Aiyar rules out immediate rise in fuel prices
Chennai: Petroleum Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar has indicated that there may not be any increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG "for the time being".

Though the prices of petrol and diesel had gone up in other countries, they had not been increased in the last six months in India, he told reporters at the airport in Chennai. Barring the US, the prices of petrol and diesel were high in other countries compared to India.

"You can compare it with any country like Italy, France, Japan and Norway. The prices there are more than our country", he said, pointing out that in the US the prices were low only because there was substantial production there.
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Board of Trade reconstituted
New Delhi: The Government has reconstituted the Board of Trade with effect from April 1, 2005 with a view to boosting exports as well as to ensure a continuous dialogue with trade and industry.

The Board of Trade would advise the Government on policy measures connected with the foreign trade policy, an official release said.

In a departure from the past where the Board of Trade used to be headed by a Minister, the Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, has designated a representative of trade and industry to chair the Panel, which in this case would be Kumar Mangalam Birla, who will now head the 38-member Board. Non-official members will also include Ishaat Hussain of Tata Sons, Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, Malvinder Singh of Ranbaxy, and Jagdish Khattar of Maruti Udyog Ltd.
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DGFT appoints Pharmexcil as sole agency for issue of RCMC
Hyderabad: The Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has designated the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) as the sole agency for issuing registration-cum-membership certificate (RCMC) to exporters of drugs and pharmaceuticals.

Welcoming the announcement, Pharmexcil has sought to allay the apprehensions of small exporters, "Any worries that Pharmexcil is only for large-scale exporters and that the interests of small exporters will not receive due attention are unfounded and misplaced."

In a press release here, Pharmexcil has said that the categorical policy statement by the DGFT would go a long way in restoring the confidence of the industry, which was shaken by the persistent ambiguities about the institutional support to this prime sector of industry.

The public notice issued by the DGFT reiterates the long established practice of each of the export promotion councils being responsible for promotional activities of specific product groups assigned to it, the release said.
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VAT list confusion to be cleared soon
New Delhi: The Empowered Committee is likely to extend the list of items coming under Value Added Tax regime from 550 to 2,000 by way of removing anomalies and bring in uniformity across states.

The move will make classification of items proper and also provide a clear picture of impact of VAT on prices of various commodities. Though the VAT White Paper released on January 17 refers to about 550 items coming under VAT, some of the industrially developed states like Maharashtra and Haryana already classify over 1,000 items as industrial inputs and outputs.

State government sources said the figure in White Paper is "incorrect". Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has also pointed to discrepancies in VAT list and rates of various states that have passed the VAT bills.

According to the White Paper on VAT, 46 natural and unprocessed local products is exempt from VAT. About 270 items including drugs and medicines, all agri and industrial inputs, capital goods and declared goods would attract 4 per cent VAT. Precious metals like gold and bullion would be taxed at 1 per cent.

States will have the option of exempting grains from VAT or levy 4 per cent tax in the first year of VAT regime. Tea producing states would be given an option to levy 12.5 per cent or 4 per cent. In both cases, the tax rate would reviewed in 2006. Remaining items would attract 12.5 per cent VAT.

The VAT panel is expected to meet after June to review the VAT rates to fine-tune the new tax reform further and remove discrepancies.
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Vizag SEZ turnover at Rs585 crore
Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) has achieved an export turnover of Rs585 crore during 2004-2005 against a target of Rs540 crore.

According to SEZ officials the VSEZ had achieved an export turnover of Rs435 crore during 2003-2004, and during the current year (2005-2006), they were hopeful of crossing the Rs1,000-crore mark. Many more units were coming to the zone and several existing units are expanding capacities, officials said.

VSEZ has urged the State Government to allot 200 acres of land for the new units.
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