• Canada, UK eye nuclear power deal with India
• SC issues notice to 12 cos on refund of education cess
• Service tax refund call rattles BPOs
• Airtel to soon launch IPTV
• Arcil plans $600-m fund to buy NPAs
• Government to lower direct tax collection target, up compliance
• Sandvik in Press Note 1 battle with Eimco Elecon
• According to sources, officials from the nuclear power industry of the United Kingdom and Canada are going to have talks for nuclear power deals in India. The two teams are being led by high-profile ministers — British secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform Peter Mandelson and Canadian minister of international Trade Stockwell Day. (ET)
• Supreme Court has issued notice to around 12 companies including Jindal Drugs and Bharat Box Factory on petitions filed by the excise department. The Department has filed these petitions seeking a stay on the Jammu & Kashmir High Court’s judgment which asked the department to refund the education cess collected from these firms.
It has sought the apex court’s intervention in deciding whether the education cess levied under Section 91 of the Finance Act, 2004, can be considered excise duty under the exemption notification of November 14, 2002, as the cess related to the rate of excise duty for assessment only. (ET)
• Service tax department has asked leading companies including Convergys, Genpact and Vertex to return refunds paid to them on claims made before March 2007 arguing that services provided by BPO units to clients located outside India don’t amount to export as these are “delivered in India” in view of the amendments made to the export of service rules in 2006 whereby services amounted to ‘export’, only if the recipient was located outside India, the service was delivered and used outside India and the payment was received by the service provider in convertible foreign exchange. (ET)
• Country’s largest cellular operator, Bharti Airtel will soon become the first private sector company to launch Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services in India. The company is expected to make on announcement on its IPTV plans this week. (ET)
• Country’s first asset reconstruction company, ARCIL is looking to float a $600-million fund for investing in distressed bank assets and has proposed to contribute 20% of the fund while the balance would be raised from domestic and international investors. The company will float the product in the next three months and the funds would be raised in phases as and when required. (ET)
• Govt is likely to pare the direct tax collection target for the current fiscal due to the negative impact of the global economic slowdown on India Inc’s profitability. The revised estimates are likely to be released during the interim Budget next month. It is likely that the revised target may be fixed at Rs 5,000-10,000 crore lower than the Budget estimate of Rs 3,65,000 crore for 2008-09.
• FIPB is divided over the contentious proposal of Pune-based Sandvik Asia (publicly-listed Indian co in in which Swedens Sandvik has 91 % stake) to acquire a majority, but undisclosed, stake in Tamil Nadu-based drilling equipment manufacturer Revathi Equipment for Rs 500 crore, to expand its mining and construction business. Sandvik Asia’s partner Gujarat-based Eimco Elecon has contended that Sandvik controls 25.10 % of the co.’s paidup capital thus has to take a "no-objection certificate" (NOC) required under FDI norms laid down in Press Note 1. The commerce department is learnt to have supported Sandviks proposal but asked FIPB to consider Eimcos objections. ((BS)
