Coal To Remain Primary Energy Source; Depend Less On Imports: Coal Secretary

Coal will continue to be the primary source of energy in India till the time there is a viable environment-friendly alternative, a top official said while pitching for mining domestic coal instead of depending on imported fossil fuel.

The comments come amid rising concerns over increasing pollution in major cities in India.

"Till the time we find a viable alternative, coal will continue to be the primary source of energy in this country," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told PTI.

He said although efforts are being made for developing non-conventional sources energy, coal will continue to play a dominant role for some time and "in that sense coal production will have to be enhanced".

The country is extremely concerned about the environmental issues and it is in that context a lot of efforts are being made to ensure or to look for alternative sources of energy, he added.

Asserting that last year the country imported 210 million tonnes (MT) of fossil fuel, he said that "if we don't produce coal within India we will have to import it. Instead of importing I would rather believe that environmentally it is friendly to mine coal in India than import coal from elsewhere," he said.

The government is eying 1.5 billion tonnes of coal production by 2020. Of this, Coal India, which accounts for over 80% of the domestic coal production, is eying an output of one billion tonnes.

In a tweet on Wednesday the Swarup said: "April-Nov '15 coal production by CIL (Coal India Ltd) and SCCL grows by a record 10.23% over corresponding period in 14-15. Production this year at 358.9 MT (million tonnes)."

    April-Nov '15 coal production by CIL and SCCL grows by a record 10.23% over corresponding period in 14-15. Production this year at 358.9 MT

 

Source :.dnaindia.com

Dept. can't demand interest if its delay in issuing refund order leads to delay in adjustment of ref

CST & VAT: MAHARASHTRA VAT: Where department made delay in making refund resulting in delay of adjustment of such amount against tax due for next assessment year, assessee could not be blamed for not making payment of tax in time for next assessment year and in such case assessee could not be made liable to pay interest under section 30 of Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002

Current year's profits won't be included in accumulated profits while computing deemed dividend

IT: Current profit is not to be included as part of accumulated profits while determining amount of deemed dividend under section 2(22)(e)

Us Congress Decides To Lift 40-Year Ban On Oil Export; Move To Benefit Countries Like India

WASHINGTON: The US is set to lift a four-decade ban on export of oil, a move that may benefit countries like India by giving them an option to purchase crude from non-Middle Eastern nations.

The measure allowing oil exports is at the centre of a deal Congressional leaders announced yesterday on spending and tax legislation. Both the House and Senate still must pass it and President Barack Obama must sign it into law.

This legislation is scheduled to be voted on this week before Congress adjourns for winter break.

"We are lifting the government's 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports. This is big win for American jobs and for our energy industry. It's a big win for our manufacturers and for our foreign policy," Paul Ryan, Speaker of the US House of Representatives told reporters after Congressional leaders agreed on the USD 1.1 trillion spending bill for the current fiscal ending on September 30, 2016.

Ryan said it has been 40 years since the ban was implemented in 1975 amid the Arab oil embargo and petroleum shortages.

In just the past few years alone, the US lost 80,000 jobs because oil producers have been forced to scale back their rigs by nearly 60 per cent.

Lifting the ban would create an estimated one million American jobs in nearly all 50 states within a matter of years, and it would add USD 170 billion annually to the US GDP, Ryan said.

The move could benefit countries like India in the long run, giving it another option to purchase crude oil from non-Middle eastern countries.

Ryan said US producers would generate more than a million barrels daily, which means more American jobs and greater economic competitiveness in the global marketplace.

This means higher wages for hardworking Americans and greater economic competitiveness in the in the global marketplace, he argued.

"Lifting the ban will also increase overall energy supplies, which will directly benefit consumers. According to the Government Accountability Office, consumer gas prices here at home could drop as much as 13 cents per gallon so families can save more at the pump," Ryan said.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the oil export ban is a relic of the past that makes no sense in today's globalised world.

"Lifting the oil export ban will help reboot our struggling economy here at a home and reassures our allies that the resources they need are now available from a friend," he said in a statement.

In exchange of lifting oil export ban, the Democrats secured a five-year extension of production and investment tax credits for renewable energy sources like wind and solar, three-year reauthorisation of the Land Water Conservation Fund, and a concession from Republicans to exclude all major anti-environmental measures from the bill.

The spending bill likely to be formally passed by the House of Representatives and Senate later this week also notes that the American aid to Sri Lanka is subject to certification by the Secretary of State that it is addressing the "underlying" cause of conflict in the country.

The Secretary of State is also required to certify that Sri Lankan Government is continuing to increase accountability and transparency in governance.

As per the text of the bill, the US military assistance to Sri Lanka should not cross USD 4000,000 and be made available for programmes to redeploy, restructure, and reduce the size of the Sri Lankan armed forces.

 

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Nmdc Starts Iron Ore Exports Amid Slump

KOLKATA: At a time when overall exports have fallen for the 12th straight month, state-run miner NMDCBSE 4.39 % has initiated exports of iron ore. The move, which comes at a time when spot prices of iron ore have crashed to a seven-year low of $38 per tonne, seems to have miffed the domestic steel industry. The latter is questioning the logic and timing of the exports, particularly since, NMDC's price realisation is believed to be about a quarter of the domestic rates. "We will be exporting around five lakh tonne to Japan till March 31, 2016," a senior NMDC official said in response to a query from ET. "As on date exports are cash positive for NMDC," he added, while pointing out that export realisation depends on a variety of factors.

In June this year, the Cabinet approved renewal of the Long Term Agreement (LTA) with Japanese and Korean Steel Mills to export up to 5.5 million tonne to Japan and Korea annually over the next three years (April'15 to March 2018). "These agreements will help continue this relationship and strengthen Indo-Japanese collaboration in several areas like technology transfer, joint venture, investment, etc. The agreement will also help utilize surplus production of iron ore currently available in India," a government statement in June said.

However, an export duty of 30% on fines and high railway freight proved to be a major dampner. It was only after the government decided to lower the duty on exports to 10% and slash railway freight charges on exports by almost 46%. Rs 1572 per tonne from Rs 2900 per tonne earlier that NMDC managed to export the first consignment in November 2015. For October-December 2015 (Q3) the export price benchmarked to the global Platts Index is US$ 51.69 per dry metric tonne.

Industry watchers have pointed out compared to NMDC's net sales realisation from domestic market, its export realisation which varies between consignments -is estimated at less than one fourth of it. "The net sales realisation from exports would have been negative had duty not been reduced on NMDC's exports to 10%," they said.

Analysts feel the PSU miner has to meet its exports commitments under the LTA. Saurav Chatterjee, an analyst at CARE Ratings said: "NMDC has to fulfill its export commitment. Also, with a cut in export duty and railway freight, exports would be justified at this point when domestic offtake remains poor."

Steel industry sources feel NMDC should have sold the material in the home market where price realisation is better and this would have encouraged value addition at home.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Before 13-7-2006, interest couldn't be charged on differential duty arising from provisional assessm

Excise & Customs : In case of provisional assessments carried out for period prior to 13-7-2006, there was no provision for interest under section 18 of Customs Act; hence, no demand for interest can be raised by resort to provisions of section 28

Provision mandating reporting of fraud by auditors is effective from Dec 14, 2015 : MCA

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Section 1 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 – Act – Enforcement of – Notified Date On Which Provisions Of Sections 13 And 14 Of Said Act Shall Come Into Force

In section 10(23C)(iiiad) cases, there is no need to file Form 10BB

IT: Where assessee-trust was carrying out sale activity of education during relevant year and its receipt from said activity was less than Rs. one crore, assessee's claim for exemption under section 10(23C) (iiiad) could not be rejected on ground that it had mentioned other objects also in trust deed

RBI is duty bound under RTI Act to share info. provided by Banks/FIs on loan defaulters

RTI ACT: RBI does not place itself in a fiduciary relationship with the Financial institutions (though, in word it puts itself to be in that position) because, the reports of the inspections, statements of the bank, information related to the business obtained by the RBI are not under the pretext of confidence or trust

EGM appointing petitioner as Chairman and MD held as invalid as notice of resolution wasn't issued t

CL : Where extraordinary general meeting appointing first petitioner as chairman and managing director of company was invalid as notices for same were not issued to all shareholders; holding of further EGM by respondents being majority shareholders for removing first petitioner from directorship could not be held as an act of oppression or mismanagement

Govt. hikes excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs. 0.30 and 1.17 per litre respectively

EXCISE : Omnibus General Exemption to Goods Specified in Chapters 1 to 98 of Tariff – Amendment in Notification No. 12/2012-C.E., Dated 17-3-2012

Hiring of cabs can't be charged to service tax under 'rent-a-cab services'

Service Tax : Hiring is different from renting and therefore, hiring of cabs cannot be taxed under rent-a-cab services

Related party filter of 15% is appropriate threshold for selection of comparable for TP study

IT/ILT :15 per cent RPT filter is a proper threshold for selecting comparables for purpose of ALP study

No excise duty on 'Industrial dust' arising during course of manufacturing of brass and copper artic

Central Excise : 'Industrial dust' arising during course of manufacturing of brass and copper articles is not manufactured product; hence, same is not liable to excise duty

A.O. can't attach bank accounts for non-payment of tax dues during pendency of appeal & stay applica

CST & VAT : Gujarat VAT - Where against orders of assessment, assessee filed appeals together with stay applications and in meanwhile Assessing Authority issued on assessee a notice of demand and on same day he passed an order under section 44 attaching bank accounts of assessee, conduct of Assessing Authority in attaching bank accounts was not warranted, when appeals together with stay applications were pending consideration before First Appellate Authority

Demand has to be stayed if similar disputed issue has been decided in favour of assessee in earlier

IT : If demand in dispute related to issues that had been decided in another assessee's favour on similar facts by an appellate authority or Court earlier, demand will be stayed

No deduction for contingent liability arising out of single judge's order stayed by Division Bench

IT : In the case of a contractual dispute between the parties, liability of the assessee to pay arises only when the claimant against the assessee acquires some legal right to receive the amount

Assessee couldn't approach HC to claim interest if his dues against revenue were determined by SetCo

IT: Where dues of assessee towards department stood determined by Settlement Commission, in such a case, assessee had a right to claim interest on amount deposited with department in proceedings under section 245D(6) and High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain civil suit filed in that regard in view of specific bar contained in section 293

Collegiums of CCIT shall also consider withdrawal of frivolous appeals before HC: CBDT

IT/ILT : Section 260A of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 – High Court – Appeal to – Adoption of Collegium System to Consider Withdrawal of Appeals Before High Courts Where Same Are No Longer Considered Prosecutable

Whether supply of food in train amounts to 'outdoor catering service' is a debatable issue; HC reduc

Service Tax : In view of conflicting view of various High Court, issue 'whether supply of food and beverages in trains amount to outdoor catering services' is debatable and further, extended period could not be invoked prima facie; therefore, pre-deposit was reduced

After sales service charges borne by dealer out of its margin aren't includible in excisable value

Central Excise : Cost of Pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and free after-sales service (ASS) borne by dealers from their margin would not be included in assessable value of manufacturer for purposes of paying excise duty. In other words, —

India's Sugar Stockpile To Deplete By A Quarter On Rising Exports: Trade Body

NEW DELHU: India is likely to start the 2016/17 marketing year with 6.7 million tonnes of sugar, down 26.4 percent from the current year, as rising exports will help the world's second biggest producer to bring down the inventory, the chief of a leading trade body said on Wednesday.

Higher Indian exports would put pressure on global prices , but harden local prices and help mills in paying farmers state-fixed support price for sugar cane.

"The main markets for Indian sugar are Sri Lanka, Middle East and African countries. We can certainly exports 1.0 to 1.2 million tonnes of white sugar," said A Vellayan, president of the Indian Sugar Mills Association.

"We can also export up to 2 million tonnes of raw sugar."

India started the 2015/16 marketing year on Oct. 1 with 9.1 million tonnes carry-forward stocks.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Winding-up plea dismissed as overdue sum could be set-off against sum receivable from group concern

CL: Winding-up plea dismissed as overdue sum could be set-off against sum receivable from group concern of debtor company

No separate suit maintainable in Civil Court alleging illegal search by revenue, rules High Court

IT: Income-tax Act is a complete code and no separate suit is maintainable against finding of fact in such proceeding

Salary paid to secondee isn't liable to service-tax if he is treated as employee by Indian concern

Service Tax : Where employee of foreign holding is deputed to Indian subsidiary for a particular period and during that period, employee was treated as 'employee' of Indian subsidiary, salary paid to such employee by Indian subsidiary cannot be charged to service tax in view of employer-employee relationship under section 65B(44)(b)

No excise duty on adding salt to fish for freezing purposes as same doesn't amount to cooking

Excise & Customs : Mere addition of salt, Vitamin C, etc. to 'fish' for chilling/freezing purposes would not make it 'cooked food or food preparation'; same would continue to be 'frozen fish' and not liable to duty

AO can't reopen case at behest of audit party without any independent belief

IT : Where Assessing Officer had considered issue relating to taxability of interest in detail at time of assessment, action of reopening solely at behest of audit party without any independent belief while recording reasons would surely make reassessment vulnerable

SC decided not to interfere with tribunal's remand back order

Excise & Customs : Where Tribunal had merely remanded matter, there was no need for Supreme Court to interfere; however, scope of remand was extended to entire period covered by notice

Govt. lays down criterion to decide ST liability of apparel exports on services of garments fabricat

ST LAWS : Applicability of Service Tax on Services Received by Apparel Exporters in Relation to Fabrication of Garments

Due date to file reconciliation return under DVAT further extended to Jan. 15, 2016

VAT : Extension for Filing of Reconciliation Return for Year 2014-15

ALP of AMP exp. to be determined as per Sony Erricson's case if assessee was a manufacturer and not

IT/ILT : Approach to be adopted in case of manufacturer and a distributor for working out expenditure on AMP is different, hence, assessee being full-fledged manufacturer guidelines as culled out by High Court in case of 'Sony Ericsson' Mobile Communications India (P.) Ltd. v. CIT [2015] 374 ITR 118/231 Taxman 113/55 taxmann.com 240 (Delhi) were to be followed

Yoga/sports clubs won't be liable to pay service tax for providing services to its members

Service Tax : Consideration received by sports/yoga club and housing society from their members for activities for benefit of members, would not fall under service tax as per principle of mutuality and cannot be taxed under Club or Association's Services

Goods lying in warehouse beyond permitted period are liable to custom duty with interest and penalty

Customs : Goods lying in warehouse beyond permitted period are dutiable as per section 72 based on rate of duty prevalent on date of expiry of warehousing period; judgment in Kesoram Rayon v. Collector of Customs 1996 taxmann.com 254 (SC) is correctly decided and does not require reference to larger Bench

ITAT can extend stay beyond 365 days if delay in disposal of appeal isn't attributable to assessee

IT : Tribunal has power to extend stay beyond period of 365 days as stipulated in section 254(2A) provided delay in disposal of appeal is not attributable to assessee

Director in non-remunerative & non-executive position cannot be said to hold a place of profit

CL : Being a director in a non-remunerative and non-executive position in other companies does not amount to being in employment of those companies or holding a place of profit in those companies

Business which isn't insignificant as compared to whole business deemed as substantial business unde

IT : Where assessee took a loan as a shareholder from company in its ordinary course of business and lending of money constituted a substantial part of business of company, said loan could not be treated as deemed dividend

Hearing chance has to be given to assessee before dealing with issues not raised in appeal

CST & VAT: West Bengal VAT - Where Appellate Authority apart from dealing with four issues raised by assessee, suo motu dealt with two new issues and without issuing any notice disallowed input tax credit and TDS already allowed by Assessing Authority, it was mandatory to provide assessee opportunity of being heard before passing order affecting it adversely

Income arising to ‘Western Union’ from money transfer services isn’t taxable in India

IT/ILT : 'Western Union' isn't liable to pay any tax in India for transferring money to India for their American clients even if it appoints agents in India to provide those services and setS-up a liaison office to interact with such agents

Assessee can't take benefit of mistake where AO asks to deposit 25% of penalty instead of 25% of ser

Service Tax : Assessee could not be allowed to take benefit of mistake on part of Adjudicating Authority ordering deposit of 25 per cent of penalty along with service-tax and interest because such amount of penalty should be read as 25 per cent of service tax

Co. with rights of branded products and high risk profit not comparable with software development se

IT/ILT: In case of assessee rendering software development services to its AE, a company having giantness in terms of risk profile, nature of services, number of employees and ownership of branded products, could not be accepted as valid comparable while determining ALP

Assessee not allowed to raise a new plea as order was already passed by ITAT in pursuance of HC's di

IT: SLP dismissed against High Court's ruling that where Tribunal pursuant to directions issued by High Court, disposed of assessee's appeal by applying amended provisions of section 115JB, assessee could not challenge said order of Tribunal taking a new plea that section 115JB was inapplicable in its case

'Commerce Ministry Working Out Policy Initiatives To Revitalise Sezs'

NEW DELHI: The Commerce Ministry is working out policy initiatives to revitalise the special economic zones (SEZs), Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia today said.

"What we are doing today is really to see if we can emerge with some clear cut policy directions which we intend to place before the government for a decision. So this is really a firming up of some of the issues," Teaotia told reporters here.

The secretary today met several representatives of SEZs to discuss problems being faced by them.

When asked about the meeting, she said: "meeting with SEZ is a continuous exercise to try and identify what are the issues, what could be a way forward for the troubled situation of some of the SEZ units".

The government should not withdraw any tax incentives from special economic zones as it might adversely impact exports and job creation, EPCES, a trade promotion body, today said.

Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs (EPCES) said that imposition of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) has adversely impacted the growth of SEZs.

During April-September this fiscal, exports from these zones stood at Rs 2.21 lakh crore as against Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15.

During the first half of this fiscal, these zones generated jobs for 15.44 lakh people.

Service tax credit can be used to pay National Calamity Contingent Duty on mobile handsets

Cenvat Credit : As per fourth proviso to Rule 3(4), only use of credit of 'any other duty viz. duties of excise' is barred for payment of 'NCCD on mobile', use of credit of service tax for said purpose is not barred; hence, service tax credit can be used to pay 'NCCD on mobile handsets'

Delhi HC upholds personal penalty on Asstt. Commissioner for his involvement in drawback fraud

Excise & Customs : Where it was found that lower customs authorities had allowed 'old clothes' to be exported as 'new clothes' under claim of drawback only at instructions of Assistant Commissioner (Exports), personal penalty was rightly levied on Assistant Commissioner (Exports) for his complicity in 'drawback fraud'

SC to decide whether Inland Container Depot & Container Freight Station are infra-facilities for sec

IT: SLP granted against High Court's ruling that ICDs and CFSs are infrastructural facility entitled to deduction under sub-section (4) of section 80-IA

Govt. allows e-registration and e-payment of fees under FCRA

FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION/FEMA/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rules 9, 12, 17, 18 & 24; Substitution of Rules 13, 16, Forms FC-1 to FC-10 and Insertion of Rule 17A

Educational-trust would remain charitable if it is selling books for certain amount to attain its ob

IT : Where assessee-trust engaged in imparting of education, received certain amount from sale of books, cassettes etc., said activity being incidental to attain main object and without any profit motive, first proviso to section 2(15) would not apply to assessee's case

On remand, Commissioner can't overturn findings of Tribunal

Excise & Customs : Where department did not challenge Tribunal's order holding that 'cocoa powder' is 'flour', same had attained finality and was binding on Commissioner; therefore, on remand, Commissioner could not have revisited same issue and rendered a finding contrary to that held by Tribunal

Assessee is entitled to interest on refund of self-assessment tax, says Madras HC

IT : Where assessee paid a tax on assessment under section 140A and later on said amount became refundable due to appellate proceedings, assessee was entitled to interest under section 244A on amount of refund

Process of cold-rolling of hot-rolled stainless steel pattis/pattas amounts to ‘manufacture’

Central Excise : Where assessee :

ST on overseas commission agency services utilized exclusively for export of goods is eligible for r

Service Tax : Refund of service tax paid on services used for export of goods cannot be denied on ground that drawback is claimed

Powers given for examination and verification under sec. 131 can be invoked before and after search

IT : Powers under section 131(1A) given to five specified authorities are not hindered by conduct of search; It can be invoked both before and after conduct of search

You Are Here:Homemarket Rupee Falls To Lowest Level In Over 2 Years Against Dollar: 10 Facts

The rupee fell an over 2-year low of 67.09/dollar on Monday amid risk aversion in emerging market assets ahead of the US Fed meet later this week. This is the lowest value of the rupee since September 4, 2013.

Here are the latest updates:

1) At its day low, the rupee hit a low of 67.09 versus Friday's close of 66.88 per dollar. It traded at 67.05 as of 2:27 p.m.

2) The rupee is expected to trade in a range of 66.90 and 67.30 per dollar on Monday, according to Edelweiss Securities.

3) The rupee had closed lower for seven out of nine trading sessions this month; the currency fell 2.1 per cent against the dollar in November, making it the worst-performing emerging Asia currency.

4) The weakness in the rupee comes amid concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the US for the first time in nearly a decade on Wednesday.

5) Foreign investors have been selling in both equity and debt markets ahead of the crucial Fed meeting that begins on Tuesday. Since November 1, FIIs have sold about Rs 12,000 crore in Indian equity markets, pushing the rupee lower.

6) The Reserve Bank of India has been intervening in the rupee currency futures market to defend the currency. The central bank is also seeking to prevent wild swings in bond markets by agreeing to pay higher interest rates to investors at bond auctions. It is also buying bonds in the open market to stop yields rising too much. (Read here)

7) The rupee can fall to 67.80 per dollar this week, said Edelweiss Securities. "Given the Fed meeting over next two days, we expect a highly volatile week," the brokerage added.

8) The recent weakness in China's yuan currency, which hit fresh 4-1/2 year lows on Monday, also impacted emerging market currencies such as rupee, traders said.

9) The People's Bank of China on Monday continued guiding the currency lower, setting the yuan/dollar official midpoint at its weakest since July 2011. If China devalues its currency meaningfully, then there is a risk for rupee to depreciate to 68-70 against the dollar next year, Deutsche Bank added.

10) The currency market has also been impacted by the selloff in equity markets. The Nifty has shed 4 per cent in December to a three-month low of 7,575.

Source :ndtv.com
 

India's Coal Imports May See First Drop In Five Years On Output Jump

NEW DELHI: India's annual coal imports are set to fall for the first time in five years as domestic output surges under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to expand domestic mining and eventually stop thermal coal imports by 2017.

Shipments into the world's third-largest coal importer nearly halved in November versus a year ago and should decline this month, leading to an overall annual decline, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told Reuters on Monday.

"This month too imports could be as bad," Swarup said. "India's power generation has gone up but coal stocks are still high, which reflects Coal India's output growth."

Record production from state-owned producer Coal India has driven the turnaround. The company's April to November output rose 9 percent to 321.4 million tonnes, as it opens a mine a month to double output to 1 billion tonnes this decade.

Prime Minister Modi has made boosting the coal mining sector a key program of his government in order to provide electricity to all 1.2 billion people in the country. Toward that, the government has fast-tracked environmental clearances, making land purchases easier.

Swarup said it was difficult to predict a figure but imports could fall to 170 million tonnes or less this fiscal year ending March 31, from about 212 million tonnes last fiscal year.

That would be the first fall since 2010/11 and the second since 2002/03. India measures imports by a fiscal year starting on April 1.

India's November imports sank to 11.6 million tonnes, down 49 per cent from the year before, while for April-November it was down 12 per cent at 112 million tonnes.

Indonesian imports have suffered the most as Indian domestic production has increased since the majority of their production is thermal coal. The country accounts for more than half of India's total coal imports.

Australian and South African imports are still needed since they mainly export high-quality coking coal used to make steel. India, which wants to triple its steel capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2025, does not have enough reserves of coking coal.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

No penalty merely on admission of undisclosed income during search proceedings

IT : Penalty under section 271AAA could not be levied merely on admission of assessee during search proceedings and there must be some conclusive evidence before Assessing Officer that entry made in seized documents represented undisclosed income of assessee

Cotton Production Down But High Stocks Reining Prices: Icac

fter five consecutive seasons of excess supply, overall global production of cotton has fallen below the estimated consumption in the 2015-16 season but international prices continue to remain weak due to very high levels of stock, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has said .

Notwithstanding a slew of support measures by governments across the world that touched a record $10.4 billion in 2014-2-15, production of cotton was below demand, ICAC said in a statement released at the conclusion of its 4-day 74th Plenary meeting in Mumbai.

Large stocks accumulated as a result of governments' intervention from 2011-12 to 2014-15 would remain the key factor in determining the fundamentals of the cotton market for the foreseeable future, it said observing that demand for cotton continues to expand at a slow rate as a result of sluggish world economic growth and strong competition from synthetic fibers, especially polyester.

In order to improve the prospects for cotton, the ICAC endorsed the recommendations of its Private Sector Advisory Panel, foremost being to ensure that fiber-content labels on textile products were more visible so that consumers could make informed choices, and also promote transparency in the supply chain.

The committee also favoured conducting a study on the economic factors underlying the growth of polyester production and demand, to enable members to better understand the dynamics of competition among fibers. It also advised members to encourage an increased diversification of the uses of cotton, including composites and technical textiles, and a wider use of cotton by-products throughout the value chain, to add value to the sector.

The Committee endorsed the recommendation received from the Private Sector Advisory Panel (PSAP) regarding the need to standardize phytosanitary certificates and recommended that the Secretariat work with members to raise awareness of this issue within the World Trade Organization.

The ICAC was informed that although contractual disputes had decreased in the last year, improvements were required in the enforcement of arbitration awards. All members of the Committee are signatories of the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (commonly known as the New York Convention), but claimants were often unable to get their awards enforced, which was impacting the cotton trade and consumption.

The ICAC reaffirmed its support for a multilateral trading system under the aegis of the World Trade Organization, whose representative presented a summary of the current status of talks on the commodity ahead of the forthcoming 10th Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Nairobi later this month.

Source :fibre2fashion.com
 

COMPAT sets aside penalty of Rs. 6,316 crores on 11 cement companies

Competition Act, 2002: COMPAT sets aside the impugned order passed by the CCI whereby the appellants were held guilty of having acted in violation of Section 3(3)(a) and 3(3)(b) read with Section 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 and penalty @ 0.5 times of net profit was imposed on ten appellants (manufacturers of cement) and penalty of 10% on total receipts for two years was imposed on the Cement Manufacturer's Association. COMPAT also, remitted the matter to CCI for fresh adjudication of the

CCE(A)'s order can be challenged through writ without going before CESTAT if principal contentions w

Excise & Customs : Non-consideration of assessee's principal contentions by adjudicating authority/Commissioner (Appeals) amounts to violation of principles of natural justice; therefore, writ petition filed against order of Commissioner (Appeals) is maintainable because appeal remedy before Tribunal is not effective in such cases

Exp. on issuance of sweat equity to employees is capital exp.

IT: Where Sweat Equity Shares were issued to two employees by assessee company for value addition in form of their vast experience in new business concepts and professional experience and, accordingly, value addition took character of an intangible asset, issuance of shares was capital expenditure

As Cheaper Imports Increases Copper Industry Sends Sos To Government

NEW DELHI: India's three copper majors — Hindalco IndustriesBSE 2.42 %, Vedanta Ltd and Hindustan Copper Ltd—have warned the government that the sector is facing an imminent shutdown in the face of a surge in cheaper imports from Japan and Asean countries, which could jeopardise the Narendra Modi-led government's 'Make In India' initiative.

Operating at 75% of capacity, the industry has cautioned about further cuts in production that could impact 10,000 jobs, blaming freetrade agreements or FTAs, which would allow an influx of duty-free copper by 2021, for making the entire sector unviable.

The development assumes significance amid a tepid global commodity market that is seeing demand shrink as China's hunger for resources is slowing down in tandem with its growth. The copper industry's SOS call comes within a month of the Modi government decision to impose a 20% safeguard duty on import of some steel products for 200 days, after a similar clarion call from local steelmakers.
 

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Indian Leather Products To Be Showcased In Dubai

DUBAI: Indian leather products such as footwear, garments and accessories will be showcased at a 2-day exhibition beginning here tomorrow.

The event is being organised by India's Council for Leather Exports, the Indian Embassy in UAE, Consulate General of India, Dubai and India Trade & Exhibition Centre(ITEC) M.E.

It will be inaugurated by Indian envoy in the UAE Anurag Bhushan in the presence of Padma Shri M Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports and Sudesh K Aggarwal, Chairman ITEC M.E.

The event on December 15-16 will focus on showcasing India's finest leather & leather products ranging from finished leather, leather & non leather footwear, footwear components, leather garments, leather goods & accessories etc.

The event has received wide support with more that 250 brands and companies who have registered to attend the event which includes top buyers and industry leaders.

"Indian leather sector has been included as one of the 'Focus Sectors' under 'Make in India' Programme of the Prime Minister. A turnover target of USD 27 billion (as against present turnover of USD 12.5 billion) has been set for the leather industry under Make in India, which is to be achieved by 2020," said M Rafeeque Ahmed.

The tremendous growth potential offered by Indian leather industry both on export and domestic fronts, provides scope not only for sourcing high value leather products and footwear but also for joint ventures/technical collaborations etc. for UAE entrepreneurs.

The Council for Leather Exports is the single largest and Apex trade promotion orgnisation of the strong and rapidly growing Indian leather & leather products industry.

"The export of leather and leather products increased manifold over the past decades and touched USD 6.5 billion during 2014-15 recording a cumulative annual growth rate of about 13.10 per cent (5 years).

"India's export of leather and leather products to UAE increased from USD 69.05 million in the year 2009-10 to USD 284.06 million in the year 2014-15, growing at a CAGR rate of 32.69 per cent," Ahmed said.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Shipping bills can't be converted into drawback shipping bills if drawback wasn't claimed due to non

Excise & Customs : As per Rule 12 of Drawback Rules, 1995, conversion of free shipping bills into drawback shipping bills, is permissible only if drawback was not claimed by exporter 'for reasons beyond his control'; merely because assessee was not aware of correct legal position would not afford any such ground that it was beyond his control

India's November Vegetable Oil Imports Rise 13% Y/Y: Trade Body

Import of vegetable oils is up by 13% in November according to data complied by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India.Import of vegetable oils during November 2015 is reported at 1,342,435 tons compared to 1,189,934 tons in November, 2014, consisting of 1,337,936 tons of edible oils and 4,499 tons of non-edible oils- up by 13% mainly due to

Excess supply of veg. oils in international market coupled with low price and and Nil export duty by Indonesia and Malaysia boosted their export to India.

Domestic edible oil industry and farming communities are hit by the current upward trend of edible oil imports, which has increased by 24% during 2014-15 over the same period of last year (14.4 million tons of edible oil was imported from Nov.,2014 to Oct.,2015). It is a well known fact that globally the prices of edible oil are historically low since 2008, and had affected the domestic players.

No reassessment on 'Dell' due to rejection of revenue recognition method on extended warranty

IT: Rejection of system of accounting maintained by assessee in subsequent year cannot be a reason for reopening an already concluded assessment

Pan Masala manufacturers can suo motu claim abatement of duty if factory was closed for certain peri

Excise & Customs : In absence of any procedure for grant of abatement in case of closure of factory, there is no requirement of any 'order of abatement' and assessee may himself compute abatement and suo motu adjust same against duty payable for subsequent months

Legal heir of director was entitled to file plea to seek ownership and transfer of shares in his nam

CL: Where upon death of director of company, petitioner being legal heir filed company petition seeking declaration of ownership over shares and their transfer in his name, petition would be maintainable

Cil Output Rise Will Cut Coal Imports: Government

 Coal imports will continue to decline this fiscal due to ‘unprecedented increase’ in output of the fossil fuel by State-owned Coal India Ltd. (CIL)

“Imports will continue to come down (in the ongoing fiscal),” Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told PTI.

The drop in imports can be attributed to “unprecedented increase in coal production by CIL”, he added.

Mr. Swarup had earlier said in a tweet that coal imports in November dropped to 11.6 million tonnes (MT) against 22.6 MT in the same month of last year.

Record production

“Consequent to a record production by Coal India, import of coal comes down for fifth successive month. Down by 8.9 per cent during April-November,” Mr. Swarup tweeted.

“Coal imports come down from 136.6 million tonnes in April-November (2014) to 119.9 (MT) in 2015. In value terms, down from Rs.68,822 crore to Rs.54,607 crore,” he said in another tweet.

CIL’s production increased by 8.8 per cent during the April-November period of the current fiscal 2015-16 on a year-on-year basis.

Production was up by almost 26 MT during April-November 2015 compared to the same period previous fiscal, a company official said.

CIL produced 321.38 MT of coal during April-November, 2015-16 as against 295.40 MT in the year ago period.

The State-owned firm, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production, is eying to 1 billion tonnes production by 2020.

India had imported 212.103 million tonnes of coal worth over Rs.1 lakh crore last fiscal.

Keywords: Coal, coal imports

Source :.thehindu.com
 

No TP adjustment for royalty calculated on basis of new exchange control policy as it was less than

IT/ILT : Where assessee, which had been granted a non-exclusive, non-assignable right to duplicate and sub-license products of its holding company (Oracle) in India, changed rate and base for calculation of royalty payable to Oracle in view of liberalised foreign exchange regime but effective royalty paid out to Oracle during current year remained less than earlier years, no TP adjustment could be made in royalty pay out

HC grants stay on remaining demand till disposal of appeal as assessee had already deposited half of

IT: Where Assessing Officer had imposed upon assessee a penalty of Rs. 10 crores and thereafter he, on application of assessee moved under section 220(6), passed a conditional order directing assessee to pay Rs. 5 crores, since assessee had already deposited a sum of Rs. 5 crores, it was entitled to have stay of balance amount of Rs. 5 crores till disposal of appeal filed against penalty order

Classification of goods should be made only on basis of their condition at time of import

Excise & Customs : Goods are to be classified in condition in which they are imported; hence, assessee had imported non-computerised machine with control devices, same could not be classified as 'Computerised Machines'

No denial of exemption to a school as it advanced sum to sister-trust for construction of educationa

IT: Where assessee-society which was running a school, advanced an amount to its sister-trust for construction of building for educational purpose and Assessing Officer could not prove that said amount advanced was for non-charitable purpose, rejection of exemption under section 10(23C)(iiiad) was not justified

No recovery of excise dues from purchaser if it had only bought assets of a wound up company

Excise & Customs: Where assessee had only purchased assets of a company which was ordered to be wound up and said company was not taken over as a running business, liability of past Central Excise dues payable by old company could neither be fastened nor be recovered from assessee

Educational unit infusing sense of patriotism in people is fulfilling its ancillary object; tax exem

IT: Educational unit infusing sense of patriotism in people is fulfilling its ancillary object; tax exemption available

Customs exemptions available for computing excise duty on DTA clearances by EOU

Excise & Customs : In case of DTA clearances by 100 per cent EOUs, excise duty is deemed equal to 'customs duty leviable'; therefore, in computing 'customs duty leviable', customs exemptions would be taken into account

Only a developer can claim deduction under sec. 80-IB(10) and not a work

IT: Where land owner having obtained necessary permissions from local authority for construction of residential project, sold said land to various purchasers who entered into separate construction agreements with assessee, it was a case of mere 'work contract' and thus assessee's claim for deduction under section 80-IB (10) was to be rejected

Revised monetary limits for filing appeals is applicable on pending cases as well

Excise & Customs : Since instructions under excise/customs/service tax law do not provide that revised monetary limits shall apply only to prospective appeals and not to already-filed appeals, any revision in monetary limits for filing appeal vide instructions under excise/customs/service tax law would apply to appeals posted before court on or after coming into force of said instructions

Issue of availability of simultaneous deductions under Sec. 80HHC and Sec. 80-IB referred to larger

IT : Division bench of Supreme Court refers matter to larger bench as there was difference of opinion as to whether assessee could claim simultaneous deductions under Section 80-IA/Section 80-IB and Sec 80HHC on same profits

HC denies to interfere with ITAT's order as it hadn't considered fresh evidence without hearing reve

IT : Where revenue challenged order of Tribunal on ground that Tribunal had considered fresh material without affording opportunity of hearing to them, but it was found that no fresh material was considered, no interference was called in Tribunal's order

SEBI asks DPs to convert eligible Demat accounts into 'Basic Services Demat Account'

SEBI : Facility for Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA)

Sum received must be regarded as cum-tax if service tax isn't charged separately

Service Tax : Where service tax is not charged separately on pretext that services are not taxable, sums so received should be regarded as cum-tax and in event of demand, service tax must be worked out accordingly

Production and broadcasting of radio program is manufacture or production under Sec. 32(1)(iia)

IT : Radio programme produced is "thing" if not an "article" as Dictionary meaning of the word envisages that "thing" could have intangible characteristic.

Producing & broadcasting radio programmes is “manufacture /production of a thing” u/s 32(1)(iia)

IT : Radio programme produced is "thing" if not an "article" as Dictionary meaning of the word envisages that "thing" could have intangible characteristic.

Govt. hikes VAT rate from 4% to 5% in Daman and Diu

VAT /INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Daman and Diu Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulation, 2015 – Amendment in Regulation 4 and Third Schedule

'Universal Buildwell' isn't dominant player in Gurgaon due to presence of established builders like

Competition Act: Where compared to OP, real estate developer, there were many bigger and established players such as Unitech, Vatika, Ansal, DLF etc. which were operating in relevant market for services of development and sale of commercial space in Gurgaon, OP was not dominant in relevant market and, therefore, no case of contravention of section 4 was made out

ST exemption available on rent-a-cab services provided to SEZ employees even if they are residing ou

Service Tax : Rent-a-cab services provided to a unit located in SEZ for transportation of employees to and from their residences located outside SEZ, are eligible for exemption from service tax

Societies procuring and marketing milk can exercise option of Safe Harbour Rules

IT/ILT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Income-Tax (Nineteenth Amendment) Rules, 2015 – Amendment in Rules 10D, 10THA, 10THB, 10THC, 10THD and FORM NO.3CEFB

Profit distributed by broker to clients can't be taxed in his hands due to violation of FCRA

IT: Where assessee-firm acted as sub-broker and distributed NCDEX profits among its clients, merely because assessee had violated provisions of Forward Contract (Regulations) Act, 1952, profit could not be assessed as income of assessee

'Quantitative adjustment' in AMP exp. prohibited under TP provisions

IT/ILT: For the purposes of Chapter X of the Act, the Transfer Pricing Adjustment envisaged is "price adjustment" (substitution of transaction price of international transaction with ALP) and not a "quantitative adjustment" by first determining whether the AMP spend of the Assessee on application of the bright line test (BLT), is excessive, thereby evidencing the existence of an international transaction involving the Associated Enterprises.

Imposition of penalty couldn't be sustained if service-tax demand was set-aside

Service Tax : Penalty is levied only where any service tax has not been paid by reason of fraud, etc.; hence, when assessee's activity is held to be not liable to service tax, question of penalty or imposition of penalty cannot arise

Co-ownership in second house doesn't lead to denial of sec. 54F relief

IT : Where Assessing Officer rejected assessee's claim for deduction under section 54F on ground that assessee owned more than one residential house property at time of sale of long term capital asset, since assessee was a mere co-owner in one of said residential property, impugned order passed by him deserved to be set aside

Unutilized Cenvat credit would not lapse after conversion of DTA unit into EOU unit

Cenvat Credit: Rule 11(3) of CENVAT Credit Rules providing for 'lapsing of credit' applies only if final products are totally exempted; same is inapplicable in case of conversion of DTA unit into EOU because DTA clearances by EOU are not exempt. Therefore, unutilized credit balance lying in hands of DTA unit can be carried over by EOU and used for payment of duty on DTA clearances

Subramanian Panel suggests GST rate structure to fulfil Make in India objective by making One India

VAT : Report On Revenue Neutral Rate And Structure Of Rates For Goods And Service Tax (GST)

RBI issues timelines for bringing down 'Statutory Liquidity Ratio'

BANKING : Maintenance of Statutory Liquidity Ration (SLR)

Sum paid by producer to exhibitors of flop movie could be held as revenue exp. on grounds of commerc

IT: Where on one hand Tribunal held that amount paid by assessee, a production company, to exhibitors of its films, for loss incurred by them, was capital in nature and on other hand held that it was compensation paid to stay afloat in business, since Tribunal was giving two divergent views, matter was to be readjudicated

Friction cloth arising during manufacturing of conveyor belt is non-marketable and non-excisable pro

Excise & Customs : Friction cloth arising at intermediate stage in manufacture of V-belts is non-marketable and non-excisable product; therefore, same is not includible in turnover limit for SSI-exemption purposes

RBI allows banks to bring down SLR holdings held under HTM category to 20.50% by March, 2017

BANKING : Fourth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2015-16 – SLR Holdings Under Held To Maturity Category

ITAT suggests amendment to sec. 145A to align it with CENVAT Credit Scheme

IT : Section 145A of the Act was brought into statute in 1998 when MODVAT scheme was prevalent which allowed credit/set off on specified inputs used in manufacture of excisable goods apart from capital goods but now with Cenvat Scheme in operation which allows both manufacturers and service providers to take input credits on goods and services apart from capital goods across cross sectors without any one to one correlation and the Apex Court already holding in Eicher Motor that cenvat credit onc

Damage paid for breach of contract in normal course of business is allowable as revenue exp.

IT : As per section 145, Hybrid system of accounting is not allowable

Assessee allowed to submit declaratory forms before Tribunal along with reasons for their non-submis

CST & VAT: Central Sales Tax Act - Where assessee failed to produce Forms 'C' and 'F' before Assessing Authority and it approached Tribunal seeking opportunity to produce declaratory forms before it and Tribunal taking view that reasons assigned by assessee in not having produced forms before Assessing Authority were not acceptable, rejected appeal, assessee was to be permitted to establish reasons assigned in not producing declaratory forms before Assessing Authority

10 million USD penalty levied on Satyam for violating US Securities Exchange Act won't attract TDS

IT/ILT: An amount levied as penalty by an order of US Court can never attract any tax nor would such a payment made by applicant attracts any tax liability