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
Monday 18 January 2016
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
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
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
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