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PSUs told to declare dividends
New Delhi: The government has asked public sector companies Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Gail (India) Ltd, Engineers India and Oil India to pay special dividends which are expected to help the Centre generate around Rs4,000 crore during the current financial year.

The government is of the opinion that these companies are sitting on piles of surplus cash and do not have adequate capital expenditure plans.

Companies like Indian Oil Corporation, facing pressure due to under-recoveries on petroleum products, were spared considering their financial situation.

ONGC, Gail and OIL are also paying Rs3,249 crore in burden-sharing after under-recoveries by downstream companies because of non-revision of petroleum prices.
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Canada to halt imports of ayurvedic products
Ottawa: Health Canada, a Canadian government health regulatory body, has warned consumers against using Ayurvedic medicinal products imported from India including those manufactured and distributed by Indian companies like Zandu Pharmaceuticals and Dabur India.

This is due to the reportedly high content of metals like lead and arsenic in the medicines. The regulatory organisation also plans to remove these products from the market and ban imports.

The organisation has released a list of unapproved Ayurvedic medicinal products that contain high levels of lead, mercury and/or arsenic and Canadians have been asked to use only those products that have been authorised for sale by Health Canada.

According to the body, according to the principles of Ayurvedic medicine, heavy metals may be used because of their reputed therapeutic properties. However, improper manufacturing processes may result in dangerously high levels of heavy metals remaining in the final product.
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Investment Fund to take off
New Delhi: Notwithstanding the furore over selling government stake in profit-making public sector enterprises, the disinvestment department is going ahead for bringing the national investment fund into effect.

The fund, set up in January 2005, will receive the proceeds raised through PSE disinvestment. The amount will be used to finance selected social sector schemes and for investment in PSEs that are profitable, and can be revived.

But the proceeds from disinvestment will first go to the consolidated fund of India before being earmarked for the NIF, finance ministry officials said.

However, the only lacuna in the entire thing is that the only proposal the department is considering at present is that of BHEL's as the government has confirmed in parliament that it has decided on an "offer for sale" of 10 per cent of its 67.72 per cent equity in BHEL through the book-building process.
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Service tax to be levied on second hand cars
New Delhi: Second hand automobiles on sales at from authorised service stations and company outlets will now come under the purview of service making them costlier according to the revenue department.

Before June 2005, authorised service stations were mostly associated with service or repair of motor cars, two-wheeled and light motor vehicles while reconditioning or restoration of an old vehicle was not explicitly covered as a taxable service.

Later amendments were made to specifically include reconditioning or restoration of motor cars, two-wheeled and light motor vehicles carried out by the authorised service stations or centres under this service tax, according to a circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs.

Apart from this, the revenue department has also brought life membership fees paid to a club or an association under the purview of service tax.
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No evidence of pesticides causing cancer
New Delhi: The Agrochemicals Promotion Group (APG), a representative body of crop protection companies, has said that there is no available evidence to show that pesticide used was leading to an increase in the incidence cancer in rural areas.

APG member Salil Singhal said there was scientific evidence anywhere in the world to show that agrochemicals cause cancer and false allegations of this nature create needless public scare and adversely affect the country's agro-exports.

He was reacting to the recent statements by the Delhi-based Centre of Science and Environment (CSE), linking the deaths of farmers in Punjab with pesticides use. Singhal said the organisation had sent a letter to the CSE asking it to substantiate its allegations in the wider public interest, to which there has been no response.

Singhal cited the conclusions drawn by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute of Cancer Research from the scrutiny of 4,500 studies on cancer to support his point.

He said there is no conclusive evidence that any food contaminant (including pesticides) modified the risk of any cancer; nor is there evidence of any probable causal relationship.
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EPF told to stick to 8 per cent pay out rate for 2005-06
New Delhi: The finance and investment panel has recommended to the central board of the trustees of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation to stick to an 8 per cent interest rate pay out for 2005-06.

This recommendation is in tune with market realities and made on the basis of the projected earnings for the year on investments made.

It is now up to the board to accept the suggestion of the panel.
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States implementing Vat get higher tax revenue
New Delhi: States that have implemented value-added tax (VAT) are receiving higher revenue due to greater tax compliance than under the sales tax regime, according to data collected by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The average growth in revenue generation in the states that have made Vat operational is 12 per cent.

Total revenue generation in Haryana has shot up by almost 28 per cent, while Delhi had the highest growth of 30 per cent in the first quarter according to the chamber.

However, the chamber observed that India Inc has been bogged down by lack of uniformity in rules and procedures in states in respect to VAT.
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