Resolution passed under sec. 293 of 1956 Act prior to Sep. 12, 2013 deemed as compliance of sec. 180

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/COMPANIES ACT, 1956 : Section 180 of The Companies Act, 2013 - Powers of Board - Restrictions on - Clarification with Regard to Resolution Passed U/S 293 of Companies Act, 1956 Prior to 12-9-2013 With Reference to Borrowings to be Regarded as Sufficient Compliance of Requirements of Section 180 for A Specified Period

ITAT explains interplay between Article 7 and Article 13 of India-UK DTAA

IT : Where special provision 'sends subject back to general provision', it is the general provision that applies

Income arising to banks from leasing out of defaulter's assets seized under SAFAESI Act were liable

Service Tax : Where a bank takes possession of factories/plants of its defaulting borrowers under provisions of SARFAESI Act and leases them out to recover its loan, lease rentals received by such bank are liable to service tax

Assessment already completed on basis of seized docs can't be reopened on mere change of opinion

IT : Where Assessing Officer on basis of documents impounded during survey, passed an assessment order under section 143(3), he could not initiate reassessment proceedings subsequently by merely taking a view that in terms of entries recorded on a loose paper impounded during survey, certain income chargeable to tax had escaped assessment

SAT upheld penalty imposed by SEBI on appellant as he failed to make disclosure required by Takeover

SEBI: For purpose of Takeover Regulations what is relevant is acquisition of shares and once acquisition of shares exceeds limits prescribed therein, provisions of Takeover Regulations are triggered

Rate of Bank guarantee to be adjusted before using it as comparable against corporate guarantee

IT/ILT : In course of transfer pricing proceedings, TPO cannot determine arm's length price of corporate guarantee by mechanically picking up bank guarantee rates as external /internal CUPs, as the case may be; however, said rates may turn out to be appropriate CUPs if they are properly benchmarked after making due adjustments in accordance with provisions of Rule 10B of 1962 Rules

Penalty couldn't be levied for a bonafide mistake if dept. failed to prove any concealment

IT : Where there was prime facie possibility of wrong entry being recorded in books, department having failed to prove concealment without any doubt, could not levy any penalty

RBI allows registered foreign portfolio investors to acquire Indian securities on repatriation basis

FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : FEM (Transfer or Issue of Security by A Person Resident Outside India) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2014 - Amendment in Regulations 2, 5, 14, Schedule 1, Schedule 5, Schedule 7 and Insertion of Schedule 2A

Imported goods eligible for duty drawback under sec. 74 of Custom Act even if they were repacked and

Excise & Customs : Where imported goods have been repacked and re-exported, then, such repacking cannot amount to any 'process' or 'operation' within meaning of section 74; accordingly, drawback claim would be available only under section 74

Sum incurred on upgradation and troubleshooting of bug in existing software to improve product is re

IT: Expenditure incurred in ordinary course of business on upgradation, improvement, removal of glitches of existing or already developed software to improve its product is to be treated as revenue expenditure

Assessee allowed to determine peak credit after arranging it chronologically to calculate his undisc

IT : Where credits appear in accounts and genuineness of all persons is disbelieved and all credits are held to be assessee's own money, assessee will be entitled to set off and peak credit is to be determined after arranging all credits in chronological order

Indian Banks to pay ST under reverse charge for services received from foreign Banks for import/expo

GST : Section 68 of the Finance Act, 1994 - Payment of Service Tax -Service Tax Payable on Specified Services - Service Tax on Bank Charges Paid by Foreign Banks

No sec. 68 addition when assessee furnishes confirmation of creditors along with docs to prove their

IT : Where name, address, PAN, copy of IT Returns, balance sheet, profit and loss account of all creditors/lenders as well as their confirmation had been furnished, Assessing Officer could not make addition on account of unsecured loan and interest thereon

Entry tax is leviable on purchase price of goods irrespective of selling price of goods in local are

CST & VAT : 'Sale price' of goods by buyer, inside local area, cannot be identified as 'value of goods' for levy of entry tax

Secret commission paid by publishing house to various school to canvass its books is prohibited and

IT: Where Tribunal allowed assessee's claim of payment of secret commission to various schools for promotion of sales of books, in view of fact that Explanation to section 37 introduced by Finance (No. 2) Act, 1998 with retrospective effect from 1-4-1962, prohibited said payments, impugned order was to be set aside and matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

ITAT setting aside addition made by AO on estimation basis not to be interfered with, says HC

IT: Since question pertaining to net profit rate on estimation basis is a question of fact, appeal was dismissed at admission stage

Department could challenge classification of services made under self assessment regime

Service Tax : Where assessee has paid service tax on any service under a particular classification under self-assessment regime, said classification cannot be said to have been accepted by department as there is no provision for any such acceptance; therefore, department may challenge such classification as per law

Missing entry of debit notes in ledger rejects plea of damaged goods taken against winding-up petiti

CL: Where no entry for debit note on account of defective material appeared in ledger accounts of respondent, defence that goods supplied by petitioner were defective was sham and was liable at be rejected at threshold

'Infosys' not comparable to small captive service providers; assessee can oppose a comparable chosen

IT/ILT: Infosys Technologies Ltd. being a big company in all respects including range of turnover is not a comparable to small companies which are captive service providers being considerably low turnover

I-T offices to remain open in last three days of Financial Year to facilitate filing of return

IT/ILT : Section 119 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Income-Tax Authorities - Instructions to Subordinate Authorities – Income-Tax Offices Throughout India to Remain Open and Receipts Counters Also to Work During Normal Office Hours on 29, 30 and 31st March, 2014

‘Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society’ notified for sec. 10(46) exemptions

IT : Section 10(46) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Exemptions - Statutory Body/Authority/Board/Commission - Notified Body or Authority - Andhra Pradesh State Aids Control Society

Meaning of term ‘Training Institute’ for purpose of Skill Development Project under Sec. 35CCD redef

IT/Indian Acts & Rules : Income-Tax (Second Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rule 6AAH

‘Ace Derivatives and Commodity Exchange Ltd.’ notified for trading of commodity derivative under sec

IT : Section 43(5), Clause (iii) of Explanation 2 to Clause (E) of Proviso, of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Speculative Transaction - Recognized Stock Exchange - Notified Recognized Stock Exchange

For sec. 54EC exemption six months means ‘Six British calendar months’; ITAT Special Bench’s interpr

IT : Time limit of 'six months' in sec 54EC means 'six British Calendar months' in view of the General Clauses Act, 1897

HC quashed ITAT's order which was based on its earlier order without considering merits of case

IT : Where Tribunal allowed assessee's appeal by merely placing reliance upon its earlier order passed in another case and without considering appeal on merits, order so passed by Tribunal was not sustainable in law

Goods deemed to be sold in execution of work contract were not liable to service tax

Service Tax : Goods which were deemed to be sold in execution of works contract shall not enter into purview of levy of Service Tax

Indian Steel Prices To Remain Stable In April

Falling international steel prices, drop in domestic iron ore prices and recent appreciation in rupee that made imports attractive may force steelmakers to either cut steel prices or keep prices unchanged in April.

Steel manufacturers and distributors confirmed that after three consecutive price hikes since January, steel prices are unlikely to rise in April.

A spokesperson from Essar Steel said that "The input cost continues to remain firm. The price levels in India are in line with global prices and in some cases lower than import parity prices. The demand is stable. Hence the prices will continue to remain at present levels."

Mr RK Goyal MD of Kalyani Steels, too agreed that probability of steel prices remaining at current levels in April are high as demand continues to remain subdued. Another steel major having strong presence in southern and western India said that previous price increases were absorbed by the market but now the prices would remain stable.

An analyst said “Steel demand was likely to remain subdued going forward. Even after election if stable government forms at center, it will not immediately translate in to investment. Real effect of new government will start reflecting only after September, thus no major investment is seen in next six months at least.”Steel prices across the globe, barring the US, have remained under pressure because of excess supply.

Source:- steelguru.com

No Leather Shoes Please, Cbse Requests Schools

The environmentalist streak in CBSE seems to have gone a notch higher with the board urging all affiliated schools to discourage the use of leather shoes. The board also feels that leather accessories must be avoided because of the adverse environmental impact it has.

The alternative which the central board suggests are canvas shoes which are commonly used for sporting activities. This is, however, a mere request and not binding on schools.

"There is no dispute that leather comes at a huge environmental and animal welfare cost. The production of leather from animals involves highly toxic chemicals and usage of these can be reduced sizably if leather shoes are not made mandatory in schools," CBSE public relation officer Rama Sharma told TOI.

In a letter the board has urged schools to encourage use of "eco-friendly option of canvas shoes, which are more resistant to wear and tear, more comfortable and relatively inexpensive. Canvas shoes are anyway prescribed for sports purposes and can easily be used for everyday wear eliminating the need for multiple pairs. Considering the concern and to reduce environmental impact caused by school uniforms, this may be considered as a tangible step forward".

While CBSE came up with the idea recently, many schools in Nagpur have been practicing it for quite some time. Centre Point schools had banned leather shoes about four years ago to be in sync with environment friendly practice. Centre Point Group of Schools executive director Mukta Chatterjee said, "Earlier we left the option of type of footwear to parents. Our reasoning for banning leather shoes is that the entire process of tanning and making the final product is very harmful to the environment. Now kids wear the black trainers, which is basically half canvas, and that's the norm for everyone here."

Jain International School principal Anmol Badjatia said, "Our school has been implementing a no-leather shoe policy since day one. Our philosophy is to promote eco-friendly practices in students and protect animals however possible. We use a particular brand of sport shoes and it is extremely comfortable for all."

Even Bhavans group in the city has no-leather shoe policy for the last couple of years but their reason for adopting the rule could not be known, as senior principal A Shastri could not be reached for comment.

Delhi Public School principal Akhilesh Chaturvedi said, "I believe that children must wear only those type of footwear in which they will be comfortable with regards to the geographical location and activity. The comfort of kids comes first before any other criterion."

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India’S Unprecedented Appetite For Gold

As the decade-long surge in gold prices moderates, trends ahead may help explain India’s unprecedented appetite for the metal in recent years. To what extent was this driven by the global boom? And how much did domestic factors like inflation contribute? Disentangling the respective roles could offer useful lessons for future economic policies.

The issue is of interest from an Indian perspective, for past inflation episodes haven’t been accompanied by such a large-scale shift towards gold as has happened since 2008. Gold imports grew 42% annually in 2008-12, shrinking 2% in 2012-13 as import duties were raised to narrow the current account deficit. In the same period, global gold prices increased an average 27% annually, in large part fueled by the creation of global liquidity by advanced countries’ central banks. Gold is priced in dollars, so when the dollar’s value gets debased, investors reposition their holdings in favour of gold establishing a positive relationship between quantitative easing and gold prices.

The Indian lust for gold is commonly ascribed to high inflation. Consumer price inflation averaged 10% each year from 2009 to 2011, while real interest rates were negative over 2009-10 from loose monetary policy. Savers shifted to physical assets like gold from financial assets like bank deposits; deposit growth nearly halved from 20.4% in 2008-09 to 11.4% by 2010-11, recovering thereafter as monetary policy settings were adjusted.

Inflation alone however may not account for this extraordinary gold appetite. Given the coincidence with the global boom, portfolio factors possibly played a role. Gold outperformed all other assets in this period, offering savers annual returns in excess of 25% in 2008-11. Bank deposits compare poorly with that, even if real rates are positive as happened in 2012 -- gold demand remained undampened, inviting fiscal restraints. Income growth was strong too—in the four years to 2011-12, Gross Domestic Product growth averaged 7.7% annually, while per capita incomes grew an average 6% each year. Indian gold demand is highly income elastic.

With the US monetary stimulus in reversal mode, its economy recovering firmly and interest rate increases on the horizon, the settings are now reversing for gold. Global gold prices fell 28% in 2013. A changing global macroeconomic framework may thus reflect in India’s gold demand. Moderation to long-term trend levels will help highlight the role of future macroeconomic policies. For example, global liquidity that enters in the form of capital flow surges when combined with exchange rate appreciation, rising incomes and import demand, consumption and asset price boom, as was the case in 2009 and 2010, along with high inflation. Monetary policy alone then cannot curb gold demand; fiscal measures would be more effective instead.

Source:- livemint.com

Wheat Stands Steady Amid Surging Market Crisis

Indian wheat prices remain firm in the global market with no signs of an ease off in the Ukraine-Russia crisis. Delayed harvesting of wheat in Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat owing to cool weather is also attributed to the rise in prices to $285-290 a tonne for May delivery from a low of $265 a tonne in January.

However, in the volatile market industry sources say that private exporters are not keen on further forward contracts and adopt a wait and watch policy. Business conglomerates from ITC, Cargill, Noble, Louis Dreyfus, Glencore, Bagadiya Brothers and Emmsons have been in the market since January.

"If the crisis in Ukraine-Russia continues we may see bulk buyers flocking to India and domestic prices may go up due to sudden demand pull," said Tejinder Narang a grain analyst. Indian wheat prices are currently the cheapest compared to Australian, Russian and French.

Exporters state that wheat was sold on multi-origin basis and specification and Indian wheat could soon see arise in demand. "India wheat will be blended with high priced wheat from European Union for Middle East market. The contract size will fall to 20,000 tonne from 50,000-60,000 tonne as being done earlier due to uncertain global and domestic market," said a global player in wheat trade.

According to some exporters the buyers were ready to buy wheat at even $290 a tonne, but sellers were reluctant in hopes of prices to firm further amid reports of Rajasthan government likely to give bonus to wheat farmers this season. "I have been able to only buy 500 tonne wheat from around Rajkot in Gujarat as supplies have been low," said another global grains and oil seeds company official.

Since January this year, exporters have been doing forward contracts for March-April-May delivery ahead of the wheat crop arrival from Russia, Ukraine, America and Australia. "The market is taking a breather after 3-4 week of rally. We feel that it is a good time for market to sell and not hold as the rally might not stay for long," said BK Anand, head, grain supply chain, Cargill India.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sums paid to NRs for services rendered outside India won't be liable for TDS in absence of their PE

IT/ILT : Where foreign branches of assessee made payment to foreign suppliers for services rendered outside India and said suppliers did not have permanent establishment in India, assessee was not required to deduct TDS on such payments

Sum received from NRE a/c of brother held as unexplained as recipient couldn't explain source of dep

IT: Where assessee received certain amount from NRE account of his brother but he could not give any further details of either source or creditworthiness thereof, authorities below were justified in bringing said amount to tax as unexplained cash credits

Fieo Expects Rbi To Cut Interest Rate To Help Msme Exports

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may consider LIBOR plus lending to the micro small and medium enterprise (MSME) export sector besides a rate cut for rupee lending given some moderation in CPI, said exports body Federation of Indian Export Organistions (FIEO) in a statement Monday.

"RBI could consider a rate cut in the policy given that there is a upsurge in credit and a demand by banks to cut CRR to provide credit to industry," said M Rafeeque Ahmed, President, FIEO while commenting on the forthcoming announcement of the monetary policy review on 1st April prior to the annual policy. He stated that as the per the RBI update of 21st march 2014, WPI had settled at 4.7 percent and CPI stood at 8.1 percent, with credit to the commercial sector moderating at 14 percent.

FIEO Chief stated that net foreign exchange assets of banks have grown to 17.3 percent and given that exports have shown a decline of 3.7 percent in USD terms over a year, and rupee is again in a volatile mode, banks could consider providing export credit in foreign currency at LIBOR + rates as against a deregulated regime of export credit in foreign currency announced a couple of years back, added Ahmed. This would help the MSME export sector which is unable to borrow through ECB route easily.

FIEO Chief stated that providing foreign currency loans at competitive rates in a scenario of appreciating rupee/ narrowing CAD due to clamp on gold/ and India's exclusion in respect of many important products from the European Union (EU)'s GSP benefits would imply that mineral products, textiles, motor vehicles, bicycles, chemicals etc, which originate from India, will no longer get preferential treatment attracting higher duties in EU.

This would further impact exports even though markets in advanced countries are showing buoyancy in terms of consumption patterns/volume of world trade increasing by 0.6 percent in January 2014 said Ahmed.

Source:- smetimes.in

Export Subsidy For Sugar Questioned At Wto Meet

The government's pre-election bonanza for the sugar industry has been questioned at the World Trade Organization, making it the second farm subsidy to global face scrutiny in recent months.

Australia, Colombia, Brazil and the European Union, along with others, have raised several questions including the compatibility of the latest set of sops with WTO rules with some urging India to immediately remove what they described as export subsidies that will potentially impact world trade. The issue was raised at a meeting of WTO's agriculture committee on March 21, said a source familiar with the developments.

Paraguay, Thailand, El Salvador, Canada, the US, Pakistan and New Zealand were the other countries that protested India's export subsidy for sugar meant to clear a glut.

At the meeting, WTO members once again questioned India about details of its support programmes for rice and wheat and its stockholding programme for food security. In a questionnaire circulated before the meeting, the US went to the extent of suggesting that the government's subsidy programme was highly inefficient.

Some members also asked India to circulate more up-to-date information on its domestic support. Government officials said the notifications were being prepared and there was no question of breaching the prescribed limits.

The government's trade policies have come under intense scrutiny in recent months.

But the immediate focus was on sugar export subsidies, which hogged limelight at the meeting. Sources said Australia, Colombia, Brazil and the EU went to the extent of seeking the legal basis for the export subsidies announced last month. They also said India has agreed not to subsidize exports.

Indian officials defended the move and said the policy was designed to encourage diversification from white sugar to raw sugar and that no intervention payments had been made yet. The total is not expected to exceed the equivalent of $80 million, they said.

Australia said the Rs 3,300 per tonne incentive payment was the equivalent of 14-16% of the world price. Since India is the third largest exporter of sugar, this threatens to seriously distort trade, Australia said and pointed out that the amount could potentially finance its own exports half way across the Pacific.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bajaj Auto To Export Made-In-India Ktm Duke 200 And 390 To China

Bajaj Auto is facing slowing down sales in India and is therefore looking at the export market for solace. Like India, China is a huge bike market but Bajaj doesn’t have a presence in that country. Bajaj is planning to make its Chinese debut with KTM Duke motorcycles. From this week, the KTM Duke 390 will be exported to the Chinese market.

Bajaj will follow a top down approach for the Chinese market by first launching the Duke 390 and then following it up with the Duke 200. Both the Duke 200 and 390 are built at Bajaj Auto’s factory in Chakan, an industrial township near Pune. Bajaj Auto will initially export 9000 bikes a month to China.

In a year’s time, Bajaj plans to increase this number by a whopping 10 fold. For Bajaj, which is presently exporting 1 lakh bikes a month to countries around the world, China presents an opportunity to double its exports as the company seeks to export 90,000 KTM bikes each month to China next year.

Bajaj Auto holds a near 50% stake in KTM. While KTM handles the research, design and development of world class sportsbikes, Bajaj Auto brings its manufacturing expertise to the equation. The Pune headquartered Indian two wheeler giant produces bikes for a fraction of a cost when compared to what KTM would need to spend to build bikes in Europe.

These cost savings allows Bajaj to sell KTM bikes at a very competitive price in the former’s home market of India. By using Bajaj Auto’s factory as a low cost manufacturing base, Austrian bike maker KTM is able to earn big profits when it sells the Duke 125, 200 and 390 models in European and other developed countries.

Soon, KTM and Bajaj will launch fully faired bikes based on the Duke platform. The KTM RC 125, RC 200 and the RC 390 will be exported to markets around the world and China could also be a major export destination for these bikes. In India, Bajaj and KTM will sell the RC 200 and RC 390 fully faired sportsbikes.

Source:- indiancarsbikes.in

Collusion among cylinder manufactures held anti-competitive as identical bids were quoted in a tende

Competition Law : Where association of cylinder manufactures quoted identical bid by holding meetings just prior to making bid offer, there was concerted agreement bidders in contravention of section 3

Sec. 80-IA relief can't be curtailed by brought forward losses not pertaining to initial year of rel

IT: Loss prior to initial assessment year of claiming section 80-IA deduction which has already been set-off cannot be brought forward and adjusted into period of ten years from initial assessment year

Rupee Further Strengthens By 27 Paise Against Dollar

The rupee firmed up further by 27 paise to 60.50 against the American currency in the morning trade on Tuesday. This was mainly because of sustained selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of persistent capital inflows from foreign funds despite higher dollar in overseas market.

The rupee resumed higher at 60.60 per dollar as against Monday’s closing level of 60.77 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and advanced further to quote at 60.50 per dollar at 1000 hours.

It moved in a range of 60.50 and 60.60 per dollar during the morning deals.

Banks and exporters continued to sell dollars in view of sustained capital inflows from foreign funds into equity market.

However, the benchmark BSE Sensex eased by 16.45 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 22,039.03 at 1000 hours.

In New York market, the US dollar edged higher against the yen yesterday as traders appeared to shrug off further signs of slowing Chinese growth and tensions over Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region.

Source:-thehindu.com

No denial of refund on pretext of unjust enrichment if purchaser had admitted fact of non-recovery o

Excise & Customs : Where : (a) due efforts were made to find out whether amount of duty had been passed over to purchasers being government-controlled enterprises; and (b) even purchasers had admitted fact that amount of duty had not been recovered from them, and said finding is not challenged/disturbed, refund cannot be denied on ground of unjust enrichment

AO can initiate re-assessment on basis of info found in return even after issue of sec. 143(1) ackno

IT : Normally Assessing Officer is Competent to initiate reassessment; however, on expiry of 4 years, satisfaction is to be recorded by an officer of higher rank

HC accepts winding-up petition as Respondent Co. didn't attempt to pay debt even during pendency of

CL: Failure of respondent-company to repay any sum towards repayment of loan taken from petitioner-bank even during pendency of winding up petition established that respondent was unable to pay its debts

Rental income of godown constructed on an agricultural land couldn't be termed as agriculture income

IT : Where assessee-firm having constructed a godown on agricultural land received from partners as their capital contribution, gave it on rent for tenant's business purpose, rental income arising from said godown building could not be regarded as agricultural income

Entity with higher turnover, intangibles and brand value couldn't be a comparable to contract servic

IT/ILT : Where assessee was only a contract service provider to its AE, companies owning intangibles, substantial brand value and having huge turnover as compared to assessee, could not be considered as comparable to assessee

Joint Development Agreements were liable to service tax even prior to June 1, 2007

Service Tax : Service tax, prima facie, leviable on joint development of residential complex in respect of portion of flats handed over to land owner

HC raps AO for rejecting Vodafone's application for 'Nil' TDS certificate without assigning any reas

IT: Where assessee made an application under section 197 for grant of no deduction of tax certification and Assessing Officer rejected application without assigning any reasons, Assessing Officer was directed to reconsider application in light of various materials placed by assessee

Penalty upheld as AIR of transactions of over Rs. 30 Lakh was filed belatedly by Sub-registrar

IT : Where Annual Information Reports of transactions over Rs. 30 lakhs had been filed by specified persons beyond period of limitation, said specified person would be held to be in default, and liable to levy of penalty under section 271FA

Sec. 254 can't be invoked to recall entire order as otherwise it would be a review and not rectifica

IT : Power to rectify a mistake under section 254(2) cannot be used for recalling entire order as it would amount to review of order which is not permissible under Act

No writ lies to HC at stage of show cause notice if facts were not fully established

CST & VAT : When acceptability of contention raised by assessee with reference to actual facts is to be ascertained with reference to relevant records by assessing authority, High Court cannot interfere at show-cause notice stage

Discounting charges on bills of exchange couldn't be termed as 'interest' to trigger sec. 194A TDS

IT : Where assessee had merely discounted sale consideration receivable on sale of goods, it was not a case of debt incurred or moneys borrowed and therefore discounting charges of Bill of Exchange or factoring charges of sale could not be termed as interest and same did not come within purview of section 194A

Addition deleted as there was no error in method consistently followed for valuation of closing stoc

IT : In absence of any error in method of valuation of closing stock, which had been consistently followed, addition made on account of under valuation of closing stock was not justified

A person qualified as CHA under old norms couldn’t be asked to obtain qualification under new norms,

Excise & Customs : If a person has obtained requisite qualifications under Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 1984, he cannot be asked to obtain qualifications (pass exam) under Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004

CLB's principal bench alone has the jurisdiction to restrict transfer of securities

CL : Petition under section 250 is entertainable by Principal Bench of CLB alone which has jurisdiction to grant relief under section 250(2)

Sums paid on outright purchases of 'basic engineering package' to produce chemicals won't be deemed

IT/ILT : Amount remitted for acquisition of 'basic engineering package' of process, design, documentation for production of chemical on outright purchase basis was not fee for technical service liable to withhold tax in India

No exemption to trust as it paid purchase price to specified person and got its refund without inter

IT : ITAT cant go simply by assessee's documentation & ignore normal course of human conduct & probabilities

Bpcl To Develop Numaligarh As Export Hub For Bangladesh, Nepal

State-run Bharat Petroleum CorporationBSE 1.06 % Limited has decided to develop its Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery as an export hub for petroleum products to neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal. While the company is planning to lay a 130-km oil pipeline connecting the refinery's marketing terminal at Siliguri in West Bengal with Parbatipur in Bangladesh, it has already signed an agreement with Nepal's Birat Petroleum for supplying petroleum products.



"We are hopeful of starting the survey work of Siliguri to Parbatipur pipeline in a month's time," a top executive at the refinery told ET on condition of anonymity. "Bangladesh government is very keen on the project."



The pipeline will cost Rs200 crore and have a carrying capacity of 1 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa) of high speed diesel (HSD). "Initially, Numaligarh Refinery will export HSD to Bangladesh. We also have plans to enter Myanmar," the executive quoted earlier said, adding that a team from the refinery will shortly visit Bangladesh to firm up the agreement.



Bangladesh has a shortfall of 1.5 mmtpa of petroleum products. Numaligarh Refinery had in 2007 exported 4,800 million tonne of diesel to Bangladesh through the waterways. The value of the export was around Rs 15 crore. Bharat Petroleum is in the process of expanding the refinery's capacity to 9 mmtpa from 3 mmtpa.



As for Nepal, the executive quoted earlier said, the government of that country has approved import of petroleum products from Numaligarh Refinery. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas had approved inclusion of Numaligarh Refinery along with Indian Oil CorporationBSE 3.68 % (IOC) for supply of petroleum products to Nepal. IOCBSE 3.68 % has till now been the sole supplier to Nepal.



According to the agreement, Numaligarh Refinery will supply 100 kilo litre of motor spirit and 5,000 kilo litre of HSD per month to Birat Petroleum. The supply is expected to begin from June.



source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Those Who Remove Mountains

Those who remove mountains begin by carrying away small stones; is a proverb; following is a literal example of the same.

Various economists and world leaders have admitted that UPA I and II has taken various conscious steps to kill ‘Indian Industry, Economy and Talent’. All kind of scams, from 2G to NREGA to Railway Recruitment are example of the same.



‘Indian Industry, Economy and Talent’ has somehow managed to survive, to a great extent because of the initiatives of Narendra Modi led Gujarat Government. Everyone knows how he gave a new life to ‘Nano Car’, accepted world over as the pride of Indian Industry and Talent. But people don’t know is that his government has taken several initiatives to save many other industries from the situation similar to that of Nano. Nano got talked about but other initiatives have been overlooked by media; may be because they are not glamorous enough.



Following is an example of Stone Industry. There are more than 20,000 units working all over India with a huge investment of more than Rs 50,000 crore and providing job opportunities to more than 15 lakh persons. India leads in production of natural stones with 35,342 million tonnes (27.91 per cent share), followed by China (31,000 million tonnes – 23.48 per cent), but India lags behind when it comes to exports. China exported 16 million tonnes of stone valued at $3.04 billion in 2010 as against India’s export figures of about $600 million.



The policy paralysis in the central government has affected the growth of the industry. Fairly, no new lease are being granted by the government in such areas as reserve forest, tiger reserve, wild life sanctuary, national parks, Western Ghats, Aravali region etc. But at the same time, Granite blocks are not allowed to be imported while DGFT has permitted the import of additional quota of one lakh tons of rough marble dimensional blocks in the country by the Indian companies who have invested in marble mining in foreign countries. This notification totally demoralizes the Indian industries who have invested heavy amount in India. In a way, Commerce Ministry is encouraging the monopoly in the marble import. There are still no overseas investments coming to natural stone field because of the policy paralysis.



The lacuna in the EXIM policy has given advantage to the Chinese and large quantities of the Indian granites blocks are being exported to China. After value addition, China exports the finished goods to different parts of the world which created the competition for the Indian industries. If this situation continues, days are not far away when the entire Indian stone market will be controlled by only Chinese finished goods.



Apart from removing restrictive import policies, government needs to improve road infrastructure as high transport cost hurts the trade, increase power generation & distribution and start training courses for growth of the industry.



While there has been no effort by central government in any of the areas mentioned above, state government of Gujarat is known for having build road infrastructure and excellent power production, through both renewable and non-renewable sources. Through its training program Government of Gujarat has given a new life to the industry.



The journey of the processing industry started with circular saw machines to Gangsaw and the latest one being circular wire saw machines. Latest resin lines, polishing lines etc. are being used for making the products of international standards. Even in the mining sector, now diamond wires are being used, dispensing the traditional blasting method.



Decline in the industry reduced the number of craftsman and artisans for such work. To revive the stone art, Stone Artisan Park Training (SAPTI) was instituted in Ambaji and Dhrangadhra. The course moulds the trainees to be entrepreneur by providing self employment opportunities. This is the only initiative of its kind in India.



The facilities provided to the trainees include free boarding and lodging, course materials and tools. No tuition fee is charged whereas the trainees are paid Rs 100 as stipend on a daily basis. Employment is assured for all pass out students of the four month and one year course. SAPTI has collaborated with NID, Ahmedabad, CED Ahmedabad, and IICD, Jaipur for continuous improvement.

SAPTI won the “Education Excellence Award 2013″ under the category of “Vocational & Skills Training – Best Government Initiative”.It is often asked how Modi will bring the change; well he has begun by carrying away small stones.

Source:- http://ift.tt/1fSNyJ1

Russia's 2014 Arms Exports Surpass $2Bln

The volume of Russia’s arms exports this year has topped the $2 billion mark, with outstanding weapons orders standing at $47 billion, a senior government official said Monday.



“As of today, Russia has supplied military products worth $2 billion to its foreign customers,” said Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.



Last year, Russia exported $15.7 billion worth of weaponry, up $2.5 billion from 2011, with plans to increase annual arms sales to $50 billion by 2020 in a race for the top spot.



Russian shipments accounted for 27 percent of global arms exports last year, just behind the United States at 29 percent, according to a report published last week by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.



Among the major importers of Russian weapons and military equipment are India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Venezuela, Algeria and Malaysia.



Fomin, who was speaking ahead of a defense exhibition in Chile, said that Russia is prepared to negotiate contracts on a wide range of military and civilian products with its South American partners, including Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft, Irkut MS-21 mid-range jet airliners and regional Sukhoi Superjet-100s.



According to Fomin, Russia would also propose licensed production of technologies with Chile, a traditional customer of US-made weapons.



“We are offering our Chilean partners a localization of production in their country, which is certainly a very beneficial aspect of our proposed contracts.

Source:- http://indrus.in

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (Dicv) Exports 1,000+ Fuso Vehicles To Africa (Jan And Feb’14)

Daimler Trucks Asia has fuelled its growth in Asia and Africa. With more than 1,000 FUSO vehicles sold here in January and February 2014, Daimler Trucks Asia’s sales figures are nearly double of what they reported for the same 2 months last year. In 2013, Daimler in Africa reported 8,500 FUSO truck sold.



Daimler’s Asia Business Model lets it leverage Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) strengths. Fuso trucks made in India are being exported to new markets in Africa and South East Asia specifically. Last year DICV started producing 5 new FUSO truck models that were immediately exported to Kenya, Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Tanzania.



Mittelschwerer FUSO „FI“ Lkw; Medium-Duty Truck FUSO „FI

Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler Board of Management member responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses said, “As a global manufacturer of commercial vehicles, we want to expand our leadership in traditional markets and develop new markets. We employ intelligent platforms to align our products optimally to the requirements of each market. FUSO plays a central role for the major African and Asian growth markets. Our brand FUSO is well established in Africa and Asia. In combination with the products from our Indian production, we want to increase our sales in these important growth markets. ”



Dr. Albert Kirchmann, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia and MFTBC President & CEO said, “In a growing economy results in an increased demand for the transport of goods. Of this we intend to benefit in Southeast Asian and African markets with FUSO. 2014, we managed a successful start with FUSO in Africa, but we are not concerned about the rapid success. Our activities in these countries are long-term. ”



To generate further growth, Daimler Trucks Asia has planned 300 million euro in investments in international sales and production structures between 2014 to 2018. By 2020, the company looks to sell 290,000 units of FUSO and BharatBenz commercial vehicles. Gradually, FUSO trucks are to be delivered in 11 other export markets: Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Thailand and Uganda. Daimler Trucks Asia growth through MFTBC and DICV sees both companies rely on an integrated product portfolio for variety and optimized production network through their truck production plants in Kawasaki, Japan, and Chennai, India.

Source:- rushlane.com

India Ready To Pay Iran In Euros For Oil

India is ready to pay Iran in euros rather than rupees for crude oil imports after an Iranian official recently said Tehran prefers euro payment, Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry sources in New Delhi say.



The unnamed sources said India will change the current practice of rupee payment as soon as Iran files an official request to that effect, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday.



On March 16, Mohsen Qamsari, the director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said Tehran prefers to receive payments for crude oil exports to India in euros rather than in rupees following the easing of sanctions against Iran as a result of the Geneva nuclear deal.



The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) said in January it is resuming crude oil delivery to Asian buyers in its own vessels as sanctions ease following the implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.



On January 20, the European Union Council suspended part of its sanctions against Iran according to the Geneva nuclear deal between Tehran and the Sextet of world powers – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany - which was signed last November.



Given the volume of its transactions with India, Qamsari said, Iran prefers being paid in euros for crude oil exports to India because of its “increased utility” for Tehran.



Iran’s January oil shipments to the Indian customer were 31 percent higher year on year.



India is among Asia’s major importers of energy, and relies on the Islamic Republic to satisfy a portion of its energy requirements.

Source : presstv.ir

Opportunity of hearing to assessee is mandatory to propose special audit under Delhi VAT Act

CST & VAT : In case of special audit under Delhi VAT Act, an opportunity of being heard is necessary to be given to assessee through notice by Commissioner on each occasion when special audit is proposed

Satisfaction of AO wasn't necessary to initiate block assessment if same person did the earlier asse

IT: Before initiating proceedings under section 158BD, satisfaction of Assessing Officer is mandatory, but same is not required when Assessing Officer who initiated proceedings and Assessing Officer who made assessment, is the same person

AMP exp. entailing brand promotion of AE couldn't be benchmarked on cost-to-cost basis; case remande

IT/ILT: Where assessee-company received reimbursement for advertisement and promotion expenses incurred by it for brand promotion of its AE, mark-up as cost to cost reimbursement of expenses was not enough

CBDT's order is binding on revenue; AO can't deny exemption to assessee granted by CBDT

IT : Where exemption under section 10(23C)(vi) had been granted to assessee by CBDT, said order being binding on department, revenue's appeal against allowance of exemption was to be dismissed

Collective holding of group is to be considered to determine benchmark fixed by SEBI takeover code

SEBI : Where appellants had acted in concert with each other as a group for purpose of acquisition of shares/voting rights of target company and had made a public offer, for determining crossing of threshold limit of 15 per cent prescribed by regulation 10 of take over regulations 1997, it is collective holding of entire group/concert which would be benchmark for determining increase in shareholding and not appellant shareholding as an individual

Order rejecting application for condonation of delay in filing of return is neither appealable nor r

IT : Order rejecting application for condonation of delay in filing return being an administrative order, neither any appeal nor any rectification application thereof is maintainable

HC nods to settlement amongst Co. and secured creditors as it was fair and in best interest of stake

CL : In settlement between secured creditor and company under liquidation, interests of contributories, creditors and other stake-holders were also to be taken into consideration

HC to hear appeal irrespective of monetary limits for filing appeal if issue involved is having casc

Service Tax : Irrespective of monetary limit involved, if substantial question of law raised demands consideration by High Court in view of its important/cascading effect, circular cannot be interpreted or understood to stand in way of High Court considering merits of case

Penalty can't be levied if sec. 80-IA deduction was wrongly claimed by assessee under his bonafide b

IT: Where 80 per cent of plant and machinery in new unit was new and, hence assessee was under bona fide impression that it was entitled to benefit under section 80-IA, levy of penalty under section 271(1)(c) was not sustainable on disallowance of such claim

ITAT upheld TP adjustment on 'Sony Mobile' as AMP exp. incurred by assessee contributed to brand bui

IT/ILT : Where assessee engaged in importing, buying and selling and distributing wide range of mobile phones in India, actively contributed to brand building for its AE which was evident from fact that its AMP/sales ratio was higher than those of comparables, impugned order of TPO making adjustment to assessee's ALP on account of reimbursement of AMP expenses, was to be upheld

HC nods to settlement amongst Co. and secured creditors and it was fair and in best interest of stak

CL : In settlement between secured creditor and company under liquidation, interests of contributories, creditors and other stake-holders were also to be taken into consideration

Investments would be presumed to have been made out of ample owned funds; interest on loan held allo

IT : Where assessee-company took an unsecured loan from a company but did not hold any shares of said company and similarly said company also did not hold shares of assessee, said unsecured loan could not be treated as deemed dividend in hands of assessee

Dilution of insecticides by adding solvent, perfume and stabilizing agents doesn't amount to manufac

Excise & Customs : Dilution of imported insecticides by adding solvent, perfume and stabilising agents etc. does not amount to manufacture; CBEC Circulars to contrary quashed

Unexplained cash credit to be added in entirety and not only the profit element embedded in it: HC

IT: When unexplained cash credit had been added to income, contention of assessee that necessary expenditure should be deducted and profit alone could be taken as income could not be accepted

Preliminary expenses and depreciation on leased assets allowed on principle of consistency with earl

IT : Where assessee's claim for preliminary expenses had been allowed in earlier years, in absence of any change in circumstances, following principle of consistency, said claim was to be allowed in relevant year as well

CIT(A) rightly estimated income on avg. GP rate as accounts were rejected due to non-availability of

IT : Whether assessee carrying on business of liquor had not maintained sale vouchers, rejection of assessee's account books and trading results by invoking provisions of section 145(3) was justified and Commissioner (Appeals) had rightly applied average gross profit rate in instant case

Place of removal is port of shipment in case of export of goods; services availed upto port are inpu

Service Tax : In case of export of final product, place of removal would be port of shipment and not factory gate and therefore, manufacturer would be entitled to credit of input services availed upto such 'port of shipment'

Income arising from sale of trees that were cut legally to get hindrance free cultivation was capita

IT: Where trees were not of spontaneous growth and same could not be regenerated and gave benefit to assessee in near future, income earned out of sale of such trees could not be chargeable to tax in hands of assessee and was to be treated as capital receipts

Block assessment order quashed as sec. 143(2) notice wasn't issued within stipulated time after fili

IT: Where Assessing Officer passed block assessment order under section 153BC on assessee and Commissioner (Appeals) having found that notice under section 143(2) had not been issued on assessee within a year of filing of block return cancelled block assessment order, Tribunal was justified in confirming decision of Commissioner (Appeals)

HC admits writ against stay order to Tribunal as it was passed without hearing to assessee

Excise & Customs : Normally, assessee has to be file statutory appeal against stay order passed by Tribunal; however, where order of Tribunal is passed without having heard assessee and also without considering his grave financial difficulties/hardship, writ petition is maintainable thereagainst

CCI orders investigation against Ericsson as it was charging excessive license fee for 2G, 3G and 4G

Competition Law : Ericsson holding Standard Essential Patents for mobile communications like 2G, 3G & 4G patents used for smart phones enjoyed dominant position in relevant market

No TP adjustment to challenge prudence of royalty payments to AE if made at lesser rate than of comp

IT/ILT : Where assessee paid royalty at rate of 4 per cent on sales to its AE located abroad for use of its trade mark, in view of fact that said rate was as per RBI formula and lesser than average royalty rate for comparable marketing know-how, TPO could not make adjustment to assessee's ALP taking a view that payment of royalty was unnecessary as products sold by assessee had already acquired a reputation of quality before conclusion of royalty agreement

Rule 5A mandating assessee to provide docs to authorized officer isn’t ultra vires sec. 72A/94 of Fi

Service Tax : Rule 5A(2) mandating every assessee to make available requisite documents/reports to authorised officer or audit party is not ultra vires section 72A or section 94 of Finance Act, 1994 and is valid

Max restraint period on excise evasion/misuse of credit - 6 months for first time offenders and 1 ye

GST : Rule 12AAA of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 - Power to Impose Restrictions in Certain Type of Cases - Facilities to be Withdrawn and Restrictions to be Imposed for Specified Offences - Supersession of Notification No. 5/2012-C.E. (N.T.), Dated 12-3-2012

FinMin empowers Chief Commissioner of Excise to impose restrictions to prevent misuse of Cenvat cred

GST/Indian Acts & Rules : Cenvat Credit (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Substitution of Rule 12AAA

FinMin empowers Chief Commissioner of Excise to impose restrictions to prevent evasion of excise dut

GST/Indian Acts & Rules : Central Excise (Second Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Substitution of Rule 12CCC

RBI lays Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme; unclaimed deposits of over 10 years to be cr

Banking : Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014 - Under Section 26A of Banking Regulation Act, 1949

RBI issues circular for interest rates on PPF scheme and Senior Citizens Saving Scheme for financial

IT : Public Provident Fund Scheme, 1968 (PPF Scheme, 1968) and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, 2004 (SCSS, 2004) - Revision of Interest Rates

RBI notifies guidelines on early detection of NPAs for NBFCs

NBFCs : Early Recognition of Financial Distress, Prompt Steps for Resolution and Fair Recovery for Lenders: Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets in The Economy

Issues relating to determination of rate of service tax or value of services would be appealable onl

Service Tax : Where order under challenge involves any issue relating to : (a) rate of service tax, or (b) classification, or (c) value of services, or (d) chargeability of activity under charging service tax, appeal would lie only before Supreme Court and no appeal in that matter lies before High Court

Lessor allowed to claim depreciation as there was no doubt on purchase and letting out of machinery

IT: Where purchase of machinery and letting out same was not in doubt, depreciation could not be disallowed

TPO can't make addition on his whim without rejecting comparables chosen by assessee; ITAT deletes a

IT/ILT : Where TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP in respect of international transactions in software development and BPO segment, in view of fact that comparables selected by assessee were not rejected by TPO and, moreover, OP/TC in respect of comparable cases inclusive of cases chosen by TPO was within permissible range of plus/minus 5 per cent, impugned adjustment could not be sustained

Additions made without scrutinizing unsigned draft sale agreement found during survey is untenable,

IT : Without investigation about authenticity of unsigned draft agreement to sell found during survey, no addition would be sustainable

CLB held removal of director without following statutory procedures illegal and act of oppression; r

CL: Where removal of director was without complying statutory provision of section 284; same would amount to illegality and act of oppression

Revenue’s appeal dismissed by ITAT without considering notional tax effect held erroneous by HC

IT: Where Tribunal dismissed revenue's appeal holding it as not maintainable on ground that in either case assessee had suffered loss and in that view of matter, CBDT's circulars providing monetary limit for filing further appeal would render revenue's appeal not competent, impugned order of Tribunal was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for consideration on merits

Excise proceedings couldn't be initiated against a wounded-up co. without obtaining prior leave of c

Excise & Customs : Where a company is being wound up, no central excise reference proceedings against it or its directors can be initiated/continued without obtaining prior leave of company court

Unexplained bank deposits added to assessee’s income as he failed to prove that it belonged to his H

IT : Where assessee did not produce a single document to show that concerned bank account was HUF account and not his individual account, addition in respect of deposits in said account would be made in assessee's individual status and not in HUF status

Royalty paid by assessee to AE not comparable with royalty paid by AE further as method of computati

IT/ILT : Where TPO having found that royalty paid by assessee to its AE was higher as compared to similar payment made by another AE, added certain amount to assessee's ALP, in view of fact that assessee had paid royalty on net sales of product whereas other AE made payment on gross sales receipts, there being difference in mode of computation of royalty, impugned addition was to be set aside

Sec. 234B interest for default in payment of advance tax could be charged only after allowing MAT cr

IT : In view of retrospective amendment in first proviso to section 43B, Tribunal was justified in deleting disallowance in respect of unpaid PF/ESI amount which remained unpaid even during grace period available

Bagasse and electricity energy aren't excisable goods; cann’t be regard as exempted goods under Cenv

Cenvat Credit: Bagasse and Electricity Energy generated out of bagasse used as fuel are not 'excisable goods' and cannot, therefore, be regarded as 'exempted goods' for purpose of rule 6 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004

Director of co. convicted on floating unregistered CIS and on his failure to refund investor's money

SEBI : Where plantation company came out with CIS after section 12(1B) of SEBI Act came into force and contravened regulations 73 and 74 of CIS Regulations, directors of company were to be convicted under sections 24 and 27 of SEBI Act