Declaration of Holiday on 14th April, 2015 - Department's Order.

LIST OF SELECTED CANDIDATES OF POSTMAN IN OUR DIVISION

Guard against misuse of form 15G, 15H to save TDS

Getting a tax refund is a cumbersome task. Moreover, the I-T department is famous for delays and the wait sometimes is frustrating. That is why you are advised to plan your taxes at the beginning of the year--to avoid over payment and escape the refund process.

Two basic steps: submitting investment declaration with your employer on time and filling form 15G and 15H will save you from half the hassles. Investment declaration is more or less a straightforward exercise. However, you cannot randomly submit these two forms. There are rules and conditions you should be aware of.

According to the tax rules, if your interest income exceeds Rs 10,000 in a year, the bank should deduct a 10% tax at source, or TDS. If you do not furnish your PAN details, the TDS rate will be higher at 20%. However, you can submit a declaration Form 15G and 15H to avoid TDS on interest income. While Form 15G is for individuals below 60 years, HUFs and trusts, Form 15H is for individuals above 60 years of age.

Also, the above declaration can be submitted only by a person who is an Indian resident. So, NRIs cannot avail TDS exemptions. The rules, however, are not so simple and you need to know the intricacies of the law as the repercussion of wrong filing is stiff.

A false or wrong declaration in Form 15G attracts penalty under Section 277 of the Income Tax Act. "Prosecution includes imprisonment which may range from three months to two years along with fine. The term can be extended up to seven years and with fine, where tax sought to be evaded exceeds '25 lakh,' says Sudhir Kaushik, CA and CFO, Taxspanner.

Here are the points to check before you file for an exemption on TDS to avoid penalty.

Eligibility Criteria: The basic two conditions for filing 15G are -one, the final tax on his estimated total income computed as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act should be nil; and two, the aggregate of the interest (excluding interest earned on securities) received during the financial year should not exceed the basic exemption slab which is Rs 2.5 lakh. If these criteria are met, you may submit Form 15G and the entire interest income would be credited without any tax cut.

An important thing to note here is that you need to meet both the criteria. Meaning, even if the interest income is less than the basic exemption allowed during that financial year, if your if your total tax liability is not nil, you will not be eligible for Form 15G. The reverse is also true.

Say, your income is Rs 4 lakh, of which Rs 3 lakh is earned as interest from bank. You might invest Rs 1.5 lakh in PPF and be out of the tax net but you are not eligible for Form 15G as, though your tax liability is zero, the interest income is higher than the basic exemption. In such a situation, you have no choice but to take the refund route.

Form 15H can be only filed by individuals above 60 years of age or someone who or completes 60 years during the financial year. This form imposes only the first condition, that is, the final tax on the investor's estimated total income should be nil. So, if you are above 60, your taxable income for the financial year can be up to Rs 3 lakh for you to be eligible for 15H.For super senior citizens above 80 years, this limit is Rs 5 lakh.

Reverse Gear: If you are eligible, remember, the forms should be submitted at the beginning of the year so as to avoid a situation where the bank has already deducted the tax. Also, fresh forms are required to be filed each year as your income may differ from year to year. But what if your income estimate changes in the middle of the financial year after you submit the forms?

Say, at the beginning of the year your only income was `2 lakh interest earned from fixed deposits. Therefore, you submitted the form. During the financial year your income increased and now your estimated income is `5 lakh post deductions. Here, you will have to submit a simple 15 G withdrawal application to the bank mentioning the correct particulars and reason of change in the same.

"The bank should not have any issue in accepting a change in TDS deductions. In case the bank has some issue in accepting the withdrawal then you should deposit your additional tax liability by way of advance tax to ensure your tax compliance thus avoiding penalty," says Kaushik. Also, they have to be sub mitted at every bank branch where you have a deposit and had filed 15G.

Source : The Economic Times

LTC Claims – Need for observing prescribed procedures

G.I., Dept. of Pers. & Trg., O.M.F.No.31011/3/2015-Estt (A-IV), dated 01.04.2015

Subject:- LTC Claims – Need for observing prescribed procedures

This Department receives a large number of recommendations for relaxation of some or the other provision of the Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988, (hereinafter referred to as LTC Rules), in individual cases. It is seen that, in most cases the situation arises are due care had not been exercised by the Government servant and/or the administrative authority in claiming LTC or in examination.

2.The references mainly relate to:

a) Late submission of claims;

b) Booking of air tickets through an agency not authorized by the Government for this purpose;

c)Travel by private vehicles; and

d)Claims for wrong block of years.

3.In this connection it may please be noted that the primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with the rules is that of the Government servant. The of-repeated plea of ignorance of rules cannot be a valid ground for relaxation of rules. At the same time it has also been noticed that the administrative authorities have also shown laxity and due diligence on their part could have prevented such situations from arising.

4.Late Submission of Claim

4.1 In terms of Rules 14 and 15(vi) of LTC Rules, the time limit for submission of LTC claim is :

i) Within three months of completion of return journey, if no advance is drawn;

ii) Within one month of completion of return journey, if advance is drawn.

Powers have been delegated, as under, to the Ministries/Departments to relax these limits with the concurrence of the Financial Advisor.

a) Upto 6 months, if no advance is drawn;

b) Upto 3 months if advance is drawn, provided the Government servant refunds the entire amount of advance (not merely the unutilized portion) within 45 days of completion of return journey.

4.2 As per Rule 12(a) of the “Compendium of Rules on Advances to Government Servants”, it is the responsibility of the Head of Office to effect recovery of advances and also to see that the conditions attached to each advance are fulfilled. The Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) is required to keep a watch on the advances and furnish monthly statements to the AP&AO. In addition, the DDO is also required to adjust all outstanding short term advances at the close of financial year.

5.Booking of air tickets through agents other than Government approved agents

5.1 Government servants travelling by air under LTC are required to book their tickets either directly from the airline or through the approved agencies viz: M/s Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd/ M/s Ashok Tours & Travels Ltd/IRCTC. Booking through any other agency is not permissible.

6. Travel by private vehicles.

6.1 As per LTC rules, a Government servant may travel only by vehicles operated by Central/State Government or local bodies or by any corporation in the public sector owned/controlled by Central/State Government. Journey on LTC by taxi, auto-rickshaw etc, are permissible only between places not connected by rail. This is further subject to the condition that these modes operate on a regular basis from point to point with the specific approval of the State Governments/transport authorities concerned and are authorized to ply as public carriers.

7. Claims for wrong block of years

7.1 Whenever a Government servant applies for LTC advance, the administrative authority is required to verify from the service book and certify the entitlement of the Government servant. Cases of the type mentioned in para 2(d) would not arise, if this is properly done.

8. LTC Rules also provide that a government servant who has been granted LTC Advance is required to submit copies of the tickets within 10 days of drawal of advance. The administrative authority can at this stage itself check the date of commencement of journey; whether ticket has been booked direct from airline or through approved agency etc. Any discrepancy can be brought to the notice of the government servant so that he can take remedial action, if needed.

9. Even in cases where advance is not drawn, the Government servant is required to give prior intimation of his intention to avail LTC. The administrative authority can check the details indicated especially w.r.t entitlement. A watch can also be kept to ensure timely submission of claims.

10. All Ministries/Departments are requested to bring the contents to this O.M. to the notice of all concerned. It may also be noted that requests for relaxation of rules shall be considered by this Department only if it is established that the deviation is due to reasons beyond the control of the Government servant and there has been no laxity on the part of the administrative authorities concerned.

Source : www.persmin.gov.in

Message from Hon'ble Ravi Shankar Prasad, Communication and Information Technology minister

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana ( SSA ) scheme was launch by the hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on 22nd January 2015. In a short span of just over 2 months the Post Offices across the country have opened 27,72,309 Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accounts upto 31st March 2015. A total of Rs 310 Crores has been deposited in these accounts for the welfare of the girl child. Authorised Banks have together managed to open over 1.8 lakh accounts under this scheme. Well done IndiaPost. Keep it up