SC: No violation of service rules by whistleblower, an IAS officer, on filing of writ petition again

CL: Filing of writ petition by IAS Officer containing allegations that the Government of India is lax in discharging its constitutional obligations of establishing the rule of law can be said to amount to either failure to maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty or of indulging in conduct unbecoming of a member of the service

Salary paid by overseas HO to expatriate employees working exclusively for Indian branch is fully de

IT/ILT : Where assessee, a bank incorporated in Japan, paid salaries abroad to its expatriates working in Indian branch constituting PE, in view of fact that said expenditure had been incurred wholly and exclusively for Indian branch and, no part of those expenses could be allocated to any other branch by head office, provisions of section 44C did not apply to said expenditure and thus, assessee's claim for deduction of salary expenses was to be allowed

No further addition to be made in survey proceedings if addition was already made in original assess

IT: Where gross receipt of assessee was enhanced in original assessment proceedings, no further addition to be made on basis of survey proceedings

HC advises Commercial Tax Officer to follow set time-limit to take consequential action in case of i

CST & VAT : Where CTO conducted inspection at business premises of assessee on 27-6-2003 and thereafter he passed an order dated 16-6-2014 on assessee, since CTO had failed to follow Circular No. 8/13, dated 18-7-2013 prescribing time schedule, for taking consequential action, matter was remanded back for fresh adjudication

CBDT seeks inputs from officials on its instructions containing allocation of work amongst CIT(Judic

IT : Section 268 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Allocation of Work Amongst CIT (Judicial) and their Jurisdiction – Committee to Review the CBDT Instruction No.4/2002, Dated 7-5-2002 on Work Allocation of CSIT(j) – Suggestions Invited From All Officers Thereon

CBDT reconstitutes DRP panel at Kolkata

IT/ILT : Section 144C of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) – Reference To – Reconstitution of DRP at Kolkata

No reassessment on basis of audit report as it couldn’t be regarded as info indicating escaped incom

IT: Audit report could not be regarded as 'information' for purpose of reopening an assessment; hence reassessment proceedings initiated on basis of such audit report were illegal

HC directed revenue to lift attachment of bank accounts as ITAT had already granted stay against tax

IT : Where despite stay granted by Tribunal revenue attached and took away proceeds of assessee's bank account, revenue was directed to lift attachment

CBEC releases guidelines on structure, administrative set-up and functions of Audit Commissionerates

EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Guidelines on Structure, Administrative Set up and Functions of Audit Commissionerates

Madhya Pradesh Govt. amends VAT Rules; revises Form 10 and forms for work contractors/composition de

CST & VAT : Madhya Pradesh Value Added Tax Rules, 2006 - Amendment in Rule 21 and Forms 4B, Form 5, Form 10, Form 10.1, Form 10.2, Form 10-B

CBEC takes a leaf out of CBDT's book; mandates transfer of refund/rebate claim into bank account of

ST LAWS : Clarification on Payment of Sanctioned Rebate/Refund to Service Provider/Manufacturer Under Electronic Clearing System Through RTGS/NEFT Facility

Revisional proceedings by Joint Commissioner upheld as assessee had misused from XVII for concession

CST & VAT : Where in course of first appeal filed by assessee, revenue pointed out First Appellate Authority that for misuse of form XVII penalty was to levied upon assessee under section 23 and First Appellate Authority rejected revenue's contention and thereafter Joint Commissioner invoked his suo moto revisional powers under section 34 of Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 and directed Assessing Authority to initiate fresh penalty proceedings under section 23 against assessee, Joint Commi

Order of DRP without considering objections of assessee is a 'non-speaking' order; set aside by ITAT

IT/ILT: Where order passed by DRP was a laconic non-speaking order as it had not given any reason for disposal of assessee's objections and had also not adopted any reasons contained in draft assessment order nor even reasons that were contained in order of TPO; same was to be set aside

Even employee’s contributions to PF are deductible if paid by employer before due date of filing ret

IT: Contribution by employer towards provident fund means both employer's contribution and employee's contributions and if such contributions are paid before due date prescribed under section 139(1), employer shall be entitled to deductions as provided under section 36(1)(iv)

HC sanctioned amalgamation scheme as it was in interest of Co. and IT department didn't raise object

CL : Where income tax department had raised no objection to proposed scheme of amalgamation and same was in interest of company and its members, proposed scheme was to be sanctioned

Manufacturer couldn’t be deemed as job-worker merely due to professional control of buyer over raw m

Excise & Customs : Where assessee manufactures coolers and sells them to buyer, said transaction cannot be regarded as job-work transaction merely because of professional control of buyer over raw material purchases by assessee to ensure quality and timely supply; rule 10A of Valuation Rules, 2000 is inapplicable

MCA tweaks norms for DIN, excludes requirement of PAN in data bank of eligible independent directors

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2014 - Amendment in Rules 6, 9, 10, 11, 12; Insertion of Rule 10A, Forms DIR-3A, DIR-3B and DIR-3C; Omission of Form DIR-1 and Substitution of Form DIR-3

Contribution towards approved group gratuity scheme of LIC is a deductible exp. under section 36(1)(

IT: Liability to pay in respect of salary settlement crystallizes in year of approval

Particulars in Form A4 are essential for verifying unfructified sales as well as refund claim on unf

CST & VAT : Particulars prescribed in Form A4 were essential for verifying claim for unfructified sale as well as for refund

SC: HC couldn’t quash complaint against dishonour of cheque merely for want of proof of service of n

Negotiable Instruments Act: Complaint under section 138 cannot be quashed on ground that there was no proof of service of notice as same is matter of evidence

No TDS liability of assessee on fees charged by NR bank for ‘LOC’ if it had privity of contract with

IT/ILT : Where a foreign bank charged certain sum terming it as interest on an Indian bank in process of negotiating letter of credit on behalf of its customer i.e. assessee, and said bank recouped amount from assessee, in view of fact that assessee had privity of contract with Indian bank and amounts were also paid to Indian bank only, transaction in question could not be said to fall within meaning of section 195 and, therefore, assessee was not required to deduct tax at source while making pa

Commission paid to foreign agents for procuring export orders was outside the ambit of 'FTS'

IT/ILT : Commission paid by assessee to its foreign agent for arranging of export sales and recovery of payments could not be regarded as 'fee for technical services' under section 9(1)(vii) and, thus, assessee was not liable to deduct tax at source while making said payment

Electric control panel manufactured by appellant was plant and machinery; eligible for lower rate of

CST& VAT : Where assessee was engaged in manufacture of electric control panel and transformer and same were used in manufacture as plant and machinery, products were covered by Entry No. A-88 of notification issued under section 41 of Bombay Sales Tax Act

HC set aside block assessment proceedings as AO failed to record satisfaction within 2 years of sear

IT: Assessing Officer is bound to record satisfaction within meaning of section 158BD within two-year time period stipulated in section 158BE(1)

Tribunal's order directing penalty is valid from the date when it is passed and not from date of its

Excise & Customs : Where Tribunal gave an option to assessee pay 25 per cent penalty within 30 days from today i.e., from 22-7-2010; payment on 30-8-2010 was not in compliance with direction of Tribunal and, therefore, assessee was liable to full penalty

No denial of TDS credit on its non-appearance in ITD system of department if Form No. 16A was issued

IT: Where deductor having deducted TDS, issued Form No. 16A, credit of same can not be denied to assessee deductee solely on ground that such credit does not appear on ITD system of department and/or same does not match with ITD system of department

CBEC instructs department to appeal against cases involving levy of SAD on imports made under DEPB S

EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Proposal for Filing of Review Petition Before Supreme Court Against Order Dated 15-02-2013 Passed by Supreme Court in Sld(c) CC No.3741/2013 Filed by Department in Case of Uoi Vs. Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd.

Delhi CESTAT lists out instances in which appeals can be admitted for credit adjustment against mand

ST LAWS : Clarification on Registration of Appeals Received on or After 6-8-2014 Subsequent to Amendment in Customs Act, 1962, Central Excsie Act, 1944 and Finance Act, 1994

Goods detained by Commercial Tax officer due to undervaluation to be released subject to payment of

CST & VAT : Where assessee sold goods to various registered dealers and sent same to them in different vehicles and CTO detained goods on grounds of under valuation, CTO was directed to release goods on payment of tax by assessee

Disclosure of additional income in revised return after filing of block return would attract penalty

IT: Undisclosed income disclosed by assessee after filing revised return under section 158BC, would attract penalty under section 158BFA

Technical payments to AEs couldn’t be held as nil if payments under technical agreement were duly ap

IT/ILT: Where TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP taking a view that value of technical know how fee and royalty paid by assessee to its promoter company was nil, in view of fact that technical service agreement was duly approved by RBI and, moreover, TPO had not analysed payments in question either under TNMM method or under any other method as required by transfer pricing provisions, impugned disallowance made by TPO was to be set aside

Transfer of employees as per circular in force couldn’t be withdrawn due to subsequent change in pol

Excise & Customs : Where petitioner had applied for inter-commissionerate transfer and she had been allowed said transfer as per Circular in force at that time, such transfer could not be withdrawn on subsequent change in policy

No prejudice caused to petitioners on change of BIFR bench as they availed of opportunity to put for

SICA: In proceedings before BIFR, mere change of Bench would not be prejudicial if at every stage of proceedings, petitioners were given full and complete opportunity to put forth their case which they availed

CBDT extends 80% rate of depreciation on windmills and devices running on wind energy installed afte

IT : Income-Tax (Eighth Amendment) Rules, 2014 - Amendment in New Appendix-I

No dismissal of appeal on grounds of delay as assessee became aware of assessment order quite late

CST & VAT : Where against orders of assessment dated 29-7-2007, assessee filed appeals on 23-4-2010 and Appellate Authority dismissed appeals on ground of delay, since assessee came to know about assessment orders on 13-4-2010, dismissal of appeals was erroneous

Disallowance of bogus commission paid to agent in previous year could trigger reopening of cases of

IT : Where in a subsequent year procurement charges were disallowed as no services were found to have been rendered by agents, said fact would be an information for initiating reassessment proceeding of earlier years

Tribunal could extend stay after passing speaking order that delay hadn’t taken place due to fault o

Excise & Customs : Tribunal may extended period of stay even beyond 365 days, but, only after recording satisfaction that delay in not disposing of appeal is not due to fault of assessee and assessee is not resorting to dilatory tactics

No penalty if assessee offers undisclosed income to tax in return filed pursuant to search of anothe

IT : Where pursuant to search proceedings in case of another person, assessee filed a return declaring certain undisclosed income which was duly accepted while framing assessment under section 143(3), read with section 153A, there being no concealment of particulars of income, impugned penalty order passed under section 271(1)(c) was to be set aside

HC directs Assessing Authority to gather info from assessee’s agent regarding alleged concealed purc

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Authority issued on assessee a notice alleging that it concealed purchases of timber and further he disagreed from assessee made addition to its turnover in respect of above purchases, matter was remitted for consideration afresh

CLB quashed applicant’s frivolous plea asking for copy of annual accounts as he had failed to pay re

CL : Where applicant demanded copy of annual accounts of company but cheque of requisite fee could not be encashed due to overwriting, application filed by applicant under section 219 was to be dsimissed

Deductor couldn't be treated as an assessee-in-default if deductee was not liable to pay taxes due t

IT/ILT : If recipient of income has no tax liability as per assessment framed under section 143(3) due to losses, then section 201 cannot be made applicable to assessee payee for non-deduction/delay in deposit of TDS

Tribunal is empowered to extend stay even for delay beyond 365 days after passing speaking order

Excise & Customs : Stay granted by Tribunal may be extended even beyond 365 days, but, for every extension beyond 180 days, Tribunal must pass speaking order and record its satisfaction that delay in disposing of appeal is not attributable to assessee

Receipts of all institutions of one society are to be clubbed together to check limit of 1 crore und

IT: Where receipts of assessee-society from two institution managed and run by it exceeded Rs. 1 crore, in absence of exemption certificate under section 10(23C), receipt exceeding over Rs. 1 crore was rightly brought to tax

Officer-in-charge rightly ordered seizure of goods when certain undeclared goods were found in truck

CST & VAT : Where assessee, a transporter, had sent goods of different consignors from Delhi to Tripura and when truck reached at entrance check post of Tripura State, driver produced Form XXVI and thereafter when officer-in-charge physically inspected truck found therein various goods, which had not been declared, action of officer-in-charge in seizing goods was justified

Share transactions supported by broker's note, share certificate and demat statement couldn't be hel

IT: Where transaction of purchase and sale of shares were supported with broker's note, contract note, copies of share certificates and de-mat statement, transaction of shares could not be treated bogus

Contractee validly reimbursed only ST paid in cash as contract provides for reimbursement on proof o

Service Tax : Where contract provides for reimbursement of taxes only on production of evidence of 'payment', then, view of contractee that only service tax paid in cash will be reimbursed and not that paid through credit, cannot be faulted

ITAT denies depreciation as assessee failed to prove that asset was used in his business operations

IT: Depreciation on factory building and plant & machinery never put to use during year, could not be allowed

ITAT directs TPO to make afresh TP adjustment in accordance with directions issued by it earlier

IT/ILT : Where in pursuance of Tribunal's directions, TPO passed an order wherein addition made to assessee's ALP was reduced, in view of fact that there were variations and inconsistencies while implementing directions of earlier Bench, impugned order was to be set aside with a direction to Assessing Officer/TPO to revise transfer pricing adjustment in accordance with directions issued by Tribunal in letter and spirit

ITAT directs TPO to make afresh TP adjustment in accordance with directions issued by its earlier

IT/ILT : Where in pursuance of Tribunal's directions, TPO passed an order wherein addition made to assessee's ALP was reduced, in view of fact that there were variations and inconsistencies while implementing directions of earlier Bench, impugned order was to be set aside with a direction to Assessing Officer/TPO to revise transfer pricing adjustment in accordance with directions issued by Tribunal in letter and spirit

Penalty under Rule 96ZO can be lesser than duty; mandatory penalty equivalent to duty is unconstitut

Excise & Customs : Rules 96ZO(3), 96ZP and 96ZQ, up to extent of providing for mandatory minimum penalty without mens rea and without any element of discretion, are excessive and unreasonable restriction on fundamental rights and are, accordingly, ultra vires Act and Constitution

Handwritten statements corroborated with other docs couldn’t be said to be obtained under coercion u

FERA : Where statement of appellant was recorded in his own handwriting and was corroborated by other independent statements, statement of appellant could not be said to be obtained under coercion and penalty imposed upon appellant for contravention of section 9 on basis of that statement was justified

Prior to 1-7-2010, licensing of duty free shops within airport amounted to renting of immovable prop

Service Tax : Prior to 1-7-2010, license arrangement whereby licensee is permitted to run duty-free shops in airports cannot amount to 'airport services', as letting of immovable property was specifically covered under separate service

AO couldn’t make disallowance by resorting to rectification proceedings for debatable issues

IT: Where rectification pertaining to computation of deduction under section 80HHC was highly debatable, rectification could not be resorted to under provisions of section 154

SEBI enhances fee for settlement of administrative and civil proceedings by two-folds

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Settlement of Administrative and Civil Proceedings) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 – Amendment in Schedule I

Imparting training to students in Nautical Science and Marine Engineering was liable to service tax

Service Tax : Imparting training to students in Nautical Science and Marine Engineering and conducting short term courses like Oil Pollution and Response Course, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting Course, Personal Survival Technique Course, Tanker Familiarization Course, Personal Safety and Social Responsibility Course for sea men and students is liable to service tax under Commercial Training or Coaching Services

No deemed dividend on receipts pursuant to family settlement even if assessee had substantial intere

IT : Where pursuant to family settlement, assessee received certain amount and assets from a company in which he had substantial interest, provisions of section 2(22)(e) could not be applied to amount so received

HC keeps winding-up plea in abeyance after knowing that respondent-co. was making profits

CL: Company being a profit making company, winding up petition was to be kept in abeyance

Charterer of ship can't be alleged as conduit if relevant docs proves it's position; treaty benefits

IT/ILT : Where cyprus shipping company was not merely a paper company and played its role, Indian agent could not be taxed for its income and treaty benefit of Article 8 of Indo-Cyprus DTAA would be available to it

HC grants reasonable time to department for pursuing revisional remedy against order of Tribunal

Service Tax : Where Tribunal set aside order of penalty imposed upon petitioner and Department decided to file revision against order of Tribunal, reasonable time was to be allowed to department to pursue revisional remedy

Acquirer-Co. not liable to pay non-compete fee to public shareholders if it was paid to promoters of

CL : Ordinarily when there is a gap of 25 per cent between consideration paid to outgoing promoters and non-compete fee, SEBI ought not to conduct any inquiry. However, if it appears to SEBI that difference between offer price and non-compete fee is less than 25 per cent but that is nevertheless a disguise or a camouflage for reducing cost of acquisition through a public offer, then SEBI can certainly delve further into the matter

CBDT seeks inputs from officials to improve quality of assessment orders and to reduce litigation

IT : Constitution of A Committee to Study The Appellate Orders to Examine The Filing of Appeals by Department before Various Forums – Suggestions Invited from all Officers for Improving Quality of Assessment Orders and to Strengthen Institution of CIT(A)

ITAT allows sec. 54 relief for two flats as their layout plan indicated that both were used as a sin

IT : Where acquisition of two flats had been done independently but eventually they were a single unit and house for purpose of residence, claim under section 54 could not be denied

HC denies to relax delay in making drawback claim by assessee as act of non-reversal of credit was d

Excise & Customs : Where assessee had taken credit of additional duties of customs and had re-exported goods on which credit had been taken : (a) Cenvat Credit taken earlier was reversible and (b) duty drawback of said duties could not be allowed when Cenvat Credit had been reversed after more than 5 years from re-export and more than 3 years from department pointing out erroneous Cenvat Credit

To compute ALV AO has to determine standard rent of property if it isn't fixed under Rent Control Ac

IT: At the time of determining Annual Letting Value of properties, which are subject to Rent Control Act, it is the duty of AO to determine standard rent if it isn't fixed under Rent Control Legislation

Indexation benefit available from the year in which asset was held by previous owner to compute cost

IT: When an asset is acquired by way of inheritance, cost of acquisition of asset should be calculated on basis of cost of acquisition to previous owner and said cost of acquisition of previous owner has to be calculated on basis of indexed cost of acquisition as provided in Explanation (3) to section 48

Electronic portable ticketing machine is not an IT product; liable to 12.5% VAT under residuary entr

CST & VAT : Portable hand held electronic ticketing machine was not an IT product and it did not fall under notification dated 30-3-2006 issued under VAT Act and it was exigible to tax under residuary entry at rate of 12.5 per cent

DIT asks Nodal officers to transfer out PAN from old/orphan jurisdictions to jurisdictional AOs

IT/ILT : Section 139A of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Permanent Account Number (PAN) – Migration of Pans Lying in Old/Orphan Jurisdiction and Review of AO Codes Where no Employee Number is Attached

HC disallows business expenses of ‘Liberty’ as it had already transferred its business to franchisee

IT : Where assessee had transferred its business to franchisee, assessee could no more claim any business expenditure or depreciation on expenses incurred by it

Pre-delivery inspection charges not includible in excisable value if second inspection was made at b

Excise & Customs : Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) charges for conducting tests for second time at option of buyer cannot be added to assessable value.

CBEC rescinds old orders relating to appointment of officers and their jurisdiction issued under ST

ST LAWS : Rule 3 of The Service Tax Rules, 1994 - Appointment of Officers – Rescission of Order No.3/3/94-ST, Dated 11-10-1994; No.4/1/95-ST, Dated 25-7-1995; No.5/1/1996-ST, Dated 31-10-1996; No.5/1/97-ST, Dated 25-7-1997; No.7/1/97-ST, Dated 5-11-1997; No.1/1/98-ST, Dated 7-10-1998; No.3/1/2004-ST, Dated 1-3-2004; No.4/2/2004-ST, Dated 18-5-2004; No.1/1/2010-ST, Dated 10-2-2010 and all other Orders Relating to Appointment of Officers and Their Jurisdiction Issued Under Rule 3 of Said Rules

Govt. constitutes National Advisory Committee for formulation of accounting policies/standards

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/COMPANIES ACT, 1956/AAA : Section 133 of The Companies Act, 2013, read with Section 210A Of The Companies Act, 1956 - Central Government to Prescribe Accounting Standards – Constitution of National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards – Notified Persons

Royalty income offered by NR at lower tax rate without any assessment to be deemed as escaped income

IT/ILT: Reassessment in case of assessee a non-resident company was to be upheld as application of 15 per cent tax rate for royalty income under India-US DTAA instead of 30 per cent under section 115A of amounts to lower tax rate application resulting in escapement of Income

No denial of service tax refund merely on the ground that it wasn’t shown as receivable in books, sa

Service Tax : Refund of service tax on services not provided cannot be denied on ground that same was not shown as 'receivable' from Revenue in Balance Sheet

HC imposes exemplary cost on petitioner for filing winding-up plea with a mala-fide intention

CL: Where winding-up petition, from its inception, lacked any semblance of bona fides and carried with it only fetidness of mala fides, deceit and duplicity, huge cost was to be imposed on petitioner

HC directs revisional authority to pass fresh order under Karnataka Sales Tax Act after hearing asse

CST & VAT: Where on date fixed neither assessee nor his advocate appeared before Revisional Authority and thereupon he passed order on assessee, matter was sent back for passing fresh order after giving assessee an opportunity of hearing

SC: Unabsorbed depreciation is to be adjusted only against export income for computing sec. 10B reli

IT : Supreme Court affirmed decision of Karnataka High Court that for purpose of exemption under section 10B, unabsorbed depreciation should be adjusted against income of export unit only and not against other income

China May Slow But India Still Loves Coal

New Chinese government coal import regulations designed to cut air pollution could mean more drops in exports for the coal mining industry.

Experienced mine cost data analyst and head of coal at AME Group, Linda Taglieri, said China's announcement had already impacted the thermal coal market.She said China's imports had already fallen by 12% in the first part of this year.

Ms Taglieri told attendees at the Queensland Government-organised Major Projects Conference on Thursday it would be a trend for China as the country moved in the direction of renewable energy and against coal.

But she said there was demand for thermal coal in India.Ms Taglieri said the country's coal was currently sourced from Indonesia, but if India wanted to improve its efficiency it could look to Australia.

A senior figure from Indian mining giant Adani Group who is based in Australia, Sandeep Mehta, said India offered the biggest possibility for coal export.The Ports at Australia Adani chief said India would have a need for coal in the foreseeable future, and "as much of it as we can get".

Mr Mehta said both coal and gas would be critical for India's future.He is part of the team working on the Carmichael Mine in the Galilee Basin.Mr Mehta said the project had the potential to be Australia's largest coal mine.

Source:- gladstoneobserver.com.au

Civil courts can order for reconstruction of lost records

Excise & customs : Inherent powers of civil court under section 151 of Code of Civil Procedure can be invoked for re-constructing records, which has been lost or destroyed

AO couldn’t allow notional depreciation while computing capital gains on sale of seized assets by ba

IT: Where assets of assessee were seized by bank as a result of default in repayment of loan, assessee not being in possession of assets, it could not be said that seized assets were kept in a state of readiness and, therefore, while computing capital gain on subsequent sale of those assets carried out by bank directly, Assessing Officer was not justified in allowing notional depreciation in terms of Explanation 5 to section 32

Govts Supporting Subsidies In Cotton, Says Global Body

Across ten countries, Government support to cotton has continued to be high. Subsidies include direct support to production, border protection, crop insurance and minimum support price mechanism.



In the 2013-14 season, such support totalled an estimated $6.5 billion (roughly ?40,000 crore), down from a record $7.4 billion in 2012-13, Washington DC-based International Cotton Advisory Committee, an inter-governmental body, said in a report. Subsidies averaged 26 cents a pound in 2013-14, unchanged from the previous year.



The Cotlook A-Index average price in 2013-14 was 91 cents a pound which means that cotton subsidies accounted for close to 30 per cent of the price.



The strong negative correlation between subsidies and prices is well-known. In a year when prices are high, subsidies tend to decline and vice-versa. The decline in subsidy in 2013-14 can be attributed to a rise in price compared with the previous year when the index averaged 88 cents a pound.



And, for the same reason, in countries such as Brazil, India, Pakistan and Mexico, prices were higher than the minimum support price in 2013-14, ICAC said. In addition, in India, the Government made no direct purchase.



Cotton producers in the US receive support in various forms including direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, loan deficiency payments, marketing loan gains and crop insurance. The US cotton producers received about $593 million in direct payments during 2013-14 ($580 million), the report said.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Basmati Exports To Fall As Iran Raises Import Duty To 45%

India’s Basmati rice exports to Iran, the biggest market for the country's long-grain aromatic rice shipment, are expected to fall this fiscal due to a hefty 45% duty on imports, imposed three months ago.



Besides the Iranian government's insistence on certification on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and ISO 2200, which deals with food-safety management and packaging protocols have also slowed down the exports.



As per the latest data, in the first four months of current fiscal (April-July 2014), Basmati rice exports have declined 12% to 1.19 million tonne, mainly due to slow down in the shipment to Iran.



Sources said earlier Iran used to impose only 10% duty on rice import. However, it hiked the import duty a couple of months ago to protect its domestic farmers. The Iranian rice produce enters the market by July and August.



“Last fiscal, the exports of Basmati rice to Iran had reached the highest level at 1.4 million tonne and this year, the shipment is expected to be around one million tonne,” said a commerce ministry official.



The official said that depending on the domestic production in Iran, it would review the import duty structure in the next couple of months. Iran imports about 40% of rice requirement and around 80% of the imports is sourced from India.



The commerce ministry official also said an Indian delegation will visit Iran in October to discuss rice export issues. “We need a single-window clearance system for our rice exports to Iran so that shipment is stream-lined and remains sustainable,” said All India Rice Exporters’ Association (AIREA) president MP Jindal,



Meanwhile, Iran has also revised the 'accepted level' of arsenic in basmati rice from 150 ppm (parts per million) to 120 ppm and asked Indian exporters to put a tag on each pack of consignment ensuring traceability in case aresenic level is found more than the specified limit.



Apart from Iran, other key destinations for Indian basmati rice are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. Non-basmati rice is exported mainly to African countries, including Benin, Nigeria, South Africa and Senegal.



The value of Basmati rice exports in 2013-14 was at Rs 28,187 crore. The country exported 3.7 million tonne of Basmati rice last fiscal.



India had launched a rupee-settlement mechanism from April 2012 with Iran to avoid sanctions from the US and the European Union.

Source:- financialexpress.com

India Inflicts Tax On Chinese Steel Imports

The new action is to strengthen the domestic steel industries, who has been complaining repeatedly about the increase in cheaper imports of steel products like long and flat coils, especially from China occupies large part of the Indian market. Steel products from other countries like Japan, Ukraine, South Korea is also being imported into the country.

Chief Executives of six major steel companies in India meet up with the Steel and Mine Minister of India, Narendra Singh Tomar, in order to discuss about the companies’ conflict regarding the increasing input cost and slow market condition, and along with that also the increasing problems with cheap imports.

According to the sources the meeting ended up with a decision of imposing a safeguard tax in all cheaper imports. The heads of companies stated the minister that the last year’s import from China exceeded all the highest records, and so the government should make required pressing to contain the situation.

The steel companies also accused Chinese imports to be lower than required quality standards, under the Quality Control Order 2012 and import classification. The chairman of SAIL, CS Verma stated that, China is exporting TMT bars, which are thermo mechanically treated, are imported to India in lower taxes as well as with export benefits. He also added that many of the Asian countries, including Thailand, have already taken action to contain Chinese imports, and it is already time that India takes action too.

Source:- metal.com

India Nearly Doubles Oil Imports From Iran In Jan-Aug

Fresh figures show that India’s crude oil imports from Iran have increased by nearly 50 percent in January-August compared with the same period in 2013.

According to data from trade sources, New Delhi imported 271,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude in the first eight months of this year, which is nearly double the amount it had purchased during the corresponding time span last year.

Figures further indicate that India bought 273,500 bpd of Iranian oil in August, up 30 percent from the previous month and some 81 percent higher than a year ago.

The August rise in India’s oil imports from Iran came after the Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s biggest refiner, shipped in nearly two million barrels of Iranian crude following a two-month gap.

Last month, Reuters cited similar data showing that Indian crude imports from the Islamic Republic rose by around 46 percent in January-July compared with the same period in 2013.

India is the largest buyer of Iran’s crude after China.

Iran has seen a rise in its oil exports following the implementation of an interim nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain - plus Germany.

The interim agreement has provided Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for the country having agreed to limit certain aspects of its civilian nuclear work. Part of the sanctions targeted the Islamic Republic’s oil and financial sector.

Source:- presstv.ir

Renews Customs Cooperation Pact

India and China have renewed the agreement for Mutual Administrative Assistance and Cooperation in Customs matters. A fresh agreement was signed by the Chairperson of Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC) JM Shanti Sundharam and the Chinese Ambassador to India.

The fresh agreement will help in timely availability of relevant information for prevention, investigation and combating Customs offences. It will assist customs administrations in both the countries to exchange experiences in the techniques and methods of clearance of goods and passengers, exchanging information on new trends of smuggling and in simplification and harmonisation of procedures.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Rupee Ducks Asia Forex Falls To End Higher At 60.83/Dollar

The rupee gained on Thursday tracking a rally in domestic shares on hopes the country would retain its appeal to foreign investors, despite uncertainty about the outlook for US interest rates that hit other emerging markets.

The partially convertible rupee ended at 60.83/84 per dollar, compared to its close of 60.92/93 on Wednesday.The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time," but also indicated it could raise borrowing costs faster than expected when it starts moving.

Although emerging Asian currencies were hit, the rupee gained as Indian shares rose nearly 2 per cent on speculation of strong foreign buying due to improving domestic fundamentals.

"The turnaround in the stock market during the course of the day on back of various rumours changed the outlook for the pair," said Naveen Raghuvanshi, a foreign exchange dealer with DCB Bank in Mumbai.

The rupee's modest gain stood out against the 0.27 to 0.81 per cent fall in the Indonesian rupiah, Korean won, Malaysian ringgit and the Philippine peso.

Foreign funds have bought debt and equity worth nearly $3.10 billion so far in September, as per regulatory data, bringing their total for the year to $33.15 billion.

Some traders said a report from a local news channel that Standard & Poor's would raise its rating on India also boosted shares and bonds, even as analysts said a full grade upgrade is unlikely given that India is at a "negative" outlook.

In the offshore non-deliverable forwards PNDF, the one-month contract was at 61.17/22 while the three-month contract was at 61.76/86.

Source:- profit.ndtv.com

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