Tribunal can't order full pre-deposit by disregarding High Court's judgment in favour of assessee

Cenvat Credit : When, at prima facie stage, applicant puts forth an arguable case along with a High Court judgment in its favour, Tribunal cannot order full pre-deposit by distinguishing and disregarding said judgment by holding it to be per incuriam

WDV of building on leasehold land couldn’t be claimed as current repairs if assessee didn’t construc

IT: Where assessee had not constructed any building or had modified existing building after taking premises on lease, assessee's claim of written down value of said building on leasehold land as current repair would not be allowed

HC orders regularization of temporary employee of I-T department as he had completed prescribed peri

Service Matters : Where services of daily wage employees of Income-tax Department who had completed 10 years of service was regularized in 2007, denial of regularisation of service of petitioner who had completed 8 years of service till then and 15 years of service till date would be violative of human right

TPO gets flak from ITAT for disallowing royalty paid to AE without proving that assessee was contrac

IT/ILT : Where assessee was a manufacturer and paid royalty for using technological know-how of foreign holding company and it was selling manufactured goods to both AEs, and third parties, assessee could not be held as contract manufacturer so as to disallow royalty payment

Revisional authority could suo-motu disallow exemption for which assessee wasn't eligible

CST & VAT : Maharashtra VAT - Where Assessing Officer did not levy sales tax on brass sheets manufactured by assessee and further assessee being aggrieved by certain other disallowances made by Assessing Officer preferred appeal and later Revisional Authority initiated revisional proceedings and came to conclusion that brass sheets would not be eligible to exemption from levy of sales tax, since appeal had been filed aggrieved by other disallowances and there was no decision in said appeal

Provision for leave salary is a contractual liability and not a statutory liability; not hit by sec.

IT : Depreciation was to be allowed on goodwill acquired on acquisition of other concern on going concern basis

Assessee was liable to pay duty along with interest on his failure to rebut shortage in stock of fin

Excise & Customs : If shortage in stock of final product is evidenced by statement of assessee's manager as well as by mahazar recorded in presence of independent witnesses, assessee must duty thereon with interest

Gift held as unexplained as assessee failed to prove its genuineness and that it was given out of lo

IT: Where assessee could not prove genuinenes of gift claimed to have been received from an NRI and also factum that transaction was out of love and affection, a sine qua non to establish a genuine gift, amount was added to assessee's income under section 68

Profit on sale of shares held as Cap Gain as purchases made out of own funds & not borrowed funds me

IT : Where assessee earned income from sale of shares, in view of fact that said shares were purchased out of assessee's own funds and kept as investment all along amount in question was to be taxed as capital gain

CIT(A) to dispose of stay application as its Jurisdiction to deal with application for stay order is

IT : Where no stay application in respect of demand was pending either before Assessing Officer or before Commissioner, Commissioner (Appeals) should dispose of stay application filed in appeal

Govt. extends initial validity of industrial license for Defence sector upto 7 years

FDI/FEMA/ILT : Streamlining Procedure for Grant of Industrial Licenses – Extension of Initial Validity of Industrial License for Defence Sector

No additions by TPO due to differential man hour rate if services of assessee couldn't be bifurcated

IT/ILT : Where in respect of software development services rendered by assessee to its AE, TPO made certain addition relying upon difference in man hours rate charged by assessee from its AE and non-AEs, since price charged by assessee for rendering final composite work of software development services was aggregate price, it could not be bifurcated on basis of man hour rate and, therefore, impugned addition was to be set aside

Reassessment proceedings aren't analogous to proceedings for compounding of offence; it can be chall

CST & VAT : Karnataka VAT - Proceeding for compounding concluded on basis of inspection, would become final and could not be subjected to any appeal but reassessment proceedings initiated thereafter are independent of proceedings for compounding of offence, can be challenged on merits

Detention order refraining gold smuggling by petitioner wasn't illegal if issued in continuation of

COFEPOSA : Where second detention order under section 3 of COFEPOSA Act was not by itself a separate detention order but was passed in continuation of earlier order, elucidating reasons why earlier detention order, should still be served and executed, there was no contravention of section 3

AO couldn’t deny refund by ignoring the return filed by assessee claiming refund of excess advance t

IT : Where assessee had effected payments of advance tax in respect of a receipt that was not taxable in his hands and department accepted said payment of tax without demur, revenue was directed to refund excess amount paid by assessee

Value of stamps sold by commission agent wasn’t includible in his turnover to ascertain liabililty f

IT: Where assessee, a licensed vendor for sale of stamps on commission was under a bona fide belief that he was not liable for audit of accounts under section 44AB as per circular No. 452 and ICAI guidelines, penalty under section 271B was not to be imposed

Payment under Cenvat Rule 6 isn't a duty; time-limit for refund & doctrine of unjust enrichment do n

Cenvat Credit : Payment under rule 6 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 is not 'duty'; hence, refund thereof is not governed by section 11B (time-limit for refund and doctrine of unjust enrichment)

Co-operative society providing credit facilities only to its members was entitled to relief under se

IT : Assessee, a credit co-operative society, engaged in providing credit facilities to its members only, was entitled to claim deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i).

Govt Asks Missions To Explore Avenues For Cotton Exports

The Textiles Ministry has asked high commissions and embassies in countries, including Indonesia and Thailand, to explore possibilities of increasing cotton exports, Parliament was informed today.

The move assumes significance as India's cotton exports have declined significantly and it has impacted prices in the domestic market.

Exports of raw cotton during April-February 2015 have declined by 41.32 per cent in quantity terms and 46.6 per cent in value terms as compared to same period 2013-14.

"For safeguarding the interests of cotton growers in general and disposal of cotton to be procured under the MSP (minimum support price) operations in particular, Textiles Ministry has written to Indian High Commissions/Embassies in cotton deficit countries like Bangaladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, to explore new avenues for export of cotton for stabilising cotton prices in India," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply.

As exports account for a substantial share of India's production of cotton, the decline in exports has resulted in a surplus for the domestic market and has impacted the cotton growers, she said in the reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Cotton Corporation of India has undertaken large MSP operations in all cotton growing states, she said.

As per the second advance estimates of Ministry of Agriculture, India's cotton production during 2014-15 was 351.52 lakh bales (of 170 kg each) as compared to 359.02 lakh bales in 2013-14 and 356.02 lakh bales in 2012-13.

India is the world's second-biggest producer of cotton. China is the top cotton export market for India, followed by Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The prices are declining because of a plunge in exports to its biggest market, China, which had changed its policy on cotton imports.

Replying to a separate question on a India-EU free trade agreement, she said India has proposed to "re-energise" the the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).

Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed BTIA have missed several timelines due to differences over several crucial issues like data secure status and duty cuts on goods.

Source:business-standard.com

Iron Ore Exports At 4.38 Million Tn In Apr-Oct Fy15

Iron ore exports were at 4.38 million tonnes (MT) in April-October period of 2014-15 while there are 596 non-working mines in the country, Parliament was informed today.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Minister of State for Steel and Mines Vishnu Deo Sai said that as per provisional data, the country exported 4.38 MT of iron ore April-October period of the last fiscal.

He said the country has "197 working and 597 non-working iron ore mines" while the estimated reserves of iron ore in the country stand at 31.32 billion tonnes.

The country exported 16.30 MT of iron ore in 2013-14, and 18.11 MT in 2012-13. In 2011-12, the outbound shipments stood at 47.14 MT, the minister said.

Sai said the key steel-making raw material was exported mainly to countries like China, Japan and Korea.

"To conserve natural resources and to meet the domestic requirement, duty on export of iron ore has been increased from 20 per cent to 30 per cent ad valorem basis on all grades of iron ore (except pellets) with effect from December 30, 2011," the minister said.

Export duty of 5 per cent has been imposed on iron ore pellets with effect from January 27, 2014. Once the world's third-largest suppliers of iron ore, India has become a net importer over the last few years after a series of mining bans in mineral-rich states like Odisha, Goa and Karnataka.

According to a Steel Ministry report earlier, Softening global metal prices and continuing mining ban in the country had pulled down India's iron ore exports by a whopping 61 per cent to USD 63.84 million in March. The country earned USD 165 million by exporting iron ore in the same month of last year.

Source:business-standard.com

India’S Foreign Trade Policy: Overlooking Downsides

India recently announced its foreign trade policy for the next five years (2015-2020). A five-year foreign trade policy structurally represents a medium-term economic plan aiming to achieve key goals.

The macroeconomic goal is to increase India’s share in world merchandise and services exports from 2% at present to 3.5%. Translated in numbers, the increase would imply doubling exports from just under $500 billion to close to $1 trillion over a five-year period with annual average increases of roughly 20%.

Around 65% of India’s current export earnings are from merchandise exports, while the rest is from services. It is not clear whether the total increase proposed by the policy assumes this current ratio to be maintained over time. If it does then it entails annual increases of around $65 billion and $35 billion respectively in merchandise and service exports from their baseline levels.

An annual increase of 20% in merchandise and service exports from India is a tall order given that during 2005-2013 these exports experienced average growth rates of 15% and 14%, respectively. Indian exports would have to expand beyond their skins for achieving the kind of growth rates the policy expects them to.

Trade is a two-way traffic. Indian exports are imports for other countries. Exports are not taken by importing countries as favours or acts of charity. They are imported either as necessities or because they come at cheaper prices and better quality than same products at home.

India is not a global producer of necessities. It does not have ample resources of oil, gas, minerals and nuclear material for feeding the rest of the world. Nor does it have as broad a manufacturing base producing as cheap and varied items as China.

Its exports can crack the world market only if they are efficient, say, for example, from cheap production, or from unique features, like design or other specific attributes like environment-friendly features.

The problem is that it is not only Indian producers that are aiming to secure efficiency-based comparative advantages. Most of the rest of the world is. And India does not appear to be doing too well in this regard.

Consider India’s export strongholds. As far as textiles are concerned, India no longer has the advantage in garments. Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal, just to mention the neighbouring countries, cut, stitch and sew fabric faster and cheaper than India. India’s only major hope in textiles now is as supplier of raw cotton.

But that would imply it getting confined to the upstream and lower end of the textile value chain. Almost similar implications are for leather products where the production advantages in leather uppers and footwear are increasingly shifting to other country producers with India left back looking only at raw hides.

Gems and jewellery? Yellow gold has lost its lustre all over the world. Except the Chinese and Indians, the rest of the world, particularly the West, is not fascinated by jewellery made of yellow gold. Diamonds, yes: India is still the largest diamond-processing centre in the world. But poor business conditions are driving out processors to other facilities like the Gemopolis export zone in Bangkok. Moreover, processors can’t perform their art unless they get the diamonds.

What the Indian gem processing industry doesn’t seem to realise is that world over, consumers are veering towards less pure, processed industrial diamonds for use as fashion and replaceable jewellery. This is where Indian diamond processors are yet to get a handle on global tastes and preferences.

Automobiles are another sector where great hopes are pinned on. Connection of automobile value chain locations—both at the lower and upper ends—through various regional agreements can cut off India from major final demand and intermediate markets. With major automobile lead firms from Japan, Korea, US and Germany getting neatly tucked into mega-regional agreements like the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), investments in component and design facilities in value chains will be confined within these agreements. It would hardly be surprising if Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and the rest of the auto majors increasingly begin relocating facilities in TPP members like Mexico, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam for taking advantages of lower tariffs, common standards and uniform investment rules.

Finally, services. The game is already lost on business process outsourcing and IT-enabled services. Ireland, the Philippines and even Bangladesh, are speaking better English and working longer for providing outsourcing services.

While the non-English speaking world is desperately learning English to stay relevant, India is learning it lesser and does not mind giving up its BPO advantages. In services like nursing and basic education, India is unable to match the certification requirements of most countries.

There is little hope of these service providers travelling far and wide for boosting India’s service exports. Given its image as an unsafe destination and lack of budget travel facilities, ‘Incredible India’ might not be able to lure tourists despite visa-on-arrivals.

The foreign trade policy pitches for increasing exports by connecting it to the objectives and vision of  the Make-in-India initiative. But is Make-in-India aimed for Indians, or the rest of the world? Indian consumers might be denied access to imports and forced to buy substandard products. The rest of the world cannot be. The foreign trade policy appears to have overlooked some of the obvious downsides in taking India to the rest of the world.

Source:financialexpress.com

Irs Officer K Balaji Majumdar Appointed Private Secy To Minister Of State For Science & Technology

IRS officer K Balaji Majumdar was today appointed as Private Secretary to Minister of State for Science and Technology, and Earth Sciences Y S Chowdary.

Majumdar, a 1995-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer, has been appointed for five year period or on co-terminus basis with the Minister’s tenure, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training said.

Majumdar had served in the customs and Central Excise Departments under the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in various capacities.

Majumdar got Presidential Award in 2014 for special distinguished record of service as Additional Director, DRI, Zonal Unit, Chennai.

Source:tkbsen.in

Irs Officer K Balaji Majumdar Appointed Private Secy To Minister Of State For Science & Technology

IRS officer K Balaji Majumdar was today appointed as Private Secretary to Minister of State for Science and Technology, and Earth Sciences Y S Chowdary.

Majumdar, a 1995-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer, has been appointed for five year period or on co-terminus basis with the Minister’s tenure, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training said.

Majumdar had served in the customs and Central Excise Departments under the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in various capacities.

Majumdar got Presidential Award in 2014 for special distinguished record of service as Additional Director, DRI, Zonal Unit, Chennai.

Source:tkbsen.in

India Raises Sugar Import Tax To 40% From 25%

India has raised the import tax on sugar to 40 percent from 25 percent to help prop up falling local prices and protect local farmers who have not been paid by money-losing mills, the government said in a statement said on Wednesday.

India also slapped the tax on imports of raw sugar that refiners turn into whites, or refined sugar, to sell in world markets.

Five straight years of surplus output has led to a free fall in prices, hitting mills' financials. Sugar mills owe about 201 billion rupees (USD 3.18 billion) to farmers..

Source:moneycontrol.com

Steel Imports More Than Exports: Minister Expresses Concern

Sharing the concerns of a member in Rajya Sabha over the growing steel imports, Steel Minster Narendra Singh Tomar today said they are seized of the issue and discussing the matter with the Finance Ministry.

Replying to a question raised by Tapan Sen (CPI-M), Tomar said the import stood at nine million tonnes as against six million tonnes of export last year.

"The members concern is valid. We are seized of the matter and are holding discussion with the Finance Ministry," Tomar said.

Sen said the investment towards the ongoing capacity expansion would be of little use if steel import continues to rise.

About the ongoing expansion work, the Minister said work at the Rourkela and Bokaro steel plants have been completed and it would be wound up in Durgapur and Bhilai by the Seprember 2015 deadline, with the production capacity going up to 23 million tonnes.

He said Steel Authority of India has prepared a draft vision 2025 envisaging hot metal production target of 50 million tonnes by 2025 and the estimated investment for achieving the target would be 1.50 lakh crore.

While the investment proposal is yet to be firmed up, the source of funding would be through a mix of equity and debt, the Minister said.

Source:business-standard.com

AO rightly rejected certain transactions on failure of assessee to prove them as inter-State sales

CST & VAT : CST - Where assessee claimed that 26 transactions in question were inter-State sale and Assessing Officer rejected 6 out of 26 transactions, since in respect of 6 transactions assessee had been unable to discharge burden of proving that they were, in fact, inter-State sale, said transactions were not inter-State sale

ITAT rightly deleted penalty as assessee had paid full tax along with interest for income disclosed

IT : Where assessee had not paid full amount of tax at time of filing block return and paid balance amount of tax along with interest, assessee could not be penalised under section 158BFA(2)

Goods cleared on job-work basis can't be considered as exempted goods; Cenvat Rule 6 inapplicable th

Cenvat Credit : Goods cleared without payment of duty on job work basis under Notification 214/86-C.E., dated 25-3-1986 cannot be considered as 'exempted goods' and therefore, job-worker is entitled to credit of inputs used therein and rule 6 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 cannot be invoked to demand reversal/payment

Indian Rupee Opens Marginally Lower At 63.22 Per Dollar

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 63.22 per dollar on Wednesday against 63.15 Tuesday.

The dollar dropped to an eight-week low after a weak US consumer confidence report, with investors cautious about a Federal Reserve meeting.

Himanshu Arora of Religare said, "The USD-INR pair is expected to trade lower today on expectations that Greece will reach a bailout agreement soon. Improved risk appetite along with surging equities may dampen demand of dollar. Further, World Bank's statement that India is less vulnerable now than it was in 2013, may also support the rupee in the short term.”

“Outcome of ongoing FOMC meeting is expected to offer more cues to Indian Rupee going forward. The range for today is seen between 62.85-63.35/dollar,” he added.

Source:moneycontrol.com

Revenue to grant refund with interest if its stay application against refund order was dismissed by

Service Tax : Where refund has been ordered by Commissioner (Appeals) and stay against said judgment is declined by Tribunal, there is not reason for revenue to stop refund; hence, department must grant refund with interest

Appeal filed by revenue having tax effect of less than 4 lakhs isn't maintainable before ITAT

IT: Appeal filed by revenue is not maintainable where tax effect of appeal is less than Rs. 4 lakhs

ITAT upheld estimated addition made by CIT(A) as assessee failed to show that it was excessive or un

IT : Where assessee, engaged in trading of chemicals and drug intermediaries, failed to prove genuineness of purchases and sales, revenue authorities were justified in rejecting books of account and estimating income at one per cent of aggregate value of purchases and sales

Goods clearance from DTA to SEZ would continue to be deemed as export and entitled to rebate of duty

EXCISE LAWS/CIRCULAR : Clarification on Rebate of Duty on Goods Cleared from DTA To SEZ

Guarantee commission charged from AE was at ALP as same amount of commission was paid to bank for ob

IT/ILT: Where assessee paid guarantee commission at rate of 0.5 per cent to bank for obtaining guarantee, arm's length guarantee commission charged by assessee in respect of all three transactions of guarantee to its AEs would be taken at 0.5 per cent

Commission paid by 'Premier Breweries' to its agents disallowed as they hadn't done any liaisoning w

IT : Where assessee, a manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, claimed deduction of commission paid to agents engaged in coordinating with State Corporation for continuous supply of liquor, since Managing Director of State Corporation had made a categorical statement that commission agent had not done any liaisioning work, assessee's claim for deduction was to be rejected

Tribunal can't pass order by placing reliance upon statement of counsels without any supporting mate

Excise & Customs : Where revenue sought inclusion of cost of mould on ground that 'assessee failed to establish that same is already included in value', Tribunal could not dismiss revenue's appeal by merely placing reliance on statement of assessee's counsel (without any supporting material) that 'cost of mould is already included in value

A Co. making bona-fide efforts to repay deposits is to be given time to clear all deposits : CLB

CL: Where company could not make payment as mandated under section 74(1), and it was making bona fide efforts in making repayments to depositors, company was to be given time to clear all deposits

Order of AO wasn't prejudicial to revenue once inquiry was held demonstrating how view taken by him

IT: Where for unaccounted expenditure revealed in search, assessee prepared cash flow statement and explained source and application of income to which Assessing Officer concurred, order of Assessing Officer could not be revised

Mere liquidation of shares in short span of time doesn't mean that assessee was doing business in sh

IT: Where assessee made investment in shares with intention to earn dividend income, merely because she liquidated its investment within a short span of time which had given better overall earning to her, it could not be concluded that assessee was doing business in shares and profit arising from sale of shares was taxable as business income

CIT couldn't withdraw registration of trust without pointing out any commercial activity carried out

IT: Where Commissioner withdrew registration under section 12AA(3) on ground that assessee was in receipt of income arising out of activity in nature of trade, commerce or business but he had not pointed out any specific instance of any activity, income or expenditure being non-genuine order of Commissioner did not conform to specific conditions laid down in section 12AA(3)

No exclusion of super profit making Co. from comparable list if material differences can be eliminat

IT/ILT : The mere fact that an entity makes high/extremely high profits/losses does not, ipso facto, lead to its exclusion from the list of comparables for the purposes of determination of ALP. In such circumstances, an enquiry under Rule 10B(3) ought to be carried out, to determine as to whether the material differences between the assessee and the said entity can be eliminated. Unless such differences cannot be eliminated, the entity should be included as a comparable

Pepper Exporters Unhappy With New Foreign Trade Policy

The restructuring of foreign trade policy by scrapping incentive for value-added black pepper for developed countries and retaining it for such consignments to emerging markets have left the exporters crying foul.

This has resulted in increased exports to emerging markets like Vietnam, which is the largest producer of black pepper, at the expense of consignments to major buyers like the US and European countries. Under the new Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), the earlier 5 per cent export incentive available for value-added pepper has been withdrawn and replaced with 3 per cent incentive for raw pepper and 2 per cent benefit to value-added pepper to emerging markets.

In a letter to DGFT, Spices Board chairman A Jayathilak pointed out that since the US and Europe are the largest and traditional importers of spices, denial or reduction of incentives to these countries, particularly in the processed value-added form, will have an adverse impact on the Indian spice industry . He requested for retaining the 5 per cent-incentive for export to all countries.

"Ever since the policy came in to force in April, the export of pepper to Vietnam has gone up. This is re-exported by the country after processing. In other words, Vietnam has benefited from policy change in India and could be selling the popular Malabar pepper to the US," said Kishor Shamji, a leading exporter.

The letter also mentioned that this type of incentive is against the `Make in India' programme of the government and higher level of incentives are necessary as India is facing strict competition from low-cost countries like Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

All India Spices Exporters' Forum chairman Gulshan John said around 80 items under spices category have been affected as the incentives have been either reduced or withdrawn or raised illogically. "We are not sure how this discrepancy happened. We will give a representation to the government after studying the situation completely ," he said. The spurt in shipments and heavy domestic demand seem to have pushed up the pep per prices. Black pepper prices have jumped 6 per cent to Rs 610 per kg in the local market during the month.

Earlier forecast says though the earlier forecast says pepper production in the country is likely to double to 70,000 tonne in the current season, several growers in Kerala are not very confident. "Untimely rains have damaged the crop and our expectations have been belied," said a grower, Rajendra Prasad, from Idukki in Kerala.

Black pepper exports for nine months to December 2014, had shown 6 per cent drop in quantity and 20 per cent increase in value over the same period in the previous year at 14,500 tonne valued at Rs 784.96 crore.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sum paid to avoid execution of decree against assessee by way of attachment of property is allowable

IT: Payment by assessee to satisfy decree passed by High Court against it in order to protect its property and name is allowable as business expenditure

Spicing Up Crude Trade: Indian Crude Imports

In recent years India has emerged as one of the key importers of crude oil and in 2015 is expected to account for 11% of global seaborne crude imports.

Indian crude imports are projected to stand at just over 4.0m bpd in 2015, double the level of 10 years ago. So what has led to India becoming a key driver of oil tanker demand

The growth of Indian crude imports has been intimately linked with the rise of domestic refinery capacity, which is estimated to have stood at 4.6m bpd at the end of 2014. The continued growth of Indian refinery capacity, driven by growing oil demand and the construction of refinery hubs aimed at exporting large volumes of refined products (such as Jamnagar, which was expanded in 2009) buoyed Indian crude imports.

Further to this, several refineries have opened since 2009; most notably a number of refineries came online in 2010 which added 1.2m bpd of refinery capacity, aimed at supplying the domestic and foreign markets.

Although Indian crude imports have grown firmly, the diversity of suppliers has reduced recently. India now tends to import its crude from three major regions, the MEG, WAF and the Caribbean, with the majority being sourced from the Middle East, which supplied 58% of India’s crude imports in 2014.

However, this was not always the case, with short-haul imports from Asian exporters playing a greater role around the mid-2000s. Indian imports of WAF and Caribbean crude have increased from just 0.2m bpd in 2005 (8% of crude imports) to 1.4m bpd in 2014 (37% of crude imports), a growth rate of 28% p.a. on average.

This has been built on trade agreements and CoAs between producers and major refiners (such as Reliance, who operate the Jamnagar complex), which has edged out many smaller producers, resulting in ‘other’ exporters having a more limited role in Indian crude trade.

The rapid growth of long-haul crude shipments from the Atlantic Basin to India, coupled with more limited growth in volumes from the MEG has supported a sharp increase in the average haul of Indian crude imports. In 2005, the average haul stood at around 2,000 miles, compared to 4,000 miles in 2014.

As a result, tonne-mile imports grew by 17% p.a. between 2005 and 2014, compared to 7% p.a. growth of crude volumes during the same period. The growth of Indian crude tonne-mile imports has supported demand for VLCC and Suezmax tonnage.

Given expectations of further growth of refinery capacity and the filling of petroleum reserves it is likely that Indian crude imports will continue to grow in the near future. For example, a 0.2m bpd refinery is expected to be constructed in 2015, followed by two plants of a combined 0.45m bpd in 2016 in Haldia and Orissa.

Meanwhile, a petroleum reserve of roughly 70m barrels is scheduled for completion in 2015. Furthermore, some Indian producers are purchasing exploration blocks in the Caribbean, with the aim of supplying Indian refineries. These trends are likely to support crude tonne-mile imports and cement India’s place as a key driver of crude tanker demand.

Source:hellenicshippingnews.com

Commerce Ministry Liberalises Sales Of Preferential Quota Sugar

The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday liberalised the sales of preferential quota sugar to the European Union (CXL quota) and the United States (TRQ quota), effectively allowing all exporters and not just State Trading Enterprises (STEs) to avail of the benefits of the quota subject to a quantitative ceiling that will be reviewed notified by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) periodically.

The quotas essentially allow a quantum of exports to these markets at low tariffs. Additional imports of the sweetener beyond the quota are subject to additional tariffs. The Indian Sugar Exim Corporation would earlier export sugar under this system.

"The change in the policy of the preferential sugar quota will enable all sugar industries in the country to export sugar subject to a minimal requirement of registration from APEDA or DGFT," said the Ministry in a statement.

Traders will have to furnish details of exports to the Additional DGFT, Mumbai, as well as Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Developnent Authority (APEDA). A certificate of origin, if required, will be issued by the former. The quota for the EU is presently 10,000 tonnes while that for the US is 8,000 tonnes.

Source:thehindubusinessline.com

Iab Report – India-Made Fuso Trucks Exported To Trinidad & Tobago

The island nations of Trinidad & Tobago became the 12th export market for India-made DICV trucks under the FUSO brand name, a press release from the company today stated.

DICV has also appointed Diamond Motors as its exclusive dealer in the region. Trinidad & Tobago becomes the first market in South America where DICV trucks are sold.

The trucks are manufactured at the company’s facility in Chennai and are part of the company’s Asia Business Model that sees the export of India-made trucks to countries like Kenya, Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Tanzania amongst others.

The FUSO truck range spans five models that comprise of both Heavy-Duty and Medium-Duty trucks. While the FJ, FO, and FZ categories form the 25-49 tonne heavy-duty segment, the FA and FI models constitute the 9-16 tonne range.

DICV also recently began exporting its bus chassis from India with the intention of adding the bus body in the export destination. The first country to receive the shipment of the initial batch was Egypt where Daimler has a partner in Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) that builds bus and truck bodies.

With a separate bus manufacturing facility set to be inaugurated soon, Daimler India’s facility near Chennai will become the first in the world to produce trucks, buses, and engines for three brands – Daimler, Mercedes, and FUSO.

Source:indianautosblog.com

India Containerized Shredded Scrap Import Prices Advance; Copper Scrap Prices Decline

Indian containerized shredded scrap import prices advanced during last week, while Indian copper scrap prices on Scrap Register Price Index traded down.

According to The Steel Index, containerized shredded scrap prices for Indian imports advanced by $3 a ton to $298 a ton CFR Nhava Sheva in the week ended April 24.

Demand for scrap rose this week; however with issues around the Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate (PSIC) yet to be resolved many market participants are wary of booking cargoes. This shortage of supply has been the predominant catalyst for the price rise.

Market sentiment is currently negative with most mills expecting to see a softening of scrap prices in May due to the upcoming monsoon season and continued pressure from cheap iron ore and sponge iron.

As per Scrap Register Price Index, the prices for major copper scrap commodities including copper armature, copper cable scrap, copper heavy scrap, copper sheet cutting, copper Super D.Rod, copper utensil scrap and copper wire bars traded down last week.

Source:metal.com

Wockhardt To Recall Some Products Manufactured In India From Us

Mumbai-based generic drug maker Wockhardt Ltd on Tuesday said that it will recall some remaining drugs manufactured at its two plants in India—Chikalthana and Waluj in Aurangabad, Maharashtra—from the US market ahead of a potential US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) import alert.

The US drug regulator had banned drug imports from Wockhardt’s two plants in 2013 citing flawed manufacturing processes.

The drug maker on Tuesday said that during the last USFDA CGMP (current good manufacturing practices) inspection of the facilities last year, some observations were made pertaining to batches of some products manufactured prior to the ban.

“As a measure of preparedness and as an abundant precaution, the company has now decided to recall, as a part of remedial measure, all the remaining batches in the US market that were manufactured prior to the USFDA (Food and Drug Administration) import alerts, even though there is no evidence of risk to patient safety from the products currently available in the US market,” Wockhardt said in a filing to the BSE on Tuesday.

“Whereas the company continues to supply some of the products in the US market manufactured in the same facilities, several batches of other products, manufactured prior to the import alerts, may still be in the US market,” Wockhardt said. Now, it has decided to recall those drugs.

The FDA has in recent months raised concerns about manufacturing practices at the India-based plants of several firms, including Lupin Ltd and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Source:livemint.com

Assessee can be prosecuted anytime when exonerated in penalty proceedings on ground of limitation an

Excise & Customs : Where exoneration in adjudication/penalty proceedings was not on merits but on ground of limitation, assessee-accused cannot take shelter thereof to avoid prosecution proceedings; since there is no time-limit for launching prosecution, same can be launched despite recovery/penalty becoming time-barred

Rupee Trading Strong At 63.30 On Heavy Dollar Selling

The rupee appreciated further from its early gains by 18 paise to 63.30 against the American unit in the pre-noon trade on bouts of dollar selling from banks and exporters as well as firm equities.

The domestic unit opened higher at 63.37 against the last closing level of 63.48 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market. It firmed up further to 63.29 in the late morning trade before being quoted at 63.30 at 11.45 am local time.

The rupee hovered in the range of 63.29 and 63.45 in the late morning session.

In New York, the dollar was up against its major rivals in early trade, after overnight broader pressure on renewed hopes that cash-strapped Greece was a step closer to securing fresh funding.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was trading higher by 127.57 points or 0.47 per cent at 27,304.56.

Source:thehindubusinessline.com

No sec. 14A disallowance if suo motu disallowance was made by assessee below the limit prescribed un

IT: Where assessee had maintained proper accounts, duly audited and based his claim of having incurred a lower expenditure than that as per statutory prescription of rule 8D and no inquiry was made by revenue into expenditure stood debited in account books, assessee's claim of disallowance under section 14A was to be allowed

AO had rightly issued notice u/s 158BD instead of issuing it u/s 158BC as assessment was initiated o

IT : Where search was conducted in premises of one HS revealing undisclosed income of assessee, notices issued to HS under section 158BC and to assessee under section 158BD assessee being 'any other person', were proper

AO to examine whether listing fee wasn't recognized by Stock Exchange due to uncertainty over its co

IT: Where a stock exchange following mercantile system of accounting, failed to demonstrate existence of uncertainty over collection of listing fee to justify accounting on cash basis, matter was to be restored to file of Assessing Officer to examine same

TRO gets flak from ITAT for disposing for attachment proceedings pending disposal of appeal against

IT: Where Chief Commissioner had directed Jurisdictional Commissioner to dispose off assessee's grievance against attachment of his property as appeal under rule 86 of Schedule II to Act, TRO should not have disposed off attachment proceedings pending disposal of appeal by Jurisdictional Commissioner

Co. developing its own software products isn’t comparable with a co. rendering software development

IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP in respect of software development services rendered to its AE, in view of fact that some of comparables were improper on account of turnover and related party transactions whereas some other comparables were developing their own softwares and thus there existed functional difference, impugned addition deserved to be set aside

Tax paid on violation of certain condition was to be refunded if that condition was withdrawn with r

CST & VAT: Rajasthan VAT - Where Assessing Officer passed assessment order on 22-9-2006 and imposed tax upon assessee on plea that it had violated a condition of Sales Tax Incentive Scheme and against assessment order assessee filed appeal and deposited certain amount as precondition and subsequently State Government by notification dated 11-4-2007 deleted impugned condition with retrospective effect from 23-5-1987, since in terms of notification dated 11-4-2007 no tax was payable by assessee on

Secured creditor can’t auction property without following procedure prescribed under SARFAESI

SARFAESI : Insistence of law is that secured creditor in order to exercise its right to enforce security by bringing secured asset of borrower to sale must ensure that it has invoked permissible 'measures' strictly 'in accordance' with provisions of law and rules made thereunder

CIT(A) can himself make inquiry and refer the matter to DVO on failure of AO to do so

IT : Where Assessing Officer fails to make enquiry under section 55A while passing assessment order, Commissioner (Appeals) during appellate proceedings before him can make such an enquiry either himself or direct Assessing Officer to do so in terms of section 250(4)

No penalty on short payment of tax when it wasn’t attributable to negligence of assessee

CST & VAT : Maharashtra VAT - Where Assessing Authority levied penalty upon assessee under section 36(2)(c) read with Explanation 1 on plea that it had made lesser payment of tax along with returns, since lesser payment of tax was not attributable to a neglect by assessee, levy of penalty was not justified

Assessee has to pay interest on demand sustained in remand proceedings if he fails to pay initial de

IT: Where assessee did not satisfy initial demand raised in original assessment proceedings, it was liable to pay interest under section 220(2) on tax demand sustained in remand proceedings carried out as per Tribunal's directions

Guest charges received by club from its members weren’t taxable on principles of mutuality

IT : Since principal of mutuality would apply to transaction with member; guest charge received by assessee club from its members would not be liable to tax

CCI has powers to review investigation ordered by it; HC directs it to consider review application o

Competition Act: CCI has power to recall review order under section 26(1) of Competition Act but such power has to be exercised on well organized parameters of power of review/recall and without lengthy arguments and without investigation already ordered being stalled indefinitely

India Seeks First Cut In Lng Imports Under Qatar Deal: Srcs

India's LNG import costs under the deal are currently around USD 13 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), versus spot prices of USD 6-USD 7 per mmBtu, according to R.K. Garg, head of finance at Petronet LNG.
 
India is in talks with Qatar to import at least 10 percent less liquefied natural gas (LNG) under a long-term deal after a slide in spot prices has cut demand by local buyers, an Indian government source with knowledge of the negotiations said.

New Delhi would for the first time use a 10 percent reduction permissible under a 25-year contract with Qatar's RasGas to import up to 7.5 million tonnes a year of the super cooled fuel, said the source.

"We want to lift as little volume as possible under the contract," the source told Reuters, adding that India intended to use a tolerance limit of 10 percent in 2015.

"But we are negotiating for cuts deeper than 10 percent. All LNG terminals are running at lower capacity as customers are not lifting volumes," said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Telephone calls to Qatar's LNG producer RasGas seeking comment were not immediately answered.

India's biggest importer Petronet LNG  received its first cargo from RasGas under the current deal in 2004 with pricing linked to the oil. India's LNG import costs under the deal are currently around USD 13 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), versus spot prices of USD 6-USD 7 per mmBtu, according to R.K. Garg, head of finance at Petronet LNG.

Asian spot LNG prices rose as high as USD 20 per mmBtu last year, buoyed by soaring demand from emerging markets such as China and India as well as extra Japanese imports due to the Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

But spot prices have come off by two-thirds since February 2014 as Asia's economies slow and new production, especially in Australia, comes online.

Petronet's Garg said that Indian LNG demand had been lower than anticipated in the first quarter, although he added that orders from the fertilizer sector were expected to rise by June.

Pricing under the deal is linked to the previous 12-month Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC), including caps and floors based on average JCC prices of the past 60 months. While this formula reduces volatility, it does not reflect price falls as much as spot pricing.

Prior to 2009, the long-term deal included a rebate in order to stimulate India's gas demand, but with the discount now gone the spot market has become more attractive. Gas accounts for almost 8 percent of India's energy demand and the government wants to lift its use versus coal to cut pollution.

Source:moneycontrol.com

Ntpc Not To Import Coal In Q1, Cites Sufficient Cil Supply

NTPC, India's largest power producer, has decided against importing coal in the current quarter in view of adequate supplies from the state run miner Coal India.

This will lower generation costs and, therefore, tariffs for consumers because imported coal, which has higher energy content, is costlier than the domestic coal that is used in bulk in power plants. "We will not import any coal during the current quarter as all our coal stockyards are full," an NTPC official said.

The official, who did not wish to be identified, added that import requirements are reviewed every quarter and orders are placed to international suppliers depending on the supply potential from Coal India.

"NTPC intends to bring down its imports to zero in the next five years and if Coal India can supply bulk of our requirements we will definitely revise our import figures. Additional ly, NTPC's own coal mines are set to start production soon," he said.

A senior CIL official gave credit to NTPC for receiving as much coal as possible through its infrastructure, adding that railways played a key role in coal movement.

According to the official, Coal India has earmarked 78% of its planned production of 550 million tonnes, or 430 million tonnes, to be supplied to the power utility sector.

In 2014-15, Coal India's supplies to power utilities increased 8.6% compared to that in the previous year, he said, adding that dispatch of coal and coal products from the miner also increased to 384.18 million tonnes, up 30.35 million tonnes from that in the preceding year.

"The coal miner efforts are focused on reducing the imports to the extent possible by increasing coal supplies to the power sector," he said.

CIL helped NTPC boost its coal stock to 9.06 million tonnes as of March 2015, from just 1.6 million tonnes at the end of September last year. The healthy coal stock was due to enhanced coal supply from Coal India's subsidiaries to NTPC, especially in the second half of 2014-15.

"While acknowledging increased coal stock at its stations, NTPC was hopeful that CIL would maintain similar supply trend during 2015-16," the Coal India official said.

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

India: Low Global Prices To Encourage Iron Ore Import

India is likely to remain a net importer of iron ore in 2015-16 as falling international prices might encourage steel majors to continue importing the key raw material.

The quantity imported might not be as high as in the last financial year. However, with an expected increase in domestic production of iron ore. In 2014-15, India imported 15 million tonnes of iron ore, an all-time high. Exports were a meagre 4.5 million tonnes. This year, the country’s imports will again far exceed exports.

During this year, imports are likely to be around 10 million tonnes despite the reopening of mines in Odisha and the huge pile-ups in several places. However, the downward trend of international prices will keep importers interested in the global seaborne trade. CFR China would be below $50 per tonne.

Also, inconsistency in the supply of iron ore and availability of high-grade ore at cheap prices will be encouraging for the steel mills to keep their import intact.

Indian steel mills, which do not have captive mines, require around 95 million tonnes of iron ore per annum. JSW Steel, which was the largest importer last year at 10 million tonnes, will continue to be the major importer in FY16. Other importers include Tata Steel and Welspun.

“This year, we are going to increase our capacity utilisation above 90 per cent. Though the availability of domestic iron ore will improve during the year, we will continue to import to meet the requirement at our plants. However, we may not import as much as last year and might end up at around 6 million tonnes from South Africa,” Vinod Nowal, deputy managing director, JSW Steel, said.

Tata Steel, which imported around two million tonnes last year, is expected to import this year, too, to feed its Kalinganagar steel plant, which will be operational, analysts tracking the sector said.

Last year, imports took place at $70-90 per tonne and this year, prices are hovering around $50 per tonne, which is a good enough reason for the mills to import iron ore containing very high grades, Nowal added.

He, however, said price correction carried out by NMDC last week was not enough. Instead of the reduction of Rs 500 per tonne in prices of fines, they should have reduced by at least Rs 1,000 per tonne, he said.

“The recent correction of Rs 500 per tonne in domestic prices of iron ore fines by NMDC is welcome. However, more downward correction in ore prices are required to ensure imports are totally avoided. We need to continuously evaluate this domestic pricing aspect of iron ore fines vis-a-vis import offers in view of continued pressure on global steel pricing as well,” H Shivaramkrishnan, chief commercial officer, Essar Steel, said.

The production of domestic iron ore is pegged at 137-140 million tonnes for 2014-15. For the current financial year, a growth of 15 per cent is expected. The growth will come from NMDC and mines in Karnataka and Odisha.

Recently, the Rungta mines received environmental clearance for 16.5 million tonnes in Odisha. NMDC has announced it would increase production by 20 per cent to 35 million tonnes, as against 31 million tonnes in FY15.

In Karnataka, production is set to increase by over 20 per cent to 22 million tonnes in 2015-16. Goa is also likely to commence production towards the second half of this year.

“With the current prices in international market, there will be no scope for Goan miners to export. Moreover, the prevailing 30 per cent export duty on iron ore and differential freight tariff charged by the railway will not encourage exports,” an analyst said.

Source:hellenicshippingnews.com

Msmes Protest Against Import Duty Hike On Natural Rubber

Micro, small and medium rubber enterprises have protested against any further import duty hike on natural rubber. The All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) in a petition to the government has asked for taking into consideration the plight of over 5,500 rubber MSMEs in the country before taking any step.

An expert group formed by the government last year has been finalising the national rubber policy. The group has had a series of meetings with both rubber producers and consumers and has taken a note of their respective issues and concerns.

The final report of the working group is to be released soon. In all fairness, the government needs to wait for the national rubber policy and take a concerted decision on a major issue such as increasing the duty, Mohinder Gupta, President, AIRIA, said.

According to rubber MSMEs, India already levies one of the highest duties on import of rubber and one of the lowest duties on import of finished rubber goods. As a result, the competitiveness of the Indian rubber industry is affected and many rubber units have already closed down.

The difference between domestic rubber production and consumption has grown to almost 4 lakh tonnes. There is no other way but to import rubber to keep the factories running. Import duty on rubber, therefore, should be reduced and brought to the level of import of finished rubber goods to address the inverted duty in the rubber sector, the association said.

If the Kerala/Central Government wish to help and support the rubber growers, it should be done directly by way of a subsidy to the growers as has been done by the governments of other major rubber producing countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka. No other country has penalised their respective rubber consuming interests by effecting hike in duty or imposing any other restrictions, Gupta said.

Source:thehindubusinessline.com

Indian Strategic Oil Reserve Long Overdue

Given the low crude oil prices, it is welcome news that India is forging ahead on creating a dedicated strategic oil reserve. There has been movement on this front in the past month or so. The special purpose vehicle responsible for the construction and maintenance of India's oil reserve, the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), has finished constructing one storage facility at Visakhapatnam, where it can hold about nine million barrels.

Two more facilities in Mangaluru and Padur ( both on the West Coast) with another 30 million barrels of capacity are expected to be ready by October. The Budget allocated Rs 4,900 crore for crude oil purchases for this strategic reserve. This would buy about 13 million barrels at current prices.

Indian Oil Corporation has purchased two million barrels of crude oil from China's Unipec to be shipped into Visakhapatnam in May. Three more purchases, totalling six million more barrels, are now being negotiated, to fully charge the Visakhapatnam facility.

The dedicated strategic reserve is long overdue, given India's massive import dependency. India consumes about 3.8 million barrels a day and has to import about 80 per cent of that. As a regional refining hub, India actually imports more crude oil than is domestically required, for refining and re-export. The country is now the world's fourth-largest oil consumer and comparative gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates imply demand will continue to rise quickly.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that by 2020, India will be the largest oil importer, increasing its vulnerability to threats of physical supply disruptions and to large price fluctuations. A strategic oil inventory is imperative for energy security given this scenario.

The IEA recommends that importers should hold 90 days of imports in a dedicated reserve. India is not an IEA member and the ISPRL facilities at Mangaluru, Visakhapatnam and Padur together offer just 11 days' capacity. But this is a beginning. The ISPRL targets the construction of another 90 million barrels of capacity, across four different centres. Taken together, all these constructions, with adequate transport linkages (by sea, road and pipeline), would cost close to Rs 20,000 crore.

The concept of dedicated strategic reserves was first mooted in 1973, after the first oil crisis. Western strategic reserves have been tapped during the first Gulf War (1991), after Hurricane Katrina (2005) and in 2011, during the so-called Arab Spring. But quite apart from disruption scenarios, there is a business case for holding such reserves.

ISPRL would have leverage in the international markets since it could release inventory and book profits when prices climb, and recharge reservoirs when prices fall again. Storage can also be rented out to refiners that wish to store inventories. Gulf and Saudi oil majors, such as Aramco, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, have all evinced interest in storage-refining in India since it reduces their transport costs into Southeast Asia. Obviously, India could retain right to first use in emergency while negotiating such deals.

In sum, the government's rapid action is wise and timely. It will be necessary, indeed inevitable, to build a strategic reserve at some stage. It is better that this is done at a time like the current situation, when crude oil prices are low and construction activity is also muted. It should make a positive long-term difference to India's energy security.

Source:business-standard.com

Dicv Truck Exports To Trinidad And Tobago Begin

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Japan (MFTBC), launch DICV-made trucks in Trinidad and Tobago.

This is DICV’s 12th export market since May 2013. Within Asia Business Model, DICV truck exports to Trinidad and Tobago is the first South American market.

Exclusive dealer, Diamond Motors an authorized local distributor in Trinidad and Tobago will cater to DICV truck exports here. Made in India DICV trucks are already being sold in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Tanzania. More export markets in the region will be added.

DICV Oragadam plant manufactures Fuso heavy-duty truck range (25 – 49 tonnes:FJ, FO and FZ) and Medium-duty (9 – 16 tonnes: FA and FI). Erich Nesselhauf, Managing Director and CEO of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles says exports to Trinidad and Tobago reflects brand performance in regard to export business. Success of DICV truck exports across markets upholds proficiency in manufacturing trucks in India customised to meet varied industry requirements.

Through Daimler Trucks Asia, DICV and MFTBC have combined strengths to make the most of sales potential. DICV remains focused on Indian commercial vehicle market. BharatBenz caters to countries similar to the Indian market conditions. MFTBC takes brand business to Asian and African regions (Mitsubishi-Fuso trucks from Kawasaki plant and Fuso trucks from Oragadam).

Keen about growth potential in South America, DICV looks to establish its presence here while it continues with new market expansion, through trucks that meet customer expectations in growth markets. DICV and Fuso trucks are tested under strenuous driving conditions for maximum reliability.

Source:rushlane.com

HC upheld sec. 69B additions on basis of DVO's report showing under statement of value of property b

IT : Where difference in consideration as disclosed by assessee and value as estimated by DVO indicated that consideration recorded was understated and DVO's report was to be relied upon to corroborate statement of assessee, addition made under section 69B was justified

Admission of assessee regarding violation of orders restricting use of credit would lead to impositi

Cenvat Credit : Assessee having admitted his default of violation of debarment orders restricting use of credit, penalty must necessarily follow and there is no need for appellate authority to go into notification, clarifications in budget or other provisions

A co. failing parameter of employee cost to sales ratio couldn't be chosen as comparable for TP stud

IT/ILT : Where a company has failed in employee cost to sales ratio it could not be taken as comparable

Indian Rupee Opens At 63.70 Per Dollar; Slips 14 Paise

he Indian rupee declined in the early trade on Monday. It has opened lower by 14 paise at 63.70 per dollar against 63.56 Friday.

The dollar started the week on the defensive after more disappointing US  economic data reinforced expectations the US Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates any time soon.

Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered said, "The USD-INR pair saw dollar demand come in on any dips last week and we expect that price action to continue."

He further added, "We expect importers to buy dollar on any dips to 63.35-63.40/dollar. Upticks to 63.85-63.90/dollar should see exporters hedge long-term receivables."

Source:moneycontrol.com

 

ITAT denied depreciation on buses as they were leased out on financial lease

IT: Where machines that were not actually used but were ready to use, were eligible to depreciation

Workers include managers and supervisors to ascertain eligibility of manufacturer for sec. 80-IB rel

IT: Where assessee was engaged in manufacturing process and employed total 10 persons including a works manager and a supervisor, she was eligible for 80-IB deduction

Delay in filing e-TDS return due to technical default in software of department won't attract penalt

IT : Where assessee could not file e-TDS statements in Form Nos. 24Q and 26Q within prescribed time on account of technical defect in software of department accepting said statements, delay in filing statements being beyond control of assessee, impugned penalty order passed under section 272A(2)(k) deserved to be set aside

AO can’t accept genuineness of loan merely on basis of bank statements and letter of confirmation fr

IT : Assessing Officer could not accept genuineness of loan taken by assessee from various creditors merely on basis of their bank statements and letter of confirmations as he was required to examine creditworthiness of said creditors as well

AO couldn't question reasonableness of business exp. when its genuineness wasn't doubted

IT : Where assessee made payment of compensation to CCL, a foreign company, for premature termination of Toll Manufacturing Agreement (TMA) entered into between parties, said payment being directly having nexus with business activity of assessee, was to be allowed as deduction under section 37(1)

No TP adjustment by treating share application money as loan to AE merely due to delay in issuance o

IT/ILT : Share application money cannot be treated as loan amount merely because there was delay in issuance of shares by subsidiary in name of assessee and cause of delay was duly explained by assessee

Additions upheld for sums credited in bank as assessee failed to show that it was due to under-invoi

IT : Where in course of search certain amount was found deposited in bank account of assessee-HUF, in absence of any evidence on record showing co-relation between under invoking of goods sold and amount so credited, authorities below rightly added said amount to assessee's taxable income under section 69

Normal tax rate would be applicable when assessee had opted for compounded facility after closure of

CST & VAT: Kerala VAT - Where assessee in earlier years had opted for payment of tax at compounded rates and during year in question he had not opted for payment of tax at compounded rates and he had opted compounding facility after close of year, rate of tax applicable under compounding scheme would not be attracted in instant case and regular rate of tax would be applicable

CLB rejected interim relief sought under oppression plea as petitioner were protected by interim ord

CL : It would be unjust and inappropriate to pass ad-interim orders in petition under section 397/398 where petitioners were adequately protected by interim orders of BIFR and Supreme Court

Jewellery received from father/father-in-law on occasion of marriage couldn’t be held as unexplained

IT : Undisclosed income for block period would be reduced by aggregate of total income to extent such income does not exceed maximum exemption limit

No revision by CIT if AO had duly verified that sum deposited in bank account of director was income

IT : Where Assessing Officer had duly inquired about sum deposited in bank account of assessee and took a conscious decision that said sum represented income of company in which assessee was director, in absence of any cogent material which proved that decision taken by Assessing Officer was erroneous, revision order passed to tax same in assessee's hand was to be set aside

Income derived from sale of shares by assessee carrying on his profession of doctor was taxable as c

IT: As amendment made in section 40A(3) by Finance Act, 2008 was prospective in operation; Assessing Officer was not justified in levying taxes on basis of said amended provision in assessment year 2005-06

Exp. incurred by Discovery, a program producer, to advertise channels was allowable as it was one of

IT : Where one of functions of assessee was to procure advertisements to be aired on channels, advertisements expenses on same were allowable

No addition of unexplained investment in residential units on basis of report of District Valuation

IT: Where District Valuation Officer indicated higher investment in residential unit than investment shown by assessee, addition as undisclosed investment only on that basis was not justified

Alleged market manipulation by shareholders doesn't lead to suspension of trading of company

SEBI : As a market regulator, SEBI is bound to take action against those who have prima facie indulged in market manipulation and it is not open to SEBI to direct Stock Exchanges to suspend the trading in securities of companies if they satisfy certain parameters fixed by SEBI which have no bearing whatsoever with alleged market manipulation

ALP of cost of services reimbursed to AE couldn’t be held as ‘nil’ if assessee derived benefit from

IT/ILT : Where reimbursement of engineering and software licencing expenses made to parent company located abroad was for benefit derived by assessee company, TPO was not justified in determining ALP of said payments at nil

SEBI releases discussion paper on overseas investments by 'Venture Capital Funds' and 'Alternative I

SEBI : Consultative Paper on Guidelines on Overseas Investments and Other Issues – Clarifications For AIFs/VCFs

Assessee is entitled to interest on refund granted through appellate order

VAT/CST : Gujarat Sales Tax/VAT : Refund allowed on modification of assessment order in appeal, can be said to be granted as per 'modified assessment order' and therefore, assessee is entitled to interest on delayed grant of such refund

HC set aside transfer order under sec. 127 as it contained reasons not specified in show cause notic

IT : Where reasons specified in order transferring assessees cases to other jurisdiction were totally different from what was spelt out in show cause notices, impugned order was to be quashed and set aside

Burden of proof to take credit lies on assessee; failure to prove receipt of inputs would lead to de

Cenvat Credit : Burden of proof to take credit lies on assessee; hence, where department found that input supplier did not have manufacturing facilities and was passing on credit without supply of goods and even assessee failed to prove receipt and consumption of goods in his factory, credit could not be allowed to assessee

No denial of sec. 10A relief by AO in ninth year relief alleging that there was reconstruction of ol

IT : Where assessee's claim for deduction under section 10A was allowed in respect of three units in initial years, claim so raised could not be rejected in nineth year on ground that said units were mere restructuring/reconstruction units which came into existence on account of transfer of old business

Govt. allows 49% FDI in Pension Sector

FDI/FEMA/ILT : Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2014 – Policy on Foreign Investment in Pension Sector – Insertion of Paragraph 6.2.17.9

No reassessment on same ground for which reassessment was made in prior year which was quashed

IT : Reassessment was quashed which was initiated on ground that assessee bank, which was in liquidation due to cancellation of licence was not entitled to set off brought forward loss against income from other sources

A Co. having Financial Year different than that of assessee couldn’t be selected as comparables for

IT/ILT: Companies engaged in development of software products are not comparable with company providing software development services

Job worker of PSU can’t plead ignorance of law to avoid extended period of limitation

Excise & Customs : A job-worker of a public sector company can be expected to be aware of amendments/law through said public sector company; hence, such job-worker cannot plead ignorance of law to avoid 'extended period of limitation

Borrower can’t file FIR against authorities of financial institution with sole intent to avoid repay

SARFAESI: Where respondent filed criminal complaint against authorities of financial institution with sole intent to avoid payment of loan, FIR registered against those authorities was to be quashed

Appellate authorities to make enquiry on failure of AO to do so before deleting additions made by AO

IT : In case of unaccounted entries found in books of account of assessee, though it is obligation of Assessing Officer to conduct proper scrutiny of material, in event of Assessing Officer failing to discharge his functions properly, obligation to conduct proper inquiry shifts to Commissioner (Appeals) and Tribunal and they cannot simply delete addition made by Assessing Officer on ground of lack of inquiry

Internal accruals of trust which result in reduced disbursement of tax free govt. grants aren't taxa

IT: Where tax free government grant provided to assessee government undertaking was reduced by amount of income of assessee from internal sources, such income would be exempted; part of such internal income which was not adjusted by way of reduction would be taxable