Govt decides to set up Permanent Crisis Management Group to handle fall-out of terror attacks;

Over one Crore people engaged in exports sector to become jobless by March, 2009: FIEO;

Non-monetary incentives no less critical for sustaining motivation of govt employees!
(See 'Book Review' of Book authored by Mohnish Verma, CIT (See 'Common Basket')

Supercomputing facility, 'PARAM Sheersh', inaugurated at NEHU;

Oil PSUs officers' associations decline to hold talks with Govt;

GDP for 2009-10: MoF Chief Economic Advisor denies making any forecast;

Panel headed by Finance Secretary may consider more service tax refund to exporters;

ddt 6 Jan.pdf

Terminal Excise Duty Refund - Rs. 600 Crores released;

mantra_for_success.pdf

Non-monetary incentives no less critical for sustaining motivation of govt employees! Mantra for Success, Authored by Mohanish Verma, CIT;

vacancies.pdf

Three vacancies of Administrative Members in CAT;

mbuzz0020.pdf

CBI files charge-sheet against Kolkata Registrar of Companies;

mbuzz0019.pdf

Govt forms Global Advisory Council for Prime Minister;

mbuzz0018.pdf

Supercomputing facility, 'PARAM Sheersh', inaugurated at NEHU;

mbuzz0017.pdf

Govt decides to set up Permanent Crisis Management Group to handle fall-out of terror attacks;

NOTIFICATION

it09not003.pdf

3rd Amendment Rule - Govt notifies NHB (tax saving) term deposit scheme for section 80C benefits;

it09not002.pdf

2nd Amendment Rule - conditions for claiming benefits as scientific research institution;

it09not001.pdf

1st Amendment Rule - conditions laid down for pre-paid electronic meal card;

CASE LAWS

2009-TIOL-14-HC-P&H-IT.pdf

Chand Parkash Vij Vs CIT, Jalandhar (Dated : December 12, 2008)

Income tax - After assessment, AO receives information from ADIT (Inv) that the asssessee deposited huge cash in savings account of a bank - Reassessment u/s 147 initiated and additions made for undisclosed income - Tribunal also upholds it - Since the AO examined the purchaser of propertey which the assessee claimed to be selling to them and advance received in this regard, and the purchasers denying existence of such a deal, additions upheld - assessee's appeal dismissed : PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-13-HC-DEL-IT.pdf

Silver Oak Laboratories Private Limited Vs DCIT, New Delhi (Dated : December 18, 2008)

Income tax - Reassessment u/s 147 - AO makes additions solely on the basis of alleged suppressed sales in the previous AYs - By the time the notice u/s 148 issued for the present AY, the Tribunal deleted the additions made for the previous AYs - Held, since there is no specific reason recorded for reassessment except that some additions were made in the past on alleged suppression of sales and the fact that the reasons for such additions do not survive vide the Tribunal order, reassessment order is not sustainable - Assessee's appeal allowed : DELHI HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-11-ITAT-MUM.pdf + ash story.pdf

ACIT, Mumbai Vs Ms Aishwarya K Rai (Dated: November 21, 2008)

Income tax - assessee is a film actor - performs outside India and her income subjected to TDS there - claims tax credit - AO disallows - held, tax credit is allowable as Articles of DTAA between UK and the USA override the provisions of domestic laws and credit cannot be denied against Indian tax payable for such income - Revenue's appeal dismissed :MUMBAI ITAT;

2009-TIOL-10-ITAT-BANG.pdf

ACIT, Bangalore Vs M/s Rational Software Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd (Dated: November 14, 2008)

Income tax - royalty - assessee purchases software from non-resident and makes payments - AO treats the same as royalty and disallows the expenditure u/s 40(a)(i) for non-deduction of TDS u/s 195 - Held, it is a settled issue that the payment was made for purchase of the software and it does not represent royalty - no TDS - Revenue's appeal dismissed :BANGALORE ITAT;

2009-TIOL-09-ITAT-DEL.pdf

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd Vs DCIT, New Delhi (Dated: October 17, 2008)

Income Tax - Reassessment u/s 147 - AO reopens assessment on the basis of  directions of CIT(A), bringing to tax the interest payments debited to the interest account and the credit of the reduction of interest - Assessee contends that the issue on the basis of which the reopening has been done was an issue in appeal before the CIT(A) and the same could not be treated as the income escaping assessment - Held, in view of the ratios laid down by the Apex Court and  the Jurisdictional High Court the reason as recorded by the assessing officer for the purpose of reopening are clearly on a change of opinion as also on an issue which was already a subject matter of an appeal proceedings and which have been considered by the appellate authorities in the original proceedings, reasons recorded not valid, the reopening as also the consequential assessment order passed u/s 143(3)/147 quashed - Assessee's appeal partly allowed :DELHI ITAT;

SERVICE TAX SECTION

2009-TIOL-35-CESTAT-AHM.pdf + stgst story.pdf

M/s Welcome Hotel Vs CCE, Vadodara (Dated: December 1, 2008)

Service Tax – ‘high tea' is ‘ substantial and satisfying meal' – high tea is a concept associated with the early evening meal, as contended by the appellant. It is not providing of simple tea or coffee, but the adjective 'high' is used, when the same indicates that high tea is in the social context, replacement of dinner. Each and every invoice disclosing as to whether the supplied item was only tea or coffee or the same was inclusive of how many number of snacks etc. so as to fulfil the meaning of 'substantial and satisfying meal' is not required to be gone through. It is sufficient if, as a mandap keeper, the assessee is providing catering services and the invoices so raised by him show that the same were inclusive of charges for catering services. Even if such high tea is as per the fixed menu agreed upon between service provider and their client and is not unlimited like break-fast, the same has to be held as 'substantial and satisfying meal'.

Tax has to be paid under the correct heading – assessee cannot choose to pay the tax under any heading: it is difficult to accept the appellants' contention that they can choose to pay tax under either of the services; the Commissioner's order that the appellants should have classified the service each time either as convention or mandap keeper and should have discharged service tax appropriately has to be upheld: AHMEDABAD CESTAT;

2009-TIOL-34-CESTAT-DEL.pdf

M/s Jagatjit Industries Ltd Vs CCE, Jalandhar (Dated: November 21, 2008)

ST - Management Consultancy Service - Assessee is a liquor manufacturer - earns royalty income by allowing various manufacturers to use its 'Trade Mark' - Revenue raises demand - Matter remanded for fresh examination in view of the Board's clarification: DELHI CESTAT;

2009-TIOL-33-CESTAT-MAD.pdf

Datafield India Pvt Ltd Vs CCE, Coimbatore (Dated: September 5, 2008)

ST - Cenvat credit - assessee is a manufacturer - clears excisable goods on CIF price basis - transfers ownership of goods only at the buyer's premises - avails credit for service tax paid on outward transportation - Revenue disallows - held, in view of the Board's clarification that if the excisable goods remain the property of the manufacturer and are transported on his own risk upto the premises of the buyer where the goods are delivered, the service tax incurred on freight for such transportation would be available to the manufacturer as input service credit - Assessee's appeal allowed: CHENNAI CESTAT;

2009-TIOL-32-CESTAT-DEL.pdf

M/s ICFAI Vs CCE, Jaipur (Dated: December 18, 2008)

ST - Commercial Training or Coaching service - In view of High Court direction to hear the case without insisting for pre-deposit and the fact that the Commissioner had not looked into the merit of the case and rejected the appeal for non-compliance with the provisions of Sec 35F, the case is remanded for fresh examination without pre-deposit: DELHI CESTAT;

CENTRAL EXCISE SECTION

2009-TIOL-16-HC-MUM-CX.pdf + rallis hc story.pdf

Rallis India Limited Vs UoI (Dated: December 16, 2008)

Central Excise – Common inputs and exempted final products – 10% not required to be paid on waste generated – Tribunal Larger Bench Decision in 2006-TIOL-1641-CESTAT-MUM-LB set aside: In the present case, the mother liquor arising in the manufacture of gelatin is admittedly a waste on which no excise duty is payable. In spite of the fact that no excise duty is payable on the clearance of waste mother liquor, in view of Rule 57D , the petitioner is entitled to avail entire credit of duty paid on HCL which is used as input in the manufacture of gelatin . In other words, in the present case, the petitioner is not required to reverse the credit of duty on HCL at the time of clearance of the waste mother liquor and consequently there would not be any obligation to pay presumptive amount under Rule 57CC for not maintaining separate account: BOMBAY HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-30-CESTAT-MUM.pdf

Raymond Apparel Ltd Vs CCE, Mumbai-III (Dated: September 19, 2008)

Central Excise – Reversal of ineligible credit of CVD on process not amounting to manufacture – Matter remanded to Commissioner (Appeals) to examine the documents and decide the case afresh: MUMBAI CESTAT;

2009-TIOL-29-CESTAT-MUM.pdf

Cummins Generator Technologies India Limited Vs CCE &CC, Aurangabad (Dated: November 4, 2008)

Central Excise – Service tax paid on outdoor catering service allowable as input credit – Larger Bench decision in GTC Industries [2008-TIOL-1634-CESTAT-MUM-LB] followed :MUMBAI CESTAT;

CUSTOMS SECTION

NOTIFICATION

dgft08cir050.pdf

Correlation of inputs with the export product under DFIA Scheme;

dgft08not075.pdf

Export of Stone Aggregate and River Sand to Maldives for the year 2009-2010;

CASE LAWS

2009-TIOL-15-HC-MAD-CUS.pdf + cus story.pdf

M/s Kwick Handling Service Pvt Ltd Vs Joint Secretary, New Delhi (Dated: November 14, 2008)

Customs – Attempted export of antique Buddha - Penalty on CHA upheld- we, sitting in writ jurisdiction, cannot interfere with the concurrent findings of fact by the departmental authorities, and those findings, which are reasoned and based on relevant materials, cannot be called perverse either: MADRAS HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-31-CESTAT-DEL.pdf

M/s Lachem Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd Vs CC, New Delhi (Dated: November 18, 2008)

Customs – Import of goods by mis declaration and under invoicing to avoid anti-dumping duties – Values declared by appellant in subsequent statement recorded under s. 108 cannot be disregarded as afterthought – Statements recorded under s. 108 merit equal consideration – Higher values declared closer to NIDB data to be accepted for computing basic customs duty and anti-dumping duty – Request for computation of value based on potency of imported goods rejected - Duplication of duty demand on confiscated goods set aside – Redemption fine set aside and penalty reduced: DELHI CESTAT;