FRIDAY

FRIDAY
August 11 - 17, 2017
Employment & NRI Times
5
Pay commission: allowances to be taxed
N
ew allowances of 2017. However, in the past, pensatory perks for all em- cated Rs 1.02-lakh- crore in
central government central government employ- ployees, from July 1, 2017. the 2016-17 Union budget
employees, based ees union demanded ex- Although the unions de- for paying the central gov-
on recommendations of the emption from tax on new manded implementation of ernment employees.
Seventh Pay Commission, allowances under the rec- the allowances with retro- According to the senior
will come under the ambit ommendations of the Pay spective effect from Jan 2016, official, delay in the imple-
of income tax. According to Commission. there is a usual practice to mentation of allowances was
a senior finance ministry of- According to the senior pay the allowances from the chiefly because of the finan-
ficial, income tax will be official: If all allowances, date of implementation. cial gains of the government
imposed on the allowances excluding basic salary, of cen- The official said that the and reportedly saved nearly
which were granted from fi- tral government employees government had no plan to Rs 40,000 crore. The bone of
nancial year 2017-18 are made tax-free it will show give allowances in arrears contention between central
As per reports, tax treat- discrimination to others.The since beginning. However, government employees
ment on basic salary, bonus government, as per the CPC this deeply annoyed the unions and government, the
and allowances among oth- recommendations, imple- central government employ- House Rent Allowance
ers, for both government mented the new pay struc- ees. Noteworthy that, keep- (HRA), which unions de-
Celebrated journalist and Chairman of Kasturi & Sons N Ram (second from left),writer and non-government sala- ture from Jan, 2016 for cen- ing in mind the salary and manded at the rate of 30pc ,
Karri Sriram, Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao and Mayor B Rammohan at the ried employees was pro- tral government employees allowance hikes, Finance 20pc and 10pc of basic pay
launch of Rams book Why Scams Are Here To Stay in Hyderabad . posed in the Finance Bill and the allowances, the com- Minister Arun Jaitley allo- with arrears.

How to check your EPF balance? Kerala expects increase

in tourist arrivals
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etirement fund body ting it to the employer is not all the members of retire- a very simple facade and

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Employees Provi an easy task. On top of that, ment fund body. Under this look. It follows a very simple
dent Fund Organi- an application that seeks PF scheme, employees were procedure to unlock your PF ith Kerala shifting products, the arrivals are To reach out to the domes-
sation (EPFO) has intro- withdrawal is processed in instructed to receive their balance, as your PF balance into the top gear expected to increase consid- tic market, a string of road
duced over the years a slew 20 days. It means an em- UANs from their respective is locked until or unless you with a new and erably, Shine claimed. shows will be held this year
of measures to further sim- ployee gets their PF money employers. This UAN untie it by activating your assorted fare of tourism He said the mainstay for in Mysore, Gurgaon,
plify online redressal of back in 20 days from the makes PF withdrawal a UAN. The mobile app asks products, the state expects international tourists are Amritsar, Lucknow, Kanpur,
provident fund claims. For time of submission of form much more easier process. for your employers establish- a sharp increase in domes- leisure trips and Ayurveda Bhopal, Vadodara, Rajkot,
employees, applying for with the PF office. Now read how to apply for ment code, extension code, tic and international arriv- Ahmedabad and Nagpur, he
their provident fund corpus With an aim to reduce and receive your PF money your employee ID, 10-digit als at nine per cent and said.
has been a tedious task, as number of days taken for in simple steps: UAN, registered mobile num- 11pc up from 5.67 and He replied in the affir-
the exercise requires filling redressal of PF withdrawal ACTIVATE UAN: A UAN is ber. Once you fill all these de- 6.25pc in 2016, a tourism mative when asked if fre-
up of at least six forms. application, EPFO reduced a 10-digit number that an tails correctly, you are ready official informed. quent hartals in Kerala were
Duly filled forms are first the time from 20 days to just employer gives to its em- to go as your UAN activation International tourist ar- affecting tourism, but said
scrutinised thoroughly by three days. Now an em- ployee. UAN is used to is only a touch away. After rivals stood at 10.38 lakh the tourism ministry has re-
the employer for any mis- ployee can get his PF with- check balance, see e-pass- activation of UAN, an em- and domestic tourists at quested all political parties
match or discrepancy in drawal redressed in just 3 book. It also helps members ployee is free to use online 1.32 crore during 2016, gen- not to give calls for bandhs,
their personal records, then days. EPFO mobile app to monitor their PF account PF facility as and when they erating revenue of Rs and added that with the considering the tourism ar-
the correct forms are sent to shows a very simple way to either through mobile app require it. It offers a number 7,749.51 crore and Rs upcoming greenfield Air- rivals.
the EPFO office concerned activate UAN. EPFO mobile or through internet. To acti- of facilities. Members can 29,658.56 crore, Kerala port at Kannur, Kerala tour- To another question on
for submission of PF claims. app shows a very simple vate your UAN, you either also check their e-passbook Tourism Information Officer ism intends to establish the impact of prohibition on
The whole process starting way to activate UAN. log on to the EPFO website that gives them details of last K S Shine told reporters . Malabar, sharing the bound- tourism, he said it has had
right from downloading PF EPFO had a few years or download EPFO mobile six monthly deposits into With the state shifting into aries of Coimbatore, Coorg an adverse impact and that
forms from EPFO website to back introduced a Universal app from Google Play Store. your account on a single page high gear with a new and and Mysore, as the new was why the Kerala govern-
filling it and then submit- Account Number system for The EPFO mobile app has in mobile app. assorted fare of tourism tourism gateways to Kerala. ment had lifted the ban.

IT returns up 25pc, How to pay off credit card debt fast?

thanks to note ban
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ith great power sible debt trap. get about the abnormally up in a bad debt cycle. This ment facility will be a bet-

C
laiming
demonetisation ef
fect, the government
has said the income tax re-
turns filed in the current fis-
cal has seen a 25pc increase
and the advance individual
income tax collections have
gone up by 42pc.
As many as 2.83 crore
income tax returns were
filed till Aug 5 this year
compared with 2.27 crore
returns filed in 2016-17 as-
sessment year. The govern-
ment had extended the
deadline to file income tax
returns (ITR) to August 5.
As a result of demonetis-
ation and Operation Clean
Money, there is a substantial
increase in the number of
Income Tax Returns (ITRs)
filed, the finance ministry
said . The percentage growth
Fake medical degree racket in Punjab
comes great re GO FOR LITTLE CREDIT: high interest rates of credit facility allows you to shift ter option for you as credit
a in the number of returns filed
sponsibility. The You are our valued customer cards, which make is diffi- your outstanding amount cards come with high inter-
in 2016-17 was 9.9pc. The
same holds true for credit and the bank is happy to in- cult for one not only to clear from one card to another est rates and late payment
growth in returns filed by in-
cards as well. If used pru- crease your credit limit. Or, the dues on time, buy even card at lower interest rates, fees are also levied. Opting
dividuals this year is 25.3pc
dently, credit cards can not Opt for this card and we will during ones lifetime if one which may give you a tem- for Auto Pay, if you keep
at 2.79 crore as against 2.23
only help manage your fi- give you a higher credit porary relief for a certain sufficient bank balance, will
crore in the corresponding
nancial needs, but can also limit. You must be getting period. However, once the allow you to clear your bills
period of 2016-2017. This
prove to be your best friend such tempting offers from the period ends, regular interest on time as the bill amount
clearly shows that substantial
in times of crisis. However, representatives of various will be levied on you. will get deducted from your
number of new tax payers
when used recklessly, they banks. However, if you CONVERT PAYMENT TO account automatically.
have been brought into the
can also push someone into havent fallen prey to these EMIs:: Some banks also al- TAKE HOLIDAY ADVAN-
tax net subsequent to
a massive debt trap and offers yet, then thank your low customers to convert TAGE: You should also take
demonetisation, the state-
even jail. star. For, such offers are a their outstanding amount advantage of the holiday
ment said. The effect of
Here we are taking a look sure-shot way of sending one into monthly EMIs. Usually period as a large number of
demonetisation is also clearly
at some smart ways to avoid into a debt trap. As your lower rate of interest is credit cards provide inter-
visible in the growth in direct
getting into a credit card credit limit gets enhanced, charged on EMIs and clear- est-free credit of up to 50
tax collections. Advance tax
debt trap and also pay off the more will be your urge to ing ones debt also becomes days. Therefore, in case you
collections of personal in-
your debt fast: spend. easier with the convenience are facing a short-term fi-
come tax on Aug 5 showed a
LIMIT THE NUMBER OF TRACK YOUR BILLS: It al- of paying smaller amounts nancial problem, you
growth of about 41.79pc over
CARDS: The first and fore- ways helps to track your per month. should buy things in a
the corresponding period in
most thing to do is to limit credit card bills regularly. keeps on defaulting on pay- CLEAR HIGH INTEREST planned way to enjoy the
2016-2017, it said. Personal
the number of your credit Miscellaneous charges are ments also! One just keeps DEBTS FIRST: Instead of maximum holiday period
income tax under Self As-
cards. That is because the few usually levied by the card- paying and this process clearing off debts on first and also avoid interest pay-
sessment Tax (SAT) grew at
cards you have, the less will issuing banks. There may never ends as the outstand- come first basis, you need to ment on your purchase.
34.25pc over the correspond-
be your willingness to spend also be erroneous or fraudu- ing amount remains almost first pay off debts on the TALK TO THE CARD PRO-
ing period in 2016-2017.
on unwanted things. And the lent transactions some- the same. So, if you dont credit card that charges VIDER: Despite making your
less you spend on your cards,
the less debt you will accu-
times. If you keep missing
on that, then the fault will
want to get locked in unend-
ing debt spirals, then always
higher interest rate. This will
help you reduce your inter-
best efforts, if you are still
unable to clear the outstand-

P
unjabs Minister of Medical Education and Research mulate. There is no denying be yours, while the debt will pay more than the mini- est outgo as unpaid dues ing amount due to some un-
Brahm Mohindra has ordered a Vigilance inquiry the fact that sometimes the also keep mounting. mum amount due. with higher interest rates avoidable reasons, then it is
into the fake certificate and degree racket. Fake de- offers for new credit cards PAY MORE THAN THE OPT FOR BALANCE accumulate interest faster. better to talk to the bank or
grees of the Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery from sales executives seem MINIMUM: Most credit TRANSFER FACILITY: GO FOR AUTO PAY the card-issuing company
(BAMS) were issued in the name of the Baba Farid Uni- irresistible. Nevertheless, card holders follow the Opting for balance transfer MODE: If you are always itself. The bank will most
versity of Health Sciences, Faridkot. The minister said the having multiple cards in the practice of paying just the or transferring your dues late on credit card payments likely give you some relief if
matter was detected by Dr Sanjeev Goyal, Registrar, Board midst of buy now and pay minimum due amount (usu- from one credit card to an- or simply miss out on credit your reasons are genuine.
of Ayurvedic and Unani Systems of Medicine, when a per- later deals enhances your ally five per cent of the bal- other is a good option for card bill payments, then For instance, if you have re-
son visited the boards office for renewal of his registra- chance of falling into a pos- ance outstanding). They for- you in case you are caught opting for an automatic pay- cently lost your job.

Entrepreneurial spirit highest among Indians Kotak Bank launches

zero balance debit card
D
espite the slowdown (85pc) than men (81pc). The 34 years (72pc), followed by caps, implementation of ployees aged between 18
in startup funding, global average in this met- those between 35 and 44 GST and key initiatives like and 65. Randstad said that

K
the urge to be an en- ric was only 53pc. In India, years (61pc). Make in India and Digital in each country, they did a otak Mahindra Bank To mark the 70th anniver-
trepreneur remains very high India are fostering a new as- minimum of 400 inter- has said it would of sary of countrys indepen-
in India. Indeed, as per a glo- piring and ambitious Indian. views. About 67pc of the fer debit card at a dence, the special edition
bal survey, the proportion of This shift is clearly re- total respondents said that special price of Rs 99 for the debit card will be available
employees in India eager to flected in our survey find- in case they actually lose first year for customers who
start a venture of their own ings and augurs well for the their current job, they will open account under its
is the highest in the world. countrys growth agenda. A would like to start their own zero balance account
Modis initiatives like Make robust SME (small & me- company. About 86pc indi- scheme till Sept 15.
in India and Digital India are dium enterprise) ecosystem cated that the ecosystem to The usual annual fee for
fostering a new aspiring and driven by aspiring entrepre- run a startup was debit card procured by 811
ambitious Indian. neurs has historically seen favourable in India and account holders (zero bal-
Almost 83pc of the In- 56pc of the respondents Those in the age group of higher growth for the formal 84pc felt the Indian govern- ance) is Rs 299. The name
dian workforce surveyed by said they were actually con- 45-54 years were less enthu- sector, and has a knock-off ment actively supports new 811, inspired by Nov 8,
recruitment agency sidering leaving their cur- siastic (37pc). Paul Dupuis, effect on the evolution of startups. Some 80pc also 2016 decision of
Randstad said they would rent job to start their own MD of Randstad India, said other companies in the eco- agreed that due to demonetisation, allows cus-
love to be an entrepreneur. business. The most enthu- a stable business environ- system, he said. The survey globalisation, small busi- tomers to open a zero bal- to customers who open an
Surprisingly, the figure was siastic about starting up was ment, market oriented re- was conducted across 33 nesses have a hard time sur- ance account using the 811 account till Sept 15,
higher among women those in the age group of 25- forms like raising of FDI countries and among em- viving. banks mobile application. 2017.