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Duty-free
status for life-saving drugs to stay
New Delhi: In keeping with the recommendations
of the Kelkar Commission on excise and taxation the finance
ministry is expected to impose a 5 percent import duty
on a host of products to finance the rise in public spending.
The list of goods, exempt from customs duty at present
is extensive and the Kelkar panel had suggested removing
duty exemptions on all goods except on life-saving drugs,
goods for strategic interest, charitable purposes and
international obligations including contracts.
Now
the Central Board of Customs and Excise will shortlist
products on which the government could consider levying
a 5 percent duty. Earlier this year, former finance minister
Jaswant Singh cut the peak rate of customs duty from 25
percent to 20 percent to meet the stated policy objective
of reducing import duties to Asean levels.
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CII
study indicates increased business confidence but fall
in expectations
Mumbai: The Business Confidence Index (BCI) of
the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the April-September
period this year shows an increase in confidence amongst
the domestic industrial community and stands at 66.05
points which is an improvement of 1.15 points over the
previous period (October 03-March 04). The Index is constructed
as a weighted average of the Current Situation Index (CSI)
and the Expectations Index (EI).
The
upward movement of the index within the 50-75 points range
reflects that there is an increase in the positive confidence
amongst the industrial community in the country. The CSI
stands at 65.2 showing a gain of 5 points over the previous
period and indicates that the industry perceives the present
conditions to be better off than what they were six months
back. The CSI for the overall economy jumped by 8.2 points,
whereas the index for the activity sector and own company
exhibited an increase by 3 and 5.3 points respectively.
On the other hand the Expectation Index (EI) has dipped
slightly against the last survey and stands at 66.5.
The survey shows that while the expectations on the overall
performance of the economy have not changed, there has
been a decline in expectations on the growth prospects
of both the activity sector and the individual companies.
The EI for own activity sector at 63.4 has fallen 1.9
points whereas the index for own company at 67.9 has dropped
by only 0.2 points. The Survey was conducted before the
elections and therefore does not reflect the election
results.
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Edible
oils prices to fall
New
Delhi: Sliding edible oil prices across the world
markets are expected to lead to a fall in prices of cooking
oil in domestic markets also. All major brands cut prices
of their soya bean oil pouches and vanaspati tins by around
Rs 1.50/l last week and soon another 50 paise cut is expected
this week as prices tumble in world markets. Adani Wilmar
may effect as much as a cut of Rs 4/per pouch this week.
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Cenvat
duty credit to TN textile producers restored
Coimbatore: In a move that has brought cheer to
the cotton textile producers in the powerloom sector in
Tamil Nadu, the Central Board for Excise and Customs (CBEC)
has restored status quo for availing of credit of the
Cenvat duty paid on inputs used in the fabric manufactured
by independent textile weavers supplying to major garment
manufacturer-exporters. The restoration of the Cenvat
duty credit has reverted the action of the Commissioner
of Central Excise, who issued notices to textile fabric
producers early this year, disallowing the duty credit.
The availability of credit was questioned by the Central
Excise Commissioner, Salem who advised the weavers to
revert 8 per cent of the duty on the value of goods cleared
by them in the past.
The Commissioner disallowed the credit on the inputs on
the ground that the final product being exportable was
exempted from excise duty. The Rule 6 of the Cenvat Credit
Rules read with sub rules did not allow credit of duty
paid on inputs, which are used in the manufacture of exempted
final products. But the independent textile weavers contended
that the Excise notification is only a concessional notification
offering `nil' rate of duty.
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Monsoons
on time
New
Delhi: The monsoon is advancing as per course as sattellite
maps of the US-based National Center for Environmental
Protection (NCEP) and the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere
Studies (COLA) show clouds advancing up to southern Gujarat
and some northern parts of the peninsular India by June
4.
Till the week ended May 19, there was good monsoon rains
in Andaman & Nicobar islands, Lakshadweep, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Vidhrabha have also had good
rains as a result. The south-west monsoon arrived on May
16/17, two weeks earlier than the schedule entering north-east
first and then the southern peninsula.
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India
Inc does well, total sales up 22 percent
New Delhi: Corporate India is doing well. The net
profit of 1,850 companies, which account for 65 per cent
of the total market capitalisation on the Bombay Stock
Exchange, whose quarterly results are available, soared
by 69.3 per cent. The sales of these companies jumped
by 22 per cent during the March 2004 quarter — a
16-quarter high. The same set of 1,850 companies reported
a net profit growth high of 54 per cent during the September-December
quarter of 2003. In the July-September 2000 quarter, these
companies had reported sales growth of 20.7 per cent.
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