News & important
developments from the most prospective of the New World markets…….
India. Our effort is to provide you with the latest and relevant
developments that take place in the Indian business, economic
and legal environment.
ECONOMIC
& LEGAL NEWS
COURTS
RULE TO PROTECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
In a civil copyright infringement case, the Delhi high
court awarded Rs 19.75 lakh as damages to the leading software
seller Microsoft earlier this year.
SHIPPING,
INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTED SERVICE TAX RELIEF: The
Government has fully exempted construction of ports and processing
of gems and jewellery from service tax.
10.2%
SERVICE TAX ADDED COST OF FLATS:
A 10.2% service tax will be added to the cost of a flat in
all housing complexes with more than 12 units developed by
builders from that date, the government has said.
-WOMEN
REQUIRED TO PAY A LOWER STAMP DUTY :Women
have never had it so good. At least among Delhi's middleclass,
housing properties are increasingly being registered in the
name of women. This trend has gathered momentum following
the legislation passed by the Delhi government wherein women
are required to pay a lower stamp duty on the purchase and
registration houses. Stamp duty for women is 6% against 8%
for property registered in the name of men.
WITHHOLDING
TAX ON TELCO SOFTWARE IMPORTS GOES : IN A landmark
verdict, a New Delhi tax tribunal has held that the import
of customised software by telecom companies for use in India
will be exempt from withholding tax.
RELIEF
FOR TAXABLE SERVICES AVAILED ABROAD :
If you've tied up with a Swiss tour operator to
holiday in the Alps, you need not worry about being charged
service tax here. The government has decided to exempt individuals
receiving and consuming taxable services abroad from service
tax.
LAW
& CA FIRMS MAY GET APPROVAL FOR 26% FDI :
The government is likely to allow up
to 26% foreign investment in legal, audit, and accounting services.
This commitment has been stated in a draft Cabinet note circulated
by the commerce ministry as a part of India's improved offers
currently being discussed at WTO.
NEW
CENTRAL DIRECT TAXES PANEL :
The
government today reconstituted the Central Direct Taxes Advisory
Committee chaired by finance minister P Chidambaram.
COMPUTER
SCHOOLS UNDER SERVICE TAX NET : Computer training
is no vocational training. Or so the finance ministry has
ruled. Computer training centres that have a turnover upwards
of Rs 4 lakh in a financial year will have to pay 10.2% service
tax.
CALCUTTA
HC LIFTS RBI BAN ON PRICE WATERHOUSE : Audit
firm Price Waterhouse & Co, which was struck off panel
of banks and finance companies following a RBI order, has
been granted a reprieve from Calcutta High Court.
BUSINESS
NEWS
BENETTON'S
TEAM & RETAIL PLAN READY AS DCM EXITS: With
the exit of DCM, the Italians have finally taken control of
Benetton in India.
INFOSYS
BAGS $39-M ALSTOM DEAL:
Infosys has announced a $39-million, three-year engineering
services contract with Alstom, the $18 billion power generation
and rail transport infrastructure provider.
M&AS
IN INDIA HIT $5.37 B IN JUST 5 MONTHS: Mergers
and acquisitions in India has touched $5.37 billion in the
first five months of the year (till May end) of this calendar
year, which works out to 3% of Asia-Pacific deal value.
-SINGAPORE
BANKS TO GET DOMESTIC STATUS The government will
allow the three largest banks of Singapore free access to
the Indian market, with operational freedom at par with other
domestic banks.
NEW
DEVELOPMENTS AND JOINT VENTURES
INDIA,
SINGAPORE SOFTEN VISA NORMS: In a landmark agreement
on movement of professionals, India and Singapore have agreed
to ease visa restrictions on professionals in a wide range
of areas,
WARBURG
HIKES STAKE IN MAX HEALTHCARE TO 23%: Warburg
Pincus has raised its stake in Max Healthcare to 23% in a
Rs 115-crore deal.
KOTAK
MAHINDRA & FORD CREDIT REALIGN: KOTAK Mahindra
Group and Ford Credit International (FCI) announced the realignment
of their nine-year-old joint venture
-INDIA,
IRAN SIGN $20-BILLION LNG DEAL : Game
wrapped up. After engaging in diplomatic mindgames with Tehran
for months, New Delhi has finally sewed up long-term LNG supplies
of 5 million tonnes per annum.
HCL
TECH INKS JV DEAL WITH JAPAN'S NEC CORP :JAPANESE
high end computing major NEC Corporation and India's IT major,
HCL Technologies announced a joint venture for software development
in India for Japanese companies.
GSPC
STRIKES $50B GAS IN KRISHNA GODAVARI BASIN :
It
is India's biggest gas find in 30 years. And it could well
turn out to be the world's largest find in recent times. State-owned
Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) has struck gas
in the Krishna Godavari basin, off Andhra Pradesh coast in
the Bay of Bengal.
