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Sunday 20 September 2015

Seventh Pay Commission: Employees’ delight, government's despair

7th Pay Commission: Employees’ delight, government's despair

New Delhi: The Seventh Pay Commission report is awaited, the new pay scales will be applicable to Central government employees with effect from January 2016.

50 lakh central government employees and 56 lakh pensioners including dependents hope to get this gift from April next year. The revised pay scales are likely to be implemented retrospectively starting 1 January 2016.

Many commentators say that the average increase in basic fair pay for all government employees will be in the region of 40-45%.

This is a very rough average because for senior level officers, like the Cabinet Secretary or officials at the secretary level, the payback could increase by more than 50%.

As the Pay Commission numbers come through there could be a 30-40 per cent increase for each central government employee.

An increase of salary and allowances would boost middle class central government employees to spend more time with their families for marketing.

The economy would get a major boost from a pickup in consumption, resulting from an increase in salaries but the flip side to the hike will be a spike in inflation.

The reports of Seventh Pay Commission will be implicated from April next year as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Parliament on February 27, “The Seventh Pay Commission impact may have to be absorbed in 2016-17.”

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said above statement in his pre-budget speech. His statement indicates that the government may implement Seventh Pay Commission report from April 2016.

The strongest criticism of Pay Commission awards is that they play havoc with government finances. The pervious pay commissions’ rollout has been negative for fiscal balances.

The recommendations of the second pay commission were accompanied with a financial impact of about Rs 39 crore. The financial burden of the implementation of the third, fourth, fifth pay and sixth pay commission recommendations has been estimated at around Rs 144 crore, Rs 1,282 crore, Rs 17,000 crore and Rs 20,000 crore respectively.

Initial estimates suggest the seventh pay commission could add Rs 1,00,619 crore to the central government’s wage bill.

The central government pay and allowances amount to 1 per cent of GDP today. State wages amount to another 4 per cent, making for a total of 5 per cent of GDP.

The medium-term expenditure framework recently presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Jaitley, which looks at an increase in pay of 16 per cent for 2016-17 consequent to the Seventh Pay Commission award. That would amount to an increase of 0.8 per cent of GDP. This is a one-off impact.

One Rank One Pension is also a rider to enforcement of the seventh pay commission’s recommendation. The government is committed to OROP for the armed forces. This would impose an as yet undefined burden on Central government finances.
TST
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NPS returns are market linked

NPS returns are market linked

An investor within the scheme has an option to choose funds based on her level of safety and risk in addition to choosing her own fund manager

The National Pension System (NPS) has been advertising a lot about the new tax deduction of Rs.50,000 for tax payers. I wanted to know more about the new deduction under section 80CCD(1)(b). Is this available only for people whose employers are investing in NPS on their behalf, or is this available for general public as well? How does the deduction work with respect to other tax benefits?
—Praveen Aggarwal

NPS is a voluntary pension scheme regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA). It was introduced as an investment option to provide for the country’s growing working community to ensure that they have an option to save for their retirement needs. The purpose was to replace the existing system of defined benefit pension to a defined contribution-based pension system.
An investor within the scheme has an option to choose funds based on her level of safety and risk in addition to choosing her own fund manager. The returns are market-linked and, hence, do not give any form of guarantee.

NPS follows an EET (exempt-exempt-tax) model—exempt at the time of contribution or investment, exempt at the time of earnings and taxable at the time of withdrawals.

Section 80CCD under the Income-tax Act, 1961, provides the tax incentive at the first stage of investment—for getting the benefit of deduction for contributions made towards NPS.

This deduction is available to all individuals—salaried as well as non-salaried. This deduction was earlier restricted to Rs.1 lakh for each financial year under section 80CCD(1) and was subsequently increased to Rs.1.50 lakh.

To further boost savings, in Budget 2015, a new section, 80CCD 1B, was introduced, under which an additional deduction of up to Rs.50,000 was allowed for contribution made towards NPS. This made the total deduction under section 80CCD to Rs.2 lakh.

If we go through the provisions of section 80CCD, there is a lack of clarity whether the additional deduction of Rs.50,000 is after exhausting the limit of 10% of salary. Is the cap on deduction of up to 10% of salary (basic + dearness allowance) under section 80CCD (1) and within the overall ceiling of Rs.1.50 lakh or is it over and above the ceiling of Rs.1.50 lakh?

While this ambiguity remains, the intent was clarified in an example quoted by the finance minister in his budget speech this year, in which it was clarified that the assessee can claim additional deduction and the deduction of Rs.50,000 was over and above the ceiling of Rs.1.50 lakh.

Let’s take an example. If you have exhausted your Rs.1.50 lakh limit of deduction under section 80C by savings in Public Provident Fund (PPF), insurance premiums, repayment of housing loan, among other things, you can further increase your tax savings by contributing up to Rs.50,000 towards NPS.

You could open an NPS Tier I account, which is the first level, to claim the tax benefits.

Source: LiveMint
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Full Pension on less than 30 years & more than 20 years of Qualifying Service for Pre-2006 pensioners

FULL PENSION FOR THOSE WITH LESS THAN 30 YEARS but MORE THAN 20 YEARS QS

In view of the fact that review Petition filed by UOI RP (C) NO. 2565/2015 in SLP (C) No. 6567/2015 UOI Vs M.O. Inasu dismissed by HSC on 28.8.2015, and Following file notings of DOPW (obtained under RTI) let us hope DOP&PW will now issue necessary instructions extending benefit of full min. pension to all pre 2006 pensioners irrespective of Q.S. rendered.

The extract from the File Noting obtained from DOP&PW under RTI ACT, on pro rata pension matter.

    Extract from File Noting of DOP&PW OM 30.7.2015 obtained under RTIA:

12. It may be mentioned that in its order dated 22.1.2013 and 16.8.2013 in OA No. 715/2012 and OA No. 1015/2012 respectively, Hon’ CAT Ernakulam Bench directed that the revised pension fixed in terms of para 4.2 of OM dt. 1.9.2008 would not be reduced pro rata in cases where the qualifying service of a pre 2006 pensioner was less than 33 yrs. This order of Hon CAT was challenged by D/o Revenue in the H.C. of Kerala in OP(CAT) No. 4/2012 and No. 8/2012. Hon’ H.C. of Kerala dismissed the Op(CAT) No. 4/2012 and No. 8/2012 vide order dt. 7.1.2014. The SLP filed by the Dept. of Revenue against the order dt. 7.1.2014 has also been dismissed by Hon’ S/C. in its order dated 20.2.2015. Learned ASG, Sjri P.S.Narsimha has advised to file a Review Petition. The concerned file is presently with MOL(CA Section) and Ms. Rekha Pandey, Adv. is drafting the RP.

13. As already mentioned above, in the order dt. 29.4.2013 of Hon HC of Delhi in WP No. 1535/2012, it was observed that the only issue which survived was, with ref. to para 9 of OM dt. 28.1.2013 which makes it applicable from 24.9.2012 instead of 1.1.2006. In view of this observation of the Hon H.C. of Delhi, we may issue orders for giving effect to the OM dated 28.1.2013 w.e.f. 1.1.2006 instead of 24.9.2012. The question whether or not the revised pension in terms of OM 28.1.2013 would be reduced proportionally would be examined once the order of the Hon S.C. in the RP to be filed against dismissal of SLP 21044/2014 is available ( para 12 above)
( emphasis added)

Sd.
S.K. Makkar US
17.4.2015

   Noting of Secy(P)

6. Thus the court ruling has become law of the land

7. Given the fact the review/curative petition in the same matter has once been dismissed by Hon. Apex Court, as also the fact that Civil Appeal of Ministry of Defence with which the SLPs in question got tagged, has also failed, there is no chance that a review petition may yield a different result. On the other hand this will not only engage the govt. machinery in uncessary litigation but will also result in attendant avoidable expenditure. ( emphasis added)

Sd.
Alok Rawat Secy/ Pension
22.4.2015

Hon MOS(PP)
Sd.
7.5.2015

Source: BPS
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