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Deduction of Income Tax on withdrawal of Provident Fund 60%

NATIONAL COUNCIL (STAFF SIDE)

Joint Consultative Machinery for Central Government Employees No. NC-JCM/2016

Dated:- 05th March, 2016

To:

The Hon’ble Finance Minister, Government of India, North Block, New Delhi.

Dear Sir,

Sub: Deduction of Income Tax on withdrawal of P.F. 60%

We are deeply shocked to learn about imposing of tax on withdrawal of P.F.(Provident Fund) which is our hard earn money which used to be utilized in all emergencies for medical, educational, building of house, marriage of daughters etc.

Imposition of tax on that had created all round agitation among govt. employees.

On behalf of National Councii/JCM it is very humbly requested that this tax proposal should be withdrawn immediately to stop the mental agony of government employees.

I hope Central Govt. will not give any chance of serious agitation on this issue and will not disturb industrial peace as a whole.

Thanking you ,

Yours faithfully, (Shiv Gopal Mishra)

Opening of the Presidential Council Session

Welcoming Speech by the WFTU General Secretary, George Mavrikos

Dear comrade Dang Ngoc Tung, President of VGCL Vietnam,

Dear comrades members of the Executive Committee of VGCL Vietnam,

Dear comrades brothers and sisters,

I am also happy to welcome you to the Session of the Presidential Council which is taking place in Hanoi, Vietnam. A Session which has been exceptionally prepared by the leadership and the cadres of VGCL.

Allow me at this point, on behalf of the WFTU entire leadership to express our cordial thanks to the VGCL leadership and cadres of the International Department for the excellent preparation of the WFTU 2016 presidential council and total program. The daily communication with the WFTU Head Office, the cooperation with the Vietnam Embassies and Consulates abroad have lead us to today’s successful meeting.

I cease the opportunity to express our thanks to the VGCL for its stable support annually, in all aspects, morally, financially by paying their fees in annual basis and materially.

With this Session, here from Vietnam, we officially start our journey towards the 17th World Trade Union Congress which will take place in South Africa. Joining us in this PC Session is a large delegation from COSATU to present to us the preparations they have made so far for the organizing of the Congress. The proposed dates for the Congress are 5-8 October 2016.

The journey of the 17th World Trade Union Congress begins here from the historical ground of Vietnam, were thousands of determined people fought against imperialism, sacrificing their lives for the better future of humanity. We honor the great leader of the Vietnamese people, Ho Chi Minh and his comrades in the Communist Party of Vietnam who layed the ground for an independent, autonomous, socialist state. The foundation of the Socialist Democracy of Vietnam 70 years ago with the defeat of fascism and Nazism had a great historic importance and opened a new era of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist victorious struggles. To the people who struggled in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, to the people who shed their blood for freedom and national liberation, the WFTU extended full solidarity and stood on their side every minute of this struggle. From country to country, from struggle to struggle, there are hundreds of pages of books and historical references demonstrating how the internationalist solidarity took shape, strengthened the struggle in national level, put pressure on the International Organizations and the Governments, exposed the plots of imperialism and organized the international movement of solidarity with the people and the workers in struggle achievement of their objectives.

During 2015, with the glorious celebration of the WFTU’s 70th Anniversary we brought to light some of these moments, we commemorated known heroes of our class and we celebrated WFTU’s proud history in activities and ceremonies around the world.

Based on this historic truth we continue to struggle today knowing well that the organized, class-oriented, determined struggles of the working class in alliance with the other oppressed social strata, can and will have positive results. The weaknesses, the delays, the obstacles put in our path by life, by the monopolies, by the capitalist governments and their mechanisms are incapable of forever blocking the power of the working class. The power of those who produce and build everything in the world but still spend live with so many hardships, deprivations, wars, poverty and refugeeism. We continue our course: “Forward! For the satisfaction of the contemporary needs of the working people against poverty and war generated by the capitalist barbarity”. We are following the achievements of the Vietnamese people in the field of economic development and in everyday life and we recognize the important and irreplaceable role of VGCL in these developments. The contribution of the Vietnamese Trade Unions is highly important in national as well as international level. Though the large family of the WFTU and with its important internationalist contribution, VGCL has achieved prestige and international recognition from militants around the world who respect its protagonist role.

Besides the historic bonds between the WFTU and VGCL forged in decades of common struggles, our modern joint action brings us closer to our mutual objectives for the benefit of the Vietnamese people, for the benefit of the workers in Asia-Pacific region and internationally. In the previous decades the Socialist Democracy of Vietnam made great steps of progress in the field of economy, culture, for the improvement of the livelihood and the cultural level of its people. We are following closely this course of progress and we wish that it will continue to improve the daily life of the ordinary people. In this course the WFTU is steadfastly on the side of our comrades in Vietnam.

I wish all success to the works of the Presidential Council Session. We will discuss many and important topics as we always do with full freedom of speech, democracy, collectivism and responsibility.

Once again, we thank you for the warm hospitality and all efforts for a successful Presidential Council meeting.

Thank you.

Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, Advisor and Com.K.G.Jayaraj, General Secretary visited Sanchar Bhawan on 4th March also to ascertain the progress on 78.2% IDA merger issue. The Secretary, DoT who had a detailed discussion with the Member (services), now reported to be asking for certain clarifications from internal finance in DoT. As the Member (Finance) happened to be in a meeting, the representatives met Shri. Rajeev Kumar, DDG (TFA) and urged early action. He told that their job is almost completed and the file will be sent to the Establishment Section on 7th March. So this is likely to continue and delay the settlement further.

So let us mobilize maximum pensioners for the country wide Dharna on 10-03-2016, as decided by the Tirupati AIC, and make it an historic success thereby give a strong message to the government and the bureaucracy.

F.No. 1 8/03/20 1 5-Estt. (Pay-I) Government of India Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Personnel & Training

New Delhi, the 2nd March, 2016

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Sub: Recovery of wrongful / excess payments made to Government servants.

The undersigned is directed to refer to this Department’s OM No.18/26/2011-Estt (Pay-I) dated 6

th February, 2014 wherein certain instructions have been issued to deal with the issue of recovery of wrongful / excess payments made to Government servants in view of the law declared by Courts, particularly, in the case of Chandi Prasad Uniyal And Ors. vs. State of Uttarakhand And Ors., 2012 AIR SCW 4742, (2012) 8 SCC 417. Para 3(iv) of the OM inter-alia provides that recovery should be made in all cases of overpayment barring few exceptions of extreme hardships.

2. The issue has subsequently come up for consideration before the Hon’ble Supreme

Court in the case of

State of Punjab & Ors vs Rafiq Masih (White Washer) etc in CA No.11527 of 2014 (Arising out of SLP(C) No.11684 of 2012) wherein Hon’ble Court on 18.12.2014 decided a bunch of cases in which monetary benefits were given to employees in excess of their entitlement due to unintentional mistakes committed by the concerned competent authorities, in determining the emoluments payable to them, and the employees were not guilty of furnishing any incorrect information / misrepresentation / fraud, which had led the concerned competent authorities to commit the mistake of making the higher payment to the employees. The employees were as innocent as their employers in the wrongful determination of their inflated emoluments. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 18th December, 2014 ibid has, inter-alia, observed as under:

“7.

Having examined a number of judgments rendered by this Court, we are of the view, that orders passed by the employer seeking recovery of monetary benefits wrongly extended to employees, can only be interfered with, in cases where such recovery would result in a hardship of a nature, which would far outweigh, the equitable balance of the employer’s right to recover. In other words, interference would be called for, only in such cases where, it would be iniquitous to recover the payment made. In order to ascertain the parameters of the above consideration, and the test to be applied, reference needs to be made to situations when this Court exempted employees from such recovery, even in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. Repeated exercise of such power, “for doing complete justice in any cause” would establish that the recovery being effected was iniquitous, and therefore, arbitrary. And accordingly, the interference at the hands of this Court.”

“10. In view of the afore-stated constitutional mandate, equity and good conscience, in the matter of livelihood of the people of this country, has to be the

Contd. on pg.2

basis of all governmental actions. An action of the State, ordering a recovery from an employee, would be in order, so long as it is not rendered iniquitous to the extent, that the action of recovery would be more unfair, more wrongful, more improper, and more unwarranted, than the corresponding right of the employer, to recover the amount. Or in other words, till such time as the recovery would have a harsh and arbitrary effect on the employee, it would be permissible in law. Orders passed in given situations repeatedly, even in exercise of the power vested in this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, will disclose the parameters of the realm of an action of recovery (of an excess amount paid to an employee) which would breach the obligations of the State, to citizens of this country, and render the action arbitrary, and therefore, violative of the mandate contained in Article 14 of the Constitution of India.”

3. The issue that was required to be adjudicated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court was

whether all the private respondents, against whom an order-of recovery (of the excess amount) has been made, should be exempted in law, from the reimbursement of the same to the employer. For the applicability of the instant order, and the conclusions recorded by them thereinafter, the ingredients depicted in paras 2&3 of the judgment are essentially indispensable.

4. The Hon’ble Supreme Court while observing that it is not possible to postulate all

situations of hardship which would govern employees on the issue of recovery, where payments have mistakenly been made by the employer, in excess of their entitlement has summarized the following few situations, wherein recoveries by the employers would be impermissible in law:-

(i)Recovery from employees belonging to Class-III and Class-IV service (or Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ service).

(ii)Recovery from retired employees, or employees who are due to retire within one year, of the order of recovery.

(iii)Recovery from employees, when the excess payment has been made for a period in excess of five years, before the order of recovery is issued.

(iv)Recovery in cases where an employee has wrongfully been required to discharge duties of a higher post, and has been paid accordingly, even though he should have rightfully been required to work against an inferior post.

(v)In any other case, where the Court arrives at the conclusion, that recovery if made from the employee, would be iniquitous or harsh or arbitrary to such an extent, as would far outweigh the equitable balance of the employer’s right to recover.

5. The matter has, consequently, been examined in consultation with the Department

of Expenditure and the Department of Legal Affairs. The Ministries / Departments are advised to deal with the issue of wrongful / excess payments made to Government servants in accordance with above decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in

CA No.11527 of 2014 (arising out of SLP (C) No.11684 of 2012) in State of Punjab and others etc vs Rafiq Masih (White Washer) etc. However, wherever the waiver of recovery in the above-mentioned situations is considered, the same may be allowed with the

: 2 :

Contd. on pg.3

express approval of Department of Expenditure in terms of this Department’s OM No.18/26/2011-Estt (Pay-I) dated 6th February, 2014.

6.In so far as persons serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department are concerned, these orders are issued with the concurrence of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

7.Hindi version will follow.

(A.K. Jain)

NIC, DOP&T — with a request to upload this OM on the Department’s website under OMs & Orders (Establishment —> Pay Rules) and also under “What is New”.