Feb 242021
 

Karnataka Govt has made some changes in the leave rules vide notification no. 08 Of 2021 has amended the provision for annual leave with wage under Section 15(7) of Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961. As per the amendment, the total number of days of leave that may be carried forward towards a succeeding year is increased to forty-five days for all employees. Please refer to the notification for more details

Earlier the limit of carrying forward was 30days which has increase to 45days

Download Circular:-👉karnataka-shops-amendment-act-2020  

 

COURTESY: PRAKASH CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Feb 232021
 

Dear all,

A very good move is made by ESIC Dept has given approval for allowing ESI beneficiaries to seek medical services from the nearby empaneled hospital directly without a referral, in case of Non-availability of ESIC Health care i.e. Hospital/Dispensary/IMP, etc. within a radius of 10 KM of his/her residence

1. ESIC impaneled hospitals as per the following operational guidelines:-

2. ESI beneficiaries of those areas (newly as well as already implemented) where no ESIC/ESIS health care delivery facility i.e. hospital, dispensary, IMP, etc. exists within the radius of 10 KMs of IPs residence, shall be eligible.

3. ESI beneficiaries of such areas may approach the nearest ESIC impaneled hospital with an ESI card or print out of online Health Passbook or “ePehchaan The letter” issued by the employer for availing the required medical consultation.

4. Once the ESI beneficiary attends the impaneled hospital, the prima face verification regarding the identity of the beneficiary in terms of genuineness shall be ascertained by the impaneled Hospital after cross verifying with the Aadhaar card or any Govt. issued photo I Card. Additionally, the eligibility shall be verified through the UTI application by feeding in the IP Number. UTI portal has been integrated with the Panchdeep Module of ESIC. This verification shall be done by the person authorized by the impaneled hospital for such purpose.

5. Once the OPD consultation of the beneficiary is carried out, the impaneled hospital shall upload the photo of the IP / beneficiary and photocopy of the Aadhaar on the UTI portal along with the bill raised at the CGHS rate. Further, as and when Aadhaar is implemented, an Aadhaar based online verification system shall be devised and incorporated into the system.

Such Beneficiaries may seek reimbursement of purchased medicines prescribed during OPD consultation through the nearest DCBO or Regional office where DCBO is not available. Further, an online system shall be developed in due course for the processing and settlement of such reimbursement claims.

( This means Once u take the treatment from the nearest nearby empaneled hospital and as the medicines & the treatment cost which is spent will be reimbursed at the CGHS rate as defined )

Circular👉👉ESIC Beneficiary Can Take Treatment from Local Hospital within 10 KMS:-  

 

COURTESY: PRAKASH CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Feb 212021
 

Tax on Interest on EPF Contribution exceeding Rs 2.5 Lakh

EPF/GPF Taxation

“No retro taxation on interest earned for EPF/GPF contributions of over Rs 2.5 Lakh

Crux:-

Interest of more than Rs 2.5 Lakh earned annually from contribution to Employees Provident fund (EPF) or Government Provident Fund (GPF) will not be taxed retrospectively, Expenditure Secretary TV Somanathan clarified.

Announcement was made at

Business Line webinar on “Decoding the Budget 2021-22”

The webinar was powered by HDFC Bank with BSE as as assosciate sponsor.

EPF Taxation

EPF is the only saving instrument where one gets tax emption at the time of contribution, then on the accumulation and, finally, at the time of withdrawal. This is called EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) mechanism.

Present Provisions

Presently, any payment received by an employee from his provident fund account is fully tax free. The payment received from the provident fund comprises of contribution made by the employer and the employee as well as the interest accrued on the contributions.

An employee is required to contribute 12% of his basic salary and dearness allowance towards employee provident fund account which is required to be matched by the employer by equal contribution. There is no such restriction on the employee contributing beyond 12% as voluntary contribution.

Proposal

Since the interest on contribution made by an employee enjoys tax exemption without there being any upper limit,  the government has proposed that interest accrued in respect of employee’s  contribution in excess of Rs. 2.50 lakhs every year shall become taxable in the hands of the employee at normal rate. This will apply to the Employees Contribution and not that of the employer.

This will be effective on contributions made from April 1 2021, So the interest in respect of annual contribution of Rs. 2.50 lakhs only will come tax-free and any interest accrued on excess contribution shall become taxable in the hands of the employee year after year.

Additional Info – Exemption

  • GPF & EPF flows into an account above Rs 2.5 Lakh will be directed to a separate sub-account.
  • The primary account including your past balance as on March 31, 2021 will always remain tax free;
  • Interest will also not have to be declared.
  • PPF, EPF, VPF, Ulips are some of the Popular Tax Free Investment Option available to Investors.

However, the proposal may not face as big a backlash this time because it affects only the creamy layer of salaried employees. The Rs 2.5 lakh annual threshold means that a person contributing up to Rs 20,833 a month to PF (basic salary of up to Rs 1.73 lakh a month) will escape the tax. This means if your Monthly basic salary is above Rs 1.75 Lakh (just the basic salary and not your total monthly income), your monthly contribution will be above Rs 20835 which is Rs 2.5 lakh in a year, then the interest income earned on the exceeded amount is taxable.

For example, for someone with a Basic Salary of Rs 1 lakh, the monthly contribution is Rs 12,000 which is about Rs 1.44 lakh in a year. The employee contributes an additional 12 per cent into VPF taking the total contribution to Rs 2.88 lakh in the year. In such a case, the interest earned on Rs 38,000 (excess of Rs 2.50 lakh) will now get taxed.

The new PF contribution rules will not impact an employee whose monthly contribution is below Rs 20,833. However, if your Basic Salary is above Rs 1.75 lakh, there’s no escaping tax on interest earned.

In my opinion, since we do not have social security system in our country why should the government discourage anyone from contributing higher amount towards his retirement fund. The government should rethink on this proposal.

Thanks for Reading!!!!

Esha Agrawal
The author can be reached at eshaag6@gmail.com, for any queries feel free to contact.

 

Feb 202021
 

The Government of Maharashtra vides notification no.PFT-1221/C.R.3/Taxation-3 has amended the Maharashtra State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings And Employments Rules, 1975.

As per the notification, for providing permanent account number or tax deduction and collection account number under rule 4A, it is added that when a company applies for a certificate of registration or enrolment, it shall provide the Permanent Account Number (PAN) or Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) under the Income Tax Act, 1961 of all the directors and authorized signatory of the Company. If Pan number is not available then passport Number
This is a permanent requirement while applying the PTRC & PTEC Number for New Company

Furthermore, the provision for the exhibition of certificates under rule 8 has been deleted. Please refer to the notification for more details

Download Notification:- Maharashtra Profession Tax (2nd Amendment) 2021

Courtesy: Prakash Consultancy Services