Debt Recovery Tribunal can execute recovery certificate against a property situated outside its juri

Banking Laws : DRT at Mumbai could get recovery certificate executed by its recovery officer in respect of property situate at Vapi in State of Gujarat under jurisdiction of DRT-Ahmedabad

Withdrawal of revaluation reserve not to be reduced from book profit if wasn't added back while crea

IT : Where revaluation reserve is created after 1-4-1997, in terms of proviso to clause (i) of second part of Explanation to section 115JB, amount withdrawn from said reserve in an assessment year commencing after 1-4-1997 would not be reduced from book profit unless book profit of such year had been increased by those reserves

HC nods to stay of demand as earlier ITAT granted stay on similar issue and facts remained unchanged

IT: Where Tribunal in earlier years on very same issue in dispute had conclusively indicated in its order that assessee had a prima facie case for stay of demand, in absence of any change in circumstances, assessee's application for stay of demand during relevant year was also to be allowed

DTA clearances by EOU in excess of permissible limits would be liable to full duty

Excise & Customs : Where assessee-EOU had made excess DTA clearances over and above permissible limit, assessee was liable to full duty thereon and mere pendency of application for further permission cannot avoid levy of duty

A comparable ceases to be so for the period it operated under extra-ordinary circumstances

IT/ILT : Transfer Pricing : A comparable ceases to be so for the period it operated under extra-ordinary circumstances

Developer of housing project need not to be owner of property as well for claiming sec. 80-IB relief

IT: For purpose of allowing deduction under section 80-IB(10), it is not necessary that assessee, a developer of housing project, should be owner of property as well

Sec. 40(a)(ia) disallowance to be considered as business profits for purposes of sec. 10A relief

IT: Amount of statutory disallowance under section 40(a)(ia) has to be considered as business profit eligible for deduction under section 10A

CLB could not interfere in internal affairs of Co. where it had complied with statutory obligations

CL : CLB would not interfere with decision of company as regards acceptance of resignation of director if company and its directors complied with statutory obligations

In extra-ordinary circumstances a comparable ceases to be so

IT/ILT : Transfer Pricing : A comparable ceases to be so for the period it operated under extra-ordinary circumstances

SC: Revenue to disburse interest at 15% if sum seized during search exceeds sum required to meet tax

IT: Where amount retained under section 132 exceeds amounts required to meet liability under section 132B(1)(i), revenue is liable to pay simple interest at rate of fifteen per cent on expiry of six months from date of order passed under section 132(5) to date of regular assessment or re-assessment, as the case may be

Business and Commercial brand equity is goodwill and entitled to depreciation; HC followed SC ruling

IT: In view of order passed by Supreme Court in case of CIT v. Smifs Securities Ltd. [2012] 24 taxmann.com 222, Tribunal was justified in allowing assessee's claim for depreciation in respect of intangible assets, viz; business and commercial brand equity

Prior to 01-06-2007, turnkey contracts were not liable to service-tax

Service Tax : Turnkey/Works contract are, prima facie, not liable to service tax prior to introduction of works contract services w.e.f. 1-6-2007

HC raps revenue for denying approval to trust on basis of seized docs without following principle of

IT: Where on basis of documents seized during search, Commissioner opined that Chairman of Board of Trustees had undisclosed income and, thus, approval sought by assessee-trust under section 80G(5)(vi) was denied, in view of fact that copies of seized documents were not furnished to assessee, there was violation of principle of natural justice and consequently, impugned order was to be aside

Liberalised Trade With India To Benefit Millions

The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Monday said liberalised trade with India will benefit tens of millions of people on both sides of the divide while reducing food import bill which is above five billion dollars.



Fears among Pakistani business and agricultural community including textile and pharma sector are unsupported, it said.

Intra-regional trade will get a boost when both the governments lift trade barriers to bring a major change which will have a positive impact, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW/

He said that all the major political parties and key business associations are supporting trade liberalization with India but some sectors are voicing concerns to avoid competition with Indians.

Worries regarding Indian products flooding Pakistani markets are mostly baseless which amounts to underestimating skills and resilience of the business community, he noted.

Murtaza Mughal said that liberalisation will help exporters gain increased access to a much larger market while importers will save transport costs.

Apprehensions among some manufacturers have been addressed by the government anti-dumping laws and countervailing duties that can be imposed any time, he said.

Similarly, fears in the agricultural sector are due to lack of information as lower priced Indian agricultural products will benefit producers as well as masses, he said, adding that half of agricultural income come from the livestock sector which will face no competition.

Producers of major crops will not be affected, rather it will augment overall supply while vegetable imports and exports will help the two countries balance gap between supply and demand.Both the nations should strive for improved infrastructure and customs facilities to promote bilateral trade.

Source:- onlinenews.com.pk

Yellen Is Bullish Factor For Gold Ncdex Spot Prices Set To Top Rs. 30,000

Gold is set to rule firm with spot prices likely to top Rs. 30,000 for 10 gm and futures ruling above Rs. 29,000 on Tuesday.In the global market, gold has vaulted higher on hopes that the new US Federal Reserve Chief Janet Yellen could spell out some sort of slowdown in the tapering of the central bank’s stimulus programme. Since January, the programme (to pump money into the economy by mopping up bonds and other assets) has been pruned twice by $10 billion each to $65 billion. The cut in the stimulus followed signs of recover in the economy.

Yellen will testify before the US House Financial Services Committee later in the day where she could respond to issues relating to the labour market and the pace of tapering.

Last week’s economic data has particularly been disappointing with the economic growth again showing signs of slackening. This has led to rising bets that the tapering of the stimulus could slow down.

Aiding the rally in gold currently is the return of the Chinese after the Lunar New Year holidays. That has resulted in physical buying in Asia. China has already topped India as the largest gold consumer, with demand exceeding 1,100 tonnes last year.

Rolling favourably for gold are holdings in the world’s biggest gold-exchange trade fund, SPDR Trust, ruling unchanged at 797.05 tonnes after posting a 0.5 per cent gain last week.

Eyes are also on India, where the Government could ease curbs on imports and may even cut Customs duty after the Congress President Sonia Gandhi wrote to the Commerce Ministry for a review of the measures that made shipments into the country difficult.

In the domestic market, currency movements could also matter since a weak rupee against a strong dollar will make imports of gold, crude oil and vegetable oils costlier.

By mid-day in Asia, spot gold zoomed to $1,285.59 an ounce and gold futures maturing for delivery in April to $1,285.30.

Spot gold on NCDEX ended at Rs. 29,950 for 10 gm on Monday.

On MCX and NCDEX, gold April contracts could exceed Rs. 29,000.

Crude oil prices are likely to rule steady on bets that stockpiles in the US decreased. This has driven West Texas Intermediate crude prices to $100 a barrel. However, improving Libyan supplies could cap gains.

Brent crude contracts maturing for delivery in March ruled at $108.71 a barrel, while US crude at $100.10.

The oils and oilseeds market is likely to come under pressure on the US Department of Agriculture projecting an unchanged ending stocks, higher Brazilian crop and lower demand for soyameal.

On Chicago Board of Trade, soyabean contracts maturing for delivery in March slid to $13.25 a bushel. Crude palm oil on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange dropped to 2,608 ringgit or $782 a tonne.

Wheat prices are set to head higher on the USDA projecting a lower carryover stock as well as Argentine exports. Corn (industrial maize), on the other hand, is expected to head south on projections of higher-than-expected stocks.

CBOT wheat for delivery in March was up at $5.87 a bushel but corn for delivery the same month slipped to $4.42 a bushel.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Sugar Export Subsidy Likely To Be Fixed At Rs3,500 Per Tonne

Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar to provide a subsidy of Rs3,500 per tonne on export of four million tonnes of raw sugar, involving an expenditure of Rs1,400 crore, in a move to boost sales and bail out the cash-strapped industry.

The CCEA had twice deferred the decision on fixing the export subsidy as the food ministry had proposed a lower subsidy of Rs2,200 per tonne against the Rs3,500 proposed by Sharad Pawar.

The difference was resolved at a meeting of Pawar with finance minister P Chidambaram and food minister K V Thomas on Friday.

Food minister K V Thomas said the Rs3,500-subsidy per tonne of sugar exported will cost the government Rs1,400 crore over a two-year period, against Rs800 crore under the earlier proposal of Rs2,000 per tonne subsidy.

The subsidy will be borne largely from the Sugar Development Fund under the food ministry and the subsidy amount will be reviewed after export of 2 million tonnes of raw sugar, he added.

The matter will now be placed before the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA).

After factoring in the Rs3,500 per tonne subsidy, sugar mills could still lose around Rs1,000 per tonne considering the current raw sugar futures prices in New York, say analysts.

"At Rs3,500 per tonne subsidy, mills would still be making losses, but sugar can be exported. This is because mills' realisation from exports would be slightly higher than domestic sales, thanks to low local prices of sugar," Indian Sugar Mills Association director-general Abinash Verma had said last month.

India, the world's second biggest sugar producer, is sitting on huge opening stock of sugar.

The country is also expected to produce 25 million tonnes of the sweetener in the current (2013-14) marketing year (October-September), against demand for 23.5 million tonnes.

Sugar mills in India are faced with mounting cane price arrears they owe to farmers that has reached Rs10,000 crore from about Rs3,000 crore at the start of the current marketing year in October 2013.

The government had, in December, extended a Rs6,600-crore interest-free loan to the sugar industry to help them make payments to sugarcane farmers.

Source:- domain-b.com

Govt Appoints Two Directors On Coal India Board

State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) today announced appointment of two new non-official part time directors on the company’s board.

Both the directors — Indranil Manna and Shri Prakash — will be on the board of CIL for a period of three years with effect from February 6, 2014,

The company said in a filing to the BSE.Manna, Director, IIT, Kanpur and Prakash, Ex-Member (Traffic), Railway Board are “appointed as non-official part time directors on the board of the company by the Ministry of Coal for a period of three years w.e.f. February 6, 2014,” it said.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Sa Keen To Set Up Processing Units In Punjab

South African High Commissioner to India France Morule has evinced interest in setting up agro-processing joint ventures in Punjab, especially in packaging and marketing kinnow juice, since the state is a major producer of kinnow and South Africa, too, is a leader in the production of citrus fruits, besides having a substantial fruit processing sector.

Morule has invited state Chief Minister P S Badal to lead a business delegation to South Africa to explore the potential in agriculture, coal, food processing, textiles and hosiery because, with South Africa being a duty free zone, there is potential to export from there to other parts of the world.

Badal has formally invited the envoy, who recently visited Punjab, to lead a high-level delegation of progressive farmers from South Africa to the four-day progressive agriculture summit at Mohali from February 16-19. He has also urged Morule to send a team of agro-processing experts to Punjab, to explore ways of enhancing value-addition in other fruits such as guavas and peaches.

According to Vikramjit Singh Sahney, South Africa's honorary consul for Northern India, 80 per cent of the agricultural produce of South Africa is processed, compared to a mere two per cent in Punjab.

Source:- business-standard.com

Deemed STCG under sec. 50 qualifies for sec. 54EC relief as deeming fiction only provides mode of co

IT : Capital gain computed under section 50 qualifies for exemption if investment is made out of sale proceeds towards prescribed bonds under section 54EC

Indian Shrimp Export Peak

The huge growth in production Andhra Pradesh and other States on the East Coast experienced, boosted exports of vannamei to almost double in quantity compared with the first three quarters of the last fiscal year to 134,000 tonnes vs. 69,000 tonnes.

In dollar terms, the jump was an astounding 173 per cent over the previous fiscal’s first three quarters, that is to say, from USD 540 million to USD 1,474 million.

The Marine Products Export Promotion Authority (MPDA) reported that in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (April 2013-March 2014) seafood exports from India reached a record peak of USD 3.66 billion, largely driven by sales of frozen shrimp.

The frozen shrimp accounted for one third of exports of fishery products, while in dollar terms, the percentage was 65 per cent: 229,010 tonnes were exported for USD 2.39 billion.

Vannamei variety alone constituted 81 per cent of in terms of quantity of the total exports of shrimp.

This upsurge, according to Anwar Hashim, a leading exporter and former president of Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), was due to two major factors; a serious fall in the production and export of shrimp from South East Asian countries owing to diseases, and the lowering of the countervailing duty (CVD) on Indian shrimp in the USA.

The production in South East Asian countries had been severely impacted by the spread of the Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS). The supply from Thailand, the world’s second largest shrimp producer, nearly fell to a half from its normal production of 500,000 tonnes per year, The Hindu reported.

Besides other leading producers like Vietnam and Malaysia have been badly hit as well. Their processing plants started to depend on import from India in order to meet their commitments with European and US importers. Therefore, India was presented with a chance to enhance its exports.Likewise, China and Taiwan turned to India to get resources mainly for re-export.

This favourable context encouraged Indian new farmers in the States on the East Coast to venture into vannamei.USA is the largest import market with a 51.24 per cent share of the total Indian shrimp exports. South East Asian countries account for the 16.10 per cent, followed by the EU with 15.82 per cent, and Japan with 4.94 per cent.

Source:- fis.com

India Refutes Us, Canada Allegations Of Subsidised Wheat Exports

India is collecting data to refute allegations of subsidised wheat exports made against it by the US and Canada at the World Trade Organisation.

“The allegations are false as they are based on the faulty assumption that the administration cost of procuring and storing wheat in the country is almost half the acquisition price of the foodgrain,” a Commerce Department official told Business Line.

The Ministries of Commerce and Agriculture are now working out the actual costs involved in each stage right from when the crop is sent out of the farms up to the point of distribution, the official added.

If the US and Canada can prove that India is selling subsidised wheat, the country could be either forced to stop exporting at the existing prices or face penalties. The two countries raised concerns about the on-going export of 2 million tonne of wheat by Food Corporation of India – the Government agency responsible for procuring foodgrains from farmers and distributing it – at a recent meeting of the WTO’s Committee on Agriculture.

Canada complained about India lowering the floor prices for wheat exports from $300 per tonne to $260 per tonne which was less than the price of about $275 per tonne being offered by other exporters in the global market.

The US said India was selling wheat at prices lower than its acquisition cost. It argued that although FCI’s acquisition price from farmers was at an estimated $220 per tonne, which is much lower than the price at which India was exporting wheat, if one would add administration costs to it, the actual cost would be much higher.

Indian officials, however, contend that the numbers are over-estimations. “The US has assumed administration costs at 40 per cent of the total acquisition cost which is way too high,” the official said.India will supply its own estimates of administration costs of wheat when the Committee of Agriculture meets next.“Our officials and economists are working on the numbers. We will be ready with it soon,” the official said.The issue of subsidised food procurement by FCI for the country’s Food Security Programme was a matter of great debate at the recent WTO meeting in Bali.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

U.S. Brings Second Trade Action Against India For Solar Power Imports

The United States wants India to remove allegedly illegal local sourcing requirements of its national solar program.In a legal action filed with the World Trade Organization, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative claimed that the domestic content requirements for India’s National Solar Mission (NSM) discriminate against solar cells and modules manufactured in the U.S.

“These unfair requirements are against WTO rules,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. “These types of ‘localization’ measures not only are an unfair barrier to U.S. exports, but also raise the cost of solar energy, hindering deployment of solar energy around the world, including in India.”

In 2010, India launched the first of three phases of the NSM, which is aims to deploy 20 gigawatts of grid connected solar power by 2022.

In February 2013, the U.S. challenged similar domestic content requirements in Phase I of the NSM program in formal consultations with the WTO. The consultations failed to resolve the dispute.

Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, India is supposed to treat imported products as favorably as domestic products.Phase II of the NSM also limits funding to solar projects using solar cells and modules manufactured in India.

Source:- forbes.com

Commissioner has no jurisdiction over TPO administratively

IT/ILT : Commissioner has no jurisdiction over TPO administratively and he cannot revise order passed under section 92CA(3) by TPO

Floating restaurants aren't 'goods'; its construction tantamount to work contract

CST & VAT : Construction of floating restaurant at agreed sides does not amount to sale of goods, but, amounts to works contract liable to tax accordingly

Civil courts can't grant injunction in respect of an action to be taken pursuant to SARFAESI Act

SARFAESI : No injunction can be granted by any Court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken pursuant to SARFAESI Act

Delay in filing appeal due to negligence of consultant was valid reason to condone delay, rules HC

IT: Delay in filing appeal due to negligence of staff of assessee's consultant was condoned in view of fact that assessee's appeal raising same question for earlier assessment year had been admitted

Delhi Public School allowing use of its name, logo and motto was liable to service-tax under 'franch

Service Tax : Where agreement does not provide for sharing of risk/profits/losses by one party and entire expenditure/risk/benefits is to be borne/enjoyed by other party, there is no joint venture

Agriculture land located beyond limit of municipality in year of sale can't be taxed

IT: Where assessee had acquired agricultural land in a village and in year in which he sold said land it was not within limits of nearest municipality or corporation or cantonment board, land sold by assessee was agricultural land not falling within definition of capital asset

Interest on I-T refund is a statutory obligation; no need to seek authorization for payment from Par

IT/ILT : Section 234D of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Refunds - Interest on Excess Refund - CBDT's Clarifications on News Reports About Huge Interest Paid by Government on Refund of Excess Taxes During 2006-2007 to 2010-2011

CLB allowed single shareholder to call EGM when other shareholders turned hostile and denied to coop

CL : Where there were only three shareholders of company, namely, petitioner and respondent Nos. 2 and 3 and petitioner despite being majority shareholder was unable to call a meeting of company due to non-co-operation of respondent Nos. 2 and 3, CLB directed that petitioner being a single member of company present in person or by proxy would be deemed to constitute requisite quorum for holding and conducting extraordinary general meeting of respondent company

ITAT denies to reckon period of holding of stock-in-trade before its conversion into capital assets

IT: Where property held as stock-in-trade is converted into investment, for ascertaining as to whether property is a short-term capital asset or a long term capital asset, period for which said asset is held by assessee's as capital asset (investment) alone has to be reckoned

Mere making an unsustainable claim of prior period exp. wouldn't invite concealment penalty: HC

IT : Mere making of claim of deduction of prior period expenses which was ultimately found to be unsustainable would not by itself amount to furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income so as to pass a penalty order under section 271(1)(c)

Waterfront royalty recovered by State Govt. was not an 'intellectual property service'

Service Tax : Intellectual property rights are rights available with individual/ person; therefore, 'Waterfront royalty charges' recovered by State Government for usage of Waterfront under its sovereign rights cannot be charged to service under Intellectual Property Services

Any device usable in integration with computer comes within expression 'Computer'

IT: Any device used along with computer with an integrated function comes within ambit of expression 'computer' and, hence, entitled to claim of depreciation at rate of 60 per cent

AO can't initiate search proceedings if authorization to search wasn't issued in name of person to b

IT: Where authorization under section 132 was not issued in name of assessee-firm, Assessing Officer could not proceed under section 158BD

SC: No judicial authority shall intervene where there is a valid clause of arbitration to resolve di

Arbitration & Conciliation Act: Supreme Court directed parties to resolve their disputes through arbitration when arbitration clause in agreement between parties was valid

If AO has doubts over info furnished in return he can issue scrutiny notice to call for further deta

IT: In case, Assessing Officer has any doubts on information and supporting documents in return, he is required to issue notice under section 143(2)

Revenue directed to lift attachment order as assessee agreed to furnish bank guarantee against tax d

IT : Where assessee was ready and willing to furnish a bank guarantee to extent of liability that might arise on conclusion of assessment, revenue was directed to lift attachment order over bank account and stock of assessee

HC slams Tribunal for ordering pre-deposit without first considering assessee's case on merits

Central Excise : For deciding question of waiver of pre-deposit, prima facie case as raised by assessee is required to be considered and where same was not considered, matter was remanded back

Profits rightly deduced on estimation basis from invoices as assessee failed to produce cash book ev

IT: Where assessee did not produce cash book and related vouchers for verification as required by Assessing Officer, Assessing Officer rightly rejected assessee's books of account

11-Year-Old Suspended For Turning In A Plastic Toy Gun

Many schools have ‘zero-tolerance’ weapons rules, but a Chicago school went a little too far last month when they interrogated, scrutinized and suspended an 11-year-old boy for a plastic, non-firing, toy gun.

Even worse, the 6th grader, Caden Cook, voluntarily turned in the gun to school security after realizing he had mistakenly taken it to school.

The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties group, has taken up the boy’s case on behalf of his mother, Edith Fraustro.

“According to Caden’s mother, Ms. Fraustro, Caden was waiting in line to be patted down on Friday, January 31st, when he realized that he had mistakenly left in his sweater pocket a toy plastic gun which he had played with the previous night…” a letter from Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead to the Director of Chicago Public Schools reads. “Caden alerted the security personnel to his predicament.”

After turning in the toy, Cook was allegedly subjected to an interrogation with intimidation tactics, threats and accusations of lying by Vice Principal Timothy Daly — all before his mother was even notified of the incident. After being interrogated, Cook was suspended for one day and required to participate in counseling and psychiatric evaluation before returning to school. The suspension will remain part of Cook’s permanent record.

According to Whitehead, “the entire incident has been greatly distressing for Caden and his family, resulting in nightmares for the 11-year-old and a complete loss in trust in the school system to act judiciously In loco parentis such that Ms. Fraustro removed both of her children from the District in order to homeschool them.”

Sadly, Cook’s situation is becoming far too common. At the end of last year, an 8-year-old boy in Florida was suspended for pointing his fingers like a gun and a 12-year-old in Rhode Island was suspended for having a mini gun key chain the size of a quarter. Earlier last year, a West Virginia eighth grader was arrested for wearing an NRA t-shirt to school.

The zero tolerance policy has gone so off-track that some legislators have decided to act. After a Maryland second grader was suspended for eating his Pop-Tart into a shape that his teacher thought looked like a gun, Florida lawmakers decided to form a policy that would protect students from getting into serious trouble for harmless objects. The ‘Pop-Tart’ school-gun bill cleared its first hurdle just last.

Source:- redalertpolitics.com

HC slams revenue for initiating reassessment in relation to matters dealt with in block assessment

IT : Reopening of assessment in relation to a matter which is subject matter of block assessment is evidently without jurisdiction

Additions made by enhancing rate of profit deleted as no incriminating materials were found during s

IT : Enhancement in profit rate was not justified where revenue failed to point any special circumstances for estimation of high profit

Fruit, Vegetable Markets Under Health Department Scanner

Fruits and vegetable markets in the state will be periodically inspected by the health department officials to check if they contain harmful chemicals like insecticides or pesticides beyond acceptable limits.

The health department is planning to intensify its efforts to keep a check on fruits and vegetable markets in the state. The health department on January 23 wrote to all chief medical health officers (CMHOs) in the state to conduct periodical inspections and monitoring of major fruit and vegetable markets. Along with the directions, the health department has attached a circular of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which has all the details of how the periodical inspections and monitoring of major fruits and vegetable market could be done.

A senior health department official said they have already directed the CMHOs to conduct periodic inspections so that they could check the use of carbide in ripening of fruits. As per the surveillance plan for fruits and vegetable, the health department would collect samples of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Minimum number of 10 of each fruit and 10 of each vegetable would randomly be collected from each market in every three months.

As per the directions, analysis of fruits and vegetables will be done on physical parameters, heavy metals and crop contaminants and microbiological parameters. In microbiological parameters, there is total plate count, yeast and mold, E. coli, coliforms, B. cereus, salmonella, shagella would be checked in vegetables and fruits as they are harmful for health.

The officials have been directed to send the samples collected to laboratories authorized by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India. However, a government-run laboratory official pointed out that so far samples of milk, mawa and other milk products come to them for testing but the samples of fruits and vegetables never came for testing.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India May Produce Record 263.2 Mt Foodgrains This Year: Sharad Pawar

Foodgrain prouction is likely to touch a record 263.2 million tonnes (mt) this year, beating the previous high of 259 mt achieved two years ago, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.

"The country is likely to achieve record 263.2 mt foodgrain production this year. This would be about 4 mt higher than the record of 259 million tonnes achieved two years ago," Pawar said at an agricultural exposition here.

The foodgrain production fell marginally to 255.36 mt in the last crop year (July-June) due to drought in some parts of the country.

A good monsoon along with improved sowing of both kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) crops have improved prospects of a better foodgrain production this year.

India has now emerged as the world's top rice exporter and second-top exporter of wheat and cotton. The country is also the top producer of milk and horticultural crops, Pawar said highlighting progress made in the farm sector.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), in its recently-released advanced estimates for the current fiscal, has projected 4.6 per cent growth in agriculture and allied sectors, up from 1.4 per cent a year earlier.

Impressed with the exhibitions by 92 successful farmers, the minister also called upon others to emulate their success stories for improving their production and prosperity.

The five-day exposition, Krishi Vasant, has been organised by the Centre and Maharashtra along with industry body CII. It also showcases the history of agricultural research accomplished in last the 100 years by ICAR.Nearly five lakh farmers are expected to visit the event, an official release said.

Source:- financialexpress.com

Iran And The Global Nuclear Picture: William Fickinger

The negotiations now taking place concerning Iran’s nuclear program can only be understood with knowledge of a few key facts about uranium enrichment, power production and weapons, as found in dozens of “nuclear states” worldwide.

Uranium ore is mined in many places ranging from Australia to Kazakhstan to Canada, and it is widely available on the world market. The ore contains two types of uranium: mostly the heavy isotope uranium-238 (U-238) and less than one percent of the lighter uranium-235 (U-235). The lighter form is needed to sustain a chain reaction in either power reactors or a bomb. A chain reaction is created when a neutron hits a uranium nucleus, breaking it apart, releasing a lot of energy and shooting out more neutrons which hit other nuclei. U-235 breaks apart more easily than U-238 because it has three fewer neutrons, and it’s largely the neutrons inside the nucleus which act as a glue holding it together.

Enrichment increases the fraction of U-235: the ore is converted to a gaseous form and put into spinning cylinders. The U-238 moves toward the outside; the desired U-235 is drawn out near the spin axis. The gas is then converted back to uranium metal. To function in energy production the fraction of U-235 must be increased to three percent -- low-enriched uranium, or LEU. For a bomb, it must be raised all the way to 90 percent -- highly-enriched uranium, or HEU.

The amount of enrichment which a centrifuge can do is measured in a unit called an SWU (Separative Work Unit). The Perry Nuclear Power Plant near Cleveland, which produces 1.3 gigawatts of power, needs about 120,000 SWU’s per year. A simple nuclear bomb requires about 10,000 SWU’s. In other words, any country that enriches uranium for its power plants will necessarily have the “capacity” to produce enough for a few nuclear bombs.

Let’s look at enrichment, power production and nuclear weapons all around the world. Currently there are 31 nations with significant nuclear power programs: the United States, Russia and Japan, each producing around one fifth of their electricity; France at three-quarters; the United Kingdom at about half; South Korea at one-third -- ranging down to India with less than 4 percent and Iran, less than 1 percent. Other nations will soon join in: For example, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have arranged with South Korean companies to build and operate reactors in their countries.

Among those 31, only 15 do their own enrichment. Nine of these produce some HEU for weapons: the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and, presumably, Israel. The other six limit their product to LEU: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and, so far, Iran.

The remaining 16 countries have no enrichment facilities and must buy their LEU from commercial firms in other countries. There is currently more than enough LEU available on the world market to supply all potential buyers.

It should be pointed out that there are other ways to make a chain reaction without using enriched U-235, such as in “heavy water” reactors and in plutonium reactors. These have been developed in several countries and any effort to control nuclear weapon production must take these other techniques into consideration.

Iran has been working on expanding its enrichment facilities, but its only significant power reactor, at Bushehr, is still fueled entirely by uranium bought from Russian suppliers. Iran is getting more attention than other nuclear countries partly because of strained relations with Israel and with the Sunni states. The big question at the Geneva negotiations is whether Iran must discontinue all enrichment and buy LEU for power production, or whether intrusive and unannounced inspections will make it impossible for Iran to produce HEU.

Many arms control experts argue that, given the determination by many in the Iranian government to maintain their own source of LEU, intensive inspections provide the best deterrent available. It is unlikely that the imposition of additional sanctions will lead the Iranian leaders to discontinue their enrichment program or to allow effective inspections. Sanctions will only strengthen the position of those seeking a full nuclear weapons program.

Source:- cleveland.com

Miners' Greed To Make Quick Money Led To Cartelisation: Vinod Nowal

Iron ore miners and steel makers in Karnataka are blaming each other for cartelization. Vinod Nowal, deputy managing director, JSW Steel Ltd and President of Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturers’ Association explains the stand of the steel industry to Mahesh Kulkarni. Edited excerpts:

Steel mills including JSW Steel have been buying iron ore in the e-auctions even when the prices were very high. What makes you to suddenly make allegations of cartelisation by iron ore miners?

As long as the Monitoring Committee is vested with the power to fix the price based on prevailing pan India iron ore prices, the private mining companies were restrained to hike the prices indiscriminately. Unfortunately, when the right to fix the price is shifted to private mining companies, unfair practices crept in, showing a pattern of increase in prices not aligning with the price trends in the international market nor in India nor NMDC.

Even though steel companies were buying iron ore at high bid prices earlier due to shortage, the recent pattern of unfair price fixation at Rs 5,000 per tonne by certain mining companies has left no option except to resort to certain actions against this unfair practice.

The iron ore miners have alleged that 2-3 big steel companies have formed a buyers' cartel and trying to put pressure on mining firms to reduce prices?

The bid prices have been increasing in the E-Auctions over base prices due to acute shortage of iron ore. If 2 to 3 steel companies can influence the price, the E-Auction price could be at base price only. When E-Auction bid prices are known to all which are higher than base prices, it can be conclusively said that it is mischievous and misleading to make a false allegation of forming a buyers’ cartel.

The greed to make quick money even at the cost of causing enormous damage to environment which led to mining ban with consequent pain and anguish to the steel industry, has now resurfaced by way of unfair price fixation in the E-Auction taking advantage of severe shortage of iron ore in Karnataka.

Is it true that only 3-5 steel companies buy almost 75% of the iron ore produced in Karnataka?

The Monitoring Committee has restricted the companies who can participate in the E-Auction and also restrained the participants in buying ore beyond their requirements. The mining companies are used to disseminate misleading information by saying earlier that Indian Steel companies cannot use fines and therefore they are to be exported.

Now in order to justify unfair pricing with an intention to make excessive profit at the cost of Indian economy, they are now making false allegation of cartel when the iron ore has been sold in E-Auction at a premium to the base price and when the base price itself is unfairly fixed.

Why did steel mills from Karnataka bought ore from other states and NMDC ore were left unsold?

Most of the steel plants, pellet plants and sponge units in Karnataka are either closed down or operating below the potential capacity due to acute shortage of iron ore. In these circumstances the steel companies are constrained to buy some quantities from other states to keep their furnaces running. Why would a steel company buy iron ore from other states by paying extra Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per tonne towards the freight charges if the ore of the same quality and quantity is available in Karnataka.

Private sector miners say that NMDC has been pricing their ore abysmally low to benefit a very few steel producers. What is your stand on this?

It is known fact that NMDC has been following export parity pricing consistently to sell ore in the domestic market. It is not uncommon for a developing country like India to follow export parity pricing for domestic sales.

In fact, there are several examples worldwide of export parity pricing being followed by mining companies in Brazil, South Africa and China. It is relevant to note that even NMDC tweaked its export pricing formula after mining ban which in fact increased the prices to the domestic steel companies relative to that of earlier formula.

Why did NMDC, which sold its iron ore at Rs 4,110 per tonne on December 10, 2013, suddenly reduced it to Rs 3,227 on December 23, 2013. What caused such sudden downward revision in the price of iron ore, which is supposed to be in short supply in Karnataka?

This information is once again erroneously represented. The base price fixed by NMDC on December 10 was Rs 2,250/- per tonne from Donimalai and on December 23, it was Rs 2,190/- per tonne and Rs 2,050/- per tonne from C&B block of Kumarswamy respectively.

The difference in the prices is accounted by varying loading costs at different mines. The bid price being quoted was higher than base price majorly due to acute shortage which the steel industry has been complaining. Besides, the bid prices as mentioned in the question were also different due to varying Alumina, Silica and quality parameters for the ore auctioned.

The steel mills have been buying iron ore at subsidized prices from NMDC. But, they sell steel at Rs 38,000 per tonne, which is same as in Japan, when Japan's cost of iron ore is three times that of India.

This is again fallacious argument. The domestic iron ore prices determined by NMDC are based on export parity. Absolutely there is no subsidy. In fact, the steel companies are burdened with high interest rates of over 12% when the interest rates overseas is less than 2% and the steel companies are compelled to compete with these international steel players where there is no level playing field.

The current hot rolled coil prices in USA is $745 per tonne, Europe $610 per tonne, China $480 per tonne, India $575 per tonne, Japan $650 per tonne. The prices in each country are governed by different parameters and governing regulations.

What would be your next course of action, if your plea for appointing a price regulator is not considered by the Supreme Court?

At the current cost of production we incur Rs 40,000 per tonne of steel and given the current selling price of Rs 34,000 per tonne, we will end up losing Rs 6,000 per tonne of steel. We have borrowed huge amount of loans and we cannot afford to pay interest and lose money by buying high cost iron ore.

We will not be left with any other choice but to close down our steel plants, which will be a disaster not only for us, but the governments will lose revenue to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore by way of.

Source:- business-standard.com

'India May Produce Record 263.2 Mt Foodgrains This Year'

Foodgrain prouction is likely to touch a record 263.2 million tonnes (mt) this year, beating the previous high of 259 mt achieved two years ago, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.

"The country is likely to achieve record 263.2 mt foodgrain production this year. This would be about 4 mt higher than the record of 259 million tonnes achieved two years ago," Pawar said at an agricultural exposition here.

The foodgrain production fell marginally to 255.36 mt in the last crop year (July-June) due to drought in some parts of the country.

A good monsoon along with improved sowing of both kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) crops have improved prospects of a better foodgrain production this year.

India has now emerged as the world's top rice exporter and second-top exporter of wheat and cotton. The country is also the top producer of milk and horticultural crops, Pawar said highlighting progress made in the farm sector. The Central Statistics Office (CSO), in its recently-released advanced estimates for the current fiscal, has projected 4.6 per cent growth in agriculture and allied sectors, up from 1.4 per cent a year earlier.

Impressed with the exhibitions by 92 successful farmers, the minister also called upon others to emulate their success stories for improving their production and prosperity. The five-day exposition, Krishi Vasant, has been organised by the Centre and Maharashtra along with industry body.

Source:- business-standard.com

Textile Export Subsidies Distort Normal Trade, Turkey Tells India

India has to phase out textile export subsidies gradually as it has reached ‘export competitiveness’, says Turkey Trade Minister Nihat Zeybekci. Zeybekci, who was in India recently, spoke to Business Line on the areas of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, a possible Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and how it wants to keep this relationship separate from its stance in multilateral agencies like the World Trade Organisation.

Turkey, along with some other countries, has questioned the sops given to textile exporters in India. Is this a serious issue for the country?

On request of the US in February 2010, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Secretariat calculated the export competitiveness of textile and apparel products from India. These calculations clearly showed that India has reached export competitiveness on the said products at least in 2007, if not earlier.

Therefore, India has to phase out its export subsidies gradually over a period of eight years starting not later than 2007. In that sense the implementation of new export subsidies programme or the extension of existing programme is disturbing the normal flow of business.

How does it hurt Turkey?

It has a potential to hurt Turkey’s interest both in the domestic and international markets. Export subsidies have the most trade distortive effects. Our textile and apparel producers are competing with Indian textile and apparel exporters in domestic and export markets.

India’s textile and apparel export to Turkey has increased significantly in the last couple of years. Turkey’s textile and apparel exports were around $17 billion in 2013.

This figure shows that Turkey’s textile and apparel producers have to compete with subsidised India textile and apparel producers in the domestic and export markets.

From a wider perspective, our political and economic relations with India are at their best. I am confident we will find an amicable agreement on such issues.

Last year, Turkey had removed safeguard duties on India cotton yarn exports. Is there still discomfort amongst the Turkish industry on the issue?

In order to protect our domestic cotton yarn manufacturers in December 2008 we started implementing safeguard measures for all cotton yarn imports without any discrimination.

We started consultations with India in 2012 in WTO and subsequently decided to eliminate the safeguard measures on cotton yarn imports as of January 1, 2013. Cotton yarn is a crucial component of our textile production and we monitor its production and import very closely. However, we have not received any complaints from our producers since the elimination of the measures.

What are the possible areas where India and Turkey can cooperate?

We have complementary economies. Moreover, as developing countries, we have been dealing with similar problems. Turkey’s strong historical and cultural relations with Central Asia, Caucasia, West Asia and Mediterranean Regions enable us to extent our economic and commercial ties to these regions.

We can make it comfortable for Indian companies to do business in these countries more profitably. India can provide same opportunity to Turkish companies in South Asia.

I met the Indian Commerce and Trade Minister Anand Sharma and we decided to start talks on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement within next the three months and conclude the agreement as soon as possible. Construction sector is an area where Turkish companies can explore opportunities in India.

Turkey needs $130-billion investment in order to meet its high electricity demand. Renewable energy is an area which has gained importance.

Technology transfer from India will be beneficial for manufacture of equipments for solar and wind power plants in Turkey. Another area for cooperation is establishment and rehabilitation of hydropower projects.

There is a need to increase the frequency of flights operated by Turkish Airlines and commencenew destinations by the Airlines, encourage tourist exchanges and cooperation in the field of SMEs, and cooperation in agriculture and education sectors.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

TPO can’t make adjustment to ALP by relying on its earlier order without going into merits of the ca

IT/ILT-I : Prior to amendment made in sub-section (4) to section 92CA with effect from 1-6-2007, Assessing Officer was not bound to accept ALP as determined by TPO but had to determine ALP only after giving an opportunity of hearing to assessee

Charges collected and paid to electronic media not includible in value of advertising agency's servi

Service Tax : Amounts collected and paid to print/electronic media towards space/time for display of advertisement cannot be said to have been paid towards services rendered by advertising agency and are, therefore, not includible in taxable value of said services

Injunction isn’t appropriate where it not only affects parties to dispute but also third party bidde

CL : Where by time CIC considered issue, tenders against which injunction was claimed, was finalized and contracts were signed with third party bidders who were not parties to complaint, injunction could not be granted

Additions by appellate authorities on basis of average GP in similar cases not to be interfered with

IT: Addition made concurrently by both appellate authorities on basis of estimation of GP at prevailing market rate on basis of seized documents was to be upheld

SEBI releases norms for inspection of depository participants by depositories

SEBI : Non-Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIS) - Directions - Modifications in "Pricing of Credit"

RBI devised new method of fixing lending rate of Micro Finance Institutions; removes interest rate c

NBFCs : Non-Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIS) - Directions - Modifications in "Pricing of Credit"

SEBI revises testing norms of software used by trading members to aid smooth transitioning of new so

SEBI : Testing of Software used in or Related to Trading and Risk Management

Cenvat credit can't be used to pay services tax on import of services under reverse charge

Cenvat Credit : Services received from outside India and taxable in India cannot be regarded as 'output services' and, therefore, Cenvat credit cannot be used for paying tax thereon under reverse charge

Reassessment proceedings not valid if AO subsequently felt that allowed repair exp. was capital in n

IT: Where assessee disclosed all material facts necessary for assessment, in view of proviso to section 147, Assessing Officer could not initiate reassessment proceedings after expiry of four years from end of relevant assessment year taking a view that repair expenses allowed earlier were capital in nature

RBI permits banks to utilize 33% of its counter cyclical provisioning buffer for NPAs

BANKING : Utilisation of Floating Provisions/Counter Cyclical Provisioning Buffer

RBI devised new method of fixing lending rate of Micro Finance Institutions; removes interest rate c

NBFCs : Non-Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIS) - Directions - Modifications in "Pricing of Credit"

No penalty for sec. 269T or sec. 269SS violation if cash dealings were made amongst firms formed by

IT : Where assessee-firm received a sum of Rs. 4.35 lakhs in cash from its sister concern and repaid a sum of Rs. one lakh in cash to sister concern, transfer of cash by one firm to another would operate as a reasonable cause and, therefore, levy of penalty under sections 271D and 271E upon assessee was not justified

On applicant's failure to prove title to property sold by liquidator, his application was liable to

CL: Where applicant claimed to be real and registered owner of property belonging to company-in-liquidation, in view of facts that applicant was unable to adduce credible evidence regarding source of monies and genuineness of transactions and that applicant did not challenge action of provisional liquidator, who took possession of lands and also put it to auction, for a period of six years, it seemed that applicant had been indulging in delaying tactics and application was liable to be dismissed

HC nods to provision requiring clubbing of minor's income with that of parent whose income is high

IT : Clubbing of minor income with income of parent whose income was greater is legal and does not suffer from any legal disability

Contractual liability to pay custom duty on importer’s behalf won’t hit by sec. 43B, it’s not statut

IT : Section 43B doesn't apply to contractual liability to pay customs duty to the importer of goods

HC stays recovery of tax till disposal of appeal as IT dept. had enough sum deposited by assessee fo

IT: Where department had sufficient amounts of assessee to satisfy amount of tax, recovery of tax demand was stayed till disposal of assessee's appeal

Students can't be deemed as clients for manpower recruitment or supply agency's services

Service Tax : To attract service tax under 'Manpower Recruitment or Supply Agency', services should be rendered to a client; since students cannot be treated as clients to whom services of recruitment and supply are being rendered, no service tax can be charged on consideration received from them for ensuring employment

Civil courts have no jurisdiction over the matter taken or to be taken under SARFAESI Act

CL: Civil Court has no jurisdiction to examine as to whether 'measures' taken by secured creditor under sub-section (4) of section 13 of Securitisation Act were legal or not

Tribunal rightly fixed ALV of rent free accommodation as FMV of houses in vicinity didn't exceed fix

IT: Where annual letting value of house in neighbourhood of rent-free accommodation provided to assessee was not higher than value fixed by Tribunal for such accommodation, such value could not be said to have been fixed without considering material on record

No penalty for sec. 269T of sec. 269SS violation if cash dealings were made amongst firms formed by

IT : Where assessee-firm received a sum of Rs. 4.35 lakhs in cash from its sister concern and repaid a sum of Rs. one lakh in cash to sister concern, transfer of cash by one firm to another would operate as a reasonable cause and, therefore, levy of penalty under sections 271D and 271E upon assessee was not justified

Assessee seeking CIT blessing under sec. 264 can’t be surprised with revisionary order under sec. 26

IT : Section 264 debars Commissioner from passing any order which is prejudicial to assessee and, therefore, once assessee approaches Commissioner for getting relief under section 264, Commissioner can not pass an order by invoking provisions of section 263

Sum incurred on shifting of old machinery to facilitate installation of new machinery was capital ex

IT : Where assessee claimed expenditure incurred for community development, in view of fact that he had not placed any materials on record in support of their claim of expenditure so as to apply test of commercial expediency, expenses incurred by assessee for community development was not allowable under section 37(1)

Assessee couldn't asks for revival of old appeal which was dismissed for want of clearance from Comm

Service Tax : Requirement of obtaining clearance from Committee on Disputes for filing of appeal was not withdrawn/rescinded retrospectively by subsequent judgment of Supreme Court; hence, appeals dismissed for want of said clearance, as per erstwhile procedure, cannot be revived

Trust entitled to claim sec. 11 exemption even if it files audit report belatedly before AO or appel

IT : In order to claim exemption under section 11, assessee can file audit report in Form No. 10B even at a later stage either before Assessing Officer or before appellate authority by showing a sufficient cause

Reassessment notice without prior approval of Asstt. or Joint Commissioner would nullify reassessmen

IT : Notice issued under section 148 after obtaining approval of Commissioner would be of no consequence as said approval is contrary to provisions of section 151

No question of law arose from ITAT's order as he had made addition after considering entire material

IT: Where Tribunal having considered entire material on record, confirmed a part of addition made to assessee's taxable income, no substantial question of law arose from said order of Tribunal

ITAT deletes additions and fixes ALP of license fee paid to AE relying upon earlier order

IT/ILT : Following Tribunal's order for earlier years in assessee's own case, rate of license fee at rate of 3 per cent of total turnover for use of intellectual/intangible properties was treated at ALP

Services availed for setting-up of hotel premises were eligible for input service credit

Cenvat Credit : Works contract services availed by a hotelier for setting up of hotel premises may be eligible for input service credit

Book vendor at Railway Station can't have dominance in market; plea of Indian Publisher Federation r

Competition Law: Opposite party having bookstall agents at different railway stations could not be said to be a dominant purchaser in relevant market of sale/purchase of books, newspapers, magazines, etc. in India

Employees of foreign enterprise working under control of Indian subsidiary can’t constitute its serv

IT/ILT: Indian subsidiary providing back office services to foreign enterprise shall not be deemed as its PE merely because it is being indirectly controlled by it - Employees of foreign enterprise working for domestic operation of and under control and supervision of Indian subsidiary do not constitute service PE of foreign enterprise - Assets of Indian subsidiary cannot be deemed inevitably to be used by foreign enterprise for its business carried on in India to establish its fixed PE in India

Exp. on free sample distribution is allowable even if it isn't yielding effective sales, rules HC

IT: Free sample distribution expenses were allowable under section 37(1) even though there was no effective sale during year

License fee for surveyors and loss assessors plummets down to Rs. 1000 for new applicants and Rs. 10

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDA (Licensing of Insurance Agents) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013 - Amendment in Regulation 7 and Form IRDA-Agents-VA & Form IRDA-Agents-VC

IRDA cuts license fees for insurance agents to Rs. 125

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDA (Licensing of Insurance Agents) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013 - Amendment in Regulation 7 and Form IRDA-Agents-VA & Form IRDA-Agents-VC

Permanent transfer of intellectual property rights not liable to service-tax

Service Tax : Transfer of invention, design, idea, process, patent and other technical know-how in terms of sale and purchase agreement as a going concern is not liable to service tax under Scientific or Technical Consultancy Services or Intellectual Property Services

Proviso to sec. 113 is clarificatory in nature and have retro effect; surcharge leviable even prior

IT: Proviso inserted to section 113 by Finance Act, 2002 with effect from 1-6-2002, is merely clarificatory in nature and, therefore, in case of block assessment, surcharge is leviable even prior to aforesaid amendment

Winding up petition by foreign Co. was admissible if respondent-Indian co. failed to pay debt, High

CL : Winding up petition by foreign company was admissible if respondent-Indian company failed to pay debt

No sec. 271AAA penalty if assessee admits undisclosed income and specifies manner of earning such in

IT : No penalty under section 271AAA where taxes and applicable interest were paid on undisclosed income and details of nature of undisclosed income and manner of earning was recorded

Sec. 10(38) exemption available if physical shares are dematerialized first and STT is paid on its s

IT : Where assessee having purchased shares in physical form, converted them in D-Mat form and thereupon sale of those shares was carried out through recognized stock exchange after paying securities transaction tax, said transactions were to be regarded as genuine in nature and, therefore, assessee's claim for exemption under section 10(38) was to be allowed

Notification appointing review Committee need not name members; mentioning name of post is sufficien

Service Tax : There is no requirement in section 86 that notification issued thereunder must name authorities/persons concerned; a notification issued in name of Posts is also valid and persons who hold such Post or may subsequently be appointed at such post automatically become members of Review Committee

ITAT applies trend study to unearth bogus claim for commission exp; uphold its disallowance

IT : Disallowance upheld where expenditure on account of commission was found to be much higher as compared to earlier years and assessee could not justify its claim with relevant material

Wholly owned subsidiary of a public company should be deemed as widely held company under sec. 2(18)

IT: Where 100 per cent shares of assessee-company was held by a company which was recognized as a company in which public were substantially interested, same status was to be extended to assessee-company

CCI allow combination resulting from acquisition of cement unit as it didn't have adverse effect on

Competition Law: Where proposed combination for acquisition by acquirer-company of assets, liabilities and operations of cement unit of target company at Gujarat was not likely to have an adverse effect on competition in India, same was to be approved

Fate of additional question while hearing appeal was to be decided as per ratio laid down by SC in M

IT : Where during pendency of appellate proceedings before High Court, assessee sought admission of two additional questions of law, High Court was to be directed to keep in view order passed in case of CIT v. Mastek Ltd. [2013] 32 taxmann.com 380 (SC) while considering whether or not question of law which assessee intended to press for consideration need to be framed at time of hearing of appeal

SEBI puts 20% price band on scrips forming part of index derivative not having individual derivative

SEBI : Individual Scrip Wise Price Bands on Non-F&O Eligible Scrip's in Index Derivatives

Fate of additional question while hearing appeal was to be decided as per laid down by SC in Mastek'

IT : Where during pendency of appellate proceedings before High Court, assessee sought admission of two additional questions of law, High Court was to be directed to keep in view order passed in case of CIT v. Mastek Ltd. [2013] 32 taxmann.com 380 (SC) while considering whether or not question of law which assessee intended to press for consideration need to be framed at time of hearing of appeal

Advance refunded on cancellation of sale deal can’t be taxed under sec. 68 if revenue couldn’t prove

IT: Where due to cancellation of sale agreement of property, assessee returned amount of advance and in support of same he furnished copy of sale agreement, copy of cancellation of agreement, copy of PAN of intending purchaser and copy of acknowledgement of return of income of proposed purchaser, amount so returned could not be added to assessee's taxable income under section 68

Assessee is liable to pay interest on additional tax liability admitted by him

CST & VAT : Where assessee has himself admitted higher liability of tax for relevant period and paid additional tax belatedly, his act of admission would amount to revised return and would be liable to interest for delayed payment

Reassessment notice is valid when it is prima-facie apparent from record that it’s issued within pre

IT: Where it was apparent from records that escaped assessment was more than Rs. One lakh and notice under section 148 had been issued within a period of six years from end of relevant assessment years, in view of provisions of clause (b) of section 149(1), notice so issued could not be quashed on ground of limitation

Rehabilitation center earning income from hostels and guest houses is hit by proviso to sec. 2(15);

IT : Where assessee, a charitable trust, running orphanages, old age homes, centres for rehabilitation of mentally ill women etc., earned business income from running a women's hostel and guest house, said activity being in nature of 'carrying on an object of general public utility' was hit by proviso to section 2(15)

Additions in assessment of another year deleted as similar additions were deleted by ITAT from block

IT: Where relying upon addition made in case of assessee in block assessment proceedings in respect of undisclosed investment in agricultural land in village 'K', Assessing Officer made similar addition in regular assessment in respect of agricultural land purchased in village 'A', in view of fact that addition made in block assessment was deleted subsequently in appellate proceedings, impugned addition made in regular assessment was also not sustainable

Wheat Prices Caught In A Web Of Abundance

India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world after China, contributing to about 13.02 per cent of the world’s production. According to the 4th advance estimate, wheat production for 2012-13 is estimated at 92.46 million tonnes (mt).

Over the last three years, production has increased due to good yields, supported by good monsoon and increase in the minimum support price. Over 94.54 per cent of the total production of the country comes from six States. The top wheat producing States of the country are Uttar Pradesh (31.93 per cent), Punjab (18.21 per cent), Haryana (13.37 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (12.16 per cent), Rajasthan (9.82 per cent) and Bihar (4.98 per cent).

Domestic consumption is estimated at 85-90 mt. India is the third major wheat consumer globally after China and European Union.World wheat production is projected at a record 708.9 mt, up 3.5 mt. Higher production in Canada, the European Union (EU), and the FSU-12 (former Soviet Union states) more than offset a drop in Iran and Paraguay. Black Sea production is expected to rebound to 108 mt due to favourable weather, compared with 77.2 mt in 2012-13. Consumption is expected to reach a record 707 mt, up 4 per cent from 2012-13 and the global feed use is expected to rise three per cent to 141 mt.

The wheat spot market price variation study indicates that the price volatility remains steady for most of the year and a spurt is witnessed in the period between June and August. Reports of Black Sea exporters re-entering the market at competitive prices is likely to keep the global price volatility under check. There are reports that Black Sea production is likely to rebound by 40 per cent to 108 mt on improved weather and higher yields. Russian production is expected to increase by 16.3 mt from 2012-13 to 54 mt and Black Sea exports are expected to reach 37.1 mt and represent 24 per cent of world market, compared with 19 per cent in 2012-13. In the domestic market, the spurt in the volatility was noticed during July-August 2013 (from an average of around 20 per cent to over 40 per cent) and since then prices have been consolidating in a tight range.

The major development which has supported the global market is the demand from China, which is expected to import 9.5 mt, compared with the 5-year average of 1.74 mt with its production remaining unchanged at 121 mt. Spot prices in Delhi sharply declined from March onwards due to higher wheat production. The Indian market is marginally stable at the higher level amidst expectation that 5.5 mt of wheat will be exported in the current marketing year.

Wheat being a Rabi crop, sown during October to December, is highly dependent on good monsoon. This year, good rainfall in major producing regions has provided the required soil moisture during the sowing period. The upcoming harvest season is likely to see production of around 90-95 mt. The Indian market is currently pegged around ?1,650 a quintal, which is likely to hold on for the coming season without much fluctuation. I expect the 2014 prices to be range-bound with an upper cap of ?1,780 and lower firm support at ?1,420 a quintal.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com