[Indian Customs SG Notification] : Seeks to levy definitive safeguard duty on import of saturated fatty alcohol, for a period of two years and six months from the date of levy of provisional safeguard duty i.e. 28th August, 2014

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II,

SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

(Department of Revenue)

Notification

No. 1/2015-Customs (SG)

New Delhi, the 13th March, 2015

G.S.R. (E). - Whereas, in the matter of import of “Saturated Fatty Alcohols with carbon

chain length of C8,C10,C12,C14,C16 and C18 including single, blends and unblended (not

including branched isomers) which includes blends of a combination of carbon chain lengths,

C12-C14, C12-C16, C12-C18, C16-18 and C14-C16 (commonly categorized as C12-C14)”

(hereinafter referred to as the subject goods), falling under tariff item 2905 17 00 or sub-heading

3823 70 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) (hereinafter referred

to as the Customs Tariff Act), the Director General (Safeguard), in his preliminary findings,

published vide number G.S.R. 357 (E), dated the 26th May, 2014, in the Gazette of India,

Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), dated the 26th May, 2014, had come to the

conclusion that increased imports of subject goods into India has caused and threatened to cause

further serious injury to the domestic producers of subject goods, thereby necessitating the

imposition of provisional safeguard duty on imports of the subject goods into India;

And, whereas, on the basis of the aforesaid findings of the Director General (Safeguard),

the Central Government had imposed provisional safeguard duty on import of the subject goods

into India for a period of two hundred days from 28th August, 2014 vide notification of the

Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 03/2014-Customs

(SG), dated the 28th August, 2014, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,

Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 623(E), dated the 28th August, 2014;

And, whereas, the Director General (Safeguard) in its final findings vide number G.S.R.

712(E), dated the 9th October, 2014, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,

Section 3, Sub-section (i), has recommended imposition of safeguard duty on subject goods

excluding Saturated Fatty Alcohols with carbon chain length of pure C8, falling under tariff item

2905 17 00 or sub-heading 3823 70 of the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, for a period

of two years and six months from the date of levy of provisional safeguard duty;

Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 8B of

the Customs Tariff Act, read with rules 12, 14 and 17 of the Customs Tariff (Identification and

Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 1997, the Central Government after considering the said

final findings of the Director General (Safeguard), hereby imposes on subject goods excluding

Saturated Fatty Alcohols with carbon chain length of pure C8, falling under tariff item 2905 17

00 or sub-heading 3823 70 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, when imported into

India, a safeguard duty at the following rate, namely:-

(a) twenty per cent. ad valorem when imported during the period from 28th August,

2014 to 27th August, 2015 (both days inclusive);

(b) eighteen per cent. ad valorem , when imported during the period from 28th August,

2015 to 27th August, 2016 (both days inclusive); and

(c) twelve per cent. ad valorem , when imported during the period from 28th August,

2016 to 27th February, 2017 (both days inclusive).

2. Nothing contained in this notification shall apply to imports of subject goods excluding

Saturated Fatty Alcohols with carbon chain length of pure C8, from countries notified as

developing countries under clause (a) of sub-section (6) of section 8B of the Customs Tariff Act,

other than Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

3. The safeguard duty imposed under this notification shall be levied with the effect from the

date of the imposition of provisional safeguard duty, that is, the 28th August, 2014, and shall be

payable in Indian currency.

[F No. 354/108/2014-TRU]

(Akshay Joshi)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Income of slot charterer is includible in tonnage income even if its operations carried out in non-q

IT : Income from slot charter operations of a tonnage tax company is liable to be included while determining tonnage income under tonnage tax scheme even if such operations are carried on in ships which are not qualifying ships in terms of provisions of Chapter XIIG of Act

[DGFT Notification] : Addition of two new ports for import of new vehicles.

To be Published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary

Part-II, Section-3, Sub-Section (ii)

Government of India

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

Department of Commerce

Udyog Bhawan

Notification No.117 (RE-2013)/2009-2014

New Delhi, Dated the 13th March, 2015

Subject: Addition of two new ports for import of new vehicles.

S.O.(E) In exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 of FT (D&R) Act, 1992, read with paragraph 1.3 and 2.1 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2009-2014, as amended from time to time, the Central Government hereby amends the Import Policy Condition 2 to Chapter 87 of ITC(HS) 2012, Schedule 1 (Import Policy) as under:

2. Kattupalli Port and APM Terminals, Pipavav Port are added to the existing list of 12 ports / ICDs through which import of new vehicles is permitted under Policy Condition 2(II) (d) of Chapter 87 of ITC(HS) 2012, Schedule 1 (Import Policy). Accordingly, Policy Condition 2(II) (d) of Chapter 87 is revised to read as under:

"The import of new vehicles shall be permitted only through the following Customs Ports:

Seaports - (i) Nhava Sheva, (ii) Mumbai, (iii) Kolkata, (iv) Chennai, (v) Ennore, (vi) Cochin, (vii) Kattupalli, (viii) APM Terminals Pipavav;

Airports - (ix) Mumbai Air Cargo Complex, (x) Delhi Air Cargo, (xi) Chennai Airport; and

ICDs - (xii) Telegaon Pune, (xiii) Tughlakabad & (xiv) Faridabad."

3. Effect of this notification:

Two new Customs Ports, Kattupalli Port and APM Terminals, Pipavav Port are being added to the list of 12 existing ports/ICDs, thereby taking the total number of ports/ICDs to 14, for importing new vehicles.

(Pravir Kumar)

Director General of Foreign Trade

E-mail: dgft[at]nic[dot]in

[Issued from 01/89/180/29/AM-09/PC-2(A)]

[DGFT Notification] : Specifying documents required for Export and Import.

To be published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary Part II

Section 3, Sub Section (II)

Government of India

Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Directorate General of Foreign Trade

Udyog Bhavan

Notification No. 114 (RE-2013)/2009-2014

New Delhi, the 12th March, 2015

Subject: Specifying documents required for Export and Import

S.O.(E) In exercise of the power conferred by Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 read with Para 2.1 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2009-2014, the Central Government hereby inserts a new Para 2.53 of Foreign Trade Policy, 2009-14:

2. Para2.53: The following mandatory documents are prescribed for exports and imports of goods from/into India:

(a) Mandatory documents required for export of goods from India:

1. Bill of Lading/Airway Bill

2. Commercial Invoice cum Packing List*

3. Shipping Bill/Bill of Export

(b) Mandatory documents required for import of goods into India

1. Bill of Lading/Airway Bill

2. Commercial Invoice cum Packing List*

3. Bill of Entry

[Note: *(i) As per CBEC Circular No. 01/15-Customs dated 12/01/2015.

(ii) Separate Commercial Invoice and Packing List would also be accepted.]

(c) For export or import of specific goods or category of goods, which are subject to any restrictions/policy conditions or require NOC or product specific compliances under any statute, the regulatory authority concerned may notify additional documents for purposes of export or import.

(d) In specific cases of export or import, the regulatory authority concerned may electronically or in writing seek additional documents or information, as deemed necessary to ensure legal compliance.

(e). This Notification shall come into effect from 1 st April, 2015.

3. Effect of this Notification: Only three documents each {as in para 2.(a) & (b above} would be mandatory for exports and imports.

(Pravir Kumar)

Director General of Foreign Trade

E-mail: dgft@nic.in

[Issued from (01/93/180/23/AM-15/PC-2(B)]

CESTAT waived of penalty as taxability of services was prone to different interpretations

Service Tax : Where taxability of service was disputed and prone to different interpretations, no motive can be assigned to assessee to evade any service tax and same constitutes a reasonable cause for waiver of penalties under section 80

Waiver of loan wasn't taxable as business income when such loan wasn't treated as business transacti

IT : Where in earlier years revenue did not accept loan transaction as business transaction, waiver of said loan could not be considered as business income under section 28(iv)

PWD of Haryana, being a Govt. body, couldn't be considered as an enterprise under Competition Act

Competition Act: PWD of Haryana is not an 'enterprise' under section 2(h) of Competition Act, 2002

SAT quashes SEBI’s order barring DLF from accessing capital markets for 3 years

.

Tribunal cannot decide upon issue of constitutionality or legality of a Rule, rules Bombay High Cour

CST & VAT : Maharashtra VAT - Where Assessing Authority had disallowed assessee's claim for set off under rule 41E and Tribunal upheld claim of assessee by concluding that rule 41E was 'to the extent the same imposing a condition of user within State' liable to be ignored, issue of constitutionality and legality of rule 41E could not have been decided by Tribunal

Mere report of Valuation Officer isn’t sufficient to reopen an assessment of builder

IT : Report of Valuation Officer would not constitute any additional information; therefore, re-opening of assessment under section 147 was not valid

No penalty on disallowance of capital gains if disclosure was made to identify investment and stock-

IT : Where assessee had disclosed all particulars relating to capital gain on sale of shares in return and balance sheet, no penalty could be levied under section 271(1)(c) merely because Assessing Officer treated such capital gain as business income of assessee

Unexplained delay in passing and serving of detention order without any exceptional circumstances wa

COFEPOSA : Where there was unexplained delay in passing and serving detention order without any exceptional circumstances to justify delay, detention order was unsustainable

CBDT issues instructions for CsIT related to non-migration of PAN due to pending refund caging

IT : Section 139A of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Permanent Account Number – Non-Migration of Pans Due to Pending Refund Caging

Refund on service used for export can be claimed within 1 year if refund claim is filed on or after

Service Tax : In case of services used for export of goods, service tax paid on or after coming into force of Notification No. 17/2009, may be claimed as refund as per new Notification No. 17/2009 within 1 year from export, even if goods were exported during earlier period

No denial of credit on capital goods even if they aren't owned by assessee at the time of their rece

Cenvat Credit : There is no requirement that capital goods, at time of receipt, must be owned by manufacturer or that same would cease to be capital goods, if they are installed in factory and become fixed to earth; hence, credit cannot be denied on ground that they are not owned by assessee at time of receipt or after installation, they become fixed to earth

AO rightly rejected books of timber trader as he didn't mention quality of timber on sales vouchers:

IT : Where assessee, engaged in trading of timber, did not mention quality of timber on sale vouchers, even though it had purchased timber at different rates according to quality of timber, Assessing Officer rightly rejected assessee's books of account holding that stock register was not maintained properly

Writ jurisdiction can't be invoked when alternative statutory remedy is already barred by limitation

Service-tax : Once statutory remedy is 'barred by limitation', remedy comes to an end and same cannot be entertained invoking writ jurisdiction; hence, writ petition was to be dismissed when same was filed after expiry of time-limit of filing appeal

Compounding of offence by CLB is quasi-judicial function; it is properly discharged only if order is

CL: Function of Company Law Board, while acting under section 621A is quasi judicial in nature and same could be said to have been properly discharged only if it passes an order in writing as mandated by regulation 29

Govt. notifies 'IIT, Varanasi' as scientific research association under Sec. 35(1)(ii)

IT : Section 35(1)(ii) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Scientific Research Expenditure - Approved Scientific Research Associations/institutions - Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi

Bombay High Court felt the need for performance evaluation of members of Tribunal; sets aside order

Excise & Customs : Where Tribunal neither followed, nor distinguished and not even considered its earlier order passed in respect of same/similar process, matter was remanded back to Tribunal for consideration afresh

Assessee was liable to penalty as it availed of credit on purchases made from a fictitious firm

Excise & Customs : Where it was found that assessee-dealer had made purchases from a fictitious firm and had availed/passed-on credit, assessee-dealer was liable to penalty under CENVAT credit Rules

Income unearthed during search isn't undisclosed income of block period if it is duly reflected in b

IT: Where all items of cash credits alleged against assessees were reflected in books of account, an exercise under section 158BB by Assessing Officer was not justified

Co. engaged in advisory and software support services isn't comparable to High end KPO service provi

IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP in respect of rendering advisory and software support services to its AE, in view of fact that some of comparables selected were improper on account of turnover, brand value and functional difference as they rendered high end KPO services, impugned addition was to be set aside and, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh

Tribunal has power to decide upon provision applicable for levying penalty even if not called upon t

Service Tax : Even if department has not appealed against adjudication/appellate orders levying penalty under section 78, then also, on assessee's appeal against penalty under section 78, Tribunal has power to decide appropriate section applicable for levy of penalty and therefore, levy of penalty under section 76 by Tribunal was valid

RBI eases account opening norms for proprietary concerns

BANKING : Know Your Customer (KYC) Guidelines - Accounts of Proprietary Concerns

Penalty reduced as assessee had paid tax instantly on demand after wrongly availing of input tax cre

GST & VAT: Tamil Nadu VAT - Where assessee was carrying on business in food and drinks and it wrongly availed input tax credit on purchase of said items, penalty was rightly levied at 50 per cent under section 27(4)(i)

Arbitrators have to give reasons for arbitral award even if arbitral proceedings are initiated under

Arbitration Act: Where arbitrator's award was unsupported by any reason, same was to be set aside even though arbitral proceedings were initiated under old Act, i.e., Arbitration Act, 1940

ITAT couldn't pass order without considering objections of assessee relating to non-compliance of se

IT/ILT : Order of remand based by Tribunal without considering assessee's objection relating to non-compliance of section 144C by authorities below was to be set aside with a direction for de novo consideration

No new FDI can be brought in construction sector if minimum capitalization isn't achieved within 6 m

FDI/FEMA/ILT : Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 2014 - Review of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy on Construction Development Sector - Amendment in Paragraph 6.2.11 – Clarification on Press Note No. 10 (2014 Series), Dated 3-12-2014

No provisional attachment of wife's property to recover VAT dues from her husband

CST & VAT : Gujarat VAT - Where neither owner nor purchaser was dealer, attachment of property on ground that husband of owner had tax arrears, was unjustified

Recovery can't be initiated during pendency of adjudication

Service Tax : Prima facie, when demand of tax is yet to be adjudicated, it cannot be said as tax payable, for which recovery powers of section 87 may be available

Winding up petition wasn't maintainable when debt was seriously disputed by respondent-Co.

CL: Winding up petition wasn't maintainable when debt was seriously disputed by respondent-Company

Bajra seeds after processing with poisonous chemicals became new article; eligible activity for Sec.

IT: Where bajra seeds after treatment with poisonous chemicals got rendered unfit for human consumption and, was a different article or thing than raw bajra fit for human consumption, said activity would be an activity of manufacturing

On finalization of provisional assessment demand to be made after adjusting excess duty against shor

Excise & Customs : While finalizing a provisional assessment, excess payment of duty for some period must be adjusted against short payment for different period and only net duty payable must be demanded

No surcharge on works contract when assessee had paid exemption fee to avail of exemption on works c

CST & VAT : Rajasthan VAT - Where State Government vide notification dated 30-4-1993 issued under Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 exempted from tax transfer of property in goods involved in execution of works contract on condition that contractor undertakes to pay exemption fee at rate of 1 per cent on total value of contract and assessee paid such amount to avail exemption, Assessing Authority was wrong in holding that assessee was also liable to pay surcharge thereon under section 13 of Rajastha

House constructed by builder on behalf of assessee has to be considered for granting sec. 54F relief

IT: Investment of consideration received on transfer, in a flat constructed by builder within 3 years would amount to construction of a residential house for purpose of claiming deduction under section 54F

Sum paid to consultant-doctor without any stipulation of working hours or leave would attract sec. 1

IT: Where from contracts, no stipulations regarding working hours, academic leave or attachments had been found which would reveal that consultant doctors were employees of assessee, Tribunal was right in holding that there existed no relationship of employer and employee between assessee and consultant doctors and accordingly, TDS under section 194J would be applicable on doctors remuneration and not under section 192

Trust's object of paying pension to employees or their dependents isn't an object of general public

IT : Where assessee trust's object was to pay pension to employees of GCDA or their dependents from corpus created out of contributions made by said employees itself, such an object could not be an object of general public utility, hence, registration under section 12AA could not be granted

Goods rightly seized from unregistered godown as assessee failed to produce any records during surve

CST & VAT: U.P. VAT - Where Assistant Commissioner conducted a survey at godown of assessee and having found that godown was not registered with department and assessee had not produced any records before him seized stock of goods, seizure of goods was justified and assessee was directed to deposit certain amount for release of goods

Deptt. had to refund sum retained by it as it failed to decide on objections of assessee within stip

CST & VAT: Where assessee's objection was not decided in stipulated 8 months and ultimately matter was remanded by Supreme Court, amount retained by department was to be refunded to assessee

No reassessment after 4 years without obtaining sanction of CIT original assessment was made under s

IT : Where original assessment was made under section 143(3), issuance of notice under section 148 after four years from end of relevant assessment year without sanction of Commissioner was invalid

Set Com may dismiss settlement application on false statement being made by assessee before Set Com

Excise & Customs : Where an application was allowed to be proceeded with by Settlement Commission on a false statement by assessee that section 123 was not applicable and later department informed that section 123 was invoked, dismissal of said application by Settlement Commission was valid

Prior to 26-5-2010, credit couldn't be denied on that inputs which used in exempted goods exported u

Excise & Customs : In case of export under bond of exempted goods prior to 26-5-2010, credit of inputs used therein cannot be denied and said credit can be used to pay duty on any other products as well

Evasion penalty waived off on plea of ignorance even though extended period wasn't challenged by ass

Service tax : Where assessee claimed that he was not aware of liability to pay service tax under reverse charge and had belief that service tax is to be paid by service provider, Tribunal waived evasion penalty on ground of said 'ignorance' despite fact that department had invoked extended period, which was not challenged

Presence of other suppliers in relevant market of switch software in India rules out dominance of op

Competition Act : Where there were other suppliers such as ECS, BPC, FIS, Euronet and YCS in relevant market of EFT Switch/switch software in India apart from ACI , dominance of ACI was not established and, therefore, issue of abuse of dominant position did not arise

Sum advanced to subsidiary out of borrowed sums due to commercial expediency won't attract disallowa

IT : Disallowance should not be made under section 36(1)(iii), if loans had been advanced by assessee due to commercial expediency to sister concerns

Import Duty On Rubber Likely To Be Raised To 25 Percent: Sitharaman

Government plans to hike import duty on rubber to 25 per cent while a slew of other steps are under way to protect the interest of rubber growers, hit hard by declining prices, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today.

A methodology was also being evolved to monitor the usage of imported rubber to push domestic demand while an expert committee was examining the concerned issues in-depth, she said in Rajya Sabha in response to a calling attention motion on the plight of rubber farmers.

A proposal to enhance "the existing import duty on dry forms of natural rubber from the existing 20 per cent or Rs 30 per kg to bound-level duty of 25 per cent, has been forwarded with my recommendation to the Ministry of Finance and is under consideration," Sitharaman said.

These measures, she said, would regulate imports and "may have a salutary effect on domestic prices", as she promised enhanced subsidy of Rs 35,000 per hectare, up from existing Rs 25,000, to the growers by the Rubber Board.

"The concern among rubber growers caused by the downward movement in domestic prices of rubber has been noted. ... The government has reduced the period of utilisation under advanced licensing scheme for import of rubber from 18 months to six months," Sitharaman said.

While motivating the rubber consumers to exhaust stocks and push up demand, the government was also working to evolve methods to monitor usage of rubber imported under advance license to ensure that existing stocks are consumed, she said.

Sitharaman said the fall in rubber prices to Rs 118 in November last from Rs 176 in 2012-13 was due to "slump in international consumption" and the resultant decline in global prices. This was aggravated by a relatively low growth in domestic demand for specific forms of natural rubber.

To boost the segment, she said, the government intended to expand production as a long-term strategy and was promoting plantation development programmes in non-traditional regions like the North East.

"Currently, rubber is produced in 7.57 lakh hectares in the country", she said adding, "During the 12th Plan, an area of 36,300 hectares is proposed to be covered under fresh rubber plantation for which an outlay of Rs 726.99 crore has been provided."

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Indian Coal Imports To Touch 265 Million Tonnes In Fy'17

Mr Piyush Goyal, Coal Minister, said that a slew of steps like removal of regulatory hurdles are underway to enhance India's coal output in a bid to curb rising imports that may touch 265 million tonnes in 2016-17.

Mr Goyal said that "In the 12th Plan projections, the gap between demand and domestic supply in 2016-17 is estimated to be in the range of 185-265 million tonne."

He said that imports touched 168.4 million tonnes in 2013-14 from 28.9 million tonnes in 2005-06.He added that "In order to minimise import deficiency, the focus of the government is on facilitating environment and forest clearances expeditiously, pursuing with state government for assistance in land acquisition and coordinated efforts with railway for movement of coal."

Source;-steelguru.com

Compulsory Registration Rule Relaxed For Groundnut Exports

The Union Commerce ministry has abolished the compulsory registration rule for groundnut shelling units to export to countries outside the European Union (EU).The move, industry sources say, may increase groundnut shipments from India.

Till now, exporters had to buy groundnut from shelling units registered with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) while shelling units had to get themselves registered through Indian Oilseed and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC). This rule was made applicable in 2013.

However, many shelling units from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh had opposed this rule and were engaged in several discussions with Commerce ministry and APEDA pressing for its removal.

“We met Union Commerce minister, commerce secretary and APEDA chairman few times and informed them that compulsory registration is not necessary and export is going good without it. Thankfully, the officials agreed and removed the rule,” said Mukund Shah, president, Gujarat Oilseeds Processors Association (GOPA).

GOPA has been against compulsory registration since the beginning.Shah said, “Many shelling units are doing business seasonally and for them, registration process is costly. Moreover, because of this rule, many illegal transactions were being undertaken to match export requirements.”

As per the department of commerce letter to APEDA and IOPEPC, exporters would be allowed to purchase from unregistered shelling units or open market for exporting to countries outside the EU. Raw material, however, has to be mandatorily processed from APEDA grading, shelling-cum-grading and processing units.

According to the letter, if any unit wants to get registered, they need not go to IOPEPC and can get directly registered with APEDA.Kishore Tanna, chairman, IOPEPC said, "The rule was created to ensure quality but many players were not ready to register themselves. Number of registered shelling units is very low and looking at the demand of shelling units seeking removal of compulsory registration, IOPEPC held discussions with the concerned authority."

About 250 shelling units out of 4,000 are presently registered with IOPEPC.“Rise in export depends on production and demand but new rules will definitely benefit small shelling units in India,” said Vikram Duvani, managing director of Junagadh-based Rachana Seeds.India exported about 512,000 tonne of groundnut in 2013-14 and in the current financial year, shipments are estimated to touch 700,000 tonne.

Shah said, "Due to compulsory registration, exporters purchase only from registered units but now the market is open and this is expected to boost groundnut exports from India. But, it is too early to predict about rise in exports as it depends on the demand and supply scenario.”

Source:- business-standard.com

Weak Brazilian Real Thwarts India's Efforts To Boost Sugar Exports

A sharp drop in the Brazilian real has thwarted India's efforts to step up raw sugar exports despite New Delhi's decision to give an incentive to boost shipments, industry officials said.

Lower exports from India, the world's biggest sugar producer behind Brazil, could help to revive benchmark New York prices that touched a six-week low on Wednesday.

The Brazilian real has dragged down global sugar prices but the Indian rupee has not fallen by the same proportion to boost Indian exports, Yatin Wadhwana, managing director of Sucden India, told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Sugar Forum conference.

On Wednesday the Brazilian real fell to a 10-year low against the dollar.The lower real raises returns for Brazilian exporters because sugar is priced in dollars, but the currency's weakness and lower global sugar prices have dented Indian export plans.

"When subsidy was announced (by India) there was a lot of optimism, but the subsequent fall in the real has made exports difficult," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

After months of wavering, India decided in February to give mills a subsidy of Rs 4,000 ($64) a tonne for exports of up to 1.4 million tonnes in an effort to reduce stockpiles after five years of surplus output.

Indian mills have been contracted to export an extra 20,000 tonnes of sugar, a number of dealers said.Though mills sealed deals to export 50,000 tonnes of sugar since the subsidy was agreed, dealers expect the annual figure to be less than 500,000 tonnes.

Indian raw sugar prices have fallen to $330-$340 a tonne from $465 a few weeks ago.As a result, very few mills are producing raw sugar, the Mumbai-based dealer said.

So far Iran, India's biggest buyer last year with purchases accounting for almost half of the country's total raw sugar exports of more than 1 million tonnes, has not placed an order.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Bullion Giant Rsbl Files Rs 500 Cr Defamation Suit Against Dgft Officer

Two months after the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) imposed a penalty on Riddhi Siddhi Bullion Limited (RSBL), the city-based bullion trader has filed a defamation suit against the agency’s officer and sought damages of Rs 500 crore.

Kavita Gupta, Additional Director General, Foreign Trade, Mumbai, had imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on RSBL and cancelled its nominated agency certificate (NAC), a document needed for direct imports of gold, for “violation” of RBI norms.

“RSBL has filed a defamation suit against Gupta in the Bombay High Court,” the trading firm’s spokesperson said.

According to DGFT, in FY14 RSBL imported 550 kg of gold and as per the RBI circular, this entire quantity should have been exported back. The norm had been introduced to curb the gold imports.

However, it shipped only 350 kg while remaining 200 kg were supplied to the domestic market, DGFT said.

The show-cause notice stated that RSBL’s request for renewal of NAC for FY15 could not be considered as it had not complied with the conditions.RSBL claimed that it had no prior information about the new norms of RBI.

Source:- freepressjournal.in

Pressure On Rupee Continues On Dollar Strength; Here's Why Rbi Will Not Let It Depreciate

The Indian currency continued to weaken against the US dollar for the third straight day in a row on Wednesday. Analysts see intense volatility in the currency markets in the near term, but assure investors that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will not let it depreciate beyond a point.

The rupee is likely to inch closer to 63 per dollar in the near term as the US Federal Reserve is expected to maintain its view on interest rates, but RBI may not let it weaken beyond 64/USD, say experts.

"In case the rupee falls sharply below 63, expect the Reserve Bank of India to intervene and curb volatility. The rupee looks unlikely to go below the 64 level," said Manisha Gupta, Commodities & Currency Editor, ET Now.

The rupee fell by six paise to a fresh two-month low of 62.82 in early trade. Forex dealers attributed the fall in the rupee to the dollar's strength against other global currencies, as well as sustained capital outflows, but a higher opening in the domestic stock market capped the rupee's fall, reports PTI.

But from a long-term perspective, analysts see the rupee appreciating against the US dollar and other currencies as economic fundamentals remain intact.

"The rupee at this point in time looks to be slightly getting weakened against the dollar, but if you compare the rupee vis-a-vis non-dollar currencies, it has appreciated a lot," says BP Singh, ED & CIO Equities, Pramerica MF.

"One data which came out on Tuesday was very interesting, which highlighted that in the month of January, the RBI ended up purchasing dollar to the extent which is equivalent to what it did last time in January 2008 - they purchased close to $12 billion plus of dollars," he adds.

A careful analysis indicates that the pressure on the rupee to appreciate is very high, though the central bank is keen to ensure that the rupee does not appreciate at this point in time.

Singh says if we take a medium to long-term view, the currency is likely to appreciate from here, and that obviously will have some amount of impact on the export oriented companies or those who are sensitive to the currency going forward.

The rupee was at 60.85 levels against the US dollar exactly a year ago. But against currencies like euro it has appreciated sharply to the current levels of 67.44/euro from 84.45 a year ago, said media reports.

"In the immediate run, I do not see it (rupee) going much lower. It can go much lower only if this turns into a major global trauma. Well, nobody knows that. So chances are, while the RBI on one hand did not want to get much stronger than let us say 61.50, clearly they do not want to get too volatile and go below 63.50 in my view," says Jamal Mecklai of Mecklai Financial Services.

"So, the RBI will be intervening right now. And I do not think that the rupee is going to collapse. We have to really wait and see what is happening," he adds.

Forex dealers are of the view that we do need a much more competitive exchange rate, because the growth and employment are to be optimised. We need a much more competitive economy that no other economy in the world has grown at 9%-10% per annum consistently without a globally competitive manufacturing sector and booming exports.

"The exchange rate would depends on the central bank and how seriously it takes the issue of the exchange rate in relation to growth and what the Prime Minister wants, Make in India and Finance Minister is saying we need 9-10% growth for an indefinite future and so on and so forth, so that is sort of one side of it," says AV Rajwade, Director, A.V. Rajwade and Co. Pvt. Ltd.

"I am bearish on rupee and in my view the fair value would be of the order of 70," he adds.

The dollar index is gaining strength against a basket of currencies, including the rupee. However, experts feel that the rupee is likely to appreciate against a basket of currencies rather than depreciate in the long run. Here's why:

Rashesh Shah, Chairman & CEO, Edelweiss Group.

It is actually very hard to say whether the rupee has actually weakened or not, because the rupee has appreciated significantly and we have seen the implications in a few of the IT results and of the cross currency as well.

The rupee is weakening vis-a-vis the dollar, but is strengthening vis-a-vis the euro, vis-a-vis the yen, and quite a few other major currencies. Compared to all other emerging markets, the rupee is still a lot stronger.

I do not think we should look at only the rupee-dollar as an indicator of the rupee strength. We should look at a composite basket, and on that count we think the rupee has actually strengthened a little bit in the last year.

And, as long as the US dollar keeps on strengthening, the headline rupee-dollar rate will keep on showing some weakness as you go forward.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Mere pendency of 'sickness tag' before BIFR doesn't entitle full waiver of pre-deposit to assessee

Excise & Customs : Merely because assessee claims to be a sick unit and its case is pending before BIFR, but, where assessee/industry has not been declared sick, full waiver of pre-deposit cannot be granted

AO can ask details by issuing Sec. 142(1) notice at reassessment stage even on issues which were pen

IT : In response to notice issued under section 142(1), in course of reassessment, assessee could not raise objection that those issues being subject matter of appeal against order passed under section 143(3), Assessing Officer could not enquire into same in reassessment proceedings

RBI unveils revised norms on sale of NPAs to securitization/reconstruction companies

BANKING/SARFAESI : Guidelines on Sale of Financial Assets to Securitisation Company (SC)/reconstruction Company (RC) and Related Issues

Banks to ensure that service provider maintains high standards of care in performing services outsou

BANKING : Guidelines on Managing Risks and Code of Conduct in Outsourcing of Financial Services by Banks

Assessee couldn't challenge validity of auction proceedings after transferring his interest in prope

IT : Where in respect of tax arrears due from assessee, TRO made a proclamation for auction of land belonging to assessee, in view of fact that assessee had already sold her interest over property to a third person, she could not file appeal before Chief Commissioner challenging validity of auction proceedings

ICSI plans to place ceiling of five Cos for which Secretarial audit report can be issued by practici

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Guidelines for Issuing Secretarial Audit Report, Signing and Certification of Annual Return by Practising Company Secretaries

In computing sec. 80-IA relief losses of eligible business not to be reduced if it was set-off from

IT : Where assessee's company's losses had already been set off against income of business enterprise, assessee would be eligible for deduction claimed under section 80-IA

Short-payment of duty was recoverable even if it was paid on basis of any approval or assessment by

Excise & Customs : Bus/truck body built on chassis supplied by customers are classifiable under Heading 8707 of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985

HC admitted winding-up plea against respondent-co. as it failed to pay debt even after acknowledging

CL: Where respondent was a beneficiary of goods sold and delivered for value and debt, which was acknowledged and liability having been accepted, a clear case of inability to pay debt having been established by petitioner, winding up petition was to be admitted

Employment of more engineers won't show Co. as technical service provider for transfer pricing purpo

IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP taking it as a technical service provider, mere fact that out of total staff of 69 employees there were 37 engineers, was not enough to conclude that assessee rendered technical services

Govt. notifies ‘Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission’ for the purpose of exemption under

IT : Section 10(46) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Exemptions - Statutory Body/authority/board/commission - Notified Body or Authority - Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission

AO cannot make revision on basis of material existing at the time of original assessment

CST & VAT : Andhra Pradesh VAT - Assessing Authority could not have exercised his powers under section 14(4) of Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act on existing material

Employment of more engineers won't show Co. as technical provider for transfer pricing purpose

IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP taking it as a technical service provider, mere fact that out of total staff of 69 employees there were 37 engineers, was not enough to conclude that assessee rendered technical services

No reassessment after 4 years alleging wrong allowance of exp. if assessee had disclosed all materia

IT : Where assessment in case of assessee was completed under section 143(3) wherein assessee's claim for salary paid to partners was allowed, in absence of assessee's failure to disclose all material facts necessary for assessment, Assessing Officer could not initiate reassessment proceedings on basis of change of opinion that claim for payment of salary was wrongly allowed

Delay in filing appeal by revenue due to delay in convening review committee held condonble by High

Excise & Customs : Delay in filing appeal by revenue owing to delay in convening Review Committee, as Commissioners comprising Committee were pre-occupied with work relating to standing committee and other administrative reasons, is condonable, as there is sufficient cause

AAR couldn't reject application without explaining how transaction via Mauritius route was made for

IT/ILT : AAR could not reject application filed by assessee, a Mauritius based company, seeking advance ruling on question as to whether capital gain arising on sale of shares of Indian company to another foreign company was taxable in India in terms of article 13(4) of India-Mauritius DTAA taking a view that said transaction was prima facie designed for tax avoidance without assigning any reasons therefor

Multi-piece packing of soaps on job-work basis prima facie amounts to manufacture

Service Tax : Soaps are covered under third schedule to Central Excise Act, 1944; hence, multi-piece packing of soaps on job-work basis prima facie amounts to deemed manufacture under section 2(f)(iii) and same is not liable to service tax under Business Auxiliary Services

AO can't make reference to Valuation Officer without declaration of lesser sale price by assessee

IT: Where nothing was brought on record by Assessing Officer indicating that assessee had disclosed lesser sale price of property, reference under section 55A was not justified

CCsIT to be ready for briefing by SC at short notice as it would deal with tax matters on all workin

IT/ILT : Section 261 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Appeal to Supreme Court - Constitution of Bench of Supreme Court to Deal Exclusively with Tax Matters

India's Food Exports Dip, Wheat Hit Hardest

India's food export volumes have shrunk in the current fiscal with other countries eating into its business share by offering lower prices for their agricultural and food products. European Union's ban on Indian mangoes, though lifted now, and other agri produce also contributed to the slide.

A recent report of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has showed that exports of some major commodities in agricultural and food products from India dipped in 2014-15 as compared to last year.

The highest drop in export volumes has been recorded for wheat (36%), pulses (37%) and fruits and seeds (33%) in the April to December period last year as compared to the same period in 2013. Exports of fresh vegetables fell by 3%, fruits by 7% and basmati rice by 6%, the report stated.

Officials in the agricultural and processed food authority said that the demand for Indian produce came down this year in particular, because other exporting countries were selling their produce at a much lower price than India.

Apart from basmati rice and wheat, other cereals registered an export drop of about 10%. Exports of non-basmati rice from India, however, increased by 12% last year in the April-December period as compared to the same period in 2013.

A senior official from the agricultural and processed food authority said that general demand for Indian produce has come down internationally due to competition from other countries. "Devalued currency in Russia, Latin America, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) among others had these countries exporting the same produce at a lower price than India," the official said.

Other factors too led to the drop. For instance, India's rice is exported to Iran, but this time Iran had old stock and better domestic production of rice, which led to a dip in rice exports from India to the country.

India's fruits and vegetables are exported to all the major countries, mainly to the Middle East, Far East and SAARC countries.

Officials in the state agriculture department, however, said that the dip in exports was also due to a ban by EU on mangoes, eggplant, the taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd and on chillies by UAE in 2014.

"Also, this year, India did not have a good supply season. Every item is exported in a particular supply period. If before India's supply season, other supplying countries are able to sell their produce in a big way and at lower prices, then the importing countries do not exhibit much demand for Indian produce at competitive prices. At this juncture, selling the produce in the local or domestic market is more viable for the exporters," the official added.

Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

RBI directs banks to report Sukanya Samridhhi Account transactions

IT : Sukanya Samriddhi Account Rules, 2014 – Reporting of Sukanya Samriddhi Account Transactions

Payment made to partners for purchase of land above prevalent market rate would lend to Sec. 40A(2)

IT : Where assessee-firm having purchased land from its erstwhile partners, enhanced sale consideration five times subsequent to reconstitution of firm, Commissioner rightly passed revisional order had making disallowance u/s 40A(2)

CESTAT set aside order of Commissioner(A) as it wrongly enhanced penalty without issuing prior notic

Excise & Customs : Where Commissioner (Appeals) had enhanced penalty levied on assessee without even issuing prior notice, Tribunal set aside said enhancement and denied remand of matter back to Commissioner (Appeals)

Poland Wants Import Certification For Polish Food Products In India

Poland wants to see the prolonged import certification negotiations for their food products into India concluded without further delay so that Polish food products can promote their products in the Indian consumer market.

Marek Sawicki, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Poland, who is currently on a visit to India had discussions with his Indian counterparts in this regard. “We have been negotiating with India for Import certification for our food products for the last four years and yet not concluded. We want to place our products in the India market ,” the Minister said.

Poland is the fifth largest food producer in Europe and food exports from Poland exceeded Euro 21.3 billion last year. He said that Polish agricultural sector is quite modern and well developed and the government had invested around Euro 45 billion in modernizing the farm sector over the last decade. “Our endeavour has been to convince the India government that we have one of the best farm products in Europe and we export to over 100 countries in the world,” he said. The Polish Minister had extended an invite to Indian Agriculture Minister to visit one of the key food exhibitions in Poland in coming autumn.

When asked about the key export items from the farm sector for Poland, Sawicki said that Poland exports comprise milk and dairy products, poultry, pork, fruits and vegetables including Mushrooms, etc. “We have been observing strong trends in bilateral trade between India and Poland for the last few years, but food products do not figure much,” he informed.

The Minister said that they would organize Polish food promotion campaigns in cities like Delhi and Mumbai later this year to create awareness about Polish food products. Poland is participating in the ongoing AAHAR, international food and hospitality exhibition, in Delhi.

Source:hospitalitybizindia.com

Dive In Shrimp Prices Means India Will Miss $6Bn Export Target

Indian seafood exports may fall short of the $6 billion target set by the Marine Products Exports Development Agency (MPEDA) this financial year, The Hindu reports.

MPEDA will compile figures for the whole financial year next month, but the performance recorded for the last ten months until January indicate the value of seafood exports will be below $5.5bn. The hope of hitting the $6bn mark this year was dashed by price fluctuations in the global market.

Although vannamei export volumes increased, prices fell substantially in the second half of last year.Also, the value and volume of frozen fish and dried items exports registered negative growth in the first ten months of India's financial year. Squid shipments fell by 23.35% in volumes and 28% in value.

Seafood exports last year topped a record $5bn and authorities and exporters had hoped that a new record would be set this financial year, but the total value of fish exports in ten months is $4.72bn.

This, however, is $500,0000 more year-on-year. In volumes, India exported 876,000 metric tons of seafood, up 4.9% over the previous year.

Frozen shrimp, which now makes up a third of seafood exports in terms of quantity and two-thirds in terms of value, continues to improve, as value has increased by 20% and volumes by 17%. Of frozen shrimp, more than 80% is vannamei, farmed extensively in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

Indian vannamei is in high demand in Southeast Asia, the US and the EU because of the low production in countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Source:undercurrentnews.com

Eu's Move To Lift Ban On Indian Mango Imports May Offer Little Relief

Mango exporters fear a significant decline in shipments even as the European Union has lifted the ban on Indian mangoes. They feel the king of fruits may not be able to withstand the condition of being treated with hot water for an hour. Government agencies like Agricultural and Processed Foods Exports Development Agency said they initiated scientific trials of mango treatment to assess this claim.

The EU reversed the two-year ban it had imposed on the import of Indian mangoes, citing evidence of fruit flies, after its team visited facilities in the country and the authorities promised that mangoes meant for exports will be treated with hot water so as to rid them of the same.

Unlike the produce from other prominent mango-exporting countries, Indian mangoes are exported via air, which keeps the eggs of fruit flies alive. A fruit fly cannot survive in cold temperatures of storage in the sea route.

Officials in the ministry concerned told ET the decision of hot-water treatment was taken based on existing data available from government agencies. Accordingly, the mangoes have to be treated at 48 degree Celsius for one hour. However, Sanjay Pansare, a prominent wholesaler of mangoes and a member of Agricultural Produce Management Committee (APMC) said, "Mangoes will be destroyed if we treat them at the prescribed temperatures. Our own research shows that we can get rid of fruit flies if we treat mangoes at 55 degree Celsius, for just six minutes."

According to traders, 40% of the mangoes that arrive at the Vashi APMC are exported, 35% of them to the Middle East. Of the total mangoes that go to Europe, about 70% are Alphonso. APEDA is optimistic about finding a solution before April when exports to the EU are due to begin.

"We have awarded a project to the Dr Balasaheb Savant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli and the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board to study hot-water treatment of mangoes. Their report is expected to come by the end of March or first week of April," said Sudhanshu, deputy general manager of APEDA.

In a response to the ban imposed by the EU, Maharashtra, the biggest mangoexporting state in the country, has implemented 'Mangonet', a traceability system that is successfully used in export of grapes and pomegranates. "We have registered 3,500 orchards under Mangonet and these farmers have also been trained," said Govind Hande, Maharashtra's phytosanitary officer. Irradiation and vapour heat treatment are the other two methods of treating mangoes.

The US insists on irradiation and sends its own inspectors for supervision of mango treatment, while Japan has asked for VHT. The EU does not approve of irradiation of fruit and vegetables.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

CIT(E) notified as prescribed authority wef Nov 15, 2014 for granting approval to religious/charitab

IT : Section 10(23C)(iv)/(v) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Exemptions - University/educational Institutions/hospitals - Prescribed Authority - Supersession of Notification No.75/2014 [F.No. 196/26/2014-ITA.I]/SO 3026(E), Dated 1-12-2014

South Korea’S Oilmeal Imports From India Down By 198,000 Tonnes

South Korea oilmeal imports from India has recorded a drop of 198,000 tonnes at 831,967 tonnes during April 2014 to February 2015 as compared to 1.02 million tonnes imported during the same period last year, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEAI) which work for vegetable oil industry said in a report.

SEAI said that not only South Korea, import from Iran, Thailand, Taiwan and from European countries were also down during 11 months period in this fiscal.

Iran imported 362,091 tonnes, as compared to 1.14 million tonnes last year consisting of 220,300 tonnes of soybean meal and 141,791 tonnes of rapeseed meal. Imports from Thailand were at 190,639 tonnes, against 311,297 tonnes; consisting 182,259 tonnes of rapeseed meal and 8,380 tonnes of soybean meal.

Taiwan imported 68,292 tonnes, against 108,606 tonnes last year; consisting of 31,148 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 24,192 tonnes of castor meal, 12,053 tonnes of soybean meal and 899 tonnes of groundnut meal, Europe imported 209,011 tonnes, as compared to 567,868 tonnes last year.

Deoiled rice bran extraction rallied imports from Vietnam that was increased to 281,682 tonnes from 202,072 tonnes of oilmeal imports during the same period last year; consisting of 67,043 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 18,122 tonnes of soybean meal and 1,449 tonnes of groundnut meal.

The export from Kandla port was reported at 1.58 million tonnes with 71 per cent, followed by Mumbai including JNPT handled 269,074 tonnes with 12 per cent share, Kolkata port handled 224,116 tonnes with 10 per cent share, Mundra port handled 83,775 tonnes with 4 per cent, Bedi port handled 32,197 tonnes 1 per cent share and Pipavav port handled 37,386 tonnes with 2 per cent share.

Source:thecropsite.com

India’S Current Account Deficit Narrows To $8.2 Billion

A pick up in net exports of services on the back of an improvement in net earnings and steep fall in gold imports helped India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrow to $8.2 billion (1.6 per cent of GDP) in Q3 of 2014-15 from $10.1 billion (2.0 per cent of GDP) in Q2. On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, however, the CAD doubled (from $ 4.2 billion or 0.9 per cent of GDP in Q3 of 2013-14).

The lower CAD was also primarily on account of a decline in the trade deficit as decline in imports, specially gold imports, was sharper than that in exports. Gold imports amounted to $5.3 billion, against $15.8 billion in Q4 of 2012-13.

On a BoP basis, merchandise exports declined by 1.3 per cent to $83.7 billion in Q4 of 2013-14 as against an increase of 5.9 per cent in Q4 of 2012-13. Remittances by Indians employed overseas, amounted to $17.5 billion and provided sustained support to the BoP with a share of 12.6 per cent of current receipts. Care Ratings chief economist Madan Sabnavis said they expect the CAD to narrow down further in Q4 with the trade deficit declining further.

“Typically the invisibles account bring in a net amount of $28-30 billion. The trade balance has been in the range of $38-39 billion in the last 2 quarters and will be guided a lot by both movement in exports and imports. The Q3 does not capture fully the lower oil prices and hence the import bill may be expected to fall further. However, exports growth are not picking up which can keep the trade balance above $ 30 bn thus not allowing the deficit to turn to surplus,” he said.

Source:deccanchronicle.com

Dollar Hits 12-Year High Against Euro: Where Is Rupee Headed

The Indian rupee could temporarily hit the 64 levels against the US dollar amid speculations of an earlier-than-expected hike in interest rates, says Ashutosh Khajuria, president of treasury at Federal Bank.

The rupee on Wednesday hit an over 2-month low of 62.84 against the US dollar, as the greenback rose to a 12-year high against euro and an 8-year high against Japanese yen. Driving up the US dollar is speculation that the US Federal Reserve will hike rates earlier than expected after better-than-expected jobs data.

There is a chance that the US Fed could prepone its rate hike to June this year from the fourth quarter to avoid heating up of the economy in the future, Mr Khajuria said. Importantly, he expects Fed chief Janet Yellen to drop the word "patience" from its next meet on March 17-18. For analysts "patience" has been the buzzword in Fed's policy statements in the past to get an indication of rate hikes.

But Mr Khajuria does not expect the rupee to witness the same volatility it saw in August 2013 when the Indian currency hit its all-time low of 68.80 levels on concerns over tapering of the US stimulus. The rupee's weakness was exacerbated by India's record high current account deficit and high fiscal deficit.

Mr Khajuria says the rupee is much better placed than two years ago and it could remain in 62 and 63.50 levels against the dollar. India's current account deficit has dropped to an estimated 1.3 per cent as compared to a record high of 4.6 per cent in 2013. Also, India's foreign reserves have swelled to a record high of close to $340 billion.

The banker also sees the Reserve Bank of India being comfortable at rupee levels of 63-64.50/dollar. Despite the rupee's slide against the US dollar, it has appreciated against other currencies like euro, affecting India's exports, Mr Khajuria said.

The rupee was at 60.85 levels against the US dollar exactly a year ago. But against currencies like euro it has appreciated sharply to current levels of 67.44/euro from 84.45 a year ago.

In a statement on March 4, RBI chief Raghuram Rajan also voiced concerned over the rupee's strength. "The rupee has remained strong relative to peer countries. While an excessively strong rupee is undesirable, it too creates disinflationary impulses," the RBI chief said.

Source:profit.ndtv.com

CIT(E) notifies as prescribed authority wef Nov 15, 2014 for granting approval to religious/charitab

IT : Section 10(23C)(iv)/(v) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Exemptions - University/educational Institutions/hospitals - Prescribed Authority - Supersession of Notification No.75/2014 [F.No. 196/26/2014-ITA.I]/SO 3026(E), Dated 1-12-2014

Revenue couldn’t complain of genuineness of Sec. 10(23C) relief if prescribed authority was satisfie

IT: Where authority was satisfied with regard to essential requirements or ingredients of section 10(23C)(via), it was not open for revenue to complain

MAT stat is liable to interest under section 234B and 234C, rules Gujarat High Court

IT : Assessee was liable to pay interest under sections 234B and 234C in respect of tax determined on basis of book profit under section 115JA

Loans and advances to employees are outside the purview of Sec. 186 of Companies Act, 2013, MCA clar

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 185, Read with Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 - Loan to Directors, Etc. – Clarification with Regard to Sections 185 and 186 – Loans and Advances to Employees

Department rightly denied input stage rebate as assessee didn’t follow prescribed procedure in this

Central Excise : Where necessary declaration describing inputs to be used with input-output ratio was not made, Excise Authorities had no opportunity to verify said ratio; hence, assessee could not be granted input-stage rebate even if rebate was as per standard input-output norms (SION) under Foreign Trade Policy

Painting of residential premises not covered under 'commercial or industrial construction services'

Service Tax : Services of painting of residential premises, prima facie, may not fall under category of 'commercial or industrial construction services', as they are not associated with premises which are used for commerce or industry

Depreciation allowable even though asset was written off in books without adjusting block as it had

IT : Where certain assets forming part of block of assets were converted into stock-in-trade by deducting nominal value of Rs. 1 from block of assets and whenever same were sold surplus was offered for taxation, depreciation on said asset could not be disallowed by reducing value of same from block of assets

Keyman Insurance Premium paid by firm for its partners was allowable as business exp.

IT : Where partnership firm obtained insurance policy on life of two partners, expenditure was incurred for benefit of firm and same was allowable under section 37(1)

Repair and maintenance during warranty period can't be regarded as 'exempted service' for Cenvat pur

Cenvat Credit : Repair and maintenance during warranty period where customer was not charged anything on value of goods incorporated in service cannot be regarded as 'exempted service' for Cenvat Credit purposes

SC: Lessor rightly demanded transfer fee from respondent-Co as it transferred industrial plot to fam

CL: Where respondent-companies' shareholders transferred their company/shares to new shareholders for material financial gains, without taking written consent of lessor i.e. appellant-corporation, this adversely affected aims and objectives of appellant-corporation and amounted to transfer of interest, hence, appellant-corporation rightly issued notice demanding transfer fee

Co. having related party transactions of more than 15% is excludible from list of comparables

IT/ILT : Comparable having RPT at more than 15 per cent should be excluded from comparable list as 15 per cent is cut off mark for applying RPT filter

CBDT authorizes CIT(E) to act as prescribed authority u/s 10(23C) with effect from Nov 15, 2014

IT : Section 10(23C)(vi)/(via) of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Exemptions - University/educational Institutions/hospitals - Prescribed Authority - Supersession of Notification No. 76/2014[F.No. 153/41/2007-TPL]/SO 3027(E), Dated 1-12-2014

India Manages To Defend Raw Sugar Export Subsidies At Wto, For Now

India has managed to ward off criticism at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for its raw sugar export subsidies by once again claiming that it has not made any payments under the programme. However, the country’s defence is unlikely to work for long as subsidy payments are slated to kick-off soon.

The Food and Public Distribution Ministry was recently sanctioned the first tranche of subsidy payment due to exporters for last year, a Food Ministry official told BusinessLine.

“While no export subsidy payments have yet been made for the period between February (when the incentive scheme had been announced) and September 2014, the Ministry has now been sanctioned ?200 crore (around $32 million) to be paid out to raw sugar exporters for the period,” the official said.

The subsidy payments, claimed by 80 sugar mills from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, is likely to be paid out from March 15, according to industry officials.

Several WTO members, including the European Union, Australia and Colombia, were critical of India for announcing export subsidies for raw sugar in February last year, accusing India of going against the understanding reached at the WTO’s Bali Ministerial meeting in December 2013, which said all export subsidies would be reduced and gradually eliminated.

Since India is a major producer of sugar and also exports from time-to-time, these countries claim that such export subsidies distort the world market.

In the WTO committee of agriculture meeting last week, many countries questioned India about the recent announcement of increasing raw sugar export subsidy to ?4,000/tonne in 2015 from ?2,277-3,371/tonne between February and September 2014.

India’s representative reiterated the argument made in the last meeting that it was not answerable on the subsidies, as no payments had been made yet. On the EU’s question about its intention to give payments in the future, the Indian representative said it was only providing facts.

India had earlier defended its raw sugar export subsidy programme on the grounds of encouraging sugar producers to diversify from refined to raw sugar.

“This is a valid justification for our subsidy programme and we will reiterate it if our small subsidy payments are questioned,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine.

Last year, the Centre had announced a subsidy for exports of raw sugar up to 4 million tonnes to help the cash-starved industry clear cane arrears to farmers that have crossed ?14,500 crore.

The Indian Sugar Mills Association estimates production at 26 million tonnes in the current marketing year, against last year’s 24.3 million tonnes. Domestic demand is pegged at 24.8 million tonnes for this year.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Pesticides Issue Cleared, Tea Exports To Iran Will Rise This Year

Exports of premium Indian orthodox tea to Iran are expected to double this year as both countries have sorted out the pesticide issue that hurt shipments, said industry executives. Tea planters are aiming to export 30 million kg to Iran in 2015.

The countries have set up a joint working committee comprising representatives from both countries to facilitate tea trade, said Azam Monem, vice-chairman of Indian Tea Association. "The committee is responsible to remove technical obstacles and facilitate trade. We have been able to communicate to the Iranian government and all stakeholders in tea trade there that Indian tea is not at all harmful," he toldET.

Representatives of Indian tea trade and government officials recently visited Iran to improve trade ties between the two nations and clear the air following allegations that shipments from India contained traces of pesticides.

Representatives from Iranian tea trade are scheduled to visit India next month. The countries have signed a MoU whereby the Islamic nation has agreed to import 30 million kg of tea from India this year. India's efforts come at a time when Sri Lanka and Kenya are trying hard to enter the Iranian market.

According to Tea Board figures, Iran imported 12.20 million kg between April and December 2014 at Rs 267.30 per kg. For the whole year, the industry is expecting to achieve 16 million kg of tea exports. India's total tea exports slipped to 141.83 million kg in the first nine months of the current fiscal year from 166.36 million kg in the corresponding period of the previous year. Iran is a major export market for Indian tea. The country is ready to pay higher prices for quality teas. Orthodox tea, produced through hand-processing or using machines that mimic hand-rolling, is used in most specialty tea (the other variety, CTC, is machine-processed).

In 2014, India was not able to produce good volumes of orthodox teas as a long, dry spell affected tea leaves. "This in turn has left an impact on our exports to Iran," said Monem. Iran's annual consumption is around 120 million kg.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

India's Feb Natural Rubber Imports Jump 42 Pct Y/Y - Govt Source

India's natural rubber imports in February jumped nearly 42 percent to 28,806 tonnes from a year earlier as lower prices in the world market prompted tyre makers to raise overseas purchases, a government official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

The south Asian country imports natural rubber from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.Natural rubber price in the Indian market was nearly a third higher than Malaysia or Indonesia in February, said a Kochi-based dealer.

Source:- :in.reuters.com

Tribunal rightly directed GTA to make pre-deposit on its failure to show payment of ST under reverse

Service Tax : Where assessee, a goods transport agency, could not prove payment of service tax under reverse charge by consignor or consignee, Tribunal order directing pre-deposit by assessee-GTA was valid

MAT companies are liable to pay advance tax; default in its payment would trigger sec. 234B interest

IT : An assessee covered by provisions of sections 115JA and 115JB is under obligation to pay advance tax and delay or failure to pay said tax would result in levy of interest

Retracted statement of partner on alleged shortage of goods doesn't prove clandestine removal of goo

Excise & Customs : In absence of evidence of clandestine removal, confirmation of demand of duty based upon alleged doubtful shortages read with statement of authorised person recorded at time of search of factory itself, which stands retracted later, is bad