Industry not happy with cement placed in highest slab under GST
The Dollar Business Bureau With cement coming under the 28% tax rate structure under Goods and Services Tax (GST), the industry is not happy with the government slotting it under the highest tax structure as the sector is already struggling with low demand. The Government has failed to take an advantage to spur growth in the already struggling housing and cement sector by placing the commodity in the uppermost tax bracket of 28% under the GST, the industry body Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) said reacting to the announcement. The industry body has also lamented that the taxation on cement, the highest in the Asia Pacific region, has impacted the health of the sector that is seeing just 70% of its capacity utilisation because of low demand. “On a 50 kg bag ...
Jharsuguda, Odisha notified as ICD for imported goods and loading of export goods
The Dollar Business Bureau Under the aegis of Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR), a multi-modal logistic park was set up at Jharsuguda which has been operational since June. The CBEC has decided to include Jharsuguda as an Inland Container Depot (ICD) in its latest notification No.139/2016-Customs (N.T.) dated 25th November, 2016. Jharsuguda is the second ICD in Odisha after Balasore. CONCOR Jharsuguda was operational as a Domestic Container Terminal for the first 3-4 months and later converted as an ICD. This terminal will provide dedicated service to the industry along with customs clearance and cargo consolidation facilities. In recent times Jharsuguda district has witnessed large scale industrialisation due to the ambitious plans of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. One such proposal was the setting up ...
Nirma to buy Lafarge India for $1.4 bn
The Dollar Business Bureau | The world's biggest maker of cement, LafargeHolcim Ltd, said on Monday that it will sell its share in the Lafarge India to detergent and soap maker, Nirma Ltd, for an enterprise value of around $1.4 billion (Rs.9300 crores), in line with its divestment programme. Lafarge India has three plants of cement and two grinding stations, which have a capacity to produce around 11 million tonnes per year. The company also sells aggregates and is one of India’s largest manufacturers of ready-mix concrete. “LafargeHolcim Ltd announces that it has signed a letter of agreement with Nirma Ltd to divest its stake in Lafarge India for an enterprise value of about $1.4 billion,” Lafarge said in ...
UltraTech secures coal linkages for cement plants
The Dollar Business Bureau UltraTech Cement Ltd has taken part in the recently held auction of coal linkages for cement sector. It has secured coal supply linkages for its cement plants in the State of Maharashtra, the company said in a statement on Thursday. In an auction held on June 28, Ultratech won the coal linkages from Penganga OC mines to supply 52,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of G10 Grade at a basic floor price of Rs.1,510 per tonne and a premium of Rs.20 per tonne, the statement said. During the auction held on July 1, the company has bagged 30,000 TPA of Grade 8 coal supply from Mana Incline at a basic floor price of Rs.2060 per tonne. These coal linkages in favour ...
Core industries production declines in May
The Dollar Business Bureau The production of core industries in India dropped in May, after increasing consecutively for five months, due to decline in output in a few sectors, including cement and steel. Index of Eight Core Industries (ECI), the measure to select factory production, which represents key infrastructure sectors, moved up a little by 2.8 percent in the month of May in the wake of lower output of refinery products and electricity, revealed a data issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In April 2016, the ECI had surged by 8.5 percent and 4.4 percent in the same month in 2015. The index consists of 38 percent of the overall weightage of products that are included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). In ...
Companies turn up well for first coal auctions
Sai Nikesh | The Dollar Business With a view to minimize their dependence on imports and production from Coal India Ltd, the Indian cement and steel companies aggressively participated in a bidding for coal in the country’s first round of auction to sell mines. Currently 19 blocks of the mines are on offer for auction till February 22 and the Coal Ministry has so far auctioned 13 blocks in the current bid. The companies were allowed to bid for enough coal, which is expected to cover up to 50% of their metal or cement capacity expansion. Coal India’s prices that are set according to the costs rather than demand for supply made the companies think out of dependence on ...
