Skip to main content

EC raps RBI on withdrawal limits

After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned down its request to increase the weekly cash withdrawal limit for candidates contesting in the coming Assembly polls, the Election Commission (EC) of India has written back to RBI Governor Urjit Patel, expressing “serious concern about the cursory manner in which the issue has been dealt with”. In a letter on Sunday, EC asked RBI to realise the ‘gravity of the situation’, virtually charging the central bank with impeding the democratic process.

One letter by the EC was in the context of the low withdrawal limits for candidates and asked these be relaxed. There are several bills that candidates in the election can only pay by cash. The EC has received a large number of complaints where candidates are facing constraints. This effectively means curtailing the candidate’s right to campaigning in a free and fair election, the poll body had indicated. Right to withdraw cash should not hamper the democratic process, it had said and asked RBI to act in the matter immediately. After RBI’s ‘cursory’ response, the EC wrote Sunday's letter.

Ignoring the Aam Aadmi Party’s allegation that it was acting as an agent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, the EC has asserted itself repeatedly to on the issue. The latest letter is undiplomatic and says for payments above Rs 20,000, candidates have been told to make electronic payments. But current withdrawal limits do not permit candidates to withdraw this sum daily. This is skewing the election in favour of those who have resources. This is unacceptable, the EC has said. It said that at least for the statutory election expense, cash should not be a constraint for candidates.
Business Standard New Delhi,30th January 2017

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New income tax slab and rates for new tax regime FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25) announced in Budget 2023

  Basic exemption limit has been hiked to Rs.3 lakh from Rs 2.5 currently under the new income tax regime in Budget 2023. Further, the income tax slabs in the new tax regime has been changed. According to the announcement, 5 income tax slabs will be there in FY 2023-24, from 6 income tax slabs currently. A rebate under Section 87A has been enhanced under the new tax regime; from the current income level of Rs.5 lakh to Rs.7 lakh. Thus, individuals opting for the new income tax regime and having an income up to Rs.7 lakh will not pay any taxes   The income tax slabs under the new income tax regime will now be as follows: Rs 0 to Rs 3 lakh - 0% tax rate Rs 3 lakh to 6 lakh - 5% Rs 6 lakh to 9 lakh - 10% Rs 9 lakh to Rs 12 lakh - 15% Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh - 20% Above Rs 15 lakh - 30%   The revised Income tax slabs under new tax regime for FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25)   Income tax slabs under new tax regime Income tax rates under new tax regime O to Rs 3 lakh 0 Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh 5% Rs 6

Jaitley plans to cut MSME tax rate to 25%

Income tax for companies with annual turnover up to ?50 crore has been reduced to 25% from 30% in order to make Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) companies more viable and also to encourage firms to migrate to a company format. This move will benefit 96% or 6.67 lakh of the 6.94 lakh companies filing returns of lower taxation and make MSME sector more competitive as compared with large companies. However, bigger firms have shown their disappointment since the proposal for reducing tax rates was to make Indian firms competitive globally and it is the large firms that are competing globally. The Finance Minister foregone revenue estimate of Rs 7,200 crore per annum for this for this measure. Besides, the Finance Minister refrained from removing or reducing Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT), a popular demand from India Inc., but provided a higher period of 15 years for carry forward of future credit claims, instead of the existing 10-year period. “It is not practical to rem

Don't forget to verify your income tax return in August: Here's the process

  An ITR return needs to be verified within 120 days of filing of tax return. Now that you have filed your income tax return, remember to verify it because your return filing process is not complete unless you do so. The CBDT has reduced the time limit of ITR verification to 30 days (from 120 days) from the date of return submission. The new rule is applicable for the returns filed online on or after 1st August 2022. E-verification is the most convenient and instant method for verifying your ITR. However, if you prefer not to e-verify, you have the option to verify it by sending a physical copy of the ITR-V. Taxpayers who filed returns by July 31, 2023 but forget to verify their tax returns, will get the following email from the tax department, as per ClearTax. If your ITR is not verified within 30 days of e-filing, it will be considered invalid, and may be liable to pay a Late Fee. Aadhaar OTP | EVC through bank account | EVC through Demat account | Sending duly signed ITR-V through s