Uttarakhand HC denies quashing of notification which blacklisted Cyprus for not sharing tax informat

IT/ILT : While exercising the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court ordinarily should not proceed to look into as to whether informations sought by the Indian Authorities were ever declined by the Government of Cyprus or Government of Cyprus is ready and willing to supply the informations sought by the Indian Authorities. Moreover, there seems to be no valid reason to disbelieve the satisfaction so recorded by the Indian Authorities. Hence, relief

Rent received from building constructed on leasehold land is business income and not income from hou

IT : Expenditure incurred on construction of building on leasehold land should be treated as a revenue expenditure

RBI asks banks to comply with new depository scheme; prescribes form to report issue/transfer of DRs

FEMA/ILT : Depository Receipts Scheme

RBI asks banks to display interest rates and processing charges of loans on their websites

BANKING : Display of Information by Banks

Expat employees deputed to Indian group Co./LLP can receive salary in foreign currency accounts; RBI

FEMA/ILT : FEM (Foreign Currency Accounts by a Person Resident in India) Regulations, 2000 - Remittance of Salary

Delhi High Court reads down first proviso to sec. 2(15); rescues genuine charities from its clutches

IT : The correct interpretation of the proviso to section 2(15) of the Act would be that it carves out an exception from the charitable purpose of advancement of any other object of general public utility and that exception is limited to activities in the nature of trade, commerce or business or any activity of rendering any service in relation to any trade, commerce or business for a cess or fee or any other consideration. In both the activities, in the nature of trade, commerce or business

SEBI to do away with 25% participation of shareholders for delisting when all shareholders are conta

SEBI : SEBI Board Meeting - Issuance of Partly Paid Shares and Warrants by Indian Companies; Amendments in SEBI (Issue and Listing of Debt Securities) Regulations, 2008, SEBI (Public Offer and Listing of Securitised Debt Instruments) Regulations, 2008, SEBI (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009, etc.

No addition of notional interest on receipt of interest-free deposit by lessor without determining f

IT: Even though the interest-free deposits received by lessor had the effect to deflate or inflate the rent agreed between the parties but AO could not make addition of notional interest in annual value of property without finding out the effect of interest free deposits and without determining the fair market rent expected to be fetched by the property under section 23(1)(a)

Interest can be demanded from importer as per terms of bond on non-fulfilment of export obligation

Excise & Customs : Though there is no provision for levy of interest under Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, but, interest may be charged as a condition of bond, which is a contractual obligation; hence, in case of non-fulfilment of export obligation as per Foreign Trade Policy, interest may be levied as per terms of Bond

Tribunal rightly remands case as AO hadn't considered every doc submitted on behalf of assessee: HC

CST & VAT : U.P. VAT - Tribunal was justified in remanding matter where 57 loose parcha submitted on behalf of assessee was not considered by Assessing Authority

No reassessment by AO to deny capital gains exemption under India-Denmark DTAA on basis of surmises

IT/ILT : No reassessment where reasons recorded for reopening fell in realm of surmises to deny capital gains exemption under India-Denmark DTAA

Interest on purchase duty would be deductible on payment basis under sec. 43B, rules High Court

IT : Provision of section 43B are applicable to interest payable on purchase duty

Exp. incurred on construction of storage shed on leasehold land was revenue exp.

IT : Expenditure incurred by assessee on construction of storage sheds on leasehold land is revenue in nature

RBI revises conditions for overseas direct investment by Indian firms

FEMA/ILT : Review of Overseas Direct Investments by Proprietorship Concern/unregistered Partnership Firm in India

Payment to casual labours through senior workman would not attract sec. 194C TDS

IT : Payment made to casual labourers through senior workman was not liable to TDS under section 194C

Detention order vitiated when authority didn't supply docs to petitioner on basis of which detention

COFEPOSA : Non-supply of vital documents which were considereed by detaining authority while passing detention order vitiated detention order passed against petitioner

India Asks Refiners To Cut Iran Oil Imports Ahead Of Obama Visit

India has asked its refiners to slash oil buys from Iran in the next two months to keep the imports in line with the previous fiscal year's levels, sources with knowledge of the matter said, days ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to New Delhi.

India has raised its crude shipments from Iran around 40 percent over the first nine months of the current fiscal year, when as part of the temporary deal that eased some sanctions on Tehran it was meant to hold them steady.

India and the United States will discuss the status of the Iran nuclear negotiations, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor in the White House told reporters in a teleconference detailing Obama's visit.

India's higher imports from Iran would also be on the agenda, the two sources in India said.

"The refiners will have to virtually halt Iranian oil imports in February-March to retain purchases at last year's levels," said one of the sources with knowledge of the matter. The sources did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

India's imports from Iran rose 41 percent to 250,200 bpd in April-December compared with the same period a year ago, according to tanker arrival data made available to Reuters.

One of the sources said India's federal oil ministry told Essar Oil, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd and Indian Oil - the only Indian companies that buy from Iran - to cut imports.

Iran and six major world powers will meet next month to narrow differences over Tehran's nuclear programme after making limited progress earlier in January to clinch a full blown deal by June 30 deadline.

MRPL and Essar declined to comment on any requests to cut purchases from Iran. IOC's finance head did not respond to phone calls.

Source:- thedailystar.net

Honda Imports A Unit Of Pcx 150 In India

The premium end of scooter segment initiated by a slew of Piaggio Vespas is likely to get even more livelier. After Hero previewed its 157cc ZIR at the Auto Expo 2014 and Mahindra-Piaggio alliance about to bear its fruit in Indian market with a couple of premium scooters, its the turn of Honda to respond. In an answer to a rising competition, Honda has silently imported a unit of PCX 150 in India, which is one of the premium scooters it sells in the European markets.

The Honda PCX 150 is a full-sized scooter, which is based on the PCX 125 showcased by Honda during the Auto Expo 2014. It comes with a four-stroke, single-cylinder, fuel-injected, 153cc engine, which churns out 13.5PS of power and 14Nm of torque, through a V-Matic CVT transmission. Apart from an appealing European design, the PCX 150 also incorporates some thoughtful features such as front and rear LED lights, 14-inch alloy wheels, steeped seat and a 12V power socket in the under-seat storage compartment.

Though the reasons of Honda importing the scooter are still unknown, there are strong possibilities that Honda will be testing the PCX 150 either for R&D purposes within their technical center or for testing it on the Indian roads to judge its feasibility on the Indian tarmacs. If launched in India, the PCX 150 will be priced in the range of Rs. 70,000 to 80,000. Currently, Piaggio is the sole player in the premium scooter segment, with a portfolio comprising of Vespas, such as Vespa LX125, Vespa VX125 and Vespa S.

Source:- indianexpress.com

India Imports 654,000 Tonnes Of Scrap

The scrap imports by India during the month of October last year increased considerably when compared with the previous month.

The scrap imports stood higher when matched with same month the previous year. However, the cumulative scrap imports by the country during initial ten-month period of the year were slightly down over the previous year.

According to trade data, India imported 654,000 tons of scrap during October 2014. This is nearly 25% higher when compared with the imports of 523,200 tons during the previous month. The scrap imports during the month almost doubled when compared with the imports during Oct ’13. The country’s exports have surged by nearly 95% over the year in Oct ‘14.

In Oct ‘14, the UAE was the main exporter of scrap to India. The scrap imports from the UAE totaled 275,000 tons, accounting for over 42% of the total imports by India during the month. The scrap imports from the UAE were up nearly 5.7 times when compared with the same month a year ago.

The second largest source of scrap imports by India was South Africa. The scrap imports from South Africa during Oct ’14 totaled 83,000 tons, up by over 60% when compared with the previous year. The scrap imports from South Africa constituted 13% of Indian imports.

Source:- customstoday.com.pk

HC deletes penalty as no intention to evade taxes could be gathered from accompanied challans and bo

CST & VAT : U.P. VAT - Where transported goods were duly recorded in books, it was accompanied with challans and there was no intention to evade payment of tax, no penalty could be imposed

Unit set-up with new PAN and separate SSI registration with investment higher than existing unit was

IT : Where assessee's new unit had different registration number, PAN and customers and its investment in plant and machinery was much higher than existing unit, it could not be said that new unit was formed by splitting up existing undertaking so as to deny deduction under section 80-IC

Sum paid to Employees Association for construction of 'Shamiana' would be donation and not business

IT : Amount paid to Employees Welfare Association for construction of Kalyan Mandapam is donation, there being no proof of having paid for more efficient and contended labour force

Rupee Trades Higher At 61.41 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee on Friday strengthened sharply in the opening after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced larger than expected measures to stimulate the region’s sagging economy.

The local currency opened at 61.45 per dollar and touched a high of 61.37—a level last seen on 5 November. At 9.12am, the rupee was trading at 61.41 per dollar, up 0.47% from its previous close of 61.71.India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 29,187.93 points, up 0.63%.

Asian currencies were trading higher against the dollar. The Taiwan dollar was up 0.45%, Indonesian rupiah 0.30%, South Korean won 0.24%, Malaysian ringgit 0.22%, Philippines peso 0.18%, Singapore dollar 0.17%, Japanese yen 0.12%.

ECB president Mario Draghi announced an expanded stimulus plan and kept benchmark interest rates at record lows, boosting speculation flows of foreign capital into emerging-market assets will increase. The ECB will buy €60 billion worth of assets per month, more than markets had been hoping for, in a program that will last through September 2016, Reuters reported.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.693% compared with its Thursday’s close of 7.714%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has strengthen 2.66% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $782.5 million during the period from local equity markets and bought $2.36 billion from debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.175, up 0.1% from its previous close of 94.077.Dealers likely to be cautious ahead of extra long holiday ahead. The markets are closed from Saturday to Monday.

Source:- livemint.com

Assessee had to pay CST as sale wasn't a high seas sale since bill of entry included his name instea

CST & VAT: CST - Where assessee filed his central sales tax returns before Commercial Tax Officer of circle and thereupon said officer passed assessment orders and assessee filed writ contending that assessment orders were without jurisdiction in absence of any authorisation from Deputy Commissioner authorising said officer to take up assessment under Central Act, above officer was empowered to assess assessee under Central Act

ITAT unhappy with casual attitude of CIT in making revision on grounds not mentioned in show cause n

IT : Where show cause notice to assessee issued by CIT u/s 263 set out grounds for revision as 'inadmissible deductions', revision order cannot be made by CIT on the grounds of 'lack of proper inquiries' by AO. A revision order can only be, made on the ground on which assessee has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. It is not open to the CIT to set out one reason for revising the order in show cause notice but actually revise the order on some other ground

Not-ordinarily Resident is liable to pay tax on 'ESOPs' which are attributable to services rendered

IT/ILT : Where assessee, having residential status of 'resident but not ordinarily a resident' received certain amount as Stock Option Transfer Proceeds (SOTP) from its employer company namely 'Microsoft' for rendering services partly in India and partly in USA, only that portion of SOTP was taxable in India which was attributable to services rendered in India

HC allowed deduction of sales tax even when net profit was estimated after rejection of accounts

IT : Even in case of rejection of accounts and estimate of net profit, deduction towards sales tax payment could be allowed

Renting of a building for a hotel isn't liable to service tax

Service Tax : Renting of buildings used for purpose of accommodation including hotels, meaning thereby, renting of a building for a hotel, is not liable to service tax under 'Renting of Immovable Property Services'

Issue whether Tribunal can examine merits of review order permitting file of appeal is referred to l

Service Tax : Issues : (a) whether Tribunal can examine application of mind on merits by Committee; (b) if yes, decision of Committee would be void, if they have appended signatures to notes and objections prepared by subordinate officers, referred to larger bench of Delhi High Court

Capital gain was leviable on distribution of asset on dissolution of firm even if asset wasn't in na

IT: Transfer of legal title in name of assessee-firm is not essential to hold that assessee-firm is owner of those assets if such assets are transferred by a partner of firm

CBEC to curb practice of its officers of issuing Excise/ST summons in casual manner

ST LAWS/EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Section 14 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 - Power to Summon Persons to Give Evidence and Produce Documents in Inquiries under This Act - Instructions for Issue of Summons in Central Excise and Service Tax Matters

CBEC to curb practice of its officers of issuing Excise/ST summons in usual manner

ST LAWS/EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Section 14 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 - Power to Summon Persons to Give Evidence and Produce Documents in Inquiries under This Act - Instructions for Issue of Summons in Central Excise and Service Tax Matters

No dependent agency PE under India-France DTAA when transactions between agent and principal were ma

IT/ILT : If it is not shown that transactions between agent and principal were not made under arm's length conditions, he will not be considered as agent of French principal within meaning of Para 6 of Article 5 of DTAA between Indian and France

Commissioner (A) rightly granted interim stay after viewing factual position and having detailed dis

CST & VAT : Kerala VAT - Where Assessing Authority raised huge tax demand upon assessee and First Appellate Authority after considering factual position and detailed discussion granted interim stay subject to satisfaction of 30 per cent of disputed liability, impugned order did not call for interference

Unabsorbed losses or depreciation spread over block period couldn't be adjusted against undisclosed

IT : Unabsorbed loss or carried forward depreciation spilled over block period shall not be adjusted against undisclosed income

HC upheld penalty on firm for receiving cash loan exceeding Rs. 20,000 in guise of capital contribut

IT : Where cash received in excess of Rs. 20,000 was loans and not capital contribution by partners, penalty to be levied

Cement used as construction material for roof of mining area isn't 'input'; ineligible for credit

Cenvat Credit : Cement used as construction material to provide safety to roof of mining area cannot be regarded as 'input' and is not eligible for Cenvat Credit

Tribunal can't comment upon validity of provisions of Act/Rules

Excise & Customs : Tribunal, being a creature of statute, cannot go into vires of provisions of Central Excise Rules, 2002

No denial of trust registration to single entity even if its name indicated existence of cluster of

IT: Where assessee had complied with all conditions necessary for grant of registration under section 12AA and since assessee was only a single entity but consisted of different colleges/institutions, operating under such single entity, assessee company was to be granted registration under section 12AA

Disclosure of inflated stock for getting higher CC limit from bank leads to sec. 69C addition as une

IT : Difference of closing stock appearing in books and higher amount of closing stock provided to bank in order to release of payment by bank from cash credit account, was to be added in income

HC sets aside penalty on director as he wasn't in-charge of Co. at time of commission of offence

FEMA : Order imposing penalty upon appellant-director for contravention of section 8 of FERA was set aside when appellant was not a director incharge of company at relevant time when offence was committed

ITAT sets aside TP addition as comparable chosen by TPO didn't satisfy ratio of 25% of employee cost

IT/ILT :Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP in respect of software development services, since four comparables selected by TPO failed filter of 25 per cent employee cost to revenues applied by TPO himself, impugned addition was to be set aside

India To Put Restrictions On Import Of Us Chicken Legs

India is set to tighten norms for imports of American chicken legs by proposing to keep out frozen chicken older than six months and those that have consumed hormones or genetically modified feed as the country prepares to contest a WTO order to lift a ban on purchases of US poultry.

The new standards, which may kick in within six months, could offer some protection to the growing domestic poultry industry from competitively priced American chicken legs.

While the Indian industry will also have to meet these food safety norms, being brought in as part of the government's quality initiative, it has an advantage since it largely consists of fresh poultry and does not rely on GM feed.

The World Trade Organization asked India in October to lift a ban on American chicken, imposed on account of avian influenza in 2007, calling it 'unscientific' and non-compliant with the global trade body's rules.

India will challenge the WTO order in the appellate body in a couple of days, citing domestic food safety concerns.

The new import norms are being prepared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in consultation with the department of commerce and the department of animal husbandry, dairying & fisheries.

"We are working out standards for poultry and are discussing banning the sale of chicken older than six months. Also, poultry must not be fed with genetically modified feed, growth hormones and antibiotics," a government official said. US frozen chicken legs are stored for about four to five years and its poultry consume growth hormones and GM feed, a significant concern in India.

FSSAI has put out a draft order for meat and poultry products, inviting public comments. It has proposed that poultry birds should not be given feed containing meat, bone and blood. Besides, the use of antibiotics in feed and growth hormones will not be allowed.

It also said that slaughtering or processing of bovine meat will be prohibited where poultry meat is produced for human consumption. "The order will come into effect from July 2015," FSSAI said in the draft order.

US consumers prefer chicken breasts and the less-favoured legs are frozen for export to other markets at highly competitive prices. Chicken legs, which are popular in India, are priced locally at about Rs 150-170 per kg, while the US sells them at Rs 40-50 per kg.

The FSSAI will work with the department of animal husbandry to modify health certificates for meat and poultry sold to India.

"It will require competent authority of the exporting country to provide certifications to India in compliance with requirements to allow for placing of meat and poultry in Indian market," it said in the draft order.

More than 20 countries, including members of the EU, South Korea and South Africa, have imposed curbs on poultry from certain US states or the entire country. China halted imports of US poultry and eggs after an avian flu strain was detected in the Pacific Northwest. The EU banned US chicken on account of chlorine treatment.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

India’S Cut And Polished Diamond Exports Drop Marginally In December

In December 2014, India’s performance in exports of its cut and polished diamonds recorded a minor dip of 0.03 percent to US$ 1.451.75 million (US$ 1,452.20 million in December 2013). In volume terms the said exports were at 1.98 million carats from 2.04 million carats in December 2013, reports say.

Gold jewellery exports dropped 0.55 percent in December 2014.Rough diamond imports declined 13.4 percent, to US$ 1,431.18 million, from US$ 1,652.53 million. The volume of rough diamond imports dropped from 17.19 million in December 2013, to 14.06 million in December 2014.

India’s gross exports of all gem and jewellery products indicated a small 1.65 percent increase over December 2013, reports say.

Source:- diamondworld.net

Exercise Caution In Summoning Ceos Cbec To Excise Officials

CBEC has asked excise and service tax officials to exercise caution while summoning CEOs and top functionaries of large firms or PSUs for probing any revenue cases.

Summons should be used “as a last resort when it is absolutely required,” said a communication by Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to tax officials.

The circular has been issued to discourage the practice of issuing summons to top officials of companies in a “routine manner” to call for material evidence and documents.

"Senior management officials such as CEO, CFO, General Managers of a large company or a PSU should not generally be issued summons at the first instance.

“They should be summoned only when there are indications in the investigations of their involvement in the decision making process which led to loss of revenue,” it said.

Power of issue of summons are generally exercised by officials of ranks of Superintendent, though higher officers also issue summons.

“Summons by Superintendents should be issued after obtaining prior written permission from an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner with the reasons for issuance of summons to be recorded in writing,” the circular added.

Earlier, the Ministry had asked Income Tax officials to be polite to assessees and not to make them wait unnecessarily in tax offices.

The Income Tax department had recently asked for holding of public meetings every Wednesday to resolve taxpayers grievances and tax issues as part of the ‘Good Governance’ initiative mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Source:- tkbsen.in

Rupee Strengthens For Sixth Day, Trades At 61.59 Per Dollar

Rising for the sixth consecutive session, the Indian rupee on Thursday strengthened marginally against the dollar, tracking the gains in the local equity markets.

At 9.12am, the rupee was trading at 61.59 per dollar, up 0.08%. The local currency opened at 61.61 per dollar compared with its previous close of 61.64.India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 28,951.08 points, up 0.22%.

Most of the Asian currencies were trading mixed against the dollar. The Taiwan dollar was up 0.25%, Malaysian ringgit 0.1%, Indonesian rupiah 0.05%. However, South Korean won was down 0.25%, Japanese yen 0.23%, Thai baht 0.1%.

Indian stock markets also touched all-time highs on Thursday, reinforcing expectations of further foreign fund inflows. Since 14 January, the Sensex has gained 5.6%, or 1,542 points. FIIs have bought equities worth $837.07 million during the same period.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.699% compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.691%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has strengthen 2.36% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $436.7 million during the period from local equity markets and bought $2.21 billion from debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 92.881, down 0.03% from its previous close of 92.904.Dealers also awaited European Central Bank (ECB) meeting. There are expectations that ECB will buy at least €600 billion of government bonds, and possibly double that if the programme continues for two years.

Source:- livemint.com

Providing men and material for laying concrete mixture is to be treated as works contract and not as

CST & VAT: Puducherry VAT - Providing men and materials to lay concrete mixture on area specified by purchaser and taking responsibilty for quality of concrete and also liability in case of leakage was to be treated as works contract and not sale

Mere cash deposit of above 10 lakhs in bank account doesn’t indicate that income has escaped assessm

IT: The assessee had deposited cash in excess of Rs 10 lakhs in his saving bank account but he had not filed return of income. The AO reopened the assessment of assessee, as he had reason to believe that there was an escapement of income of Rs 10 lakhs. The Tribunal held that the AO proceeded on the fallacious assumption that bank deposits constituted undisclosed income and overlooked fact that the source of deposit need not necessarily be income of the assessee

CBDT releases Explanatory Notes to the provisions of Finance (No. 2) Act, 2014

IT/ILT : Finance (No.2) Act, 2014 - Explanatory Notes to the Provisions of Said Act

Govt. revises jurisdiction of Service Tax Commissionerates

ST LAWS/EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Section 2(b) of the Central Excise Act, 1944, Read with Section 65B(55) of the Finance Act, 1994 - Central Excise Officer - Appointment of Chief Commissioners of Service Tax, Principal Commissioners of Service Tax, Commissioners of Service Tax, Commissioners of Service Tax (Audit), Commissioners of Central Excise (Audit), Commissioners Large Taxpayers Unit, Commissioners of Large Taxpayer Unit (Audit), Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) and Commissioners of

Exempted goods aren't 'specified goods'; intermediate goods used therein to be included for SSI-exem

Central Excise : Goods exempt under other notifications cannot be considered as 'specified goods' under Notification No. 8/99-CE; hence, intermediate goods used therein cannot be considered as 'used in manufacturing specified goods' and are, therefore, includible in computing SSI-exemption limit

HC denies to interfere with ITAT's order reducing sec. 40A(2) disallowance as it was based on factua

IT: Where restrictions of disallowances of commission expenses were absolutely on appreciation of evidence and based on factual aspects, no question of law would arise for consideration

Any person travelling to Nepal/Bhutan can carry Indian currency in denomination of Rs 500/1000 up to

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Export and Import of Currency) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulation 8

Longer credit period allowed to AE on realization of sale proceeds is an international transaction u

IT/ILT : Longer credit period to AE is 'international transaction' in terms of Explanation to section 92(1) but is 'closely linked' to international transaction of sale or service to AE in terms of Rule 10A(d). This is not a transaction of loan or advance to the AE but it is only an excess period allowed for realization of sales proceeds from the AE. Therefore, the arm's length interest rate would be the average cost of the total fund available to the assessee and not the rate at which a loan is

Govt. revises jurisdiction of Excise Commissionerates

EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Jurisdiction of Principal Chief Commissioners of Central Excise, Chief Commissioners of Central Excise, Principal Commissioners of Central Excise, Commissioners of Central Excise, Commissioners of Central Excise (Appeals) or Commissioners of Central Excise (Audit) - Amendment in Notification No. 27/2014-C.E. (N.T.), Dated 16-9-2014

Any person travelling to Nepal/Bhutan can carry Indian currency in denomination Rs 500/1000 up to Rs

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Export and Import of Currency) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulation 8

Govt. notifies 9.1% interest rate for investment in 'Sukanya Samridhi Account' during 2014-15

IT : Sukanya Samridhhi Account Rules, 2014 - Rate of Interest to Be Allowed on Investments in Said Scheme during Financial Year 2014-15

Exempted goods are not 'specified goods'; intermediate goods used therein are to be included in comp

Central Excise : Goods exempt under other notifications cannot be considered as 'specified goods' under Notification No. 8/99-CE; hence, intermediate goods used therein cannot be considered as 'used in manufacturing specified goods' and are, therefore, includible in computing SSI-exemption limit

TNMM at entity level is most appropriate to determine ALP when all international transactions are wi

IT/ILT : Where assessee received from non-resident AE assured pre-defined margin on costs incurred, ALP of Individual transactions was irrelevant; TNMM at entity level was most appropriate for evaluating International transactions

Redemption fine paid to custom authorities due to defect in REP license couldn't be termed as penalt

IT : Where assessee purchased goods from a party on high-sea basis and it had to pay customs penalty for defect in relevant REP licence issued in favour of that party, such payment was allowable as business expenditure

HC directs assessee to deposit security to release goods which were seized due to inadequate docs

CST & VAT : U.P. VAT Act - Where assessee, a registered dealer, was carrying oil from one place to another place within State of U.P. and mobile squad seized same on plea that it was not accompanied by adequate documents, in view of circular dated 9-7-2014, assessee was required to deposit security amount equivalent to 15 per cent of value of oil for release of same

No cancellation of VAT registration due to non-storage of goods at place of registration

CST & VAT: Uttarakhand VAT : Where Assessing Officer cancelled registration certificate of assessee on grounds that goods were not stored at address given in registration certificate and it was reported by unidentified persons that business premises of assessee remained closed, cancellation of registration was not justified

SLP dismissed against HC's order that sum received prior to 1-4-2003 for non-compete fee was capital

IT: Prior to insertion of clause (va) of section 28, compensation amount received towards loss of source of income and non-competition fee could only be treated as capital receipt and was not liable to tax

Activities carried out by Trust for providing employment to rural poor couldn't be held as commercia

IT : Activities carried out by Trust for providing employment to rural poor couldn't be held as commercial activities

HC lashes out on revenue for adjusting refund against outstanding demand without hearing assessee

IT: Where on same date intimation under section 245 was issued and adjustment of refund against outstanding demand was made without giving assessee opportunity of hearing, adjustment order was to be set aside

Exp. on purchase of application software entailing up-gradation of existing system would be revenue

IT : Expenditure incurred for purchasing application software for upgradation of existing computers would be a revenue expenditure

No rectification to tax interest on refund if its taxability under DTAA as interest or as other inco

IT/ILT : Question as to whether interest on refund received by assessee, a USA based company, was taxable under article 11 or article 23 of India-USA DTAA being a debatable one, was beyond scope of proceedings under section 154

Letter declaring petitioner as highest bidder in auction sale wasn't a confirmation letter of bid, s

SARFAESI: Letter informing petitioner fact that it was highest bidder in auction sale of mortgaged property was not a letter of confirmation and acceptance of bid, concluding and creating a binding contract

Renting service was liable to ST even if lease agreement was made prior to introduction of ST on suc

Service Tax : 'Daily Market' charges and 'Shop Rent' collected by municipalities are liable to service tax under 'renting of immovable property services', even if lease agreement were entered into prior to introduction of service tax itself on said services

Indian Mango Exporters Tighten Pest Controls

India has been given the all clear to resume exports of mangoes to the European Union.Shipments were suspended six months ago after some consignments were found to be infested with fruit flies.

But Indian mango exporters have been fighting the ban, arguing that additional pest-control procedures have been put in place.Sameer Hashmi reports from the Ratnagiri region of Maharashtra, in western India.

Source:- bbc.co.uk

Department couldn't demand service tax if it was paid under wrong category

Service Tax : Where service tax has been paid on a service under 'Business Auxiliary Services', department cannot demand service tax on same service classifying same under 'Business Auxiliary Services'

Letter declaring petitioner as highest bidden in auction sale wasn't a confirmation letter of bid, s

SARFAESI: Letter informing petitioner fact that it was highest bidder in auction sale of mortgaged property was not a letter of confirmation and acceptance of bid, concluding and creating a binding contract

Rectification application rightly rejected as applicant didn't attend proceedings even after adjourn

IT : Where assessee filed rectification application against penalty imposed under section 258BFA and sought an adjournment which was granted but on adjourned date he chose not to attend proceedings, assessee's plea of not giving a proper opportunity of hearing was not acceptable

India Govt Hikes Gold And Silver Import Tariff Value

PTI reported that the government today hiked import tariff value on gold to USD 401 per 10 grams and on silver to USD 543 per kg in line with global price trends.

The tariff value on imported gold was at USD 392 per 10 grams and for silver it was at USD 519 per kg in the first fortnight of this month.

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

An official statement said that the increase in tariff value on imported gold and silver has been notified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs.

Globally, gold and silver prices continue to be volatile. In New York, gold prices ruling firm at USD 1261 an ounce and silver at around USD 16 per ounce.

Last month, India, the world's largest consumer of gold, imported gold worth USD 1.34 billion, less than one-fourth of USD 5.61 billion in the previous month, notwithstanding the easing of import curbs for the precious metal.

However, gold imports were still higher on a YoY basis by 7.4% from USD 1.25 billion in December 2013.

A recent report commissioned by Wold Gold Council has suggested that India should move beyond import curbs and should come up with a national gold policy to put an estimated 22,000 tonne of idle gold assets into active use.

The report also recommended launch of several investment products, establishment of a Gold Board for managing import-export, develop accredited refineries, drive gold monetisation by incentivising banks and introduce compulsory quality certification of gold.

Source:metal.steelguru.com

Rupee Closes At 61.69 Per Dollar, Up 0.04%

The Indian rupee closed at 61.69 per dollar, up 0.04% from its previous close of 61.71. The partially convertible currency opened at 61.79 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 61.6813 and 61.9063, respectively. Since January this year, the rupee has gained 2.2%.

On Tuesday, Taiwan dollar lost 0.388%, Hong Kong dollar lost 0.013%, Indonesian rupiah gained 0.334%, the Philippine peso fell 0.123%, Malaysian ringgit lost 0.998% and South Korean won shed 0.948%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 92.823, up 0.33% from the previous close of 92.52.

India’s 10-year benchmark bond yield rose to 7.725% from the previous close of 7.724%. It opened at 7.724% and touched a high and a low of 7.733% and 7.715%, respectively.

Source:livemint.com

8,000 Trucks Queue Up Outside Jnpt Terminals

Around 3,000 trucks are stuck at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India's biggest port, following Sunday's violence in which over 28 truck drivers assaulted policemen and torched the vehicles. On Monday, Navi Mumbai police's top officials met the terminal management and agitators to keep things under control.

Though port officials claimed that the high congestion was a result of industrial unrest and violence on Sunday, insiders say long queues of trucks is a daily affair.

The quantum of business loss due to congestion and delays can be ascertained only after knowing the type of cargo in each truck, experts said. But it is expected to run into hundreds of crores of rupees. Congestion is also also leading to business moving to countries like Singapore, Dubai and neighbouring China and Sri Lanka.

JNPT has three terminal operators – Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT), Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT) and Government Terminals India (GTI).

Days before the Sunday's violence at GTI, in which dozens of truck drivers assaulted the police and torched several of their vehicles, the shipping ministry had asked NSICT to make the clearing process online. dna, in its January 7 edition, had reported how thousands of cargo container trucks have been queuing up for over 15 km to get inside NSICT.

The ministry asked NSICT to do away the process of filling Form 13 manually, which is very time-consuming. It set a deadline of February 15. An NSCIT spokesperson did not comment on the ministry directive. Consequently, export goods are moving at a snail's pace, taking over 60 hours to cover one round-trip. An NSCIT executive claimed that there has never been a 15-km long queue and it is about 2.5 km long on an average.

"Due to the snail's pace at which traffic moves, on an average, it takes three days to clear one truck. Due to industrial unrest at GTI and the slow down following Sunday's violence, the number of trucks have gone up to around 3,000. "The unrest from this congestion was bound to spill out into violence, sooner than later," said a leading cargo exporter operating from the port.

Source:- dnaindia.com

CBDT requires business trusts to e-file details of income distributed to unit holders by Nov 30 in f

IT : Income-Tax (First Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Insertion of Rule 12CA and Forms No. 64A and 64B

Trust entitled to exemption even if it charged fee for commercial activity, being incidental to its

IT: Fee charged by trust for processing subsidy applications could not be deemed as commercial receipts if it was incidental to its charitable objectives. Thus, assessee-trust was entitled to exemption under Section 10(23C)(iv).

ITAT set aside order of CIT(A) as he adjudicated appeal in favour of assessee without hearing to AO

IT : Order passed by Commissioner (Appeals) adjudicating appeal in assessee's favour without giving opportunity of being heard to Assessing Officer was contrary to principles of natural justice and provisions of section 250(2)(b)

Now foreign director can authorize practicing CA, CS and CWA to intimate his resignation to ROC

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Appointment And Qualification Of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2015 - Amendment In Rule 16

MCA encourages CSR spending; broadens list of entities through which Cos can undertake CSR activitie

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Amendment Rules, 2015 - Amendment in Rule 4

Indian Rupee Opens Lower At 61.82 Per Dollar

he Indian rupee opened lower by 11 paise at 61.82 per dollar on Tuesday against previous day's closing value of 61.71 a dollar.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The earlier than expected rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week has spurred the Indian markets; with currency, equity and bond markets rallying. The USD / INR currency pair is back in 61-62 range with appreciating bias."

The euro struggles around 11-year lows as investors braced for a crucial meeting later in the week which could see the European Central Bank take its boldest steps to revive the euro zone's economy.

Source:moneycontrol.com

ITAT set aside order of CIT(A) as he adjudicated appeal in favour of assessee without giving opportu

IT : Order passed by Commissioner (Appeals) adjudicating appeal in assessee's favour without giving opportunity of being heard to Assessing Officer was contrary to principles of natural justice and provisions of section 250(2)(b)

Sum paid by newspaper publisher to foreign Co. for installation of mail room equipment wasn't 'FTS'

IT/ILT: Payment for installation/commissioning of complex 'mail room equipment' of newspaper publisher would not be FTS; however, consideration paid for training of employees would be taxable in India as FTS

NBFCs can structure project loans financed to infra and core industries on lines of norms specified

NBFCs : Flexible Structuring Of Long Term Project Loans To Infrastructure And Core Industries

RBI cracks the whip on banks charging high interest rates from old borrowers; unveils new norms for

BANKING : Interest Rates on Advances

Trust entitled to exemption even if it charged fee for commercial activity, being incidental to its

IT: Fee charged by trust for processing subsidy applications could not be deemed as commercial receipts if it was incidental to its charitable objectives. Thus, assessee-trust was entitled to exemption under Section 10(23C)(iv).

CLB couldn't dismiss sale transaction of liquidating-Co's asset if sale was made prior to filing of

CL : Where agreements to sell in respect of plots of company-in-liquidation were executed prior to filing of winding up petition, order of company Judge dismissing application of appellant under section 536 praying for acceptance of sale of those plots to them was to be quashed

HC orders pre-deposit of lesser amount considering stringent financial condition of assessee

CST & VAT: Haryana VAT : Where First Appellate Authority dismissed appeal of assessee on account of non payment of amount of pre deposit, considering stringent financial condition of assessee, it was directed to deposit a certain amount as condition precedent for hearing of appeal before First Appellate Authority

Incidental charges incurred by 'FCI' for procurement of food grains would be includible in its taxab

CST & VAT : Haryana VAT - Incidental charges incurred by FCI for procurement of foodgrains for central pool are includible in taxable turnover

No reassessment to disallow GDR issue exp. under sec. 35D if allowed by AO after proper enquiry; SLP

IT: Where assessee-company had already been allowed deduction in respect of amortization of GDR issue expenses under section 35D for several years and that too after scrutiny assessment, same could not be disallowed in current year by re-assessment

Profit from infrequent share transactions was capital gains if investment was made for capital appre

IT: Where investment in shares was made with an objective of capital appreciation, there were infrequent-handful of transactions and dividend was also earned, profit from sale/purchase of shares was to be treated as capital gain

Tribunal had to demand cash security both under UP VAT Act and as well as Entry Tax Act to release s

CST & VAT : U.P. VAT - For releasing seized goods, apart from demanding cash security under U.P. VAT Act, security was also to be demanded under Entry Tax Act

Conduct of Western Coalfield was abusive as it imposed unfair conditions in fuel supply agreements w

Competition Law : Where Western Coalfields Ltd. and its subsidiaries had imposed unfair conditions in Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) with power producers for supply of non-coking coal, they were guilty of contravention of provisions of section 4(2)(a)(i)& (ii)

State/Metropolitan Roadways cannot be regarded as 'rent-a-cab' scheme operator

Service Tax : State/Metropolitan Roadways are not 'person engaged in business of renting of cabs', as business undertaken by it is to provide bus/transport facility to citizens of city/State and not a rent-a-cab scheme operation; hence, it is not liable to service tax even if buses are rented out to private parties on per Km. basis

Sum received on transfer of right to use technical know-how of drug was business receipts and not ca

IT/ILT : Where assessee, engaged in business of manufacture of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), formed a joint venture company with a South African company, in terms of which assessee sold its technical know how relating to four Anti Petro Viral (ARV) products to joint venture company, in view of fact that assessee merely imparted its special knowledge and experience in field of manufacturing, marketing, selling and distribution of ARVs whereas property in knowhow remained with assessee

Exemption granted to promote border trade couldn't misused to make duty free imports for other parts

Excise & Customs : Where exemption was granted to 'border trade' viz. 'exchange of commodities' (barter) by residents along with border of Tibet, said exemption could not be misused to make bulk-imports duty-free for other parts of India

AO couldn't re-compute book profits by disallowing depreciation claim when books were certified by a

IT : Where assessee-company failed to produce any material on record that interest income earned by it on FDRs was by way of temporary deposit of surplus money or it was in nature of advances received by it from intended purchasers, said income could not to be treated as business income

Sum paid for acquiring satellite rights of a film is excluded from definition of 'royalty'

IT : Sum paid for acquiring satellite rights of a film is excluded from definition of 'royalty'

Steel Min Seeks Revision Of Import Duty On Steel Products

The Steel Ministry has written to the Finance Ministry seeking an immediate revision of import duty on steel products.

According to sources, the steel ministry has sought a revision of import duty on long products and HR coils saying it is necessary to raise import duty rates to safeguard TMT/rebar industry.

The ministry wants import duty on non-alloy long products to be raised to 10 percent; HR/CR coil duty to be raised to 10 percent from current 7.5 percent and duty on stainless steel products to be hiked to 10 percent.

The ministry has said that excess steel capacity in China & other countries is leading to dumping in India. Furthermore, the rouble- Russia’s currency depreciation has also caused dumping in India.

The steel ministry has urged the Finance Ministry to revise the duties without waiting for the Budget announcement as there is a dire need to restrain the surge of imports in India.

Source:- moneycontrol.com