Petrol, diesel prices cut
New Delhi: Petrol prices have been cut by Rs2 a litre and diesel by Re1 a litre, effectively from midnight of November 29. Petrol in the national Capital will now cost Rs44.85 a litre, while diesel price will come down from Rs32.25 a litre to Rs31.25 per litre.

The price reduction would increase the losses incurred by oil companies on sale of diesel and reduce profits that they earn on petrol sales.

While loss on diesel would go up to Rs2 a litre from Rs1.01 at present, profits on petrol would shrink to Rs2 per litre from Rs3.67.

Fuel prices were last cut on November 16, 2004, but were raised three times subsequently, the latest being June 5 this year.
The Finance Minister, P Chidambaram hoped that the reduction in petrol and diesel prices will to some extent help ease inflation.
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Investment curbs limit India: US
Mumbai: India should remove obstacles limiting investments in its retail and financial sectors to show it is committed to long-term reforms to open up the economy, said a leading US trade official here on Wednesday.

Franklin Lavin, US under secretary of commerce for International Trade said, "Opening India's retail sector to foreign multi-brand retailers will allow Indian consumers access to the best products at the lowest prices, and will improve supply chain efficiencies," addressing a summit of US and Indian business executives here.

Lavin also said India should eliminate foreign equity caps in the banking and insurance sectors, and allow US companies to invest in the pension sector.
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More services may be brought under tax net
New Delhi: Except for a few essential and basic services like as water, power supply and medical facilities, the government may look at bringing all other services under the tax net. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has asked the government to expand the service tax base and has asked the government to prepare and pursue a roadmap for transiting to a comprehensive coverage of all services in the tax net by specifically exempting basic or essential ones.

At present, the service tax rate is 12.24 pc. While the service sector contributed to more than 50 pc of GDP, tax revenue generated from the sector had ranged between 3.1 pc and 4.6 pc of the gross tax revenues from 2003-04. Though the service sector had to be encouraged for its contribution to the economy as well as the society at large, the other sectors of the economy too needed to be given an equal amount of encouragement, the committee said in its report tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
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Assocham wants peak customs duty cut
New Delhi: Industry chamber Assocham has raised a demand for lowering peak custom duties rate to 10 per cent in the Union budget for 2007-08, from the existing 12.5 per cent.

In a pre-budget deliberation, Assocham's indirect taxation committee co-chairman, Krishna Kant said customs duty can be reduced to 10 per cent on all the goods, except agri-products, he said.

On telecom, he asked the government to create level playing field for indigenous products by exempting from the customs duty all capital goods, raw materials, inputs, components and so on. Krishna Kant also said that export cess should be levied on the export of the iron ore and a fine of Rs60 and above to be imposed to discourage export.
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