• DIRECT TAXATION

Notification No. 15/2009 Dated 30.01.2009 - Wealth-tax (First Amendment) Rules, 2009

The provision pertaining to Scale of fees to be charged by a registered valuer provided by the Wealth-tax Rules. 1957 has been substituted vide Wealth-tax (First Amendment) Rules, 2009. The said Rule would be effective from 1st April, 2009.

• INDIRECT TAXATION

CBEC Customs Instruction From File No. 528/5/2007-Cus.(TU) Dated 03.02.2009 -Export of Edible Oil in branded packs of upto 5 Kg. - regarding

DGFT decides that presently Customs may permit export of consignments of edible oil in branded consumer packs of upto 5 Kg till 31st May, 2009, while reverting to the representations received by it from exporters mentioning that Customs are not allowing consignments of edible oil in branded consumer packs of upto 5 Kg reason being that that there is no information whether quota of 10,000 MTs fixed by the DGFT has been exhausted or not.

CBEC Customs Instruction From File No. 450/142/2008-Cus.IV Dated 27.01.2009 -Ban on import of toys from China by DGFT - reg

CBEC issues instructions to concerned authorities to take further and necessary action in the matter concerning the Import of 'Toys' from China , which has been previously banned by the DGFT and stringent measures such as absolute confiscation along with necessary penal action against the importer for non-compliance with the existing legal provisions as applicable on import of such toys has been provided by the CBEC vide circular No.21/2008-Customs dated 18.12.2008.

CBEC Customs Non-Tariff Notification No. 19/2009-Customs(N.T.) Dated 30.01.2009 -Revised tariff value of brass scraps and poppy seeds to  US $ 2966 & 3920 (Per Metric Tonne)  respectively

Central Government in exercise of the power conferred by the section 14 (2) of the Customs Act, 1962 revises tariff value of brass scraps, RBD Palm Oil, others – Palm Oil, poppy seeds vide amendment to the notification No. 36/2001-Cus (N.T.), dated, the 3rd August 2001.

CBEC Excise Non-Tariff Notification No. 1/2009-N.T. Dated 07.01.2009 -Central Government directions providing Exemption from whole of the duty of excise payable under section 3 of the Central Excise Tariff Act on Specified goods

Central government in exercise of the power conferred under section 11C of the Central Excise Act, 1944 directs that the whole of the duty of excise payable on the parts, when used within the factory in which they have been produced are not required to pay duty of excise not levied as per the practice prevalent during the period from the 1st day of March, 1993 to 3rd day of May, 1993. The benefit provided under this notification is available to the unit, reverses the input credit.

• SERVICE TAX

Notification No. 07/2009-ST Dated 03.02.2009 -Service Tax Return Preparer Scheme, 2009

CBEC in exercise of the power conferred under section 71 of the Finance Act, 1994 issues Service Tax Return Preparer Scheme, 2009 , which is applicable to all assesses. The said Scheme deals with the provisions pertaining to qualification, Enrollment, training, certification, Duties and obligations of persons to act as Service Tax Return Preparers.

Circular No. 108/02/2009-ST Dated 29.01.2009 -Imposition of Service Tax on Builders

It has been decided that service provided by promoters/ builders/developers in connection with the construction of residential complex till the execution of such sale deed would be in the nature of 'self-service' and accordingly would not attract service tax. Secondly, incase if the ultimate owner enters into a contract for construction of a residential complex with a promoter / builder / developer, who himself provides service of design, planning and construction; and after such construction the ultimate owner receives such property for his personal use, then such activity would not be subjected to service tax, because this case would fall under the exclusion provided in the definition of 'residential complex'.

Circular No. 107/01/2009-ST Dated 28.01.2009 -Levy of Service Tax on Educational Institutions

The chargeability of service tax on the fees/ charges collected by various institute educational institutions imparting training and conducting courses in different fields has been clarified as under :-

Commercial Nature of Institute: It has been clarified that the word "Commercial" used in the phrase is with reference to the activity of training or coaching and not to the nature or activity of the institute providing the training or coaching. Thus, services provided by all institutes or establishments, which fulfills the requirements of definition, are leviable to service tax.

Post School Education: The private institutes issuing diplomas or certificates in collaboration with certain foreign institutes universities. The certificates / diplomas thus issued cannot be called as the one 'recognized by the law for the time being in force' unless such a diploma/ certificate has been specifically recognized by the statutory authorities such as UGC, AICTE. As a result, such institutes would not fall under the exempted category and would be subjected to tax.

Vocational Training Institute: Courses provided by these institutes only improve the chances of success for a candidate who already has the required skill and do not prepare a candidate to take up employment or self- employment directly after such training or coaching. Consequently, such institutes are not covered under the exemption.

• CBEC CUSTOMS

Circular No. 05/2009 Dated 02.02.2009 -Systems Alert for Monitoring Realization of Export Proceeds in EDI - reg

Each Custom House has been directed to create a special cell for management of declarations, amendments thereto, which shall be responsible for keeping the Declarations and other relevant papers in a proper manner and tracking the remittance of export proceeds. The exporters are required furnish the BRCs/negative statement in the prescribed Annexure in respect of all the Drawback Shipping Bills having LEO dates from 1.1.2004 to 31.12.2007. Apart from the list of pending shipping bills indicated by the system, the Commissioners is required to ensure that there is no misuse of the drawback facility.

• RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

RBI Press Release No. 2008-2009/1251 Dated 05.02.2009 -Measures taken by RBI in regard to Credit Facilities

Extension of Time line for Forex Swap facility has been extended to till March 31, 2010, in order to provide flexibility to banks in managing their short term funding requirements at their overseas offices.

- An elaborate system of exchange of information amongst lending banks has been put into place. The information sharing framework includes, among others, position in derivatives and unhedged forex exposure of borrowers.

- The ceiling rate has been raised on export credit in foreign currency to LIBOR + 350 basis points with immediate effect subject to the condition that the banks will not levy any other charges, i.e., service charge, management charge, etc. except for recovery towards out-of-pocket expenses incurred.

A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 50 Dated 04.02.2009 -Hedging of Freight Risk by domestic oil-refining, shipping companies and other companies

RBI has been decided to permit AD Category - I banks, which has been previously allowed to approve commodity hedging, to allow hedging of freight risk by domestic oil-refining companies and shipping companies on the specified terms and conditions. The banks are required to ensure that the entities hedging their freight exposures should have Board approved Risk Management policies which define the overall framework within which derivative transactions should be undertaken and the risks contained.

• PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU

PIB Dated 05.02.2009 -Amendments to the Rubber Act, 1947 - Approved

The Union Cabinet approves amendments to the Rubber Act, 1947 , as some of the provisions of it have become redundant over the years. The proposed amendments will enable the Central Government to issue directions to the rubber Board in the policy matters and empower it to delegate any of its power and functions exercisable by it by such officer or authority. The Rubber Board will be enabled to make regulations to carry out its functions under the Act and compound offence punishable under the Act.