Transfer of goodwill to purchaser with a right to use seller’s name for 30 years is intellectual pro

Service Tax : Where applicant received money on transfer of goodwill and right to use a particular name as part of purchaser's name for 30 years and agreement stipulated termination clause in certain circumstances, services rendered by applicant would fall under category of 'Right to Intellectual Property'

Commerce Department Looks To Give New Lease Of Life To Sezs

Looking to give a new lease of life to special economic zones (SEZs), the commerce department has strongly pitched for allowing units in the taxfree enclaves to sell part of their production in the local market and the extension of benefits under the Focus Products and Focus Market export promotion schemes.



The department has also lobbied the finance ministry to scrap minimum alternate and dividend distribution taxes for SEZ units.



"The scheme needs to be overhauled to boost manufacturing in the country," said a government official, confirming that the three measures cited above ranked high on the department's agenda for reviving the programme.



More than 60% of the total land notified as SEZs is vacant years after the scheme was launched in 2006. Of the total 47,803 hectares of SEZ land notified, only 17,689, or 37%, has been put to use so far, according to ministry of commerce and industry data. And, of 389 SEZs, only 185 are functional. Since being functional is defined as at least one working export unit, the majority of the zones do not have full occupancy.



The department had tasked the Indian Council for Research and International Economic Relations (ICRIER) to conduct an in-depth study of the reasons for the scheme's lack of success. Arpita Mukherjee, principal author of the report, recommends taking a calibrated approach to SEZ approvals and allowing the lowest duties under free trade agreements in these zones. The report's findings and recommendations will be discussed with the commerce department. Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has strongly advocated a review of the SEZ scheme.



The original scheme provided for a complete tax holiday to SEZs but the revenue department clamped down after indications that the programme was being misused for real estate arbitrage apart from IT companies using the avenue to regain tax benefits that they lost with the end of the holiday under the Software Technology Parks of India scheme. "MAT and DDT are only part of the problem. There are bigger issues that need to be addressed to make SEZs successful," said Mukherjee, a professor at ICRIER.



For instance, import duties have been slashed to zero for certain product lines because of India's trade accords, hurting local sales of goods and services by SEZ units, which need to pay the levy as well as sales tax.



Mukherjee said SEZs should enjoy the lowest FTA tariffs and trade agreements signed by the country should take into account implications on SEZs.She also pointed out that there's no restriction on the number of SEZs that can be approved in India unlike most other countries, which take an incremental approach. They first approve a specific number of zones and the programme is widened depending on how successful these are.



Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Even genuine transactions go through rigours of sec. 50C; provision applicable if stamp value exceed

IT : Guideline value shall be deemed to be full value of consideration where consideration stated by assessee is less than guideline value and section 50C would operate

Fimi Pitches For Complete Withdrawal Of Iron Ore Export Duty.

Apex industry body Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) today pitched for complete withdrawal of export duty of iron ore, saying it would help achieve zero-waste mining.



"In order that the resources are fully utilised without detriment to the domestic steel industry, it is imperative to make Indian exports competitive by withdrawing export duty completely," FIMI said in an hour-long meeting with Steel and Mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar.



Iron ore exports at present attract 30 per cent duty. The industry association suggested that as exports from Karnataka are banned and not yet open from Goa, shipments can be made from Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and other states.



"If the export duty is withdrawn and railway freight is brought at par with domestic fare, we are sure, the exports can go up to 70-75 million tonnes per year," FIMI said.



"Exports help in fuller utilisataion of resources and lead to zero-waste mining," it added.



India's export of iron ore has come down drastically to 14.42 million tonnes in 2013-14 compared to 117.37 million tonnes in 2009-10. Miners often blame the duty hike for the dip in shipments.



"Most of the exports are from standalone non-captive mines providing direct and indirect employment to more than one million people in backward and tribal area," a delegation led by FIMI President H C Daga said.



An official statement later said during the interaction, FIMI requested to take steps for enhancing exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the country and laid emphasis that while meeting the need of domestic industry, export also needs to be encouraged.



Tomar said that government was keen in bringing about a transparent policy for using mineral resources of the country and the mineral industry's suggestions will help in formulating a policy on mining.



The Minister said the government would coordinate with all stakeholders so that the interests of environmental and rehabilitation issues were also adequately addressed along with exploitation.



Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Indian Steel Companies To Ramp Up Iron-Ore Imports

Indian steel companies, faced with a domestic shortage of iron ore, are cranking up imports to capitalize on international prices that are near two-year lows.



While certain to be welcomed by global iron-ore miners, the rise in Indian imports is unlikely to have a lasting impact on international prices, given slowing demand from China and an expanding supply.



JSW Steel, 500228.BY +1.08% one of India's largest steel producers, will import 500,000 metric tons of high-grade ore in July-August from South Africa, Canada and Australia, at a landed price of around $91.5 a ton, after paying a 2.5% import tax, according to people with direct knowledge of the purchases.



The price for ore with 62% iron content delivered to China's Tianjin port, a regional benchmark, was $89.3 a ton Tuesday, according to The Steel Index, far below the $139.7 a ton seen in early December last year. Iron ore is a key ingredient in steel.



JSW Steel also plans to import 500,000 tons of iron ore from October to December, the people said.



Separately, Tata Steel Ltd., one of India's top steel producers, recently imported around 140,000 tons of iron ore in two separate shipments, according to a person familiar with the matter.



A JSW Steel executive, who declined to be identified, said these were the company's first iron-ore imports this year and that it had never imported such large volumes.



Basant Poddar, vice chairman of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, said he expected total Indian imports to reach 10 million-15 million tons this financial year ending in March, compared with 500,000 tons last year. He said it made sense for port-based steel plants to import high-grade ores as the imported price was nearly comparable to lower-grade Indian ores.



Further out, imports could accelerate.



"Recent plans to increase Indian imports of iron ore show that India will be increasingly reliant on commodities from other countries, which is likely to be an upside risk to iron ore and other hard commodity prices," said Paul Bloxham, HSBC's HSBA.LN -0.33% chief economist for Australia and New Zealand.



India's pressing need for infrastructure and housing means its demand for iron ore and other hard commodities is likely to get much stronger when such investment materializes, he said.



"The recent change of government means there is more optimism about India's investment outlook than there has been in a number of years," he said.



Domestic steel producers have approached the new Bhartiya Janata Party-led government about scrapping a 2.55% import tax on iron ore, said an industry executive. The government is due to release its first budget in July.



Helen Lau, senior analyst with UOB Kay Hian, said India's imports may only have a marginal effect on prices, at least in the short-term. She pointed out that India's imports are tiny compared to China's. In 2013, China imported 819 million tons of iron ore and it has more than 100 million tons stockpiled at its ports, she noted.



India's domestic iron-ore production is expected to fall by 7% to around 125 million tons this financial year. A majority of mines in two key provinces—Karnataka and Goa—have yet to resume normal operations despite a partial lifting of court-ordered mining bans.



Domestic output has been hit also by a Supreme Court order that a number of mines in the mineral-rich eastern state of Orissa must reapply for mining permission.

Source:- online.wsj.com

Union Budget 2014-15 Likely To Be Presented On July 09.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitly is likely to present the Union Budget for 2014-2015 in Parliament on on July 09 as per sources.



The budget session of Parliament is likely to be convened from July 07 while the Rail Budget will be presented on July 08, sources told Zee Media.



Both the budgets have to be cleared before July-end as the Votes-on Account taken before Lok Sabha elections will expire by July-end.



It will be the maiden Budget of Arun Jaitley. It will also be the first major policy document of the Narendra Modi government and will spell out the direction for the economy.



Jaitley has already started pre-budget consultations with different interest groups. He faces several challenges on the economic front, like rising prices, subdued growth and the need to move ahead on the path of fiscal consolidation.



Among other things, he will also have to focus on streamlining subsidies which consume a major potion of government expenditure.



Source:- zeenews.india.com

India Reintroduces Onion Export Price To Help Curb Inflation

India on Tuesday set a minimum export price for onions of $300 per tonne to discourage overseas shipments amid an inflation scare that threatens to stoke public anger over rising prices at local food markets.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made tackling inflation his top priority after widespread resentment about rising prices contributed to the exit of the previous government last month.



After wholesale price inflation accelerated to a five-month high in May, the new government imposed the price rule on onions three months after the previous administration withdrew it. (bit.ly/1lNElaf)



Until early March, the minimum export price was $150 per tonne.



Indians consume about 15 million tonnes of onions a year, using them as the base for curries and traditional dishes such as biryani and bhaji. In the past, higher onion prices have contributed to the fall of state governments.



India exports about 1.5 million tonnes of onions a year. Fears of domestic shortages have been fuelled by a scorching summer, a lack of chilled storage and a threat of strike action by distribution workers.



Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a post on Facebook late on Monday that the rise in prices of fresh produce could be due to withholding stocks on fears of a weak monsoon. He vowed to crack down on "speculative hoarding".

Source:- in.reuters.com

India's Exports Jumped In May But It May Be A Little Too Early To Celebrate.

Belying fears that a strengthening rupee will adversely impact India's competitiveness in the global market, the country's export growth has accelerated to a seven-month high in May.



Shipments rose 12.4 per cent to almost $28 billion for the second month of the current fiscal year from $24.91 billion a year earlier, according to commerce ministry data. Growth was led by higher shipments of petroleum products and engineering goods. Imports fell 11.41 per cent, due mainly to a sharp 71 per cent drop in gold purchases.



The data will likely ease concerns, at least in the short term, that the rupee's recent gains will hurt exports. The local currency has gained nearly 13 per cent against the US dollar since touching a record low near 69 in August last year. The rupee is currently trading around 59.7 to a dollar.



Biswajit Dhar, former director general of Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a think tank under the Ministry of External Affairs, says the export growth can be linked to the base effect. In May last year, exports had declined by more than one per cent.



"The growth, however, will create positive sentiments in the economy with its impact on the current account deficit," says Dhar, who is also a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. But the base effect is not the sole reason for the high growth. This is because shipments in May were nearly nine per cent higher compared with April's exports of $25.63 billion.



The base effect will likely help the country post handsome export growth in June as well, as shipments in June 2013 had declined 4.56 per cent. The long-term growth trend, however, will be clearer from July onwards because shipments had started growing in double digits after a sharp weakening in the rupee in July and August last year made Indian exporters more competitive.



"As the unfavourable base kicks in July onwards, annual growth readings are expected to moderate," says a YES Bank report released after the trade data was announced. "However, given the upside potential that global growth recovery is likely to offer, the sequential momentum would still be positive for Indian shipments."

Source:- businesstoday.intoday.in

Gold Jewellery Exports In Fy15 Seen Jumping By A Quarter

Gold jewellery exports from India are likely to grow by a quarter in the year to March 2015, helped by an expected relaxation of import policy and recovering demand from major consuming countries, the head of a trade body said on Wednesday.



Exports of gold jewellery fell by more than half last year due to non-availability of the precious metal after the government tied the import of gold to exports. It also raised the import duty to a record 10 percent.



"There are indications of a relaxation of policy on gold imports and even demand is recovering in the U.S. and other countries," said Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, which represents over 6,000 exporters.



India exported $7.86 billion of gold jewellery in the last fiscal year, data from the trade body showed.



GJEPC also expects total gem and jewellery exports, which account for 14 percent of merchandise exports, to rise to $44 billion from the last fiscal year's $41 billion.



The trade body has asked the government to reduce the import duty to 4 percent to make smuggling non-viable, and gradually to remove the so-called 80/20 rule, which required a fifth of all gold imports to be exported.



GJEPC has also asked the finance ministry to reduce the import duty on machinery used for jewellery-making to 5 percent from 10 percent.



The budget is due to be presented next month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said any action on gold should take into account the interests of the public and traders, not just economics and policy.

Source:- in.reuters.com

Rupee Strengthens Past 60 Per Dollar After Fed Trims Bond Purchases

The Indian rupee strengthened to 60 per dollar on Thursday in the opening trade, in line with other Asian currencies.The home currency opened at 60.06 per dollar against its previous close of 60.40. At 9.20am, the rupee was trading at 59.93 per dollar, up 0.79% from its previous close. It touched a high of 59.93 in intraday.

The US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee trimmed bond-buying by $10 billion for a fifth straight meeting, to $35 billion, keeping it on pace to end the programme late this year. Central bank has also said that economic activity in the US is rebounding and suggested that interest rates in the long run would be lower.

Most of the Asian currencies were trading higher. The Philippines peso was trading up 0.6%, Indonesian rupiah was up 0.6%, Malaysian ringgit rose 0.5%, South Korean won jumped 0.4%, Taiwan dollar rose 0.2%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.374, down 0.26% from its the previous close of 80.584.

India’s equity benchmark Sensex was trading at 25,320 points on BSE, up 0.3%.The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 8.64%, compared with its Wednesday’s close of 8.66%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 2.94% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $9.91 billion from local equity markets.

Source:- livemint.com

Same handwriting in all bills didn’t prove them bogus; HC deletes penalty under Rajasthan Sales Tax

CST & VAT: Where assessee was carrying goods from Delhi to Gujarat through State of Rajasthan and on checking of said goods in State of Rajasthan, Assessing Officer having found that all bills accompanied with goods were in same handwriting, levied penalty upon assessee under proviso to section 22A(7) of Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, levy of penalty on said ground was not justified

Laxity and negligence of officers and Enforcement Directorate convinced HC for not condoning belated

FERA : Inaction and negligence on part of various officers of department and slackness on part of Enforcement Directorate to pursue appeal could not be said to be sufficient cause for seeking condonation of delay in filing appeal

Case remanded as TP adjustment was made without considering utilization of capacity by assessee in m

IT/ILT : Matter remanded for deciding issue of capacity utilization in view of guidelines laid down by Tribunal in this regard

MCA calls for fast weeding out of redundant records to improve the quality of governance

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Action Points Arising Out of Prime Minister's Meeting with Secretaries Pertaining to Weeding out of Files and Papers in MCA in Accordance With Rules of Record Keeping Including Digitization, Wherever Necessary

Multiple expansion can’t reset initial year for sec. 80-IC relief; allowable for 10 years from first

IT : Where a manufacturing unit undertook second substantial expansion after five years of first expansion, deduction under section 80-IC would continue for a total of ten year; only rate of deduction would go up

Sec. 35(2AB) deduction couldn’t be denied if approval was signed by nodal officer on behalf of Secre

IT : Where assessee claimed deduction under section 35(2AB) in respect of expenditure incurred on in-house R&D facilities and in support of claim filed letter issued by DSIR, New Delhi under signature of Scientist -G and Assessing Officer disallowed claim of deduction on plea that approval had to be obtained from Secretary, DSIR, whether order of approval had been signed by Secretary, DSIR or by any of Nodal Officer on his behalf would not make any difference and in such a case claim for deducti

IRDA releases new guidelines on interest rate derivatives

INSURANCE : Guidelines on Interest Rate Derivatives

SEBI tighten norms on public issue of debt securities; stipulates minimum subscription of 75% for th

SEBI : Base Issue Size, Minimum Subscription, Retention of Over-Subscription Limit and Further Disclosures in The Prospectus for Public Issue of Debt Securities

MCA defers e-voting mandate till Dec 31, 2014; clarifies related issues on e-voting

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 108 of The Companies Act, 2013 - Voting Through Electronic Means - Clarifications on Issues Associated with E-Voting Procedure

Interest on refund must be granted immediately after 3 months from date of receipt of application of

Excise & Customs : Appellate order allowing refund relates back to order of original authority; hence, as per section 11BB, interest on refund has to be paid from date immediately after three months from date of receipt of application till date of refund

AO erred in disallowing relief on pretext of siphoning off funds without identifying the actual fact

IT : Where Assessing Officer rejected assessee's application under section 10(22) on ground that it had made payment to 'C' with an intention to siphon away its funds, in view of fact that Assessing Officer neither called upon assessee to produce 'C' nor did he examine as to how said amount was adjusted by 'C' in her return of income, impugned order was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

Spouse with joint account or sole nominee can continue with account of deceased under Senior Citizen

IT : Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 8

Non-compete fee received by assessee from divestment of its insignificant business activity was a re

IT-I : Where assessee engaged in various manufacturing activities, sold only one of its activities to another concern and said activity was not a part of it core activities, non-compete fee received in order to refrain from carrying on said activity for a limited period of five years resulted in revenue receipt liable to tax

HC can admit writ against adjudication order even after expiry of time-limit to file appeal against

Excise & Customs : There is no time-limit to file writ petition provided there is no inordinate and unexplained delay on part of petitioner; hence, writ against adjudication order violating principles of natural justice is maintainable even if time-limit to file appeal thereagainst has expired

Closure of plant and variation in price during off season couldn’t be held as anti-competitive, CCI

Competition Laws: Use of asbestos sheet being seasonal, price variation and closure of plant during lean period would not prove anti-competitive measure

Case remanded to consider certificate issued by Maharashtra Sales Tax Authority on alterations made

CST & VAT: Where assessee carrying on business at Bangalore had sent certain goods to a dealer in Maharashtra by way of stock transfer and filed before Assessing Authority 'F' forms received from said dealer and Assessing Authority rejected forms on plea that values were tempered and they bore corrections, since now assessee had obtained a certificate from Maharashtra Sales Tax Authority stating that corrections in values of 'F' forms were done by him and they were genuine, matter was remanded b

ITAT finds objective of development and propagation of Islam as ‘charitable’; registration allowed

IT : Object of development of muslim religion is charitable purpose

Assessment quashed as AO had passed final order instead of draft order under sec. 144C pursuant to o

IT/ILT : Where in course of transfer pricing proceedings, pursuant to order of TPO, Assessing Officer passed a final order under section 143 (3) instead of passing a draft assessment order under section 144C, there being a failure on part of Assessing Officer to adhere to statutory provisions of Act, impugned order was to be quashed and in such a case, even corrigendum issued by Assessing Officer could not cure defect existing in impugned order

Treatment of a sum in hands of counterparty couldn’t decide its taxability in hands of assessee

IT: Where assessee claimed deduction of interest and lease charges written off on account of non-payment of same by subsidiary company, even though amount so written off was offered by subsidiary as its income, it would not decide about taxability of said amount in hands of assessee and, thus, assessee's claim could not be allowed merely on aforesaid basis

India’S Exports Not Creating Enough Jobs, Says Crisil Report

Domestic value added (DVA) content and the employment intensity of India’s exports has been declining over time. To overcome this, a dramatic increase in the absolute size of exports was essential to match or exceed the spill-over effect of exports as seen in the past, suggested Crisil in a report published ahead of new export policy.

Crisil said it used the OECD value-added data base to analysed the patterns and compared them with China in its report. In the medium-term, the composition of exports will need to change with a focus on labour-intensive exports to generate more jobs, Crisil added.

The Union Government is expected to unveil the foreign trade policy for the medium-term in a few weeks’ time.

“This time around, the exports bar will need to be set much higher even to simply maintain the impact of exports on job creation and income generation,” the Crisil research report said.

“Gross export numbers are misleading in terms of the impact they have on jobs and incomes. As percentage of GDP, DVA – the proportion of exports that is truly produced within India – has fallen to 78 per cent in 2009 (latest year for which is available) from over 90 per cent in 1995, according to OECD.

“At the sectoral level, DVA in exports is now as low as 51 per cent in other manufacturing items, 73 per cent in chemicals and 76 per cent in transport equipment,” Crisil estimated.

“To add to this, the employment intensity of exports has been falling over time with the share of service exports rising rapidly. Employment intensity of service sectors, for example, business services, which include IT/ITES is one of the lowest, given high productivity of labour in this sector,” the report added.

It pointed out that because of greater integration with the global supply chain DVA was dropping and foreign value added (FVA) was increasing. “Higher FVA makes exports vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuation, impacting export competitiveness”, it said.

Crisil in another study earlier this year had estimated that labour intensity – number of workers required to produce one million of real GDP (in rupees) – was 7.2 for manufacturing and 1.4 for business services.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Sugar Sector May See Turnaround This Year

The sugar sector is likely to see a turnaround this financial year, owing to an estimated increase in cash flow, following the export incentive scheme for raw sugar being extended till September 2015.

For every tonne of raw sugar export, the government offers Rs 3,300 as subsidy to sugar mills. For this financial year, the Centre has set an overall export target of four million tonnes (mt).

Back-of-the-envelope calculation shows the proposed extension in export subsidy will increase the sugar sector’s cash flow by Rs 13,200 crore. Of this,Rs 1,200 crore is estimated to go directly to farmers, while the remaining Rs 12,000 crore will go towards sugar mills, depending on their subsidy-refund claims.

“India’s sugar sector will turn around this year, provided mills are able to export the entire allocated quantity of four mt at prices higher than the prevailing rates in Indian markets,” said Abinash Verma, director-general, Indian Sugar Mills Association.

Source:- business-standard.com

India Exempts Bhutan From Any Ban Or Quantitative Restrictions On Food Exports

Seeking to push further the relationship with Bhutan, India today announced a number of measures and concessions including the exemption of Bhutan from any ban on export of milk powder, wheat, edible oil, pulses and non-basmati rice.

The two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to their cooperative partnership and agreed to further promote trade and investment.

In a joint statement issued at the end of Prime minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to that country, the two sides also noted that security was of mutual interest and “agreed not to allow each other’s territory to be used for interests inimical to the other.”

The two sides recalled the free trade arrangement between them and the expanding bilateral trade and its importance in further cementing their friendship.

India conveyed its decision to exempt Bhutan from any ban or quantitative restrictions on export of milk powder, wheat, edible oil, pulses and non-basmati rice.

On the issue of security, the two countries agreed to continue with their close coordination and cooperation on issues relating to their national interest and not allow each other’s territory to be used for interests inimical to the other.

The two sides expressed satisfaction at the excellent state of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen their special friendship.

Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay conveyed his appreciation to the government and people of India for the generous development assistance since the 1st Five Year Plan in.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Govt Hikes Import Tariff Value On Gold, Silver

The government today hiked import tariff value on gold and silver to USD 411 per 10 grams and USD 632 per kg as global prices have increased in the wake of escalating violence in Iraq.

In the first fortnight of this month, tariff value on imported gold stood at USD 408 per 10 grams and silver at USD 617 per kg.

The import tariff value — base price at which customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing — is revised on a fortnightly basis, taking into account the volatility in global prices.

The hike in tariff value on imported gold and silver has been notified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, an official statement said.

In the last two weeks, global gold prices have increased due to rising violence in Iraq that has spurred demand for the precious metal. In Singapore, gold prices were ruling firm at USD 1283.90 per ounce, while silver stood at USD 19.79 per ounce at 1220 hours today.

Taking global cues, domestic gold and silver prices in the national market remained firm at Rs 27,790 per 10 grams and Rs 42,500 per kg, respectively.

The country’s gold imports have declined over 74 per cent to USD 1.75 billion in April this year due to restrictions imposed by the government on inbound shipments of the precious metal to narrow the current account deficit.

Gold is the second largest import item for India after petroleum. Due to several curbs, the country’s total gold and silver imports dropped 40 per cent to USD 33.46 billion in 2013-14, against USD 55.79 billion in the previous year.

These curbs include raising the import duty on the metal to 10 per cent and also making it mandatory for traders to export 20 per cent of the imported gold.

Source:- indianexpress.com

Coal Imports Rose 12 Per Cent In May On Heat Wave Research Firm

Indian coal imports climbed 12 per cent in May from the year before, provisional data from research firm OreTeam showed, with power companies scrambling to meet demand as scorching weather drove customers to crank up fans or air conditioning.

Electricity demand hit multi-year highs in many states over the last two months as temperatures soared, forcing the new government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to firefight public anger over frequent blackouts.

Coal feeds more than half India's power generation and its share is growing despite a local shortage of the fuel.

That means imports continue to march higher, jumping to their biggest for the month of May in at least three years at 15.6 million, said OreTeam research head Prakash Duvvuri.

The country's coal imports stood at 13.9 million tonnes in May 2013 and 15.2 million tonnes this April, according to OreTeam.

The firm collects coal data from its representatives at ports and in mining regions. India's government does not regularly release such numbers.

A stronger rupee has also made imports more attractive. The partially convertible currency gained 2 per cent against the US dollar in May.

India has become the world's third-largest coal importer despite sitting on its fifth-biggest reserves of the commodity.

State-run Coal India accounts for about 80 per cent of the country's total output of 562.6 million tonnes, but the company has been falling short of its targets for the past few years due to difficulties in obtaining environmental nods, lack of railway access and employee strikes.

Indonesia is the main seller to India, but talk of limiting production and tightening exports there have prompted some Indian buyers to try and develop alternative suppliers in countries such as Malayasia, traders said.

But shipments would not be an issue in the short term, they added.

"There's a surplus in Indonesia and China's current buying is not typical - they have slowed down," said a Delhi-based trader who buys Indonesian coal. He declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak with media.

India's total coal-based power capacity rose about 1.2 per cent in May from April, according to the Central Electricity Authority.

Source:- businesstoday.intoday.in

Govt Panel For Merging Cbdt And Cbec

Recommending far-reaching reforms in tax administration, a government committee has suggested abolition of the post of Revenue Secretary, merger of CBDT and CBEC and broaden the use of Permanent Account Number (PAN).

The Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC), headed by Parthasarathi Shome, also said the retrospective amendments to tax laws should be avoided as a principle and Income Tax Return should also include wealth tax details.

The panel, which has submitted its first report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, also pitched for a separate budget allocation to ensure time bound tax refund and a passbook scheme for TDS (Tax Deduction at Source).

"The post of revenue secretary should be abolished. The present functions of the Department of Revenue should be allocated to the two Boards (CBDT and CBEC). This would empower the tax departments to carry out their assigned responsibilities efficiently," the report said.

The tax administration, it added, needs to have greater functional and financial autonomy and independence from governmental structures, given their special needs.

It said, the revenue secretary, an IAS, is "likely to have little experience or background in tax administration at the national level and little familiarity with tax."

The 550-page report further said the two Boards must embark on "selective convergences immediately to achieve better tax governance, and, in next five years, move towards a unified management structure with a common Board for both direct and indirect taxes, called the Central Board of Direct and Indirect Taxes".

On PAN, the report said it should be developed as a common business identification number (CBIN), to be used by other government departments also such as customs, central excise, service tax, DGFT and EPFO.

"Both central excise and service tax should be covered under a single registration as both the taxes are administered by the same department and cross utilisation of credit is permitted between central excise and service tax under the CENVAT credit rules," it said.

The panel further said it is also necessary to provide for de-registration, cancellation or surrender of registration numbers and PAN.

It said the approach to retrospective amendments has resulted in protracted disputes, apart from having deeply harmful effects on investment sentiment and the macro economy and recommended "retrospective amendment should be avoided as a principle.

The panel suggested I-T returns should also include wealth tax return so that the taxpayer need not separately file wealth tax returns. These returns should also be processed together in the CPC at Bengaluru.

Besides, it called for a dedicated organisation for delivery of taxpayer services with customer focus and made a strong case for "pre-filled tax returns".

Source:- igovernment.in

Government Panel Calls For Overhaul Of Tax Regime

The tax administration and reforms commission headed by economist Parthasarathi Shome has called for a sweeping overhaul of the country’s tax administration to make it more friendly to both taxpayers and investors.

The panel has recommended large-scale structural changes and greater coordination in the functioning of both the direct and indirect tax arms of the government—the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).

The report, submitted last month to finance minister Arun Jaitley and made public on Monday, proposed a complete revamp of the dispute resolution mechanism, widening the use of the permanent account number or PAN and spending 10% of the tax department’s budget to improve taxpayer services.

It called for the abolition of the post of revenue secretary, setting up of a tax council to develop a common tax policy and legislation for both direct and indirect taxes and merit-based promotions of officials in the tax administration.

Shome, a tax expert who also headed a panel that constituted guidelines for general anti-avoidance rules (Gaar), was last year given the task of heading the commission to streamline the country’s tax administration.

It remains to be seen if the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which came to power in the April-May general election accepts the recommendations of the commission appointed by its predecessor, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

The Indian tax administration has been often blamed for its aggressive stance while raising tax demands, and also for the time taken to resolve disputes.

The administration is involved in tax disputes with companies including Vodafone Group Plc., Nokia Oyj, International Business Machines Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc. that have been seen as tarnishing its image as an investment destination at a time when the country’s economic growth has slowed to decadal lows of below 5%.

The Shome committee report reaffirms the need for greater accountability and efficiency in the tax administration, said Rahul Garg, leader of the direct tax practice at the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“The tax department and taxpayer should have a service relationship rather than one of enforcement,” he said. “The tax department may resist such large scale changes but it can go through if there is political will. It is consistent with the best practices followed worldwide.”

The report was critical of the current way of functioning of the tax department. Stating that the tax administration had reached its nadir, it said the tax department’s singular objective of protecting revenue without accountability for the quality of tax demands has severely affected the investment climate in India and needs to be changed for investment to be revived.

The report highlighted the complete absence of customer focus in the running of the tax department. It went on to add that the lack of accountability of the tax officer in raising tax demands without accompanying responsibility for recovery had led to a situation where India has the “highest number of disputes between the tax administration and taxpayers with the lowest proportion of recovery of tax while arrears in dispute resolution are pending for the longest time periods”.

It also flagged the issue of tax department officers demanding bribes to repay refunds or drop tax demands.

To ensure better customer focus, the commission recommended issue of refunds within a set timeframe. It also suggested an online tracking system for resolving grievances and refund applications.

It suggested that for large taxpayers, services should be provided by CBEC and CBDT under one umbrella.

For greater accountability, the commission has proposed setting up an independent evaluation office to monitor the performance of the tax administration and evaluate the impact of tax policies.

It suggested that a tax council under the chief economic adviser in the finance ministry be set up to develop a common tax policy and legislation for both direct and indirect taxes. It proposed merging the two tax policy wings of CBEC and CBDT into a common tax policy and analysis unit comprising of economists, statisticians, tax law experts and social researchers.

For better performance of income tax officers, the department recommended merit-based promotions and greater freedom in functioning.

It suggested that PAN be developed as a common business identification number to be used by other government departments. Also, there should be a provision for de-registration, cancellation or surrender of registration numbers and PAN.

Source:- livemint.com

Rupee Ends Higher Against Dollar

The Indian rupee on Tuesday pared its losses and ended higher on Tuesday tracking the local equity markets and supported by suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the currency market to curtail a sharp decline in the currency.

The rupee ended at 60.02 per dollar, up 0.24% from its previous close of 60.17. The currency opened at 60.36 per dollar and dropped to as low as 60.52, the weakest level since 29 April.

RBI was spotted selling dollars at around 60.49/50 rupee levels through state-owned banks to check the rupee’s sharp fall, Reuters reported citing traders. The central bank typically intervenes in the foreign exchange market to check excess volatility.

BSE’s benchmark Sensex rose 1.31% to close at 25,521.19 points.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond ended at 8.603%, compared with Monday’s close of 8.648%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.515, up 0.05% from its the previous close of 80.47.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 2.97% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $9.94 billion from local equity markets.

On Monday, data showed that wholesale inflation accelerated to 6.01% in May from a provisional 5.2% a month ago, as food inflation quickened to 9.5% from 8.64%, while fuel prices were up by 10.53% compared with 8.93%.

Source:- livemint.com

Sums received to substitute names of prospective buyers of property amounted to ‘real estate agent’s

Service Tax : Transfer charges received for substituting names of new prospective purchasers of immovable property/real estate transactions in place of initial prospective purchasers, prima facie, amounts to Real Estate Agent's Services

HC rejected winding up plea of HSBC as its claim of overdue sums against respondent-co. was genuinel

CL: Merit of claim for non-payment of debt in respect of factoring services, being bona fide disputed was to be adjudicated before appropriate civil court; winding up petition was to be rejected

ITAT raps TPO for fixing profit margin without considering revenue from services provided to Indian

IT/ILT: Where division of assessee which was an industrial product manufacturer, rendered services to its AE as well as other units in India, notional revenue in respect of Indian division was to be considered while computing net operating profit

RBI allows export/import of Indian currency by NRs and residents upto Rs 25,000

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Export and Import of Currency) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulation 3

Time-limit for realization and repatriation of export proceeds to India reduced to 9 months

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Export of Goods & Services) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulations 9 and 10

FinMin sets-up 'Working Group' for implementation of common clearing system for commodity exchanges

SEBI : Setting Up of A Working Group (WG) on Common Clearing for Commodity Exchanges

RBI allows export/import of Indian currency by NRs and residents up to Rs 25,000

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Export and Import of Currency) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulation 3

RBI omits old Form for reporting of foreign Assets and Liabilities by Indian Cos accepting FDI

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Transfer or Issue of Security by A Person Resident Outside India) (Eighth Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Schedule 1

NR was liable to pay sec. 234B interest even if Indian payer failed to withhold sum from payment mad

IT : Where non-resident assessee accepted its liability to be taxed in India at first appellate stage, all consequences under Act including liability to pay interest under section 234 would follow; assessee could not be permitted to shift responsibility to Indian payers for not deducting tax at source from remittances, after leading them to believe that no tax was deductible

Retention money was to be taxed when it became payable to contractor as per terms of construction co

IT: Where assessee was awarded a construction contract and in terms of contract certain amount was withheld by employer of contract towards retention money for satisfactory execution of contract by assessee, retention money was to be taxed in assessment year relevant to 'previous year' in which it became payable to assessee as per terms of contract ie., after defect liability was over and after engineer-in-charge certified that no liability was attached to aassessee

Kerala High Court affirms denial of registration to trust established for benefit of religious minor

IT : Trust established for benefit of a particular religious minority to be denied registration

Revisionary order of CIT upheld as AO erroneously granted depreciation to both cos. involved in merg

IT : Where Assessing Officer allowed claim of depreciation raised by assessee, an amalgamating company, on WDV of assets, in view of fact that there was no intention of legislature to grant depreciation both to amalgamating company as well as amalgamated company twice in a particular assessment year, Commissioner was justified in passing revisional order directing Assessing Officer to examine depreciation claimed by assessee afresh

Valuation could be referred to DVO only after forming an opinion that value claimed by assessee was

IT : Formation of opinion by Assessing Officer that value claimed by assessee is less than its fair market value is sine qua non before referring matter to departmental valuation officer under section 55A

Fees for filing of appeal to be computed in reference to income assessed by AO and not income declar

IT: Filing fees was to be paid on basis of assessment order and not on basis that assessee had filed NIL return seeking exemption under section 11

Each new godown constructed for storage of food grains is an undertaking and eligible for sec. 80-IB

IT : Where assessee claimed deduction under section 80-IB(11A) in respect of new warehouses at various places, since each of new warehouses constituted an eligible undertaking, its claim be allowed

HC extends time-limit for making predeposit when assessee was ready to make pre-deposit

Excise & Customs : Since assessee was willing to make pre-deposit as directed in order of Tribunal, as upheld by High Court, and since department had raised no objection thereto, time-limit for making pre-deposit was extended

Revisionary order held valid as AO had not noted discrepancies while allowing exp. to assessee

IT : Where Commissioner specifically doubted certain expenses on which there was no application of mind by Assessing Officer, revision after examining each and every issue was justified

Fees for filing of appeal to be computed in reference to income assessed by AO and not income declar

IT: Filing fees was to be paid on basis of assessment order and not on basis that assessee had filed NIL return seeking exemption under section 11

Courts can condone delay in filing appeal to ensure that justice is done by giving hearing opportun

Excise & Customs : By and large, approach of court should not be so technical, but it should be always to ensure that substantial justice is done by giving an opportunity of being heard to both parties; hence, delay in filing appeal must be condoned

ESOPs received by an employee of a foreign co. after joining its Indian peer are taxable as ‘salary’

IT : Where ex-employee of foreign company was provided option of ESOP to purchase shares of company, consideration being services rendered by assessee in past, benefit therefrom was to be regarded as 'salary

Notification restricting relief to projects approved under slum rehabilitation scheme is dehors sec.

IT : Notification No. 1/2011 dated 5-1-2011 restricting eligibility of section 80-IB(10) deduction to projects approved under Slum Rehabilitation scheme on or after 1-4-2004 and before 31-3-2008 is inconsistent /contrary to proviso to clauses (a) and (b) of section 80-IB(10)

Taxes paid after completion of assessment but before service of order are to be considered to comput

CST & VAT: Where Assessing Authority had levied penalty upon assessee under section 12B(4) of Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 for short payment of advance tax holding that out of tax levied of Rs. 1,15,717, balance payable was Rs. 99,849 and said amount was more than 15 per cent as contemplated under section 12B(4), since assessee had paid Rs. 85,000 before date of service of assessment order, said amount was to be taken into consideration and, therefore, penalty levied was set aside

Society extending credit facilities to members only can’t be deemed as a co-op. bank to deny it sec.

IT : Where activities of assessee-co-operative society in nature of accepting deposits, advancing loans etc. were confined to its members only and, moreover, said activities were not regulated by RBI or provisions of Banking Regulation Act, assessee could not be regarded as co-operative bank' within meaning of section 80P(4) and, therefore, its claim for deduction under section 80P(2) was to be allowed

Sec. 80-IA: In absence of nexus between borrowed funds and investment in FDR, gross interest exp. to

IT: In view of substitution of section 80-IA w.e.f. 1-4-2000, where a newly established undertaking started earning profit after few years, assessee could claim deduction under section 80-IA by treating such subsequent year as initial assessment year; brought forward losses of previous years could not be reduced from eligible profits

No penalty if assessee had paid ST along with interest before issue of SCN without any intention to

Service Tax : Where Tribunal has recorded a finding that non-payment of Service Tax was without intent to evade payment of same and tax with interest was paid prior to issuance of show-cause notice, no penalty can be levied upon assessee

Penalty confirmed as seized Indian currency wasn’t subjected to VDIS and it was used for payment of

FERA : Where accused could not prove his claim that Indian currency recovered during raid was tax paid under VDIS and same was used for payment against foreign currency, penalty was to be imposed

Share application money from related party couldn’t be held as a loan transaction if share were allo

IT/ILT : Where assessee company has paid share application money to its AE, but delay occurred in issuance of share certificates, that does not mean that up to date of allotment, said transaction could be treated as international transactions of loans given by assessee to its AE

Delhi Steps Up Talks With Iran For $5-Bn Railway Export Plan

Even as New Delhi keeps a close watch on the recent unrest in Iraq, it is expediting talks with Tehran for over $5-billion worth project exports from India to Iran’s railway sector.



Official sources told FE that Tehran has agreed to seek lines of credit (LoC) from the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) in rupee for financing such railway project exports (of relatively long term in nature) from India to Iran. India had given Iran the option of choosing either using the rupee payment mechanism or the LoC.



India is exploring the possibility of helping build more railway lines in Iran -- in addition to the Chabahar railway project -- to connect their manufacturing and mining centres to their ports, the sources said. Project exports from India to Iran in the railway sector will include supplying and laying of tracks, building signaling systems, carrying out electrical work and upgrading existing rail operations. The Iranian government, according to reports, is planning to expand the country’s railway network annually by 500-1,000 km to ensure it touches 25,000 km by 2025 from around 13,000 km now.



The Exim Bank data as on January 10 shows that it had in December 2009 disbursed a $200-million general purpose LoC (with tenure of up to 8 years) to many Iranian commercial banks for financing India’s exports to Iran. The ministries of finance and commerce are in discussions on LoCs in rupee to Iran for long-term project exports, especially in the rail sector.



“Iran’s interests in expanding their rail network match our economic and strategic interests too. Once the initial projects take off, it will lead to large orders from Iran. In the near-term, we are targeting project exports in the rail sector worth at least $5 billion,” an official said. India’s motive in helping build rail links within Iran, especially to Chabahar and other ports, is that they can then be used as a gateway for accessing other Central Asian markets and Afghanistan.



Public sector companies such as Ircon International are taking forward their work on laying tracks and setting up other related equipments, while others such as SAIL, Essar and Jindal are looking at exporting steel for building railway infrastructure. Iran had also sought help from the public sector consultancy firm RITES and logistics major CONCOR for feasibility studies.



RITES has already helped to design the new locomotive overhaul workshops at Karaj and a design of rail system for sugarcane transportation for the Iran railways, while Ircon had completed a relay-based interlocking system (a signaling project) for 25 stations in Shahrood-Mashad section for $25 million during 1999-2006 and supplied signalling equipment to Iran railways worth $1.2 million in 2008.

Source:- financialexpress.com

HC denied writ petition for reference of dispute as petitioner had an efficacious remedy under Arbit

Arbitration Act : Where petitioner had an efficacious legal remedy under Arbitration and Conciliation Act for reference of its disputes to arbitration, writ jurisdiction was not to be exercised

Delhi HC not to entertain writ filed by a co. registered at Andhra Pradesh if matter has no connecti

CL: Where respondent-company had its registered office in Andhra Pradesh and investigation was conducted by SEBI, Mumbai, no part of cause of action had arisen in Delhi and, therefore, High Court of Delhi had no jurisdiction to entertain writ petition

Rise In Size Of Indian Exports Essential To Match Spill-Over Effect: Crisil

Both the domestic value added (DVA) content and the employment intensity of exports has been declining over time for India. To overcome this, a dramatic increase in the absolute size of exports was essential to match or exceed the spill-over effect of exports as seen in the past, suggested Crisil in a report ahead of new export policy.

“We analyze these patterns in comparison with China in our latest report, using the OECD value-added database”, Crisil said.

The Union Government is expected to unveil the foreign trade policy for the medium term in a few weeks. “This time around, the exports bar will need to be set much higher even to simply maintain the impact of exports on job creation and income generation”, the rating agency pointed out.

“Gross export numbers are misleading in terms of the impact they have on jobs and incomes. Broadly, the spill-over impact of exports on the domestic economy is determined by three factors – the DVA component of exports, the employment intensity of export sectors and the absolute size of exports – all of which determine the extent of job-creation”, it added.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

India Exempts Bhutan From Any Ban Or Quantitative Restrictions On Food Exports

The Indian government today announced that the country will exempt Bhutan from any ban or quantitative restrictions on export of items like milk powder, meat, edible oil and non-Basmati rice.

This step has been taken with a view to boosting trade ties with the neighbouring country.

India and Bhutan also agreed that they will not to allow each other’s territory to be used for interests inimical to the other.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

South Korea's May Iran Oil Imports Down 44 Percent On Year

South Korea's imports of crude oil from Iran fell in May from April, with its oil intake from the OPEC member in the first five months of the year holding below last year's daily average, customs data showed on Sunday.



South Korea imported 284,327 tonnes of Iranian crude last month, or 67,230 barrels per day (bpd), compared with 552,884 tonnes a month ago and 505,004 tonnes a year ago, according to the preliminary customs data.



Imports of oil from Iran often swing widely from month to month as one of South Korea's two refiners to import Iranian oil usually buys the crude only every other month.



South Korea took 2.5 million tonnes, or 121,868 bpd, from Iran in the first five months of this year, down 15 percent from 2.9 million tonnes imported during the same period in 2013 and also 9 percent less than last year's average of 134,000 bpd.



South Korea and other Asian buyers are supposed to hold their crude imports from the OPEC member at end-2013 levels - or between 1 million and 1.1 million bpd - under the terms of the Geneva accord between Iran and six major powers.



That pact took effect in January and eased some sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program.



But as China is set to take more Iranian crude than it did before tough sanctions were put in place in early 2012, Iran's top clients - China, Japan, India and South Korea - are together expected to import around 1.25 million to 1.3 million bpd in the first half of this year, industry and government sources say.



U.S. officials say that is still within the tolerance of what is allowed by the Geneva deal because most of the overage is taken up by condensate, a light crude oil.



Six major powers - the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China - and Iran are trying to reach a final settlement on Tehran's nuclear program, although diplomats say a July 20 deadline is likely to slip.



In South Korea, only SK Energy [SKENGG.UL] and Hyundai Oilbank [INPTVH.UL] buy Iranian oil.



South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, imported a total of 9.8 million tonnes of crude last month, or 2.3 million bpd, compared with 10.4 million tonnes in May last year, the customs data showed.



Final data for May crude oil imports will be released by state-run Korea National Oil Corp later this month.

Source:- reuters.com

India's May Palm Oil Imports Up 22 Per Cent M/M: Trade Body

India's palm oil imports rose 22 per cent to 654,255 tonnes in May from a month ago, a trade body said on Monday, as buyers stocked up ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when demand for the tropical oil typically peaks.



Higher purchases by the world's top vegetable oil importer should help support benchmark palm oil prices that have dropped in five out of the past seven weeks.



India's total vegetable oil imports rose 24 per cent from a month ago to 1.03 million tonnes in May, data from the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) showed.



"Refiners purchased more to build up stocks," said B.V. Mehta, executive director of SEA.



Imports of soyoil rose 54 per cent to 174,209 tonnes from a month ago, while sunflower oil imports rose to 5 per cent to 178,753 tonnes.



India mainly buys palm oil from top producers Indonesia and Malaysia. The South Asian country buys small quantities of crude soft oils, sourcing soyoil from Latin America and sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia.



Last month, the price for imported crude palm oil (CPO) averaged $876 a tonne against $934 for soyoil and $942 for sunflower, the trade body data showed. In April, CPO was quoted at $907, soyoil $974 and sunflower oil $946.



May's total palm oil imports included refined oil of 100,605 tonnes, up 24 per cent from April as the import price in May was cheaper by $31 per tonne at $866.



Half of India's annual demand of 17-18 million tonnes of cooking oil is met through palm oil imports, while it buys about 1 million tonne each of crude soy and sunflower oil.

Souce:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

HC raps AO for making additions on estimation basis as no material was unearthed during search to ju

IT : In block assessment, no addition can be made on basis of estimation, where no material seized during search in support of making addition in respect of payment

SC/ST reservation policy isn’t applicable to appointment of members of CESTAT, rules HC

Excise & Customs : Rule 21 of CESTAT Recruitment rules saves any reservation, etc. as per order of Central Government, but, in absence of any orders of Government specifically making reservation applicable for recruitment to posts of Member (Tech.), reservation does not apply to appointment at posts of Member (Tech.)

Interest earned from investment of grant isn’t taxable if it is repaid to grantor or reduces future

IT: Where assessee received grant from Central Government and kept amount in short-term deposits in bank and further it earned interest on such deposits, since Central Government had given instruction that interest on short-term deposits either had to be refunded back to Government or to be adjusted against future grants to be released, interest earned could not be said to have accrued as income to assessee

AO can’t invoke disallowance for cash payment unless assessee gets an opportunity to prove his claim

IT: Disallowance as required under section 40A(3) can be made only if there is proper material available either in returns or records accompanying reports and after affording opportunity to assessee to prove his case

No VAT on sales of goods at duty free shops by warehouse located at Airport as it was sales in cours

CST & VAT : Where assessee was allotted duty free shops at arrival and departure terminals of Bangalore International Airport and a licence was granted to it as Private Bonded Warehouses for storage without payment of duty of goods imported from foreign countries and for sale at duty free shops, sales effected at duty free shops amounted to sales in course of import falling under section 5(2) of Central Sales Tax Act, 1956

ITAT order couldn’t be reviewed if assessee failed to produce docs relied upon by it before lower au

IT : Tribunal's order cannot be recalled on ground that on date of hearing assessee could not produce documents relied upon by it before lower authorities

No additions for undisclosed stock determined on basis of opening stock without considering sale and

IT: Assessment of stock could not be done only by considering opening stock without actually referring to sale/purchase made during year

Computer training provided during Sept. 10, 2004 to June 15, 2015 amounted to vocational training; e

Service Tax: Computer hardware/software training entailing employment or self-employment amounts to 'vocational training' in terms of Notification No. 24/2004-S.T. and is eligible for exemption during 10-9-2004 to 15-6-2005

DTA entitled to section 10B benefit as it complies with all conditions and subsequently gets approva

IT: An undertaking set up as DTA unit and deriving profit from export of articles or things or computer software manufactured or produced by it, which was subsequently converted into a EOU, shall be eligible for deduction under section 10B, on getting approval as 100 per cent export oriented undertaking

Generation of brass alloys and metal wires from metal scrap to be deemed as manufacture for sec. 10B

IT : Where assessee imported metal scrap and after segregating such scrap, produced various articles including graded brass metal, metal vires, etc., entire process came within meaning of 'manufacture or produce'

Government May Hike Incentives For Textile Sector To Boost Export: Report

The government is expected to increase incentives for the labour-intensive textiles industry in the forthcoming Budget to boost sector's exports and manufacturing.



As a part of support to the textiles sector, the government may enhance allocation for the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) in the Budget, sources said.



TUFS, launched in 1999, facilitates modernisation and upgradation of textiles industry by providing credit at reduced rates to entrepreneurs both in the organised and the unorganised sector.



The government had approved the continuation of TUFS for the 12th Plan period (2012-17) with a budgetary allocation of Rs. 11,900 crore.



Sources said that the government is also expected to streamline the procedure for timely disbursement of the fund.



In its pre-Budget consultation with the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, industry has asked for increasing the fund allocation under the scheme to ensure that it operates without any problems during the entire 12th Five Year Plan period.



"We would also request that annual allocation for the scheme may be kept at the maximum possible level in order to ensure prompt disbursement of TUFS assistance to the industry," Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has said.



CITI has also asked for reduction in excise duty from 12 per cent to 8 per cent to encourage production and consumption of man-made fibres in large quantities.



The sector accounts for about 14 per cent of total industrial production, 12 per cent of exports and 4 per cent of GDP of the country.



The size of the industry is over $90 billion at present including nearly $40 billion in exports. It employs about 45 million workers.



The textiles industry requires constant modernisation of plants and machinery to remain competitive in global markets against rivals like China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.



Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is expected to present Budget for 2014-15 in the second week of July.

Source:- profit.ndtv.com

India Services Exports In April Tad Lower At $13.63 Bn

India's services exports in the first month of 2014-15 stood at $13.63 billion, marginally lower than $14.32 billion in March 2014, as per RBI data.

The Reserve Bank's data on International Trade in Services showed that services import in April 2014 stood at $8.06 billion, also lower than previous month. It was at $8.49 billion in March.

India's services export in previous fiscal stood at 167.01 billion while services imports in FY'14 were at $ 88.19 billion.

The services sector contributes about 60 per cent to country's gross domestic product. The RBI releases the provisional aggregate monthly data on India's international trade in services with a lag of 45 days.

Monthly data on services are provisional and undergoes revision when the Balance of Payments (BoP) data are released on a quarterly basis.

Source:- http://ift.tt/R2yevO

India To Set Up Two Renewable Energy Firms

Plans are underway to form a pair of state-owned joint ventures (JVs) that will oversee the construction of renewable energy projects, contributing to India’s energy security and reducing reliance on conventional sources of fuel such as coal.



The oil and renewable energy ministries are working on the proposal, which sees them setting up one JV to oversee large-scale, grid-integrated projects and the other for off-grid projects, according to documents reviewed by Mint.



These new public sector units (PSUs) will, in turn, be JVs between state-owned oil sector firms such as Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC), Oil India Ltd and Solar Energy Corp. of India and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency. While one of the JVs will be led by ONGC, IOC will lead the other.



The initial funding for the new firms will come from the JV partners that will implement the projects. The money they put in such projects will be considered part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions. Under India’s new companies law, corporate entities are supposed to spend a certain percentage of their profit on CSR, essentially charitable activity.



A government official confirmed the plan.



“The project report for the joint venture companies has been prepared by Engineers India Ltd. Even some projects have been identified for development by the new firms. A background note on the same has been prepared,” the official said on condition of anonymity.



Spokespersons for IOC and Bharat Petroleum also confirmed the proposal.



Queries emailed to the spokespersons for the ministries of petroleum and new and renewable energy, Hindustan Petroleum, ONGC, Oil India, Solar Energy Corp. and India Renwable Energy remained unanswered.



India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change recommends that the country generate 10% of its power production from solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable sources by 2015, and 15% by 2020.



India has a power generation capacity of 245,394 megawatts (MW), of which only 13%, or 31,692MW, is contributed by renewable sources.



“The ministry of new and renewable energy resources has the technical expertise. Also, the oil sector, public sector units have large funds available under their corporate social responsibility programmes. This will be ploughed towards the new firms,” said the government official quoted above.



The Bharatiya Janata Party that swept to power in the April-May general election under the leadership of Narendra Modi has stressed the need for reinforcing energy security.



The Modi-led government’s energy security plans include harnessing renewable sources such as solar energy, biomass and wind power along with coal, gas, hydropower and nuclear power to bring about an “energy revolution” in the country.



India, which is dependent on imports to meet its energy demand, has an energy import bill of around $150 billion. This is expected to reach $300 billion by 2030, requiring a $3.6 trillion payout by 2030.



“My government will come out with a comprehensive National Energy Policy and focus on development of energy-related infrastructure, human resource and technology,” President Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament on 9 June. “The aim of the government will be to substantially augment electricity generation capacity through judicious mix of conventional and non-conventional sources.”



Developing renewable energy will also help reduce dependence on coal, which is in short supply domestically, requiring imports of the mineral to fuel most of India’s power plants.



India is also exploring options to make it compulsory for conventional power project developers to build renewable capacity at the same location, a move that can provide an impetus to ecofriendly electricity. There is a need to integrate conventional and renewable power generation as India’s overdependence on coal needs to be reversed.



Source:- livemint.com

Supply Subsidised Electricity To Mihan Investors: Government To Madc

Supply subsidised electricity to Mihan investors: Government to MADCMUMBAI: Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (Mihan) project is likely to get a new boost as the government has asked Maharashtra Airport Development Company to supply electricity to the investors at subsidised rates.



Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday asked the development company to purchase electricity from the exchanges or enter into short-term agreements with power producers for supplying electricity to the investors who have set up their businesses at Mihan.



"We have been notified as a distribution licensee for MADC SEZ area by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) in December last year.



"As per the CM's direction, we will buy power from various sources and supply at subsidised rates to ensure projects are not stalled," MADC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Tanaji Satre told PTI here.



Chavan has said the electricity supplied by MADC will be almost 30-35 per cent cheaper compared to that supplied by state discom Mahavitaran.



The move comes after certain investors stalled operations due to higher electricity costs.



Investors include Air India. Air India is setting up an maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) at Mihan.



In November 2007, MADC and Abhijeet Group signed an agreement, wherein the two were to form a joint venture to set up a power plant for supplying power solely to the industries located inside Mihan at rate of Rs 2.97 per unit.



Mahavitaran, however, has been offlate supplying power to these units at over Rs 10 per unit.



Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Export Leap Linked To Governance.

The new foreign trade policy (2014-19), to be announced after the budget, is expected to emphasise governance issues in the form of a co-ordinated strategy among different central government departments as well as states.



Within this overarching structure, the policy will focus on incentives to boost services export and value-added products, besides making inroads into newer markets.



A senior commerce ministry official said the foreign trade policy (FTP) would emphasise the manufacturing of value-added diversified products and exploring newer markets such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, east and West Asia and Latin America.



“Manufacturing at high levels of value and raising the scale of operations will be vital if the gains from mass production and riding on to the global and regional value chains have to be realised,” the official said.



The current regime considers exports a necessary ingredient of economic policy and that the export strategy will have to be embedded in the governance structures.



Officials said most of the ministries and government departments needed to be made aware of the fact that production was important not only for the domestic market but also for exports.



The officials also emphasised the need to involve states in meeting the objectives of the foreign trade policy, particularly in the elimination of transaction costs. The goal of the policy should be to “mainstream” the states. If necessary, they needed to be incentivised on the basis of their contribution to exports.



The FTP proposals are being firmed up by the commerce ministry in consultation with the exporters and will be discussed with the finance ministry soon.



All export and import-related activities are governed by the policy. It mainly aims at enhancing the country’s exports and use trade expansion as an effective instrument of economic growth and employment generation. The earlier policy ended on March 31.



To ensure that all service exporters benefit from the “served from India scheme”, the commerce ministry is looking at allowing import duty exemption scrips (given as incentive under the scheme) to be sold in the market or used to pay service tax, the officials said. This will benefit service exporters who do not import any inputs that prevent them from using the scrips.



Under the “served from India scheme”, exporters are entitled to import duty exemption scrips worth 10 per cent of the exported value. Only exporters with a minimum foreign exchange earning of Rs 10 lakh can avail themselves of the facility.



According to Ajay Sahai, director-general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, the scheme will be more effective if the scrips can be used to pay service tax or can be traded.



“At present, only the hotel industry is using the scrips as it imports liquor and vehicles. For most others, the scheme is not of much use,” Sahai said.



The commerce ministry also wants the existing focus product scheme — which gives sops to specific labour-intensive products — to cover fewer items, while increasing the amount.



Global trade is expected to increase 4.7 per cent this year against a 2.1 per cent growth in 2013 and an average 2.2 per cent in the past two years, according to an estimate released by the World Trade Organization.



Though the projected growth is still below the 20-year average growth rate of 5.3 per cent, it does indicate near-term development in global demand, which is crucial to exports. India missed its goods export target of $325 billion for 2013-14, with shipments during the year rising nearly 4 per cent to $312 billion.



Source:- telegraphindia.com

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