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Vodafone deal
GM regains top slot, Volkswagen No. 2
Aviation Notes
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Investor Guidance
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Now, Essar plans to seek tax refund of $883 m
New Delhi, January 21 Essar is planning to seek a $883 million tax refund from the Income Tax Department. The company is examining the Supreme Court judgement in the Vodafone case and will shortly decide on the course of action to seek this refund, sources close to the development said. The company is expecting to resolve the issue in a few months, they added. Last year, Essar Communications’ (Mauritius) wholly-owned subsidiaries, Essar Communications Ltd and Essar Com Ltd, had entered into an agreement to sell 22 per cent shareholding in Vodafone Essar to the Vodafone Group for a net payment of $3.32 billion, after deduction of withholding tax of $883 million. The tax was deducted by Vodafone and was submitted to the Indian tax authorities. When contacted, an Essar spokesperson declined to comment. Under the agreements signed last year in Mauritius, Vodafone had made a net payment of $3.32 billion, after deduction of withholding tax of $880 million, the company had said in a statement. The Supreme Court yesterday set aside the Bombay High Court judgement asking Vodafone International Holdings to pay Rs 11,000 crore to Income Tax department, on the ground that Indian authorities do not have jurisdiction on an overseas transaction. The court also asked the IT department to return Rs 2,500 crore deposited by Vodafone, in compliance of its interim order, within two months along with 4 per cent interest. — PTI
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GM regains top slot, Volkswagen No. 2
Detroit/Tokyo, January 21 The Detroit-based automaker’s return to the top slot comes as Japanese rival and former No.1 seller Toyota Motor Corp slips in the rankings after an earthquake in Japan and deadly floods in Thailand hampered its production in 2011. GM said it sold 9.026 million vehicles globally last year, up 7.6 per cent from 2010. Volkswagen AG, the German company vying to become the world's largest carmaker, finished the year in second place with 8.16 million vehicles sold. Toyota will publish its final sales results for 2011 later this month but has projected sales of 7.9 million units in 2011, down about 6 per cent from a year earlier. The tabulation of global auto sales is not without controversy. Rankings are mostly about bragging rights, but there has been a long-running and robust debate over how to account for vehicles sold through affiliates. The sales figures released by GM, which was the largest automaker until 2008 when Toyota took its place, include vehicles sold through its joint ventures in China. Some analysts extract those sales from GM's results. Depending on how the results are tallied, Toyota may have finished the year in third place. However, Toyota would fall to fourth place behind Renault SA and its partner Nissan Motor Co if the alliance's sales through Russia's AvtoVAZ are included. — Reuters
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Reschedule flights to counter fog
by K.R. Wadhwaney The Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Delhi International Airport Limited were responsible for inconvenience to passengers on fogged Wednesday night when more than 200 flights were delayed inordinately, 11 were cancelled and four were diverted. Without confirming from the Met Department about the intensity of fog, the ATC, in its own wisdom, ‘cleared’ airlines to queue up at the starting slot where passengers were subjected to rough it out in waiting planes for 4-5 hours. As if this ordeal was not enough, the DIAL closed the new runway leaving main runway, 28/10 to bear the brunt. A study reveals that the authorities at Delhi are competent and professional enough to handle flights in dense fog. The aircraft - at least modern ones - are fully equipped to deal with all eventualities but sadly many commanders are not adequately trained and authorities are not ready to handle flights in low visibility. The only alternative is to reschedule flights between late December and January. This will help reduce inconvenience to passengers and also help airlines save needless expenses when flights are delayed or diverted. Had the ATC — the main coordinating unit -checked from weather department and suitably directed airlines, they would not have kept the passengers in terminal instead of clearing them for boarding the aircraft. No commander, on his own, without proper clearance from the ATC, can stand at take-off point. Reports say that the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), EK Bharat Bhushan, is investigating as to how passengers were made to sit in planes for hours at the take-off point. British Airways has been singled out for flouting laid-down norms when its commander is unblemished. Rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) are clear cut. The passengers should not be made to sit for long hours when the aircraft is on ground. But the situation at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Wednesday night was entirely different. The ATC allowed passengers to board the flight BA142 for Heathrow Airport (London) but it could not be air-borne as visibility dipped the minimum prescribed limit. There are stringent rules when there are violations. The authorities, particularly the ATCs in foreign countries, and airlines are extra careful so that there is no violation. But there are not only repeated violations but two rules are in operation - one for favourites and another for others.
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No tax benefit if you repay wife’s loan
by A.N. Shanbhag
Q: I am a regular reader of your column in The Tribune. It is really very informative. I have a following query: — Vyas Bembi A: The answer is in the negative. The asset is in your wife’s name and so is the loan. You can pay the EMIs if you wish to, but you cannot claim any tax benefit. The deductions u/s 24 and 80C can be claimed only by your wife after the house is completed. HRA rebate
Q: I have two properties and both are rented (let out). Also, both are on home loans. I am declaring actual rentals for both let out properties. However, I stay in another rented accommodation. I want to claim HRA deduction and home loan tax benefits. Is this possible? My office has answered in the negative. However, they have been unable to provide me with any rule that actually stops me for claiming this loss as well as HRA? — Shrawan A: HRA and home loan provisions are two different issues as far as the Income Tax Act is concerned and one does not influence the other. So, you may own a flat or any number of flats, either in the same city that you work in or anywhere else in the whole of India or for that matter abroad -- this will, in no way influence the HRA deduction that you are entitled to. Conversely, notwithstanding the amount of HRA that you receive, your home loan deductions on the EMIs for the house that you have bought or intend to buy will not be affected. KYC norms
Q: Recently, I wished to invest some money in an Indian mutual fund. The bank is asking me to comply with the Know Your Client (KYC) requirements. Is this applicable to NRIs also? — Sankarshan A: The Indian regulator (SEBI) requires all investors in mutual funds, including NRIs, to submit some documents over and above the PAN card. There is a specific form that needs to be filled in. You need to affix a photo and sign across the photo. For the identity proof, a copy of your PAN card needs to be provided. For address proof, a copy of your bank statement or driver’s license would suffice. These documents have to be submitted to the mutual fund or their designated Points of Service (POS) post which you would have complied with the KYC requirements. If you are investing through the bank, the executives of the bank would help you in processing the KYC requirements. The authors may be contacted at
wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com |
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General Motors Co regained its title as the world's top-selling automaker in 2011, less than three years after its 2009 taxpayer-funded bankruptcy under the Obama administration.
