however, add to the woes of India's oil and gas producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Oil India and Cairn India. Besides, the quality of crude would be a crucial issue. According to Platts, an estimated 65 per cent of 47-49 million barrels of Iranian oil volumes stored on ships is condensate with high sulphur content.

ALSO READ: Indo-Iran trade braces for change

The sanctions were lifted late Saturday, following confirmation from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Tehran had fulfilled its obligations under an agreement last summer to limit its nuclear programme. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report triggered Implementation Day, which will give Iran access to billions of petrodollars frozen in foreign banks and remove the constraints that have capped the country's crude exports at just one million barrels a day (b/d) over the past four years, said Platts in a report.

A senior executive from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest fuel retailer, said: "Half a million barrel of additional crude in the market means prices will remain depressed at least for some time."

ALSO READ: Iran orders 500,000 bpd oil production increase

The benefits will take a long time to materialise. Iran crude volumes of imports have been replaced by oil from other geographies over the years as India diversified its basket. India's import of crude oil from Iran has dropped from 21 million tonne (mt) in 2008-09 to 10 mt last financial year. The share of Iranian crude in India's total crude oil imports has also slumped from more than 16 per cent to less than five per cent during this eight-year period.

A decline in crude oil price is positive for the current account deficit as India imports about 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement. According to rating agency Icra, every one dollar decline in international crude oil price reduces the import bill by about Rs 6,500 crore and the gross under-recoveries by Rs 800-900 crore. The road for refiners, however, would not be all clear. The Iranian crude was attractive for the India refiners, owing to sops that Iran offered such as concessional pricing and three-month credit period as against one-month credit period, which is the norm in the industry.

"These sops significantly buttressed the gross refining margins of Indian refineries and aided their liquidity," said Icra.

Whether the sops would continue remains to be seen, however with India’s huge oil requirements and the Iranian leadership’s emphasis on increasing production and market share, it is expected that Indian refiners would continue to enjoy favourable terms,” said ICRA.

According to Sarosh Zaiwalla, founder and senior partner at London-based Zaiwalla & Co, India could have a problem if Iran insists on past dues to be paid in dollars. The earlier payment involved the two countries adjusting rupee payment for oil purchases against India’s exports to Iran.

Zaiwalla said the imposition of extensive sanctions and trade restrictions on Iran have crippled its economy in the past few years, particularly in the financial and energy sectors. “Since the JCPOA was agreed in July last year, we have seen dozens of multinational companies extending their efforts in Iran, all of which have been jockeying for pole position in an effort to become an exclusive trade partner with Iran.”

He said Iran’s reengagement with international markets has been supported by new legislation designed to attract more foreign investment into the country, removing previous restrictions on the percentage of foreign shareholding in Iran and even opening up the possibility of registering an Iranian company with 100 per cent foreign capital. “Lifting of sanctions is particularly important development for the energy sector, in which Iran is hoping to attract $30 billion foreign investment to help realise its ambitions to increase oil production,” said Zaiwalla.

Iran is, however, subject to a “snapback” re-imposition of the terminated sanctions in the event of significant non-performance of its JCPOA commitments. Additionally, the majority of US sanctions preventing US persons from conducting transactions in Iran remain in place and businesses must ensure they comply with all applicable sanctions to prevent problems, he said.

Prospects for oil block, fertilisers improve

One of the first upstream projects languishing due to imposition of sanctions on Iran is the Farzad-B block in the Farsi field, estimated to have 12.8 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserves. ONGC Videsh Ltd had discovered the Farzad-B gas field in 2008 and in 2010 submitted a revised master development plan for producing 60 per cent of the 21.68 trillion cubic feet of in-place gas reserves. Geopolitics, however, came in the way of its development with a result that the block was not only surrendered by Indian companies, but Iran put it up for fresh bidding in 2014.

A consortium comprising Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, India Oil Corporation and Oil India signed an agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company in 2002. After investing $90 million in the exploration phase, the consortium quit the contract, which insiders say was because of India's fear of displeasing the US. Getting back the project could, now, prove difficult for the Indian companies.

Besides oil, the lifting of sanctions could see revival of projects for setting up fertiliser production plants in Iran, with the latter providing gas under long-term contracts.

DECODING LIFTING OF SANCTIONS ON IRAN
The lifting of sanctions on Iran, which came late Saturday, followed confirmation from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency that Tehran had fulfilled its obligations under an agreement last summer, to limit its nuclear programme. Prior to lifting of sanctions, Iran's crude export was capped at just one million barrels a day (b/d) over the past four years.

IRAN'S OIL PLANS

    Iran's oil ministry activated its planned 500,000 b/d oil output increase on Sunday. If achieved, this volume would take Iranian output to around 3.39 million b/d and exports to 1.5 million b/d
     
    Iran has based its next budget for 2016-2017 on an oil price of $40/b and exports of 2.25 million b/d, Gholamreza Kateb, a govt spokesman said on Sunday
     
    Iran hopes to attract top international oil companies to its upstream sector (estimated at 157 billion barrels) and gas (1,200 Tcf*). It has designed a new upstream contract model and will present it in London in February
     
    Iran is currently pumping less than 3 million b/d. A Platts survey estimated that the country produced 2.89 million b/d in December
     
    The International Energy Agency has said it expects Iran to be able to achieve crude output of 3.6 million b/d, similar to the 2011 level, within six months of lifting the sanctions
     
    The immediate impact on exports is expected to come from Iran's considerable floating storage. According to latest data from cFlow, Platts trade flow software, between 47 million and 49 million barrels of Iranian crude oil and condensate is stored on ships of the state-owned National Iranian Tanker and other ship operators
     
    Market sources have estimated 65% of this volume to be condensate and expect some of this to trickle into the spot market in Asia. They, however, said Iranian condensate has limited outlets in Asia.

 

Source :.business-standard.com
 

Basmati Exporters Eye Better Realisations As Iran Opens Up

With global commodity prices declining in the first half of FY16, realisations from basmati rice exports from India have plunged. The average export price of basmati slipped from $1,352 per tonne in April-November 2014 to $897 in the same period in 2015. Now that sanctions against Iran have been lifted, direct exports to Iran will resume, helping improve realisations. Till now, exports were routed through Dubai, at lower rates.

Export volumes surged 23 per cent during April-November 2015 over the year-ago period, indicating demand was good at lower price.

According to sources in Agri and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority, the turmoil in West Asian countries and a sharp decline in crude oil prices have put the exporters in a tight spot as the purchasing power of the traders in the importing countries has been hit. The government cannot do much to bail out the exporters as commodity prices have plummeted globally.

Iran's resumption of imports on 15 December 2015 may provide some cushion to exporters. Due to sanctions imposed on Iran, basmati exports to that country remained suspended from October 2014 to December 2015.

Iran has been a major importer of Indian basmati and contributes 25 per cent to the exports kitty. The revival of exports to Iran after lifting of sanctions has brought a sentimental shift among exporters. "We expect an annual demand of 1 million to 1.2 million from Iran, as the traders over there have been running low stocks. This may also trigger a revival in price but it is too premature to quantify the price revision", said Salil Bhatia, of D D International, a top basmati exporter from India. Iran is an important market for Pusa 1121 variety and reopening basmati trade with it has already catalysed the demand. The basmati prices have touched a low and our prices in international market are close to those of South American rice."

Despite higher volumes, low realisations have forced most exporters to look at the domestic market. Amritsar based Amar Singh Chawal Wala, a leading rice exporter having an average annual basmati exports of 80,000 metric ton is projecting a fall in exports this year. Arvinder Pal Singh, the Director of the company said that they registered a 10 per cent growth in volume last year but falling crude prices and eventual fall in commodity prices may make export unviable. The companies sells under 'Lal Quila' brand rice and gearing up to consolidate its presence in domestic market.

The experts say that higher sowing under basmati paddy in the last two kharif seasons created a glut in the market and falling export price may discourage basmati sowing in kharif 2016 equating demand and supply and bring price correction. Basmati acreage was 2.1 million hectare in kharif 2014, up 35 per cent over kharif 2013. It went up to 2.2 million hectare in kharif 2015. Higher acreage also contributed to dwindling prices.

Although, the prices crashed at the farm gate level this year, plunging from an average Rs 4,000 a quintal in kharif 2014 to Rs 2,200-2,500 in kharif 2015, this could not provide any safeguard to exporters.

Farmers have evidently been the most effected and in some cases have not even been able to recover cost. Exporters, who incur 20-30 per cent of the carrying cost and about 14-15 per cent of finance costs, are in a catch-22 situation, added Singh.

Big brands such as L T Overseas have a legroom to supply at prevailing prices and Ashwani Arora, the Director of the company is sanguine over the revival of prices.

A Karnal-based exporter, and promoter of Maharani Brand of rice, Ankit Setia conceded that there have been challenges on export front but it's a part of business cycle. Setia is also aggressively expanding its domestic footprint and targets a national presence in a few months.

Source :.business-standard.com

Strong India, Africa Demand Lifts South Africa 2015 Coal Exports

RICHARDS BAY: Coal exports from South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBTC) rose by 5.7 percent to 75.4 million tonnes in 2015 helped by demand in Africa and India.

Africa's largest coal export facility, a major supplier to Europe and Asia, RBCT had set a target of 75 million tonnes and aims for similar results in 2016.

"Its going to be hard to beat 75 million tonnes, because of where prices are sitting this year," Chief Executive Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane told a news conference.

Shipments to Africa and India rose sharply, offsetting a fall in demand from Europe and from China, where RBTC said it did not send a single vessel in 2015.

Coal prices have tumbled in recent years due to a glut of supply and weaker demand growth, pushing some producers to curtail activity, sell or shut coal mines.

RBCT, which moves the commodity on behalf of producers and shareholders such as Exxaro and Anglo American,

said it had shelved expansions plans due to weak prices.

RBTC had planned to increase its capacity to 110 million tonnes from 91 million tonnes.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Tata Steel Uk Announces Layoffs Amid Cheap Chinese Imports

LONDON: Manufacturer Tata Steel on Monday announced it will cut 1,050 jobs in Britain as part of cost-savings plans to compete against cheap Chinese imports, raising the clamor for government intervention to protect struggling industries.

The layoffs, largely in Wales, come just months after an earlier round of cuts in the industry, including 1,200 slashed by Tata in October. Another company, Sahaviriya Steel Industries, announced the closure of its Redcar plant last fall with the loss of 2,200 jobs while Caparo Industries went into administration, putting more jobs at risk.

``We need the European Commission to accelerate its response to unfairly traded imports and increase the robustness of its actions,'' said Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel's European operations. ``Not doing so threatens the future of the entire European steel industry.''

The British government has been under pressure to raise the issue of China selling steel at a loss on world markets. The oversupply of steel has depressed prices, and manufacturers want anti-dumping duties to be imposed.

Prime Minister David Cameron described the layoffs as ``sad news,'' and has promised to work with local communities to lessen the blow.

``We'll continue to work with them and I want to have a strong British steel industry at the heart of our important manufacturing base,'' he said.

Though Cameron argued the government had taken action, his critics suggest Britain has been reluctant to take on China at a time when so many businesses in the country want to step up trade. Unions have accused the government of failing to deliver on promises to help.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Trade Deficit Up As Gold Imports Triple

NEW DELHI: India's trade deficit widened in December as gold imports nearly trebled, due to a rush from traders to take advantage of lower prices and a fall in exports for the 13th straight month.

Latest data released by the commerce department on Monday estimated that gold imports hit a four-month high of $3.8 billion last month, which was 2.7 times or $2.4 billion higher than the value of shipments in December 2014.

Trade deficit rose to $11.7 billion in December 2015, compared to $9.1 billion a year ago - a rise of $2.6 billion - suggesting surge in yellow metal imports contributed to the higher gap. During the first nine months of the year, however, gold imports rose by under 2% to $26.6 billion.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Promotion or advertisement of products of ICICI Bank amounts to Business Auxiliary Services

Service Tax : Promotion of retail marketing of products of ICICI Bank and undertaking responsibility for advertising for promotion of ICICI's banks products in area of assessee's operation amounts to Business Auxiliary Service

HC directs chief CIT to waive off sec. 234C interest as taxpayer had made genuine estimation of inco

IT : Where Assessing Officer charged interest under section 234C from assessee on plea that during year advance tax paid was less and assessee filed application for waiver of interest stating that it had paid advance tax on basis of anticipated current income during first quarter of year and there was no contemplation that its current income would exceed income for previous assessment year, it was fit case for exercise of discretion by Chief Commissioner under clause 2(b) of notification dated 2

Running petrol pump for HPCL amounts to providing Business Auxiliary Services

Service Tax: Service by way of sale of goods produced/provided by or belonging to client is Business Auxiliary Service (BAS), hence, activity of running petrol pump owned by client M/s. HPCL and causing sale of petroleum products thereat amounts to BAS; it does not amount to manpower supply services, as employees continue to be under control and supervision of assessee and not HPCL

Coaching institute not liable to service-tax on book sold to students if same is separately invoiced

Service Tax: Where sale of study materials was shown separately in invoice, assessee was eligible for benefit of exemption in respect of said sale under Notification No. 12/2003-ST; hence, value of study material would not form part of value of coaching services

Roaming charges paid by 'Idea' to other telecom operator isn't liable to TDS

IT: Where Commissioner passed an order on assessee directing Assessing Officer to reassess TDS liability of assessee in respect of roaming charges paid by it to other telecom operators, since said issue had already been decided in favour of assessee by Tribunal in assessee's own case in earlier assessment year, impugned order was liable to be set aside

IRDA proposes graded approach to encourage good behavior and better compliance by Insurance brokers

INSURANCE : Approach in Case of Non-Compliance of IRDA's (Insurance Broker) Regulations, 2015

Devender Kumar Sikri appointed as Chairman of Competition Commission of India

COMPETITION ACT : Appointment of New Chairman/Chairperson of Competition Commission of India

SEBI establishes its local office at Patna

SEBI : Inauguration of Patna Local Office of Sebi

Govt. lays out road map for implementation of IndAs for banks and Insurance Cos

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/AAA : Roadmap Drawn-Up for Implementation of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind As) Converged With International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for Scheduled Commercial Banks (Excluding RRBS), Insurers/Insurance Companies and NBFCs

Running petrol pump for HPCL amounts to providing of Business Auxiliary Services

Service Tax: Service by way of sale of goods produced/provided by or belonging to client is Business Auxiliary Service (BAS), hence, activity of running petrol pump owned by client M/s. HPCL and causing sale of petroleum products thereat amounts to BAS; it does not amount to manpower supply services, as employees continue to be under control and supervision of assessee and not HPCL

Delay in filing ITR by AOP can't be condoned if it fails to report that PAN is allotted to it in sta

IT: Where assessee, an AOP, applied for grant of PAN on 19-1-2005 and department erroneously issued PAN in favour of partnership firm and thereafter assessee in year 2014 applied to Commissioner pointing out error in PAN and requested for giving suitable directions by exercising powers under section 119, this was not a case where hardship could be removed under section 119

HC could consider additional facts if they were already on record but not taken note of by ITAT

IT : In a reference u/s 256,it is not permissible for High Court to make a fresh determination of facts found by ITAT. However, HC can take into account additional facts already on record but not taken note of by ITAT to arrive at its findings. HC can also construe certain facts found by ITAT of significance as against the contrary view of ITAT that they were of no significance. There is all the difference between making determination of new or additional facts by HC(which is not permissible)

No denial of sec. 11 relief to society if AO failed to prove that society had paid undue salary to e

IT: Where there was failure by Assessing Officer to indicate in assessment order that salary paid by assessee-society to executive director was unreasonable, no violation of provision of section 13(1)(c) could be alleged and exemption could not be denied

Sale of 100% shareholding in subsidiary Co. could not be treated as 'Slump Sale'

IT : Where assessee sold its entire shareholding in its subsidiary company to a third party, since sale consideration was received by assessee itself and not by said subsidiary, it could not be treated as slump sale within meaning of section 2(42C)

Rupee Hits Fresh 28-Month Low Against Us Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee hit a fresh 28-month low against the US dollar on Monday after local equity markets fell over 300 points. The home currency is trading lower in eight out of eleven sessions.

At 3.16pm, the rupee was trading at 67.71 a dollar, down 0.16% from its previous close of 67.61. The local currency opened at 67.62 a dollar and touched a low of 67.72—a level last seen on 4 September 2013. The rupee has fallen 7.7% during this fiscal year.

India’s trade deficit widened to the most since August as a 179% surge in gold shipments slowed an overall decline in imports. The gap rose to $11.7 billion in December from $9.8 billion in November. The drop in imports slowed to about 4% in December from a year earlier after a 30% decline in November, even as exports plunged about 15%, Bloomberg report said.

India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 24,182.82 points, down 1%, or 310 points. In the first two weeks of the current calendar year, the Sensex has fallen 7.2%, exceeding the decline it had recorded in the just-concluded previous calendar year. In 2015, Sensex declined 5.03%.

Asian currencies were trading higher. Taiwan dollar was up 0.27%, China offshore 0.24%, South Korean won 0.19%, Philippines peso 0.13%, Thai baht 0.12%, Philippines peso 0.13%, China renminbi 0.08%, Singapore dollar 0.07%. However, Japanese yen was down 0.32%, Indonesian rupiah 0.12%.

Meanwhile, the 10-year bond yield was trading higher for the seventh trading sessions as traders bet that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not cut rates in the next policy given the jump in retail inflation in December. RBI is due to announce its bi-monthly policy on 2 February.

The yield on India’s current 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.815% compared with its Friday’s close of 7.812%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since 1 April, the Sensex is down over 13%, while foreign institutional investors have sold $3.41 billion from local equity markets and bought $972 million from the debt market.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 99.087, up 0.13% from its previous close of 98.956.

 

Source :livemint.com

Sovereign gold bonds available at Rs 26,00 per gram of gold

IT : Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, 2016

Ease In Import Threatens Kashmir Apple Industry

The Union Government decision to relax import restrictions on apples through various sea ports in the country is likely to hit Kashmir apple industry with local stakeholders here claiming the move will cause a whopping Rs 400 crore loss to the Valley.

The government of India earlier used to allow import of apples through only one sea port of Maharashtra, but now it has decided to allow inbound shipments of the fruit through sea ports and airports in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Cochin. It has also permitted imports from land port and airport in Delhi besides land borders.

The move as per the fruit dealers would have a serious impact on the Kashmir apple industry.

“On an average we export apples worth Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 crore to outside state. The decision of the central government will badly affect our apple trade and would reduce our turnover by a huge margin,” president All Kashmir Fruit Growers cum Dealers Association, Bashir Ahmad Basheer, said.

He explained that earlier apples from foreign countries like USA, China, Chile, Afghanistan, Iran, etc., were imported only through NhavaSheva port in Maharashtra. “That was not a big threat for us. But now government has opened all ports and airports which means foreign apples will be cheaper than ours as a result of which our trade will be drastically hit,” he said.

He said this year due to centre government’s decision, Kashmir apple sector is estimated to suffer a loss Rs 400 crore as the rate of apples has reduced much to the dismay of local growers.

“Fruit dealers have kept apples in CA stores in order to sell them during this season as earlier it used to fetch them good prices,” Basheer added.

President, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mushtaq Ahmad Wani said: “The state government should take up this matter with the central government so that the future of Kashmir horticulture sector is not jeopardized,” he said.

Apple is the most heavily consumed imported fruit in India. India is world's third-largest producer of apples. Apple production in the country is limited to the hilly states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Source :greaterkashmir.com

Lifting Of Us Sanctions On Iran To Help India’S Oil Imports

NEW DELHI: India is among the top destinations where Iran looks to export more crude oil following the lifting of US sanctions against the Persian Gulf country and green signal from the International Atomic Energy Agency. "With consideration to global market conditions and the surplus that exists, Iran is ready to raise its crude oil exports by 500,000 barrels a day," Iran's deputy oil minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia was quoted as saying by the Shana news agency.

And, according to Iranian government sources, Tehran is targeting India besides its traditional European partners as one of its top destinations. Sources said crude tankers are already in the Iranian waters, ready to set sail for destinations including India. They said Tehran is not contemplating increasing oil exports to China, South Korea or Japan due to slow demand and also because of a shift in those countries towards getting oil beyond West Asia and the Persian Gulf.

India currently imports 260,000 barrels of oil a day from Iran, which has the world's fourth-biggest proven oil reserves. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), Indian Oil Corporation, and Essar Oil are the primary buyers of the Iranian oil.

With Indian car market growing faster than China and the country's economic growth rate picking up, it is implied that India's demand for oil will increase. Iran was exporting up to 800,000 bpd to Europe, including to oil majors Royal Dutch Shell, Italy's ENI and France's Total Greek Hellenic Petroleum and Spain's Repsol and Turkish firms before sanctions were imposed on Tehran.

This figure could be restored postsanctions. However, there are speculations that oil prices could fall further when Iran increases exports. Indian oil imports from Iran, too, have been on the decline since the sanctions were imposed and payments became difficult.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Gold Imports Jump 179% To $3.80 Billion In December After Dip In Global Prices

NEW DELHI: After recording decline, gold imports more than doubled to USD 3.80 billion in December, driven by dip in global prices.

In December 2014, gold imports stood at USD 1.36 billion, according to Commerce Ministry data.

The figure for December 2015 is the highest in the last three months. In August last year, it was USD 4.95 billion.

The prices have been declining at global as well as domestic markets and higher import impacts the country's current account deficit (CAD).

The jump in imports has widened the trade deficit to a four month high of USD 11.66 billion in the month under review.

India is the largest importer of gold in the world, the demand of which mostly comes from the jewellery industry.

During April-December this fiscal, the imports increased to USD 26.45 billion as against USD 25.85 billion in the same period last year.

In 2014-15, gold was the third-largest commodity imported to India after crude oil and electronic items. In the respective fiscal, the country's imports stood at USD 34.32 billion.

In terms of volume, India -- the world's second-biggest gold consumer -- had imported around 900 tonnes in 2014.

Gold prices in the international market have fallen to a five-year low.

India imported 850 tonnes of gold during January-September period of 2015 as against 650 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

No reference to Special Bench of ITAT when case was referred to Division Bench to give effect to maj

IT : Where Competent Authority placed matter before a Division Bench of Tribunal for giving effect to majority opinion of Accountant Member and Third Member and assessee raised objections urging to adjourn matter or refer matter to President for Constitution of a Special Bench, objections were liable to be rejected and majority view deserved to be confirmed

Vegetable Oils Import Up 24 Per Cent In December On Low Global Rates

NEW DELHI: India's vegetable oil imports rose 24 per cent last month to 14.18 lakh tonnes on sharp jump in shipments of RBD palmolein, owing to low global prices.

Imports of vegetable oils (comprising edible and non- edible oils) stood at 11.39 lakh tonnes in December 2014, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India said in a statement.

Edible oils import rose to 14.07 lakh tonnes in December last year from 11.23 lakh tonnes in December 2014. However, imports of non-edible oils fell to 11,467 tonnes from 17,996 tonnes in the year-ago period.

"It is a well known fact that globally the prices of edible oil are historically low since 2008, and has affected the domestic players," SEA said in a statement.

Overall import of vegetable oils during first two months of the current oil year 2015-16 (November to October) went up 18 per cent to 27,56,047 tonnes as compared to 23,29,520 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.

During November-December 2015, import of refined oil (RBD palmolein) jumped to 4,61,192 tonnes from 1,03,136 tonnes in the same period of previous oil year.

The country's vegetable oil imports touched a record 14.61 million tonnes in 2014-15 oil year ended October.

SEA said that the current stock of edible oils as on January 1, 2016 is the record highest.

Stock at various ports is estimated at 11.10 lakh tonnes and about 14 lakh tonnes in pipelines, taking the total to 25.10 lakh tonnes, which is higher than 24.3 lakh tonnes in December 2015 and 20.7 lakh tonnes in January 2015.

India's monthly requirement is about 16 lakh tonnes and currently, the holding stock of over 25.10 lakh tonnes is equal to 47 days requirements, SEA said.

"In last one year, CIF Indian port prices of edible oils moved downward in line with fall in international prices. RBD palmolein price is down by USD 112 per tonne (-16 per cent), crude palm oil by USD 119 (-18 per cent), crude soyabean oil by USD 86 (-10 per cent) and sunflower oil by USD 7 (-1 per cent). In last one year rupee has depreciated by 6 per cent," SEA said.

In order to curb imports and protect domestic oilseeds farmers and processing mills, the government had in September last year raised import duty on crude edible oils to 12.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent, while the duty on refined edible oils was increased to 20 per cent from 15 per cent.

India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and a small quantity of crude soft oils, including soyabean oil from Latin America. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

CBDT denied to condone delay in filing return as assessee failed to show any genuine reason for dela

IT: Where assessee had miserably failed to convince that he had any 'genuine hadrship' in filing his income-tax return late by 30 months, no benefit of section 119(2) could be given to him to claim any refund

No wealth-tax exemption on urban land if same is occupied by a under constructed building

IT : In terms of clause (ii) of Explanation 1(b) to section 2(ea)(v), benefit of exemption in respect of urban vacant land is available only when building is fully constructed with approval of appropriate authority and not when construction activity has merely started

Cenvat credit couldn't be utilized to pay service tax under reverse charge on import of services

Service Tax : In case of import of services under section 66A, assessee is deemed to be service provider only for purpose of paying service tax; insofar as Cenvat credit is concerned, imported service cannot be regarded as output service and, therefore, credit balance cannot be used to pay service tax under reverse charge on imported services.

Secretarial Standards Board of ICSI unveils guidance notes on SS-1 and SS-2

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Guidance Note on Meeting of The Board of Directors (SS-1) and General Meetings (SS-2)

Due date to file reconciliation return under DVAT further extended to Feb. 29, 2016

VAT : DELHI VAT – Filing of Reconciliation Return for the Year 2014-15

Amendment made in sec. 200A allowing computation of fee u/s 234E while processing of TDS return is p

IT: Prior to 1-6-2015, there was no enabling provision in section 200A for raising demand in respect of levy of fees under section 234E in respect of default in furnishing TDS statements

HC directs ITAT to consider explanation of assessee before valuing closing stock at market value

IT : Where assessee adopted cost value for purpose of computation of closing stock of molasses and bagasse and Assessing Officer held that assessee should have adopted market value and Tribunal confirmed this, since Tribunal had overlooked material available, matter required reconsideration

No rejection of books of accounts just because qualitative records of stock was not maintained

IT: Books of account could not be rejected merely because qualitative records was not maintained

Demand stayed against local authority as it wasn't taxed earlier and now it was taxed only via provi

IT: Where for prior period, income of assessee, a local authority constituted under provisions of Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976, had been assessed at nil and it was sought to be brought into tax dragnet only by resorting to proviso to section 2(15), it should be granted stay of demand till disposal of appeal against assessment order by Commissioner (Appeals)

Income of an educational unit escaped assessment as it got exemption without getting approval under

IT: Where assessee has not received approval from prescribed authority under section 10(23C)(vi), it cannot be said that non-disposal of an application under section 10(23C)(vi) would result in deemed grant of approval to assessee, enabling it to claim deduction under section 10(23C)(vi)

Short-term capital loss can be set off from short-term capital gain as well as long-term capital gai

IT: In view of provisions of section 74(1)(a) loss arising from transfer of short-term capital asset, which are brought forward from earlier years, can be set-off against capital gain assessable for subsequent assessment year in respect of any other capital asset which could be either long-term capital gain and short-term capital gain