ITAT following its earlier order directed AO to apply same rate of net profit to make adjustments to

IT/ILT : Following order passed by Co-ordinate Bench of Tribunal in assessee's own case relating to earlier assessment year, Assessing Officer was to be directed to make adjustment to assessee's ALP by applying net profit rate of 1.25 per cent on gross receipts of assessee

Workshop To Improve Rice Export To Usa

The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan and the Ministry of National Food Security and Research conducted a training .

workshop on the control of Khapra beetle in rice to develop awareness among the exporters. Dr. Muhammad Ishfaque, Department of Plant Protection Lahore gave a presentation by covering all Technical Aspects for removal of Khapra beetle. Ch. Masood Iqbal, Chairman REAP, also delivered a speech on this issue. In a section of press, his message was not clearly recorded. In fact, he emphasized that in future our exporters need to be more vigilant by covering all Phytosanitary requirements which are essentially required for Rice Export to USA.



The present practice of inspection at USA Ports will remain as it is till the finalization of arrangements mutually agreed between the Government of Pakistan and APHIS (USDA).

Source:- nation.com.pk

Expedite Duty Drawback Claims: Fieo

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has once again urged the Centre to expedite the release of duty drawback claims as it has touched Rs.10,100 crore at the national level.



FIEO has been raising concern over the delay in refund of duty drawback for the goods exported through sea and air ports, as liquidity is a big issue for exporters and it would impact future shipments and fund flows.



Citing the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) website, a FIEO official said: “We are talking about the duty drawback pendency claim of Rs.10,177.50 crore since November. This figure is mentioned in the CBEC website and not provided by us. We are requesting the Centre to help the exporters to enable them to compete at the global level when the market conditions are gloomy.”



At the national level, from April 2013 till March 12, 2014, CBEC has paid Rs.11,511.13 crore against Rs.9,666.38 crore paid for the corresponding period last year. The pendency is Rs.10,177 crore for 12.41 lakh shipping bills.



Regarding the pendency at the Southern ports, he said CBEC till date had paid Rs.5,885.86 crore against Rs.4,721.98 crore for the corresponding period last year and the outstanding amount is Rs.3,168.64 crore.



Talking to The Hindu, a Custom House agent said that there has been a slow down in the refund of duty drawback claims since November. Though the CBEC claims that there has been a 27.4 per cent increase in the payout for the current year, it includes payment made for January-March 2013 period in the first quarter of 2014 and also due to inflation.

Source:- thehindu.com

Asia Pacific Market: Stocks Slide On China Economy Slowdown, Ahead Of Crimea Referendum

Asia Pacific share market drifted down on Friday, 14 March 2014, as risk aversion selloff flared across the region on concerns about China's economic growth coupled with escalating tensions in the Ukraine. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.9%.

Investment rationale turned bearish amidst heightening concern about the outlook for the China economy after at least four investment banks cut their growth forecasts on the region's biggest economy.

Bank of America Corp., UBS AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Nomura Holdings Inc. lowered forecasts for China's 2014 economic expansion after reports yesterday showed factory output rose in January and February at the slowest pace since the global financial crisis, while retail sales grew at the slowest rate for the period since 2004.

National Bureau of Statistics of China said on Thursday that factory production rose 8.6% in the January-February period from a year earlier. Retail sales advanced 11.8%, while fixed-asset investment excluding rural households was up 17.9%. The Thursday data releases confirm that the slowdown seen at the end of 2013 has extended into this year and suggest it is deepening.

At the same time, Premier Li Keqiang signaled that China's leaders are "not preoccupied" with hitting the official 7.5% economic growth target. Risk sentiments weakened further after PREMIER Li Keqiang signaled on Thursday that his government will not ride to the rescue of every troubled investment, by saying some loan defaults are hard to avoid in what he called a challenging economic environment. But Li, speaking at a news conference on the final day of the annual session of China's top legislature, hinted at some tolerance for slower economic expansion this year in order to push reforms aimed at providing longer-term and more sustainable growth, as long as enough new jobs are created. The GDP growth target is around 7.5%. 'Around' means there is some flexibility and we have some tolerance, Li said, adding that the lower limit on growth must ensure job creation. China wants to create 10 million new jobs in 2014 and Li has said that the economy must grow 7.2% annually to do that. Some 13 million new jobs were created last year, when the economy grew 7.7%.

Selling pressure intensified further on caution ahead of a public referendum in Crimea on Sunday to decide whether to break away from Ukraine and become part of Russia. The Black Sea region of Crimea votes on whether to leave Ukraine and rejoin Russia on March 16, with the U.S. and Germany stepping up pressure on Moscow over their support for the secession.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said serious steps would be imposed by the U.S. and Europe if the referendum on Crimea joining Russia takes place on Sunday as planned.

Market sentiments also under pressure after the release of disappointing U.K. trade balance data. Official data showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to 9.79 billion pound in January, from 7.66 billion pound in December, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated deficit of 7.7 billion pound.

Meanwhile, investors were eyeing upcoming U.S. data due later in the day, after upbeat economic reports on Thursday eased concerns over the strength of the nation's economic recovery. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.3% in February, ending two months of declines, while Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, also rose 0.2% last month, ahead of expectations for a 0.3% rise. Separately, the Department of Labor said the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to a three month low of 315,000 last week, from the previous week's revised total of 324,000.

Among Asian bourses, Japanese share market stumbled the most in the region, as investors flew away from riskier stocks, particularly export related companies, amidst concerns about China's economic growth coupled with escalating tensions in the Ukraine. Meanwhile, hardening of yen against major currencies intensified selling in the local shares. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index tanked 3.3% to 14327.66, while the Topix index of all first-section shares retreated 3.22% at 1164.70.

Japanese exporter shares, especially those with close China links, declined sharply, with TDK topped a list of battered exporters, losing 4.5%. Komatsu fell 3.6% and Daikin Industries lost 3.9%.Toyota dropped 3% to 5,551 yen in Tokyo. Honda Motor Co. (7267), which gets about 83% of sales from overseas, decreased 3.1% to 3,607 yen. Sony Corp. (6758), the maker of Bravia televisions and PlayStation game consoles, sank 4.2% to 1,761 yen.

The minutes of the Feb. 17-18 policy meeting released on Friday, indicating many of the Bank of Japan's nine board members decided unanimously to double the scale of the two programs to help boost bank lending and extend the application period for these facilities by one year.

"Many members said that the bank had been stating that, implementing quantitative and qualitative monetary easing, it would examine both upside and downside risks to economic activity and prices, and make adjustments as appropriate," the minutes said. "These members continued that the revisions discussed at this meeting should not be taken as such 'adjustments' to achieving the price stability target of 2% as expected.

The minutes for the February meeting also showed that the board agreed that the moderate recovery trend will continue, weathering an expected slump in domestic demand after the April sales tax hike. "A few members expressed the view that future economic developments depended on whether an increase in exports and business fixed investment could offset the reversal decline in private consumption following the consumption tax hike," the minutes said. "One of these members added that, in the event of a decline in household and business sentiment, it was necessary to closely monitor whether this would bring about a self-fulfilling economic downturn through a contraction in consumption and investment activities." Some board members said exports have been weak because some sectors have had to respond to strong domestic demand. "These members continued that exports might gain momentum in the April-June quarter of 2014, at which time domestic demand was projected to experience a reversal decline following the consumption tax hike," the minute said.

In Australia, Australian stock market closed sharp lower as investors flew away from riskier stocks, particularly commodity linked companies, on lingering concerns about weakness in the Chinese economy and tensions in Ukraine. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index each were down 1.5% to finish at 5329.40 and 5347.10, respectively.

Material was the worst-performing sector, down 2.4%, as the base metal prices fell up to 1.4% on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday with copper and aluminium leading the declines. Resources giant BHP Billiton tanked 2% to A$35.66, while Rio Tinto, Australia's biggest iron ore miner, dropped 2.5% to A$61.50 and third force in iron ore, Fortescue Metals Group, dropped 2.7% to A$4.98.

Shares of Australian financial companies were also down. Commonwealth Bank of Australia declined 0.9% to A$75.25, Westpac Banking Corp 1.8% to A$33.65, National Australia Bank 1.2% to A$34.33 and ANZ Banking Group 1.1% to A$31.87.

Lend Lease shares fell 1.6% to A$11.32 following a fire at its $6 billion Barangaroo development in Sydney. It is likely the property group has insurance but the fire, which covered Sydney's central business district in smoke, will cause delays.

Shares in Leighton Holdings gained 3.1% to A$21.37, following the increase of a takeover offer from Hochtief, which raised its conditional bid to A$22.50%.

In China, Mainland China stock market finished weaker, after at least four investment banks cut their growth forecasts on the Asia's biggest economy. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.73% to 2004.34.

Among SSE sectors, 9/10 sectors of the SSE index declined, with energy sector dropped the most amongst the SSE sectoral peers, down 1.5%, followed by healthcare down 1.1%, consumer staples down 1.1%, industrials down 1%, utilities down 1%, financials down 0.8%, telecommunication services down 0.5%, information technology down 0.4% and materials down 0.1%.

In Hong Kong, HK market declined for third consecutive day, amid mounting concern about the outlook for the China economy after at least four investment banks cut their growth forecasts on the region's biggest economy. The Hang Seng Index ended down 216.59 points to 21,539.

Among the HK 50 blue chips, 38 fell and 8 rose, with 4 stocks remaining unchanged. New World Development Co was down 14% to HK$8.27 on whammy of rights issue, while CITIC Pacific rose 4.9% to HK$11.68 on talks that the conglomerate looks for a up to HK$8.8bn 5-year loan with 13 banks, making themselves the biggest blue-chip loser and gainer.

New World sank 14% to HK$8.27, while New World China (00917) surged 29% to HK$6.63 after its parent announced plan to take it private at HK$6.8 per share.

Tencent plunged 4% to HK$564 after regulator's call to a halt of Tencent's virtual credit card products. The stock has dropped for three consecutive days. It has slid 12.7% from its all-time high of HK$646 on 7 March.

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance on Friday said total gross premiums of the Hong Kong insurance industry in 2013 amounted to HK$290.7 billion, an increase of 13.9% over 2012. Gross and net premiums of general insurance business recorded a growth of 7.1% to HK$42.1 billion and 8% to HK$29.2 billion compared with 2012. Overall underwriting profit also recorded an increase from HK$2.2 billion in 2012 to HK$3 billion in 2013. Revenue premiums of Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) business and Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business rose 18.4% to HK$173.3 billion and by 9.5% to HK$54.7 billion. Contributions of Retirement Scheme business grew 2.3% to HK$17.1 billion. New office premiums (excluding Retirement Scheme business) of long term business for 2013 climbed 18.9% to HK$92.6 billion compared with 2012. Both Individual Life and Annuity (Non-Linked) and Individual Life and Annuity (Linked) business recorded premium growth, with the former rose 21% to HK$73.0 billion and the latter grew 11.7% to HK$19.1 billion in terms of new office premiums.

In Indonesia, shares in the Jakarta market surged sharply today, after main opposition PDI-P party named Jakarta's hugely popular governor, Joko Widodo, as its candidate for this year's presidential election. The Indonesian benchmark Jakarta Composite Index jumped 3.23% to 4878.54, extending its advance from an Aug. 27 low to 23%. That's above the 20% level that marks the common definition of a bull market.

Bank Indonesia held its benchmark reference rate unchanged at 7.50%, as widely expected, because pressures over the inflation rate and the rupiah have eased. The decision came after market close on Thursday.

In India, strong intraday rebound in late trade took the key benchmark indices to positive zone from negative zone. The market sentiment was boosted after the data showed that inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) eased to a nine-month low last month.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was provisionally up 22.55 points or 0.1%, up about 225 points from the day's low and off close to 55 points from the day's high. Among the 30 Sensex shares, 15 declined and rest rose. Bhel (up 2.73%), Tata Steel (up 1.68%), and Tata Motors (up 1.61%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

Indian index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) and ITC, both, reversed intraday losses. Shares of L&T scaled 52-week high and L&T Finance Holdings slumped after the offer for sale of shares of L&T Finance Holdings by L&T was oversubscribed. Among auto stocks, M&M scaled record high.

Indian economy can grow an annual 5.2% in the quarter to end-March on higher farm output growth, the chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council said today, 14 March 2014. C. Rangarajan also said he expects the economic growth to pick up to 5.5% to 6% in the fiscal year that begins on 1 April 2014. Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) eased to a nine-month low of 4.68% in February 2014, from 5.05% in January 2014 and 7.28% during the corresponding month of the previous year, data released by the government today, 14 March 2014, showed. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 5.17% compared to a buildup rate of 6.15% in the corresponding period of the previous year. The government revised upwards the rate of WPI inflation for December 2013 to 6.4%, from 6.16% reported on 15 January 2014.

Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan's Taiex index dropped 0.69%. South Korea's KOSPI index fell 0.75%. New Zealand's NZX50 declined 0.64%. Malaysia's KLSE Composite declined 0.76%. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.25%. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index jumped 3.23%.

Source:-business-standard.com

Kcci Export Trophy Awards: Paying Tribute And Recognising Untiring Efforts Of Karachi-Based Exporters

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has organised KCCI Export Trophy Awards for Karachi based exporters during the current fiscal year with a vision to pay glowing tribute and recognise the untiring efforts being made by the local exporters, who are promoting 'Made in Pakistan' logo and earning the foreign exchange for the country.

The tireless efforts being made by these exporters have ensured that Pakistan's economy stays afloat in all circumstances as the overall business climate is not at par as compared to Pakistan's competitors in this region yet our exporters are trying their best to maintain and further improve their share in the international markets.

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has designed its Exports Awards for Karachi based exporters in an alluring manner, while classifying the awards in diversified categories in respect to an array of export oriented products of Pakistan. KCCI has been organising Export Trophy Awards since many years to pay glowing tribute to exporters for their unmatchable contribution in earning foreign exchange and to recognise their services which led to ensuring that Pakistan's economy stays afloat. It is very heartening to note that the depressed economy has finally started to recover soon after the democratically elected PML-N government took over the regime and announced to give top priority to economic revival and energy crisis.

KCCI Export Trophy Awards are being conferred in seven different categories namely 1.) Businessmen of the Year Award; 2.) Best Export Performance Award; 3.) Special Merit Export Award; 4.)Merit Export Award; 5.)Non-traditional/ value-added New Product Award; 6.) Best Lady Exporter Award; and 7.) Special Award for Small & Medium Enterprise (SME).

Karachi city, being the financial hub of Pakistan and a major contributor to the national exchequer, is undoubtedly the paradise for exporters as two major ports of the country, the Karachi Port Trust and Port Qasim Authority equipped with Pakistan International Container Terminal and Qasim International Container Terminal, are located in the metropolitan city of Karachi. Majority of the offices of various shipping companies along with the offices of freight forwarders and shipping agents are headquartered in this important city.

Despite energy crisis and security issues, Pakistan's export have continued to perform well owing to the business community's will to keep on enhancing exports by exploring untapped markets, besides enhancing trade ties in regional markets including SAARC, ASEAN, Central Asian Republics, China, Iran, India, Middle East and African countries.

According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan's trade deficit has shrunk by 10.76 percent to $5.8 billion in the first four months (July to October) period of current fiscal year 2013-14 (FY14) as compared to $6.5 billion in same period last fiscal year. Meanwhile, exports from the country gained sufficient pace in the period under review to $8.6 billion, registering 5.11 percent increase over exports worth $8.2 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

The European Union (EU) granted duty-free access to Pakistani made-ups under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) Plus status from January 1, 2014. Industry analysts believe that the GSP Plus status will help reduce trade deficit of Pakistan by duty free or preferential duty-rate access on 3,500 products to EU markets where currently Pakistan textile exports to the EU draw an 11 percent duty.

The new trade concessions are likely to bode well for the Pakistan textile chain and should augment export revenues where the EU is one of Pakistan's major trading partners. With the approval of GSP Plus status, Pakistan's export revenues are likely to be enhanced by $500 million to $1 billion annually, as the industry will look to maximise capacity utilisation.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan exported textiles and garments worth US $4.691 billion during the first four months of the ongoing fiscal year 2013-14 that started on July 1, 2013, showing a rise of 7.55 percent over exports of US $4.361 billion made during the corresponding period of last year.

From January to October 2013, Pakistan's raw cotton exports surged by 43.27 percent year-on-year to US $81.556 million, while its bed wear exports grew by 21.08 percent year-on-year to US $727.306 million. However, major earnings for Pakistan were from cotton fabric, which fetched US $946.601 million growing at 5.2 percent year-on-year, followed by knitwear, which earned US $763.865 million rising at 1.51 percent year-on-year, and cotton yarn, which brought US $758.363 million in foreign exchange showing a rise of 6.39 percent year-on-year.During the four-month period, Pakistan's readymade garment exports increased by 7.96 percent year-on-year to US $620.763 million. The textile exports as a whole increased by mere 0.40 percent year-on-year in October 2013 to US $1.114 billion, with a major dip of 50.35 percent year-on-year seen in export of cotton.

Furthermore, the export of non-textile products grew marginally by 2.29 per cent in the first four months (July-October) of this fiscal year from a year ago. In absolute terms, the export of non-textile products reached $3.885 billion in July-October 2013 compared with $3.798billion in the corresponding period of last year. The increase was mainly driven by surge in export of petroleum products, sports goods, leather products and molasses.

Although Pakistan's exports have been performing well for many decades but the experts from business community strongly believe that these exports were still at the lower side and they can be taken to new heights if government focuses more on improving the infrastructure along with Pakistan's foreign trade with various countries. Moreover, Pakistan's exports remain confined to traditional markets with limited exportable items, of which the textile exports remain outstanding. There is a need to not only diversify these exports but also explore new markets as remaining confined to the traditional markets and products will keep Pakistan's exports limited and we, despite having the capability to earn billions of dollars by diversifying and enhancing our exports, will not be able to score much. On the other hand, the decision makers in Islamabad must also stop depending on aid and should devise a clear strategy focusing on ways and means to enhance trade. In this regard, all hurdles in way of enhancing trade must be removed by effectively dealing with corruption at all departments, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to industrialists and availability of essential infrastructure along with safe and secure business climate.

Source:- brecorder.com

Gold, Silver Up On Scattered Buying, Global Cues

Gold prices recovered by Rs 10 to Rs 30,810 per ten gram in the national capital on Friday on scattered buying by retailers amid a firm global trend.

Silver also strengthened for the fourth day by adding Rs 100 to Rs 47,000 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units.

Traders said scattered buying by retailers amid a firm global trend, where gold climbed to a six-month high, and escalating tension in Ukraine mainly boosted demand for the precious metals as a safe haven.

Gold in Singapore, which normally sets price trend on the domestic front, rose 0.5 per cent to $ 1,376.64 an ounce, the highest level since September 10 and silver added 0.2 per cent to $ 21.22 an ounce.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity recovered by Rs 10 each to Rs 30,810 and Rs 30,610 per ten gram respectively. It had lost Rs 220 on Thursday.

Sovereign held steady at Rs 25,350 per piece of eight gram.

On the other hand, silver ready rose further by Rs 100 to Rs 47,000 for per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 160 to Rs 46,850 per kg. The white metal had gained Rs 970 in the previous three sessions.

However, silver coin lacked necessary buying support and plunged by Rs 1,000 to Rs 86,000 for buying and Rs 87,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Source:- thehindu.com

Higher tax rate specified by IT Act on foreign cos. isn’t violative of non-discrimination clauses of

IT/ILT : Higher rate of tax prescribed for foreign company is not to be regarded as violative of non-discriminatory clause, i.e. article 26 of India - France DTAA

Ind-Ra Market Wire: India To Miss Fy14 Exports Target

India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) believes India will miss its FY14 exports target of USD325bn due to negative growth in exports (3.7% yoy) in February 2014.

Exports valued at USD26.7bn in February 2014, puts the cumulative exports over April 2013-February 2014 at USD282bn, leaving a gap of USD43bn from the FY14 exports target. Ind-Ra believes it is quite unlikely that this gap would be filled in just one month as exports in most of the months of FY14 have fluctuated between USD24bn-USD27bn.

Imports in February 2014, valued at USD33.8bn, witnessed a negative yoy growth of 17.0%. This fall was mainly due to a sharp decline in non-oil imports (24.5%). With a slowing economy, this is not unexpected, but has had a positive impact on the overall trade balance. Trade deficit declined to USD8.1bn in February 2014 from USD9.9bn in January 2014.

On a cumulative basis, exports at USD282bn over April 2013-February 2014 grew 4.8%, while imports at USD411bn declined 8.7%. This resulted in the trade deficit narrowing to USD128bn over the same period. Ind-Ra, therefore, expects current account deficit to come down to 2.2% of GDP in FY14 as against 4.8% of GDP in.

Source:- business-standard.com

Palm Imports By India Tumble To Lowest In 34 Months On Prices

Palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer, slumped to the lowest since April 2011 last month as prices surged on production concerns and local refiners idled capacities because of falling profit margins.

Purchases of crude and refined palm oils plunged 50 percent to 393,828 metric tons from a year earlier, Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association of India said in an e-mailed statement today. Shipments were lower than the 550,000 tons estimated in a Bloomberg survey. Total imports, including for industrial use, tumbled 40 percent to 578,975 tons, the association said.

Futures jumped to the highest level in almost 18 months this week after data showed that palm oil output in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer, dropped last month to the lowest since April 2012 and as a dry spell sweeping most of Southeast Asia threatened to hurt production later this year.

“The dry spell in Indonesia and Malaysia is hitting us as prices have gone up,” B.V. Mehta, executive director of the trade group, said by phone from Mumbai. “There is a disparity in importing palm products, and many refineries are lying idle. Today, RBD palm olein is $15-$20 a ton cheaper in India than crude palm oil. Who is a fool to import CPO?”

Indonesia set the export tax on refined bleached and deodorized, or RBD, palm olein at 2 percent for March, compared with a 10.5 percent tariff on crude oil. India imposes a duty of 2.5 percent on crude edible oil imports, while the levy on refined varieties is 10 percent.

Crude soybean oil imports jumped 54 percent to 96,420 tons in February from a year earlier, while sunflower oil purchases fell 31 percent to 57,950 tons, the association said. The country purchased 11,489 tons of canola oil last month, it said.

Futures climbed to 2,916 ringgit ($889) a ton on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives on March 11, the highest price since September 2012, and were at 2,783 ringgit at 5:07 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur today. Palm oil’s discount to soybean oil narrowed to $90.337 a ton from an average of $192.67 in the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Stockpiles at ports and due to arrive in India fell to 1.25 million tons as of March 1 from 1.52 million tons a month earlier, data showed.

“People are waiting for prices to fall,” Mehta said. “Only then will they start refilling supplies which are lower than the normal levels of 1.4 million tons a month. For now, new rapeseed crop is due and supply will be comfortable.”

India’s total cooking oil imports dropped 6 percent to 3.5 million tons in the four months ended February, the association said. Imports during 2013-2014 may total 10 million tons to 11 million tons, compared with 10.7 million tons a year earlier, Mehta said.

Source:- bloomberg.com

Rupee Recovers Most Losses As Exporters Sell Dollars

The rupee recovered most of its losses against the US dollar as exporters sold the US currency after a strong opening to the dollar in domestic trade on Friday.

At 2.55pm the rupee was trading at 61.265 per dollar, down 0.14% from its previous close of 61.18, but more importantly it was off its intra-day low of 61.55 earlier in the day.

The partially convertible currency had opened at 61.415 a dollar as banks bought the US currency after overnight data showed that the US economy was recovering at a quicker-than-expected pace.

Jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to 315,000 in the week ended 8 March, a labour department report showed 13 March. A separate report from the commerce department showed retail sales rose in February for the first time in three months. Purchases climbed 0.3% after a revised 0.6% decrease a month earlier that was bigger than initially estimated.

“The rupee was trading weaker earlier but since then there is no real customer dollar demand in the market which has allowed it to rebound. Exporters are also looking to sell the dollar at every uptick which is why rupee has rebounded,” said Agam Gupta, managing director, fixed income trading, India at Standard Chartered Plc.

A larger-than-expected drop in wholesale inflation also soothed the market. The February wholesale price inflation (WPI) figure dropped to 4.68% from 5.05% in January, much below the consensus estimate of 4.9% and a nine-month low.

Since January this year, the rupee has gained 0.89% amid a return of foreign inflows in both the debt as well as equity markets in India.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.596, down 0.03% from the previous close of 79.62.

India’s benchmark Sensex was trading at 21,613.80, down 0.74%, or 160.81 points, from the previous close.

The 10-year bond was trading at 8.771%, from previous close of 8.738%. It opened at 8.738% and touched a high and a low of 8.784% and 8.737%, respectively.

The India call money rate was trading at 8.65%, up 23.57% from previous close of 7%. It opened at 8.05% and touched a high and a low of 8.65% and 8.05%, respectively.

Source:- livemint.com

Courier services to communicate with head office and customers are eligible for input service credit

Cenvat Credit : Courier service used for sending documents to head office and to customers is eligible for input service credit

ITAT slams DIT(E) for denying trust registration on pretext of its activities outside India without

IT : Where there was no material on record to show that assessee-trust had carried out activities outside country or had applied any fund to such activities outside country, denial of registration under section 12AA was not justified

Higher tax rate specified by IT Act on foreign cos. isn’t voilative of non-discrimination clauses of

IT/ILT : Higher rate of tax prescribed for foreign company is not to be regarded as violative of non-discriminatory clause, i.e. article 26 of India - France DTAA

Nature of relationship amongst parties and terms of investment also relevant to prove legitimacy of

IT : Creditworthiness and genuineness of Share money depends also on nature of relationship between parties, object, terms and quantum of investment, types of investor, creditworthiness of recipient, etc.

Synnex-IBM deal to transfer BPO business won't have adverse effect due to existence of big players i

Competition Law: Where proposed combination relating to transfer of CRM BPO business of IBM to informant was not likely to have adverse effect on competition in India, same was to be approved

Receipt of reassessment notice by authorized representative of assessee to be deemed as valid servic

IT : Notice under section 148(1) served on assessee through its accountant, being its representative, was valid and legal

RBI hikes trade related remittance ceiling to Rs 5 lakh per transaction

FEMA/ILT : Rupee Drawing Arrangement - Increase in Trade Related Remittance Limit

Assessee couldn't seek advance ruling under Karnataka VAT when transaction was under scrutiny of Dep

CST & VAT : Where a transaction has been taken up by Department for scrutiny/inquiry and claim of exemption is pending consideration of Department, assessee cannot file application for advance rulings

HC slams AO for invoking sec. 50B even when slump sale was made prior to its introduction

IT : Slump sale taken place prior to introduction of section 50B with effect from 1-4-2000, was not taxable

Addition set aside as TPO erred in applying CUP method to fix ALP of management fee at 'nil'

IT/ILT : Where assessee-company engaged in manufacturing and marketing of speciality chemicals and printed circuit board, entered into cost sharing agreement with AE located abroad in terms of which certain group management cost was paid, in absence of proper examination of material brought on record in support of assessee's claim, TPO merely referring to CUP method could not determine ALP of management fee at nil

PAN and address details of depositors proved their identity and creditworthiness; no sec. 68 additio

IT : Where in support of receipt of share application money, assessee produced names, addresses and PAN of depositors which were sufficient to prove their identity and creditworthiness, Assessing Officer was not justified in making addition under section 68 in respect of amount in question

Order of lower authorities couldn't be revised if due taxes had been paid and there was no instance

CST & VAT : If tax has been duly paid and there is no tax evasion, order in favour of assessee cannot be regarded as 'erroneous' and 'prejudicial to interests of revenue' and cannot, therefore, be subjected to revision

HC raps appellate authorities for enhancing commission allowed by AO in absence of any additional ma

IT : Without materials available to appellate authorities, percentage of commission allowed by Assessing Officer could not be enhanced

Sec. 54B relief denied as assessee failed to acquire agricultural land within two years of transfer

IT : Where though assessee placed compensation on acquisition of agricultural land in account under Capital Gains Scheme but failed to purchase another agricultural land within two years, assessee would be liable to pay capital gains tax

Special CVD/SAD exemption for resale not allowed as invoice didn't indicate denial of Cenvat credit

Excise & Customs : Condition in Notification No. 102/2007-Cus. that refund of special CVD/SAD is allowable only if invoices carry declaration as to non-availability of credit to buyer is a mandatory condition and in case of non-compliance, refund is not allowable

Twisting and texturising of partially oriented yarn to be deemed as manufacture; HC allows sec. 80-I

IT : An assessee is entitled to deduction under sections 80HH and 80-I where process of twisting and texturising of partially oriented yarn amounted to manufacture in terms of section 80-IA

Sec. 269UD order set aside as compulsory acquisition was made without determining market value of pr

IT: Where Appropriate Authority passed an order of compulsory acquisition of property without determining fair market value of said property and, moreover, property under consideration was an open land situated outside limits of Municipal Corporation whereas comparable sale instance property was a constructed floor situated within jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation, impugned order passed under section 269UD(1) was unjustified and, thus, same observed to be set aside

Goods belonging to co. deemed to be its private personal property; gets exemption under N/N 174/66-C

Excise & Customs : Goods belonging to company are to be regarded as 'private personal property' of company and, therefore, said goods are entitled exemption under Notification No. 174/66-Cus

HC rejected winding up plea and referred it to civil court as matter was on factual matrix requiring

CL : Where controversy between parties involved factual disputes which would necessitate documentary oral evidence by both sides, winding up petition was to be dismissed and parties were relegated to civil remedy

ALP should be restricted to international transaction which can't be extended to entity level

IT/ILT : Determination of arm's length price should be restricted only to international transaction of assessee with its AE

Buyer isn’t liable to pay service-tax on GTA services under reverse charge if he purchases raw mater

Service Tax : In case of purchases of raw materials on FOR basis, person availing transport services is 'supplier' and, therefore, buyer cannot be asked to pay service tax under reverse charge

ITAT allows provision for frauds made by ING Vysya Bank in conformity with report of its vigilance c

IT : Where assessee-bank claimed deduction of 'provision of fraud', in view of fact that incident which resulted in irregularities/embezzlement occurred during relevant previous year and, moreover, actual amount involved in fraud was calculated by assessee's vigilance cell after detailed study, amount so computed was to be allowed as business loss

No TDS on salary paid to NR working on a foreign ship for less than 90 days as it is exempt under se

IT/ILT : Payments made to foreigner-crew member of ship who worked for a period of less than 90 days in India, were not income of employees in India liable to TDS

No TDS from salary paid to NR working on a foreign ship for less than 90 days as it is exempt under

IT/ILT : Payments made to foreigner-crew member of ship who worked for a period of less than 90 days in India, were not income of employees in India liable to TDS

No denial of hearing by CIT(A) due to non-payment of tax if sum seized from assessee exceeded tax du

IT: Where Commissioner (Appeals) denied hearing of appeal on plea that assessee had failed to pay due tax on returned income and had defaulted in terms of provisions of section 249(4)(a), since amount that had been seized by revenue from assessee was far in excess of amount of tax payable on returned income, assessee could not have been denied hearing

CLB is empowered to decide title of parties in relation to lost shares

CL : Where petitioner having purchased shares of first respondent company, lost transfer deeds, in view of fact that material brought on record clearly established that petitioner had purchased those shares for valuable consideration, petition seeking declaration that he was lawful owner of shares in question, was to be allowed

Delay in clearance of cheque of PF contribution won't be deemed as non-compliance of sec. 43B; no di

IT: Delay of more than 15 days in encashing cheques of PF amount by office of PF Commissioner, would not entitle department to treat said amount as income which would be taxable in hands of assessee

No recovery of tax from director of co. if tax default was not due to director’s negligence or misfe

IT: Where a private company had unpaid outstanding tax dues, such dues could not be recovered from director of said company if she proves that non recovery of tax due against company could not be attributed to any gross negligence, misfeasance or breach of duty on her part in relation to affairs of company

ITAT approves of interest on I-T refund in view of order passed in assessee's case in earlier assess

IT/ILT: Interest under section 244A is admissible on refund of tax paid in pursuance of order under section 195

Valuation loss written off in compliance with AS-2 is allowable for I-T purposes as well; HC remands

IT: Where assessee having followed principle of 'cost or net realisable value, whichever is loss', adopted write off factor of inventory at 8.50 per cent which was rejected by authorities below, in view of fact that aforesaid method adopted by assessee was an accepted method of valuation of inventory as per AS-2, impugned order was to be set aside and matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

Dept. may re-determine annual capacity of production if assessee furnish wrong essential information

Excise & Customs : If formula for determination of annual capacity of production (ACP) is applied to wrong information furnished by assessee, it will result in incorrect annual capacity of production being determined and in that case, relevant authority may make re-determination of capacity based on additional and further evidence

No addition for that unexplained exp. for which relief was given by CIT(A) and it was not challenged

IT : Where Commissioner (Appeals) granted partial relief to assessee in respect of unexplained expenditure against which revenue did not file any appeal, said order became final and, therefore, in pursuance of remand proceedings, Assessing Officer could not make addition to that extent again to assessee's taxable income

Sums payable to drivers as per incentive scheme encouraging prompt delivery of vehicles were allowab

IT : Where manufacturer of two-wheelers had launched an incentive scheme for encouraging prompt delivery of two-wheelers from site of manufacturing plant up to door step of dealers and in pursuance of said scheme, assessee having received certain amount from manufacturers, paid a part of same to drivers as incentive, amount so paid was to be allowed as business expenditure

Belated appeal to be condoned if department didn't supply order in original despite request by asses

Excise & Customs : Where assessee's requests for supplying a copy of Order-in-original was not acceded to by Department within time, delay in filing appeal consequent thereto was condonable

Funding of loans from parties not assessable to tax casts doubt over sanctity of funds; HC upheld se

IT: Where assessee received loan from creditors who were not even taxpayers and, moreover, Assessing Officer had made sufficient inquiries and found that entire loan transaction was not genuine and essentially amounted to routing cash amount of assessee through alleged source, in such a situation, addition made under section 68 in respect of loan amount was to be confirmed

Labour and hire charges saved due to use of own machinery in works contract were deductible to deter

CST & VAT : When an assessee, instead of taking machinery and tools on hire, purchases machinery and tool and employs them in execution of works contract, he is entitled to deduction, which represents labour/hire charges, in substitution of which machinery and tools were employed

No cartelization amongst Airtel, Idea and Vodafone in 3G spectrum auction; CCI dismisses BSNL's comp

Competition Law : Where opposite parties who were private telecom service providers competed with each other in bidding for 3G spectrum services in several circles and informant failed to furnish any data to show that OPs had formed a cartel among themselves, proceedings against OPs were to be closed

Assessee isn't debarred from pointing out mistakes in comparables selected by him

IT/ILT: Once a FAR is considered as comparable by assessee, it is still open to point out mistakes therein

Ecc Approves Procurement Of Eight Million Tonnes Of Wheat

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) that met here on Tuesday with Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar accorded approval to the wheat procurement target of eight million tonnes for 2013-14 and extended the existing ban on the import of gold.

The Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) will procure 1.6 million tonnes and the remaining will be procured by the four provincial governments at the same support price of Rs1,200 per 40 kg.

The meeting also extended the ban till March 31 on import of gold and separated the gem stones from the gold and directed the Commence Ministry to immediately lift the ban on export of gem stones.

In the meeting, Ministry of Commerce had suggested that the quantity of gold should be reduced in one import transaction from 25 kg to 10 kg. At present there is a fine of 5 percent if importer imports gold and does not export the same quantity of gold after value addition in the shape of jewellery. It was observed that many importers imported the gold and did not export the same quantity after value addition rather they were involved in smuggling out of the gold to India which was why the ban on gold was imposed by the Nawaz government.

The official who was part of the meeting claimed that the ban on import of gold would be done away with before March 31 after gauging the sentiment of the ECC participants about the gold import issue.

The Commerce Ministry had also come up with its finding in the ECC which suggested that importers should get themselves registered afresh for importing gold and exporting the same after value addition. But importers are hesitant. However, Finance Minister Dar asked the Commerce Ministry to again come to ECC after detailed program to handle the issue with pragmatic approach.

Coming to wheat procurement issue, the official told that farmers community across the country wanted the increase in wheat support price over 1300 per 40 kg arguing that the input cost had increased manifold because of raise in prices of pesticides, electricity and fertilisers, but the Nawaz government did not honour the demand of the farmers and decided to maintain the wheat support price at existing level of Rs1200 per 40 kg.

Under the procurement plan, Punjab government will procure 4.5 million tonnes wheat from growers, Sindh 1.3 million tonnes, KPK 0.450 million tonnes, and Balochistan will procure 0.150 million tonnes.

According to the official, the participants of the ECC were told that current spell of rains would have positive impact on wheat growing areas and two more spells were due in the current month that would help achieve reasonable crop of wheat.

The ECC, however, the official disclosed, had deferred the summary of Commerce Ministry seeking import of livestock and dairy products from the 25 countries on which Pakistan had placed ban in 2001 on account of mad cow disease.

Commerce Ministry was of the view in the summary that World Animal Health Organisation had certified that the said 25 countries were now included in the list of countries where mad cow disease was no more there, so the import of livestock and dairy products should be allowed from the said countries. Dar responded saying he had no objection to import livestock from the said countries if the price of Rs200 per kg meat got reduced.

The 25 countries mainly include USA, New Zealand, some countries of EU and South America. At present, Pakistan imports livestock and dairy products from Australia.

On the issue of sugar export, the dispute between Commerce Ministry and State Bank of Pakistan emerged over the data discrepancies about sugar export as ministries of commerce and industries were of the view that country had exported 500,000 tonnes of sugar that had also been verified by PSMA (Pakistan Sugar Mills Association) whereas State Bank of Pakistan and finance minister were adamant that export of 500,000 tonnes had not completed yet.

So the decision was made that the figures about shipments of sugar exports needed to be reconciled between Commerce Ministry and central bank of Pakistan. The Commerce Ministry has also been directed to come up with sugar export policy and Ministry of Industries has been asked to come up with concrete measures needed to be adopted for the better export policy.

However, Ministry of Industries failed to impress upon the ECC on its review about performance of Large Scale Industries as in the review, there were no recommendations mentioned to increase the growth in LSM sector owing to which ECC asked Ministry of Industries to come up with recipes on how to increase the growth in LSM.

However, the ECC was informed by the Ministry of Industries that the performance of LSM had improved to a great extent telling that LSM growth stood at 6.8 percent in July-December 2013-14 as compared to 2.3 percent in the same period last year. The ECC was informed that there is 78 percent increase in sugar production and 28 percent increase in fertiliser sector.

It was also told the growth in auto industries declined by 2 percent apparently because of import of used cars and increase in sales tax on tractors. Ministry of Industries in its review also pinpointed that the growth in manufacturing bicycles had declined by 14.8 percent explaining the reason that the lower middle class had switched over to buying motorbikes and this could be gauged by the fact that growth in motorbike had tremendously increased. The Ministry also told that growth in paper and board increased by 7.5 percent, jute goods 16 percent and cotton and yarn by 2.18 percent.

Earlier, the finance minister in his opening remarks said that after coming into power the government of PML-N, in line with its manifesto, introduced several structural reforms in the economic sector to overcome the challenges it confronted. He said that today, thanks to Allah, all economic indicators were on the positive trend. Growth is moving up, inflation is going down, foreign exchange reserves are growing, value of rupee is appreciating and the stock market is moving up. He added that the economic scenario of the country was moving in the right direction and we would be able to contribute in prosperity of our people.

Source:- thenews.com.pk

A Budget For The Marginals: 2 Reform Stamp Duty

Government intervention in the housing market is a tricky business. On the one hand, it is a social good to improve people’s chances of owning a home, and homeowners deeply resent a stagnant or falling market. On the other hand, we have all too recently seen the risks of excessive lending. These are the well rehearsed motivations for and concerns about the Help to Buy scheme.

It’s universally acknowledged that more housebuilding would be a positive step. While that should of course happen, for political and practical reasons it is a medium term measure at best.

There is something the Chancellor can do in next week’s budget which would help existing homeowners, and would-be first time buyers, though: reform stamp duty.

As the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign, Stamp Out Stamp Duty, argues, we should aim eventually to eliminate stamp duty entirely.

It is a form of double taxation, and it represents a tax on the main family home – an asset which is exempted from capital gains tax for entirely moral reasons. It particularly hits those at the bottom of the pile, eating into their hard-saved deposits, particularly given that the 1 per cent rate now kicks in well below the average house price. Stamp duty also distorts the economy – producing weird variations in prices, deterring people from downsizing (which reduces opportunities for those with growing families) and adding extra costs to the process of moving to another area for work, for example.

But, with deficit reduction still the priority (as Paul Goodman argued yesterday) our short term aims must be a little more modest. As a first step towards abolition of this unfair tax on aspiration, the Chancellor ought to reform the duty to a marginal model, rather than the current ‘slab’ system.

Before we get bogged down in technical terms, here are the definitions. A slab system is one in which the taxpayer is charged a percentage on the whole value of the transaction once that value crosses the threshold, ie a house costing £125,000 incurs no stamp duty at all, but a house costing £125,001 incurs 1 per cent stamp duty on the whole amount, £1,250 in total.

A marginal system, like that operating for income tax, only applies the percentage charge to the money above the threshold – so a £125,001 house would incur a tax of 1p.

This would bring stamp duty into line with other commonly understood taxes, and reduce the heavy burden which currently afflicts those at the bottom of the pile most severely. A lower burden and a marginal system would help to iron out those distortions in the market, too. More people would be able to buy and sell houses, increasing opportunity and bolstering everyone’s freedom to make full use of their own property as they might wish.

Of course, given the importance of cutting the deficit, as Paul noted, we can’t just sling out tax cuts without giving thought to the consequences.

Fortunately, an enlightening Walbrook Economics study for the TPA has examined the impact on the Treasury’s revenues, too. If transaction numbers were static, such a reform would reduce the tax take by around £1.3 billion a year. Of course, the market is not static – and one of the main reasons to make stamp duty marginal is that it would free up the market, and increase the number of transactions.

That’s only the start of the upsides – people would be more likely to spend money on home improvements, and a more active market would provide greater incentives to build new houses. All in all, the TPA suggests each new transaction would on average be worth around £6,000 to the Exchequer in extra revenue raised as a result of the new economic activity.

For the Treasury to make that £1.3 billion back in extra market activity, therefore, the reform would need to generate only 210,000 extra transactions a year. To put that into context, there were 1.07 million transactions in the UK last year, a relatively low number compared to the years before the crash. Studies of the impact of recent stamp duty holidays suggest reductions in the rate stimulate sales in the short and long term at least enough to hit that figure and thus balance the books.

Laffer Curve-style justifications that tax cuts pay for themselves often involve a lengthy lag time. In this case, though, it seems that the market is sufficiently flexible and stamp duty is a sufficiently serious burden that a change would produce a swift enough reaction essentially to pay for itself.

Reforming stamp duty from the current unfair slab rate to a fairer marginal system would be a double victory for George Osborne – he would help people to become homeowners or to move up the housing ladder, and do so in a way that would be fiscally neutral at worst. It’s a way to improve the lives of large numbers of people at an affordable stroke.

Source:- conservativehome.com

India's Cotton Exports Up 5 Pc At 7.8 Mn Bales In Aug-Feb

India's cotton exports rose by five per cent to 7.8 million bales till February of this year and the pace of shipments are expected to taper in coming months depending upon demand from China, a latest report said.

The world's second biggest cotton producer had exported 7.4 million bales during the August-February period of the 2012-13 marketing year (August-July). One bale has 170 kg.

"Exports have reached an estimated 7.8 million bales through the end of February," the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest report.

Exports from December to February -- traditional months of heavy shipments -- were primarily to China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Pakistan, it said.

However, the pace of exports is expected to taper in coming months depending on demand from China, it added.

According to the USDA, total cotton exports are expected to touch 10.2 million bales in the ongoing 2013-14 marketing year as Indian cotton is favourably priced relative to the Cotlook A index, that monitors global cotton trade.

Cotton exports are expected to be marginally higher in 2013-14 as against 9.9 million bales in the pevious year.

On market arrival of cotton, the report said it continue to lag last year's pace and have reached 21.8 million bales as reported by state-run Cotton Corporation of India.

Arrivals are particularly slow in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan where the pace of cotton deliveries to local markets is 30 per cent behind a year ago. Arrivals in Andhra Pradesh are also running significantly behind the year ago pace.

Quoting trade sources, the USDA said that farmers are willing to hold cotton on farm in the hope of better pricing as the year progresses.

Similarly, mills are maintaining smaller stocks of cotton, buying smaller volumes more frequently rather than fewer, larger purchases, in part because of the high rates of interest in India, it said.Cotton prices remain firm, but spinning margins are strong pointing to continued strong consumption, it added

Source:- business-standard.com

Subsidy Cut To Cap India's 2014/15 Potash Imports

India's potash imports in 2014/15 are likely to remain squeezed despite a 20 percent drop in global prices as the government's plan to cut subsidy will keep local retail prices elevated, a senior industry official told Reuters in an interview.

The south Asian country fulfils its entire potash requirement through imports and global suppliers were banking on recovery in its demand to counter the slump in prices.

"Since the government is cutting subsidy, I think India can buy around 3.5 million tonnes in 2014/15," said P.S. Gahlaut, managing director, Indian Potash Limited, the country's biggest importer. Indian financial year runs from April to March.

India will cut potash subsidies by nearly a fifth for 2014/15 as the government tries to contain a ballooning fiscal deficit, two government sources and an industry official told Reuters last month.

Higher retail prices have already seen a drop in India's annual potash imports to around 3.3 million tonnes in 2013/14 from 6.3 million tonnes in 2010/11, Gahlaut said.

Retail potash prices have doubled since 2011 to 17,000 rupees a tonne as India cut subsidies over the last two years, including a 21.5 percent reduction in 2013/14, and due to a weak currency.

Global potash prices were thrown into a tailspin after Russia's Uralkali broke away from its trading venture Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) in July, sparking competition between producers who had previously maintained a high discipline on pricing.

Global potash miners like Potash Corp, Mosaic Co , Agrium Inc, Germany's K+S AG, Arab Potash Co and Israel Chemicals were hoping strong demand from price-sensitive Indian market in 2014.

Negotiations with global potash suppliers are likely to start from next week and import deals can be signed by the end of March, said Gahlaut, a key Indian negotiator with overseas suppliers.

He said India is likely to secure potash at the same price China bought from global suppliers earlier this year.

"We will pay the same price for potash as China has paid. Because of freight and smaller shipments, usually India pays a slightly higher CFR price than China, but FOB price would remain the same for potash suppliers," he said.

Uralkali, the world's top potash producer, has agreed to sell 700,000 tonnes of potash to China at a price of $305 per tonne on a cost and freight (CFR) basis in the first half of 2014.

In the first half of 2013/14 India bought potash at $427 per tonne, but after the break-up of BPC it secured discounts for existing deals to $375.

Source:- in.reuters.com

Palm Imports By India Falling 30% As Price Highest Since ’12

Palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer, probably tumbled for a second month as global prices jumped to the highest level since 2012 and refiners awaited domestic rapeseed supplies. Futures declined.

Shipments of the main crude and refined oils fell 30 percent to 550,000 metric tons in February from a year earlier, the median of estimates from five processors and brokers compiled by Bloomberg show. Imports in January fell to the lowest since April, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, which is set to release data this week.

Reduced demand from India may curb a rally in futures in Kuala Lumpur, which jumped 17 percent in the past year on concern production of cooking oils will drop as dry weather from Southeast Asia to South America cut prospects for crops. India imports more than 50 percent of its cooking oil demand, shipping palm from Indonesia and Malaysia, the top producers, and soybean oil from the U.S., Brazil and Argentina.

“The pace of imports has reduced because of the rising prices,” Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive officer of Mumbai-based broker Sunvin Group, said by phone. “The gap between palm and soft oils has narrowed, so we can see some shift in demand but not a substantial amount,” he said, referring to soybean and sunflower oils.

Crude soybean oil imports probably jumped 60 percent to 100,000 tons in February from 62,585 tons a year earlier, while sunflower oil purchases rose to 100,000 tons from 84,310 tons, the survey shows. Total vegetable oil imports, including for industrial use, dropped 20 percent in February to 780,000 tons.

Price Gap

Palm futures retreated 1.8 percent to 2,821 ringgit ($856) a ton on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, the biggest decline at close since Dec. 13. Its discount to soybean oil narrowed to $95.35 a ton from an average $194.42 in the past year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Cooking oil stockpiles at ports and due to arrive to India probably totaled 1.35 million tons at the start of March from 1.52 million tons a month earlier, said Bajoria.

“Imports declined ahead of the rapeseed crop harvest this month and local demand was also poor,” Ashok Sethia, executive director at Sethia Oils Ltd., said by phone from Kolkata. “Consumption should rise in the summer months.”

India may harvest 7.23 million tons of rapeseed, the main oilseed grown in the winter season, up from 6.7 million tons last year, the association said, citing estimates by the Central Organization for Oil Industry & Trade, on March 10. Total vegetable oil imports by India are seen at 11.2 million tons in the year started Nov. 1, compared to 10.7 million tons a year earlier, COOIT said.

Source:- bloomberg.com

Dept. can't insist for formal letter for excise exemption if details were submitted with registratio

Excise & Customs : Where all details required to be submitted with exercise of option to claim area-based central excise exemption had already been furnished with application for central excise registration, non-filing of formal letter opting for said exemption is not fatal

Govt Seeks Fund Source, Gold Imports Dry Up

The apprehensions of customs and other enforcement officials that the large-scale gold imports by expats during the last four months happened at the behest of organized rackets have proved right.

The Karipur airport alone had seen gold imports by NRKs to the tune of 4,487 kg in the last four months. The import figures in the airport for January averaged at 45 kg per day.

The gold imports by expats came to an abrupt end on Thursday with the central government making it mandatory for the importers to furnish the source of funds used for gold purchase and also the details of the person who had booked their flight tickets.

"We had reasons to believe that the gold brought in by passengers were actually not theirs. The sudden drying up of gold imports following the new order has confirmed our doubts," a senior customs officer said.

The four passengers who tried to bring in one kg of gold on Friday were apparently unaware of the new order. Their gold was detained by customs since they were unable to furnish the source of funds. Two of them, who reportedly admitted to acting as carriers, subsequently flew back to the UAE taking the gold along with them.

The March 6 order by the customs director has directed the field formations to "ascertain the antecedents of passengers, source for funding for gold as well as duty being paid in the foreign currency, person responsible for booking of tickets etc so as to prevent the possibility of the misuse of the facility by unscrupulous elements who may hire such eligible passengers to carry gold for them".

The order also stated that the engraved serial number of gold bars must be invariably mentioned in the baggage receipt issued by customs.

Enforcement directorate officials had collected details of passengers and had launched a probe after finding that Gulf-based rackets were channeling hawala money transfers to the country. They had also warned that the passengers could face action under the Foreign Exchange Management Act any time in the future if their collision with hawala rackets is established.

According to customs officials, majority of persons who have utilized the gold import facility available for Indians who have stayed abroad for at least six months to legally bring in up to 1 kg of gold after payment of 10% tax, were ordinary low-income employees.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Ficci Organized Seminar On 'Post-Bali Agenda Of Wto And Trade Facilitation'

Addressing the Seminar on ?Post-Bali Agenda of WTO and Trade Facilitation? at FICCI , Commerce Secretary Mr Rajeev Kher said "Bali was a success and the beginning of a new phase of WTO which is of great significance to developing countries like India.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement signed at the WTO Bali Ministerial is expected to bring gains for Indian business. Although India was unilaterally also pursuing Trade Facilitation initiatives, the WTO Agreement has set an obligation for countries to commit to reforms. Food Security was another milestone achievement of Bali and a remarkable negotiating success which helped in addressing a historic deficiency of the WTO agreement."

"While India remains a huge supporter of the 'Single Undertaking' in the run-up to the formulation of the Post-Bali Agenda, there is a shift in the paradigm with the emergence of plurilateral engagements such as the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), NAMA Sectorals, ITA-2, Agreement on Environment Goods, to name a few, which would force the usage of WTO only to the extent that is necessary. It would be a challenge for India, as Plurilaterals would dilute India?s strong stance on the issue of Single Undertaking", Commerce Secretary added.

The Seminar was jointly organized by FICCI and Centre for WTO Studies. Other speakers at the Seminar were Mr R V Kanoria, Past President, FICCI and Chairman & Managing Director, Kanoria Chemicals & Industries Ltd; Mr Sumanta Chaudhuri, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Mr V K Srivastava, Director, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Ms Kajal Singh, Additional Commissioner, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC); Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI and Mr Abhijit Das, Professor and Head, Centre for WTO Studies.

Source:- newstrackindia.com

Rupee Trades Lower At 61.09 Per Dollar Tracking Asian Currencies

The Indian rupee was trading lower against the US dollar in the afternoon on Wednesday, tracking peers in the Asian markets and ahead of the release of the consumer price inflation and industrial production data later in the day.

At 2.09pm, the rupee was trading at 61.09 per dollar, down 0.21% from its previous close, while India’s equity benchmark BSE Sensex was trading at 21,863.37 points, up 0.17%.The partially convertible Indian currency opened at 61.13 per dollar against its Tuesday’s close of 60.95. Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 1.17%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $634.4 million from local equity markets.

Most Asian currencies were seen trading weaker against the dollar on Wednesday. The South Korean won was down 0.51%, Philippines peso fell 0.4%, Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.31% and Malaysian ringgit slipped 0.26%.The government will release the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for January and consumer price index (CPI)-based Inflation for February later in the day. A Bloomberg poll showed that IIP will fall 1% for January as against a contraction of 0.6% in December, while CPI is expected to be 8.3% in February as against 8.79% in January.The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond stood at 8.731%, compared with its Tuesday’s close of 8.736%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.821, up 0.11% from its previous close of 79.736.

Source:- livemint.com

HC grants interim stay on tax recovery proceedings till disposal of stay application by CIT(A)

IT: Pending application for granting stay on demand, recovery proceeding is to be stayed

Geographical location of market won’t impact comparable unless market conditions are materially diff

IT/ILT: Geographical location of market is of no consequence in judging comparability of an uncontrolled transaction under CUP method, unless market condition in which uncontrolled transactions have taken place are materially different - Held, Yes - No TP adjustment to be made on account of single transaction and unsecured loan extended to foreign subsidiary, on the reasoning that the subsidiary is under management and control of the lender-parent company, and the business risk is much lower - H

Corporate guarantees are outside the ambit of international transaction even after retro amendment t

IT/ILT : Capital financing transactions covered by clause (i) (c) of the Explanation to section 92B are international transactions only if they have any real bearing as distinct from contingent effect on the profits, income, losses or assets of the enterprise. Corporate guarantees issued for the benefit of AEs do not cost anything to the issuing enterprise and yet may provide certain comfort levels to the parties dealing with the AEs. These guarantees do not have any impact on profits, income, l

No abuse of dominance by Omaxe as other players also had access to real estate market, CCI says

Competition Law : Presence of several real estate developers in relevant market makes it competitive and rules out dominance of opposite party in that market

Application of trust’s income to repay monies taken from trustees won’t violate sec. 13; sec. 11 rel

IT-I: Where assessee, a trust registered under section 12A, received money from trustees for carrying on of its activities and those monies had been repaid to them or to their nominees as and when funds were available with assessee-trust, there was no violation of section 13(1)(c) and, therefore, assessee's claim for exemption under section 11 was to be allowed

Sec. 35B not complied with by appending signatures on opinion of lower officer; resultant appeal not

Excise & Customs : Mere appending of signatures on opinion of lower officers, by itself, is not sufficient compliance with section 35B of Excise Act; appeal filed in pursuance of said authorisation of Committee of Commissioners is not maintainable

Sums paid by treasury depart. to stamp vendors on subsequent sale of stamp papers won’t attract sec.

IT: Where Treasury Department sold stamp papers to stamp vendor and latter received certain amount from Treasury Department in lieu of subsequent sale of stamp papers to individuals, stamp vendor could not be treated as agent of Treasury Department and TDS was not liable to be deducted on above payment

Reimbursement of service tax is to be excluded from gross receipts for computing sec. 44BB presumpti

IT/ILT: Where assessee was getting reimbursement of service tax from its client i.e. ONGC, on production or submission of original treasury challan, there being no element of income in said payment, amount of reimbursement was not includible in gross receipts for purpose of determining income under section 44BB

No addition alleging bogus export as docs furnished by assessee proved genuineness of export transac

IT : Where assessee produced original bank certificate showing bills received by bank drawn on importer, export orders confirmed by importer and original statement showing credit limit of importer, Tribunal was justified in deleting addition made by Assessing Officer treating exports as bogus

Mixing of asphalt, jelly and sand to make 'bitumen mixture' amounts to manufacture

CST & VAT : Mixing of asphalt, jelly and sand by employing melting, etc. so as to make 'bitumen mixture' to be used for laying roads, amounts to manufacture

Sec. 54 relief allowed as two houses were acquired instead of one big house to avoid disharmony amon

IT: Expression 'a residential house' used in section 54 doesn't refer to a single residential house; it permits use of plural - The assessee was not attempting to evade tax when instead of one big house, assessee chose to purchase two small residential houses (out of the sales consideration) for his two sons to avoid litigation or disharmony amongst brothers - Therefore, the assessee was entitled to exemption under sec. 54 in respect of acquisition of two residential houses - Held, yes

HC slams AO for making sec. 14A disallowance when interest free funds of assessee exceeded investmen

IT: Where assessee-company received dividend on UTI and shares and investment in same was made in earlier years and interest free funds available with assessee were much larger as compared to investment, disallowance of assessee's claim for interest expenditure by applying section 14A was wrong

HC cuts double-whammy powers of revenue; deletes penalty as assessee withdraw valid relief relying o

IT: Where assessee was, in fact, eligible for deduction, mere conceding to revenue's submission for non-eligibility and payment of tax, would not make assessee liable to penalty

Pre-deposit to be waived if survey is ongoing to grant exemption under sec. 11C of Excise Act

Excise & Customs : Whenever a survey is floated for issuing/examining notification under section 11C of Central Excise Act, pre-deposit must be waived

HC slaps penalty as assessee failed to offer reasonable cause for accepting loan in form of cash

IT: Where reasonable cause for receiving loan or deposit in cash was not proved by assessee, levy of penalty under section 271D was to be upheld

No transfer of case for co-ordinating investigation without giving reasons and personal hearing to a

IT: Commissioner cannot transfer a case from one place to another on ground of co-ordinate investigation without giving notice, personal hearing and assigning reasons

Credit denied as assessee couldn't prove use of input in manufacturing capital goods eventually used

Cenvat Credit : Where assessee had claimed credit on ground that inputs were used in manufacture of capital goods used in factory but had failed to satisfy department in the matter, no credit could be allowed and said claim of wrong credit could attract penalty

Repetitive notice by an opposite party disregarding CLB's restraining order amounts to contempt of C

CL: Notice issued by opposite parties in non-compliance to earlier order passed by CLB restraining them from issuing further notices for removal of director would amount to contempt of Court

No TDS from sum paid to foreign agent for securing order; FA 2010 amendment to sec. 9(1)(vii) not ap

IT/ILT : Where assessee appointed foreign agents for securing export orders, Explanation added to section 9(1)(vii) by Finance Act, 2010 with effect from 1-6-1976 was not applicable in view of fact that agents had their offices situated in foreign country and they did not provide any managerial services to assessee

Speedy Cargo Movement Can Boost Exports

The infrastructural support especially cargo movement by trains and high cost of finance hinder growth of exports of submersible pumps from Pithampur. If these issues are addressed, the industry would record a growth of 12 to 14 percent in coming three years from the current 10 to 12 percent.” These views were expressed by Managing Director of Shakti Pumps ( I) Ltd, Dinesh Patidar, a pioneer of water pumping equipment manufacturer.

He says cargo movement generally takes around 8 days for shipment and this should be reduced by any means. The other challenges on export front are higher cost of finance, supportive tax structure and cost of overseas market development.He expressed confidence that despite all odds they would make steady progress in finding new markets abroad.

Shakti is among the few pioneers in the world produces 100% stainless steel submersible pumps and motors. Today, Shakti is rubbing shoulders with best in the business in the world with its state- of- the art technology and innovation.

Talking about other challenges, Patidar says: ‘ It is very difficult to educate rural customer, who are semi- literate, for a branded product and its features like energy efficiency and performance.

In order to achieve this task, we have hired in brand ambassador like Amitabh Bachchan for promotion of our product, he said.

About potential of water pumping equipment, the MD of BSE- listed Company says: “ While India has huge potential and prospects for pump business, we have technological advantages with high energy efficiency.We are upbeat about future pump business in India while our export business has touched an all time high, this year.

Talking about Indian and MP market, the second generation businessman Patidar says ‘ As you know water technology and water industry have grown tremendously and customers’ preferences are gradually being shifted to branded products.

This has great significance to Indian pump market which has so far been ruled by cheaper local products that consume higher energy. This shifting is a welcome sign. “ We have been on a robust growth path over the years and anticipate great future for pumps in India and overseas.

Our USP is superior quality and energy efficiency with better discharge. Our stainless steel submersible pumps are capable of saving energy up to 40%. Talking about the expansion plan of the company Patidar says ‘ we are foraying into different business verticals like industrial and solar pumps. Our product portfolio largely comprises of full range of agricultural pumps, submersible open well pumps, SRN pumps, Vertical Multistage Pumps, Pressure booster pumps for Industrial and Commercial applications, fire fighting and sewage pumps etc. Newly developed solar pumps are well accepted by customers nationally and internationally.Overall the current pump business prospects in India are quite good.

Patidar Says aall began as a small venture by my late father Shri Manoharlal Patidar- an ordinary man. Seeing a bright future in pump industry, he had invested everything to set up a small factory at Pithampur, near Indore. Later I joined to help him in the venture and realized the great potential of pumps in Indian and export markets and thus synergised all my resources to tap it. In the year 1995, we went to public and got listed at BSE. Referring about Shakti Pumps, Patidar says: ‘ We export our products to 100+ countries. As testimony of this, we had been conferred with best ‘ SEZ Exporter Award’ and 2nd Runner- Up Award for Manufacturer Exporter category in 2012 by Export Credit Guarantee Corporate ( ECGC). Being based in MP, we are proud to be the leader in exports in pump business and one of the major contributors of precious foreign exchange in the country.

Source:- freepressjournal.in

Exports Fall In February, May Miss Annual Target

Merchandise exports fell for the first time in eight months in February, signalling the country may miss its annual overseas sales target for the second straight year, data released on Tuesday showed.

Several months of rising exports have helped India bring down its current account deficit to a manageable level, and despite the weaker data in February, it is likely to beat last fiscal year's total of $300 billion in merchandise exports.

In the first 11 months of the 2013/14 fiscal year that ends on March 31, India's exports were $282.8 billion, up 4.79 percent from the same period a year ago, data released on the trade ministry website showed. But it is unlikely to export enough in March to reach the trade ministry's $325 billion target

"The momentum of export growth has been lost when we were about to reach the final goal-post," said Anupam Shah, chairman of the Engineering Exporters' body, EEPC India. "At this rate, there is no way we can achieve the target of $325 billion in the current fiscal year."

In February, merchandise exports fell 3.67 percent from a year earlier to $25.69 billion, compared with 3.8 percent growth in January.

Analysts say exports, which contribute nearly 16 percent to the gross domestic product, have slowed in part because of a stronger rupee.

The trade deficit, however, continued to fall in February, driven by a decline in the oil import bill and curbs on gold, the country's second-most expensive overseas purchase after oil. Overall imports fell 17.09 percent year-on-year to $33.82 billion, the data showed.

Falling imports will further ease pressure on the country's current account balance.

The current account deficit narrowed to $4.2 billion, or 0.9 percent of gross domestic product in December quarter, from 6.5 percent, or $31.9 billion, a year earlier.The trade deficit for the first 11 months of the fiscal year declined by more than $51 billion from a year ago to $128 billion.

Source:- in.reuters.com

India’S Trade Deficit Narrows To $8.1 Billion; Exports Shrink

Indian exports contracted marginally in February for the first time in seven months, though a steep fall in imports, especially non-oil imports, helped narrow the trade deficit.

According to data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday, while exports contracted 3.7% to $25.6 billion as against $26.6 billion in the year-ago period, imports were down 17% to $33.8 billion from $40.7 billion.This helped in narrowing the trade deficit by 42% to $8.1 billion.

The government is hoping to control the current account deficit to less than $40 billion this fiscal year, mainly on the back of a sharp reduction in gold imports due to the high customs duty of 10%.In February, while oil imports were down 3% at 13.7 billion, non-oil imports fell 25% to $20.1 billion.

Source:- livemint.com

Export-Import Bank Of India To Start Project Development Firm With African Development Bank

The Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM) is planning to set up a project development company with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to encourage public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Africa, Yaduvendra Mathur, chairman and managing director of the export finance institution, said .

"We have been working very closely with AfDB and our team has just come back from Tunisia to explore possibilities of setting up a project development company with AfDB. This company will be targeted at bankable projects in Africa.

"We are into getting projects developed for Africa so that Indian companies can participate. AfDB is in dialogue with us and we have been pushing them for the last one year and hopefully this will happen quickly. This is basically for PPP projects. This project development company is to encourage public-private-partnership in Africa," Mathur said in an interview.

Mathur was in New Delhi to attend the three-day long 10th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership.

Till date the bank has in place 136 Lines of Credit (LOCs) with credit commitments of around $6.5 billion for financing exports from India to cover around 48 countries in Africa. These LOCs are earmarked for developmental projects like railway rehabilitation, setting up of textile, cement, tractor assembly, agro and food processing, rural electrification and transmission and irrigation.

Overall the EXIM Bank has lent 187 Lines of Credit totalling about $12 billion across the world, he said.

Bilateral trade between India and Africa has shot up from $25 billion in 2006-07 to around $70 billion in 2012-13. However, the Indian government has targeted it to touch $200 billion by 2020.

"African continent is one of most important partners for the country and 11 fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. We are looking at infrastructure development in Africa, the big project exports. We are encouraging entire private sector in India to get into these sectors," Mathur said.

"We have a big advisory service. If any company evinces interest to invest in that country, we provide them with advice. We do a lot of handholding of Indian companies who are going there."

Talking about lending for various projects in the continent, Mathur said, "Buyers' credit under the National Insurance Export Account that was launched by the Indian government in 2011 has already fetched project proposals of nearly $5 billion.

"Forty five project proposals are in the pipeline. Four projects have already started under this new scheme. Through this scheme the foreign company will get loan from us," Mathur said.

He mentioned that the EXIM Bank is working with a number of African regional banks and institutions to facilitate credit available for projects. The financial institutions with which it is working are Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), Western African Development Bank, AfrEXIM Bank and African Development Bank.

Source:- dnaindia.com

Tobinco Successfully Re-Exports Substandard Drugs To India

The Health Ministry has disclosed that local pharmaceutical company, Tobinco Pharmaceuticals has re-exported the substandard drugs which was seized to its manufacturers.

The pharmaceutical company last year was involved in a media war with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) over the importation of substandard and unregistered drugs which was later seized by the FDA.

Speaking to Citi News however, Deputy Health Minister, Dr Alfred Tia Sugri stated that all outstanding issues with Tobinco Pharmaceuticals have now been resolved.

He explained that “all the bad drugs that were at the warehouse have all been destroyed. The condoms which were substandard have been sent back to India, the Malaria drugs have been sent back to India.”

Dr. Sugri served notice that henceforth, any medicine importer who “brings in any container of drugs into the Tema Harbour without having registered the drugs in Ghana with the FDA will have the drugs sent back.”

According to him, it is the duty of the FDA and the Health Ministry to safeguard the lives of Ghanaians and also protect the local pharmaceutical companies.

Source:- citifmonline.com

India’S Iron Ore Exports Fall 28% To 12.57 Mt In Apr-Feb

Country’s iron ore exports witnessed a 27.56 per cent slump at 12.57 million tonnes (MT) during the April-February period of the current fiscal due to continuation of the export duty, mineral industries body FIMI said today.

India, once the third largest exporter of iron ore, had exported 17.35 MT of the mineral in the corresponding period of the last fiscal, data released by Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) showed.

“This is a disturbing trend as exports have declined continuously in last few years due to imposition of export duty. We will continue to persuade the government to withdraw the export duty on iron ore as well as on iron ore pellets,” FIMI Secretary General R K Sharma said.

He added that this fiscal’s iron ore exports are expected to come down by over 20 per cent to about 13.5-14 MT from 18.37 MT in 2012-13.

Paradip (4.6 MT), Vizag (4.46 MT) and Haldia (1.81 MT) are the major ports accounting for the bulk of mineral exports, according to FIMI data.

Indian iron ore exports have been hurt badly in last few years due to mining bans in Goa and Karnataka, leading to a drastic fall in domestic production. Besides, an increase in export duty to 30 per cent on both types of iron ore, lumps and fines, in December 2012, also impacted the sector.

However, China continues to be the biggest export market for Indian iron ore, though the quantity has declined by over 31 per cent to 10.44 MT in April-February. Japan is the second biggest market, where 1.65 MT ore has been shipped during the same period, the data said.

Presently, low grade iron ore (or fine) are being exported from Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as mining is still banned in Goa, while export of the mineral is not permitted from Karnataka at present.

In the last two months, the Goa government auctioned over a million tonne of iron ore, which was already mined before the imposition of ban.

Quality of the auctioned ore of Goa is of low grade and most the auctioned material is expected to be exported in the near future. This may lead to slight increase in iron ore exports as well.

The industry is estimating that India’s total iron ore production in the present fiscal will be around 140 MT, almost the same as last year.

Source:- thehindu.com

Lessee has ‘right to use’ if responsibilities casted on him to safeguard earthmoving equipment; no s

Service Tax : Where hirer of an earthmoving equipment is responsible for misuse/ abuse, safe custody, liability to settle disputes with third parties and compensation for damages, said transaction, prima facie, amounts to transfer of right to use and deemed sale and not liable to service tax under supply of tangible goods for use services

Depreciation can't be a source of explained investment unless equivalent cash is utilized by assesse

IT : Where assessee claimed that amount of depreciation allowance was a source of income for investment made in assets found during course of search, whereas Assessing Officer opined that said amount must have been used in course of carrying on assessee's truck plying business, in absence of any conclusive material on record, credit was to be allowed to extent of 40 per cent of claim made by assessee

German Recovery On Track As Imports, Exports Rise In January

Economic recovery in Germany appears to be on track as demand for German-made goods increased both at home and abroad, official trade data showed on Tuesday.

The Eugen Maersk container ship (right) and the Majestic Maersk (left) in dock at the JadeWeserPort in Wilhemlshaven, Germany on October 4, 2013.

After adjustment for seasonal blips, Germany exported goods worth 94.5 billion euros ($131 billion) in January, an increase of 2.2 percent from the level inDecember, the federal statistics office Destatis said.

And imports -- a yardstick of domestic demand -- rose even more strongly, climbing 4.2 percent to 77.3 billion euros.

Because imports rose more strongly than exports, the trade surplus -- the balance between imports and exports -- narrowed.

Germany's booming trade surplus has been the target of a great deal of international criticism in recent months, with critics arguing that its economic prowess comes at the expense of the eurozone's weaker members.

The critics argue that Germany needs to boost domestic demand and so help its EU partners by spurring export-driven growth in their economies rather than continue to rely mostly on its own exports for growth.

But the latest trade data, with the strong increase in imports, appear to suggest such criticisms are misplaced.

While German exports to its eurozone partners rose by 3.2 percent year-on-year in January, exports to countries outside Europe jumped by 9.1 percent.

And imports from the euro area climbed by 4.0 percent, while imports from outside Europe contracted by 1.9 percent.

"The euro area economy continued to stabilise at the start of the year," said BayernLB economist Stefan Kipar.

"Today's data were better than expected, not just because exports rose more strongly than expected, but also because exports to the eurozone were positive," Kipar said.

"The sharp rise in imports is similarly positive because it points to a pick-up in domestic demand and takes ammunition away from the heated debate about the German current account surplus," the expert said.

Natixis economist Johannes Gareis said the trade data were "in line with our expectations of a strengthening global recovery, while German imports growth remains robust due to Germany's healthy domestic economy."

Gareis noted that the dynamic of imports in January was driven mainly by German demand for goods from its eurozone neighbours.

"In this respect, the data offer some relief for the German growth locomotive to do more to rebalance the euro area," Gareis said.

Last week, the EU Commission in Brussels said that Germany's huge current account surplus is a source of economic imbalance in Europe.

"Nobody wants to criticise Germany for having a strong external demand and competitiveness," the EU's Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said on the presentation of a new report.

"I want see every EU member states be as competitive as Germany," he said.

But "at the same time, Germany -- and to some extent the rest of Europe -- would benefit from stronger domestic investment and reinforced domestic demand in Germany," Rehn said.

Source:- bangkokpost.com

Gold, Silver Imports Dip 71.4% To $1.63 Billion In February

Gold and silver imports declined 71.4 per cent to $1.63 billion in February mainly due to restrictions imposed by the government on inbound shipments of the yellow metal to narrow the current account deficit.

Imports of gold and silver in February 2013 stood at $5.24 billion. In January this year, they were $1.72 billion.Imports of the precious metals during April-February declined 41.47 per cent to $30.7 billion from $52.4 billion a year earlier.

Lower imports helped to narrow the trade deficit to $8.13 billion in February from $14.1 billion.India's current account deficit (CAD), which is the excess of foreign exchange outflows over inflows, touched a historic high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, mainly due to rising imports of petroleum products and gold.

A high CAD puts pressure on the rupee, which in turn makes imports expensive and fuels inflation.According to a finance ministry official, the CAD is expected to fall by almost 50 per cent to $45 billion in the current financial year.

The Reserve Bank had last month projected CAD at less than $50 billion, or 2.5 per cent of GDP, down from $88.2 billion, or 4.8 per cent of GDP, in 2012-13.

The government had increased customs duty on gold to 10 per cent and banned import of gold coins and medallions, while the RBI linked imports of the metal to exports.

India is the largest importer of gold, which is mainly utilised to meet the demand of the jewellery industry. Imports stood at about 830 tonnes in 2012-13.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Income of Malaysian branch of Indian Co. not taxable in India if it was taxable in Malaysia on exist

IT/ILT : Following order passed by assessee's own case relating to earlier assessment years, it was to be concluded that Malaysian branch of assessee was having permanent establishment in Malaysia and, thus, income arising therefrom was not taxable in India in view of DTAA between India and Malaysia

Mere confirmation of parties was not enough to prove legitimacy of bogus brokerage; HC upheld disall

IT : Where evidence on record disclosed that amount paid were not brokerage, merely because payment was confirmed by parties, it would not enable assessee to claim deduction

FinMin notifies 8.7% interest rate wef 01-04-2014 on special deposit Scheme under non-Govt. PF contr

IT : Special Deposit Scheme for Non-Government Provident, Superannuation and Gratuity Funds - Notified Rate of Interest on Deposits Made under said Scheme W.E.F. 1-4-2014 Until Further Orders

HC directs mortgagee to repay sum paid by third person on behalf of its debtor to receive back title

CL: Where pursuant to settlement 'D' paid a sum to mortgagee-company on behalf of debtor-company, mortgagee was directed to return sum paid by 'D' if it wanted to retain title deeds of mortgaged properties

Seized doc indicating capitation fee not enough to cancel trust's registration without proof of its

IT : Where in course of search carried out at assessee's premises, certain documents were found indicating some receipt of cash against admission of students in various courses run by assessee trust, in view of fact that presumption under section 292C was rebutted by denial of assessee as no evidence of actual receipt of donation or capitation fees was found in search, registration granted under section 12AA could not be cancelled on basis of seized documents

Issue not raised earlier before CESTAT can't be raised first time before High Court either

Excise & Customs : In appeal under section 35G, appellant is permitted to raise only such ground, which was raised and decided by CESTAT; therefore, where a question was not raised and decided by CESTAT, it cannot be considered by Court and no review petition can be filed on ground that said question was not so considered

Filing of return before wrong AO won't be deemed as default in filing of return to invite reassessme

IT : Where Assessing Officer reopened assessment on ground that assessee did not file its return of income, in view of fact that assessee had filed its return but through inadvertance return was filed before wrong Assessing Officer, Tribunal was justified in setting aside impugned reassessment proceedings

Addition made by TPO set aside as difference in operating profit margin was within tolerance limit

IT/ILT : Where TPO having found that assessee's operating profit margin was 5.74 per cent as below arithmetic mean margin of comparables of 6.97 per cent, made certain addition to assessee's ALP, since difference in operating margin was within range of plus/minus 5 per cent, no adjustment was required to be made

Preponment of hearing won't invalidates valid transfer order if assessee has given time to file his

IT : Where date of hearing relating to transfer of assessee's case was preponed but still assessee was given a reasonable opportunity to putforth its submissions, impugned order passed by Commissioner under section 127 did not require any interference

Rectification application admissible only against mistake apparent in final order and not in miscell

Service Tax : Only mistakes apparent in 'final orders' are amenable to rectification; mistakes apparent in miscellaneous order allowing restoration of appeal cannot be rectified under section 86 of Finance Act, 1994 read with section 35C of Central Excise Act, 1944

No sec. 68 addition on account of loan transactions if revenue approved of loan repayment in later y

IT: Where department had accepted repayment of loan in subsequent year, no addition was to be made in current year on account of cash credit