The Navhind Times I Monday November 16, 2015

Magazine for
Business &
Consumers

navhindtimes.com

vox populi

State commission
defines consumer

By Adv Jatin Ramaiya

t is a law settled by now that

access to Consumer Court is
only for a consumer as defined
by the Consumer Protection Act,
which means that if any person
had obtained any service or product for any commercial purpose
or profiteering then the roads to
the Consumer Court are closed to
them.
The Goa State Consumer Commission Justice in its numerous
judgments is pointed out that consumer courts are one way streets.
However the law on how such plea
of ouster of jurisdiction or lack of
jurisdiction has to be raised and
when such plea should be raised
was unclear.
In a decision passed by Justice
NA Britto and Vidhya Gurav the
Commission observed that whether
a person is a consumer or not is
a jurisdictional fact and ought to
have been examined by the District
Forum at the stage of admission
of the complaint. The Commission
made this observation whilst dismissing the appeal filed by Prakash
Gawas at the admission stage. It
was contended by the advocate
who represented Gawas before the
Commission that dismissal of the
complaint filed by Gawas by the
district forum was unwarranted as
Gawas was a consumer since he
had used the car only for earning

his livelihood.
The Commission whilst disposing the appeal observed that
admittedly the complainant (Gawas)
is a businessman with business of
giving his trucks on hire. However
he had purchased the vehicle in
question to be used in connection
with the business of giving his
trucks on hire. In other words to
supervise his business and therefore for a commercial activity. It
was certainly not for the purpose
of earning his livelihood by means
of self-employment.
A similar view was taken in
a previous appeal wherein the
Commission observed that conferment of jurisdiction is a legislative
function and if the court passes a
decree having no jurisdiction over
the matter it would amount to nullity as the matter goes to the roots
of the cause.
Such an issue can be raised at
any stage of the proceedings. The
finding of a court or tribunal becomes irrelevant and unenforceable
once the forum is found to have no
jurisdiction. Similarly, if a Court or
Tribunal inherently lacks jurisdiction, acquiescence of party equally
should not be permitted to perpetuate and perpetrate, defeating
the legislative animation. The Court
cannot derive jurisdiction apart
from the Statute. In such eventuality the doctrine of waiver also does
not apply.

farm produce prices

Vegetables Retail rates at GOA STATE
HORTICULTURE Corporation Ltd. (Rs per kg)*
hhLadyfinger 32.00

hhCauliflower (piece)

23.00

hhCabbage

20.00

hhChilly 25.00

hhCluster Beans

27.00

hhOnion

hhFrench Beans

40.00

hhPotato 19.80

hhCarrot

42.00

hhTomato 30.00

25.00

*Rate as on November 13 2015

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From November 1 2015 all non-individual investors need to provide

Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) details at the time of account opening

In the name of KYC

By Tensing Rodrigues

any crimes have been committed, and continue to be committed in the name God. And many
crimes happen to be committed in
the name of good. Oh no, I am not
straying into the politically right debate currently raging on tolerance and intolerance. I am
concerned about another good about which no
debate seems to be politically right: The good
of the investors specifically the good of the
investors in mutual fund schemes.
Since times immemorial SEBI has been
trying to protect the interest of MF investors
by issuing fatwas after fatwas apparently to
no avail. Of course, some of these fatwas have
a reverse motive of protecting the countrys
financial system from rampages by MF investors. Poor SEBI has to fight off enemies on the
left and right leaving it little time to fight the
enemy within.
Probably one of the earliest diktat that
AMFI/SEBI devised was the KYC Know Your
Customer. The MF companies had to know
their customer in the sense of ensuring that
the money that they invest comes from white
sources. Fine. It made a lot of sense. But apparently that was not fool-proof since it did let
some tainted money in. So SEBI added some
more entries to the KYC form and called for a
repeat of the exercise. And kept repeating it
again and again.
From November 1 2015 all non-individual
investors need to provide Ultimate Beneficial
Ownership (UBO) details at the time of account
opening. And all investors need to provide
information such as income details, occupation, net worth, etc. Why ? Why the hell should
the receiver of funds or even the securities
regulator know my income details, occupa-

tion and net

worth ? That
is the domain
of the Income
Tax Department or the
Directorate of
Revenue intelligence.
If ITD or
DRI ask for
such information, it makes
some sense,
because it is
their duty to
prevent tax evasion or build up of undeclared
assets. And they do their duty quite well. But
the securities regulator or the asset managers
have no business to ask for my income details
or net worth. This is clearly tresspassing into
the privacy of the individual. Do not be surprised if the next addition to the KYC form is
details of the size and brand of the investors
innerwear.
If you have not still seen through the
mischief let truth be told. SEBI and AMFI are
collecting this information on behalf of tax
authorities. Since years ago information on
MF purchases by investors has been regulalrly
provided to ITD by MFs through their annual
returns. And wherever the ITD saw purchases
in excess of Rs. 2 lakhs, it has been sending notices to the investors asking for explanation.
Nothing wrong with that. But why collect information by underhand means? Make
it obligatory for every investor to file normal
IT returns providing all this information. Let
everything be above the table the investors
doings and the ITDs doings. This chupa-chupi
is bound to breed corruption. Probably it is.

The crucial element in this whole battle

is to create an unique identity that is robust
enough to withstand most of the lock breakers
so that all the transactions of a given inividual
are tagged to that identity. Then there is no
need to chase the illegalities. Just key in the
number and the full history will be there on
the computer screen. Absolute transparency is
good for the investor and for the government.
But somehow, we seem to fight shy of that.
We have a PAN number. But there are a
large number of investors who do not have a
PAN. And there are some who have more than
one. So the whole purpose of PAN is defeated.
Then we came with AADHAR. One government introduced it and the next discarded it
and then reintroduced it and then the judiciary rubbished it. Why cant the powers that be
realise that an unique identity is the key to a
transparent financial system. Perhaps we do
not want it because it will leave no scope for
corruption.

*The author is an investment consultant.

Readers can send their comments and queries
to investment.ideas.shop@gmail.com

Gifting goes the e-commerce way

Forgotten to buy a gift due to busy schedule? The solution is available at
the click of a button, finds out Team B&C

head of Christmas festival is an

ecommerce venture that could
be useful for Goans who are hard
pressed for time. Gifting for festivals
and special occasions is made easier
with sendmygift.com, an online portal for really busy people. The portal recently launched
by TGS group is for on the go individuals who
want to gift but have no time to select the apt
present for their near and dear ones.
By logging on to sendmygift.com a person
can select and ask for gifts to be delivered to
friends on important occasions just at a click of
a button. Over one lakh gifts are available for
choice and other benefits are saving of time
in searching the ideal place to buy. An average person to purchase a gift wastes oodles of
hours in visiting innumerable malls and stores
to select the article, place order, gift-wrap them
and then cart it to the venue.
Digital photographs and details of gifts at
the portal will help customers in selecting and

buying gifts.
The portal was launched recently and is
apt for India where celebrations and emotions
are incomplete without gifting, according to
founder Dr Mandeep Kaur, chairman and managing director. India according to the founders
has a huge potential of the gifting market size
of which is projected at 30billion by2020. Ac-

cording to research most of the gifting is done

by the people between the age group of 18-35.
Sendmygift.com founders are targeting
over five lakh orders in coming months. They
are expecting revenue over Rs.1000 cores by
this financial year end and Rs.4000 Cores in
next financial year 2016-17. About 7,000 plus
sellers who are spread across the country have
their products on the site. Supply side logistics
is supported by highly responsive fast delivery
network and a strong infrastructure. Delivery
is within two to 24 hrs.
There are online sites that deliver gifts of
cakes and flowers during birthdays and anniversaries and Goans like their counterparts in
other states make ample use of these websites. Sendmygift.com is a good idea, according to residents who envisage a huge bout of
gifting during the wedding and festive season.
However most residents are of the view that
pricing and choice of gifts will be the factors
for the site to get popular.

investors guide

Nifty likely to
tread 7,500 levels

cceleration in the reforms process coupled with upcoming macro- economic numbers and cues on the
winter session of parliament will set the tone for the
Indian equities markets during the upcoming weekly trade.
Hopes of the goods and services tax (GST) bill getting
passed is expected to support the key bellwether indices. Attractive valuation on account of three consecutive
weeks of slide too will count as a major trigger for the indices. Value buying
opportunity is expected to lure back
the evasive foreign
investors. Nifty
may see a pullback
in the week with
major support at
7,500 points level.
Foreign investors went in for a selling frenzy during the
last week. On the other hand, the domestic institutional
investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs.1,360.92 crore
during the last trading week.
Besides, Bihar poll rout for the central government,
domestic macro numbers such as wholesale price index
(WPI), balance of trade (BoP) and reserve banks take on
the lackluster industrial output and marginal uptick in inflation will dictate the trajectory of Indian stocks.
In addition to the domestic macro number, the heightened chances of US rate hike and further cues towards it
will keep the Indian market on tenterhooks. Furthermore,
signs on the upcoming winter session of parliament in the
aftermath of the Bihar poll and ongoing debate over tolerance in the society will be another key trigger to watch
out for. IANS

weekly
market
outlook

sector watch
Demand to improve
post-Diwali

ll India average cement prices have declined marginally owing to meaningful price
correction
in Northern markets. Average cement prices
all India are currently ruling at Rs300-305 per
bag. The demand environment continued to
remain dismal on account of absence of pickup
in government projects, sand and water issues
in many pockets and absence of pickup in real
estate activities. Dealers in many pockets are of
the view that prices are likely to soften a bit in
coming days as yearly
closing for some of the
companies will entail a
price cut so as to push
volumes. However demand scenario is expected to pick-up post-Diwali.
In second half 2015-16 a decent uptick in
demand is likely due to improvement in construction activities from infrastructure projects,
better rural demand and increase in housing activities. Absence of capex revival in infrastructure and real estate activities has consistently
been hurting the demand environment for the
industry. On the other hand slowing capacity
addition and incremental demand from smart
cities / housing for all scheme of government /
capital formation in Andhra Pradesh are likely
to aid in improving utilizations of the industry
and hence profitability. We firmly believe that
cement industry is the perfect play on infrastructure boost in India owing to better balance-sheet of cement companies.Among largecaps Ultratech Cement is a BUY while among
mid-cap cement stocks we prefer J.K. Cement,
JK Lakshmi Cement and Ramco Cements.
Reliance Securities

Cement

scrip tip

Parachuteall the way

hold

aricos flagship brandParachutegrew 11 per cent in volume

which was the highest in past 13 quarters. On the other hand
valued added hair oils andSaffolareported modest growth while
youth brands dropped 18 per cent in value terms on account of competition. In terms of profitability margins improved due to lower copra
prices and liquid paraffin prices that dropped by 29 per cent and 33
per cent respectively. The companys international business remains
an area of concern with overseas business posting revenue increase of
just two per cent to Rs3.6 billion. However in constant currency terms,
revenues were lower. Bangladesh which accounted for 45 per cent of
international market witnessed 11 per cent drop in revenues attributed
to increased price premium compared to loose oil. The company has
effected price cuts in several brands to activate volume growth, which
is expected to reflect in the quarters going forward. Revenues and earnings are expected to grow 11 per cent and 19.2 per cent CAGR growth
through 2017. However at its current market price the stock is fairly
valued and hence we retain our HOLD rating.
Reliance Securities

Top branding in woolens

onte Carlolaunched in 1984 as an exclusive woolen brand by

Oswal Woolen Mills Limited (OWML). The company is emerged
as one of the leading Indian apparel brands and is recognized as
super brand for woolen knitted apparel in each edition of Consumer
Super brands India.
Launched as an exclusive woolen brand the company has successfully diversified with a comprehensive line of woolen, cotton & cotton
blended, knitted and woven apparel and home furnishing under the
Monte Carlo brand. Monte Carlo has a strong financials with healthy
return ratio land also negligible portion of debt. The company is as
good as debt-free with debt-equity of 0.2x of 2016-17 (E) earnings.
Capital expenditure is expected to be minimal for next two years which
will keep return ratios higher for the company.
KR Choksey

Target Price

` 402

Current Price

` 398.90
Marico

buy
Target Price

` 563

Current Price

` 447.05

Monte Carlo