Tuesday, 25 March 2014

HC accepts winding-up petition as Respondent Co. didn't attempt to pay debt even during pendency of

CL: Failure of respondent-company to repay any sum towards repayment of loan taken from petitioner-bank even during pendency of winding up petition established that respondent was unable to pay its debts


Rental income of godown constructed on an agricultural land couldn't be termed as agriculture income

IT : Where assessee-firm having constructed a godown on agricultural land received from partners as their capital contribution, gave it on rent for tenant's business purpose, rental income arising from said godown building could not be regarded as agricultural income


Entity with higher turnover, intangibles and brand value couldn't be a comparable to contract servic

IT/ILT : Where assessee was only a contract service provider to its AE, companies owning intangibles, substantial brand value and having huge turnover as compared to assessee, could not be considered as comparable to assessee


Monday, 24 March 2014

Joint Development Agreements were liable to service tax even prior to June 1, 2007

Service Tax : Service tax, prima facie, leviable on joint development of residential complex in respect of portion of flats handed over to land owner


HC raps AO for rejecting Vodafone's application for 'Nil' TDS certificate without assigning any reas

IT: Where assessee made an application under section 197 for grant of no deduction of tax certification and Assessing Officer rejected application without assigning any reasons, Assessing Officer was directed to reconsider application in light of various materials placed by assessee


Penalty upheld as AIR of transactions of over Rs. 30 Lakh was filed belatedly by Sub-registrar

IT : Where Annual Information Reports of transactions over Rs. 30 lakhs had been filed by specified persons beyond period of limitation, said specified person would be held to be in default, and liable to levy of penalty under section 271FA


Sec. 254 can't be invoked to recall entire order as otherwise it would be a review and not rectifica

IT : Power to rectify a mistake under section 254(2) cannot be used for recalling entire order as it would amount to review of order which is not permissible under Act


No writ lies to HC at stage of show cause notice if facts were not fully established

CST & VAT : When acceptability of contention raised by assessee with reference to actual facts is to be ascertained with reference to relevant records by assessing authority, High Court cannot interfere at show-cause notice stage


Discounting charges on bills of exchange couldn't be termed as 'interest' to trigger sec. 194A TDS

IT : Where assessee had merely discounted sale consideration receivable on sale of goods, it was not a case of debt incurred or moneys borrowed and therefore discounting charges of Bill of Exchange or factoring charges of sale could not be termed as interest and same did not come within purview of section 194A


Addition deleted as there was no error in method consistently followed for valuation of closing stoc

IT : In absence of any error in method of valuation of closing stock, which had been consistently followed, addition made on account of under valuation of closing stock was not justified


A person qualified as CHA under old norms couldn’t be asked to obtain qualification under new norms,

Excise & Customs : If a person has obtained requisite qualifications under Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 1984, he cannot be asked to obtain qualifications (pass exam) under Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004


CLB's principal bench alone has the jurisdiction to restrict transfer of securities

CL : Petition under section 250 is entertainable by Principal Bench of CLB alone which has jurisdiction to grant relief under section 250(2)


Sums paid on outright purchases of 'basic engineering package' to produce chemicals won't be deemed

IT/ILT : Amount remitted for acquisition of 'basic engineering package' of process, design, documentation for production of chemical on outright purchase basis was not fee for technical service liable to withhold tax in India


No exemption to trust as it paid purchase price to specified person and got its refund without inter

IT : ITAT cant go simply by assessee's documentation & ignore normal course of human conduct & probabilities


Bpcl To Develop Numaligarh As Export Hub For Bangladesh, Nepal

State-run Bharat Petroleum CorporationBSE 1.06 % Limited has decided to develop its Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery as an export hub for petroleum products to neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal. While the company is planning to lay a 130-km oil pipeline connecting the refinery's marketing terminal at Siliguri in West Bengal with Parbatipur in Bangladesh, it has already signed an agreement with Nepal's Birat Petroleum for supplying petroleum products.



"We are hopeful of starting the survey work of Siliguri to Parbatipur pipeline in a month's time," a top executive at the refinery told ET on condition of anonymity. "Bangladesh government is very keen on the project."



The pipeline will cost Rs200 crore and have a carrying capacity of 1 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa) of high speed diesel (HSD). "Initially, Numaligarh Refinery will export HSD to Bangladesh. We also have plans to enter Myanmar," the executive quoted earlier said, adding that a team from the refinery will shortly visit Bangladesh to firm up the agreement.



Bangladesh has a shortfall of 1.5 mmtpa of petroleum products. Numaligarh Refinery had in 2007 exported 4,800 million tonne of diesel to Bangladesh through the waterways. The value of the export was around Rs 15 crore. Bharat Petroleum is in the process of expanding the refinery's capacity to 9 mmtpa from 3 mmtpa.



As for Nepal, the executive quoted earlier said, the government of that country has approved import of petroleum products from Numaligarh Refinery. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas had approved inclusion of Numaligarh Refinery along with Indian Oil CorporationBSE 3.68 % (IOC) for supply of petroleum products to Nepal. IOCBSE 3.68 % has till now been the sole supplier to Nepal.



According to the agreement, Numaligarh Refinery will supply 100 kilo litre of motor spirit and 5,000 kilo litre of HSD per month to Birat Petroleum. The supply is expected to begin from June.



source: economictimes.indiatimes.com





Those Who Remove Mountains

Those who remove mountains begin by carrying away small stones; is a proverb; following is a literal example of the same.

Various economists and world leaders have admitted that UPA I and II has taken various conscious steps to kill ‘Indian Industry, Economy and Talent’. All kind of scams, from 2G to NREGA to Railway Recruitment are example of the same.




‘Indian Industry, Economy and Talent’ has somehow managed to survive, to a great extent because of the initiatives of Narendra Modi led Gujarat Government. Everyone knows how he gave a new life to ‘Nano Car’, accepted world over as the pride of Indian Industry and Talent. But people don’t know is that his government has taken several initiatives to save many other industries from the situation similar to that of Nano. Nano got talked about but other initiatives have been overlooked by media; may be because they are not glamorous enough.



Following is an example of Stone Industry. There are more than 20,000 units working all over India with a huge investment of more than Rs 50,000 crore and providing job opportunities to more than 15 lakh persons. India leads in production of natural stones with 35,342 million tonnes (27.91 per cent share), followed by China (31,000 million tonnes – 23.48 per cent), but India lags behind when it comes to exports. China exported 16 million tonnes of stone valued at $3.04 billion in 2010 as against India’s export figures of about $600 million.



The policy paralysis in the central government has affected the growth of the industry. Fairly, no new lease are being granted by the government in such areas as reserve forest, tiger reserve, wild life sanctuary, national parks, Western Ghats, Aravali region etc. But at the same time, Granite blocks are not allowed to be imported while DGFT has permitted the import of additional quota of one lakh tons of rough marble dimensional blocks in the country by the Indian companies who have invested in marble mining in foreign countries. This notification totally demoralizes the Indian industries who have invested heavy amount in India. In a way, Commerce Ministry is encouraging the monopoly in the marble import. There are still no overseas investments coming to natural stone field because of the policy paralysis.



The lacuna in the EXIM policy has given advantage to the Chinese and large quantities of the Indian granites blocks are being exported to China. After value addition, China exports the finished goods to different parts of the world which created the competition for the Indian industries. If this situation continues, days are not far away when the entire Indian stone market will be controlled by only Chinese finished goods.



Apart from removing restrictive import policies, government needs to improve road infrastructure as high transport cost hurts the trade, increase power generation & distribution and start training courses for growth of the industry.



While there has been no effort by central government in any of the areas mentioned above, state government of Gujarat is known for having build road infrastructure and excellent power production, through both renewable and non-renewable sources. Through its training program Government of Gujarat has given a new life to the industry.



The journey of the processing industry started with circular saw machines to Gangsaw and the latest one being circular wire saw machines. Latest resin lines, polishing lines etc. are being used for making the products of international standards. Even in the mining sector, now diamond wires are being used, dispensing the traditional blasting method.



Decline in the industry reduced the number of craftsman and artisans for such work. To revive the stone art, Stone Artisan Park Training (SAPTI) was instituted in Ambaji and Dhrangadhra. The course moulds the trainees to be entrepreneur by providing self employment opportunities. This is the only initiative of its kind in India.



The facilities provided to the trainees include free boarding and lodging, course materials and tools. No tuition fee is charged whereas the trainees are paid Rs 100 as stipend on a daily basis. Employment is assured for all pass out students of the four month and one year course. SAPTI has collaborated with NID, Ahmedabad, CED Ahmedabad, and IICD, Jaipur for continuous improvement.

SAPTI won the “Education Excellence Award 2013″ under the category of “Vocational & Skills Training – Best Government Initiative”.It is often asked how Modi will bring the change; well he has begun by carrying away small stones.


Source:- http://ift.tt/1fSNyJ1





Russia's 2014 Arms Exports Surpass $2Bln

The volume of Russia’s arms exports this year has topped the $2 billion mark, with outstanding weapons orders standing at $47 billion, a senior government official said Monday.



“As of today, Russia has supplied military products worth $2 billion to its foreign customers,” said Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.



Last year, Russia exported $15.7 billion worth of weaponry, up $2.5 billion from 2011, with plans to increase annual arms sales to $50 billion by 2020 in a race for the top spot.



Russian shipments accounted for 27 percent of global arms exports last year, just behind the United States at 29 percent, according to a report published last week by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.



Among the major importers of Russian weapons and military equipment are India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Venezuela, Algeria and Malaysia.



Fomin, who was speaking ahead of a defense exhibition in Chile, said that Russia is prepared to negotiate contracts on a wide range of military and civilian products with its South American partners, including Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft, Irkut MS-21 mid-range jet airliners and regional Sukhoi Superjet-100s.



According to Fomin, Russia would also propose licensed production of technologies with Chile, a traditional customer of US-made weapons.



“We are offering our Chilean partners a localization of production in their country, which is certainly a very beneficial aspect of our proposed contracts.


Source:- http://indrus.in





Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (Dicv) Exports 1,000+ Fuso Vehicles To Africa (Jan And Feb’14)

Daimler Trucks Asia has fuelled its growth in Asia and Africa. With more than 1,000 FUSO vehicles sold here in January and February 2014, Daimler Trucks Asia’s sales figures are nearly double of what they reported for the same 2 months last year. In 2013, Daimler in Africa reported 8,500 FUSO truck sold.



Daimler’s Asia Business Model lets it leverage Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) strengths. Fuso trucks made in India are being exported to new markets in Africa and South East Asia specifically. Last year DICV started producing 5 new FUSO truck models that were immediately exported to Kenya, Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Tanzania.



Mittelschwerer FUSO „FI“ Lkw; Medium-Duty Truck FUSO „FI

Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler Board of Management member responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses said, “As a global manufacturer of commercial vehicles, we want to expand our leadership in traditional markets and develop new markets. We employ intelligent platforms to align our products optimally to the requirements of each market. FUSO plays a central role for the major African and Asian growth markets. Our brand FUSO is well established in Africa and Asia. In combination with the products from our Indian production, we want to increase our sales in these important growth markets. ”



Dr. Albert Kirchmann, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia and MFTBC President & CEO said, “In a growing economy results in an increased demand for the transport of goods. Of this we intend to benefit in Southeast Asian and African markets with FUSO. 2014, we managed a successful start with FUSO in Africa, but we are not concerned about the rapid success. Our activities in these countries are long-term. ”



To generate further growth, Daimler Trucks Asia has planned 300 million euro in investments in international sales and production structures between 2014 to 2018. By 2020, the company looks to sell 290,000 units of FUSO and BharatBenz commercial vehicles. Gradually, FUSO trucks are to be delivered in 11 other export markets: Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Thailand and Uganda. Daimler Trucks Asia growth through MFTBC and DICV sees both companies rely on an integrated product portfolio for variety and optimized production network through their truck production plants in Kawasaki, Japan, and Chennai, India.


Source:- rushlane.com





India Ready To Pay Iran In Euros For Oil

India is ready to pay Iran in euros rather than rupees for crude oil imports after an Iranian official recently said Tehran prefers euro payment, Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry sources in New Delhi say.



The unnamed sources said India will change the current practice of rupee payment as soon as Iran files an official request to that effect, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday.



On March 16, Mohsen Qamsari, the director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said Tehran prefers to receive payments for crude oil exports to India in euros rather than in rupees following the easing of sanctions against Iran as a result of the Geneva nuclear deal.



The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) said in January it is resuming crude oil delivery to Asian buyers in its own vessels as sanctions ease following the implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.



On January 20, the European Union Council suspended part of its sanctions against Iran according to the Geneva nuclear deal between Tehran and the Sextet of world powers – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany - which was signed last November.



Given the volume of its transactions with India, Qamsari said, Iran prefers being paid in euros for crude oil exports to India because of its “increased utility” for Tehran.



Iran’s January oil shipments to the Indian customer were 31 percent higher year on year.



India is among Asia’s major importers of energy, and relies on the Islamic Republic to satisfy a portion of its energy requirements.


Source : presstv.ir





Opportunity of hearing to assessee is mandatory to propose special audit under Delhi VAT Act

CST & VAT : In case of special audit under Delhi VAT Act, an opportunity of being heard is necessary to be given to assessee through notice by Commissioner on each occasion when special audit is proposed


Satisfaction of AO wasn't necessary to initiate block assessment if same person did the earlier asse

IT: Before initiating proceedings under section 158BD, satisfaction of Assessing Officer is mandatory, but same is not required when Assessing Officer who initiated proceedings and Assessing Officer who made assessment, is the same person


AMP exp. entailing brand promotion of AE couldn't be benchmarked on cost-to-cost basis; case remande

IT/ILT: Where assessee-company received reimbursement for advertisement and promotion expenses incurred by it for brand promotion of its AE, mark-up as cost to cost reimbursement of expenses was not enough


CBDT's order is binding on revenue; AO can't deny exemption to assessee granted by CBDT

IT : Where exemption under section 10(23C)(vi) had been granted to assessee by CBDT, said order being binding on department, revenue's appeal against allowance of exemption was to be dismissed


Collective holding of group is to be considered to determine benchmark fixed by SEBI takeover code

SEBI : Where appellants had acted in concert with each other as a group for purpose of acquisition of shares/voting rights of target company and had made a public offer, for determining crossing of threshold limit of 15 per cent prescribed by regulation 10 of take over regulations 1997, it is collective holding of entire group/concert which would be benchmark for determining increase in shareholding and not appellant shareholding as an individual


Order rejecting application for condonation of delay in filing of return is neither appealable nor r

IT : Order rejecting application for condonation of delay in filing return being an administrative order, neither any appeal nor any rectification application thereof is maintainable


HC nods to settlement amongst Co. and secured creditors as it was fair and in best interest of stake

CL : In settlement between secured creditor and company under liquidation, interests of contributories, creditors and other stake-holders were also to be taken into consideration


HC to hear appeal irrespective of monetary limits for filing appeal if issue involved is having casc

Service Tax : Irrespective of monetary limit involved, if substantial question of law raised demands consideration by High Court in view of its important/cascading effect, circular cannot be interpreted or understood to stand in way of High Court considering merits of case


Penalty can't be levied if sec. 80-IA deduction was wrongly claimed by assessee under his bonafide b

IT: Where 80 per cent of plant and machinery in new unit was new and, hence assessee was under bona fide impression that it was entitled to benefit under section 80-IA, levy of penalty under section 271(1)(c) was not sustainable on disallowance of such claim


ITAT upheld TP adjustment on 'Sony Mobile' as AMP exp. incurred by assessee contributed to brand bui

IT/ILT : Where assessee engaged in importing, buying and selling and distributing wide range of mobile phones in India, actively contributed to brand building for its AE which was evident from fact that its AMP/sales ratio was higher than those of comparables, impugned order of TPO making adjustment to assessee's ALP on account of reimbursement of AMP expenses, was to be upheld


HC nods to settlement amongst Co. and secured creditors and it was fair and in best interest of stak

CL : In settlement between secured creditor and company under liquidation, interests of contributories, creditors and other stake-holders were also to be taken into consideration


Investments would be presumed to have been made out of ample owned funds; interest on loan held allo

IT : Where assessee-company took an unsecured loan from a company but did not hold any shares of said company and similarly said company also did not hold shares of assessee, said unsecured loan could not be treated as deemed dividend in hands of assessee


Dilution of insecticides by adding solvent, perfume and stabilizing agents doesn't amount to manufac

Excise & Customs : Dilution of imported insecticides by adding solvent, perfume and stabilising agents etc. does not amount to manufacture; CBEC Circulars to contrary quashed


Sunday, 23 March 2014

Unexplained cash credit to be added in entirety and not only the profit element embedded in it: HC

IT: When unexplained cash credit had been added to income, contention of assessee that necessary expenditure should be deducted and profit alone could be taken as income could not be accepted


Preliminary expenses and depreciation on leased assets allowed on principle of consistency with earl

IT : Where assessee's claim for preliminary expenses had been allowed in earlier years, in absence of any change in circumstances, following principle of consistency, said claim was to be allowed in relevant year as well


CIT(A) rightly estimated income on avg. GP rate as accounts were rejected due to non-availability of

IT : Whether assessee carrying on business of liquor had not maintained sale vouchers, rejection of assessee's account books and trading results by invoking provisions of section 145(3) was justified and Commissioner (Appeals) had rightly applied average gross profit rate in instant case


Place of removal is port of shipment in case of export of goods; services availed upto port are inpu

Service Tax : In case of export of final product, place of removal would be port of shipment and not factory gate and therefore, manufacturer would be entitled to credit of input services availed upto such 'port of shipment'


Income arising from sale of trees that were cut legally to get hindrance free cultivation was capita

IT: Where trees were not of spontaneous growth and same could not be regenerated and gave benefit to assessee in near future, income earned out of sale of such trees could not be chargeable to tax in hands of assessee and was to be treated as capital receipts


Block assessment order quashed as sec. 143(2) notice wasn't issued within stipulated time after fili

IT: Where Assessing Officer passed block assessment order under section 153BC on assessee and Commissioner (Appeals) having found that notice under section 143(2) had not been issued on assessee within a year of filing of block return cancelled block assessment order, Tribunal was justified in confirming decision of Commissioner (Appeals)


HC admits writ against stay order to Tribunal as it was passed without hearing to assessee

Excise & Customs : Normally, assessee has to be file statutory appeal against stay order passed by Tribunal; however, where order of Tribunal is passed without having heard assessee and also without considering his grave financial difficulties/hardship, writ petition is maintainable thereagainst


CCI orders investigation against Ericsson as it was charging excessive license fee for 2G, 3G and 4G

Competition Law : Ericsson holding Standard Essential Patents for mobile communications like 2G, 3G & 4G patents used for smart phones enjoyed dominant position in relevant market


No TP adjustment to challenge prudence of royalty payments to AE if made at lesser rate than of comp

IT/ILT : Where assessee paid royalty at rate of 4 per cent on sales to its AE located abroad for use of its trade mark, in view of fact that said rate was as per RBI formula and lesser than average royalty rate for comparable marketing know-how, TPO could not make adjustment to assessee's ALP taking a view that payment of royalty was unnecessary as products sold by assessee had already acquired a reputation of quality before conclusion of royalty agreement


Saturday, 22 March 2014

Rule 5A mandating assessee to provide docs to authorized officer isn’t ultra vires sec. 72A/94 of Fi

Service Tax : Rule 5A(2) mandating every assessee to make available requisite documents/reports to authorised officer or audit party is not ultra vires section 72A or section 94 of Finance Act, 1994 and is valid


Max restraint period on excise evasion/misuse of credit - 6 months for first time offenders and 1 ye

GST : Rule 12AAA of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 - Power to Impose Restrictions in Certain Type of Cases - Facilities to be Withdrawn and Restrictions to be Imposed for Specified Offences - Supersession of Notification No. 5/2012-C.E. (N.T.), Dated 12-3-2012


FinMin empowers Chief Commissioner of Excise to impose restrictions to prevent misuse of Cenvat cred

GST/Indian Acts & Rules : Cenvat Credit (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Substitution of Rule 12AAA


FinMin empowers Chief Commissioner of Excise to impose restrictions to prevent evasion of excise dut

GST/Indian Acts & Rules : Central Excise (Second Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Substitution of Rule 12CCC


RBI lays Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme; unclaimed deposits of over 10 years to be cr

Banking : Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014 - Under Section 26A of Banking Regulation Act, 1949


RBI issues circular for interest rates on PPF scheme and Senior Citizens Saving Scheme for financial

IT : Public Provident Fund Scheme, 1968 (PPF Scheme, 1968) and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, 2004 (SCSS, 2004) - Revision of Interest Rates


RBI notifies guidelines on early detection of NPAs for NBFCs

NBFCs : Early Recognition of Financial Distress, Prompt Steps for Resolution and Fair Recovery for Lenders: Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets in The Economy


Issues relating to determination of rate of service tax or value of services would be appealable onl

Service Tax : Where order under challenge involves any issue relating to : (a) rate of service tax, or (b) classification, or (c) value of services, or (d) chargeability of activity under charging service tax, appeal would lie only before Supreme Court and no appeal in that matter lies before High Court


Lessor allowed to claim depreciation as there was no doubt on purchase and letting out of machinery

IT: Where purchase of machinery and letting out same was not in doubt, depreciation could not be disallowed


TPO can't make addition on his whim without rejecting comparables chosen by assessee; ITAT deletes a

IT/ILT : Where TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP in respect of international transactions in software development and BPO segment, in view of fact that comparables selected by assessee were not rejected by TPO and, moreover, OP/TC in respect of comparable cases inclusive of cases chosen by TPO was within permissible range of plus/minus 5 per cent, impugned adjustment could not be sustained


Additions made without scrutinizing unsigned draft sale agreement found during survey is untenable,

IT : Without investigation about authenticity of unsigned draft agreement to sell found during survey, no addition would be sustainable


CLB held removal of director without following statutory procedures illegal and act of oppression; r

CL: Where removal of director was without complying statutory provision of section 284; same would amount to illegality and act of oppression


Revenue’s appeal dismissed by ITAT without considering notional tax effect held erroneous by HC

IT: Where Tribunal dismissed revenue's appeal holding it as not maintainable on ground that in either case assessee had suffered loss and in that view of matter, CBDT's circulars providing monetary limit for filing further appeal would render revenue's appeal not competent, impugned order of Tribunal was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for consideration on merits


Excise proceedings couldn't be initiated against a wounded-up co. without obtaining prior leave of c

Excise & Customs : Where a company is being wound up, no central excise reference proceedings against it or its directors can be initiated/continued without obtaining prior leave of company court


Unexplained bank deposits added to assessee’s income as he failed to prove that it belonged to his H

IT : Where assessee did not produce a single document to show that concerned bank account was HUF account and not his individual account, addition in respect of deposits in said account would be made in assessee's individual status and not in HUF status


Royalty paid by assessee to AE not comparable with royalty paid by AE further as method of computati

IT/ILT : Where TPO having found that royalty paid by assessee to its AE was higher as compared to similar payment made by another AE, added certain amount to assessee's ALP, in view of fact that assessee had paid royalty on net sales of product whereas other AE made payment on gross sales receipts, there being difference in mode of computation of royalty, impugned addition was to be set aside


Sec. 234B interest for default in payment of advance tax could be charged only after allowing MAT cr

IT : In view of retrospective amendment in first proviso to section 43B, Tribunal was justified in deleting disallowance in respect of unpaid PF/ESI amount which remained unpaid even during grace period available


Bagasse and electricity energy aren't excisable goods; cann’t be regard as exempted goods under Cenv

Cenvat Credit: Bagasse and Electricity Energy generated out of bagasse used as fuel are not 'excisable goods' and cannot, therefore, be regarded as 'exempted goods' for purpose of rule 6 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004


Friday, 21 March 2014

Director of co. convicted on floating unregistered CIS and on his failure to refund investor's money

SEBI : Where plantation company came out with CIS after section 12(1B) of SEBI Act came into force and contravened regulations 73 and 74 of CIS Regulations, directors of company were to be convicted under sections 24 and 27 of SEBI Act


AO can’t ask DVO to ascertain cost of construction of a project if no assessment was pending against

IT: In absence of pendency of assessment proceedings against assessee, Assessing Officer did not have authority to issue commission to DVO under section 131(1)(d) in order to ascertain cost incurred by assessee on construction of a commercial complex


Cost of improvement is allowable even if it’s sourced from general loan and not necessarily using ho

IT : Merely because loan used in improvement of house is a general loan and not a housing loan, cost of improvement cannot be disallowed


SEBI meet: Board plans to hike fees to achieve its statutory objectives

SEBI : SEBI meet: SEBI BOARD MEETING - Strengthening of Investor Awareness & Education Measures; Enlargement of Reach of Investors/Potential Investors Through Regional & Local Offices & Enhancement of Focus on Capacity Building, etc.


HC denied full waiver of pre-deposit of ST despite case appeared to be in favour of assessee; CESTAT

Service Tax : Where auto-dealers had received incentives from auto-manufacturers, taxability thereof under Business Auxiliary Services would depend upon terms of contract and nature of incentives; therefore, inspite of prima facie case in favour of assessee, CESTAT order directing 50% pre-deposit was upheld


ITAT’s order get merged with judgment of HC on its dismissal; can’t be subjected to rectification pr

IT: Once an appeal under section 260A against order passed by Tribunal is dismissed, there cannot be any rectification application to rectify order passed by Tribunal in appeal


No additional deduction for depreciation if income was computed on estimation basis u/s 44AD

IT : When net profit of civil construction business is computed on estimate basis after rejecting books of account, then no separate deduction including depreciation has to be allowed


HC remands case as ITAT disposed off stay application without any discussion on issues raised

Cenvat Credit : Where Tribunal disposed of stay application by merely noting revenue's claim and without any discussion of issues raised, matter was remanded back for fresh disposal


Ericsson found abusing dominance by imposing unfair rate for payment of royalty and for insistence o

Competition Law : Where OP-Ericsson was a patentee of huge portfolio of standard essential patent required for mobile handsets and network stations for which there were no non-infringing alternatives, imposing discriminatory royalty rates contrary to FRAND terms, prima facie was abuse of dominance and violation of section 4


Co. with huge turnover couldn’t be a comparable; reimbursed cost to be excluded while computing perc

IT/ILT: Company with turnover of Rs. 13000 crore cannot be comparable to company with turnover of Rs. 32 crore


Dept. can't deny credit to buyer for the duty paid on activity not being 'manufacture'

Cenvat : If, relying upon a circular in force at material time, duty has been paid by manufacturer on an activity not amounting to manufacture and said assessment has not been changed, availment of Cenvat credit by assessee-buyer cannot be challenged


Interest on NPAs held taxable on receipt basis even if receipient co-op. bank is following mercantil

IT: A co-operative bank is governed by section 43D and can offer its interest received from NPA on actual receipt basis even if it was otherwise following mercantile system of accounting


MCA gives discretionary powers to Govt. to extend service terms of CLB Bench

Companies Act, 1956/Indian Acts & Rules : Company Law Board (Qualifications, Experience and Other Condition of Service of Members) (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 8


Ministry tweaks rules on remuneration and service terms of ITAT Members

IT/Indian Acts & Rules : Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Members (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 9


Board plans to hike fees to achieve its statutory objectives

SEBI : SEBI meet: SEBI BOARD MEETING - Strengthening of Investor Awareness & Education Measures; Enlargement of Reach of Investors/Potential Investors Through Regional & Local Offices & Enhancement of Focus on Capacity Building, etc.


LG's ratio applies to both, manufactures and distributors in case of TP adjustment of AMP exp., says

IT/ILT: Both in case of manufacturers, as well as distributors, transfer pricing adjustment in relation to AMP expenses by bench marking them separately is sustainable


Losses from buyback of shares sold previously to unrelated parties at huge premium held bogus; addit

IT: Where assessee, a private limited company, sold its shares to unrelated parties at a huge premium and thereupon within short span of time those shares were purchased back even at a loss, share transactions in question were to be regarded as bogus and, thus, amount received from said transactions was to be added to assesee's taxable income under section 68


Tribunal waives off penalty under FEMA due to financial crisis of appellant's widow; allows time bar

FEMA : Where during pendency of appellate proceedings challenging penalty order passed under section 17(4), appellant died, in view of fact that appellant's widow was not in a financial condition to pay demand and her first appeal was rejected only on point of limitation, payment of pre-deposit of penalty amount was to be waived


Sec. 54F relief can’t be denied if assessee merely pays booking amount more than one year prior to d

IT : Where Assessing Officer rejected assessee's claim for deduction under section 54F on ground that assessee availed housing loan and booked flat prior to date of transfer of capital asset, in view of fact that aforesaid activities did not vest assessee with ownership of new asset and it was only by virtue of registered sale deed executed within prescribed time period under section 54F assessee became owner of flat, impugned order passed by Assessing Officer was to be set aside


Matter had to be remanded while hearing stay petition if issue raised by assessee wasn't considered

Service Tax : If, while hearing stay petition, Tribunal is of view that matter needs to go back to adjudicating authority for fresh decision on ground that various basis issues had not considered/answered in proper manner, appeal cannot be kept pending in Tribunal for longer period, instead of deciding same at stay stage itself


HC upheld decision of appellate authorities that block assessment couldn’t be reopened under sec. 14

IT : Provisions of sections 147 and 148 are not applicable to block assessment order passed under Chapter XIVB


No oppression plea if capital base of co. was increased in breach of Companies Act to meet requireme

CL : Where respondent company proved that share capital of a company was increased to meet out urgent requirement of funds, holding of EOGM and allotment of impugned shares even if not be strictly in accordance with provisions of Companies Act, did not amount to an act of oppression


Assessee subjected to block assessment if he files his return after search but before initiation of

IT : Where assessee filed return after search was conducted at his premises but prior to initiation of proceedings under Chapter XIVB, case of assessee would certainly fall for consideration under section 158BB read with section 158BD


Sums paid for smart card operating software without any copyright won't be deemed as royalty

IT/ILT : Where assessee engaged in business of providing enterprise solutions based on smart cards, bar coding, biometrics etc., purchased a readymade card operating system software from a foreign company to be used for its business purpose only and without any right of utilizing copyright of said programe, payment made in respect of same did not give rise to any royalty income


No coercive recovery if stay could not be disposed of due to vacancy in office of Tribunal

Excise & Customs : Where stay application filed by assessee before Tribunal could not be taken up due to vacancy in Office of Tribunal, Department could not initiate coercive steps for recovery


Thursday, 20 March 2014

Additional claim can be made only by filing a revised return and not by filing a revised computation

IT: Where revenue raised a question as to whether assessee could file revised computation for making additional claim for deduction other than filing a revised return of income, in interest of justice, assessee was to be directed to file a revised return of income raising additional claim along with an application for condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b)


Notice won’t be presumed to be served if it was sent on wrong address and received by an unauthorize

IT : Where Assessing Officer issued notice seeking to reopen assessment on wrong address and person alleged to be an employee of assessee was not authorized to receive notice, presumption of service of notice under section 292BB would not be attracted and, therefore, impugned additions made in reassessment proceedings deserved to be set aside


Specific provision prevails over general provision when conflict arises in entries providing exempti

CST & VAT : Where Entry 1E provided 25 per cent exemption to 'large cement units' and another entry provided 75 per cent exemption to 'all prestigious units', then, for an assessee being a cement unit satisfying both entries, specific provision viz. Entry 1E would prevail and assessee would be entitled to only 25 per cent exemption


Mere transfer of an amount from subsidy account to partner’s capital account wouldn’t make it liable

IT : Merely because assessee changed nature of treatment of subsidy received in year 1995 from subsidy account to partner's capital account for accounting purpose, it would not permit revenue to examine taxability of such receipt in assessment year 2004-05 by reassessment proceedings


Failure to produce docs in respect of grounds of appeal entails CIT(A) to pass ex-parte order

IT : Where assessee inspite of large number of adjournments granted by Commissioner (Appeals) did not produce any document in respect of grounds of appeal, nor made written or oral submissions, Commissioner (Appeals) was justified in proceeding ex parte against assessee


One year time-limit isn't applicable for claiming refund of duty paid under protest

Excise & Customs : Where duty has been paid under protest and said fact is not challenged, time-limit of 1 year for claiming refund will not be applicable


Odisha Mining Corp. wasn't abusing its dominance in chrome ore market as it charges fair prices from

Competition Law: Odisha mining Corporation Ltd. enjoyed dominant position in chrome ore market


Statutes allows only one TP method, CPM once adopted can't be switched to TNMM subsequently

IT/ILT : Cost plus method (CPM) is most appropriate method in case of contract manufacturers but that would be subject to satisfaction of parameters laid down in Rules 10C


Issue as to whether works contract could be vivisected to tax services prior to 1-6-2007, referred t

Service Tax : Issue whether a works contract would be vivisected and part of it subjected to service tax even prior to introduction of works contract services w.e.f. 1-6-2007, stands referred to larger bench of 5-members of Tribunal


Advertising agency isn’t taxable on its advertisement receipts till it appears before public; ITAT r

IT : Where assessee-company, who was in publication of advertisement in directory, did not recognise advance as business receipts till directories were complete, published and put to public circulation, its stand was in consonance of AS-9


New objection Form ‘DVAT 38’ notified; contains details on rectification of 2A/2B mis-match after as

GST/Indian Acts & Rules : Delhi Value Added Tax (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 67 and Form DVAT 38, Form DVAT-16, Form DVAT-17 and DVAT-31 and Omission of Form DVAT-51


Delhi Govt. notifies new forms for reconciliation returns and cancellation and amendment of CST regi

GST/Indian Acts & Rules : Central Sales Tax (Delhi) (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 4 & CST Form-1 and Insertion of Rule 10A, Form-9, Form-10 & Form-11


Anyone Can Export Onions Again After Four Decades

For close to four decades, export of onion could take place only through the agencies designated by the government. Now anyone can export onions, as the Central government freed export of the bulb by removing this condition last week.


Onion export was canalised in 1974. National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed) was the only canalising agency till 1999. Subsequently, 12 State Trading Enterprises (STEs) along with Nafed were designated as the canalising agencies for export of onion. The exporter had to pay 1% commission to these agencies in order to get the no-objection certificate for exports.


As the country is expecting an all-time-high onion crop in 2014-15, the government about to face the electorate, removed the minimum export price (MEP) restrictions, which were imposed during winter season as retail prices touched Rs 100/kg.


Last week, the director general of foreign trade (DGFT) issued a notification to free onion exports. There was a strong demand from growers and exporter to remove canalisation as it did not serve any purpose.


"The canalising agencies did not use the money collected from the exporters to better the condition of farmers," claimed Ajit Shah, president, Onion Exporters Association.


The 13 canalising agencies include NAFED, Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), Spices Trading Corporation, AP State Trading Corporation. "Only five to six of the STEs were actually functioning," said Nafed Director HB Holkar.


MSAMB, which was a leading agency issuing no objection certificates to onion exporters has welcomed the decision. "Freeing up of onion exports will help boost onion exports. We never looked at the commission charged for the certificates as a source of revenue for us," said MSAMB Managing Director Milind Akre.


Exports would be crucial to avoid a crash in onion prices as the rabi harvest gathers pace from April. The current unseasonal rainfall, though has damaged the standing onion crop, will not affect the overall onion availability due to record area under the rabi crop. Despite the arrival of rain-damaged crop in the market, domestic prices have remained firm at Rs 6/kg to Rs 8/kg as the good quality bulb is getting a good price.


Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com





ITAT upheld TP adjustment as assessee wasn't charging fee for providing guarantee to bank for its su

IT/ILT : Where assessee paid guarantee fee to bank for providing working capital facilities to its wholly owned subsidiary, transfer pricing adjustment with regard to evaluation of such services on basis of comparables given by assessee was rightly made


Sum paid to eliminate competition entailing advantage for specified time was capital in nature, says

IT : Prior to introduction of section 35DDA, payment in relation to VRS to employees working at a plant which was on selling block is allowable as revenue expenditure


RBI permits Assets Reconstruction Cos. to use funds raised from QIBs for restructuring their financi

NBFCs/SARFAESI : Restructuring Support Finance- Participation by Investors