IT : Where assessee purchased air-conditioners, blowers, freezers, cooling equipments, etc. from market and installed same at customer's place and further it had connected said goods with ducting system and electrical panel controls, it could not be said that assessee was engaged in business of manufacturing of air conditioning plant and, therefore, not entitled to deduction under section 80-IA
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
No denial of sec. 54EC relief if investments were made above 50 lakhs prior to insertion of such cei
IT: Where assessee had invested huge sum beyond cap much prior to restriction imposed by Government to avail benefit of section 54EC, assessee was entitled to exemption under section 54EC to extent of investment made in long-term specified asset
Veena/Tambura with electrical gadgets is classifiable as Indian musical instruments; not electronic
CST & VAT : Veena, Tambura, Shruti box and Tabala, having electrical gadgets like mike, amplifier and speaker for better voice quality and ability and which are handy, are classifiable as 'Indian Musical Instruments'; not as electronic goods
HC slams AO for attaching bank account and extorting taxes even when assessee had time to file appea
IT: Action of revenue in attaching bank and withdrawing money from bank to recover dues, before expiry of time limit for filing appeal was against elementary principles of rule of law; revenue was directed to refund amount to assessee
No disallowance for TDS default if tax deducted was deposited before due date of filing return
IT : Where assessee deducted tax at source from contractual payments on last day of relevant assessment year and duly deposited same with Central Government before time fixed for filing of return under section 139(1), said payments could not be disallowed by invoking provisions of section 40(a)(ia)
RBI allows FDI in LLPs via capital contribution or transfer of share of profit; notifies form to rep
FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Transfer or Issue of Security By A Person Resident Outside India) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulations 2 & 5 and Insertion of Schedule 9
IRDA tweaks service norms of its officers and other employees
INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDA (Conditions of Service of Officers and Other Employees) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulations 4 and 9
HC waives off ST penalty as payment of ST was delayed due to acute financial crises of assessee-co.
Service Tax : Where delay in payment of service tax was attributable to sickness of company viz. acute financial constraint, penalty under section 76 was to be waived
Tribunal admitted copy of bill of entry as evidence for remittance of Forex as FERA doesn't state ot
FERA : Provision of section 8(4), did not require that exchange control copy of bill of entry must be furnished to prove that goods against remittance were actually brought in India; same may be proved by appellant by any other means
TP adjustment set aside as comparable of TPO was functionally different and had an odd event of amal
IT/ILT : Where in course of transfer pricing proceedings, TPO made certain addition to assessee's ALP in respect of its business of software development services, in view of fact that in case of one comparable selected by TPO, an extraordinary event of amalgamation took place whereas some other comparables were improper on account of functional difference, impugned adjustment was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh
India Must Accelerate Port Development: Experts
India must accelerate development of its deep sea ports to catch up with its rapidly growing foreign trade, experts attending a maritime conference said here.
They especially highlighted India's challenge in meeting increasing trade volume which calls for massive improvement in domestic transportation and investments in deep-sea ports for handling large size vessels.
"We are seeing some very exciting developments in India but really to keep pace with the rapid growth in India's foreign trade, more is going to be needed," said Christopher Hayman, chairman of the UK-based shipping industry Seatrade, one of the organisers of the conferences and forums taking place in Singapore this week.
"There is trade growth certainly and it is going to generate huge demand for port facilities, especially the container movement into India," he told PTI.
But the challenge for India would be to set up deep-sea ports with capabilities to handle 18,000 Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) size ships as the country's trade volume increases rapidly.
"Indian port expansion is on the way, investment is going in (and) infrastructure is being planned. But it is a big challenge for India. For the time being, there is a lot of catching up to do," he stressed.
He also pointed out that the challenge of handling large-size ships was not only for India but for everywhere as global trade volume increases.
Currently, India's containerised trade was being trans-shipped through neighbouring ports, Colombo's deep-sea port being one of them, and Singapore another, he said.
Meanwhile, a port development expert said India has limited locations to set up deep-water ports, except for Mumbai and some of the islands on the East and West coasts.
India's present containerised exports were shipped through feeder vessels to Colombo and Singapore for trans-shipment to the markets in the Pacific and the East Coast of the US.
Likewise, trans-shipment of Indian containerised cargoes was taking place from Dubai for markets in Europe and the US West Coast as well as other destinations, he said.
Source:- business-standard.com
Imports Of Pulses And Edible Oils Becomes Cheaper; Prices To Remain Steady Till Lok Sabha Elections
Consumers fighting a high food inflation have got some breather with the rupee becoming stronger against the dollar. Imports of pulses and edible oils have become cheaper and traders indicate that prices will remain steady till the Lok Sabha elections are over.
India, the biggest consumer of pulses, imports the commodity from countries like Canada, the US, Australia, Myanmar and South Africa.
"In the current fiscal, India is likely to import 2.5 million tonne of pigeon peas compared to 3 million tonne in the previous fiscal. The rupee getting stronger against the dollar will act as an incentive to importers and keep prices at a steady level in the market," said KC Bhartia, director, Indian Pulses and Grains Association.
Bhartia said prices of pulses will hover around Rs 70 per kg at least for next two months. India will be importing less pulses this year as pulses production has been on the higher side this year.
According to government estimates, the country is expected to produce 19.8 tonne of pulses this year, which includes 9.8 tonne of chana crop though the trade says that only 6.5 tonne of chana crop has been produced this year. The cooking oil segment seems to be the biggest beneficiary of a strong rupee, which has inched up to 60 level.
Imports of pulses and edible oils becomes cheaper; prices to remain steady till Lok Sabha elections Angshu Mallik, chief operating officer, Adani Wilmar, said, "We had thought of increasing prices as international prices of cooking oil were going up. But now that the rupee has strengthened, we do not see an immediate price increase. The commodity price has corrected too. And this trend is likely to continue till the general elections." Adani Wilmar sells cooking oil under the brand name Fortune.
Palm oil prices have gone up the most in past two months due to a dry spell in the two producing countries - Malaysia and Indonesia. Warm weather in February and March has affected the crop in these two southeast Asian nations. Reports say that palm oil stockpiles in Malaysia may have declined for a third month in March, falling to the lowest level in three years.
"Prices of palm oil had appreciated by $100 in the past two months. And this trend is likely to continue in the second quarter as well. However, the rupee getting stronger against the dollar will bring some relief to the cooking oil market. Consumers, who are otherwise burdened with inflationary pressure, may not see an immediate hike in prices," said BV Mehta, executive director, Solvent Extractors Association of India.
India is expected to import 10.5 -11 million tonne of edible oil in current oil year (November 1, 2013 to October 31, 2014) to meet its domestic demand. The country consumes 17 -18 million tonne of edible oil annually.
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
Lack Of Clarity On Raw Sugar Exports Vexes Mill Owners
There has been no word on raw sugar export subsidy for April and May which should have been announced about a week ago. The subsidy of Rs 3,300 per tonne was announced for February and March and had to be revised every two months, based on the prevailing exchange rate of the rupee.
Industry veterans fear a delay in physical movement of sugar meant for exports may not firm up domestic prices, which have seen a consistent rally since February.
The Union government announced on February 28 an incentive scheme for raw sugar production for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 sugar seasons. It was meant to help the sugar industry reduce its inventory, improve cash flows and make timely payment to cane farmers.
"The delay in exports can also affect the cash flow of sugar mills and in turn their cane payment," said a private sugar miller from Uttar Pradesh. With the crushing season almost coming to an end, very few new contracts for raw sugar exports are being signed.
Physical shipments of the contracts entered into till now will continue till the rainy season sets in. In the current sugar year from October to November, India has exported about 19 lakh tonne including about 8.5 lakh tonne of raw sugar.
The total shipment in the current season is expected to be 25 lakh tonne, of which raw sugar export is expected to be 11 lakh tonne to 12 lakh tonne. When the incentive was announced on February 28, the rupee was trading at 62.44 against the dollar but has since become stronger.
Although the subsidy works out to be more than Rs 3,300 per tonne due to the appreciation of the rupee, the ministry cannot increase it without cabinet approval. The subsidy for April and May is most likely to remain stable at Rs 3,300 per tonne. Millers, especially the small co-operatives, want clarity about it.
"According to the new exchange rate, the subsidy works out to be Rs 3,800 per tonne. We are happy with Rs 3,300 per tonne but need clarity about it," said an industry source. After remaining subdued for almost a year, domestic prices have improved to Rs 32 per kg from their lowest level of Rs 25 per kg in February. Higher exports will help keep domestic prices firm.
The sugar industry has accused the government of a half-hearted approach while implementing schemes for the sugar sector. "The schemes, it has announced to help the sugar industry, are not fully getting implemented.
As a result, the sugar industry and cane farmers continue to suffer," said a sugar miller from Uttar Pradesh adding, "Only about half of the interestfree loan against the excise duty announced by the government has been disbursed due to the tough conditions included in the scheme."
Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com
Australia Set To Win Share Of U.S. Beef Exports To Japan
Australia is set to boost beef exports to Japan after the two countries reached a trade agreement, analysts said on Tuesday, snatching U.S. market share and adding to pressure on the United Sates to seal its own trade deal.
Australia and Japan clinched a basic trade deal on Monday to cut import tariffs, with the impact expected to be felt most by Australian beef producers and Japanese car exporters.
"Australian beef exports to Japan should rise," said Vyanne Lai, agricultural economist, National Australia Bank. "The tariffs on Australian beef will be 8 percent lower than on U.S. supplies immediately and will get progressively lower over a number of years."
Japan is Australia's largest customer for beef exports, which make up more than a third of Australia's total A$3.8 billion ($3.52 billion) in agricultural exports to the country, according to government figures.
Australian currently supplies about half of all Japan's imported beef and is set to export about 280,000 tonnes in the 2013/14 season, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.
This is down from nearly 90 percent 10 years ago when U.S. sales to Japan were limited by curbs following a case of mad cow disease, a brain-wasting condition formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Under the bilateral free trade deal, tariffs on frozen beef exports to Japan will fall from 38.5 percent to 19.5 percent over 18 years, while tariffs on chilled beef will fall from 38.5 percent to 23.5 percent over 15 years.
The agreement is front loaded and once signed, Australian beef exporters will have an immediate advantage over U.S. sellers, who face the same 38.5 percent tariff.
Japan and the United States are also pushing for a two-way trade deal, a crucial part of a broad U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) before U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Japan later this month.
TRADE MISSES
Despite the gains for beef, Australian farm organsiations expressed disappointment that some other commodities appeared to have won few benefits from the trade deal with Japan.
Australia's small horticulture market should gain, but Australian dairy and sugar producers were the most aggrieved, with high tariffs staying in place.
Australian sugar sales, which account for about a third of Japan's imports, will see lower tariffs for international standard sales, but industry group CaneGrowers Australia said much of Australian exports are specialised grades, on which tariffs will remain at 70 percent.
"We expect to see Australian exports to Japan continue to slide," said Paul Schembri of the Australian Sugar Alliance.
Cheese sales to Japan, worth A$415 million in the 2012/13 season, will have the quota for duty free imports increased, but tariffs on all other sales will remain at 29.8 percent. Dairy farmers said they were extremely disappointed.
Source:- in.reuters.com
Rupee To Us Dollar: Indian Currency Now More Dependent On Inflows Into Equity Markets
Over the near-term, we can see the Indian rupee to US dollar range oscillating between 59.30/50 and 60.50/70.Over the last one week, we have seen the Indian rupee traverse within the range of 59.50/70 and 60.40/50 levels to the US dollar on spot. RBI has shown strong resolve to procure US dollars from the market, evident from the sharp uptick in the FCY reserves. At the same time, RBI has disallowed FIIs from investing in short term govt. debt, which means, from now on, Indian rupee would be all the more dependent on the inflows into the equity markets.
On Monday, the local unit had opened stronger, on the back overnight sell-off in the offshore markets. Offshore continues to drive the Indian rupee and sets its value as onerous regulations in the domestic markets prevents price discovery.
Indian rupee traded to a day’s high of 59.78/79 before reversing course on the back of sell-off global and domestic equity markets. The pair closed around 60.10/11 on spot, after touching a high of 60.22/24 levels on spot. Importer demand and the invisible hand of the sovereign supported the Greenback.
Over the near-term, we can see the pair oscillate between a range of 59.30/50 and 60.50/70, as central bank intervention and FII interest keeps the local unit bracketed.
Overnight, SEBI announced measures to reduce margins on exchange traded currency derivatives segment. We welcome the step. However, we hope that a full restoration of the previous norms will happen. Over the last few years, a number of onerous regulations were put in place on exchange traded segment. As our central bank governor has emphasised in his speeches that there is a for liquid and deep multi asset financial markets, a step in that direction can be to make regulations non-prohibitory and less complicated. We hope that position limits are relaxed and also banks are allowed to participate actively in the exchange traded market. FIIs have just been allowed to hedge their exposure in the ETC. Therefore, in order to allow for deep and liquid exchange traded FX market there has to be ample scope from domestic participants, hedgers, speculators and arbitragers, to also participate actively in the ETC markets.
Source:- indianexpress.com
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