PAN allotments by June 30
NEW DELHI, May 27 — The Income Tax Department will clear the backlog in the allotment of the permanent account number by June 30, the Delhi Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mr Raj Narain, said here today.

Small units can pay excise duty on monthly basis
NEW DELHI, May 27 — The government today took a major step to end the Inspector Raj, allowing payment of excise duty on a monthly basis by the SSIs from June 1.

India, China sign science, IT pact
BEIJING, May 27 — India and China have signed an agreement to cooperate in key areas of science and technology, including information technology.


Sugar mill takeover challenged
CHANDIGARH, May 27 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today allowed a writ petition filed by Chadha Papers Ltd contesting the action of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation taking over the sugar mill at Randhawa (Dasuya) in Hoshiarpur district which was run by the company.

PAN allotments by June 30

NEW DELHI, May 27 (PTI) — The Income Tax Department will clear the backlog in the allotment of the permanent account number (PAN) by June 30, the Delhi Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mr Raj Narain, said here today.

“About 80 per cent of over 12.2 lakh applicants in Delhi have been issued PAN and the remaining will be issued by June 30,” he told PTI.

Narain attributed the delay in the allotment of many of the PAN cases to deficiencies in filling of forms by applicants.

For instance, he said there were applications where only the initial of the name of the tax payer or his father had been given when full name was required for proper identification.

“Another problem is that a large number of women assesses have mentioned their husband’s name rather than father’s name. Married women have to give their father’s name to make unique identification possible.” he said.

Reacting to the confusion among the people who have not been allotted PAN as to whether they can enter into any transaction or whether they can open a bank account etc. Narain said the requirement of quoting of PAN will not come in the way of entering into any transaction.

“If a person has not got his PAN, he can quote the GIR (general index register number) number which was being mentioned by the Income Tax Department in the past”, he said.

If a person has not been allotted even a GIR number and the transaction is in cash, then he can file Form No 60 which is a simple form that requires him to mention his name.

Besides, the form will require him to establish his identity through some identity card such as a ration card, a letter from his employer, any communication from the government or even an electricity bill.

In case of a minor opening a bank account or purchasing a term deposit of over Rs 50,000, PAN of the child’s father, mother or guardian can be quoted.

In cases of agriculturists who do not have any income other than agricultural Form No 61, which is also a simple form, can be submitted, Narain said. The provision of compulsory quoting of PAN are not applicable to non-residents.

“A large number of people are worried that if they do not have PAN or GIR No, they will not be able to open a bank account”, he said adding this is not correct and they can always submit Form No 60 and the bank will be obliged to open the account.

PAN allotted by the Income Tax Department is also being adopted by other government departments such as Customs and Excise and the RBI as a common identification number to be quoted in all the economic transactions.

Warning that it is mandatory for all income tax assesses to have a PAN card, he said a penalty up to Rs 10,000 will be levied against those who do not apply.

PAN has to be compulsorily quoted for transactions like sale or purchase of property above Rs 5 lakh, purchase of motor vehicles excepting two-wheelers and opening of term deposits of over Rs 50,000 in banks or post offices.

It is also required for transactions in securities beyond Rs 10 lakh, applications for new telephone connections, payment of hotel bills beyond Rs 25,000 and opening of bank accounts.

Small units can pay excise duty on monthly basis

NEW DELHI, May 27 (PTI) — The government today took a major step to end the Inspector Raj, allowing payment of excise duty on a monthly basis by small-scale industries from June 1.

Apart from simplifying the administrative procedure. The measure is expected to boost small scale industries by improving their liquidity position.

A notification was issued today for this purpose and this step follows Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s announcement while presenting the general Budget.

Currently the central excise duty is determined and paid at the time for removal of goods from the factory of production resulting in procedural hassles.

The new scheme has brought about a fundamental change in the duty collection and the duty assessed for each consignment cleared is to be simply recorded in production and clearance register and aggregated at the month-end.

The aggregated duty payable on clearance made during the calendar month will require to be paid by the middle of succeeding month either through the current or Modvat account. The eligible manufacturers in the SSI sector need to therefore pay duty at the time of each clearance.

India, China sign science, IT pact

BEIJING, May 27 (PTI) — India and China have signed an agreement to cooperate in key areas of science and technology, including information technology.

The agreement was signed here yesterday at the conclusion of the fourth meeting of the India-China Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation, which met for the first time since April, 1993.

The priority areas of cooperation identified by the two sides are bio-technology, medical science and technology, material science and technology including advanced metals, earth sciences, electronics, hardware and information technology official sources said.

The meeting also worked out the administrative logistical and financial arrangements for carrying out the exchanges.

Sugar mill takeover challenged
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 27 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today allowed a writ petition filed by Chadha Papers Ltd contesting the action of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation taking over the sugar mill at Randhawa (Dasuya) in Hoshiarpur district which was run by the company.

Mr Justice V.K. Bali and Mr Justice A.S. Garg, who constituted the Bench, held that at no stage the company had refused to make the payment but was only insisting on the transfer of assets both immovable and movable which was agreed to be sold before it could be asked to make payment of the second instalment.

Citibank did arm-twisting?

WASHINGTON, May 27 (PTI) — Citibank in India has used debt collectors accused of strong-arm tactics to collect credit card debt, The Wall Street Journal has reported in a front page investigative story.

The debt collectors, it said, have been charged with using threats to kill and kidnap.

Citibank officials express scepticism over the charges, but the paper cited instances in which the charges were confirmed by the police as well as those subjected to the threats.

Century Text loss mounts to 93 crore

Century Textiles continued to reel in the red during 1998-99 recording a net loss of Rs 93 crore as against a net loss of Rs 85.2 crore a year earlier. The company’s sales during the year totalled Rs 1,939.7 crore as compared with Rs 1,941.6 crore a year earlier.

The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of Re 0.60 per share as against a dividend of Re 1 per 10-rupee face value share in 1997-98.

Its other income stood at Rs 51.59 crore while the share of profit in a business consortium of companies, Birla Tyres, was Rs 20.04 crore.

HPCL to pay 110 pc

The Board of Directors of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) at the meeting held here today has recommended a dividend of 110 per cent for the 1998-99 financial year. The discussions regarding issue of bonus shares were inconclusive. HPCL recorded a net profit of Rs 901.26 crore for the year 1998-99 as compared to Rs 701.16 crore for the year 1997-98. The corporation has recorded a turnover of Rs 25,994.56 crore for the period as against Rs 20,512.91 crore in the previous year showing a growth of 26.7 per cent.

Rallis India

Rallis India has registered a 19.01 per cent jump in the net profit in 1998-99 at Rs 27.41 crore as against Rs 23.03 crore in the previous year. The company’s interest expense was higher in 1998-99 partly because of a delay in the government’s disbursement of subsidy on imported fertilisers.

Honda Power net up

Honda Siel Power Products Limited (HSPP) has record a 6.3 per cent rise in net profit during the 1998-99 fiscal to touch Rs 20.7 crore as against Rs 19.46 crore a year ago. The Board of Directors of the company, for the third successive year, decided to maintain dividend at 40 per cent for 1998-99.

Colour-Chem net crashes

Colour-Chem Limited has recorded a 94 per cent crash in net profit during the 1998-99 fiscal to touch Rs 2.3 crore from Rs 38.3 crore a year earlier.

Colour-Chem’s net profit for the fiscal was after an exceptional expense of Rs 27.1 crore on a voluntary retirement scheme.

Mirc Electronics to pay 65 pc

Mirc Electronics Limited, manufacturers of Onida brand of televisions, has recorded a 32 per cent spurt in both turnover and net profit for the year ended March 31, 1999. The company has raised the dividend to 65 per cent against 60 per cent paid for 1997-98.

Global Trust Bank

Global Trust Bank has suffered a 11.60 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 70.86 crore during the 1998-99 compared to Rs 80.13 crore the previous year. The ratio of net NPA’s to net advances slip by 2.15 per cent from 2.98 per cent.

The Board of Directors recommended 20 per cent dividend against 18 per cent.

Mangalore Refinery net falls

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, promoted jointly by a number of Birla group companies, has reported a net profit of Rs 14.06 crore in 1998-99, down 50.46 per cent from Rs 28.38 crore in the previous fiscal.

Of marriages and miseries

MARRIAGES, it is said, are made in heaven. But arrangements for marriages are certainly made on earth and complaints pertaining to such arrangements are filed before consumer courts.

Mr R.C. Kapila was in search of a suitable boy for his daughter, who was studying in the USA and was on a short visit to India. So he contacted a marriage bureau, which promised to produce three boys in the second week of November, for the consideration of the girl’s father. The fee for the service was fixed at Rs 2,000 and Mr Kapila paid Rs 1000 as advance deposit. Besides other qualification specified, Mr Kapila was insistent that the boy should be a Brahmin and his horoscope should match that of his daughter.

However, in the first instance, the three boys suggested by the bureau were not Brahmins. The bureau next came up with another set of boys. This time the caste matched, but not the horoscopes. The bureau had not even checked their horoscopes to see if any of them tallied with that of Mr Kapila’s daughter. In fact it was found that the boys did not even have been their horoscopes or the relevant data required to draw up one. Upset, Mr Kapila demanded his money back and eventually filed a complaint before the Delhi District forum II, which held the bureau guilty of deficient service and awarded Mr Kapila Rs 5,000 as damages. This was upheld by the State Commission, Delhi.

In the second case, a bridegroom in Hisar, Haryana, gave his brand new white raw silk wedding dress to a drycleaner. However when he took it back, he found huge, ugly yellow patches on the dress. He had to get another wedding dress made at short notice, paying an exorbitant amount to the tailor. After the wedding, the bridegroom took the drycleaner to court for the harassment and loss caused to him. The consumer court awarded him Rs 1100 as compensation.

The case of Udai Ram vs Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation is equally interesting. Mr Udai Ram’s son was getting married and he booked a bus with the RSRTC for the marriage party to reach the bride’s village, which was about 48 km away. He even paid an advance of Rs 3000 to the Corporation. However, on the appointed day, the bus never came and Mr Ram had to engage another bus at short notice paying Rs 4100. The bridegroom’s party reached the wedding venue at 10 p.m. instead of six, while the musicians had been engaged from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Besides, as a result of the negligence of the Corporation, the marriage could not be held at the auspicious time fixed by the astrologer, Mr Udai Ram said in his complaint. The Rajasthan State Commission directed RSRTC to return Rs 3000 collected from him with 12 per cent interest. It also awarded Rs 8,000 as compensation to Mr Udai Ram for the inconvenience and harassment caused.

In the case of B.N. Nagi Reddy vs the Residency Hotel, the complainant’s granddaughter was getting married and he had book six suites and 14 double rooms for three days at the hotel for the bridegroom’s party to stay. However, according to the complaint, when the guests arrived, the hotel could make available only two suites, forcing the complainant to make alternate arrangements at another costlier hotel. The Tamil Nadu State Commission directed the hotel to refund Rs 22,000 paid as advance towards the booking of rooms, besides Rs 28,000 which was the additional expense incurred by the complainant on account of seeking alternate accommodation. It also awarded the complainant Rs 50,000 for mental agony, anguish and humiliation caused on account of the hotel’s negligence.

Invitation cards are an important part of a wedding celebration and in the case of Post Master General, Tamil Nadu, vs Calvin Jacob, the complaint pertained to non-delivery of wedding invitation cards by the postal department. Mr Jacob’s son went to the post office to mail 267 cards. He handed over the cards and Rs 267 towards postage to a counter clerk, who assured prompt delivery. However, after a few days, Mr Jacob found on enquiry from friends and relatives to whom the cards had been addressed, that it never reached them.

Following poor attendance at the wedding and later at the reception, Mr Jacob filed a complaint against the postal department alleging misappropriation of the money by the counter clerk. The State Commission granted him Rs 3,000 towards wastage of food caused on account of poor attendance at the wedding, besides allowing the cost of invitation cards and postage, aggregating to Rs 767. It also awarded Rs 15,000 as compensation for mental agony and distress and Rs 1000 as costs. The National Commission reduced the compensation to Rs 10,000 and awarded an additional Rs 2,000 towards costs.

Eraser
NEW DELHI, May 27 (TNS) — Aroherbs has introduced Eraser, a cream prepared by Ayurvedic doctors, to erase post delivery stretch marks, scars, burn marks etc.

Masterplus
CHANDIGARH, May 27 (TNS) — UTI has declared a maiden income distribution of 12 per cent under the Mastershare Plus Unit Scheme 1991 (Masterplus 1991). The income distribution is fully tax-exempt as per the Finance Act, 1999.

Vendors
CHANDIGARH, May 27 (TNS) — A two-day training programme on vendor development and incoming material control was organised by the CII here today. The programme was attended by delegates from BHEL, Hero Honda Motors, Samtel, Hero Cycles Ltd, Escorts Ltd, GNA, MTNL, Spice etc.

Escotel
CHANDIGARH, May 27 (TNS) — Escotel has launched a new scheme in Haryana under which all subscribers who want to switch from their existing service providers to Escotel can do so at a special price.