B U S I N E S S

Decision making is slow in India: Mittal
Bathinda, Punjab, April 28
Billionaire Lakshmi N. Mittal today said Saturday decision-making in India is slow but he would not complain about a policy paralysis. "We have businesses all over the world. I tell my guys don't complain about the policies, try to adopt...policies... We don't complain.
                             Lakshmi N. Mittal

RBI asks banks to allow intra-bank portability
Mumbai, April 28
The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to allow intra-bank account portability in cases where full KYC (“know your customer”) details of the account concerned have been ascertained.

Maruti Suzuki Q4 net dips 3%, to pay 150%
New Delhi, April 28
The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India said Saturday its net profit declined by 3.04 per cent to Rs 639.8 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012, over the same period of previous fiscal.

Investor Guidance
Saving capital gains tax on property sale
Q: I understand I can save capital gains tax on sale of property by investing capital gains, either one year before or two years after the date of sale. In the first case, when a new property is being bought before the sale date, how can anyone invest the capital gains amount, since, at the time of buying the new property, the sale hasn't yet taken place?

Allahabad Bank seeks RBI nod to open four new branches overseas
New Delhi, April 28
With an aim to expand its overseas operations, public sector lender Allahabad Bank on Tuesday said it has sought Reserve Bank of India's nod to open four new branches in overseas locations including Singapore and Shanghai. On the occasion of its 148th Foundation Day celebrations on April 24, the bank's chairman & MD J.P. Dua said the lender had sought the RBI’s permission to open branches in Dhaka, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong. The bank already has a branch in Hong Kong and a representative office in China.

Boeing to ship its first Dreamliner to Air India

Crowds gather to get an up close look at the first 787 Dreamliner passenger jet to be assembled at Boeing's South Carolina facility during a ceremony in North Charleston on April 27. Boeing Co on Friday unveiled the plane, built for Air India and made at its new South Carolina assembly plant, a factory at the centre of a bitter labour dispute last year and the site of a recent manufacturing glitch that threatened to disrupt the 787 production rate target. — Reuters

Decision making is slow in India: Mittal

Bathinda, Punjab, April 28
Billionaire Lakshmi N. Mittal today said Saturday decision-making in India is slow but he would not complain about a policy paralysis. "We have businesses all over the world. I tell my guys don't complain about the policies, try to adopt...policies... We don't complain.

We have tried to adapt to local policies. We will all have to adjust to the new policies," Mittal, chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, told reporters after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally launched the refinery project of his investment arm, Hindustan Mittal Energy Ltd, in Bathinda.

But, he said, decision making in India was slow. "Surely things are moving slowly. There is no doubt. Process approval are taking time. The biggest impediment is still infrastructure development," he added.

Asked if the perception of policy paralysis in the UPA-government was responsible for slowdown in the economy and loss of investor confidence, Mittal said his philosophy was not to complain but to adapt to local policies.

"For an emerging market like us, we should grow more. There is so much of potential," he said.

Mittal said India was growing slower than its capability as European Union crisis has affected emerging markets.

He said the European economy may take 2017 to reach pre-crisis level. "There was an impression a couple of years back that India as an emerging market was decoupled from the global economy. But the last global crisis has proved we aren’t decoupled. There’s a clear relation between a global crisis (and) the Indian economy," he said.

While the United States economy appears to have come out of the 2008 crisis, the recovery in the European Union would be slow because of various issues, Mittal said. "My guess is that (for the EU) to reach pre-crisis level of 2007, it will be 2016-17," he added.

Mittal said the Bathinda refinery may double capacity to 360,000 barrels per day. 

RBI asks banks to allow intra-bank portability

Mumbai, April 28
The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to allow intra-bank account portability in cases where full KYC (“know your customer”) details of the account concerned have been ascertained.

The facility will enable the customers to shift their account to any of the desired branch any number of times, without any change in the account number.

"Banks are advised that KYC once completed by one branch of the bank should be valid for transfer of the account within the bank as long as full KYC has been done for the concerned account," the RBI said in a notification. The customer should be allowed to transfer his account from one branch to another branch without restrictions, it said.

In order to comply with KYC requirements of correct address of the person, fresh address proof may be obtained upon such transfer by the transferee branch, the central bank added. — PTI

Maruti Suzuki Q4 net dips 3%, to pay 150%
TNS & Agencies

Investor Guidance
Saving capital gains tax on property sale
by A.N. Shanbhag

Q: I understand I can save capital gains tax on sale of property by investing capital gains, either one year before or two years after the date of sale. In the first case, when a new property is being bought before the sale date, how can anyone invest the capital gains amount, since, at the time of buying the new property, the sale hasn't yet taken place?

— Swati Deshmukh

A: According to Sec. 54 of the Income Tax Act, only an amount equal to or more than the capital gains amount can be invested in the new property. It's not necessary that the exact same amount realized from the sale has to be invested. This is an impossibility as the new house is being bought before the sale of the old house. Therefore, as long as an amount equivalent to the capital gains that is going to be incurred is invested in the new property, the provisions of Sec. 54 are satisfied. You may even take a loan to buy the new property — it’ll still satisfy the Sec. 54 provisions.

Q: My father and I took out a joint housing loan for our flat. Can both of us individually claim the Rs 1 lakh Sec. 80C tax deduction each year, or do we each have to repay Rs 50,000 to claim it?

— Vineet Gopalan

A: If your property is held jointly, both of you will be individually eligible for tax deduction of Rs 100,000 on repayment of the principal sum, provided the total repayment of principal throughout the year is equal to or exceeds Rs 200,000. Basically, the deduction is available only if the property is owned and to the extent of its ownership. So, assuming a joint holding, each of you can claim equal deduction. However, if your ownership is in any particular ratio you'll have to apply the same ratio to principal sum repayment to arrive at the amount deductible for each.

Allahabad Bank seeks RBI nod to open four new branches overseas

New Delhi, April 28
With an aim to expand its overseas operations, public sector lender Allahabad Bank on Tuesday said it has sought Reserve Bank of India's nod to open four new branches in overseas locations including Singapore and Shanghai.

On the occasion of its 148th Foundation Day celebrations on April 24, the bank's chairman & MD J.P. Dua said the lender had sought the RBI’s permission to open branches in Dhaka, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong. The bank already has a branch in Hong Kong and a representative office in China.

Launching the 2,525th branch of Allahabad Bank and the 100th in New Delhi Zone, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Indian banking industry "came almost unscathed" from the impact of financial crisis due to its prudent management.

On the occasion, Allahabad launched new e-products — IMPS (Inter Bank Mobile Payment Service), RupayCard and Prepaid Card.With 2,525 branches already in existence and more to come up, Allahabad Bank crossed the Rs 272,000 crore business mark in fiscal year 2011-12. — TNS, PTI