Fourth meeting of the US-INDIA  trade policy forum       concludes

The fourth meeting of the US-India Trade Policy Forum was held here today. The meeting was co-chaired by Ambassador Karan Bhatia, Deputy United States Trade Representative (DUSTR) and Shri S.N. Menon, Commerce Secretary.

The agenda included discussion on tariff and non-tariff barriers; agriculture; investment; services and intellectual property rights. The discussions on all these issue areas took place in a spirit of cooperation and mutual understanding. Information on these issues was exchanged so as to have a clearer comprehension of each other’s concerns and to outline, where possible, steps to address these concerns. Both sides developed an action plan to move forward to a higher level of bilateral economic engagement in preparation for the forthcoming visit of Shri Kamal Nath to the US.

Calcutta Chamber of Commerce was represented by President, Mr. Manoj Mohanka, FICCI-ERC was represented by Mr. C.K. Dhanuka, Chairman.

A Letter of Intent between the Government of West Bengal and Hunan Province of The People’s Republic of China, on the establishment of friendship Province/State relationship, was sighned on this occasion.

Dr. Sabyasachi Sen, Principal Secretary(Industries), Government of West Bengal was the representative signatory. Ms. Liu Lianyu, Director General,Hunan Foreign Affairs Office, , signed on behalf of People’s Republic of China.

Mr. Nirupam Sen, Honourable Minister of Commerce and Industries, Public Enterprises & Industrial Reconstruction was the Chief Guest of the Session.

ICI is looking for applicants from a wide range of backgrounds such as government officials, academics, researchers, media, artists, private entrepreneurs, civil society and non-government professionals, urban planners and architects. In early 2006, India China Institute will select five Fellows each from India and China for a two-year fellowship award. The fellow-select could continue her or his current profession during the period of fellowship.

For further details, contact:

Anita Patil-Deshmukh (Senior Advisor, ICI)
India China Fellowship Program
C/o PUKAR
1-4 Kamanwala Chambers,
Sir P.M. Road, Fort,
Mumbai-400 001
Telephone: 91-22-5605-3302
E-mail: deshmukha@newschool.edu
Website: www.indiachina.newschool.edu

The Chamber held an Interactive Session with the Mayor Sri Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya on 25th August at the Taj. The Mayor addressed various issues. Describing the inhuman condition of the Kolkata slums, the Mayor said that rehabilitation is not the solution to the problem. He added that a better system of drainage, waste disposal and awareness of health and sanitation could help make a better Kolkata. At the same time, he requested the people to say no to plastic bags in an effort to to keep the city clean.

Referring to the dilapidated condition of the ancestral home of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray that also bears the footprints of his illustrious father and grandfather, honourable Mayor sought funds from industrial houses and chambers of commerce for the preservation of the heritage sites of Kolkata.

The Mayor admitted that lack of funds and infrastructure is rendering KMC unable to preserve and repair the heritage structures, but promised the industrial houses and chambers of commerce to extend assistance should they take the initiative to raise funds for the cause.

Sensex Jumps

The BSE benchmark index triumphantly waved to the world from the top of the global skyline at 8000 mark on Thursday as local and foreign investors pinned hopes on India Inc’s strong growth prospects. They shrugged off concerns about a surging crude oil and the global economic uncertainty wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

Filing of IT Documents Mandatory

The filing of income and indirect tax returns at the proposed large tax payars unit (LTU), may be made mandatory for corporate taxpayers meeting a specified threshold although the industry is opposed to the move . This would be to ensure viability of the LTU from the beginning.

Stockbrockers cannot lessen service tax burden

Stockbrokers attempting to lower their Service Tax liability by netting out tax expenditure passed on to investors could be booked for tax evasion.

The revenue department has asked its field offices to ensure that brokers pay 10.2% Service Tax on gross value of the services provided to investors, rather than on the amount, that is net of taxes passed on clients.

This would mean that if the broker is charging , say Rs.100 as his brokerage,commission and taxes, and if Rs.30 is the tax component in this amount, the service tax will have to be paid on Rs.100 and not on Rs.70. The Service Tax Act requires that aggregate of commission or brokerage charged by a broker on sale or purchase of securities should be the value of taxable services for the purpose of this levy.