Value of set-top boxes provided for DTH services would be chargeable to VAT

CST & VAT : Tripura VAT - Where assessee entered into a contract with its customer to provide direct-to-home service to him, whereby customer by using set top box provided by assessee was able to decode signals and watch programme on his television set, transaction entered into by assessee amounted to transfer of right to use goods, i.e., set top box

Info under RTI Act revealing failure of AO in recording satisfaction note leads to quashing of searc

IT : Where Assessing Officer of searched person had not recorded requisite satisfaction in respect of assessee, impugned assessment proceedings under section 153C against assessee were to be quashed

In an oppression plea, not only co. whose affairs are gone into but anyone can be impleaded as respo

CL : In a petition under sections 397-398 not only company whose affairs are gone into but anyone can be impleaded as respondent

Sum paid by Hospital for administration of drug store would attract sec. 194C TDS and not sec. 194H

IT : Where assessee-hospital engaged two ladies to facilitate and manage its drug store, drug handling charges paid to said ladies would be liable to deduction of tax at source under section 194C and not under section 194H

Cement bags are taxable separately as it is established that sale of cement and bags are separate tr

CST & VAT: Andhra Pradesh VAT - Where assessee was engaged in business of manufacture and sale of cement and it had established that sale of cement and HDPE bags in which cement was packed was distinct and separate sale and there was a contract for such separate sale of cement and bags, sale of HDPE bags should be subjected to tax at rate applicable to it

Sum paid by Hospital for administration/management of drug store would attract sec. 194C TDS and not

IT : Where assessee-hospital engaged two ladies to facilitate and manage its drug store, drug handling charges paid to said ladies would be liable to deduction of tax at source under section 194C and not under section 194H

Govt. integrates 14 services with eBiz portal including services of issue of PAN/TAN and Co. incorpo

CL : Ease of doing business in India – Introduction of e-biz platform

IRDA notifies norms to calculate obligation of insurer on Third Party Insurance of motor vehicles

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDAI (Obligation of Insurer in Respect of Motor Third Party Insurance Business) Regulations, 2015

Assessee has no right over sale proceeds of confiscated goods as property in goods vests in the Gove

Excise & Customs : Where assessee did not opt for redemption of confiscated goods, property in confiscated goods stood vested with Government; hence, assessee had no right to claim refund of sale proceeds

Addition for undisclosed investment couldn't be made solely on basis of DVO's report

IT : No addition can be made with respect to difference between cost of construction determined by DVO and as shown by assessee solely on basis of DVO's report

Govt. unveils second set of procedures for NGOs to claim Sec. 11 benefit on money send to earthquake

IT : Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Making Application for Claim of Tax Exemption U/s 11(1)(C) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 in Respect of Remittance of Money/relief Article by Indian Ngos/charitable Organisations for Earthquake Hit People in Nepal

Commissioning and installation of equipment is closely linked with manufacturing to be aggregated to

IT/ILT : Where activity of commissioning and installation of equipment arose out of manufacturing activity, both activities being 'closely linked' deserved to be aggregated and construed as a single transaction for purpose of determining ALP

Examination of AMP functions and probable comparables is essential to determine ALP of international

IT/ILT: Examination of AMP functions carried out by assessee and probable comparables is sine qua non in process of determination of ALP of international transaction, thus, where no details of AMP functions performed by assessee was available on record, matter required readjudication

Govt. announces guidelines for permitting use of 'Make in India' logo

CL : Guidelines for Permitting Use of 'make in India' Logo

India Onion Exports Fall

Onions from India have gained fame worldwide for their pungency and good quality. In the last five years, however, erratic weather and shifting policies on export have left the country behind others.

Countries such as China and Pakistan are fast catching up with India in quality and increase in cultivation. India ranked second among the top 10 onion exporting countries for several years. According to officials from APMC, Nashik, India now ranks fourth in onion export in the world.

Earlier China ranked first followed by India. Now China ranks first and countries such as the Netherlands, Mexico, Spain and Pakistan have joined the race.

In the last five years, onion exports from the country has taken a downward turn. In 2014-15, only 10.86 lakh tonne of onions have been exported. The decline has been as much as 20% compared to the previous year.

Source:rwfreight.co.uk

Sugar Exports From India Surge As Mills Rush To Pay Growers

Sugar exports from India will climb more than forecast previously as mills accelerate sales to clear $2.8 billion debt to cane growers.

Shipments will surpass 1 million metric tonnes in the 12 months through September, said Yatin Wadhwana, managing director of Sucden India Pvt. Mills may export about 400,000 tonnes of mainly white sugar between now and September, he said. Wadhwana’s forecast for full-year sales compares with 800,000 tonnes predicted by the Indian Sugar Mills Association last month.

Inventories in India are poised to jump to a seven-year high after production outpaced demand for a fifth year and a slump in global prices slowed exports. With another bumper crop in the making and government threatening action against producers for not paying farmers, mills are selling below production cost to clear dues to growers. That may weigh on futures in New York which slumped to a six-year low this week.

“Mills are forced to sell at a loss because of government’s pressure to pay farmers on time,” Sanjeev Babar, managing director of Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation, said by phone from Mumbai on 20 July. “We don’t have enough money to run the mills.”

Factories owed farmers about Rs.18,100 crore ($2.8 billion) as of 15 June, according to the mills association. Under the law, factories are required to pay farmers within 14 days of supplying cane, Babar said. Failure to pay up on time would entitle growers to 12% interest on dues and the government can seize sugar stockpiles and auction them to pay the farmers, he said.

Prices on the ICE Futures US fell to as low as 11.35 cents a pound on Monday, the lowest level since January 2009. The contract for October delivery closed at 11.42 cents in New York on Tuesday while prices in Mumbai ended at Rs.2,184 per 100 kilograms (220 pounds).

Mills in Maharashtra state, the nation’s biggest producer, sold about 300,000 tonnes of white sugar in the past two weeks to mobilize money to pay farmers, Babar said. Mills there owed farmers Rs.3,300 crore as of 15 June, he said.

“Mills were helpless due to the sword hanging on them in the form of cane payments,” said Kamal Jain, managing director of brokerage Kamal Jain Trading Services Pvt.

Factories sold sugar at prices between Rs.19 a kilogram to Rs.19.50 a kilogram, the lowest since May 2007, when the rate was Rs.10.68 a kilogram, Babar said. The production cost is as high as Rs.34 a kilogram, he said.

The slump in prices forced the government to subsidize exports and waive interest on bank loans to processors. Stockpiles of 10.2 million tonnes at the start of new crop season from 1 October, the highest since 2008-09, will add to supplies of about 27.25 million tonnes in 2015-2016 estimated in a Bloomberg survey last month.

Source:livemint.com

Texprocil Hails Govt Steps To Boost Cotton Fabrics Export

The Cotton Textiles Exports Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) has welcomed the inclusion of exports of cotton fabrics - both woven and knitted - to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), according to a press statement by the trade body.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) had announced a new list of textile items eligible for export sops last week.

MEIS was introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 announced recently. The scheme allows duty credit scrips at the prescribed rates of 2 per cent, 3 per cent and 5 per cent on exports of products to notified countries classified under Group A, B and C.

"This is a very positive step taken by the government as it will increase exports to these two countries. India can play a big role by supplying fabrics to Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan garment manufacturers as India is stronger in fabrics and the two countries are stronger in garment manufacturing," Texprocil chairman R K Dalmia said in a statement in Mumbai.

However, knitted fabrics with H S (Harmonised System) Code 6006, which covers most of the knitted fabrics, including those with lycra, were left out in the list of items covered for export benefit.

Knitted fabrics with lycra are value added products, that are being widely used in garments. Texprocil has demanded that the entire range of fabrics should be covered under the benefit to avoid unintended exclusions.

The MEIS has also not included exports of value-added and labour-intensive products like cotton dyed and printed fabrics and made-ups to different African countries like Mauritania, Mali, Dar Es Salaam, among others, Dalmia said.

He urged the government to include exports of knitted fabrics covered under HS code 6006 to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and exports of value-added products like cotton dyed and printed fabrics and made-ups to African countries under the MEIS.

These measures will give the much-needed impetus to exports at at a time when exporters are facing adverse conditions in major markets, he said.

Source:fibre2fashion.com

ITAT couldn't set aside revisional order of CIT by re-appreciating his satisfaction recorded under s

IT : Once Commissioner has got power to point out errors which have effect on revenue, Tribunal cannot sit as an appellate authority on said order of Commissioner passed under section 263

Indian Aluminium Producers Push To Double Duties On Growing Imports

Aluminium producers in India are lobbying the government to double the import duty on aluminium metal as they compete with the growing influx of material from China.

A delegate of the Aluminium Association of India met the government recently to flag the issue of rising aluminium metal imports to the country and suggested a hike in import duty on these materials. The increase in aluminium exports from China has been one of the key themes in the aluminium market over the past year.

As a means to check the growing imports, the industry body has asked the government lift the import duty on aluminium metal to 10% from 5% now, a producer source said. A member of the Aluminium Association of India confirmed that a presentation was made to the government, adding that the government has not agreed on any measures yet.

Source:metalbulletin.com

Leasing of factory with machinery amounts to 'renting of immovable property' and not 'business Suppo

Service Tax : Leasing of entire factory with plant and machinery, would amount to 'renting of immovable property services' and not infrastructural support (Business Support Services)

Rupee Opens Lower At 63.58 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee opened with a marginal loss of 7 paise at 63.58 per dollar on Wednesday against previous close of 63.51.

Himanshu Arora of Religare said, "The USD-INR pair is expected to trade in a rangebound fashion today with bearish bias amid weakness in dollar. Fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters is expected to support the rupee today."

"The range for the USD-INR is seen between 63.35-63.70/dollar today," he added. The euro rebounded from three-month lows against the dollar as an easing of pessimism about Greece. The yen rose versus the greenback on upbeat remarks on inflation from the Bank of Japan Chief.

Source:moneycontrol.com

Director not liable to pay tax dues of Co. if non-recovery of taxes isn't due to gross negligence of

IT : In absence of any finding that non-recovery of tax due from company could be attributed to any gross negligence, misfeasance or breach of duty on part of petitioners, no order under section 179 could be made

Garnishee notices for recovery from assessee's debtors cannot be sustained, if demand itself has bee

Service Tax : Where earlier adjudication order has been set aside and matter adjudicated afresh, garnishee notices for recovery from assessee's debtors (service recipient and bank, etc.) based upon earlier adjudication order, cannot be sustained; however, department may issue fresh notices as per law

ICSI replies to queries received on SS-1 and SS-2

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : FAQs on Secretarial Standard on Board Meetings (SS-1) and on General Meetings (SS-2)

CBEC issues instructions for conducting detailed scrutiny OF Excise returns

EXCISE : Returns - Instructions on Detailed Scrutiny of Central Excise Returns

Govt. explains reasons for amending exemption notification with non-Cenvat conditions

EXCISE : Judgement of Supreme Court in Case of Srf Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Customs, Chennai [2015] 56 Taxmann.com 407 (Sc) – Clarification Relating to Notifications No.30/2004-C.e., Dated 9-7-2004; No.1/2011-C.e., Dated 1-3-2011 and No.12/2012-C.e., Dated 17-3-2012, as Amended from Time to Time

Provisions of sec. 292BB don't cure defect of non-issuance of notice under sec. 143(2)

IT : Provisions of section 292BB do not cure virus of non-issuance of notice under section 143(2)

Inputs/capital goods with concessional rate of duty are also covered for 'exemptions with non-Cenvat

EXCISE : NOTIFICATIONS NO.37/2015-C.E., 38/2015-C.E., And NO.39/2015-C.E., ALL DATED 21-7-2015

No denial of trust's registration without parent's confirmation that assessee had collected capitati

IT : Where investments in non-specified companies constituted only 1.68 per cent of total assets of trust, it could not be considered as a corroborative factor to deny exemption under section 11

Proceedings before DRT and DRAT couldn't be sought to be suspended even if the co. had ceased to be

SICA : Where company ceased to be a sick company and no rehabilitation package was pending before BIFR, proceedings before DRT and DRAT could not be suspended under section 22

Duty wrongly shown in invoice but not collected doesn't compel exempted SSI unit to pay same to Gove

Excise & Customs : Merely because duty gets wrongly shown in computer-generated invoice of SSI-unit due to error of a clerk, it does not amount to 'collection of excise duty' by SSI-unit despite exemption and therefore, section 11D cannot be invoked to raise demand of such duty

Tax exemption claim of society was to be allowed after examining whether all its members belonged to

IT : Where assessee, a co-operative society, claimed exemption under section 10(27), since its records did not reveal as to whether all individuals admitted as nominal members belonged to schedule tribes and how much loan was granted to them, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

Indian Cos can file unaudited accounts of subsidiaries not liable for audit in foreign Country

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 136, read with section 101, of the Companies Act, 2013 – Financial Statements – Right of Members to Have Copies of – Clarification with Regard to Circulation and Filing of Financial Statement under Relevant Provisions of Companies Act, 2013

Textile Industry Wants Export Benefits On All Products

Days after the government announced a revised list of textile products eligible for benefits under Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), industry leaders said that excluding knitted fabric from the list will have adverse impact on the country’s exports.

In a fresh notification issued on July 16, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) revised the list of textile products and countries importing those products from India for giving credit benefits to exporters.

As per the revised list, textile items shipped to European countries like Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein will be eligible for duty credit scrip up to 5%. The fresh list also included exports of fabrics – both woven and knitted traded under various HS codes— to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for 2% credit benefits. The new norms came in to effect from July 14.

However, the new list does not include value-added items like knitted fabrics under MEIS scheme. Exporters say that such a move will have negative impact on their competiveness in the global market.

“We will have to rethink the entire marketing plan. The cost of Indian products will go up in the international market and competition will increase,” Pratik Singhal, proprietor of Pratik Prints— a Gujarat-based export house— told The Dollar Business.

Indian knitted fabrics, especially those made up of lycra, find many buyers in garment manufacturing hubs like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But suppliers of such raw material from China and Pakistan pose major threats to Indian exporters.

“We are already facing tough competition from countries like Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Their products are much ahead of us in terms of design. Also, exporters from these countries can offer competitive prices because they get enough support from their respective governments. We need additional support from the government to be competitive in the global market. Even the existing schemes are not adequate,” Singhal said.

RK Dalmia, Chairman of the Cotton Textiles Exports Promotion Council (Texprocil), also said that the MEIS list should cover the entire range of products including knitted fabric and other value-added items like dyed and printed fabrics and made-ups. This will encourage small entrepreneurs involved in textile industry across the country.

Source:thedollarbusiness.com

Editorial: Cbec Fixes Make-In-India

Given the surge in mobile phone shipments in India, from 183 million in 2011 to 275 million in 2014, it is not surprising that such a large number of global manufacturers are discussing assembly of mobile phones in India.

Some like Taiwanese giant Foxconn—known globally for being the assembler for iPhones and iPads—has been talking of setting up 12 factories in India by 2020 and employing up to a million workers, to offset the cost of rising wages in its home base. While it is true that there are several disadvantages to manufacturing in India, finance minister Arun Jaitley sought to address this in his latest budget by bringing in a 1% excise duty for phones assembled in India while hiking the countervailing duty (CVD) on imports to 12.5%—in other words, a 11.5% advantage for manufacturing in India versus simply importing phones.

A Supreme Court verdict, delivered after the budget in two cases involving ITC and SRF, however, put paid to this advantage. The CBEC notification after the budget offered importers two options—a 12.5% excise/CVD under the normal course and a 1% CVD/excise in case no Cenvat credit was being availed of in the process of manufacturing. The intention was to provide a duty benefit to those engaged in manufacturing but, as a result of the SRF and ITC rulings—which said importers had to be treated on a par with manufacturers who did not avail of cenvat credits—importers of mobile phones also began asking for the 1% CVD facility as FE reported last month.

This is what the CBEC has now fixed through an amendment to the original notification by clearly stating that the concessional excise advantage will only be applicable to those manufacturing in India, not those importing. The section says “ … no credit of such excise duty … has been taken by the manufacturer of such goods (and not the buyer of such goods) …”.

Even after this, however, one possible hitch still remains. And that is a CBEC order of 2002, when there was less awareness of how global supply chains work. Even when phones/tablets/computers are ‘made’ in India, it is really assembly that is being talked of since the main components such as the motherboards are still made in Taiwan—over a period of time, possibly, that too may migrate to India but for that to happen, India’s manufacturing infrastructure such as electricity supply needs to improve dramatically. But since assembling is labour intensive, this is also something India is encouraging.

The CBEC order of 2002, however, says that if mobile phone parts/components are brought in a single consignment, they would be treated as a complete handset—in assembly operations, the parts/components will be brought in the same consignment. At some point, sooner rather than later, the CBEC will need to fix this as well. More so since, apart from the target of India having to produce 500 million handsets in the country annually by 2019, it has very large imports of electronic products—by 2020, it is estimated India’s imports of such products will cross $400 billion.

Source:financialexpress.com

Fieo President Highlights Export Related Issues With Sports Goods Manufacturers

The Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (SGMEA) recently held its General Body Meeting  during which S C  Ralhan, National President, FIEO gave detailed facts and figures about the burning issues relating to the exports.
 
The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Arvind Abrol. A brief presentation was made by the experts from Foundation for MSME Clusters New Delhi on Photo/Video Documentation as Branding Tools.
 
“The members were highly benefited by his most informative speech,” the association said adding that a question answer session was followed after his speech where the members raised multiple export related issues which were duly answered and enlightened.
 
The meeting ended with vote of thanks and was attended by Arvind Abrol (Chairman of the Association), Mukul Verma, Ashwani Victor (Regional Head Northern Region FIEO), R.C. Kohli, B.K. Kohli, Anil Sharma, Tilak Khinder, Mukesh Bassan, Pran Chadha, Anuj Pasricha, Anurag Sondhi, Ajay Mahajan, Amit Mahajan, Vikas Sarangal, Kumar Wasan, Anoop Anand, Durgesh Wadhera, Anup Kharabanda, Ashish Anand, Sagnik Lahiri, Svdipta Haldar, Navdeep Kumar and Vipan Mahajan.

Source:knnindia.co.in

Vegetable Oil Imports Up 15 % In June

The country’s total vegetable oil imports increased by 15 per cent to 10.16 lakh tonnes in the June this year from 8.84 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

Palm oil, which accounts for 70 per cent of vegetable oil imports, rose by 23 per cent to 7.34 lakh tonnes in June against the year-ago period on account of lower global prices, according to Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA).

India, the world’s leading vegetable oil buyer, had purchased 5.98 lakh tonnes of palm oil in June last year. India meets 60 per cent of its annual vegetable oil demand of 17-18 million tonnes via imports.

According to SEA, imports have increased due to fall in international prices. For instance, prices of RBD palmolein have dropped by 19 per cent, crude palm oil (CPO) by 22 per cent, crude soybean oil by 17 per cent and crude sunflower oil by 2 per cent in the last one year.

Similarly, the rupee has also depreciated by 6.8 per cent in the said period, it said in a statement.

Among palm oil products, import of CPO increased by 12 per cent to 5.71 lakh tonnes in June this year from 5,12 lakh tonnes in the year-ago, while that of refined palm oil (RBD Palmolein) rose by 84 per cent to 1.47 lakh tonnes from 80,391 tonnes during the period under review.

Among soft oils, import of soyabean oil rose by 55 per cent to 1.54 lakh tonnes in June from 99,682 tonnes, sunflower oil fell by 32 per cent to 1.05 lakh tonnes from 1.55 lakh tonnes, while rapeseed oil shipments were 20,450 tonnes in the said period

India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and a small quantity of crude soft oils, including soyabean oil, from Latin America. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.

Source:hellenicshippingnews.com

Cairn India Demands A Stable And Predictable Investment Regime To Boost Confidence

Addressing the 9th annual general meeting of company shareholders here, Cairn India Chairman Navin Agarwal cited the example of the US where market pricing of oil and gas helped it move from being net importer of energy to a surplus nation now.

Cairn India, the operator of nation's biggest onland oilfield, today demanded a stable and predictable investment regime and consistency in policy to boost investor confidence.

Addressing the 9th annual general meeting of company shareholders here, Cairn India Chairman Navin Agarwal cited the example of the US where market pricing of oil and gas helped it move from being net importer of energy to a surplus nation now.

"Our nation is blessed with significant untapped oil and gas resources. However, the sector needs encouragement to maximise this potential. We need policies that are tailored to reflect and respond to India''s status of an oil and gas importer," he said.

said numerous resource rich countries offer lessons for India to translate resource wealth into broader economic development.

Citing the US example, he said its oil production growth in 2014 was highest in more than 100 years. The country is redefining the global energy landscape. Such turnaround in hydrocarbon sector offers constructive lessons for energy import dependent countries like India, Agarwal said.

"Investment climate and governance are key drivers for investments. A stable and predictable investment regime and a consistency in policy will help enhance confidence besides attracting domestic as well as foreign investments in the oil and gas sector," he said.

While crude oil produced in the country is sold at international rates, natural gas is sold at a substantial discount to market rate. In case of Cairn, crude oil from its prolific Rajasthan block is sold at a marginal discount to its nearest globally traded benchmark crude to factor in for quality.

Cairn, that has also discovered gas in Rajasthan, has been pitching for higher crude oil and gas prices.

Navin, brother of mining baron Anil Agarwal, said an oil and gas "regime that integrates these philosophies, will not only spur domestic exploration and production activities, it will significantly reduce our dependence on expensive imports."

Cairn, which in 2004 discovered Mangala oilfield in Rajasthan - the largest onland oil find in more than two decade - is majority owned by Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group.

India is over 78 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs and over 36 per cent for gas requirement. Its imports top USD 110 billion.

Navin Agarwal said given the growth projections, this demand supply gap is expected to grow. International Energy Agency''s World Energy Outlook 2014 indicates that India''s annual net fossil fuel import bill will be over USD 500 billion in 2040. "Clearly, this has serious ramifications for the Indian economy," he said.

"We look forward to an encouraging business environment and policies from a progressive government to maximise the potential of the sector, which in turn will help enhance our efforts and contribution to nation building."

Agarwal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for increasing domestic production of oil and gas to reduce import dependence to 67 per cent by 2022.

Cairn''s oil production in 2014-15 reduced the nation''s crude oil import bill by over Rs 38,500 crores (over USD 6 billion).

"After a relatively stable oil price at around USD 100 per barrel, the price came down sharply, during the period starting June 2014 and continues to remain low.

However, the company''s inherent strengths and pro-activeness helped it report a resilient performance. We reshaped our strategy which will not only help us face the present downturn, but will also enable us to emerge as a progressive, growing and even more efficient business in future," he said.

Rajasthan block, he said, has significant potential and Cairn has received regulatory approval for the development plan to enhance production at Raageshwari Deep gas field.

"Natural Gas in the Rajasthan block represents a good opportunity and we are well positioned to leverage this prospect," he said.

On the proposed merger of Cairn India with Vedanta Ltd, he said the deal will benefit the shareholders of both companies.

"This is a significant milestone in the company''s journey. Not only will this merger de-risk earnings through increased diversification from exposure to a larger commodity mix, it will also help garner benefits of increased economies of scale.

"You will get access to Vedanta's tier-one metals and mining assets, which are well-invested, low cost and have a long life," he told shareholders, who have to vote for the merger deal shortly. He said the merger offers long term sustainable value enhancement for all shareholders.

"We have an excellent suite of world-class assets and we will continue to operate our assets efficiently, execute the strong pipeline of projects and focus on growing our oil and gas portfolio," he added.

Source:dnaindia.com

Reversal of decision relied on by AO by subsequent decision of superior Court won't allow him to mak

IT: Fact that decision on a question of law on which judgment was based had been reversed or modified by subsequent decision of a superior Court, could not be a ground for exercise of power under section 154

While claiming remission of duty, assessee need not prove that insurance claim on destroyed goods do

Excise & Customs : Since insurance companies do not provide insurance against payment of taxes much less payment of Excise duty, claim of remission of duty on goods lost by fire cannot be denied on ground that assessee has not proved that 'insurance claim does not include Excise duty'

India Might Put A Stop To Wheat Imports As Global Prices Rise

India is unlikely to import more wheat in the coming weeks due to surge in global prices and concerns that the government may anytime slap 10 per cent duty on inbound shipments, traders said. Private flour millers had recently contracted 5 lakh tonnes of wheat from Australia for the first time in a decade due to sluggish supply of domestic high protein wheat and lower international prices. They had plans to contract another 5 lakh tonnes from France and Russia.

(Import Ban on Milk Items from China Extended Till June 2016) Despite surplus domestic stocks, imports were being made because of the damage to high-protein wheat crop following unseasonal rains and hailstorm early this year. "Now, global wheat prices have started rising due to El Nino concerns. There is also fear that the government could impose 10 per cent import duty on wheat. In this situation, I doubt if more imports could take place," Roller Flour Millers' Federation of India Ex-President M K Datta Raj told PTI.

India has lost the window of opportunity to purchase from the overseas market as the global price of Australian wheat has increased to over Rs 20,000 tonnes now, as against Rs.17,000-18,000 per tonnes last month, he said. Even at the current high rate, wheat imports would be expensive if the government imposes any import duty, he added. The Food Ministry has already proposed 10 per cent import duty on wheat to curb shipments and liquidate poor quality grains lying in the government godowns. A trader from Kochi said, "The existing not-so-comfortable situation is preventing flour millers and traders to contract more wheat from the other countries."

A representation has also been made to both Food and Commerce Ministries to reconsider the decision of imposing the import duty wheat, the trader said. High protein wheat is grown in states especially Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The crop quality here got damaged due to unseasonal rains. Wheat production in India, the world's second biggest grower, is estimated to have declined to 90.78 million tonnes in 2014-15, as against the record production of 95.85 million tonnes achieved during 2013-14.

Source:food.ndtv.com

Rupee Recoups Intra-Day Loses, Trades Higher Against Us Dollar At 63.58

The Indian rupee on Tuesday recouped all morning losses and was trading higher against the US dollar after international crude oil price fell for the third consecutive day.

At 3.13pm, the home currency was trading at 63.58, up 0.13% from its previous close of 63.67. The rupee opened at 63.70 a dollar and touched a low of 63.75—a level last seen on 30 June.

Brent crude was trading at $56.50 per barrel, down 0.3% from its previous close. The Sensex was trading at 28,202.17 points, down 0.77%, or 217.95 points.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.841% compared with its Monday’s close of 7.844%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Most Asian currencies were trading higher. Singapore dollar was up 0.18%, Philippine peso 0.16%, Indonesian rupiah 0.11% and Malaysian ringgit 0.1%. However, South Korean won was down 0.52% while Japanese yen and Taiwan dollar were down 0.06% each.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 0.85%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $7.18 billion from the local equity market and $6.7 billion from the bond market.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 97.905, down 0.13% from its previous close of 98.029.

Source:livemint.com

For computing ALP, transaction of allowing credit period to AE to be considered with transaction of

IT/ILT : In transfer pricing proceedings, transaction of allowing credit period to AE for realisation of sale proceeds has to be considered along with main international transaction in respect of sale to AE

Time utilized in taking Govt.'s consent for prosecution under sec. 629A wasn't excludible from limit

CL : To prosecute a person for offence punishable under section 629A of Companies Act, 1956, no consent/sanction from Central Government is required and, therefore, period for taking such consent cannot be excluded for calculating period of limitation

Loss on sale of shares of subsidiary was business loss as it was manufacturing products to be traded

IT : Where assessee-company made investment in it's 100 percent subsidiary for business purpose, loss on sale of investment was to be treated as business loss of assessee

While claiming remission of duty, assessee need not prove that insurance claim on destroyed goods do

Excise & Customs : Since insurance companies do not provide insurance against payment of taxes much less payment of Excise duty, claim of remission of duty on goods lost by fire cannot be denied on ground that assessee has not proved that 'insurance claim does not include Excise duty'

Payment made to use trademark without any right of actual ownership is allowable as revenue exp.

IT : Where assessee made payment towards right to use trademark of its parent company and at no point of time assessee became exclusive owner of trade mark, expenditure was revenue expenditure

SEBI issues prohibitory orders debarring suspended Cos. from raising further capital and transfer of

SEBI : SEBI (Prohibition on Raising Further Capital from Public and Transfer of Securities of Suspended Companies) Order, 2015

Sec. 153C doesn't require that doc found from searched person must reflect any undisclosed income of

IT : In order to invoice provisions of section 153C, there is no requirement that Assessing Officer should be satisfied that documents found on person searched must also be shown to reflect conclusively any undisclosed income of other person

CBDT allows validation of returns of A.Y. 2013-14 and 2014-15 through EVC if ITR V is not yet sent

IT/ILT : Section 119 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Income-Tax Authorities - Instructions to Subordinate Authorities – Validation of Tax Returns through Electronic Verification Code

Time-limit applicable for claiming refund of duty doesn't apply to refund of penalty/redemption fine

Excise & Customs : Customs section 27 (excise section 11B) deals with refund claim of duty/interest and not penalty/redemption fine; hence, time-limit of section 27 cannot be applied to deny refund of penalty/redemption fine

AO gets flak from ITAT for taxing full capital gains in hands of one co-owner while the other was ta

IT : Where assessee co-owner declared capital gains according to her half share of sale proceeds, but Assessing Officer sought to tax gains on total sale proceeds, he was not justified particularly when revenue authorities had accepted return of other co-owner disclosing similar income

FDI Policy prohibit non-equity investment in real estate return

FEMA : FDI Policy prohibit non-equity investment in real estate sector

TRO couldn't enhance rent of tenants after taking over possession of premises to recover tax dues fr

IT : TRO has no jurisdiction under section 226(3) to enhance rent being paid by tenant towards tax dues of landlord

Powers of Govt. to delegate its functions under Companies Act shall apply to LLP as well, says MCA

LLP/COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 67 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 – Provisions of Companies Act - Application of – Notified Section of Companies Act, 2013

Textile Industry To Get A Boost With Strong Domestic Consumption And Export Demand

Indian Textiles Industry has a major presence in the economic life of the country. Apart from providing one of the basic necessities of life, the textile industry also plays a pivotal role through its contribution to industrial output, employment generation and export earnings of the country. It contributes 14% to industrial production, 4% to India’s GDP and constitutes 13% of the country’s export earnings. The textile sector is one of the largest providers of employment alongwith agriculture. The domestic textile and apparel industry in India is estimated to reach $100 Billion by 2016-17, while Exports in textiles and apparel from India are expected to increase to $65 Billion by 2016-17.

The Indian textiles industry represents a widely diverse spectrum of activities with the hand-spun and handwoven sector at one end, and the capital intensive sophisticated mill sector at the other. The decentralized power looms, hosiery and knitting sectors form the largest section of the Textiles Industry. The close linkage of the Industry to agriculture and the ancient culture, and traditions of the country make the Indian textiles sector unique in comparison to the textiles industry of other countries. This also provides the industry with the capacity to produce a variety of products suitable to the different market segments, both within and outside the country.

Industry performance

The Indian textile industry has the potential to grow five-fold over the next ten years to touch $500 billion mark on the back of growing demand for polyester fabric. The $500 billion market figure consists of domestic sales of $315 billion and exports of $185 billion. The current industry size comprises domestic market of $68 billion and exports of $40 billion. The total fabric production in India is expected to grow to 112 Billion square metres by 2016-17, while India’s fibre production is expected to reach 10 Million Tonnes in 2016-17.

Export

India’s textiles and clothing industry is one of the mainstays of the national economy. It is also one of the largest contributing sectors of its exports worldwide. The report of the Working Group constituted by the Planning Commission on boosting India’s manufacturing exports during 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) envisages India’s exports of Textiles and Clothing at $64.41 billion by the end of March, 2017. Export of textile products for FY15 increased marginally by 0.46% to $37,137.32 million as compared to $36,967.56 million in FY14.

Import

India is major exporting country as far as textile sector is concerned and not dependent on import. Majority of import takes place for re-export or special requirement. The import of textile product increased 13.98% in FY15 to $5,511.95 million as compared to $4,835.93 million in FY14. The textile ministry is in consultation with the finance and revenue departments to examine the possibility of a duty cut on man-made fibre as high cost of the key raw material for making blended garments is making Indian goods uncompetitive in the global market. While man-made fibre draws an excise duty of 12.5 per cent, it has various import restrictions, leading to a cumulative duty of 29 per cent. Viscose fibre, one of the most common man-made fibres, attracts an anti-dumping duty.

Investment in the industry

The textiles sector has witnessed a spurt in investment during the last five years. The industry (including dyed and printed) attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $70.82 million or Rs 444.43 crore during April 2015.

Recent developments

Govt launches scheme to promote geo-technical textiles in North East

Minister of State for Textiles has launched a scheme to promote usage of Geotechnical Textiles in the North Eastern Region of India, at Imphal. The scheme has several objectives including; demonstrative use of geotechnical textiles as a modern cost-effective technology in the development of infrastructure in fragile geological conditions of NER; improving the durability, function and life of infrastructure in NER, while bringing down the life cycle cost of the projects; promoting the use of geotechnical textile materials and create a market for these products in NER by inducing demand in infrastructure development and stimulating investment and development of technical textile industry in NER and rest of the country. In addition, the scheme intends to also develop a set of standards and specifications for the products as well as projects using these materials. The scheme will also develop literature/manuals for inspection and testing and other aspects of construction using these materials.

Govt launches handicrafts & carpet sector skill council

The government has launched a new institution, Handicrafts & Carpet Sector Skill Council. The institution will promote skill development among artisans, craft persons and workers at grassroots level. This would enable them to adopt latest techniques and become more productive. The institution will promote skill development among artisans, craft persons and workers of handicrafts and carpet products, at grassroots level. This would enable them to adopt latest techniques and become more productive. The Council will be responsible for developing occupational standards; setting up labour market infrastructure; introducing certification & assessment mechanism and providing guidance to the artisans, crafts persons and workers in all aspects of skill development. The Council will operate from New Delhi.

Textiles MoU between India and Kyrgyzstan

Cooperation in the textiles sector between India and the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan is set to receive a boost. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between India and Kyrgyzstan. The MoU seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the following three fields including; Textiles and Clothing, Silk and Sericulture and Fashion. The two countries have agreed to set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) to explore details of cooperation within the scope of the MoU and the steps required to facilitate bilateral trade and investment. The JWG will be co- chaired by an official of appropriate level from the Ministry of Energy and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Ministry of Textiles of the Republic of India.

Corporate developments in textile sector:

    Textile manufacturer Sangam has made foray into branded women apparel category with a launch of a new brand Channel Nine. The company is in the process of achieving manufacturing volumes of 3.6 million units per annum. It intends to make inroads into the domestic lingerie retail market estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore now and growing at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20-25 percent.
    Snapdeal has partnered with India Post to jointly work on bringing thousands of weavers and artisans from Varanasi through its website. “This is an endeavour by Snapdeal and India Post to empower local artisans, small and medium entrepreneurs to sustain their livelihood by providing a platform to popularise their indigenous products.
    Reliance Industries (RIL) plans to enter into a joint venture (JV) with China-based Shandong Ruyi Science and Technology Group Co. The JV will leverage RIL's existing textile business and distribution network in India and Ruyi's state-of-the-art technology and its global reach.
    Raymond has launched ‘Regio Italia’, a luxurious, elite and finest Italian fabric for its customers. Regio Italia is a fine collection of fabrics from Italy with the latest designs that is carefully woven and specially handpicked assortment of the best designs in formal and occasion menswear suiting fabrics.
    Welspun India (WIL), part of the Welspun Group has unveiled its new spinning facility at Anjar, Gujarat - the largest under one roof in India. The expansion project reflects the ethos of the Government of Gujarat’s recent ‘Farm-Factory-Fabric-Fashion-Foreign’ Textile Policy, which is aimed at strengthening the entire textile value-chain.

Outlook

For mid term outlook, the Indian textile industry is expected to grow strongly, with growth being balanced from both domestic consumption as well as exports demand. In the near-term, domestic demand is expected to grow strongly with the revival of the overall economy and improvement in purchasing power of Indian consumers. On the exports front, opportunities are from weak currency and decreasing cost competitiveness of China that are likely to give positive impetus to the Indian exports, while factors like structural impediments to industrial growth, volatile foreign exchange rates and increase in cotton and yarn prices are likely to negatively affect growth and profitability for the textile exports.

The future for the Indian textile industry looks promising, buoyed by both strong domestic consumption as well as export demand. With consumerism and disposable income are on the rise, the retail sector has experienced a rapid growth in the past decade with the entry of several international players.

Source:- livemint.com

Brought forward losses are to be reduced from profits of current year before allowing sec. 10A deduc

IT : Brought forward loss of eligible business for preceding year should be reduced from profits of business for current year before allowing deduction under section 10A

India To Be Honda’S Parts Export Hub, Eyes Rs 1,100 Crore In Fy16

Japanese auto manufacturer Honda plans to make India an export hub point for auto components by improving supply from New Delhi to its different worldwide operations, while it also hopes to upgrade abroad delivering of worldwide models produced in the nation.

The organisation, which sent out auto components worth Rs 722 crore in 2014-15, is searching for more than 50 percent increment to Rs 1,100 crore in the progressing financial by including more nations, for example, the US, China and Canada to its account.

India To Be Honda’s Parts Export Hub, Eyes Rs 1,100 Crore In FY16

“We have been sending out a considerable measure of components from India. We are most likely hoping to expand trades from here as we need to make it a worldwide export hub,” Honda Cars India President and CEO Katsushi Inoue told PTI.

Honda’s exports of auto parts from India has been steadily expanding. In 2013-14, its part exports had a turnover of Rs 420 crore.

It sends diverse motor parts, forgings and transmissions alongside others, which are delivered at its Tapukara plant in Rajasthan to a large group of worldwide operations.

These incorporate Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, UK, Brazil and Mexico. Before long, it will begin trading parts to its operations in US, China and Canada.

“Honda’s expectations from India is high. There is an immense potential ahead… As of now it’s the fourth greatest business sector for us after the US, China and Japan,” he included.

On exports of autos from India, he said Honda will hope to expand the volumes yet “it will be right hand driving nations”.

Honda Cars India sent out 8,403 units last financial while in 2013-14 it had delivered out 5,798 units crosswise over different markets. In the first quarter of the current financial, the organisation has effectively traded an aggregate of 1,858 units.

Keeping with its emphasis on exports, the organisation, which had as of late re-propelled its premium hatchback Jazz in India had begun sending out the model in front of its launch.

The organization additionally exports models like hatchback Brio, minimised car Amaze, average sized car City and multi-purpose vehicle Mobilio.

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) sends out for the most part to South Africa and neighbouring nations Nepal and Bangladesh. It is investigating different alternatives to build the export market.
Commenting on the 2020 arrangements for the organisation, he said: “We have effectively begun gaining land in Gujarat for another plant however we have not began working at it as we can in any case improve generation limit of our Tapukara plant. On the other hand, Indian business sector is developing and the thought to set up another plant is to cater to the expected improved demand.”

On the difficulties in the Indian market, Inoue said: “India is a discount market and the opposition in very competitive. Our fundamental focus will be to upgrade clients satisfaction.”

“For us client is very essential. In the event that we attempt to increase production quickly we may hurt clients …that is not what we need, consumer loyalty is critical for us,” he added

Source:- mizonews.net

Centre Urged To Ban Export Of Buffalo Meat

CHENNAI: Animal rights activists have urged the central government to ban export of buffalo meat even as they lauded Union ministry of commerce's recent statement that export of beef has been prohibited in accordance with country's foreign trade policy.

"The idea of banning beef export is a huge relief as it will help preserve cattle wealth in the country," said G Arun Prasanna of the People for Cattle in India (PFCI), adding that the government should consider banning the export of buffalo meat.

It may be recalled that in a representation on June 25, Lok Sabha member Kirit Somaiya asked the ministry's stand on export of beef. In a letter dated July 9, minister of state for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitaraman said the export of beef (meat of cow, oxen and calf) had been prohibited.

However, animal husbandry was a state subject and the state governments could enact legislations to preserve cattle, it said. It also said the department of commerce had withdrawn the Transport Assistance Subsidy (TAS) to meat exporters since January 1, 2014.

According to PETA India (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) CEO Poorva Joshipura, there are around 30,000 unlicensed slaughterhouses in India. Cows and other animals were being transported across the state borders, she said. "They are being transported even to Bangladesh, to be slaughtered," she said.

"I have personally investigated the transport and slaughter of cows in India. They are either marched to slaughterhouses or crammed on to vehicles in high numbers that often their bones break and many of them die of suffocation and injuries en route," she added.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Factory cleaning services are eligible for credit

Cenvat Credit : Cleaning services used to keep factory clean (as per obligations under Factories Act) are eligible for input service credit; and said credit cannot be denied merely because factory space was used by technical and administrative staff, without working area so used

Iran Deal Could Help India Boost Exports By Over A Third – Trade Body

India’s exports to Iran could jump by over a third to $6 billion this fiscal year as an easing of sanctions against Tehran would help boost sales of agricultural commodities though competition for non-farm items would rise, a leading trade body said.

Iran has been buying most of its basmati rice and sugar from India in the past few years using rupees for its oil due to restrictions on its dollar trades. On Tuesday, Iran and six major world powers reached a deal that will see the Islamic nation curbing its nuclear programme that the West has suspected was aimed at a nuclear bomb.

“It’s true that some of our exports, especially non-agricultural ones, will suffer but our farm exports will more than compensate for any loss,” said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

Iran’s trade with India will no longer be governed entirely by how much oil it sells to the South Asian country, giving it more leeway to expand purchases of food items which India produces in abundance, such as rice, sugar and soybeans.

Rupee-denominated trade with Iran – India is its biggest oil buyer after China – started in 2012. India’s oil refiners settled 45 percent of Iranian oil payments by depositing rupees in Tehran’s commercial banks’ account with India’s UCO Bank.

“Now, both Indian and Iranian traders can look forward to conventional deals,” said Vijay Sethia, former president of the All India Rice Exporters’ Association.

India is Iran’s top rice supplier, accounting for the bulk of its annual requirement of 1-1.2 million tonnes, mainly basmati. Iran imported nearly 1 million tonnes of basmati in 2014/15, with 930,000 tonnes coming from India.

Sethia expects India’s basmati exports to rise 10-15 percent this fiscal year. “Of late there has been some slowdown in India’s rice exports to Iran which has built a buffer to avoid any shortage due to the sanctions. But volumes will pick up,” he said.

India and Pakistan exclusively grow the long-grain, aromatic basmati in the foothills of the Himalayas. The deal between Iran and the West could also cut freight rates, helping some Indian food exporters.

However, a 20 percent drop in the euro in over past year will help European firms win market share from India in automobile parts and machinery tools, among other things.

Source:hellenicshippingnews.com

 

India May Not Import More Wheat Due To High Global Prices

India is unlikely to import more wheat in the coming weeks due to surge in global prices and concerns that the government may anytime slap 10 per cent duty on inbound shipments, traders said.

Private flour millers had recently contracted 5 lakh tonnes of wheat from Australia for the first time in a decade due to sluggish supply of domestic high protein wheat and lower international prices. They had plans to contract another 5 lakh tonnes from France and Russia.

Despite surplus domestic stocks, imports were being made because of the damage to high-protein wheat crop following unseasonal rains and hailstorm early this year.

"Now, global wheat prices have started rising due to El Nino concerns. There is also fear that the government could impose 10 per cent import duty on wheat. In this situation, I doubt if more imports could take place," Roller Flour Millers' Federation of India Ex-President M K Datta Raj told PTI.

India has lost the window of opportunity to purchase from the overseas market as the global price of Australian wheat has increased to over Rs 20,000 tonnes now, as against Rs 17,000-18,000 per tonnes last month, he said.

Even at the current high rate, wheat imports would be expensive if the government imposes any import duty, he added.

The Food Ministry has already proposed 10 per cent import duty on wheat to curb shipments and liquidate poor quality grains lying in the government godowns.

A trader from Kochi said, "The existing not-so- comfortable situation is preventing flour millers and traders to contract more wheat from the other countries."

A representation has also been made to both Food and Commerce Ministries to reconsider the decision of imposing the import duty wheat, the trader said.

High protein wheat is grown in states especially Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The crop quality here got damaged due to unseasonal rains.

Wheat production in India, the world's second biggest grower, is estimated to have declined to 90.78 million tonnes in 2014-15, as against the record production of 95.85 million tonnes achieved during 2013-14.

Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Merger of Co. won't shift its jurisdiction to AO of successor Co. in respect of previous year prior

IT/ILT: Once a company was assessed at Bangalore, subsequent merger of that company with company which was assessed at Gurgaon, would not give jurisdiction to Punjab and Haryana High Court to decide a lis over order passed by Assessing Officer at Bangalore

Rupee Depreciates Against Us Dollar

Rupee depreciated 7 paise to 63.54 against US dollar in intraday trade today amid rising hopes of interest rate hikes by the US Fed in coming months.

The domestic unit had snapped a two-week winning streak, slipping eight paise last week, to settle at 63.47 on Friday

Strong inflation and housing data released in the US on Friday pushed the dollar index to a three-month high. The index, which tracks the movement of dollar against a basket of major world currencies, rose to 98.

That said, persistent foreign capital inflows into the equity market has largely cushioned the rupee's fall to an extent, PTI quoted a forex dealer as saying.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India, which has stockpiled enough dollars to cover more than 10 months of the country's imports, is changing its strategy in the foreign exchange (FX) market, said The Economic Times in a report.

Given that it is in favour of lowering market interest rates, the RBI has bought more dollars in the spot market and dramatically reduced purchases of the US currency in the forward market, the report added.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

 

Cash payment made on Sunday, being last date of registration of sale deed, won’t be disallowed

IT : Where assessee paid cash on Sunday in order to execute sale deed same being covered by exception provided under rule 6DD(j), disallowance under section 40A(3) was to be deleted

Credit is allowable when duty is paid on goods not liable to excise duty

Cenvat Credit : If duty is paid and accepted on final product by department, department cannot be permitted to challenge credit even if process resulting in final product does not amount to manufacture; in any case, duty paid for on final product may be treated as reversal of Cenvat credit

Sec. 158BD notice rightly issued to examine receipt, bearing signature of assessee, found during sea

IT : Where during search in case of third party, revenue found a receipt bearing signatures of assessee and indicating receipt of certain amount by assessee as sale consideration of a property, revenue was entitled to issue notice under section 158BD to assessee for ascertaining whether such amount was actually received by him and, if so, on whose behalf, and proceed further irrespective of assessee's claim that property was owned by his father and he received amount on behalf of his father

'Ericsson' abused its dominance by imposing unfair royalty on usage of 'SEP' patents for smart phone

Competition Act : Ericsson holding Standard Essential Patents for mobile communications like 2G, 3G and 4G patents used for smart phones, tablets, etc., was prima facie abusing its dominant position in relevant market by imposing excessive and unfair royalty rates

Cash payment made to execute sale deed on last date of registration which is Sunday won't attract se

IT : Where assessee paid cash on Sunday in order to execute sale deed same being covered by exception provided under rule 6DD(j), disallowance under section 40A(3) was to be deleted

EOUs can purchase both 'duty free inputs' and 'duty paid inputs alongwith credit facility

Cenvat Credit : Export oriented undertaking (EOU) can procure some or all inputs duty free under CT-3 and some or all inputs on payment of duty; and if any inputs are procured on payment of duty, EOU can take credit of duty so paid

Chit fund dividend paid to customers couldn't be treated as interest; not liable to sec. 194A TDS

IT: 'Chit dividend paid by chit fund company to its customers would not amount to interest as defined under section 2(28A) and, consequently, no deduction of TDS under section 194A was required to be made'

A person buying raw-material by himself isn't a job-worker even if he manufactures goods for others

Cenvat credit : To be a 'job-worker', person should receive materials from principal manufacturer and undertake work on those materials; hence, vendor/supplier of raw materials cannot be regarded as 'job-worker', as assessee does not supply any raw materials and vendor procures raw materials himself

'Sony Ericsson' abused its dominance by imposing unfair royalty on usage of 'SEP' patents for smart

Competition Act : Ericsson holding Standard Essential Patents for mobile communications like 2G, 3G and 4G patents used for smart phones, tablets, etc., was prima facie abusing its dominant position in relevant market by imposing excessive and unfair royalty rates

Survey can be conducted at factory premises to obtain info. with regard to TDS proceedings

IT/ILT : Survey conducted at Nokia India's factory premises for obtaining information in regard to TDS on software downloads was legally valid, statements recorded during survey had been provided to assessee during proceedings before Assessing Officer hence, plea of cross examination of statements was not sustainable

An adjustment could only be made in PLI of comparable and not of assessee while determining ALP unde

IT/ILT : If assessee shows presence of some specific expenses confined to initial phase which are absent in regular phase of business, adjustment, if any, can be made in profit margin of its comparables and not in profit margin of assessee

Age of 70 years isn’t an automatic mid-stream disqualification for Managing Director

Companies Act: Section 196(3) does not operate as an aberration in the appointment of any Director made prior to the coming into force of the 2013 Act, even in a case where the Managing Director crosses the age of 70 years during the term of his appointment; it also does not interrupt the appointment of a Managing Director appointed after 1st April 2014 where at the date of such appointment or re-appointment the Managing Director was below the age of 70 years but crossed that age during his tenu

Tax Board can't review its own order in garb of rectification

CST & VAT: Rajasthan VAT - Where Tax Board by an order passed under section 37 reversed its earlier order and upheld claim of assessee, since impugned order appeared to be reviewing its own order in garb of rectification and coming to a different conclusion than what was reached earlier, impugned order was liable to be set aside

Debt assigned to a bank by a NBFC can't be enforced by the assignee-bank under SARFAESI Act

SARFAESI ACT : In view of the scheme of the SARFAESI Act, Objects and Reasons and various provisions of the SARFAESI Act, a debt which is assigned to a Bank or Financial Institution by Non-banking Financial Company is not covered within the definition of the term “borrower” and therefore cannot be enforced under Section 13 of the said Act. Only debts which are assigned to a Bank from another Financial Institution or to the Financial Institution from a Bank can be enforced by the assignee under t

No addition on basis of seized bank statement if AO failed to prove that statement belonged to asses

IT: During course of survey, where one bank account statement was impounded but there was no evidence that it was related to assessee, addition made based on said statement was unjustified

Adjudication order resulting in gross injustice can be challenged in writ when appeal before CCE(A)

Service Tax/Excise/Customs : Even if appeal before Commissioner (Appeals) is barred owing to expiry of his maximum permissible condonable period, adjudication order may be challenged in discretionary writ only if : (A) said order is without jurisdiction or passed in flagrant disregard to law or rules or procedure, or, in violation of natural justice; and (B) it has resulted into gross injustice

Board constituted under Maharashtra Private Security Guards Act is entitled to trust's registration

IT : Assessee Board constituted as per Maharashtra Private Security Guards (Regulations of Employments and Welfares) Act 1981 is entitled to registration under section 12A(1)(a)

Cap gain arose on sale of shares as they were held since decade and shown as investment in audited a

IT: Where shares sold by assessee were held by it a decade back which had been reflected in audited accounts as investment and it was never considered as part of stock-in-trade, income arising from sale of such shares had to be assessed under head 'capital gain'

CBDT directs Pr. CCsIT to update seniority list of ITOs by following ruling of Apex Court in case of

IT/ILT : Updating of all India inter se seniority list of ITOs due to revision in compliance to Supreme Court judgment dated 27-11-2012 in case of N.R. Parmar & Others vs. UOI & Others [2012] 28 taxmann.com 249 (SC)

Time spent in pursuing remedy before wrong forum is excludible from time-limit to file revision requ

Excise & Customs : Time spent in pursuing remedy before wrong forum bona fide should be excluded, as per section 14 of Limitation Act, in computing period of limitation for filing revision application before Central Government

CBDT sets target of 1 crore new taxpayers for FY 2015-16

IT/ILT : Target for new taxpayers for Financial Year 2015-16 and strategy to achieve said target

AO couldn't reject books of account if all details of stock including wastage were available before

IT: Where all details, including details of wastage involved in manufacturing activity, were available before Assessing Officer, assessee's books of account could not be rejected on ground that assessee was not maintaining stock register and production register

No penalty if decision of HC relied by assessee to claim deduction was reversed by SC just before fi

IT : Where assessee claimed deduction under section 80-IC based on High Court decision, and, said decision was later reversed by Supreme Court a few days before return filed by assessee, levy of penalty under section 271(1)(c) was not justified

Govt. aligns conditions of three exemption notifications of Excise

EXCISE/NT : NOTIFICATIONS NO.34/2015-C.E., NO.35/2015-C.E., AND NO.36/2015-C.E., ALL DATED 17-7-2015

Feet operated water pumps' can't be regarded as 'mechanical appliances'

Excise & Customs : Feet operated water pumps for lifting of water pumps, are classifiable as 'other pumps for liquids' [Heading 8413.80] and not as 'mechanical appliances of a kind used in agricultural or horticulture' [Heading 8424.10]

Sec 10A relief is to be calculated before deducting unabsorbed losses and depreciation of undertakin

IT : Deduction under section 10A is to be calculated before reducing unabsorbed loss and depreciation from profits of undertaking

Income arising from mobilization and demobilization of vessel outside India was taxable as 'FTS'

IT/ILT : Where assessee, a tax resident of Norway, was engaged in activities relating to acquisition of 3D seismic data under contracts with 'RIL' and 'ONGC', assessee was entitled to declare its income under provision of section 44BB

Act of IATA to fix 5% commission for cargo agents at insistence of Civil Aviation Ministry wasn't an

Competition Act : Where OP-IATA fixed commission for cargo agents at insistence of informant and Ministry of Civil Aviation, there was no contravention of section 3 on part of OP

Reassessment can't be sought in garb of rectification, as adjudicating authority doesn't have power

Excise & Customs : When order passed by authority at time of clearance of imported goods remains unchallenged, re-assessment/re-determination making extensive enquiry cannot be sought in garb of rectification, as there is no power of review with adjudicating authority

Sec. 69 additions rightly deleted as assessee had explained source of cash used to purchase property

IT: Where assessee had sufficiently explained source of cash used in purchase of immovable property, no addition could be made under section 69

MP Registration Act amended; exempts personal appearance of parties if docs are submitted in e-form

CL/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Registration (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Act, 2014

Interest paid to relative wasn't excessive as assessee had paid higher interest rate on loans from u

IT: Where expenditure incurred by assessee to cure deficiencies in new premises after its acquisition did not result in a new asset, or such enduring advantage so as to result in very character of expenditure being rendered capital, expenditure was allowable

Excise, Customs and service-tax summons can't be quashed under sec. 482 of Cr.PC

Excise & Customs : Summons issued for enquiry under Central Excise/Customs/Service Tax law cannot be quashed by resort to High Court's inherent powers under section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code; however, assessees may file a writ petition or avail any other legal remedy

Soyameal Exports Decline By 85% In 7 Yrs: Assocham

Farmers engaged in soy cultivation are highly distressed as India’s soyabean meal exports have dropped drastically by about 85% from record level of 4.24 million tonnes (MT) during fiscal year (FY) 2008-09 to a meagre 0.64 million ton in 2014-15, noted a just-concluded study by apex industry body ASSOCHAM.

Looking at near normal monsoon, the country is expected to reap rich harvest of over 12 million ton soybean meal putting further pressure on the domestic prices as India has become globally incompetitive and import of soy oil continues to increase.

“This significant slump in soybean meal exports from India is largely on account of speculation and an unrealistic approach in handling established export markets,” according to the study titled ‘Soybean: Time to regain lost ground,’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Madhya Pradesh is known as ‘Soybean bowl of India,’ accounting for lion’s share of 60% of total production followed by Maharashtra (30%), while Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat together account for remaining share of 10%.

“Soybean scenario in India is currently at crossroads due to erratic production, declining soybean meal exports and consequent idling of plants, poor soybean oil output while edible oil imports are growing and currently account for almost 60% of country’s total requirement,” said DS Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the chamber’s study.

“Unless a targeted approach is initiated, India might permanently loose export market for soybean meal that has been so assiduously build over decades,” said Mr Rawat.

“Industry should adopt a pragmatic approach to revive lost markets on soybean meal export front,” he added. A constant rise in edible oil imports into the country is another alarming aspect highlighted by the study prepared by the Agri-business division of ASSOCHAM.

“Edible oil consumption in India is currently growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of three% thereby placing enormous burden and dependence on imports to meet current deficit of 10 million ton due to near stagnant domestic production at about 8 million against a requirement of 18 million.”

Source:business-standard.com

CCI penalises public sector insurance cos. for rigging the bids in tendering process of Govt. of Ker

Competition Act : CCI orders cease and desist and also imposes penalties on public sector insurance companies for Cartelization in rigging the bids submitted in response to the tenders floated by the Government of Kerala for selecting insurance service provider for Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna

India’S Soy Meal Exports Decline By 71.54% In Oct–June Period

Farmers engaged in soy cultivation are highly distressed as India’s soybean meal exports have dropped drastically by about 85% to a meagre 0.64 MT in 2014-15from a record level of 4.24 million tonnes (MT) during FY 2008-09, said a study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).

The study titled ‘Soybean: Time to regain lost ground’ pointed out that significant slump in soybean meal exports from India is largely on account of speculation and an unrealistic approach in handling established export markets.

Source:thedollarbusiness.com