Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 09 October 2015

:: Miscellaneous ::

Vodafone gets relief from Bombay HC in transfer pricing case

In a big relief for telecom major Vodafone India, the Bombay High Court set aside an order of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), which had ruled that the IT department had powers to raise tax demand on the company in a Rs. 8,500 crore transfer pricing case.
The transfer pricing case dates back to 2008 relating to sale of one of its call centres in Ahmedabad in 2007.
Transfer pricing involves related entities dealing at arm’s length to ensure fair pricing of the asset that is transferred.
Vodafone had appealed against the order of the Tribunal, which was admitted by High Court division bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and Anil Menon.
The IT Appellate Tribunal had on December 10 last year, held that the company had structured the deal with another India-based entity Hutchison Whampoa Properties with the intention to circumvent the transfer pricing norms, even though it was an international transaction wherein there was no arm’s length dealing between the two related entities.
However, the Tribunal had referred the case back to the IT department asking it to revise the amount to be recovered from Vodafone.
Vodafone pleaded in High Court that IT department had no jurisdiction in the transfer pricing casebecause the said transaction was not international and did not attract tax.
The Tribunal had then ruled that the deal relating to sale of the call centre business was structured with the motive to “circumvent the transfer pricing provisions of the Income Tax Act” and was essentially an “international transaction between two related parties and thus would be subject to the transfer pricing provisions.”
The dispute relates to the sale of the Ahmedabad-based call centre business (Vodafone India Services formerly known as 3 Global Services) for assessment year 2008-09.
The department slapped a tax demand on the company on October 31, 2012 under various sections of the Income Tax Act.

:: Award & Prize ::

Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich wins Literature Nobel (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

US-Pak nuclear deal not like the one with India

The deal US is considering with Pakistan to limit its nuclear arsenal in exchange for free access to nuclear material and supplies is very different from the one it has with India.
The US proposal, as reported by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, is to cap Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and delivery systems, tying them to the defence needs regarding India.
In other words, the deal seems designed to cover Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal — the warheads — fissile material and production facilities, giving US access to them.
In return, the US will facilitate for Pakistan easier access to nuclear material and supplies from the 38-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, which doesn’t trade with non-NPT countries.
The US nuclear deal with India covers only civilian use facilities, opening them to international inspection. But it does not cover weapons and related processes at all.
Pakistan has been seeking a nuclear deal like the one US has with India, arguing for a “non-discriminatory approach on nuclear issues”, but hasn’t had any success, not until now, it seems.
Now, however, the US seems to be moving towards using Pakistan’s desire of a deal to cap its weapons programme and delivery systems that had long been an international concern.
The White House refused to confirm or deny the Washington Post column saying it doesn’t typically comment on internal discussions.
The columnist called the move a “diplomatic blockbuster”, but warned progress could be “slow and difficult” as “Pakistan prizes its nuclear program … and it’s not clear if Islamabad would be willing to accept the limitations that would be required”.
Pakistan currently has between 100 and 120 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, to India’s 80-100, but is projected to become the world’s third largest in a decade, based on its production targets.
The US and Russia have the largest stockpile with an estimated 1,600 each. France, China and UK are next with 300, 250 and 225 respectively.
A recent study by Carnegie and Stimson Center, both think tanks, suggested Pakistan could go up to 350 in a decade based on its estimation of India’s stock of fissile material.

:: Sports ::

South Africa whitewash India take series 2-0

The third and final Twenty20 international between India and South Africa at Eden Gardens was washed out without a ball being bowled, giving the tourists the series 2-0.
No play was possible after a heavy evening shower left the ground water-logged.
The forecasted rain arrived about an hour and a half before the scheduled start of play, and while it did not last for more than 30 minutes the damage was enough to get the Eden Gardens ground staff into overdrive mode.
The match referee and umpires convened several times to inspect the pitch and conditions, but too much water had seeped into various spots on the outfield and ultimately, after three official inspections the decision was taken to call off the match soon after 9:30pm IST.
The teams now move into the five-match ODI series, the first of which is in Kanpur on Sunday.