SPEEDY TRIAL: Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Friday made a case for speedy resolution of tax disputes saying it will act as an incentive for tax payers and free the funds locked in litigation. “A just and speedy dispute resolution is perceived as a tax incentive by the taxpayer. To the tax collector, an efficient tax judiciary assures that demands arising out of legitimate assessment are not strangled in delayed litigation,” Bobde said at the 79th foundation day celebrations of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
NSA ON CAA PROTESTOR: The Supreme Court Friday said it cannot issue blanket orders restraining authorities from invoking the stringent National Security Act against people protesting the enactment of Citizenship (Amendment) Act.The Supreme Court Friday said it cannot issue blanket orders restraining authorities from invoking the stringent National Security Act against people protesting the enactment of Citizenship (Amendment) Act. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee refused to entertain a plea challenging the imposition of NSA in few states as also in the national capital amid anti-CAA protests. “We are of the opinion that general writ will not lie in this case. We cannot invoke powers under Article 32. We agree that the NSA should not be misused but there cannot be a general command. This will create chaos,” the bench said.
INDIAN WORDS INCLUDED: The latest edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary features 26 new Indian English words, including Aadhaar, chawl, dabba, hartal and shaadi. The 10th edition of the dictionary, which was launched on Friday, has 384 Indian English words and incorporates over 1,000 new words such as chatbot, fake news and microplastic. The dictionary focuses on language change and its evolution through the years and has ensured that the language and examples used in the new edition are relevant and up to date with the times, Oxford University Press (OUP) said.
HEALTH INSURANCE: Insurance regulator IRDAI has stated that in partial modification of the Guidelines on Standard Individual Health Insurance Product, it is clarified that the insurers can start offering “Arogya Sanjeevani Policy” before 1st April, 2020. They, however, have to ensure that this product is definitely offered on or before 1st April, 2020. However, if any insurer is currently not offering indemnity based health insurance products at all, the above stipulation about an early launch will not apply to those. As and when those insurers start offering indemnity based health insurance products, they will have to also offer the standard product “Arogya Sanjeevani Policy”
GOVT PENSION SCHEME: The Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a fixed return pension scheme for senior citizens, is closing on March 31, 2020. PMVVY is a 10-year pension scheme with an option to take a regular income on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or on annual basis. As per the rules, the maximum investment that can be made in PMVVY is restricted to Rs 15 lakh per senior citizen and the maximum monthly pension in PMVVY is Rs 10,000 per senior citizen. So, if both spouses are above age 60, the maximum monthly pension can be Rs 20,000 in the family.
PERIER ROW: The Madras high court on Friday dismissed a petition filed against actor Rajinikanth over his remarks on rationalist leader E V Ramasamy “Periyar” as the petitioner withdrew the plea. Justice P Rajamanickam was hearing a petition by the secretary of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, a fringe outfit, seeking direction to the police to file a case against the actor.
REPUBLIC DAY: This year Indian Prime Minister will pay homage to fallen soldiers at the newly-built National War Memorial in New Delhi on the Republic Day instead of Amar Jawan Jyoti beneath the India Gate arch, officials said. The memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 25 last year.
TAX RAID: The Income Tax department has detected undisclosed foreign assets worth more than Rs 1,000 crore belonging to Jyotsna Suri-led Bharat Hotels Limited that runs The Lalit hotels across the country. It has also found domestic tax evasion worth Rs 35 crore by the hospitality group which may lead to consequences under the Black Money Act, 2015, as also, action under the Income-tax Act, 1961 respectively, the officials added. The department had conducted raids on 13 premises of Bharat Hotels and that of Chairperson Suri on January 19 in Delhi-NCR.
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WEF DAVOS: IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva on Friday said growth slowdown in India appears to be temporary and that she expects the momentum to improve going ahead. The world appears a better place in January 2020 compared to what it was when IMF announced its World Economic Outlook in October 2019, she said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2020 here.
DAVOS: Billionaire US financier George Soros said that the Indian government is creating a Hindu nationalist state which threatens to marginalise the Muslim citizens of the country, global news agency Bloomberg reported.
TAX COLLECTION DECLINED: The Income-tax department had collect Rs 7.3 trillion as of Jan. 23, more than 5.5% below the amount collected by the same point last year, said a senior tax official. But the Prime Minister Modi’s government was targetting direct tax collection of Rs 13.5 trillion ($189 billion) for the year ending March 31 – a 17% increase over the prior fiscal year.