As it is well known that the income tax department has allowed Aadhaar card holders to use the biometric id number in lieu of the Permanent Account Number (PAN). But as per new provision of Income Tax, fine of Rs. 10,000 may be levied in case of wrong Aadhar Number. As per the latest amendments in the Finance Bill 2019, not only allowed people to use Aadhaar in lieu of PAN but also introduced a penalty for giving a false Aadhaar number. However, the new penalty rules are applicable only in cases where you are using Aadhaar in lieu of PAN and where quoting PAN is mandatory according to the income tax department rules. It is well known that although Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identity Authority of India, yet the fine is not imposed by UIDAI but by the income tax department. Under Section 272B of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the department can impose a penalty in case of default in complying with provisions relating to PAN, i.e., failure to obtain, quote, or authenticate PAN.
Railway Minister Sh. Malikarjun Kharge has written a DO letter
to Minister of Finance for abolishing New Pension System(NPS) from Indian
Railways. Read here the contents of DO letter
“Dear
Shri P. Chidambaram ji,
Through this letter, I wish tO draw your attention to a
long standing demand raised by both Staff Federations of Railways on National
Pension Scheme
(NPS) for employees of Indian Railways. The Federations have been expressing resentment over operation in the Railways of
the National Pension Scheme, which is
perceived as a lower social security cover for Railway employees. Their contention is that there are
enough grounds for Railway employees
to be treated differently from other civil employees of the Government, and that Indian Railways should
operate the traditional defined .benefit
pension scheme available to pre-01-01-2004 appointee's.
You will recall that a few organizations/categories of
Government employees were
specifically exempted from the purview of NPS on consideration of special, riskier and more onerous nature of
duties. The Federations have been drawing
parallel with of nature of duties performed by most categories of Railway employees with those in the Armed Forces.
They contend that during British
period, Railways was conceived and operated as an auxiliary wing of the Army. It was also realized that by virtue of its
complex nature, Railways required a
high level of discipline and efficiency to be able to perform its role as the
prime transport mode. Railways is an
operational organization required to be run round the clock through the year. Railway employees have
to work in inhospitable conditions,
braving extreme weather, unfriendly law and order scenario, and inherent risks associated with the Railway
operations itself. As in the Armed Forces,
many have to stay away from their families for long periods while performing duties in areas where adequate
facilities are lacking.
I feel that there is considerable merit in the contention
of the Staff Federations.
Besides the critical and complex nature of duties of Railway employees, the hazards involved are
also high. Despite best efforts for enhanced safety measures, a large number of
Railway employees lose their lives or meet with serious injuries in the course of
performance of their duties each year.
During the period 2007-08 to October
2011, the number of Railway employees killed during the course of their duty
has been more than number of passengers / other members of public killed in
Rail related accidents including accidents at unmanned level crossings. While
the nature of duties of Railway employees is inherently high risk during peace
time, they also perform functions of critical importance during war time and
times of natural calamities, in moving men and materials across the country to
maintain supply of essential commodities and safeguard integrity of the nation.
In my view, there are adequate grounds
for the Government to consider exemption for Railway employees from the purview
of NPS. The implications of this would be that Government expenditure would
reduce over the next few years through discontinuance of Government
Contribution under the NPS, but the long term liabilities would increase, as
financial commitments in the defined benefit pension scheme would be higher.
Since Railways are required to meet the pensionary outgo from their internal
resources, switchover to defined benefit pension scheme would call for a more
systematic provisioning under the Pension Fund through appropriate revenue
generating measures. With Rail Tariff Authority on the horizon, I believe that
this woutd be possible.
In the light of the above, I suggest
that our request for exemption from operation of the NPS be considered
sympathetically and necessary approvals communicated.
A copy of each
demands raised by the two Federations is endosed.
With regards,
(Mallikarjun Kharge)”
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