TAXATION UPDATES 30.03.2019

REVIEW OF THE MONTHLY ACCOUNT

The Monthly Account of the Union Government of India up to the month of February 2019 for the Financial Year 2018-19 has been consolidated and reports published. The highlights are given below:-

·       The Government of India has received Rs.13,37,340 crore (73.37% of corresponding  RE 18-19 of Total Receipts) upto February 2019 comprising Rs. 10,93,923 crore Tax Revenue (Net to Centre),  Rs. 1,71,755 crore of  Non Tax Revenue and Rs.71,662 crore of Non Debt Capital Receipts. Non Debt Capital Receipts consists of Recovery of Loans (Rs.15,042 crore) and  Disinvestment of  PSUs (Rs. 56,620 crore).

·       Rs. 5,96,667 crore has been transferred to the State Governments as Devolution of  Share of Taxes by Government of India up to this period which is Rs. 67,043 crore higher than the corresponding period of last year 2017-18.

·       Total Expenditure incurred by Government of India is Rs.21,88,839 crore (89.08% of corresponding RE 18-19), out of which Rs.19,15,303 crore is on Revenue Account and Rs.2,73,536 crore is on Capital Account. Out of the Total Revenue Expenditure, Rs.5,01,160 crore is on account of Interest Payments and Rs.2,63,868 crore is on account of Major Subsidies.

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INDIA'S APRIL-FEBRUARY FISCAL DEFICIT AT 134% OF FY TARGET: GOVT DATA

India's April-February fiscal deficit touched Rs 8.51 trillion ($123.07 billion), or 134.2 per cent of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year, government data showed on Friday.

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CBIC REVISES THE FORMAT OF SHIPPING BILL AND BILL OF EXPORTS

The government has revised the format of Shipping Bill and Bill of Exports forms, which are required to acquire a clearance for export from the Customs. The notification which amends the format of Shipping Bill and Bill of Exports (Forms) Regulations, 2017 was issued by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). It said These regulations may be called the Shipping Bill and Bill of Export (Forms) Amendment Regulations, 2019. In the formats of Shipping Bill for Export of Goods (SB I & SB III), certain changes were made by the authorities after making some amendments in the format of Shipping Bill and Bill of Exports (Forms) Regulations, 2017. After the amendments, the authorities concerned has inserted two more rows in SB I form and asked for item level details at invoice level and cargo details for each invoice separately in the respective rows. The gist of the revised formats are summarized as follows:

·       Form SB – I under Regulation 2 i.e. Shipping Bill for Export of Goods (Original)

·       Form SB – I under Regulation 2 i.e. Shipping Bill for Export of Goods (Quadruplicate) [Export Promotion Copy]

·       Form SB – III under Regulation 3 i.e. Bill for Export of Goods (Original)

·       Form SB – III under Regulation 3 i.e. Bill for Export of Goods (Quadruplicate) [Export Promotion Copy]

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SC TURNS DOWN PETITION BY GOVT AGAINST IGST EXEMPTION TO EXPORTERS

The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition filed by the government and the GST Council against the Delhi high court order  to allow exporters an exemption from the integrated goods and services tax (IGST) for imports done under the advance authorisation licenses. This would release working capital for those using these licenses. In advance authorisation licence is issued to allow duty-free import of inputs which are physically incorporated in export products. Explaining the case, Abhishek Rastogi, who argued the case for exporters in the Supreme Court, said the Delhi high court had in 2017 allowed exporters to avail the IGST exemption. Following this, the GST Council had amended rules under the GST laws to allow the exemption from October 13, 2017. However, importers wanted exemption for earlier period as well. The government, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) and the GST Council, meanwhile, filed a  special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the Delhi high court order. This was dismissed by the apex court on Friday. The dismissal of the SLP means that the exporters are under no  threat to pay taxes on goods imported under advance authorisation licenses, Rastogi said. He said exporters were facing huge working capital crunc when imports are subject to IGST despite advance authorisation licenses.

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CHANGES PLANNED IN E-WAY BILL SYSTEM TO CONTAIN GST EVASION

India is eyeing several changes to the electronic-way bill system, ranging from auto calculation of distance for movement of goods to barring businesses from generating multiple e-way bills based on one invoice, as it cracks down on evasion in the goods and services tax (GST) framework. E-way bill system will be enabled to auto calculate the distance for movement of goods based on the postal PIN codes of source and destination locations while allowing a variation of only 10%. That is if the system has displayed the distance between Place A and B, based on the PIN codes, as 655 kms; then the user will be able to enter the actual distance up to 720 KM (655KMs + 65KM), according to the new conditions. Tax experts reckon that tax evasion continues to be a major concern for the government, and it is increasingly relying on technology to plug the gaps. The recent changes are another example of how the government is relying more on technology to ensure compliances -- case in point being auto population of actual distance between supplier and recipient based on PIN codes and automatic blocking of inter-state transaction for small composition dealers, said Harpreet Singh. The proposed system will also bar generation of e-way bill for interstate movement by composition taxpayer. This is being done to plug a loophole in the system as the GST Act does not allow the composition tax payers to do Inter-state transactions. With some of these changes such as automatic calculation of distance between two locations via PIN codes and one e-way bill for one invoice, coupled with greater focus on RFIDenabled vehicles, tracking the consignments might be easier for the government, said Pratik Jain, national leader, indirect taxes, PwC. However, it needs to be ensured that flexibility is built in the system to take care of exceptional situations such as diversion of vehicles due to road blockage, etc., where the actual distance travelled may be more than 10% of the distance calculated by the system, said Jain. The new rules envisage not allowing generation of multiple e-way bills based on one invoice by any party — consignor, consignee and transporter. That is, once e-way bill is generated with an invoice number, then none of the parties — consignor, consignee or transporter — can generate the e-Way bill with the same invoice number. This has been done following representations from transporters.

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EXPORTERS UNDER THE SCANNER FOR CLAIMING TAX BENEFITS TWICE

Many exporters have come under the taxman’s lens for claiming tax credit for the same export twice under the inverted duty structure. Those who have received notices from the indirect tax department said they had merely claimed what was theirs — although in two tranches. According to the notices, the anomaly came to light during an audit conducted by the tax authorities. The tax department claimed that these exporters had claimed double benefits. Inverted duty structure in the indirect tax framework refers to a situation where GST paid on the raw material is more than the goods exported This led to a situation where the exporters would go and claim the refunds. In many cases, say industry trackers, the refunds were claimed in two tranches. In several situations, the exporters have more accumulated credit than the IGST paid under the rebate option, thereby unable to set off the credits. Many exporters have been issued notices under the inverted duty structure, especially those who were paying partial duty through credit and seeking refunds of the rest of the taxes paid, said Abhishek A Rastogi. The issue was raised at a time when the revenue department is staring at a ₹30,000-crore shortfall in GST collection. This is not the first time the exporters have come under the indirect tax department’s scrutiny. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the primary anti-smuggling intelligence agency, had issued notices to the exporters for wrongfully availing exemptions in cases where exports preceded imports. The notices issued by the DRI asked exporters to pay IGST in cases where the raw material is imported only after goods are exported partially or fully.

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UNSTITCHED THREE-PIECE SALWAR/CHURIDAR SETS TO ATTRACT LOWER GST OF 5%, RULES AAR

Is a salwar/churidar-kurta set comprising three pieces — top, bottom and dupatta — just fabric or articles of apparel? This was the question before the Authority for Advance Ruling of Tamil Nadu (AAR-TN) to determine the rate of Goods & Services Tax (GST). AAR-TN ruled that completely unstitched sets will be classified as ‘fabrics’ and attract five per cent GST, just embroidery or embellishment will not make any difference to it. However, partially stitched will make it ‘Article of Apparel’ and it will accordingly attract GST at the rate of 5 per cent (for sale value less than ₹1,000) or 12 per cent (for sale value more than ₹1,000). According to Anita Rastogi, this is a classic example where multiple rates lead to classification issues. One of the objectives of the GST was to do away with huge litigation faced under old regime largely due to different tax rates for different products. Going forward, the government should look at rationalising the rate structure under GST, she said. Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu-based RmKV Fabrics approached AAR to get an advance ruling on classification of three piece salwar/churidar-kurta-dupatta sets. It wanted to know whether the three piece set would be classifiable as ‘fabrics’ and attract only 5 per cent GST or they would be classifiable as ‘Articles of Apparel’ and attract 5 per cent GST if their sale price is below ₹1,000 and attract l2 per cent GST if their sale price is more than ₹1,000. The AAR decision is binding on the applicants and the jurisdictional tax authority. Though such a decision does not have precedent value like that of a High Court or Supreme Court judgment, it can be used as persuasive tool in future cases. In this case, the applicant put forward four models to determine ‘fabrics’ or ‘Article of Apparel.’ The first model has unstiched top and bottom where top is merely cut into size. The second model comprises top semi-stitched and bottom unstitched. The third model has top stitched, but bottom unstitched. Finally, the fourth model has top and bottom unstitched, but only the neck portion is cut and design is made — which meant partial stitching. However, in all the cases, the fabrics themselves could have some embroidery work/hemming or embellishments on them. The applicant further said the sets in question comprise three pieces of fabric and in some of them certain degree of stitching or neck work is done. These items cannot be worn as such and requires further stitching according to the measurement of the user and then ultimately stitched into a complete set. They are essentially in the form of fabric and have not attained the characteristics of an article like a readymade shirt or pant. The AAR took cognizance of circulars issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC). The circular dated October 27, 2017 said mere cutting and packing of fabrics into pieces of different lengths from bundles or thans, will not change the nature of these goods and such pieces of fabrics would continue to be classifiable under the respective heading as the fabric and attract the 5 per cent GST rate. Another clarification issued on December 31, 2018, restated this position while adding that a fabric piece or a set of pre-packed fabric pieces, even if embroidered or embellished, will still be considered as fabrics. The authority also considered classification under custom tariff and gave the ruling accordingly.

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CLARIFICATION IN RESPECT OF TRANSFER OF INPUT TAX CREDIT IN CASE OF DEATH OF SOLE PROPRIETOR

Doubts have been raised whether sub-section (3) of section 18 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as (CGST Act) provides for transfer of input tax credit which remains unutilized to the transferee in case of death of the sole proprietor. As per sub-rule (1) of rule 41 of the Central Goods and Services Rules, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as (CGST Rules), the registered person (transferor of business) can file FORM GST ITC-02 electronically on the common portal along with a request for transfer of unutilized input tax credit lying in his electronic credit ledger to the transferee. Further, clarification has also been sought regarding procedure of filing of FORM GST ITC-02 in case of death of the sole proprietor. In order to clarify these issues and to ensure uniformity in the implementation of the provisions of the law, the Board, in exercise of its powers conferred by section 168 (1) of the CGST Act, hereby clarifies the issues raised as below. Clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 29 of the CGST Act provides that reason of transfer of business includes death of the proprietor Similarly, for uniformity and for the purpose of sub-section (3) of section 18, sub-section (3) of section 22, sub-section (1) of section 85 of the CGST Act and sub-rule (1) of rule 41 of the CGST Rules, it is clarified that transfer or change in the ownership of business will include transfer or change in the ownership of business due to death of the sole proprietor.

In case of death of sole proprietor if the business is continued by any person being transferee or successor, the input tax credit which remains un-utilized in the electronic credit ledger is allowed to be transferred to the transferee as per provisions and in the manner stated below –

a. Registration liability of the transferee / successor

As per provisions of sub-section (3) of section 22 of the CGST Act, the transferee or the successor, as the case may be, shall be liable to be registered with effect from the date of such transfer or succession, where a business is transferred to another person for any reasons including death of the proprietor. While filing application in FORM GST REG-01 electronically in the common portal the applicant is required to mention the reason to obtain registration as death of the proprietor.

b. Cancellation of registration on account of death of the proprietor

Clause (a) of subsection (1) of section 29 of the CGST Act, allows the legal heirs in case of death of sole proprietor of a business, to file application for cancellation of registration in FORM GST REG-16 electronically on common portal on account of transfer of business for any reason including death of the proprietor. In FORM GST REG-16, reason for cancellation is required to be mentioned as death of sole proprietor. The GSTIN of transferee to whom the business has been transferred is also required to be mentioned to

link the GSTIN of the transferor with the GSTIN of transferee.

c. Transfer of input tax credit and liability

In case of death of sole proprietor, if the business is continued by any person being transferee or successor of business, it shall be construed as transfer of business. Sub-section (3) of section 18 of the CGST Act, allows the registered person to transfer the unutilized input tax credit lying in his electronic credit ledger to the transferee in the manner prescribed in rule 41 of the CGST Rules, where there is specific provision for transfer of liabilities. As per sub-section (1) of section 85 of the CGST Act, the transferor and the transferee / successor shall jointly and severally abcaus.in be liable to pay any tax, interest or any penalty due from the transferor in cases of transfer of business in whole or in part, by sale, gift, lease, leave and license, hire or in any other manner whatsoever. Furthermore, sub-section (1) of section 93 of the CGST Act provides that where a person, liable to pay tax, interest or penalty under the CGST Act, dies, then the person who continues business after his death, shall be liable to pay tax, interest or penalty due from such person under this Act. It is therefore clarified that the transferee / successor shall be liable to pay any tax, interest or any penalty due from the transferor in cases of transfer of business due to death of sole proprietor.

d. Manner of transfer of credit

As per sub-rule (1) of rule 41 of the CGST Rules, a registered person shall file FORM GST ITC-02 electronically on the common portal with a request for transfer of unutilized input tax credit lying in his electronic credit ledger to the transferee, in the event of sale, merger, de-merger, amalgamation, lease or transfer or change in the ownership of business for any reason. In case of transfer of business on account of death of sole proprietor, the transferee / successor shall file FORM GST ITC-02 in respect of the registration which is required to be cancelled on account of death of the sole proprietor. FORM GST ITC-02 is required to be filed by the transferee/successor before filing the application for cancellation of such registration.

Upon acceptance by the transferee / successor, the un-utilized input tax credit specified in FORM GST ITC-02 shall be credited to his electronic credit ledger.

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EXTENSION OF DUE DATE FOR FILING FORM GST ITC-04 FOR PERIOD JULY 2017 TO MARCH 2019 TILL 30.06.2019

In pursuance of section 168 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017) and sub-rule (3) of rule 45 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), and in supercession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue No. 78/2018-Central Tax, dated the 31st December 2018, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R.1255(E), dated the 31st December 2018, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supercession, the Commissioner, hereby extends the time limit for furnishing the declaration in FORM GST ITC-04 of the said rules, in respect of goods dispatched to a job worker or received from a job worker, during the period from July, 2017 to March, 2019 till the 30th day of June, 2019

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VERIFICATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR GRANT OF NEW REGISTRATION

Recently, a large number of registrations have been cancelled by the proper officer under the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 29 of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as CGST Act) read with rule 21 of the Central Goods and Services Rules, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as CGST Rules) on account of noncompliance of the said statutory provisions. In this regard, instances have come to notice that such persons, who continue to carry on business and therefore are required to have registration under GST, are not applying for revocation of cancellation of registration as specified in section 30 of the CGST Act read with rule 23 of the CGST Rules. Instead, such persons are applying for fresh registration. Such new applications might have been made as such person may not have furnished requisite returns and not paid tax for the tax periods covered under the old/cancelled registration. Further, such persons would be required to pay all liabilities due from them for the relevant period in case they apply for revocation of cancellation of registration. Hence, to avoid payment of the tax liabilities, such persons may be using the route of applying for fresh registration. It is pertinent to mention that as per the provisions contained in proviso to sub-section (2) of section 25 of the CGST Act, a person may take separate registration on same PAN in the same State. In order to ensure uniformity in the implementation of the provisions of law across the field formations, the Board, in exercise of its powers conferred by section 168 (1) of the CGST Act, hereby issues the following instructions

·       Sub-section (10) of section 25 of the CGST Act read with rule 9 of the CGST Rules provide for rejection of application for registration if the information or documents submitted by the applicant are found to be deficient. It is possible that the applicant may suppress some material information in relation to earlier registration. Some of the information that may be concealed in the application for registration in FORM GST REG -01 are S. No. 7 Date of Commencement of Business, S. No. 8 Date on which liability to register arises, S. No. 14 Reason to obtain registration etc. Such persons may also not furnish the details of earlier registrations, if any, obtained under GST on the same PAN.

·       It is hereby instructed that the proper officer may exercise due caution while processing the application for registration submitted by the taxpayers, where the tax payer is seeking another registration within the State although he has an existing registration within the said State or his earlier registration has been cancelled. It is clarified that not applying for revocation of cancellation of registration along with the continuance of the conditions specified in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of the CGST Act shall be deemed to be a deficiency within the meaning of sub-rule (2) of rule 9 of the CGST Rules.

·       The proper officer may compare the information pertaining to earlier registrations with the information contained in the present application, the grounds on which the earlier registration(s) were cancelled and the current status of the statutory violations for which the earlier registration(s) were cancelled. The data may be verified on common portal by fetching the details of registration taken on the PAN mentioned in the new application vis-a-vis cancellation of registration obtained on same PAN.

·       The information regarding the status of other registrations granted on the same PAN is displayed on the common portal to both the applicant and the proper officer. Further, if required, information submitted by applicant in S. No. 21 of FORM GST REG-01 regarding details of proprietor, all partner/Karta/Managing Directors and whole time Director/Members of Managing Committee of Associations/Board of Trustees etc. may be analysed vis-à-vis any cancelled registration having same details.

·       While considering the application for registration, the proper officer shall ascertain if the earlier registration was cancelled on account of violation of the provisions of clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of the CGST Act and whether the applicant has applied for revocation of cancellation of registration. If proper officer finds that application for revocation of cancellation of registration has not been filed and the conditions specified in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of the CGST Act are still continuing, then, the same may be considered as a ground for rejection of application for registration in terms of sub-rule (2) read with sub-rule (4) of rule 9 of CGST Rules. Therefore, it is advised that where the applicant fails to furnish sufficient convincing justification or the proper officer is not satisfied with the clarification, information or documents furnished, then, his application for fresh registration may be considered for rejection.

It is requested that suitable trade notices may be issued to publicise the contents of these instructions.

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VERIFICATION OF CASH DEPOSITS/WITHDRAWALS BY STRUCK-OFF COMPANIES-CBDT INSTRUCTION

Lately, the Registrar of Companies (RoCs), all over the country, took action against a number of companies under section 248(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 by removing their names from the Register of Companies. The CBDT, in order to check possible misuse of such companies for money-laundering activities, has asked all the Pr. Chief-Commissioners of Income for getting the verification of suspicious transactions in case of struck-off companies done. The CBDT has sought verification of the deposits/withdrawals from the bank accounts of such companies during the process of striking down and just before that especially during the period of demonetisation. It has been advised that the information regarding the struck-off companies may be taken from the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It has been further advised that for the ease of the work, the details regarding bank-account(s) of a particular company may be compiled on the basis of information contained in the Income-tax returns. Thereafter, verification from bank(s) may be made under provisions of section 133(6) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The CBDT has advised that in cases where unusual transactions and beneficiaries thereof are deteced, appropriate action may be taken as per provisions of the Income-tax Act after seeking restoration of the struck off company by filing an appeal before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The Board has stressed a time bound exercise for the verification of already struck off companies and positive results to be intimated to the Board. It has been also stated that in future, the process of verification may continue to be used to monitor indulgence of companies in money-laundering activities which are proposed to be struck -off by the RoC. The CBDT has instructed that on detection of suspicious transactions in a particular company, it may be bring to the notice of the concerned RoC within one month during which objections can be filed against the proposal to strike-off a company.

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TERROR FINANCING: ED SLAPS RS 15 LAKH PENALTY, CONFISCATES RS 7 LAKH HAWALA MONEY

The ED said Friday that it has imposed a penalty of Rs 15 lakh on three alleged terrorist organisation operatives and has confiscated cash worth Rs 7 lakh in a 17-year-old terror funding case linked to the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). The FEMA Adjudicating Authority imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on Mir, Rs 7 lakh on Bengani and Rs 3 lakh on Singh and also ordered for the confiscation of seized cash of Rs 7 lakhs under an order of March 27, it said.

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DELHI ELECTION BODY RECEIVED COMPLAINTS AGAINST AAP GOVT DEPTS, MCDS OVER POLL CODE VIOLATION

The Delhi poll body has received several complaints about the AAP government departments and BJP-ruled MCDs starting work on projects before the model code of conduct came into force but seeking formal approvals later, an official said. The office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has shot off a letter to head of departments, saying the projects that actually started on the ground after obtaining all necessary permission, before the poll code came into force, can be continued. The model code of conduct (mcc) came into force on March 10 when the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Lok Sabha elections, which will be held in seven phases starting April 11. According to the letter, the CEO office has received various complaints and references from the ECI, public representatives about formal approvals being given to those projects after the model code of conduct came into force, but their ground work started before the announcement of dates of Lok Sabha polls. It is also mentioned in some cases that in order to avoid MCC compliance, the new works have been started before March 10, 2019, however, their formal approvals etc. have been taken subsequently after the MCC has come into force, stated the letter. The CEO office had on Thursday said over 2.25 lakh banners have been removed from across Delhi while 74 FIRs and complaints have been filed in connection with poll code violation. Of the 74 FIRs and daily diary entries lodged, nine are against the AAP (six FIRs, three DD entries), six against the BJP (four FIRs, two DD entries), one against the Congress (one DD entry), one against the BSP and 57 are under the head of others/non-political.

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FINANCE COMMISSION CHIEF MAKES CASE FOR INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM TO CHECK FISCAL DEFICIT

Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh Thursday made a case for setting up a fiscal council as an institutional mechanism to monitor fiscal consolidation roadmap of the Centre and state governments. He also said fiscal federalism is a dynamic process and 'a Work in Motion'. Singh was speaking at the launch of the book 'Indian Fiscal Federalism' written by Y V Reddy, who had served as RBI Governor as well as Finance Commission Chairman. Referring to a suggestion in the book, Singh said he too agrees that there should be some mechanism to ensure that basic spirit of devolution process is not undercut by clever financial engineering or taking recourse to traditions that makes it technical and legally tenable but perhaps morally not so. Emphasising that rules of the game should be same for both the Centre as well as the states with regard to borrowings, Singh said, for state government liabilities, Article 293 (3) provides a constitutional check over borrowings. But there are no such restriction on the Centre. I feel that it is time we have an alternative institutional mechanism like fiscal council to enforce fiscal rules and keep a check on the centre's fiscal consolidation, he said. Singh, who had also served as revenue secretary in the finance ministry, agreed with the suggestion in the book that the Finance Commission as envisaged in the Constitution does not prohibit its continuous functioning except that it has to be re-constituted before the tenure ends every five years.

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INTERACTION ON TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH AMBASSADORS

European and Oceania countries are major trading partners and major sources of investments for India and there is huge untapped potential that can be achieved India has made efforts in the recent past to take economic ties to the next level and have some sort of broad based comprehensive trade agreement. There is a need to take these efforts to a logical conclusion. Anup Wadhawan said like most trade negotiations between developing and developed countries, trade negotiations with EU and Oceania have been protracted. India is a developing country and EU and Oceania countries are predominantly developed and because of this our ambitions, aspirations and sensitivities are at divergence in some specific areas. He expressed the hope that India, European Union and Oceania countries will be able to overcome those issues and in the near future come to an understanding and reach some sort of formal agreement. It is important to remain engaged at every level - government, export and trade and investment related institutions, exporters and businesses to understand the opportunities available in India, EU and Oceania for business, exporters and importers, Dr. Wadhawan added. He also emphasized on the need to appreciate each other’s constraints and try to find a way forward which is doable for all stakeholders. Bilateral trade between India and Europe crossed the USD 150 billion mark in 2011-12. Global slowdown and commodity price fluctuations adversely impacted the trade, but there are signs of recovery in the recent period. During 2017-18, India’s trade with Europe stood at USD 130.1 billion, with both exports and imports registering double digit growth. India is the fifth largest export market for Australia, with coal, education –related travel, vegetable and gold being some of the major items of imports by India. Major exports from India to Australia include refined petroleum, business services and pharmaceuticals. New Zealand is also an important market for India in the Oceania region, especially for its exports of pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, machinery and textiles and apparel. The extent of investment linkages is evident from the fact that nearly one-fourth of FDI inflows into India are from Europe and around 29.8 percent of India’s overseas direct investments and directed towards Europe. Nearly, USD 1034.2 million was invested by companies from Oceania in the Indian market during April 2000 to December 2018. The Oceania region also accounts for nearly 1.7 percent of India’s overseas FDI, with Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu being the key investment destinations.

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SARADHA CHIT FUND: SC SEEKS REPLY FROM VODAFONE, AIRTEL ON CBI'S PLEA ALLEGING NON-COOPERATION

The Supreme Court Friday sought reply form Vodafone and Airtel on a plea by the CBI alleging that they were not cooperating with the investigation in the Saradha chit fund case. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi listed the agency's plea on April 8 after the mobile service providers denied the allegations. A bench also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the CBI that there was complete lawlessness and anarchy in West Bengal.

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ONLINE FILING OF E-COM APPLICATIONS AND E-IEC FACILITY WILL REMAIN CLOSE FROM MARCH 31 TO APRIL 1 FOR SOME TIME: DGFT

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified that the online filing of e-commerce applications and e-IEC (Import Export Code) facility will remain close on March 31 and April 1, 2019 for some time. The move has been taken to facilitate financial year ending, said DGFT, the Commerce Ministry's foreign trade arm. It said, Online Filing of e-com applications & e-iec facility will remain suspended from 6.00 P.M on March 31, 2019 (Sunday) to 3.00 P.M on April 1, 2019 (Monday) to facilitate financial year end processing. Inconvenience caused in this regard is regretted, it added.

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CONGRESS TO GIVE 3-YEAR BLANKET PASS TO NEW VENTURES; ABOLISH ANGEL TAX: RAHUL GANDHI

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said new ventures will not require any regulatory permissions for three years and will get easy access to bank credit if his party is voted to power. He also promised to remove the existing 'angel tax' imposed on start-ups Angel tax is levied on investment in start-ups. Currently, angel tax is charged at a maximum rate of 30 per cent. Gandhi said promoting domestic industry will be a key priority for the Congress and it will ensure that all new businesses are freed from the clutches of red tape to give a boost to the economy. For the first three years of setting up a new business, we are going to free you up from red tape. You will not need to ask for permission for anything, Gandhi said. Don't bother about anything, there is no permission you need. Start your business, get to work, he said in a bid to woo the youth who intend to start their own businesses. Why should only Nirav Modi get thousands of crores? How many jobs has he created in India? Why can't a youngster who wants to start a business, who wants to give India 2,000 jobs, get a bank loan, he asked. Gandhi said the party is putting together a manifesto after several rounds of discussions with stakeholders and voicing their suggestions in the party's manifesto.

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EC RAISE CONCERNS OVER ELECTORAL BONDS

India’s new campaign finance rules allowing anonymous donations have reduced transparency in political funding, the Election Commission of India said, according to people familiar with a filing in the country’s top court. The EC — one of the respondents in a case filed against the new funding rules — said anonymous donations will have serious repercussions and impact on the transparency of political funding, the people said, asking not to be identified as the affidavit is not public. The court is hearing petitions challenging the introduction of electoral bonds and seeking a ban on cash donations filed by Association for Democratic Reforms, a non-government organisation. The commissions statement, seen by Bloomberg, comes weeks ahead of general elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term. Modi came to power in 2014 promising a crackdown on corruption. The Election Commission’s comments and any adverse ruling from the top court may dent the anti-graft credentials of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The government has claimed that the changes will cleanse political funding. The move was criticised for allegedly legalising large anonymous donations that can potentially lead to businesses and foreign companies gaining influence over the elections that start on April 11. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on April 2.

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ARTICLE 35A HAMPERING DEVELOPMENT IN J&K: ARUN JAITLEY

Arun Jaitley Thursday said Article 35A, which restricts non-permanent residents to buy property in Jammu and Kashmir, is constitutionally vulnerable and also hampering economic development of the state. The statement comes amidst the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pressing for early elections to the state assembly in the state. The state is under President's rule and the Union Cabinet takes all policy decisions related to the militancy-hit state. Jaitley said the seven-decade history of the state of Jammu and Kashmir confronts changing India with several questions. Was the Nehruvian course, which the state had embarked, a historical blunder or was it the correct course to follow? Most Indians today believe that it is the former. Does our policy today have to be guided by that erroneous vision or an out of box thinking which is in consonance with ground reality? Jaitley questioned. The senior BJP leader and in-charge of the party's campaign committee for general elections said Article 35A was surreptitiously included by a presidential notification in the Constitution in 1954. Artcle 35A, he said, was neither a part of the original Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly, nor did it come as a Constitutional Amendment under Article 368 of the Constitution which requires an approval by two-third majority of both Houses of Parliament. It came as a presidential notification and is a surreptitious executive insertion in the Constitution. Jaitley further said the Article gives the right to the state government to discriminate between two state citizens living in the state on the basis of declaring some as permanent residents while leaving out the others. It also discriminates between permanent residents of the state and all other Indian citizens living elsewhere, he added. He said the state does not have adequate financial resources and its ability to raise more has been crippled by Article 35A. No investor is willing to set up an industry, hotel, private educational institutions or private hospitals since he can neither buy land or property nor can his executives do so, he said. Article 35A, which is constitutionally vulnerable, is used as a political shield by many but it hurt the common citizen of the state the most. It denied them a booming economy, economic activity and jobs, Jaitley said. Jaitley also informed that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has launched a crack-down on terrorist funding. The Income-tax Department has swung into action after 17 years and discovered several sources of anti-national funding. The CBI is looking into 80,000 gun licences given in recent years, he added.

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WE HAVE SHOWN COURAGE FOR SURGICAL STRIKES ON LAND, AIR AND SPACE: MODI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the BJP's campaign from Uttar Pradesh with a blistering attack on the opposition while keeping the focus on a strong government, saying his administration had shown the courage to conduct a surgical strike in all spheres -- land, sky and space. The contest is between a decisive government and an indecisive past, Modi said. He said the country's 130 crore people had made up their minds that the NDA would return to power. India has made up its mind who to vote For proof, see the large number of people attending this rally, he said amid loud applause from the gathering. Modi said, It was this chowkidar's government that had the courage to conduct surgical strikes on land, sky and space. India should develop, India should be secure from enemies. The country is, for the first time, witnessing a government that knows how to deliver, he said. Modi told the gathering that he would give an account of the work done by his government and of what others had done, or didn't. When I sought your blessings five years ago, I had said I'll return it with interest and I will present a report card of my work. I also said I'll seek a report card of what work was done in the 60 years before that, Modi said.

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VIJAY MALLYA APPEAL MOVES FORWARD AS NIRAV MODI SET FOR UK COURT HEARING

The stage is set for a busy period of Indian extradition-related activity in the UK courts as liquor baron Vijay Mallya's High Court appeal moves forward for a judge's verdict on paperwork and fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi returns to Westminster Magistrates' Court for a second bail hearing on Friday. All the papers have been received and are now awaiting allocation to a single judge who will decide, on the basis of those papers, if permission is given to go to a full hearing, said a spokesperson for the UK judiciary, in reference to Mallya's application seeking an appeal against his extradition ordered by the magistrates' court and then signed off by UK home secretary Sajid Javid last month. While there is no set timescale for the judge to pronounce a decision on whether Mallya will be granted an appeal in the UK High Court, a decision is likely within the next few weeks. The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, wanted in India on alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to about Rs 9,000 crore, took to social media yet again to claim unfair treatment in the context of struggling Indian airlines Jet Airways being thrown a lifeline by public sector banks. There is clear evidence of dispersal and misapplication of the loan funds and I find a prima facie case that Dr Mallya was involved in a conspiracy to launder money, she noted. Now, the same judge is expected to preside over the next major Indian extradition trial to come before the Westminster Magistrates' Court, that of diamantaire Modi – wanted for alleged high value and sophisticated fraud and money laundering amounting to USD 2 billion. He is expected to be produced before the court for a second bail application hearing on March 29, a court official said. Meanwhile, the 48-year-old has been lodged in HMP Wandsworth prison in south-west London since last Wednesday, when a judge had declined his request for bail on the grounds that he posed a flight risk. Describing him as the opposite of a flight risk during the first bail application hearing last week, Modi's defence team had offered 500,000 pounds as security and also submitted to any stringent conditions that may be imposed upon their client. It remains to be seen how they would further bolster that offer in order to convince the judge to grant bail during the second hearing, following which the case will proceed to a series of case management hearings and setting of a trial date. While one passport is now in possession of the Metropolitan Police, a second expired passport is lying with the UK Home Office and a third with the UK's Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for a driver's licence. Besides the passports, Modi also possesses multiple residency cards, some of them expired, but covering countries such as the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong. His defence team tried to establish his very visible and lawful residence at his luxury Centre Point apartment in London's West End, paying his local council tax and also using a National Insurance number, allocated to legal UK residents for purposes of work. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, had challenged all claims to counter the first bail plea and pointed out that Modi had deliberately evaded justice and not returned to India despite a series of criminal summons issued by Indian courts. The CPS will now be joined by a joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that has arrived from India to assist with Modi's extradition case.

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ED SEEKS CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION OF ROBERT VADRA IN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

The Enforcement Directorate Thursday sought custodial interrogation of Robert Vadra in a money laundering case. The agency sought the custodial interrogation of Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, before Special Judge Arvind Kumar. Vadra, facing allegations of money laundering in purchase of a London-based property at 12, Bryanston Square worth 1.9 million pounds, was granted interim protection from arrest by a Delhi court till March 27.

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BOMBAY HC SETS ASIDE R VENKATARAMANAN'S DEFAMATION PROCESS

In a reprieve to R Venkataramanan, managing trustee of Tata Trusts, the Bombay High Court has set aside the process issued against him by a metropolitan magistrate’s court in a defamation complaint filed by Shapoorji Pallonji Group. The press note issued on May 30, 2018 by Venkataramanan was per-se not defamatory, Justice Mridula Bhatkar observed. I am of the view that the words which are used in the press note are not at all defamatory, Justice Bhatkar said in her order that was uploaded late on Wednesday. They are moderate and temperate. They do not invite contempt, ridicule or hatred against the persons mentioned in the press note and much less the complainant, she added. In its complaint filed in September, Shapoorji Pallonji Group had alleged that Venkataramanan had on May 30 issued a false, frivolous, baseless and defamatory press statement against it On October 11, 2018, the metropolitan magistrate had issued process against Venkataramanan on the basis that the allegation of the accused in the press statement might come within the meaning of defamation as per section 499 explanations 2 of Indian Penal Code. In his petition filed in the high court, Venkataramanan had claimed that a defamation complaint can only be filed by an aggrieved person and not by a company.

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CALCUTTA HC STAYS CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST AMIT SHAH

The Calcutta High Court Thursday stayed criminal proceedings against BJP president Amit Shah in connection with an FIR that accused him of provoking violence in his speech in January. Questioning how Shah’s claim that the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal would fall on the day of counting of votes of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections could possibly incite violence, Justice Jay Sengupta stayed proceedings against him for four weeks. Shah moved the high court praying for quashing of the FIR against him, claiming that the charges against him were frivolous and concocted. During the hearing, the court observed that the real perpetrators of the violence in Contai in East Midnapore district were not booked, but the person giving the speech was booked. Staying the criminal proceedings against Shah at the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court in Contai on the basis of the FIR, Justice Sengupta directed that the matter would appear for hearing again after two weeks. Justice Sengupta had on Wednesday directed the West Bengal Police to produce the case diary in connection with the FIR lodged against the BJP president for allegedly making defamatory and provocative statements.

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‘HE IS JUST A KID’: MAMATA BANERJEE SCOFFS AT RAHUL GANDHI’S CHARGES

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday dismissed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against her government, saying he is just a kid. She also refused to comment on Gandhi’s minimum income promise ahead of the national polls. He (Gandhi) has said whatever he felt like. I won’t like to make any comment on it. He is just a kid. What will I say about it? Banerjee said. Launching his party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in the state, Gandhi at last week’s rally in Malda charged both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Trinamool Congress chief of failing to fulfil their promises. He had alleged that nothing has changed in Bengal as there has been no development in the state under Banerjee. Asked to comment on Gandhi’s poll promise of minimum income, she said They (Congress) have made an announcement and it would not be right for us to make a comment on it. Gandhi had called his party’s announcement as the final assault and a surgical strike on poverty. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress share a strained relation in the state after fighting the 2011 polls together and uprooting the 34-year-old Left Front regime. Although the Congress have shared stage with the TMC at the national level, in Bengal it has maintained a distance with Banerjee’s party, which was born out of it in 1998. Congress’ state unit has time and again accused the TMC of trying to politically finish it either by use of force or by poaching its leaders and elected representatives.

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FROM NEHRU TO RAHUL, GANDHI FAMILY IS LYING FROM PAST FOUR GENERATION ON POVERTY: NARENDRA MODI

Taking a dig at Congress party's Nyay scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Congress known they can't come to power in this election that's why they are making these false and unrealistic promises to eradicate poverty. Critisising Gandhi family for making false promises, Modi said from Jawahar Lal Nehru to now Rahul Gandhi, the Gandhi family is lying from past four generations on eradicating poverty. Nehru Ji, Indira Ji, Rajiv Ji, Sonia Ji all promised to eradicate poverty, now Gandhi family's fifth generation of Rahul Gandhi is also promising to eradicate poverty, Modi said. On a question over Congress Nyay scheme, Modi said Congress knows that they are not going to come to power that's why they are making unrealistc promises that can't be implemented. Congress promised direct benefit transfer to the farmers, why didn't they do that then, he asked. Modi also said that BJP and NDA will get even more seats than 2014 polls. He said BJP alone will get 300+ seats. PM said the mahagathbandhan is more scattered today as compared to 2014. He said voters have made up their mind as India wants stability.

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DHANBAD BEST CITY FOR 4G AVAILABILITY IN INDIA, SRINAGAR GRABS 3RD SPOT

While the 4G availability race has been played out, operators need to focus on continuing to increase network capacity In terms of 4G availability, Dhanbad in Jharkhand has topped the list of 50 cities in India, according to London-based wireless coverage mapping company OpenSignal. Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand, came second after scoring 95 per cent in 4G availability. Srinagar came third with a score of 94.9 per cent. New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata did not make it to the top 10 in the list. For the study, Data analytics firm OpenSignal looked at 50 of India's largest cities and analysed them by their 4G availability, based on a combined score for all operators that operate a 4G network in those metros. Dhanbad scored 95.3 per cent in OpenSignal's measurements. OpenSignal's 4G availability metric is not a measure of coverage or the geographic extent of a network. It measures what proportion of time users with a 4G device and subscription can get a network connection, in the places they most commonly visit. So when we say an operator has a 4G availability score of 95 per cent, that means our LTE users on that network were connected to 4G services 95 per cent of the time, Opensignal's Senior Analyst Peter Boyland wrote in a blog post.

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NIRAV MODI POSSIBLY OWNS TWO FLATS, NOT ONE, IN LONDON SKYSCRAPER

Wanted diamantaire Nirav Modi will be making his second court appearance in London on Friday when his lawyers are expected to make a second bail application for him. The 48-year-old has been languishing in one of Britain's most overcrowded prisons - Wandsworth prison - since March 20 when he was remanded in custody after his first bail application was rejected by district judge Marie Mallon despite offering £500,000 as security and offering to report regularly at his local police station. On Friday Nirav, who is accused by the government of India of being involved in the fraudulent issuing of letters of undertaking (LoUs) in respect of Punjab National Bank worth £1.2 billion, will face a different judge at Westminster magistrates' court - the chief magistrate, Emma Arbuthnot, who oversaw the extradition trial of Vijay Mallya. He will arrive in a prison van and appear in the dock. His barrister is expected to increase his bail security offer. The CBI and ED have flown over to attend the hearing and meet the UK legal team representing the government of India in the case. Nirav has been living in the 2,133-sq-ft three-bedroom luxury apartment 42 on the 29th floor of Centre Point tower in central London since January 2018. The title deeds, that apartment 42, which is the address he gave in court, that is also linked to Diamond Holdings, was sold to a Richard Beattie on January 5, 2018 for £7,950,000 in cash. The same date, flat 5, also on the 29th floor, was also sold to Richard Beattie in cash for the same price. Both are registered as care of a London law firm that provides advice to wealthy individuals.

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INDIA CALLS UNSC TO TAKE UP LACK OF IMPLEMENTATION OF SANCTIONS

India has asked the United Nations security council to strongly take up lack of implementations of sanctions under its 1257 committee even as some countries acting as apologist for terrorist continue to justify their inaction on the issue of terror. The development comes in the backdrop of lack of implementation of UN sanctions by Pakistan. Remember 26/11 mastermind who is on UN terror list, Hafiz Saeed continues to roam freely in the country despite being on the sanctions list. India's permanent representative Syed Akbaruddin to UN speaking at the UNSC during adoption of a resolution on Preventing and Combating the Financing of Terrorism said, Many Council resolutions, including the various sanctions measures under the 1267 and 1988 sanctions regimes, where asset freeze is a core part of states obligations call for regular reporting under these measures. A cursory look at the publicly available information on the website would reveal that the implementation reports on these sanctions measures have not been updated for years and in some cases more than a decade. Adding further, Syed Akbaruddin said, Non-compliance of crucial sanctions measures in case of UN proscribed terrorists and entities renders all of us, Member States, at high risk of facing challenges from these terrorist organizations who are well funded and armed despite international measures. A report submitted by the UNSC 1267 sanctions monitoring team had on Jan 15, 2019, recommended that committee members write to member states in this regard. Meanwhile, without taking the name of Pakistan, Indian Envoy to UN said certain countries will justify inaction on the issues of terror. He said, the unfortunate reality is that States who are apologists for terrorists will continue to provide alibis to justify their actions and inaction too. Pakistan on Wednesday called India to give more evidence regarding Jaish-e-Mohammad's involvement in the Pulwama terror attack and said the locations provided by New Delhi in the Pulwama dossier have no terror camps. India on 27th February had summoned Pakistani deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah and handed over a detailed dossier of JeM's complicity in the worst terror attack on Indian security personnel in last 2 decades.

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PANEL TO REVIEW EXEMPTIONS TO DETTOL, SAVLON, OTHER ANTISEPTICS

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has formed an expert panel to determine whether over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare products, such as Dettol and Savlon, will continue to enjoy exemptions under antiseptics and disinfectants. Under clause 12, schedule K of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, substances intended to be used for destruction of vermin or insects, which cause disease in human beings or animals, like insecticides and disinfectants can be stocked, exhibited and sold without a licence. At present Dettol, Savlon and other similar products fall under clause 12, schedule K of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules and, hence, no sale licence is applicable. However, the matter has been referred to a subcommittee for examination. The experts will also see if these products can be considered under the OTC category, or no-prescription products, and will clarify on the existing exemption to these products from the sale licence, said a senior government official, requesting anonymity.

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‘COME WITH A PLAN’ TO TAKE ON CLIMATE CHANGE, SAYS UN CHIEF

UN chief Antonio Guterres has told world leaders to come up with concrete, realistic plans to boost climate action as greenhouse gas concentrations are driving global temperatures towards increasingly dangerous levels impacting millions of people. Secretary-General Guterres reiterated his call for action, underlining that the alarming conclusion of the report that climate change is accelerating, proves what we have been saying: climate change is moving faster than our efforts to address it. The UN chief said he has convened the ‘Climate Action Summit’ on September 23 and he is telling leaders, In September, please do not come with a speech; come with a plan. He said he is calling on leaders to come with concrete, realistic plans to put nations on a sustainable path once and for all. These plans must show how to enhance nationally determined contributions by 2020, he said. The report states that physical signs and socio-economic impacts of climate change are accelerating as record greenhouse gas concentrations drive global temperatures towards increasingly dangerous levels. It notes that 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record and 2015-2018 were the four warmest years on record as the long-term warming trend continues. Ocean heat content is also at a record high and global mean sea level continues to rise, while Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice extent is well below average. Average global temperature reached approximately 1 degrees C above pre-industrial levels and nations are not on track to meet climate change targets and rein in temperature increases, the report said. 2018 saw new records for ocean heat content in the upper 700 metres (data record started in 1955) and upper 2000 metres (data record started in 2005), topping the previous record set in 2017. More than 90 per cent of the energy trapped by greenhouse gases goes into the oceans and ocean heat content provides a direct measure of this energy accumulation in the upper layers of the ocean, the report added. Further, it said sea level continues to rise at an accelerated rate. Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) for 2018 was around 3.7 millimetres higher than in 2017 and the highest on record, it said.

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MONSANTO ORDERED TO PAY $80 MN IN COMPENSATION TO CANCER PATIENT

Monsanto has been ordered to pay some $80 million to an American retiree who blames his cancer on the agribusiness giant's weedkiller Roundup, in a case that could influence the outcome of thousands more like it A San Francisco jury Wednesday found the firm, which is owned by Bayer, had been negligent by not using reasonable care to warn of the risks of its product, ordering it to pay Edwin Hardeman $75 million in punitive damages, a little over $5 million in compensation and $200,000 for medical expenses. It was the second stinging legal verdict for Monsanto in recent months after it lost a case to a California school groundskeeper suffering from terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and was ordered to pay out tens of millions of dollars. The jury also found that Roundup's design was defective and that the product lacked sufficient warnings of potential risk. The same jury had previously found in an earlier part of the trial that a quarter century exposure to Roundup, whose principal ingredient is controversial chemical glyphosate, was a substantial factor in giving the 70-year-old Hardeman non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The decision also marks a major setback for Bayer, which purchased Monsanto in June 2018 for $63 billion. In Frankfurt Thursday, Bayer's share price fell 1.14 per cent to 55.69 euros by 0830 GMT -- extending losses as Bayer has seen its market value shrink by 46 per cent since it bought Monsanto. We are disappointed with the jury's decision, but this verdict does not change the weight of over four decades of extensive science and the conclusions of regulators worldwide that support the safety of our glyphosate-based herbicides and that they are not carcinogenic, Bayer said in a statement.

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GSP: INDIA TO ASK US TO DELAY REMOVAL OF DUTY BENEFITS

India will likely ask the US to delay by two months the implementation of the latter’s recent decision to withdraw duty benefits on annual Indian exports of $5.6 billion from May under the so-called Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a source told. New Delhi could seek more time to firm up a final offer for Washington under a trade package. The package has been being negotiated for months now, as policymakers are busy campaigning for the general election at this juncture. The commerce ministry could write to the US Trade Representative to delay the withdrawal of the GSP benefits so that negotiations for a mutually-acceptable trade package can continue unhindered, said the source. The US has indicated that it could review its decision on the GSP benefit withdrawal if India commits more to address American concerns, according to recent media reports from Washington. It had been using the GSP benefits as a leverage to extract greater market access, among others, from New Delhi under the trade package. Prior to the US move on the GSP this month, as part of its offer for the trade package, India had proposed to replace its extant price cap regime for coronary stents with a trade margin policy to ease concerns of American manufacturers like Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific Corp. As for the US demand to scrap/cut tariff on ICT products, including mobile phones costing over Rs 10,000, New Delhi had conveyed to Washington that any such across-the-board cut would help only third parties (like China and Korea) and was willing to lower duties on those products where it would benefit the US. India had also offered to simplify certain certification procedures for dairy imports from the US. However, Washington remained unimpressed and chose to announce the abolition of the GSP benefits in 60 days. For its part, hoping for a trade deal, India has delayed, time and again, the imposition of retaliatory tariff worth close to $235 million on 29 American products, in response to the Trump administration’s extra levy on supplies of steel and aluminium. India’s offer to the US on the trade margin policy for coronary stents was similar to the one notified by it recently for 42 cancer drugs.

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INDIA'S GOODS, SERVICES EXPORT TO TOUCH ABOUT $540 BN THIS FISCAL: COMMERCE MINISTER SURESH PRABHU

India's merchandise and services export would touch USD 540-billion mark this fiscal, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said Thursday. He said exports are growing at a healthy pace and shipments of goods would reach over USD 330 billion. Similarly, services exports would touch about USD 200 billion, according to Prabhu. In total, both merchandise and services exports put together will reach about USD 540 billion by the end of this fiscal, the minister said in New Delhi at a function. During April-February 2018-19, the goods exports grew by 8.85 per cent to USD 298.47 billion. We are really keen to have this FTA with EU. India will work to find a workable deal, he said.

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PAKISTAN CONTINUES TO BE IN DENIAL OVER PULWAMA TERROR ATTACK

India on Thursday expressed disappointment at Pakistan dismissing a dossier it had handed over to Islamabad to aid investigation into the 14 February Pulwama attack as merely based on social media content. Reacting to comments from Pakistan on Thursday that India had not given concrete evidence of the involvement of groups in Pakistan to the Pulwama attack, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said: Regrettably, Pakistan continues to be in denial and even refuses to acknowledge Pulwama as a terror attack. It has not shared details of credible action, if any, taken by it against terrorists or terrorist organizations based in territories under its control. India is disappointed at Pakistan’s response to our detailed dossier on the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) complicity in the cross-border terror attack in Pulwama, the presence of its terror camps and leadership in Pakistan, he said referring to the JeM that had claimed responsibility for the attack that stoked tensions between India and Pakistan.

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US ECONOMY SHIFTS INTO LOW GEAR AS FISCAL BOOST WANES

The US economy slowed more than initially thought in the fourth quarter, keeping growth in 2018 below the Trump administration's 3 per cent target, and corporate profits fell by the most in a year after a one-off boost from lower taxes. The economy is losing momentum as stimulus from the White House's $1.5 trillion in tax cuts and a government spending blitz diminishes. It is also facing headwinds from slowing global growth, Washington's trade war with China and uncertainty over Britain's departure from the European Union. The darkening clouds over the economy contributed to the Federal Reserve's decision last week to bring its three-year campaign to tighten monetary policy to an abrupt end. The US central bank abandoned projections for any interest rate hikes this year after increasing borrowing costs four times in 2018. The trend in quarterly growth is clearly on the wane, said Curt Long, Chief Economist at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions. The strength of the labour market should be enough to postpone a recession for at least this year, but the margins are getting smaller, and it would not take much to tilt growth into negative territory. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.2 per cent annualised rate, the Commerce Department said in its third reading of fourth-quarter GDP growth on Thursday. That was down from the 2.6 per cent pace estimated in February. The economy expanded at a 3.4 per cent pace in the third quarter. For all of 2018, the economy grew 2.9 per cent as previously reported. Annual growth still missed the White House's 3 per cent target despite the massive fiscal stimulus.

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JAPAN EXTENDS STATE-BACKED INSURANCE FOR IRAN OIL IMPORTS: GOVT OFFICIAL

Japan has extended state-backed insurance to cover imports of oil from Iran, potentially allowing the country's refiners to continue loading crude cargoes from the Middle Eastern nation, a government official told. The rollover of the insurance was approved by parliament on Wednesday and takes effect from April for one year, the official said. While the rollover provides insurance cover for imports that Japanese shippers cannot otherwise obtain, refiners are unlikely to load Iranian cargoes from April unless they get a waiver from the United States on sanctions re-imposed on Iran last year. Japanese refiners have been pushing the government to seek an extension of the U.S. sanctions waivers after an initial 180-day exemption period expires in early May.

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TAX COMPLIANCE UNDER GST 15 PER CENT HIGHER THAN VAT, 1.5 LAKH NEW TAXPAYERS BEING ADDED EVERY DAY

Tax compliance under NDA government’s flagship tax reform Goods and Services Tax (GST) is 15 per cent higher than the previous tax regime despite having more registered tax filers. It needs to be noted that the compliance rate of GST is about 15 per cent better than the compliance under VAT and service tax Also 100 per cent filing does not take place anywhere in the world, said Prakash Kumar. Kumar noted that it recently surpassed the one crore tax filers mark and that presently around 1-1.5 lakh new taxpayers are being added every day. An average of 28 to 30 crore invoices are uploaded in the system every month. There are all business-to-business invoices. Every day around 20-22 lakh e-way bills are generated between Monday and Saturday, he added. Also in January, collections under GST crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. This was the third time since the introduction of the new indirect tax regime when indirect tax mobilisation exceeded Rs 1 lakh crore. The Ministry of Finance said that the increase had been achieved despite various tax relief measures implemented by the GST Council to lower the tax burden on the consumer.

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CONDUCTING MARATHON BY TRUST NOT A CHARITABLE ACTIVITY: GST AAR

The Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR), Tamil Nadu has held that conducting marathon by a Charitable Trust would be subject to GST as the same do not constitute a ‘charitable activity’. The applicant, M/s. Dream Runners Foundation, stated to have engaged in conducting public charitable activities such as Health care, Rural development, Women empowerment, Education facility etc, either directly or through various public charitable institutions for the common good of the general public of and in India, irrespective of caste, religion, creed, gender and without any motive for profit. They sought for an Advance ruling on whether the conduct of marathon events by the Trust through which donations are raised for charity is an exempted service under GST? The applicant further claimed that when the Trust is approved under Sec 12AA of the Income Tax Act 1961 means that the service of the Trust is charitable in nature, it automatically become a charitable activity that is exempted under GST. The authority noted that the Applicant is an entity registered under Section 12AA of Income Tax Act. It was noted that only those activities of such an entity are exempt from GST which qualify under the definition of charitable activities given in the notification. This activity of conduct of Marathon event by the Applicant does not fall under the definition for Charitable activities mentioned under clause 2 of Notification. Therefore, though the Applicant is an entity registered under Section 12 AA of the Income Tax Act and conducts the Marathon events for raising funds for charitable activities the exemption under Sl.No. 1 of these notification does not apply to the activity of organizing the marathon by the Applicant, the authority said. Regarding the registration with GST, the authority observed that As per Section 22 of CGST/TNGST Act, every supplier shall be liable to be registered under this Act in the State or Union territory, other than special category States, from where he makes a taxable supply of goods or services or both, if his aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeds twenty lakh rupees. In the instant case, the Applicant’s annual turnover is more than Rs 20 lakhs and they are providing the taxable supply of organizing marathon events. Hence, they are liable to register under CGST /TNGST Act.

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BANGLADESH: CRIMINAL CASE TO BE FILED AFTER FIRE THAT KILLED 25

A Bangladeshi housing official said Friday criminal charges would be filed against the owner of a building where a fire killed 25 people and which had four upper floors constructed illegally. Minister for Housing and Public Work S.M. Rezaul Karim also pledged to take action against officials in his ministry if they were guilty of wrongdoing associated with allowing the added floors or other violations. Raising buildings beyond approved design is rampant in Bangladesh, where the government is seeking fast economic development and the private sector is expanding. The blaze that burned for several hours Thursday trapped people inside the building, some shouting for help from windows on upper floors and the roof. By Friday morning, no smoke was visible at the FR Tower on a busy avenue in Dhaka’s Banani commercial district. Mostak Ahmed, a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Associated Press on Friday that the death toll rose to 25 with all but one identified. Based on information provided by relatives, no one appeared to still be unaccounted for, he said. Still we are checking, if someone comes to us we will verify, he said. The fire injured about 70 people, many of them now being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burn unit.

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‘CENTRE SHOULD ADDRESS STATES’ CONCERN ON GST TRANSFERS’

While the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was designed as a federal body between the States and the Centre, the complaint of the States is that the Centre is taking advantage of the arrangement and is delaying the dues to be paid to the States longer than is needed, according to Y.V. Reddy. The GST Council is an institution built on the cooperation of the Centre and the States in the matter of taxation, Mr. Reddy said. It is a huge achievement, he added. But, in the implementation of the GST so far, the States have a feeling that the Centre is taking advantage of the current arrangement. The Centre is supposed to give money to the States, but that distribution is taking time and accounts are not being finalised. There is a feeling that the Centre is trying to keep the money longer than required. The former RBI Governor also pointed out that the empirical evidence showed that, while the transfers mandated by the Finance Commission from the Centre to the States had been to the benefit of the poorer States, the discretionary spending allowed by the Centre had, in fact, only been to the benefit of the richer States. Another point is that the Finance Commission (FC) awards are more in favour of the poorer States, while the non-FC expenditures actually don’t go to poorer States, they are regressive, Mr. Reddy said. There is an impression that leaving expenditure to the Centre’s discretion, instead of the FC, means that they can spend on the backward States. That is the assumption, but the record so far is the opposite, he added. The empirical evidence confirms this. The explanation is possibly that political bargaining is better for the forward States, or their absorption capacity is better. On the future roles of the FCs and the NITI Aayog, Mr. Reddy said that there was a need for a body such as the FCs to make sure that there was a stable formula for transfers to the States. There was also a need for a federal body, which is trusted by both the States and the Centre, that would provide a forum for the political bargaining that was behind the allocation of other funds to the States, such as grants in aid. The right way of going about it is that there should be a political forum and expertise also, which will arrive at the criteria for such transfers, the former RBI Governor said. That body should come under the confidence of both the States and the Centre, and not just identify with the Centre. If the NITI Aayog were to occupy this role, then the first thing is for it to get the trust of the States. Mr. Reddy also weighed in on the controversy surrounding the Terms of Reference for the Fifteenth Finance Commission, saying that the way forward was to use the latest population data available, and then also factor in other factors that would reward the efficiency of the States. Population is the easiest and most quantifiable metric, provided it is the relevant population, he said. It should be population of the period for which you are giving the award. Definitely the outdated data is not appropriate. The latest data should be used.

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INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT CARRIES OUT MORE SEARCH ACTIONS IN THE J&K REGION

   

Income Tax Department carried out search actions at 5 premises located in and around Srinagar on 28th March, 2019. Two groups, which connived with local officials in facilitation of absorption of undisclosed income of undesirable elements in shops, buildings and land in Srinagar were searched. It has been found in the search that 76 shops built by Srinagar Development Authority for resettlement of vegetable and fruit vendors were sold off to influential and cash rich disrupters at a huge premium. One of the persons searched by the Department is a self-proclaimed chairman of the Vegetable Vendors Union, Batamaloo. The magnitude and proportion of black money used in these transactions is startling. It has been found that four shops on the first floor of the market have been apparently sold by the self-styled chairman for Rs 1.09 crore to an individual, who paid Rs 9 lakh in cheque and the balance Rs 1 crore in unaccounted cash. He has constructed a three-storeyed budget hotel-cum-shopping complex at the New Fruit Complex, Parimpora, from black money earned by him in transactions of these shops and other real estate. The second search operation revealed that nearly 86 Kanals of land under unauthorised occupation was sold to locally powerful persons at a high premium. The transactions have been undertaken either completely or largely in undisclosed cash. A number of original ‘ikrarnamas’ have been found and seized, that show possession of land being passed on in exchange of unaccounted receipt of cash. The said tax evader set up a scrap and plastic crushing unit out of the cash generated in this manner. The investment in this unit as well as income earned from it has been totally kept out of the tax net. In the aggregate, the search actions of 28th March, 2019 have unearthed unaccounted financial transactions of more than Rs 11 crore and undeclared investment in immoveable property of more than Rs 19 crore in and around Srinagar. None of the persons covered in the search actions has filed an income tax return. Criminal prosecution for wilful attempt to evade tax as well as deliberate non-filing of tax returns would be filed against the tax evaders.

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NIRAV MODI MADE DEATH THREATS TO WITNESSES, UK COURT TOLD

Nirav Modi should not be granted bail because he posed a significant flight risk and had even issued death threats to witnesses related to his fraud and money laundering case, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told a UK court as the fugitive diamantaire appeared for his second bail application hearing in London on Friday. Arguing on behalf of the Indian government, CPS barrister Toby Cadman told Judge Arbuthnot that there was a substantial risk that the prime accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud to the amount of between USD 1 and 2 billion, would flee and attempt to interfere with witnesses and evidence. Given the nature and seriousness of charges and the resources available to him there will be an overwhelming desire to flee the jurisdiction and interfere with the administration of justice, said Cadman. Giving details of Modi's attempt to interfere with witnesses, the CPS barrister made specific reference to one such witness, Ashish Lad, who Modi threatened to kill in a phone call and also offered him an incentive of Rs 2 million to provide a false statement. Nilesh Mistry and three other witnesses were similarly targeted by Modi and mobile phones and a server holding material critical to the fraud were destroyed at request of Modi, raising fears of further destroying of evidence if bail was granted, the court was told. Due to the nature of his business he has at his disposal diamonds, gold and pearls, added Cadman. The court was also told about Modi's attempt to attain citizenship in jurisdictions less likely to be willing to extradite him to India including Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean at the end of 2017 on the basis of a USD 200,000 investment. However, Vanuatu citizenship request was declined as a result of the ongoing Indian criminal investigation. Modi's defence team, led by barrister Clare Motgomery – who was also the barrister for former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya in his extradition case - opposed the CPS claims of Modi being a flight risk and stressed that in fact Modi sees UK as a haven where his case will be fairly considered. The size and nature of these allegations is not a safe touchstone by which you can judge if he should be granted bail, said Montgomery, who claimed a series of underlying issues were behind PNB withdrawing insecure lending. Judge Arbuthnot said she was getting a sense of deja vu, in reference to her having ordered the extradition of Mallya in December last year. Do we know which part of India he [Modi] is being sought in, the judge asked, to try and establish which jail Modi is likely to be held in. She was told by the CPS that it would be an extradition to Mumbai and that he may in fact be held in the same Arthur Road Jail as that prepared for Mallya, to which the judge said in a light-hearted vein that it could even be the same cell as we know there is space from the previous video submitted during Mallya extradition trial. In another throwback to the Mallya trial, Montgomery raised the issue of the state of the paperwork submitted by the Indian authorities, claiming it made her cry at one stage. The judge concurred with her and was very firm about proper indexing of all documents to be submitted to the court in relation to the case. Cadman assured the court that the point had been conveyed to the Indian authorities. A three-member joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team from India was present in court and handed over a new file of evidence which was review by the judge before the hearing.

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ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE AGAINST NIRAV MODI SUBMITTED IN UK COURT

A new file with additional evidence against Nirav Modi was submitted in Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday ahead of the fugitive diamantaire's appearance before a judge here for his second bail application. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), on behalf of Indian authorities, submitted the additional file of evidence in court It's a big file with only a few papers, said Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, on being handed the file by CPS barrister Toby Cadman. Arbuthnot is the same judge who had ordered the extradition of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya last December. The defence is deliberating over that new file and the judge will review it before Modi is produced before her for his second bail application hearing around 12.30 (local time).  The CPS was joined in court by a joint Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that has arrived from India to assist with the extradition case. Describing him as the opposite of a flight risk during the first bail application hearing last week, Modi's defence team had offered 500,000 pounds as security and also submitted to any stringent conditions that may be imposed upon their client. It remains to be seen how they would further enhance that offer in order to convince the judge to grant bail during the second hearing, following which the case will proceed to a series of case management hearings and setting of a trial date. The CPS challenged all claims to counter the first bail plea and pointed out that Modi had deliberately evaded justice and not returned to India despite a series of criminal summons issued by Indian courts.

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RS 67 CR SEIZED DAILY: CASH, DRUGS FLOOD INDIA IN RUN UP TO 2019 POLLS

The 2019 general elections in India, which kick starts on April 11, is not only turning out to be a bitter political slugfest but is also awash with hard cash. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), it had seized Rs 202 crore worth of currency as of date since it started publishing daily seizure reports since March 26, 2019. In effect since the model code of conduct came into force on March 10, law enforcement agencies functioning under the directions of ECI have seized Rs 11 crore on average every single day across the country. Ever since ECI has been publishing daily reports, they amount to almost Rs 67 crore a day, The amount of cash seizures in the run up to 2019 elections is mind boggling since cash seizures in the entire 2014 general elections amounted to Rs 300 crore. In effect, a good two weeks before the start of the general elections, ECI officials and law enforcement agencies have already seized 67 per cent of the cash during the entire course of the 2014 elections. More than half of all cash seizures came from just two southern states – Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Both states have been notorious in the past for the influence of cash to induce voters with Tamil Nadu’s notoriety in this regard buttressed by the infamous ‘Thirumangalam formula’. The 2009 Thirumangalam by-election in Tamil Nadu had seen one of the biggest cash distributions to voters in envelopes delivered along with morning newspapers. As of date, Rs 69 crore in cash had been seized in Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu, Rs 54 crore has been seized.  Other states where significant cash seizures have taken place include Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal where Rs 13 crore, Rs 15 crore and Rs 10 crore have been seized respectively. The amount of cash seized in West Bengal as of date is already three times the entire cash seized in the state during the 2014 general elections. It’s not just cash which is being pumped across India in the 2019 polls. ECI figures suggest that narcotics worth Rs 163 crore have been seized across India. Not surprisingly, Punjab accounted for almost Rs 94 crore worth of these narcotic seizures across India. In the north eastern state o Manipur narcotics worth Rs 24 crore have been seized while India’s most populous and electorally crucial state Uttar Pradesh has seen drug seizures worth almost Rs 20 crore. Liquor worth Rs 113 crore has been seized across India with even so called ‘dry states’ like Gujarat accounting for almost Rs 5 crore worth of alcohol busts. Unlike Gujarat, other states like Bihar where prohibition was imposed by the Nitish Kumar government hasn’t seen any liquor seizures till now. In terms of quantity, ECI officials have managed to get hold of almost all the liquor being distributed to voters in Maharashtra. As of date, ECI officials have seized cash, drugs, liquor, gold and other freebies worth Rs 674 crore ever since the model code of conduct came into force.

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PONZI SCAM: SUPREME COURT SEEKS RESPONSE FROM TELECOM

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from telecom service providers Bharti Airtel Limited and Vodafone Mobile Services on a CBI plea that they were met with surprisingly and strangely evasive replies to repeated requests for crucial call data records in connection with the probe into multi-crore ponzi scam cases, including the Saradha group scandal. A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, issued notice, returnable by April 8, to the two companies. This allegation is completely wrong. We have given everything to them, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Vodafone, submitted. The CBI said it had been writing to the two companies for the call records of certain mobile phone numbers since last year. It specifically wanted to know what was the period for which the call records were requested by the West Bengal police. Secondly, it wanted to know the period for which the call records were actually supplied by the two service providers to the police. The CBI has repeatedly alleged in the Supreme Court that the West Bengal government-appointed Special Investigation Team, of which former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar was the functional head, had delayed handing over the call records of influential accused persons by 14 months. The call records, when checked, were found to be incomplete and tampered. The CBI has filed a contempt of court case against Mr. Kumar, the West Bengal Chief Secretary and the State’s police chief for violating an apex court order directing the State police to fully cooperate with the CBI in the Saradha and other chit fund scam investigation. In its application, the CBI said it was extremely germane to know what the police had asked for from the two service providers and what was given to the police by them. It is extremely germane for adjudicating the contemptuous acts of the contemnors to ascertain whether the CDRs [call detail records] of the entire period sought for by the West Bengal police were accordingly provided by the service providers or whether, despite being in possession of the complete CDRs for the entire period from 2012 to 2013, the police chose to share only limited CDRs with the CBI, the application explained. It submitted that till date, despite communications from the Centre, the service providers have not shared the information.

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CHHATTISGARH POLICE RAID HOSPITAL RUN BY FORMER CM RAMAN SINGH'S SON-IN-LAW

Police Thursday raided a hospital run by Dr Puneet Gupta, son-in-law of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, in a case of alleged financial irregularities during Gupta's tenure as superintendent of a state-run hospital. Documents related to the case were recovered during the raid at GBG Kidney Care Hospital in Rajendra Nagar area in the city, said Raipur Superintendent of Police Arif Sheikh. A notice was issued to Dr Gupta asking him to appear before police but he did not appear. We will serve him another notice Friday, the SP said. On March 15, a case was registered against Dr Gupta for allegedly committing financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 50 crore when he was superintendent of DKS Post Graduate Institute and Research Centre, Raipur. Sahare said in the complaint that a probe committee had found that Gupta allegedly misused his position and committed a fraud of Rs 50 crore.

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SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS MADRAS HC ORDER ON LIFE SENTENCE TO SARAVANA BHAVAN OWNER P RAJAGOPAL FOR KILLING EMPLOYEE

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction and life imprisonment awarded to Saravana Bhavan restaurant chain owner P Rajagopal for murdering one of his employees in 2001. The judgement was announced by a bench headed by Justice NV Ramana. Rajagopal has been accused of murdering his worker Prince Santhakumar in 2001, as the latter married the lady whom businessman wanted to tie the knot with. The accused was convicted and awarded life imprisonment by the Madras High Court. Later in 2009, the top court granted him bail on medical grounds. Rajagopal has been given time till April 7 to surrender before the court.

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ELECTIONS 'ILLUMINATE' 46,000 GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS IN UTTAR PRADESH

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections have literally ‘illuminated’ more than 46,000 government-run schools in Uttar Pradesh, which hitherto were un-electrified. These schools operated by the state basic education department have been designated as polling centres by the Election Commission of India (ECI). However, during a review meeting, it was found that 46,981 government schools in UP were still not electrified In fact, of the total 1,63,331 designated polling centres in UP, only about 90,000 centres had proper wired power connection, while the remaining premises owned by different government departments did not have a dedicated power supply. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora had directed the Yogi Adityanath government to electrify all such centres before the polling process started. In pursuant to the ECI directive, the state has now issued directives to provide electricity connection to these government schools and released more than Rs 32 crore to the power utility UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) for this purpose. Besides, the state government has allocated nearly Rs 100 crore for equipping these basic education institutions with fans, lighting and wiring. UPPCL has been released the funds for the electrification of these schools, UP basic education director Sarvendra Vikram  Bahadur Singh told adding it would be permanent connections, and that now all the government schools in the state had the facility of regular power supply. However, the power connection post elections would be functional only if the state government ensures regular payment of the power bills, else the energy department agencies normally snap such connections over non-payment of dues.

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1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOTS: SIT GETS TWO-MONTH EXTENSION TO COMPLETE PROBE INTO 186 CASES

The Supreme Court Friday granted two more months to the Special Investigation Team to complete its probe into 186 cases of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. A bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer extended the time after the SIT informed it that more than 50 per cent of the work has been done and it wanted two more months to complete the investigation. The apex court also issued notice to parties on a plea by petitioner S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, a member of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, seeking inquiry into role of 62 policemen named in the riots. However, the SIT presently has only two members as Singh had declined to be a part of the team on personal grounds.

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DECLARATION OF CRIMINAL ANTECEDENTS: SC ISSUES CONTEMPT NOTICE TO EC, CENTRE OVER VIOLATION OF 2018 ORDER

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and the EC on a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings for alleged violation of the apex court’s judgment directing all candidates to declare their criminal antecedents to the poll panel before contesting elections. A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Saran also sought response from the three deputy election commissioners, law secretary and the cabinet secretary for not complying with its judgment dated September 25, 2018. The court was hearing a plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. It had also said that the ECI did not publish a list of leading newspapers-news channels nor clarified the timing for declaration of criminal antecedents by candidates which led to the candidates publishing them in unpopular newspapers and news channels during odd hours. It (the ECI) had not published list of leading newspapers-news channels, so candidates published criminal antecedents in unpopular newspapers-news channels. The ECI has not clarified the timing of publication, so candidates published criminal history in odd hours when people don’t watch news channels. Political parties had neither published the details on website nor in newspapers or news channels during assembly elections, but the ECI did nothing against them, the plea had alleged. On March 10, the ECI announced the dates of General Election without amending the Election Symbol Order & Model Code of Conduct, which is essential for compliance of Judgment dated 25.9.2018 hence petitioner is filing the contempt petition, it had said.

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APOLOGISTS FOR TERRORISTS CONTINUE TO JUSTIFY INACTION, SAYS INDIA AS IT SUPPORTS UN RESOLUTION AGAINST TERROR FINANCING

India has asked the United Nations security council to strongly take up lack of implementations of sanctions under its 1257 committee even as some countries acting as apologist for terrorist continue to justify their inaction on the issue of terror. The development comes in the backdrop of lack of implementation of UN sanctions by Pakistan. Remember 26/11 mastermind who is on UN terror list, Hafiz Saeed continues to roam freely in the country despite being on the sanctions list. India's permanent representative Syed Akbaruddin to UN speaking at the UNSC during adoption of a resolution on Preventing and Combating the Financing of Terrorism said, Many Council resolutions, including the various sanctions measures under the 1267 and 1988 sanctions regimes, where asset freeze is a core part of states obligations call for regular reporting under these measures. A cursory look at the publicly available information on the website would reveal that the implementation reports on these sanctions measures have not been updated for years and in some cases more than a decade. Adding further, Syed Akbaruddin said, Non-compliance of crucial sanctions measures in case of UN proscribed terrorists and entities renders all of us, Member States, at high risk of facing challenges from these terrorist organizations who are well funded and armed despite international measures. A report submitted by the UNSC 1267 sanctions monitoring team had on Jan 15, 2019, recommended that committee members write to member states in this regard. 

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INDIA'S TRADE MINISTRY PROPOSES DELAYING RETALIATORY TARIFFS ON US GOODS

India's trade ministry has proposed that the government delays by a month the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on some US goods that were due to go into effect from April 1, a trade ministry spokeswoman told. Indian officials believe India could lose its preferential treatment in early May. The Indian government has asked the US administration to review its decision, two government officials with close knowledge of the matter said. The trade ministry spokeswoman said the government planned to send a delegation to Washington to address bilateral trade issues and that the ministry was seeking to hold off imposing retaliatory tariffs until May. The Ministry of Commerce has requested the Department of Revenue to extend the deadline for imposition of tariffs on US goods by another 30 days, the spokeswoman said.

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UK REPORT CONFIRMS WARNINGS OF HUAWEI SECURITY RISKS: US OFFICIAL

A British government report issued Thursday detailing security risks posed by Chinese firm Huawei confirms US government warnings of security risks associated with the telecom giant, according to a US official. The report from a cybersecurity watchdog identified significant technical issues in Huawei's engineering and warned there is only limited assurance the risk can be managed. The US official said those findings support similar American assessments that concluded Huawei's equipment cannot be made safe from Chinese influence or disruption. Huawei denies that its equipment could be used to facilitate spying and Chinese authorities have accused Washington of exaggerating security concerns to limit competition with Western vendors. US officials didn't expect to find dedicated backdoors, instead assessing its more likely the Chinese government would use what appear to be flaws in Huawei's code to gain access, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official added that type of access can be just as damaging.

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WTO PLANS RULING ON SECURITY IN BLOW TO TRUMP’S STRATEGY

The World Trade Organisation is set to rule for the first time on a dispute involving a members national security, challenging a key justification for President Donald Trump's tariffs and putting the arbiter of international trade conflicts on a collision course with the US. The WTO will issue a ruling on a case in which Russia imposed trade restrictions on Ukraine, saying they were necessary in the interest of national security according to an official with knowledge of the report who asked not to be named because the process is private. The decision could still be appealed or settled outside of the WTO. The ruling confirms the WTO’s authority to determine whether such measures are necessary to protect a country’s security. The WTO allows countries to take any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests, and has become a favourite justification for Trump, who last year imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports and has threatened levies on car imports, both using the national-security rationale. A WTO ruling on the Russia dispute could force the US to justify why the European Union, Canada, Mexico and a half-dozen other nations that have filed disputes against Trumps metal tariffs, pose a security threat. The fact that the panel is actually going to engage in an inquiry of whether there is basis for these national security measures means things are looking really bleak for the US, Nicolas Lamp, a former dispute settlement attorney at the WTO, said. For the US, this finding could confirm all their worst fears about the WTO. US trade officials say the WTO has no authority to mediate national security matters and should simply issue a decision that says the matter is outside of the WTOs remit. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo has gone so far as to warn countries against taking this dispute to the WTO, arguing that it instead requires conversation at the highest political level. Many have questioned how genuine the US tariff justifications were, with some of Americas closest allies those most affected by the duties, such as the EU, Canada and Mexico. The fact that these tariffs are a total violation of our WTO obligations I think is pretty much unequivocal, Jennifer Hillman, a former WTO appellate body member, said in an interview. That means you are going to have to say that you are in some kind of war with Canada, Mexico and the EU. I don’t think they are going to say that. The dispute could pose an existential threat for the WTO, which has long avoided a politically fraught confrontation over national security disputes for fear that doing so would open a Pandora’s box of protectionist measures and tit-for-tat retaliation.

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US, CHINA RESUME TRADE TALKS IN BEIJING AFTER ‘PRODUCTIVE WORKING DINNER’

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday he had a productive working dinner the previous night in Beijing, kicking off a day of talks aimed at resolving the bitter trade dispute between the world's two largest economies. Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer were in the Chinese capital for the first face-to-face meetings between the two sides in weeks after missing an initial end-of-March goal for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign a pact. We had a very productive working dinner last night, and we are looking forward to meeting today, Mnuchin said as he left his hotel to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is due to visit Washington next week to continue the talks. Mnuchin did not elaborate and it was not immediately clear with whom he had dined on Thursday night. Trump imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports last year in a move to force China to change the way it does business with the rest of the world and to pry open more of China's economy to US companies. On Thursday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing will sharply expand market access for foreign banks and securities and insurance companies, adding to speculation that China may soon announce new rules to allow foreign financial firms to increase their presence at home.

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CHINA SLAMS US CRITICISM OF MUSLIM TREATMENT AS 'ABSURD'

China on Thursday hit back at criticism from the United States' top diplomat who called its treatment of Muslims shameful hypocrisy after speaking with a former prisoner from a Chinese detention camp. Mike Pompeo made the comment after meeting with Mihrigul Tursun, a member of the Uighur ethnic group who has spoken publicly in the US about what she said was widespread torture in China's prisons for the minority group. Beijing claims the camps are vocational training centres that provide language classes and employment, steering locals away from extremism. Pompeo's comments are extremely absurd and grossly interfere in China's internal affairs, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang. Currently, the overall situation in Xinjiang society is stable and all ethnic groups get along harmoniously, he said. We urge the US to respect the facts and stop the malicious smearing and groundless accusations against the Chinese side, Geng added. China must release all those arbitrarily detained and end its repression, tweeted Pompeo, who had also met with relatives of those detained in Xinjiang.

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NO CLARITY ON BREXIT AFTER UK MPS REJECT ALL OPTIONS

An indicative vote on a series of eight alternative Brexit options concluded with no clarity on Wednesday, as MPs failed to rally behind any single option. None of the options – which ranged from pushing for a no-deal Brexit, to customs union membership, to a confirmatory public vote on any withdrawal deal – commanded support from a majority of MPs. Conservative MP Oliver Letwin, who had led the indicative process, in which MPs seized control of the parliamentary timetable from the government, expressed disappointment with the outcome but insisted that the House ought to go ahead with a second round of votes on Monday. In the Parliament, MPs were given the task of identifying a route forward on Brexit as they voted on a series of 8 alternative options, so-called indicative votes, that ranged from pushing for a hard Brexit on April 12 to making the UK part of the EU Customs Union to revoking Article 50 if the UK still hasn’t agreed on a route forward four days before the April 12 deadline. The government on Wednesday afternoon lost an attempt to stop the indicative votes from taking place as MPs voted in favour of a business motion enabling the indicative votes by 331 to 287 votes. 16 different options for indicative votes were originally tabled by various groups of MPs, eight of which have been selected by the speaker the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow. The MPs were given a ballot paper with 8 options to select yes or no on and their vote will be made public. The option that commanded the highest level of support (with 268 in favour and 295 against) was the option put forward by Labour MP Margaret Beckett that would require any deal to be subject to a confirmatory public vote – essentially a second referendum. The second most popular one (264 to 272) would keep the UK within the EU customs union. One of the bigger surprises of the evening was the lack of popularity for the idea that has come to be known as Common Market 2.0 – that would keep Britain in the European Free Trade Association, and in an effective customs union and single market with the EU (requiring the UK to keep freedom of movement with the EU). With not all MPs voting on all the options, however, there is the potential for the numbers on all sides to change considerably if a shorter list of options were presented to MPs.bMPs are set to take control of the parliamentary timetable again on Monday afternoon, which could provide the option for a second round of votes. Letwin admitted that while the failure of the house to agree on a solution was a very great disappointment he had predicted this would be the case and harboured the hope that another vote on Monday would provide more clarity. Quite how the process will work on Monday – and how the list could be whittled down – remains undecided for now.

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'GET OUT OF VENEZUELA: TRUMP TELLS RUSSIA

US President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Russia drop support for Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after Moscow deployed troops and equipment to bolster the hard-left government Russia has to get out, Trump said at the White House alongside Fabiana Rosales, wife of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela's interim president in place of Maduro. Rosales was given a high-profile reception in the Trump administration's latest bid to boost Guaido, who is under severe pressure from Moscow-backed Maduro. On Thursday, she will meet with US First Lady Melania Trump in Florida. Trump said all options are on the table when asked by journalists if the United States was considering military action to back up a major campaign of economic sanctions aimed at crippling the Maduro government's finances. They've got a lot of pressure right now. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing. They've got plenty of pressure right now. They have no electricity, he said.

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