PDICAI Daily News Roundup Thursday, July 23, 2009

Posted to the desk of CA. DUDHARA RAJESH BANSILAL Thursday, July 23, 2009 Tip:  Now you can create your OWN WEBSITE on pdicai.org. Kindly login and click on "Create Website". Please email at suggestions@pdicai.org in case you face any difficulty in creating your website Professional News INCOME TAX Higher refunds dent Q1 direct taxes growth Delhi : A big jump in refund payout of Rs 17,600 crore has dented the Centre's net direct tax collections growth rate for the first quarter this fiscal.In April-June 2009, the net direct tax collections stood at Rs 59,465 crore, up 3.65 per cent over the Rs 57,373 crore collected in the same quarter last fiscal. SERVICE TAX Service tax not for individual lawyers Uttar Pradesh : Allaying apprehensions on the levying of service tax on lawyers as has been proposed in the General Budget-2009-2010, the office of chief commissioner, customs, central excise and service tax in its release has clarified that the proposed service tax will be charged only on the `business entity` providing any service, advice, consultancy or assistance in any branch of law to an other `business entity`. VALUE ADDED TAX Maharashtra Govt firm on not waiving VAT on CNG Maharashtra : The Maharashtra Government is in no mood to accede to the demand of the taxi and auto-rickshaw unions to waive the 14 per cent value-added tax (VAT) on compressed natural gas (CNG). SEBI IPO scam accused ordered to pay Rs 6 cr Maharashtra : The Securities and Exchange Board of India has directed Mr Dushyant Natwarlal Dalal and his wife Ms Puloma Natwarlal Dalal to pay Rs 6 crore by way of disgorgement for their involvement in the IPO scam. Sebi amends equity-listing agreement Maharashtra : Market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has notified the amendment to the equity-listing agreement, prohibiting listed companies from issuing shares with superior rights with regards to voting or dividends for shares that are already listed. MTN meeting India regulator on Bharti deal-report Maharashtra : Officials from MTN (MTNJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research) are meeting India`s capital market watchdog and stock exchanges to understand regulatory issues on a proposed deal between the South African firm and Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), the Economic Times reported on Thursday. RBI Soon, shop for money with debit card Maharashtra : The Reserve Bank on Wednesday allowed cash withdrawals using swipe machines at retail shops. The facility will initially be available to the 14.3-crore people holding debit cards issued in India. You will be able to withdraw up to Rs 1,000 in a day. Online biz may dip on new RBI verification rule Delhi : THE new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, which becomes effective from August 1, to provide a third factor identification for all online transactions may trigger a decline of 25-30% decline in daily business. IRDA Insurance regulator caps charges on Ulips Maharashtra : Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (Irda) on Wednesday announced a cap on overall charges that life insurance companies can levy on subscribers of their unit linked insurance policies (Ulips).For those products which have maturity of 10 years, insurance companies have to maintain the difference between gross yields and net yields at 300 basis points. FDI Policy India slips in FDI ranking  India has dropped to third place in global foreign direct investments (FDI) this year following the economic meltdown, but will continue to remain among the top five attractive destinations for international investors during the next two years, says Unctad (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) in a new report on world investment prospects.Last year, India was ranked second in global FDI flows after China. Misc. Corporate Laws & Other Commercial Policies Planning Commission sets out guidelines for infra JVs Delhi : The Planning Commission has worked out broad guidelines for establishing joint venture companies between public sector undertakings (PSUs) and the private sector in infrastructure that strengthen PSU interests and aim to clarify areas of uncertainty that have dogged several partnerships so far.The draft guidelines are being prepared to provide PSUs with clear directions that they lacked so far when they sign joint venture agreements with private companies for large infrastructure projects and will be put up for Cabinet clearance soon. Antony raises objections against FTA with Asean Delhi : Defence minister A K Antony has expressed reservations against the free trade agreement (FTA) with Asean, which comes up for clearance at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.Mr Antony, whose views matter, has conveyed to the leadership that signing of FTA should be postponed in the light of the changed global economic environment . DoT may dial tower firms for licence fee Delhi : The department of telecommunications (DoT) is considering including telecom infrastructure providers such as phone tower firms under a new uniform licence fee regime, according to three senior officials of the department. ACCOUNTING STANDARDS(AS) Accounting for carbon credits Delhi : A number of Indian companies generate carbon credit under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The amount involved is material enough to the overall viability of a project.Under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) had issued an interpretation IFRIC 3 (Emission Rights), which was withdrawn in June 2005. Finance & Money Markets Ulips may fetch 150 bps more on new fee cap Andhra Pradesh : Retail investors in unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips), arguably one of the hottest investment products, could see a 150-basis-point rise in returns.The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has put a cap on charges that insurance companies, which sell Ulips, collect from investors. MFs give arbitrage funds a break, stop fresh inflows Maharashtra : At a time when domestic mutual funds continue to aggressively scramble for more money to boost their asset base, they have made an exception for one category — arbitrage funds. Several top arbitrage schemes of mutual funds have stopped accepting fresh money from investors. Consumers pay price of futures trading ban   Delhi : The aggregate production shortage of pulses, year on year, is just 0.1 million tonne (mt): in 2007-09, India produced 14.76 mt, which has slipped to 14.66 mt this year. But that small fluctuation is enough to send retail prices of pulses soaring by at least 18% for chana in just three months. Hedge funds make a comeback Delhi : Hedge funds had net inflows of $6.2 billion and returned an average 0.2% in June, rounding off a record three-month rally, Eurekahedge Pte said. The advance by the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index, tracking more than 2,000 funds, follows 3.2% and 5% gains in April and May, respectively, and brings its 2009 advance to 9.5%, according to a report by the Singapore-based research firm. HDFC to raise Rs 4,000 cr thru debentures Maharashtra : Housing finance company HDFC Ltd on Wednesday said it would raise up to Rs 4,000 crore through issue of warrants and secured redeemable non-convertible debentures to qualified institutional buyers. Budget 2009 House adopts Finance Bill Kerala : The Assembly adopted the Finance Bill 2009 on Wednesday exempting cement or concrete frames for doors and windows and paper bags, including paper covers, from value added tax (VAT). The tax on sweets and bakery items sold under unregistered brand names, tread rubber and red oxide stands reduced from 12.5 per cent to four per cent. Economy  India At $14b, India gets generous with IMF MSMEs to get 6% of net bank credit Asia's pension funds key to long-term growth, says ADB Full recovery of IT sector not before next fiscal Q2 Maran invites Japanese textile cos to India FIIs, NRIs can invest in Indian Depository Receipts Chennai, Kolkata air passengers also to pay development fee    International World trade to shrink 10 pct, Asia leads recovery: WTO   Markets Today NSE 4,523.75 2.84% BSE 15,247.91 2.73% NASDAQ 1,926.38 0.00%       USD 48.42   EURO 68.89   JPY(100) 51.27   GBP 80.02     Corporate Watch Wipro net rises, guidance flat Delhi : The country's third-largest software firm, Wipro, beat its own guidance and outperformed market forecasts to post a 12% rise in net profit at Rs 1,016 crore for the quarter ended June 30, compared with the same quarter last fiscal. This is in line with its two bigger rivals, TCS and Infosys, whose quarterly numbers also surpassed market expectations. The company's revenue stood at Rs 6,274 crore, up 5% year-on-year, but down 2.7% sequentially, according to Indian GAAP. However, net profit was marginally up sequentially at 0.6%. RCom signs Rs 10,000-cr deal with Etisalat to share facilities Maharashtra : Telecom operator Etisalat DB, formerly known as Swan Telecom, has decided to outsource its telecom infrastructure requirements to the Anil Ambani Group company Reliance Communications as part of a Rs 10,000-crore deal spread over the next 10 years.According to the agreement announced on Wednesday, Etisalat DB would outsource its telecom infrastructure requirements for the 15 telecom circles for which it has received licences to set up mobile services. While Reliance Communications will provide transmission infrastructure, Reliance Infratel Ltd, another ADAG group company, will provide the tower facility."This significant development is part of our overall commitment to provide consumers with quality service and reach at the time of launch. India Cements' Rajasthan plans to be thru Indo Zinc Tamil Nadu : India Cements plans to route its proposed investments in Rajasthan through Indo Zinc Ltd, a company in which it recently acquired a 53 per cent stake.It had announced a 1.5-million tonnes (mt) cement plant with a 20 MW captive power plant in Rajasthan. This will now be set up by its subsidiary Indo Zinc, which owns limestone mining leases.Mr N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, India Cements Ltd, told reporters that the company would invest Rs 300 crore as equity and subordinated debt in Indo Zinc and guarantee the balance Rs 300 crore debt to be raised by Indo Zinc for the project. BSNL's mega GSM contract stuck on pricing Delhi : Apart from legal issues, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's mega GSM contract for 93 million connections is now stuck on pricing issues. BSNL's internal vigilance officials have raised concerns that the bid amounts quoted by the two successful companies – Ericsson and Huawei – may be on the higher side.While the two bidders have quoted above Rs 7,000 per line for 3G equipment, sources said the amount quoted for 2G gear is around Rs 3,000. This is only for supplying the radio equipment and does not include IT, software, billing solution or passive infrastructure. Sun Pharma arm faces class action suit in US Maharashtra : Caraco Pharmaceuticals, the US arm of Sun Pharma, has been slapped with a class action suit in the United States for allegedly not disclosing adequate information about US regulatory action that hurt its shares, rendering India's most valuable drugmaker vulnerable to the prospect of hefty payouts as damages.US-based law firm Izard LLP filed the case on behalf of some of Caraco's shareholders in a Michigan court on July 17. The law firm has also asked other shareholders, who bought Caraco shares between May 2008 and June 2009, to join the litigation.   Tenders & Assignment Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited Description :Appointment of Internal Auditors for the year 2009-10. Last Date : 29/07/2009   Address :(A Government of Karnataka Undertaking) Regd. Office: 4th Floor, Coffee Board Building, No.1, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi, Banglore-560001. Phone :080-22283074-78 E-Mail :knnl@knnlindia.com   Reminders  Tenders Axom Sarba Siksha Abhijan Mission 27/07/2009   Notifications & Circulars INCOME TAX NOTIFICATION NO. 48/2009 /S.O. 1492(E) (Delhi) 16/06/2009 SECTION 138(1)(A)(II) OF THE INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961 - DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION RESPECTING ASSESSEES TO SPECIFIED OFFICER, AUTHORITY OR BODY PERFORMING FUNCTIONS UNDER ANY OTHER LAW - NOTIFIED AUTHORITY CUSTOMS Notification No. 92 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 93 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 94 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 95 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 96 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 97 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 98 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 99 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Appoints Common Adjudicating Authority Notification No. 100 / 2009-Customs (N.T.) (Delhi) 20/07/2009 Amends Notification No. 113/2005-Customs(N.T.), dated 28th December, 2005 Notification No.75 / 2009-Customs (Delhi) 30/06/2009 Regarding imposition of provisional safeguard duty on imports of Phthalic anhydride into India Notification No. 76/ 2009-Customs (Delhi) 30/06/2009 Rescinds notification No. 9/2009- Customs, dated the 29th January, 2009 RBI Notifications RBI/2009-10/105 (Delhi) 22/07/2009 Cash Withdrawal at Point-of-Sale Notifications RBI/2009-10/106 (Delhi) 22/07/2009 Issue of Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs)   Announcements National Convention for CA Students at Siliguri on 4th-5th September, 2009 Announcement Regarding Service Tax for November 2009 Examination Certificate Course on Enterprise Risk Management at Mumbai from August 22, 2009   Click here to visit Member's Forum Login to your forum account to know your Forum Activity Status. more from www.pdicai.org For suggestions and feedback click here or mail us at anujgoyal@icai.org Notes: 1. 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