Palm Oil Down, Stocks Data Awaited

Malaysian palm oil futures ended lower on Monday, stretching losses into a fourth straight day, as investors waited for an official report on export demand and stocks of the tropical oil in the world's second-largest producer. The benchmark July contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.4 percent to 2,583 ringgit ($794) per tonne by the day's close, with prices trading between 2,570-2,609 ringgit.

Prices on Friday had plunged to a near three-month low of 2,558 ringgit, dragged by declines in rival soyoil markets overseas that are tracked by palm. Official data on Malaysian palm oil stocks, output and exports in April is due to be released next Monday by industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. "The morning session was plus 10-15 points, but in the afternoon it was marginally lower. The market is trading nowhere," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage.

"The first 10 days' exports report and the MPOB report are not out yet. The market has no clear direction." Total traded volumes on Monday stood at 35,871 lots of 25 tonnes, just above the average 35,000 lots. Technicals showed that palm oil may hover above support at 2,587 ringgit per tonne as indicated by a Fibonacci retracement analysis, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

Consumption of palm oil, used as cooking oil as well as a key ingredient for many food products ranging from biscuits to ice cream, is widely expected to climb ahead of Eidul-Fitr celebrated this year in July. Cargo surveyors reported last week that Malaysia's palm oil exports rose between 1.3-1.7 percent in April compared with a month ago, with higher imports from the world's biggest edible oil buyers India and China, as well as Pakistan, offset weaker demand in Europe and the United States.

But traders said demand needs to rise faster to lift prices, which have dropped nearly 3 percent this year after weakening continuously since March. "The April export data (from the surveyors) was below estimates. They (traders) were talking about 2.5-3.0 percent higher," the Kuala Lumpur-based trader added. In competing vegetable oil markets, the US soyoil contract for July rose 0.1 percent in late Asian trade, while the most active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange lost 2 percent.

Source:- brecorder.com

Supreme Court lays down procedure for criminal Courts to expedite disposal of cheque bouncing cases

CL : Many of the directions given by the various High Courts, are worthy of emulation by the Criminal Courts all over the country dealing with cases under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, for which the following directions are being given :-

Exporters May Get 50% Freight Subsidy

Exporters are likely to enjoy a subsidy of up to 50 per cent on total freight charges paid on shipment of merchandise through ports outside Odisha.

The draft export policy says the state government will reimburse up to 50 per cent of the cost of transportation paid by exporters at ports outside the state provided ports within the state do not have facilities for handling such cargo.

Exporters would also get incentives for publicity and exposure of up to 50 per cent of the total cost subject to a ceiling of Rs 50,000. But such incentives will be allowed only in case of select reputed trade fairs. Besides, firms availing travel support from government of India under similar scheme will not be eligible for state incentive.

The draft policy is aimed at identifying sectors which are already contributing or have the potential to contribute to exports. It also seeks to identify the bottlenecks which need to be overcome to enable the sectors to realise their full potential. Infrastructure constraints have to be overcome to boost exports.

The state’s investment promotion agency Industrial Promotion &Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol) will provide technical inputs to the director, export promotion & marketing (EPM) in areas related to export policy, incentives and other important issues.

The thrust of the policy is to boost exports in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector.

Sectors with potential for exports include handicrafts, handloom, textiles,engineering and chemicals, marine products, agro and forest products, pharmaceuticals, electronics and software products, gems and jewellery.

Odisha’s overall exports stood at Rs 2382.83 crore on 2001-02 and has been consistently growing since then. Apart from metallurgical and mineral products that have a lion’s share in the export basket, agriculture &forest products, handloom products, handicrafts products, textile products, gems & jewellery products and pharmaceutical products are also exported from the state.

But exports from Odisha in 2011-12 saw a drop of 5.61 per cent at Rs 16,139.20 crore in 2011-12 compared to Rs 17,098.88 crore in the previous fiscal.

The steepest fall was noticed in case of exports of engineering, chemicals and allied products which nosedived 75.23 per cent from Rs 612.62 crore to Rs 151.69 crore.

Exports of metallurgical products too fell marginally in value terms from Rs 4,807.98 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 4,793.94 crore in 2011-12. The quantity exported, however, surged from 0.26 million tonne to 0.76 million tonne.

Source:- business-standard.com

Chinese Policy Causes A 25% Fall In India's April Cotton Exports

The Indian cotton yarn industry is in a spot. The recently announced Chinese cotton policy has made cotton yarn exports to the Dragon country unattractive thus denting Indian yarn exports by 25% in the month of April.

Though the demand of cotton yarn in domestic market is showing some recovery but the textile mills say that the robust growth is yet to be felt thus raising concern for the industry which has just come out from the financial hardship of 2009-10.

Talking to ET, SP Oswal, chairman and managing director, Vardhaman Group said, "Last year the average exports was around 120 million kg. This was largely driven by Chinese demand. But this April yarn exports has come down to 90 million kg. Chinese cotton policy is one of the major reasons for a drop in cotton yarn exports from the country." China accounts for nearly 50% of the yarn exports from India.

China has reduced its cotton yarn import volumes from India in the last two months, which has put Indian yarn exports under pressure. According to the new policy which has come effective from April 1, the government has lowered cotton auction bids to 17,250 Yuan per tonne, down 4.2% from its floor price of 18,000 Yuan per tonne.

"Price is the main concern for Indian yarn exporters. But we are hopeful things will start changing shortly. Indian yarn exporters are also trying to beef up their presence in Bangladesh, Korea and Hong Kong," said K Selvaraju, secretary general, Southern India Mills Association (SIMA).

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mango Exports: Pounce While India Is Still Out, Says Expert

The recent ban on Indian mangoes being exported to the European Union (EU) countries offers a unique opportunity to Pakistan who can pounce and expand their business, Harvest Trading Director and horticulture expert Ahmad Jawad said in a statement.

The EU banned Indian alphonso mangoes and four vegetables from May to December 2015 on grounds that their mangoes were contaminated with non-European fruit flies.

“It is the right time for Pakistani exporters to push their product into high-value European markets so that mango lovers don’t feel a shortfall, especially for the EU where Pakistan has been awarded GSP Plus status,” Jawad said.

With an annual production capacity of around 1.6 million tons, India is the world’s largest mango exporter, selling up to 70,000 tons to overseas markets, according to The Economic Times.

The banning of Indian mangoes by the EU has opened up an opportunity for the Pakistani exporters. It may, however, be a wakeup call at the same time for the latter as both the countries use same technology: Hot Water Treatment (HWT).

“The government and its allied departments should impose strict monitoring of mangoes this year so that we may grab the markets in EU and the United Kingdom,” Jawad said, while talking to a group of journalists in Islamabad – the significance of the EU markets can be judged from the fact that the UK alone imports £6 million worth of mangoes from India, according to The Economic Times.

The controversial ban on Indian mangoes by the EU has heightened the concerns of Pakistani mango exporters who might suffer a similar fate, if they fail to comply with the EU regulation standards.

“The permission may be granted to only those exporters who are prepared to comply with the protocols set by the EU,” the statement quoted Jawad as saying.

The Pakistani mango export industry is promoting the use of HWT and looking after Global Gap Mango farms that have been doing good agriculture practices so that fruit flies and other pests may be destroyed before the shipments are dispatched, the statement read.

In HWT, mangoes go through a thorough cleaning system where they are treated in hot water at temperatures of around 48°C (118.4°F) for approximately an hour. They are then dried, packed and cold treated.

Pakistan’s HWT facility has also been approved by Australia, South Korea, Mauritius, Lebanon, and the facility is open to all in the fresh produce exporting trade.

However, Jawad informed that the country will have to wait to learn if the HWT facility satisfies authorities in the UK and EU.

The statement further said that the impact of the ban of Indian mangoes has turned into a controversy not only in India but also in the EU.

Many importers, retailers, growers and politicians have branded the prohibition as a punitive and over-reactionary measure and started active lobbying against it. They have even filed an e-petition to the concerned authorities for the reversal, the statement said.

Source:- tribune.com.pk

India Spending Billions Of Dollars On Ipr Imports

India is estimated to have spent a tidy sum of over USD five billion in the fiscal 2013-14 on imports of the intellectual property rights (IPRs) clearly negating concerns over India's IPR track record by the countries like the US which has been threatening trade sanctions against New Delhi by putting it under the Priority Watch List under an American trade law, an ASSOCHAM paper on IPR Imports has pointed out.

India's imports of IPRs in the quarter ended December , 2013 were over USD one billion while exports were negligible, as per the official data reviewed by the ASSOCHAM paper and the import bill on this count may well be around USD five billion in the FY 14.

Whether it is in regard to merchandise trade or the intellectual property rights, India has been in full conformity with the World Trade Organisation IPR regime This is borne out by the data . Our trade deficit is close to USD 200 billion clearly reflecting an open economy willing to accept large imports .In regard to IPRs, we as a growing economy realises the importance of cutting-edge technology for improvement of our productivity and for which we have been paying. The figures speak for themselves, ASSOCHAM President Mr Rana Kapoor said.

Given the fact that India is still a developing economy and almost one-third of its people are on subsistent level, the IPR expectations from it should be realistic. Besides, it has also to deal with the greed element of patent-holders who want ever-greening even after the patent period has lapsed.

The ASSOCHAM paper points out that the problem arises when the large economies like the US and the European Union start expecting growing markets like India not only to follow the multilateral rules under the WTO-mandated TRIPs (Trade -Related Intellectual Property Rights) but also be WTO Plus.

In case these countries want much more tightening of the IPR regime, they should press for the same in the multilateral forum like the WTO to which they are the major members. Why initiate their individual and unilateral probes and reports, the chamber said, adding that the Indian industry too is keen on a well-established IPR so that innovation can be promoted, even though there are differences between the developing and the developed world on affordability in key areas of interest to poor people, like pharmaceuticals.

Besides, India's patent regime is in full compliance with the multilateral dispensation and the Indian court's judgements on issues like Compulsory Licensing for life saving drugs are completely in sync with these national and multilateral laws.

The desire to see their trading partners do WTO Plus is becoming a problem even with regard to the European Union. It is precisely for this reason that the ambitious free trade agreement with the EU on trade and investment has been stuck. By such an obstinate attitude, some of the big economies are losing more opportunities than gaining, the ASSOCHAM paper noted.

Source:- business-standard.com

Indian Rupee Fails To Maintain Initial Gains Vs Dollar

The Indian rupee failed to maintain initial gains against the US dollar but was still quoted slightly higher at 60.20 in the morning trade on mild selling of American currency by banks and exporters.

The rupee resumed higher at 60.10 per dollar as against the overnight closing level of 60.21 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in view of sustained foreign capital inflows into equity market.

However, it failed to maintain initial gains and was quoted at 60.20 per dollar at 1000 hours on some dollar demand from banks.

It moved in a range of 60.10-60.22 per dollar during the morning deals.

In New York market, the dollar was little changed against major rivals yesterday as investors continued to comb through economic data and speeches from central bank officials to get a better sense of when the Federal Reserve could begin to raise interest rates.Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex rose by 119.26 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 22,564.38 at 1000 hours.

Source:- financialexpress.com

Mere confession of first stage dealer wasn't enough to levy penalty on second stage dealer

Excise & Customs : Department cannot levy penalty on a Second Stage Dealer merely on ground that First Stage Dealer had confessed that he had not received any goods from manufacturer and transactions were paper transactions; revenue must hold an independent enquiry against second stage dealer before levying penalty

SEBI is empowered to monitor call records of any person against whom any enquiry or investigation is

CL : In a PIL filed by Indian Council of Investor-petitioner, alleging violation of the Fundamental right of privacy by SEBI for intercepting and monitoring calls and calling for Call Data Records (CDRs) from Telecom Service providers (TSP) it was held that SEBI was authorized under SEBI Act for the same . However, since power is capable of misuse and could violate a citizen's right to privacy guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. Therefore, such power cannot be exercised by SEBI for con

HC denies service tax refund on warehousing services as such services were availed of after export o

Service Tax : Where goods were exported on 5-9-2011, assessee could not be allowed refund of service tax paid on warehousing services availed during 16-9-2011 to 15-10-2011, as said services were never used for export goods inasmuch as goods were exported well before availment of services

AO couldn’t presume understatement of income merely on basis of report of DVO; HC quashed reassessme

IT : Opinion of DVO is per se not an information for purpose of reopening of an assessment

HC: SEBI can’t inquire into petitioner’s call data records from telecoms as it violates fundamental

CL : In a PIL filed by Indian Council of Investor-petitioner, alleging violation of the Fundamental right of privacy by SEBI for intercepting and monitoring calls and calling for Call Data Records (CDRs) from Telecom Service providers (TSP) it was held that SEBI was authorized under SEBI Act for the same . However, since power is capable of misuse and could violate a citizen's right to privacy guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. Therefore, such power cannot be exercised by SEBI for con

Valuation adopted by Custom Authorities for import of raw material couldn't be assumed as ALP for TP

IT/ILT: Value of import of raw material accepted by customs authorities cannot be accepted as arm's length price as per provisions of Act

VAT deptt. couldn't presume VAT evasion merely on basis of notice for evasion of excise duty

CST & VAT : Merely because Central Excise Department has issued a notice, evasion of excise duty and consequent evasion of VAT cannot be presumed and materials/evidences collected by Central Excise Department must be examined by VAT Department to come to an independent conclusion about evasion of VAT

CCI approves proposed combination as shares of parties won't be significant in market of automobile

Competition Law : Where parties to combination were to be engaged in business of auto component, in view of fact that there were other enterprises producing similar auto components with significant market share in India, proposed combination was not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India and therefore, same was to be approved under section 31

Supreme Court on Subrata Roy Sahara’s Case

Supreme Court on Subrata Roy Sahara’s Case

HC sets aside reassessment order as it was passed by AO in haste without considering objections of a

IT: Where Assessing Officer being satisfied with explanation offered by assessee with regard to its claim that purchase/sale of shares offered to tax under head 'capital gain' was a result of investment activity passed assessment order under section 143(3) upon assessee and subsequently he reopened said assessment on plea that assessee had so manipulated its account that normal business profit in share trading was claimed as short-term capital gain so as to attract lower rate of tax, since very

'Tube light fittings' are not eligible for cenvat credit as 'capital goods'

Cenvat Credit : "Tube Light Fittings" classified by seller under Chapter 94 of Tariff are ineligible for credit as 'capital goods'

Gujarat HC affirms sec. 80-IB(10) relief even when both land and development project weren’t in name

IT: In view of order passed in case of CIT v. Radha Developers [2012]341 ITR 403/204 Taxman 543/17 taxmann.com 156 (Guj.), Tribunal was justified in allowing deduction claimed under section 80-IB(10) to assessee-builder in respect of developing a housing project even though neither land nor development permission was in name of builder

HC remands case as Tribunal had disposed appeal on merits without considering issue of pre-deposit

CST & VAT : Where Tribunal directed assessee to deposit 20 per cent of tax amount and granted stay against recovery of outstanding demands till final disposal of appeal and thereafter it without any request from either sides disposed of appeal on merits, appeal was placed back before Tribunal for re hearing on issue of pre deposit

HC admitted plea for winding-up as petitioner proved his claim with recovery certificate issued by D

CL: Where respondent-company failed to repay loan taken by it as a result of which recovery certificate was issued in favour of lender, winding up petition filed by petitioner-investor against respondent company was to be admitted

Valuation adopted by Custom Authorities for import of raw material couldn't be assumed a ALP for TP

IT/ILT: Value of import of raw material accepted by customs authorities cannot be accepted as arm's length price as per provisions of Act

Government To Stop Gas Supply To Deepak Fertilizer

The government will stop supply of KG-D6 gas to phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertiliser plants of firms like Deepak Fertilizer Ltd and restrict supply of cheaper domestic gas to urea manufacturing units only.



The Fertiliser Ministry last week wrote to the Oil Ministry seeking immediate stoppage of 0.5 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from Reliance Industries' eastern offshore KG-D6 field being sold to P&K fertiliser plants.



"We received a two-page letter from them (Fertiliser Ministry) on Friday. We will act on it," a senior Oil Ministry official said.



An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had in early 2012 put on hold the proposal to suspend supply of KG-D6 gas to P&K plants of Deepak Fertilizers, Gujarat State Fertilizer Corp and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizer till May 25, 2012.



The Department of Fertiliser was asked to calculate the gains made by companies using KG-D6 gas in manufacture of fertilisers other than urea. The gain made in manufacture of P&K fertiliser using cheaper gas, was to be recovered from these units.



However, the Department of Fertiliser did not formulate the guidelines for the same and natural gas supplies to P&K plants continued for almost two years beyond the stipulation laid by EGoM.



The official said now the Department of Fertiliser has written to the Petroleum Ministry seeking stoppage of gas to P&K units.



In view of limited supply of domestic gas, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) had in December 2011 proposed to stop domestic supplies to the phosphorus and potash (P&K) fertiliser units.



It had proposed to EGoM that "The allocation to Deepak Fertilizer may be cancelled and MoPNG be authorised to cancel any other KG-D6 allocations for P&K plants or any allocation in which KG-D6 gas is being used for P&K fertiliser. Further, KG-D6 gas allocations in the future, be made only to urea fertiliser plants."



However, the EGoM modified this to say that, "The supply of KG-D6 gas to P&K plants (Deepak, GSFC and RCF) may be suspended till guidelines as proposed by DoF as issued. Further, KG-D6 gas allocations in the future should only be made to urea fertiliser plants."



Later, the EGoM kept this decision in abeyance till May 25, 2012, the official said.



Fertiliser plants that face supply cut will have to substitute domestic gas with costlier imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).



The official said that total domestic gas supply to urea making fertiliser plants will continue to be maintained at 31.5 mmscmd as had been decided by EGoM in 2013. This included 0.5 mmscmd gas being consumed by P&K plants.

Source:-http://profit.ndtv.com

Disputes Swamp India’S Port Sector

No other infrastructure sector has witnessed such a raft of contractual disputes as has India’s ports sector , particularly facilities owned by the central government. While the award of port contracts to private firms is announced with much fanfare, those that fall by the wayside due to defaults often don’t get any mention at all.

Recently, Mormugao port decided to scrap a contract awarded to Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd for building a facility to handle coal. The port, one of the 13 owned by the central government, unilaterally cancelled the deal as the government of Goa, where the port is located, delayed granting permission to establish the facility on pollution grounds.

Mormugao port cited Gammon’s failure to tie up funds for the project within the stipulated period as the reason for the cancellation. Gammon says that two lenders had agreed to fund the project, provided it had the approval of the Goa Pollution Control Board to start construction. Infrastructure lenders always insist on environment clearance as a precondition for approving loans.

The decision of the port authority took Gammon Infrastructure by surprise because it had sunk a few crores for pre-project activities such as preparing a detailed project report. Gammon went to the court and got the cancellation stayed.

Essar Ports Ltd, a part of the diversified Essar Group, has been waiting since November 2009 to start constructing a 10-million-tonnes (mt) capacity coal terminal, which it had won in a public auction at Paradip port on the eastern coast. The forest clearance for the project came in July 2012, a key milestone that allowed the firm to start constructing the facility.

Till today, Essar hasn’t been able to start constructing the facility because Paradip port is yet to hand over the project site to the firm, citing a court case.

A consortium led by Singapore-listed commodity trader Noble Group Ltd walked out of a deal to set up a 10 mt capacity iron ore berth at Paradip port because by the time the forest clearance for the project came in July 2012, the project had become unviable due to cost escalations. The agreement for the project was signed in July 2009.

Anil Agarwal-promoted Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd exited a deal to build a multi-purpose berth for handling clean cargo including containers at Paradip port, stating that a three-year delay in getting forest clearance rendered the project unviable.

In a separate case, Gammon Infrastructure Projects had sought Rs.350 crore as compensation from Mumbai port for failure to fulfill obligations that have delayed the opening of a container terminal the firm is building there. Gammon has completed the construction of the berth for the Rs.1,228 crore project but is unable to start operations because the port is yet to complete dredging work and hand over the entire back-up area required to store containers.

Gammon is also awaiting security clearance from the government for buying cranes from overseas makers for loading and unloading containers at the terminal.

Gammon had earlier placed an order with China’s state-owned port container crane maker Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd (ZPMC) for six quay cranes and 20 rubber tyred gantry cranes worth Rs.500 crore. But Gammon had to cancel the order with ZPMC after the government denied security clearance to the Chinese firm to supply the gear.

The government has now introduced new rules that require equipment suppliers to cargo terminals to get security clearance from the government. So far, such a clearance was applicable only to port developers selected through a competitive bidding process.

Gammon has now given the names of all the top crane makers to the government for security clearance ahead of placing order to avoid delays.

There are at least seven different court cases filed by terminal operators, challenging the decision of the port tariff regulator to cut rates for the services provided. Some of these cases have dragged on for years with no settlement in sight.

There are also instances where projects have collapsed due to non-fulfillment of contractual obligations by the port authorities, notably a container loading facility run by ABG Infralogistics Ltd at Kandla port.

Such disputes have often delayed the implementation of the much-needed capacity expansion plans at the ports owned by the Indian government, hurting investor sentiment. In comparison, the development of ports outside the control of the Indian government has progressed at a much faster pace since they are seen to be relatively free from such disputes.

The situation calls for the setting up of a dispute resolution mechanism that can settle disputes quickly as and when they occur before they reach a point of no return.

The port authorities would be better off focusing on the growth aspirations of their ports rather than wasting time and effort in non-productive work.

It is also equally important to have all clearances, including environment, forest and coastal regulation zone, in place before projects are put to tender. This would avert uncertainties surrounding the projects and cost escalations arising from delayed.

Source:- carbonpositive.net

Mobile Phone Imports Up 0.5Pc In 9 Months

The mobile phone imports into the country increased by 0.5 percent during first three quarters of the year 2013-14 over the same period of last year.

The imports of mobile phone into the country during July-March (2013-14) were recorded at $477.289 million against the imports of $474.924 million during July-March (2012-13), according to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Similarly the mobile phone imports into the country during the month of March 2014 decreased by 41.99 percent and 21.23 percent when compared to the imports in March 2013 and February 2014 respectively.

The mobile phone imports during March 2014 stood at $44.82 million against the imports of $77.261 million in March 2013 and $56.901 million in February 2014, the data revealed.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country's overall trade deficit narrowed by 5.49 percent during first three quarters of current fiscal year as exports expanded by 6.06 percent while imports witnessing slight growth of 0.86 percent as compared to the same period of last year.

On year-on-year basis, the trade deficit decreased by 11.98 percent in March 2014 when compared to the deficit of the same month of last year, according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Source:- brecorder.com

Nucleus Software Exports Net Profit Rises 21.79% In The March 2014 Quarter

Sales rise 17.77% to Rs 60.51 crore Net profit of Nucleus Software Exports rose 21.79% to Rs 11.01 crore in the quarter ended March 2014 as against Rs 9.04 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2013.

Sales rose 17.77% to Rs 60.51 crore in the quarter ended March 2014 as against Rs 51.38 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2013.

For the full year,net profit rose 48.53% to Rs 55.09 crore in the year ended March 2014 as against Rs 37.09 crore during the previous year ended March 2013. Sales rose 19.20% to Rs 241.11 crore in the year ended March 2014 as against Rs 202.28 crore during the previous year ended March 2013.

Source:- business-standard.com

Market May Open Flat To Slightly Higher

Trading of CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could gain 5 points at the opening bell. Canara Bank, Emami, Piramal Enterprises among others will announce their January-March 2014 quarter results today, 5 May 2014.

Grasim Industries' consolidated net profit after minority interest (before exceptional item) rose 11% to Rs 679 crore on 10% growth in revenue to Rs 8419 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013. The Q4 result was announced after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014.

There was an exceptional gain of Rs 204 crore on the sale of Grasim's stake in Alexandria Carbon Black and Thai Carbon Black in Q4 March 2013.

Grasim Industries' consolidated net profit (before exceptional item) declined 17.12% to Rs 2072 crore on 5% growth in revenue to Rs 29324 crore in the year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) over the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013).

Despite the prevailing economic slowdown during the year, volumes have been augmented in all the businesses viz. VSF, Chemical and Cement, driven by the commissioning of new capacities, Grasim Industries said. An overcapacity in the VSF business globally and Cement business in India has impacted the realisations and profitability, the company said in a statement.

With regard to its future business outlook, Grasim Industries said that in the VSF sector, margins are likely to remain under pressure in the near term due to overcapacity in China. The slowdown of new capacity additions in China should lead to improvement in industry utilization, the company said. With additional capacity coming on stream, the company is well equipped to further consolidate its leadership position in the industry, it added. In Cement, the demand growth for the industry should gradually recover to 8% on improvement in the economic environment, Grasim Industries said in a statement.

Grasim Industries' board of directors at its meeting held on Friday, 2 May 2014, recommended dividend of Rs 21 per share for FY 2014.

Tata Motors' total sales (including exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles fell 34% to 33,892 vehicles in April 2014 over April 2013. The company's domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles declined 36% to 30,670 units in April 2014 over April 2013. The company's sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market fell 36% to 23,229 units in April 2014 over April 2013. LCV sales fell 43% to 14,804 units in April 2014 over April 2013, while M&HCV sales declined 16% to 8,425 units in April 2014 over April 2013. Sales of passenger vehicles were lower by 36% to 7,441 units in April 2014 over April 2013. Sales of the Nano/ Indica/ Indigo range were down 37% to 5,653 units in April 2014 over April 2013. The Sumo/ Safari/ Aria/ Venture range sales fell 33% to 1,788 units in April 2014 over April 2013. The company's sales from exports registered a decline of 10% to 3,222 units in April 2014 over April 2013. Tata Motors announced sales figures after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Sun Pharma) after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014, announced that, as a part of its manufacturing consolidation in the US, it has notified the Workforce Development Agency for the State of Michigan regarding its decision to cease manufacturing operations and close the Detroit (Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories,Ltd.) facility located at Elijah McCoy Detroit, Ml, USA. The company has provided the requisite advance written notice of the facility closure to the employee union and all affected employees, Sun Pharma said in a statement.

Sun Pharma said it has ensured that the impacted employees get compensated with more than their regular entitlement under the severance package. They will also receive other support services including outplacement assistance, the company added. The rest of the employees are continuing through mutually consented arrangements, Sun Pharma said in a statement.

Sun Pharma said it has undertaken necessary measures to ensure business continuity of the products being manufactured at this facility. The manufacturing of these products is being transferred to other units and all necessary steps have been taken to avoid market shortage, the company said. Sun Pharma said it expects a negligible impact of this development on its FY 2015 consolidated revenues.

Separately, Sun Pharma after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014 in a clarification with regard to news item titled "Sun-Ranbaxy merger runs into legal wrangle" said that it was neither served the notice of the hearing nor it was aware of such hearing being held nor it is served with the copy of the court order, so the question of submission of court order to the exchanges doe not arise, Sun Pharma said.

Ranbaxy Laboratories after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014 in a clarification with regard to news item "Sun-Ranbaxy merger runs into legal wrangle" said that the company has neither received any Notice nor appeared/represented before the Hon'ble High Court in regard to aforesaid Court case. Further, the company has also not been served the Order of the Hon'ble Court, Ranbaxy Laboratories said.

Reliance Communications' (RCom) consolidated net profit fell 48.51% to Rs 156 crore on 4.78% decline in total income to Rs 5671 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013. The company's consolidated net profit rose 55.8% to Rs 1047 crore on 2.5% rise in revenues to Rs 22321 crore in the year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) over FY 2013. The company announced Q4 result after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014.

The company's consolidated net profit rose 43.9% to Rs 156 crore on 5% rise in revenue at Rs 5671 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) gained 0.4% to Rs 1852 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. EBITDA margin stood at 32.7% in Q4 March 2014, amongst the highest in the industry, with strong contribution from both India and Global businesses.

Revenue of India operations rose 0.3% to Rs 4649 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. EBITDA of India operations rose 3.2% to Rs 1659 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013

Revenue of global operations rose 15.7% to Rs 1261 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. EBIDTA of global operations stood at Rs193 crore in Q4 March 2014, EBIDTA margin stood at 15.3% in Q4 March 2014.

RCom generated operational cash flow (EBITDA) of Rs. 1852 crore in Q4 March 2014, paid net finance charges of Rs 907 crore and invested Rs 467 crore on capex during the quarter. It remains free cash flow (FCF) positive and this is expected to continue, company said.

Among its key performance indicators (KPIs), revenue per minute (RPM) was stable at 43.2 paisa. Voice RPM at 33.0 paisa. During the year, the company has significantly improved RPM with tariff hikes and strong focus on paid and profitable Minutes.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) rose 2.4% at Rs 128 in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. The total MOUs was up by 0.4% at 102.3 billion in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013.

The total data traffic was up 20.5% to 50,251 million MB in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013. The traffic has increased due to increase in data subscribers and higher data usage per customer

The total data customer base has grown 3.3% to 37.4 million in Q4 March 2014 over Q3 December 2013, including 12.9 million 3G customers in Q4

Ashok Leyland reported 21% decline in total sales to 5897 units in April 2014 over April 2013. Total sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) fell 14% to 4523 units in April 2014 over April 2013. Total sales of light commercial vehicles (LCV) declined 39% to 1374 units in April 2014 over April 2013.

Reliance Capital's consolidated net profit rose 1% to Rs 267 crore on 9% growth in total income to Rs 1848 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014.

Reliance Capital's consolidated net profit rose 59% to Rs 747 crore on 14% growth in total income to Rs 7544 crore in the year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) over the year ended 31 March 2013 (excluding one-time capital gains on stake sale in RCAM in FY 2013).

Reliance Capital's net worth rose 4% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 12483 crore as of 31 March 2014.

The company had a net debt equity ratio of 1.82 as on 31 March 2014. It continues to enjoy the highest ratings of 'A1+' by ICRA and CRISIL, for its short term borrowings program and 'CARE AAA' by CARE for its long term borrowing program, Reliance Capital said in a statement.

As on 31 March 2014, the total assets of the company stood at Rs 45528 crore, an increase of 12%.

Reliance Capital said the company has not raised any fixed deposits from the public.

Deepak Nitrite's net profit surged 68.25% to Rs 15.85 crore on 16.13% growth in total income from operations to Rs 360.61 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014.

Deepak Nitrite's net profit rose 1.32% to Rs 38.32 crore on 24.54% growth in total income from operations to Rs 1269.62 crore in the year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) over the year ended 31 March 2013 (FY 2013).

Deepak Nitrite's board of directors at its meeting held on Friday, 2 May 2014, approved 5-for-1 stock split. The board also approved issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1. Also, the board approved payment of dividend of Rs 10 per share for FY 2014.

Power Finance Corporation announced after market hours on Friday, 2 May 2014 that the board of directors of the company at its meeting held on 2 May 2014, has approved conduct of postal ballot seeking approval of the shareholders on the slew of proposals including raising of resources through private placement of non-convertible debentures, enhancement of the borrowing power for the purpose of business of the company, authorization to the board of directors for mortgaging and/or creating charge on the assets of the company for securing borrowings for the purpose of the company and .fixation of 9 May 2014 as the cut-off date for reckoning voting rights of the shareholders.

R Systems International said that its board will meet on 10 May 2014 to discuss and review business operations of the company.

AstraZeneca Pharma India said that its board will meet on 5 May 2014, to consider seeking approval of shareholders of the company through postal ballot, for the voluntary delisting proposed by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals AB Sweden, promoter of the company, in terms of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009.

Pfizer's net profit fell 3.66% to Rs 56.03 crore on 2.46% decline in total income from operations to Rs 274.48 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013. Net profit fell 56.11% to Rs 220.85 crore on 6% rise in total income from operations to Rs 1111.80 crore in the year ended March 2014 over the year ended March 2013.

Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was Rs 251.69 crore as compared to Rs 252.19 crore in the same period last year. The revenue for the year was Rs 1004.27 crore as compared to Rs 947.98 crore last year.

Excluding the transitional support for sales of certain animal health products, the pharmaceutical revenue for the quarter registered a growth of 6% to Rs 251.69 crore as compared to Rs 237.24 crore in the same period last year. Similarly the revenue for the year registered a growth of 5% to Rs 961.80 crore as compare to Rs 915.06 crore last year.

The profit before tax and exceptional items for the year grew by 21% to Rs 339.58 crore from Rs 279.65 crore last year.

Financial Technologies (India) (FTIL) said that its board met on 2 May 2014 and took note on the progress on the divestment of 24% stake in MCX, since the last board meeting held on 25 April 2014. The board was to deliberate on the final bidder at board meeting held on 2 May 2014.

However, in the light of developments of MCX releasing executive summary of the Report of special audit conducted by PWC, some of the bidders have requested for the full report and also further information about MCX. Their request has been sent to MCX by the Company's Merchant Bankers. In view of this, the bidders have not submitted the binding bids.

Accordingly, the board has decided to meet again on 10 May 2014 to review the progress on the divestment of 24% stake in MCX, FTIL said in a statement.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next undertakes monetary policy review on 3 June 2014. The RBI left its main lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 8% after a monetary policy review on 1 April 2014, as consumer-price inflation eased to a two-year low and as the rupee firmed up against the dollar.

A major near term trigger for the stock market is the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The 36 days long voting process began on 7 April 2014 and will conclude on 12 May 2014. The results will be declared on 16 May 2014 after which India will get a new government. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on 1 June and the new House has to be constituted by 31 May.

Key benchmark indices settled marginally lower amid a choppy trading session on Friday, 2 May 2014. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 13.91 points or 0.06% to 22,403.89 on that day, its lowest closing level since 16 April 2014.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 386.95 crore on Friday, 2 May 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Asian stocks fell on Monday after a private gauge of Chinese manufacturing contracted for a fourth month, missing market estimates. Key benchmark indices in China, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong declined 0.08% to 1.42%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite rose 0.17%. Markets in Japan and South Korea are closed today and tomorrow for holidays.

China's manufacturing contracted in April for a fourth month, according to a private survey, signaling the risk of a deeper slowdown in an economy already projected to expand this year at the slowest pace since 1990. A purchasing managers' index was at 48.1, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said in a statement today. That compared with 48 the previous month. Numbers below 50 indicate contractions.

Growth in China's services sector accelerated slightly in April as new orders held steady, an official survey showed, an encouraging sign of strength in an economy that otherwise faces a cloudy outlook. The purchasing manufacturing index (PMI) for the services industry edged up to 54.8 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday, up marginally from 54.5 in March. A reading above 50 in PMI surveys indicates growth on a monthly basis, while a number below that threshold points to a contraction in activity.

US stocks eased on Friday as concerns about more violence in Ukraine prompted profit-taking ahead of the weekend and offset optimism about the fastest job growth in more than two years.

The labor market shifted into a higher gear in April with payroll gains showing the most widespread advance in two years, a sign the US economic expansion is on the verge of speeding up. The 288,000 increase in employment marked the biggest upside surprise since February 2012 and followed a 203,000 rise the prior month, Labor Department figures showed in Washington. An index measuring the share of industries hiring climbed to 67, the highest level since January 2012. The jobless rate dropped to 6.3%, the lowest since September 2008.

The Federal Reserve will likely bring its massive bond-buying program to an end in October, and only after that will it consider when to raise rates, a top Fed official said on Sunday. "I personally expect us to end that program in October," Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said in an interview on Fox News. "Then we have to see how the economy is doing, including these broader measures of unemployment and where we stand before we can talk about how we might move the short-term rate," he added.

In Europe, a monthly meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England's (BoE) for monetary policy review is scheduled on Thursday, 8 May 2014.The European Central Bank (ECB) will hold monetary policy meeting on Thursday, 8 May 2014, in Brussels, Belgium.

Source:- business-standard.com

Indian Textile Exports To Peru May Quadruple By 2015’

India presently exports textiles worth US$ 55 million to Peru, and this amount could increase by four times by the end of 2015, said deputy director of the Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council of India (SRTEPC) Srijib Roy, at the recently concluded India Business Conference and Exhibition of Textile Industry (INTEXPO Peru 2014), held in the Peruvian capital city of Lima.

Mr. Roy explained that currently textile entrepreneurs in Peru purchase raw materials from other countries at high prices and it would be an advantage for them if they import textile and raw materials from India, especially fabrics for garments, reports Peruvian news agency andina.

According to the SRTEPC official, India can offer Peruvian entrepreneurs high quality products at competitive prices, and purchasing Indian textile and raw materials could be beneficial to both the countries.

Mr. Roy also informed that during the two-day event, 11 textile entrepreneurs from India managed to generate business deals worth US$ 1.85 million with Peruvian businessmen.

Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL) vice president Raul Barrios said that the visit of the 11 Indian textile entrepreneurs to Peru would help accelerate talks for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations which would increase trade relations between India and Peru.

Organized by the SRTEPC, with the support of Indian Embassy in Lima and the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL), the INTEXPO PERU event was aimed to provide an opportunity to Indian entrepreneurs to establish trade contacts with Peruvian textile and apparel enterprises.

Exhibitors from India showcased various products such as polyester yarn, viscose yarn, organic cotton yarn, acrylic yarn, polyester threads, viscose threads, cotton fabrics, polyester fabrics, linen fabrics and more, during the two-day event.

Source:- fibre2fashion.com

Coffee Exports In April Up 11% At Rs 535 Cr

India's coffee exports rose by over 11% in value terms at Rs 535.83 crore in April this year on better realisation following firm global prices, according to the Coffee Board.

Coffee shipments from India -- the world's fifth biggest exporter -- stood at Rs 480.77 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

However in volume terms, coffee shipments fell by over 4% at 31,836 tonnes in April this year from 33,211 tonnes of shipments in the year-ago period.

"The export realisation remained as high as Rs 1,68,362 per tonne in April, 2014, against Rs 1,44,762 per tonne in the year ago because of better global prices," a senior Board official said.

But the volume of coffee exports from India remained lower last month as domestic traders held back stocks anticipating recovery in global prices, which have firmed since February on likely drop in production in the world's largest coffee producer Brazil, the official added.

According to the Board, the global coffee prices have already risen by more than 80% this year owing to concerns over drought conditions in Brazil and an outbreak of coffee leaf rust plant disease in Central America.

During last week of April, arabica-quality coffee prices at New York had touched 219 US cents on April 24 -- the highest since February 2012. Robusta futures price for July had risen to $2,156 a tonne from $2,086 a tonne.

The Board official said that harvesting of coffee in the country has got over now. Overall domestic production is expected to be in line with the Board's estimate of 3,11,500 tonnes for 2013-14 crop year (October-September), down by 2.1% from 3,18,200 tonnes produced in 2012-13. India exports coffee largely to Italy, Germany, Belgium, Jordan, Turkey and Russia, among others.

Source:- business-standard.com

Rupee Trading A Tad Weak At 60.17

The rupee was trading a tad weak at 60.17 against the dollar at 3.37 p.m. local time on emergence of fresh dollar demand from banks and importers.

The domestic unit opened strong at 60.10 per dollar against the previous close of 60.15 on the back of weakness in the dollar index.

The rupee hovered in the range of 60.00-60.19 per dollar.

Call rates, bond yields

The overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) opened sharply higher at 8.35 per cent against the previous close of 7.50 per cent.

The yield on 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent bond, maturing in 2023, softened a tad to 8.78 per cent against Friday's close of 8.8 per cent. Bond prices rose to Rs 100.27 from Rs 100.13. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Sale of hypothecated vehicles by NBFCs on default of borrowers was liable to VAT under West Bengal V

CST & VAT : When, with a view to recover dues, assessee-bank/NBFC sold vehicles owned by borrowers on default in repayment of loan, assessee acted as 'agent' of borrowed and fell within definition of 'dealer' and was liable to VAT

AO’s action of allowing sec. 80-IB relief in haste without making proper inquiry calls for sec. 263

IT : Where Assessing Officer even though taking a view that there existed possibility of violation of approved building plan, allowed assessee's claim for deduction under section 80-IB(10) as assessment was getting time barred, it being a case of non-application of mind, Commissioner was justified in setting aside assessment in exercise of revisional power under section 263

Storage loss of 17% of production wasn't legitimate'; HC denied remission of excise duty on storage

Excise & Customs : Remission of Excise duty cannot be allowed in respect of storage loss of 895 quintals viz. 17 per cent of sugar; only storage loss upto 0.5 per cent is condonable

Payment of interest by an Indian Bank to PSU at a higher rate was deductible as it wasn’t opposed by

IT : A bank would be entitled for deduction of excess rate of interest paid to PSUs if same were in consonance to RBI circular

HC affirms deduction of 25% for labour charges for work contract in absence of any books of account

CST & VAT : Where assessee was engaged in execution of works contract and it had not maintained books of account and had also not produced bills and vouchers pertaining to labour charges, Assessing Authority was justified in allowing deduction towards labour charges and like expenses to an extent of 25 per cent as per rate specified under Entry No. 14 of Table given below rule 3(2)(m) of Karnataka Value Added Tax Rules, 2005

ITAT remanded case to examine allowability of development exp. to real estate developer in view of A

IT : Matter needed readjudication where issue as to whether development expenses could be allowed under applicable accountancy standards and commercial principles remained unexamined

Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 is Constitutionally valid

Banking Laws : Since objective of DICGC Act is to protect interests of small depositors when banks in which their deposits are held gone into liquidation, classification between depositors having deposits of less than Rs. 1 lakh and beyond is certainly based upon an intelligible differentia and has a rational nexus with objective, thus, is not in violation of article 14 of Constitution of India

HC restores appeal as assessee failed to appear in proceedings due to his counsel's fault in noting

Excise & Customs : Where non-appearance was because legal counsel had mistakenly noted date of hearing as 30-8-2012 instead of 30-7-2012, appeal dismissed for default in appearance could be restored; assessee cannot be made to suffer for any bona fide error of his counsel

Case remanded to AO for deciding fate of sec. 11 relief after considering nature of receipts and obj

IT: Where Tribunal remanded matter back for purpose of considering assessee's claim under section 11, Assessing Officer shall consider nature of receipts keeping in mind objects of institution to find out as to whether income earned is incidental to objects of association and or whether income could only be treated as a separate business carried on by assessee

No discretion is available with revenue to levy lesser penalty than that specified in sec. 11AC of E

Excise & Customs : Penalty under section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944 is mandatory and there is no discretion to levy lesser penalty than that specified in said section; however, penalty would be leviable only if ingredients of section 11AC are met

Period of limitation to seek rectification under sec. 254 to be counted from date of actual receipt

IT: Rectification application under section 254 filed within period of four years from actual receipt of judgment and order sought to be reviewed, should be admitted for consideration

Punjab Govt Fails To Take Action Against Potato Hoarders

The Punjab government has surrendered before the interests of feudal and stopped taking action against artificial price hike of potatoes.

The Provincial Minister for Food & Chairman Cabinet Price Control Committee Bilal Yasin addressing a press conference here at 90 Shahrah-e-Qauid-e-Azam said that government is taking strict action against profiteering on potatoes hoarding but farmers associations (so-called feudals’ bodies) are forcing the government against interfering in market mechanism as it will dishearten the farmers. The farmers will not sow potatoes in next season if prices were forcibly controlled by the government, the minister argued on behalf of farmers’ representatives’ association.

Despite several measures taken by the federal as well as the provincial governments, the rates of potatoes are sticking to the level of Rs60-70 per kg in open market while the whole Sunday bazaars are not selling this item except sweet potato at Rs45 per kg. Sunday bazaars vendors said that market committee rate was not viable for them so they refused to sell potatoes. However, sale of sweet potatoes is feasible for them.

It is to be noted that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has abolished sales tax, customs duty and withholding tax on the import of potatoes and imposed 25 percent regulatory duty on its export in line with the decision of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet.

The FBR has exempted 17 percent sales tax, 5 percent withholding tax and customs duty on the import of potatoes. The ECC had considered a summary of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research on creation of potatoes artificial price hike in the market. The ECC was informed that hoarding and profiteering led to increase in the potatoes price locally.

The ECC on the recommendation of Minister for National Food Security and Research decided to impose 25pc regulatory duty on export of potato with effect from May 5, 2014. It was further decided that there will be zero duty and levy on import of potato from May 5 till July 31, 2014 and the measure will help in bringing potato prices at rational level in the market before and during the month of Ramazan 2014.

But all measures of the federal government along with the checking of monitoring teams of provincial governments seem to be futile as no respite was seen in prices of potatoes neither in open market nor in Sunday Bazaars. Though vendors have pasted rate list of veggies with potatoes rate of Rs54-56 per kg but they are selling the item not less than Rs60 per kg.

It seems that there is no price regulatory body and mechanism of the Punjab government to control prices of essential eatable commodities that are completely manipulated by traders, hoarders and profiteers.

Experts said that Pakistan produces 3.78 million tons potatoes against the annual domestic consumption of about 1.8 million tons. The prices of potato peak up in October and start declining from Dec when the new crop from Punjab is available in the market. The lowest prices are observed from January-March.

They pointed out that there is now no potato left with the farmers as the stockists and hoarders picked up the whole crop. They are selling vegetables at the unaffordable price of Rs 60-70 per kilogram without any check or hindrance.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Minister Bilal Yasin said that provision of quality essential items to the people at cheaper rates in abundance is top priority of the government. He said that edible items are available in Sunday bazaars and Sahulat bazaars in abundance.

Replying to a question, Bilal Yasin said that price of potato is being focused so that its price should be brought at reasonable level before Ramzan-ul-Mubarrak. He said that district administration all over the province is active against hoarders.

Provincial Minister said that there is wheat procurement season and the focus of Food Department is to achieve the wheat target.

Source:- nation.com.pk

Cotton Production Shows 3.69 Percent Increase: Pcga

The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) fortnightly report shows that around 1,33,91,694 cotton bales were sourced to the country's ginners by May 1, 2014, which shows an increase of 3.69 percent compared to last year when ginneries received 1,29,15,585 bales.

PCGA Chairman Mukhtar Ahmed Khan Baloch briefed journalists on Saturday about seed-cotton (phutti) arrivals, sales and unsold stock of cotton. He said that 1,25,84,496 cotton bales were sold to textile units and exporters bought 3,99,382 bales. Thus, overall 1,29,83,878 bales were traded so far. He said the PCGA was following the production target of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee.

Mukhtar Baloch said that total 12 (11 in Punjab and 1 in Sindh) out of 1,200 ginning factories were operational in two provinces. The chairman of PCGA said that Punjab contributed 96,31,362 bales which 1.29 percent more than last year when Punjab contributed 95,08,418 bales, Sindh contributed 37,60,332 bales which 10.37 percent more than last year when it contributed 34,07,167 bales and Balochistan 63,048 bales.

After the total trading of 1,28,29,972 bales, there are 4,07,816 bales available with ginners as unsold stock. He said the modest cotton trading was witnessed in the market as exporters showed interest in buying to meet their needs. However cotton prices continued their downward drive this week conceding other Rs 100 to Rs 150 per maund. Condition on the cotton market is bearish and off take of lint is decidedly low. Ginners are saddled with close to half a million unsold bales from the current season. The ginners were expecting better prices of cotton to meet the demand of European markets after attaining the status of GSP-Plus, the rates are going up.

District wise cotton arrival in Punjab: Multan 4,95,893 bales, 12.93 percent more than last year, Lodhran 3,86,886 bales showing an increase of 37.26 percent, Khanewal 9,36,563 bales showing an increase of 2.95 percent, Muzaffargarh 4,13,961 bales registering a decrease of 6.65 percent, Dera Ghazi Khan 3,94,129 bales showed an increase of 12.51 %, Rajanpur 4,11,578 bales showing an increase of 2.07 %. Layyah 2,78,304 bales, showing 8.78 % more than last year, Vehari 8,76,555 bales 8.78 % decrease , Sahiwal 5,34,340 bales decreased by 3.73 %, Pakpattan 1,73,701 bales showing 33 % less than preceding year, Okara 45,592 showing a decrease of 21.42 %, Kasur 28,386 bales, Toba Tek Singh, 2,34, 968 bales, Faisalabad 64,188, Jhang 1,18,360, Mianwali 3,10,413 bales, Bhakkar 1,76,231 showing a decrease of 6.22 percent, Sargodha 38,514, Rahimyar Khan ,11,84,464, Bahawalpur 11,09,963 and Bahawalnagar 14,18,272 bales. District wise cotton arrival in Sindh, Hyderabad 2,99,110 bales, showing an increase of 18.44 %, Mirpurkhas 3,62,049 bales, showing decrease by 10.31%. Sanghar 14,04,538, Nawabshah 2,92,988, Naushahro Feroze 2,50,303, Khairpur 2,40,387, Ghotki 2,12,279, Sukkur 3,59,126, Dadu 35,500, Jamshoro 1,87,279 and Badin 53,525 bales and Balochistan 63,048 bales.

Ginneries received 906 bales during the fortnight of April 16 to May 1. Unsold stock is 4,07,816 bales which is more than last year when it reached to 3,99,919 bales. Ginners were expecting better prices of their lint but prices have fallen down beyond their expectations. The PCGA blamed the policy-makers who had allowed importing cotton and yarn from India.

Source:- brecorder.com

Most Sectors Barring The Readymade Garment (Rmg) Have Been Performing Poorly In Terms Of Export Earnings Since The Beginning Of The Current Fiscal Year (2013-14).

Most sectors barring the readymade garment (RMG) have been performing poorly in terms of export earnings since the beginning of the current fiscal year (2013-14).



The shortfall in revenue earning of these sectors, stretching from agricultural products to ship-building, was at least US$ 537 million during the July-March period as against the combined target of US$4.5 billion, official statistics at the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) shows.



The share of these industries in the country's total exports is shrinking fast, officials of the Export Promotion Bureau told the FE late last week.Of all the 32 non-RMG sectors, only footwear, shrimp, rubber and leather performed relatively well during July-March period of the current fiscal.



The share of non-RMG sectors has shrunk to 19 per cent during the period under review against their usual share of around 30 per cent.Previously, non-RMG goods and products, had at times dominated the country's export sector in terms of growth.



Economists and industry insiders said restive politics during the October-December period last year and appreciation of the local currency, Taka, against the US dollar were the main reasons behind the fall of the share of non-RMG sectors in the total export earnings.



Ahsan H Mansur, executive director at the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) said the RMG sector being much organised one can overcome difficulties while the non-RMG sectors cannot.Until March last, the RMG sector fetched $18 billion out of $22 billion total shipment.



Mr. Mansur said domestic restive politics had caused problems for many fast growing export earning sectors like the bicycle exports to Europe.



"In my view, political situation that prevailed until December last affected our many fastest growing export earning sectors," Mr. Mansur said.



He said India bagged many non-RMG products following the weakening of its currency, Rupee.The export receipts from fast growing sectors like jute, home textile, specialised textile, plastic, vegetables and engineering fell significantly during July-March period.



Kaihan N Rahman, deputy managing director at Pubali Jute Mills Ltd., said export of jute goods fell substantially during July-March period as almost all its destinations were beset with either tension or political problems.



He said export to Syria and Egypt remained almost halted for long due to political problems there.He said weaker Indian currency made its products cheaper to the global buyers leading to fall in orders for Bangladesh-made goods.



He also said US sanctions on Iran had affected Bangladesh jute goods exports to the country significantly.According to the EPB, jute and jute goods sectors fetched only US$612 million against its target of $841 million for the period.



Md Nurul Islam, chairman of Noman Group, one of the key exporters of home textile products, said granting generalised system of preference (GSP) to Pakistan by the European Union (EU) affected export of Bangladesh-made products.



The EU granted GSP plus facilities to Pakistan until 2017 from January last. The GSP Plus status will allow almost 20 per cent of Pakistani exports to enter the EU market at zero tariff and 70 per cent at preferential rates.Mr. Islam said Pakistan is the reputed home textile producer in the global market and allowing GSP helped the country grab the market share fast.



Lt. Col. M Anisuzzaman, managing director of the Global Fabrics told the FE that appreciation of local currency against the US dollar was responsible for erosion in competitiveness of Bangladesh-made products."Bangladesh Taka appreciation made Indian products much cheaper and our many orders were diverted there," Mr. Anisuzzaman noted.



He said recent labour wage hike in the country has led to loss of efficiency in terms of prices."Our competitiveness lies with cheap labour as we import almost cent per cent raw materials for manufacturing terry towel products," he said. "We cannot compete when labour prices go up," he added.



Currently, Bangladesh has 70 terry towel plants and its export target for the July-March 2014 fiscal was at $62 million. But it could fetch $53 million, nearly 14 per cent less than that of target.

Source:- thefinancialexpress-bd.com

India’S Leather Exports To Take A Hiding

The recent EU ban on imports of Indian Alphonso mangoes after pests were reportedly found in consignments has generated considerable concern. Now the EC has notified the WTO of its plan to introduce new restrictions on leather goods imported into the EU. These new rules target hexavalent chromium, or Cr(6), in leather products and could take effect in early 2015.

This could seriously hit the global leather goods trade. Almost 60 per cent of India’s leather exports, worth $5 billion in 2012-13, go to the EU. India along with other affected exporting countries such as China, Vietnam and Turkey, needs to take proactive action to meet this threat.

Chromium tanning, used in 80 per cent of leather production globally, results in higher strength and resistance to temperature. The chemical used is chromium sulphate, which is trivalent chromium, and not harmful.

However, exposure to sunlight and air can oxidise the trivalent Chromium to Cr (6). In cars, for instance, the leather can be subject to high temperatures and sunlight in summer. Cr (6) can cause lung cancer if inhaled, especially by workers in chromium mining, electroplating, welding and tanneries.

In January 2012, Danish authorities submitted a dossier to the EC on reported cases of contact dermatitis and allergies caused by Cr(6) in leather articles such as shoes, handbags and gloves. A study of over 16,000 patients with eczema in Denmark concluded that the majority of cases were caused by leather products — particularly footwear.

Wide-ranging impact

The dossier requested action on an EU-wide basis to safeguard human health. According to the dossier, the mechanisms of and conditions under which Cr (6) is formed are known and “most tanneries in the European Union have already developed and widely implemented measures to control and minimise its formation”.

This last assertion means tanneries and leather manufacturers in the EU will get a huge competitive advantage if the restrictions are applied. Consumers would end up paying higher prices for the products. The EU has in the past lobbied hard to get export restrictions and duties on semi-finished leather lifted.

Meanwhile, Germany banned the presence of Cr (6) under the German Ordinance on Commodities (BGVO) since August 2010, which explicitly mentions clothing, furniture and bags. Producers or retailers of leather goods are obligated to ensure that Cr (6) is not present.

On November 2012, the Risk Assessment Committee endorsed and widened the recommendation by Denmark, to cover “leather articles and articles containing leather parts that, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, come into contact with the skin. The limit set for such articles is less than 3 mg/kg of Cr (6) in total dry weight of leather, which could reduce by 80 per cent the risk of contact. The proposed restrictions would go into effect in the first quarter of 2015. Existing stocks of leather goods and second-hand leather articles already within the EU would not be covered.

Examples of products that will come under the restrictions are: footwear, gloves, articles of clothing, accessories such as hats, belts and braces, watch straps, purses and wallets, bags, horse-riding gear, dog-leashes, auto seats, covers for car steering wheels, and furniture. Suppliers have time until the new curbs apply in 2015 to take care of their existing stock that does not comply with the new requirement.

Disruptive

The EU move to ban leather articles that contain more than 3 mg Cr (6)/kg is out of proportion to the problem of chrome allergies caused by leathers. It will cause severe disruption in the global leather industry.

Only about 0.2 per cent of the European population is said to be sensitive to chromium but chrome-tanned leather has been worn for over 100 years and this sensitivity has been known but managed. People allergic to Cr(6) can wear socks to reduce contact and can wear synthetics if necessary. Before any restriction is considered there should be substantial further investigation into issues such as managing allergies to leather items; control of Cr(6) formation in finished leather; viable substitute for chrome in shoe leathers; consequences of the restriction throughout the world; and whether the restriction will actually solve the problem of chrome allergies.

Obviously the proposed restriction will have a drastic and adverse impact on Indian leather exports to the EU. Other countries such as China, Vietnam, Turkey, etc., with substantial leather goods exports to the EU, will also be affected.

While techniques to reduce Cr (6) levels have been adopted by EU tanneries (such as chrome6-free process), and there are technologies that totally eliminate chromium (glutaraldehyde process), time and technical support are required for tanneries to make the adjustments.

India’s leather industry needs to take early action. This should include submitting a well argued counter to the WTO questioning the basis for the ban, supported by other affected countries. Technology upgrades are required too, to cut Cr(6) levels to the minimum. This will require improved tanning and processing techniques such as Chrome6free and others developed and used by EU tanneries.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Eu Ban Won’T Affect India’S Mango Export’

The total mango export from India to the EU is only seven per cent of total mango experts.The ban imposed by the European Union (EU) on Indian mangoes is unlikely to affect India’s overall mango export this season. The reason is that export to the EU constitutes only seven per cent of the country’s total mango exports. Besides, the EU hasn’t placed any restrictions on Indian mango pulp, which will now be used as an alternative to direct mango export.

Agriculture minister of Maharashtra, Radhakrish-na Vikhe Patil, held a meeting with senior officials of the state and central governments at the Sakhar Sankul in Pune

on Saturday. Various facets of the EU ban on Indian mangoes and other vegetables were discussed.

Following the meeting, an official statement was issued that read, “India exports mangoes to 51 countries around the world. We also supply mango pulp on a large scale.

Maharashtra itself accounts for 50 to 55 per cent of the total export. While the total export from India to the EU is only seven per cent.”

According to figures available with the department of agriculture, India produces approximately 152 lakh metric (L.M.) tonne mangoes and Maharashtra produces 3.5 L.M. tonne mangoes. India exports 55,413 M. tonne mangoes, including 3,890 M. tonne to the EU. While mango pulp export in 2011-12 was 29,800 M. tonne worth `163 crore, in 2012-13, it was 19,950 M. tonne worth `118 crore. The government is focusing on the export of mango pulp, which is why the EU ban will not affect India’s mango export this summer.

Source:- asianage.com

India's Silver Jewellery Exports Fell 42% Y/Y In March, Gold Exports Up 19%

The silver jewellery exports from India recorded significant decline of 41.89% year-on-year to $106.77 million (Rs. 651.43 Crore) in March 2014 while its gold jewellery exports picked up significantly by 18.99% year-on-year to $992.03 million, in accordance with the latest data released by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

According to GJEPC, country's cut and polished diamond exports in March reached $1,571.44 million, dropping 24.99% over the previous year. The country’s export of Coloured Gemstones plunged by 50.74% from $50.63 million in March 2013 to $24.94 million in March 2014. The exports of Pearls staged a rebound to $0.63 million from $0.29 million a year ago. The exports of Synthetic stones witnessed sharp rise of 221.80% from $2.34 million in March 2013 to $7.53 million in March 2014.

India's gold medallions & coin exports was reduced to almost half, dropping sharply to $250.92 million (Rs.1,530.89 Crore). The export of Rough diamond from the country dropped 8.01% in March. The total exports of Rough diamonds during the month totaled $183.77 million (Rs. 1,121.20 Crore).

In short, the figures released by the country’s Export Promotion Council demonstrate robust growth in exports of Gold Jewellery, whereas a sharp decline in exports of Silver Jewellery, Gold Medallions and Coins during March ‘14.

Source:- metal.com

Rupee Strengthens To Trade Near 60 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee on Monday opened higher against the dollar tracking gains in the Asian currencies market. The local currency opened at 60.10 per dollar against its Friday’s close of 60.16.

Most of the Asian currencies were trading higher. The Japanese yen was trading up 0.3%, South Korean won was up 0.26%, Malaysian ringgit up 0.23%, Thai baht up 0.16%, while the Philippines peso rose 0.16%.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 2.87% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $5.3 billion from local equity markets.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 8.78%, compared with its Friday’s close of 8.81%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

At 9.12am, the rupee was trading at 60.05 per dollar, up 0.15% from its previous close, while India’s equity benchmark Sensex index was trading at 22,432.77 points on BSE, up 0.13%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.46, down 0.07% from the previous close of 79.51.

Source:- livemint.com

No service-tax on unit of body corporate as it couldn't be regarded as a 'assessee' or 'person'

Service Tax : Karnataka Central Diocese, being a unit of body corporate 'Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA)' is not a 'a separate legal entity' or 'person' or 'assessee' under service tax and cannot be made liable for services provided by CSITA

Sum received by Warner Bros. for distribution of films in India isn't 'royalty'; ITAT follows previo

IT/ILT : Where assessee, a US based company, engaged in distribution of cinematographic films, received certain amount from its divisional office on account of distribution of films in India, following order passed by Tribunal in assessee's own case relating to earlier assessment years, amount in question could not be taxed as royalty within meaning of Act or DTAA and, at same time, it could not be taxed as 'business income' because assessee did not have Permanent Establishment in India

CLB dismissed petition against oppression as matter was still sub-judice with arbitral proceeding

CL: Company petition filed under section 397 for similar reliefs as sought in arbitration proceedings by petitioner would not be maintainable

IRDA lays down stringent norms for changes in shareholding pattern of broking entities

INSURANCE : Changes in the share holding pattern of a broking entity

Co-op. bank gets deduction under sec. 36(1)(viia) for NPA created in line with RBI and NABARD guidel

IT : Where assessee-bank had claimed deduction for 'Provision for Non-Performing Assets' under section 36(1)(viia), in view of fact that taxonomy of provision had been done by assessee to keep it in line with RBI and NABARD guidelines, but in pith and substance provision had been created for 'Bad and Doubtful Debts', deduction was claimed in accordance with section 36(1)(viia) and assessee was entitled to benefit of same

RBI cast an obligation on investee-co. to file form FC-TRS on acquisition of shares by NR under FDI

FEMA/ILT : Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India – Reporting mechanism for transfer of equity shares/ fully and mandatorily convertible preference shares/ fully and mandatorily convertible debentures

HC set aside penalty proceedings under Tamil Nadu VAT as it was barred by period of limitation

CST & VAT : Where for assessment years 1985-86 and 1986-87 Assessing Authority vide his order dated 30-11-1998 levied penalty under section 22(2) of Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 upon assessee, proceedings levying penalty were barred by period of limitation

Assessee can’t either seek withdrawal of appeal or file revision petition when appeal was pending be

IT : Where an application is filed seeking withdrawal of appeal but no order is passed by Commissioner (Appeals), appeal will remain pending and subsequent revision petition will not be maintainable

Underground telephone cables used for communication within factory are eligible for credit as 'capit

Cenvat Credit : Underground Telephone Cables falling under Heading 8544.90 and used for communication purposes in various places inside factory are eligible for credit as 'capital goods'

Income earned by subsidiary from reinvestment of sum infused by Indian Holding Co. couldn’t be taxed

IT/ILT : Where AO sought to reopen assessment taking a view that income of assessee's wholly owned foreign subsidiary company was not offered for taxation, in view of fact that there was no failure on part of assessee to disclose all material facts at time of assessment, initiation of reassessment proceedings after expiry of four years from end of relevant assessment year was bad in law

Sudden payment of commission to an employee for his routine work wasn’t justifiable; HC confirms dis

IT: Commission paid to employee was not allowable where there was no material on record to prove that there was any contribution made by said employee, more than his liaison work, to assessee's business to justify payment of huge commission to him

No penalty under Rajasthan VAT merely for non-filling of invoice number and date in Form ST-18A

CST & VAT : Where assessee was carrying goods in a vehicle through State of Rajasthan and Authorised Officer on checking of goods having found that column of 'invoice number and date' of declaration form No. ST-18A accompanied with goods was not filled in and left blank imposed penalty under section 78(5) of Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 upon assessee, imposition of penalty was not justified

No stay of demand by ITAT beyond 365 days after insertion of third proviso to sec. 254(2A)

IT: Even if Tribunal is unable to hear appeal within 365 days, stay of demand cannot be extended beyond 365 days

HC quashed assessment order as it was barred by limitation period specified under Assam VAT Act

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Officer completed assessment of assessee for assessment year 2005-06 on 13-7-2012, in view of limitation prescribed under section 39 of Assam Value Added Tax Act, 2003, order of assessment was barred by limitation

CCI ruled out dominance by opp. parties as several other developers existed in business of developin

Competition Law: Where there were ten Opposite Party developers who were developing different projects in new township and none of OPs was dominant in township or surrounding areas, there was no abuse of dominance by OPs

Central Govt. notifies ' National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development' for purposes of sec. 3

IT : Section 36(1)(xii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Other deductions - Corporate or body corporate established under a statute - Expenditure incurred by - Notified corporate body

IRDA amends registration norms of Indian Insurance Cos.; recognizes 'Core Investment Co.' as Indian

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDA (Registration of Indian Insurance Companies) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in regulations 2 and 11

No disallowance of genuine exp. of trust against its taxable income even if it failed to get sec. 12

IT: Even though assessee sports promotion board was denied registration as charitable trust and its income was brought to tax as 'income from other sources', all relevant expenditures were also to be allowed under section 57(iii)

Strict Rules of precedents are not applicable to stay orders and pre-deposit orders, rules HC

Excise & Customs : Strict rules of precedents are not applicable to interim or interlocutory or stay or pre-deposit orders; therefore, quantum required to be pre-deposited could vary if total demand increases

HC raps AO for issuing fresh reassessment notice when previous proceedings were dropped on similar g

IT: Second notice for reopening of assessment on same ground on which previous notice was issued for same purpose, but later on dropped not on technical but substantive grounds, was wholly impermissible

HC order winding-up of jeweler as it neither supplied agreed ornaments nor returned petitioner's gol

CL : Where respondent failed to supply ornaments and return petitioner's gold given for making of such ornaments and had admitted its debt, respondent was to be ordered to be wound up

Income earned by subsidiary from reinvestment of sum infused by Indian Holding Co. could be taxed in

IT/ILT : Where AO sought to reopen assessment taking a view that income of assessee's wholly owned foreign subsidiary company was not offered for taxation, in view of fact that there was no failure on part of assessee to disclose all material facts at time of assessment, initiation of reassessment proceedings after expiry of four years from end of relevant assessment year was bad in law

No invocation of extended period when penalty was set aside due to bona fide confusion as to levy of

Service Tax : Once authorities have come to conclusive finding that for relevant period, there was : (a) genuine cause for confusion regarding correct legal position and also (b) scope for doubt about service tax liability, for purposes of deleting penalty, same is also to be factored in to conclude that extended period cannot be invoked

ITAT raps revenue for invoking sec. 40(b) by treating only those partners as working who were entitl

IT : Where in terms of partnership deed assessee-firm paid bonus to all partners including working partners, conditions prescribed under section 40(b) stood fulfilled and, thus, Assessing Officer could not disallow said payment in case of one partner holding that he was not a working partner

HC dismissed appeal as issue relating to interpretation of SSI exemption was not appealable before i

Excise & Customs : Question 'whether assessee can avail of SSI-exemption simultaneous with Cenvat credit in respect of goods' relates to interpretation of exemption notification and 'rate of duty' and not appealable before High Court

HC denies sec. 254 rectification as assessee was seeking rectification in garb of review

IT : Where assessee did not point out any mistake apparent from record, application for rectification of Tribunal's order was not maintainable

Prior to 27-2-2010, vocational training was exempt from ST even when institutes weren't affiliated b

Service Tax : Prior to 27-2-2010, definition of 'vocational training institute' nowhere mandates that institute must be recognized or accredited; therefore, export import management and retail management and merchandising activities are exempt from service tax even if courses are not approved/affiliated

Courtyard of residential unit isn’t includible in built-up area to determine sec. 80-IB(10) relief,

IT : Area of courtyard which is open to sky and appurtenant to residential unit is not to be included to compute built-up area in terms of section 80-IB(10)

‘Sudhir Mital’ appointed as new member of Competition Commission of India

Competition Act : Section 8 of The Competition Act, 2002 - Composition of Commission - Appointment of Member of The CCI - Notified Member

Penalty upheld in absence of transit form under MP VAT Act; no rectification to file docs against pe

CST & VAT: Where Assessing Officer in absence of requisite documents submitted by assessee levied penalty under section 57(8) of Madhya Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2002 upon it and thereafter assessee received relevant documents and submitted same before Assessing Officer in form of request for rectification under section 54 of penalty order, provision of rectification was not attracted in matter

Income of NR agent for arranging NR Artists in India not taxable in status of ‘Entertainer’ under In

IT/ILT : The assessee, an event management company, engaged the services of a non-resident agent to bring the foreign Artists to India. The assessee paid remuneration to the Artists and commission to the agent. It deducted tax on the amounts paid to the Artists but did not deduct tax on the commission paid to the agents. Whether the sum paid to agent could not be deemed to have arisen from the personal activities in a contracting State in status of entertainer or athlete - Held, yes - Whether co

'Directorate of revenue intelligence' officers have jurisdiction to issue notice under sec. 28 of Cu

Excise & Custom : Joint Director in Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is an officer of customs and a proper officer notified under section 2(34) for purposes of section 28 and, therefore, has jurisdiction to issue show-cause notice under section 28

Conduct of appellant was oppressive as he set up false and fabricated docs to show increased shareho

CL : Where petitioners filed a false document setting up their shareholding as more than 10 per cent in respondent company, petition filed under section 397 on face was not maintainable for want of qualification under section 399

IRS Officer held guilty of contempt of Court as he was disobeying orders of Court; HC upheld restrai

IT : Where appellant had repeatedly disobeyed orders of court and was thus guilty of contempt of Court, order of Single Judge imposing punishment and fine on appellant for violating/disobeying restraint order was justified

HC affirmed penalty under UP Act as blank field in Form 38 could be used for evasion of VAT

CST & VAT : Where assessee had imported goods into State of U.P. from outside State and column 6 of Form 38 accompanied with goods was not filled in and left blank and Assessing Authority after recording a finding that by keeping column 6 of Form 38 blank such form could be repeatedly used for successive import so as to evade payment of tax, imposed penalty under section 54(1)(14) of U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008 upon assessee, imposition of penalty was justified

[Indian Customs Order] : Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority

F.No.437/38/2014-Cus-IV

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

(Department of Revenue)

Central Board Excise & Customs

*****

New Delhi, dated 30th April, 2014

ORDER

In terms of Notification No.15/2002-Customs (N.T.) dated 07.03.2002 (as amended) issued under sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Board hereby assigns the Show Cause Notice F.No. VIII/26/08/2010-DRI HRU dated 15.02.2014 issued by Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Zonal Unit, Chennai in the case of M/s Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited, (MTNL), Jeevan Bharati Tower-I, 13th Floor, 124, Connaught Circus, New Delhi – 110 001 and others to the Commissioner of Customs (Import), Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva, Uran Taluk, Raigad, Maharashtra for the purpose of adjudication.

(R.P.Singh)

Director (Customs)

Copy to:-

1. The Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, 25, Gopalakrishna (Iyer) Road, T. Nagar, Chennai-600017.

2. The Commissioner of Customs (Import), Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva, Uran Taluk, Raigad, Maharashtra.

3. The Commissioner of Custom, ICD, Tughlakabad, New Delhi

4. The Commissioner of Customs (Import) New Custom House, Air Cargo Complex, near IGI Airport, New Delhi.

5 The Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex, Sahar, Andheri (E), Mumbai.

6. webmaster.cbec@icegate.gov.in.

[Indian Customs Order] : Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority

F.No.437/29/2014-Cus-IV

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

(Department of Revenue)

Central Board Excise & Customs

*****

New Delhi, dated 30th April, 2014

ORDER

In terms of Notification No.15/2002-Customs (N.T.) dated 07.03.2002 (as amended) issued under sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Board hereby assigns the Show Cause Notice http://ift.tt/1jnhUHn dated 28.01.2014 issued by Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Zonal Unit, Ahmedabad in the case of M/s Krishna Colour Chem, Morbi Parshwanath Complex-1, Trajpar, Morbi and others to the Commissioner of Customs, New Custom House, Near Balaji Temple, Kandla for the purpose of adjudication.

(R.P.Singh)

Director (Customs)

Copy to:-

(i) The Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Zonal Unit, Ahmedabad, Rupen Bungalow, near Jain Merchant Society, Paldi, Admedabad-380007.

(ii) The Commissioner of Customs, New Custom House, Near Balaji Temple, Kandla.

(iii) The Commissioner of Customs (Imports), Air Cargo Complex, Sahar, Andheri (E), Mumbai.

(iv) The Commissioner of Customs, Customs House, Near All India Radio, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380009.

(v) webmaster.cbec@icegate.gov.in.

[Indian Customs Order] : Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority

F. No.437/43/2013-Cus-IV

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

(Department of Revenue)

Central Board Excise & Customs

*****

New Delhi, dated 30th April, 2014

ORDER

In terms of Notification No.15/2002-Customs (N.T.) dated 07.03.2002 (as amended) issued under sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Board hereby assigns the Show Cause Notice http://ift.tt/1jnhUHh dated 06.05.2013 issued by Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit, Mumbai in the case of M/s H.V. Jewels (P) Limited, Dreamland Building, 3rd Floor, Block No.A1, Opera House, Mumbai to the Commissioner of Customs, Chhatrapati Shivaji International, Airport, Mumbai for the purpose of adjudication.

(R.P.Singh)

Director (Customs)

Copy to:-

1. The Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit, UTI Building, 13, Vithaldas Thackersey Marg, New Marine Lines, Mumbai-400020.

2. The Commissioner of Customs (Import & General), New Delhi.

3. The Commissioner of Customs, Chhatrapati Shivaji International, Airport, Mumbai.

4. The Additional Commissioner of Customs, Ahmedabad

5. webmaster.cbec@icegate.gov.in

Sec. 40(b) couldn't be invoked to disallow bonus paid to non-working partner pursuant to partnership

IT : Where in terms of partnership deed assessee-firm paid bonus to all partners including working partners, conditions prescribed under section 40(b) stood fulfilled and, thus, Assessing Officer could not disallow said payment in case of one partner holding that he was not a working partner

HC dropped contempt proceedings against revenue for coercive recovery after unconditional apology of

Excise & Customs : Where revenue had initiated coercive recovery during pendency of stay application of assessee, said proceedings were quashed and contempt proceedings against revenue were dropped after unconditional apology

SAT upheld penalty slapped by SEBI as appellant was involved in synchronized trading and price manip

SEBI : Where appellants had traded in a huge number of shares of a company via off-market transactions and transferred said shares in and on-market transactions by way of reversal/synchorised trades within a short span of period, appellants were guilty of manipulating price of scrip

ITAT sets aside TP adjustment as comparables selected by TPO were improper pursuant to higher turnov

IT/ILT-I : Where in transfer pricing proceedings, TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP in respect of software development services, in view of fact that two comparables selected by TPO were improper on account of very high turnover, impugned adjustment was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

Entry tax paid on JCB excavator was not allowable as rebate against Kerala VAT

CST & VAT : As per section 12 of Kerala VAT, all conditions and restrictions applicable to claim of input tax credit are applicable to claim of rebate; therefore, when JCB excavator is in negative list and ineligible for benefit of input tax credit, benefit of rebate is also not available

Asstt. Commissioner can issue notice to transporters and drivers to check docs accompanied with good

VAT : Where Assistant Commissioner checked two vehicles transporting goods from Jalandhar to Raipur through State of UP and Assistant Commissioner having found that documents accompanied with goods were bogus issued notice on transporter and drivers of vehicles under section 50 of U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008, Assistant Commissioner issued impugned notice within his jurisdiction

Entry tax paid or JCB excavator was not allowable as rebate against Kerala VAT

CST & VAT : As per section 12 of Kerala VAT, all conditions and restrictions applicable to claim of input tax credit are applicable to claim of rebate; therefore, when JCB excavator is in negative list and ineligible for benefit of input tax credit, benefit of rebate is also not available

No denial of sec. 54 relief if property was eventually converted into commercial property

IT: It is intention of parties when development agreement was entered into and municipal permissions were obtained, which determines nature of property sought to be acquired, and subsequent change in user of property does not disentitle assessee to relief under section 54

Assessee couldn’t claim pendency of COD clearance merely by re-filing COD clearance request

Excise & Customs : Where assessee's application for clearance from Committee on Disputes (CoD) was rejected in 2006, right of assessee to pursue challenge stood terminated; therefore, application filed on 11-2-2011 for reconsideration could not be regarded as 'pending' on 17-2-2011 so as to automatically allow appeal

Successor Co-op. Societies can’t claim set-off losses of amalgamating societies; Sec. 72A meant for

IT: Section 72A provides for setting off losses on amalgamation of companies only - There is no provision in the Income-tax Act, which would permit the amalgamating co-operative society to carry forward and adjust such losses against the profits of the amalgamated co-operative society – Benefits conferred to one class of legal entities does not mean that the legal entities not referred to in the Act would also get the same benefit

HC calls for swiftly disposal of appeals, sets aside order as there was excessive delay in verdict e

Excise & Customs : Undue delay in delivery of judgment after hearing is, in itself, sufficient to set aside impugned order without considering merits of order

HC directed RBI to allow NBFC Co. to use its SLR investment for payment of interest to depositors

RBI : Where petitioner NBFC requested RBI to permit it to use SLR investment for making payment to secured creditor banks under a OTS proposal, in view of fact that company court was monitoring recovery and payment of dues of petitioner NBFC and on discharging dues of petitioner to creditor banks under OTS all other assets would become available for benefit of depositors, RBI was obliged to exercise its discretionary power to grant exemption to liquidate SLR investment so that suffering of depos

Sec. 80-IB(12) doesn't restrict relief to cases of transfer made under amalgamation or demerger sche

IT: In terms of sub-section (12) of section 80-IB, it is not necessary that deduction has to be allowed only where transfer of unit/industrial undertaking is under scheme of amalgamation or demerger

Tribunal doesn't have power to extend period of limitation prescribed by law for entertaining appeal

Service Tax : Appellate Tribunal does not have power or authority to extend period of limitation prescribed by statute, for entertaining appeal before Commissioner (Appeals)