TIOL-DDT 1504 · the untouched capture
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <title>Untitled Document</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font color="#663399" size="3">TIOL-DDT 1504 </font><br> 09.12.2010 <br> Thursday </strong></font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Crisis is opportunity to restore coherence in global economic governance - WTO DG, Lamy</strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>DELIVERING</strong> a lecture at the UN office in Geneva, yesterday, Pascal Lamy, Director-General, WTO, said, “ <em>In modern history, crises have been both the result of failures of governance and the cause of progress in governance. This applies both at the national level and, if we take armed conflicts as the ultimate form of crisis, at the international level. It also applies to the crisis - first the financial crisis and then the world economic crisis - that erupted in 2007 08. I would argue that this crisis stems from the growing disruptions to the order established in the aftermath of the Second World War. But I also think that it provides us with an opportunity to restore some kind of coherence in global economic governance. </em>” </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Trust </strong>: Trust in the international context is a rare commodity, both precious and fragile. Because it can only be built up through a slow accumulation of signals, first exchanged and then verified to remove the professional distrust that inhabits all negotiators, whose ideology dictates that their country has “neither eternal friends nor eternal foes”. Because it presupposes the involvement of reliable and trusted third parties, free of all suspicion of manipulation or bias and ready to take the risk of intermediation or to act as scapegoat if the intermediation fails. But this trust goes beyond the building of compromises. It can only take root in shared values capable of filling the legitimate gaps in interests, cultures, beliefs and visions of the world . </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Public Opinion </strong>: It is to the public that governments are accountable. It is with the public that we must share the sense of urgency that so many of us feel. The political legitimacy still belongs first and foremost to nations, as the European experience will attest, despite formidable progress in the field of governance. The global governance that the world needs cannot be severed from local governance roots. There is no shortcut to global coherence via our international institutions, all too often perceived by citizens as remote or obscure, even if it is their governments that are running them. In my view, good international governance is not about globalizing local problems, but localizing global problems. This is the price to pay for the legitimacy on which all power must be based. Hence the importance of discussions of the kind that brings us together today. </font></p> <p align="center"><strong><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">75 Years of Reserve Bank of India - Exhibition in Kolkata</font></strong></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>BUT </strong>why Kolkata? Because Kolkata is where it all began. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Reserve Bank's first central office was located in Kolkata in the very same building where it is housed now. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Reserve Bank took birth here in Kolkata on April 1, 1935 as a private shareholders institution. It shifted to Mumbai shortly thereafter and was nationalized in 1949. Soon after independence, the bank repositioned itself to meet the aspirations of an infant democracy and dovetailed its functions to the demands of a poor country with ambitious development goals. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In the function, RBI Governor Dr. D. Subba Rao said, </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The 60s were a period of institution building where the Reserve Bank helped formalize systems for agricultural and industrial credit; catalyzed institutions such as the State Finance Corporations and helped set up the Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Unit Trust of India as the first mutual fund, the IDBI as an apex development bank, etc. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The 70s saw the nationalization of banks, which heralded a new era when banking was taken from the classes to the masses. This was also the period when banks performed a critical role in poverty alleviation programmes of the government. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In the 80s, we started sowing the seeds of libralisation following the recommendations of the Sukhomoy Chakrabarty Committee. We focused on developing markets in a sequenced and calibrated manner.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Early in the 90s, we headed into a balance of payments crisis. The stabilization and structural adjustment programmes that followed marked an inflexion point in India's economic and financial development. Banking sector reforms helped strengthen the banking system and made it more competitive.</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The new millennium brought with it a new momentum where India made a decisive break from the ‘Hindu rate' and shifted onto a higher growth trajectory. This was also the period when Basel II norms were adopted, the payments system was substantially revamped, and the focus shifted to issues of inclusion. India weathered the global financial crisis where the Reserve Banks' policy response and role brought it into a new public focus. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As we turn into the second decade of the new millennium, our endeavour is to position the RBI as a knowledge institution; conduct outreach efforts as well as a financial literacy and inclusion drive; and finally make efforts to document the bank's history and traditions. </font></p> <p align="center"><font color="#006600" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>No move to regulate lawyers' fees: Moily </strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>THE</strong> Union Law Minister Dr. Veerappa Moily, told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the government has no proposal under consideration to regulate the fees charged by lawyers. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">But do you know how much lawyers in India charge? This week's edition of <strong>India Today </strong> gives details. </font></p> <p align="justify"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It is reported that:</font></strong></p> <blockquote> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em> Harish Salve charges between Rs. 2.5 Lakhs to Rs. 3 Lakhs per appearance with Rs. 25 Lakhs for a full day. </em></font></p> <p align="justify"><em><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Same is the case with Mukul Rohtagi and Abhishek Singhvi </font></em></p> <p align="justify"><em><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Ram Jethmalani gets Rs. 5 Lakhs per appearance and he is one person who is above the Generation Gap. He was the top Criminal Lawyer in the 1960's and is still so today. </font></em></p> <p align="justify"><em><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Arvind Datar charges Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 5 Lakhs per appearance. </font></em></p> </blockquote> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The top Law officers of the Government are also not poorly paid. The Attorney General (AG) and the Solicitor General (SG) are paid an appearance fee of Rs. 20,000/- apart from a monthly retainer fee of Rs. 25,000/-. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Soli Sorabjee is reported to have said, “To charge Rs. 30 to 40 lakh per day is nothing short of extortion. It is no excuse to say that the client can afford it. Lawyers are professionals, not tradesmen in a market place.”</font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And the poor Judge gets about 1.5 Lakh rupees for the whole month! </font></p> <p align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font color="#006600">Jurispruden</font><font color="#FF6633" size="5">tiol</font><font color="#006600"> – Friday's cases</font></strong></font></strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="http://www.taxindiaonline.com/RC2/image/stories/ddt_hammer.jpg" alt="Legal Corner Icon" width="100" height="84" hspace="5" border="0" align="left"><strong><font color="#663399">Income Tax </font></strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Whether Sec 80IC benefits can be denied merely on ground that clearance of goods was made to sister concern at a higher value and such a transaction cannot be treated as sale - NO, says ITAT </strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>THE </strong>issue before the Tribunal is - Whether Sec 80IC benefits can be denied merely on the ground that the clearance of goods was made to the sister concern at a higher value and such a transaction cannot be treated as a sale. NO is the Tribunal's answer. </font></p> <p align="justify"><strong><font color="#663399" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Central Excise </font></strong></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Refund on Finalisation of Provisional Assessment - 'Unjust Enrichment' applicable even for assessments pertaining to period prior to 1998, if assessments were finalised after 25/06/1999: CESTAT </strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>ANY</strong> refund of excess duty to the respondent is subject to unjust enrichment inasmuch as it arose out of finalisation of provisional assessment made on 16/01/2006 i.e. long after the doctrine of unjust enrichment was incorporated in Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 and Section 11B of the Central Excise Act in relation to refunds arising out of finalisation of provisional assessments. </font></p> <p align="justify"><strong><font color="#663399" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Customs </font></strong></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6633" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Appeal against Pre-deposit order in Classification Matter - lies to High Court; Classification of LCD TFT-Tribunal not justified in ordering pre-deposit when classification issue stands concluded in favour of assessee : High Court </strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>APPEAL</strong> against an order of pre-deposit passed by the Appellate Tribunal would be maintainable before the High Court. Under Section 130 of the Customs Act, 1962, appeal against all orders of the Tribunal except orders determining the question relating to determination of rate of duty or value of goods are maintainable before the High Court. Therefore, the fact that the appeal under Section 130E of the Customs Act, 1962 against the order, determining the rate of duty or value of goods is maintainable before the Apex Court, cannot be a ground to hold that the appeal against the order of pre-deposit would also be maintainable before the Apex Court. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#663399" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>See our columns Tomorrow for the judgements</strong></font></p> <p align="justify"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="#FF6666">Until Tomorrow with more <strong>DDT</strong></font></font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Have a nice DAY. </font></p> <p align="justify"><font color="#FF6666" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mail your comments to</font> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com"><strong>vijaywrite@taxindiaonline.com </strong></a></font></p> </body> </html>