MONTH THAT WAS
I.T. Deptt to have prosecution powers
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry is bringing under the umbrella the intelligence and criminal investigation units of the Income Tax Department to enhance prosecution powers to counter terror financing and check transactions that pose threat to national security. The department will now train and designate its officials in the rank of inspectors as ‘Special Agents’ and ‘agents’ (Criminal Investigation) while the newly-created Directorate of Criminal Investigation will be headed by the Director-General of Intelligence (Income Tax). The revamp is part of launching ‘un-intrusive’ investigations against “persons and transactions suspected to be involved in criminal activities having cross-border,, inter-state or international ramifications, that pose a threat to national security and are punishable under the direct tax laws.”
Govt hikes maximum support price for paddy
New Delhi: The government increased the support price of paddy to the farmers by Rs 80 per quintal for the current Kharif season to encourage production and meet the requirement of the proposed National Food Security Act. “The minimum support price (MSP) of paddy (common) has been fixed at Rs 1080/Quintal and of paddy (grade A) at Rs 1,110/quintal, which represents an increase of Rs 80/quintal over the last year’s MSPs,” said an official statement after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Prices (CACP) had recommended a paddy MSP of Rs 1,080/quintal and bonus of Rs 80/quintal to cover rising input costs by upto 64 percent.
The CCEA, however, felt that the bonus should be given to paddy farmers if export ban on the rice remains, and that there is a need for enhancing procurement to meet the additional demand of foodgrains under the proposed law, sources added.
Doc’s jail murder – Heads roll in Bihar
Patna: Admitting that it was a serious lapse on the part of the jail administration. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered the transfer of two top officials in connection with the murder of a doctor by the inmates of a Gopalganj jail.
“It is a serious lapse on the part of the jail administration…..there are several flaws cited in the inquiry report,” Kumar told reporters.
“I have taken the matter seriously and acted tough on the basis of the inquiry report of Principal Secretary (Home) Amir Subhani into the killing of a doctor in Gopalganj jail by inmates,” he said.
Anand Kishore would be the new IG (Jail) replacing Ramesh Lal while Pankaj Kumar would be the new District Magistrate of Gopalganj in place of Pankaj Kumar Pal.
Kumar said the state government would provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the bereaved family. “The state government will also ensure full salary to the widow of the doctor up to the age he would have retired had he not died in harness,” he said.
Subhani submitted his inquiry report to the Chief Minister. Buddhadev Singh was assaulted by jail inmates after he went inside to attend a patient.
Singh was first admitted to a government hospital in Gopalganj. He was then rushed to Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) after his condition deteriorated, Singh died later at PMCH.
“We have noticed that the District Magistrate failed to visit the jail… and the Assistant Jailor was holding the charge of jail superintendent in his absence,” Kumar said. Referring to the demand of implementation of Medical Professionals Protection Bill in Bihar, the Chief Minister said, “The state government cannot act in haste.”
“Moreover, the proposed Medical Professionals Protection Bill, likely to be tabled in the House during the monsoon session of the state legislature, has nothing to do with the present case as the murder was committed under judicial custody”, he said. “To our utter surprise, jail authorities kept convicts in the Gopalganj jail against the settled norms,” Kumar said adding that it was a state government order that those convicted in serious criminal offences be shifted to a central jail in Bihar.
H.C. relief to student who lost MBBS admission
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court imposed a cost of Rs 3 lakh on a Pune-based medical college for granting admission to a less meritorious student. However, the court did not reverse the admission already granted. Priyanka Bamane (17) had approached the High Court in September last year claiming that another student, Akshay Patil, who had a lower score in the Common Entrance Test was granted admission to the first year MBBS course in Ahmednagar Medical College. While Patil scored 137 in the CET, Bamane had scored 136. According to the petition, a seat became available at the college in September but instead of notifying about the vacancy on its website or in a newspaper, the college granted admission to Patil.
Online PF account details from July 1
Kolkata: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said account details would be available online from July 1. “You can watch the account balance of your PF online from July 1,” Assistant PF Commissioner Kanchan Roy said at an interactive session at Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “This indeed would be a great help to about 5 crore PF subscribers in India,” he said. EPFO plans to replace PF account number with unique identification number, a move which help in speedy transfer of a subscribers’ funds in case of job change and allow them to track their accounts online.
Commoner Pervez
Islamabad: The US administration has withdrawn the security and protocol given to former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after a UN commission report blamed him for not providing adequate protection to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, PTI reports.
The US administration withdrew 67-year-old Musharraf’s security and protocol after a UN commission’s report, on former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, blamed the military ruler for failing to provide her adequate security.
Musharraf shall be treated like an ordinary citizen who has to join queues at the immigration counter in airports and undergo a thorough body search at the departure lounge, ‘The News’ daily quoted diplomatic sources in Washington, as saying.
“Musharraf, in the past would have his immigration process expedited after landing at US airports,” said a diplomatic source at the Pakistani embassy in Washington.
Instead of waiting in line, the American Protocol staff would do this on Musharraf’s behalf.
“It has been stopped now,” the source said.
When Musharraf departs from the US, he stands in line, takes off his shoes and belt, has his hands up for a thorough search and only then is cleared for check-in, said a source.
Arrest to arrest tax arrears
The Income Tax Department is all set to crack the whip on tax defaulters by invoking its power, which has not been used for many years, to arrest and prosecute evaders.
The step comes in the backdrop of the government initiating various steps to curb generation of black money and also notifying the creation of the first-ever Criminal investigation (CI) unit.
The I-T Department, through its Tax Recovery Officer (TRO), has been bestowed with the powers to “arrest and detain”, in prison, a tax defaulter, and carry out subsequent stringent penal action against the individual under the provisions of the Income Tax Act to recover arrears.
A recent blueprint of the department, aimed at curbing black money and speeding up the recovery of arrears to the tune of more than Rs 2 lakh crore, specifies that the post of TRO should be strengthened and made a “special pay post” to ensure better work.
The TRO’s office and its powers have been “dysfunctional” for a long time now, but rising tax arrears and economic crimes have made the I-T Department restore the powers and functioning of this unit, which is deputed under every Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT) in the country.
“A TRO is empowered to attach and sell assessee and detain him or her in prison and appoint a receiver for the management of this movable and immovable property under Section 222 of the I-T Act,” a senior I-T officer said.
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry is bringing under the umbrella the intelligence and criminal investigation units of the Income Tax Department to enhance prosecution powers to counter terror financing and check transactions that pose threat to national security. The department will now train and designate its officials in the rank of inspectors as ‘Special Agents’ and ‘agents’ (Criminal Investigation) while the newly-created Directorate of Criminal Investigation will be headed by the Director-General of Intelligence (Income Tax). The revamp is part of launching ‘un-intrusive’ investigations against “persons and transactions suspected to be involved in criminal activities having cross-border,, inter-state or international ramifications, that pose a threat to national security and are punishable under the direct tax laws.”
Govt hikes maximum support price for paddy
New Delhi: The government increased the support price of paddy to the farmers by Rs 80 per quintal for the current Kharif season to encourage production and meet the requirement of the proposed National Food Security Act. “The minimum support price (MSP) of paddy (common) has been fixed at Rs 1080/Quintal and of paddy (grade A) at Rs 1,110/quintal, which represents an increase of Rs 80/quintal over the last year’s MSPs,” said an official statement after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Prices (CACP) had recommended a paddy MSP of Rs 1,080/quintal and bonus of Rs 80/quintal to cover rising input costs by upto 64 percent.
The CCEA, however, felt that the bonus should be given to paddy farmers if export ban on the rice remains, and that there is a need for enhancing procurement to meet the additional demand of foodgrains under the proposed law, sources added.
Doc’s jail murder – Heads roll in Bihar
Patna: Admitting that it was a serious lapse on the part of the jail administration. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered the transfer of two top officials in connection with the murder of a doctor by the inmates of a Gopalganj jail.
“It is a serious lapse on the part of the jail administration…..there are several flaws cited in the inquiry report,” Kumar told reporters.
“I have taken the matter seriously and acted tough on the basis of the inquiry report of Principal Secretary (Home) Amir Subhani into the killing of a doctor in Gopalganj jail by inmates,” he said.
Anand Kishore would be the new IG (Jail) replacing Ramesh Lal while Pankaj Kumar would be the new District Magistrate of Gopalganj in place of Pankaj Kumar Pal.
Kumar said the state government would provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the bereaved family. “The state government will also ensure full salary to the widow of the doctor up to the age he would have retired had he not died in harness,” he said.
Subhani submitted his inquiry report to the Chief Minister. Buddhadev Singh was assaulted by jail inmates after he went inside to attend a patient.
Singh was first admitted to a government hospital in Gopalganj. He was then rushed to Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) after his condition deteriorated, Singh died later at PMCH.
“We have noticed that the District Magistrate failed to visit the jail… and the Assistant Jailor was holding the charge of jail superintendent in his absence,” Kumar said. Referring to the demand of implementation of Medical Professionals Protection Bill in Bihar, the Chief Minister said, “The state government cannot act in haste.”
“Moreover, the proposed Medical Professionals Protection Bill, likely to be tabled in the House during the monsoon session of the state legislature, has nothing to do with the present case as the murder was committed under judicial custody”, he said. “To our utter surprise, jail authorities kept convicts in the Gopalganj jail against the settled norms,” Kumar said adding that it was a state government order that those convicted in serious criminal offences be shifted to a central jail in Bihar.
H.C. relief to student who lost MBBS admission
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court imposed a cost of Rs 3 lakh on a Pune-based medical college for granting admission to a less meritorious student. However, the court did not reverse the admission already granted. Priyanka Bamane (17) had approached the High Court in September last year claiming that another student, Akshay Patil, who had a lower score in the Common Entrance Test was granted admission to the first year MBBS course in Ahmednagar Medical College. While Patil scored 137 in the CET, Bamane had scored 136. According to the petition, a seat became available at the college in September but instead of notifying about the vacancy on its website or in a newspaper, the college granted admission to Patil.
Online PF account details from July 1
Kolkata: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said account details would be available online from July 1. “You can watch the account balance of your PF online from July 1,” Assistant PF Commissioner Kanchan Roy said at an interactive session at Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “This indeed would be a great help to about 5 crore PF subscribers in India,” he said. EPFO plans to replace PF account number with unique identification number, a move which help in speedy transfer of a subscribers’ funds in case of job change and allow them to track their accounts online.
Commoner Pervez
Islamabad: The US administration has withdrawn the security and protocol given to former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after a UN commission report blamed him for not providing adequate protection to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, PTI reports.
The US administration withdrew 67-year-old Musharraf’s security and protocol after a UN commission’s report, on former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, blamed the military ruler for failing to provide her adequate security.
Musharraf shall be treated like an ordinary citizen who has to join queues at the immigration counter in airports and undergo a thorough body search at the departure lounge, ‘The News’ daily quoted diplomatic sources in Washington, as saying.
“Musharraf, in the past would have his immigration process expedited after landing at US airports,” said a diplomatic source at the Pakistani embassy in Washington.
Instead of waiting in line, the American Protocol staff would do this on Musharraf’s behalf.
“It has been stopped now,” the source said.
When Musharraf departs from the US, he stands in line, takes off his shoes and belt, has his hands up for a thorough search and only then is cleared for check-in, said a source.
Arrest to arrest tax arrears
The Income Tax Department is all set to crack the whip on tax defaulters by invoking its power, which has not been used for many years, to arrest and prosecute evaders.
The step comes in the backdrop of the government initiating various steps to curb generation of black money and also notifying the creation of the first-ever Criminal investigation (CI) unit.
The I-T Department, through its Tax Recovery Officer (TRO), has been bestowed with the powers to “arrest and detain”, in prison, a tax defaulter, and carry out subsequent stringent penal action against the individual under the provisions of the Income Tax Act to recover arrears.
A recent blueprint of the department, aimed at curbing black money and speeding up the recovery of arrears to the tune of more than Rs 2 lakh crore, specifies that the post of TRO should be strengthened and made a “special pay post” to ensure better work.
The TRO’s office and its powers have been “dysfunctional” for a long time now, but rising tax arrears and economic crimes have made the I-T Department restore the powers and functioning of this unit, which is deputed under every Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT) in the country.
“A TRO is empowered to attach and sell assessee and detain him or her in prison and appoint a receiver for the management of this movable and immovable property under Section 222 of the I-T Act,” a senior I-T officer said.
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