Haj pilgrimage: SC refuses to pass order on tour operators' plea
New Delhi, Jun 24: The Supreme Court Monday refused to pass any order on a plea by the Federation of Haj Private Tour Operators of India challenging a condition to charge extra for additional quota of 10,000 seats.
A vacation bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai noted that most of the concerns of the tour operators have been addressed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs after which the petition was withdrawn.
"Senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner seeks permission to withdraw the present writ petition with a liberty to file a fresh writ petition, if required and necessary for the subsequent years. Permission is granted. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed as withdrawn with liberty as prayed," the bench said.
The court had on June 18 asked the Ministry of Minority Affairs to hold a meeting with representatives of the Federation of Haj Private Tour Operators to resolve the issue.
The petitioners had contended that that condition to charge the additional quota seats allotted to them on applicable rates of Haj Committee of India is "unreasonable" and sought a direction to withdraw the condition imposed to charge additional quota of 10,000 seats allotted to them at the applicable rates of Haj Committee of India.
The plea termed the government's decision against the interest of Haj pilgrims along with the private tour operators and Haj Group Organisers.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
