CBDT constitutes Committee to appraise efficacy of dispute resolution forums; to suggest for reducin

IT/ILT : Constitution of A Committee to Study the Appellate Orders to Examine Filing of Appeals by Department Before Various Forums

RBI allows buying of immovable properties outside India by residents under Liberalized Remittance Sc

FEMA/ILT : Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for Resident Individuals-Increase in the Limit From USD 75,000 to USD 125,000

Reassessment held justified by HC as liability was escalated by assessee to reduce tax burden

IT : Where discrepancies were found in books of account of assessee showing escalation of liability to reduce tax burden, reassessment notice was valid

ST refund can also be made by way of credit to intermediaries under Rule 6(3) of ST Rules

Service Tax : In case of cancellation of insurance policies, credits made in books of account of assessee in name of an intermediary also amount to refund for purposes of Rule 6(3) of Service Tax Rules; Revenue cannot insist on refund by individual cheques.

Income from dealing in delivery based shares with investment purposes is taxable as capital gains

IT : Where assessee carried out delivery based share transactions with an investment motive, in view of fact that period of holding in said transactions was less than one year, income arising from those transactions was to be taxed as short-term capital gain

HC denies to admit appeal as issues related to rate of duty payable by 100% EOU on its conversion to

Excise & Customs : Where issue involved in an appeal is whether, and how much, duty is payable on debonding of 100% EOU into DTA and goods exported prior to actual exit order, said issues relates to 'rate of duty' for purposes of assessment and is not appealable before High Court

Governmental subsidy received to set-up industrial projects couldn’t be reduced from actual cost of

IT: For computation of depreciation, no part of Government subsidy for encouragement for setting up of industrial projects could be deducted from actual cost/WDV of fixed assets, if same is not relatable to acquisition of assets

Assessment order quashed as it was barred by limitation period provided under Andhra Pradesh Sales T

CST& VAT: Where First Appellate Authority by order dated 26-2-2008 set aside assessment for year 2004-05 and remanded matter to Assessing Authority to quantify turnover afresh and thereafter Assessing Authority passed an order on 15-3-2012 and demanded tax from assessee, in view of limitation prescribed under section 24A of Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, impugned order was barred by limitation

Agricultural land was to be measured when municipal limits were first notified and not when it was s

IT : For purpose of application of item (b) of sub-clause (iii) of section 2(14) and to measure KMs from radius of Municipal corporation, relevant date would be date of notification and not date of sale of land in question

No service-tax refund on Business Auxiliary Services used for purposes of export

Service-Tax : As per Notification No. 17/2009-ST, business auxiliary services received by assessee and used for purpose of export are not eligible for refund

No winding-up of Co. merely on basis of petition filed by trustee without proper authorization

CL: Where respondent was a running company, winding up order could not be passed against it merely on petition filed by trustee without proper authorisation

Handling and packing charges would be includible in sales price even if they were charged separately

CST & VAT : Where assessee carried on business for purchase of arecanut and sale of same in course of inter-State trade or commerce and in tax invoices raised it billed customers separate charges under description of handling charges at two per cent of sale price and charges for packing at rate of Rs. 60 per bag, handling charges and packing charges formed part of sale price under section 2(h) of Central Sales Tax Act, 1956

No penalty on declaration of undisclosed assets during search in absence of any evidence to prove it

IT : Where no material was found with regard to assessee's ownership of asset found in search, deeming provision in view of Explanation 5 to section 271(1)(c) could not be applied to presume deeming concealment so as to levy penalty

Hyundai Motor Group Car Sales In China, India Up 8.2 Pct In June

Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automotive conglomerate, said Wednesday that its sales in China and India rose 8.2 percent on-year in June, fueled by solid demand for its popular models.

The conglomerate said combined sales by its flagship companies Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in the two countries stood at 171,188 units last month, up from 158,225 a year earlier.

China represents the largest market for Hyundai and Kia vehicles, even surpassing the United States market. India, where only Hyundai cars are sold, is also a significant market.

For the first half of this year, combined sales of the two companies stood at 1,071,065, up just under 8.8 percent from 984,585 units tallied for the previous year.

In the larger Chinese market, Hyundai and Kia, who sell cars through local affiliates Beijing Hyundai Motor Co. and Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Co., said sales rose 5.1 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Both Hyundai and Kia have production facilities in China that can churn out up to 1.79 million cars per year along with 160,000 commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses.

Hyundai sold 86,668 cars, with Kia managing to post sales hitting 51,006 units.

The carmakers said strong sales of steady selling models, mainly compact, midsize and SUVs, and generally good consumer demand contributed to the rise in overall numbers.

Hyundai said sales of its Langdong and Verna models all surpassed the 20,000-unit mark last month, with models like ix35 CUV, Mistra midsize sedan exceeding 10,000 units.

Of all cars sold, the Langdong, a compact sedan based on the Avante, ranked No. 1 in terms of sales with 20,142 units.

Kia said sales of its K3 compacts and K2 subcompact did well, with numbers hitting 14,916 and 11,907 units, each, in the one-month period. Sales of its Forte and K5 reached a solid 5,865 and 4,394 vehicles.

In the Indian market, Hyundai sold 33,514 cars, up 9.5 percent from 30,610 units sold in June 2013.

Of the 10 models sold on the subcontinent, the Grand i10 supermini ranked No. 1 with sales hitting 7,901 units. This was followed by 7,069 Accent subcompacts being sold in the country. Combined sales of the Grand i10 and regular i10 hit 10,487.

Sales of the EON city car placed third at 6,579 units.

India is the world's third-largest new car market and an important production and export base for the South Korean carmaker, which has a plant in Chennai with an annual production capacity of 600,000 cars.

The overall rise is good news for the automaker, which aims to sell a combined 7.86 million cars in 2014, up about 4 percent from 7.56 million units sold worldwide last year. In the first half, Hyundai and Kia sales hit 4,043,415 units, a gain of 5.4 percent from 3,836,445 units sold a year earlier.

Source:- globalpost.com

Exports Rise 10% In June, Trade Deficit Touches 11-Month High

In a sign that the global economy is gaining some momentum, exports increased for the third straight month in June, growing 10.22 per cent to $26.47 billion over the same month a year ago.

Imports, too, rose 8.33 per cent to $38.24 billion after declining for several months, with gold imports surging following the easing of restrictions. This widened the trade deficit slightly to an 11-month high of $11.76 billion, against $11.28 billion in June 2013.

The increase in exports was largely driven by readymade garments, engineering goods, petroleum products, leather and handicrafts, going by quick trade data estimates released by the Commerce Ministry, on Wednesday.

“The global situation is conducive to exports as both advanced and emerging economies are showing better economic indicators. Credit flow to exporters should increase so that exporters can utilise the opportunity,” said Federation of Indian Export Organisations President Rafeeque Ahmed.

Some negatives

There was, however, a decline in gems and jewellery, electronic goods and agricultural exports.“The electronics goods sector has a small base that is getting squeezed further. This does not augur well for the skilled labour-intensive sector. The sectors where exports are declining need immediate help from the Government,” said industry body Assocham.

Gold imports rose by a whopping 65 per cent to $31.20 billion in June after the RBI allowed seven more private agencies, in addition to designated banks, to procure gold. Imports of project goods and machinery, both indicators of a revival in manufacturing activity, however, were lower in June compared with the same month last year.

Oil imports in June were 10.90 per cent higher, at $13.34 billion. Goods exports in the April-June quarter stood at $80.11 billion, 9.31 per cent higher than the comparable period of the previous year. Imports in the first quarter of the current fiscal year were at $113.196 billion, 6.92 per cent lower than last year.

The trade deficit for the April-June period was estimated at $33.08 billion, lower than the deficit of $48.32 billion in the same quarter last year.

Services exports

For the first time, the Commerce Ministry released data for services exports, based on RBI data. Services exports in May this year were valued at $13.92 billion. Services imports during the month were valued at $8.02 billion. The trade surplus was at $5.89 billion.

Source:- thehindubusinesssline.com

India Coal Demand Set To Rise 6% In Fy15, Lifting Imports

India’s coal demand is expected to rise 6% to 787 million tonnes this fiscal year, coal and power minister Piyush Goyal said, which could lift imports close to 200 million as local supply falters.

Stiff public opposition to land acquisition, environmental red tape and inherent inefficiencies of behemoth Coal India Ltd, the world’s largest coal miner, have made the country a big importer of coal despite sitting on plentiful reserves.

India’s total output has grown at an annual rate of about 2% over the past few years, reaching 566 million tonnes in the year to 31 March, when demand totalled 739.4 million tonnes.

“Over a period of one or two or three years we are confident that we will bring the position to a better situation,” Goyal told reporters, adding that the aim was to increase production by up to 8% every year.

Former banker Goyal—handed the key ministries by new Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfil his pledge of power to all—last week pushed a Coal India unit into opening its first mine in decades, work on which was started ten years ago.

On Thursday he urged lawmakers to help the federal government to acquire land faster for new mines and to build railway lines to connect remote pits with fuel-hungry power plants.

Goyal has also asked power companies to raise imports, which hit 169 million tonnes in 2013/14, until local supply picks up.

Coal India and closest rival Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd, which together account for more than 90% of India’s coal production, plan to produce 561.5 million tonnes this year.

This suggests that imports could be much higher than last year, benefiting suppliers such as Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and the US.

Source:- livemint.com

Amendment to sec. 11AB by FA, 2001 would not wipe out existing interest liability under erstwhile pr

Excise & Customs : Section 11AB(2), as substituted by Finance Act, 2001 and providing that section 11AB(1) would not apply if duty had become payable before 11-5-2001, only provides that interest cannot be imposed under amended section 11AB for dues prior to 11-5-2001; it does not wipe out existing liability to pay interest under unamended provisions

NBFC couldn't take shelter of prudential norms to treat overdue interest as NPA if it didn't try to

IT : Where assessee, a NBFC, did not show interest income on loans advanced to two parties on ground that interest remained overdue on it for more than six months, in view of fact that loan in question was a term loan and, moreover, assessee did not demand return of same, it could not be regarded as a non-performing asset and, thus, impugned addition made on account of interest deserved to be confirmed

India's Scrap Imports Down 40.8% During Jan-Apr '14, Says Trade Data

The scrap imports by India during the initial four months of the year declined sharply. The country’s scrap imports during this period plunged significantly upon comparison with the imports during the corresponding four-month period in 2013.

According to trade data, India imported 1,419,902 tons of scrap during Jan-Apr ’14 this year. This is 40.8% lower when compared with the imports of 2,399,880 tons during the same period last year.

During Jan to Apr ‘14, UAE was the main exporter of scrap to India. The scrap imports from the UAE totaled 372,000 tons, accounting for 26.2% of the total imports by India. The scrap imports from the UAE were marginally up by 2.7% when compared with the imports during the same period a year ago.

The second largest source of scrap imports by India was the UK. The scrap imports from the UK during the four-month period totaled 212,000 tons, down 21.6% over the previous year. The scrap imports from the UK constituted 15% of Indian imports.

South Africa remained the third largest ferrous scrap exporter to India during the initial four months of the year. The scrap imports from South Africa plunged significantly lower during the period. South Africa exported 180,000 tons of scrap into India. The scrap imports from South Africa during the first four months of the current year are nearly 56.5% lower when compared with the imports during the similar four-month period last year.The scrap imports by the country during the month of April ’14 alone totaled 426,832 tons.

Source:- metal.com

Rupee Opens Lower At 60.46 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee was trading lower on Friday as the dollar strengthened worldwide following a Malaysia Airlines plane crash in Ukraine that boosted haven assets.

The local currency opened at 60.46 per dollar against its Thursday’s close of 60.18. At 9.12am, the rupee was trading at 60.41, down 0.38% from its previous close, while India’s equity benchmark Sensex index was trading at 25,558.48 points on BSE, down 0.01%.

Most of the Asian currencies were trading lower. The Malaysian ringgit was trading down 0.35%, South Korean won was down 0.28%, Philippines peso fell 0.15%, Japanese yen slipped 0.15%, Thai baht fell 0.03%.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 2.29%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $11.4 billion from local equity markets.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 8.73%, compared with its Thursday’s close of 8.73%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.529, up 0.03% from the previous close of 80.505.

Source:- livemint.com

Onus is on assessee to prove payment of taxes by furnishing either challans or other documentary evi

Service Tax : Where assessee claims that demand has been paid by him, it is for him to produce sufficient material before authorities either in form of challans or otherwise through cogent documentary material that tax has been paid

Issues relating to deficient Car repair services by authorized service station aren’t Competitional

Competition Law: Where OPs failed to repair car of informant despite charging hefty sum, matter related to deficiency in services provided by OPs and did not fall within domain of Competition Law

ITAT directs TPO to identify and allocate exp. on actual basis while computing operating cost for AL

IT/ILT : Matter remanded where TPO while computing operating cost to determine ALP of international transactions did not identify certain expenses on actual payment basis

No need to obtain fresh approvals under Companies Act, 2013 for past related party transactions; MCA

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013 - Related Party Transactions - Clarifications on Matters Relating to Related Party Transactions

AO’s discretion to initiate penalty proceedings couldn’t be vitiated by revisional order of CIT

IT : In terms of section 271AAA, Assessing Officer has discretionary power to initiate penalty proceedings and, therefore, revisional order under section 263 cannot be passed for directing Assessing Officer to initiate penalty proceedings

Revenue had no discretion to levy lesser penalty than duty without challenging validity of Rule 96ZO

Excise & Customs : Where validity of Rule 96ZO of Central Excise Rules, 1944 is not under challenge, penalty leviable under said rule would be equal to duty and there is no discretion with authorities to levy lesser penalty

HC deletes disallowance for TDS default which was invoked by AO without giving an opportunity to ass

IT : Where AO disallowed payment of freight expenses on account of non-deduction of tax at source without giving assessee an opportunity to collect necessary evidence and explaining same in support of its case, there being violation of principles of natural justice, impugned disallowance diserved to be deleted

Revenue couldn’t seek confiscation and penalty on undervaluation of banned goods without raising suc

Excise & Customs : Where grounds of undervaluation and confiscation/penalty on that count were not raised in show-cause notice as well as adjudication order, department could not confirm confiscation/penalty on that ground

Benefit of Article 8 of India-Malaysia DTAA is available for shipping of goods under a slot charter

IT/ILT : Benefit of Article 8 of the Indo-Malaysia DTAA is also applicable to shipping of goods from Indian Port to Hub Port using feeder vessels under a space charter or slot charter as the entire voyage from the Indian Port to final destination port is inextricably linked and cannot be segregated. "Operation of ship" for Article 8 purposes can be done as charterer which does not mean to own or control the ship either as owner or as a lessee The word "charterer" should not be confused with the

Revenue has to enquire into whether duplex house is one house or two separate houses before determin

IT: Where assessee claimed that two flats owned by him in a building in fact formed a single property by way of one duplex flat and, thus, its annual value was to be assessed at nil, matter was to be remanded back for disposal as to whether it was a case of two separate residential houses joined together for easy access, or two flats represented a single residential house by applying user test

Recovery proceedings against assessee upheld as it related to assessments made prior to transfer of

CST & VAT: Where assessee had transferred his business in name of his daughter in year 1997 and thereafter Assessing Authority issued on assessee revenue recovery notice, wherein certain amount was claimed as demand made pursuant to assessments completed in years 1987-88 and 1994-95 as also an order of penalty in year 1993-94, initiation of recovery proceedings against assessee was justified

Export of ready to print books via CD or email deemed as customized electronic data; eligible for se

IT: 'Ready to print books' exported by assessee in form of a CD or e-mail are customized electronic data eligible for claiming benefit of deduction under section 10B

MCA asks ROCs to ensure compliance of Emblems and Names Act while allotting names to Cos

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 4 of the Companies Act, 2013 - Memorandum - Registration of Names of the Companies Shall be in Consonance with Provisions of Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper use) Act, 1950

Delhi Govt. asks for details of TAN and tax deficiency admitted during search in revised Form DVAT

GST/Indian Acts & Rules : Delhi Value Added Tax (Second Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 57A, Annexure-1, Form DVAT-16, 17 & 48

Interest on FDR isn’t an income from International Transaction; to be excluded from operating income

IT/ILT : Where assessee-company was engaged in rendering only mediatory and support services to its AE located abroad, interest income earned by it on amount deposited in FDRs would not qualify as income from international transactions and, consequently, same could not be included in operating income while determining ALP on basis of TNMM

In case of combination packs of dissimilar products, excise duty is to levied on individual MRP of e

Excise & Customs : If a manufacturer manufactures two products A and B, both notified under section 4A, and clears them as combination pack, duty has to be paid in respect of each item separately on basis of its individual MRP, its individual rate of abatement and individual rate of duty; and not on basis of MRP of combination pack

No Special Resolution required for capital reduction if an approved arrangement had already included

CL: While construing a scheme or resolution effecting reduction of capital, though section 100(2) requires same to be done through a special resolution for reducing share capital passed by members, it would be sufficient if all members were put on notice of proposed agenda of reduction of share capital and requisite majority for a special resolution, as posited by section 189(2), approve or consent to same

HC directs first appellate authority to consider case on merits as Commissioner had set aside its re

CST & VAT: Where First Appellate Authority set aside assessment order passed by Assessing Authority and remanded case to him to make fresh assessment and thereafter Commissioner, in exercise of his revisional powers, set aside order of First Appellate Authority, in light of provisions of appeal contained in section 62 of Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003, matter was remanded to First Appellate Authority for reconsideration of appeal on merits

Construction of house without permission of Municipality doesn’t disentitle one to sec. 54F relief

IT : Where AO rejected assessee's claim for deduction under section 54F in respect of amount invested in construction of building on ground that permission from Executive Engineer, Municipality had not been obtained before construction of building, in view of fact that assessee had in fact constructed house which was evident from copy of certificate of valuation by Municipal Engineer, impugned order rejecting assessee's claim was to be set aside

HC denied writ petition on refund of deposit as petition had alternate remedy of arbitration

SEBI: Where petitioner, member of stock exchange, invoked writ jurisdiction for refund of security deposit at time of resigning from membership of stock exchange instead of resorting to arbitration, writ petition was not maintainable as alternative, efficacious and speedy remedy was available

Delay in requesting for listing with SEBI doesn’t lead to imposition of complete ban on listing of c

SCRA : For delay in making an application for listing, a company should not be denied benefit of listing forever

Tribunal was empowered to hear appeal in case of interest on drawback if it was allowed by it in ear

Excise & Customs : Tribunal would have jurisdiction to decide an appeal relating to interest on drawback where drawback was allowed by Tribunal

HC denies to interfere with order of ITAT as dispute related to estimation of Net Profit rate

IT: Profit of contractor depend upon various factors like place of execution of contract, accessibility of labour, raw material, etc. and would, therefore, vary from contractor to contractor

Agreement amongst parties won’t transfer ST liability from service provider to service recipient

Service Tax: Substantive and legislatively mandated liability to service tax would not be transferred from service provider of sale of space or time of advertisement to advertisers being service recipients

CCI negates abuse of dominance position by ‘Ansal’ due to presence of other real estate developers i

Competition Act : Where large number of real estate developers having all India presence were operating in relevant market, no one could be said to be dominant in relevant market and, thus, question of abuse of dominant position did not arise

TP adjustment set aside while making working capital adjustment as data of assessee-co. wasn’t analy

IT/ILT : Where in transfer pricing proceedings, TPO made certain addition to assessee's ALP in respect of import of hi-tech products from AE, in view of fact that while making said addition, TPO as well as DRP considered working capital adjustment only with respect to comparables submitted by assessee but same was not analysed with respect to data of assessee company, impugned adjustment was to be set aside and matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

Verdict in Satyam's case: SEBI bars 'Ramalinga Raju' from accessing securities market for 14 long ye

SEBI : Ramalinga Raju and others individually as well as acting in concert falsified books of account and mis-stated financials of Satyam Computers and, thus, portrayed a false picture of its published quarterly/annual results; they also provided false CEO/CFO certification, made various announcements and issued advertisements/press releases on basis of falsified and mis-stated financial position of company and indulged in insider trading on basis of unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI

India's Exports Up 10.22% To Usd 26.4 Bn In June

India's exports grew by 10.22 per cent to USD 26.4 billion in June this year while imports stood at USD 38.24 billion, up by 8.33 per cent, leaving a trade deficit of USD 11.76 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's data.



Country's exports stood at USD 24 billion in June last year while imports were at USD 35.3 billion, the data showed.



Exports in May rose by 12.4 per cent to USD 28 billion over the same month a year ago, while imports fell by 11.4 per cent to USD 39.23 billion.



In the April-June period, exports grew by 9.31 per cent to USD 80.11 billion.



Imports, however, dipped by 6.92 per cent to USD 113.19 billion during the first three months of this financial year. Trade deficit during the period stood at USD 33.08 billion.



Oil imports increased by 10.9 per cent in June to USD 13.34 billion. Non-oil imports during the month under review were up by 7 per cent to USD 24.9 billion.



Country's gold imports were up by 65.13 per cent to USD 3.12 billion in June this year from USD 1.88 billion in the same month last year.

Source:- http://ift.tt/15HW3lL

Oil Ministry Plans To Reduce Energy Imports From Gulf Countries, Turns To Russia For Fuel

The oil ministry has chalked out a strategy to gradually reduce energy sourcing from politically volatile countries in the Gulf region and explore importing natural gas from Russia, Iran and CIS countries, government sources said.



In a recent presentation to the prime minister, the oil ministry also proposed a new regime to manage oil-field contracts. In the current system the contractor recovers costs before sharing profit with the government. In the proposed system, the two sides share revenues from the day production starts. "The matter is under active consideration of the government," one source said.



Officials say the simpler new regime should minimize state interference in oil-field affairs and boost private investment, leading to higher output and better energy security.



To improve energy security, oil ministry officials say the country should avoid heavy dependence on oil and look at opportunities to import natural gas from all possible sources.



"Russia is one such potential supplier. We may import natural gas from the country either in liquid form or through a pipeline. A strategy paper is being prepared after the visit of Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to the country last month," one government official said.



India has warm relations with Russia, which is the world's second-biggest producer of gas and third-largest producer of crude oil.



According to US Energy Information administration, oil and gas revenues account for over 50 per cent of Russia's budget revenues.



Government officials said the ambitious Iran-Pakistan-India ( IPI) pipeline could be revived after Western sanctions against the country is eased. The project was put on backburner in 2008 by the UPA government citing reasons such as project structure, delivery period of gas, pricing and pipeline security. "Iran is keen and India needs energy. The project can be revived," the official quoted earlier said.



The oil ministry is also working on oil supply diversity especially after political disturbances in Iraq, India's biggest crude oil supplier after Saudi Arabia. India committed to import about 19 million tonnes of crude oil from Iraq and is concerned about the situation in the region, another government official said.



India is planning to source crude oil from Canada after it has developed Venezuela as one of the major suppliers outside the Gulf countries.



"African oil producing countries are willing to export on long-term basis and Indian refiners are in talks with them," the official said.



"There has been turmoil in Syria, Iraq and other oil producing countries in the Middle East. We can't keep all eggs in one basket," the official said. India imports more than 80 per cent of crude oil it processes. Indian refiners processed over 222 million tonnes of crude oil 2013-14. India's domestic crude output that year was about 38 million tonnes.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Tribunal orders pre-deposit with a direction to take re-credit as duty payable in cash was paid via

Excise & Customs : Where duty was payable in cash owing to failure to pay duty beyond 30 days and assessee had wrongly used credit, Tribunal order directing pre-deposit of duty in cash with permission to take re-credit of credit wrongly used, is valid

India Set To Pursue Steel Import Duty Row With Us

Despite a favourable order from the World Trade Organization (WTO), India is set to pursue the steel import duty case against the US. New Delhi will also review other products on which the US has imposed similar duties.



In a ruling that came late on Monday, WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) had said the US was unjustified in imposing countervailing duties (CVD) on India's exports of hot rolled carbon steel flat products. It termed the US act "inconsistent with WTO law on subsidies".



"It is a mixed judgment. The important issues have been in our favour, but there are still some issues we are not happy about," Commerce secretary Rajeev Kher told Business Standard. Kher said this is an important development. "But there are several smaller procedural issues where the decision is in favour of the US. We will continue the case further," he added.



For instance, DSB did not consider India's claim that NMDC is not a public body according to the global trading norms. This is where India is planning to ask for a re-appeal.



The steel exporters involved in the case are JSW Steel, Vijayanagar Minerals, Tata Steel and NMDC. India had dragged the US into WTO in this case in April 2012.



In its ruling, the WTO panel said the US law mandating cumulation of non-subsidised imports with subsidised imports while determining injury in a CVD investigation is inconsistent with WTO obligations. This ruling questions the validity of a number of other CVD proceedings conducted by the US on products of Indian origin.



In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the government is reviewing other Indian products on which the US has imposed a similar CVD based on the present judgment.



"We have to remember that the ruling does not state that the US has to remove the duties. The US has said it is weighing options, which means they can either remove the CVD or recalculate the duties, in which case Indian exports continue to remain uncompetitive in that market. The ruling, even though it has favoured India, does not mean Indian steel exports will increase in US," said Abhijit Das, head, Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.



In a significant development, the WTO panel also said the US had no factual basis to hold that the grant of mining rights for iron ore and coal was a subsidy. The panel also held that the US should not have ignored market prices available in India while determining the amount of subsidies, if any.



"India or even the US can always go for another appeal and seek a resolution. This judgment shows the importance of WTO DSB in today's trade scenario," said Ram Upendra Das of New Delhi-based Research and Information System for Developing Countries.

Source:- business-standard.com

Import Duty Hike On Raw Sugar May Boost Domestic Prices: Care Ratings

The recent hike in the import duty on raw sugar from 15 per cent to 40 per cent is likely to boost the domestic prices, agency Care Ratings said in its report.



"The recent hike in the import duty on raw sugar from 15 to 40 per cent is likely to boost the domestic prices. Also, the hike in ethanol blending requirements from 5 to 10 per cent will augment the profitability of the sugar companies," Care Ratings said here.



The rising inventory level coupled with virtually no export because of relatively lower international prices since 2012-13 (October to September) led to sluggish sugar price trend till February 2014. The sugar prices was quoted at Rs 30 per kg in April 2012 and shot up to Rs 37 per kg in October 2012 and slipped to Rs 30 per kg in February 2012. The average sugar price is hovering around Rs 34 per kg in April 2014, it said.



Though measures like hike in the import duty may provide some respite to the ailing sugar industry in the short-term, the revival of the industry is still dependent on the regulatory environment.



In order to provide a viable and robust business model to the industry, the unscientific way of fixation of State Advised Price (SAP) has to be replaced with linking sugarcane procurement price with the sugar price, the report said.



The agency said that the real turnaround of the Indian sugar industry will depend much on the full implementation of the Rangarajan Committee's recommendation especially implementation of sugarcane price-sugar price linkage formula.



In a move to decontrol the industry, a Committee headed by C Rangarajan was formed which submitted its report in October 2012. The major recommendations included, dispensing with the levy sugar obligation, dismantling the present monthly release mechanism of non-levy sugar, replacement of SAP with sugarcane price-sugar price linkage formula and phasing out of sugarcane area reservation.



The industry was partially decontrolled in April 2013 by implementing the first two recommendations. However, it failed to bring in major changes with situation remaining almost same or even worse with further dip in the profitability parameters of sugar companies, it said.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Huge Tax Evasion In Veg Oil Imports

With rising import of vegetable oils, tax evasion and other malpractices have also increased. Now trade circles reveal huge tax evasion by importers of the oils which is going uncaught. As per the estimates, in last six months Rs.150 crore of value added tax was evaded by giving wrong declaration in imports only on JNPT port in Mumbai.



According to an official from the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA), importers import refined vegetable oil at JNPT port on high seas bases in the name of firm registered outside Maharashtra and mostly from Silvasa, M.P., A.P., U.P. etc but actually the imported oil is sold in Mumbai and Maharashtra in cash and without payment of VAT on it. Since bill of entries are in the name of parties from above places, that is hardly investigated. Another industry official said even the parties in whose name imports took place have been found to be dummy in their findings.



Only on JNPT port, in current oil year which began from November over 2 lakh tonnes is understood to have arrived and sold under this modus operandi. India's import bill towards vegetable oil has been between $10-11 billion a year and hence several non-traditional players have entered the business.



Tax avoided imported is used for illegal blending with the pure oil of higher quality and sold in market. Problem that the SEA had raised was that imported oil business is run on higher volumes and very thin margins as competition is immense. Tax evaded oil is sold cheaper which is hurting genuine players.



It is not only tax evasion that has become a peril. In last few years several players, many of them from real estate sector have opened subsidiaries for dealing in imported oils. The incentive for them to be in vegetable oil import business is quite different. For imports, trade and industry gets cheaper dollar finance for 90-180 days. However in edible oil import business, these importers sell oils at a very thin margins and get the money maximum in little over a months' time. They use cheap credit till maturity for their other businesses. This practice is popular among real estate players as interest rates prevailing in that business is much higher.

Source:- business-standard.com

India's Services Export In May Up 9 Per Cent At $13.9 Billion

India's services exports in May rose 8.8 per cent to $13.9 billion, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed.

Import of services during the month, however, rose 15 per cent to $8.03 billion, as per the RBI data on international trade in services.

Cumulative receipts, or exports, in services during April-May stood at $27.5 billion, while cumulative payments (imports) were at $16.09 billion.

Services exports in 2013-14 stood at 167.01 billion, while imports were at $88.19 billion.

The services sector contributes about 55 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.

The apex bank releases provisional aggregate monthly data on India's international trade in services with a lag of 45 days.

Source:- profit.ndtv.com

HC raps AO for denying carry forward and set off of unabsorbed depreciation beyond 8 years

IT : Reassessment deprecated as Court held that unabsorbed depreciation could be allowed to be carried forward and set off without any reference to time limit

Notices returned un-served to be delivered through other means under sec. 37C prior to ex-parte proc

Excise & Customs : Where notice sent by post is returned with postal remarks 'left', same must be tried to be served as per section 37C(1)(b) or as per section 37(1)(c) by affixing a copy on notice board of adjudicating authority; and if that is not done, consequential proceedings ex parte are invalid

Interest earned from inter-corporate loans and foreign currency account are eligible for sec. 10B re

IT: In view of substitution of sub-section (4) of section 10B by Finance Act, 2001, with effect from 1-4-2001, an assessee is entitled to claim exemption on interest income earned from inter-corporate loans and deposits lying in EEFC account

Revenue couldn’t revoke Excise registration of a Co. merely due to pendency of dues in its old name

Excise & Customs : Merely because there is a change in name of company and dues standing in old name are still pending, department cannot revoke registration

WDV of assets of local authority won’t be re-calculated on its conversion into taxable unit; book de

IT : Where assessee was enjoying exemption of income being a local authority, and with insertion of Explanation to section 10(20) by Finance Act, 2002 effective from 1-4-2003, assessee became taxable entity from assessment year 2003-04 in terms of Explanation 6 to section 43(6), amount of depreciation provided in books of account upto previous year relevant to assessment year under consideration had to be considered as depreciation 'actually allowed' and, therefore, in order to restrict claim o

HC slams revenue for attaching bank account of assessee without issuing SCN and giving hearing oppor

CST & VAT : Where Commercial Tax Officer (CTO) inspected assessee's business premises and having noticed defects in its account books forcibly collected a cheque for Rs. 3.75 lakhs from it and thereafter Assessing Authority concerned having found that department's bank had returned above cheque unrealised issued a notice to bank of assessee attaching its bank account for recovery of above amount, issue of notice to bank of assessee straightaway attaching bank account was illegal and unsustainabl

Profit on transfer of bare-shell building to co-developer after approval from authority gets sec. 80

IT : Where assessee's claim for deduction under section 80-IAB was rejected on ground that it had sold bare-shell building to co-developer which was not a permitted activity, in view of fact that Board of Approval (BOA) had granted approval for transfer of bare-shell to co-developer in accordance with relevant provisions of SEZ Act and SEZ Rules, profits arising to assessee from such an authorised transaction were eligible for deduction

Petitioner to plead before correct forum that Co. was introducing new Articles in guise of compoundi

CL : Where petitioner filed instant petition challenging order passed by CLB allowing respondent's application for compounding of defaults committed under sections 25(8) and 192 of 1956 Act, on ground that under guise of compounding application, respondent-company was seeking to introduce a new set of articles of association, petition was to be disposed of with a direction to petitioner to raise such a plea before appropriate forum

Mere non-mentioning of export invoice details in lorry receipts won’t deny legitimate ST refund on G

Service Tax : Where owing to big consignments, goods could not be transported by a single lorry from factory to port of export, then, non-mention of details of export invoice in lorry receipts is not fatal for claim of refund under Notification No. 41/2007-ST, provided other evidences for correlation are available

Unabsorbed depreciation can be carried forward beyond 8 years; Reassessment to treat it otherwise is

IT : Reassessment resorted to disallow carry forward and set off of unabsorbed depreciation beyond 8 years was declined

Display of phone numbers at bank premises proves its usage for output services; ST credit available

Cenvat Credit : Where phone numbers are displayed at branch premises as per RBI guidelines, it proves that said phones were used for providing output service and, therefore, same are eligible for input service credit

Revenue couldn’t cast doubt on sub-contract payments if sufficient evidences were available to subst

IT: Where assessee-company entrusted land development work on sub-contract to GKC which in turn paid certain amount to another company for executing a part of land leveling work, in view of fact that details of all transaction in respect of which subcontract payment had been made by assessee-company to GKC were duly recorded in payment vouchers, AO could not disallow those payments merely taking a view that company which did a part of work for GKC was non-existent company and, thus, entire payme

Income certificate of Tehsildar wouldn’t prove financial hardship; appellant to file financials for

Central Excise : In order to prove financial hardship of a director charged with personal penalty, copies of Profit and Loss Account, his salary statement or Balance Sheet should be furnished; income certificate issued by Tehsildar cannot be relied upon

ITAT partly stays tax demand against issue of shares by assessee to AEs at lower than ALP

IT/ILT : Where in transfer pricing proceedings, TPO made addition to assessee's ALP on account of shares issued to AE at an amount lower than ALP, during pendency of appellate proceedings, stay application filed by assessee was to be allowed subject to payments of two instalments of Rs. 15 crores each

HC stayed winding up proceeding of petitioner-co. as it offered to repay debt along with interest

CL : Where appellant company was ordered to be wound up but it offered to repay respondent along with interest, offer being reasonable winding up order was to be stayed

RBI eases funding mechanism for banks to finance long-term loans for infrastructure and affordable h

Banking : Issue of Long Term Bonds by Banks – Financing of Infrastructure and Affordable Housing

Railway Ministry asks Zonal railways to collect ST on charges realized for verification of LTC detai

ST : Levy of Service Tax on charges for verification of journey details.

RBI calls for flexible structuring of long-term loans given to infrastructure and core industries

Banking Laws : Flexible Structuring of Long Term Project Loans to Infrastructure and Core Industries

IRS Association asks I-T department to allow 100% deductions for contributions to Uttarakhand disast

IT : Section 80G of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Deductions - Donations to Certain Funds, Charitable Institutions, etc. – Contribution Made Towards Disaster Relief for the Affected People of Uttarakhand – 100% Deduction Under Section 80G

Negligence in payment of excise duty attracts penalty of upto Rs 5,000 under Rule 27 of Excise

Central Excise : Negligence of assessee/directors in paying duty attracts penalty upto Rs. 5,000 under rule 27 of Central Excise rules; rules 25 and 26 and section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944 are not attracted

ALV of property let out to sister concern had to be as per Municipality records of earlier years if

IT : Where in order to determine annual value of property let out by assessee to its sister concern, Tribunal in earlier years directed AO to adopt valuation given by Municipal Corporation, in absence of any change in circumstances, basis so adopted was to be accepted during relevant year as well

The Reserve Bank Of India Will Try Swapping Old Gold For New

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has found a novel way of tackling the nation’s gold import deficiency without affecting the Current Account Deficit (CAD). It has decided to swap old gold, 557 tons worth some $21 billion, in its reserves, with new gold, with the aim of standardizing its yellow metal stock.

The move is expected to have fiscal benefits. The increase in domestic gold supply will not put pressure on the CAD, which, at present, is under stress due to rising crude oil prices in the wake of the Iraq conflict. It would also ease India’s balance of payment. In order to check the rising CAD, the Indian Government had raised import duties, while the RBI had imposed curbs on gold imports, in addition to prescribing pre-conditions for inward shipments of the yellow metal. Smuggling gold into India has become a healthy black market, but that is likely to come down once domestic supply increases.

As part of the move to swap its gold, the central bank has asked nominated banks, including the State Bank of India to submit quotes. The chosen bank will import gold on behalf of the RBI and subsequently the metal would be swapped. The bank holds the 11th largest gold reserve in the world.

According to a report in the Business Today, the RBI will exchange “relatively impure gold,” including some dating back to the pre-independence (1947) era, and get the equivalent worth of purer yellow metal.

When the standardization operation was over, the new gold acquired will be delivered to its overseas custodian, the Bank of England. The entire exercise will take place through book entry and without any cash exchanging hands, sources said.

This is not the first time that the RBI has made such a move. It had parked gold abroad during the 1991 financial crisis, and in 1998, before Russia’s default and devaluation caused a meltdown across emerging markets.

India’s gold imports had come down by 72 percent to US $2.19 billion in May due to restrictions imposed by the government on inbound shipments of the precious metal.

Rising gold and petroleum imports had led to the CAD touching a historic high of 4.8 percent in 2012-13 due to the excess of foreign exchange outflows over inflows. India had paid US $54 billion to import 1,017 tons of gold that year. A high CAD puts pressure on the currency, leading to inflation.

Currently, Indian banks import gold for jewelers, and then they can only re-import another batch if 20 percent of the last batch has been exported. There’s a 10 percent duty on imported gold.

Source:- agmetalminer.com

Chinese Imports Threatening Indian Furniture Industry – Assocham

With $447 million worth annual furniture imports into India, China accounts for 53 per cent of India’s total furniture imports worth over $736 million thereby giving severe competition to the domestic industry, according to a just-concluded ASSOCHAM study.

“Furniture imports into India are growing at 27 per cent annually while furniture exports from the country are growing at a growth rate of about 18 per cent,” noted the study titled ‘Potential of Furniture Industry in India’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Australia, France, Germany, The UK and The US are leading destinations for India’s furniture exports while China largely dominates the furniture imports into India followed by Germany, Malaysia, Italy and The US.

“Growing furniture imports from China are threatening jobs of over 25 lakh people engaged in over 10.61 lakh registered and unorganized furniture factories across India,” said Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the chamber’s study.

“Lack of modernization and innovative design, dearth of skilled labour, limited market access and lack of quality control are certain key issues restricting the growth of India’s furniture industry and also the main reasons non-operation of furniture factories,” said Mr Rawat.

Non-operation of furniture manufacturing factories in India is also an issue of grave concern to the domestic industry, evidently as of the total 1,419 registered furniture factories in India only 1,157 factories were under operation as of 2011-12 i.e. about 20 per cent of registered furniture factories in India were non-operational, highlighted the ASSOCHAM study.

Maharashtra is the leading state with 222 registered furniture factories followed by Tamil Nadu (201), Rajasthan (124), Andhra Pradesh (119) and Karnataka (112). The top five registered factories constitute almost 55 per cent of registered furniture factories in India.

“Registered furniture factories have more potential in terms of employment generation as on an average one registered furniture factory generates 40 jobs whereas an unorganized factory generates just about three jobs.”

Of over 57,000 jobs being generated by registered furniture factories across India, Maharashtra is numero uno in generating maximum of over 15,100 jobs followed by Tamil Nadu (9,318), Rajasthan (5,053), Karnataka (4,998) and Andhra Pradesh (4,087) with top five states accounting for about 68 per cent of total employment generated by registered furniture sector in India.

While Punjab has about 62 per cent of non-operative registered furniture factories followed by Haryana (60 per cent), Tamil Nadu (30 per cent) and Karnataka (25 per cent).

Considering that the private final consumption expenditure on furniture in India has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 17 per cent (during 2004-05 and 2012-13), revival in real estate and hospitality sectors combined with rising disposable incomes will further drive the furniture industry’s growth in India, noted the study conducted by The ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

If the aforesaid issues are addressed effectively, then the sector has the potential to generate about five lakh additional employment opportunities during the course of next three years.

Source:- rtn.asia

Palm Imports By India Drop For Second Month As Sunflower Climbs

Palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer, declined for a second month in June as refiners bought more sunflower oil after prices retreated on rising global cooking oil supplies.

Purchases of crude and refined palm oils slid 8.8 percent to 592,749 metric tons last month from a year earlier, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India said in an e-mailed statement today. That’s lower than the median estimate of 625,000 tons in a Bloomberg survey. Sunflower oil shipments jumped 53 percent to 155,475 tons, while crude soybean oil imports dropped 28 percent to 99,682 tons, the association said.

A decline in premium of sunflower and soybean oils over palm oil is spurring Indian refiners and traders to reduce purchase of the tropical oil, according to B.V. Mehta, executive director of the association. Declining palm demand in India may expand inventories in Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s biggest producers, and pressure prices in Kuala Lumpur, which entered a bear market yesterday.

“Ukraine has a bumper crop of sunflower oil, so prices are bound to remain subdued in the coming months, and India will continue to buy the oil,” Mehta said. “The incremental growth in oil demand and a certain part of palm oil share are being taken over by the soft oils.”

Futures fell 2.1 percent to 2,298 ringgit ($721) a ton at close on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives yesterday, down 21 percent from the 2,901 ringgit settlement high on March 10. Soybean oil’s premium over palm, the world’s most-used cooking oil, narrowed to average about $94 a ton this year from $244 a ton in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Stockpiles Gain

“Palm oil imports will continue as it is the No. 1 cooking oil,” Mehta said. Purchases may total 8 million tons this year, compared with 8.3 million tons a year earlier, he said.

Cooking oil stockpiles at ports and scheduled shipments rose to 1.49 million tons on July 1 from 1.42 million tons a month earlier, data showed. Total imports, including for industrial use, fell 4 percent in June to 883,679 tons, the association said. Total cooking oil imports were little changed at 7.08 million tons in the eight months ended June from 7.15 million tons a year earlier, data showed.

Source:- bloomberg.com

Rupee Rises To 60.07/ Dollar As Shares Gain

The rupee rose from a session low of 60.2450 to trade at 60.09/60.10, as gains in shares helped offset dollar demand from state-run banks. It had closed at 60.07/60.08 on Monday.

State-run banks have been mopping up dollars for oil- and defence-related payments in the recent sessions, aiding the greenback.

Some of this demand could be for the government's effort to pay Iran a part of its oil dues, dealers say.

India paid a second instalment of $550 million in oil dues to Iran last week under an interim deal that has allowed Tehran access to $4.2 billion in blocked funds globally, Reuters reported last week.

The Nifty was up 0.3 per cent, heading for its first daily rise in six sessions as interest rate-sensitive stocks gain after June consumer inflation slowed to the lowest since figures were first published in January 2012.

Source:- profit.ndtv.com

Double jeopardy - Non-deduction of TDS disallows expenditure and withdraws sec. 10(20) exemption

IT: Section 40(a)(ia) being deeming provision, assessee having made violations of section 194C, no exemption under section 10(20) is allowable

Value of input used to make final marketable product is includible in value of final product

Excise & Customs : Where assessee is selling 'dissolved Acetylene gas' and for marketing purposes, acetylene gas is required to be dissolved in Acetone, then, Acetone acts as an input and cost of Acetone is includible in value of Acetylene gas

RBI recognizes partly paid shares and warrants as FDI compliant instruments

FEMA/ILT : Issue of Partly Paid Shares and Warrants by Indian Company to Foreign Investors

Proviso to sec. 44BB ruling out applicability of provision in cases where sec. 44DA applies has pros

IT/ILT : Insertion of the words "section 44DA" in the proviso to section 44BB(1) by the Finance Act,2010 w.e.f.1-4-2011 is prospective and not retrospective. Amendment cannot be held to be retrospective particularly because it brings substantial change in the taxability of the assessee

AO couldn’t revisit claim of sec. 80-IA relief if it was allowed after thorough examination during a

IT : Where during assessment, assessee's claim under section 80-IA was allowed after thorough examination and Assessing Officer's satisfaction, re-assessment would not be permissible

Even joint ownership in second house at the time of sale of capital assets would lead to denial of s

IT : Income assessable in block assessment under Chapter XIV-B is income not disclosed but found and determined as a result of search under section 132 or requisition under section 132A

[Central Excise Tariff Notification] : Seeks to amend notification No. 108/95-CE, dated the 28th August, 1995 so as to allow transfer/sale of goods procured prior to 1.3.2008 for use in projects financed by the UN or an international organization.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)

NOTIFICATION

No. 11/2014-Central Excise

New Delhi, the 11th July, 2014

G.S.R. (E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) read with sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957 (58 of 1957), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 108/95-Central Excise, dated the 28th August, 1995 which was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide number G.S.R. 602(E) dated the 28th August, 1995, namely: -

In the said notification, after the proviso, the following shall be inserted, namely:-

"2. Where the said goods are cleared prior to the 1st March, 2008, the manufacturer may -

(a) transfer the said goods to a new project subject to the condition that the manufacturer produces before the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, having jurisdiction over the factory of manufacture, a certificate from the officer concerned of the Central Government, State Government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, that the said goods are no longer required for the said project and a declaration from the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank or any other international organization listed in the Annexure to the said notification that the said goods are required for the new project and the said project has duly been approved by the Government of India; or

(b) pay duty of excise which would have been payable but for the exemption contained herein on the depreciated value of the said goods subject to the condition that the importer produces before the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, having jurisdiction over the factory of manufacture, a certificate from the officer concerned of the Central Government, State Government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, that the said goods are no longer required for the existing project. The depreciated value of the said goods

shall be equal to the original value of the goods at the time of clearance reduced by the percentage points calculated by straight line method as specified below for each quarter of a year or part thereof from the date of clearance of the said goods, namely:-

(i) for each quarter in the first year at the rate of 4 per cent;

(ii) for each quarter in the second year at the rate of 3 per cent;

(iii) for each quarter in the third year at the rate of 2.5 per cent; and

(iv) for each quarter in the fourth year and subsequent years at the rate of 2%,

subject to the maximum of 70%.".

[F. No.334/15/2014-TRU]

(Akshay Joshi) Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note.- The principal notification No. 108/95-Central Excise, dated the 28th August, 1995 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 602(E) dated the 28th August, 1995 and last amended by notification No.13/2008-Central Excise, dated the 1st March, 2008 which was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 141(E) dated the 1st March,2008.

Exchange of defective compressor by manufacturer after recovering repair charges won’t be deemed as

CST & VAT : Where assessee, a manufacturer of compressor, was also engaged in accepting defective compressor from its customer outside warranty period with certain fixed repair charges and replacing it at option of customer with any other repaired compressor off shelf, it was not a case of sale of repaired compressor by assessee to its customer within meaning of section 2(28) of Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959

Company Court can’t scrutinize accounts along the lines of auditors while sanctioning compromise arr

CL : It is not duty of company court to meticulously scrutinise accounts and act as a super auditor before according sanction to a scheme under section 391

Paint used in testing and painting of old gas cylinders are consumables; eligible for ST exemption

Service Tax : Paint using in testing and painting of old and used gas cylinders under 'repair and maintenance work' is a consumable and is not sold separately; hence, same is not eligible for exemption under Notification No. 12/2003-ST

[Central Excise Tariff Notification] : Seeks to amend notification No. 33/2005-CE, dated the 8th September, 2005 so as to provide for full exemption from excise duty on machinery required for setting up of compressed biogas plant (Bio-CNG).

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)

Notification

No.14/2014-Central Excise

New Delhi, the 11th July, 2014

G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 33/2005- Central Excise, dated the 8th September, 2005, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 570(E), dated the 8th September, 2005, namely: -

In the said notification,-

(a) in the opening paragraph, after the words, "initial setting up of a project for the generation of power", the words, brackets and letters "or generation of compressed bio-gas (Bio-CNG)" shall be inserted;

(b) in condition (i), after the words, "initial setting up of a project for the generation of power", the words, brackets and letters "or compressed bio-gas (Bio-CNG), as the case may be," shall be inserted;

(c) in condition (ii), for the words "the manufacturer proves", the words "in the case of projects for the generation of power, the manufacturer proves" shall be substituted.

[F.No.334/15/2014-TRU]

(Akshay Joshi)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note: The principal notification was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section-3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 570(E), dated the 8th September, 2005 and was last amended by notification No 34/2010-C.E., dated the 18th November, 2010 vide number G.S.R. 916(E), dated the 18th November, 2010.

[Central Excise Tariff Notification] : Seeks to amend notification No. 15/2010-CE, dated the 27th February, 2010 so as to provide for exemption of excise duty on machineries required for initial setting up of solar energy production projects.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)

Notification

No. 15/2014-Central Excise

New Delhi, the 11th July, 2014

G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944(1 of 1944), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 15/2010- Central Excise, dated the 27th February, 2010, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R.117(E), dated the 27th February, 2010, namely: -

In the said notification,-

(a) in the opening paragraph, after the words "components, required for initial setting up of a solar power generation", the words "or solar energy production" shall be inserted;

(b) for condition (1), the following condition shall be substituted, namely:-

"(1) that an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recommends the grant of this exemption, indicating the quantity, description and specification of the goods and certifies that they are required for initial setting up of a solar power generation or solar energy production project or facility, as the case may be; and".

[F.No.334/15/2014-TRU]

(Akshay Joshi)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note: The principal notification was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section-3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R.117(E), dated the 27th February, 2010 and was

last amended by notification No. 26/2012-C.E., dated the 8th May, 2012 vide number G.S.R. 342(E), dated the 8th May, 2012.

[Central Excise Tariff Notification] : Seeks to amend Notification No. 67/1995-CE, dated the 16th March, 1995 so as to exempt intermediate goods manufactured and consumed captively for further manufacture of matches.

TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)

Notification

No. 19/2014-Central Excise

New Delhi, dated the 11th July, 2014

G.S.R (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No.67/95-Central Excise, dated the 16th March, 1995 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide number G.S.R.259 (E), dated the 16th March, 1995, namely:-

In the said notification, in the TABLE, in column (2), for the existing entry, the following entry shall be substituted, namely:-

"All goods falling under the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (5 of 1986)".

[ F. No. 334/15/2014-TRU]

(Akshay Joshi) Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note.- The principal notification No. 67/95-Central Excise, dated the 16th March, 1995 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 259 (E), dated the 16th March, 1995 and last amended by notification No 16/2003-Central Excise, dated the 1st March, 2003 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 146 (E), dated the 1st March, 2003.

[Central Excise Tariff Notification] : Seeks to rescind Notification No. 03/2010-CE, dated the 22nd June, 2010 so as to increase rate of Clean Energy Cess.

(i [TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION )]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)

Notification

No. 20/2014-Central Excise

New Delhi, dated the 11th July, 2014

G.S.R. (E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by section 83 of the Finance Act, 2010 (14 of 2010) read with section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby rescinds the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No.3/2010-Clean Energy Cess, dated the 22nd June, 2010, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide number G.S.R. 545 (E), dated the 22nd June, 2010, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such rescission.

[F.No.334/15/2014 –TRU]

(Akshay Joshi)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

No reassessment on basis of seized material which was thoroughly analysed in assessment after search

IT: Where Assessing Officer completed assessment after analyzing seized material during search and after issuing consolidated questionnaire to all concerned parties, he could not initiate reassessment proceedings on basis of seized material again taking a view that certain income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment

[Service Tax Notification] : Seeks to amend the Service Tax (Determination of Value) Rules, 2006 so as to prescribe the percentage of service portion in respect of works contracts, other than original works contract.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

Government of India Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue)

New Delhi, the 11th July, 2014

Notification

No. 11/2014 - Service Tax

G.S.R.____ (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (aa) of sub-section (2) of section 94 of the Finance Act,1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Service Tax (Determination of Value) Rules, 2006, namely:--

1. (1) These rules may be called the Service Tax (Determination of Value) Amendment Rules, 2014.

(2) They shall come into force on the 1st day of October 2014.

2. In the Service Tax (Determination of Value) Rules, 2006, in rule 2A, in clause (ii), for sub-clauses (B) and (C), the following sub-clause shall be substituted, namely:--

“(B) in case of works contract, not covered under sub-clause (A), including works contract entered into for,-

(i) maintenance or repair or reconditioning or restoration or servicing of any goods; or

(ii) maintenance or repair or completion and finishing services such as glazing or plastering or floor and wall tiling or installation of electrical fittings of immovable property,

service tax shall be payable on seventy per cent. of the total amount charged for the works contract”.

[F. No. 334 /15 /2014 -TRU]

(Akshay Joshi)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note:- The principal rules were notified vide notification No.12/2006-Service Tax, dated the 19th April, 2006, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide number G.S.R.228

(E), dated the 19th April, 2006 and last amended by notification No.24/2012-Service Tax, dated the 6th June, 2012, vide number G.S.R.431(E),dated the 6th June, 2012.

Term ‘any sum’ referred to in sec. 68 doesn’t contemplate ad-hoc addition of sums not credited in bo

IT: In terms of provisions contained in section 68, any amount other than one found credited in books of account can not be estimated and charged to tax

Manufacture or provision of services under job work isn’t exempted goods or services, respectively f

Cenvat Credit : Goods manufactured/Services provided in terms of job work Notification without payment of duty/tax cannot be held to be 'exempted goods or services' so as to attract restrictions under rule 6 of CENVAT Credit Rules

CCI approves of proposed combination of pharmaceutical companies as it won’t affect competition in I

CL : Where parties to proposed combination were engaged in pharmaceutical business and their combination would not have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, same was to be approved

No writ against order of AO pursuant to direction of DRP as assessee had remedy of filing of an appe

IT/ILT: Where assessee filed writ petition challenging order passed by Assessing Officer pursuant to direction issued by DRP, in view of fact that assessee had remedy of an appeal against order of assessment, instant petition was to be disposed of by directing assessee to file an appeal before Tribunal for redressal of its grievances

Interest accrued from investment in ‘Kisan Vikas Patra’ is taxable on accrual basis, rules HC

IT : Interest from investment in Kisan Vikas Patra is taxable on accrual basis