 |
|
|
Underassessment helped top firms: CAG
ONGC to park Rs 100 b in NE
Cerberus takes 80 pc of Chrysler for $7.4 b
Big worries on small remittances
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Corporate News
Corporate Results
Carlsberg venture acquires HP brewery
Capital Local Area Bank plans expansion
Bill to develop securitisation market okayed
|
|
Underassessment helped top firms: CAG
New Delhi, May 14 RIL was under-assessed, resulting in lower tax collection of Rs 376.17 crore for assessment year 2002-03, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said in its latest audit. "The fact that the brought forward loss of Rs 1,364.38 crore of Reliance Petroleum had been fully set off in the revised assessment order of July 2004 was not taken into consideration while making the assessment of RIL in March 2005. The mistake resulted in under-assessment of income...with short levy of tax of Rs 376.17 crore," the CAG said. In case of Tata Motors, the omission resulted in a short levy of tax by Rs 261.13 crore, the report said, adding the department has accepted the mistake and took remedial action. Mistakes in the computation of taxes in case of Tata Steel had a tax impact of Rs 69.64 crore, it said. The under-assessment in the case of GTL Ltd, earlier known as Global Telecom Ltd, was detected as Rs 104.84 crore, while for Jindal Steel and Power Ltd it was Rs 19.90 crore. In case of Bank of Baroda, the short levy was detected as Rs 189.19 crore. However, the department reported that it had taken the remedial action. For Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, the bottling and distribution arm of Coca Cola India, mistakes by tax authorities resulted in a revenue loss of Rs 46.94 crore. The other companies which were under-assessed included Asia Net Communications, Polaris Software and Indo National Ltd, the report said.
— PTI |
|
Wrong deductions helped Sachin, Sunny
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found that cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar have been given "wrong benefit" of income deduction as sportsmen, resulting in a short levy of Rs 4.42 crore in tax.
The CAG report, tabled in Parliament today, has faulted the Income Tax Department for giving incorrect allowance of deduction of income for both the players for their earnings not from the game, but endorsements and commentating. The audit scrutiny of assessment records in respect of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar assessed under the charge of CIT-XIX, Mumbai revealed that aggregate deduction of Rs 8.89 crore was allowed on foreign remittance received by him on account of sports endorsement, i.e. advertisements and publicity activities. The CAG report noted that as the income was not derived from the "profession of sportsman", allowance of deduction was not in order. The report said the income tax department's argument that the assessee had derived it in the capacity of "artist" was not acceptable as the assessee had received this income in the capacity of a model which cannot be construed as an artist for the purpose of this section. It was further observed that during scrutiny of assessment in March 2006 for assessment year 2003-04, deduction under Section 80RR was not allowed by the assessing officer on similar grounds. Thus, incorrect allowance of deduction for the years 1998-99 to 2002-03 and 2004-05 amounting to Rs 8.87 crore resulted in short levy of tax of Rs 3.62 crore. The department, in its reply to CAG in December 2006, had stated that assessments in respect of years 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 had been reopened and assessment for the year 2004-05 had been selected for scrutiny. The department further stated that audit observation would be kept in mind while finalising the assessments. As regards Gavaskar, the CAG has found that the department had short levied Rs 80.34 lakh on foreign remittances received by him in the capacity of commentator. |
|
ONGC to park Rs 100 b in NE
Agartala, May 14 "ONGC would like to be part of the socio-economic development of the northeastern region which has vast untapped natural resources," R.S. Sharma, chairman-cum-managing director of ONGC, told journalists. Sharma, along with senior ONGC officials, is in Tripura to review the exploration activities in the region. "Though militancy is affecting the works of ONGC, we would continue to work for the betterment of the region and nation," he said. The ONGC official said the corporation has far made over 330 oil and gas discoveries, explored 660 million tonnes of crude and 350 billion cubic metres of natural gas from six out of the seven producing basins in India. The ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) has 26 projects in 16 countries, including north America, Russia, Brazil, Iraq and Iran. "For the giant 740 MW thermal power project in south Tripura's Palatana, five national and international companies, including Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), have shown interest to commission the Rs 50 billion project," Sharma added. Earlier, ONGC approved Rs.18.17 billion for augmentation of gas production in Tripura to feed the proposed power plant. Referring to a recent gas-strike in an Iranian off-shore block by a consortium led by ONGC Videsh Limited, Sharma said there were enough reasons for continuing the overseas explorations. Meanwhile in an unrelated development from Delhi, a head-hunting committee, constituted to select the chairman of ONGC, today decided against sending interview calls to executives from private firms like Shell and Blackstone who had not formally applied for the job. The search committee, headed by Public Enterprise Selection Board chairman N K Sinha, will interview only those 27 candidates who had applied for the top job, sources said. The interviews may take place in the first or second week of June, sources said.
— IANS, PTI |
|
Cerberus takes 80 pc of Chrysler for $7.4 b
Frankfurt, May 14 Cerberus Capital Management gets an 80.1 per cent stake in Chrysler and its related financial services business, DaimlerChrysler said on Monday, ending what was billed as a marriage made in heaven but never lived up to the name. The deal, months in the making, puts a major US automaker in the hands of a private equity group for the first time. "Cerberus is the right strategic buyer for Chrysler, with a long-term commitment to Chrysler's growth and success. They are committed to working constructively with both union leadership and Chrysler's management team to help Chrysler realise its full potential," Chrysler President Tom LaSorda said. The deal will not trigger any job cuts beyond the 13,000 Chrysler announced in February, when it unveiled a $1.5 billion 2006 operating loss as customers, spooked by high fuel prices, fled its lineup of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. The deal breaks up a product lineup that yoked American mass-market brands Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler with Germany's premium Mercedes-Benz, luxury Maybach and Smart minicar brands at a time of wrenching restructuring for the U.S. auto industry. The accord calls for Chrysler to retain billions of dollars in pension and healthcare obligations for its workers and will result in a net cash outflow of Euro 0.5 billion ($677 million) for DaimlerChrysler, now the world's fifth-biggest carmaker. The German company - whose name will revert to Daimler AG if shareholders approve — will contribute another Euro 650 million to cover long-term liabilities at Chrysler, it said. It estimated the deal will cut DaimlerChrysler's 2007 net profit by Euro 3-4 billion. Dismayed by its volatile earnings, DaimlerChrysler put Chrysler up for sale in February. New York-based Cerberus is a private investment fund that has built a huge private equity and hedge-fund practice. It hired Wolfgang Bernhard, who helped turn Chrysler around early this decade, as an adviser on the deal.
— Reuters |
|
Big worries on small remittances
New Delhi, May 14 The move comes close on the heels of objections raised by security agencies over mushrooming of foreign exchange bureaux at every nook and corner, to which the RBI officials expressed ignorance. At a recent meeting of the security agencies, the finance ministry and officials of the RBI, serious concerns were raised at the mushrooming of these agencies, especially an international money transfer company, which had its agents in almost every street, official sources said. The RBI officials informed that permission had been given to the company to have agents and sub-agents like banks, post offices and important financial institutions. However, they were unable to give an explanation about the appointment of “sub-sub agents” like grocery shop-owners and travel agents. The security agencies expressed fears that such outlets were being used by militants for money transfers involving small amounts to avoid detection and there was no mechanism in place to seek information from these small-time exchanges as there was no proper compilation of records, the sources said. The RBI has issued guidelines to every bank seeking an up-to-date list of offices and branches authorised to transact foreign exchange business and details of any change in categorisation of its branches dealing in foreign exchange. This move has been seen as a prelude to streamline the mushrooming of foreign exchange bureaux. The security agencies have also expressed reservations on the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act saying its implementation was lengthy, time-consuming and not beneficial in curbing financial transactions by militants as it does not cover proceeds from terrorist acts. “The PMLA carries no allusion to proceeds of terrorism or the punishment connected to any such offence, especially when the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act does not find a place in the schedule of the PMLA,” said a source.
— PTI |
|
|
Corporate News
Mumbai, May 14 Reliance Capital acquired 25.55 lakh shares, representing 5.02 per cent stake in Network 18 Fincap Ltd through open market transaction on May 10, RCL informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. When contacted, an RCL spokesperson approved of the deal. The transaction comes on the heels of RCL's open offer for acquiring 20 per cent stake in television broadcaster TV Today Network Ltd, which runs Hindi news channel Aaj Tak and English news channel Headlines Today. Cadila joint venture
Pharmaceutical company Cadila Healthcare Ltd today said it will acquire Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises' 50 per cent stake in their joint venture firm. The company has entered into a share purchase agreement with Ambalal Sarabhai to acquire its stake in Sarabhai Zydus Animal Health Ltd. This would make the joint venture firm its 100 per cent subsidiary, Cadila informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. Cadila, however, did not disclose the deal value. Set up in 2000, Sarabhai Zydus Animal Health is a leading animal healthcare in the country. With 250 employees, the JV company has a countrywide marketing network and also has alliances with Abic, a Teva group company and Lillydale of UK. B’desh on BHEL’s radar
Power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) today said it will spend Rs 3,200 crore in the 11th Five-Year Plan period to increase manufacturing capacity from the current 6,000 MW to 15,000 MW per annum. The company would be spending Rs 1,200 crore to augment its capacity to 10,000 MW by end of 2007, BHEL said in a statement. BHEL said it would be fully able to meet investment and funding requirements through internal accruals and resources raised from the market. BHEL also plans to set up a mega project in eastern Bangldesh. Quoting Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pinak Ranjan Chakraborty, sources said BHEL was likely to invest in the power sector as the neighbouring country runs a shortfall of 3,500 MW power every day. Infosys BPO venture
Infosys BPO today said it will launch an outsourcing firm to provide services to media and entertainment companies globally, in collaboration with TV18 Group. The proposed entity, to be called Source 18, will offer services, including digital archiving and metatagging, re-purposing content, work flow charting, re-editing, transcoding, quality control as well as media process outsourcing. "With the global media and entertainment industry growing to about two trillion by 2008, there is a sizeable business opportunity emerging in the media outsourcing market," an Infosys BPO statement said. As per the strategic alliance, Infosys BPO would provide process and technological support while TV 18 would bring in domain knowledge and expertise to the new firm. Source 18 would utilise the services of Tangerine Digital Entertainment, a company specialised in content re-purposing and media outsourcing, for part execution of the contracts. GAIL contract
Punj Lloyd Ltd has bagged a Rs 122.65 crore contract from the state-owned natural gas distributor GAIL (India) Ltd to execute the Phase II of Panvel Dabhol Pipeline Project. Last month, Punj Lloyd had not got a project valued at Rs 180.16 crore from Reliance Gas Transportation Infras-tructure to execute a contract for construction of 48’x122 km of East West gas pipeline and associated facilities. Reliance phones
Reliance Communications today unveiled a range of colour phones priced at Rs 1,234. The company had recently launched black and white phone for Rs 777. The pricing of these phones break the psychological barrier of those first-time users to go for colour phones. The handsets come with SIM cards, which allow subscribers to change over from one model to another. Tata Power
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have joined hands to co-finance large renewable energy power projects and have disbursed Rs 95 crore and Rs 205 crore, respectively to Tata Power Company for setting up 85.4 MW wind power project in Maharashtra.
— Agencies, TNS |
|
|
LIC Housing profit up at Rs 89 cr
Mumbai, May 14 Sobha Developers
Sobha Developers has posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 61.9 crore for the quarter ended March 31, against Rs 36.5 crore for the same quarter last year. The total income (net of excise) was Rs 358.9 crore for the period under review as compared to Rs 196.5 crore a year ago, Sobha Developers informed the BSE. The company also declared a dividend of 55 per cent. Voltas net up
Voltas Ltd has posted a five-fold increase in net profit at Rs 120 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, on the back of better performance by electro mechanical, engineering and cooling divisions. The company had reported profit after tax of Rs 24 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. The board of directors have declared a dividend of 100 per cent.
— Agencies |
|
|
Carlsberg venture acquires HP brewery
Copenhagen, May 14 South Asia Breweries is 45 per cent owned by Carlsberg and 55 per cent by other investors, including the Danish brewer's Sri Lankan partner, Lion Brewery Ceylon. Carlsberg said the brewery in Himachal Pradesh was 10 year old and one of the very few breweries in North India with brewing equipment of European standards. The plant has an annual capacity of 1,50,000 hectolitres with possibilities for significant expansion, Carlsberg said in a statement, but did not give the size of the investment. The world's sixth-biggest brewer said in December South Asia Breweries would build a brewery with an annual capacity of 4,50,000 hectolitres in Rajasthan to be completed in 2008. |
|
Capital Local Area Bank plans expansion
Chandigarh, May 14 “We plan to open 40 new branches by the end of 2009-10, with a projected business of Rs 1,500 crore and net worth of Rs 100
crore,” he said, while adding that this year the bank will add 10 branches and extend its area of operations in more districts of Punjab. The bank presently has 16 branches in
Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. He said that the bank has shown a tremendous growth in the last financial year (annual growth of 42. 24 per cent) and an increase of over 75 per cent in its net profit. The bank has increased its paid up capital from Rs 11.77 crore to Rs 15.70 crore by issue of over 39 lakh equity shares on rights basis. |
|
|
Bill to develop securitisation market okayed
New Delhi, May 14 The Securities Contract (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2007, to amend the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, was passed by a voice vote without discussion. The bill provides for vesting powers of regulation to the SEBI.
— PTI |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
