SEBI requires completion of 5 years of service by its female employees to be eligible for 'hardship

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Employees' Service) (Amendment) Regulations, 2015 – Substitution of Regulation 36A

Assessee must indicate reasons for seeking cross-examination, says Ahmedabad CESTAT

Excise & Customs : Having not justified or indicated reason for seeking cross-examination, assessee cannot claim that there is a violation of principles of natural justice.

HC allows assessee to produce docs for input credit before AO as he failed to produce docs during as

CST & VAT: Where assessee had failed to produce documents for claiming input tax benefit during assessment, High Court permitted assessee to produce Form VAT C-4 and tax invoices before assessing authority

Demand can't be raised alleging clandestine removal of goods when duty is paid on annual production

Excise & Customs : Where show-cause notice is issued on ground that assessee is covered by production capacity based duty under section 3A, provisions of section 3 read with section 11A cannot be invoked to demand duty alleging clandestine removal

Govt. unveils booklet on "Investment opportunities in India"

FDI : Investment Opportunities in India

Evasion penalty can’t be reduce below the limit prescribed under sec. 11AC

Excise & Customs : Penalty under section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944 is a mandatory penalty and same cannot be reduced/waived below limit fixed by said section, even if duty is paid immediately on receipt of notice

Sale of unspecified goods in execution of work contract was chargeable to higher rate under West Ben

CST & VAT: West Bengal VAT - Where assessee was engaged in the business of executing works contract, since she had not sold in execution of works contract any goods specified in section 14 of Central Act, she was liable to pay tax at rate of 12.5 per cent on taxable contractual transfer price as per section 18(1)(b)

ITAT rightly determined market value of land on 1-4-1981 after considering doc of 1984 in respect of

IT: Where Tribunal determined fair market value of land inherited by assessee before 1-4-1981 by considering document of 1984 in respect of nearby land and after allowing certain deductions, no interference was required with such determination

ITAT quashed sec. 153C block proceedings as AO didn't record satisfaction that seized docs belonged

IT : Where Assessing Officer of 'B', 'P' and 'MB' did not record any satisfaction that some money, bullion, jewellery or books of account or other documents found from these persons belonged to assessee, initiation of proceedings under section 153C on assessee was void ab initio

Mere non-registration of asset in name of assessee doesn’t lead to denial of deprecation claim there

IT: Where certain assets were already transferred to assessee-society, assessee's claim for depreciation could not be rejected merely because those properties had not yet been registered in name of assessee

SC: Award could be modified if arbitrator failed to draw inference from facts resulting in miscarria

CL : Where arbitrators failed to appreciate and draw inferences that logically flow from proved facts resulting in miscarriage of justice, arbitral award will be open to challenge and may be cast away or modified

Interest on sums lent to foreign AE is to be benchmarked at LIBOR and not at domestic prime lending

IT/ILT : While benchmarking international transactions where assessee had advanced money to its AE and charged interest, international rates fixed being LIBOR + rate would be applicable and not domestic prime lending rates

AO couldn’t make addition of deemed dividend when assessee wasn’t a shareholder of lending Co.

IT: Where assessee itself was not shareholder of lending company, addition made by Assessing Officer by invoking provisions of section 2(22)(e) was not sustainable

No Wheat Export From Government Stocks: Food Secy

The government will not export its surplus wheat stock this year and will continue to offload the grain in the domestic market despite estimates of bumper wheat production.

Private traders can export wheat under the open general licence (OGL) scheme, Food Secretary Sudhir Kumar told PTI.

After lifting of ban on wheat export in September 2011, the government has exported nearly 6 million tonnes of wheat from FCI godowns during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscals. However, there have been no shipments so far this financial year.

"We have no plans to export wheat this year. There will be no export from the official channel. Private traders can do it under the open general licence (OGL) scheme," Kumar said.

"We will offload our stocks in the domestic market and not in the international market even if it is viable," he added.

The government is already sitting on a wheat stock of 25 million tonnes as on January 1, much higher than the actual requirement of 13.8 million tonnes, as per the FCI data.

Moreover, the wheat production is estimated at 95.76 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year (July-June) against 95.85 million tonnes in the last year.

The crop is ready for harvesting from April onwards. The government aims to procure 30 million tonnes of wheat this year to meet requirement of ration shops, further putting pressure on stocks.

Noting that the government has already started offloading surplus wheat in the domestic market under the open market sale scheme, Kumar said that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) -- the nodal agency for foodgrains procurement and distribution -- has sold about 3.5 million tonnes so far. Wheat is being sold under OMSS to boost domestic supply and check prices.

Asked if it has fixed a quantitative limit for wheat sale under OMSS, Kumar said, "This time, there is no quantity fixed. There is an open offer to sell anything above the buffer norm. Earlier, we used to take approval for fixed quantity, but there is no such system now."

At present, the wheat grown in the 2013-14 crop year is lying with FCI. "They have started offloading and have sold about 3.5 million tonnes so far this year." he added.

On poor response to OMSS sale in the previous years, the Secretary said, "We have sold about 6 million tonnes each in the last two years. It is not a small quantity, could have been more. But it depends on the buyer." India is the world's second largest producer of wheat.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

HC orders deposit of 10% of disputed demand to avoid undue hardship on assessee

CST & VAT: U.P. VAT - Where Tribunal had stayed 80 per cent of disputed amount of tax, order of Tribunal was modified by directing assessee to deposit 10 per cent of disputed tax and to furnish security for 90 per cent of balance tax

AO couldn’t make addition of unaccounted stock when he failed to point out defects in book of accoun

IT : Where Assessing Officer could not point out any defect in books of account maintained by assessee, he was not supposed to make addition of unaccounted closing stock being difference in stock on mathematical calculation

Coal Block Auctions Will Lead To Level Playing Field For All

Chandra Shekhar Verma, chairman and managing director, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), talks about steering the company in the current tough times, when local as well as global demand is depressed. He shares his action plan for the next 10 years and talks about his five years at the helm. Excerpts:

Globally, steel production growth has been tepid with only 2% increase in the calendar year against 3.5% in the corresponding period a year ago. There is surplus capacity of about 23-24% as utilisation is low. Demand in India is better than what it is globally. In April-December, production has grown at 5.3%. However, there has been a surge in imports — to 7.4 million tonne (mt) from 4.6 mt in the first three quarters of the current fiscal. Due to the SIPA agreement, there is a lot of import from Japan and Korea.

After consumption peaked in China, the country has been exporting steel to India as well. The depreciation in the rouble has also led to greater imports.

The demand situation should settle down and it is not a great cause of worry. However, companies importing to India have to bear freight and logistical costs also and, hence, the surge in imports should be temporary. The demand scenario in India is likely to improve as the country and the emerging markets as a whole remain the demand centre. Our per capita steel consumption is abysmally low at 55 kg per annum against the global average of kg p.a., which will only improve as we catch up and urbanise more. Further, a number of new initiatives by the government will gradually boost demand. We have also taken steps to multiply capacity.

We are the sole bidder for the block reserved for steel sector among the mines earmarked for PSUs. We will also be taking part in the next round of auctions to procure more coal blocks. These auctions will provide a level playing field for all companies and facilitate faster development of coal blocks. We will be able to take the advantage of our own coal blocks as we have enough knowhow in the mining. Today, we are operating four coal mines and, along with the Mozambique mine, we are mining 30 mt coal on our own.

We are not averse to acquiring global assets, but we have to keep an eye on location and market situation domestically as well as globally. We are getting 3-4 shipments of more than 1 lakh tonne currently from Mozambique and also working out the logistical issues, which will enable us to bring more coal from there.

We have a planned expenditure of Rs 72,000 crore. Capex for the individual year has been Rs 8,000-10,000 crore per year and, this year, it will be about Rs 9,000 crore. We have prepared vision 2025 to enhance capacity to 50 mt from 23.46 mt, which will involve a total capex of Rs 1,50,000 crore.

funds will come through debt and equity in equal proportion as opposed to our current expansion plan, which is being funded with two-third equity and one-third debt.

The Rourkela and Burnpur plants have started producing. In conjunction with Bhilai, production will reach 23.46 mt per annum next year. Demand in India is not likely to slump in the foreseeable future — cement-steel mixing ratio is not adequate here as for every tonne of cement used in construction, only 0.3 tonne steel is used. In developed economies, the ratio is 1:1. India is slowly becoming quality conscious and there is a preference for pre-fabricated steel and cement structure. Considering that 50-60% of steel is used in the infrastructure and construction sector, as we move to more qualitative products, steel demand will only go up.

Source:financialexpress.com

Indian Meat Exporters Optimistic Over Russian Opportunities

India is to begin exports of meat and dairy products to Russia by mid-2015, with the first shipments of buffalo meat due to take place in the coming months, according to official statements from the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry.

Indian companies are currently waiting for a decision from Russian veterinary body Rosselkhoznadzor on the list of approved suppliers.

"We are confident that, in the near future, our companies will be allowed to deliver their products to Russia," said director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Ajay Sahai.

FIEO has complained that the contracts on the supply of buffalo meat to the Russian market are still not signed, although Rosselkhoznadzor actually allowed imports of this product from four companies in India in December 2014.

The Russian veterinary body is also continuing its inspections of the Russian market with the intention to grant further export rights to other companies.

Officials from Rosselkhoznadzor have confirmed that, at the end of 2014, they inspected six other meat producing companies in India and, according to preliminary information, in each case Russian vets were satisfied with the quality of the products and safety of the production process.

As a result, Indian companies expect the range of products eligible for export to expand, before the first deliveries are expected later this year.

"The imminent start of supplies of meat and milk from India are equally important for both sides [for Indian producers and Russian market]," commented a source at the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry.

He also referred to the Russian ban on supplies from the European Union (EU) and the US and that it currently faces the risk of a deficit in certain categories of meat products, while for exporters in India this was the first chance to reach a new and very promising market.

According to Russian experts, the prospects for exports of meat products from India to Russia are now clearer than several months ago. Russian agricultural analyst Eugene Gerden said that following the selection of Narendra Modi as the country’s Prime Minister in mid-2014, there was a possibility that negotiations on the launch of supplies of buffalo meat to Russia faced deadlock.

"It was known that representatives of the current government previously spoke against developing exports of buffalo meat for religious reasons, but new steps towards establishing supplies to Russia show that the authorities do intend to develop this area of bilateral trade," said Gerden.

Source:globalmeatnews.com

SEBI releases FAQs for Investment Advisers

SEBI : FAQs on SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013

Issue relating to promotion of ACIT is first appealable before Central Administrative Tribunal, rule

IT: Where petitioners working on different posts with respondent/CBDT, raised a grievance with regard to their promotions, they were required to approach Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in first instance and, thus, writ petition filed by them was not maintainable