Govt. constitutes 'Information Security Committee' in CBDT

IT/ILT : Constitution of An Information Security Committee (ISC) – Broad Responsibilities of Said Committee

SEBI hikes limit for USD-INR currency derivative contract beyond which proof of exposure is to be es

SEBI : Revision of Limits Relating to Requirement of Underlying Exposure for Currency Derivatives Contracts

RBI directs authorised dealer banks to follow revised FDI limit in insurance sector

FEMA/ILT : Foreign Direct Investment in India – Review of FDI Policy – Sector Specific Conditions in Insurance Sector

Assessee has to collect TCS on sale of imported timber to dealers

IT : Where assessee was engaged in importing timber and thereupon selling it to registered dealers in country, assessee was required to collect tax at source from purchasers/dealers in terms of section 206C at time of sale

Voluntary disallowance by assessee under Sec. 14A couldn't be enhanced by AO without showing any rea

IT: Where Assessing Officer could not found any deficiency in assessee's books of account and could not prove that assessee's computation of section 14A disallowance for earning exempt income was incorrect, assessee's claim was to be allowed

VAT collected from buyer is includible in taxable turnover of assessee if VAT isn't shown separately

CST & VAT: Karnataka VAT - Where assessee sold goods and tax invoice issued to purchasing dealer showed price of goods inclusive of all taxes and it did not contain details such as rate and amount of tax charged, assessee was not entitled to deduction of tax amount as contemplated under rule 3(2)(h) of VAT Rules

Non-refundable membership fees received from members to be apportioned and taxed over period of memb

IT : When services were to be rendered for a period of years, both revenue and expenditure were to be shown proportionate to degree of completion of service

Plastic Pouch development exp. is in nature of scientific research exp; allowable under Sec. 35

IT : Plastic pouch development expenses being in nature of scientific research or acquisition of patent rights or copy right would come under purview of section 35 or 35A; said expenses were not allowable under section 37(1)

No disallowance of loss claimed in return filed u/s 153A after the due date prescribed under sec. 13

IT : Raw materials purchased by assessee for first time production would be allowable as revenue expenditure

'Impose hefty penalty on listed Cos for non-appointment of women director' - SEBI's direction to Sto

SEBI : Fine structure for non-compliance with the requirement of clause 49(ii)(a)(1) of listing agreement

CARO, 2003 not applicable for F.Y 2014-15, MCA likely to notify smaller version of CARO soon - ICAI

COMPANIES ACT, 1956/COMPANIES ACT, 2013/AAA/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013 - Powers and duties of auditors and auditing standards- Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2003 ceased to have effect from 1-4-2014.

No TP adjustment by ignoring transaction in entirety and by picking up those which are in revenue's

IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP in respect of purchase of raw material from AE located abroad by applying internal CUP method, matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh with a direction that transaction of import from AEs was to be considered in entirety to calculate amount of adjustment instead of only those common products whereby import price from AEs was higher vis-a-vis purchase price from local third parties

No disallowance of loss claimed in return field u/s 153A after the due date prescribed under sec. 13

IT : Raw materials purchased by assessee for first time production would be allowable as revenue expenditure

Amount paid for using know-how to produce hydro-power equipment is taxable as royalty: High Court

IT/ILT : Where assessee, an Austria based company, entered into agreement with Indian company for furnishing know-how and technical assistance for producing hydro power equipment, amount received for right to use technical know-how would be taxable in India as 'royalty' whereas amount received for rendering technical services would be taxable to extent it is attributable to activities actually performed in India

Right to appeal under FEMA against order of Tribunal is also available even against its interim orde

FEMA : Where proceedings by way of a show cause notice were initiated against petitioners during sun-set period, provisions of FERA can be invoked

Service provider would get refund of wrongly paid ST when service receiver certifies that he has not

Service Tax : Where invoice does not show service tax and service recipient certifies that he did not bear/pay service tax, test of unjust enrichment is passed by service provider and he is entitled to refund of service tax wrongly paid

RBI eases lending norms for 'NBFC-Micro Finance Institutions'

NBFCs : Modification in Non-Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs) Directions

8L Cotton Bales Exported From India In February

During February, fibre (cotton, ASF, PSF, VSF and wool) exports stood at 156 million kg, worth US$194 million or INR1,190 crore. Cotton accounted more than 85 per cent of all types of fibre exported during the month at 135 million kg or 800,000 bales worth US$164 million. About 21 million kg of MMF were also exported worth US$30 million.

Bangladesh, China and Vietnam continued as the largest importers of fibre (cotton plus MMF) and together accounted for 76 per cent of all cotton export in February. USA was the largest importer of PSF during the month while China was the major importer of VSF, in similar comparison. Iran was the dominant buyer of ASF. The next major was Vietnam.

Price wise, unit value realisation on ASF export was close to US$2.50 per kg while cotton fetched over US$1.20 a kg. PSF export value averaged US$1.12 a kg while VSF was shipped at US$1.57 per kg.

Source:ccfgroup.com

Philips To Increase Export Of Medical Equipment From India

Medical equipment major Philips India Ltd is targeting the domestic and the overseas markets for its new digital X-ray machine, said a senior official here on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after launching the company's latest digital mobile X-ray unit, Rekha Ranganathan, vice president and general manager, mobile surgery, IXR, said: "The new product will not only be marketed in India but also shipped out.

"The product has necessary quality certification like the internationally accepted C-marking and other certifications," added Radhakrishnan Kodakkal, senior director, research and development, Philips Healthcare.

According to Ranganathan, who also heads the Healthcare Innovation Centre (HIC) here, the new machine called MobileDiagnost Opta was designed, developed and made at the company's Healthcare Innovation Centre (HIC) here.

She said the centre can make around 100 units a month but declined to reveal the equipment's price, saying that it would be competitive.

Ranganathan said the digital image generated by the X-ray unit, its compactness, ease of mobility in restricted places like intensive care units and operation theatres were some of the innovate features.

There was no need for the conventional X-ray film. She said the company was gradually increasing the local content in the machines made at HIC by developing suppliers. However critical components for X-ray machines were imported as there were no domestic suppliers, Kodakkal said.

Declining to reveal any figures - investment in the HIC and its annual capacity - Ranganathan said the centre would play a critical role in supporting Philips' local and global strategy in the image guided therapy.

She said the global leadership team for mobile surgery being based in Pune, HIC will take the lead in delivering innovations for both the Indian and global markets.

According to Ranganathan, the HIC has more than 400 employees and has shipped products to more than 90 countries. She said the centre had launched five products and filed four patents. Ranganathan said Philips India gets more than 50 percent of its revenue from the healthcare vertical. The balance comes from consumer lifestyle and lighting products.

Speaking about Philips India's market position in the medical equipment market, Sameer Garde, president South Asia, Philips Healthcare, said the company gained market share in 2014 when the overall market remained flat.

According to him, India was one of the top markets for the group in the case of healthcare equipments. Garde said the company leads the market in the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), critical care, catheterization lab and homecare equipment. The company sees good growth in tier II and III cities.

Source:newkerala.com

Flooring/tile terracing inclusive of construction is eligible for abatement in respect of constructi

Service Tax : Where assessee was providing construction services (inclusive of completion and finishing) and scope thereof was 'plinth levelling, slab casting, plaster work (inner & outer), flooring and tiles terracing', said services were eligible for abatement in respect of construction services

Directors not liable for tax dues of Co. if AO failed to show that dues were not recoverable from Co

IT : Unless it was shown that it was not possible to recover tax due from said company, no liability could be fixed on assessee-director of said company to pay due tax

India Could Consider White Sugar Export Incentive - Minister

India could consider giving cash-strapped sugar companies an incentive to export white, or refined, sugar as long as mills agree to pay dues they owe to millions of cane growers, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Wednesday.

"The government is willing to consider the demand of the industry so that mills' financials do not worsen, but we need an assurance that cane arrears to farmers are cleared as early as possible," Paswan told Reuters.

Five straight years of surplus output has hammered local sugar prices, hitting mills' financial health to an extent that they now owe more than $3 billion to cane growers. Mills also complain that higher government-set cane prices have destroyed their profit margins.

"We have to strike a balance to protect farmers' interests and ensure that cane crushing remains viable for mills. I'll separately talk to farmers and mills to ensure that," Paswan said.

Sugar companies owe 192 billion rupees ($3.1 billion) to cane growers, with the top two producing states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh accounting for more than three-fifths of the total arrears.

Source:maktoob.news.yahoo.com

Fy15 Soybean Meal Exports At 6.46 Lakh Tonnes, Down 77.25 Per Cent

India exported 6.46 lakh tonnes of soybean meal in FY15, registering a decline of 77.25% over the previous financial year (2013-14), when soybean meal exports were 28.41 lakh tonnes. The figures were released by Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) on Wednesday.

Exports of soybean meal during March 2015 were 46,670 tonnes compared to 2,32,176 tonnes in March 2014, showing a decline of 80%.

"With the increase in export incentives in the new foreign trade policy under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), we are hopeful that we will be able to regain some of the lost markets and our exports of soybean meal in 2015-16 will increase substantially," said Davish Jain, chairman, SOPA.

During the first half of the current Oil year, that is, October 2014 to March 2015, total exports are 5,49,627 tonnes as against 19,64,581 tonnes last year, showing a decrease of 72%.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Gold and silver rates as on March 31, 2015

IT/ILT : Gold and Silver Rates as on 31st March, 2015

Application of income by trust for charitable purposes outside India doesn't lead to denial of Sec.

IT : Registration u/s 12AA cannot be refused to a trust which applies its income for charitable purposes outside India

IRDA prescribes guidelines for establishment of 'IFSC Insurance Office' in SEZs

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDAI (International Financial Service Centre) Guidelines, 2015

Units should be custom bonded is a pre-requisite to claim exemption for custom duty and not for sec.

IT : Customs bonding is not a requirement or a condition precedent for granting exemption under section 10A

Mere establishment of subsidiary in other country won't be deemed as PE of foreign Co.

IT/ILT : Whether establishing a subsidiary in other treaty country would not result in creating and establishing a PE of foreign holding company in said treaty country

Mere non-verifiability of creditors doesn't indicate that they are bogus if purchases are genuine

IT: Where Assessing Officer had drawn an adverse conclusion only on account of non-verifiability of sundry creditors but there being no dispute as regards purchases, and trading results having been accepted, addition made under section 68 was not sustainable

Time limit for refund of duty paid on finalization of provisional assessment starts from date of app

Excise & Customs : Where, on finalization of provisional assessment, assessee paid differential duty and said duty becomes refundable due to appellate order in favour of assessee, time-limit for filing refund claim would start from date of appellate order

Failure to consider satisfaction recorded under sec. 158BD is a mistake apparent from record

IT : There was an error apparent on record in Tribunal's order where Tribunal had not considered evidence of satisfaction recorded under section 158BD

Sec. 5 shall not operate to exclude income of NR which is covered under presumptive provisions of se

IT/ILT : Sec. 5(2) shall not operate to exclude amount received outside India for computing income presumptively u/s 44BB

[DGFT Notification] : Export Policy of Onions- reduction in Minimum Export Price (MEP).

(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. 2 /2015-2020

New Delhi, Dated: 7 April, 2015

Subject:- Export Policy of Onions- reduction in Minimum Export Price (MEP).

S.O. (E) In exercise of powers conferred by Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (No. 22 of 1992), as amended, read with Para 1.02 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, the Central Government hereby makes the following amendment, with immediate effect, in Notification No. 91 (RE- 2013)/2009-14 dated 21.08.2014 read with Notification No. 73 (RE- 2013)/2009-14 dated 12.03.2014 relating to export of onion.

2. The amended para 2 of Notification No. 91 (RE- 2013)/2009-14 dated 21.08.2014 will now read as:

“Export of onion for the item description at Serial Number 51 & 52 of Chapter 7 of Schedule 2 of ITC (HS) Classification of Export & Import Items shall be permitted subject to a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of US$ 250 per Metric Ton F.O.B. or as notified by DGFT from time-to-time”.

3. Effect of this notification:

Export of all varieties of onions as described above will be subject to a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of US$ 250 per MT (reduced from MEP of US$ 300 per MT earlier).

(Pravir Kumar)

Director General of Foreign Trade

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

(Issued from File No. 01/91/180/922/AM08/PC-III/Export Cell)

Foreign currency futures are transactions of derivative market; they can't be termed as speculative

IT: Transaction of derivative market which included foreign currency and call option/put option could not be termed as speculative in nature

Imparting of education not to be deemed as business activity under Rajasthan VAT Act

CST & VAT : Rajasthan VAT - Where assessee, a deemed university/educational institution, was imparting education and it sold prospectus and it also purchased cement, etc. after payment of VAT and provided same to its own contractors for construction of hostel building, etc. and further it reduced value of material from contract amount, assessee was not carrying on business and was not required to get itself registered

Opposite party abused its dominance by imposing unfair pricing in market of freight transport servic

Competition Act: Where opposite party providing services of freight transport by trucks to various industrial units located within area of Kiratpur in Punjab through its members was dominant in relevant market, OP abused its dominant position by imposing unfair prices for transportation services

Sum received in foreign currency for rendering technical service abroad isn't taxable in India: ITAT

IT/ILT : Where assessee rendered services as senior drilling engineer at Nigeria to an Indian company, fees was received by assessee in foreign currency for rendering said services outside India could not be brought to tax in India

Excise Dept Move On Service Tax May Make Rail-Based Traffic Costlier

At a time when the Centre is trying to increase the share of rail-based traffic, an excise department move may end up shifting container traffic away from rail to roads.

The excise department wants to impose full service tax on containerised traffic without providing the 70 per cent abatement available to cargo moving on rail. This means, in effect, the service tax will be levied on 30 per cent of the tariff. Incidentally, road transporters also get about 70 per cent abatement on service tax.

The proposed move has irked the Railway Ministry and the container train operators, and could jeopardise the rail-based container segment, which includes operators such as the Container Corporation of India, Gateway Rail Freight Ltd, Hind Terminals, APL Logistics, DPW-backed Container Rail Road Services, ETA, Kribhco, Central Warehouse Corporation, and Vikram Logistics.

The Directorate-General of Central Excise Intelligence (DG-CEI) has used a technicality in the Finance Act 1994 -- Section 65 B (49) -- to say that container train operators offer a "support service" to the Railways, which attracts full service tax. It has issued a show-cause notice to the operators asking them to pay full service tax with effect from 2012.

Meanwhile, the Railways and container train operators are citing two clauses of the Finance Act 1994 – 65 (B) 25 and 66F – to prove that they move goods on the rail mode and support their view for attracting service tax with abatement.

The DG-CEI’s logic, if accepted, can jeopardise not just the container rail segment, but sectors such as cement, automobiles, petroleum products, mining and the dairy segment, which have invested in wagons to offer rail-based services, while some others have plans to invest in specially designed wagons.

Companies such as ACC, APL Vascor, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, and Maruti Suzuki, have already made such investments.

The Railways had approved procurement of 45 rakes with an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore to 10 customers three years ago.

Also, in the passenger segment, coach investment has been made in some premium tourist trains, such as by IRCTC in Maharaja Express, the Rajasthan government in the Palace on Wheels, the Maharashtra government in its Deccan Odyssey, and the Karnataka government in the Golden Chariot.

The excise department’s move is likely to make railway services pricier and move customers away at a time when it is already losing share to the road segment.

Source:-thehindubusinessline.com

Ftp 2015-20: Pushing Exports And Imports In Sync

The much-awaited Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 has been announced. It has targeted to double exports to $900 billion by 2019-20. The achievement of this target underscores the need to encourage both merchandise and services exports, as enshrined in the policy document.

Many would have termed the target as ambitious if the green shoots of global economic recovery were not in evidence. The US economy is growing, riding on the back of an impressive manufacturing growth, which is getting translated into more jobs. Europe, though still not out of the woods, is showing signs of recovery. Japan and China are coming out of slowdown blues, though the pace is sluggish. There are indications to believe that world trade will pick up in the next two years or so. Against this backdrop, the target set for doubling exports seems to be in sync with reality.

There are various policy changes that have been incorporated in the FTP document, such as simplification and amalgamation of incentives schemes, revamping of incentives schemes for services exports, focus on reduction of transaction cost, incentives to SEZs, eliminating bottlenecks for doing business, etc. Yet we should not lose sight of the challenges. Exports have contracted over the last three months. In February, contraction was a high 15%, mainly on account of persistent slowdown in some markets and volatility of the rupee against a basket of currencies. For a pragmatic FTP, it is important to have a stable exchange rate, which will insulate the trade from avoidable risks.

In order to give a boost to exports from SEZs, the government has extended benefits of both the reward schemes—Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)—to units located in SEZs. Trade facilitation and enhancing the ease of doing business are the other major focus areas in this new FTP. Besides, a move towards paperless working 24×7 is an encouraging development.

Another feature of this policy is the importance it has assigned to services sector exports. Services have become an important component of our export basket—at $145 billion, they are half the merchandise exports of $300 billion. There are some distinguishing features of service exports. One, high retention of foreign exchange since the outgo in terms of import content is either insignificant or nil. Two, exports from this sector benefit more people and that way they have an expanding stakeholder profile. Three, they promote skills which are tradable both in India and abroad, providing gainful employment to many.

Importantly, CII in partnership with the ministry of commerce and industry has pioneered a platform for promotion of services exports from the country. On April 23-25, CII along with the commerce ministry will organise the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) in Delhi, wherein representatives from 40 countries will participate. This business-to-business (B2B) event will showcase India’s services capabilities to foreign buyers and will provide a rewarding platform for forging partnerships and businesses to Indian partners. To be inaugurated by the PM, this meet will be attended by a large number of delegates from the US, the UK, Singapore, Spain, Australia, the UAE, and SAARC countries. The focus sectors at the GES are IT & telecom, tourism, healthcare, R&D, media & entertainment, education and logistics.

The FTP policy has also laid focus on tapping huge potential for exports in emerging sectors such as e-commerce, export of defence and pharmaceutical goods, etc, and extended incentives for export-oriented units (EOUs), electronic hardware technology parks (EHTPs) and software technology parks (STPs). A case in point is the huge electronics imports into the country. It is estimated that, by 2020, India will need for domestic use electronic goods worth $400 billion. Domestic production around that time, at the current rate, will be worth $100 billion, necessitating an import of $300 billion, which will be higher than India’s oil imports. To ward off such a situation, it is important to give a boost to electronics production in the country. State-of-the-art EHTP units should come up in various parts of the country, which should be functional and capable of meeting the domestic demand. India should also fast-track its capacity for chip manufacturing, the costly part that goes into most of the electronic goods which are largely imported from China, Taiwan, Korea, etc.

A growing economy should have a strong international trade segment consisting of imports and exports. At the same time, there should be a harmony between imports and exports. A nation that focuses only on exports holds the risk of getting its currency overvalued, thereby creating distortions in its economic structure. Conversely, excessive imports unmatched by export realisations will create current account deficit and instability. Both situations should be avoided. The commerce minister seems to have treaded a cautious line in creating a sync between the two.

Source:- financialexpress.com

Bankers Call For Anti-Dumping Duty On Steel Imports

Top bankers have asked the government to slap anti-dumping duty on imports of steel to salvage the iron and steel sector hit by dumping of steel by other countries, especially China.

State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya told finance ministry officials about the need for introducing anti-dumping duty on imports of steel and gave the example of the US where 35 per cent anti dumping has been imposed on steel imports.

SBI chairman’s proposal came after the finance ministry complained to top bankers that banks are not meeting the credit needs of stalled projects. “Stalled projects are not getting desired attention of banks. Financial services secretary (Hasmukh Adhia) expressed his concern over the issues and advised the banks to come forward to meet the credit requirement of stalled projects,” the ministry said in a note to bank chiefs.

The SBI chief said there is very little demand for credit for new projects. “Corporate demand for credit is not coming in,” she told the ministry officials in a meeting with bankers recently. Major sectors which are affected include iron and steel, sugar, mining and construction and the power sector. Steel and iron has been affected due to high rate of iron ore, bankers told the ministry.

Latest figures compiled by the Ministry of Finance in March 2015 indicate that 299 mega projects involving an outlay of Rs 18.13 lakh crore still remain stalled with the Project Management Group (PMG) in the cabinet secretariat.

A top banker, who attended the review meeting with ministry officials, said the sugar industry is facing high production cost vis-à-vis the price realisation. In order to solve the problems of sugar industry, bankers suggested that the percentage of ethanol use permitted in petroleum products may be increased from 10 per cent to 35 per cent.

“Power sector is facing fuel supply problems. Mining sector suffers involvement of state governments. Road construction suffers because of delayed clearance form National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The problems of each sector need to be addressed separately,” they said as per a ministry note.

Reserve Bank data shows credit growth to industry halved to 6 per cent in February 2015, down from an increase of 13.2 per cent in February 2014.

Source:- indianexpress.com/

RBI tweaks norms on refinancing of rupee loans with foreign currency borrowings

BANKING : Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning Pertaining to Advances – Refinancing of Exposures to Borrowers

Govt. scraps new guidelines for power generation in SEZs

SEZ : Guidelines for Power Generation in Special Economic Zones

SEBI invites comments on issues regarding 'Offer for sale' of shares

SEBI : Discussion Paper on Issues Pertaining to Offer for Sale of Shares (OFS) through Stock Exchange Mechanism

Banks can further extend date of starting of stalled projects by two years in case of change in owne

BANKING : Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning Pertaining to Advances – Projects under Implementation – Change in Ownership

Prospective importers are interested parties; must be granted hearing prior to levy/non-levy of anti

Excise & Customs : For purposes of anti-dumping duty, 'interested party' refers to a party who is interested in investigation and ultimate outcome of it; therefore, prospective importer of goods is also an 'interested party' and must be granted hearing prior to levy/non-levy of anti-dumping duty

Payment made to transporter for providing buses on hire basis along with driver would attract TDS u/

IT : Where assessee-company entered into contract with transporters for providing buses for giving pick-up and drop facilities to its employees, in view of fact that transporters were contractually obliged to maintain buses in proper condition and drivers and conductors were also to be provided by them, assessee was liable to deduct tax at source under section 194C while making payments to transporters

Evasion penalty has to be levied when invocation of extended period isn't challenged

Cenvat Credit : Where assessee had not challenged invocation of extended period for raising demand and same had become final, penalty under section 11AC was automatic and was leviable at quantum specified in said section

Payment made to Govt. notified agencies couldn't be deemed as direct payment to Govt.; sec. 40A(3) d

IT: Where assessee, engaged in distributing food grains and Kerosene under PDS scheme, made cash payments to agencies notified by Government, it could not be regarded as payment directly made to Government and, thus, disallowance made under section 40A (3) deserved to be confirmed

Pension Fund Authority notifies norms on 'Trustee Bank' for holding funds in name of 'National Pensi

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Trustee Bank) Regulations, 2015

Pension Fund Authority notifies points of presence norms for National Pension System

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Point of Presence) Regulations, 2015

Interest paid on refundable deposits of tenants is allowable u/s 24 if deposits are used to repay ho

IT : Interest paid on refundable security deposits received from tenants is allowable under section 24(b) if deposits are used to repay loan taken for purchase of house property

General Free Allowance of individual family members can't be pooled together for imports by baggage

Customs : In case of imports by baggage, GFA is allowed to passenger if article in baggage is for his or his family's personal use; use of word 'family' does not mean that family members of passengers can be pooled together, as Explanation to Appendix A [rule 3 of Baggage Rules, 1998] bars any such pooling

Cash payments exceeding 20,000 made to fisherman to purchase fish won't invite sec. 40A(3) disallowa

IT: Where assessee had purchased fish from fisherman/headman of fisher, no disallowance under section 40A(3) would be made even if payment in cash exceeded prescribed limit

Payment made to Govt. notified agencies couldn't deemed as direct payment to Govt.; sec. 40A(3) disa

IT: Where assessee, engaged in distributing food grains and Kerosene under PDS scheme, made cash payments to agencies notified by Government, it could not be regarded as payment directly made to Government and, thus, disallowance made under section 40A (3) deserved to be confirmed

No revision by CIT treating exp. on creation of brand as capital exp. when AO examined this issue in

IT : Where view taken by Assessing Officer that brand building expenses incurred by assessee were revenue expenditure was possible view on facts, order of Assessing Officer could not be set aside in section 263 proceedings

No TDS disallowance for exp. paid during the year; Visakhapatnam ITAT follows principles of Merilyn

IT: No disallowance under section 40(a)(ia), when payments on which tax was required to be deducted were paid during relevant previous year and nothing remained payable on last day of previous year

No reassessment if revenue didn't furnish copy of sworn statement on basis of which proceedings were

IT : Where assessee was not furnished with copy of statement made by person allegedly providing accommodation entries in respect of sale purchase of shares by assessee, reassessment on basis of said statement was not justified

Sec. 76 and Sec. 78 penalties could be levied simultaneously if show cause notice was issued prior t

Service Tax : If show-cause notice has been issued prior to amendment from 16-5-2008, penalty both under sections 76 and 78 would be leviable simultaneously and amendment providing either of two penalties would not be applicable

Successors in interest couldn't exercise those rights under SARFAESI Act which weren't available to

SARFAESI: Where original lender of loan was not entitled to take an action under SARFAESI Act, successors in interest pursuant to any merger, transfer or assignment of debt could not exercise right under SARFAESI Act qua debt in question even though, successor was entitled to take action under SARFAESI Act

No reassessment if revenue didn't furnish copy of sworn statement on basis of which proceeding were

IT : Where assessee was not furnished with copy of statement made by person allegedly providing accommodation entries in respect of sale purchase of shares by assessee, reassessment on basis of said statement was not justified

Sec. 68 additions upheld on failure of assessee to prove source of cash receipts credited in books

IT : Where two cash receipts were found credited in books of account of assessee on account of repayment of his dues and sale of shares but he could not satisfy Assessing Officer by adducing proper evidence regarding source of said money, said amounts were rightly added to assessee's income under section 68

Amalgamating co. can pass its losses to successor co. only if it was engaged in business for more th

IT : Unless amalgamating company was engaged in business for three or more years as on date of amalgamation, amalgamated company could not claim set off of brought forward unabsorbed business loss and depreciation of amalgamating company against its income

Govt. revises selection criteria for appointment of Chairman, Vice-Chairman and members of SetCom

IT/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Settlement Commission (Income-Tax and Wealth-Tax) (Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and Members) Rules, 2015

Issue involving classification of 'water filters' isn't maintainable before High Court

Excise & Customs : Issue whether water filters are classifiable under 7323.10 as 'tableware and kitchenware' (as claimed by assessee) or under 8421.10 as 'filtering or purifying machinery or apparatus' (as claimed by revenue), is not appealable before High Court, as said issue has relation to 'rate of duty'

Indian Commerce Ministry Officials Visit Iran; Revival Of Basmati Rice Exports On Agenda

India's Commerce Secretary and a high level delegation are visiting Iran this week to discuss ways to boost trade, including revival of rice trade, between the two nations, according to local sources.

The Indian officials' visit to Iran is particularly significant as the Middle East nation had banned rice imports in November 2014 citing excess stocks from last year's imports and a bumper crop in 2014, a move which has significantly affected India's basmati rice exports. Iran is a major destination for India's basmati rice exports and accounts for nearly 40% of India's total basmati rice exports. Last month, some exporters expressed confidence that India’s basmati rice exports to Iran would resume from the beginning of new financial year (2015-16) in April 2015.

The delegation will meet the Iranian Commerce Secretary and Trade Minister according to local sources. They are understood to particularly seek for the removal of ban on rice imports as well as focus on increasing project exports to Iran. India is a major importer of crude oil from Iran but its imports had declined significantly in March 2015 due to pressures from western nations. The delegation is also likely to discuss means to solve the oil import issue.

India's new Foreign Trade Policy has reportedly retained the Rupee-Riyal payment mechanism, which was initiated a couple of years ago to facilitate trade between India and Iran.

The bilateral trade between India and Iran increased by about 2% to around $15.27 billion in 2013-14 as against $14.94 billion in 2012-13.

While Iran's basmati rice imports from India increased about 33% y/y to around 1.44 million tons in 2013-14, the Middle East nation's imports have declined in 2014-15 primarily due to its stance to revise the accepted level of arsenic content in basmati rice from 150 parts per billion (ppb) to 120 ppb in March 2014. Later in September 2014, Iran also increased import duty on basmati rice from 22% to 45% before banning rice imports in November 2014.

India exported around 767,697 tons of basmati rice to Iran in the first ten months of FY 2014-15 (April - January), according the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). At this pace, rice market analysts expect India's basmati rice imports to Iran to decline by about 15-20% to around 1.15 - 1.2 million tons in 2014-15.

India exported around 9.57 million tons of rice (including 2.92 million tons of basmati and 6.65 million tons of non-basmati) in the first ten months of FY 2014-15 (April - March), up about 7% from around 8.96 million tons (including 3.09 million tons of basmati and 5.87 million tons of non-basmati) exported during the same period in FY 2013-14, according to provisional data released by the APEDA.

Source:-oryza.com

India's 2014/15 Iron Ore Imports Hit Record 15.5 Mln T As Prices Tank

India's iron ore imports jumped to a record above 15 million tonnes in the fiscal year to end-March as tumbling global prices and limited domestic supply pushed steelmakers to buy more of the raw material overseas, industry data showed on Monday.

Formerly the world's No. 3 supplier of iron ore, India has been importing it over the past three years due to court-imposed restrictions aimed at curbing illegal mining in the major producing states of Karnataka and Goa.

The shortage deepened last year when some mines in the states of Odisha and Jharkhand were ordered to close after the expiry of licences.

India's iron ore imports totalled 15.5 million tonnes in the past fiscal year, according to data compiled by industry consultancy SteelMint, which tracks shipments at 18 ports across the country. In the year to March 2014, imports were just 320,000 tonnes.

More than half of imports in fiscal 2014/15 were brought in by JSW Steel, India's third-largest steel producer, with 8.4 million tonnes. Tata Steel followed with 3.06 million.

Official Indian government data only covers April-December, with imports totalling 7.38 million tonnes, according to the trade ministry.

Despite the jump in shipments to India, global iron ore prices fell below $50 a tonne .IO62-CNI=SI last week to the lowest level since a key benchmark pricing index began in 2008.

The steelmaking commodity has lost about two-thirds of its value since the start of last year amid a global glut and slow demand from top iron ore buyer China.

The reopening of iron ore mines in states such as Odisha, Jharkhand and Goa may reduce India's imports in the current fiscal year, said Dhruv Goel, managing partner at SteelMint."We expect imports will be limited to 6-7 million tonnes, subject to global iron ore prices.

Source:- reuters.com

India’S Trade Deficit With China To Double In The Next Two Years

India's trade deficit with China could nearly double to $60 billion in the next two years if the two partners do not address market access constraints and nontariff barriers faced by Indian goods in the neighbouring country, the department of commerce cautioned in the foreign trade policy statement released last week. The statement came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expected visit to Beijing in the second week of May.

India is pushing for tariff concessions from China in oil seeds, textile items and marine products in the fourth round of tariff concessions under Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) in a bid to correct the imbalance in bilateral trade. The trade deficit widened to $36 billion in 2013-14, accounting for a quarter of India's overall export and import gap. While India's exports to the bigger Asian rival fell 18.6% in April 2014-January 2015, imports grew 17.16%. India's imports include manufactured items in both "non-essential" categories and power and telecom equipment, as per the statement.

"If the current situation persists, by 2016-17, merchandise imports from China will exceed $80 billion while India's exports will be around $20 billion, leaving an unsustainable trade deficit of $60 billion," the commerce department said. The matter was also taken up during the recent visit of an Indian delegation to China in March, but Beijing refused to give an assurance."We did not get any commitment from their end on any of the issues, be it agriculture, pharmaceuticals or IT. It has so far maintained that the wide trade gap can be explained by the divergent nature of the two economies, with India being a services-led one while China is a manufacturing economy," said a government official.

"There is definitely a level of frustration as there have been a lot of MoUs on bovine meat to IT and pharma, but no action on the ground," he added. India is seeking reduction in tariffs on close to 200 product lines from China under APTA including textiles, oil cakes and marine products. APTA is a preferential trade agreement between the six countries of Asia- India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos and South Korea."PM is also likely to take this up during his visit,' said the official.

According to the government, a series of non-tariff barriers block India's exports of pharmaceuticals, IT/ITES and agri commodities including bovine meat, oil meals and cake, tobacco, rice, fruits and vegetables to China. India has also been pushing China to allow Indian companies to bid for tenders in its state-owned enterprises. In pharmaceuticals sector, India has been seeking removal of entry barriers as registration of existing drugs in China takes three-five years, compared to just three-six months in India. India also questioned China's decision to continue curbs on Indian buffalo meat imports at an agriculture committee meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently. Non-essential imports is another issue Of the $12.5 billion (about Rs 78,000 crore) worth of consumer imports in each of the past two years, mobiles phones alone accounted for $5 billion (about "31,000 crore) worth of imports and this segment has seen a surge in imports in the past three-four years.



The statement pointed out that the approach for electronics exports promotion must include discouraging non-essential imports and improving product standards, among other things. The commerce department also recommended that states play a role in rationalising non-essential imports."Foriegn direct investment flow from China is one way of addressing the problem of widening trade deficit.

If China sets up manufacturing facilities in India, those items will not get imported from Beijing," said Ram Upendra Das, professor, RIS for developing countries. The department of industrial policy and promotion secretary Amitabh Kant conducted a 'Make in India' workshop in Beijing last week to drive Chinese investment into Indian manufacturing. During Chinese president Xi Jinping's visit to India in September last year, China had committed investment of $20 billion in India over the next five years. The commerce department recommended that the country must remain vigilant and"take action to safeguard against unfair trade practices to protect the legitimate trade interests of Indian industry".

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Gains 0.51% Against Dollar In Afternoon Trade

The rupee was higher against the US dollar on dollar inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) as dealers sold the US currency, noting its weakness against global currencies.

Data from the US released on Friday showed that US companies added the least number of jobs in more than a year in March, raising expectations that a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve may be delayed.

The weak US data had ramifications on global currencies once the market opened on Monday. The Malaysian ringgit gained 1.049%, South Korean won gained 0.738%, Indonesian rupiah gained 0.556% and Taiwan dollar gained 0.168%.

At 2.40pm, the rupee was trading at 62.1775 per dollar, up 0.51% from its previous close of 62.4975. The partially convertible currency opened at 62.1050 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 62.1012 and 62.2075, respectively.

Since January this year, the rupee has gained 1.4%.

“There are dollar inflows in the market and the weakness of the US currency has also helped the rupee. It is only dollar buying from the state-owned banks likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which has kept the rupee from rising,” said a dealer with a foreign bank.

RBI has been buying dollars from the currency market through state-owned banks to shore up its foreign exchange reserves ahead of a impending US Fed rate hike which could lead to outflows from emerging markets like India.

A strong rupee also makes exports from the country less competitive.

Expectations are that the rupee will trade in the 62 to 62.50 per dollar this week.India’s benchmark 10 year bond yield was trading at 7.71% down from previous close of 7.73%.Sensex, the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange gained 0.73% or 205.63 points to 28,465.77 points.

Source:- livemint.com

TPO to allow working cap adjustment when ageing schedule of assessee's debtors was different from co

IT/ILT : Where assessee had placed on record a working regarding difference in time lag in sale recoveries in its case and that of three comparables selected by TPO, difference in such time lag was to be applied to Prime Lending Rate (PLR) in order to compute working capital adjustment while determining ALP

Debit entry passed by Co. for allotment of shares to shareholder would invite addition of deemed div

IT: Where there were regular trading transactions between assessee-shareholder and company AIL and payments received by assessee from AIL were receipts against sales made during course of commercial transactions, provisions of section 2(22)(e) were not applicable

Govt. revises conditions for excise duty exemption on capital goods supplied under SHIS duty credit

E&C : Exemption under Status Holder Incentive Scrip (SHIS) Scheme - Amendment in Notification No.33/2012-C.E., DATED 9-7-2012

Govt. exempts excise duty on goods cleared against Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip

E&C : Implementation of Post Export EPCG Scheme under FTP 2015-2020

Tax Recovery Officer couldn't pass arrest order against petition for non-submission of proposal to p

IT : Where in recovery proceedings initiated by SEBI, petitioner failed to furnish proposal of payment of dues, detention and arrest order passed by Tax Recovery Officer against petitioner was arbitrary and illegal

No ST on movable fixtures under renting of immovable property services even if they were let out alo

Service Tax : Where assessee had provided 'movable' fixtures/assets to tenants for using in facility along with renting of immovable property, service tax cannot be demanded under 'renting of immovable property' in respect of movable assets

No disallowance of interest even if borrowed sum was re-invested at lower rate

IT : While considering assessee's case under section 57(iii), competent authority cannot split transaction in more than one part and select any particular part so as to say that such part is illegal or illegitimate or impermissible and deny to extend benefit in respect of same

Deptt couldn't allege suppression for non-disclosure of info which wasn't required to be disclosed i

Service Tax : In absence of any requirement in ST-3 returns to declare services on 'accrual basis', there was no suppression on part of assessee and, accordingly, extended period of limitation was not invocable

Provision made for obsolete inventory was deductible as such treatment was in accordance with AS-2

IT : Where assessee did not reduce value of obsolete items from value of inventory and instead made provision for obsolescence, such accounting treatment was in compliance with AS-2 and said provision was an allowable deduction

Issue involving classification of 'water filters' isn't maintainable before High Court Sakthi Indust

Excise & Customs : Issue whether water filters are classifiable under 7323.10 as 'tableware and kitchenware' (as claimed by assessee) or under 8421.10 as 'filtering or purifying machinery or apparatus' (as claimed by revenue), is not appealable before High Court, as said issue has relation to 'rate of duty'

ITAT affirms inclusion of co. with related party transactions of upto 15% in list of comparable enti

IT/ILT : While determining ALP of software development services rendered by assessee to its AE located abroad, comparable companies having RPT upto 15 per cent of total revenues alone could be included

Agri-Commodity Exports To Fall Over 10% Due To Slump In Global Food Prices

With global food prices slumping to six-year lows in March due to bumper production and high inventory levels, Indian agri-exports are likely to face a setback. Most agri-commodities are currently trading below Indian minimum support price (MSP) in the global markets.

“Most commodities in global markets are trading below the prevailing MSP in India. This will translate to at least 10% lower exports of agri commodities from India in 2015-16 from the current estimated level of $32 billion including agri commodities and plantation products,” said Ajay Sahai, Director General, Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).

While India’s agri commodity exports would be lower, import bill for commodities like vegetable oil and pulses will also be subdued.

Data compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations showed the world food price index continued to drop in March, down 18.7% (40 points) below its level a year ago. It is also a 1% dip over February 2015. Overall, except for a pause in October 2014, global food prices have been falling steadily since April 2014, on account of large supplies.

“Fall in global prices will impact prices of agri commodities in India to the extent they are traded with global markets. Commodities like chana, wheat and rice are determined largely by domestic factors as they are less connected to global markets. Sugar, pulses and edible oils, however, will be affected. Commodities like maize will also get impacted as India exports huge quantity of maize,” said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Care Ratings.

Agri commodity prices have declined by up to 34% in the last one year. Wheat prices in global markets have plunged 34.4% to trade at $181.18 a tonne. Cotton and maize prices have also fallen by 33.24% and 31.32% to end the financial year 2014-15 at $1376.34 a tonne and $175.89 a tonne respectively. RBD palmolein and sugar posted a decline of 28.99% and 24.59% to trade at $612.50 a tonne and $357.60 a tonne respectively.

“Despite government’s assistance of Rs 4,000 a tonne on raw sugar exports, Indian mills are unable to ink purchase contracts with global buyers due to steep fall in raw sugar prices in the benchmark New York Mercantile Exchange. Sugar prices have hit seven-year lows due to over production in global markets and falling Brazilian real which makes export from Brazil more remunerative,” said Abinash Verma, Director General Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).

Meanwhile, FAO has raised production and carryover stocks of cereals in March from its earlier forecast in February. Since last month, FAO has raised its 2014 world cereal production forecast by 2 million tonne to 2,544 million tonne, mainly accounting for a larger than anticipated maize harvest in the EU. At this level, global cereal output in 2014 would outstrip the 2013 record by 1%.

Source:hellenicshippingnews.com

Strategy Paper To Boost Dairy Exports On Anvil

Concerned over a sharp drop in dairy exports due to quality issues, the government has initiated an exercise to boost shipments of dairy products like milk powder and asked the sector to prepare strategy paper in this regard.

The Commerce Ministry had recently convened a meeting of dairy industry representatives including Amul and discussed problems being faced by domestic companies and exporters to major markets including Europe, Japan and Russia.

"Huge scope is there in Europe and Russia for dairy exports. But they are facing phyto-sanitary (quality) issues. Exporters raised the issue of non-tariff barriers in these countries. The industry is expected to submit the paper very soon," the official said.

The Ministry "would take appropriate steps" to encourage export of dairy products after deliberating recommendations of the paper, the official added. The move assumes significance as India is the world's largest producer of milk and has huge potential for exports.

The country's export of dairy, meat and poultry products has declined by 32 per cent to USD 302 million year-on-year in February this year.

The official further said the government would take up the issues faced by domestic companies at bilateral level besides helping the industry to improve quality and standard in order to comply with global norms.

India has already discussed the sector's issues with Russia, where a huge export potential exists in view of sanctions imposed by western countries.

A team from Russia's phyto-sanitary watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, had visited India to inspect several cheese and dairy product units.

As per estimates, Russia's annual dairy product import requirement is about 5,000 million tonnes. The country is facing problem in meeting this demand due to trade sanctions.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Cheaper Cousins Pull Down Sunflower Oil

If you love fried food, you can rejoice in the fact that the price of cooking oil has been slipping since mid-2013. The price of refined sunflower oil (Source: Solvent Extractors Association of India), a popular cooking medium, ruled at ?63,000 a tonne in end-March 2015.

This was 10 per cent lower than the same month last year. Prices have reversed trend in the last two years. Between March 2009 and August 2013, prices of refined sunflower oil soared, rising 87 per cent from ?45,000 levels to ?84,000 a tonne. They have since corrected by 25 per cent.

Global prices of sunflower oil have corrected much more steeply than domestic prices. They have been on a relentless downward trajectory since mid-2011. Global prices have tanked from $1,700 per tonne in June 2011, to under $900 by March 2015, with the fall punctuated by hardly any intermittent rally.

Global prices of sunflower oil have responded both to rising production of sunflower seed and to bearish trends in other vegetable oils. Statistics from Oil World and USDA show that between 2010-11 and 2013-14 (October to September), world crushing volumes of sunflower seed rose from 30 million tonnes to 38 million tonnes, boosting sunoil production from 4.8 million tonnes to 8.1 million tonnes.

Sharply higher sunflower output in Ukraine and Russia (the world’s largest producers) and European Union contributed much of this spike. But with consumption failing to keep pace, global inventories have mounted and pressured prices.

At the same time, sharp price increases in the output of competing cooking oils such as palm oil and soyabean oil have also added to the downward pressure on sunoil too. Globally, some consumers use sunflower oil, soyabean oil and palm oil interchangeably to meet their cooking needs.

They dynamically shift between them based on the price differentials between palm oil (the cheapest oil) and other soft oils such as sunflower and soyabean. In the last year or so, a record US harvest of soyabean has triggered a meltdown in soyabean oil prices. This has had its impact on the entire oil complex, including sunflower oil.

The meltdown in global crude oil prices has had an indirect impact on cooking oils too. What is the link? With cooking oils such as palm oil used in bio-ethanol production, the fall in crude oil prices has led to lower diversion of food crops to bio-ethanol. This has contributed to excess supplies in the market.

Going forward, fundamental factors point to tighter sunflower oil supplies in the crop year 2014-15 (ending September 2015).

Output estimates for the year have been progressively trimmed due to a lower crop expected in Ukraine and Russia, and crushing volumes are expected to fall by about 4 per cent for the season after many seasons of gains. But prices are yet to respond to these trends because alternative cooking oils such as soyabean and palm oil continue to trade cheap.

In contrast to the global situation, oilseed production in India has consistently failed to keep pace with burgeoning demand. Therefore, Indian imports of cooking oils have shot through the roof in the last five years.

Between 2010-11 and 2013-14, total imports shot up from about 84 lakh tonnes to 116 lakh tonnes, registering a 40 per cent jump. In the current oil year (November 2014 to February 2015), domestic shortages have sparked a 23 per cent jump in cooking oil imports by volume.

But with soyabean and sunflower oil turning cheaper in global markets, the import mix has changed significantly.

While palm oil made up three-fourths of the total imports in the some months last year, this year soft oils such as soyabean and sunflower have been in greater demand, accounting for a third of all imports.

With sunflower acreage down sharply both in the kharif and rabi seasons this year, the forecast for domestic prices would normally be bullish. But with imports flooding in and rival oils such as soyabean and palm oil trading cheaper, Indian consumer can probably look forward to a few more months of benign sunflower oil prices.

Source:thehindubusinessline.com

Rising Thermal Coal Imports Set To Propel India To Top Spot

India may soon become the world’s largest importer of thermal coal, nudging the current top-ranking China to second position. India’s thermal coal imports have begun to attract global attention as volumes steadily grow and China begins to slow.

Although India has been among the top destination markets for thermal coal over the last ten years or so, the expectation of increased demand in the coming years – on account of economic growth prospects, growing power demand and government policies – is driving traders to keep a close watch on developments here.

Over the last decade, India’s thermal coal demand has grown robustly, estimated at around 25 per cent CAGR. Currently, at 150 million tonnes (mt) import, the country accounts for about 16 per cent of the seaborne trade of 915 mt. Although a large coal producer, Indian coal quality is sub-standard with a high ash content of over 30 per cent. So, many power plants routinely blend indigenous coal with imported ones to derive productivity benefits.

Starting at a modest 25 mt in the year 2000, thermal coal imports expanded to 50 mt in 2009 and to 100 mt in 2012 and further to 150 mt in 2014. Projections for the next three years are placed at 165 mt, 180 mt and 190 mt until 2017.

At the same time, domestic thermal coal production is expected to increase by approximately 30 mt per annum from 510 mt in 2014.

For years, coal-fired power capacity additions have exceeded other forms of power generation while domestic feedstock production growth has trailed demand growth. By 2018, India is poised to overtake China as imports potentially reach 200 mt accounting for a fifth of the world seaborne thermal coal trade. According to the Ministry of Coal, although India has adequate coal reserves (over 300 billion tonnes of which 125 billion tonnes are in the ‘proved’ category), actual production falls short of consumption demand and the gap is met through imports.

“The domestic production of coal has been constrained due to problems in expanding the capacity arising from difficulties in land acquisition, geo-mining conditions, environment and forest clearance issues. Inadequate infrastructure is another constraining factor,” the government has said.

For coal exporters such as Indonesia, South Africa and Australia, India is some kind of a saviour even as Chinese coal imports are slowing and may not anymore be the buyer of last resort. It is generally known that China’s metals and mining sector is not in a good financial shape.

Source:thehindubusinessline.com

Rupee Opens Stronger Against Dollar As Us Job Data Disappoints

The rupee had ended 18 paise higher at 62.49 against the American currency on Tuesday on selling of dollars by banks and exporters on expectation of resumption of foreign capital inflows into equity market.

The rupee appreciated by 37 paise to 62.12 against the dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange after the American currency weakened overseas amid a higher opening in the domestic equity market.

Forex dealers said that besides selling of the American currency by exporters and banks, weakness in the dollar against other currencies on disappointing jobs data supported the rupee.

Source:dnaindia.com

ITAT affirms inclusion of co. with related party transactions of more that 15% in list of comparable

IT/ILT : While determining ALP of software development services rendered by assessee to its AE located abroad, comparable companies having RPT upto 15 per cent of total revenues alone could be included

Commissioner(A) can't condone delay beyond 30 days even if delay is occurred due to perusal of wrong

Excise & Customs : Section 14(2) of Limitation Act providing for 'exclusion of time spent in pursuing wrong remedy bona fide' cannot be used by Commissioner (Appeals) to condone delay/exclude period beyond his maximum period of condonation, as section 14(2) ibid cannot override section 128(1) of Customs Act

No denial of sec. 10B benefit if transaction with AE wasn't made for shifting profits to assessee

IT: Where finding of Assessing Officer that related parties had sold granite to assessee at lesser price thereby shifting their profit to assessee, and that such amount of profit was to be reduced from business profits of assessee while computing deduction under section 10B, was berefit of details and based on incomplete investigation, disallowance made under section 10B was to be deleted

No denial of exemption to a trust if trustees were paid for their services in proportion to growth o

IT : When there was substantial growth in trust on account of services rendered by trustees, to trustes payment made to trustees for such services was not in violation of section 13 and benefit under section 11 was available

RBI asks banks to provide details of tax collections from April 1 to 3, 2015

IT/E&C/BANKING : Scheme for Collection of Dues of (I) Central Board of Direct Taxes (II) Central Board of Excise and Customs (III) Departmentalised Ministries Account – Furnishing of Statement of Residual Transactions - Financial Year 2014-15

NBFCs to have net owned funds of 2 crores to commence business of non-banking financial institution

NBFCs/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Revised Regulatory Framework for NBFCs

Trust registration cancelled as it was formed to pass on concessional land and profits of hospital t

IT : Where society formed for providing concessional/free treatment EWS category people was allotted land at very concessional rate but its hospital was given out to Max group of companies to exploit same commercially, society was merely a "special purpose vehicle" to take advantage of concessional land and to pass off profit; its registration was to be cancelled

Cash award received by editor for excellence in journalism is tax-free as it is a capital receipt

IT : Rs. 1 lakh received by the appellant- assessee as an award from B.D. Goenka Trust for Excellence in Journalism would be a capital receipt and hence not income taxable under the Act, i.e. Income Tax Act, 1961

Income of spouse who owns independent source of income couldn't be clubbed with income of husband

IT : Assessee's claim for agricultural income was allowable where land was cultivable, irrigated and had high yielding fruit bearing trees and potentional to earn income

Using expression ‘inclusive of all taxes’ in a contract doesn’t mean that service tax was collected

Service Tax : Expression 'inclusive of taxes' only means that there would be no further rise in value of contracts in case any demands stands raised against service provider; it does not mean that 'service tax' stands collected from service recipient so as to be payable under section 73A, despite fact that services are eligible for exemption

Authority to pass speaking order for deciding the fate of stay applications

IT : When a stay application is to be considered and decided, it would be required for concerned authority to record reasons and then to reach to ultimate conclusion as to whether stay should be granted or not and if yes on what condition

Consideration received on sale of prospectus/admission forms can't be subjected to service tax

Service Tax : Prima facie, sale of prospectus and admission forms cannot be considered as commercial training and coaching services because prospectus are sold for consideration to many students out of which : (a) some may not apply for admission; and (b) some other may not get admission due to limited number of seats

Loss incurred in currency swap isn't speculative; set-off allowed with other heads of income

IT : Provisions of section 43(5) do not apply to currencies and, therefore, loss incurred by assessee in currency swap contract cannot be denied to be set off against other heads of income taking it as speculative loss

No penalty on NR for wrongly claiming exemption u/s 10(8A) for technical services under bona-fide be

IT : Where assessee received certain amount from Asian Development Bank for rendering engineering consultancy services, in view of fact that assessee was under a bona fide belief that said amount was exempt from tax in terms of agreement between parties and having regard to obligation of Government to bear tax on behalf of assessee, AO could not pass penalty order under section 271(1)(c) taking a view that amount in question was taxable in assessee's hands

Govt. announces setting-up of two additional benches of AAR at NCR and Mumbai

IT/ILT : Section 245-O of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Authority for Advance Rulings – Creation of Two Additional Benches of Authority for Advance Rulings (Income Tax) at Specified Places

Merely making a claim under wrong provision doesn’t lead to levy of concealment penalty

IT: Incorrect claim of expenditure would not amount to giving inaccurate particulars of income and thus, concealment penalty was not called for