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PSEB may get a power-tariff shock
Tax net may be cast on some more services
Mulayam, Ambani power project in UP
HP plays cool on furnace units |
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PNB first bank to introduce e-cheque clearing system
Ultra attack in Iraq hits oil exports
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PSEB may get a power-tariff shock New Delhi, June 16 This will be a major blow to the PSEB, after the decision of Coal India Limited yesterday to increase coal prices by 16.7 per cent on an average for all categories of coal. Punjab is a major buyer of coal to run its thermal power units. Sooner or later, say sources in the Ministry of Power here, the board will have to pass on the increased costs to consumers. The board had recently shown the
operating profit after a long period. The Central Regulatory Authority has so far fixed a provision rate of Rs 2.18 per unit for the 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Project in Himachal Pradesh, but now SJVNL has sought an upward revision of the power tariff to Rs 2.40 to Rs 2.50 as per the revised power tariff formula. At present, Punjab is drawing about 10.13 per cent share in the total power generated from this project, in addition to 21.27 per cent share of Haryana and 26.47 per cent share of Delhi in the total electricity generation. The Himachal Government will also benefit from the upward revision of the tariff. Mr Y.N. Apparao, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, SJVNL, told TNS here today, “The CERC had announced the provisional power tariff of Rs 2.18 per unit. We are hopeful that by the next month it would announce the final tariff of Rs 2.40 to Rs 2.50 per unit as per the revised formula.” The regulating body announces power tariffs for state boards for power generation units after working out the cost of production, return on equity and interest rates in each case separately. Since there is a severe power shortage in the northern region, he said, Punjab was ready to buy up to 600 MW at the higher rate as against its allocated quota of 114 MW in the project. Mr M.S. Sharma, General Manager (F&A), SJVNL, said, “All six units of the project are operating at over 100 per cent capacity. The demand for power by Punjab, Delhi and other states have already increased due to summer season.” Incidentally, due to delay in the completion of the project by over three years, the cost of this project of the Centre and the Himachal Government has almost doubled from initial estimated cost of Rs 4,300 crore. In the first year of operations, SJVNL has shown profits of around Rs 500 crore. Further, the insiders said, as per the revised power tariff formula as well, the CERC was granting 14 per cent return on equity of the stake holders. The state governments, which withdrew power from the project, had appealed to the CERC to revise return on equity and debt downward, keeping in view the prevailing market interest rates of 6 or 7 per cent. |
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Tax net may be cast on some more services New Delhi, June 16 Even though service tax was introduced in India way back in 1994, only 58 services are taxed at the rate of eight per cent. The thinking within the government appears to be that taxation of services and its integration with taxes on goods is necessary from the point of fair distribution of tax burden among different sectors. The growing importance of the services sector in the Indian economy can also be gauged from the fact that in the last fiscal (2003-04), service tax revenue collection touched the robust Rs 7,750-crore figure and the number of assesses jumped to 4,00,000. The government is also expected to bring out a negative list of services, which will be exempted from taxes. Under the present system, there is no basic exemption even to small service providers even though in all other taxes — income tax, sales tax, excise duty — there are basic exemptions. The Expert Group constituted by the Central government and also the Kelkar Committee has recommended a minimum threshold limit of Rs 10 lakh. The government is also considering suggestions to introduce a separate Service Tax Act for levying and administering service tax. Even though service tax was introduced in India way back in 1994, the present practice of levy of service tax is on the basis of the part of Finance Act, 1994, and provisions of Central Excise Act, 1944. The government is also learnt to be considering the increase the services from eight to 12 per cent for some services and could come out with a three-some list under the broad categories on the lines of merit services, non-merit services and the negative list (the tax exempted services). However, experts familiar with the Budget making exercise opined the government may have to tread cautiously so as to ensure that widening the service tax net does not inject inflationary tendencies in the economy. This would be particularly critical in services such as telecommunication and financial services, where a hike in service tax carries the potential of manifesting in higher tariffs. The widening of the service tax net could essentially depend on the roadmap for bringing about a comprehensive Value Added Taxation (VAT) regime in the country. Empirical evidence have suggested that implementation of a national VAT, which also covers all kinds of service with set offs for taxes paid, would help boost the indirect tax revenues. According to IMF estimates, VAT helped improve tax collections by 1.42 per cent of the GDP in America, and by slightly more than one per cent in the European Union (EU) and Sub-Saharan Africa. The gains for India will be much larger if the national VAT is extended to all services. The economic rationale for taxing services bringing it under the purview of the proposed comprehensive VAT structure, is that it reduces tax evasion.
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Mulayam, Ambani power project in UP
Lucknow, June 16 The agreement was signed by UP chief secretary V.K. Mittal and executive vice-chairman Reliance Energy Limited Satish Seth in the presence of UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, UP Development Council chairman Amar Singh and Reliance Energy Limited chairman Anil Ambani. UP, reeling under acute power shortage, would be the major beneficiary of the project as 1500 MW (40 per cent of capacity) power from the plant would be given to the state. The SSA, specifically, lays down the obligations which the company would be required to meet including time-bound implementation of the project, commitment of 1500 MW power to UP and training of state government officials in the energy sector. The agreement also mentions the areas in which necessary support for the project is desired from the state government. After signing of agreement, Mr Ambani handed over a cheque of Rs 64 crore to the UP government for completion of the process of land acquisition. Together with the payment of Rs 16 crore made earlier in this regard, the total amount paid to UP government works out to be Rs 80 crore for land acquisition. Addressing a news conference on the occasion, Mr Yadav reiterated his government’s pledge and commitment to develop the state socio-economically and industrially.
— UNI
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HP plays cool on furnace units Solan, June 16 The committee, however, held back as many as 22 cases and proposed that areas like Parwanoo, Baddi, Barotiwala, Kala Amb and Poanta Sahib where the number of such furnaces was more would not register any fresh unit. Officials in the Department of Industries disclosed that as many as 19, 9,4,6 and 2 units had been granted permission in Solan, Sirmaur, Una, Kangra and Bilaspur districts, respectively. Consuming high power in the range of 3 MW to 20 MW, the committee has recommended the remaining 22 units be shifted to other areas. The issue had generated much hype as the investors who had made preliminary registration with the Industries department had been unduly restrained from setting up their unit for over a year now. Not only had they invested lakhs on land but had procured power availability certificates by paying non-refundable advance consumption deposit at the rate of Rs 100 per KW and other infrastructure charges at the rate of Rs 200 per KW. The inordinate delay of more than a year on the part of the government in framing this policy will make the investors shell out more on obtaining a NOC for the consent for establishing and operation from the state environment protection and pollution control board. The NOC, which could be obtained at a fee of Rs 14,100 about a year back, has now been revised to Rs 50,000. The board officials were awaiting the official communication on this revised fee and the matter had figured prominently in the high-powered committee, which met recently to decide the issue. This has further delayed the grant of NOCs for these furnaces. The officials of the state electricity board who were eagerly awaiting the go-ahead from the committee said they were finalising a power augmentation scheme at various industrial sites to cater to the needs of these units where power was the raw material.
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Stone fruits deny plum profits to HP farmers Kumarhatti, June 16 The stone fruit farmers are gradually losing interest in the fruits and now inclined to grow cash crops like tomato and capsicum. The situation has reached such point the even plum, the king among stone fruits, has no buyers in the markets. Most of the fruit crop has left to rot in orchards by farmers due to the lack of commercial viability. “Even cattle avoid eating plum now”, pointed an orchard owner at Barog. The plum, peach and apricot that generally fetched handsome earnings for farmers have now been proving loss-making affairs from them. The poor earning from stone fruits have forced the farmers to go for vegetables that fetch much higher return than the stone fruits. The local panchayat has proposed to use a PWD-owned plum orchard for social use. It wants to construct an open ground-cum-community centre on 4
bighas, besides transferring 2.9-bigha land for government middle school. The market prices of stone fruits have witnessed a downward trend in the past years. A box having 7 or 8 kg peach that generally fetches anything around Rs 300 -400 in past is now available between Rs. 50-100 for sale. The per kg rate of plum that usually remained over Rs. 10 in past now ranges below Rs 4. Similar is the condition of apricot. A quick perusal of per kg wholesale prices of fruits available at local terminal markets revealed that this year the highest prices for peach, apricot and plum have recorded Rs. 13, Rs. 8 and Rs. 6 with average prices ranging between Rs 5 -10, Rs. 4-5 and Rs 3-4.
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India committed to pursue reforms, says Kamal Nath New Delhi, June 16 In his statement delivered at the Plenary of the Unctad Ministerial Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said India was committed to pursuing economic reforms with a human face. “As India wants to ensure that the multilateral trading system incorporates flexibilities to reflect and address the basic developmental concerns of our people, this requires the retention by developing countries of policy space as they seek to integrate beneficially into the trading system. To view this merely as commerce will be to blank out the human dimension. We should strive for balance between policy space and multilateral commitments”, he said. Mr Nath reiterated that India continued to remain committed to engaging constructively in the ongoing negotiations in the WTO. He pointed out that unilateral protectionist measures seriously prejudiced the effectiveness of trade to distribute gains on a fair and equitable basis. Meanwhile, a new Unctad book launched at the ministerial conference concludes that trade liberalisation can help reduce the number of people living below the poverty line, but cannot substitute for social spending.
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PNB first bank to introduce e-cheque clearing system Chandigarh, June 16 Stating this here today, the newly-appointed General Manager of the bank's northern zone, Mr B P Chopra, said by using the Electronic Cheque Processing Image Exchange, only the photograph of the cheque need to be transmitted to the clearing house. Emphasising the bank considers technology as a key driver in business development, he said the bank has introduced Internet banking, which has 8,300 users as of now. He said the bank is also expanding its ATM network and tying up with other banks for sharing ATM machines so as to multiply the network. In the northern region, Mr Chopra said, the bank achieved a profit growth of Rs 44 crore over the previous year. Total deposits increased by 12.56 per cent, while credit registered an increase of 17.3 per cent. The major focus of the bank, he said, was on housing and traders' finance segment. The "Hub and Spokes Model" introduced by the bank in two branches last year has been extended to 19 centres. The bank has also set up four specialised trade finance branches to facilitate lending to traders.
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Ultra attack in Iraq hits oil exports
Baghdad, June 16 The latest attack in Basra occurred just after midnight, said Mr Samir Jassim, a senior official of the state-run Southern Oil Company. He said it would take at least a week to repair the city’s two pipelines before exports with normal levels could be resumed. “Due to the damage inflicted on the two pipelines, the pumping of oil to the Basra oil terminal has completely stopped,” Mr Jassim said. “Exports have come to halt” through the southern export route. Two other explosions were detonated yesterday along pipelines in the Faw peninsula, near Basra. Iraqi officials blamed those attacks on Saddam Hussein loyalists and Al-Qaida. Saboteurs also blasted a northern oil pipeline about midnight yesterday in the oil fields near the town of Dibis, some 45 km west of Kirkuk, said Mr Mustafa Awad, an official in the Northern Oil Company.
— AP
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