Deduction not allowable for an eligible business when eligibility was recognised by subsequent amend

IT: In view of fact that sub-section (1A) was inserted to section 80-I with effect from 1-4-1990 whereby operation of cold storage plant qualified for deduction assessee's claim for deduction in respect of cold storage business relating to assessment year 1989-90 was to be rejected

Sum incurred on pre-operative activities allowed as revenue expenditure

IT: While making addition, closing stock of stores, spares, tools, etc. is also to be considered

Sec. 80-IC relief couldn’t be denied merely on procurement of raw material from other States

IT: Deduction under section 80-IC could not be denied on ground that assessee procured raw material from other State

Delay in notification can't nullify an enactment; delay in notifying NSE as recognized SE won't bash

IT: Derivative transactions carried on through National Stock Exchange even prior to recognition of NSE as recognised Stock exchange are entitled to benefit under proviso (d) to section 43(5)

RBI notifies definition of ‘group company’ in context of FDI

FEMA/ILT : Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India – Definition of 'Group Company'

ITAT to consider question of law even if it wasn’t not raised as ground of appeal before CIT(A)

IT : Where legal question was raised even first time before Tribunal, Tribunal was required to consider same in accordance with law

Payment of wages to manpower includible in value of ‘Manpower Supply’ services

ST : Supply of crew/seafarers to ships amounts to 'manpower supply services' and reimbursement of wages paid to crew/seafarers is includible in value of services

Profits as computed after inclusion of export incentives are relevant for comparison under TNM Metho

IT/ILT: Export incentive was to be included in export sale to determine profit margin for making comparison with comparable under TNM method

Extending interest-free loan to other trusts can’t be a ground for denial of registration to lender-

IT: Where interest-free loans provided by assessee-societies to its associate societies did not violate provisions of section 13(3), exemption under section 11 could not be denied to assessee

ITAT’s approach in recalling its order without considering grounds raised by assessee is erroneous,

IT: Where original order passed by Tribunal did not show that any ground relating to jurisdiction of ITO was raised by assessee, Tribunal committed error in recalling its order for not considering such ground

Petrol Price Cut By Rs. 1.15 A Litre; Diesel Hiked By 50 Paise

1-Nov-2013

In a second reduction within a month, state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Thursday announced reduction of Rs. 1.15 a litre in price of petrol but hiked diesel prices by 50 paise a litre from midnight on Thursday night.

The price changes are excluding local sales tax or VAT, the OMCs said. Petrol price in Delhi will be cut by Rs. 1.38 to Rs. 71.02 a litre, while it cost Rs.78.04 a litre in Mumbai as against Rs. 79.49 currently.

The reduction comes on back of Rs. 3.05 per litre (Rs. 3.66 after including VAT) cut in price on October 1.

Prior to that, petrol prices had risen seven times since June, totalling Rs. 10.80 a litre, excluding VAT (Rs. 13.06 after including State tax) as the rupee depreciated sharply against the rupee.

Diesel price was hiked by 50 paise, excluding VAT, in line with the government decision in January allowing OMCs to raise price every month to wipe out mounting losses.

The diesel price in Delhi has been hiked by 56 paise to Rs. 53.10 a litre while it would cost Rs. 60.08 in Mumbai as against Rs. 59.46.

Thursday’s hike is the 10th since January 17 and most of the losses on diesel sales should have been wiped out by now to make the fuel market priced.

However, the fall in rupee, around 25 per cent since April, has worsened the situation and losses mounted to Rs. 14.50 a litre.

The recent firming of rupee against the dollar and monthly increase have brought down losses to Rs. 9.58. Diesel rates have risen by a cumulative Rs. 5.95 this year.

Source:- thehindu.com

Work Set To Begin At Hyderabad Aerospace Sez

The country’s first Aerospace SEZ is all set to take off with a committed investment of Rs 1,500 crore.



With land allocated to 24 companies, the facility, situated in Adhibatla, about 15 km from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, will see action beginning on November 4.



At least half a dozen companies will begin work on that day, when the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Kiran Kumar Reddy, is expected to kickstart activity at a foundation laying function.



Creating employment



The ambitious Aerospace & Precision Engineering SEZ will provide the infrastructure for these units to manufacture a range of products needed for the strategic sectors of aerospace, nuclear, space and defence.



The venture can provide direct employment of 10,000 and indirectly to another 18,000 in the next three years, as these manufacturing units, turn fully operational. The projected annual turnover is Rs 2,500 crore and exports to the tune of Rs 400 crore.



SMEs setting up shop



Among the two dozen SMEs that have taken land are Motion Dynamics, Gagan Aerospace, Aeroc Space Tech, Hemmair, Apollo Aerospace, DSR Tech, Lokesh Machine Tools, Gowra, Ratna Tools, Castall Tech, Compu Power, Rolon Seal and Revathy Industries, said M.M. Sreeram, Executive Director of Samuha Engineering Industries.



Samuha is a consortium of aerospace Industries, which will anchor the development of the aerospace park. MTAR, SEC Industries, Ananth Technologies, Zetatek, Scarlet and SKM Technologies are the main promoters.



At present, the Tatas have made major investments in a couple of ventures in the area, including in the SEZ. In the joint venture with Sikorsky, it manufactures helicopter cabins.



"The existence of a large number of SMEs with diverse expertise in Hyderabad has drawn the Tatas in a big way. Similarly, several other multinationals are showing keen interest," Sreeram said.



Offset provides big scope



The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has allocated 193 acres at Adhibatla. Of this 100 acres will be for the SEZ for which the corporation is a co-developer.



The 93 acres in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) has been allotted to Samuha as a lead developer and to allot land to other member units, explained Jayesh Ranjan, Managing Director of the corporation.



The Aerospace SEZ will be the country’s first operational facility developed in an integrated manner. Samuha will develop this cluster, he said. Industries will share expertise and strengths in a symbiotic manner to meet big demands, especially that will emerge from the Defence offset policy and other strategic sectors, he told Business Line.



Thousands of crores of business is expected to flow to Indian industry as the offset makes it mandatory for winners of big defence contracts to source at least 30 per cent of the value from domestic industry/institutes.



As part of its effort Samuha will provide a Common Test Facility, Training Centre and Common marketing, HR, and Procurement facilities, exhibition and guest facilities, labs said Sreeram. The equity of the shareholder units will be in proportion to the land holding, he added.

Source:- thehindubusinessline.com

Cap. gains from sale of shares if buyer intended to acquire controlling interest and held shares for

IT: Where assessee by purchasing shares of company also acquired a right to manage it and, moreover, it kept those shares for a period of 31 months before selling them, it was to be concluded that entire transaction was on capital account and, thus, income arising from sale of shares was to be taxed as 'capital gains'

Allowances paid to employees after payment of FBT are out of realm of TDS under sec. 192

IT: Where assessee-company as part of its scheme paid conveyance maintenance reimbursement expenditure allowance to all its employees as per their status and designation and paid FBT on this expenditure, provisions of section 192 [TDS provisions] were not attracted to such payment

Coffee Exports Fall On Weak Global Prices In Jan-Oct Period

Coffee exports fell marginally to 2,76,842 tonnes in the first ten months of the current calendar year, due to a major drop in global prices, according to the Coffee Board.



The country has shipped 2,77,296 tonnes of the coffee bean during the January-October period of 2012, it said.



"There is a small drop in export quantity. It was mainly due to a sharp price fall in global market owing to excess supply from other major producing countries like Brazil," a senior Coffee Board official told PTI.



In value terms too, coffee shipments fell to Rs 4,152.65 crore during the January-October period of this year, from Rs 4,640.07 crore in the year-ago period, he said.



The value of shipments declined due to lower export realisation of Rs 1,50,000 per tonne, as against Rs 1,51,929 per tonne in the review period, he added.



Maximum quantity of coffee has been exported to Italy at 69,328 tonnes, followed by Germany at 27,932 tonnes and Russia at 18,279 tonnes, the Coffee Board data showed.



Out of total coffee shipments, export of arabica varieties stood at 50,153 tonnes in the first ten months of the current year, down from 53,668 tonnes in the year-ago.



However, export of robusta varieties remained slightly better at 1,48,033 tonnes as against 1,47,862 tonnes in the review period, the Board data showed.



Interestingly, re-export of coffee from the country improved to 58,985 tonnes during January-October of this year from 39,460 tonnes in the same period last year.



According to exporters, global prices of coffee have nosedived to their lowest levels in four and a half years due to the prospect of bumper harvest from Brazil and Vietnam.



Last month, arabica prices fell to $109 cents per pound, lowest since March 2009, while robusta rates hit $1,560 level, they added.



The Coffee Board has pegged total coffee production to be higher at 3,47,000 tonnes in the ongoing 2013-14 season that started from October. Harvesting of the crop will begin from next week.



Source:- business-standard.com

Leather Exports Up 13 Per Cent In August

1-Nov-2013

India’s leather exports have jumped 12.6 per cent year-on-year to $ 500 million in August this year because of rising demand from western markets like the US and Europe.

In August last year, these exports stood at $ 444 million, according to data provided by the Council for Leather Exports (CLE).

“The demand for leather exports has been good in the US market. Also, the European market is picking up now,” a CLE official said.

The major markets for Indian leather and its products are the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain.

Besides, the official said that in order to reduce dependence on traditional markets and to create niche for the products in new ones, exporters are exploring emerging markets including Latin America, Australia, Russia and Japan.

During April-August this year, leather exports grew by 13.60 per cent to $ 2.3 billion as compared to the same period last year.

The council expects leather exports to touch the $ 14 billion level by 2017 which may help double jobs in the sector to 5 million.

At present, the industry employs 2.5 million people, 70 per cent of whom are women, mainly in leather hubs like Agra, Kanpur, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Puducherry.

During the 2012-13 fiscal, leather exports grew over 4 per cent year-on-year to $ 5 billion.

Source:- thehindu.com

No TDS from value of meal coupons given by employer to employees, ITAT says

IT : Where assessee paid to its employee every month certain amount in advance towards leave travel concession and medical reimbursement, it was not obliged to deduct tax at source under section 192 on such amount at time of making payment

India Tea Prices Ease As Plucking Gains Momentum

01-Nov-2013

Tea prices in India, the world's second-biggest producer, fell at this week's auction on higher supplies due to a pick-up in plucking amid moderate demand.



The CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade leaf was sold at 144.44 rupees per kg, down 1.75 per cent from the previous week's auction, while the dust grade dropped 2.6 per cent to 146.35 rupees per kg.



"Supplies are rising from gardens in Assam. This is the peak production season for them," said a Kolkata-based dealer.



"Exports demand is also weak for CTC due to cheaper supplies from Kenya."



Tea plucking in India usually picks up between July and October. Demand for tea usually rises in the winter season, which begins in November. The north-eastern state of Assam is the country's top tea producer.



The average price of top Kenyan tea weakened for a fifth straight week to $3.63 per kilogramme from $3.74 at last week's sale, traders said on Tuesday.



India's tea production in August rose 2.2 per cent from a year earlier to 154.26 million kg, as the shortfall in output in the southern states was offset by higher plucking in key north-eastern states.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes

Cotton Output May Be At Historic High

Cotton output this cotton year (Oct 13-Sept 14) is expected to be at an all-time high despite the sowing under cotton being lower compared to last year as the yield per hectare has gone up.



The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) in its first meeting for the current cotton year, has pegged it at 37.5 million bales ( a bale is 170 kg). Last year (Oct 12-Sept 13), the total area under cotton was revised upwards by the CAB at 36.5 million bales. In last April, the board had pegged output at 34 million bales.



The area under cotton this year, according to CAB, is 11.5 million hectares, compared to 11.9 million hectares last year, due to a fall in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.



There was some crop damage in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh due to floods in these regions. The area in Maharashtra has fallen by 6.6 per cent to 3.8 million ha. Andhra Pradesh's area has fallen by 10.7 per cent to 2.1 million ha and Rajasthan's area has fallen by 32 per cent to 300,000 ha.



“This year the yield per hectare is 500 kg per hectare and the textile ministry is now working with the ministry of agriculture to increase yield with a target to increase it to 550 kg per ha,” said A B Joshi, textile commissioner.



The world average is 750 kg.



The price of cotton in the international market is likely to remain moderate, according to the Intentional Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). ICAC has done a price forecast of cotton and expects cotton prices to trade between 76 cents per pound to 106 cents per pound and expect 90 cents per pound to be the mid point.



CAB estimates export demand for cotton this year to be lower as China has reduced its cotton imports from India since they are sitting on eight million tonnes (47 million bales) of cotton.



This year, cotton demand is estimated to be nine million bales, compared to 10.1 million bales last year.



Mills consumption this year is estimated to 25.8 million tonnes, compared to 25 million tonnes last year, and non-mills consumption is estimated to be higher at 1.5 million bales, compared to one million bales last year.



Imports of cotton are also pegged to be higher this year at 1.7 million bales, compared to 1.4 million bales last year.



Cotton yarn exports this financial year have already crossed 1,000 million kg due to good demand for cotton yarn from China and Bangladesh. But going ahead, the textile ministry is concerned if this will sustain.

Source:- business-standard.com

Govt Cuts Import Tariff On Gold, Hikes Silver

1-Nov-2013

The government on Friday slashed the import tariff value of gold to USD 440 per ten gram and raised it on silver to USD 738 per kg, in line with global prices of the precious metals.



The import tariff value is the base price at which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing.



The tariff value on imported gold was hiked two days back to USD 442 per ten gram, while it was kept unchanged at USD 699 per kg for silver. Normally, the import tariff value is revised on a fortnightly basis. The sudden revision has taken place in view of volatility in the global prices.



The notification in this regard has been issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), an official statement said.



Apart from precious metals, tariff value on imported brass scrap has been slashed to USD 3,840 per tonne from USD 3,933 per tonne maintained till Thursday. However, the tariff value on imported vegetable oils like crude soyabean oil, RBD palm oil and others have been raised.



Import tariff value on crude soyabean oil has been increased to USD 1,006 per tonne from USD 952 per tonne and tariff value on RBD palmolein has been raised to USD 900 per tonne from USD 869 per tonne in the review period.



The import tariff value on gold and silver has been changed taking cues from the global market.



In Singapore, the yellow metal is ruling down at USD 1322.2 per ounce and white metal at USD 21.87 per ounce. In the domestic market, gold is being sold at a high premium due to supply crunch caused by government measures to restrict the import of precious metal in an effort to cut current account deficit.



India, the world's largest consumer of gold, imported 393.68 tonnes of the yellow metal during the April-September period of this year, as per official data. The government has taken several steps to reduce gold imports including hike in custom duties.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com