ITC and Centre settle excise case
New Delhi: A communiqué sent by ITC to the Bombay Stock Exchange has said that the company has agreed not to claim the Rs350-crore it paid as deposit to the exchequer in 1996 and that the Government in turn has agreed to withdraw its claim of another Rs453 crore.

ITC Ltd has said that its Chairman, Y.C. Deveshwar, has signed a deed of settlement with the Revenue Secretary, K.M. Chandrasekhar, to bring an end to a long-standing excise dispute between the Government and the company.

The United Progressive Alliance Government had come in for criticism from some chambers of commerce and industry for the manner in which the relief provided to the company by the Supreme Court was negated through an Ordinance issued on January 25.

Consequent to the promulgation of the Ordinance, the Revenue Department had asked the company to fork out Rs450 crore in the next 30 days, beyond which the payment would attract a penal interest of 15 per cent per annum. Subsequently, however, the Government allowed the Ordinance to lapse by not bringing it before Parliament during the first part of the Budget session.

The Supreme Court had in September 2004 quashed an order passed by the Customs, Excise and Gold (control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT), which had rejected ITC's plea in the Rs803-crore excise duty case pertaining to the period 1983-87.

The CEGAT had in 1998 held that the company had short-paid excise levies during the relevant period (March 1, 1983 to February 28, 1987) even as it quashed the penalties levied on the company by the Revenue Department. The CEGAT (now CESTAT) had then ordered recomputation and the company had paid Rs350 crore following this order.
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S&P assigns BBB rating for Infosys
Mumbai: Infosys Technologies Ltd has become the first company in India to obtain BBB rating, from global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's. The agency has also assigned Infosys 'BBB-' in foreign currency rating.

The BBB rating is higher than the country's sovereign rating (BB+/Stable/B), reflecting the company's strong financial profile.

The outlook is stable for Infosys and takes into account S&P's expectation that the company would maintain its competitive position and strong financial profile.
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FCI mobilises Rs4,023.5 crore for 2004-05
New Delhi: The second private placement issue of Food Corporation of India (FCI) bonds has mobilised Rs3,023.5 crore, against the issue size of Rs1,000 crore. The Corporation has decided to exercise the green shoe option to retain the entire amount mobilised, an FCI release said here.

With the second bond issue that closed on March 31, FCI has mobilised Rs4,023.5 crore in the entire financial year 2004-05 through bond issue.
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Jubilant to pick up 75 per cent equity in US generics company
New Delhi: Jubilant Organosys has signed a memorandum of understanding towards acquiring 75 per cent equity in a US generics company. Its board of directors has also approved a proposal to raise funds up to $100 million through the FCCB/GDR/ADR or any other equity related instrument to fund acquisitions and capital expenditure.

Company officials have not divulged the name of the company that is being acquired, but said that Jubilant will make an initial payment of $8.25 million to the existing shareholders of the company and invest another $12 million as capital to grow the business over the next two years.

According to an official statement, "The company to be acquired is in the business of generic drugs and has a FDA approved manufacturing facility in the US. It has five approved abbreviated new drug approvals (ANDAs) and another three ANDAs are awaiting approval. In addition, the company also has a pipeline of 14 products of which ANDAs for five products are expected to be filed during the calendar year 2005. These will be complemented by 10 ANDAs that Jubilant Organosys will develop for the target company."
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UB buys out minority stake of Associated Breweries
Bangalore: United Breweries Ltd, jointly owned by the UB Group Chairman, Vijay Mallya, and the UK brewer Scottish & Newcastle, has bought out the minority stake of 35 per cent in the Mumbai-based Associated Breweries and Distilleries Ltd (ABDL). The deal has been finalised at a put option price of Rs24 crore, the company said in a press release. UB had earlier bought 65 per cent stake in ABDL in 2001.

ABDL has its brewing unit in Maharashtra in Navi Mumbai and owns brands such as London Pilsner, London No. 1 Strong and Maharaja Lager Beer. The unit has a capacity to produce 20 lakh dozens per annum, which is being fully utilised.
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Dubai Aluminium and L&T to set up refinery project in Orissa
Dubai: Leading construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal) have entered into an agreement to set up a $1 billion bauxite mining-cum-alumina refinery project in Orissa. Dubal will have an equity partnership of 74 per cent in the project, which will ensure around one million tonnes of alumina per annum for Dubal.

The massive upstream integration project consists of a 1.4-million tonne per annum capacity world class alumina refinery, bauxite mining and development of associated infrastructure including a captive power plant, port facility, a township and related utilities. The refinery, expected to be commissioned in 2009, will incorporate the latest technology and state-of-the-art environment control systems.

During the second phase, a doubling of the alumina refinery's capacity to 2.8 million tonnes per annum has been envisaged along with the construction of an aluminium smelter utilising Dubal's own technology expertise.
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Wipro gets Income Tax demand notice for Rs261.7 crore
Bangalore: Wipro Ltd has said that it has been served with a notice by the Income-Tax authorities for payment of Rs261.7 crore as taxes under the I-T Act 1961, primarily on account of denial of the deduction under Section 10A for the software profits the company earns out of its software technology park (STP) units in Bangalore for 2001-02.

Company officials have said that the demands were not sustainable and that the company would fight it out by filing an appeal before Commissioner (Appeals), the first appellate authority.

The latest demand is on the same lines as the Rs261.4-crore demand raised by the I-T authorities for 2000-01 in March 2004, against which the company has appealed, which is pending adjudication, Wipro has said in a notice to the BSE.

It may be recalled that apart from Wipro, TCS was also served with such a demand to pay additional tax last year. Software exporters are exempt from paying income-tax on their income under Section 10A and 10B of the Income Tax Act.
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Nepal highway contract for Ircon
New Delhi: Ircon International Ltd has secured a Rs63-crore contract for the strengthening and upgradation of Belabari-Chawara section, East-West Highway in Nepal. Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund the project.

The work comprises strengthening of 140 km of East-West Highway and is scheduled to be completed in 24 months.
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Ford rolls out 100,000th Ikon
Chennai: Ford India has rolled out the 100,000th Ikon from its plant at Maraimalai Nagar. To mark the occasion the company has launched "Josh100" limited edition celebration series.

The company launched the Ford Ikon, which it describes as the "Josh" machine, in October 1999.

Available across the full Ford Ikon line-up, the Josh100 celebratory cars will offer a host of features including premium audio system, leather-vinyl seat covers, fog lamps, remote entry and anti-theft alarm system, according to a Ford India press release. The Josh100 series will be available for a limited period at dealerships across the country.

The 1.3 Flair Josh100 will have remote entry and anti-theft alarm and front fog lamps while the 1.6 petrol variant will come with tubeless tyres with alloy wheels, driver seat height adjustment and celebration offer worth Rs32,500.

The 1.3 Josh100 is priced at Rs5.18 lakh ex-showroom Chennai, the 1.6 EXi at Rs5.55 lakh and the 1.6 ZXi at Rs5.99 lakh.
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Quarterly report: Infosys, Hexaware, Maruti, M&M,BSP,Eicher
Infosys results on April 14
Bangalore: The board of directors of Infosys Technologies Ltd will meet on April 14 to consider audited financial results for the quarter and year-ended March 31.

The board will also recommend a final dividend if any for the same period, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the board of directors of MphasiS BFL Group will meet on April 11 to take on record the audited financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31. The company will also organise a conference call on April 12 to address the financial community, said a company press release.

Hexaware to pay 50 per cent dividend
Mumbai: Hexaware Technologies Ltd will be paying a dividend of 50 per cent to its shareholders. The decision, taken at the company's annual general meeting held on Monday, was intimated to the stock exchanges.

The meeting also discussed acquisition and holding of equity shares of the company by foreign institutional investors, whose current holding in Hexaware stands at 24.13 per cent

Maruti March sales up 3.6 per cent
New Delhi: Maruti Udyog Limited has reported that it has sold 54,613 units in March as compared to 52,699 units in the same month last year, a growth of 3.6 per cent. The domestic sales moved up 14.1 per cent in March to 50,693 units from 44,418 units in the same period last year.

Exports are down 52.7 per cent at 3,920 compared to 8,281 units in the year-ago month.

M&M sales up by 24.1 per cent in March
Mumbai: Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra has posted a 24.1 per cent growth in sales for March 2005. The sales figures stood at 14,629 units as compared to 11,790 units in the corresponding period last year.

The company's total exports registered a quantum growth with M&M selling 604 units in March against 293 last year.

Sale of utility vehicles last month touched 10,710 units against 9,027 units last year while sale of three wheelers rose to 2,511 units in March 2005 against 1,660 last year.

BSP set to post profits of Rs.3,000 crore
Bhilai: Despite the coking coal shortage, Bhilai Steel Plant is all set to register a turnover of Rs10,000 crore and a net profit of more than Rs3,000 crore for the financial year 2004-05.

The plant, belonging to Steel Authority of India Ltd, has chalked out a Rs1,000-crore investment plan for the current financial year 2005-06. This is a part of the total SAIL corporate plan for 2011-12. Total investment for BSP under this plan is Rs9,000 crore.

During 2004-05, BSP's hot metal production dropped to 4.51 mt from 4.93 mt in 2003-04. Crude steel production dropped to 4.58 mt from 4.74 mt. Similarly, saleable steel production dropped to 3.93 mt from 4.09 mt . However, total finished steel production increased marginally to 3.20 mt from 3.01 mt.

Against an annual turnover of Rs 8,850 crore in 2003-04, the plant expects a turnover of more than Rs10,000 crore in 2004-05.
BSP's net profit in 2003-04 was Rs1,932 crore, while it confidently expects a net profit of Rs 3,000 crore for the fiscal.

Eicher commercial vehicle sales up 45 per cent
New Delhi: Eicher Motors registered a 48 per cent growth in the sales of its commercial vehicles in the domestic market during the financial year ended March 31, 2005 with sales of 21,709 units compared with 14,665 units in the previous year.

Overall sales, including exports during the year 2004-05 at 23,004 vehicles, grew by 45 per cent over the 15,885 vehicles sold in 2003-04.

Overall sales in March 2005, including exports, grew 45 per cent at 3,439 units as against 2,377 units in the same month last year.
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