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Raise excise limit: small units to FM
Govt hopes oil falls to $35
Separate laws for small units sought
Forex kitty swells by $1.24 b |
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TV Today payout at 15 pc
Don’t hike tariff, hoteliers warned
Dark days ahead for travel agents Panic among travel agents
Audit of a/c must if income exceeds 40 lakh
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Raise excise limit: small units to FM
New Delhi, June 5 The Laghu Udyog Bharati, an apex outfit of the SSI sector, in its pre-Budget submissions also called for abolition of the central excise duty on SSI units and suggested changes in the slab structure in excise duty. It also requested the Finance Minister to consider changes in the tariff schedule by making it 5 per cent up to Rs 2 crore and 10 per cent between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore. The taxable items produced by the SSI units should be withdrawn from the scope of MRP-based excise duty, the Laghu Udyog said in a memorandum to Mr Chidambaram. The concessional excise duty must be increased to Rs 5 crore from Rs 1 crore, it said. It has also suggested that there should be a uniform sales tax tariff throughout the country. At present, different rates are charged by different states for the same commodity. All nationalised banks should be allowed to accept central excise duties. Currently such facility was available only in one or two banks in an area. The benefit of excise exemption should be available to all SSI units without any discrimination. Compound duty on stainless steel ‘‘patta’’ machines should be reduced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 5,000 per machine per month. It should help the industry in recovering from recession. The increase in CENVAT duty on lubricants, diesel and oil (LDO) had hit cost of production. This required reconsideration, the memorandum said. The body suggested that delay in appraisal and sanction of proposals by the banks and financial institutions had to be ironed out. More bank credit to the SSI units and agriculture should be encouraged. Currently the credit has been reduced to 11 per cent. Additional credit of Rs 10,000 crore annually should flow to SSI. Banks should achieve the fixed targets by directly lending to the SSI sector in place of adopting softer steps like contribution on priority sector bonds.
— UNI
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Govt hopes oil falls to $35 New Delhi, May 5 The oil companies have suffered around Rs900 crore financial losses between the January-May
period. The total losses are expected to cross Rs 1,100 crore by June 15. The companies are claiming that during 2004-05, the estimated under-recovery on LPG and kerosene is likely to be around Rs 14,000 crore. The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, who had earlier announced to take a decision on oil prices after the meeting of OPEC, postponed the decision till June 15. Mr S.Behuria, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, BPCL, today disclosed, “the oil companies have now left the decision to the government. Despite substantial losses due to delay in decision, we will be more concerned about the total impact on our annual revenue.” The oil companies are hoping that despite political constraints, the government will be able to take a decision that will satisfy the interests of both consumers and oil companies. Regarding the impact on a sharp increase in
international crude oil prices, Mr Behuria said, “for every increase in crude oil prices by $1 per barrel, the oil prices will have to be hiked by about 60 paise per litre.” In the international market, the price of crude oil has increased by about $10 per barrel. Officials in the Petroleum Ministry said, “we are still waiting for the fall in crude prices after OPEC’s decision to increase daily production quota by 2.5 million tonnes. The prices have marginally declined from $42 per barrel to approximately $39 per barrel.” The ministry is hopeful that prices may come down to $ 31 to $35 per barrel in the coming days. They said Mr Aiyar will take different proposals on oil price issue to the Cabinet for its consideration next week, before taking any final decision. “A compromise may be worked out with the Left parties and other alliance partners that there will be no hike in LPG and kerosene, but they will have to agree over the increase in price of petrol and diesel by at least Rs 1 per litre. The remaining losses would be met by reducing excise and customs duty and partly from the profits of the oil companies,” said a senior official in the ministry.
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Separate laws for small units sought Karnal, June 5 Mr SP Gupta, President of the HCCI, said here today that officials of 52 different departments of the Union and state governments were coming in the way of the normal functioning of small industrial units. He said industrialists and traders of the state had long been demanding to end "Inspector Raj"
system and the government should come forward to save the "employment generating community" from the "clutches" of inspectors. The new labour law should promote the industry rather than create unwanted harassment. He said small industries were passing through hard times in Haryana due to heavy power tariff, irregular power supply, implementation of VAT and loopholes in the industrial policy of the state. Mr Gupta said that introduction of VAT in Haryana was a blunder.
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Forex kitty swells by $1.24 b
Mumbai, June 5 The country’s foreign exchange reserves rose from $118.57 billion to $119.82 billion during the period under review, according to Reserve Bank of India’s weekly statistical supplement released here today. The foreign currency assets registered a growth of $1.23 billion at $114.32 billion. Analysts said revaluation of the US dollar against the other international currencies and fresh inflows led to this upsurge in reserves. The RBI said gold reserves and special drawing rights remained static at $ 4,191 million and $2 million.
— PTI
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TV Today payout at 15 pc
New Delhi, June 5 Its revenue for Q4 stood at Rs 44.64 crore, up 42 per cent over the last quarter of FY 2003. For the last fiscal, TV Today increased net profit by 24 per cent to Rs 32.08 crore from Rs 25.92 crore during the fiscal 2002-03. As per the audited results, TV Today’s revenue for the last financial year was Rs 142.52 crore, up 30 per cent over the previous year’s figure of Rs 109.38 crore.
— UNI
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Don’t hike tariff, hoteliers warned New Delhi, June 5 Talking to hotel and tour operators here the minister said she had got many alarming calls from all over the world about fears of hike in hotel tariff. “We want to present India live and kicking for arrivals of tourists from August...All of you must do your bit,” Chowdhary told the operators at a meeting convened by the IATO. In an apparent warning to the operators the minister said the government did not want to get into the business of fixing hotel tariff.
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FIIs pump in Rs 580 cr in equity
Mumbai, June 5 |
by A.N. Shanbhag
Audit of a/c must if income exceeds 40 lakh
Q: I am having a few doubts in income tax on capital gains issued. 1. Is there any rule in Income Tax that if total turnover is more than 40 lakh we have to get it audited from a CA? If I trade in futures and options market, the turnover of 40 lakh is just nothing. 2. I have paid a lot of expenses on my stock transitions like DP charges, brokerage, interest and other (i.e. transition charges, SEBI expenses etc.). Can I claim them in my short-term capital gains as expenses right ? 3. If I purchase any share form cash market in morning and sell it in evening without taking delivery (or sell in morning and purchase in evening i.e. going short ), will it be treated as short-term capital gains/loss or speculative gain/loss. The doubt arises because here I have not taken the delivery of any shares so its a candidate for speculative gains but also when I bought in the morning and sold in the evening it can be that it was not bought with intent of selling on the same day. But probably going short should surely come in speculative as I can’t take any delivery ? — Deepak A:
1. The requirement of audit of accounts is applicable in the case of persons carrying on a business if his total sales, turnover or gross receipts exceeds Rs. 40 lakh or a person carrying on a profession if his gross receipts in profession exceeds Rs. 10 lakh. I feel you do not have a business of trading in futures and options. 2. Yes, you are right. 3. It will be speculative gains/losses since the shares have not been transferred in your name and more since the volume of such transactions is not few and far between. The Act provides for simple and objective test – ‘‘Speculation’’ in common parlance connotes an intention to speculate, gamble, take a chance or risk. The Act, however, provides a very simple and objective test for determining whether a transaction is a speculative transaction or not. Under this definition, all that has to be found out is whether the contract was periodically or ultimately settled by actual delivery, transfer or otherwise. If the goods or commodities in respect of which the contracts were entered into were actually taken delivery of pursuant to the contract, it would not be a speculative transaction, even though the commodity or scrip may be a highly speculative one by its very nature and even though at the time when the contracts were entered into the parties might have had no idea of taking delivery at all. On the other hand, if the contract is settled otherwise than by actual delivery, then it will be a speculative transaction notwithstanding that the nature of the commodity was not one lending itself to possibilities of speculation or that the intention of the parties at the time of entering into the contract might have been to take actual delivery but this intention could not be effectuated for one reason or the other - M.R. Dhawan v. CIT [1979] 119 ITR 412 (Delhi).
PPF accounts
Q: I am a reader of your book “Taxpayer to Taxsaver”. My query pertains to PPF. On page 32 you have mentioned that “Rebate can be claimed on contributions to PPF accounts of the spouse and children, major or minor, married or not, male or female, dependent or not.” I am a retired person and my son works in a multinational software firm. He cannot claim any rebate under Section 88 because his salary income is over Rs 8.5 lakh. If he opens a PPF account he can only get 8 per cent tax-free interest on investments up to Rs 70,000 p.a. My query is “If I pay the annual contribution to my son’s PPF A/c from my pension and interest income whether I can claim the benefit of rebate under Sec 88 while filing my return?” —Taxpayer A: Yes, you are absolutely right. Moreover, my books (have also written ‘In the Wonderland of Investment’) get enriched by readers like you who are also thinkers. I feel sorry for not being allowed to acknowledge and lay my credit at your door. However, I am sorry, I have to disappoint you. You are right in theory but in practice, you should strive to contribute the maximum to your own account and your son to his account. The 8 per cent interest of PPF is so much attractive that all adult members of your family, taxpayers or not, should contribute to their accounts standing in their own name. During the process, if they are also rewarded with the tax rebate, that would be the additional fringe. Your suggestion will work beautifully, when the paucity of funds between you and your son compels you to contribute to only one of the two accounts but not both. Given the situation, that does not appear to be the case.
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