| MCA to question Mallya on Kingfisher staff dues |
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Bangalore, 13 January The Union ministry of corporate affairs ( MCA) plans to question Vijay Mallya, chairman of the UB group, over nonpayment of wages to the staff of grounded Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, part of the conglomerate. Sachin Pilot, the minister, has instructed Mallya be written to for details and on steps taken to remedy the situation, according to two people familiar with the matter. Kingfisher staffers have not been paid for 17 months. Some of them in Delhi have begun an indefinite hunger strike, at the Jantar Mantar public protest venue. Some of them had met Pilot and asked for intervention. The employees had also approached many political parties, most recently the Aam Aadmi Party. MCA is primarily concerned with administration of the Companies Act, allied laws and regulations on functioning of the corporate sector. In an email reaction to the staffers' hunger strike, the Kingfisher management there was no revenue or income from operations. " We can only reiterate that we are doing our best to revive the airline and raise necessary funds to pay the employees. We sincerely hope the employees will not continue with their extreme action of hunger strikes and any other extreme steps, including the ongoing agitation at Jantar Mantar," a company spokesperson said. Kingfisher stopped operations in October 2012. It has been repeatedly insisting it is attempting arevival before the deadline for renewal of its licence comes to a close at the end of 2014. Mallya presently claims there is an investor keen on the airline, conducting a due- diligence before making an investment. Meanwhile, Kingfisher's promoter, UB Holdings ( of which Mallya is chairman) has sought permission of the high court here to pay a month's wages to the employees on humanitarian grounds, despite no legal obligation to do so. against the company near the domestic airport in Mumbai over an impasse over salary dues PHOTO: REUTERS |
| EPFO raises interest rate to 8.75% for 2013- 14 |
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New Delhi, 13 January Retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Monday announced arise in interest rate on provident fund (PF) deposits to 8.75 per cent for 201314, to benefit 50 million subscribers. The interest rate on PF deposits in the previous financial year was 8.5 per cent. The decision to raise the rate was taken by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision making body of the EPFO. "We have decided to recommend to the government an 8.75 per cent rate for 2013- 14 to its subscribers," Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, who chaired the CBT meet, said. The EPFOs recommendations would now be vetted by the finance ministry. Once the ministry gives its concurrence to the decision, the interest would be credited into the accounts of subscribers. EPFO Central Provident Fund Commissioner K K Jalan said: " We have estimated an income of ₹ 25,048.5 crore for 2013- 14. EPFO would require ₹ 25,005.4 crore for providing an 8.75 pre cent rate of interest for this financial year and leave a surplus of ₹ 43 crore." EPFO also announced a 20 per cent cover increase in Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme as an interim measure. Under this scheme, the family of a worker can get a maximum sum assured of ₹ 1,30,000 in case of his/ her demise during the service period. After the raise, the maximum amount would be ₹ 1,56,000. The CBT has also approved increasing minimum administrative charges for managing EPF Scheme and EDLI Scheme to ₹ 500 and ₹ 200 a month from ₹ 5 and ₹ 2, respectively. The charges for non- functional firms having no contributory members have also been increased to ₹ 75 and ₹ 25 per month, respectively, for the two schemes. EPFO has a corpus of ₹ 5 lakh crore. When asked about its plans to improve investments, particularly Special Depositor Scheme ( SDS) which earns an eight per cent rate of return, Jalan said: " We will definitely take out money from SDS and invest in high- yielding instruments. We will soon work on aproposal." On the labour ministers idea of deducing extra 10 per cent on basic wages by EPFO for providing housing to workers, the he said: " We will work on the proposal. He has a lot of experience." The CBT also initiated the process for selection of multiple fund managers and formed a panel to appoint a consultant for the purpose. Announces 20% rise in cover under Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme |
| Political donations yield tax benefits, to an extent |
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Mumbai, 13 January With the Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) declaring its collections on almost a daily basis, ₹ 5.73 crore since December 4, donating money to political parties is in the news. All parties accept donations, from individuals and companies. The law only requires the donor be an Indian citizen, living in this country or abroad. If a non- resident Indian, he should have a valid passport. All political parties have a link to the donation page on the home page of their websites. You can donate in cash or through cheques, demand drafts, debit or credit card or internet banking. When you go to the Bharatiya Janta Partys donation or the Aajiwan Sahyog Nidhi page on their website, it says, "Contribute ₹ 1,000, ₹ 5,000 or ₹ 1 lakh, annually." Similarly, the Congress party website allows you to donate through Get Involved. And, AAPs has the link on its home page. There is a perk for donating to political parties. An individual who makes an eligible donation is entitled to get 100 per cent tax deduction under Section 80GGC of the Income Tax ( I- T) Act. Companies donating to political parties can claim deductions under Section 80GGB. However, " starting this financial year, there is no deduction available for donations in cash", says Vaibhav Sankla of tax consultancy firm H& R Block. In addition, all the sections under Section 80 ( 80C, 80CCD. 80E and so on) fall under Chapter 6A of the I- T Act. The chapter specifies ones total tax deduction cannot exceed total income. If one donates more than the taxable salary, the tax deduction under Section 80GGC will be allowed only to the extent of the latter. Also, you can claim deduction for a donation only if you have a receipt issued by the political party in question. The receipt must contain the name and address of the party trust, the name of the donor, the amount donated, and PAN and TAN of the political party. Also, Chapter 6A deductions are allowed only for salary income, business income, rental income and interest income. If the donation is deducted directly from the salary and the donation receipt is in the name of employer, an employee can claim deduction if he has a certificate from the employer that the contribution was made from the employees salary account. Incidentally, donations in kind are not entitled to any tax benefit. There is a perk for donating to parties. An individual who makes an eligible donation is entitled to get 100% tax deduction under Section 80GGC of the Income Tax (I- T) Act >Link to the donation page available on home page >Various links available to donate online orby cheque/ DD, on donation policies, list of donors, etc >Online donation page asks for donors details AAP JOY OF GIVING >Donate option is at the bottom of the home page >On clicking, you go to the Aajiwan Sahyog Nidhi page >" Contribute ~ 1, 000, ~ 5, 000 or ~ 1 lakh, annually," says the page BJP >Home page shows an option get involved >Website does not specify any minimum amount for donation CONGRESS |
| Supreme Court seeks Centre's response on plea against new Companies Act |
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