Income Tax Bonanza for Salaried People FY-2012-13

The centre might consider reconstructing of income tax slabs and increasing the exemption.

New Delhi,Feb7,2012:  

Budget 2012-13 is in process. The government is planning to enhance tax slabs of salaried class persons.
According to reports, Union Finance Minister Sh. Pranab Mukherjee may announce the income tax slab rates soon. The basic tax exemption may increase from 1.8 lakh to 2 lakh. Further the income between Rs. 2-5 lakh will be taxed at 10 percent, Rs. 5-10 Lakh be taxed at 20 percent and income above Rs. 10 Lakh will be taxed at 30 percent rate. 

 The present tax structure is that incomes between Rs 1.8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh are taxed 10 percent, those between Rs 5-8 lakh taxed 20 percent while 30 percent tax is slapped on incomes above Rs 8 lakh.

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Postal employee fighting for pension gets relief from the President of India

The CAT initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against postal deperment in September, 2011

Chennai, Feb 7, 2012(TNN): J Prema of Dindigul district has won a three-year battle with the Director of Postal Services, Madurai for her pension and service benefits, thanks to the intervention of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and a final order from President Pratibha Patil last week. 
In her order, the President ordered that proceedings against Prema be dropped as “misconduct” on her part was not grave enough for imposing a major penalty. A bench of G Shanthappa, judicial member and O P Sosamma, administrative member, declared the case closed on Monday.
“Her case could have dragged on for years, had it not been for the intervention of the court. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Prema as authorities claimed that she had not supervised the work of a Gramin Dak Sevak (part-time personnel working for the postal department in rural areas). While the charges against her were proved, our stand was that this can attract only a minor punishment,” her advocate R Malaichamy said. 
Prema was suspended as sub-postmaster at Kodaikanal Observatory two days before her retirement was due on May 31, 2009. A year later, the CAT asked the department to complete the inquiry within six months. As the authorities did not pay heed to the order even 14 months later, the CAT initiated suo motu contempt proceedings in September, 2011. Authorities then promised to complete the inquiry within three months.

The inquiry report was forwarded to President Pratibha Patil as per the terms of the Central Civil Services Pension Rules, 1972, who subsequently ordered that proceedings against Prema be dropped. “We received a copy of the President’s order two days ago and she was able to claim benefits (about 8 lakh) the same day,” Malaichamy said. Prema was suspended as sub-postmaster two days before her retirement on May 31, 2009.

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8,500 income tax gazetted officers on protest against the recent CBDT cadre restructuring

M K Road Income-Tax office, Mumbai

Mumbai/New Delhi, Feb 4 ,2012: Close to 8,500 gazetted income tax employees in the rank of I-T officers (ITOs), assistant commissioners and administrative officers have gone on a nationwide agitation. The outcome, said tax circles, will be fewer tax surveys and raids.
“Their priority is now processing refunds rather than quickening recovery,” said a senior official with the tax office. While it’s unclear how long the agitation will continue, high net worth individuals and companies with unreported income will enjoy the breather as long as it lasts.
The raids at liquor baron Ponty Chaddha’s premises in Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi were the last such exercise carried out by tax officials.
“There will be no searches and surveys. We will not send any reports to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT),” said Rajesh Menon, secretary general, Income-Tax Gazetted Officers Association. The gazetted officers, upset over the delay in filling up vacancies and promotions, have said there will be no TDS surveys, inspections, verifications or any recovery surveys.
The government has pegged direct tax collection target at Rs 5.33 lakh crore for 2011-12, about 20% higher than the actual collections in FY10-11. But due to fears of missing the selloff target, it is nudging the department to collect 10% more than the target.
The government has recently empowered tax officials to visit residences of high net worth individuals ( HNIs) to verify unaccounted high-value transactions. But the agitation, said Menon, could impact collections.
According to a recent presentation made to the CBDT, as of September 2011, there were 710 vacant posts of assistant and deputy commissioners. In November, around 140 gazetted officers were promoted to the rank of joint commissioners, taking the total vacancies to 850, or 40% of the total sanctioned strength of 2,100 at that level.
ITOs assess the books of those with annual income below Rs 10 lakh while assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners assess taxpayers with income over Rs 10 lakh. Those in the ranks of joint or additional commissioners, commissioners and chief commissioners have supervisory role.
“More than 40% of assessees with annual income over Rs 10 lakh are not monitored at present,” said an income-tax officer on condition of anonymity. The staff crunch has resulted in increased workload on serving officers, affecting their ability to scrutinise returns.
The officials are also protesting against the recent cadre restructuring wherein the increase in the number of supervisory officers was much higher than field officers. The high number of vacancies in the department could undermine the government’s effort to check generation and circulation of black money.
Income-Tax Gazetted Officers Association had launched the agitation in October, but called it off on December 31 following assurances from the then CBDT chairman that promotions will be fast-tracked. But with their demands unfulfilled, the officials have resumed the agitation.
Some within the department think the agitation is unlikely to have a serious impact on revenue collections. The number of searches and surveys has dipped this year. Between April and October, 2,190 search warrants were executed as against 2,548 in the year-ago period. The income detected too plunged to Rs 3,887 crore from Rs 18,750 crore in April-October 2010.

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PAN to be most potent tool against tax evasion: I-T Dept

The 10-digit alphanumeric number (PAN) allotted by the I-T Department to taxpayers will be the most potent tool for the department to unearth tax crimes and evasion.

New Delhi, Feb 5, 2012, (PTI): Come next financial year, the PAN card is likely to become the most potent tool for the Income Tax Department to unearth black money, tax evasion and instances of criminal financing in the country.
A recent directive of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to the I-T Dept has asked its officials to launch a special drive against those who have “not furnished their PAN (Permanent Account Number)” while entering into high value transactions.
The drive will end on March 20, eleven days before the current fiscal closes.
The measure has been taken on the recommendations of a high-level committee appointed by the CBDT last year to find those taxpayers who have gone missing without paying taxes, pegged at Rs 1,01,836 crore at present.
The committee under I-T Director General (Administration) was set up to examine pending cases on I-T demands under the categories “assesses not traceable” and “no assets/ inadequate assets for recovery”.
A top Finance Ministry official, involved in the planning of the latest drive, explains the idea behind the exercise which is being conducted across the country.
“The PAN card data which the I-T will obtain during the two month drive which started on February 20 will bolster the 360-degree profiling computer-based data-bank of the department. The new PANs will be fed into the system and then whenever a transaction is done using that identity, a flow chart of all credit/debit card, banking and other transactions from it will get displayed for the officer investigating,” the official said.
“The 10-digit alphanumeric number (PAN) allotted by the I-T Department to taxpayers will be the most potent tool for the department to unearth tax crimes and evasion,” the official said.
This will not only bring about a mechanism of non-intrusive investigation by department without troubling the taxpayer but will also streamline the financial data of each taxpayer for his assessing officer, the official added.
The charter of the drive mandates that taxpayers “will be required” to furnish their PAN if they already have one or “apply immediately for PAN if they do not have one”.
“The department has tried to kill two birds with one stone. While the high-level committee found that a number of pending recovery cases reached a dead end because of non-availability of PAN cards, it also found that the PAN database itself is not complete. So while the committee had mandated I-T officials to go door-to-door to intimate such taxpayers, it will now be done under the umbrella of this directive,” the official said.
The CBDT has also asked in the latest directive that such people will also be required to explain the source of the high value investments, deposits, expenditure and whether these were properly explained in the I-T returns filed by them.
“Persons who have not properly accounted for the high value transactions are required to pay due taxes and file the I-T return within this financial year, March 31, 2012,” the directive said.
“A number of these people are those who figured in the probe of the high-level committee,” another official said.
In view of the present drive, the department has also reportedly decided not to publish the names of such defaulters who owe more than Rs 10 crore as unpaid taxes, considering it as an “unfriendly measure” as of now.
The CBDT has also spelt out that there are “penal consequences” of either not reporting or obtaining a PAN card.

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CVC penalises 113 govt officials for alleged graft

The Commission is deeply concerned over continuing delay in filling the post of Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) in Syndicate Bank and Kandla Port Trust.

New Delhi,Feb 06, 2012(PTI): The Central Vigilance Commission has recommended major penalty against 113 government officials for their alleged involvement in corruption.
Of these, the highest, 22, are from Railway Ministry, 11 in Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), eight in Western Coalfields Limited and six each in Life Insurance Corporation of Limited, Indian telephone Industries Limited, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank among others, the CVC said in its monthly performance report for December 2011.

 Besides, five officials working with Employees Provident Fund Organisation, four each in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of India Ltd (MMTC), three each in Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Department of Agriculture and Cooperation also faced major penalty for alleged graft. 

The anti-corruption watchdog has received a total of 1,746 complaints alleging corruption in several government departments during the month of December’2011. 
The CVC also effected recovery of Rs 14.82 crore after technical examination of public procurement including works of different government ministries. The recovery of about Rs 90 crore was made after technical examination of various work done by government departments in last year.
“The Commission is deeply concerned over continuing delay in filling the post of Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) in Syndicate Bank and Kandla Port Trust,” it said. 
Department wise list of  number of penalized officers for the month of December’2011 is given below for ready reference.
Click here for the list of  number of penalized officers

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SB ORDER NO 1/2012

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Introduction of Annual Medical Examination for the Group ‘A’ officers of Central Civil Services of age 40 years and above.

No. 21011/1/2009-Estt (A)- Part

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

(Department of Personnel and Training)

North Block, New Delhi,1st February, 2012

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject:- Introduction of Annual Medical Examination for the Group ‘A’ officers of Central Civil Services of age 40 years and above.

   The undersigned is directed to say that a scheme of Annual Medical Check-up is already operating in respect of All India Service officers. This Department had taken up the issue of covering Group A’ officers of Central Civil Services/posts for Annual Medical Check-up in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure). It has now been decided that Group ‘A’ officers of Central Civil Services/Posts of and above the age of 40 years will be covered by the Annual Medical Check- up scheme. The following package rates for the above purpose have been approved:-

   (i) Annual Medical Examination of Men officers- Rs. 2000/-
       (Rupees Two Thousand only)

   (ii) Annual Medical Examination of Women officers- Rs, 2200/-
      (Rupees Two Thousand and Two Hundred only)

   2. The regime of medical tests for the above purpose will be as given in the ANNEXURE-I.

   3. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has informed that the above rates were offered to CGHS empanelled private hospitals in Delhi and NCR and the 26 hospitals given in ANNEXURE-II have accepted the offer and agreed to conduct the Annual Medical Examination of the Group ‘A’ Officers of Central Civil Services of 40 years and above. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is in the process of empanelling hospitals in other CGHS cities on the same terms and conditions. In non-CGHS cities the offer is being made to the hospitals recognized under CS(MA) Rules, 1944. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has indicated that it will require atleast three months time for empanelling the hospitals for other places outside Delhi/NCR where CGHS/CS(MA) recognized hospitals are available. This will be communicated later. There are places where there are no empanelled hospitals. In such places, the administrative Departments/offices may engage quality local hospitals on the same terms and conditions to get the Annual Medical Examination of their officers conducted subject to ceiling of Rs.2000/- and Rs.2200/- for men and women officers respectively or actual whichever is less.

   4. All Ministries/Departments are accordingly requested to cater the estimated expenditure in their budget for reimbursement of the amount to the concerned officer and implement the scheme during the financial year 2012-13 for the officers located in Delhi and NCR. Instructions with respect to officers located outside Delhi/NCR where CGHS/CS (MA) recognized hospitals are available would follow. The concerned officer may be handed over the copy of complete Medical Report and the summary of the Medical Report in the enclosed proforma (Annexure-III) separately prepared by the Medical Authority is to be attached to the APAR of the concerned officer.

sd/-

(C.A. Subramanian)

Joint Secretary to the Government of India

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