Computer Companies - Top 10 Computer Manufacturing Companies in The World

Computers and laptops / notebooks have become a part of our life. Life without a computer is next to impossible in this age of fast growing world of electronics and technology.

As the demand for computers grew, more and more companies stepped in the business to manufacture computers and computer hardware and software. Some of these companies manufacture all computer parts and sell under their own brand, while others manufacture only some of the hardware and few others develop only software. Computer companies like Intel and AMD manufacture computer processor and other high-end hardware. Companies like Microsoft and Google produce only computer software with some exception. Some companies even manufacture computer hardware parts on contract basis for OEM companies.

This article will feature the top 10 computer manufacturing companies in the world. These companies are selected based on their global market share.

Top 10 Computer Manufacturers

1. HP : HP (Hewlett-Packard) is a leading American multinational computer system manufacturer in the world. They manufacturer printers, laptops, computers, servers, storage devices, networking, software, enterprise solutions and much more. 
2. Acer : Acer ranks among the world's top five branded PC vendors. This Taiwan-based multinational computer technology and electronics corporation that manufactures desktop and laptop PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), servers, storage devices, displays, smartphones and peripherals and hardware.
3. Dell : Dell is a American multinational information technology corporation. Thic company provides technology solutions, services and support. Dell manufacturers Laptops, Netbooks, Tablet PCs, Desktops, Monitors, Servers, Storage and other computer-relater hardware.
4. Lenovo : Lenovo is a Chinese-based multinational computer technology corporation. This company manufacturers desktops, notebook, personal computers, workstations, servers, storage drives, IT management software, and computer-related products and services.
5. Toshiba : Toshiba is a Japanese multinational company. Toshiba is a manufacturer and suppliers of all kinds of electrical products including laptops, notebooks, computer desktop and other computer related products and services.
6. IBM : International Business Machines (IBM) is a United States based multinational technology and consulting company. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, infrastructure, hosting and consulting services.
7. Fujitsu : Fujitsu is a Japanese multinational computer hardware and IT services company. Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT products and services including hardware, software, networking, business solutions, and more.
8. NEC : NEC is a Japanese multinational IT company. The company provides information technology (IT) and network solutions. NEC Corporation is one of the world's leading providers of Internet, broadband network and enterprise business solutions.
9. Apple : Apple Inc is an American multinational company. The company's main focus is on design and marketing of consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. Best known products of Apple include iPod and iTunes, Mac laptop and desktop computers, the OS X operating system, and the revolutionary iPhone and iPad.
10. Gateway Computers : Gateway Incorporated is a subsidiary company of Acer Inc. The company manufactures and markets computer hardware, personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories.

Courtesy : http://sapost.blogspot.in/

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Ten Ways to Help Your Customers Get Serious About Passwords

Practice what you preach. This is one mantra many computer repair technicians live by. Yet one area that we’re still pretty hypocritical about is passwords. Be honest with yourself: are all of your credentials following the generally accepted rules of password complexity? It’s admittedly a hard principle to live by, seeing as we are inundated with passwords for what seems to be every service we deal with. Our customers are in the same position, and the onus is on us as computer repair technicians to ensure that they have a sound password policy and are sticking to it.

Computer security expert Steve Gibson covers password strength and complexity at length during his usual appearance on many Security Now podcasts. But he recently penned an excellent article for Consumer Reports magazine on some common password creation tips that he believes work well. He recommends that users employ password techniques such as complex passphrases or sentences. At the very least, Steve says, passwords must “grow the haystack” which refers to reducing the possibility that a hacker could easily perform a common-knowledge or dictionary attack on a given password. His article is a must-read for any informed computer technician.

Google’s own Small Business Blog highlighted this growing problem recently with an excellent post providing some basic guidelines on good password policy as well. However, I want to go one step further and outline ten specific ways you can help your customers set strong passwords, manage credentials, and juggle the security/convenience complex. I employ a mixture of these techniques for clients of my company FireLogicand they indeed stand the test of time.

10) Use a password strength checker to educate your customers

You can preach about password complexity rules all day to your customers, but showing them something visual always works best. For this reason, I employ the use of password strength checkers when customers doubt what I have to say about the credentials they choose. One very simply tool is provided by Microsoft which offers an easy to understand visual strength indication for how good a password is. If you really want to hit the point home, Steve Gibson’s company GRC offers a brutally honest password checker which is technically very accurate but perhaps a bit harsh on anything but the most carefully crafted passwords.

9) Use a high-security password generator

Asking customers to remember completely random 256 bit passwords may be a bit impractical. But for some applications, like high-stakes wireless networks employed in multi-tenant office buildings, this could be your saving grace for creating super secure wifi networks. Once again, Gibson’s GRC website offers a High Security Password Generator which creates unique various bit length passwords on each reload of the page. These passwords are very useful for WPA or WEP wireless deployments or other needs where strong, random credentials are a priority.

8) Offer SSO (Single Sign On) integration when possible

It’s a known fact: the more passwords we stack on users, and the more complex they are, the likelihood that they will get sloppy with password management increases exponentially. Help your business customers avoid “post it note password” solutions and offer to integrate core technology services with SSO when it’s available. Many common services like email, Active Directory, and other systems can be tied together with one set of credentials. For example, businesses on Google Apps can leverage Google Apps Directory Sync to tie into Active Directory, and likewise, other cloud services can also piggyback off Google Apps (most of the excellentZoho suite offers this.) Asking business users to adhere to one set of strict credentials is an easy sell and great way to enforce common password standards.

7) Phones need passwords now, too!

Most users carry around mini PCs right in their pockets and they overlook it. Those smartphones we all know and love contain massive amounts of information about a given person’s digital life, and many times, offer easy access to things like bank accounts and emails. At the very least, educate your customers about using simple password locks on their smartphones (backed by phone-tracing location services to take it one step further.) I’d even recommend that you push users to ensure they have the ability to remote wipe their phones in the case of theft. BlackBerry has been offering this for years, and iPhones and Android devices have similar functionality now too. An unlocked lost phone is as damaging as a lost laptop – perhaps worse.

6) Educate customers on avoiding passwords with personal information

As techs, we’ve known for years that using any part of our phone number, social security #, address, etc are very insecure methods for choosing passwords. Cyber thiefs know that people choose paths of least resistance when making passwords and in turn exploit this very easily. Don’t merely implement enforcements on core systems that your customers use which prevent this – let them know WHY these passwords need to be avoided!

5) No legitimate company EVER asks for passwords over email

Most modern email systems worth their salt should notify users about phishing attacks in email (Google Apps has been superb at this for years.) However, things will fall through the cracks and users should know that they should NEVER respond to any kind of email that asks for credentials to a service they use. Why would a bank ever ask you for your password – don’t they already control the system to begin with? Common sense is great, but sometimes users need reminders, especially when they are less technically savvy. A good computer technician will always offer solid education to his/her customers in this regard.

4) The “forever” password is just plain old bad policy

What’s a forever password, you ask? One that never changes. For ease of use, many companies allow employees to set it and forget it when it comes to passwords. Discourage your customers from following this methodology. The likelihood that a password may get written down and found at some point increases proportionately when there are no password age requirements on systems. Almost every major technology offers this these days, and Microsoft has a great guide on the various restrictions a company should place on passwords.

3) Push your larger customers to get an IT audit

Seeing is believing, and an IT audit can help your customers see exactly what is wrong with their IT policies when it comes to security. There are many firms that offer such audits in the form of ethical hacking, social engineering penetration, and other similar services. These are real eye openers and can be the difference between complacency and pre-emptive action.

2) Limit exposure to administrative passwords

Passwords are only as secure as the people who are trusted with safeguarding them. Password books that float around an office which contain admin passwords to core network and server hardware along with email systems is not only a security hole, but an attack waiting to happen. Any kind of master password list should at the very least be encrypted in some kind of password management tool like the excellent free KeePass. Access to those files should then be restricted to key company personnel and the computer technician (like yourself) responsible for their maintenance. A smaller footprint greatly reduces chances of password theft.

1) All internet-connected computers ALWAYS need quality anti-malware software

This should almost go without saying but many people still (sadly) overlook this. Good security software goes a long way, and all laptops and desktops that touch the internet need to be protected these days. Even Macs are getting pummeled with malware on a daily basis. Free products are decent, but nothing beats a paid security program this day in age. My favorite continues to be ESET’s award-winning NOD32, with Kasperskyalso offering a solid product. Most of the damaging malware these days is coded with the full intent of stealing critical passwords and information from computers to allow hackers entry into their victim’s so-called “gold mines” of digital treasure. Even the strongest passwords can be sniffed out by malware prowling on an unprotected system.

Whether you are a computer repair technician that supports only residential customers, or have a growing small business following, the above facets of solid password policy can be applied. Remember that YOU are considered the expert when it comes to security, and customers rely on YOU to be their source of education on such matters.

Courtesy : http://www.technibble.com

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How to create a bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive

The USB flash drive has replaced the floppy disk drive as the best storage medium for transferring files, but it also has its uses as a replacement for CDs and DVDs. USB drives tend to be higher in capacity than disc media, but since they are more expensive, they cannot (yet) really be used as a replacement. There are reasons why you would, however, choose a USB device over a DVD disc, and bootable software is definitely one of them. Not only is it faster to copy data such as setup files from a USB drive, but during usage the access times are also significantly faster. Therefore, installing something like Windows 7 will work that much faster from a USB drive than from a DVD (and of course, is particularly useful for the PCs without an optical drive; this isn't something we should just leave for the pirates to enjoy).
This guide will show you two different ways to create a USB flash drive that works just like a Windows 7 DVD. In order to follow this guide, you'll need a USB flash drive with at least 4GB of free space and a copy of the Windows 7 installation disc.

Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool

You are normally given this tool when you purchase from the online Microsoft Store. The easiest way to turn a USB flash drive into a bootable Windows 7 installer is by using the tool Microsoft offers, cunningly named the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. To get started, download the installer [exe] from Microsoft.com and follow the basic steps to put it onto your computer; you can put it on the computer you plan to install Windows 7 on or another one, it doesn't matter.
Once it is installed, it should create an icon on your desktop, so double-click that to open. If you can't find it, use the search function in the Start Menu with a keyword like "USB." Launching it should give you the above screen, and step one is to find the Windows 7 .ISO file. The tool only accepts .ISO images, so we recommend that you convert yours if it's in a different DVD image format.
Step two is straightforward: simply choose USB device.
In step three, all you have to do is make sure that you are choosing the correct USB device. If you have other data on the device, move it to your hard drive, another USB device, or somewhere else before proceeding.
The tool will prompt you if it detects data on the device. Once your data is backed up elsewhere, click Erase USB Device.
You will get another prompt warning you that all the data will be wiped. Click Yes to continue.
The format will be very quick, while the copying of the files will take a little bit more time (about 10 to 15 minutes).
Once the process is complete, you should get the above confirmation message. At this point you can close the tool and use the USB drive to install Windows 7. Remember that you'll have to choose to boot off the USB drive. Before doing so, you may want to open up the USB drive and double click on setup.exe to see if everything looks okay. If you want to be able to do this manually, see the next section, and if you want to be able to install any edition of Windows 7, skip to the section after that.


Source:http://arstechnica.com

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Creating an Image in Windows 7

Click on Start go to Getting Started and then select Back up your files.


Next click on the Create a system image hyperlink.

Decide where you want to save the image. You can choose an external drive, burn to multiple DVD’s, or store it on a network location.

You can include other drives if you want as well but remember that will add to the size of the final image.

At the confirmation screen notice the amount of space the image may take. If something doesn’t look right you can still go back from this point and make adjustments.

A progress meter is displayed while the images is created and backed up. In this example a disk of about 15GB in size took under 20 minutes backed up to an external drive. Times will vary depending on your system and where you’re backing it up to.

After the process is complete you get the option to create a system repair disc which you should do and make sure to save it in a secure location.


When it comes time to restore the image, you will be able to use the System Recovery Options to get the system back.

 

via-sa dop

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Tips For Cool Summer

Heat and humidity can cause a host of skin problems. Here's how to deal with them.

With the mercury rising every day, heat and humidity now play a major role in our lives. This also causes a host of skin problems, most of which can be dealt with quite easily.

Prickly heat

Excessive sweating and increased dead cell turnover blocks sweat glands and causes a rash commonly known as “prickly heat”, especially in the folds of the skin and on the trunk and back.

Treatment

Take cool showers.

Wear loose clothes.

Apply talcum powder after a bath.

Apply calamine lotion on the rashes

Take anti-allergy tablet at night.

Acne

Heat, humidity, dead skin cells and oil tend to clog the skin's pores leading to comedones or blackheads and eventually acne.

Treatment

Apply a ‘mud-pack' once a week.

A clear gut.

Drink plenty of water.

Take supplements of Vitamin A, zinc and antioxidants.

Apply erythromycin gel at bedtime

If this does not help consult a dermatologist.

Rosacea

Also called ‘acne-rosacea', this is characterised by red and inflamed skin especially on the cheek, chin and forehead. It can also lead to tiny boils on the cheeks and severe acne if left untreated.

Treatment

Avoid direct sunlight.

Use a soap-free face wash.

Use a good sunscreen.

Reduce stress.

Use a calamine lotion with sunscreen in the morning.

Take an antacid or aloe vera juice in the morning on an empty stomach.

A bland diet

Also see a dermatologist for a proper treatment plan.

Fungal infections

Fungi thrive in humid weather and areas where there is less aeration like in the folds of the skin especially when people wear tight clothes, shoes all day and synthetic clothing.

Treatment

Have a shower often.

Apply antifungal powder after a bath.

Take anti-allergic tablet at bedtime for a week.

Apply anti-fungal cream on affected areas at bedtime.

Wear open sandals.

Also see a dermatologist in case you require medication.

Tanning

This is actually the body's defence against strong sunlight. Sun burn, on the other hand, can be quite uncomfortable if severe. It results in redness, peeling of skin and itching.

Treatment

Avoid sunlight as much as possible.

Use a calamine lotion during the day

Take an allergy tablet during the day and night for a week along with a mild steroid lotion at bedtime. This will bring down the inflammation and peeling dramatically.

Dandruff

Dandruff is the result of over secretion of oil on the scalp mixed with dead cell, sweat and pollution. This leads to ‘scale' formation on the scalp, which is not only unhygienic but can also lead to hair fall, itching and eventually pimples on the forehead and back.

Treatment

Wash your hair often in summer.

Use a medicated shampoo containing two per cent ketaconozole and zinc pyrithione (ZPTO)

Apply home remedies like lemon juice or curds on scalp before washing.

Increased pigmentation

Normal skin and skin with pigmentation problems seem to look darker when exposed to the sun. This is because exposure to sun activates the melanin to rise to the upper layers thereby increasing pigmentation.

Treatment

Avoid direct sunlight.

Use sunscreen mixed with calamine lotion at least 2-3 times a day.

Use an umbrella and sunglasses while going out and sun visors for the car.

Use a skin lightening cream at bedtime.

Take supplements of Vitamin C, folic acid and antioxidants.

Body odour

An unpleasant body smell is not only due to increased sweat accumulation but also due to bacterial decomposition of sweat.

To avoid this

Wear loose, cotton clothing.

Shower 2-3 times a day.

Use a medicated soap

Use antifungal powder and deodorant

Reduce caffeine and drink herbal and green tea.

Use fragrance on clothes rather than on skin to prevent pigmentation.

 

via-sapost.blogspot.in

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Do you know Vigilance matters?

Some questionnaires on Vigilance matters are given below to get sound vigilance knowledge to face the vigilance cases. 

The articles 309,310,311 and 320 of th  Constitution of India which concerns a government servants.

1.What is Vigilance?
Ans-Keeping a watch to maintain the integrity of employees in an organization.

2. What are Vigilance  Activities?
Ans.- Preventive, Examination  of procedures to  remove loop holes, Regularand surprise   inspections,      Monitoring the activities of the  employees through returns, Detective, Investigation  of complaints or any  other  information regarding Irregularities, Punitive and Punishment  to the guilty.
3.- What are the articles  of the Constitution  of India which concerns  a government servants? 

Ans.-   Article  309 - Recruitment and conditions of service of persons serving the Union or State                           
   Article 310- Tenure of office of persons serving the Union or a State          
   Article 311 -  Dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities     
   under the Union or a state 

   Article 320 - Functions of Public Service Commission.

4.-Who  is authorized to frame  rules to regulate the recruitment and conditions  of service of Central  Government Employees?

Ans.- The  President
5.- Name  the two essential features  of the inquiry provided  in Article 311. 

Ans.- The  Government servant has to be informed  of charges and  given reasonable opportunity to defend himself.

6.- What  is the full form  of CCS (CCA) Rules?
Ans:- Central  Civil Services (Classification, Control and  Appeal) Rules.
7:- In  which year the CCS  (CCA) Rules were framed? 
Ans-:-1965
8.What  is suspension ?
Ans:- The act of  officially removing some body from their job  for a period of time.
9:- Is  suspension a punishment? 
Ans:- No.  The purpose is to facilitate proper inquiry.
10:- Can  advance for procurement  of a conveyance be  given to a Govt  servant under suspension? 
Ans:-No.
11:-  Who is the authority  can  impose a penalty on  a Govt. Servant?
Ans:- The  Disciplinary Authority.
12:- Name the authority who can impose any penalty on  any govt servant?
Ans:- The  President
13:- When is Central Vigilance Commission to be consulted

Ans:- When  Group A  gazetted  officer is involved and there  is a vigilance angle

(i)  corruption,  cheating,   bribery,  misappropriation,   fraud and lack  of integrity; 
           (ii)  Abuse of official power/authority for self gain or for anyone else; 
           (iii) Substantial loss to government as a result of grave/ deliberate negligence or indulgence in nepotism;
           (iv)  Possession of disproportionate assets.
           (v)   Flagrant violation of  rules/ regulations/ procedures
14:- What  are the two stages  at which CVC is  consulted? 
Ans:- (i) The first stage advice – Commission indicates the action to be taken against the Government servant, whose conduct has been investigated.  
(ii)  The second stage advice – Commission considers the report of the Inquiry officer and advises the disciplinary authority about the penalty to be imposed.
15:- Can   an enquiry be conducted in respect of retired Govt. servant for an act done  by him during any  period of his service?

Ans:-  Proceedings  can be initiated after retirement

         Only with the sanction of the President

         Only in respect of any event which took place within four years of such institution

16:- Which  minor penalty cannot  be imposed unless oral  inquiry has been conducted? 
Ans:-Withholding of increments for more than three years or with cumulative effect or effecting pension.
17:- Which  penalty results in the  forfeiture of the past  service? 

Ans:- Removal  or Dismissal

18:- What  is the name of  the allowance given  to a Govt servant  under suspension. Which  Fundamental Right guarantees  that? 

Ans:- Subsistence  Allowance, Article 21 (Part III of the Constitution)

19:- Which  deductions are not permitted  from the subsistence  allowance? 
Ans:- Income  tax, House Rent, Electricity  & water charges,  installments of repayment  of loans and advances,  if necessary at revised  rates, CGHS contribution and contributions towards  CGE Group Insurance  Scheme shall be deducted  from the subsistence  allowance.   Premium  due to PLI, amount  due to cooperative societies  and refund of GPF  advance can be deducted  with the CONSENT of  the Govt. servant. Subscriptions  to GPF, amount due  on court attachments  and recovery of loss  caused to the Govt  cannot be deducted from  the subsistence allowance.
20:- Which are the cases, where  no appeal is permissible ?

Ans:- Any  order made by the  President.

      Any order of interlocutory nature or in the nature of step-in-aid of the final disposal of a disciplinary proceeding other than an order of suspension.

    Any order passed by an Inquiry Officer during the course of inquiry. (However, an appeal can be submitted against an order of IO rejecting request for engagement of a Defence Assistant from some outstation.)

21:- What  is the period of  limitation for filing  an appeal against an  order of penalty? 
Ans:- 45  days
22:- Is the disciplinary  framework of government  lays down control only  on employees? 
Ans:- No.  Employees do enjoy certain protection. Enough care  is taken to see that undue hardship  is not caused to the employee  and his  / her family members.
23:- What  are some of the  positive elements Employee  comes across in the  various provisions governing  the service conditions?

Ans:- Application  of Principles of Natural Justice, Protection under Article 311, Grant of Subsistence Allowance and

Entitlement after death etc.

24:-What are Minor penalties?

 Ans:- Censure, Withholding of Promotion, Recovery from Pay of whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused by him to the Government by negligence or breach of orders etc, Reduction to lower stage in the time-scale of pay for a period not exceeding three years, without cumulative effect and not affecting his pension Withholding of  increments

25:-What are Major penalties?

Ans:-Cases  which call for major  penalty i.e Reduction to a lower stage in the time scale of pay, Reduction to a lower time-scale of grade, post or service, Compulsory Retirement, Removal from service and Dismissal from service.

25:- What  is suspension in the eye of Administration? 

Ans:- An administrative action for debarring a Govt  servant from his powers and duties. Temporary deprivation of office pendingregular disciplinary proceedings. Relationship of servant and master does not end. All conditions of service continue to apply. No reduction in rank. Lien also retained. It is not treated a penalty and appeal can be preferred.

26:- When  can a Govt servant  be suspended?  
Ans:-  When  a disciplinary proceeding  is contemplated or pending  against him

• When in the opinion of the competent authority, he has engaged himself in activities prejudicial to the interest of the security of the state
• When a case against him in respect of any criminal offence is under investigation, inquiry or trial

When he is involved in dowry death and case is registered under section 304(B) of IPC he shall be suspended as soon as he is arrested, irrespective of the period of detention, or as soon as the charge sheet is filed against him,whichever is earlier.

27:- Circumstances  which justify suspension .

Ans:-When  the Govt servant is  likely to hamper the  proceedings e.g. tempering  with the evidence

·         When his continuation in office is likely to affect office discipline

·         When he is involved in a scandal and it is necessary to demonstrate Govt’s intention to deal firmly with the situation

·         When his continuation in office is against public interest

28:-What is  Administrative  effects during suspension .
Ans:- Govt  servant is not supposed  to attend office or  mark attendance. Entry  card is withdrawn.

• Scooter or car advance cannot be granted.
• HBA can be granted.
• Govt servant can function as Defence Assistant
• Leave cannot be granted.
• LTC can be granted only to the family members.
• Govt servant retains lien on his post.

           Govt servant cannot be sent on training, deputation etc

• Permission  for Voluntary retirement  during suspension can  be denied by the  competent authority.
• On attaining the age of superannuation the suspended Govt servant will be retired. Subsistence allowance shall stop. He will be paid only provisional pension.
• Leave encashment can be withheld if there is possibility of some money becoming recoverable as a result of the proceedings.
• Permission can be given to appear in Departmental Examination, but promotion will be considered only after finalisaiton of the proceedings.

29:-What is Revocation  of suspension ?

Ans:-Suspension  remains in force till  it is revoked. Order can be revoked at any time by the competent authority.

Suspension automatically comes to an end if penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from service is imposed.

In case of death during suspension, it is presumed that there was no suspension at all and full pay and allowances are to be paid.

30:- What Action is done after reinstatement?
Ans:-An  order for regularisation of period of  suspension has to be issued. The period has to be treated as duty if the suspension was wholly unjustified.

• An order regarding pay and allowances payable for the period of suspension has also to be issued. Full pay and allowances may be given if the suspension was wholly unjustified.

Courtesy : http://tkbsen.com/

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HOW TO CHANGE THE SERVICE TAX IN POINTOFSALE?

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT

AS WE ALL KNOW POSTAL PREMIUM PRODUCTOS SERVICE TAX IS CHANGED TO 12% FROM 10% WITH EFFECT FROM 01.04.2012. WE HAVE TO CONFIGURE THE SERVICE TAX IN POINTOFSALE MODULE. PROCEDURE IS GIVEN BELOW.

LOGIN AS POINTOFSALE SUPERVISOR

CLICK CONFIGURATION MENU

IN THE MENU CLICK TARIFF REVISION OPTION

SEARCH SERVICE TAX OPTION IN THE TARIFFS

CLICK SERVICE TAX AND THEN CLICK BELOW OK BUTTON 

CHANGE THE SERVICE TAX AS 12% INSTEAD OF 10%

CLICK HERE TO READ THE OFFICIAL COPY

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