NEW DELHI, Nov 16: The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), representing five million transport workers worldwide and having major Indian port and dock workers' unions as affiliates, has demanded involvement of trade unions in consultations on port reforms. The apex organisation has said that considering the negative impact of privatisation of ports and other infrastructure on employment, working conditions and dock workers' interests and on the trade unions'position, port reforms need to be the result of verifiable research, joint decision-making and planning and implementation in which all parties affected by the reforms should be involved, they added.The ITF demanded that governments, employers and international financial institutions make available as an integral part of any port restructuring programmes, sufficient financial and technical resources both to solve any social problems arising and to enable unions to negotiate the restructuring process on an equal basis, according to the forum.The federation is also launching a coordinated industrial action in 23 Asia-Pacific Rim countries against Flags of Convenience (FOC) ships visiting certain ports in the region.The action will take place between November 20 and 26 during which the combined forces of all major seafarers and dock workers' unions in the region as well as ITF inspectorate based in these countries will be demonstrating their preparedness and capability to defend seafarers' and dock workers interests.The ITF said that for 50 years, unions have been waging a vigorous campaign against shipowners who abandon the flag of their country in search of the cheapest possible training and safety standards for their ships.Thes sources said the campaign has two key objectives. The eventual eradication of the FOC system and the establishment of minimum international standards on FOC ships.The purpose of the action is to highlight the growing mutual cooperation, support and solidarity between seafarers' and dockers' unions and to demonstrate to the ship owners and ship charters the risk they run if they try to avoid trade unions and refuse to adopt. ulitt¬Ut›°<¼Tt›ndikar said. The RBI sold about $400 million on Wednesday after the rupee hit a 21-month low.While the foreign exchange market was suffering nervousness, the turmoil in Asian stock markets has shaken India's ambitious plans for tapping global markets for euroissues of global depositary receipts (GDRs) of state-run firms.India, responding to market conditions, two weeks ago deferred a $800 million GDR issue by the state-run gas monopoly, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) after it failed to muster a floor price of Rs 125 ($3.4) per share.Last Friday the government also announced a 40 per cent reduction in the size of a proposed GDR issue by state-controlled Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).``The government's revenue, disinvestment and fiscal targets will go awry if market conditions remain depressed,'' said an economist with a foreign brokerage.The government has ambitiously raised its target for partial disinvestment of shares in state-owned firms in fiscal 1997-98 to Rs 70 billion from an earlier projected 48 billion.A shortfall in the disinvestment target would hamper revenue estimates and hit the government's fiscal deficit goal in the current fiscal year, hes added.India hopes to reduce its fiscal deficit as a proportion of its gross domestic product (GDP) in fiscal 1997-98 to 4.5 per cent against 5.0 per cent last year. (Reuter) om¬Ut›ä6¬Ut› is assuming dangerous proportions and may severely affect cotton production in North India. "The leaf curl virus, caused by the whitefly, is threatening cotton cultivation in over one lakh hectares and it could pose a threat to domestic self-sufficiency," Sheo Raj of Nagpur-based Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) told a seminar on "integrated disease management for oilseeds and fibre crops".Bacterial blight disease affecting rice production: The bacterial blight disease is destroying several rice varieties in northern parts, including `Pusa basmati', a dwarf aromatic rice introduced amidst high expectations in the country. Caused by `xanthomonas oryzae', the disease is affecting production of rice in nearly three lakh to five lakh hectares, scientists from the Directorate of Rice Research (DRR) in Hyderabad said. During the past three years epidemics have been reported in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh on several rice varieties including Jaya, PR 106, Pusa 44-35 and Pusa basmati. ued ¬Ut›¬2¬Ut›lective assessment under Section 19-BC (C) of the Act.Once the income of the assessment years 1988-89 and 1989-90 had been determined taking into account the income already assessed and concealed income which included the years in question, no assessment remained to be framed.Once the assessment has been framed it can only be reopened by issuing notice under Section 147/148 where income has escaped assessment or as a result of search and seizure under Section 132.Notices issued under Section 148 prior to the search were rendered infructuous after the framing of the assessment for the block period of ten years under Chapter XIV-B. It was held that the department could not proceed on the basis of notices issued under Section 148 prior to the framing of assessment under Chapter XIV-B.Under Section 143(2), the Assessing Officer can issue notice in case he deems it necessary or expedient where a return has been filed under Section 139 or in response to a notice under Section 142(1) to ensure that the assessee has not understated the income or has not computed excessive loss or has not underpaid the tax in any manner, serve on the assessee a notice requiring him, on a date to be specified therein, either to attend his office or to produce, or cause to be produced there, any evidence which the assessee may rely in support of the return.The purpose of introducing of Chapter XIV-B which provides for special procedure for framing of assessment orders for a block period of ten years would be lost if the Assessing Officer is allowed to proceed under Section 143 on a return filed under Section 139 or in response to a notice under Section 142(1).Certainly two assessments cannot be framed for the same assessment year on an assessee. Once an assessment has been framed for a block period under Section 158-BC which includes the years in question, the Income Tax Officer stands debarred from framing an assessment under Section 143 on the basis of returns already filed under Section 139.After framing of assessment under Section 158-BC for a block period of ten years, income of any year covered by any block period cannot be determined afresh as all pending assessments of those years stand merged in the collective assessment under Section 158-BC(c) of the Act.Considering the facts in this case, the court held that the income of each of the ten years prior to the year of search, including the assessment years 1988-89 and 1989-90, had already been determined separately under two heads: (i) income already assessed, and (ii) concealed income.The income of the assessment years 1988-89 and 1989-90 did not remain to be determined after determination of yearwise income. All pending assessments of those years stood merged in the collective assessment under Section 158-BC(c). Notices issued under Section 148 prior to the search were rendered infructuous after framing of the assessment for the block period of ten years under Chapter XIV-B. The department could not, therefore, proceed on the basis of notices issued under Section 148 prior to the framing of assessment under Chapter XIV-B.Hence, the court concluded that the action of the Assessing Officer was indefensible and could not be sustained. This is for the obvious reason that an assessee cannot be assessed twice for the same assessment year by framing two assessments, one under Chapter XIV-B in the case of search and the other in the course of regular assessment. There can be no two opinions that the decision of the Punjab & Haryana High Court lays down the correct proposition of Law. u

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.