DoP seeks Cabinet nod for payments bank proposal
New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI) The Department of Posts (DoP) has sought Cabinet approval for its payments bank proposal involving a project cost of Rs 800 crore.
The Public Investment Board (PIB) has recommended that the payments bank may be set up as a public limited company under the Department of Posts with 100 per cent government equity.
"With a project cost of Rs 800 crore (Rs 400 crore equity and Rs 400 crore grant) and the draft cabinet note has been forwarded to Cabinet Secretariat seeking the approval for the project," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
The Reserve Bank of India granted in-principle approval to DoP for setting up payments bank on September 7, 2015, with a stipulation to complete all formalities for setting up the bank with 18 months.
The present proposal is that the India Post Payments bank (IPPB) may set up one headquarter and up to 650 branches co-located in district headquarter post offices.
"...more than 60 large companies have approached the Department of Posts for collaboration with the prospective IPPB," the Minister added.
Prasad said the project may be rolled out in a phased manner and the bank may complete its nation-wide rollout in five years.
"All the post offices in a district may be linked to the respective IPPB branch and may become the access point for the services of payments bank and will coordinate with the payments bank branches to which they are mapped," the Minister said.
He further said services available through the payments banks will be basic banking services like acceptance of demand deposits such as current and savings accounts up to a balance of Rs 1 lakh, various kinds of payments, including social security payments like DBT payments, person to person remittances (both domestic and cross-border).
"Apart from these, financial products like insurance, mutual funds, pensions, credit etc may be distributed through third party tie ups with banks and other financial service providers especially in rural areas and among the under banked segments of the society," he added.
Regarding International Finance Corporation, a member of World Bank, has shown interest in picking up stake in the business, Prasad said some preliminary discussions had taken place but no formal proposal to this effect has been received.
Income tax department to pay interest on TDS refund
The Income Tax department will now add interest amount to a delayed refund made on excess TDS deductions and will also not litigate with the deductor on this issue in the future, a latest directive has said.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has issued a directive in this regard to the assessing officers of the IT department based on a 2014 Supreme Court order where the apex court had made it clear that the taxman is "bound" to pay interest on refund made under the tax deducted at source (TDS) category.
TDS is primarily deducted by the employer from the salary paid to an employee.
"In view of the judgement of the apex court it is settled that if a resident deductor is entitled for the refund of tax deposited under Section 195 (other sums) of the Act (Income Tax Act), then it has to be refunded with interest under section 244A (where refund of any amount a becomes due to the assessee they shall be entitled to receive simple interest), from the date of payment of such tax," the CBDT communication issued on Tuesday said.
The CBDT has further directed that "accordingly, it is advised that no appeals may henceforth be filed on this ground by the officers of the department and appeals already filed on this issue may not be pressed upon."
The clarificatory note has been issued by the policy-making body (CBDT) of the IT department as it has been a subject matter of "controversy and litigation."
"While the tax department duly gives interest in case an individual's refund is delayed, there was some grey area in the TDS category. This has been settled now. This is yet another area where the taxman is cutting don on litigation," a senior IT official said.
The basis of the latest communication is a Supreme Court order that had ruled in favour of the deductor of a company on February 26, 2014 stating that "refund due and payable to assessee is debt-owned and payable by the revenue.
"The government, there being no express statutory provisions for payment of interest on the refund of excess amount/tax collected by the revenue cannot shrug of its apparent obligation to reimburse the deductors lawful monies with the accrued interest for the period of undue retention of such monies.
"The state having received the money without right and having retained and used it, is bound to make the party good, just as an individual would be under like circumstances. The obligation to refund money received and retained without right implies and carried with it the right to interest," the apex court had said in the 2014 order.
Source : The Times of India
