Income Tax relief for domestic companies

21/09/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,PANAJI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Friday that a domestic company would now be allowed to pay income tax at the rate of 22% (from 30%), subject to the condition that it won’t avail any other (tax) incentives or exemptions.

“There will be no Minimum Alternate Tax levied on them and the effective tax rate for such firms will be 25.17%, including all surcharges and cess,” the Minister said.

To spur fresh investments and boost Make in India efforts, for new manufacturing companies incorporated after October 1, 2019, and commencing production by March 31, 2023, the income tax rate will be 15%, from 25% at present.

The effective tax rate for these companies will be 17.01%, compared to 29.1% now. These firms will also be exempt from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT).

“In order to provide relief to firms who want to continue with the existing regime of exemptions, we are giving some MAT relief — the tax rate has been reduced from 18.5% to 15%,” the Minister said.

These tax cuts include a reduction in the surcharge on corporate income tax from 12% to 10%, pointed out Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

The President has promulgated the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 to bring into effect the slew of corporate tax rate cuts announced on Friday.

Mohanlal chargesheeted for illegal possession of ivory

21/09/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,KOCHI

Mohanlal

Actor Mohanlal has been chargesheeted by the Kerala Forest Department for illegal possession of ivory and failing to inform the Chief Wildlife Warden about its possession and its transfer.

G. Dhaniklal, Range Forest Officer, Kodanad, submitted the chargesheet against the actor and three others for offences committed in violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 at the judicial first class magistrate court. The alleged offence was committed in 2011.

P.N. Krishnakumar of Olloor, K. Radhakrishnan of Thripunithura, and Nalini Radhakrishnan of Chennai have also been arraigned as accused.

The offences are punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine since the case is related to the sale and transfer of ivory, a wildlife trophy from elephants, a Schedule One animal, which has been accorded maximum legal protection, said forest officials.

Mr. Krishnakumar, the second accused, illegally transferred the two ivory tusks in his possession to Mr. Mohanlal and abetted in keeping them at the residence of the actor. The third accused purchased ivory from Tamil Nadu without any documents and illegally brought them to his home at Thripunithura and later transferred it illegally to Mr. Mohanlal. Ms. Radhakrishnan, the fourth accused, kept the ivory in her possession for 11 years, said the chargesheet

Specialists can work for govt. post-retirement

21/09/2019, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA,CHANDIGARH

Specialist doctors in Punjab could now offer their services for five more years after their retirement at the age of 60.

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, in an official statement, said the specialist doctors could serve in the Health and Family Welfare Department after their retirement.

Specialist doctors such as gynaecologists, surgeons, orthopaedics, radiologists, anaesthetists etc. will work as consultants against the vacant 384 posts till the time regular appointments are made, he said.

Initially, each consultant may be appointed for a period of one year on contract basis. It may be extended on the basis of their performance, he said.

The remuneration allowed to these consultants should not be more than the last pay drawn minus pension, the Minister said.

He said specialist doctors shall only be appointed for performing clinical duties.

EC to appeal against quashing of R.K. Nagar bribery case
A single judge of HC struck down the FIR in March 2018

21/09/2019, MOHAMED IMRANULLAH S.,CHENNAI

The Election Commission has decided to go on appeal to the Supreme Court challenging an order passed by a single judge of Madras High Court on March 13 last year quashing a First Information Report (FIR) registered by Greater Chennai police in April 2017 regarding alleged bribing of voters during the campaign for Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (popularly known as R.K. Nagar) byelection which got rescinded.

Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee were informed of EC’s decision during the hearing of a batch of four writ petitions, including the one filed by N. Marudhu Ganesh, DMK candidate, in 2017. All the four petitioners had insisted upon initiation of penal action against Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar and others for having allegedly attempted to bribe voters to make T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who was then in AIADMK (Amma) and contested as an independent, win the byelection.

According to the petitioners, the EC had rescinded the bypoll to the constituency on April 2017 after the Income Tax Department conducted searches at several places and seized crucial documents from the residence of the Health Minister. The documents were related to ₹89.65 crore having been reportedly given to various ministers, including the Chief Minister, for being distributed among voters of R.K. Nagar.

After the Income Tax Department forwarded the documents to the EC, the latter rescinded the bypoll notification and instructed the Returning Officer to lodge a police complaint. Accordingly, the Abhiramapuram police here filed an FIR on April 21, 2017 without naming anyone as an accused. Subsequently, Tiruttani MLA P.M. Narasimhan of the AIADMK filed a petition in the High Court to quash the FIR.

Although the petitioner was in no way connected to the case, a single judge of the High Court allowed his petition and quashed the FIR on the ground that it had been booked solely on the basis of an unsigned paper which contained the names of some ministers. The order was passed without the knowledge of the ECI. The Abhiramapuram police alone had been heard before the FIR was quashed.

The news of the FIR having been quashed came to light only in December 2018 when a Division Bench led by Justice Sathyanayranan was hearing the the batch of four writ petitions. Taking serious note of the issue, the judges came down heavily on the police for having let the FIR get quashed.

The batch of cases were heard last on January 24. After a lull of about eight months when they got listed on Friday, advocate G. Janani, representing EC counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan, sought time. When the judges insisted on knowing the stand of ECI, she said, a decision had been taken to go on appeal against single judge’s order.

Govt. evolves norms for redeploying surplus teachers
School Education Dept. rules out new appointments

21/09/2019, DENNIS S. JESUDASAN,CHENNAI

The School Education Department has decided not to allow fresh recruitment of teachers in government and aided schools till all “surplus teachers” are re-deployed in various classes and if necessary, in other schools.

“While deploying surplus teachers, no additional expenditure should be incurred by the government. New appointments should not be made while [re]deploying surplus teachers,” the G.O. stated, which was issued in the light of the Madras High Court judgment in April this year on the issue.

The State government had informed the High Court that over ₹444 crore was being spent towards salaries of over 6,300 teachers, who were employed in surplus, in the State-run and government-aided schools across the State.

While making appointments, between number of postings approved by the government for that respective school in 1991-92 and the postings necessary for the existing student strength as on August 1 that year, the lower figure should be considered for appointments, a G.O. issued in this regard specified.

The guidelines said that Bachelor of Teaching (B.T.) assistants, if found in surplus in a school, could be considered for second grade postings in elementary schools, if there was a need. Likewise, if there were vacancies in postgraduate (PG) assistant posts, B.T. assistant teachers possessing necessary qualification could be redeployed.

If there were multiple schools (aided by the government) run by a single private management, vacancies within all of them could be filled with surplus teachers among those schools by the management.

A list of surplus teachers redeployment to other schools is to be maintained by the authorities.

Scope for relocation

In case the teachers were willing to accept postings in junior classes, they could be considered for redeployment in schools run by the same private management or other, it stated. Once the redeployment of teachers was completed within a district, surplus teachers in schools would be considered for re-deployment to other districts through the Director of School Education, according to the G.O..

Impersonation case: hunt on to trace medico, his parents
Udit Surya moves court seeking anticipatory bail
21/09/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

A special team of police personnel from Theni district visited the residence of the parents of Udit Surya, who allegedly secured admission to Government Theni Medical College by using a proxy to take the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

It has intensified efforts to trace the student and his parents who have been absconding since the scandal broke out.

Anticipatory bail sought

In a related development, Udit Surya moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail. Refuting the charges levelled against him, he has stated mental health issues and depression as reasons for withdrawing from the course.

The police team headed by inspector T. Usha visited the apartment in Tondiarpet where Udit Surya and his parents, Dr. Venkatesan and Kayalvizhi, stayed.

They interacted with the neighbours, since the couple and their son were not at home. Sources added that the police are scrutinising call records of the trio, bank transactions and CCTV camera footage to trace them.

A senior official of Government Stanley Medical College Hospital said the team inquired about Dr. Venkatesan, who works as a casualty medical officer at the hospital. “He has been on medical leave since September 16,” he said.

The case surfaced after College Dean A. K. Rajendran received two emails on September 11 and 13 from a person identified as Ashok Krishnan, complaining that Udit Surya took the NEET twice but failed.

In his third attempt, he appeared in Mumbai and cleared the test. However, the subsequent mail claimed that the boy who is pursuing the course was not the person who appeared for the test.

Jadavpur univ VC faces flak for campus ruckus

Raj Bhavan Release Points At Serious Lapses On Police Part To Contain Situation

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata:21.09.2019

The office of Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday piled up pressure on the vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University and police, saying it had taken note of the “serious lapses by the VC” and the failure of the police to provide adequate “security arrangements for the governor” during Thursday’s six-hour campus ruckus.

A Raj Bhavan release on Friday referred to the “issue of serious lapses by the VC, including virtual abandonment of his obligations, and the apparent (police) failure in attending to the situation appropriately and inadequate security arrangements for the governor/chancellor during his visit”. The issues were “receiving his (governor’s) attention for way-forward steps”, the communique added.

The statement, combined with a directive to JU to submit a report on Thursday’s incidents within 48 hours from Friday, has put university officials in a bind. Governor Dhankhar’s presence, and his firsthand observation of the incidents on the campus from close quarters, would add to VC Suranjan Das’s discomfiture, they admitted. “The governor’s first-hand view of the incidents leaves little room for any report that may be contradictory,” a JU official said.

Junior Union minister and BJP MP Babul Supriyo was assaulted and abused by a section of JU students after he had gone there to attend an event organised by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students’ wing of BJP. The governor had rushed to the campus on Thursday evening to “rescue” Babul after speaking to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who, according to Trinamool Congress seniors, requested him not to go there.

Das was in hospital on Friday and was not available for comment. There were reports on Thursday itself that he was under pressure to resign, prompting senior Trinamool ministers to come out in his support and assure him that he had “no reason to worry”.

Mamata, who was in Delhi on Thursday, chose to ignore the issue after returning to Kolkata on Friday. The party, too, issued a tame release, saying that it “stood by” its Thursday’s response and added that it expected the “governor to give justice to the VC, professors and students”.

“The administration played a peaceful role to resolve the problem amicably. We must punish the culprits who assaulted students, including girls, and ransacked the campus,” the party said.

But it made “one thing very clear: universities are autonomous institutions and police cannot enter a university campus without the VC’s permission”, according to “a timehonoured tradition”.

Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh came out in support of the Raj Bhavan complaints against the state administration. “The governor had to virtually perform the police’s role,” Ghosh said. “We will pay back on the same coin if CPMNaxal-Trinamool cadres assault a Union minister,” he added.


IN VAIN: Police try to manage BJP supporters during a protest rally against the assault on party leader Babul Supriyo