FY20
DIRECT TAX COLLECTION GROWTH TARGET OF 15% REALISTIC: REVENUE SECY
The finance ministry has set a realistic
target of 15 per cent growth in direct tax collection at Rs 13.80 trillion for
next year, which is lower than the 20 per cent increase estimated in the
current fiscal, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Monday. The
Interim Budget 2019-20 has estimated to collect Rs 13.80 trillion from direct
taxes, which include Corporate tax and Personal Income Tax, compared to Rs 12
trillion in the current fiscal -- representing a growth of 15 per cent. For
three successive years, if you had a good revenue growth, then at some time you
have to make a realistic estimate because any increase that you do is on a much
higher base, Pandey told PTI. The increase in the direct tax collection was 15
per cent in 2016-17, 18 per cent in 2017-18, and 19.76 per cent in 2018-19. The
mop-up was Rs 8.50 trillion in 2016-17, Rs 10.02 trillion in 2017-18 and is
estimated at Rs 12 trillion in the current fiscal (2018-19).
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TAX
REBATE BENEFICIARIES WILL NOT GO OUT OF RADAR: REVENUE SECRETARY
The 30 million taxpayers, who will benefit
from the income tax rebate for annual income of up to ₹5 lakh, will not go out of the income tax
department’s database and will be liable to pay taxes when their income
breaches the threshold, said revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey. Pandey said
in a post-budget interview that beneficiaries of the tax rebate will have to file
a simple online tax return to be eligible for the benefit The idea is to ensure
that the department does not lose out on the assessee base, gained through
sustained efforts at formalization of the economy, including the November 2016
demonetization move. The return to be filed online by the beneficiaries is a
simple one-page form. It serves twin purposes. It gives relief to those in the
middle class who earn less. At the same time, they remain in the tax system, as
they have to file returns to avail the rebate. In any particular year if the
taxable income goes above ₹5 lakh,
tax is payable. We do not lose the intelligence related to the taxpayer, Pandey
added. About 68 million returns have been filed so far in the current
assessment year, while the number of effective taxpayers, including individuals
who have their taxes deducted at source by employers but have not filed
returns, will be higher. There were 74 million effective taxpayers for the
assessment year 2017-18.
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GOVT TO
FORM WORKING GROUP TO RESOLVE ANGEL TAX ISSUE OF STARTUPS
The government has decided to form a small
working group to look into the issue of angel tax being faced by startups and
come out with a workable solution in 4-5 days a top official said Monday. The
issue was discussed in a meeting convened by the department for promotion of
industry and internal trade (DPIIT). We had a roundtable on resolving the issue
of angel tax. We have a number of suggestions. We will form a small working
group and try to come out with some suggestions and solutions in the next 4-5
days, Ramesh Abhishek told. He also said the Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) has asked its officers not to take any coercive action against them. Akhilesh
Ranjan, who attended the meeting said, investors, entrepreneurs and founders
have raised this issue and they were explained why this tax provision exists in
statute. We do not want to tax startups under that provision, (but) we want
somebody to define what is a startup, he said adding there should be some
parameters for startups. Ranjan further said income tax (I-T) officers have
already been instructed not to enforce recovery of angel tax and dispose of their
appeals on priority. Number of notices is much less. Tax notices are also less
in number, he said. Notices are sent on the basis of computerised process.
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FISCAL
DEFICIT WIDENS TO RS 7.01 LAKH CRORE IN APRIL-DECEMBER 2018
Fiscal deficit for the month April- December
has widened to Rs 7.01 lakh crore compared to Rs 6.20 lakh crore in the
previous year. Revenue deficit for the same period compared to the preceding
year stood at Rs 5.36 lakh crore. Revenue spends for April- December has also
increased to Rs 16.2 lakh crore against Rs 14.62 lakh crore in the previous
year. Accordingly, Fitch Solutions revised its forecast for the central
government fiscal deficit to come in at 3.6 per cent of GDP in FY 2019-20, from
3 per cent previously, which reflects our expectation for a wider fiscal
deficit in FY 2019-20 versus FY2018-19.
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INDIA'S
EXPORTS TO SURPASS USD 314 BN PEAK THIS YEAR
The country's exports in the current fiscal
year are expected to surpass the earlier peak of USD 314 billion in 2013-14, a
senior official said Monday. This year, we are very confident that we will go
past our earlier peak, our earlier peak of 2013-14. We will go past that peak
quite comfortably this year, Union Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan told. The
earlier peak was 314 billion, he said. The achievement comes against the
backdrop of a very challenging global environment, Wadhawan said. The earlier
peak was 314 billion. We will be comfortably beyond that. Mind you, that is in
a very, very challenging global environment. It's an environment where
petroleum prices are coming down and 15 per cent of our exports are petroleum
products. So, in spite of that, we are going to achieve a new peak, he said. After
that, for the last three years, the country's exports were growing, he added.
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FAKE
INVOICE FRAUD: FIRMS INFLATE TURNOVER TO BAG LOANS
Investigation into the GST fake invoice fraud
has revealed that companies in the dock obtained bank loans by reportedly
fudging turnover in their balance sheets. Directorate-General of GST
Intelligence of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam has written to banks to conduct
vigilance inquiry into bank loans obtained by the companies in question. Hero
Wiretex Company, which is based at Rajam in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh and
reportedly supplying fake invoices to infra companies in Telangana and Andhra
based, has 33 crore charge on it currently. GST intelligence sleuths had arrested
in the past one week Hero Wiretex Company MD S Raghunath Gupta and CFO S
Raveendra on the charge of making fake invoices worth 200 crore. GST officials
told that the loan issue was also brought to the notice of income tax
department sleuths during recent coordination meeting of various departments.
Bankers, after conducting an internal vigilance probe, have to lodge a
complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation. The fake invoice scam came
to light on January 18, 2019, when two kingpins of the scam were arrested for
running companies that issued 680 crore worth fake invoice without actual
supply of goods by floating shell firms. The investigators also found that
several major infra companies, which were executing government projects in
irrigation and other infra works in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, had
conspired with iron and steel companies and issued fake invoices. Most shell
firms floated were ‘based’ in Delhi where after a series of transactions cash
has been withdrawn. Most GST fake invoice fraud cases were reported from the
steel industry. Suitcase companies were created by opening a bank account using
PAN and Aadhaar details of family members and employees.
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ED SLAPS
RS1,585 CRORE PENALTY ON DEVAS FOR FOREX VIOLATION
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) imposed a Rs
1,585 crore penalty on satellite services provider Devas Multimedia Ltd, its
directors and foreign investors for illegal foreign investment of Rs 579 crore
against the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999, the agency said on
Sunday. The authority held Devas, its directors and foreign investors guilty of
illegal foreign investment of Rs 579 crore in contravention of section 6(3) of
FEMA and imposed Rs 1,585.08 crore penalty, an ED statement here said. The
city-based Devas was set up in 2004 by a few former employees of the state-run
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and entered into an agreement with
its commercial arm, Antrix Corp, to provide bandwidth in satellites for
services on commercial basis in digital media and broadcasting space. Based on
tip-off, an investigation was initiated on investments Devas received from
overseas persons as they were in contravention of the FEMA provisions, said the
statement. The investigation revealed that Rs 579 crore was brought into the
company by many foreign firms in violation of the Foreign Investment Promotion
Board approval and provisions of section 6(3)(b) and 6 (3)(d) of FEMA and
Foreign Exchange Management Regulations. In another case under the Prevention
of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a designated city special court took cognisance
of the prosecution complaint on February 1 against Devas for entering into an
agreement with Antrix by fraudulently claiming that it had the ownership and
intellectual property rights (IPRs) to use the technology for delivering
multimedia services. Employees of ISRO and Antrix also conspired with Devas to
enter into the agreement. On its strength, the latter fraudulently raised Rs
579 crore overseas and illegally transferred 85 per cent of it out of India to
its subsidiary in the US in the guise of services and fee, said the statement.
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COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT TO MEET EXPORTERS ON TUESDAY IN WAKE OF SLOWING EXPORTS GROWTH
Senior officials of department of commerce
will meet exporters and export promotion councils on Tuesday in the wake of
slowing growth of various exporting sectors. Declining exports of labour
intensive products including leather, gems and jewellery, man-made yarn, and
pharmaceuticals had pulled down the overall growth of outward shipments from
the country in December to 0.34% at $27.9 billion. 17 out of 30 sectors had
showed a decline in exports in December. The meeting has been called because
China is slowing down and our exports are facing a spin off of the global trade
environment. Boosting exports is a priority, said an official in the know of
the details. The department has identified nine sectors gems and jewellery,
leather, textiles, engineering, electronics, chemicals, pharma, agriculture and
marine products to achieve at least a 16% growth in exports in FY 19. India’s
exports were $303 billion in 2017-18. Another person said the idea of the
meeting is to have preliminary discussions before the Board of Trade meeting on
February 15, which will chaired by commerce and industry minister Suresh
Prabhu. The 70-member board is a top advisory body on external trade and
advises the government on policy measures related to foreign trade. Some
exporters want higher incentives while others are expected to raise concerns
regarding flow of credit.
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RS
230-CRORE GST SCAM BY TAMIL NADU STEEL TRADERS UNEARTHED
The state commercial taxes department has blown
the lid off a Rs 230 crore scam involving Salem-based steel traders Mahendra
Kumar Singhi and wife Suman, owners of Steel Hypermart India Pvt Ltd, and
chartered accountant Mukesh Surana, who allegedly claimed several crore rupees
as input tax credit by producing fake invoices of steel trading. This is
believed to be one of the biggest GST frauds detected in the state. The
department has sealed the offices and residential premises of the accused in
Hosur, Bengaluru and Salem. Around Pongal, we found that the invoices of some
companies were suspicious and searched their offices and residences of their
promoters in Salem and Bengaluru. The searches revealed that a CA was the
mastermind behind the fraud It was going on since 2017 when the GST was rolled
out, a senior commercial tax official told. The modus operandi is in the form
of a circular ‘trade’ of steel and some byproducts using just invoices. It was
started by Mahendra Kumar Singhi and his wife Suman Singhi, owners of Steel
Hypermart India Pvt Ltd. They were operating in Salem, Hosur and Bengaluru,
said the official. The Singhis were helped by chartered accountant Mukesh
Surana, who also owns a company dealing in steel. Surana was helping them claim
input tax credit in the name of five companies. Some companies which were
actually trading in steel also used fake invoices, our investigation revealed,
the official said. The department has sealed the offices and residential
premises of the accused in Hosur, Bengaluru and Salem. The Singhis obtained
anticipatory bail, fearing arrest. We will take action against the accused as
per the GST Act, he said. The department is likely to lodge a complaint with
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India against Surana for his
involvement in the racket. At present, GST software does not match purchases
and sales This loophole has been one of the main causes for traders claiming
input tax credit using fake invoices. For every sale, there should be a
purchase. But at present, we are not able to ascertain it using the software.
We are trying to fix this problem and by June, a new software will be rolled
out, said the official. The commercial taxes department has also developed its
own software to scrutinize returns filed by assessees periodically. The Statistical
Analysis Software helps us analyse the returns and throw up suspicious entries.
All assessing officers have been instructed to use this software to detect
suspicious returns, he said.
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GST
THROWS A CHALLENGE TO CAG: RAJIV MEHRISHI
GST has come as a challenge for government
auditor CAG as huge numbers are to be worked Comptroller & Auditor General
of India (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi said Monday. The new indirect tax regime,
however, also offers an opportunity as the data is available on a single
platform making it possible to do a 100 per cent audit, Mehrishi observed. GST
is a challenge. For that this institution (CAG) has risen very very well. It is
a challenge since huge numbers are to be worked. But interestingly, it has
thrown us a very interesting challenge. So far, as expenditure and revenue were
concerned it was quite simple for us when we audited a particular state for
revenue and expenditure. But here we have a new element which is neither Centre
neither state and yet owned by both, Mehrishi said while speaking at the
Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
(ICAI). However, the CAG has started to figure out the best method that it can
adopt under the Goods and Services (GST) regime, he said. There is an
opportunity that all the data is available in a single platform and it may be
possible for the CAG to do a 100 per cent audit. This way the institution can
move towards assurance when it comes to audit, he said, adding, that will be a
good beginning as this will be a good opportunity to move towards assurance as
far as GST is concerned. Lauding implementation of GST as one of the most
important economic reforms in 70 years, Mehrishi said it is not only tax
friendly and compliance friendly but also consumer friendly as it eliminates
multiple taxation.
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JUBILANT
FOUND GUILTY OF NOT PASSING RS 41.42 CRORE GST BENEFIT ON SALE OF DOMINOS PIZZA
Jubilant FoodWorks, the operator of Dominos
Pizza chain in India, has been found guilty of not passing on GST-cut benefit
of Rs 41.42 crore on sale of some pizza products and has been directed to
deposit the illegal gains with the government. The National Anti-Profiteering
Authority (NAA) passed the order on an email complaint filed by a customer that
Jubilant FoodWorks had not reduced the prices of 'Dominos Stuffed Garlic Bread'
and 'Medium Veg Pizza' despite a cut in GST rate from 18 per cent to 5 per
cent. Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on restaurants was cut to 5 per cent
without Input Tax Credit (ITC) from 18 per cent with ITC, with effect from
November 15, 2017. The NAA held that Jubilant FoodWorks has not passed on the
benefit of reduction in the rate of tax to its customers during the period
November 15, 2017 to May 31, 2018. It found that quantum of denial of rate cut
benefit or profiteered amount illegally earned by Jubilant FoodWorks is over Rs
41.42 crore and asked the company to reduce prices of its products by way of
commensurate reduction in taxes. The Respondent (Jubilant FoodWorks) is
directed to refund to the applicant an amount of Rs 5.65 along with interest
@18 per cent from the date of charging the above amount from him till its
refund. He is further directed to deposit the balance amount of Rs
41,42,97,629.25 in the ratio of 50:50 in the Central and the State Consumer
Welfare Funds along with interest @18 per cent till the same is deposited,
within a period of 3 months, the NAA said. The NAA also asked the Directorate
General of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP), which investigated the case, to conduct
further investigation post May 31, 2018, to check if the benefit of tax
reduction was passed to customers. It is clear that the Respondent has resorted
to profiteering by charging more price than what he could have charged by
issuing wrong tax invoices. He has further acted in conscious disregard of the
obligation which was cast upon him by the law, by issuing incorrect invoices in
which the base prices were deliberately enhanced more than what he was entitled
to increase due to denial of ITC and thus he had denied the benefit of
reduction in the rate of tax, the NAA said. The authority has also issued a
show cause notice to Jubilant FoodWorks to explain why penalty should not be
imposed on the company.
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PONZI
SCAM: CBI SENT 20 NOTICES IN 2017-18 FOR QUESTIONING SIT MEMBERS
The CBI sent as many as 20 notices for
examination members of a Special Investigation Team, including Kolkata Police
commissioner Rajeev Kumar, before knocking on his doors on Sunday evening which
spiralled into an unprecedented tussle between the two agencies, officials said
Monday. The 20 notices were sent by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
between September 2017 and December 2018. The CBI was handed over the probe by
the Supreme Court in 2014 but the agency was allegedly finding it difficult to
get all the documents and evidence collected by the special investigation team
of West Bengal, which had initiated the probe against the Saradha Group, an
official said. The agency started calling members of the SIT in 2017 to record
their statements to get insights into their probe and seek information about
the evidence and records collected by them during their searches on Saradha
Group of companies and other premises which was the first company to face
action in ponzi scam case. It shot off 20 notices between September 15, 2017
and December 8, 2018 seeking presence of SIT officials, including its head
Kumar, but in most cases the officials did not turn up on one pretext or
another, the official said. Shankar Bhattacharyya, an inspector at Bidhan Nagar
police commissionerate, was sent a notice on September 15, 2017, another senior
official said requesting anonymity. Three days later the agency called Dilip
Hazra, also an inspector at the police station, and issued a notice to Rajeev
Kumar to appear for questioning on the same day. Kumar cited engagement in law
and order duties during the ongoing festive season to skip the call, the
official said. It was followed by another notice on October 23, 2017 but he
responded with same excuse. The Kolkata Police commissioner was again called
through a notice dated December 8, 2018 but he proposed that queries can be
sent to him which will be answered or a joint meeting of SIT members and the
CBI can be convened.
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TELCOS
SEEK GST WAIVER ON PAYMENTS TO GOVT, RS 35,000-CR INPUT CREDIT ADJUSTMENT
Telecom firms, barring Reliance Jio, have
asked the government to waive GST on spectrum payments and other levies, while
adjusting accumulated tax credits of Rs 35,000 crore in the pending payments.
In a letter to Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha Monday, the Cellular Operators
Association of India (COAI) said value-added tax or goods and services tax
(GST) is not applicable to government services internationally as they are
considered 'out of scope' or regarded as non-economic activities or sovereign
functions that are outside the ambit of tax. Therefore, in line with the
international practices, it is requested that payment of regulatory levies
(licence fees (LF), spectrum usages charges (SUC), and spectrum payments) made
by telecom operators should be exempted from tax under GST. The same could be achieved
by issuing exemption notifications as per provisions stipulated under GST Act,
said COAI Director-General Rajan S Mathews in the letter. COAI members include
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio. Mathews, however, said Reliance
has a dissenting view in the matter. He said that according to a report of the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the industry's revenue reduced 32 per
cent between April-June 2016 and April-June 2018, and it is expected that the
revenue in 2018-19 will be lower than that of the revenue in 2013-14 at Rs 1.45
lakh crore. Since the industry's revenues have declined substantially, the
output GST on revenue is unable to absorb input GST credits available. Such a
situation has led to blocking of approximately Rs 35,000 crore of operator's
capital in the form of excess GST credits, Mathews said. Telecom operators
adjust input credit in GST that they collect from customers. Mathews said levy
of GST on a reverse-charge basis on both spectrum payout and LF, and
SUC-related payments are leading to a cascading cash-flow impact requiring
payment of GST, which cannot be set off against a corresponding GST liability.
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KUMAR
MANGALAM BIRLA MOVES PMO FOR RELIEF ON VODA IDEA SPECTRUM DUES
Kumar Mangalam Birla has met officials in the
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to negotiate a deferral of payment of Rs 9,500
crore to the government by way of spectrum charges this year, government
officials told. Officials, however, said any company-specific relief would be
difficult, and pointed out that the telecom industry itself is divided over the
need for any financial relief with latest entrant Reliance Jio not being in
sync with market leader Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel’s call for relief.
Birla met with senior officials at the PMO to discuss the possibility of some
sort of respite for the company, a senior government official told. Vodafone
Idea has to pay about Rs 3,500 crore in March and another Rs 6,000 later as
spectrum payments. Vodafone Idea is in the middle of a financial crisis due to
falling revenues and huge losses. The company posted a consolidated loss of Rs
4,973 crore for the quarter ended September, and is expected to report loss of
some Rs 4,500 crore in the October-December quarter. The company will announce
its December quarter results on February 6. Such a situation has led to
blocking of approximately Rs 35,000 crore of operators' capital in the form of
excess GST credits, it said. Utilise the excess GST credit as payment towards
the telecom operator’s liability towards spectrum auction and licence fee/SUC.
The industry body also urged the government to exempt all regulatory levies
such as licence fee, and facilitate spectrum repayment from payment of GST
under reverse charge mechanism going forward as this would ensure that further
accumulation of credit on this account would cease. While the industry has made
investments to the tune of Rs 10.4 lakh crore over the years, industry
financials have been adversely hurt by factors beyond the control of the
operators, COAI said.
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CRISIL
SME TRACKER: A GST LEG-UP FOR MICRO ENTERPRISES
The interim Budget 2019-20 has proposed
several measures aimed at micro enterprises which account for more than 99 per
cent of India’s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) universe. Among other
things, it doubled the limit for exemption from Goods and Services Tax (GST) to
Rs 40 lakh, from Rs 20 lakh. It also proposed an attractive composition scheme
for small businesses having a turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore, wherein these can
pay only a one per cent flat rate and file only one annual return. Similarly,
small service providers with a turnover of up to Rs 50 lakh can now opt for the
composition scheme and pay GST at six per cent instead of 18 per cent. The
government believes more than 35 lakh small traders, manufacturers and service
providers will benefit from these measures. The government also announced that
businesses with a turnover of less than Rs 5 crore — comprising over 90 per
cent of GST payers — will soon be allowed to file quarterly returns, as against
only annual returns right now. Micro enterprises also stand to benefit from the
full tax rebate to middle-class taxpayers and small proprietary enterprises for
an income of up to Rs 5 lakh. As per the National Sample Survey on MSMEs, 73rd
Round (2015-16), 96 per cent of MSMEs are proprietary concerns, and the bulk of
these are micro enterprises.
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EXPORT
PROMOTION CAPITAL GOODS SCHEME
In order to facilitate import of capital
goods for producing quality goods and services and enhance India’s
manufacturing competitiveness, the Central Government has been implementing a
Scheme called the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme under the Foreign Trade
Policy for manufacturer exporters with or without supporting manufacturer(s),
merchant exporters tied to supporting manufacturer(s) and service providers.
Under the Scheme, EPCG Authorizations are issued with actual user condition and
import validity of 24 months to import capital goods (except those specified in
negative list) for pre-production, production and post-production at zero
customs duty, and subject to fulfilment of specific Export Obligation
equivalent to 6 times of duties, taxes and cess saved on capital goods, to be
fulfilled in 6 years from date of issue of Authorization. In addition, the
Authorization holder is required to fulfil Average Export Obligation achieved
by him in the preceding three licensing years for the same and similar
products. However, if minimum 75% of specific Export Obligation and 100% of
Average Export Obligation is fulfilled within half the original export
obligation period, remaining export obligation can be condoned. Further, in
case of indigenous sourcing of capital goods and for exports of Green
Technology products, specific EO is only 75%. For Units located in North East
Region and Jammu & Kashmir, specific EO is only 25%. Presently, capital goods
imported for physical exports are also exempt from IGST and Compensation Cess
up to 31.03.2019. The number of defaulters reported in the last three years is
1347 nos. in 2015-16; 1122 nos. in 2016-17 and 1031 nos. in 2017-18. The
Regional Authorities have taken penal action under the Foreign Trade
(Development & regulation Act), 1992 by issuing show cause notices and
passing adjudication orders for recovery of customs duty along with interest.
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TEXTILE
EXPORTS
As per World Trade Organization’s (WTO)
systems, the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) enjoy Generalized System of
Preferences (GSP) because of which they enjoy duty advantage. In view of this India
faces duty disadvantage upto 9.6% vis-Ã -vis other neighbouring LDCs. The global
demand of textiles has also declined significantly between 2014-17 contributing
to reduction of textiles exports from India. Duty Drawback scheme rebates the
incidence of Customs and Central Excise duties suffered on inputs used in manufacture
of export goods. Duty Drawback scheme is not related to lack of innovations in
the textile industry or its losing out to neighbouring countries. To increase
exports of textile industry, Government announced a Special Package for
garments and made-ups sectors. The package offers Rebate of State Levies
(RoSL), labour law reforms, additional incentives under ATUFS and relaxation of
Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act. Further, the rates under Merchandise Exports
from India Scheme (MEIS) have been enhanced from 2% to 4% for apparel, 5% to 7%
for made-ups, handloom and handicrafts w.e.f. 1st November 2017. Products such
as fibre, yarn and fabric in the textile value chain are being strengthened and
made competitive through various schemes, inter alia, Powertex for fabric
segment, Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for all segments
except spinning, Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) for all segments,
etc. Assistance is also provided to exporters under Market Access Initiative
(MAI) Scheme. Further, Government has enhanced interest equalization rate for
pre and post shipment credit for the textile sector from 3% to 5% w.e.f.
02.11.2018. The benefit which was limited to only manufacturers earlier has
been extended to merchant exporters from 2019. During the last five years, no
new Free Trade Agreements has been signed by India. However, the India- ASEAN
Trade in Goods (TIG) Agreement has been expanded in November, 2014 to include
Services and Investment Chapter under the Agreement. Further India Chile PTA
which was signed in March, 2006 has been expanded on 6th September, 2016 and
came into force with effect from 16th May, 2017.
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FIRST
STATE LEVEL AWARENESS PROGRAMME ON AGRI EXPORT POLICY HELD IN PUNE
Suresh Prabhu, in his address at the first
state level awareness programme on agriculture export policy said that in order
to achieve the purpose of the policy clusters have been identified across the
country for development of agriculture exports. In Maharashtra, six clusters
have been identified for grapes, mango, pomegranate, banana, oranges and onion
for successful implementation. Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO’s) and
co-operatives should be linked with the farmers and exporters. Required
infrastructure needs to be provided in these clusters and use of latest
technology in agriculture has to be adopted. He also stressed on attractive
packaging in order to increase the demand for the identified products. Indian
Institute of Packaging has been roped in for working on packaging standards for
international markets. Government of India has recently released an Agriculture
Export Policy which aims at reinvigorating the entire value chain from export
oriented farm production and processing to transportation, infrastructure and
market access. The Agriculture Export Policy is framed with a focus on
agriculture export oriented production, export promotion, better farm
realization and synchronization with policies and programmes of Government of India.
It is required to have a Farmers’ Centric Approach for improved income through
value addition at source itself which will help minimize losses across the
value chain. For creating awareness among the farmers, exporters and other
concerned stakeholders, a first State level awareness programme on Agriculture
Export Policy was organized on 2nd February, 2019 in Vaikunth Mehta National
Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM), Pune. The Minister further
stated that in India, agriculture and horticulture production is around 600
million tonnes per year and 30% of fresh horticulture produces goes waste. Hence,
there is an urgent need to strengthen the supply chain to avoid these losses
and theproducts should not be confined only to our boundaries and we therefore
need to explore international markets for exportingIndia’s agriculture produce.
We have to consider the quality standards and health standards at the
production level itself, the Minister said.
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WORKSHOPS
FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL EXPORT POLICY
Meetings and Workshops have been conducted to
evolve a roadmap for implementation of the Agriculture Export Policy. A
national level meeting was held in New Delhi, on 8th January 2019, under the
chairmanship of Minister of Commerce & Industry. Meetings are also being
organised at State and Cluster levels to implement the Agriculture Export
Policy. Increasing agricultural exports from the present levels, to around USD
60 billion by 2022 is one of the objectives of the Agriculture Export Policy. Promoting
exports of agricultural products from the country is a continuous process. Various
measures to increase agricultural exports, both strategic and operational, have
been included in the newly introduced Agriculture Export Policy. The Department
of Commerce also has several schemes to promote exports, including exports of
agricultural products, viz. Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES),
Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme, Merchandise Exports from India Scheme
(MEIS) etc. In addition, assistance to the exporters of agricultural products
is also available under the Export Promotion Schemes of Agricultural &
Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Marine Products Export
Development Authority (MPEDA), Tobacco Board, Tea Board, Coffee Board, Rubber
Board and Spices Board. These organisations also seek to promote exports
through participation in international fairs & exhibitions, taking
initiatives to gain market access for different products in different markets,
dissemination of market intelligence and taking steps to ensure quality of
exported products.
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GEMS AND
JEWELLERY DOMESTIC COUNCIL
An Ad-hoc National Committee of Domestic
Council for Gems and Jewellery consisting 14 Members representing various
associations of Gems and Jewellery Sector has been constituted to draft
Memorandum and Article of Association and other Rules/Bye-laws of the Domestic
Council. The Government is supporting the process of setting up of Domestic
Council for Gems and Jewellery, to encourage and boost domestic gems and
jewellery sector It is envisaged that the domestic industry would be benefited
from such a representative body which would be the forum for highlighting the
issues and concerns of the industry that require redressal through policy
measures. Further, with a view to strengthen the Gems & Jewellery industry
in the country, the Government has taken a number of steps such as establishment
of Special Notified Zone (SNZ); setting up of Common Facility Centres for gem
and jewellery sector; announcement of separate ITC HS Code for lab-grown
diamonds; and providing financial assistance for participation in international
fairs, organizing buyer-seller meets, creation of export related
infrastructure, etc. under various schemes of the Department of Commerce to
boost the industry.
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SHIPPING
COMPANIES SEEK GST PARITY
The implementation of Goods and Services Tax
(GST) has impacted a wide range of sectors including the shipping industry.
Within the sector, there are some areas wherein the GST levy is tilted in
favour of international players instead of the domestic ones. Also, there are
certain pain points in the sector that have been highlighted to the government,
although an outcome is long awaited. The areas that the sector is looking for
some government attention includes discrimination in taxability of outbound
freight in the hands of Indian shipping companies versus foreign shipping
companies, import of vessels face IGST of 5%, place of supply and Input Tax
Credit (ITC) in case of bunker fuel and other goods, no refund of ITC for GST
on outbound freight services provided to Indian customers, sale of vessel
located outside India, and possible classification issue for bareboat charter
of vessels, among others. Among the most teething issue is related to freight.
A recent EY paper on the shipping industry threw some light on the subject.
Firstly, there is discrimination in the taxability of outbound freight when
compared between Indian and foreign shipping companies. For example, if an
Indian shipping company is providing services of transportation of goods
outside the country by a vessel to a domestic exporter, then the place of
supply of such transportation services is the exporter's location and 5% GST is
payable by the Indian shipping company. However, if a foreign shipping company
is providing the same services to an Indian exporter, then the place of supply
of such transportation services will be the place of destination of such goods,
i.e., outside India and thus, GST is not applicable. Hence, the move doesn't
provide a level playing field and this might reduce the competitiveness of the
domestic shipping companies as compared to foreign companies who carry out same
activities without any taxation in India, read EY's recent paper on the
subject. However, post-amendment, a reading of various provisions of the IGST
Act highlights a different situation the supply of goods or services, where the
supplier is located in India and the place of supply is outside India, is an
inter-state supply and liable to GST. Thus, the intention of a level playing
field was not fulfilled. To address the issue, the government extended the
exemption of transportation of goods from India to outside India by air or sea
vessel without the requirement of reversal of ITC42. However, this exemption
has a sunset clause restricting it up to September 30, 2019. The issue of a
non-level playing field for Indian shipping industry will, however, surface
post-September 30, the EY paper added. Secondly, there is no ITC refund on
outbound freight services for Indian customers. Services by way of
transportation of goods by a vessel provided by an Indian shipping company to a
domestic exporter in case of exports is treated as an exempt supply till
September 30, 2019.
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MODI GOVT
CUTS CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BY OIL PSUS; SPENDING DROPS TO 4-YEAR LOW IN 2019-20
State-owned oil firms’ capital expenditure
has hit a four-year low with PSUs such as ONGC and IOC planning to invest Rs
93,693 crore in oil and gas exploration, refining and petrochemicals in the
2019-20 fiscal year. The capital expenditure outlay of Oil and Natural Gas Corp
(ONGC), Indian Oil Corp (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd
(BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), Mangalore Refineries and
Petrochemicals Ltd and their subsidiaries is the lowest since 2014-15,
according to Union Budget for 2019-20 documents. Oil PSUs had proposed an
investment of Rs 89,335 crore in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2019,
but will end up investing Rs 94,438 crore. This is lower than Rs 132,003 crore
invested in 2017-18, Rs 104,426 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 97,223 crore invested
in 2015-16. They had invested Rs 89,180 crore in 2014-15. The decline in
spending comes at a time when the government is emphasising on raising domestic
output to cut costly oil imports. India had spent USD 109.1 billion on oil and
gas imports in 2017-18 while the same for the current fiscal are projected to
rise to about USD 130 billion. ONGC, according to Budget documents, is
projected to spend Rs 32,921 crore in 2019-20, down from Rs 33,007 crore in the
current year. IOC’s planned capex will see almost 2 per cent reduction at Rs
25,083 crore. Oil refining and fuel marketing companies HPCL and BPCL will,
however, see a rise in capex at Rs 9,500 crore and Rs 7,900 crore respectively.
Gas utility GAIL has proposed 10 per cent less capex at Rs 5,339 crore. ONGC
Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of ONGC, has proposed 15.5 per cent lower capex at
Rs 5,161 crore. India has 26 sedimentary basins measuring 3.14 million square
kilometers. These are classified into four categories: Category-I basins where
commercial production has been established like Cambay, Mumbai Offshore,
Rajasthan, Krishna Godavari, Cauvery, Assam Shelf and Assam-Arakan Fold Belt;
Category-II basins with known accumulation of hydrocarbons but no commercial
production so far such as Kutch, Mahanadi-NEC (North East Coast),
Andaman-Nicobar and Kerala-Konkan-Lakshadweep. Category-III basins have
hydrocarbon reserves that are considered geologically prospective such as in
Himalayan Foreland Basin, Ganga Basin, Vindhyan basin, Saurashtra basin, Kerela
Konkan basin, Bengal basin; and Category-IV which are the ones having uncertain
potential which may be prospective by analogy with similar basins in the world.
These include Karewa basin, Spiti-Zanskar basin, Satpura–South Rewa–Damodar
basin, Chhattisgarh basin, Narmada basin, Deccan Syneclise, Bhima-Kaladgi,
Bastar basin, Pranhita Godavari basin and Cuddapah basin.
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INDIA HAS
TENDENCY TO ROOT FOR UNDERDOG: RUCHIR SHARMA ON 2019 POLLS
There is a tendency in India to root for the
underdog against any dominant figure but the Congress would need all the help
it could muster to defeat the BJP in the 2019 general elections, says global
investor-writer Ruchir Sharma. He also claims that the election setbacks in
2018 have lowered Narendra Modi's chances of victory from near certain to
50:50. That's exactly how Indians like their leaders: on edge, fearing for
their jobs and not taking voters for granted, he says. Sharma has come out with
a new book Democracy on the Road which is the result of his travels through the
country following election campaigns - from Naxalite areas on the border of
Nepal to the southernmost tip in Tamil Nadu - for the last 20 years. He
predicts an interesting Lok Sabha election. Modi remained India's most popular
leader, and the BJP's organisational might under Amit Shah, with the formidable
RSS providing an army of campaign volunteers, would be hard to match, Sharma
says. He feels in some large states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the
Congress was still a token force and would need to ally with the regional
supremos. Facing unified alliances, the BJP could win a third of the popular
vote, as it did during the Modi wave of 2014, yet lose its majority of seats in
the Lok Sabha, he claims.
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WILL
APPEAL AGAINST EXTRADITION ORDER, SAYS VIJAY MALLYA AFTER UK APPROVAL
Hours after his extradition to India was approved
by the UK government fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya on Monday said he
will initiate the appeal process The 63-year-old business tycoon had been found
to have a case to answer before the Indian courts by Westminster Magistrates'
Court in London on December 10, 2018. Under the Extradition Treaty procedures,
the Chief Magistrate's verdict was sent to Home Secretary Sajid Javid because
only he was authorised to order Mallya's extradition. Javid, the UK's
senior-most Pakistani-origin minister, had two months from that date to sign
off on that order. The UK Home Office confirmed on Monday that after
considering all matters, Javid had signed Mallya's extradition order on Sunday.
Mallya now has 14 days from February 4 to apply for leave to appeal to the UK
High Court. In a tweet, Mallya said he will initiate the appeal process against
his extradition.
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UK HOME
OFFICE ORDERS MALLYA’S EXTRADITION
British Home Secretary Sajid Javid has signed
the order for Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India, providing the opportunity for
any appeal to process to be kickstarted. The businessman — whose legal team had
previously indicated their intention to appeal the extradition — will now have
two weeks to lodge an appeal The signing of the order came just a few days shy
of the two-month window from the date of judgement — December 10 last year —
within which a decision had to be made. On 3 February, the Secretary of State,
having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed the order for Vijay
Mallya’s extradition to India said the Home Office in a statement. Vijay Mallya
is accused in India of conspiracy to defraud, making false representations and
money laundering offenses. Under Britain’s extradition rules, Javid had two
months from the judgement to determine whether or not to order the extradition.
In making extradition decisions, the Minister has to consider issues including
whether the death penalty would be involved or the person be extradited to a
third country (neither of which would apply in this case). An appeal can only
be lodged after the signing of the order by the Minister.
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DELHI
HIGH COURT SEEKS ED'S RESPONSE ON DEEPAK TALWAR'S PLEA CHALLENGING DEPORTATION
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a
response from the Enforcement Directorate on corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar's
plea challenging his detention after being brought here from Dubai. Talwar, in
Enforcement Directorate custody after being deported from Dubai on Thursday,
has challenged his deportation before the court. Talwar is wanted by the ED and
the CBI in a case of misusing over Rs 90 crore taken through foreign funding
route as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR). He has been charged
with criminal conspiracy, forgery and under various other sections of the FCRA
for allegedly diverting Rs 90.72 crore worth of foreign funds meant for
ambulances and other articles received by his NGO from Europe's leading missile
manufacturing company. Talwar was booked by the ED and the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) in criminal cases of corruption, while the Income Tax
Department charged him with tax evasion.
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HIGH
COURT ADJOURNS HEARING ON CBI ATTEMPT TO ENTER KOLKATA POLICE COMMISSIONER'S
HOUSE
The Calcutta High Court Tuesday adjourned
hearing in the West Bengal government's plea challenging the CBI's attempt to
enter Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar's residence to question him on chit
fund scams. State Advocate General Kishore Dutta told Justice Shivakant Prasad
that the Supreme Court is hearing a plea by the central agency with regard to
the incident of Sunday relating to the CBI action and prayed that as such, the
matter in this court be adjourned. Justice Prasad adjourned hearing in the
matter till Thursday and verbally asked the AG to tell the state police to
cooperate in the investigation. The Calcutta High Court on Monday had refused
immediate hearing on the case following objection by the Union government.
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THWARTING
CBI PROBE AMOUNTS TO MURDERING CONSTITUTION: BJP MP G.V.L. NARASIMHA RAO
Describing the resistance to questioning of
the Kolkata police Commissioner by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
officials as an attempt to protect the corrupt, BJP MP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao
commented on Twitter that Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and
N. Chandrababu Naidu were actually violating the Constitution by fraudulently
claiming to save the democracy Mr. Rao was referring to the recent withdrawal
of general consent to the CBI by the governments of West Bengal and Andhra
Pradesh. He further stated that the general consent to CBI was not an omnibus
exemption and pointed out the CBI was probing the chit fund case in West Bengal
on the orders of the Supreme Court. Reacting to Mr. Naidu’s tweet that the
misuse of institutions by the Central government to victimise political
opponents in States reached dangerous proportions, Mr. Rao observed that
preventing the CBI officers from doing their duty amounted to ‘murder of the
Constitution’ and dubbed the ‘save democracy front’ sought to be formed by the
host of non-BJP parties as ‘a murder democracy front’. In a separate tweet, Mr.
Narasimha Rao said, In Chandrababu Naidu’s government, there is no protection
for Central government funds and for public money No protection for even Lord
Venkateswara’s ornaments, citing the theft in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’
Govindaraja Swamy temple, which, he said, epitomises the loot in Andhra
Pradesh.
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MAKE
PUBLIC MINUTES OF CBI CHIEF SELECTION PANEL MEETING, DEMANDS KHARGE
Rishi Kumar Shukla took charge of the probe
agency, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who was part of the selection
panel, expressed apprehensions over the 1983-batch IPS officer’s lack of
experience and hoped that it would not hamper his ability to rebuild the
institution destroyed by the BJP government. In a letter to Union minister Arun
Jaitley, who had accused the Leader of the Opposition of dissenting regularly,
Kharge said the value of the Prime Minister’s Office was brought down in the
way the government handled the appointment of the CBI Director. Kharge, who had
in a dissent note to the Centre said Shukla had no experience in investigating
anti-corruption cases, also demanded that minutes of the meeting of the PM
Narendra Modi-led panel on the appointment of the CBI chief be put in public
domain. The panel also included Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. In his
note, Kharge said 1983-batch UP cadre officer S Javed Ahmed was more qualified
for the post in line with the Supreme Court guidelines and provisions of the
Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. However, Jaitley shot back at the
Congress leader, saying Kharge had dissented when Alok Verma was appointed as
CBI chief, dissented when Verma was transferred and had now dissented when
Shukla was appointed.
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GOVERNMENT
SAYS MEHUL CHOKSI STILL A CITIZEN, PUSHING FOR ANTIGUA EXTRADITION
Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi, a main
defendant in the country's largest bank fraud case, is still an Indian citizen
despite holding an Antigua and Barbuda passport, an official told Reuters,
adding the government is pushing for his extradition Bringing Choksi back to
India would be a boon for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he tries to bolster
his anti-corruption credentials ahead of a general election due by May. Choksi,
along with his nephew, diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, are accused of colluding with
a handful of bankers to secure credit from overseas banks using fraudulent
guarantees. Both have denied the allegations and have moved abroad. Choksi has
secured a passport from Antigua and Barbuda, where wealthy foreigners can
become citizens in exchange for investing in the country. But officials still
consider him an Indian citizen, Venkatachalam Mahalingam, the Indian High
Commissioner to Guyana and Non-Resident High Commissioner to Antigua and
Barbuda as well as St. Kitts and Nevis, said in an interview in Georgetown last
week. He has not renounced his Indian citizenship. We have revoked his
passport, but that does not mean we have revoked his citizenship. We must agree
if someone wants to renounce their citizenship; we have not agreed, Mahalingam
said. You cannot commit some crime and run away from the country and (think)
we'd allow you to renounce your citizenship. That would look really stupid. If
all sides agree Choksi is Indian, he could potentially be extradited from
Antigua using a Commonwealth-based agreement. But his Antiguan citizenship
complicates the situation even though India does not permit dual citizenship.
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INX MEDIA
CASE: CBI GETS LAW MINISTRY NOD TO PROSECUTE P CHIDAMBARAM
The law ministry granted sanction to the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute former finance minister P
Chidambaram in connection with the INX media case according to law ministry
sources. On January 25, the investigative agency told the Delhi High Court that
it wanted to carry out custodial interrogation of Chidambaram in the case, in
which the court had reserved its judgment. We are opposing the anticipatory
bail of P Chidambaram and want to take him on the police remand for
interrogation. We want to exercise our statutory right to investigate the case,
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the court while appearing on behalf of
the CBI.
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HC
REFUSES BENGAL GOVT'S PLEA FOR URGENT HEARING AGAINST CBI
The Calcutta high court on Monday refused
immediate hearing on the West Bengal government's plea against the CBI's
attempt to question city police chief Rajeev Kumar at his residence in
connection with chit fund scam cases. Following objection by the Union
government, Justice Shivakant Prasad refused to give the matter an immediate
hearing and listed it for Tuesday. State Advocate General Kishore Dutta
submitted that despite a stay by the high court on steps regarding notice to
state police officials, the CBI sought to enter Kumar's residence on Sunday and
question him. He submitted that the court is scheduled to hear the matter on
February 13 and as such, the CBI's attempt to enter Kumar's official residence
was in violation of its order. Additional Solicitor General Kaushik Chanda
submitted that the stay was on a CBI notice to only Arnab Ghosh, the then
deputy commissioner (detective department) of Bidhannagar Police, which
initially investigated the chit fund case, and two other police officials -
Dilip Hazra and Sankar Bhattacharya. He further told the court that the CBI has
already moved the Supreme Court, on the order of which the central agency is
investigating the chit fund cases, and as such the hearing on the state's
prayer be adjourned. He submitted that the Supreme Court has fixed hearing on
CBI's plea on Tuesday.
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VVIP
CHOPPER CASE: DELHI COURT EXTENDS ED CUSTODY OF RAJEEV SAXENA BY 4 DAYS
A Delhi court Monday extended by four more
days the ED custody of Rajeev Saxena, an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore
AgustaWestland case Saxena, a Dubai-based businessman, was extradited from
Dubai on January 31 and sent to four-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate
(ED) the same day. The court had allowed his custodial interrogation after the
agency alleged that he and another accused provided global corporate structure
to launder money. The ED had alleged that in connivance with another accused,
Guatam Khaitan, Saxena provided a global corporate structure for laundering
illegal proceeds of the crime for payment to various political persons,
bureaucrats and Air Force officials to influence the contract to supply 12 VVIP
helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland.
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SUNANDA
PUSHKAR DEATH CASE AGAINST SHASHI THAROOR SENT TO SESSIONS COURT
A Delhi court Monday sent Sunanda Pushkar's
death case against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to Sessions court for further
proceedings. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal sent the
court to the case to Additional Sessions Judge Arun Bhardwaj since the offence
under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code was triable by
a sessions judge. The court also directed Delhi police to preserve vigilance
report in the matter The maximum punishment for the offence is 10 years of
imprisonment. Tharoor, former Union minister and Pushkar's husband, has been
charged under sections 498-A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to
cruelty) and 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), but has not been arrested in
the case.
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AYODHYA
CASE: PLEA IN SUPREME COURT CHALLENGING LAW ON LAND ACQUISITION CLOSE TO
DISPUTED SITE
A plea has been filed in the Supreme court
challenging Acquisition of Certain Area constitutional validity of Ayodhya Act,
1993. This has come days after the Centre filed an appeal in the top court
urging to return the non-disputed surplus land that was earlier acquired near
disputed ite to a Hindu trust and other original owners. The government had
acquired the said land under the Acquisition of Certain Areas of Ayodhya Act,
1993. the act provides for the acquisition of a certain area at Ayodhya and for
matters linked therewith or incidental thereto. The Centre, in its application,
requested for modification of the apex court order of March 31, 2003. Under
this order, it was asked to maintain the status quo in connection with the land
that included non-disputed acquired plots.
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ANYTHING
CAN HAPPEN UNTIL POLLS ARE ANNOUNCED: NITISH KUMAR
Deftly side-stepping queries on the face-off
between the West Bengal government and the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar said Monday anything can happen in the country until the Lok Sabha
elections are announced. He, however, firmly ruled out the possibility of the
Modi government making an attempt to dislodge Chief Minister and Trinamool
Congress chief Mamata Banerjee from power in view of the crisis. Kumar pointed
out that unlike in the past, when Congress governments at the Centre used to
clamp Presidents rule at will, now there were clear guidelines laid down by the
Supreme Court. On Sunday, an all-out war broke out between the Centre and the
Mamata Banerjee government, with the West Bengal leader beginning a sit-in
protest at a city landmark over the CBI's attempt to question the Kolkata
Police chief in connection with chit fund scams, insisting it stifled the
spirit of Constitution and federalism. What is happening between the CBI and
the West Bengal government is for them to explain. I am not in the habit of
commenting on others. But this is all a matter of a month or so, until the
Election Commission comes out with the poll schedule and model code of conduct
comes into force, Kumar said. Asked whether he would have reacted in a manner
similar to that of Mamata Banerjee had the police chief of his state been
embroiled in a similar controversy, Kumar asked laughingly do you think I will
have a DGP with such a record? An atmosphere of tension and bitterness prevails
in the country. And we can witness anything, all types of things, in the next
one month. These need to be watched and handled with patience, he said. Asked
whether he thought such a confrontation between a state and the Centre was
detrimental to the integrity of the country, he said that nobody is concerned
about the country. All are interested in votes. But our country is a great one.
And it has weathered many odds.
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MODI-LED
KAURAVAS WILL BE DRUBBED BY RAHUL IN POLLS: ANTONY
The coming Lok sabha elections will witness
the second Kurukshetra war in which the Narendra Modi-led Kauravas will face a
drubbing by the Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi, veteran AICC leader A K
Antony has said. The 2019 Lok Sabha election will witness a second Kurukshetra
war in which the Kauravas led by Narendra Modi will be destroyed by Rahul
Gandhi. This year's election is not simply any other Parliament election. This
is a war to save the country, to save the Constitution, its morals and values,
constitutional institutions and other threats faced by the country, Antony
said. RSS and Modi haven't grown big enough to teach nationalism to the Indian
National Congress the Indian National Congress doesn't need any lessons on nationalism
from the RSS and BJP, Antony said. There was a need to save India from the Modi
government as the country was facing the worst unemployment scenario in the
last 45 years, he said.
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CENTRE’S
CROP INSURANCE SCHEME AIMED AT TAKING AWAY FARMER’S MONEY, SAYS RAHUL GANDHI
Rahul Gandhi Sunday said the Centre’s crop
insurance scheme is aimed at taking away farmers income to fill up pockets of
big businessmen. At his first rally in Bihar after taking over as party
president, Gandhi accused the Nitish Kumar government in the state of making
empty promises like Modi. He promised that if the Congress is voted to power in
the Lok Sabha polls a number of steps would be taken to deal with farm distress
and unemployment. Raising the slogan of chowkidaar chor hai (the watchman is
the thief) — an allusion to Modi, Gandhi accused the NDA government at the
Centre of committing irregularities in the Rafale deal. He alleged that
policies of the Modi government, including crop insurance, were aimed at taking
away hard-earned money of farmers to fill up the pockets of big businessmen. In
contrast, he said, his party’s governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh waived farm loans within a few days of coming to power. Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel
and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were also present at the rally.
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NEW
DELHI, 4TH FEBRUARY, 2019 GERMAN DELEGATION MEETS MOS COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
A high level German delegation led by Dr.
Andreas Pinkwart, German Minister of Economic Affairs, Digitalisation and
Energy of North Rhine Westphaliamet with Minister of State of Commerce &
Industry, C R Chaudhary, in New Delhi. Both sides held discussions on a wide
range of subjects with the Indian side looking for greater collaboration with
Germany in projects like smart cities, food processing sector, building of
airports, dairy sector and technology for green energy. The German side wished
to gain more insight into the economic and industrial development in India and
also learn more about German investments in India and their facilitation
through the Indo-German Fast Track mechanism. Further, Germany desired to look
at opportunities and challenges for German companies in India and to get a
better understanding of the start-up India programme and its current status. C.
R. Chaudhary, said that there is great opportunity for German investment in the
100 smart cities being created in the country and construction of airports
which will rise to 400 by 2025 in the country under the UDAN project.
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MINISTRY
OF COAL SIGNS AN MOU WITH MINISTRY OF ENERGY, REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Ministry of Coal entered into a Memorandum of
Understanding with Ministry of Energy, Republic of Poland. The objective of
this MoU is to foster relations in the field of coal mining and clean coal
technologies through the already established Joint Coal Working Group as well
as research institutes and academia between the two countries covering the
following areas
a. To promote trade and investment in the
coal sector, enhance the understanding of coal related energy issues,
particularly clean coal technologies, and promote the exchange of information
on policies, programmes and technologies with special emphasis on coal
exploration and exploitation, research and development, technical cooperation
and capacity building.
b. To review the activities implemented under
MoU.
c. To identify other forms of cooperation
mutually agreed upon by the Participants.
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INDIA
IMPOSED ANTI-DUMPING DUTY ON 99 CHINESE PRODUCTS AS ON JAN 28: COMMERCE
MINISTRY
To protect domestic players from cheap
imports, India has imposed anti-dumping duty on as many as 99 Chinese products
as on January 28 this year, Parliament was informed Monday. As on 28.01.2019,
anti-dumping duty is in force on 99 products imported from China, Minister of
State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to the
Lok Sabha. Chinese products on which the duty was imposed include chemicals and
petrochemicals, fibres and yarn, machinery items, pharmaceutical, rubber and steel
items, he said. Countries carry out anti-dumping probe to determine whether
their domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports.
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INDIA-US
CASE AT WTO
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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