London, Sep 11 (PTI) The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) and HSBC UK on Friday announced a strategic partnership to support a major northern England delegation to India, aimed at tapping into the long-term investment opportunities created by the India-UK FTA. The Great North Mayor Mission, taking place between October 12 and 16, will bring together mayors, businesses, universities and civic institutions from across the north of England for a first-of-its-kind joint delegation to India. I... ... ...

Rupee depreciation against the US dollar continued amid global risk aversion, elevated crude oil prices, higher bond yields and weak domestic sentiment. Lower crude prices, recovery in domestic equities and suspected Reserve Bank of India intervention supported a partial intraday recovery. Foreign-exchange conditions were also influenced by dollar strength, inflation concerns, anticipated US data, domestic equity declines and net foreign institutional equity sales. India's foreign-exchange reserves rose sharply to a record level despite continuing currency-market volatility.

Retrospective validating legislation must cure the statutory defect or remove the legal basis of an earlier ruling; it cannot merely declare a contrary position or override judicial determinations. Section 147A is analysed as ineffective because it does not amend the continuing requirements under Section 151A and the relevant faceless assessment schemes, including randomized automated allocation. Reassessment notices under Section 148 are required to be issued through the prescribed faceless and automated process. Executive notifications or instructions granting concurrent jurisdiction cannot displace that statutory procedure, and a legally prescribed mode must be followed exclusively.

Section 147A, enacted retrospectively to exclude faceless Assessing Officers from issuing reassessment notices, was declared unconstitutional for violating separation of powers. A validating enactment may neutralise a judicial ruling only by curing the underlying defect or removing its legal basis; Section 147A neither amended the statutory faceless reassessment scheme nor addressed its requirement of randomised automated allocation. Notices under Section 148 must be issued through faceless, randomised automated allocation under the scheme framed under Section 151A. Jurisdictional Assessing Officers therefore lacked concurrent authority to issue such notices, and notices issued outside that process were set aside.

BRICS economic cooperation is advanced through proposed removal of major trade barriers, expanded cross-border investment and business ties, and measurable annual targets for startup expansion and commercial partnerships. Secure sea lanes, open supply routes, freedom of navigation and seafarer safety are treated as necessary for global trade and supply-chain continuity. Infrastructure, strategic technologies, startup innovation and digital public infrastructure are identified as platforms for deeper cooperation, supported by incubator, MSME, startup, agriculture, health care, skills and smart-grid networks.

Nationwide bank employee strike action disrupted cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearances and administrative work, principally at public sector bank branches. The principal demand is implementation of a five-day banking week by declaring all Saturdays as holidays. This demand is linked to the 12th Bipartite Settlement but remains pending government notification. Other unresolved demands concern pension updation, a uniform dearness allowance formula for pensioners, and an option for National Pension System employees to shift to the Old Pension Scheme.

Foreign Exchange Management Act investigation into alleged undisclosed overseas investments led to searches of premises connected with a Karnataka public works minister, family members, associates and a private company. The investigation alleges foreign shareholdings, cash investments in a Congo-based entity through unauthorised channels, and bribe payments connected with a public works tender and foreign asset acquisition. Cash, foreign currency, digital devices and records relating to foreign entities and alleged contractor-bribery collections were seized.

Money-laundering prosecution is not rendered infructuous merely because claimant banks recover debts from attached assets restored to them. Restoration under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act enables legitimate claimants to recover losses but does not cancel or require discontinuance of criminal proceedings concerning alleged laundering and misappropriation of bank-loan funds. The Enforcement Directorate also maintains that failure to respond to summons and submit to criminal-court jurisdiction remains material to the proceedings.

Security-interest priority under the SARFAESI Act concerns registration under section 26B and the priority contemplated by section 26E in relation to crown debts, including sales, commercial and income tax dues. Related issues include a Registering Authority's power to register sale certificates despite attachments and remittance of auction-sale surplus to tax departments. The Special Leave Petition was dismissed for uncondoned delay, leaving any question of law open.

Input tax credit under a special rebating scheme is addressed as a concession or right, including the requirement to claim credit through an original or revised return, rectification during reassessment, and refund or adjustment of excess credit with interest. The legal issue concerns the interaction between substantive provisions and machinery provisions, with substantive provisions prevailing. The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the High Court judgment and dismissed the special leave petitions.

Mandatory pre-deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act requires the stipulated duty or penalty amount before an appeal can be entertained. Deposits made through GST DRC-03 must be considered consistently where an earlier deposit through that mode has already been accepted. A subsequent deposit through the same mode cannot be disregarded without a valid basis. On considering both deposits and the remaining prescribed balance deposited before the Tribunal, the mandatory pre-deposit requirement stood satisfied.

Section 35(1) of the Central Excise Act confines the Commissioner (Appeals)' power to condone delay to the prescribed appeal period plus a further 30 days on sufficient cause. Following COVID-period exclusion, limitation commenced on 1 March 2022; the ordinary 60-day period ended on 29 April 2022 and the maximum condonable period ended on 28 May 2022. An appeal filed thereafter could not be entertained, particularly where no condonation application was made, because the appellate authority has no statutory power to extend limitation beyond that outer limit.

Coordinate-bench precedent governed proceedings that stood on the same footing as earlier similarly situated matters. The impugned appellate order and order-in-original required the same treatment prescribed by that precedent, resulting in their quashing in favour of the assessee. The legal focus is the consistent application of a binding coordinate-bench ruling where the relevant controversy is directly covered and no material distinction is identified.

Social Welfare Surcharge on duty credit scrips and MEIS exemptions raised the issue whether the surcharge is chargeable as a percentage of duties levied and collected, including the distinction between levy and collection under Article 265. The Special Leave Petition was disposed of because the tax effect fell below the prescribed threshold. The question of law on surcharge chargeability and the authority to impose tax remains open.

Section 80P(2)(a)(iii) permits deduction for paddy procurement commission where a co-operative society coordinates procurement, logistics and payment of proceeds for agricultural produce grown by its members. Routing the commission through a State agency or tax deduction at source does not alter the activity's character as member-produce marketing, absent material showing procurement from non-members. Section 80P(2)(d) also covers interest on deposits with a district central co-operative bank registered as a co-operative society. Section 80P(4) limits the co-operative bank's own deduction but does not prevent a depositor co-operative society from claiming deduction on such interest.

Section 69A applies only where the source of money is not satisfactorily explained. Cash books, bank records, financial statements and an audit report supporting cash generated from edible-oil trading establish that an entire cash deposit cannot automatically be assessed as unexplained money. Where documentary inconsistencies remain, assessment may be confined to the profit element embedded in the deposit; a 10% estimation was treated as reasonable. Section 250(6) requires an appellate order to state the points for determination, decisions and reasons, rather than dispose of the matter summarily. The balance cash-deposit addition was deleted and the estimated profit was taxable at normal rates.

Rebate under section 87A is available against income taxable at the special rates specified under sections 111A and 11B. The position follows a coordinate-bench ruling supporting the rebate's availability where no legal or factual distinction warrants a different treatment. Eligible taxpayers may therefore claim the section 87A rebate in respect of the specified special-rate income.

Documented share-sale transactions supported by contract notes, banking records, broker ledgers, demat evidence and capital-gain workings cannot be treated as unexplained money merely on allegations of a bogus penny-stock arrangement. Acquisition through a registered broker, holding for over twelve months, sale through a recognised stock exchange, and payment of securities transaction tax supported genuineness. Investigation information alone, without evidence of cash payments, unexplained deposits, links to entry operators or material disproving the transaction trail, was insufficient to sustain an addition under Section 69A. The addition of sale consideration was therefore deleted.

Limitation governed the challenge to an order made beyond the prescribed period. The show-cause notice raised only one issue and did not raise the additional issues subsequently involved. Liberty was retained to challenge the appealable order giving effect to earlier orders on all available grounds, with all contentions left open. The scope of any further challenge therefore includes limitation and issues not contained in the show-cause notice.

Pending rectification application must be decided by the concerned authority within eight weeks of receiving the order and a photocopy of the application. The direction requires time-bound disposal without expressing any view on the application's merits. The prescribed period is intended to ensure that the rectification request receives a decision while leaving the substantive issues for determination by the competent authority.