CA Terminal

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Accused convicted for cheque bouncing as he failed to rebut belief that cheque was issued for legall

Negotiable Instruments Act: Accused convicted for cheque bouncing as he failed to rebut belief that cheque was issued for legally enforceable debt

Payment made for taking legal advice for purchase of business division is a capital exp.

IT : Where assessee purchased business division of another concern which also included payment to non-compete fee restraining seller from carrying on similar business for three years, said payment was to be regarded as capital expenditure

Case remanded to larger bench to decide applicability of sec. 172 on demurrage charges paid to shipp

IT: In view of difference of opinion between orders passed by co-ordinate Benches of Tribunal regarding applicability of section 172 in respect of demurrage paid to non-resident shipping company, matter was to be referred to Larger Bench for consideration

Imported Catalyst can't be treated as raw material for availing benefit of concessional duty

Excise & Customs : Catalyst, which is not consumed in manufacture, cannot be regarded as 'raw material'; hence, concessional duty conditional upon use of 'domestic raw materials' cannot be denied merely because of use of imported catalyst

SEBI prescribes format of voting results of AGM under listing norms

SEBI : Format for Voting Results

IRDA advises insurers to timely comply with awards passed by Consumer Courts and insurance ombudsman

INSURANCE : Non-Compliance Of Award Of Insurance Ombudsman Or Order Of Mact Or Consumer Fora

No VAT on brand franchisee fee without transfer of effective control over Kingfisher brand

Karnataka VAT: Owner of 'Kingfisher Brand' entered into contracts with Contract Bottling Units (BUs) for manufacturing of beer. It had transferred know-how for manufacturing beer. BUs had the right to use the brand name only on behalf of assessee and they did not acquire any right over such brand name belonging to the assessee. Thus, sum received from BUs as brand franchise fees could not be treated as royalty and was not liable to sales tax

Capital gains couldn't be treated as business profits due to insertion sec. 111A providing for reduc

IT : Where assessee's claim of short term capital gain arising from sale of shares had been accepted in earlier years, mere fact that during relevant period certain benefits were given to investor in securities by insertion of provisions of section 111A, could not be a ground to treat assessee a trader in shares and thereby bring amount in question to tax as business income

Value of flats allotted under JDA to be computed on basis of construction cost and not on basis of t

IT: Value of flats allotted under JDA to be computed on basis of construction cost and not on basis of total project cost

Govt. issues common form for registering under ESIC, EPFO and other Labour Laws

CORPORATE LAWS : Unified Registration For 5 Labour Acts (ESIC, EPFO, BOCW, CLA & ISMW)

Commission earned by agents on sale of SIM cards/vouchers aren't liable to service-tax

Service Tax : Commission earned by authorised agents of BSNL on sale of SIM cards/vouchers of BSNL is not chargeable to service tax

PM to launch four Gold related schemes on November 5, 2015

IT : Prime Minister To Launch Gold Related Schemes On 5-11-2015

SSI can simultaneously avail exemption for unbranded clearances and pay duty on branded clearances

Central Excise : Clearances made with other's brand : (i) are governed by normal provisions of Act, (ii) are liable to duty with benefit of Cenvat credit; and (iii) are outside scope of SSI-exemption notification; and, therefore, mere taking of Cenvat Credit thereon cannot lead to denial of SSI-exemption on unbranded clearances

SSI can simultaneously avail exemption for unbranded clearances and pay duty on branded clearances w

No disallowance of interest if assessee had given interest free advances to AE out of its own funds

IT: Where no loan from any bank had been raised by assessee for advancing loans to its sister concerns as funds so advanced were generated from assessee's own revenues, interest could not be disallowed under section 36(1)(iii)

Mere supervising of movement of Coal from collieries to factory can't be held as C&F services

Service Tax : Merely supervising loading/handling of coal and movement from collieries to client's factories, without any role in clearance of coal from collieries, cannot amount to 'Clearing and Forwarding Services'; hence, not liable to service tax

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

A software product co. which comes under category of KPO isn't comparable to software development co

IT/ILT: Companies engaged in product engineering services or in KPO services having huge revenues from software products or in sale of software licenses or having extraordinary events which affected their performance could not be comparable to assessee a software development services company for purpose of TP study

Govt. has notified interest rate of 2.25% and 2.50% under Gold Monetization Scheme: RBI to banks

IT/BANKING : Gold Monetisation Scheme, 2015 – Interest Rate

No credit available for duty paid through DEPB Scrips, rules Madras HC

Cenvat Credit : Where DEBP scheme specifically barred taking of credit of CVD not paid in cash, assessee cannot take credit of CVD paid by debit to DEPB scrip

Payment of hoarding charges are liable to sec. 194C TDS and not sec. 194-I TDS

IT : Where assessee, engaged in business of advertising and marketing communication services, availed services of creative consultants, it was required to deduct tax at source under section 194J while making payments to them

SLP granted against HC's decision that Indian-subsidiary of E-Fund couldn't be treated as PE in Indi

IT/ILT : SLP granted against High Court's ruling that where an assessee does not have any branch office or factory or workshop in India and merely because it has a subsidiary in India that by itself does not create a fixed place of business/location PE within meaning of article 5, paragraph 2, sub-clauses (b) to(k) of India-US DTAA

Credit of EC and SHEC can be used to pay service tax: CBEC

ST/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Cenvat Credit (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rule 3

CIT(A) has to submit additional evidence to AO even if it is nature of clinching evidence

IT : Even if additional evidence produced by assessee are in nature of clinching evidence leaving no further room for any doubt or controversy, Commissioner (Appeals) is under statutory obligation to put additional material/evidence taken on record by him to Assessing Officer

SIT asks MCA to take action against persons holding directorship in more 20 companies

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Special Investigation Team (Sit) Calls For, among Others, Greater Vigilance by Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies in Cases of Persons Holding Directorship in More Than 20 Companies

Trust need not file any Form for accumulation of income upto 15% of receipts

IT: Assessee is entitled to flat deduction without any condition or formality of filing Form No. 10, if income is accumulated or set apart for application of objects of trust in India, to extent to which income so accumulated or set apart does not exceed 15 per cent of income

Co. rendering marketing support services can't be a comparable for co. providing agency services

IT/ILT : For a company rendering marketing support services for mineral processing equipment, a company providing agency service in metals and fertilizers or trading in chemical or engaged in air ticketing and selling holiday package or publishing newspaper, could not be comparable; company having more than 15 per cent related party transactions could also not be accepted as comparable

Trust entitled to sec. 11 relief on conducting trade fair outside India as Govt. grant was given for

IT: Where in support of its claim for exemption under section 11, assessee brought on record grant sanctioned letter of Ministry of Commerce and Industry showing that said amount of grant had to be spent outside India for some specific purposes such as trade fairs etc., matter was to be remanded back for reconsideration of assessee's claim

Monday, 2 November 2015

Provisions of sec. 13 can't be invoked at the time of granting registration under sec. 12AA

IT : Provisions of section 13(1)(b) cannot be invoked at time of granting registration under section 12AA

HC directed ROC to file criminal complaint against respondent for making false statements during win

IT : Since respondents at time of winding proceedings had made false statements which constituted an offence of giving false evidence, Registrar was directed to file complaints under section 340 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, read with sections 191, 193 and 209 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 Indian Penal Code

Interest income of banks from investment in non-SLR securities to be deemed as business income: CBDT

IT : Section 80P of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Deduction – Income of Co-Operative Societies - Interest From Non-SLR Securities of Banks

Even for period prior to 16-6-2005, 'TR-6 challan' was proper document for claiming legitimate credi

Cenvat Credit : For period upto 15-6-2005, when rules did not prescribe any document for taking credit of GTA services, TR-6 challan has to be considered as a proper document evidencing payment of tax; hence, credit taken on basis of TR-6 challan was valid.

No cessation of liability under sec. 41(1) just because liability was more than 7 years old

IT : Where AO made addition under section 41(1) in respect of amount payable by assessee to a creditor, since there was no act of remission or cessation of said liability, mere fact that liability was more than seven years old, could not be a ground to make impugned addition

Penal charges on EMI default is taxable on receipt basis

IT: Where in terms of agreements, which enabled assessee company to demand additional finance charges was only an enabling provision and recovery of same was not certain, same was taxable on cash receipts basis and not on accrual basis

Sec. 11 relief denied to micro financer as it was carrying its activities in commercial manner

IT : Where assessee was carrying on micro finance business in a commercial manner, its activities fell under category of 'advancement of any other object of general public utility' and thereby hit by proviso to section 2(15) disentitling it from exemption

Raw material cost where no risk taken by contract manufacturer excludible to compute PLI

IT/ILT: Where JMIPL, a contract manufacturer in a capital intensive industry, and car manufacturer MUL agreed on an arrangement where JMIPL would sell finished catalysts to vendors of MUL under instructions of MUL and JMIPL was obliged to procure raw material on instructions of MUL at a price dictated by MUL from source selected by MUL and JMIPL was entitled to a per unit fixed manufacturing charge whereas entire cost of raw materials passed on to or recovered from ultimate customer without any

Raw material cost excludible to compute PLI where no risk taken by contract manufacturer

Job worker couldn't be treated as agent just because assessee had given loan to it for buying machin

Excise & Customs : Merely because principal manufacturer has extended loan to job-worker for investment in machinery, job-worker cannot be regarded as dummy of principal manufacturer

Payment made for painting, fixing false ceiling and certain civil work in rented business premises i

IT : Where assessee, a share broker, suffered loss on account of misdeals in purchase and sale of shares by actual delivery, or trading in derivatives in a recognised stock exchange, said loss was to be regarded as business loss which could be set off against its brokerage income

Deepak Singhal appointed as new Executive Director at RBI

SEBI : Shri Deepak Singhal Takes Over as The New Executive Director at Rbi

SEBI releases FAQs on delisting of equity shares

SEBI : Frequently Asked Questions on Sebi (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009

Value of vacant land to be taken over by Govt. can't exceed compensation amount

IT: Where vacant land in excess of ceiling limit under Ceiling Act, which was going to be taken over by Government, would not fetch more than Rs. 2 lakhs, Assessing Officer was not justified in working out value of vacant land by determining what it would have fetched, if it were sold in open market

Dept. can't file FIR against assessee due to default in payment of service tax

Service Tax : Finance Act, 1994, being a special and complete Code, prevails over general provisions of IPC and, accordingly, for alleged non-payment of service tax, department cannot filed FIR under provisions of IPC

TNNM should be used as residuary method and not CPM if data is imperfect

IT/ILT : CPM is not a residuary method in the sense that if every other method of ascertaining the arm's length price fails, CPM can be applied on the basis of imperfect data. If at all there is a residuary method, or what is termed as the method of last resort, it is transactional net margin method. TNMM has almost become the 'default' method for taxpayers in recent years

Winding up plea dismissed as co. refused to pay debt to a CA firm due to existence of bona fide disp

CL : Where petitioner firm failed to prove that respondent company was insolvent in commercial sense and company's refusal to pay debt to petitioner, a chartered accountancy firm, was as a result of bona fide dispute, company was not liable to be wound up

Individual import deal of cashew can't be compared with its avg. price published in Bulletin of cash

IT/ILT : While computing ALP it was wrong to compare individual transactions of import of raw cashew with monthly average price published in cashew Bulletin of cashew Export Council

Sunday, 1 November 2015

Request for cross-examination of witness can't be denied just because it would delay adjudication

Excise & Customs : In absence of any extraordinary circumstances, denial of cross-examination citing that 'there is no requirement in law' or 'it would delay adjudication' was unjustified and said denial vitiated entire adjudication and, therefore, demand was set aside

Govt. releases FAQs on Gold Bond Scheme

IT/BANKING : Frequently Asked Questions on Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme, 2015

Resale price method to be adopted for benchmarking transaction of seeds imported from AE for resale

IT/ILT : Where selection of TNMM by department had been found to be inappropriate by Tribunal in earlier years and assessee's RPM had been accepted on identical facts, TPO was directed to adopt RPM as most appropriate method for benchmarking assessee's transaction of import of seeds to its AE in relevant year

Govt. notifies Gold Bond Scheme; investment window will open from Nov 5, 2015

IT/BANKING : Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme, 2015

No denial of sec. 80-IB relief on entire housing project due to non-completion of construction of fe

IT: Fact that assessee, a builder, had not completed construction of all blocks of housing project, within stipulated period, would not deprive assessee from availing of deduction under section 80-IB (10) in respect of each of completed block on stand alone basis

High Court unhappy with AO for overlooking stay application; directed him to consider the same

IT : In view of Instruction No. 1914 Assessing Officer has got ample power to dispose of stay application during pendency of appeal in which demand is disputed; if Assessing Officer had completely overlooked stay application, he had to consider same

Concrete sleepers used for laying railway line aiding in transportation of goods are eligible inputs

Cenvat Credit : Concrete sleepers used for laying railway line for movement of goods between plant facilities installed within factory premises; and JO trucks for movement of nitrogen and oxygen gas cylinders within factory, are eligible for Cenvat credit as 'input'

Saturday, 31 October 2015

Modifications in revised framework for revitalizing distressed assets shall also be applicable to NB

NBFCs : Early Recognition Of Financial Distress, Prompt Steps For Resolution And Fair Recovery Of Lenders : Framework For Revitalising Distressed Assets In Economy – Review Of Guidelines On Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF) And Corrective Action Plan (CAP)

SLP dismissed against HC's order which held that advances received for job work couldn't be held as

IT : SLP dismissed against High Court's ruling that advances received by assessee - shareholder under an agreement to do job work for company could not be treated as deemed dividend

Govt. to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds via designated post offices in Nov, 2015

BANKING : Sovereign Gold Bond 2015-16

No fresh permission/renewal for opening of liaison office of foreign law firms: Apex Court

FEMA/ILT : No Fresh Permission/Renewal Of Permission To Los Of Foreign Law Firms – Supereme Court's Directions

Land acquired under an agreement not to be held as compulsory acquisition under Sec. 194LA

IT : The question of compulsory acquisition will arise only where the compensation cannot be determined by agreement. In other words when the compensation is based on an agreement between State Government and owner of the land, no more can we say that it is a compulsory acquisition

Major setback for 'AAP Govt.' - High Court quashes directive of audit of discoms by CAG

CAG Act : Direction of Delhi Govt ordering tariff audit of discoms by CAG quashed as the opportunity given to discoms to represent against the proposal for audit was not a "reasonable opportunity" within the meaning of section 20(3) of the CAG Act as the opportunity was given without disclosing the public interest in which audit of DISCOMS by CAG was deemed expedient and as the opportunity to represent was given before consultation with CAG and before the terms and conditions for audit were agre

No deduction of customs duty and excise duty if their liability is contingent upon uncertain facts

IT : Where import contract stated that after purchase liability in respect of customs duty, excise duty, penalty, sales tax, etc., would be paid by assessee, since liability, was contingent upon uncertain fact, deduction under section 43B was not permissible

Gift couldn't be held as unexplained if made by relatives out of love/affection and they were income

IT : Where assessee claimed that during year his minor children had received gifts of Rs. 3.71 lakhs from four relatives and Assessing Officer rejected gifts and added amount in income of assessee, since all ingredients of valid gifts had been proved by assessee, impugned addition was not justified

Last date for filing of reconciliation return under DVAT further extended to Dec 15, 2015

VAT : Filing Of Reconciliation Return For Year 2014-15

SLP granted against HC's order in which sec. 80P relief was given to credit cooperative society

IT : SLP granted against High Court's order where it was held that since assessee was a credit co-operative society, engaged in providing credit facilities to its members only, it was entitled to claim deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i)

No rectification if error relating to denial of credit on export services couldn't be discovered wit

Service Tax/Excise/Customs : An error, which has to be established by a long drawn process of reasoning on points where there may conceivably be two opinions does not amount to 'error apparent on face of record' and is not a rectifiable mistake

Official docs of girl remain valid even after her marriage if supported by marriage certificate

BANKING : Submission of Officially Valid Documents in Respect of Change of Name on Account of Marriage or Otherwise – Amendment in Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005

Appeal filed before ITAT to be restored when proceedings before SetCom is abated

IT: Where assessee had not paid requisite amount of taxes and interest on revised undisclosed income on or before specified date, settlement application filed by assessee stood abated

No search proceedings against client due to seizure of CA's hard disk containing ITR data of client

IT : Delhi HC lays down principles to avoid vexatious proceedings u/s 153C against person other than person searched

Gain arising to ESOP trust on transfer of shares to employees of setter-co. isn’t business receipt

IT : Where assessee was an 'ESOP Trust' created by settler-company for implementing its ESOP scheme the assessee was merely acting as 'Special Purpose Vehicle'. Shares held by the assessee were in fiduciary capacity and assessee did not have absolute rights over those, so these shares could not be categorised as business assets. Thus, gain arising to assessee on transfer of shares to employees of settlor-company was to be treated as capital gain and not as business profits

Assessee need not comply with supplementary instruction if main exemption notification doesn't manda

Excise & Customs : Since there was no condition stipulated in main exemption notification 42/01 that supplementary instruction to be issued by CBEC would be mandatory, assessee need not comply with such supplementary instruction so as to furnish bond to avail benefit of main exemption notification

No concealment penalty even if assessee had followed different system of accounting for particular e

IT: Penalty could not be levied under section 271(1)(c) on ground that assessee applied different system of accounting for interest expenses and interest received

SEBI's revised abridge prospectus - Improves readability and contains relevant info for investors

SEBI : Disclosures in Abridged Prospectus and Price Information of Past Issues Handled by Merchant Bankers

SC stayed IT proceedings as Kerala Govt. didn't take steps to amend provisions related to Court fees

IT : As section 52A of Kerala Court fees, Act specified court fee in appeal before High Court at 1% of income assessed by Assessing Officer, but in many cases such assessed income might not at all survive, State Government had to make required amendment; High Court opined that instant matter was to be stayed till information about steps taken by State Government was provided

Friday, 30 October 2015

CBEC prescribes procedure for export of bulk cargo without sealing it

EXCISE : Clarification on Self-Sealing and Self-Examination of Bulk Cargo – Prescribed Procedures for Allowing Export Without Sealing in Packages or Container

Removal of directors by forging sign on resignation letters amounts to oppression

CL: Right provided under sections 397 and 398 are statutory in nature and vested with parties to prevent oppression and mis-management against member or company and such reliefs cannot be granted by civil court; hence on dismissal/withdrawal of civil suit and approaching CLB, principles of res judicata not applicable

Case remanded as dept. failure to show that assessee had collected money which represents duty

Excise & Customs : Entire burden of proving that assessee has collected money representing duty/tax rests on revenue; however, where revenue had failed to discharge said burden, Tribunal was correct in remanding matter back

Credit of EC and SHEC can be used to pay service tax: CBEC

ST/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Cenvat Credit (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rule 3

Penalty can't be imposed if assessee doesn't acquire possession of goods which are liable to confisc

Excise & Customs: Where appellants were not found to have acquired possession or handled any excisable goods in any manner that was liable to confiscation, no penalty could be imposed

Non-compete fee wasn't taxable prior to AY 2002-03

IT: Where for assessment year 1996-97 under an agreement, assessee transferred one of its business to other company but continued its business using its own logo, trade name, licenses and permits, no part of non-compete fee received by assessee under aforesaid agreement could be treated as considerations for goodwill and it was not taxable as income

AO designated to collect AIR info couldn't issue reassessment notice if he didn't have jurisdiction

IT: Reassessment by jurisdictional Assessing Officer on basis of notice issued by Income-tax Officer collecting AIR information, but having no jurisdiction over assessee, is invalid

Thursday, 29 October 2015

Govt. notifies old tolerance limit of 1% and 3% under new TP Rule

IT/ILT : Section 92C Of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Transfer Pricing – Computation Of Arm's Length Price – Notified Tolerance Limit

In case of DTA clearances by 100% EOU, CVD portion is leviable at highest of excise duty rates in In

Central Excise : In view of Explanation 1 to Section 3 of Central Excise Act, 1944, in case of DTA clearances by 100% EOUs, CVD portion equal to excise duty is leviable at highest of excise duty rates in India. Thus, in case of goods liable to excise duty at different rates owing to exemptions or otherwise, CVD portion would be computed using highest rate of excise duty. This principle is analogous to principles in Section 3(1) of Customs Tariff Act, 1975

SEBI limits length of abridged prospectus to 5 pages; excludes disclosure of memorandum

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Issue Of Capital And Disclosure Requirements) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2015 – Amendment In Regulation 58 And Schedule VIII

IRDA notifies norms on acquisition of surrender and paid up values under life insurance policies

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDAI (Acquisition Of Surrender And Paid Up Values) Regulations, 2015

Comparable which is excluded for want of financial data to be included in appellate stage when such

IT/ILT : In case of assessee, rendering IT enabled services to its AE, companies having related party transactions in excess of 25 per cent could not be accepted as comparables

HC sets aside penalty on ‘Flipkart’ for effecting sales without registering under Kerala VAT Act

Kerala VAT: 'Flipkart' is merely facilitating sales, purchase and delivery of goods, it can't be considered as dealer of goods under Kerala VAT Act

Govt Imposes 10% Regulatory Duty On Cotton Yarn, Fabric Imports From India

KARACHI: The cotton yarn, fabric commercial and value addition sector exporters will face 10 percent regulatory duty on imports from India from November 1.

Spinning sector of the country has filed the case of anti-dumping against Indian cotton and cotton-yarn imports with National Tariff Commission (NTC) and it is still pending with the NTC.

Government without consulting the NTC has increased the regulatory duty from five percent to 10 percent on import of cotton yarn and fabric from India.

Pakistan Apparel Forum (PAF) said value added apparel sector was representing Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers, Exporters Association, Pakistan Knitwear and Sweater Exporters Association, Pakistan Cotton Fashion Apparel Manufacturers and Exporters Association, who were major stakeholders of value added apparel sector. The performance of value addition by woven garments sector is 846 percent, hosiery/knit garments 616 percent and spinning sector is 59 percent. Members of the PAF advised if government wanted to take decision on its own then it should abolish NTC.

The import of Indian fabric is already banned as per import policy 2012-15 and the government has imposed ten percent regulatory duty on import of fabric from India. It seems that government is bent on favouring the spinning sector for unknown reasons.

Emerging textile report of India cotton yarn export per destination is that India exports cotton yarn to Pakistan during 2014 in 25,983 metric tonnes at higher value - $4.09 per kg, while during 2014, India exported 521,831 metric tonnes cotton yarn to China at $2.91 per kg, Bangladesh 158,466 metric tonnes at $3.52 per kg, Egypt 59,812 metric tonnes at $3.29 per kg, Vietnam 51,072 metric tonnes at $3.39 per kg, Colombia 28,033 metric tonnes at $3.19 per kg and Turkey 13,763 metric tonnes at $3.79 per kg.

The PAF said in year 2010, many of the spinning mills claimed that in the history of the spinning sector of Pakistan they had made record profits and still are making huge profits and even at that time several of the spinning mills showed losses and still that spinning mills are doing losses, government may confirm from their balance sheets.

The 90 percent value added textile sector does not take Long Term Financing (LTF) and majority of small and medium units do not take export refinance, it shows government is pampering the large size units and destroying the small and medium size units which provides huge employment including poor female workers, who work on stitching machines and the government wants to create unemployment, chaos and disaster.

Source:-thehimalayantimes.com

Growth In Indian Tea Industry To Remain Stagnant On Adverse Climatic Conditions

In India tea is like a staple beverage which acts as an energy booster and is simply indispensable. India happens to be one of the largest consumers of tea in the world. Teas can generally be divided into categories based on how they are processed. There are at least six different types of tea viz, Black tea, Green tea, White tea, Herbal tea, Oloong tea, Yellow tea. India happens to be world’s largest black tea producer after Kenya and Sri Lanka. India’s 79.9% of total black tea output comes from North India, while South India accounts for balance.

There are mainly two ways of producing tea in India namely the CTC production and Orthodox production. CTC is an acronym for crush, tear and curl. The tea produced by this method is mostly used in tea bags. The orthodox production method consists of five stages, namely withering, rolling, fermentation, drying and finally storing. It is not possible to compare the two varieties because their quality depends on factors such as rainfall, soil, wind and the method of plucking of tea leaves and both possess a unique charm of their own.

Tea Production:

For the on-going financial year 2015-16, tea production has shown an increasing trend except for the month of August due to adverse weather conditions resulting in droughty and dry spells prevailing across most tea areas of Assam and WestBengal. Assam and West Bengal are the major tea-producing states, accounting for 80% of India's total output. Assam which accounts for 50% of country’s total production, has been passing through a period of scanty rainfall and higher temperatures this year. The unusual weather pattern in the region resulted in wilting of tea leaves followed by unprecedented pest attack mainly looper, helopeltis and green fly. This adverse weather had its effect on production. The overall production for the April-August period of FY-16 has decreased to 624.62 million kg as compared to 626.41 million kg in corresponding period last fiscal.

Tea Exports:

Tea exports from India during financial year 2014-15 declined by 26.92 million kg as compared to previous year. This decline has largely been in the wake of increased competition from lower cost tea producers such as East African countries. Further, other major reason for the decline is fall in production of Assam Orthodox tea caused by scanty rains. However export realizations are expected to improve because of global shortfall and expectation of higher prices. India's tea industry now is eyeing Russia with renewed interest after a gap of 10 years as exports to two key markets of Egypt and Pakistan are not picking up. Exports for the April- August 2015-16 period stood at 74.79 million Kg, as compared to 70.44 million kg for the same period in the previous year.

Average Auction prices:

In India more than 50% sales of tea is routed through auction at various auction centres located in North &South India. Average auction price of tea for April- Sept period of 2015-16 has declined to Rs 127.39/Kg as compared to Rs 135.11/Kg in same period last fiscal. Prices are expected to firm up due to robust demand in domestic as well as global markets and due to below average rainfall in growing regions of tea. Further reports of lower production in Kenya on account of dry weather conditions too are expected to support prices.

Coffee:

In India, coffee is traditionally grown in the Western Ghats spread over Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Coffee is predominantly an export oriented commodity and 65% to 70% of coffee produced in the country is exported, while the rest is consumed within the country. The two main varieties of coffee viz., Arabica and Robusta are grown in India. Arabica is mild coffee, but the beans being more aromatic, it has higher market value compared to Robusta beans. On the other hand Robusta has more strength and is, therefore, used in making various blends. Arabica is grown in higher altitudes than Robusta. The harvest of Arabica takes place between November to January, while for Robusta it is December to February.

Coffee Production:

For the year 2014-15, India’s coffee production stood at 327000 MT as compared to 304500 MT produced in corresponding year ago period. The Arabica and Robusta varieties accounted for 30 per cent (98,000 MT) and 70 per cent (229,000 MT) of India’s overall coffee production, respectively, in 2014-15. However production for year 2014-15 showed a marginal decrease of 1.21% or 4000 tonnes over the post monsoon estimate of 331000 MT, the loss were mainly from Karnataka. Coffee areas witnessed a long period of drought after receiving blossom showers followed by an extremely harsh monsoon. There was heavy proliferation of white stem borer in the arabica growing regions because of extended drought and the subsequent heavy monsoon damaged robusta crop. Overall the crop prospects of 2015-16 at post blossom stage are quite encouraging due to the timely and adequate blossom and backing showers in the traditional and non-traditional areas.

Coffee Exports:

India's Robusta coffee variety has a good reputation among international buyers. European countries continue to be the major buyers of Indian coffee. Italy, Germany, and Russia are the top export destinations for Indian coffee, with India exporting an estimated 90 per cent of its production. Coffee exports witnessed a fall of 8.3% for the financial year 2014-15 and stood at 286,545 MT compared to 312,625 exported in year ago period. The drop in volumes of coffee exports is due to sluggish demand from major European buyers. Further, coffee prices in international markets are under pressure due to production surplus in Brazil, the world’s leading producer. Also, Brazil’s currency is ruling weak against the US dollar. Coffee exports are expected to surge on good demand for Robusta variety. However, export realization may remain lower due to fall in global prices reacting to the currency depreciation in Brazil.

Growth Drivers for Tea & Coffee Industry:

    Consumer preferences for branded packet tea over open weight have been dominating unbranded products.
    Rising consumer awareness about the health hazards of carbonated drinks is leading to the shift towards tea and coffee. There has been rise in health conscious population who prefer antioxidant property of tea or instant energy of coffee.
    Traditionally considered as a hot beverage , the penetration of tea in the non-alcoholic cold segment is driving force for tea industry owing to rising affinity towards ice-tea which currently accounts for over 5% of entire non-alcoholic beverage market in India
    Rise in discretional income among young population who has a lot of appeal for café culture is another growth driver for the industry.

Initiatives for tea-coffee sector:

    At a time when climate-change is impacting tea-cultivation in a major way, efforts are on to make tea estates climate-smart so that the industry develops resilience to uncertain and negative climate change impact. A project has been launched by the Tea Research Association along with Southampton University on climate for investigating the impact of climate change on tea production and livelihoods in North-East India, revolving around climate variability, land-management practices and climate-smart agriculture practices.
    The Centre is planning to liberalise the Tea Act, so as to increase tea production and productivity by bringing additional areas under cultivation by waiving the present stipulation of obtaining permits for bringing additional areas under tea cultivation.
    To ensure quality and increase exports, C-DAC (Centre for Developing Advanced Computing) is presently working with TRA on a spectrometer which will enable tea growers especially small ones to detect traces of pesticides early.
    Tea board of India has come-up with new initiative “Assistance under scheme for promotion of packaged Teas of Indian Origin (Brand support) in overseas market” to help Indian exporters for marketing teas of Indian origin in overseas markets on a sustained basis.
    To tackle the declining trend in Arabica production, all producing countries of the variety have joined hands for a coffee research programme. Lower productivity in India has been attributed to non-release of better clones, limited mechanisation, pest infestation and paucity of labour.
    This global collaboration would probably give some leads.
    The Commerce Ministry has formed a committee that will suggest ways to effectively deal with 'stem borer' pests in coffee plantations and reduce crop losses. The move is aimed at enhancing productivity of coffee in the country and further boosting its exports.
    Coffee board of India launched a scheme in association with Canara Bank for granting term loans up to Rs 100 Lakh to Micro & Small Enterprises (MSE) to establish Roasting, Grinding and Packaging industry of Coffee. The objective of the scheme is to enhance quality of coffee product and achieve value addition through introduction of improved technologies in roasting, grinding and packaging which will result in boosting domestic coffee consumption and entrepreneurship in the coffee sector especially in the NonTraditional areas.

Outlook:

The growth in Indian tea-sector during the ongoing financial year is expected to remain stagnant, with tea planters in doldrums due to various factors including adverse climatic conditions. Erratic weather condition too may affect production in the growing southern and northern regions. Domestic consumption of tea has increased as compared to production and this may help in better price realization.

However, the Indian coffee market is expected to remain firm with good demand for robusta variety. Further, the domestic coffee consumption too has been continuously growing largely on account of a thriving independent upscale cafe culture. Meanwhile rapid change in consumer behavior is likely to support Indian tea-coffee sector in near future. Companies in the last decade have positioned tea and coffee as recreational products, which have proved beneficial in attracting younger population. Furthermore, the focus on high-protein, low-sugar diets is stimulating demand for green tea, ground coffee and artificial sweeteners, which have shown strong signs of promise over the past years.

Source:- money.livemint.com

Rupee Trading Weak At 65.24

The rupee was trading weak at 65.24 in the evening deals on strong month-end dollar demand from importers.

Besides, strengthening of dollar against other currencies overseas after Federal Reserve's hawkish comments weighed on the rupee sentiment. Also, weak equity market put pressure on rupee.

The US Federal Reserve had kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but signalled it may increase its policy rates at the next meeting in December, stoking fears of foreign fund outflows from domestic markets.

Earlier, the rupee opened weak by 27 paise at 65.20 against the previous close of 64.93 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.

It further weakened to 65.25 before being quoted at 65.24, down 31 paise at 4.35 pm local time.

The local currency hovered in a range of 65.25 and 65.12 in the afternoon trade.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex ended down by 201.62 points or 0.75 per cent at 26,838.14.

Source:- http://ift.tt/MS42Fr

Jaypee Group isn't a dominant player among developers of residential units in Noida: CCI

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IRDA lists out various scenarios for refunding premium on ground of suppression of facts by policyho

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Target Plus Scheme under EXIM Policy/FTP can't be amended retrospectively to deny already accrued be

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CCI dismissed compliant against supplier as it wasn't proved that supplier had colluded in railway t

Competition Act: Where evidence available on record was insufficient to hold Opposite Parties responsible for having colluded in tenders for supply of AMDBS, a critical safety item required for railway coaches, complaint of alleged unfair business practices made by Informant against Opposite Parties was to be dismissed

Last date of filing Annual return under Assam VAT extended to Dec 31, 2015

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CBDT issues new instructions to streamline process of departmental representation before AAR

IT/ILT : Section 245R Of The Income-Tax Act, 961 - Procedure On Receipt Of Application – Representation Of Cases Before Authority For Advance Ruling

Cash loans to firm couldn't held as Inter-firm transactions due to common partner in both firms; pen

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