New Delhi, January 8
India’s exports showed a ‘remarkable’ annual growth of 36.4 per cent, highest in 33 months with consignments in December 2010 raising prospects of the country exporting $215-225 billion worth of merchandise in the current fiscal.

Exports in December aggregated $22.5 billion, while imports contracted 11.1 per cent to $25.1 billion, resulting in a narrow trade deficit of $2.6 billion, the lowest in three years.

“The US markets have been (doing) pretty good, even EU markets are good,”CommerceSecretary Rahul Khullar said here while giving the trade figures.

A ‘remarkable job by exports’ was also attributed to diversification of India’s export markets. For instance, 112 per cent rise in engineering exports was helped much by orders from Latin American countries like Columbia, he said.

Khullar said thanks to lowering of trade deficit, India’s worries on overall current account deficit would be abated.

The overall trade gap may not be more than $120 billion for this year, against earlier apprehensions of $130-135 billion. The government had set an export target of $200 billion for 2010-11.

“It is quite clear that the Indian exports are on a rebound,” said Rakesh Mohan Joshi of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that India's exports would easily touch 220 billion by the end of 2010-11.

During April-December 2010-11, the country's merchandise export grew by 29.5 per cent to $164.7 billion. Imports too rose 19 per cent to $247.1 billion over the year-ago period.

“Normally export in the last quarter is about $50-60 billion,” Khullar said, adding that incentives announced for exporters, which were hit hard by the global slump in demand, in January last year also helped. — PTI

New Delhi, January 8
State Bank of India, the nation's largest lender, today said it is ready to facilitate payments for Iranian crude oil but is awaiting notification of a bank that is not under the US sanctions, which can receive payments.

“Payments are not being routed (currently) because there is no arrangement (to receive money at Iranian end). Iranians have to line up a bank,” SBI Deputy Managing Director and Group Executive for International Banking Pratip Chaudhuri said on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bharti conference here.

SBI has refused to issue fresh Letters of Credit (LCs) to public and private sector refiners who import some 12 million barrels of crude oil from Iran every month after RBI clamped down on the main conduit Indian companies use for paying Iranian oil.

“Right now, they are not able to pay for oil not because we are afraid of the sanctions or something but because they are not able to designate a suitable bank which would receive the payment on their behalf,” he said. "Once that it done, the rest of the thing can be taken care of."

Earlier this week, India and Iran had agreed to route payments through Hamburg-based European-Iranian Trade Bank AG (EIH), an Iranian bank that is already under US sanctions. — PTI

Q I am a retired defence person. Please answer my following queries?

1. If I make fixed deposits out of my retirement benefits in a Bank account which is joint in the name of me and my wife, then is the tax liability on the interest accrued completely mine?

2. In case in reply to above point, if interest liability is completely mine, then in the event of me pre deceasing my wife, does the tax liability become that of my wife? In this case should she have to then furnish her PAN details to the bank to avail facility of nil TDS (Form 15G) in case her income remains below taxable?

3. Can I transfer some amount from my retirement benefits to a bank account in name of my wife and in that case will she have a tax liability on the interest accrued or will the interest get clubbed with my income?

I would also request clarification whether retirement gratuity, encashment of leave, commutation of pension and final refund of provident fund of Central Government employees attracts any tax and if so, what portion is taxable and the rates. According to my knowledge, the entire amount of above terminal benefits is non-taxable in case of Central Government employees.

— R K Sachar

A : 1. The tax liability on the income from any joint account belongs to the person who has contributed the funds to the account. However, the PAN of both the holders will have to furnished to the bank.

2. In the case of your demise, your estate is liable to pay tax on the income earned after your demise, until the account gets transferred in her name. She will have file form 15G/H as applicable to bypass the TDS if applicable.

3. If you transfer some amount out of your retirement benefits to a bank account in name of your wife, the transfer will be treated as a gift by you to your wife and the interest accrued on the gifted amount will be clubbed with your income throughout. However, the interest earned will become the property of your wife and any income earned from that property (interest on interest) will be taxable in her hands.

Most of the retirement benefits referred to by you are not taxable up to certain limits and with several ifs-and-buts. In any case, realise that your employer cannot make any error in this regard. All the same, if you have any doubt in a particular case, you are welcome to revert.

The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com

Low visibility during fog has raised additional problems for commanders in operating their flights from the new runway III, 29 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). The runway, already shortened owing to placement of Shiv Murti on the flight-path, gets further reduced by at least 300 metres by poor visibility making more risky for even the experienced commanders to operate flights in 2670 m.

Many commanders of big aircraft make specific request for operating flights from the old 28 runway-II instead of new runway-III. "To operate flights from runway-II (3810 metres) is better than flying from the runway -III.

The analysts, particularly commanders of national and international airlines, say that it is nothing but falsehood to claim that the runway-III, 29, is the longest in Asia. How can it be longest when one-third is not useable owing to Shiv Murti?”

According to air traffic control (ATC), commanders of Boeing 737, Boeing 777, Boeing 747 and Airbus A-320 are now demanding that their operations should be fixed from runway-28 and not runway-29 until Shiv Murti is shifted out of the flight-path.

Regardless of religious sentiments, the placement of Shiv Murti on the flight-path -III is illogical and senseless. "The safety of passengers is paramount and it should not be sacrificed for the sake of religious sentiment:, scream commanders, adding: "Any major mishap will cause havoc in the already dwindling reputation of Indian civil aviation.” The Shiv Murti is a recreation centre for religious-minded people. It should be shifted without any further delay. Once this is done, the new runway-III will be fully operational and the commanders will feel easy in operating flights from the distance of 4,430 metres.

Then, and then alone, it can wear the tag of being the longest runway in Asia.

The Runway Visual Range (RVR) machines should be installed at start, middle and end, as stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The metrological department officials claim that the proposal of three RVR machines will become reality before the end of February, 2011. When the Shiv Murti gets shifted, the runway-III will have five RVRs.