Sunday, September 12, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Sunday, September 12, 1999 |
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Shock treatment from PSEB IT growth in Punjab low For banks customer is the king now |
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Tourism festival in Kargil Frequent transfers hits
tribunalised justice Behavioural training programme |
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Shock
treatment from PSEB THE psychological barrier created through free power and water to the dominant sector is further getting widened as urban consumers are being given a harsh treatment. Undoubtedly the PSEB is in very competent hands but the monolithic organisation has a peculiar set-up. Key appointments, if done with only political motives, send wrong messages down the stream. Then revenue boosting to compensate loss of free power is another pressure. Industrial consumers in particular are getting a harsh treatment. Due to the Supreme Court’s decision, consumers cannot go direct to courts and have to depend on the dispute settlement mechanism of the PSEB. This mechanism is grossly faulty as the same administration which initiates action has to decide on its own action. It is no secret that true to the democratic spirit, there are groups of officers within the board which are mutually hostile to each other. They all may be well meaning, but decisions can be affected due to group rivalry. The only solution to this problem is that the mechanism should be such that it contains outside experts — both technical and legal. A consumer’s representation will be an added advantage. The committee should be perfectly balanced in decision-making and to avoid overtone of the PSEB’s administration. One may be surprised to note the type of harassment consumers are facing. A well known industrial house of Ludhiana had its domestic meter burnt which was replaced. Later a notice was served that it is a case of power theft. The consumer had no inkling of the inside of the meter which was opened in his absence. Later the case was decided against the consumer ex-parte without listening him. Another consumer was served with notice of Rs 25.00 lakh for violating peak-load restrictions. The apparent facts were so clear that when the case was brought to the notice of the C.M. at a meeting, the PSEB announced its withdrawal in the presence of the C.M. and others. Later, the same case was reopened. The government and people can read the message conveyed. The PSEB has to change its archaic approach in the light of liberalisation. The country was saved from economic illness in 1991 by opening up the economy in a haphazard manner. This is resulting in large-scale sickness. Punjab is already short of entrepreneurship. So the old concept should be replaced with a new one so that genuine entrepreneurs who fail due to any environmental effect should not be debarred from starting new ventures by refusing connection. Some progressive states like Maharashtra write off dues of sick units. In Punjab when the dominant sector is getting free power, the logic is all the more strong. The argument becomes still stronger when power theft is rampant. The PSEB should, therefore, change its approach. Industry is facing odds from other quarters as well. The police has started interfering in routine matters of business. Any businessman of a running or sick unit is a creditor as well as a debtor at the same time. The police is interfering at random in all such cases. The way things are going, Punjab may be termed as a true police state. Those who feel convenient in taking undue help of the police may face the music themselves tomorrow. The matter is so clear that it can be discussed openly at any forum. A former D.G.P. had strongly acted in this regard and saw that the police does not interfere in civil matters. The C.M. should interfere and stop this practice forthwith. The Factory Act has been invoked to force the industry to have samples of drinking water tested. What this means needs no elaboration. If the ground water is polluted, what is the fault of the industrial unit. The owner and workers drink the same water. If for the argument sake, pure water is made available during eight hours in the factory who will provide such water in labour colonies for the rest of 16 hours? This matter can only be sorted out by mutual interaction rather through punitive action. The list of problems is
lengthy. Only close interaction between the government
and businessman can reduce the gap between the two. |
IT growth
in Punjab low LUDHIANA, Sept 11 — Tall claims by the Government to the contrary notwithstanding, Punjab continues to lag far behind Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi in terms of the massive development that has taken place in the field of Information Technology (IT) during the past few years. The awareness about computers in all echelons of the State administration is quite low, to put it mildly. Believe it or not, in some Government departments a duplicate of a document is taken to mean a “carbon copy”, and a duplicate printout from a laser printer is not acceptable, say Mr Gurpreet Singh and Mr Adish Bamba, President and General Secretary of the Association of Computer Entrepreneurs (ACE). “Only a handful of bureaucrats and technocrats are aware about the importance of computers and IT, and some are actually doing good work”, they said in a talk with TNS here today. Punjab, according to Mr Amit Jhamb and Mr N.S. Dhami, vice-president and joint secretary of ACE respectively is unable to attract a large number of computer industrial units due to a variety of factors. General awareness about computers and IT is low in both the business community and the Government. Rectifying this is a responsibility of both the IT industry and the State Government. The State Government’s awareness about and involvement in the development of IT is minimal and myopic. So far, the Punjab Government is concentrating solely on the small town of Mohali, tucked away in one corner of Punjab, while the enterprising city of Ludhiana, a near-metropolis of 2.5 million people, has been ignored. It also has a large and vibrant IT business community, of which many are planning to enter the high-growth field of software exports, but are constrained due to the lack of credit and infrastructure facilities. Meanwhile, most of the efforts to turn Mohali into a “Hi-Tech” have not borne much fruit. As compared to other states in the South, Punjab has fewer technical colleges. The Information Technology industry draws its talent mainly from the engineering streams. The state needs more engineering colleges. There is also a wide discrepancy in the sales tax rates on computers in Punjab (8.8 per cent) and those in the neighbouring states (2 per cent). This adversely affects both the business of IT and the tax collection of the State Government. ACE, which was formed in 1995, currently has more than 100 members including manufacturers, traders, software firms, consultants and authorised service centres throughout Punjab. In order to spread awareness about IT, ACE has organised a two-day exhibition, named “it @ ludhiana-99” which was inaugurated today by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Goel. A large number of
international, national and regional level companies are
participating in the exhibition. |
Nafed
plans more super bazars NEW DELHI, Sept 11 —National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (Nafed) has adopted a business plan of Rs 910 crore for the year 1999-2000. Speaking at the 41st annual general meeting here, Chairman of Nafed Ajit Kumar Singh said that the federation plans to focus on consumer marketing in big way to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers. Nafed has opened a super bazar in New Delhi and plans to open a chain of such bazaars. The federation has planning expedite several farmer oriented projects like bio-fertiliser units, cold storages and warehouses for agri-products. Nafed is the nodal
agency for price support schemes of the government in
respect of pulses and oil seeds. Besides it also market
intervention schemes for various
agricultural/horticultural products on behalf of the
government to relief distress — sale situations by
farmers whenever required. During Rasbi 99, Nafed
provided a procurement support of Rs 116 crore. |
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NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (PTI) — A three-day tourism and cultural festival depicting age-old traditions of Kargil region has been inaugurated in the border area, officials said here today. The festival titled “Kargil Tourism Festival-99” was inaugurated at Fokar, 40-km from Kargil by Deputy Commissioner Shalin Kabra last evening, they said. The festival, which is
being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism
Development (JKTDC), will depict the cultural traditions
of the people in the area, the officials said. |
For banks
customer is the king now SAVINGS account has for long been a plain vanilla product of the banks. It has been an unbranded product with hardly any variations or options. The interest rate is fixed by RBI and is uniformly followed by all banks of Indian and foreign origin. However, with the advent of severe competition among banks the customer has really become the king and is showered with many add-ons resulting in huge value addition. Now you as a customer can check with your bank as to how many facilities are on offer for you. ATM cards are issued free of cost which can be used 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. Usually banks pay interest once a year or once in a half-year. Now a few banks are paying interest every quarter. Banks are issuing drafts free of cost even up to four times a month. Banks are also offering free facility of transfer of funds from one place to another place. The point of sale (POS) has now been accepted as a marketing tool by several banks. Now an account is opened at the doorstep of the customer. Submitting a photograph at the time of account opening is an inconvenience, as most often you forget to keep your photo ready. Now bank officials are armed with Polaroid cameras to take your photo free of cost. Telebanking is another convenience you can look for. With telebanking, you can enquire about the balance lying in your account at any time of the day. You can even ask for a fax copy of your account statement. You can also get useful information about the bank’s schemes. You can even leave messages for the bank staff. Many banks are now depository participants and open free demat accounts for dematerialisation of your shares and securities. More importantly, some banks are tying up with shops, hotels etc to offer cash discounts. If you present your ATM card at selected shops/hotels, you can get discounts of 5% to 20% on all your purchases. Some of the banks are fully computerised and all their branches are inter-connected through dedicated DoT lines or satellite links. This has led to the evolution of anywhere banking system. If you open an account with a branch, you can operate your account at all other branches of the same bank. Similarly ATM card can also be used at any ATM centre of the bank across the country. Current accounts: Businessmen and corporates opening current accounts in banks are often satisfied if they are given a statement of account promptly. But now, if you are a trader or a businessman interested in opening a current account, you can expect a few more things from banks. Earlier most of the banks were open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (four hours) on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 12 noon (two hours) on Saturdays. Now many banks are open for more than six hours on weekdays and for more than four hours on Saturdays. Some branches function even on Sundays. A few other branches work for two shifts giving more business hours for you. The collection of outstation cheques is a major worry because it takes more than two weeks, more often than not, to realise the proceeds. Things have changed dramatically now with many banks offering cash management services or fast track collection systems. You outstation cheques are collected in two to four days’ time at a small cost. If you have to make outstation payments, you don’t have to run to the bank for taking a demand draft. You can sit in your office and issue cheques which are payable at other stations as if they are local cheques. This is possible because some of the banks have interlinked all their branches through satellite/DoT lines. This system, also known as anywhere banking, permits the bank branches to put through entries in an account, even though the account is opened at some other branch. Your company may be having branches at different locations and you many want to transfer funds from one location to another. Now you don’t have to use demand draft or telegraphic transfer. A new tool called electronic fund transfer (EFT) system can be used to transfer funds electronically in a matter of seconds. If you are a big account
holder with several transactions everyday, you can even
connect your office computer to the bank’s computer
system through a telephone line and modem. You can then
view your bank account online, sitting in your own
office. You can even send instructions to the bank
through your computer for issuing cheque books or opening
letters of credit (LCs) and bank guarantees (BGs). |
Frequent
transfers hits tribunalised justice SECTION 4 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, which authorises the State Government to constitute Haryana Sales Tax Tribunal for purposes of hearing appeals arising out of the orders passed by the sales tax authorities, has come to be known as much abused provision of law having regard to frequent changes of the members. The most disturbing feature is that the legitimate interests of the litigants and the sales tax assessees who pursue the remedy of appeal before this apex body are not taken care of by the State Government in the sense that appointments are made normally from amongst the officers who are not even acquainted with the provisions of the Sales Tax Act. This not only causes undue harassment to the litigating parties but the faith of the assessees in the system of tribunalised justice is also shaken to a great extent. As per the Act, the Sales Tax Tribunal is regarded as a last fact finding authority in the context of the disputes arising under the provisions of the sales tax laws and therefore it is obligatory for the State Government to assign the job of the Tribunal to a person who has a good knowledge of the sales tax procedures as well as laws in order to ensure proper administration of justice. The living example of abuse of the powers relating to the constitution of the Haryana Sales Tax Tribunal is the recent decision taken by the State Government revoking its earlier order of June 9, 1999 whereby Mr B.L. Gulati was appointed as a member, Sales Tax Tribunal, Haryana for a period of three years. It is not understandable as to how the term of office of the Tribunal has been reduced from statutory period of three years to just three months? This is quite contrary to the provisions contained in sub-section (4) of Section 4 which plainly lays down “The term of office of a retired person who is appointed as member of a Tribunal shall be three years”. Proviso to this sub-section barely empowers the State Government to further extend the term of three years by one year which clearly spells out the intention of the law-makers that the statutory period of appointment of a member cannot be cut down. What is interesting to note here is that this is perhaps for the fifth time that the State Government took recourse to the constitution of the Haryana Sales Tax Tribunal in the year 1999 itself which is giving rise to the pendency of the cases in appeal. As many as four Benches were constituted in whole of the State despite this system of functioning of the Tribunals was not at all recognised by the statutory provisions. Consistency in the decisions came to be eroded as the different Benches never attempted to maintain uniformity in the decisions over similar facts. Thus the complete process of giving justice to the litigating parties was adversely affected. It was only in June, 1999 that the aggrieved parties heaved a sigh of relief with the appointment of a single member of the Sales Tax Tribunal which started whole-time working for the first time in the State. Now the State Government has again introduced the system of part-time working of the Tribunal with the appointment of two new members, of the Haryana Sales Tax Tribunal. Why the practice of
making repeated changes of the members of the Tribunal
continues to exist when the cause of justice is heavily
suffering” Growing disputes and their pendency in
the appellate forums for years together will lead the
State nowhere. The litigants have every right to be
effectively heard in the matters relating to appeals as
per the spirit of Section 39 of the Act ibid. |
Behavioural
training programme CHANDIGARH, Sept 11 — “Teamwork is the foundation of all successful management” was stated by Mr G.B.S. Kohli, Vice President Anand Corporate Services, at the training programme on “Team Building” organised by the CII (Northern Region) at Parwanoo today. Mr Kohli stressed that team work is repidly becoming the preferred practice in many organisations as traditional corporate hierarchies give way to flat, multi-skilled working methods. Teamwork helps to create an awareness of the need for working together and develop interpersonal relationships for improved team cohesiveness. The session focussed on the various aspects of the team building such as role of the individual in the team; making a contribution to the whole for team effectiveness; ground rules for team building; resolving conflicts in teamwork. It was attended by
managers, supervisors as well as training professionals
from the industry. |
SOMETIMES a simple warning printed on a product can prevent accidents and save lives. Yet, such efforts are lacking on the part of manufacturers and distributors. Take LPG, or the cooking gas for example. Why can’t every LPG cylinder carry in the regional language certain basic information on its safe use, the steps to be taken in case of gas leakage and the telephone number on which one can call for help in case of an emergency? Surely it is not difficult to paste a paper carrying such detailed instructions on the cylinder surface? In order to make manufacturers more safety conscious, I would suggest that consumers compile, on the basis of their experience, a list of products that need to carry a warning to prevent accidents and send the list to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs as well as the associations of manufacturers and traders. While this is the first step, eventually we need to have an independent commission to look into all aspects of product safety. Take mosquito repellent coils, for example. In order to keep mosquitoes away and have a good night’s sleep, it is usually kept close to the bed. However, there is every possibility of bed spreads, pillows or blankets falling on the burning coil and starting a fire. In one particular case, a child had a narrow escape when the bed caught fire. The sleeping child was rescued in the nick of time, but part of the bed room was gutted. A warning on the label saying that it should be kept away from the bed or other sources that can catch fire would certainly go a long way in preventing such accidents. Similarly, why can’t plugs and sockets carry a label warning consumers against placing stacks of paper or clothing or even a mattress or bed clothes near plug points or sockets as any sparking or overheating of the plug can lead to a fire? Even bulbs should carry a warning against anyone standing directly underneath it when it is switched on. I do not known whether it is the poor quality of the bulbs or the violent voltage fluctuations in power supply, but there have been instances of bulbs suddenly bursting on being switched on, with glass pieces flying in every direction. If you speak to doctors, they will tell you about the number of injuries caused by rubber or plastic bathroom slippers worn generally at home. Most of these cause the wearer to slip and fall on a wet bathroom surface or even on a smooth flooring inside the house. Unless they are specially made to be skid-resistant, the slippers should carry a suitable warning. This will prevent many an accident, particularly involving elderly people. Of course, the responsibility of a manufacturer does not end with issuing warnings. On the basis of feedback received from consumers, he should also improve the product to make it safer. In the early eighties in the USA for example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received on an average every year 18 cases of electrocution caused by hair dryers falling into or being pulled into water... The number fell to four after improvements were effected in the product to prevent such electrocution. But old, unsafe dryers are still being used by consumers, says CPSC. Efforts are on to educate consumers about them. Similarly, CPSC estimated that children under age 5 playing with lighters caused 5,000 residential fires in a year, resulting in 150 deaths and 1,000 injuries. This resulted in the CPSC setting a mandatory safety standard that requires disposable lighters and certain novelty lighters to be child-resistant. The United State Consumer Product Safety Commission receives injury data daily from hospital emergency rooms all over the USA, besides death certificates compiled by state corners. In addition it also provides a 24-hour hot line for receiving consumer complaints and reports of product-related injuries from consumers. The industry is also bound to inform the CPSC about complaints of injuries connected with the use of the product. These help the CPSC to identify potential hazards, investigate into them and depending on the requirement, it may order recall of a product and direct improvements in design in order to render it safe or completely prohibit its sale. Or it may direct the manufacturer to issue suitable warnings on the label. The CPSC also regularly
issues ‘safety alerts’ on various consumer
products. |
UTI WHAT the grapevine had hinted a fortnight ago is now out in the open. Ketan Parekh is indeed the New Bull at the BSE, and the real reason why the BSE witnessed an abrupt 250 points downsizing a few days ago was the rumour that a nexus between the New Bull and UTI. While this rumour was scotched immediately, could it be a case of ‘no smoke without some fire’. Time will tell. Recon Yet again, there are rumours doing the rounds that the Bangalore based drug manufacturing company Recon’s shares are being accumulated by a bull operator and his cartel who seem to believe that this company figures on the takeover list of at least two MNC pharma giants. Tata Power This Tata group company whose performances have been steady albeit unexceptional is suddenly the buzz of the grapevine which has it that this company is likely to diversify into the internet business. Any takers? Reliance Petro The grapevine has it
that the Reliance group is re-focussing its attention on
this company, and so much so that it is rumoured that
discussions are on to consider the merger of Reliance
Industries with this company, thus making Reliance
Petroleum the flagship company of the group. |
Q: (a) I am about 84-year-old and having disability of 72.5 per cent due to hearing loss both ears and unlikely to improve as certified in 1992 by the specialists of General Hospital Sector-16, Chandigarh who issued a certificate for that. Please advise how much rebate I am entitled to, now due to the said disability. (b) I invested about Rs 50,000 in UTI monthly income scheme 1994 (commulative) which got matured in July 1998, and I got about 35000 apart from the principal. Please advise if the subject gain can be taken as Long Term Capital gain and indexing formula applied or it is to be considered as interest for the A.Y. 99-2000. (c) I had invested about Rs 40,000 in KVP in 1995 and got about 15000 as gain on premature encashment in November 1998 apart from the principal. Please advise if this gain can also be taken as Long-term Capital gain. I had not shown any accrued gain/interest in the previous returns. — A.S. Anand, Chandigarh Ans: As per section 80U of the Income Tax Act, 1961 you are entitled to deduction of Rs 40,000 in computing your total income in respect of permanent physical disability. This deduction is available to you because of your permanent deafness and hearing impairment of 71 decibels and above. The amount received from UTI Monthly Income Plan over and above the amount so invested by you cannot be treated as long-term capital gains. It will be interest income and assessable as income from other sources. Similarly, the gain earned by you on premature encashment (and not sale) of Kisan Vikas Patra will be treated as Income from other sources and not capital gains. You will also be eligible for tax rebate to the maximum extent of Rs 10,000 from the tax payable by you as per Section 88B because you are a senior citizen. Q: My department has provided me Government accommodation and is not paying House Rent and deducting 5 per cent of my basic pay. However, the question is that after paying the above, the Department is adding 10 per cent of my basic pay at the time of tax assessment. Is it right? — Z.R. Khan, Barnala Ans: In respect of the Government accommodation provided to you by your employer for which the department is taxing you @ 10 per cent of your salary income, it is the duty of the department to deduct from this 10 per cent amount the sum of 5 per cent of the basic pay which you are making payment towards the reimbursement of the accommodation. It is only the net amount that will be liable to tax. You should bring this to the notice of your disbursing officer so that he can correctly deduct Income Tax on your salary income. Q: Please tell me that if I sell my ancestral land and spend it in any way (car, gold, household, etc). Whether I am tax defaulter or any information is necessary to ITO. — Surinder Singh, Morinda (Ropar) Ans: Even if you sell your ancestral house you are liable to make payment of income tax. Spending the sale proceeds of the ancestral house in buying a car, gold, household goods etc will not save you from the liability of payment of tax on account of long-term capital gains. You must first calculate your tax liability on the basis of the sale figure after applying the concept of cost inflation index. Q: In the Union Budget 1999-2000, UTI-US 64 dividend is totally exempt from tax. I am doing a job in private sector. Our financial year ends in March every year. Can I bifurcate the dividend of US-64 upto March in my income and the remaining part in the next year income. Hoping for early and favourable response. — Gagan Gera, Solan (H.P.) Ans: As
per S. 10(33), the entire income from Mutual Fund is
exempt from Income-Tax. If the dividend from UTI pertains
to the period prior to March, ‘99 the same cannot be
exempted from Income-Tax by merely showing it as the
income of the next year. If you have already received the
dividend from UTI within the Financial Year which ended
on 31st March, ‘99 then you are certainly liable to
make payment of Income-tax on the said amount. However,
you will be eligible for the tax benefit u/s 80L of the
Income Tax Act, 1961. |
Q: When the Labour Court feels that the dismissal was not justified, can it grant other relief like lesser punishment and reinstatement, if deemed fit? A: The Kerala HC in Emmanual KV v TELK (1999-I-LLJ-1157) took the view thus: These appeals were filed by a workman whose dismissal was upheld by a Single Judge on the original petition of the management in which the award of the Labour Court setting aside the dismissal and directing the workman’s reinstatement with 50 per cent back wages, was challenged. The HC, while holding the Single Judge in his impugned order had exceeded the powers under Articles 226 or 227 of the Constitution, remanded the matter back to the Labour Court for passing a fresh award. The HC observed that when two views on a given fact situation are plausible and if one is chosen by the Labour Court, it cannot be said that the Labour Court acted illegally or perversely. Here, the Labour Court found that the order of dismissal was not justified on the facts of the case, and its finding was in exercise of its powers U/s. 11-A of the I.D. Act. The decision of the Labour Court was not in violation of principles of natural justice or mala fide or arbitrary. Since, however, the
workman had entered service under a contract for a period
of five years, the Labour Court could not, as it did,
direct reinstatement beyond those five years. Hence, the
matter was remitted back the Labour Court will consider
the question as to which appropriate relief can be
granted to the workman. If it is of the view that
reinstatement deserves to be continued beyond the
contractual period, then it will record its reasons,
failing which the reinstatement of the workman will be
coterminous to his service contract. The Labour Court was
directed to decide the matter within two months from the
date a certified copy of this judgement is produced
before it by the applicant. |
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